Door lock with clutch

A door lock comprising:

• a body adapted to be mounted to a door and having a base, wherein the base has a curved slot formed therein;
• a lock drive movably mounted to the base of the body and adapted to move a lock mechanism between locked and unlocked positions;
• a thumb turn movably mounted to the body and adapted for manual movement between at least two positions, the thumb turn being coupled to the lock drive such that movement of the thumb turn moves the lock drive;
• a drive motor mounted to the base of the body;
• and
• a clutch that is mechanically arranged between the drive motor and the lock drive, the clutch including
• a forward drive gear and a reverse drive gear that are both mounted to the base of the body and coupled to the lock drive, and
• a clutch gear having a pivot axis, the clutch gear being mounted in the curved slot of the base, wherein:
• the clutch gear is configured for displacement along the curved slot between an engaged position in which the clutch gear is coupled with the lock drive and a disengaged position in which the clutch gear is not coupled with the lock drive,
• the clutch gear is configured for rotation about the pivot axis,
• the clutch gear is operably coupled with the drive motor such that movement of the drive motor effects rotation of the clutch gear about the pivot axis, and
• the rotation of the clutch gear about the pivot axis effects displacement of the clutch gear along the curved slot to selectively couple and uncouple the drive motor to the forward drive gear and the reverse drive gear,
• wherein the curved slot has a position where positioning the pivot axis of the clutch gear causes the clutch gear to engage with the reverse drive gear, and
• wherein energizing the drive motor for a predetermined interval of time displaces the clutch gear between the engaged position and the disengaged position.

A method of operating a door lock, the method comprising:

• receiving, via a wireless communication device, a command to control a door lock having a lock drive that is configured to move a lock mechanism between a locked position and an unlocked position;
• after receiving the command, controlling a drive motor that is coupled to the lock drive via a clutch gear that selectively engages with either a reverse drive gear used to move the lock mechanism to the unlocked position or a forward drive gear used to move the lock mechanism to the locked position, wherein the drive motor operates in a first direction for a first period of time that is sufficient to (a) displace the clutch gear to a first position where torque is transmitted to the lock drive via the clutch gear and either the reverse drive gear or the forward drive gear, and (b) move the lock mechanism between the locked position and the unlocked position;
• detecting a position of the lock drive using a position sensor that is mounted to a position gear that is coupled to the reverse drive gear;
• after moving the lock mechanism between the locked position and the unlocked position, and in response to detecting that the lock drive is positioned such that the lock mechanism in the locked position or the unlocked position, controlling the drive motor to (a) operate in a second direction that is opposite the first direction, and (b) move the clutch gear so as to decouple the drive motor from the lock drive;
• and
• in response to detecting that the clutch gear has disengaged from the forward drive gear, deactivating the drive motor.