Clutch for a door lock
AssigneeASSA ABLOY Access and Egress Hardware Group, Inc.
InventorsDouglas Clark, Rick Leites, Eric Palmieri, Sharath Kumar Ramachandran, Jeffrey Rodriguez
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A clutch may include a first rotating portion operatively couplable to a door handle. A clutch may include a second rotating portion operatively couplable to a lock spindle and configured to rotate to unlatch a door. A clutch may include a slider configured to configured to move between a first position and a second position to operatively engage and disengage, respectively, the first rotating portion and the second rotating portion. A clutch may include a magnet configured to apply a magnetic force to the slider to bias the slider toward the second position.
Claims20
A clutch for a door lock, comprising:
- a first rotating portion operatively couplable to a door handle;
- a second rotating portion operatively couplable to a lock spindle and configured to rotate to unlatch a door;
- a slider disposed at least partially between the first rotating portion and the second rotating portion and configured to move between a first position and a second position to operatively engage and disengage, respectively, the first rotating portion and the second rotating portion;
- and
- a magnet configured to apply a magnetic force to the slider to bias the slider toward the second position.
A clutch for a door lock, comprising:
- a first rotating portion operatively couplable to an door handle, wherein the first rotating portion is further configured to rotate with the door handle;
- a second rotating portion operatively couplable to a lock spindle, wherein the first rotating portion is further configured to rotate with the lock spindle;
- a slider, the slider having a dog, the slider configured to connect the first rotating portion to the second rotating portion by engaging the dog with the first rotating portion and the second rotating portion when the slider is in a first position, and wherein the slider is configured disengage the dog from the first rotating portion and the second rotating portion to decouple the first rotating portion from the second rotating portion when the slider is in a second position;
- and
- a magnet configured to apply a magnetic force to the slider to bias the slider toward the second position when the slider is in the second position.
A method for operating a lock clutch, the method comprising:
- moving a slider engaged with a first rotating portion from a first position to a second position, wherein in the first position the slider is engaged with a second rotating portion, and wherein in the second position the slider is not engaged with the second rotating portion;
- applying magnetic force with a magnet to the slider when the slider is in the second position to hold the slider in the second position;
- moving the slider from the second position to the first position to engage the slider with the second rotating portion such that the first rotating portion and the second rotating portion are configured to rotate together;
- rotating the first rotating portion about a lock axis while the slider is in the first position to rotate the second rotating portion;
- and
- moving the magnet away from the slider as the first rotating portion and the second rotating portion rotate about the lock axis, wherein the magnet is moved along a path orthogonal to a direction of the magnetic force.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.