Semi-active electrorheological fluid clutch for electronic door lock

1. A clutch for an electronic door lock, comprising:

a rotatable first shaft having a camming surface;

a second shaft with an aperture therein, the second shaft is axially co-aligned with and rotatably disposed adjacent the first shaft;

a spring disposed in the aperture;

a rheological fluid held within the aperture, the fluid capable of changing from a first state in which the fluid has a first viscosity to a second state in which the fluid has a second viscosity in response to the application of an electrical current across the fluid;

a plunger biased by the spring into selective coupling engagement with the first shaft and capable of selective motion into the aperture in response to contact by the camming surface due to relative rotation of the first shaft with respect to the second shaft; and

a restriction disposed within the aperture and having an orifice that extends from a first side of the restriction to a second side of the restriction, the orifice allowing communication of rheological fluid therethrough;

wherein when the rheological fluid is in the second viscosity state and the plunger is contacted by the camming surface the fluid exerts a hydraulic blocking force which impedes the motion of the plunger into the aperture and maintains coupling engagement between the plunger and the first shaft.

2. The clutch of claim 1 , wherein:

the restriction is capable of being selectively electrically activated to apply current to the rheological fluid adjacent the orifice thereby changing the fluid from the first viscosity to the second viscosity adjacent-the orifice, and

wherein the change from the first viscosity to the second viscosity obstructs the flow of rheological fluid through the orifice and thereby allows the fluid to exert the hydraulic blocking force sufficient to impede the motion of the plunger into the aperture.

3. The clutch of claim 2 , further comprising an electrode disposed within the orifice and configured to apply current to the orifice thereby allowing an electric field to be created within the orifice.

4. The clutch of claim 2 , wherein the spring includes a first spring which contacts the plunger and the restriction and a second spring which contacts the restriction and a bottom of the aperture.

5. The clutch of claim 4 , wherein the restriction divides the aperture into a first chamber and a second chamber, the first chamber houses the first spring and the second chamber houses the second spring, wherein the orifice in the restriction allows for communication of the rheological fluid between the first and second chambers.

6. The clutch of claim 1 , wherein the viscosity of the fluid in the second state is greater than the viscosity of the fluid in the first state.

7. The clutch of claim 1 , further comprising a latch mechanism operably connected to the second shaft, wherein the engagement of the plunger with the first shaft couples the second shaft with the first shaft to transmit an actuating rotation which unlocks the latch mechanism.

8. The clutch of claim 1 , further comprising a door handle that is operably connected to the first shaft such that actuation of the door handle rotates the first shaft relative to the second shaft.

9. An electronic door lock, comprising:

a rotatable door handle;

a handle shaft operably connected to the door handle and capable of being rotationally actuated thereby, the handle shaft having an inner camming surface;

a lock shaft with an aperture therein, the lock shaft axially co-aligned with and rotatably mounted adjacent the handle shaft and rotatably connected to a latch mechanism;

a bellow spring disposed in the aperture;

a rheological fluid held within the bellow spring, the fluid having a first state in which the fluid has a first viscosity and a second state in which the fluid has a second viscosity;

a plunger biased by the bellow spring into selective coupling engagement with the handle shaft and capable of selective linear motion into the aperture in response to contact with the inner camming surface due to relative rotation of the handle shaft with respect to the lock shaft; and

a restriction disposed within the bellow spring and having an orifice that extends from a first side of the restriction to a second side of the restriction, the orifice allowing communication of rheological fluid therethrough,

wherein the restriction is capable of being selectively electrically activated to change the rheological fluid adjacent the orifice from the first viscosity to the second viscosity, in the second viscosity state the rheological fluid exerts a hydraulic blocking force sufficient to impede the linear motion of the plunger into the aperture, and

wherein the hydraulic blocking force maintains coupling engagement between the plunger and the handle shaft when the plunger is rotationally contacted by the inner camming surface thereby coupling the lock shaft with the handle shaft to unlock the latch mechanism.

10. The clutch of claim 9 , wherein the restriction is electrically activated in response to a signal from an electronic control circuit.

11. The clutch of claim 9 , wherein the electrical activation is provided by an electrode coaxially located within the orifice of the restriction.

12. The clutch of claim 10 , wherein the door handle is operably connected to the handle shaft such that actuation of the door handle rotates the handle shaft relative to the lock shaft.

13. The clutch of claim 10 , wherein the bellow spring includes a first spring which contacts the plunger and the restriction and a second spring which contacts the restriction and a bottom of the aperture.

14. The clutch of claim 13 , wherein the restriction divides the aperture into a first chamber and a second chamber, the first chamber houses the first spring and the second chamber houses the second spring, wherein the orifice in the restriction allows for communication of the rheological fluid between the first and second chambers.

15. The clutch of claim 10 , wherein the fluid is an electro-rheological fluid and a potential difference is applied to the fluid in the second state and substantially no electrical current is applied across the fluid in the first state.

16. A method of coupling an outer door handle shaft with an inner door handle shaft in an electronic door lock, comprising:

applying an electrical current to a rheological fluid housed internally within the inner door handle shaft, wherein the application of the electrical current changes the rheological fluid from a first viscosity state to a second viscosity state, and wherein the second viscosity state exerts a hydraulic blocking force sufficient to impede linear motion of a plunger into the inner door handle shaft; and

rotating the outer door handle shaft relative to the inner door handle shaft to contact a camming surface of the outer door handle shaft with the plunger thereby allowing for coupling rotation of the inner door handle shaft with the outer door handle shaft,

wherein the rheological fluid is housed within a first chamber and a second chamber which are divided by a restriction, and

the restriction comprises an orifice that allows a portion of the rheological fluid to flow between the first chamber and the second chamber through when the rheological fluid is in the first viscosity state.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the electrical current is applied to the rheological fluid adjacent the orifice thereby changing the rheological fluid from the first viscosity to the second viscosity, and

wherein the change from the first viscosity to the second viscosity obstructs the flow of rheological fluid through the orifice and thereby allows the rheological fluid in the first chamber to exert the hydraulic blocking force sufficient to impede the linear motion of the plunger into the aperture.