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(11) | EP 1 247 926 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Assembly of revolving cylinder lock and key |
| (57) The invention relates to an assembly of revolving cylinder lock and key (10), whereby
the lock consists, among others, of a cylinder stator (1) and a rotor (2) which is
rotatable therein about the longitudinal axis of the cylinder stator (1) and of which
the rotation in the locking position is prevented in the usual way by a series of
radial locking pins, which due to the teeth of the key may be released from their
locking position, characterised in that, apart from above said locking pins, additional
blocking means are provided, whereto above said key shows a rib (9) extending longitudinally,
having such cross sections that the key (10), completely inserted into the stator,
pushes said additional blocking means in the release position, thus enabling the rotation
of the rotor in the stator. |
[0001] This invention relates to an assembly of revolving cylinder lock and key as disclosed in the preamble of the first claim.
[0003] US-A-2.294.310 relates to a key and a cylinder lock with an improved theft-proof. Thereto, the cylinder lock comprises a housing with a longitudinally extending rib, the housing enclosing a rotatable cylinder with a key passage. The key has a beveled on its upper edge the usual grooves or notches which co-operate with first tumblers in the cylinder, in properly aligning the tumblers in the cylinder to allow rotation of the cylinder when the key is properly inserted. Intermediate the tumblers, a plurality of bores is provided in which blocking pins are held in an extended position by springs. When inserting the key in the lock, the first tumblers are received in notches left out in the edge of the key. A false key will be blocked by the blocking pins. However, a key with an end with a bevelled surface, will operate to move the blocking pins into the cylinder.
[0004] DE-A-3.817.494 relates to an assembly of a key and a cylinder lock in which the number of locking possibilities has been increased. The key comprises a shaft with a tip with which the key may be inserted into the lock. The shaft comprises a plurality of longitudinal grooves and ribs. In the vicinity of at least one of the ribs, a plurality of recesses is left out within the thickness of the shaft. At least one of the longitudinal edges of the shafts comprises a plurality of notches which protrude into the key shaft.
[0005] In the cylinder, in the vicinity of the key entrance, a first set of locking pins is mounted, which extend within the key passage. The first locking pins are built up of a core pin and housing pin, the latter being biased in the direction of the cylinder by means of a spring. A second set of locking pins is received in corresponding bores in the cylinder, in a cylinder part distal from the key entrance. The second locking pins slant with respect to the longitudinal direction of the key channel and comprise a core pin to be received in the cylinder and a housing pin to be received in the housing when rotating the key. Each housing pin is biased in the direction of the corresponding bore in the cylinder.
[0006] When inserting a key into the key passage, the first locking pins are received by the notches in the longitudinal edge of the key and dear the corresponding bores in the housing. When inserting the key further into the lock, the second pins get spread by the key ribs in the direction of the housing until they are received in the first recesses. At this position, the second locking pins are received in corresponding holes in the housing and clear the core, so that the core may be rotated with respect to the housing.
[0007] EP-A-0.313.864 discloses a cylinder lock with tumbler pins and a cylindrical housing in which a core with a circular cross section and a key channel is pivotally run. In the core, radial pin pairs lying close to one another in longitudinal direction of the cylinder are provided, on both sides of the key channel. The key channel has a longitudinal rib profile for a flat key equipped with recesses at the small edge. Pin pairs on opposite sides of the key channel are provided to be received in and operated by corresponding recesses on opposite sides of the key.
[0008] Besides these, the key comprises at least one recess for controlling spring-loaded tumblers displaced in axial direction with respect to the first radial pin pairs.
[0009] In FR-A-2.280.772 a cylinder lock for keys with a cruciform shape is disclosed. The lock comprises a housing with a rotatably mounted cylinder with a key passage with the shape of the key. In one edge of the key, recesses of a conventional flat key type are left out, in another edge of the key a recess is left out for co-operating with a lever, pivotably mounted within the cylinder. A first end of the lever is biased against a spring and is received in a duct, which extends radially of the cylinder and into the housing. An intermediate protrusion to the lever is received in a second duct, which also extends into the housing. The second end of the lever is received in a corresponding recess in the key passage.
[0010] When no key is inserted, the first end is biased into the part of the duct extending in the housing. When inserting a key, the second end of the lever is received into a corresponding recess on the other edge of the key. If the recess has the correct depth, the lever pivots about the axis, the second duct is cleared as well as the first duct, so that the cylinder may be rotated.
[0011] DE-U-9.004.190 relates to an assembly of a key and cylinder lock, the cylinder lock comprising a housing enclosing a shell, in which in a rotatable core with an axis and a key passage is housed. Perpendicular to the axis, first locking means, comprising a first locking pin is received in a duct, which extends from the key passage into the shell. The core comprises spring biased first locking pins, which co-operate with the key shaft.
[0012] In the cylinder lock of DE-U-9.004.190, additional locking means are provided and comprise second core pins to be received in a plurality of recesses in the edge of the key. The additional locking means comprise a core pin which extends into the key passage, and is operated by a first side of a first end of a pivotably mounted lever. The other side of the first end of the lever is received in a duct in the shell. The second end of the lever is biased into a corresponding bore in the shell by a spring.
[0013] The additional locking means are displaced radially with respect to the first locking means. In longitudinal direction of the lock, a plurality of first and additional locking means may be provided.
[0014] When inserting the correct key in the lock, the first locking pin is received in a corresponding recess in the key shaft, the pin clears the shell and meets the surface of the core. The core pin is received in the corresponding recess, following which the second end of the lever is biased towards the shell such that the surface of both the first and second end of the lever meet the surface of the core. The core may now be rotated.
[0015] In FR-A-2.263.360, an assembly of a cylinder lock and a key with an improved security is disclosed. Thereto, the key has along its sides at least one additional longitudinally extending groove into which recesses, provided to be explored by safety pins, protrude. The lock comprises a housing with a rotatably mounted cylinder. In the cylinder first and second ducts receive first locking pins and safety locking pins. The second ducts extend into the housing.
[0016] When inserting a correct key in the lock, first pins located in the vicinity of the entrance and associated with the longitudinal grooves clear the housing and are received in corresponding holes of the cylinder core. In the direction of the interior of the lock, second safety pins are mounted. The second safety pins are provided to be received in a corresponding recess on the key. At this point, the safety pins clear the housing and the cylinder may be rotated with respect to the housing.
[0017] Revolving cylinder locks equipped with radial locking pins are sometimes opened fraudulently, by inserting an external object, by which the locking pins are pushed in the release position.
[0018] It is the aim of the invention to provide a revolving cylinder lock and a key associated therewith, making the fraudulent opening of the lock almost impossible.
[0019] To achieve this, the cylinder lock comprises apart from the known locking pins, additional blocking means. The key shows a longitudinally extending rib, having such cross sections that in a position where the key is completely inserted into the stator, the key pushes the additional blocking means in a release position, thus enabling the rotation of the cylinder rotor in the cylinder stator as described in the characterising part of the first claim.
[0020] The additional blocking means comprise at least one sequence of first and second additional blocking means spaced from each other in longitudinal direction of the lock. The first additional blocking means are positioned distal from the key entrance and comprise at least one active pin which is biased towards the key passage by a spring, and is displaceable within a first duct in radial direction of the cylinder lock. The second additional blocking means comprise at least one passive pin moveable in radial direction of the cylinder lock, within a second duct radially extending from the rotor into the stator. The second additional blocking means are positioned proximal to the key entrance, the active and passive pin being operable by a corresponding sequence of a first and second notch provided in a longitudinally extending rib on the key, taken in longitudinal direction of the key. Thereby the second notch for operating the passive pin is deeper than the first notch for operating the active pin.
[0021] The active pin is preferably a two-part pin, of which the first part, which can be moved radially and under the influence of a compression spring into and out of the stator, co-operates with a second part of said pin, which second part is in contact by one extremity with above said rib of above said key, which locally, i.e. at the height of said active pin, when the key is completely inserted, shows a notch, through which the height of said second part influences the position of the first part of the active pin which is contacting it, with respect to stator and rotor.
[0022] In the same spirit of the invention, above said additional blocking means are formed by at least one radial passive pin, i.e. a pin which can be moved into and out of above said rotor, which by a conical extremity is in contact with above said rib of above said key, which locally, i.e. at the height of said passive pin, when the key is completely inserted, shows a notch, through which the position of said passive pin with respect to stator and rotor is modified, by moving this pin upon rotation of the key, of which the rib pushes against above said conical extremity.
[0023] In a technically advantageous embodiment, above said radial active and passive pins are provided in such a way in above said stator and rotor, that their central axis defines an angle of almost 135° with that of above said locking pins.
[0024] Other details and advantages of the invention will show from the following description of an assembly of revolving cylinder lock and key according to the invention. This description is exclusively given by way of example, and does not limit the invention. The reference numbers refer to the attached figures.
[0030] Figure 6 is, on a larger scale, a cross section of a part of the revolving cylinder lock at the height of an active pin.
[0031] Figure 7 is, on a larger scale, a cross section of a part of the revolving cylinder lock, at the height of a passive pin.
[0032] The revolving cylinder lock according to the invention consists of a stator 1, in which the rotor 2 can be rotated along the longitudinal axis of the rotor by means of a key with rib. The radial locking pins which keep the rotor blocked in locking position, are of a common type and will not be described hereafter.
[0033] As set forth in the introduction, such locks are sometimes fraudulently opened by inserting an external object, which is introduced into the lock to activate the locking pins, bringing the lock in the release position.
[0034] In the assembly of key and revolving cylinder lock according to the invention, both the key and the lock play an essential role. The revolving cylinder lock according to the invention is provided with additional blocking means, consisting of at least one, but in the embodiment example described here, of two active and two passive pins.
[0035] The active pins are radially applied two-part pins of which the first part, 3, forms a barrel bearing a compression spring 4 which radially pushes away said first part in the direction of a second part 5, the operation of which will be discussed further. The first part 3 of the active pin is moved radially through the stator and this within a stopper 6 fixed in the stator. When the compression spring 4 pushes the first part 3 of the active pin out of the stator, this first part will make any rotation of the rotor with respect to the stator impossible. Such a locking position is only possible when the second part 5 of the two-part active pin is completely pushed into the rotor 2. It should be noted that the first part 3 and the second part 5 which compose the active pin, are each movable in a radial bore. The bore in the stator 1 in which the first part 3 is moving, has reference 7, while the bore in the rotor 2 in which the second part 5 is moving, has reference 8.
[0036] The second part 5 of the active pin has at one extremity a conical head 5'. This extremity 5' is in contact with the rib 9 of the key 10.
[0037] The position of the second part 5 of the active pin with respect to rotor and stator, is determined by the profile of the key 10 which was designed within the frame of this invention, more particularly by the profile of the rib 9 of this key.
[0038] This rib 9 performs a very remarkable function and shows for each active pin a notch 11 being formed by removing material from the rib 9. The plane under which the bottom of this notch is milled, forms a right angle with the central axis of the two-part active pins. In the embodiment example described here, two active pins are present. According to a longitudinal section of the key 10, it may be noted that the notches 11 for receiving each time the extremities 5' of the second part of the active pins, show a chamfered edge by which the key 10 may slide along unhindered.
[0039] Apart from the two-part active pins described above, at least one passive pin 12 is provided in the revolving cylinder lock according to the invention. In the example described here, two passive pins 12 are present. The passive pins aim at preventing the fraudulent activation of the active pins by the key with continuous rib or by simulating this rib with a needle or a thin object. If in such a situation, the active pin would be released, the passive pin would prevent the rotation of the rotor in the stator.
[0040] The passive pins 12 show two conical heads 12' and 12". The passive pins may be moved through a bore 13 in the stator 1 and through a bore 14 in the rotor 2. The bore 13 is sealed by a stopper 15. When the key 10 is in the completely inserted position, the passive pin 12 has reached its lowest position, as represented in figure 7. The notches in the rib 9 of the key, designed to receive the passive pins 12, bear reference 16.
[0041] Summarizing, it should thus be emphasized that the notches provided in the rib 9 are located such, that upon complete insertion of the key, the passive pins 12 may sink into their respective notches, while the two-part active pins have reached their highest position. In this position, the first part 3 of an active pin, against the action of a compression spring 4, is in its fully retreated position in the stator 1. In such a position of the active and passive pins, the lock is in the release position.
[0042] The notches 11 designed for the active pins are less deep-in the rib 9 than the notches 16 designed to receive the passive pins 12. The difference may be deduced from the figures.
1. An assembly of a revolving cylinder lock and a key (10), the cylinder lock comprising
a cylinder stator (1) with a longitudinal axis and a rotor (2) rotatably mounted within
the cylinder stator (1), the rotor being rotatable about its longitudinal axis and
enclosing a key passage with a key entrance for receiving a key (10), rotation of
the rotor (2) in a locking position of the cylinder lock being prevented by a series
of locking pins extending in radial direction of the cylinder lock, the locking pins
being provided to co-operate with recesses in an edge of the key (10), the cylinder
lock and key comprising co-operating additional blocking means, characterised in that the additional blocking means comprise at least one sequence of first (3,4,5,5',6,7,8,8')
and second (12,12',12",13,14,15,16) additional blocking means that are spaced from
each other in longitudinal direction of the lock, the first additional blocking means
being positioned distal from the key entrance and comprising at least one active pin
(3,4,5) displaceable within a first duct (8) in radial direction of the cylinder lock
(1, 2), the at least one active pin (3,4,5) being biased by a spring (4) towards the
key passage, the second additional blocking means (12, 12', 12", 13, 14, 15, 16) comprising
at least one passive pin (12) moveable in radial direction of the cylinder lock (1,2)
within a second duct (14) radially extending from the rotor (2) into the stator (1),
the second additional blocking means being positioned proximal to the key entrance,
the active and passive pin being operable by a corresponding sequence of a first (11)
and second notch (16) provided in a longitudinally extending rib (9) on the key (10),
taken in longitudinal direction of the key (10), the second notch (16) for operating
the passive pin (12) being deeper than the first notch (11) for operating the active
pin (5).
2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the at least one active pin (3,4,5) is a two-part pin, the active pin having a first
part (3) which in a fully inserted position of the key in the lock, is radially moveable
by a compression spring (4) into and out of a passage (7) in the cylinder stator (1),
the active pin having a second part (5) contacting the first part and being provided
to co-operate with the first part (3), the second part (5) being movable within a
passage (8) of the cylinder rotor (2) upon activation of the second part (5) by the
first notch (15) in the rib (9) of the key to allow for a displacement of the first
part (3) of the active pin with respect to cylinder stator (1) and cylinder rotor
(2) and to enable rotation of the cylinder rotor (2) with respect to the cylinder
stator (1).
3. An assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 and 2, characterised in that in the at least one passive pin (12) comprises on a side facing- the key passage
a first conical end (12") and in that on the longitudinal rib (9) of the key (10) a corresponding notch (16) is provided
for operating the displacement of the passive pin (12) towards a position in which
the passive pin (12) clears the cylinder stator (1) and is entirely received within
the cylinder rotor (2), to allow for a rotation of the cylinder rotor (2) within the
cylinder stator (1).
4. An assembly as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the passive pin (12) is displaceable within a first radial bore (14) in the cylinder
rotor, the first radial bore (14) being extended by a second radial bore (13) in the
cylinder stator (1), for receiving a second extremity (12') of the passive pin (12)
in the locked state.
5. An assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1-4, characterised in that the active and passive pins (3,5,12) are positioned in such a way in the cylinder
stator (1) and cylinder rotor (1,2), and in that each of the active and passive pins comprises a central axis, the angle between these
axis and the axis of the locking pins being approximately 135°.
6. An assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1-5, characterised in that the longitudinal rib (9) of the key comprises a plurality of sequences of an active
(3,4,5) and a passive pin (12).
7. An assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, characterised in that the first notch (11) and second notch (16) show a first contact plane, contacting
the ends (11, 12") of respectively the active and passive pin (3,4,5,12), the locking
pins extending in a second plane, the first contact plane and the second plane forming
an angle of 135°.
8. An assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1-7 characterised in that the first and second notches (11, 16) above said rib (9) are chamfered laterally
in order to enable the passage of the key within the lock.
9. Key as part of the assembly of any of claims 1-8.