CA1171680A - Locking device and key - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
Closure device with a cylinder core turnable in a housing and a key insertable into a key channel, wherein the key is provided on two surfaces with ribs and/or recesses extending transversely to the direction of insertion, which ribs or recesses control blocking elements shiftable trans-versely to the direction of insertion of the key and which extend in the locking position into a recess of the housing and-in the unlocking position are arranged within the plane of separation between cylinder core and housing.

Description

1 The inven-tion rel~tes to ~ cl.osinc~ cle~lce for a cylinder core turna~le in a housing and a l~e~ insertahle into a ]~ey channel. Sllch closing c~cv.ices ~ve heen }rno~n for a lony time as cylinder loc~s. T'ne ~noT"n cons-tructions of such c~linder loc]~s have, ho~Jever, tlle disadvankage that ith resPect to loc~lng safety ancl-~ossibi,litY of variation they no l.onger en-tirely mee-t current re~uirements~ This is true par-ticularly ~rith respect to the construction o~ larye loc~ing systems in -the concepti~n o- which m~n~ v~ri.~tion 30ssibili-ties which theoretically exist are lost in actual ~ractice~ This is true under certain circurns-tance3 also of magnetic locks which o~era-te on -the basis of ma~netic roto~
llolders. In the previous magne-t.ic locics it for e.g. space reasons not possible to increase the nurrlber of ~agnetlc ~ills from thre,e to four without substantially changincJ the climensions which are eustomary for eylinder loeks and their keys.
The disadvantages of the heretofore known construc tions are eliminated aeeorclinc3 to the invention in that the ~0 key is provided on two surfaces wi-th ribs ancl,/or r~cesses extending transversely to its d.irection of inserti.on, whieh ribs or reeesses control blocking elements tha-t are shiftable transverse to the direction of insertion of the key and whic in the blocking position extend'into a recess in the housing and in the released position are arranged within the separat-ing face between cylinder core and. housing. According to a further~feature -the surfar~es are the longituclinal edges of : the keys, and the blocking elements are balls which are guided in bores in the cylinder core. The invention is further characteriæecl in that a recess on the key corresponds to the

- 2 - ~ .

~3,7~

1 arrangement of a ball in the cylinder core and that in the event of the arrangement of a rib at this location the ball is omitted.
In a preferred manner at least one of the ribs has associated with it a ball which is guided in a circumfer-ential groove on the inner housing surface and thus permits a turning of the cylinder core, and in that in the same plane at the opposite longitudinal edge of the key a key retaining pin is arranged which cooperates with a recess and is of several parts, the partition of which is located in the sepa-rating plane between cylinder core and housing at appropriate depth of the recess and that the housing pin slides under the pressure of a spring after turning of the key through 180 over the ball held by the rib in the groove, respectively that in the event of erroneous arrangement of a recess at this location the key snaps into the bore of the ball whereby the cylinder core is blocked.
Further preferred embodiments of the inventive closing device are characterized in the other subclaims.
Hereafter the invention will be described by way of example in more detailed with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an axial longitudinal section through the left half of a double cylinder lock according to the in-vention, with some parts located above the plane of the section being illustrated for better understanding.
FIG. 2 is a section through the cylinder core on line II-II of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 shows a fragmentary section along line III-III
in FIG. l.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the cylinder core accord-` ' 1 ing to arrow IV in FI~. 1, T~litin -tlle cylinaer housiny not 'naviny ~een illus,trated.
FI~,. S is a section accc7rcling to line V-~.7 in FI~,. 1.
FIG. 6 illustrates a second e~odi~ent of the con-struction accordiny to the invention.
FIG. 7 is a side view of an inventive key~ and FIG5, ~-17 illustrate~ urther exemplarY ell~odlments.
Tlle embod.imen'csillustrated in ~he -~arious Figures are based upon magnetic cylinder locks as t'ney have already 13 heen previously suggested and clescribed, for exar.lple in German published application OS ~,905,941. The involved structural elements and their operational eEfect will there-fore he described only briefly.
A cylinder core 2 is turnably mounted in the cylinder housing 1 and has a key channel 3 into which a key 4 is fully inserte~. ri~he ~ey channel is centrally arrancJed in the cylinder core, i.e., the upper lonyitus~inal edye S of the ];ay (in conventional keys, the hack of L'he ~ey) i5 also surrounded by the material of the cylinder core and is not ~0 flush with the circumferential surface of -the cylinder core (see FIG. 5). Tne key 4 has four throughgoincJr maynetic pills 25 wl~ich may be differently m~yneti~ecl at opposite sides. Parallel to the magne-tic pill5 of the key Inagnetic rotors ~6 are arranged in the cylinder core 2 which, dependin~
upon the magneti2ation of the key pi.Ll, a.ssume a certain anyular position. In kno~n mannt-3r, assumin~ a proper posi--tion oE all mac3netic rotors on one side of the core, an axial shiftiny of an axial bloc~inc3 member 3n is permitted. ~t the side facinc, towartls the housiny the axial blockiny memher 30 ~arries blocklny pieces 31 which extend .in-to an axial yroove . .

1 ~2 OL t'l~e cylinde~ housing l. rlhe farthes~ inner hloc~ing piece 31 is locatecl in a recess 33 OL a riny 3~ -~7'-lic'n outwarc~ly encircles the cylinder core ~ and is Lreely ~urna'l~le xelative to the same. The position OL the rin~ relative ~co ti1e housing l is removably ~ ed hy means of a sna~-type b;lll 35. ~'he parts 30, 31 and 3~ are shown in pnantom lines in ~IG. 1 in the center section.
r~'lhen the cylinder core 2 is -turned ~rith the key 4, then the inner bloc]cing piece 31 rides u1~ on an inclined flan~
of the recess 33 Of the ring 3~1~ anc1 the axial blocking member is shifted lef-t. This causes all blocking pieces 31 to be moved into such an axial position that -they register with annular grooves 50 at the inner sur~ace o the housing and will be guided in these grooves on turning of the cylinder core.
If a key is used having -the wrony magnetic coding, so that the axial bloc~ing men~er canno~ be shifted towards the left, the innermost blocl;iny piece 31 remains in engagement with the recess 33 o-f the ring 34 and if an at~empt is made to force the lock, the holding force of the snap-type ball 35 is ~' ~0 overcome. The cylinder core can then be turned through a short distance until the blocking pieces 31 engage against the limiting faces of the axial groove 32. ~ further turning of the cylinder core and thus a bIocking of the closing device is thereafter 1rnpossible.
' Arranyed in the cylinder core 2, along the longitudi-nal edges o~ the }cey channel, are bores ll which extend from the key channel to the plane o~ separation between the cylinder housing and the cylinder core. Balls lQ, l~-~ and 39 are shift-ably accommodated in the bores ll. As particularly clearly shown in FIG. 3, the bores ll are hlind bores which permit an :.

~.~
. , , , 1 intrusion of -tlle ~alls 10 into ~he key channel onl~ -to such an e~en-t as is necessa,ry for ~che ~ovement of the balls to release position. The longi-tuclinal edges 5, 6 of the key A are provided with ri~s ~ and recess 9 which e~tencl transversely to -t~le direc-tion oE insertion 7. ~ach o:E the balls 10 has a recess 9 associated with i-~. secause of these recesses 9 ~he ba]ls 10 can asstmle a position -- on turning of the key and O F the cylin~er core -- ln which they are located entirely witllin the cylinder core 2 (compare ~IG. 3). The possibility for the balls to move transversely -to the directioll oE insertion 7 of tlle key is obtained in that the cylinder housing has a recess (yroove) 12 in axial direction. If a wrong ~ey is provided at a location at which i~ engages a ball 1~ with a rib 8 instead of a recess 9, then the corresponding ball 10 abuts a~ainst the surface 37 and a further turniny of the cylinder core is blocked. lf at such a position the correct key is intended to have a rib, then at this location no ba]l may be accon~odated in the associatecl ~ore 11.
To furtller increase safety of the device against tampering a ball 14 is arranged in a bore 11 and permits a turning of the cylinder core only if at the corresponding position the ]cey has a rib 8 and not a recess 9 as in the case of the balls 10. The e.~fect of t,he ball 14 results from a cooperation with ~he key holding -pin 17 which is located in the same rotar~ plane and the circumferential annular groove 15 in the housing 1. r.~he key holding pin 17 is com~osed of a housing pin 1.8 and. a core pin which is Lormed by two balls 21. The key holdiny ~in 17 is maintaixled in ,~
known manner in se~aration by the depth of the recess 16 of the key, so that the core pin can be shifted relative to the , .6~
l housing pin. Th~ :Eunnel~sha~d configuration 3~ o the nousin~ ~in l~ provides Cor a sertain arr3sting effect due to which the cylinder core receivet-3 a ~lefined center ?osi.*ion relative to the housing. ~ en the cylinder core is turned, the lower of the ~wo balls ~l ~ravel~s in the annular yroove 15 as well as the ball l~ whicl1 is he~.d in i~s ~osition by the rib 8. ~fter a turning of the ]~ey ~ throug'1 1~0 ihe hall lA
reaches the housing pin lS ancl slides over the same, the arresting effect by -the unnel-shaped configuration 3~ beiny negliLrible in -this case. The cylinder core can thus continue to ~e turned and the blocking or release movemen-t can be COnl-pleted. If, howev~r, a recess 9 is located in ~lace of the rib ~, as shown in broken lines, then the ball lA will be pushed inwarclly by the housing pin l~ under the pressure of spring 19 after a turn throuyh 1~0 has been compleked, and the funnel-shaped end of the housing pin l~ enters in-to the bore ll of the ball 14 and thus prevents a further turniny of the cylinder core.
The baIl 39 which lS -far-thest inwardly in the core also cooperates with a rib e of the key and a housing pin 40 which is subjected to the pressure of -the spriny 4l. If the wron~ };ey is inserted which carries a recess in place of the rib 8, then the ball 39 is pressed by the spring 41 anc1 the housiny pln 40 into the recess, ancl the housing pin 40 engages into the hore 4l anc~ bloc~s the cylinder core relative to the housing. When the cylinder core i'3 turned with the :
correct key, the opposite location of the cylinc1er wall (having the form of a tongue 20) moves to the ball 39 as indicated by .
arrow Sl in FIG. 4. The -tongue 20 is so configured tlla-t the ~all 3~ rolls on the surface oE the cylinder co.re and does not :~'7~

1 en-ter into the sloc 23 oE the coupling eleMent 27, because otherwise the housincJ pin would be caught i~ the slot 2~ ~nd prevent continued -turnin~ of ~he c~lin~er core.
The shape of the couplincJ elel,lent is clearly shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. The coupling elernent 27 is shiftable axially in the slot 2~ and can snap into a coupling plate ~2 which is connected with a bloc]cillg nose ring 29. For this purpose the plate 42 has a groove ~3. The end of the coupling element wnich enters into the groove ~3 carries a permanent magnet 4~ wllicll releasably holds (FIG. ~) an analoyously constructed second coupling element 45 of the second right-hand cylinder core of the double cylinder loc~s. At its other end the coupling element 27 is provided with a recess ~6 for the tongue 20 and has an abutment 47 via which the couplincJ
element 27 is shifted in the direction towards the coupling plate h~ the tip of the key respectively the foremost rih 3 thereof.
In the region of the just described cou~ling the cylinder core is held in position by means of a circlip 48 ~0 which must, of course, be so shaped that it does not prevent the axial movements of ~he coupllng elements 27 and a~ial blockin~ members 30 that are arranged on the surface of the cylinder core.
The above clescribed coupling construction is parti~ ;
cularly advantac~eous in the context of the lock constructlon discloseci in FIG.l because this coupling makes it possible to arrange a fourth maynet rokor on each side of khe key 4 in the vicinity of the coupling. In previously known coupling con-structions this space was needed for the arranyement of another coupling.

:' ~7~

1 FIG. 7 is a side vie~ of a 7.~ey as show;.l also in FIG. 1. The drawiny shows that four magnetic -oills .~5 are arranged along the centerline 24 of -t.he ]:ey ~ and tha-t a-t both sides grooves 22 res~ectively rihs ~3 are arranged in tne longit-.ldinal direction o:E the ~-ey. The ribs ana recesses ~ at the longitudillal edges 5, (~ oE the '~ey are arranyed transversely to the direction o~E insertion of the key.
~eEerence numeral 16 id.entiEies t7,1e rcess Eor the ~ey holding ~in 17. In th~ inventive key the lonyitlldinal ribs and s3rooves 13 which are missing due ~o the magnetic pills 25, are in eEfect arranged along the flat sides oE the keys, at the narrow longi-tudinal edges 5, ~ ancl extend transversely to the direction oE
insertion oE tlle key. Such ribs and recesses transversely -to the di~ection of insertion oE the ~ey coulcl also be arranyed at the flat sides of t'he ]cey, e.g. between the maynetlc pills.
7Io~ever, the construction of such a 7xey and the lock construc-tion needed :Eor it would .be more complicated and r.~ore suscePti-ble to mal:Eunction.
~IG. 6 shows a further e~bocliment o:E th2 invention in ? n form of a so--called s'hort cy].incler which is used e.y. in doors of small thickness. I1ere, there is room on each side of the l;ey for only three magnetic rotors as well as a srnaller nurilber o~ bores 11 ancl assoaiated balls ln. ~o~ever, it is eviden-t that the remaining ~loc]cing eler;lents are arranged analogously to the construction shown in FIG. 1.. T'rle }~ey according to FIG. l will loc7~r the lock ~according to FIG,. 6, hut the hey of FIG. 6 will not loc7c -the lock disclosed in~'IG. 1. The possi~
bility of beiny able to use a lony key also ir a short cylin~
der is of particular advantac~e for the manufacture of loc~
systems. The inner variation elemen-ts of tne ~ey are ~.~ithout ' portance and coulcl also ~e ellminated ror ~ur~oses of bloc~ing -the loci~ in ~IG. 6. ,-~ chus shor-tcllec1 l~ey is shor~m in bro~cen lines in ~IG. 6. ~,ecause or ~'ne leny~11 of ~he }~ey tihe same extends into the coupling ola-~e ~12 so ~hat tlle sarne ~ust have a slo-t to receive ~h~ tip of the ~2y . r.7i t}l ~espect to tne possibilities of variations in ~he inven-tive lock it should be noted that eacll ball resl~ectively the associated c~roove or rib at the longitudinal edge of the ]~ey furnishes two additional variations, similar ~o the ~;nown longitudinal profiles. The fourth magne~ic pill in the tip of the key furnishes, gi~en eigh~ possible magnetic vec,tor positions, ~2 = 64 additional variations per side of the key.
In some instances it will not be necessary to provide the key with the maximum number of (here four) magnetic pills and the loch with the associated eight magnetic rotors. To reduce costs and if no very large number of variation possi-bilities is required, it may also he su-fficient to provide only three masnetic pill5 res~ectively six magnetic rotors despite a sufficient lenyth of the key and of the cylinder core. ~ven this still furnishes more possibilities for vari-ations than the conventional magnetic locks with three magne-tic pills, because the arranyement of the three magnetic pills and analogously of the magnetic rotors at the four respectively eight locations, can be selectively chosen. To make copyin~ of a key more diffi~cult the~remaining s~ace in the key may carry -~
an uncoded magnetic pi~ll, or a magnetic- ill which is coded in any desired manner (simulated coding). In this event the loc]~ would have to omit the magnetic rotors at this location.
This is true not only for lock construction o the above des~ribed type,~but for all maynetic loc~;s with maynetic pill5 " :~

~7:~i8(3 l in tne key and maynetic rotors ln the loc]r.
~ n e~empla.ry e~(Lbodiment is illus-trated in several vari~tions in FIGS. 9~ l. The above descri~e.~d inven-tive con-cept is further developed in t~lis ernbodimen-t. FI~ is a cross section extending ra(~ia:lly through the cvlinaer and correspolldiny appro~imately to the one shown in FI~. 3. In order to simplify the illustration certain elements, e.g. the axially shiftable bloc~iny memhers 3~,an-~ ~he ma~netic rotors, wexe omitted which are shown in ~I~S. 2 and 3. The upper 'nalf of the section corresponds appro,~imately to a section VIIIa-VIIIa in FIG. 1 and the lower half o:E the section corresponds ap~ro~
mately to a section VIIIh-VIIIb in FI~,. 1.
In this embodiment the core has reference n~eral lOl an~ the housing is iclentified with reference numeral 102.
key 104 witll a magnekic pill 105 is insertec1 into the centrally arranged key channel 103. Tlle core lOl has blind bores 106-109 which, unlike the above-described construction, are not located in the longitudinal center p].ane 110 of the key but instead extend skew to the longitudinal edges o:E the ~0 key channel and of the lcey. ~alls 111-114 are arranged in tlle bores 106-lO~. These ba1ls correspond to the balls 10, 14 and 39 of the el~odime:nt in FIG. 1. Due to ~he inclined arrangement of two adjacent ~ores 106, 107 respectively 10~, 109 it is ~ossible to acco~modate along the length of the key channel twice the numh:er of balls as compare~ tothe constxuc-in FI~. l, an~l of course this corxespon~ingly increases the number of possible variations.
The balls lll, 112 correspond in their effect to the ball 14 o~ FIG. 1. II1 other words, these balls must be 3Q hel~ within the annular groove lS in tlle housing 102 by the .-- .

6~

1 arrangeinent of arl appro~ria~e rih on tle 3cey 1~5. If 'C;li5 iS
not ~he case and the ~ey ins-tead has at these loca-tions the broken-line cut-outs 115 or 116 wllich are shown in the drawin~J, then one of ~he ~alls 111 or 112 would he ?ushed into the bore 2~ter a rota-tion of the cylinder core throu~h 1.~;~ hy the housing ;oin 1'~ whicll is shown in FIG. 1, and the housincJ pin 1~ would then also en-ter into th.e bore 1~7 or 10~ and bloclc the cylinder core 101 against further -turning rela~ive to the llousins 102. The balls 111, 112 mi~ht thus also he considered .
as control ~alls.
Ealls 113 and 1~4 corresponrl to the balls 10 in FI~.
1 and the cut-out 117 corresponds to tlle recess ~. These balls, which might }~e considered halls serving to ~ermit lock varia-tions, must disappear within the outer circumferential sur~ace 11~ of the cylinder core during rotation, in contrast to the balls 111, 112. The possibility of movement of the balls 113, 114 in the rest position of the cylinder core is assured by the presence o the axially extending recesses 119 and 1?0. The ball which is shown at the lower left side in ~0 FIG. S is located opposite to the cut-out 117 o the key so ~.
that it can recede into the bore 109 when the cylinder core is turned and thus assume the illustrated position.
The ~all 113 which is shown at the right side oF
FIG. S is not located opposite any cut-out of the key and thus cannot enter into the bore 108 when the cylinder core i5 : turned. Therefore, it bloc}cs the lock. The key which ls shown in FIG. ~ in cross section will thus seem to be wrongly coded ~for example an unauthori~ed copy) and due to the absence oF the cut-out 121 shown in hroken lines in FI~. 8 :
such a key will hlock the lock in this embodiment.
.

' .

~'7~ 6~

1 FIG.S. 9 ancl 10 sho~ the ~ey l~ ~/hich is used incon~
junction with -the lock oE FIG. ~. In this embodiment the 1;ey carries ma~netic pills ].22 ~.nd on the flat side sho~n in ~IG. 9 it is provided ~ tn the l.ongi~udinal grooves 123, 121. The key ~7e~ 125 is shown only in part and broken a~ray.
The longituclinal ed~es OL the ]~ey 10'1 are interxupted by bevels 126, 127 and 128. ~he Eourth longitudlnal edge which is not shown in FIGS.9 and 10 is also beveled. These bevels 126~12~ serve as the rolling surface :Eor the balls 111~109 when 13 the ]iey is inserted into -the key channel, so that a wear of these edges with respect to cooperating sharp edges is substa.n-tially reduced.
Along the bevel 1~6 the key is provicled at the loca-tions A ancl B with recesses 129, 130. At the locations C and D, how~ver, no such recesses are provicled. At the o-ther longi-tudinal edge of the key, i.e. the bevel 128, th. locations A
and C have recesses 131 and 132. ~t the bevel 127 no recesses have been illustratecl to simplify the c1rawing. A ball is shown in hroken lines and identified with reference numeral 133 which cooperates witll the recess 130. If the key is a properly cocl.ed key, then the ball 133 must correspond in its function to the ball 114 in FIG. ~. ~nother ~all 13~ is sllo~n in }~ro].en lines at -the location D and is located opposite tle bevel 1~.
Again, iE the key is a properly coded }~e~r tllen the ~all 134 must correspond in its Eunctlon to one of -the control halls 111 or 112 in FIG. ~. The ~ecesses in the bevels of the k.e~ are so deep that they extend~ into the longitudinal groove 123.
This is advantageous beca.use it avoi~ls the developrnent o~ sharp edges along:-the flat side o-E -tlle key.
FIGS. }1~ .9~r~te various ~ey cross sections 1 w'nicll essentially illu~tra'~e a~ ossihle variation, a'- t,'.ne locations ,~ , C an;l ~. F~r,. 11 correx~>ond3 I,o -~he loc~tion C ill FI-S. ~ an~J 1~; ~Ir. 12 corres~onds to t'-,2 loc~tion G;
~I~. 13 corres~o~ s tQ th2 location ,~; an!1 FL(~ corre-sponds to the locat~oII ~. T}lese same varia-'-ions are of course also l?ossible a-t the lower e(',c;re oE the l-ev.
~ Eurther possir,ility -or variations ei~ists in 11-1;' at tne upper edge o~ the key, ln that the key is also ~rovidecl aloncJ its narro~i~ side with a groove 135 or witlh a c3roove 136 which extends aloncJ the lower narrower side. The grooves 135, 136 mus~ have projections 137 associated ~ith them in the core, but since the };ey channel is centrallv arranyed in the cylinder core this is not particularl~r diEfi-cult.
The illustrated ~ey and loc~ sys-tem can also ~e en~odied without the use oc macJnetic pills and the associated magnetic rotors. In -this case the annular grooves 15 and sn are oE course not available in the housiny. .here-Eore, if control balls according to -the balls 11 and 12 are provicded, ~0 the inner circumEerential wall oE the housing must be formed with annular grooves. Otllerwise the material oE the housing can remain untouched so that the diamet~r Eor the bore to accommodate the core can correspond to the diame-ter of the core itself.
In the emhodiment according to FIGS. ~-14 a further possibility for variation is possible, assuming the arranye-ment of magnetic pills~ that at e.g. four possible locations (i.e., eight codable surfaces) only three oE t;hese locations are providecd with coded pills.
~0 Thus, the key according to FI~S. ~ o~fers the - :L~ --- :

6~3~3 1 -. ollowinc~ possibili-~iDs for varlation:
a) longitudinal grooves and/or ribs (123, 1~
b) -the arranyement oE longitudinal Jrooves or ribs at -tne bac~; o~ -tlle l~ey and/or a~ the ba~e of the l-ey (135, 136 137) c) the arran~ing or not arrancJiny of recesses at the possible locations of the keys, Wi th a variation belny possible both at the indiviclual locations ~, r" C or ~ ~Jy different individual or simultaneous arrangement of tlle re-13 cesses at -the four longitu~JLinal edcJes of the ]cey, as well as by the varia~ion of these recesses with the different possihle locations A, B, C and ~ along the ~ey.
d) Finally, there is additionally the possibility of variation of the magnetlc pills used on the key.
Coming to FIGS. 15-17 ik wl]1 be seen that these illustrate a locX and an associated key which may have certain advantages as compared with construction in FIGS. 8-14. In FIGS. 3-14, notwithstancling all other advantages w~ich this embodiment offers, t~e possibllity of~selective arrangemen-t ~0 of the variation balls which coopera~e with the corresponding recesses of the key and the control balls which cooperate with the ribs and control pins, is in practice limited. Thus, thé
control bal~s can only be arranged where the housin~ is ~ro-vided with an annular ~roove at the plane o~ separa~ion between core ànd housing. The position of the annular grooves, however, is pre~etermlned by the overall lock construction, particularly by the locati,on of the hlocking elements 13.
Therefore, in the construction of the~em~ocliment in FIGS. 8-14 there is no unlimited possibility og choos1ng th~D, position of the control balls an~ variation balls.

' :~7~

1 This pro~lem is o~ercoi,le in the eri~)ocllment ~ccordin~j to ~IGS. 15-17. In these ~ic~ures ~he parls necessary for an explanation are illustra-tecl only scll~matlcally in order to avoid clutterincJ tlle drawiny. ~he~ non~illllstrate~ or not described part~" particularly wlth res~ect to a ma~jnetic loc3.
construction, iE any, may be the same as in FI~S. 1-7.
In FIGS. 15-17 the diameter of the variation bal]s 201 is approximately the same as or smaller than the s~acing between the bottom 203 of the recesses anc~ the plane oE sepa-ration 20~ between core 205 and housing 20~. T'ne diameter o-, the control balls 202 is a~proximately the same or smaller than the spacing between the bevel 207 of t'ne key 20~ and the aforementionecl plane of separation. Thus, the control '~alls and variations balls 201, 202 have diEferent diameters. The control ancl variation balls are preferahly guided in bores 209, 210 WhiCll eacn corre~oncl a-pproxinlately tc the diameters of the associated bal]s. I~rnen lock sy.stems ancl the arrange-ment of the variation and control balls are conceived, the -~
arranc3ement of the appropria-te bores must~lerefore he taken in-to accoun~ during the manufacture of the core. Control pins 211 wllich cooperate wi-th the control balls 2n2 are subject to spring pressure from springs 212 and are providecl at their head ends 213 with a region of reduced diameter, ~his cliameter corresponding -to the diameter of the hore 210 for the control ball or balls 20~, so that the head end of the control pin cannot enter into the ~ore 210 and bloc~ turnincJ of the cylinder core if the lcey is not insertecl or if th2 wrong key is used whicll a-t tbis location has a recess 21~. The control and variation balls and -the control plns are always arranged in the region of the annular web 215 (compare ~IG~ 15).

:~'7~

1 ~ par-ticular a~3-~anlcaqe of this en~ociI~ent resides in the act ~hat in~cl~e ~lane (e.y. see line 215) in which a con-trol pin and up to four balls can be lo~atea, different balls (i.e., control balls and va]^:Lation balls -jointly) can be pro-vided. In aecordalice ~i~ith -the previously described embodiments this was not possi~le because only either eontro] 1~alls or variation balls coulcl be arrange~3 in a raclial plane.
FIG. 17 sllows the cross section through a key in a partieularly preferred en~odiment. Both rlat sides 217, 21~
of the 7rey are provided above and below the macJnetie pills 219 wi-tll t~o each longituclinal grooves 220-223 the~ width of which is variable. The grooves 221, 27.3 have the full wiclth in this illustrated embodiment, whereas the ~rooves 220, 222 have only half the width. The flanks 226 of the grooves ~hieh are elosest to the ]sey edges 224, 225 are inelined at an an~le of approximately 15 with ~espect to a normal 227 to the center ~ey plane 228. The other flanks 229, 230 diree-tecl towards the interior of ~he ]ce~y are more steeply arranyed and are inelined approximately between 5 (229) and 0 (230) to the normal to ~0 the eenter key plane. The here illustrated arrangement and eonstruetion of the grooves assures a partieularly advantage-ous ~uidanee for the hey, which may be oc essential importanee for sueh eomplieated loeks whieh operate on a magne-tic basis. ~;
Due to the Variatlon possibilities of the yrooves the n~ber of variations for the key is substantially inereased.
The eross-seetional eonfic~uration of the illustrated key is assy~netrieal, in that at the baek 225 of -the key the bevels 207 meet at an aeute angle wnereas the breast 224 of the key is of flat respeet~ively frustoeonieal sha~e. This arrangement prevents a wrong insertion of the key into the ~` - 17 -l key channel, i.e. ~n insertion of ~he key turned throuyh 1~0.
Tihis safe-t~ measurc ls particularly advanta~eous in the e~o~
ment uncler discussi.on hecause a wronc31y inserte~ key would have in p!ace OL a control ball a recess, so t.hat the small control ball could be pushecl into the core }-~ the con-trol pin and the core could ~e held by the control pin.
The holdin~ oE a wronc31y coded key by control balls and control pins may be disadvantageolls in solne applications.
This can be ta]~en into account when lock systems are conceivecl, 7 Q in that the control pins are always provided at che same loca-tions in all locks of suc'l a sys-tem. It is, however, also possible to open up the bores for the control halls in one direction of ro-tatlon, up to the plane o-E separation between core and housing, as show~ by the broken line 225 in FIG. 16.
If -the pin is caught in the bore on rotation in thls one direc-tion, then on reverse turning the pin can be li:Ete~ out of the hore a~ain and the key can then be removed. By appropriate dimensionincJ of all.pa~-ts it is possible to assure that on turning of the core the balls clo not become jar~ned in their '~ trac]~s~

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Claims (20)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are as follows:

1. Closure device with a cylinder core turnable in a housing and a key insertable into a key channel, wherein the key is provided on two surfaces with ribs and re-cesses extending transversely to the direction of insertion, which ribs and recesses control blocking elements shiftable transversely to the direction of insertion of the key and which extend in the locking position into a recess of the housing and in the unlock-ing position are arranged within the plane of separation between the cylinder core and housing, said two surfaces being the longi-tudinal edges of the key and the blocking elements being balls guided in bores of the cylinder core, the arrangement of at least one blocking element in the cylinder core corresponding to the arrangement of a recess on the key, the arrangement of at least one ball in the cylinder core corresponding to the arrangement of a rib on the key, said one ball being in a cir-cumferential groove on the inner surface of the housing permitting a turning of the cylinder core, a key holding multipartite pin arranged in the same plane as said one ball at the opposite longitudinal edge of the key which cooperates with a recess, the division of said pin being located in the plane of separation between the cylinder core and the housing, said pin having a housing pin portion which slides under the pressure of a spring after turning of the key through 180° over the ball held in the groove by the rib, or which enters into the bore of said one ball and blocks the cylinder core if the wrong key is inserted, and further including another ball guided in another bore of the cylinder core and cooperating with a rib and being pressed by a housing pin and spring thereof against the rib, said another ball being guided in another circumferential groove of the housing and the cylinder core surface being essentially continuous at a side opposite said another bore.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the core part of the key holding pin is in form of two superjacent balls.

3. Device according to claim 1, wherein the top of the key is provided with bevels and wherein the balls which cooperate with the recesses of the keyt have a diameter which is approximately equal to or smaller than the spacing between the bottom of the recess and the plane of separation between the cylinder core and the housing, and that the balls which cooperate with said bevels on the key have a diameter which is smaller than that of the first-mentioned balls and which is approximately equal to or smaller than the spacing between the bevels of the key and the plane of separation.

4. Device according to claim 3, wherein the bores in the core for the associated balls have diameters which correspond to the diameters of the balls accommodated in them.

5. Device according to claim 3, wherein control pins cooperating with the first-mentioned balls have a head with a reduced diameter which corresponds to the diameter of the bore in which the first-mentioned balls are received.

6. Device according to claim 3, wherein the first-mentioned balls are selectively arranged in regions in which annular webs are arranged in the housing at the plane of separation between the cylinder core and the housing.

7. A key for use in a device according to claim 1, having two flat sides each provided with longitudinal grooves of variable width, each of the grooves having a flank closet to a respective key edge which is inclined relative to a normal to the central key plane at an angle of approximately 15°, other flanks of the grooves being inclined to said normal at an angle between approximately 5° and 0°.

8. Device according to claim 7, said key having an asymmetrical cross section to prevent reverse insertion of the key into the key channel.

9. Key according to claim 8, said key having a back at which the bevels of the key meet at an acute angle, and a breast which is flat respectively frustoconical.

10. Device according to claim 1, wherein said longi-tudinal edges of the keys are selectively provided with recesses, which are inclined to the center plane of the key, and the cyl-inder core is provided with corresponding balls shiftable in direction toward recesses of the housing, said core being pro-vided with additional bores in which balls are movable and en-gageable by portions of the key edges, and further comprising a housing pin which is spring-biased and can enter into one of said additional bores in the cylinder core so as to block the core against further rotation.

11. Device according to claim 10, characterized in that at least two recesses are provided on at least one of the two narrow sides of the key.

12. A Device according to claim 1, said key further having grooves and ribs which extend lengthwise of the direct tion of insertion and permanent magnets preferably extending along the centerline of the key for controlling mangetic rotors arranged on the cylinder core.

13. Device according to claim 12, wherein the key has four permanent magnets, one of which is located in the region of the tip of the key.

14. Device according to claim 12, one of the ribs being located at the tip of the key and constructed as an abutment for a coupling element which is shiftable in axial direction in a slot formed on the periphery of the cylinder core and engageable with a coupling plate which is connected with a blocking element.

15. Device according to claim 14, the key channel being centrally arranged in the cylinder core and wherein the cylinder core is provided with bores located in the plane of the key channel and adapted to contain the blocking element.

16. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the number of locations on the key is provided with coded magnetic pills and the number of magnetic rotors being smaller than the maximum number of such locations.

17. Device according to claim 16, wherein the non-used locations on the key carry uncoded or simulation-coded pills.

18. Device according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal edges of the key are selectively provided with recesses.

19. Device according to claim 18, wherein the key comprises a combination of at least a recess, a longitud-inal groove and a magnetically coded magnetic pill, which cooperate to provide various lock variation possibilities.

20. Device according to claim 19, wherein the key is provided at least along one of its narrow sides with a longitudinal groove which corresponds to a rib in the key channel.