EP2570572B1

EP2570572B1 - Cylindrical key

Info

Publication number: EP2570572B1
Application number: EP11460048.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Krzysztof Wudarczyk
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-09-13
Filing date: 2011-09-13
Publication date: 2019-10-23
Anticipated expiration: 2031-09-13
Also published as: PL2570572T3; EP2570572A1

Description

The present invention relates to a cylindrical key destined for cooperation with a specialist lock with an increased scope of safety.
Keys to activate locks and bolts containing an operating stem with a cylindrical external surface with cavities to unlock the lock are known from the prior art. Such a key is revealed in the Polish description of utility model Y1 55805 .
Another solution described in European patent EP 1 194 667 B1 discloses a key with a cylindrical stem provided with a sleeve; the sleeve has a port hole for the stem, and the stem is fixed in the sleeve with means to immobilise the stem in the port hole; the means for fixing the stem being in the form of a pin passing the hole in the sleeve and cooperating with the hole in the stem. The means for fixing the sleeve in the port hole are formed by a head having a non-circular cross-section, and the sleeve cooperates with a terminal widened region of a complementary cross-section of the hole in the ring.
American patent US 4,211,096 discloses a security lock of a vehicle operable by a cylindrical key, comprising a body provided with an axial bore, a cylinder of cylindrical form rotatable within said axial bore and having an axial cylindrical key passage therein. Having inserted the proper key, appropriate positioning of the cylinder pistons in relation to the external surface of the cylinder enables rotation of the cylinder in relation to the body. However, having inserted an improper key, inappropriate positioning of the cylinder pistons in relation to the external surface of the cylinder locks the cylinder, interlocking in relation to the body.
Another solution describing a cylindrical lock with the main cylindrical key is disclosed in the American description US 5 174 140 . In this solution, the main key, in the form of a tube, contains a ring and a spring that encompass the body in the form of a tube and a band. The end of the body is positioned in a recess and the ring and the spring are located between a stabilizer and a grip so that the ring is pushed away by the spring towards the stabilizer. The body, in the shape of a tube, is located in an annular key hole, and each band is aligned with one of the first stabilizers.
Still another prior art document DE148 376 C discloses a lock with a key having a cylindrical shank. The substantially cylindrical key has a hollow cylindrical shank with holes arranged in one row along its central axis, while the hollow houses a wedge-shaped element h with fixed pins on it, and the pins slide outwards.
DE 344 285 C discloses a key with a sleeve and a movable core, wherein by movement of the core ends of leaf springs are pushed out of holes in the sleeve to provide the web of the key.
It is an object of the present invention is to develop a cylindrical key and to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art. The object of this solution is also to provide protection against unauthorized adulteration of a key.
The above objects have been achieved by means of the constructional solution of a cylindrical key that consists of the core with recesses fixed in a sleeve by sliding and of movable pins fixed in the sleeve by journals representing an integral part of the key.
The cylindrical key consists of a shaping core, a sleeve with holes and pins, cooperating with each other by means of the recesses on the shaping core and pins fixed in the shaping core and the holes of the sleeve. During movement of the shaping core in the key sleeve, this causes movement of the pins fixed in the holes of the sleeve on the recesses of the shaping core beyond the external surface of the key sleeve. During sliding the pins out from the key sleeve, the pins of the lock retract and enable opening of the lock. The shaping core is moved from the first initial position to the second active position towards the face of the sleeve, and the pins fixed in the sleeve move between the first initial position and the second active position. The pins are maximally extended in the active position and retracted in the initial position. Moreover, the pins fixed in the sleeve move between the first initial position and second active position along the bevel of the shaping core recess in the shape of a triangle. The external surface of the key in the open active position corresponds to the internal surface of the lock in all spots of faying. The recesses are positioned from the face on the external surface of the shaping core. The sleeve has port holes arranged on its circumference.
The present solution, according to the invention, is characterised in that the shaping core is in the shape of a cylinder or a prism and the cross section of the recesses on the shaping core is in the shape of a triangle; the recesses in the shaping core are placed symmetrically or asymmetrically in relation to the axis of the shaping core; the sleeve is equipped with holes on the circumference to position the pins in them; wherein the holes in the sleeve are symmetrical or asymmetrical. Moreover, there are journals along the external surface of the holes of the sleeve, the journals are fixed together with faying pins with a length exceeding the thickness of the wall of the sleeve, and the pins on the slidable end are equipped with swellings. Each recess in the shaping core cooperates with the assigned hole in the sleeve. the shaping core from the side of the grip is equipped with stabilizers for correct setting of the shaping core in the sleeve. The sleeve is equipped with holes on the circumference to position the pins in them. The holes in the sleeve are symmetrical or asymmetrical. Moreover, the holes in the sleeve are in the shape of two superimposed holes. The holes in the sleeve, from which the pins slide out, are arranged every one degree on the sleeve circumference.
The recesses in the shaping core are in the shape of grooves of different depths, lengths and widths. The depth of the recesses in the shaping core is differentiated and is allowed to cross the axis of the shaping core.
Preferably, the sleeve is equipped with a stabilizer from the face to correctly set the sleeve in the lock and with a recess for the stabilizer of the shaping core on the internal surface. The journal fixing the pin is made in the form of a cylindrical element with a recess in the shape of a crescent along the entire length of the journal. The pins are equipped with swellings widening their end that locks the pin in the journal hole. The number of pins, their arrangement and angle of inclination in relation to the axis of rotation of the shaping core allows to multiply combinations of the key in relation to the axis of the shaping core.
In the following, the invention and its embodiment are described more closely with reference to the examples shown in fig. 1 to 15 in the appended drawings, wherein:

fig. 1 shows a side view of the shaping core with visible recesses on the working surface of the core and stabilizers on the part from the grip side;
fig. 2 shows a front view of the shaping core with visible stabilizers on the part from the grip side;
fig. 3 shows a side view of the sleeve with visible holes on the working surface;
fig. 4 shows a view of the sleeve from the side of setting the shaping core with visible recesses for shaping the core stabilizer;
fig. 5 shows an enlarged top view of the journal stabilizing the perpendicular movement of the pin in relation to the axis of the key and protecting the pin from falling out;
fig. 6 shows an enlarged side view of the journal;
fig. 7 shows an enlarged side view of the pin;
fig. 8 shows an enlarged view of the pin from a different side than that presented in fig. 7;
fig. 9 shows an enlarged top view of the pin;
fig. 10 shows a cross section through the shaping core with visible recesses;
fig. 11 shows a cross section of the sleeve without the shaping core with visible holes in the sleeve ring and recesses for setting shaping core stabilizers in the sleeve;
fig. 12 shows a cross section of the shaping core and sleeve with visible recesses in the shaping core and in the sleeve ring as well as positioned journals and holes for setting the shaping core stabilizers in the sleeve;
fig. 13 shows a cross section of the key, in particular of the sleeve, with the set shaping core and journals and pins set in the recesses of the shaping core and sleeve in the initial position;
fig. 14 shows a cross section of the key, in particular of the sleeve, with the set shaping core and journals and pins set in the active position in the recesses of the shaping core and sleeve;
fig. 15 shows a view from the base of the key with extended pins in the active position;

By means of the solution according to the present invention, the assumed object of the solution was achieved. The cylindrical key allows for obtaining an incalculable number of combinations that eliminates the probability of the existence of a second identical key. In the case of the present solution, the necessary condition to be met is that the key must fit the lock in all spots of faying; axially, angularly and in the plane. In the case of matching the shape of the key and the lock and in the case of differences in front recesses that do not overlap, the key will not open. As a result, the lock will not open. Thus, if the front recesses of the key and lock do not overlap, the assumed position will not be obtained, i.e. the key will not be inserted to the open position.
The shaping core 1, in the form of a cylinder (or prism) with recesses 4 on the circumference, which in the cross section is shaped like a triangle, from the initial position I, causes a sliding movement towards the face 21 of the sleeve 2. This movement pushes out the pins 3 located in the shaping core recesses 4. The pins 3 pushed out by the shaping core 1 slide out through the holes 5 in the sleeve 2 to the active position II. The pins 3, while sliding out of the key sleeve 2, press onto the pins in the lock and force their correct positioning, i.e. in the only one position that allows the opening of a given lock. Should the key be inserted into other lock, it will not open; and even if it opens, it will not be possible to perform the necessary rotation if the key and lock are not assigned to each other.
Having inserted the key into the lock and having obtained the correct positioning of the key face on the lock wall, one obtains resistance, by means of which it is possible to make a sliding movement of the shaping core. This movement pushes out the pins 3 located in the recesses 4 of the shaping core 1 through the holes 5 in the sleeve 2. At the moment of achieving resistance in the shaping core 1 movement, rotation by 360° is made. Having completed the entire rotation, under the influence applied by the pins 3 of the lock, the shaping core 1 slides out to the initial position.
The shaping core 1 can be made of any hard metal or duraluminium after hardening, and within the working part, it can be ceramic. Should ceramic pins 3 be used, the entire shaping core 1 can be made of plastic, assuming that it will be hardened by ionisation. The key pins 3 can be made of spring steel or, e.g. titanium, ceramic.
The key sleeve 2 can only be made of metal, e.g. bronze or other stainless material. Preferably, the key can be made of plastic, except for the pins 3.
The pins 3, due to shearing forces, must be made of materials of extreme hardness, e.g. spring steel, ceramic, titanium.
In case the key is made of metal, the sleeve 2 must be highly resistant to impact. In case the key is made of plastic, it does not need to meet the conditions of impact resistance.
In another solution, not presented in the figure, the shaping core 1 can be equipped with recesses of the cones; however, they must always have a triangular cross section in relation to the shaping core axis. The triangular shape of the recess can be an acute angle, right angle or obtuse angle. In case the axis of the shaping core 1 is equipped with conical recesses, the recesses must not exceed the axis of the shaping core 1. Conical recesses can be shapeless, i.e. can be in the form of steps, they can start at different spots and the can have common edges; however, they must always be parallel.
The holes 5 in the sleeve 2 correspond to the combination of the holes 4 of the shaping core 1 and are assigned to one combination of the shaping core 1 and are affiliated with one combination of the lock.
In case the sleeve holes 5 do not superimpose perfectly with the lock holes and recesses of the key face, the key shall not change the geometry of its web; thus it will not open and will not convert to an active status, causing opening of the lock impossible.
Pins 3 can have slight swellings on the ends in order to obtain better slide on the shaping core recesses 4, to prevent falling out through the sleeve holes 5 and to lock themselves on the journals 7. Convex ends can be in the shape of a swelling 33 that can be positioned from one side only or can be positioned on the circumference of the bottom end of the pin 3.
Journals 7 shall be permanently installed in the sleeve holes 5 by pressing to prevent removing the pins 3.
According to the embodiment of the invention, the shaping core 1 is made of bronze, its diameter is eight millimetres, and it has five rows of recesses 4 symmetrically arranged on the circumference with a triangular cross section. There are eight recesses 4 in each row, and the maximum length of each recess 4 is four millimetres. The recesses 4 are located along the axis of the shaping core 1. The maximum depth of the recesses 4 from the front side is two millimetres. The edge of the first row of recesses 4 is located about one millimetre from the shaping core face. In this embodiment, there is the same number of recesses 4 in each row; however, the recesses 4 in the shaping core 1 are arranged alternately. In this embodiment, the recesses 4 are equal as regards length, width and depth. The working section of the key represents about 1/4 of the length of the shaping core 1.Moreover, the shaping core 1 is equipped with three movement stabilizers 6 arranged symmetrically on the circumference, and the length of the stabilizer 6 is eight millimetres. The stabilizers 6 are arranged on the external surface of the shaping core 1 and protrude to about 0.6 millimetre. The remaining part of the shaping core 1 is smooth.
The sleeve 2, according to this embodiment, is made of bronze in the shape of a cylinder with an external diameter of twelve millimetres. There are also holes 5 made in the sleeve 2 with a diameter of about 2.25 millimetres. The holes 5 are located 8.75 millimetres from the front part of the cylinder. As in the case of the shaping core 1, in the present embodiment, there are five rows of holes 5 with eight holes 5 in each row. The arrangement of the holes 5 in the sleeve 2 and their number corresponds to the arrangement of the holes 4 in the shaping core 1. The holes 5 in the sleeve 1 are in the shape of two superimposing holes, where one of them is larger in diameter than the other. In each of the sleeve holes 5, there are journals 7 made of bronze. The external diameter of the journal 7 is fitted to the internal diameter of the sleeve hole 5.In this embodiment, the journal 7 fixing the pin 3 is made in the form of a cylindrical element with a recess in the shape of a crescent along the entire length of the journal 7. The pin 3 is made of stainless spring steel with a diameter of one and a half millimetres and a length of approximately four millimetres.
On the internal end, the pin 3 is equipped with an element expanding its end, which blocks the pin 3 in the journal hole 5.
The stabilizers 6 of the shaping core 1, located from the side of the grip on the external surface of the shaping core 1, are positioned in the internal recesses 8 of the sleeve 2 destined for setting these stabilizers 6.
In this example embodiment, the sleeve 2 is not equipped with a front stabilizer. Moreover, the cylindrical sleeve 2 is significantly shorter than the shaping core 1 and represents about 0.4 of the shaping core 1 length. Because of the applied sliding surface of the lock sleeve 2, it is possible to insert the key into the lock under any condition.
The holes 5 in the sleeve 2 are filled with journals 7 precluding the pins 3 from falling out. The journals 7 are positioned only on one part of the sleeve wall width, and the internal surface of the journals 7 is at the same level as the external surface of the sleeve 2 or below it.
According to the invention journals 7 of this shape are set in the sleeve 2 in case of using cylindrical pins 3, and, if in another embodiment not according to the invention, a pin 3 of a different shape is used, then there is no need to position such journals 7 in the sleeve holes 5.
The situation is similar in the case of the shaping cores 1. If a cylindrical core is used, it is necessary according to the invention to equip it with stabilizers 6, and recesseses 8 for shaping core stabilizers 6 will be necessary in the sleeve 2. In the case of using another type of shaping core 1 not according to the invention, e.g. in the shape of a prism, stabilizers are not necessary.
Mating surfaces of individual elements of the key are dimensioned and positioned relative to each other so that for at least one of the mating surfaces, various combinations for the proper surfaces can be selected.
According to the invention, the shaping core 1 is a very important element of the key, which, because of the recesses 4 and pins 3 set in them, provides the final shape of the key.
Key opening takes place inside the lock; thus, there are no angular forces blocking lock teeth retraction.
Considering that the journals 7 in the sleeve 2 are installed to fit, copying the key according to the invention is not possible, because any attempt at disassembly destroys the key.
A cylindrical key according to the invention, due to the recesses 4 in the shaping core 1, holes 5 in the sleeve 2 and pins 3, provides a lot of combinations.
To reflect the uniqueness of key combinations, the following options are presented below:

the working part of the key is, for example, twenty five millimetres long; thus, there are twenty five positions of pins in the row;
with each new combination, moving the pin by 5° allows for the setting of seventy two positions for each pin;
the diameter of shaping core is eight millimetres, providing a maximum of fifteen combinations for the length of each pin;
there can be seventy two pins used at most, providing a combination option from one to seventy two pins;
pins can be of different shapes and diameters; this fact multiplies the combination number;
the key face is provided with one cut or, for example, three hundred with a width of 1°, providing other combinations;
each cut on the key face can be one to eight millimetres deep and of different shapes, providing other possibilities;
the above possibilities and their flexibility, while cooperating with the lock, cause that the number of combinations is incalculable.

Because of the solution according to the invention, the key can replace numerous keys, because the option to fit the lock to the key of incomplete combination exists only in this case.
The newly developed key can be used for mechanical locks that are highly resistant to damage and do not need a power supply. This fact represents an advantage in relation to solutions requiring such a supply. The key can replace a magnetic card.
Although the invention was described above with reference to the examples shown in the appended drawings, it is obvious that the invention is not limited to these, but may be modified by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

A cylindrical key consisting of a shaping core (1) with recesses (4), a sleeve (2) with holes (5), and pins (3), the shaping core (1) fixed in the sleeve (2), cooperating with each other by means of the recesses (4) on the shaping core (1), the pins (3) fixed in the shaping core (1) and the holes (5) of the sleeve (2); during movement of the shaping core (1) in the key sleeve (2) this causes movement of the pins (3) fixed in the holes (5) of the sleeve (2) on the recesses (4) of the shaping core (1) beyond the external surface of the key sleeve (2); during the sliding of the pins (3) out from the key sleeve (2), the pins of the lock retract and enable opening of the lock, wherein the key has a varied geometry of the web, the recesses (4) are positioned from the face on the external surface of the shaping core (1), the sleeve (2) has port holes (5) arranged on circumference, and each recess (4) in the shaping core (1) cooperates with the assigned hole (5) in the sleeve (2),
characterised in that the shaping core (1) is in the shape of a cylinder or a prism and the cross section of the recesses (4) on the shaping core (1) is in the shape of a triangle; the recesses (4) in the shaping core (1) are placed symmetrically or asymmetrically in relation to the axis of the shaping core (1); the sleeve (2) is equipped with holes (5) on the circumference to position the pins (3) in them; wherein the holes (5) in the sleeve (2) are symmetrical or asymmetrical;
and, moreover, there are journals (7) along the external surface of the holes (5) of the sleeve; the journals (7) are fixed together with faying pins (3) with a length exceeding the thickness of the wall of the sleeve (2), and the pins (3) on the slidable end are equipped with swellings (33).
A key according to claim 1, characterized in that the shaping core (1) is moved from the first initial position (I) to the second active position (II) towards the face (21) of the sleeve (2), and the pins (3) fixed in the sleeve (2) move between the first initial position (I) and second active position (II);
the pins (3) are maximally extended in the active position (II) and retracted in the initial position (I); moreover, the pins (3) fixed in the sleeve (2) move between the first initial position (I) and the second active position (II) along the bevel of the recesses (4) in the shaping core (1) in the shape of a triangle.
A key according to claim 1, characterized in that the external surface of the key in the second active position (II) corresponds to the internal surface of the lock in all spots of faying.
A key according to claim 1, characterized in that the recesses (4) in the shaping core (1) are of different depths, lengths and widths.
A key according to claim 1, characterized in that the depth of the recesses (4) in the shaping core (1) is differentiated and is allowed to cross the axis of the shaping core (1).
A key according to claim 1, characterized in that the shaping core (1) from the side of the grip is equipped with a stabilizer (6) for correct setting of the shaping core (1) in the sleeve (2).
A key according to claim 1, characterized in that the holes (5) in the sleeve (2) are in the shape of two superimposed holes.
A key according to claim 1, characterized in that the holes (5) in the sleeve (2), from which the pins (3) slide out, are arranged every one degree on the sleeve's (2) circumference.
A key according to claim 1, characterized in that the sleeve (2) is equipped with at least one stabilizer from the face to correctly set the sleeve (2) in the lock and with recesses (8) for the stabilizers (6) of the shaping core (1) on the internal surface.
A key according to claim 1, characterized in that the journal (7) fixing the pin (3) is made in the form of a cylindrical element with a recess in the shape of a crescent along the entire length of the journal (7).
A key according to claim 1, characterized in that the pins (3) are equipped with swellings (33) widening their end that locks the pin (3) in the hole (5) of the journal (7).
A key according to claim 1, characterized in that the number of pins (3), their arrangement and their angle of inclination in relation to the axis of rotation of the shaping core (1) allows to multiply combinations of the key in relation to the axis of the shaping core (1).
A key according to claim 1, characterized in that the shaping core (1) is in the shape of superimposed cones which are located symmetrically or asymmetrically.
A key according to claim 1, characterized in that the face of the shaping core (1) is in the form of a cone.