IL102754A - Cylinder lock - Google Patents

Description

CYLINDER LOCK MUL-T-LOCK LTD.

C: 14673 14673mul.sqi H-7 04/8/92 FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to cylinder locks generally.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A great variety of cylinder locks are known in the art. Generally cylinder locks comprise a shell having a generally cylindrical bore formed therein. A corresponding cylindrical plug is located in the bore for rotation about the cylindrical axis of the bore.

U.S. Patent 5,123,268 of applicant describes a cylinder lock having a cylindrical bore but a non-cylindrical plug which is arranged to accommodate telescoping pins communicating therewith.

U.S. Patent 3,287,945 describes a cylinder lock employing an elongated comb-like ward extending within and longitudinally through the lock shell and including one or more projections extending into the bore of the shell loosely registering within annular grooves in the outer surface of the Γ rotary plug. This arrangement requires a key having the correct profile, the correct top surface indentations, but also in its undersurface a transverse notch or notches located relative to the key length for cooperative clearance registry with the ward projections to permit rotation of the key as inserted within the plug keyway.

The structure described in U.S. Patent 3,287,945 has a principal limitation in that the ward may be readily removed from the lock shell together with the plug and the plug pins when the correct key is inserted into the keyway.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention seeks to provide an improved cylinder lock which overcomes the limitations of the prior art.

There/ is thus provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

There is thus provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a cylinder lock including a lock shell having a cylindrical bore formed therein, a plug arranged for rotation within the cylindrical bore, the plug having a plurality of annular grooves formed on an outer surface thereof, the plug being formed with a keyway communicating with the outer surface; a hive, including a plurality of pin assemblies therein and being arranged for operative engagement with a corresponding plurality of plug pin assemblies located within the plug and a key having a plurality of exterior surfaces, one of which being an edge surface which communicates with the outer surface of the plug, the cylinder lock being characterized in that the hive includes at least one protrusion which is arranged in juxtaposition with at least one of the plurality of annular grooves and the key is formed with at least one groove at its edge surface corresponding to the at least one protrusion.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the key is formed with pin positioning recesses on one of the exterior surfaces lying perpendicular to the edge surface thereof.

Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a key blank having an elongate shaft portion including a pair of side surfaces ar- ranged to receive pin positioning recesses and a pair of edge surfaces, at least one of which is formed with at least one groove extending thereacross in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the elongate shaft portion.

Additionally in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention there may be provided additional protrusion bearing members associated with the lock shell and having protrusions extending into one or more of the annular grooves on the plug.

In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, there is provided a cylinder lock including a lock shell having a bore formed therein, a bore lining element disposed in the bore and defining an inner bore having at least one annular protrusion therein, a plug arranged for rotation within the inner bore, the plug having at least one annular groove formed on an outer surface thereof, the plug being formed with a keyway communicating with the outer surface; a hive, including a plurality of pin assemblies therein and being arranged for operative engagement with a corresponding plurality of plug pin assemblies located within the plug and a key having a plurality of exterior surfaces, one of which being an edge surface which communicates with the outer surface of the plug, the cylinder lock being characterized in that the key is formed with at least one groove at its edge surface corresponding to the at least one protrusion.

It is appreciated that the cylinder lock of the present invention may be employed in any suitable application, such as door locks, padlocks and the like and may appear in any suitable configuration.

It is a particular feature of the present invention that the ward is retained in place by the body pins which prevent removal of the ward even when a correct key is inserted into the keyway. The only practical way to remove the ward is by removing the pin and spring assemblies.

The structure of the present invention enables the ward, which may be made of hardened metal., to provide additional protection to the body pins and to the shear line defined between the plug and the ward.

Additionally in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the protrusions formed on the ward act to prevent the operation of the well-known technique of inserting shims between the plug and the lock shell.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a pictorial illustration of a cylinder lock constructed and operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is an exploded view illustration of the cylinder lock of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a pictorial illustration of a cylinder lock constructed and operative in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 4 is an exploded view illustration of the cylinder lock of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a sectional illustration taken along the lines V - V of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a sectional illustration taken along the lines VI - VI of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is an illustration of a double sided key blank useful with the apparatus 'of Figs. 1 - 6; Figs. 8A and 8B are respective perpendicular sectional illustrations of a padlock constructed and operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 8B, being taken along the lines B - B in Fig. 8A; Fig. 9 is an illustration of the engagement of the key, plug, hive and pins in the lock of Figs. 8A and 8B; Fig. 10 is an exploded view illustration corresponding to Fig. 9; and Fig. 11 is a pictorial illustration of the key in the lock of Figs. 8A - 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference is now made to Figs. 1, 2 and 5 which illustrate a cylinder lock constructed and operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The cylinder lock, which may be a single cylinder or a double cylinder, as shown, of any suitable configuration, comprises a lock shell 10 having at least one elongate generally cylindrical bore 12.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is disposed in bore 12 a plug 14 which is arranged for rotation about the longitudinal axis 16 of bore 12 and which is formed with a plurality of annular grooves 18 on an outer surface 20 thereof, the grooves 18 extending generally in planes perpendicular to longitudinal axis 16.

Disposed in lock shell 10 is a hive element 22, which is referred to herein generally as a hive, which contains a plurality of pin and spring assemblies 24 which may be of entirely conventional construction or may be telescopic, as shown in applicant's U.S. Patent 5,123,268. Hive 22 is formed with a surface 26 which effectively forms part of the inner facing surface of bore 12. This surface is formed with bores 28 through which respective body pins 30 and plug pins 32, which form part of pin and spring assemblies 24, extend.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, surface 26 is formed with one or more protrusions 34 which are configured and located such that they lie in one or more of annular grooves 18 of plug 14. Protrusions 34 are preferably in the form of grooved protrusions which extend along the entire cylindrical extent of surface 26 as shown in Fig. 2, but they need not necessary be so configured.

Normally/ as in the illustrated embodiment of Fig. 2, the hive element 22 is separate from the remainder of the hive in which the pin and spring assemblies 24 are located. Alternatively, the entire hive may be formed as a single piece.

Additionally in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, one or more inserts 40 are additionally provided, having corresponding edge surfaces 42, which effectively form part of the inner facing surface of bore 12. These inserts may also be provided with one or more protrusions 44 which are configured and located so as to lie within annular grooves 18. Inserts 40 may be retained in slots 46 formed in the lock shell 10.

It is a particular feature of the present invention that the provision of protrusions 34 on hive 22 requires that the key blank used to form a key suitable for use with the cylinder should be configured to have corresponding grooved recesses thereon. Since such grooved recesses cannot be formed by conventional key cutting apparatus, they must be present in the key blank produced by a manufacturer.

This arrangement allows the manufacturer the possibility of controlling a relatively large number of different key blank configurations. The provision of multiple elements having inner facing protrusions communicating with the interior of bore enables key mastering to be carried out in a convenient manner .

Reference is now made to Figs. 3, 4 and 6 which illustrate a cylinder lock constructed and operative in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention. The cylinder lock, which may be a single cylinder or a double cylinder, as shown, of any suitable configuration comprises a lock shell 80 having at least one elongate generally cylindrical bore 82.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is disposed in bore 82 a plug assembly 84 which includes a plurality of bore liner elements 85 and a plug 86, which is arranged for rotation about the longitudinal axis 87 of bore 82 and which is formed with a plurality of annular grooves 88 on an outer surface 90 thereof, the grooves 88 extending generally in planes perpendicular to longitudinal axis 87.

As seen in Fig. 4, parts of the bore liner elements 85 define a hive element 92, which contains a plurality of bores 98, through which extend body pins 100 and plug pins 102 which form part of pin and spring assemblies 94 which may be of entirely conventional construction or may be telescopic, as shown in applicant's U.S. Patent 5,123,268. Bore liner elements 85 and thus hive 92 is formed with an inner surface 89 which effectively forms part of the inner facing surface of bore 82.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, surface 89 is formed with one or more protrusions 94 which are configured and located such that they lie in one or more of annular grooves 88 of plug 86. Protrusions 94 are preferably in the form of grooved protrusions which extend along the entire cylindrical extent of surface 89 as shown in Fig. 4, but they need not necessary be so configured.

The cooperation between the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 4 and a key 96 inserted into the keyway 95 of bore 86 is illustrated in Fig. 6. Fig. 7 illustrates a preferred key blank for a reversible key wherein key blank grooves 99 on both edges of key 96 can clearly be seen in addition to conventional pin engaging recesses 97 on the larger surfaces of the key blank, which lie perpendicular to the edges thereof.

Reference is now made to Figs. 8A and 8B, which illustrate a cylinder lock of the type described hereinabove in the context of a padlock. Here the plug is indicated by reference numeral 120 and the hive by reference numeral 122. It is seen that the hive 122 has a plug facing surface 124 which is formed with a plurality of protrusions which are configured and located so as to be accommodated by one or more of a plurality of grooves 126 formed on plug 120. A key 130 is formed with edge grooves corresponding to the protrusions 158 on plug facing surface 124 of hive 122.

The lock and key arrangement of the present invention may be used for other types of locks as well.

Reference is now made to Figs. 9 - 11, which illustrate the interaction of key 130 with plug 120 and hive 122. in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. In the illustrated embodiment, the cylindrical surface 124 of the hive 122 is formed with a total of three protrusions 158, which are configured and located to lie within three of the five corre- sponding annular grooved recesses 126 in plug 120. An edge surface 162 of key 130 is formed with grooved recesses 164 which correspond in location and sectional configuration to protrusions 158, such that rotation of the plug 120 with the key 130 fully inserted into the keyway thereof, as indicated by arrows 166, past protrusions 158 is permitted.

It is particularly noted that in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plug pins 168 in hive 122 engage conventional recesses 170 formed on a side surface of the key 130, which lies perpendicular to the edge surface 162 of the key. It is noted that where a reversible key is provided, as shown in Fig. 11, grooved recesses 164 are provided on both edge surfaces of the key blank.

It is additionally noted that grooved recesses 164 are formed with a generally uniform cross section lying in planes perpendicular to edge surface 162.

It is appreciated that normally there will be a lesser number of protrusions 158 than annular grooved recesses 126, such that a large number of different key blanks may be produced to correspond to the large number of combinations of different numbers and locations of protrusions 158.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather the scope of the present invention is defined only by the claims which follow:

Claims (7)

102754/2 C L A I M S

1. A cylinder lock comprising: a lock shell having a cylindrical bore formed therein, a plug arranged for rotation within the cylindrical bore, the plug having a plurality of annular grooves formed on an outer surface thereof, the plug being formed with a keyway communicating with the outer surface; a hive, including a plurality of pin assemblies therein and being arranged for operative engagement with a corresponding plurality of plug pin assemblies located within the plug and a key having a plurality of exterior surfaces, one of which being an edge surface which communicates with the outer surface of the plug, the cylinder lock being characterized in that the hive includes at least one protrusion which is arranged in juxtaposition with at least one of the plurality of annular grooves and the key is formed with at least one groove at its edge surface corresponding to the at least one protrusion.

2. A lock according to claim 1 and further characterized in that the key is formed with pin positioning recesses on one of the exterior surfaces lying perpendicular to the edge surface thereof.

3. A lock according to either of claims 1 and 2 and also comprising additional protrusion bearing members associated with 102754/2 the lock shell and having protrusions extending into one or more of the annular grooves on the plug.

4. - 4. A cylinder lock including a lock shell having a bore formed therein, a bore lining element disposed in the bore and defining an inner bore having at least one annular protrusion therein, a plug arranged for rotation within the inner bore, the plug having at least one annular groove formed on an outer surface thereof, the plug being formed with a keyway communicating with the outer surface; a hive, including a plurality of pin assemblies therein and being arranged for operative engagement with a corresponding plurality of plug pin assemblies . located within the plug and a key having a plurality of exterior surfaces, one of which being an edge surface which communicates with the outer surface of the plug, the cylinder lock being characterized in that the key1 is formed with at least one groove at its edge surface corresponding to the at least one protrusion.

5. A lock according to claim 4 and further characterized in that the key is formed with pin positioning recesses on one of the exterior surfaces lying perpendicular to the edge surface thereof. 102754/2

6. A lock according to any of claims 1 - 5 and wherein said cylinder lock forms part of a padlock.

7. A lock according to any of claims 1 - 5 and wherein said cylinder lock forms part of a door lock. For the Applicant, Sanford T. Colb & Co. Advocates and Patent Attorneys C: 14673