WO2001038041A2

WO2001038041A2 - Apparatus for producing key blanks

Info

Publication number: WO2001038041A2
Application number: PCT/EP2000/011107
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eros Foscan; Ezio Chies; Stefano Pacenzia
Original assignee: Silca S.P.A.
Priority date: 1999-11-23
Filing date: 2000-11-10
Publication date: 2001-05-31
Also published as: WO2001038041A3; AU1279101A; CA2388170A1; IT1311805B1; ITVE990045A1

Abstract

An apparatus for producing key blanks, characterised by comprising: at least one clamp (14) for clamping a possibly pre-machined key stamping (16) in which the grooves corresponding to the profile to be obtained are to be formed in sequence, at least one milling cutter (36, 36', 36') of shape compatible with the profile of the key to be obtained, means (5, 12, 28) for moving said clamp (14) relative to said milling cutter (36, 36', 36') at least in the three perpendicular directions related to the shank of said key stamping (16), a memory containing stored data relative to the parameters of the different types of key profiles, a unit (38, 40) for acquiring data corresponding to the values of said parameters and for memorizing them in said memory, a unit for controlling said movement means (5, 12, 28) on the basis of the previously acquired values of said parameters.

Description

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING KEY BLANKS

This invention relates to an apparatus for producing key blanks Keys are known, obtained from a possibly pre-machined metal stamping which is milled longitudinally to assume a determined profile and form the so-called "key blank", this then being notched, le milled transversely to form a plurality of notches in its shank

Keys are given specific profiles to enable them to be inserted only into those locks with which they are compatible, and a notching pattern which enables them to operate the lock into which they are inserted As a key profile varies depending on the number, the arrangement and the characteristics of any grooves provided in them, the number of possible key profiles is very large because of the widely variable choice of these parameters

For example, for one and the same article (by which is meant any one type of key blank, in which the parameters are standardized in the sense that the number of possible grooves, their position and depth vary within predefined ranges), the number of possible selected combinations of these parameters can easily reach some tens of thousands

It will therefore be apparent that a key specialist, le a person who installs locking systems, makes keys for particular locks and duplicates keys (and known hereinafter as the specialist for brevity), must have available a very large number of different types of key blanks, in order to be able to notch them with a pattern to match the various existing locks It will hence also be apparent that a specialist finds it extremely difficult to hold in stock the vast assortment of key blanks required to satisfy all possible requirements This difficulty is accentuated by the fact that marketing considerations have tended up to now to suggest that different types of keys be available in different geographical regions, making it still more difficult to obtain key blanks of a certain type in regions in which that type is little used An object of the invention is therefore to propose an apparatus which enables the specialist to produce notched keys practically of any type, without the need to stock a very large assortment of key blanks, in particular of those of very limited use, and in any event to be able to produce notched keys even without possessing the corresponding key blank This and further objects which will be apparent from the ensuing description are attained, according to the invention, by an apparatus for producing key blanks as claimed in claim 1

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, on which Figure 1 is a front view of the apparatus of the invention,

Figure 2 is a side view thereof in the direction ll-ll of Figure 1 ,

Figure 3 is a plan view thereof in the direction Ill-Ill of Figure 1 , and

Figure 4 is a flow diagram of its operation

As can be seen from the figures, the apparatus of the invention comprises a base 2, on which there is mounted a slide 4 movable vertically along guides 6 (Z axis), under the control of an actuator 5 housed within the base

The slide 4 supports a second slide 8 movable horizontally along guides 10 (X axis), under the control of a second actuator 12 The second slide 8 carries an applied clamp 14 for a key stamping 16 to be milled, le for an article of key shape punched out from a metal plate and followed by possible machining, to be then milled along its shank and be hence transformed into a key blank to be notched

The clamp 14 comprises a jaw 18 fixed to the slide 8 and a jaw 20 movable relative to the fixed jaw 18 by an operating knob 22 To the base 2 there is also applied a third slide 24 movable horizontal in a direction perpendicular to the movements of the slide 8, along guides 26

(Y axis), under the control of a third actuator 26

The third slide 24 carries an electric motor 30 which via a belt drive 32 operates a shaft 34 on which there are mounted three separate parallel milling cutters 36 36' and 36" of equal diameter but of different profile Specifically, the milling cutter 36 has a V profile with a vertical surface, le perpendicular to the axis of the shaft 34, the milling cutter 36', has a symmetrical V profile and the milling cutter 36" has a V profile with its surfaces inverted relative to the profile of the milling cutter 36 To the base 2 there is also applied a control and data acquisition unit

This comprise a keypad 38, a display 40, a control logic, and a memory in which data and programs can be memorized

To better understand the operation of the apparatus of the invention, the setting stage and the operating stage will be described separately Setting stage

After placing the key stamping 16 in the clamp 14, with the surface to be grooved facing the milling cutters 36, 36", 36" and the rear adhering to the fixed jaw 18, this determining the zero position, there firstly appears on the display 40 a request for indicating the type of key blank to be obtained (type of article) On the basis of the type data provided by the operator, the machine control program is able to identify the maximum number of grooves to be formed in each side of the key blank, the position of each of them and their possible depths Depending on the type of article, further additional information can be provided, such as the shape of the grooves (with symmetrical walls, with a vertical wall, with an angular plane of symmetry etc ), the displacement of the plane of symmetry (from the reference position) etc ) and other information

After the article type has been keyed-m (step A in the flow diagram of Figure 4) the program immediately checks whether this type is present in the machine database or not If not, the program stops and appropriate information has to be given (step B) If it is present the program asks the operator for information regarding the position of the subsequent grooves on the first side of the key blank (step C), their depth (step D) and their shape (step E), le the type of milling cutter 36, 36', 36" to be used

After the program has acquired all the information required to form the grooves in the first side of the key blank, it requests the same information for the grooves to be formed in the second side (steps F, G and H)

The entire information acquired in this manner can be memorized in the machine database together with the code of the corresponding article, to be able to be automatically recalled for subsequent use by merely keying-in the code for that article Operating stage

On termination of the setting stage the operator uses the keypad 38 to start the execution stage, which involves commanding the three actuators 5,

12, 28 to move the clamp carriage 8 in sequence along the three directions X, Y and Z in order to move the stamping 16 relative to the chosen milling cutter 36, 36", 36"

Specifically, the actuator 12 is firstly operated to bring the end of the shank of the key 16 into the position for commencing grooving The actuator 28 is then operated to bring the chosen milling cutter 36, 36' or 36" into a position overlying the groove to be formed in said shank The milling cutter motor 30 is then operated followed by the actuator 5 to raise the clamp 14 until the milling cutter has dug to the predetermined depth into the shank of the key 16 Finally, the actuator 12 is operated to move the clamp 14 parallel to the axis of the shank of the key 16 to form the groove therein with the required characteristics

When this groove has been formed, a sequence of commands repositions the key so that the same of another milling cutter can form the next groove in accordance with the instructions fed in After all the grooves have been formed on that side of the key 16, the key is removed from the clamp 14 and repositioned inverted, to repeat the described operations on the other side of the shank

On termination of the operating stage a key blank can be removed from the clamp 14 having a profile exactly corresponding to that required, ready for immediate or later notching

It will be apparent that the described apparatus is advantageous in practice in that it combines constructional and operational simplicity within a very valid instrument for the specialist who can provide practically any type of notched key without the need to hold a very large stock of key blanks Moreover the information bank required by the control unit can be provided not only by the machine database but also by an external database or by a further apparatus able to determine the profile of an existing key, for example by an optical reader

Claims

C L A I M S

1 An apparatus for producing key blanks, characterised by comprising

- at least one clamp (14) for clamping a possibly pre-machined key stamping (16) in which the grooves corresponding to the profile to be obtained are to be formed in sequence,

- at least one milling cutter (36, 36', 36") of shape compatible with the profile of the key to be obtained,

- means (5, 12, 28) for moving said clamp (14) relative to said milling cutter (36, 36', 36") at least in the three perpendicular directions related to the shank of said key stamping (16),

- a memory containing stored data relative to the parameters of the different types ok key profiles,

- a unit (38, 40) for acquiring data corresponding to the values of said parameters and for memorizing them in said memory, - a unit for controlling said movement means (5, 12, 28) on the basis of the previously acquired values of said parameters

2 An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , characterised by comprising a plurality of milling cutters (36, 36' 36") of equal diameter but of different profile, mounted on a shaft (34) positioned perpendicular to the shank of the key stamping (16) retained by said clamp (14) in order to be milled

3 An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that the data acquisition unit comprises a keypad (38) for inserting the data relative to the grooves to be formed in sequence, in response to corresponding requests displayed on a display (40) with which the apparatus is provided 4 An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , characterised by comprising means which, after the code of a determined profile has been keyed-in via the keypad (38), transfers to the control unit data relative to that profile which have been memorized in said memory together with that code

5 An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that said memory and said data acquisition unit form part of an external computer to which said control unit is operationally connected

6 An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that said data acquisition unit consists of a key profile reader