A programmable cylinder lock having a high number of combinations

ES 2 545 596 T3

DESCRIPTION

A programmable cylinder lock that has a large number of combinations

Background of the invention

The object of this invention is a programmable cylinder lock, specifically a lock that comprises devices intended to allow providing an initial coding of the lock or, through a change operation, modifying the previous coding of the lock in order to adjusting the lock to be operated by a different key from the key to which the lock was previously adapted.

More particularly, the invention concerns improvements in a class of programmable cylinder lock that is known from European Patent Nos. 0,226,252 and 0,900,310.

In a conventional cylinder lock, which comprises a stator and a cylindrical rotor mounted within the stator for rotation around its own axis and having a keyhole extending in the direction of the axis for the insertion of a key, there are a series of bolts mounted inside the rotor, which can be moved perpendicular to the axis over the extension of the keyhole plane, and each of the bolts is intended to cooperate with a key segment whose coding is represented by the level of a tooth or recess of the key, located within the segment considered. The fixed length of each bolt is such that, when cooperating with the corresponding segment of the correct wrench, the distal end of the bolt corresponds to the cylindrical surface of the rotor and does not interfere with its rotation, therefore, when all bolts are displaced In the respective correct positions using the correct key, the rotor can be turned to operate the lock. When, on the other hand, one or more bolts are located in incorrect positions, these (or the corresponding counter bolts that may be provided in the stator) extend through the surface of the cylindrical rotor and hinder its rotation and therefore the lock operation. Because the lock coding is represented by the fixed length of the bolts, which is defined during the manufacturing step, the lock can only be operated by a single correct key and cannot be programmed otherwise.

The programmable cylinder locks of the kind considered in this invention and described in the aforementioned patents comprise, in the rotor which is mounted so that it can rotate within the stator, instead of bolts of a preset length, a series of followers of wrench that can be moved along their own longitudinal and transverse directions, said key followers being intended to cooperate with the coding conformations of a key inserted in the keyhole of the rotor, and a series of corresponding locking pins movable along their own longitudinal direction, which form the lock locking members. The key followers and locking pins together form a series of pairs that each include a key follower and a locking pin, and are provided with teeth intended to mutually cooperate, in different relative positions, with the in order to define the encoding of the lock. A stop bar that can be moved transversely and cooperates with a longitudinal groove of the stator and has projections capable of cooperating with notches in the locking pins, has the function of immobilizing the locking pins when the rotor is rotated inside of the stator and, as a consequence, the stop bar comes out of said groove and is locked with the locking pins. A shift bar, which is transversely movable and slidably engaged with the key followers, normally keeps the key followers locked with the locking pins, but when said shift bar enters said groove in the stator, it displaces the key followers crosswise and unlocks them from the locking pins, thus allowing to modify the coding of the lock by replacing the previous key with a different key.

In a lock of this class, the number of possible coding combinations, specifically the number of different keys provided for the different locks of the same class, is required to be as high as possible. One of the parameters that determines the number of possible combinations is the number of coding levels that can be provided for the key segments and this number depends on the pitch of the cooperating teeth of each pair of key followers and locking pins. The smaller this step, the higher the number of possible encodings. However, the pitch of these teeth cannot be reduced below certain limits, on the one hand because this would imply greater manufacturing difficulties and, on the other hand, because the interlocking between the pairs of key followers and locking pins no longer it would have sufficient mechanical strength.

Summary of the invention

The main object of this invention is to improve a lock of the kind considered in order to overcome the aforementioned drawback, by making it possible to increase the number of possible coding levels without having to resort to a reduction in the pitch of the cooperating teeth of the followers key and locking pins.

This object is achieved, according to the invention, in a lock of the kind considered, because one of the two members, which make up at least some of the pairs that each include a locking pin and a key follower , is provided with two adjacent and parallel teeth, each of the teeth having its pitch phase shifted with respect to the pitch phase of the other gear, and because at least one of said members

ES 2 545 596 T3 that make up the pair that includes a locking pin and a key follower also has limited mobility along the direction of the rotor axis, whereby said member is allowed to move in such a way that mutual interlocking between both members can take place in one or the other of said two teeth of one of the members that make up the pair.

Thanks to this assembly, the number of relative positions in which the locking pins and the key followers that make up the pairs can be coupled is doubled, because in each case use can be made of one or the other toothing, whose steps are out of phase. . In this way, without reducing the pitch of the teeth, a number of coding combinations is obtained which corresponds to the number of coding combinations that could be obtained by dividing the pitch of the teeth in half. It follows that the number of different keys that can be provided is increased without reducing either the ease of manufacture or the mechanical strength of the lock.

Preferably, said two teeth, of the locking pin or of the key follower that together form a pair, are mutually phase displaced half a step. In this way, a uniform difference is obtained between the levels that can be provided by the alternate use of the two teeth.

Preferably, the member of each pair that includes a locking pin and a key follower, which has two teeth, is the locking pin, while the corresponding key follower has a single tooth.

Preferably, both members of each pair including a locking pin and a key follower have limited mobility along the direction of the rotor axis.

It is an advantage that the teeth of the teeth of one of the members that form each so that it includes a locking pin and a key follower are provided with a bevel designed to make the relative movement of the members easier to mutually lock the respective teeth. .

Where appropriate, said bevel of the teeth can be provided both for the teeth of the key followers and for those of the locking pins.

The different features set out aim to obtain the maximum ease of locking between the teeth of the pairs of locking pins and key followers.

It is an advantage that the key followers are provided, in the region in which they are slidably coupled to the shift bar, with an extension by means of which they are positively engaged to the shift bar. In this way, the possibility of the key followers taking, by chance, any abnormal position capable of compromising a good operation of the lock is prevented.

Brief description of the drawings

These and other particularities, objects and advantages of the subject matter of the present invention will appear more clearly from the following description of an embodiment, which is a non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 represents, for the purpose of reference, a cross section of a programmable cylinder lock known from European Patent No. 0.900.310, in a normal operating condition.

Figure 2 shows a cross section corresponding to that of Figure 1, but in a shifting condition.

Figure 3 shows in perspective a locking pin of the lock according to the invention, which is provided with two relatively out of phase teeth.

Figure 4 shows in perspective a key follower of the lock according to the invention.

Figure 5 shows in perspective the locking pin according to figure 3 and the key follower according to figure 4, relatively locked.

Figure 6 shows in perspective a portion of a rotor segment and of the key, with a pair comprising a locking pin and a key follower relatively locked, in a first condition.

Figure 7 is a plan view of the component parts depicted in Figure 6.

Figure 8 shows in perspective a portion of a rotor segment and of the key, with a para comprising a relatively locked locking pin and a key follower, in a second condition.

Figure 9 is a plan view of the component parts depicted in Figure 8.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment

First, reference will be made to Figures 1 and 2 in order to recall the general structure and operation of

ES 2 545 596 T3 is a lock of the kind in question, for details of which reference is made to the cited documents. The number 1 designates a stator within which there is a rotor 2 mounted so that it can rotate capable of receiving a key 3 in its keyhole. Inside the rotor 2 are mounted a series of key followers 4 which extend in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the rotor 2 and which are mobile along their own longitudinal and transverse directions. The key followers 4 are intended to cooperate with the coding confirmations of the key 3. Furthermore, within the rotor 2 a series of corresponding locking pins 6 are mounted, each locking pin being coplanar with one of the key followers 4 and that it has mobility along its own longitudinal direction. In the case shown, the locking pins 6 cooperate with locking counter pins 8 and, together with them, form the locking members of the lock. The key followers 4 have teeth 5, the locking pins have teeth 7 and these teeth are designed to cooperate with each other. This cooperation can take place in different relative positions, in order to determine the coding of the lock. A stop rod 9 is movable in a transverse direction within the rotor 2, is capable of cooperating with a longitudinal groove 10 of the stator 1, has projections intended to cooperate with recesses of the locking pins 6 and serves to immobilize the locking pins 6. lock 6 when the rotor 2 is rotated inside the stator 1 and, as a consequence, the stop bar 9 comes out of said groove 10 and locks the locking pins 6. A change bar 11 which is transversely movable in the rotor 2 is slidably engaged with the key followers 4 and, normally, the change bar 11 keeps the key followers 4 locked with the locking pins 6 as described. shown in figure 1 but, when said change bar 11, due to a rotation of the rotor 2, comes to correspond with said groove 10 of the stator 1 and penetrates therein, it transversely moves the key followers 4 and unlocks them from the locking pins 6, as shown in figure 2. Then, by replacing the previous key 3 with a different key, it is possible to modify the coding of the lock .

As it should be noted, the pitch of teeth 5 and 7, which determines the possible positions for the coding of the lock, is not very small and cannot be reduced at will because this reduction would lead to some manufacturing difficulties and a weakening of the lock. between the key followers and the locking pins. This fact limits the possibility of increasing the number of possible coding positions and, therefore, the number of different keys that can be provided for a lock of this kind.

As already stated, according to the invention, one of the two component parts of at least some of the pairs comprising a locking pin and a key follower, preferably the locking pin, is provided with two parallel adjacent teeth, each of these teeth having its pitch phase shifted with respect to the pitch phase of the other gear. This particularity appears in particular in figure 3. As can be seen, the locking pin 6, which otherwise substantially conforms to known shapes, instead of having a single tooth 7, has two parallel adjacent teeth 7a and 7b, and the pitches of these two teeth are mutually phase-shifted. . In the example shown, the phase shift equals half a step and this is the preferred condition.

The key follower 4 represented in figure 4 has, as usual, a single tooth 5. According to the position of the key follower 4 with respect to the locking pin 6, this tooth 5 is capable of locking with the teeth. 7a or toothing 7b of the locking pin. For example, according to figure 5, the teeth 5 of the key follower 4 interlock with the teeth 7b of the locking pin 6. Since the two teeth 7a and 7b are mutually offset by half a pitch, it is ensured that the possible relative relationships of the key follower 4 and the locking pin 6 do not differ, as usual, by one pitch from the gear, but only in the middle of a step. Therefore, all other conditions being equal and without any reduction in tooth pitch, the number of possible relative positions of each key follower with respect to the corresponding locking pin is doubled. This ensures a very large increase in the number of possible coding combinations of the lock and the corresponding key.

In order that the key followers 4, when they are approximated to the corresponding locking pins 6, when the lock is being programmed, can lock one or the other of the teeth 7a and 7b as needed, a displacement must be allowed relative between the key followers 4 and the locking pins 6, in the direction of the rotor axis 2. For this reason, according to the invention, it is necessary that at least one of said two members, the key follower 4 and the locking pin 6, which make up each pair, have a limited mobility along the axis direction. of the rotor, by which they can move in such a way that the mutual interlocking of the two members takes place as needed in one or the other of said two teeth of one of the component parts involved. This mobility can be assigned indifferently to the key followers 4 or to the locking pins 6, but it is preferable that this mobility is assigned to both of said component parts, whereby its extension can be reduced in a corresponding way.

If this is considered adequate, said displacement (which nevertheless aspires to take place spontaneously) can be favored by a slight bevel of the tooth of some of the teeth of one or the other or both of the component parts. This chamfer is represented at 5a in figure 4 for the key follower tooth 4.

In the example shown and described, the double teeth 7a, 7b have been assigned to the locking pins 6, while the key followers 4 have a single teeth 5. However, it should be noted that the same behavior can be obtained by providing a double teeth in the key followers and a single teeth in

ES 2 545 596 T3 the locking pins. The selection between these two possibilities may be dictated by a designer's preference or by a manufacturing convenience.

Another clarification of the behavior of the distinctive component parts of the invention is given by figures 6 to 9, in which it is assumed that limited displacement along the direction of the rotor axis 2 is allowed for both the key followers 4 as for locking pins 6. Figures 6 and 7 refer to the case in which a key follower 4 is locking with the teeth 7b of a locking pin 6, while Figures 8 and 9 refer to the case in which a key follower 4 is locking with the teeth 7a of a locking pin 6. Of course, both of these cases take place according to the fact that, in the position in which the key 3 has brought the key follower 4, the pitch of the teeth 5 of the key follower 4 corresponds to the pitch of either one or the other of the teeth 7a and 7b of the locking pin 6.

In the case of Figures 6 and 7, the key follower 4 moves along the direction of the axis of the rotor 2 in the direction of the arrow F1, while at the same time the locking pin 6 moves in the direction of the rotor shaft 2 in the opposite direction, according to arrow F2, whereby the teeth 5 of the key follower 4 aligns with the teeth 7b of the locking pin 6 and can be locked therewith.

On the contrary, in the case of Figures 8 and 9, the key follower 4 moves along the direction of the axis of the rotor 2 in the direction of the arrow F3, while at the same time, the locking pin 6 moves in the direction of the axis of rotor 2 in the opposite direction, according to arrow F4, whereby the teeth 5 of the key follower 4 aligns with the teeth 7a of the locking pin 6 and can be locked therewith .

It should be noted that the directions of the two arrows F1 and F3 according to which the key follower 4 moves are opposite in the two cases shown and, like these, the directions of the two arrows F2 and F4 are opposite in both cases. according to which the locking pin 6 moves.

It is an advantage that the key followers 4, as can be seen in Figures 4 and 5, have an extension 4a in the region in which they are slidably coupled to the shift bar 11. By means of the extension 4a, the key followers 4 are positively engaged to shift bar 11. In this way, the possibility is prevented that the key followers, due to their mobility, may accidentally take an abnormal position capable of compromising a good operation of the lock.

Thanks to the application of the invention, it is possible to greatly increase the number of possible coding combinations of the lock, and therefore the possible number of different keys, without resorting to a reduction in the pitch of the teeth of the component parts and , therefore, without causing particular manufacturing difficulties or any weakening of the component parts.

All the characteristics described can be applied to all the pairs that comprise a key follower and a locking pin for the lock or, for the sake of simplicity, only to some pairs, accepting in this case a reduction in the extension of the keys. advantages offered by the invention.

The characteristics of the invention can be applied to the class of locks set forth regardless of whether they are provided with master keys or not.

It should be understood that this invention is not limited to the embodiment described and shown as an example. Various possible modifications have been pointed out in the course of the description and others are within the ability of those skilled in the art. These and other modifications and any replacement by technically equivalent means can be made as described and shown without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of this patent as defined in the appended claims.