Pin Tumbler Lock

The present invention concerns a pin tumbler cylinder lock which is more resistant to picking than the cylinder locks of this type known heretofore.

Cylinder locks generally comprise a number of pin tumblers spring loaded within bores which must be depressed by the proper projections in the key in order for the plug of the lock to be rotated within the shield.

The bores in the plug and shell, due to manufacturing limitations, always vary in diameter. In cylinder locks the holes are drilled. The tool for drill bits doing the work is quite long in relation to its diameter. Also because of the flexibility of the drill and uneven consistencies in the metal being drilled, and because they are not perfectly formed at the cutting edges, these drills usually drill holes of varying diameters. Drills will also run off of a true center line. These manufacturing limitations cause the whole inner plug and shell never to be matching exactly, even in the most expensive and well made locks. Because of these manufacturing deficiencies, lock picking is made easier because once the end of the pin tumbler is aligned with the shear line, a shim can be introduced to maintain the separation of plug tumbler pins and shell tumbler pins. As the next pair of tumbler pins are picked, the shim can be advanced linearly to continue and maintain the separation between the plug tumblers and shell tumblers, and so on until all of the tumblers are separated along the shear line with the shim maintaining this separation. Locks of this type can also be picked without the use of a shim as follows. Once the end of the pin tumbler is aligned with the shear line, its position can be held by applying a slight turning pressure on the plug. As the next pair of tumbler pins is picked, slight further twisting of the plug maintains the ends of the second pin tumblers aligned with the shear line, and so on until all the tumblers are separated at the shear line and the plug can be rotated in the shell. This is made possible by the loose fit of the pin tumblers in the bores and by the non-mating surfaces of core and shell pin tumblers which is a direct result of having a linear shear line.

This problem is more acute with dual pin tumbler locks, since the bores and pin tumblers in such locks are of a larger diameter than in single pin tumbler locks. Such a dual pin tumbler lock was disclosed in our Pat. No. 50,984.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a cylinder lock with a plug and pin tumblers that will make it more difficult to pick.

The invention present consists in a pin tumbler lock comprising a shell, a plug within said shell, said plug rotatable by key means, the plug having first bore means for receiving first pin tumblers, the first bore means being substantially normal to the axis of the plug, the shell having second bore means for receiving second pin tumblers therein, the second bore means being aligned with the first bore means, first pin tumblers in the first bore means, second pin tumblers in the second bore means, and means in the shell for forcing the second pin tumblers into the aligned first bores to thereby prevent rotation of the plug, characterized in that first and second pin tumblers have substantially mating surfaces at their points of contact and that the plug comprises two grooves normal to the axis of the plug, one groove on each side adjacent the first bore means, thereby providing a non-linear shear line between the plug and the shell.

The present invention is illustrated, by way of example only, in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section of a prior art cylinder lock;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the longitudinal cross-section of the prior art cylinder lock of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section view of the cylinder lock of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the longitudinal cross-section of the cylinder lock according to the invention; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged isometric cutout view of a plug and pin tumbler according to the invention.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, these locks comprise a shell 1 in which a plug 2 is rotatable by means of a key 3 as known in the art. The plug 2 is provided with a bore 4, and the shell 1 with bore 5, each of these bores housing tumbler pins 6 and 7 respectively. In the present illustration the tumbler pins are constituted by two parts, i.e. tumbler pin 6 in the core comprised of an outer cylindrical part 8 and an inner part 10, and tumbler 7 in the shell comprised of an outer cylindrical part 9 and an inner part 11. The outer and inner pins 9 and 11 are urged by means of springs 12 and 13 respectively. Thus the inner pins 10 of the core and 11 of the shell can move telescopically within their respective outer cylindrical parts 8 and 9.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-5 which illustrate the invention, the plug 2' comprises grooves, 14 and 15, adjacent bore 4 of plug 2'. This enables tumbler 6' in the plug 2' to mate its counterpart tumbler pin 7' in shell 1, so that along their entire contact surface tumblers 6' and 7' are closely engaged. The shear line 16 is therefore not linear, but rather wavy, some parts being linear along x (FIG. 2) and others being curved along y. This creates much less freedom of movement for the tumblers around the shear line and requires more accurate matching of the tumblers before the plugs will rotate within the shell.

FIG. 5 shows on an enlarged scale the grooves 14 and 15 in plug 2' and the mating pin tumblers 6' and 74'.

In the prior art locks shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plug which is cylindrical in shape comprised a smooth linear outer circumference. When such a plug is inserted into a shell, there is formed a linear shear line 16' between the plug 2 and shell 1. The outer tumblers 6 and 7 are not mated at their point of contact and a space 17 inherently exists between the core and shell pin tumblers.

It is of course understood that the present invention is also applicable to single pin tumbler locks and not only to dual pin tumbler locks as exemplified.

The grooves on each side of the bore, as required by this invention, can be in respect of a single bore or in respect of all the bores of the plug.