Locks – Operating mechanism – Key
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-16
2001-01-16
Gall, Lloyd A. (Department: 3627)
Locks
Operating mechanism
Key
C070S397000, C070S398000, C070S409000, C070S494000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06173595
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1) Field of the Invention
The field of this invention relates to all types of pin tumbler and wafer tumbler locks, including but not limited to vertically spring biased pins and wafers, horizontally spring biased pins and wafers, including single sided and double sided spring biased pins within a lock housing. This also includes locks with and without a shear line, as well as locks that use a locking sidebar. This invention is specifically directed to a specific type of cylindrical lock which utilizes pins within a chamber with those pins to be moved lineally. But also the pins could be pivoted to a rotated position in order for a sidebar to enter so as to permit opening of a lock. This invention also pertains to a lock of similar construction where the pins within the separate chambers are to not only be moved lineally to a shear line, but also must be pivoted in order to permit a sidebar to engage before successfully operating the lock. The latter lock is much more complicated than prior locks and is known as a far more secure type of lock as it has literally thousands of additional combinations available.
2) Description of the Prior Art
Lock picks have long been known. The present inventor, in years past, has designed and patented a lock pick for a tubular type of lock. For the cylindrical type of lock, which utilizes a plurality of lineally movable lock pins within a plug, the normal lock picking type of device has been to insert a thin elongated member, commonly known as a blade, having an upper hiatused edge into the keyway of the lock and then to move that blade in an in-and-out manner relative to the lock while at the same time applying a torque to the plug. The purpose of moving the blade in and out is to cause the abutting surfaces of the upper and lower lock pins to move and be located at a shear line and when all the lock pins are located at the shear line, the lock will open, e.g. when the top pins are wholly contained in the lock housing and the bottom pins are wholly contained within the plug and the abutting surfaces of both top and bottom pins are located at a shear line, the lock will open. This lock picking procedure has always been done manually in the past. The in and out movement of the blade has always been done by hand, never mechanically or motor driven.
In an effort to construct a lock that would not be easily picked, there is manufactured a cylinder type of lock which not only requires that the lock pins be lineally displaced to be located at the shear line but also requires that each of the lock pins be pivoted to a particular position to engage with a locking sidebar. Just locating of the lock pins at the shear line is not sufficient. Each of the lock pins also has to engage in a correct manner with a locking sidebar in order to permit the lock to open.
Prior to the present invention there has not been known any type of lock pick that could be utilized to open a lock that requires pivoting of the lock pins within the lock to a particular established position. Picking of locks is the common procedure utilized by locksmiths since people notoriously misplace or lose keys and now it is required that a lock has to be picked in order to gain access to a certain structure such as a car, house, padlock, vending machine, alarm system, laundry equipment, money changer, safe and so forth. If the lock is of the type previously described which utilizes pivoting pins, the only way that access could be gained would be by complete destruction of the lock requiring its replacement. It would certainly be advantageous to eliminate the replacement of the lock if the lock could be just picked.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The method and apparatus of the present invention utilizes interchangeable single and/or a pair of elongated, thin, rigid blades, each of which has a hiatused upper edge and a lower edge. These blades may be designed in a multitude of different edge configurations. The upper edge of a blade may be sharpened so that one side of the blade is beveled. When utilizing a double blade configuration, the blades are to be located in an abutting relationship with the bevels directly connected so as to form a space therebetween. Instead of a bevel, the blade could include a cut-out area creating an L-shaped transverse cross-sectional configuration of the blade. If the beveling is slanted, the space will form a V-shape. If the cut-out is used, the space between the blades will be in the shape of a rectangle. These edge configurations of blades can be combined in any manner. For example, suppose there are one hundred different edge configurations. Utilizing a pair of blades, there are one hundred sets with a right side blade and a left side blade constituting one set. Interchanging blades from the different sets establishes more than ten thousand possible blade combinations with each combination being unique as a set.
There also may be used a single blade with an upper edge that is sharpened into a knife edge. The sharpened edge is angled starting at a point below the deepest recess in the blade and is beveled to either the uppermost right or left side of the blade. The purpose for this single blade, sharpened in such a manner, is to cause the bottom pins of the lock to rotate which is caused by the single blade not making contact with the center of the bottom pins, but making off center contact with the bottom pins. This off-center contact of the bottom pins by the knife edge of the blade causes the pin in each chamber to not only raise and lower lineally, but also simultaneously to twist within the chamber that it is supported. In the type of a lock where there is utilized chisel tipped bottom pins and a sidebar with elongated protrusions to engage in a hole or groove located in the side of these chisel tipped bottom pins, this twisting is so as to align the sidebar with the grooves or holes in the pins. When the blade or blades are inserted within the keyway of a cylinder lock which has an aligned series of spring biased lock pins, those pins must be located at a shear line in order to permit opening of the lock. The off-center sharpened edge of the blade or blades will cause the pins to twist, as well as move lineally, because of the hiatused upper surface of the blade or blades. The blades are to be moved in a reciprocal manner within the keyway. When there are two blades being utilized, where the one blade is being driven outward, the opposite blade is being driven inward and vice versa. However, it is considered to be within the scope of this invention that the blades could be reciprocated in unison. The blades can be moved by a manually operated mechanism or can be moved by an electrically operated motor. Movement of these pins within the lock is to cause a shear line to be established resulting in the opening of a lock. It is to be understood that there may be utilized two sharpened blades together, or there could be utilized one regular type of blade that is not sharpened along with a sharpened blade, or there may be utilized a single blade that is sharpened. These sharpened configurations of the lock picking blades will result in twisting movement of the pins within the lock.
There are many different configurations of single blade type of lock picks that could possibly be utilized within the subject matter of this invention. The lock pick could include a single blade and instead of the upper surface of the blade being hiatused, it could include a plurality of spaced-apart upstanding deflectable members. These members will deflect as the blade goes in and out of the lock, and once a particular lock pin has reached the shear line and is locked in place at that shear line, those members will deflect and pass by that lock pin not unseating it, thereby not unseating it from the shear line. The lock pins become locked in place when such are no longer blocking the shear line. The deflectable members will then proceed only to move the lock pins that are not located at the shear line. Instead of utilizing a plurality of single deflectabl
Gall Lloyd A.
Munro Jack C.
LandOfFree
Lock picking apparatus does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Lock picking apparatus, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Lock picking apparatus will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2523585