Key for use with 5-pin and 6-pin door locks

Abstract: A key (20) is formed with a blade (22) having six bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38) and (40) formed along one edge of the blade. A shoulder (42) is formed on a trailing end (28) of blade (22) and is positioned to co-operate with a front face (82) of a plug (50) of a five-pin cylinder lock (46) to locate bits (30, 32, 34, 36 and 38) adjacent five respective sets of tumbler pins in the operation of the lock. Key (20) can also be used with a six-pin cylinder lock (110). Shoulder (42) is moved through a slot (130) in a front face (134) of a plug (114) of lock (110) and engages a stop surface (132) whereby bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40) are properly positioned adjacent six respective sets of tumbler pins in the operation of the lock.

Description: The present invention relates to a key which can be used with a 5-pin door lock and a 6-pin door lock, in particular a key which is designed to facilitate the operation of cylinder locks which use either a five tumbler pin arrangement or a six tumbler pin arrangement. The preamble of independent claims 1 and 6 is based on document US-A-3 348 392. Cylinder locks include a plug which is rotatably inserted into a cylinder. The plug is formed with a key slot which extends in an axial direction through the plug. A plurality of pin holes are formed in the cylinder in alignment with a corresponding plurality of pin holes in the plug. Both the cylinder holes and the plug holes are formed transverse to the axis of the cylinder and plug. Each set of aligned holes of the cylinder and plug contain at least a pair of tumbler pins and a spring which normally urges the pins axially toward the axis of the cylinder and plug. Normally, the pins are situated within the aligned holes so that they straddle the adjacent juncture of the plug and cylinder and thereby prevent the plug from being turned relative to the cylinder. In this manner, the plug and cylinder provide a locking arrangement which is commonly used in assembly with doors. A key is formed selectively with a plurality of stepped surfaces along one edge thereof where such surfaces are referred to as bits. Each bit represents a level within the key slot of the plug at which the aligned pins associated therewith must be moved to locate the juncture of the pins in alignment with the juncture of the plug and cylinder. When all such sets of pins are so aligned at the juncture of the cylinder and plug, commonly referred to as the shear line, the plug may be rotated within the cylinder to unlock the cylinder lock and to permit operation of a related door latch facility. In the past, the plug and cylinder of each lock were each formed with five holes for receipt of pins therein. Various combinations and arrangements of pins could be selected for each set of aligned holes for each lock thereby providing a multitude of possible combinations, each requiring a bit configuration for the associated key which was different from the keys of the remaining combinations. The use of locks with the arrangement of five holes provided reasonable security for the ultimate user of such an arrangement and many such locks are currently installed in the facilities and residences of the users. To avoid the necessity for multiple keys for the locks of a single facility or residence, the manufacturer provided sets of locks, all of which could be operated by a single key. To enhance the security provision of a cylinder lock, a six-hole lock was introduced to expand the number of possible combinations of pins within the locks. On occasion, the owner of a facility or residence, having the five-pin locks previously installed in their facility, may wish to upgrade some but not all of the five-pin locks to six-pin locks. In such instance, the user would then have at least two keys required to operate the cylinder locks at the user's facility. This is a distinct disadvantage to the user. Thus, there is a need for a system which will permit the use of five-pin locks and six-pin locks in the same facility and be able to operate both types of locks with a single key. It is an object of the present invention to provide a key which can be used with five-pin and six-pin cylinder locks. The present invention provides a key for use with a first lock having a key slot and a first prescribed number of sets of tumbler pins and a second lock having a key slot and a second prescribed number of sets of tumbler pins equal to the first prescribed number plus at least one additional set of tumbler pins, which comprises: a key blade having an insert end and a trailing end; a prescribed number of spaced bits formed along an edge of the key blade; and the insert end of the key blade being an end initially insertible into the key slots of the first and second plugs; adjacent ones of the bits are equally spaced from any of the bits adjacent thereto by a prescribed bit-space distance "a"; characterised in that the trailing end of the key blade is spaced from the insert end with the prescribed number of spaced bits located between the insert end and the trailing end; a stop shoulder is formed on the key blade at the trailing end which co-operates with structure on the first and second locks to limit the distance of travel of the key blade into the key slots of the first and second plugs; and the shoulder is spaced from the adjacent-most bit by a distance "c" less than the bit-space distance "a". The present invention further provides a key and lock system, which comprises a first lock having a key slot with an entry end and a first prescribed number of sets of tumbler pins; a second lock having a key slot with an entry end and a second prescribed number of sets of tumbler pins equal to the first prescribed number plus at least one additional set of tumbler pins; a key having a key blade with an insert end and a trailing end; a selected number of spaced bits formed along one edge of the key blade with adjacent bits being equally spaced from each other by a bit-space distance "a"; at least one additional bit, in addition to the selected number of bits, being formed on the one edge of the key blade and spaced from an adjacent one of the selected number of bits by a distance equal to the bit-space distance "a"; the insert end of the key blade being an end initially insertible into the key slots of the first and second locks; the trailing end of the key blade being spaced from the insert end with the spaced bits located between the insert end and the trailing end; a shoulder formed on the key blade at the trailing end positioned to engage stop surface on the first lock to position the selected number of bits adjacent the first prescribed number of sets of tumbler pins and to position the at least one additional bit within the key slot and the shoulder formed in the key blade positioned to engage stop surface on the second lock to position the selected number of bits and the at least one additional bit adjacent the second prescribed number of sets of tumbler pins characterised in that each of the first and second locks is formed with a stop surface adjacent and externally of the key slot at the entry end thereof and the key slot of each of the first and second locks is of sufficient length to receive fully the key blade. An embodiment of a key according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a key showing a blade positioning surface; Figure 2 is a front view of a five-pin cylinder lock; Figure 3 is a sectional view, taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2, of the cylinder lock of Figure 2 showing the key of Figure 1 in assembly with a plug of the cylinder lock; Figure 4 is a front view of a six-pin cylinder lock; Figure 5 is a sectional view, taken along line 5-5 of Figure 4, of the cylinder lock of Figure 4 showing the key of Figure 1 in assembly with a plug of the cylinder lock; Figure 6 is a front view of a front-face cover for the plugs of Figures 4 and 5; Figure 7 is a sectional view, taken along line 7-7 of Figure 6 of the cover of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a sectional view of the plug of Figure 5; and Figure 9 is a diagrammatical view of the key of Figure 1 in assembly with the plugs of Figures 3 and 5 and the relative positioning of the key. As shown in Figure 1, a key (20) is formed with a blade (22) and a bow (24). The blade (22) is formed with an insert end (26) and a trailing end (28). Six bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40) are formed along one edge of the blade (22) in serial fashion and extend from insert end (26) to trailing end (28). The trailing end (28) of the blade (22) is wider than the portion of the blade which contains bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40). With the wider trailing end (28), two shoulders (42 and 44) are formed at the trailing end on opposite edges of the blade (22). The shoulder (42) forms a structural surface of the key (20). It is noted that the shoulder (42) is formed in an edge of the blade (22) which includes bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40) well forward of the bow (24) while the shoulder (44) is formed on the opposite edge of the blade at a location closer to the bow. Thus, shoulders (42 and 44) are spaced apart in an axial direction. Referring to Figure 3, there is shown a cylinder lock (46) which is formed by a cylinder (48) and a plug (50). The cylinder (48) is formed with a main body (52) and a front section (54) with a flange (56). The cylinder (48) is also formed with a central opening (58) which extends through the body (52) from the front section (54) through to a rear face (60). The body (52) is formed with five holes (62, 64, 66, 68 and 70) which extend generally radially toward an axis (72) of the opening (58). A cover 74 is to be placed over the outboard end of holes (62, 64, 66, 68) and (70) in a later operation. A decorative cover (76) is placed over the outboard face of the front section (54) of the cylinder (48). The plug (50) is formed with a body (78) having a key slot (80) formed therein in an axial direction. The exterior of the body (78) is round and is dimensioned to be positioned within the central opening (58) of the cylinder body (52). The outboard end of the plug (50) is formed with a front face (82) and a circular flange (84). A decorative cover (86) is designed to fit over the front face (82) of the plug (50) and to be crimped behind the flange (84) and, together with cylinder cover (76), provides a decorative appearance for the outboard portions of the cylinder lock (46) in its assembly with an operator such as a door knob (not shown). The cover (86) is formed with a rectangular window (87), (as shown in Figure 2), which reveals the key slot (80). The plug (50) is also formed with five holes (88, 90, 92, 94) and (96) which extend axially thereof through the body (78) from the outer periphery thereof to the key slot (80). When the plug (50) is inserted in the central opening (58), the plug can be moved axially into the opening until the flange (84) is positioned adjacent a shoulder stop surface (98) formed in the front section (54) of the cylinder (48). In this position, holes (88, 90, 92, 94) and (96) of the plug align with holes (62, 64, 66, 68) and (70), respectively, of the cylinder (48). With the cover (74) unassembled, at least two tumbler pins and a spring are assembled into each aligned set of cylinder and plug holes. For example, two pins (100) and (102) and a compression spring (104) are deposited into aligned holes (62) and (82). After two pins and one compression spring have been inserted into each of the five sets of aligned holes in accordance with a selected combination, the cover (74) is attached to the top of the body (52) to cover the top of holes (62, 64, 66, 68) and (70) and thereby prevent the springs and pins from moving out of the holes. It is noted that the lengths of the pairs of tumbler pins in the respective aligned holes of cylinder (48) and plug (50) are selected to establish one of many combinations for such cylinder locks. When the facing ends of each pair of pins are aligned with a line (106), which is referred to as "the shear line, the plug (50) can be rotated within the central opening (58) of the cylinder (48). Otherwise, some portion of one of the pins in each of the sets of aligned holes of the cylinder (48) and the plug (50) will be located on the shear line (106) and will preclude rotation of the plug within the central opening (58). When the blade (22) of the key (20) is inserted through the window (87) and into the key slot (80), the key is moved until the key shoulder (42) engages a face portion (89) of the cover (86) which is backed by the front face (82) of the plug (50). At this time, the blade (22) of the key (20) is fully inserted into the key slot (80) and the bits (30, 32, 34, 36) and (38) have positioned the pairs of tumbler pins within the five sets of aligned holes so that the facing ends of each set are located on the shear line. The key (20) can now be turned to turn the plug (50) and unlock a related locking mechanism (not shown). It is noted that while the arrangement of the cylinder (48) and plug (50) involves five sets of pins, the key (20) has six bits. Five bits (30, 32, 34, 36) and (38) are utilised to position the five sets of aligned pins as illustrated in Figure 3. The sixth bit (40) is located adjacent and faces a blank surface (108). It is also noted that the shoulder (42) of the key (20) co-operates with the portion (89) of the cover (86) and the front face (82) of the plug (50) to position the five bits (30, 32, 34, 36) and (38) as described above. As shown in Figure 5, a cylinder lock (110) includes a cylinder (112) and a plug (114) which lock is similar to the cylinder lock (46) (Figure 3). However, the cylinder lock (110) is provided with six sets of aligned holes formed in the cylinder (112) and plug (114). A first set of pins (116) and (118) with an associated spring (120) are shown assembled in one set of aligned holes of the cylinder (112) and plug (114) and are positioned relative to a shear line (121) by the bit (30) of the key (20). A second set of pins (122) and (124) and an associated spring (126) are assembled in another set of aligned holes and are positioned relative to the shear line (121) by the sixth bit (40) of the key (20). It is noted that the bit (40) was not functional in the use of the key (20) with the cylinder lock (46), (as shown in Figure 3). The remaining sets of aligned openings of the cylinder (112) and plug (114) contain respective sets of pins and a spring in the same fashion as the sets of pins and spring illustrated in Figure 5. Bits (32, 34, 36) and (38) are functional to position respective sets of pins with respect to the shear line (121). The plug (114) is formed with a slot (130) having a stop surface (132) formed through and spaced from a front face (134) of the plug at a location above the key slot (128) as shown in Figures 5 and 8. The slot (130) is located to receive the shoulder (42) as the blade (22) of the key (20) is inserted nearly fully into the key slot (128). The depth of the slot (130) and the location of the stop surface (132) are formed so that the shoulder (42 will engage the stop surface (132) when the key blade (22) is fully inserted within the key slot (128). In this position, bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38) and (40) are aligned with respective sets of tumbler pins, as illustrated in Figure 5, so that the interfacing surfaces of the pins are located along the shear line (121). The plug (114) can now be rotated relative to the cylinder (112). As shown in Figures 6 and 7, a decorative cover (136) is provided to cover the front face (134) of the plug (114). The cover (136) is formed with a window (138) which is of sufficient dimension to reveal the slot (130) of the plug (114) when the cover is assembled with the plug as shown in Figure 4. A diagrammatical illustration of the key (20) in assembly with the plugs (50) and (114) is illustrated in Figure 9. The illustration of Figure 9, does not show particular structural features of the key (20) and plugs (50) and (114) as described above. Plugs (50) and (114) have been arranged so that the five holes of the plug (50) are aligned with five of the six holes of the plug (114). These five holes have been designated as "1" to "5" on the centre lines thereof. The sixth hole of the plug (114) has been designated as "0". In addition, the two illustrations of the key (20) have been arranged so that they are in vertical alignment. Typically, the centre lines of the holes in each of the plugs (50) and (114) are spaced apart by a common dimension or distance represented by the letter "a" in Figure 9. In the preferred embodiment, "a" is 3.8mm (0.15 inch). In the plug (50), the dimension or distance between the front face (82) and the centreline of the hole "1" is represented by the letter "b" and, in the preferred embodiment, 6.2mm is (0.247 inch). In the plug (114), the dimension or distance between the front face (134) and the stop surface (132) of the slot (130) is represented by the letter "c" and, in the preferred embodiment is, 2.4mm is (0.097 inch). With respect to the plug (50), the distance "b" represents the spacing between the front face (82) and the centreline of the first hole "1". In this arrangement, the bit (40) (Figures 1 and 3) is facing the blank surface (108). Consequently, the key (20) functions in a conventional manner with respect to a cylinder lock having five sets of tumbler pins such as that illustrated in Figure 3. With respect to the plug (114) as shown in Figure 9, the distance between the centre lines of the hole "0" and the hole "1" is the distance "a". In order to ensure that the bit (40) (Figures 1 and 3) will align with the hole "0" when the blade (22) is fully inserted within the key slot (128), the depth of the slot (130) must be precisely determined to engage the shoulder (42) of the key (20). The distance "a" is the preferred distance between the holes "0" and "1" of the plug (114). The distance "b" is the preferred distance between the shoulder (42) of the key (20) and the bit (38) (Figures 1 and 3) which is alignable with the hole "1". The distance "c" then, between the stop surface (130) and the centreline of the hole "0", is equal to "b" minus "a". Thus, in the preferred embodiment, "c" equals 2.4mm (0.097 inch). To obtain this dimensional arrangement, the slot (130) must be formed with a depth equal to the dimension "a" which is the same as the distance between the centrelines of the holes "0" to "5". With the above-described key (20), cylinder locks of the five-pin type and the six-pin type can be installed in doors at a common facility and can have tumbler-pin combinations which permit operation of the locks by a single key.

Claims: A key (20) for use with a first lock (46) having a key slot (80) and a first prescribed number of sets of tumbler pins and a second lock (110) having a key slot (128) and a second prescribed number of sets of tumbler pins equal to the first prescribed number plus at least one additional set of tumbler pins, which comprises: a key blade (22) having an insert end (26) and a trailing end (28) ; a prescribed number of spaced bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40) formed along an edge of the key blade (22); and the insert end (26) of the key blade (22) being an end initially insertible into the key slots (80, 128) of the first and second plugs (50, 114); adjacent ones of the bits are equally spaced from any of the bits adjacent thereto by a prescribed bit-space distance "a"; characterised in that the trailing end (28) of the key blade (22) is spaced from the insert end (26) with the prescribed number of spaced bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40) located between the insert end (26) and the trailing end (28) ; a stop shoulder (42) is formed on the key blade (22) at the trailing end (28) which co-operates with structure (89, 132) on the first and second locks (46, 110) to limit the distance of travel of the key blade (22) into the key slots (80, 128) of the first and second plugs (50, 114); and the shoulder (42) is spaced from the adjacent-most bit (40) by a distance "c" less than the bit-space distance "a". A key (20) according to claim 1 characterised in that it further comprises a key bow (24) and the shoulder is a (42) formed perpendicular to an axis of the key and between the key bow (24) and the first prescribed number of bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38) and the one additional bit (40). A key (20) according to claim 1 characterised in that the one additional bit (40) is located between the shoulder and the first prescribed number of bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38). A key (20) according to claim 3 characterised in that the one additional bit (40) is spaced from the shoulder (42) by a distance "c" which is less than the equal distance "a". A key (20) according to claim 1 characterised in that the shoulder (42) engages a surface (132) spaced inwardly of the key-insertion face (134) of the second plug (114). A key and lock system, which comprises a first lock (46) having a key slot (80) with an entry end and a first prescribed number of sets of tumbler pins; a second lock (110) having a key slot (128) with an entry end and a second prescribed number of sets of tumbler pins equal to the first prescribed number plus at least one additional set of tumbler pins; a key (20) having a key blade (22) with an insert end (26) and a trailing end (28) ; a selected number of spaced bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38) formed along one edge of the key blade (22) with adjacent bits being equally spaced from each other by a bit-space distance "a"; at least one additional bit (40), in addition to the selected number of bits, being formed on the one edge of the key blade (22) and spaced from an adjacent one (38) of the selected number of bits by a distance equal to the bit-space distance "a"; the insert end (26) of the key blade (22) being an end initially insertible into the key slots (80, 128) of the first and second locks (46, 110); the trailing end (28) of the key blade (22) being spaced from the insert end (26) with the spaced bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38) located between the insert end (26) and the trailing end (28); a shoulder (42) formed on the key blade (22) at the trailing end (28) positioned to engage stop surface (89) on the first lock (46) to position the selected number of bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38) adjacent the first prescribed number of sets of tumbler pins and to position the at least one additional bit within the key slot and the shoulder (42) formed in the key blade (22) positioned to engage stop surface (132) on the second lock (110) to position the selected number of bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38) and the at least one additional bit (40) adjacent the second prescribed number of sets of tumbler pins characterised in that each of the first and second locks (46,110) is formed with a stop surface adjacent and externally of the key slot (80,128) at the entry end thereof and the key slot of each of the first and second locks is of sufficient length to receive fully the key blade. A key (20) and lock system according to claim 6 characterised in that the one additional bit (40) is immediately adjacent the shoulder (42). A key (20) and lock system according to claim 6 characterised in that the first lock (46) is formed with a blank surface (108) and the one additional bit (40) interfaces with the blank surface (108) when the shoulder (42) is positioned to engage the structure (89) of the first lock (46). A key (20) and lock system according to claim 6 characterised in that the first lock (46) is formed with a front face (82) and the second lock (110) is formed with a front face (134) having a slot (130) formed therein with a base surface (132) with the slot (130) and spaced from the front face (134); and the shoulder (42) is positioned to engage the front face (82) of the first lock (46) and to engage the base surface (132) of the second lock (110). A key (20) and lock system according to claim 6 characterised in that the one additional bit (40) is located between the selected number of bits (30, 32, 34, 36, 38) and the shoulder (42).

Inventors: BERGEN GARY R, BERGEN, GARY R.
Applicants: EMHART INC, EMHART INC.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: E05B27
IPC codes: E05B19, E05B35, E05B27