Patent ID: 8863563

Claim:
A magnetic lock and key assembly, comprising: a magnetic lock assembly including: a lock body defining a chamber; a plunger disposed within the chamber and being translatable in a longitudinal axial direction between a locked position and an unlocked position; a resilient member urging the plunger toward the locked position; a detent being extendable when the plunger is in the locked position and retractable when the plunger is in the unlocked position; a lock magnet disposed within the chamber and being translatable with the plunger as the plunger translates between the locked position and the unlocked position, the lock magnet having an end defined by a lock magnet north pole and a lock magnet south pole; a magnetic key assembly including: a collet configured to connect to the lock body; a key magnet supported within the collet, the key magnet having an end defined by a key magnet north pole and a key magnet south pole; wherein at least one of the lock magnet is rotatably supported by the lock body and the key magnet is rotatably supported by the collet to facilitate automatic magnetic attractive alignment of the lock magnet and the key magnet about the longitudinal axial direction and magnetic attraction between the lock magnet north pole and the key magnet south pole and between the lock magnet south pole and the key magnet north pole to translate the plunger to the unlocked position.