New Invention: Flat pins cylinder lock

An inventor from Israel presented at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva 2014 the invention: “Flat pins cylinder lock”.

The pin chambers in the plug and body of this cylinder are square-shaped and each chamber contains three flat pins. Each pin has a probing head whose position may be changed. Accordingly, a 5-chamber cylinder contains 15 pins with probing heads in three different positions. Additionally, the pins will be in different lengths, according to prevailing standards. This design produces a range of combinations expressed by a 36-digit number.

The cylinder key may be flat or upright, as presented in the drawing. The key has three separate channels, and the central channel is visible higher than the side channels, which means that the central channel may be fabricated using a standard key-cutting machine available to any locksmith. On the other hand, the side channels can only be fabricated by a by a specialized machine. Subsequently, the manufacturer will be able to provide key blanks with two unique side channels to each locksmith. In other words, each locksmith will have his/her own unique blank and only he/she will be able to produce duplicate keys using his/her standard key-cutting machine.

This arrangement offers two important advantages:

  • Unauthorized persons would not be able to produce duplicate keys as they will not know where the keys have been purchased;
  • Every locksmith will have a tremendous incentive to sell cylinders of this type, as he/she will be the only one capable of producing duplicate keys for them, for a handsome profit.

Further advantages offered by this cylinder design:

  • The flat pins may be manufactured from hard stainless steel sheet using stamping dies. This would significantly reduce the cost of the pins and provide more effective protection against drilling of the cylinder.
  • The high-precision shear line produced by the flat pins makes picking of the lock much more difficult.
  • High-precision, reliable master key pins may be manufactured using stamping dies.

This invention has a potential for broad international application. The inventor is interested in commercialization of this invention and is seeking appropriate interested manufacturer. European Patent Registration and Consulting Services GmbH has made direct contact with the inventor and has access to information about the invention directly from the inventor. Interested parties for the invention can contact European Patent Registration at epo@epo-prs.de