High Security Lock Gear Train Segmentation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
High-security locks face vulnerabilities such as lock picking, mechanical and electrical manipulation, drilling, and high acceleration attacks, which can compromise the lock mechanism and violate stringent government specifications regarding sound emission and unauthorized opening resistance.
Innovation Solution
A locking mechanism with a lock bolt coupled to a bolt retraction gear and a manually-driven gear train, featuring a user input device and controller for authentication, along with a circuit breaker device to prevent unauthorized access, and a translucent casing to reveal tampering attempts, ensuring compliance with government specifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical and electrical elements are used to provide complicated barriers, then security against lock picking is improved, but the lock mechanism becomes more vulnerable to drilling attacks at mounting bolts and spindle mount
Solution Approach 1:
The lock mechanism is divided into separate functional modules: the combination dial assembly, the gear train, the lock bolt, and the mounting structure. This segmentation allows the critical components to be positioned away from accessible drilling locations on the casing, with the spindle shaft and mounting bolts located in areas less susceptible to drilling attacks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent relocates critical components from the external casing surface to the internal structure of the lock mechanism. The spindle shaft extends through the casing but the gear train and lock bolt are positioned internally, making them inaccessible to drilling attacks from the outside while maintaining the combination entry function.
2Ease of operation
If high acceleration devices are used to overcome security elements, then the lock mechanism may be opened without proper combination, but gear train collisions can damage the mechanism and provide audible information
Solution Approach 1:
The gear train is designed with controlled clearance and cushioning elements that prevent hard collisions between gear teeth during high-acceleration attacks. This cushioning effect reduces audible noise and prevents damage to the gear train while still allowing the combination entry mechanism to function properly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harmful effect of high acceleration into a beneficial feature by designing the gear train to detect and respond to forced rotation attempts. The controlled gear interactions under high acceleration provide tactile feedback to the user while preventing unauthorized opening and minimizing damage.
3Reliability
If the lock bolt is extended to locked position, then security is maintained, but it shall not be possible to reopen the lock without completely redialing the locked combination
Solution Approach 1:
The lock mechanism is designed with a state memory function that records the last valid combination entered. When the lock bolt is extended to the locked position, the system stores this combination and prevents any reopening action except by completely redialing the same combination, ensuring compliance with security specifications while maintaining manageable complexity through intelligent control logic.
4Reliability
If the lock shall not emit any sounds or other signals, then security against surreptitious opening is improved, but compliance with government specifications becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The gear train design converts the potential harmful audible emissions into a beneficial tactile feedback mechanism. The controlled gear interactions provide feelable resistance and feedback to the user during combination entry while minimizing audible noise, thus meeting both security requirements and government specifications simultaneously.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A high security lock (10) includes a lock bolt (54) movable between extended and retracted positions, a bolt retraction gear (68) coupled to the lock bolt (54), and a manually-driven gear train (78, 80). When a controller verifies that user-input information is correct for unlocking the lock (10), the bolt retraction gear (68) and manually-driven gear train (78, 80) are operatively coupled such that the gear train (78, 80) can drive the lock bolt (54) from the extended position to the retracted position.