Readjustable Lock System Using Binary Key Elements
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional locks are inflexible, requiring professional assistance for installation, adjustment, and key replacement, leading to high costs and inefficiencies, as well as environmental and administrative burdens.
Innovation Solution
A readjustable lock system using neutral locking elements and binary coding, allowing users to manufacture and reconfigure keys without specialized tools, enabling easy conversion and assembly of locks and keys using the same basic components, facilitating user-controlled lock systems with remote access options.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional locks use fixed design or configuration, then manufacturing and assembly are simplified, but adaptability and ease of adjustment are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The lock is divided into modular components: a housing, a rotor with key-operable locking elements, and neutral locking elements. This segmentation allows independent adjustment of components to achieve different locking configurations without redesigning the entire lock system.
Solution Approach 2:
The lock transitions from a fixed configuration to a dynamic, adjustable system where the rotor can be removed and reinserted in different orientations, and neutral locking elements can be positioned in different states (blocking or non-blocking) to adapt to various key configurations.
2Ease of operation
If traditional locks require professional assistance for key replacement or adjustment, then reliability is improved, but ease of operation and loss of time are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The lock system enables end-users to perform key replacement, key addition, and code adjustment without professional assistance. Users can remove the rotor, rearrange neutral locking elements, and reassemble the lock to create new key configurations, making the system self-serviceable.
Solution Approach 2:
Neutral locking elements are pre-installed in the rotor in a neutral state, allowing users to later activate or deactivate them as needed. This preliminary preparation enables rapid reconfiguration without requiring additional components or complex procedures.
3Reliability
If traditional locks are replaced when key is lost, then security is improved, but loss of substance and loss of time are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of discarding the entire lock when a key is lost, the system allows recovery and reuse of the existing lock body by simply reconfiguring the rotor and neutral locking elements. Only the rotor needs to be removed and adjusted, preserving the majority of the lock components.
4Ease of manufacture
If traditional locks use fixed configuration, then manufacturing precision is improved, but ease of manufacture and productivity are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
A single standardized lock housing and rotor design serves multiple functions: it can accommodate different key configurations through rotor reorientation and neutral element positioning, support both individual and master key systems, and provide various security levels. This universality simplifies manufacturing while maintaining precision through standardized components.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
The invention relates to an arrangement for a lock, comprising a stator, a rotor, which is rotatably arranged in the stator, and a set of elements arranged in said rotor for cooperating with the stator, which elements each have an opening and which elements are arranged successively in the longitudinal direction of the rotor and the openings of which together form a through hole for receiving a key, each of said elements (3, 4, 18, 40) being readjustably arranged, independently of each others, between a state which upon actuation is blocking and a state which upon the same actuation is releasing. The invention further concerns a key, which has a body along which a plurality of projections are arranged, said plurality of projections all being arranged in a common plane and said plurality of projections (12) all having the same height and defining together the profile of the key.