Torque Augmentor Pin Tumbler Lock Cylinder
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Pin tumbler lock cylinders are vulnerable to picking and bumping attacks, which rely on applying and modulating rotational torque to manipulate cylinder pins and unlock the mechanism, with existing solutions like spool pins being unstable and prone to jamming.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of torque augmentors and false shear line creators, such as hourglass-shaped cylinder pins, to increase the threshold torque required to rotate the plug assembly and create a false shear line, disrupting the attacker's ability to sense pin positions and maintain a set, while stabilizing the mechanism for valid key usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If spool pins are used to create false shear lines, then picking resistance is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to instability and jamming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the cylinder pins by introducing variable cross-sectional areas along the pin length. This creates multiple shear lines at different positions, making it difficult for attackers to identify the true shear line while maintaining pin stability through proper geometric design and material distribution
Solution Approach 2:
The cylinder pins are designed with asymmetric cross-sectional area distribution along their length, creating irregular shear line patterns. This asymmetry prevents attackers from using standard picking techniques that rely on uniform shear line behavior, while the asymmetric design is carefully engineered to avoid jamming under normal operation
2Ease of operation
If rotational torque is applied to manipulate cylinder pins during picking, then the lock can be opened, but the attacker can sense pin positions and maintain control
Solution Approach 1:
The variable cross-sectional area of the cylinder pins creates varying torque requirements along the pin length. As attackers apply rotational torque, the changing moment of inertia and shear resistance at different positions create unpredictable torque feedback, making it difficult to sense and control pin positions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces complex torque feedback characteristics through the variable geometry of the cylinder pins. The non-uniform distribution of material creates varying resistance to rotation at different angular positions and torque levels, disrupting the feedback loop that attackers rely on to maintain control during picking attempts
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly increases the time and difficulty for attackers to create and hold a set of cylinder pins above the shear line, effectively thwarting picking and bumping attempts without jamming the lock when a valid key is used.
Implementation Method 1
a ball that normally lies across the shear line, the ball being disposed in a bore formed in the cylinder body and spring-biased into a blind bore formed in the plug assembly
Implementation Method 2
a ball that normally lies across the shear line, the ball being disposed in a bore formed in the cylinder body and spring-biased into a blind bore formed in the plug assembly
Implementation Method 3
Hourglass-shaped cylinder pins, when straddling the shear line, cause the attacker to falsely sense the presence of a shear line
Data Source
AI summary
A torque augmentor operatively associated with the cylinder assembly and the plug assembly of a pin tumbler lock cylinder increases the threshold torque required to rotate the plug assembly in the cylinder assembly, thereby hampering an attacker's “feel” for the relationship of the cylinder pins to the shear line, and of the plug assembly to the cylinder. One embodiment of the pick-resistant lock cylinder includes a spring-biased ball normally disposed across the shear line. Another embodiment has a cam normally biased into engagement with a cam follower, the cam being disposed on one of the cylinder assembly and the plug assembly, and the cam follower being disposed on the other. Another embodiment includes an hourglass-shaped false shear line creator operatively associated with the cylinder assembly and plug assembly. The coaction of the torque augmentor and false shear line creator of the lock cylinder of the present invention also hampers an attack by bumping.