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US 4,534,195 AGranted
Mechanical lock having a variable key
AssigneeGretag Aktiengesellschaft
InventorKurt Ehrat
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AssigneeGretag Aktiengesellschaft
InventorKurt Ehrat
Estimating the term…
The present invention relates to a lock having a key provided with variable key information elements which are adapted to be scanned during rotation of the key around an axis of the lock. The key preferably includes ten (10) cam plates fixedly joined together in pairs for rotation and mounted in pairs on coaxial hollow shafts. Each shaft is driven by a handwheel in an angularly variable manner. Each cam plate has five (5) different radial steps, so that each pair of cam plates correspondingly has twenty-five (25) different possible combinations of angular positions, each of which can be identified by a letter of the alphabet on the respective handwheel. The key combination is legible through a display window. The lock and its key which are of a relatively simple design, allow the key combination to be easily set and readily recalled.
A mechanical lock comprising a key having variable key information elements to be scanned during rotation of the key around the axis of the lock, each of the key information elements being in the form of a cam plate coaxially located relative to the axis of the lock, said cam plate discretely adjustable to individual angular positions, said cam plates each having a surface portion and a plurality of stepped portions of different radii for determining the multiple variation of key information per information element in the individual angular positions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.