Lock assembly with a curved keyway and a flexible key for actuation thereof
OwnerYun-Tung Hsuinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A lock assembly includes a lock and a flexible key. The lock includes a lock and an elongated plug unit having a longitudinal curved keyway that is accessible by the key. The keyway has several turns and several branch slots, each of which extends from one of the turns of the curved keyway in a direction different from that of a portion of the curved keyway succeeding the turn so as to mislead an undesirable flexible stick into the slot.
Claims9
A lock assembly including a lock and a flexible key for actuating said lock, said lock including an elongated plug unit that is mounted rotatably in said lock and that has a longitudinal curved keyway accessible by said key, said keyway having several turns,
- said plug unit further having several branch slots each of which extends from a respective one of the turns of said curved keyway in a direction different from that of a portion of said curved keyway succeeding the respective one of the turns so as to mislead an undesirable flexible stick into said slot, thereby preventing said lock from being picked by the flexible stick, said plug unit including a keyway member having said curved keyway and said slots formed therethrough, and two elongated lock pieces which are shaped in the form of two elongated cylinder halves and which cooperatively confine said keyway member therebetween, said keyway member having two planar opposite side surfaces, each of said cylinder halves having an abutting surface which abuts against one of said side surfaces of said keyway member and which is formed with a plurality of lengthwise extending grooves therein in communication with said keyway and said slots, said keyway member including two adjacent stacks of elongated metal sheets between which said keyway and said slots are defined.
A lock assembly including a lock and a flexible key for actuating said lock, said lock including an elongated plug unit that is mounted rotatably in said lock and that has a longitudinal curved keyway accessible by said key, said keyway having several turns, said plug unit further having several branch slots each of which extends from a respective one of the turns of said curved keyway in a direction different from that of a portion of said curved keyway succeeding the respective one of the turns so as to mislead an undesirable flexible stick into said slot, thereby preventing said lock from being picked by the flexible stick, wherein said flexible key includes a chain of successively hinged knuckles having parallel rotating axes, each of said knuckles having a blind pivot hole unit formed therein with a closed inner end section and an open outer end section, and an open-ended pivot hole unit formed through said knuckle, said chain including a plurality of tubular pivots, each of which interconnects an adjacent pair of said knuckles and each of which has an enlarged inner end portion that is received within said inner end section of said blind pivot hole unit of one of said knuckles in such a manner that said enlarged inner end portion has a section which is press-fitted within said inner end section of said blind pivot hole unit of the one of said knuckles, an enlarged outer end portion that is press-fitted within said outer end section of said blind pivot hole unit of said one of said knuckles and having a greatest diameter slightly larger than that of said enlarged inner end portion of said pivot, and an intermediate portion that interconnects said enlarged inner and outer end portions and that extends through said open-ended pivot hole unit of another one of said knuckles, said intermediate portion of each of said pivots having a diameter smaller than that of said enlarged inner end portions of said pivots and than that of said open-ended pivot hole units of said knuckles to assist in relative rotation of any adjacent pair of knuckles.
A lock assembly including a lock and a flexible key for actuating the lock, the lock including an elongated plug unit that is mounted rotatably in the lock and that has a longitudinal curved keyway accessible by the key, the keyway having several turns, the plug unit further including a keyway member having the curved keyway, and two elongated lock pieces which are shaped respectively in the form of two elongated cylinder halves and which cooperate to confine the keyway member therebetween, said keyway member further having several branch slots formed therethrough in communication with said keyway, said keyway member being formed by two adjacent stacks of elongated metal sheets which define the keyway and the slots therebetween and which have two planar opposite side faces, each of the cylinder halves having an abutting surface which abuts against one of the side surfaces of the keyway member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.