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US 7,634,931 B2Granted
Rekeyable lock cylinder assembly with adjustable pin lengths
AssigneeNewfrey LLC
InventorsDonald J. Segien, Richard J. Veltman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rekeyable lock cylinder includes a plug body and a backing rack that cooperate to define a plurality of pin chambers within the lock cylinder, with each of the pin chambers housing a corresponding pin. Movement of the backing rack changes the configuration of the pin chambers, thereby allowing the corresponding pins to change configuration to match the bitting on a valid key.
Claims23
A rekeyable lock cylinder, comprising:
- a cylinder body having a longitudinal axis;
- a plug body disposed in the cylinder body and rotatable about the longitudinal axis;
- and
- a backing rack disposed adjacent the plug body and cooperating with the plug body to define a plurality of pin chambers, each pin chamber having a length dimension parallel to the longitudinal axis of the chamber and a width dimension transverse to the length dimension, the width dimension of the plurality of pin chambers changing along the entire length dimension in response to movement of the backing rack;
- and
- means disposed in the cylinder body for moving the backing rack parallel to the longitudinal axis.
3 more elements
A rekeyable lock cylinder comprising:
- a cylinder body having a longitudinal axis;
- a plug body disposed in the cylinder body and rotatable about the longitudinal axis;
- a backing rack disposed adjacent the plug body and cooperating with the plug body to define a plurality of pin chambers, the backing rack being movable parallel to the longitudinal axis, the size of the plurality of pin chambers changing in response to movement of the backing rack;
- and
- means for moving the backing rack, wherein the means for moving includes a ramp formed in the cylinder body.
2 more elements
A method for keying a lock cylinder, comprising the steps of:
- providing a lock cylinder having a cylinder body with a longitudinal axis;
- providing a plug body disposed in the cylinder body for rotation about the longitudinal axis;
- providing a backing rack, the backing rack cooperating with the plug body to define a plurality of pin chambers, each pin chamber having a length dimension and a width dimension;
- providing a plurality of pins disposed in the plurality of pin chambers, each pin having a length dimension and a width dimension;
- changing the width dimension of the plurality of pin chambers along the entire length dimension of the pin chambers in response to movement of the backing rack;
- and
- changing the length dimension and the width dimension of the plurality of pins in response to the change in the width dimension of the plurality of pin chambers.
4 more elements
A method for keying a lock cylinder, comprising the steps of:
- providing a lock cylinder having a cylinder body with a longitudinal axis;
- providing a plug body disposed in the cylinder body for rotation about the longitudinal axis;
- providing a backing rack, the backing rack cooperating with the plug body to define a plurality of pin chambers;
- providing a plurality of pins disposed in the plurality of pin chambers;
- changing the configuration of the plurality of pin chambers in response to movement of the backing rack;
- using a rekeying tool to change the configuration of the plurality of pin chambers;
- and
- moving said backing rack along a ramp to move the backing rack parallel to the longitudinal axis.
5 more elements
A method for keying a lock cylinder, comprising the steps of:
- providing a lock cylinder having a cylinder body with a longitudinal axis;
- providing a plug body disposed in the cylinder body for rotation about the longitudinal axis;
- providing a backing rack, the backing rack cooperating with the plug body to define a plurality of pin chambers;
- providing a plurality of pins disposed in the plurality of pin chambers;
- changing the configuration of the plurality of pin chambers in response to movement of the backing rack;
- changing the configuration of the plurality of pins in response to the change in the configuration of the plurality of pin chambers;
- and
- using a rekeying tool to change the configuration of the plurality of pin chambers,
- wherein the rekeying tool includes a ramp formed in the cylinder body.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.