The present invention relates to a break-in resistant cylinder and to an associated key.

The cylinder is the main active component of a lock: it is constituted by a stator, which is integral with the lock and within which a rotor can rotate selectively. The rotor is provided with an opening for the insertion of a coded key: adapted pins are interposed between the rotor and the stator, are kept elastically in a position of interference between the rotor and a stator and have a preset length. The coding of the key allows the alignment of the end edge of each pin with the interface surface between the stator and the rotor, with consequent freedom of rotation of the rotor with respect to the stator.

The coding of the key consists in providing a contoured profile thereof whose shape is such that once the key has been fully inserted in the opening of the respective rotor the edge of each pin, which is pushed by a respective portion of the contoured profile of the key in contrast to the elastic means, is aligned with the interface surface between the rotor and the stator.

Among cylinder locks, those that have a key receptacle (and therefore also the corresponding key) that is substantially flat, with pins intended to detect the key that operate substantially transversely to the receptacle (thus operating on flat portions of the key), are of great interest.

These locks are normally identified by the type of key that is associated with them and are termed flat key locks.

The risk of break-in is avoided by means of the complex coding of the lock and the key: particular break-in actions allow operating the pins in order to open the lock even in the absence of the original key.

In view of the small size of a lock of the type being considered, it is substantially not possible to increase the number of pins to ensure higher security against break-in. As with any lock, moreover, it is necessary to deter break-in actions performed with picks, which have the purpose of lowering the pins sequentially, making it possible to free the rotor with respect to the stator and therefore to open the lock.

The aim of the present invention is to solve the problems described above, providing a break-in resistant cylinder that is particularly secure against break-ins and picking.

Within the scope of this aim, an object of the invention is to propose a break-in resistant cylinder having a simple structure and a high security standard.

Another object of the invention is to propose a key for break-in resistant cylinders that increases the level of security of the cylinders with which it is associated.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a break-in resistant cylinder and a corresponding key that have a low cost, are relatively simple to provide in practice and safe in application.

This aim and these objects are achieved by a break-in resistant cylinder of the type comprising a stator provided with a substantially cylindrical receptacle for a rotor, said rotor and said stator being affected by at least one channel for at least one respective pin, which can move slidingly within it, the arrangement for retention of said at least one pin partly in said rotor and partly in said stator causing the locking of said rotor, the open arrangement with alignment of an end edge of said at least one pin with the interface surface between the stator and the rotor, obtained by means of the insertion of an adapted key having a contoured profile in an opening of the rotor that faces the at least one channel, causing the free rotation of said rotor with respect to said stator, characterized in that said at least one pin comprises an ogive provided with a contoured cavity and a coding part provided with two mutually opposite protruding tabs and with a substantially spherical central portion, said at least one channel of said rotor comprising a first part that has a substantially larger diameter than said substantially spherical central portion and a second part whose diameter is substantially smaller than the diameter of said substantially spherical portion and larger than the diameter of a first protruding tab, the front of said first protruding tab, upon the insertion of said key in said opening of said rotor, being accommodated within a respective profiled slot with consequent substantial complete insertion of the second protruding tab within the cavity of said ogive according to said open arrangement.

This aim and these objects are also achieved by means of a key for break-in resistant cylinders, characterized in that it comprises, on at least one flat surface thereof, at least one profiled slot that has a substantially variable direction, said slot being arranged between the end of the key and its region intended to be aligned with the front surface of the respective cylinder, in conditions for insertion of said key therein.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the break-in resistant cylinder and of the corresponding key according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a sectional view, along a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder rotor, of the break-in resistant cylinder and of the corresponding key according to the invention in a first configuration;

Figure 2 is a sectional view, along a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder rotor, of the break-in resistant cylinder and of the corresponding key according to the invention in a second configuration;

Figure 3 is a sectional view, along a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder rotor, of the break-in resistant cylinder and of the corresponding key according to the invention in a third configuration;

Figure 4 is a sectional view, along a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder rotor, of the break-in resistant cylinder and of the corresponding key according to the invention in a fifth configuration; Figure 5 is a top view of a possible constructive solution of a key according to the invention;

Figure 6 is a bottom view of a possible constructive solution of a key according to the invention.

With particular reference to the figures cited above, the numeral 1 generally designates a break-in resistant cylinder and the numeral 2 designates a corresponding key.

The break-in resistant cylinder 1 comprises a stator 3 provided with a substantially cylindrical receptacle 4 for a rotor 5.

The rotor 5 and the stator 3 are affected by at least one channel 6 for at least one respective pin 7, which can move slidingly therein.

The pin 7 can move between a retention arrangement, in which it is partly inside the rotor 5 and partially inside the stator 3, causing the locking of said rotor 5, and an open arrangement, in which an end edge 8 of the at least one pin 7 is aligned with the interface surface between the stator 3 and the rotor 5.

The second open arrangement occurs by insertion of an adapted key 2, having a contoured profile, in an opening 9 of the rotor 5 that faces the at least one channel 6.

By means of the insertion of the respective key 2, therefore, the free rotation of the rotor 5 with respect to the stator 3 is determined.

In the cylinder 1 according to the invention, the at least one pin 7 is constituted by an ogive 10 provided with a contoured cavity 1 1 and a coding part 12 provided with two protruding and mutually opposite tabs 13, 14 and a substantially spherical central portion 15.

The at least one channel 6 of the rotor 5 comprises a first part 16 having a diameter that is substantially larger than the diameter of the substantially spherical central portion 15 and a second part 17 having a diameter that is substantially smaller than the diameter of the substantially spherical central portion 15 and larger than the diameter of the first protruding tab 13.

The front of the first protruding tab 13, upon insertion of the key 2 in the opening 9 of the rotor 5, is accommodated within a respective profiled slot 18, with consequent substantial complete insertion of the second protruding tab 14 within the cavity 1 1 of the ogive 10, assuming the open arrangement.

It is convenient to specify that according to a particularly secure and efficient constructive solution, elastic means 19 for mutual spacing are interposed between the ogive 10 and the coding part 12.

Moreover, it is believed that it is essential to show that the movement of the coding part 12 is of the combined rotary and translational type, since it can translate within the channel 6 and can tilt, rotating about its own substantially spherical central portion 15.

This type of motion is entirely different from what occurs in cylinders of the known type.

This spacing by elastic forcing causes the consequent arrangement of the at least one pin 7 in the retention arrangement whenever the key 2 is not inserted correctly within the predefined opening 9.

According to a constructive solution of unquestionable interest in practice and in application, the contoured cavity 1 1 of the ogive 10 can preferably comprise a wider seat, which is formed extending from its edge that faces and is proximate to the coding part 12 to the vicinity of its centerline, and a recess whose diameter is slightly larger than that of the second tab 14 of said coding part 12, said recess being arranged downstream of the wider seat.

It is specified that in this case the seat and the recess are mutually arranged in a position that is selected from a coaxial arrangement, a parallel arrangement without alignment and complete lack of alignment.

Generally, the seat and the recess have a substantially cylindrical shape and therefore the conditions of coaxial arrangement, non-coaxial parallel arrangement and oblique arrangement of the respective axes (optionally also not aligned) are to refer in particular to this embodiment; however, the use of ogives 10 in which the cavity 1 1 is constituted by a seat and a recess having a shape that is other than cylindrical is not ruled out.

The portion 3 a of the stator 3 of the at least one channel 6 is constituted by a hollow that is delimited by inclined planes that blend with the internal walls of the cylindrical receptacle 4.

The ogive 10 then comprises a tapering end with axial symmetry, suitable for sliding/gliding on the inclined planes of the portion 3a, during the rotation of the rotor 5 with respect to the stator 3.

With reference to a constructive solution that is particularly interesting because it provides high security against break-in attacks, it is specified that the pins 7 can be a plurality (each accommodated within a respective channel 6), substantially aligned along the opening 9 of the rotor 5.

The coding parts 12 of the pins 7 in this case are shaped differently for the insertion of the respective first tabs 13 within the predefined profiled slot 18 of the key 2 and for accommodation within a respective recess of a respective ogive 10 of a respective second tab 14.

It is specified that the profiled slot 18 behaves substantially like desmodromic cam, orienting (inclining) and translating the coding part 12.

It should be noted appropriately that according to a constructive solution that is particularly efficient and resistant to break-in attacks, the rotor 5 and the stator 3 comprise at least one through hole (not shown in the accompanying figures), which is arranged substantially opposite the channel 6 and is aligned with a second profiled slot of the key 2.

This constructive solution allows therefore the adoption of a symmetrical key 2 (which can be inserted in the opening 9 in any of the two possible orientations); said key therefore has two identical slots 18 in two mutually opposite faces thereof. The through hole has the purpose of accommodating slidingly at least one respective dowel which can move between a retention configuration, in which it is interposed between the rotor 5 and the stator 3, and an open configuration, in which one of its ends is inserted within the second slot in order to be contained completely within the rotor 5. The open configuration allows free rotation of the rotor 5 with respect to the stator 3, since the dowel does not interfere with the stator 3, being contained completely within the rotor 5 and in the second slot of the key 2 when the key 2 is inserted in the opening 9.

The present invention extends its protection also to a specific key 2 for break-in resistant cylinders 1, which comprises, on at least one flat surface 20 thereof, at least one profiled slot 18 that has a substantially variable direction.

The slot 18 is arranged between the end 21 of the key 2 and its region 22 intended for alignment with the front surface of the respective cylinder 1 when the key 2 is in the conditions for insertion in said cylinder 1.

According to a constructive solution of unquestionable interest in practice and in application, the slots 18 are at least two in number, arranged in flat surfaces 20 that are symmetrically mutually opposite with respect to the longitudinal central axis of said key 2.

It should be noted that the slot 18 comprises a bottom wall 23 that is delimited between respective side walls 24 for blending between the respective flat surface 20 of the key 2 and said bottom wall 23.

In one possible variation of the key 2 according to the invention, the bottom wall 23 has a width that can vary over the entire length of the slot 18: this width variation allows therefore the accommodation of the first end, first tab 13, of a coding part 12 only if it has a diameter that is smaller than that of the slot 18 in the position that is aligned with said tab 13.

In this manner, simply by varying the width of the bottom wall 23 of the slot 18 and by adopting coding parts 12 provided with first tabs 13, shaped specifically to comply with these width variations, a further coding of the key 2 is possible.

It is noted in fact that the direction variations that the slot 18 of the key 2 can assume constitute a coding, since they determine the orientation of the coding part 12 (which rotates about the substantially spherical central portion 15 while its first tab 13 is engaged within said slot 18), with consequent complete insertion of its second tab 14 in the cavity 1 1 of the ogive 10 when the correct orientation is reached (it should be noted in fact that the cavity 1 1 has an internal shape intended to accommodate completely the second tab 14 only at a specific angular arrangement thereof).

Likewise, in a further variation the bottom wall 23 is arranged at a variable height over the entire length of the slot 2 with respect to the respective flat surface 20.

In this case, the first tab 13 of the coding part 12 might be spaced (or resting) with respect to the bottom wall 23, depending on its length. This means that only a coding part 12 provided with a first tab 13 of appropriate length will adapt perfectly to the slot 18 with variable depth, with a consequent further increase in the security of the cylinder 1 and of the key 2 with respect to break-ins.

The variability of the depth of the slot 18 in fact entails a further coding method that is made available to the manufacturer for increasing the complexity of break-in actions: the choice of different depths of the slot 18 at each pin 7 of the cylinder 1 allows an additional type of coding that is difficult to reproduce for anyone attempting to make a copy of the key 2.

Finally, it is specified furthermore that the lateral surfaces 24 of the slot 18 also can have a variable inclination and shape over the entire length of the slot 18.

Of course, very close side walls 24 prevent access to wide first tabs 13 of coding parts 12, providing a further possibility of coding for the key 2. In conclusion, coding of the key 2 can be obtained by the adoption of at least one of the following solutions: varying the direction of the slot 18, varying the width and/or depth of its bottom wall 23, and varying the inclination and shape of its side walls 24.

It can be noted therefore that the key 2 and the cylinder 1 are envisioned as a possible new innovative family of high-security keys and cylinders, which can be changed and modified greatly while always remaining within the scope of the inventive concept described herein.

It is not ruled out, in fact, to accommodate within the slot 18 movable elements controlled by respective mechanical sensors that are present inside the cylinder 1 , or to couple the key 2 to transponders and other equivalent electronic devices in order to combine an electronic opening clearance with the verification of the coding provided by the cylinder 1.

Advantageously, the present invention solves the problems cited earlier, proposing a break-in resistant cylinder 1 that is particularly secure against break-in attacks and picking, in relation to the adoption of pins 7 constituted by an ogive 10 and a coding part 12 (intended to be accommodated partially within a contoured cavity 11 of said ogive 10): the second tab 14 of the coding part 12 and the cavity 1 1 of the ogive 10 are shaped complementary so as to be able to be coupled exclusively following a specific geometric alignment that is a consequence of a specific angular arrangement of said coding part 12 (this angular arrangement is determined by the particular shape of the slot 18 of the key 2).

Effectively, the break-in resistant cylinder 1 has a simple structure and at the same time a high security standard.

Positively, the key 2 for break-in resistant cylinders 1 is therefore suitable for increasing the level of security of the cylinders 1 to which it is coupled.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the accompanying claims; all the details may furthermore be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

For example, the ogive 10 might be constituted by an elongated shell (such as a bar or a rod that is at least partially concave), provided with a plurality of internal seats that form as a whole a specific contoured cavity 1 1.

Each seat would be intended to accommodate a corresponding second protruding tab 14 of a respective coding part 12.

In this case, opening of the cylinder 1 might occur exclusively in the condition in which all the coding parts 12 are accommodated within the respective seats (being thus contained as a whole within the cavity 1 1 that the seats form).

In the examples of embodiment shown, individual characteristics, given in relation to specific examples, may actually be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other examples of embodiment.

In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to the requirements and the state of the art.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.