RE EYABLE CYLINDER

The present invention relates to a rekeyable cylinder.

In particular the cylinder constitutes the principal active component of a lock: it is constituted by a stator that is integral with the lock inside which a rotor is selectively rotatable. The rotor is provided with an opening for the insertion of an encoded key: interposed between rotor and stator are adapted pins, of predefined length, which are elastically kept in a position of interference between rotor and stator; the coding pattern of the key enables the alignment of the end tip of each pin with the interface surface between stator and rotor, with consequent freedom of rotation of the rotor with respect to the stator.

The coding pattern of the key consists of the provision of a contoured profile thereof which is provided with a pattern such that, once the key is completely inserted in the opening of the respective rotor, each pin, pushed by a respective portion of the contoured profile of the key in contrast with the elastic means, has its edge aligned with the interface surface between rotor and stator.

The main drawback of this type of cylinder is constituted by the need to completely replace the cylinder if a key is lost (or if it is stolen or copied): in fact there is no possibility of modifying the length of the pins, so as to modify the characteristics of the contoured profile of the key used to open the cylinder.

Thus the substitution of the cylinder is made necessary in order to prevent an ill-intended individual from being able to gain access to the area protected by the lock that is controlled by the cylinder, by actuating it by way of the key that was found, stolen or copied.

Thus the necessity arises of having to carry out extremely expensive operations to substitute the cylinders whenever a key is lost or is stolen or copied.

There are some particularly innovative cylinders which are supplied directly by the maker with two or more sets of keys: if one of the keys of one of the sets is lost, it is possible, after subjecting the cylinder to a series of codified and complex operations, to modify its coding pattern, thus enabling it to be used with one of the keys of the at least one other set.

The cost of these innovative cylinders is very high and furthermore they restrict the user in that they generally allow very few changes of coding pattern (the cylinder is associated in general with only two sets of keys). Thus, if a key of the second set is lost (once a first change of coding pattern has been carried out) it will be necessary to replace the entire cylinder.

The same applicant has developed (and has filed a corresponding patent application, publication no. WO2013011527) a rekeyable cylinder that makes it possible to modify the coding pattern by way of a tool to be inserted in a respective seat of the rotor.

Such embodiment is however not secure against attempts at tampering, in that the insertion of the tool when the original key is not inserted will still allow an ill-intended individual to execute the recoding if he/she has a new key to insert in the respective seat of the rotor afterward.

The aim of the present invention is to solve the above mentioned drawbacks, by providing a rekeyable cylinder that is highly versatile.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a rekeyable cylinder that is adapted to be subjected to an indefinite number of different encodings.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rekeyable cylinder that is particularly secure against tampering in that it makes recoding impossible if the original key is absent.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a rekeyable cylinder that is low cost, easily and practically implemented, and safe in use.

This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a rekeyable cylinder of the type comprising a stator that is provided with a substantially cylindrical accommodation for a rotor, said rotor and said stator being affected by channels for at least one respective pin, which is slideably movable therein in contrast with respective elastic means, the simultaneous arrangement of said pins partially in said rotor and partially in said stator determining the locking of said rotor, the alignment of an end tip of said pins with the interface surface between stator and rotor, which is obtained by way of the insertion of an adapted key with a contoured profile in an opening of the rotor and facing the channels, determining the free rotation of said rotor with respect to said stator, characterized in that at least one of said pins is constituted by a pair of substantially complementary half-members that are provided, along at least one respective mutual coupling surface, with at least one respective contoured portion, the first half-member, and with at least one respective complementary contoured portion, the second half-member, said first half-member being capable of performing a translational movement with respect to said stator and rotor, said second half-member being capable of performing a translational and rotational movement, according to a predefined angular path, with respect to said stator and rotor, said second half-member comprising abutment means, including with the interposition of other components, for a specific tool that engages therewith through a rotoric auxiliary half-conduit, of said rotor, and a statoric auxiliary half-conduit, of said stator, which are mutually aligned following a rotation of the key inserted in the opening, said half-conduits facing said abutment means.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of the rekeyable cylinder according to the invention, which is illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation view of the stator of a lock according to the invention; Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the stator in Figure 1 ; Figure 3 is a side view of the rotor of a lock according to the invention;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the rotor in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a front elevation view of the rotor in Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view of the rotor in Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a tool for changing the coding of a lock according to the invention;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a sliding component of a lock according to the invention;

Figure 9 is a side view of the component in Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a sliding and rotating component of a lock according to the invention;

Figure 1 1 is a side view of the component in Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a schematic view of a first step a) of changing the coding in a lock according to the invention;

Figure 13 is a schematic view of a second step b) of changing the coding in a lock according to the invention;

Figure 14 is a schematic transverse sectional view of the second step b) of changing the coding in a lock according to the invention;

Figure 15 is a schematic view of a third step c) of changing the coding in a lock according to the invention;

Figure 16 is a schematic transverse sectional view of the third step c) of changing the coding in a lock according to the invention;

Figure 17 is a partial schematic longitudinal sectional view of the third step c) of changing the coding in a lock according to the invention;

Figure 18 is a schematic view of the coupling between the two half- members constituting a pin and the tool in the third step c) of changing the coding in a lock according to the invention;

Figure 19 is a schematic view of the coupling between the two half- members constituting a pin in the third step c) of changing the coding in a lock according to the invention;

Figure 20 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the fourth step d) of changing the coding in a lock according to the invention;

Figure 21 is a schematic view of the fifth step e) of changing the coding in a lock according to the invention;

Figure 22 is a schematic view of the seventh step g) of changing the coding in a lock according to the invention.

With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates a rekeyable cylinder.

In particular the rekeyable cylinder 1 comprises a stator 2 that is provided with a substantially cylindrical accommodation 3 for a rotor 4.

The rotor 4 and the stator 2 are affected by channels 5 for at least one respective pin, which is slideably movable therein in contrast with respective elastic means.

In particular in each channel there is an ordinary pin, a counterpin with the end tip resting on the head of the pin, and an axially acting spring with one end resting against one end of the counterpin and the other end resting on the bottom of the channel.

The elastic action of the spring forces the pin into a position of simultaneous interference with the rotor 4 and the stator 2: in essence the pin will be simultaneously accommodated in a portion of channel defined inside the rotor 4 and in a portion of channel defined inside the stator 2, thus preventing their mutual rotation with respect to each other.

Obviously in a cylinder 1 provided with a plurality of pins (generally of different lengths as a function of the coding of the cylinder 1 and the respective key) it will be impossible to rotate the rotor 4 with respect to the stator 2 whenever at least one of such pins is arranged simultaneously in a portion of its channel defined in the rotor 4 and in a corresponding portion defined in the stator 2. If, however, thanks to the insertion in an opening 6 of the rotor 4 of a key 7 with the correct coding (i.e. a pattern of its profile corresponding to the dimensions of the various pins present), an end tip of the pins comes into alignment with the interface surface between stator 2 and rotor 4, then the rotor 4 can freely rotate with respect to the stator 2 with consequent possibility for the bit 8 to drive the movement of any spring latch/sliding latch that is present in the lock associated with the cylinder 1.

According to the invention, at least one of such pins is constituted by a pair of substantially complementary half-members that are provided, along at least one respective mutual coupling surface, with a contoured edge.

In particular the first half-member 9 has a contoured portion 10 and the second half-member 1 1 has a corresponding complementary contoured portion 12.

The first half-member 9 is capable of performing a translational movement with respect to the stator 2 and the rotor 4: this is in order to enable the pin to slide along the respective accommodation channel 5 so as to define a mechanical behavior similar to that of a traditional pin in a traditional cylinder (the second half-member 11 , in fact, in the operating configuration of the cylinder 1 , is integral with the first half-member 9 and thus performs a translational motion with it inside the respective channel 5).

The second half-member 1 1 is capable of performing a translational movement (integrally with the first half-member 9 during the normal use of the cylinder 1 ) and a rotational movement, according to a predefined angular path, with respect to the stator 2 and the rotor 4 (the rotation is also relative to the first half-member 9, which cannot rotate with respect to the stator 2 and the rotor 4).

The second half-member 11 comprises abutment means, including with the interposition of other components (with reference to the example shown in the figures, with the interposition of a bar 13a accommodated in the rotor 4 and capable of performing a translational movement along a specific cavity thereof), for a specific tool 13 that engages therewith by means of a rotoric auxiliary half-conduit 14a (the half-conduit 14a provided in the rotor 4), and a statoric auxiliary half-conduit 14b (the half-conduit 14b provided in the stator 2), which are mutually aligned following a rotation of the key 7 inserted in the opening 6. Such half-conduits 14a and 14b are facing the abutment means.

It is useful to note that the rotoric auxiliary half-conduit 14a is parallel to the opening 6 and open on the side limit wall of the rotor 4; such lateral opening is thus facing the stator 2.

Similarly the statoric auxiliary half-conduit 14b is arranged in a radial direction with respect to the rotor 4 and is open on the side limit wall of the inner cavity of the stator 2 that accommodates the rotor 4, such lateral opening is thus facing the rotor 4.

The rotoric half-conduit 14a and the statoric half-conduit 14b, when aligned, present a shape and dimensions that are complementary to those of the tool 13 for the accommodation of the tool 13 without play.

The mutual coupling of the first half-member 9 and of the second half-member 1 1 can occur according to different mutual meshings of the contoured portion 10 with the complementary contoured portion 12: the different meshing position will determine a different overall height of the pin constituted by the two half-members 9 and 11 that are coupled in such configuration.

This means that the pin constituted by the two half-members 9 and 11 can have a variable length as a function of the mutual meshing configuration.

According to a particular embodiment, described for the purposes of non-limiting explication, the first half-member 9 can be constituted by an internally hollow ogive missing a portion of its tubular lateral surface 15.

In such case, the contoured portion 10 for selective coupling with the second half-member 11 is provided along one of the two end edges of the tubular lateral surface 15.

With particular reference to the embodiment described previously, the first half-member 9 can thus comprise, along the tubular lateral surface 15, substantially in the opposite direction from the missing portion, a protruding tooth 16 that is adapted to slide in a respective groove 16a of the channel 5 for the translational motion of the pin constituted by the first half-member 9 and the second half-member 1 1.

Such protruding tooth 16 will positively be adapted to prevent the rotation of the pin (in particular of the first half-member 9 and, when they are mechanically coupled, of the second half-member 1 1 ) with respect to the rotor 2 and the stator 4.

With specific reference to an embodiment of undoubted applicative interest, for the purposes of clarifying the characteristics of a specific application of the invention without limiting the scope of protection thereof, the second half-member 1 1 is constituted by a block of shape and dimensions substantially complementary to those of the ogive that constitutes the first half-member 9.

It should be noted that, in this case, the breadth of the angle delimiting the outer ring 17, aligned with the tubular lateral surface 15 of the first half-member 9, is less than the angular breadth of the tubular lateral surface 15 of the first half-member 9.

The difference between the two angular breadths of the tubular lateral surface 15 and of the outer ring 17 defines the predefined angle of possible mutual rotation of the second half-member 1 1 with respect to the first half- member 9.

In fact the second half-member 11 can rotate from a first configuration in which its complementary contoured portion 12 is engaged in the contoured portion 10 of the first half-member 9 to a second configuration in which its abutment surface 18 will be resting on the corresponding abutment surface 19 of the first half-member 9. Along an end face of the outer ring 17 (the face opposite to the abutment surface 18) the contoured portion 12 is provided for selective coupling with the first half-member 9 (in particular for coupling with the contoured portion 10 of the first half-member 9).

The second half-member 1 1 comprises, along the outside of the outer ring 17, substantially in the opposite direction from the region designed to couple with the first half-member 9, a projection 20 that constitutes the abutment means for the tool 13 mentioned previously.

The action of the tool 13 on such projection 20 determines a rotation of the second half-member 11 with respect to the first half-member 9 through a predefined angle with consequent mutual distancing and mutual disengagement of the contoured portion 10 and of the complementary contoured portion 12.

According to a particular embodiment of particular practical and applicative interest, the predefined angle, which is formed between the radial direction of the statoric half-conduit 14b and the direction identified by the statoric half-conduit 14a, will have a value comprised between 20° and 135°; the possibility is not excluded of using different angles of rotation according to the specific applicative requirements.

The contoured portion 10 and the complementary contoured portion

12 are preferably constituted by specific toothings that present substantially the shape of a rack.

According to such specific implementation, the toothing of the first half-member 9 couples selectively and removably with that of the second half-member 1 1 just as the toothings of two racks are mutually coupled.

According to a particular embodiment, shown in the accompanying figures solely for the purposes of illustration, without limiting the breadth of application of the present invention, the tool 13 can be constituted by an elongated element provided with at least one indentation 21 of shape and dimensions substantially complementary to those of the projection 20 of the second half-member 1 1.

Upon the insertion of the tool 13 in the half-conduits 14a and 14b, when these are mutually aligned (the half-conduits 14a and 14b respectively of the rotor 4 and of the stator 2) the projection 20 will engage in the at least one indentation 21 of an adapted bar 13a, which is present inside the rotor 4 and is capable of performing a translational movement inside it along a preset stroke (by the action of the tool 13), with consequent rotation of the second half-member 11 with respect to the first half-member 9 through a predefined angle. This will determine the mutual decoupling of the contoured portion 10 and the complementary contoured portion 12.

The method of modifying the coding of a rekeyable cylinder 1 consists of a plurality of consecutive steps aimed at varying the length of at least one pin.

Firstly, during a first step a), it is necessary to insert the original key 7 in the opening 6 of the rotor 4 (the key 7 with a profile adapted to bring the pin constituted by the two half-members 9 and 1 1 into the position for freeing the rotor 4 from the stator 2).

Subsequently, during a second step b), it will be necessary to rotate the key 7, while it is inserted in the opening 6 of the rotor 4, by a specific angle in a specific direction of rotation until the alignment is achieved, with juxtaposition of the respective end edges, of the rotoric half-conduit 14a with the statoric half-conduit 14b (as explained previously this angle can have a value preferably comprised between 20° and 135°, and it should be noted that values proximate to 45° can be particularly adapted to the implementation of a particularly efficient embodiment).

In a third step c) the tool 13 is inserted in the half-conduits 14a and 14b which are mutually aligned: the action of the tool 13 on the bar 13a determines a rotation of the half-member 1 1 with respect to the half-member 9 with consequent decoupling of the contoured portion 10 from the complementary contoured portion 12. I I

It will thus be possible, in step d), to remove the original key 7 from the opening 4 of the rotor 2.

In the subsequent step e) it is necessary to insert a new key 70 with a different coding (such key 70, at least at the region that will be facing at least one pin constituted by the two half-members 9 and 11 , will have a thickness different from the corresponding thickness in the original key 7).

More specifically the different coding of the new key 70 with respect to the original key 7 will consist of a different pattern of its profile; in particular the difference of the profile will be located at its part facing the pin constituted by the pair of half-members 9 and 11 when the key 70 is completely inserted in the opening 6.

With the new key 70 inserted, the step f) involves removing the tool 13 from the slit defined by the two half-conduits 14a and 14b which are mutually aligned: the presence of the tool 13 in the slit defined by the two half-conduits 14a and 14b in fact prevents the rotation of the rotor 4 in that the tool 13 renders the stator 2 and the rotor 4 integral (such rotation will however be necessary in a subsequent step).

The last step g) involves rotating the new key 70, while it is inserted in the opening 6 of the rotor 4, by a specific angle in a direction of rotation which is opposite with respect to that of step b) in order to arrange the cylinder 1 in the initial configuration.

In this manner the half-member 11 is brought to a height that is set by the shape of the key 70 with respect to the half-member 9.

Advantageously the present invention solves the typical problems of conventional cylinders, by providing a rekeyable cylinder 1 that is highly versatile: in fact it can be recoded an indefinite number of times, in each instance adopting new keys 70 of a type conforming to the cylinder 1 , but without these necessarily having to be supplied as an accessory when purchasing the cylinder 1. The user, if he/she needs to recode the cylinder 1 , will have to do nothing more than buy a new key 70 and execute the steps indicated above.

Conveniently the rekeyable cylinder 1 is particularly secure against tampering in that it makes recoding impossible if the original key 7 is absent: in fact it is necessary to have such key 7 in order to align the two half-conduits 14a and 14b which make it possible to insert the tool 13.

The invention, thus conceived, is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, all the details may be substituted by other, technically equivalent elements.

In the embodiments illustrated, individual characteristics shown in relation to specific examples may in reality be interchanged with other, different characteristics, existing in other embodiments.

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

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