I am sorry to be posting so much on this here, what i started to keep my mind busy, i cant get off my mind.
I think this idea could be a perfect lock, meaning like no feedback at all to a picker. So the problem with locks, assuming everything is done well, is that the user has access to the keyway, which is connected to the locking mechanisim. And be it through friction or the degree of rotation, or being able to feel some small force against the pick they can tell things about the positions of pieces in the lock.
So completely disconnect the keyway from the lock, and you completely disconnect the transfer of information on the lock. You then use a messenger to take information from the key, go away, give it to the lock, go away, let the key know its finished, and go away.
As long as the messenger does not care what information the key gives it, and does not care what the lock may do with that information, it will not share any secrets.
The best way that comes to my mind, is to take a keyway, any kind u like. and then make a driveshaft in the middle, i personally really like the idea of using a clock to move the driveshaft. Then u make a lock. and put it somewhere close by, but not touching either the keyway or the clock (the messenger).
The key goes in, moves its pieces, sets off a driving piece connected to the clock, the clock starts, taking information using probably a series of gears attached to the driveshaft from the pieces in the keyway, and then disconnects from the keyway, then it rotates and hands off the information to the lock. The lock would have its own tension provided, but preferably would be on a clock like timer as well, so it could hold that information until the clock disconnected, and then use its own tension to see if the information was correct. This way the clock has no knowledge wethor the information was correct or not. It then returns to the key, lets it know its finished, and lets the driving or initiation piece reconnect.
It seems like a ton of pieces, but looking at pictures and brake downs of clocks and gears, its not hard to miniturize them. The gears with partial smooth surfaces and partial gear would be great fo connecting and disconnect pieces, or letting racks of gears just push each other around.
Like I blabbered about in the other post, you could use these independent pieces to also record information for the user, like when the correct key was last used, or when an incorrect one or picking was attempted.
Mostly, I really think this could be done, and if the pieces are really disconnected from each other (and u could not pry around of course inside the lock), it could 100 percent compensate for the imperfections in manufacturing that we exploit.
(minus microwave crazyness looking through locks, and potentially listening to the sounds the lock makes when it tries to open itself)
What do you all think? Am I missing something?