Has it been done???

[numeroquatro]

12/30/2006
I have been thinking of what may be a new security pin.


Take a regular pin tumbler lock and remove the spring and driver pin from the first and last pin tube. Take the pin that actually rests on the key and make it of steel. Assemble the lock, but install it upside down.

Now take your key and drill a little hole in it under pins 1 and 5 and put a strong magnet in it. Possibly a piece of hard drive or sonic care tooth brush magnet. You could really do as many pins as you wanted.

These steel pins would have to be pulled up by the magnet. To this novice it seem like you would have to come up with a new type of pick.


Some faults I have thought of are:

Rust
Loss of magnetism in the key

Maybe this feature along with others would make a good high security lock that doesnt see alot of cycles.

Is it worth a patent search?

-Justin

[numeroquatro]

Wow.

I guess I am not the only one who had this idea. It shows I am still pretty new because I don't search.

Sorry everyone.

[Boosted_Phoenix]

how about ceramic magnets to avoid the rust issue

[Legion303]

Picking method: iron alloy pick + magnet. Rub magnet over pick in one direction a hundred times to magnetize it. Pick pins 1-4. Hold magnetized pick over pin 5 to lift it all the way up (since you no longer have a spring, the driver pin rests below the shear line at all times). Pin 5 binds before one of the others? Lift and bind in order.

So what you've done is taken a 5-pin lock and turned it into a 4-pin lock, assuming the picker knew what to look for. :)

-steve

[Shrub]

Or even easier, a magnetic tension wrench that has the pin set as soon as you insert it regardless of pin position,

That said though service and wear issues must be considered when thinking of new designs, this one would see many lockouts due to the pin getting stuck with muck,