Interesting pin-tumbler patent

[datagram]

Found this while doing some research today:

http://www.google.com/patents?id=ZN8wAAAAEBAJ

Does this lock actually exist?

Thanks,
dg

[FarmerFreak]

I hope not. Can you imagine trying to rekey one of these? And I thought my ideas were crazy.

[scrimshady]

that looks like a unpickable lock... wicked

[unlisted]

Jebus!

[FrenchKey]

I love the madness of the inventors !!!

[datagram]

I love the madness of the inventors !!!

Agree. I like how the patent gets increasingly crazy as you scroll down

dg

[SnowyBoy]

I don't like the idea of how secure you all seem to think this might be. The pins sheer against each other instead of a fixed tube wall, an easy pick with a flat bladed tool with a raised bump IMO

[FarmerFreak]

Yeah, this lock wouldn't be what we would call pick resistant. I would call it a picking annoyance lock. The sheer number of pins that need to be picked would just be annoying. But otherwise it wouldn't be much different from any other dimple lock.

[Desert Fox]

It is a very intricate design, but there has to be a reason that there are none of these around . It's kind of a waste though since the idea hasn't been developed on since 1988

[greyman]

It's a very interesting design. Maybe you could call it a cluster pin lock? There are other patents with pins that are side by side. I would think that there are mechanical problems with this type of lock (manufacture, assembly, reliability, key cutting), but also one wonders about whether the springs would interfere with each other or jam up? Credit to the Taiwanese inventors - they are not letting such earthly considerations get in the way of a good invention!

[datagram]

It's a very interesting design. Maybe you could call it a cluster pin lock? There are other patents with pins that are side by side. I would think that there are mechanical problems with this type of lock (manufacture, assembly, reliability, key cutting), but also one wonders about whether the springs would interfere with each other or jam up? Credit to the Taiwanese inventors - they are not letting such earthly considerations get in the way of a good invention!

I've been considering this, too. It looks like some of the figures have them physically seperating the pins, which is probably a better idea...in the telescoping version they could possibly seperate the inner pins from each other using the outer pin, but I don't know what effect that would have on functionality or security.

In any event, I don't know if this lock is secure, but it looks cool Would be a good addition to the collection

dg