A tubular lock and its operating key have safety features that render the lock and key well suited for use with food freezer appliances and the like where the keyway of the lock extends horizontally. The tubular portion of the operating key, and the keyway of the tubular lock are cooperatively configured so a key inserted into the keyway of the lock fits quite loosely and is minimally supported even when fully inserted. The graspable bow of the operating key is made unusually long causing the center of gravity of an inserted operating key to be spaced far from the front face of the lockso the weight of the loosely fitting and minimally supported operating key levers the graspable bow downwardly, causing the key to drop from the keyway unless being held in the keyway. Gravity is optimally used to effect key ejection.

A pin tumbler lock apparatus includes a shell and a gate housed within the shell. The gate consists of a cylindrical case with multiple bores. A core, positioned within the gate, features a keyway and additional bores aligning with the gate's bores to form pin chambers when locked. Key pins within these chambers are magnetically responsive and vary in height within a defined range. Each key pin comprises a body and an oversized top element. Channels in the gate correspond to the pin chambers, allowing the top element of each key pin to move within its respective channel when a key is inserted into the keyway and the core is rotated relative to the gate.

A barrier device for a locking device is provided with a stator and with a rotor as two components and with a barrier element. The rotor is mounted in the stator. The barrier element is mounted in a first component of the components and can be moved between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the barrier element engages in a second component of the components. In the second position, the barrier element is disengaged from the second component. The second component has a first contact surface for the barrier element, which moves the barrier element from the first position into the second position when the rotor rotates. The second component further has a second contact surface for the barrier element, which leaves the barrier element in the first position when the rotor begins to rotate. A locking device is provided with the barrier device.

A lock body for a pin lock is of multipart construction and has a main body and a divider, mounted on the main body, with a plurality of bores for receiving springs and locking pins. The mechanical division of the lock body into the main body and the divider allows simpler and more cost-effective production since the lock body no longer needs to be complicatedly machined out of a solid material, for example brass, but rather more cost-effective production methods can be used.

The lock plug can have a plug body rotatably mountable within a lock housing for rotation around an axis, the plug body having a solid of revolution shape, the plug body having an insert component assembled to a primary component, a keyway defined in the plug body, the keyway having a length parallel to the rotation axis, the keyway adapted to receive a key blade matching a cross-sectional shape of the keyway, and a blocking mechanism protruding into the keyway, the blocking mechanism configured to prevent the plug from rotating unless actuated by the key blade and unless the key blade is of a matching type, the blocking mechanism integrated to the plug insert. The method of assembling the lock plug can include assembling components of the blocking mechanism to the insert component prior to assembling the insert component to the primary component.

A rekeyable lock includes a lock casing formed with a lock cylinder hole, a pin replacing hole and a plurality of first pin holes; a lock cylinder rotatably arranged in the lock cylinder hole and formed with a plurality of second pin holes; a pin set including a plurality of first pins respectively accommodated in the first pin holes, and a plurality of second pins respectively accommodated in the second pin holes; and a pin cover arranged in the pin replacing hole and including a cover body formed with a groove, and a sliding block arranged in the groove and slidable relative to the cover body. When the sliding block is located at a predetermined position, the sliding block and the cover body are configured to respectively abut against an inner wall of the lock casing to fix the pin cover in the pin replacing hole.