KEY BLANK AND KEY FOR ACTUATING A DISK CYLINDER AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SUCH A KEY BLANK AND KEY

Abstract

A key blank for manufacturing a key for a disk cylinder having rotatable disk tumblers has a key shaft that extends along a longitudinal axis. The key shaft further has a plurality of notches that extend transversely to the longitudinal axis, that extend at equal spacings from one another, and that have the same depth. In a key, these notches may form chamfers of drive slopes for driving the disk tumblers.

Claims

1. A key blank for manufacturing a key for a disk cylinder having rotatable disk tumblers, said key blank comprising a key shaft that extends along a longitudinal axis, wherein the key shaft has a plurality of notches, the plurality of notches extending transversely to the longitudinal axis, extending at equal spacings from one another, and having the same depth.

2. The key blank in accordance with claim 1, wherein the plurality of notches, in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the key shaft, extend in a straight line or in a curved manner with respect to the longitudinal axis of the key shaft.

3. The key blank in accordance with claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of notches extends in a normal plane to the longitudinal axis of the key shaft.

4. The key blank in accordance with claim 1, wherein the plurality of notches are V-shaped in a sectional plane that extends in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the key shaft.

5. The key blank in accordance with claim 1, wherein the plurality of notches form two flanks in a sectional plane that extends in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the key shaft, said two flanks being oriented at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the key shaft.

6. The key blank in accordance with claim 1, wherein the key shaft has a vertical axis that extends perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the key shaft, wherein the key shaft has a height along the vertical axis, and wherein a depth of the plurality of notches along the vertical axis of the key shaft amounts to at most 15% of the height of the key shaft.

1. blank in accordance with claim 1, wherein the key shaft has two mutually opposed broad sides extending along the longitudinal axis of the key shaft and two mutually opposed narrow sides extending along the longitudinal axis of the key shaft, and wherein the plurality of notches are formed at at least one of the two narrow sides of the key shaft.

8. The key blank in accordance with claim 7, wherein the at least one narrow side of the key shaft merges into one of the two broad sides at a first end section and into the other of the two broad sides at a second end section, and wherein the plurality of notches extend transversely across the at least one narrow side from the first end section to the second end section.

9. The key blank in accordance with claim 7, wherein the plurality of notches are formed at both of the two narrow sides of the key shaft, and wherein each of the plurality of notches formed at one of the two narrow sides has an associated notch formed at the other of the two narrow sides.

10. The key blank in accordance with claim 9, wherein the mutually associated notches are arranged at a same level along the longitudinal axis of the key shaft.

11. A key for actuating a disk cylinder having a plurality of rotatable disk tumblers, said key comprising a key shaft that extends along a longitudinal axis and that has a vertical axis oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, wherein the key shaft has a plurality of drive slopes arranged next to one another along the longitudinal axis for driving the plurality of disk tumblers, wherein the plurality of drive slopes are aligned in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the key shaft and are oriented at different angles obliquely to the vertical axis of the key shaft, wherein the plurality of drive slopes form recesses with respect to a back of the key shaft, and wherein the back of the key shaft has chamfers that adjoin at least some of the plurality of drive slopes.

12. The key in accordance with claim 11, wherein the chamfers extend transversely to the longitudinal axis of the key shaft and are oriented obliquely to the longitudinal axis.

13. The key in accordance with claim 11, wherein the chamfers are oriented at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the key shaft in a sectional plane that extends in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the key shaft.

14. The key in accordance with claim 11, wherein the chamfers, in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the key shaft, extend in a straight line or in a curved manner with respect to the longitudinal axis of the key shaft.

15. The key in accordance with claim 11, wherein each of the chamfers substantially extends in a normal plane to the longitudinal axis of the key shaft.

16. The key in accordance with claim 11, wherein the key shaft has a height along the vertical axis of the key shaft, and wherein a depth of the chamfers along the vertical axis of the key shaft amounts to at most 15% of the height of the key shaft.

17. The key in accordance with claim 11, wherein the key shaft has two mutually opposed broad sides extending along the longitudinal axis of the key shaft and two mutually opposed narrow sides extending along the longitudinal axis of the key shaft, and wherein the chamfers are formed at at least one of the two narrow sides of the key shaft.

18. A cylinder lock comprising a disk cylinder and a key, wherein the disk cylinder has a plurality of disk tumblers along a cylinder axis that are rotatable about the cylinder axis and a blocking pin that is aligned in parallel with the cylinder axis and that is displaceable radially to the cylinder axis, wherein each of the plurality of disk tumblers has a central reception opening for receiving the key and a peripheral cut-out for receiving the blocking pin; wherein the key comprises a key shaft that extends along a longitudinal axis and that has a vertical axis oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, wherein the key shaft has a plurality of drive slopes arranged next to one another along the longitudinal axis for driving the plurality of disk tumblers, wherein the plurality of drive slopes are aligned in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the key shaft and are oriented at different angles obliquely to the vertical axis of the key shaft, wherein the plurality of drive slopes form recesses with respect to a back of the key shaft, and wherein the back of the key shaft has chamfers that adjoin at least some of the plurality of drive slopes.

19. A method of manufacturing a key blank that serves for the manufacture of a key for a disk cylinder having rotatable disk tumblers, comprising the steps: providing a key shaft that extends along a longitudinal axis; and forming a plurality of notches at the key shaft, the plurality of notches extending transversely to the longitudinal axis, extending at equal spacings from one another, and having the same depth.

20. A method of manufacturing a key for actuating a disk cylinder having a plurality of rotatable disk tumblers, comprising the steps: providing a key shaft that extends along a longitudinal axis and that has a vertical axis oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis; forming a plurality of notches at the key shaft that extend transversely to the longitudinal axis and that have the same depth; and forming a plurality of drive slopes at the key shaft, the plurality of drive slopes being arranged next to one another along the longitudinal axis, being aligned in parallel with the longitudinal axis, and being oriented at different angles obliquely to the vertical axis of the key shaft, wherein the position of the plurality of drive slopes is selected such that at least some of the plurality of drive slopes form cuts into the notches and such that at least some of the plurality of notches form chamfers adjoining the plurality of drive slopes.

Description

DRAWINGS

[0066] The invention will be explained in the following by way of example with reference to an embodiment and to the drawings.

[0067] The drawings are shown as follows:

[0068] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a disk cylinder with a key;

[0069] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of parts of the disk cylinder with a key in accordance with FIG. 1;

[0070] FIGS. 3A to 3D include a longitudinal view of a key blank of the type disclosed herein with a key shaft, a detailed view of a front section of the key blank, a detailed view of a section of a back of the key shaft for illustrating notches formed thereat, and a front view of the key blank;

[0071] FIGS. 4A and 4B include a longitudinal view of the key blank with drive slopes formed, and a detailed view of the front section of the key blank; and

[0072] FIGS. 5A to 5D include a longitudinal view of a key manufactured from the key blank for actuating a disk cylinder, a perspective view of the key, a perspective detailed view of a front section of the key, and a further perspective detailed view for illustrating chamfers adjoining the drive slopes.

[0073] FIG. 3A shows a key blank 31 for manufacturing a key 33 that is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. This key 33 may be provided to actuate a disk cylinder 10 of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and explained in the introduction and to sort its disk tumblers 16 to be able to arrange the blocking pin 22 in the peripheral cut-outs 20 of the disk tumblers 16 in a release position and to be able to transmit a further rotation of the key 33 to the disk housing 14. The disk housing 14 may be coupled to a locking mechanism of a lock, which is not shown, via the coupling section 30 so that the lock may be selectively opened or locked by means of the key 33.

[0074] Such a key blank 31 may already be machined with respect to some features (e.g. profile, key tip); however, it does not yet have the final encoding of a key 33.

[0075] The key blank 31 shown in FIG. 3A has a key shaft 35 that extends from a connection section 63, which serves to attach a grip section 67 for the key 33 (cf. FIGS. 5A and 5B), along a longitudinal axis L to a key tip 65 with which the key 33 may be introduced into the key introduction opening 19 of the keyway 28 of the disk cylinder 10 (cf. FIGS. 1 and 2). In this respect, the key shaft 35 has a first narrow side 47 extending along the longitudinal axis L and a second narrow side 49 that likewise extends along the longitudinal axis L and that is opposite to the first narrow side 47 with respect to a vertical axis H of the key shaft 35 oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis L. At a respective first end section 51, the two narrow sides 47, 49 merge into a first broad side 43 that extends along the longitudinal axis L and that connects the two narrow sides 47 and 49 along the vertical axis H. A second broad side 45 is opposite to the first broad side 43 with respect to a transverse direction Q oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis L and to the vertical axis H, wherein the first narrow side 47 and the second narrow side 49 merge into the second broad side 45 at respective second end sections 53 (cf. FIG. 3D).

[0076] As FIG. 3D shows, the narrow sides 47 and 49 are formed in the shape of an arc of a circle in cross-section or viewed from the key tip 65 along the longitudinal axis L. In contrast, the broad sides 43 and 45 substantially extend along the vertical axis H or in planes in parallel with the vertical axis H, but have a respective cut-out 75 in a central region that extends along the longitudinal axis L as a key guide 77 for orienting the key 33 during the introduction into the key introduction passage 28 (cf. FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3D, FIGS. 4A and 4B, and FIGS. 5A to 5D).

[0077] Furthermore, a plurality of notches 37 are formed at the two narrow sides 47 and 49 of the key shaft 35 that form respective mutually opposed backs 69 and 69′ as outer sides of the key shaft 35 (cf. FIGS. 3A to 3C). These notches 37 may in particular be formed in a first step of manufacturing the key 33 at the provided key blank 31 and may, for example, be pierced into the backs 69 and 69′ by means of a pointed tool. The notches 37 extend transversely to the longitudinal axis L and are arranged at equal spacings from one another with respect to the longitudinal axis L. In the embodiment shown, the notches 37 extend in a respective normal plane of the longitudinal axis L and in parallel with one another along the transverse direction Q oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. Furthermore, all of the plurality of notches 37 have the same depth with respect to the vertical axis H.

[0078] Due to the formation of the backs 69 and 69′ or of the narrow sides 47 and 49 in the shape of an arc of a circle, the notches 37 extending in a straight line have a varying depth along the transverse direction Q with respect to the respective backs 69 or 69′, wherein the depth is at a maximum in a central section with respect to the transverse direction Q. In this respect, all of the plurality of notches 37 have the same maximum depth. Alternatively thereto, the notches 37 may also be curved in cross-section and may in particular extend in the shape of an arc of a circle so that the depth of the notches 37 with respect to the respective back 69 or 69′ may also be constant along the transverse direction Q despite the curvature of the backs 69 and 69′.

[0079] As can in particular be seen from the detailed view of FIG. 3C, the notches 37 are V-shaped in a sectional plane extending in parallel with the longitudinal axis L and have a respective first flank 39 and a respective second flank 41 that are oriented at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis L. This angle in particular amounts to 45° here, wherein a range of 30° to 60° may generally be provided. Furthermore, an equal number of notches 37 are formed at both narrow sides 47 and 49, wherein each of the notches 37 at the first narrow side 47 has a correspondingly formed notch 37 at the second narrow side 49 associated with it that is at the same level with respect to the longitudinal axis L (cf. in particular FIG. 3B). This may, for example, enable a rotationally symmetrical formation of the key 33 with respect to rotations by 180° (reversible key).

[0080] Furthermore, the notches 37 only represent slight cuts or incisions, whose depth amounts to less than 15% of the total height of the key shaft 35 along the vertical axis H, with respect to the extent of the key shaft 35 or of the broad sides 43 and 45 along the vertical axis H. The forming of the notches 37 at the key shaft 35 is therefore accompanied by only a slight adaptation of said key shaft 35 so that in particular the forming of drive slopes 55 or the actuation of a disk cylinder 10 by means of the key 33 manufactured from the key blank 31 is not impaired (cf. also FIGS. 4A to 5D).

[0081] In the course of the further machining of the key blank 31 for the manufacture of the key 33, in particular the drive slopes 55 may subsequently be formed at the key blank 31 to provide an encoding of the key 33 for sorting the disk tumblers 16. As FIGS. 4A to 5D show, these drive slopes 55 form recesses with respect to the back 69 or 69′ of the key shaft 35 and are formed between the notches 37 with respect to the longitudinal axis L. The drive slopes 55 have a planar drive region 59 to be able to drive the disk tumblers 16 of the disk cylinder 10. In a transition region to the respective narrow side 47 or 49, the drive slopes may, in contrast, have a curved or rounded shape to be able to transition smoothly into the narrow side 47 or 49. For example, the drive slopes 55 may be formed at the key blank 31 by milling.

[0082] Some of the drive slopes 55 extend with respect to the vertical axis H up to the respective back 69 or 69′, whereas other drive slopes 55 are recessed overall with respect to the backs 69 and 69′ (cf. FIGS. 4A to 5D). In this respect, the backs 69 and 69′ have chamfers 57 that form edges or bevels of the drive slopes 55 extending up to the backs 69 and 69′.

[0083] The chamfers 57 are oriented obliquely at an angle of 45° to the longitudinal axis L and increase in height with respect to the vertical axis H along the longitudinal axis L from the key tip 65 in the direction of the connection section 63 or of the grip section 67. The chamfers 57 may thereby assist an introduction of the key 33 in a keyway 28 of a disk cylinder 10 so that a smooth actuation of the disk cylinder 10 may be achieved. Furthermore, due to these chamfers 57, edges of the milled drive slopes 55 formed at right angles in common keys or key blanks may be chamfered at the backs 69 or 69′ to be able to make the handling of the key 33 more comfortable and to be able to avoid sharp edges.

[0084] As can in particular be seen from the comparison of FIGS. 3A to 3C with FIGS. 4A to 5D, those ones of the drive slopes 55 that extend up to the backs 69 and 69′ are designed as cuts into the notches 37 previously formed at the key blank 31 so that the chamfers 57 are formed by respective second flanks 41 of the respective notches 37. The chamfers 57 are thus automatically produced on the forming of the drive slopes 55 due to the forming of notches 37 at the key blank 31 that had previously taken place.

[0085] In the case of those ones of the drive slopes 55 which do not extend up to the respective back 69 or 69′ or at which no chamfer 57 is formed, a notch 37 may remain at the outer side (cf. in particular FIG. 5D). The drive slopes 55 may thus have an extent along the longitudinal axis L that is greater than the spacing between two consecutive notches 37. Furthermore, two consecutive drive slopes 55 may also end at the same height with respect to the vertical axis H so that a notch 37 may remain. However, due to such notches 37 remaining at the back of the key 33, no limitations with respect to the use or handling of the key 33 result due to the inclined formation of the flanks 39 and 41 and to the small depth of the notches 37. Thus, the notches 37 do not oppose a variable coding of the key 33 by means of differently oriented and formed drive slopes 55.

[0086] The forming of notches 37 at the key blank 31 that extend transversely to the longitudinal axis L may thus make it possible in a simple manner to form chamfers 57 or bevels at the key 33 manufactured or to be manufactured from the key blank 31 and to avoid sharp edges at the backs 69 and 69′ of the key shaft 35. The handling and the use of the key 33 for actuating the disk cylinder 10 may thereby be made comfortable.