Pushbutton lock
US6272889A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 11, 2000 |
| Grant date | Aug 14, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 11, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T70/7424
- WIPO fieldCivil engineering
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
Various enhancements are provided to a pushbutton lock to enhance its security. One is the provision of button tips that are mounted on the ends of the button assemblies and spring-loaded to protrude from the face of the lock, regardless of whether the underlying button is "in" or "out." By this arrangement, a bystander cannot readily see the button combination by the pattern of depressed buttons. This arrangement also reduces tactile feedback between the underlying button assembly and the externally available button tips, increasing resistance to pick attacks. A further enhancement is the provision of button bars between adjacent pairs of button tips. Whenever any of the button tips is manually depressed, the corresponding button bar is pressed into engagement with, and prevents movement of, a member that must be moved in order to unlock the lock. This arrangement further increases lock security by preventing an attacker from experimentally pressing buttons and judging the tactile effect thereon in attempted unlockings of the lock.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.