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Lock and Key: A Brief History
Locks are everywhere. They are how we protect
our valuable possessions. You only have to look at your keychain to be
re-minded just how pervasive these mechanical metal devices are in our
lives. The first locks showed up in ancient Egypt around 2000BC. These
Egyptian door locks as they were called are the origin of today's modern
pin and tumbler designs. The first all metal locks appeared around
870-890. These locks were fabricated by the Romans based on Egyptian
design principles. The 1800s saw many advancements in the development of
lock making. In 1861, an American named Linus Yale, Jr. invented the
cylinder lock again referring to the Egyptians for their design
principles. Today, the cylinder lock is the most common lock design. In
this lock, your key turns a cylinder which turns an attached cam which
translates the turning cylinder into linear motion of a bolt. Turning the
cylinder one way causes the cam to release the bolt while turning it in
the opposite direction causes the cam to pull the bolt in. The main
variation in lock design is the mechanism which enables your key to turn
the cylinder. The most common mechanism for achieving this is known as the
pin-tumbler design. In this deign, the grooves in your key matches up with
a series of pins of varying lengths. Inserting the correct key results in
the top of the pins lining up perfectly with the space where the cylinder
and housing come together enabling the cylinder to turn to activate the
bolt.
As with locks, keychains are everywhere as
well. They not only function to keep your keys together, but they make
great business and personal promotional items. We manufacture and
distribute a variety of unique styles and configurations both blank and
custom printed with your name, logo or message.
Please contact us for assistance in finding
the keychain that’s right for you 1-888-284-4327. |
