Door lock device: consider in detail

High-quality fittings with an interesting front design will decorate any, even the most modest door. This applies not only to seals, closers, hinges, handles, but also to locks. Although, in this case, beauty is still secondary, and the reliability of the mechanism is of paramount importance.

The video in this article on the topic: “Design and installation of door locks” will give you a general idea of ​​the principles of operation and methods of installation of locking mechanisms. We will try to expand this information theoretically: we will tell in more detail about their structural varieties, we will introduce you to the features, advantages and disadvantages of locks of various types.

Locks for entrance doors

The main criteria by which door locks are distinguished is the method of their installation, as well as the principle of the mechanism. But the key classification feature is still the degree of reliability, which depends on the confluence of many nuances.

To an ignorant person, it is not so easy to understand them, and not every lock will be installed independently. But before talking about the device of the door lock, and to determine the option of purchase, you need to know exactly from what, in fact, you have to make a choice.

Reliability category - what is it

Unauthorized entry into the home is what worries us most when buying a lock for the front door. Probably, a person with an excellent sense of humor noticed that the locks were invented for honest people.

And indeed: there is no such lock that it would be impossible to open without a key - and if someone has already set out to come to visit you when you are not at home, he will find a suitable way for this.

• And yet, the castle lock strife, and not any of them so easy to open the master key. With some models you have to mess around for a long time, and the delay for a thief is fraught with consequences, therefore, they try to bypass the doors that have locking devices with a high degree of protection. So, the high price paid for such a lock is justified by the integrity of the property of its owner.

• If we talk about reliability, then modern door locks are divided on this basis into four classes. The determining factor here is precisely the time it takes a man armed with a master key to open the door with it. Just say that the locks belonging to the first two categories, open in a couple of minutes. Therefore, they are usually placed not at the entrance, but inside buildings — mostly office buildings.

The device of door locks belonging to the third category is such that an experienced burglar will spend at least ten minutes on opening them (see Hacking the door and countering this). If the apartment is guarded, then for the arrival of the operational group of this time is quite enough - and this is in no way the plans of the robbers. The most reliable locks of the fourth category, since their hacking requires at least half an hour. The conclusion suggests itself!

Installation methods: pros and cons

If to classify locks by the method of installation, there are only three types: mounted, overhead, and mortise. In principle, we all know how they differ, but we still consider their features, and compare the expediency of use.

Hitch

Padlocks today are used except in the villages - and even then, only sheds and cellars are closed on them. The fact is that no matter how super-reliable the lock itself is, in order to open the door, it is enough to break the hinges on which it is hung.

The robbers in this case do not use the master key, but the mount, so we do not advise anyone to put such a lock on the front door of the house. Another thing is the garage: there are hinges thick, steel, welded to the door itself, which is not so easy to break. And then, the owners of garages often use a padlock only in addition to the castle of the consignment note.

Накладка

The main advantage of the padlock is the fact that when it is installed, which, by the way, is most often done by hand, the integrity of the door is not disturbed. Accordingly, in order to remove it for repair or replacement, it is enough to unscrew only a few screws.

Note! Since the overhead lock is placed on the side of the room, outside it is protected by the full thickness of the canvas. A wooden door equipped with such a constipation cannot be knocked out with a foot, as in the case of a mortise lock, but for this the door leaf must be deaf and made of solid wood, and not be hollow inside. And even better if the front door is metal.

By and large, such locks have more minuses than pluses:

• First of all: they cannot be installed on doors that have a double porch - and at the entrance it is important to ensure sound insulation.
• Secondly: if thieves entered the house through the window, then they don’t have to waste time on breaking the padlock.

Since it is opened from the inside without a key, they can easily exit through the door. Convenience for the owner turns into convenience for the attacker, so those apartments, the doors of which are equipped with such a lock, are always at risk. But more often than not, people refuse them for the simple reason that the invoice housing looks very unaesthetic on the door.

Sidebar

Anyway, the most widespread mortise locks. They are placed both at the entrance and indoors: both on metal doors (see. Insert of locks in metal doors: the advice of professionals) and wooden, and on plastic doors.

In fairness, we note that breaking into a door equipped with a mortise lock takes as much time and effort as it does on a door with a padlock. It is about hacking, not about opening the lock!

• Because, in the case of burglary, the main role is played not by the degree of reliability of the lock, but by the strength characteristics of the material from which the box and door leaf are made. The main advantage of the mortise lock is its hidden installation, which provides high door aesthetics.

• The case of the mortise lock is a flat monolithic block, for the installation of which a deep groove is selected at the end of the door leaf. In the place where the slot for the key should be located, a through-hole of the appropriate size is drilled. After putting the castle in place, these openings are covered with decorative overlays.
• In general, correctly assembled mortise locks look geometrically correct and neat, serve for a long time, work reliably. The only thing that annoys most people is a rather massive key, which is inconvenient to carry in your pocket.
• Usually, if you lose your keys, the dead lock has to be completely changed. An exception is the locking device, which has a replaceable node, which is popularly called a larva - this allows for the breakage or loss of keys, to replace it, without touching the case of the lock.

This fact is very important, since another model of the lock may not fit into the existing groove on the door, and cutting a new seat greatly weakens the canvas and spoils its appearance. However, the larva is the most vulnerable point of the castle: even if it has a complex mechanism, it can be knocked out with a strong blow, or simply drilled out with a drill.

Locking mechanisms

One of the main criteria by which door locks are classified is the principles of their operation - or rather, the mechanism of the locking device. Take, for example, a combination lock. If we consider that it opens without keys, then this option can be considered the most convenient. But, as already noted: what is convenient for the owner, it is convenient for the robber.

From constant use, certain buttons are worn down, they sink a little - and this makes them stand out on the panel, which a stranger will immediately notice. This is exactly what happened when the doors of the entrances were universally equipped with combination locks. Residents of high-rise buildings were not happy for long: over time, the doors with such locks simply ceased to be an obstacle for outsiders, and even children could calculate the necessary code.

Does it make sense to use electronics

Naturally, there can be no question of putting a simple combination lock at the entrance to an apartment, but as far as electronic locks are concerned, they are today considered the most reliable. Previously, they were used mainly in cars, but today the consumer is offered options for home and office, one of which you see in the photo below.

• Modern models of electronic locks are a cross between a code, mechanical and electrical device. They are controlled by dialing a certain combination on a digital panel, or they use a magnetic key. Even if he falls into the hands of an attacker, he, without knowing the necessary code, will not be able to open the lock.

• Electronic locks are designed for several millions of possible combinations. The owner can change them from time to time, but it is impossible to pick up the code at random. After two or three incorrectly entered codes, the lock is blocked, or, alternatively, it sends a signal to the security point, your computer or cell phone.
• There is no danger that you may be locked in the house, since only the outer handle of the lock is blocked. In case of fire, this is an important condition for ensuring the safety of people in the apartment. The lock itself in this regard is absolutely fireproof, since only six volts are enough to power it.
• This voltage, no problem provide rechargeable batteries. If they need to be replaced, the door can be closed mechanically, so that a temporary lack of power does not create any special problems. For electronic lock this is one of the most important moments. The lock, after all, must remain closed in any case — otherwise, the robbers would simply have to cut the wire in order to enter the house.

Electronic code locks are the most expensive type of locking device, and on average they cost about 40,000 rubles. Frankly speaking, not cheap. And, nevertheless, such a mechanism is not a panacea, as among criminals there are people versed in electronics. And for a specialist who doesn’t need any instructions, he won’t be able to deceive the device of labor - otherwise the machines equipped with such locks would not be stolen so often.

Mechanical locks

One of the types of mechanical locking devices are bolt locks. Their peculiarity is that the opening of the mechanism is carried out not by the usual key rotation, but by pressing it into the slot of the locking cylinder.

A sufficiently long key moves in a straight line, and clings to the pins, which drive the gear that moves the lock bolt. Despite the simplicity of the mechanism, it is quite reliable in operation, but due to a rather cumbersome key, such locks are placed mainly on wickets and garage doors.

The device of the suvaldny type door lock looks completely different. They are based on a serrated core, and a set of code plates, which are called levers. The more of them in the lock, the more difficult the configuration of the key, and the harder it is to pick up the master key. And to break such a lock is generally impossible.

Types of cylinder devices

Due to the harmonious combination of price and quality, cylinder locks are probably the best-selling. They are very practical to use: the key is small and not very complicated in configuration. It can be done without problems in the workshop, but to pick up the master key is quite difficult. The most reliable cylinder locks are those whose keys have double-sided perforation.

• In general, cylinder-type locks have significant differences due to design features. One of the varieties are pin locks. They consist of a body, a core in the form of a cylinder, which is rotated by a key, and pins, which ensure the secrecy of the device.

• This is the very "larva", which was mentioned in the previous chapter. In it, as well as in the case of the lock itself, there are various pins in length, but usually paired, which are fixed in the desired position by means of springs. When the lock is closed, the pins from the body slide into the cylinder at different depths and engage them with each other. When the key is inserted into the keyhole, the springs are pressed out, and, building the pins in one line, they open the lock.
• Another variant of the CMS, as the cylinder secrecy mechanisms are shortly called, is called the disc one, since the role of pins here is played by flat washers (discs). There are several of them in the housing, and each of them has code slots. When using the native key, the slots on all the disks are aligned, forming one common well. This makes it possible to turn the key and move the spring-loaded element, which locks the lock.

• The third type of cylinder locks is called frame locks. Here, metal frames are used as locking elements, which are a plate with a hole in the center and a spring on its side. Depending on the degree of secrecy of the castle, there may be four or more of them.
• When you open the lock, the key must move each frame so that it coincides in contour with the cylinder. In general, frame locking devices are not only one-sided, but double-sided, and even four-sided. In double-sided models, the frames protrude beyond the contour of the cylinder from above and below, in four-sided models - also left-right.
• Frame-type locks are most often installed on the doors of cars, drawers of desks and secretaries, automatic machines, ATMs, and other achievements of civilization. To draw attention to them, we will not, but rather consider finally what you need to pay attention to when buying a castle.

If the lock is of domestic production, the package will indicate the type of mechanism, the class of the product, the number of secrets in it, as well as information on certification. This document must be present at the locks intended for installation on metal doors. For them, it is desirable to choose the lever mechanism, not lower than the third class of reliability.