Figure 88. This original ABLOY Disc cylinder is from the early 1900s. Keep in mind that many utilities, public institutions, in- dustrial enterprises and businesses must deliver their services 24/7. Any break or interruption to this service can cause a se- vere challenge to security, a costly loss of revenue, a break in health and safety and a ruined reputation. This includes col- leges, universities, hospitals, government, utilities, defense industries, transportation, oil and gas, nuclear power plants, gaming venues, chemical factories and vending applications. Not only must the cylinder provide physical security, but in numerous cases, it must continually withstand the harsh- est of elements without a decline in performance or reliability, ensuring lasting security in the heat and the cold, in wet envi- ronments and anywhere else a facility and its requisite equip- ment are located. ABLOY PROTEC2 is available in most lock formats, in- cluding mortise, rim, KIL, KIL, cam, padlock, deadbolt, in- terchangeable core retrofits for Yale and Schlage, cabinet, switch, safety deposit, coin operated, auxiliary, electronic and CLIQ. Let’s take a look at the construction and operation of the ABLOY PROTEC2 cylinder for a clearer understanding of the components and how they work together. System Overview Basic Operating Principle Within an ABLOY PROTEC2 cylinder, the key meets virtu- ally no resistance when inserted into the keyway. There are no spring-loaded parts to wear out. Only the correct key, rotated a ¼ turn (clockwise or counter clockwise), will align the locking bar gates on all the discs. Once the discs are aligned into the cor- rect position — allowing the locking bar to fall into the groove and disengage the drum from the cylinder housing — the key and cylinder can be turned further to open the lock. Then, the WWW.ALOA.ORG Figure 89. This archive image shows how the ABLOY disc system operates with its key. key can be turned back to the starting position and removed from the keyway. The combination is automatically scrambled by the two return bars. Unless this scrambling occurs, the key cannot be removed. This feature ensures the cylinder doesn’t remain unlocked aſter the key is removed. There it is in a nutshell. But the construction of this unique cylinder needs further investigation, so let’s dig right in. Technical Data Construction The exploded view (Figure 90) shows the cylinder structure and the components in an ABLOY PROTEC2 cylinder. It will make much more sense for the reader to examine the lock components first before a more detailed description of how the cylinder and key operate together. Let’s focus for now on the discs, return bars and the disc controller. Discs The true guts of the ABLOY PROTEC2 cylinder consist of the 11 discs. There are two types: code discs and zero discs. As an aside, there are also 10 spacers (aka washers) divided into two types: a nickel washer/spacer and a bronze washer/spacer. Figure 91 shows the six code disks, also known as combination discs. There two zero discs in each cylinder (Figure 92). Their purpose is to move the two return bars. One is the non-profiled middle zero disc, and the other is the profiled bottom zero disc. There are also master discs that allow for large master-keying possibilities. Return Bars – Disc Blocking System The purpose of the return bars is to block attempts to manipulate the lock. This is also known as the disk blocking system (Figure 93). The two zero discs help prevent manipulation. They also as- JANUARY 2021 KEYNOTES 45
