◊ 10 Series = Rim, mortise, deadbolts; cylinders ◊ 11 Series = Tubular Deadbolts ◊ 20 Series = Key-in-Knob, Key-in-Lever, cylinders ◊ 31 Series = Retrofitted I-Core to Yale ◊ 32 Series = UL437 Interchangeable Cores & other Manufacturer's LFIC Formats ◊ 40 Series – Discontinued ◊ 50 Series = Padlocks ◊ 60 Series = Cam, switch locks, vending, etc. Figure 7. This illustration depicts the exploded view of the Medeco Key-In-Knob Cylinder. lowed for a rapid growth of the locksmith segment relating to the Medeco product line. Also, in 1997, Medeco introduced the SiteLine family of products, offer- ing a variety of electronic options to the electronic and mechanical access control environments. Today’s Progress ASSA ABLOY AB, the renowned high- security lock manufacturing company based in Sweden, purchased Medeco in mid-1998. The company has more than 400 employees and 132,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space, and has assembly and distribution facilities in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Mechanical Overview Medeco patented a revolutionary concept in 1985 when the company introduced the system of angled key cuts to fit special chiseled, angled cylinder pins. The tum- blers are elevated and rotated to find the correct seated position in the key grooves within the chamber. This happens be- cause of the unique cuts on the keys, as well as the special offset tips on the pins. Note that the recent patent is far differ- 36 KEYNOTES NOVEMBER 2015 Figure 8. Medeco’s Series designations for products relate to pin kit nomenclature. ent than the original patent of the 1960s; it covers both the keys and the cylinders. Cylinder Operating Principles Medeco locks operate under the princi- ples of a standard pin tumbler; this can be called single-locking action. But, a Medeco lock also incorporates a sidebar that protrudes into the shell, thus creat- ing a dual-locking action. Along one side of the pins is a slot that must align (via rotation by key insertion) with the legs of the sidebar. The chisel pinned tips of the bottom pins allows them to be rotated by the key as it’s inserted into the plug, to be finally seated within the corresponding angle cuts of the key. The bottom pins are not only rotated, but are simultaneously elevated to the correct shear line so the plug is permitted to turn. With the addition of a slider mecha- nism in the Medeco cylinders, a third locking mechanism was added. The slider mechanism aligns with the sidebar based on a key side milling that is factory in- stalled. The exacting tolerances of the Medeco cylinder coupled with the triple locking action provide a highly pick-re- sistant lock. Drill-resistant inserts, rods and ball bearings protect both the shear line and the sidebar within the cylinders, making the Medeco locks quite resistant to many common forms of attack. In addition, Medeco cylinders are less susceptible to common wear and tear on the bottom pins; this is because the chis- eled tip of the bottom pins never comes in direct contact with the bottom of the key root. The pins rest on the sides of the cut, providing excellent wear resis- tance. With this consideration in mind, one can see that the wear on the sides of the pins won’t affect cylinder operation — a huge contrast to traditional pin tum- bler cylinders. Product Series and Pin Kits Medeco has pin kits of two broad types: Original and Biaxial. Their Series des- ignations for products relate to pin kit nomenclature (See Figure 8). Medeco LFICs (excluding KeyMark products) can use pinning kits from the 10 or 50 Series. However, for ICs using Original product pins, the third and fourth positions for the control sleeve must use 10 Series pins for drivers and WWW.ALOA.ORG
