WO2025056386A1 - Locking cylinder - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a locking cylinder, comprising a cylinder core with a key channel for a key. A blocking device is also provided, which has an interrogation pin preloaded in the direction of the key channel and has a blocking pin which is preloaded in the blocking position, in which position the blocking pin prevents a rotation of the cylinder core into the open position. The interrogation pin can be pushed by the key into an interrogation position, wherein the interrogation pin and/or the blocking pin has a permanent magnet on an end portion facing the respective other pin, said permanent magnet being designed, when the interrogation pin is pushed into the interrogation position, to hold the blocking pin in a release position in which the blocking pin releases the cylinder core for the open position.

Description

Lock cylinder

The invention relates to a locking cylinder comprising a cylinder housing with a core receiving section and a cylinder core which is mounted in the core receiving section so as to be rotatable about a cylinder rotation axis between a closed position and an open position and has a key channel extending along the cylinder rotation axis, into which key channel an associated key can be inserted through a key insertion opening along a key insertion direction. The key channel has an elongated cross-section with two opposing key channel broad sides and two opposing key channel narrow sides. In addition, the locking cylinder comprises at least one tumbler which is designed to block the cylinder core, which is in the closed position, from rotating into the open position when the associated key is not inserted into the key channel. The at least one tumbler can be sorted into a release configuration by inserting the associated key, in which release configuration the at least one tumbler releases the cylinder core for rotation relative to the cylinder housing.

Such locking cylinders can be used in a variety of applications and, for example, in door locks to optionally release a door for opening or to lock the door against opening. For this purpose, the rotatable cylinder core can in particular be connected directly or indirectly to a locking element so that the locking element can be driven by rotating the cylinder core. When the cylinder core is in the closed position, such a locking element can, for example, engage in a recess provided for this purpose on a door frame and thereby lock the door against movement relative to the door frame, whereas the locking element can be moved out of the recess by rotating the cylinder core into the open position in order to be able to release the door for opening. In a similar way, locking cylinders can also be used in locks for locking windows or window handles, as well as in padlocks, for example, in that by rotating the cylinder core between the closed position and the open position, a shackle can be locked relative to a lock body of a padlock or can be released for movement relative to the lock body. To secure the locking cylinder against unauthorized operation, one or more tumblers can be provided which can block the cylinder core against rotation relative to the cylinder housing in the closed position and/or against rotation into the open position when the key is not inserted into the keyway. For example, the at least one tumbler can be designed as a pin holder, which can have a housing pin arranged in the cylinder housing and pretensioned in the direction of the cylinder core by a tumbler spring, as well as a core pin arranged in the cylinder core. The housing pin can protrude into the cylinder core when the associated key is not inserted into the keyway, thereby preventing rotation of the cylinder core relative to the cylinder housing. By inserting the associated key, which is designed to sort the at least one tumbler into the release configuration, the core pin and, via it, the housing pin can be displaced against the pretension of the spring, whereby the core pin can be moved, in particular, just to an outer side of the cylinder core by the correct key. Therefore, after the associated key has been fully inserted into the keyway, the housing pin can be positioned outside the cylinder core, releasing the cylinder core for rotation relative to the cylinder housing. In particular, locking cylinders can have multiple such tumblers, and the associated key can be configured to sort all of the tumblers into the release configuration to release the cylinder core for rotation into the open position.

In principle, such locking cylinders can be designed to be robust and reliable, so that the use of locking cylinders can achieve a high level of security for the locks in question against break-in attempts. However, the coding options of conventional locking cylinders are often predetermined by the number and design of the tumblers, so that the cylinder cores of such locking cylinders can be moved into the open position by any key that is suitable for sorting the tumbler or tumblers into the release configuration. In order to further increase the security of locking cylinders against unauthorized activation attempts and the forgery security of the assigned key, there is a need for locking cylinders that offer coding options that go beyond the respective tumblers, so that additional properties of the assigned key can be queried and thus make forgery of the assigned key more difficult.

Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a locking cylinder of the type described with extended coding options in order to be able to achieve increased security against forgery of the associated key. This object is achieved by a locking cylinder having the features of claim 1.

This locking cylinder has a locking device comprising a query pin and a locking pin. The query pin is preloaded toward the keyway and engages the keyway (at least when the key is not fully inserted into the keyway). The locking pin is aligned with the query pin. The locking pin is preloaded outwardly into a locked position relative to the cylinder rotation axis and is designed to prevent and/or block rotation of the cylinder core into the open position in the locked position.

The interrogation pin can also be pushed into a query position by fully inserting the associated key into the keyway, in particular against its preload. Furthermore, the interrogation pin has a permanent magnet at an end portion facing the locking pin and/or the locking pin has a permanent magnet at an end portion facing the interrogation pin, wherein the permanent magnet is designed to hold the locking pin, when the interrogation pin is pushed into the query position, against the preload of the locking pin, in a release position in which the locking pin releases the cylinder core for rotation into the open position.

By having the locking cylinder with such a locking device with a locking pin that prevents rotation of the cylinder core into the open position in the locked position, an additional level of security and coding of the locking cylinder can be achieved compared to coding the cylinder core exclusively by the at least one tumbler. In particular, a key by means of which the cylinder core can be actuated and moved from the closed position to the open position must not only sort the at least one tumbler into the release configuration, but must also interact with the interrogation pin in such a way that the interrogation pin can be moved into the interrogation position by the key, thereby enabling the locking pin to be held in the release position and the cylinder core to be released. This can be achieved, in particular, by forming a coding elevation on the key, by means of which the interrogation pin can be pushed back into the interrogation position against its pretension when the key is fully inserted into the keyway. This will be explained in more detail below.

Since in some embodiments the query position can be precisely defined and must be achieved in order to be able to hold the locking pin in the release position, for example by an engagement depth of the query pin in the keyway, a positioning of the The interrogation pin and thus the location of the engagement in the keyway, the respective lengths of the interrogation pin and the locking pin, the strengths of the respective preloads of the interrogation pin and the locking pin, and/or the strength of the permanent magnet(s) create various coding options for coding the locking cylinder that go beyond the tumblers. In particular, such coding of the locking cylinder must create a coding protrusion on the key in the correct position and at the correct height in order to be able to move the interrogation pin into the interrogation position, so that the provision of a locking device can ultimately make forgery of the associated key more difficult.

Nevertheless, these codings can be implemented with comparatively little effort in terms of manufacturing the locking cylinder and the associated key, as only two additional pins - the query pin and the locking pin - need to be inserted into the cylinder core and pre-tensioned accordingly, whereas only the additional coding elevation needs to be attached to the key. Furthermore, the permanent magnet can, for example, be easily pressed onto the respective end section. The arrangement of the permanent magnet on the query pin and/or the locking pin enables greater durability and reliability compared to arranging a magnet on a key, as the locking pin and the query pin are only moved when the locking cylinder is actuated and - unlike a magnet attached to a key - are not exposed to friction during transport of the key, for example, which could lead to the permanent magnet becoming loose.

In order to be able to hold the locking pin in the release position, the permanent magnet can in particular be designed to exert an attractive force on the respective other of the interrogation pin or locking pin on which the permanent magnet is not arranged. Therefore, at least that of the locking pin and the interrogation pin which does not have the permanent magnet can have a magnetic material on an end section facing the permanent magnet and/or be formed from a magnetic material. In particular, the respective pin can be formed entirely from a magnetic material. Furthermore, in embodiments in which both the interrogation pin and the locking pin have a respective permanent magnet, the permanent magnets can be oppositely polarized in order to achieve an attraction between the locking pin and the interrogation pin and thereby to be able to hold the locking pin in the release position.

In particular, it can be provided that the interrogation pin and the locking pin mechanically contact each other in the release position when the interrogation pin is in the interrogation position and the Locking pins are positioned in the release position. Therefore, the locking pin can, for example, lie directly against the interrogation pin in the release position, provided the interrogation pin is positioned in the interrogation position. Alternatively, however, it can also be provided in principle that the permanent magnet is designed to hold the locking pin in the release position against the preload of the locking pin when the interrogation pin is positioned in the interrogation position, without the interrogation pin and the locking pin coming into direct contact.

Furthermore, the strength of the permanent magnet can be selected such that the permanent magnet can pull the locking pin from the locked position into the release position immediately upon positioning the interrogation pin in the interrogation position and then hold it in the release position. However, it can also be provided that the locking pin must first be moved in another way towards the interrogation pin positioned in the interrogation position and, for example, into the release position in order to come into operative contact with the permanent magnet and to be held in the release position by the permanent magnet. In such embodiments, the strength of the permanent magnet must therefore only be sufficient to compensate for a force acting on the locking pin in the release position in the direction of the locked position, without, however, having to overcome the pretension of the locking pin and pull the locking pin into the release position. Such embodiments and possibilities for moving the locking pin towards the interrogation pin will be explained in more detail below.

Furthermore, the locking pin can generally be arranged in the cylinder core, but can be designed to protrude from the cylinder core into the cylinder housing in the locked position, in order to thereby block the cylinder core against rotation relative to the cylinder housing into the open position. However, it can be provided that the cylinder core can be rotated through a predetermined angle of rotation even when the interrogation pin is not positioned in the interrogation position and/or when the locking pin is not positioned in the release position, before the locking pin blocks further rotation toward the open position. This will also be explained in more detail below.

In some embodiments, the locking cylinder may have multiple tumblers, wherein these tumblers may in particular be designed as pin tumblers. Such pin tumblers may, for example, have tumbler springs and housing pins arranged in the cylinder housing, which are pretensioned by the tumbler springs in the direction of the cylinder core. In addition, the pin tumblers may comprise core pins arranged in the cylinder core. When the key is not inserted into the keyway, the housing pins may also protrude from the cylinder housing and into the cylinder core. protrude in order to thereby block the cylinder core against rotation relative to the cylinder housing. However, the associated key can have sorting structures, in particular sorting elevations and/or sorting depressions, so that the core pins are displaced outward upon insertion of the associated key into the keyway and the housing pins can thereby be moved out of the cylinder core in order to release the cylinder core for rotation. Such pin tumblers are generally known to those skilled in the art.

Furthermore, in some embodiments it can be provided in particular that the tumblers and/or the interrogation pin protrude into the key channel on a key channel broadside, so that accordingly in particular the mentioned sorting structures and/or a coding elevation cooperating with the interrogation pin can be formed on a key broadside of the associated key.

The locking cylinder can, in particular, be designed as a profile cylinder in accordance with DIN 18252. In such a profile cylinder, the cylinder housing can have a core receiving section for receiving the cylinder core and a flange section projecting radially therefrom with respect to a rotational axis of the cylinder core, in which the aforementioned housing pins and tumbler springs can be arranged. As an alternative to a profile cylinder, however, it can also be provided, for example, that the locking cylinder is designed as a round cylinder or oval cylinder and has a correspondingly shaped cylinder housing.

In principle, within the scope of the present disclosure, a radial and an axial direction can refer to the cylinder rotation axis and a longitudinal axis of the associated key, unless another reference axis is explicitly mentioned. Furthermore, the longitudinal axis of the associated key can, in particular, correspond to the cylinder rotation axis when the key is inserted. In addition, the key can, in principle, be inserted into the key channel along or parallel to the cylinder rotation axis, so that the cylinder rotation axis can define the key insertion direction. Furthermore, the key can be inserted into the key channel along its longitudinal axis.

Further embodiments are explained in the dependent claims, the description and the figures.

In some embodiments, the permanent magnet may be disposed at an end portion of the interrogation pin. In some embodiments, the locking pin can engage in a locking receptacle formed on the cylinder housing when the cylinder core is in the closed position. In particular, in such embodiments, the locking pin can block rotation of the cylinder core from the closed position by engaging in the locking receptacle if the interrogation pin is not arranged in the interrogation position. However, in some embodiments, it can also be provided that the locking pin can be guided out of the locking receptacle upon rotation of the cylinder core by means of an interrogation bevel adjoining the locking receptacle, in order to block rotation of the cylinder core towards the open position only after rotation by a predetermined angle of rotation if the interrogation pin is not arranged in the interrogation position. This will also be explained in more detail below.

In some embodiments, the interrogation pin can engage into the keyway at one of the keyway broad sides.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, the interrogation pin can be more strongly preloaded than the locking pin. In particular, such a stronger preload of the interrogation pin compared to the preload of the locking pin can ensure that the interrogation pin can hold the locking pin in the release position and cannot be pulled outwards by the locking pin beyond the interrogation position due to its preload. In particular, a force acting on the interrogation pin in the direction of the keyway due to the preload when the interrogation pin is positioned in the interrogation position can therefore be greater than an outward force acting on the locking pin due to the preload of the locking pin when the locking pin is positioned in the release position.

Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the interrogation pin can also rest against a retaining edge of the cylinder core in the interrogation position, which blocks outward movement of the interrogation pin. This can also prevent the interrogation pin from being pulled outward by the locking pin and the locking pin from engaging the cylinder housing despite the interrogation pin being positioned in the interrogation position.

In addition, in some embodiments, the strength of the permanent magnet can be greater than a force acting outward on the locking pin in the release position, but less than the sum of the force acting outward on the locking pin in the release position and a force acting inward on the interrogation pin in the interrogation position in the direction of the key channel. In particular, the force acting inward on the interrogation pin in the interrogation position due to its pretension can be compensated by a coding elevation formed on the associated key, which prevents movement of the interrogation pin in The direction of the keyway can be blocked. Because the strength of the permanent magnet can exceed the outward force acting on the locking pin, the locking pin can be held in the release position when the assigned key is inserted. However, if the key is removed, the force acting on the interrogation pin is no longer compensated, and the combined force of the opposing preloads exceeds the force of the permanent magnet, allowing the locking pin to return to the locked position, thus securing the cylinder core against unauthorized movement into the open position.

In some embodiments, the cylinder housing can have a query gate. By rotating the cylinder core from the closed position into a query rotational position, the locking pin can be guided along the query gate and thereby moved towards the query pin and, in particular, urged into the release position. Furthermore, the locking pin and/or the query pin can be brought into operative contact with the permanent magnet upon reaching the query rotational position when the query pin is in the query position. In other words, a magnetic force connection can thus be brought about between the locking pin and the query pin when the key is fully inserted into the keyway.

In particular, the locking pin can be moved towards the interrogation pin by rotating the cylinder core into the interrogation rotational position, for which purpose the interrogation gate can, for example, have an interrogation slope that rises in the direction of rotation of the cylinder core towards the keyway, along which the locking pin can be guided during rotation. If the interrogation pin is in the interrogation position, the permanent magnet can also exert a sufficient attractive force on the locking pin and the interrogation pin in order to be able to hold the locking pin in the release position when the interrogation rotational position is reached. In particular, the locking pin can be moved into the release position by rotating the cylinder core and/or can be brought into mechanical contact with the interrogation pin in the interrogation position in order to be able to be held on the interrogation pin and in the release position.

In principle, however, such a rotation can also be possible, especially when the interrogation pin is not in the interrogation position and therefore no key designed to interact with the interrogation pin has been inserted into the keyway. In particular, a rotation of the cylinder core into the interrogation rotation position can thus be carried out by a key which can sort the at least one tumbler into the release configuration, but which cannot carry out the additional coding for moving the query pin into the query position. In this case, no effective contact can be established with the permanent magnet, so that the locking pin can block further rotation of the cylinder core and, in particular, rotation into the open position.

In general, bringing the locking pin and/or the interrogation pin into operative contact with the permanent magnet may mean establishing such a small distance between the locking pin and the interrogation pin that the permanent magnet can exert a sufficient attractive force to hold the locking pin in the release position and in particular in mechanical contact with the interrogation pin.

In some embodiments, the interrogation gate can have an interrogation slope along which the locking pin can be guided during rotation of the cylinder core from the closed position to the interrogation position. In particular, such an interrogation slope can deflect the rotational movement of the cylinder core in order to convert the rotational movement into a movement of the locking pin counter to the preload on the interrogation pin. Therefore, the interrogation slope can rise in the direction of the keyway and thus in the direction of the interrogation pin, particularly when viewed along the direction of rotation of the cylinder core during rotation from the closed position to the open position.

In some embodiments, the interrogation gate may have an interrogation section extending at least to an outer side of the cylinder core, wherein the locking pin may rest against the interrogation section in the interrogation rotational position.

In particular, by rotating the cylinder core into the interrogation rotational position, the locking pin can be brought into a position in which the locking pin no longer engages with the cylinder housing. If the locking pin is thus held in the position reached in the interrogation rotational position, in particular the release position, the locking pin no longer engages with the cylinder housing, so that further rotation of the cylinder core, in particular into the open position, is possible. By means of such an interrogation section, it can thus be achieved that the locking pin only has to be held in the assumed position after being rotated into the interrogation rotational position and, to a certain extent, has to be taken over by the interrogation pin, without having to be moved against the preload by a magnetic force exerted by the permanent magnet.

In some embodiments, the cylinder core can be rotated from the rotational position towards the open position to a position where the interrogation pin is not in the interrogation position. Blocking rotational position can be rotatable. Furthermore, when the interrogation pin is not in the interrogation position, the locking pin can be designed to engage a blocking receptacle of the interrogation link due to its pretension when the cylinder core is rotated from the interrogation rotational position into the blocking rotational position, wherein the blocking receptacle can have a blocking stop for the locking pin, against which the locking pin engaging in the blocking receptacle strikes when the blocking rotational position is reached.

In particular, the locking pin can return to the locked position in the blocking rotational position if the interrogation pin is not positioned in the interrogation position and the locking pin was therefore not taken over while passing the interrogation rotational position in order to be held in the release position. Such an interrogation gate thus makes it possible to first move the locking pin towards the interrogation pin by rotating the cylinder core into the interrogation rotational position in order to - provided the interrogation pin is positioned in the interrogation position - hold the locking pin in the release position and release the cylinder core for rotation into the open position. If, on the other hand, the interrogation pin is not in the interrogation position because no key designed to interact with the interrogation pin has been inserted into the keyway, the locking pin is moved outwards again due to its pretension when rotated from the interrogation rotational position towards the open position and ultimately engages the blocking receptacle in order to block the cylinder core against rotation beyond the blocking rotational position towards the open position.

In some embodiments, it can therefore also be provided generally and independently of the design of the locking cylinder with a query gate and/or a query section that the cylinder core, when the query pin is not in the query position, can be rotated from the closed position into a blocking rotational position, in which the blocking pin pretensioned into the blocking position engages in a blocking receptacle formed on the cylinder housing and thereby blocks further rotation of the cylinder core in the direction of the open position.

In some embodiments, the cylinder core can be rotated from the blocking rotational position into the closed position when the interrogation pin is not in the interrogation position. In particular, in some embodiments, the cylinder core can thus be rotated between the closed position and the blocking rotational position when the interrogation pin is not in the interrogation position. This can be provided in particular in embodiments in which the key can only be released from the keyway when the cylinder core is in the closed position, so that a possibly accidentally inserted A wrong key can be removed again after the cylinder core has been turned back to the closed position, whereas movement of the cylinder core into the open position can be prevented by the locking pin hitting the blocking stop.

In some embodiments, the interrogation gate can have a return bevel along which the locking pin can be guided out of the blocking receptacle when the cylinder core is rotated from the blocking rotational position towards the closed position. In this respect, the blocking receptacle can not have a blocking stop, particularly in the direction of the closed position, but rather a return bevel which enables the locking pin to be pushed back against its pretension. The return bevel can furthermore in particular adjoin the already mentioned interrogation section, so that the locking pin can be guided via the interrogation rotational position and the interrogation section when rotated from the blocking rotational position into the closed position, in order to be able to be guided from the interrogation section, in particular via the already mentioned interrogation bevel, back into the already mentioned blocking receptacle, into which the locking pin can engage in the closed position.

In some embodiments, the cylinder core can be rotatable from the closed position through the interrogation rotational position to the open position. In other embodiments, however, the cylinder core can be rotatable from the closed position along a first rotational direction to the interrogation rotational position and from the interrogation rotational position along a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction to the open position.

In this respect, some embodiments may provide for the cylinder core to be rotatable from the closed position to the open position by a continuous or continuous rotation, wherein the cylinder core can pass through the interrogation rotational position during this rotation, in which the locking pin can be taken over, so to speak, and held in the release position during the further rotation into the open position. In particular, the cylinder core can also pass through the blocking rotational position, wherein further rotation can only be possible if the interrogation pin is arranged in the interrogation position and the locking pin is therefore held in the release position.

In other embodiments, however, it can be provided that the cylinder core must first be rotated along a first direction of rotation into the query rotation position in order to thereby transfer the locking pin into the release position and then on the query pin to be able to hold it. After this rotation along the first direction of rotation, the cylinder core in such embodiments can be moved into the open position along a second direction of rotation opposite to the first direction of rotation, provided that the associated key has been inserted into the keyway and the locking pin is therefore held in the release position. During this rotation along the second direction of rotation, the cylinder core can thus pass through the closed position, which in such embodiments can in particular also correspond to the blocking rotational position, so that the locking pin can strike against a blocking receptacle upon reaching the closed position if the interrogation pin has not been brought into the interrogation position. In this respect, in such embodiments, the aforementioned blocking receptacle can also form the blocking receptacle, so that the locking pin, for example, in the closed position can bear directly against a blocking stop, which prevents rotation along the second direction of rotation starting from the closed position, unless the rotation along the first direction of rotation into the interrogation rotational position has previously taken place.

In some embodiments, the permanent magnet can be designed to pull the locking pin into the release position against the pretension of the locking pin when the interrogation pin is in the interrogation position. Such embodiments can be provided, in particular, as an alternative to embodiments with the interrogation gate explained above, in that only a key needs to be inserted into the keyway, through which the interrogation pin can be transferred into the interrogation position, whereupon the locking pin can be pulled into the release position against its pretension and can then be held on the interrogation pin. In such embodiments, it can also be provided, in particular, that the respective pretensions exerted on the interrogation pin and the locking pin, in addition, exceed an attractive force exerted by the permanent magnet when the interrogation pin is in the interrogation position and the locking pin is in the release position, so that the locking pin can return to the locked position after the cylinder core has been returned to the closed position and the key has been removed from the keyway.

In some embodiments, the associated key can be inserted into the keyway in the closed position and removed from the keyway. In particular, the associated key can only be removed from the keyway in the closed position.

The query pin and the locking pin as well as the respective preload elements, in particular the respective springs, for generating the respective preload can be Embodiments can be pre-assembled in a mounting sleeve, wherein the cylinder core can have a mounting receptacle into which the mounting sleeve can be inserted.

In particular, such pre-assembly of the locking device can facilitate the assembly of the locking cylinder as a whole, since the small components of the locking device—the respective pre-tensioning elements, the interrogation pin, and the locking pin—do not have to be inserted directly and, for example, one after the other into the cylinder core, but can first be pre-assembled in the mounting sleeve in order to then insert the entire locking device into the mounting receptacle as a single assembled unit in a single assembly step. In particular, the locking device can therefore encompass the mounting sleeve and/or the locking device can be pre-assembled entirely outside the cylinder core in order to be inserted into the cylinder core as a pre-assembled unit.

In particular, the mounting sleeve can further comprise respective support edges for the preloading elements. Furthermore, the preloading elements can be inserted into the mounting sleeve from two opposite sides. Accordingly, the query pin and the locking pin can also be inserted into the mounting sleeve from opposite sides. The mounting sleeve can therefore be open on both sides.

In some embodiments, the interrogation pin can be urged into the interrogation position by a coding projection arranged in an axial groove extending from a key tip of the associated key.

Due to the above-described interaction between the interrogation pin and the locking pin, in particular, the height of such a coding elevation can be sensed. If a key is inserted into the keyway that can sort the tumblers into the release position, but has a coding elevation that is too low, the interrogation pin cannot be brought into the interrogation position, and the interrogation pin and the locking pin cannot be moved sufficiently close to one another for the interrogation pin to hold the locking pin in the release position. As a result, the cylinder core cannot be moved into the open position. If, on the other hand, a key is inserted into the keyway that has a coding elevation that is too high, the interrogation pin is forced beyond the interrogation position, so that a locking pin resting against the interrogation pin and held to the interrogation pin by the permanent magnet can still protrude into the cylinder housing and thereby block rotation of the cylinder core. In embodiments in which the interrogation pin rests against a retaining edge of the cylinder core in the interrogation position, a key with a A coding protrusion that is too high can also prevent the key from being fully inserted into the keyway, as the interrogation pin is forced against the retaining edge by the coding protrusion before the key is fully inserted into the keyway, thus preventing further insertion of the key. Therefore, a precise design of the coding protrusion is required to ensure that the cylinder core can be rotated into the open position.

In addition, the formation of a coding elevation in an axial groove may require a more precise formation of the key, since the coding elevation must be formed with the correct height and positioning on the key, in particular in the groove. As explained in more detail below, the locking cylinder may also have further elements which interact with the groove and/or the coding elevation, so that an arrangement of the coding elevation in the groove may be necessary in order to be able to interact with the interrogation pin, whereas the mere formation of a large-area elevation on the key may not be sufficient. In such embodiments, an exact positioning of the coding elevation and a formation of the coding elevation with a precisely specified height on the associated key may therefore be necessary in order to be able to move the interrogation pin into the interrogation position and thereby hold the locking pin in the release position.

In some embodiments, the locking cylinder may further comprise a coding device having a first axial stop and a second axial stop for the key, wherein the first axial stop and the second axial stop engage in the key channel, and wherein the second axial stop is offset along the key insertion direction relative to the first axial stop to an axial end of the cylinder core facing away from the key insertion opening. Furthermore, the first axial stop may comprise a passage for the passage of a coding elevation formed on the associated key, wherein the second axial stop may form a stop for the coding elevation.

In particular, the coding elevation can be the coding elevation already mentioned above, which is also designed to interact with the interrogation pin in order to push the interrogation pin into the interrogation position and thereby hold the locking pin in the release position. Furthermore, it can be provided that the associated key is designed as a reversible key and has a respective coding elevation on opposite key width sides, wherein one of the coding elevations, depending on the orientation of the key during insertion into the keyway, is aligned with the interrogator pin and the other of the coding protrusions can interact with the coding device, as will also be explained in more detail below.

By providing two mutually offset axial stops for the key, the coding device can in particular offer further options for coding the key, for example by the second axial stop being able to query the axial position of the coding protrusion on the key. If, for example, the coding protrusion is offset too far in the direction of the key tip, the key will strike the second axial stop before it is fully inserted into the keyway, so that the locking cylinder cannot be actuated and the coding protrusion or another coding protrusion, in particular, cannot reach the query pin. In addition, by providing the first axial stop with the passage for the coding protrusion, the width and positioning of the coding protrusion transverse to the key insertion direction can also be queried, since coding protrusions that are too wide and/or not precisely positioned in the transverse direction can strike the boundaries of the first axial stop or the passage, so that the key in question cannot be fully inserted into the keyway. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the passage can be closed on a side facing away from the keyway, so that the height of the coding elevation can also be queried by the first axial stop.

Furthermore, the first axial stop can also form a stop for the associated key, so that a correct distance along the key insertion direction between the coding protrusion and a key element that abuts against the first axial stop can be detected. If this distance is too small, the key will already strike the first axial stop before the coding protrusion reaches the second axial stop, preventing the key from being fully inserted into the keyway and the cylinder core from being actuated. The coding device thus also enables further coding of the associated key to increase its security against counterfeiting.

Thus, in some embodiments, the associated key fully inserted into the keyway may strike both the first axial stop and the second axial stop.

In some embodiments, the coding device and the interrogation pin can engage in the key channel at opposite key channel broad sides. In particular, it can also be provided that the cylinder core has two cylinder core halves that can be assembled during assembly of the cylinder core and/or the locking cylinder, wherein the coding device and the interrogation pin can be arranged on different cylinder core halves in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the coding device and the interrogation pin may be configured to cooperate with respective coding projections formed on opposing key broadsides of the associated key.

As already explained, the assigned key can in particular be a reversible key, which can be designed symmetrically with respect to rotations around the cylinder axis of rotation by 180°. The key can therefore be inserted into the keyway in any orientation with respect to such rotations of 180°, wherein, regardless of the orientation of the key, a respective coding elevation can interact with the interrogation pin and the coding device. This can make it possible for the coding device to scan a positioning of the coding elevation, a width of the coding elevation and/or a height of the coding elevation, wherein the interrogation pin can also scan the positioning and height of the coding elevation. Furthermore, by scanning the height of the coding elevation twice, for example, any tolerances can be minimized in order to increase the key's security against forgery.

In some embodiments, the passage may have two lateral boundaries offset from one another transversely to the cylinder's rotation axis, through which the coding protrusion can be guided when the key is inserted into the keyway. In particular, the passage may thus be limited on both sides, for example, to enable the width of the coding protrusion and/or its positioning transversely to the cylinder's rotation axis to be interrogated.

In some embodiments, the end faces of the boundaries facing the key insertion opening can form the first axial stop. In this respect, it can be provided, in particular, that the associated key strikes the end faces of the boundaries that delimit the passage for the coding projection when the associated key is fully inserted into the keyway.

In some embodiments, the outer surfaces of the boundaries may form an inner guide for a groove formed on the associated key in which the coding projection is formed. The boundaries of the passage can thus form elements that interact directly with the groove to, on the one hand, make it easier to guide the key into the keyway, but on the other hand also to be able to query the width of the groove. Due to the design of the coding device with a passage for the coding elevation, the coding elevation must necessarily be formed in a groove of the associated key, since a key designed with a wide elevation already strikes directly against the first axial stop. If the groove is also too narrow, the key also strikes directly against the first axial stop and cannot be fully inserted into the keyway. In this respect, the coding device can be used to scan the shape of the key in the area of a key tip as a whole by querying the position of the coding elevation, its width and height, as well as the width and/or length of the groove.

In some embodiments, the passage may be arch-shaped and the first stop may have a connecting portion by which the lateral boundaries are connected to one another on a side of the first axial stop facing away from the keyway.

Starting from a view in which the coding elevation extends upwards from a key shaft, the passage can thus be closed above the coding elevation in some embodiments in order to be able to scan a height of the coding elevation.

An arched passage can, in particular, act as a gate for the passage of the coding protrusion, whereby the connecting section of such an arched passage can, for example, also be linear and aligned approximately perpendicular to the lateral boundaries. However, it is also possible for the connecting section to have an arched shape in order to be able to scan, for example, a truncated cone-shaped coding protrusion and/or a coding protrusion with a rounded or curved upper surface as precisely as possible. In this respect, in some embodiments, a shape of the coding protrusion at an end facing away from the key shank can also be scanned through the passage.

In some embodiments, the key channel can extend laterally beyond the first stop element and the second stop element transversely to the key insertion direction. Therefore, in some embodiments, the key channel broad sides can extend transversely to the key insertion direction beyond the axial stops. Such a design allows the key to be held laterally at the key tip, for example, be able to be guided past the axial stops for the key in order, for example, to be able to guide the key.

In some embodiments, the coding device can be arranged at an end section of the cylinder core opposite the key insertion opening. Alternatively or additionally, the locking cylinder can have a plurality of tumblers, wherein all of the plurality of tumblers can be arranged between the key insertion opening and the coding device. However, even with a coding device arranged at an end section of the cylinder core opposite the key insertion opening, the coding device can be arranged between the key insertion opening and a groove formed on the cylinder core for attaching a snap ring for axially fixing the cylinder core in the cylinder housing. On the other hand, the installation space required for the tumblers can in principle be kept free of the coding device, so that the coding device can enable additional coding compared to the tumblers without having to save a tumbler.

In some embodiments, the coding device can be arranged off-center with respect to the key channel, in particular transversely to the key insertion direction. Accordingly, in such embodiments, the two axial stops can also be arranged off-center and/or neither of the axial stops can engage centrally in the key channel with respect to a transverse direction oriented transversely to the key insertion direction.

In some embodiments, the first axial stop and the second axial stop can be formed on respective coding elements inserted into the cylinder core, in particular respective plates.

In particular, in some embodiments, the first axial stop and the second axial stop can be formed on separate coding elements, which can be inserted into the cylinder core during assembly of the locking cylinder. For example, the coding elements can also lie directly against one another when inserted.

In some embodiments, the cylinder core may have a receptacle for inserting the coding elements. In particular, in such embodiments, the coding elements may be insertable into a receptacle of the cylinder core during assembly of the locking cylinder, so that the first axial stop and the second axial stop can engage in the keyway. For this purpose, the receptacle may, for example, have respective edges to ensure radial positioning of the coding elements and a depth of a to be able to determine the engagement of the axial stops in the keyway. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the cylinder core can have a respective receptacle for inserting the coding elements, or the cylinder core can have a common receptacle for inserting both coding elements, wherein the coding elements inserted into the common receptacle can in particular lie against one another.

In some embodiments, the receptacle may have a receiving opening on an outer side of the cylinder core, through which the coding elements can be inserted into the receptacle. The inserted coding elements may, in particular, extend radially to the outer side of the cylinder core and have a curvature on the outer side corresponding to the cylinder core. In this respect, the receiving opening can be closed, so to speak, by inserting the coding elements, so that the cylinder core is completed on the outer side so that it can be inserted precisely into the core receiving section of the cylinder housing.

In some embodiments, the coding device may further comprise a one-piece coding element on which the first axial stop and the second axial stop are formed. In particular, in such embodiments, the coding device may comprise a single coding element, which is formed as a single materially bonded part and on which both the first axial stop and the second axial stop are formed. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the single coding element may be selectively insertable into the cylinder core and in particular into a receptacle formed on the cylinder core, or the coding element may be formed directly on the cylinder core and, for example, be integrally formed thereon.

In some embodiments, the one-piece coding element may be arranged in the keyway at an end of the keyway opposite the key insertion opening.

In some embodiments, the coding element can be integrally formed on the cylinder core. In particular, in some embodiments, the cylinder core can comprise two cylinder core halves, wherein the coding element can be integrally formed in one of the two cylinder core halves. For example, the cylinder core or its cylinder core halves can be formed using a zinc die-casting process, wherein a relief of the coding element can be provided in a mold for producing one cylinder core half in order to be able to form and/or mold the coding element directly onto the respective cylinder core half. In some embodiments, the coding element can be designed in the manner of a fork and have two extensions that delimit the passage and point in the direction of the key insertion opening, between which extensions the coding elevation can be inserted into the fork. The extensions can also form the first axial stop, and a receiving section that connects the two extensions on a side of the fork facing away from the key insertion opening can form the second axial stop. Furthermore, in such embodiments, the extensions can extend, in particular, axially in the direction of the key insertion opening in order to be able to receive the coding elevation. However, a base formed by the cylinder core can delimit the passage on a side facing away from the key channel, so that even in such embodiments, a height of the coding elevation can be scanned by the fork-like coding element.

The invention further relates to a locking system which comprises a locking cylinder according to one of the embodiments explained above and the associated key.

In particular, the associated key can have a coding protrusion that interacts with the interrogation pin and is designed to push the interrogation pin into the interrogation position when the key is fully inserted into the keyway. The height of the coding protrusion can, in particular, be precisely selected such that the interrogation pin just reaches the interrogation position when the associated key is fully inserted into the keyway.

Furthermore, the associated key can be configured, in particular, to sort the tumblers into the release configuration upon full insertion into the keyway, in order to release the cylinder core for rotation relative to the cylinder housing. For this purpose, the associated key can, in particular, have respective sorting structures that interact with a respective tumbler. These sorting structures can, in particular, be formed on a key broadside of the associated key.

In some embodiments, the associated key may have an axial groove extending from a key tip, in which a coding protrusion is formed. The coding protrusion may be configured to urge the interrogation pin into the interrogation position when the key is fully inserted into the keyway.

In particular, the coding elevation can be formed on a key broadside of the associated key, so that the axial groove on the key broadside As already explained, by attaching such a coding elevation and arranging it in an axial groove, a more extensive coding of the assigned key can be achieved, in particular to increase its security against forgery.

An axial groove may generally extend substantially along a longitudinal axis of the associated key, but without necessarily having to have a rectilinear shape. For example, respective outer sides or lateral boundaries of an axial groove may therefore be rectilinear or curved.

In some embodiments, the coding protrusion can be designed to be freestanding in the groove. In particular, in such embodiments, the groove can have a depth between the coding protrusion and a rear boundary of the groove facing away from the key tip that corresponds to the depth of the groove between the coding protrusion and the key tip. A freestanding coding protrusion can, for example, be truncated cone-shaped, conical, truncated pyramid-shaped, pyramid-shaped, pin-shaped, and/or hemispherical.

Alternatively, it is also possible in principle for the coding elevation to extend as an axial web in the groove, which leads to a rear boundary of the groove facing away from the key tip.

In some embodiments, the coding elevation may have a recess for engagement of the interrogation pin on an interrogation surface facing in the direction of the interrogation pin when the key is inserted into the key channel.

Such a recess can also enable further coding of the assigned key, as it is not the absolute or maximum height of the coding protrusion that determines the displacement of the interrogation pin, but rather this height minus a depth of the recess into which the interrogation pin engages when the assigned key is fully inserted into the keyway. This allows further coding to be implemented on the key for coding protrusions that generally have the same maximum height. Coding protrusions that have the correct maximum height but no recess can push the interrogation pin beyond the interrogation position, so that the interrogation pin cannot be positioned exactly in the interrogation position and the locking pin cannot be held in the release position. In addition, particularly in embodiments which have the above-mentioned coding device, a maximum height of the coding elevation can still be scanned by a height of the passage provided by a first axial stop of such a coding device.

In some embodiments, the associated key can be designed as a reversible key with an elongated key shaft, which has two opposing broad sides and two opposing narrow sides, wherein the key can have a respective groove on each broad side with a coding elevation arranged therein. Such a reversible key can, in particular, be designed symmetrically with respect to rotations of 180° around the longitudinal axis of the key, so that the associated key can be inserted into the keyway in any orientation with respect to such 180° rotations. Furthermore, regardless of this orientation of the key, a respective one of the coding elevations can always interact with the interrogation pin.

In some embodiments, the locking cylinder can have a coding device which has a first axial stop and a second axial stop for the key, wherein the first axial stop and the second axial stop engage in the key channel. In addition, the second axial stop can be offset along the key insertion direction relative to the first axial stop to an axial end of the cylinder core facing away from the key insertion opening. The first axial stop can have a passage for the passage of one of the two coding elevations, and the second axial stop can form a stop for the one coding elevation, wherein the other of the two coding elevations of the associated key can be designed to urge the interrogation pin into the interrogation position when the one coding elevation bears against the second axial stop.

In such embodiments, each of the two coding elevations can therefore always interact with a respective element, the second axial stop or the query pin, regardless of the orientation of the associated key, in order to be able to implement the additional codings of the key explained.

Furthermore, the locking cylinder and/or the key of the locking system can have one or more features of the features already mentioned above in connection with embodiments of a locking cylinder. Furthermore, the invention relates to a key for use in a locking system of the type explained above, wherein the key is designed to sort the at least one tumbler into the release configuration upon complete insertion into the key channel, and wherein the key has a coding elevation which is designed to urge the interrogation pin into the interrogation position upon complete insertion of the key into the key channel.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, the coding elevation can be arranged in an axial groove extending from a key tip, in particular freestanding. Furthermore, the coding elevation can be arranged, in particular, on a broad side of the key.

In some embodiments, the coding protrusion may have a recess for engagement of the interrogation pin on an interrogation surface facing the interrogation pin when the key is inserted into the keyway. As already explained, the depth of the recess may allow additional coding of the associated key.

In some embodiments, the key can be designed as a reversible key with an elongated key shank, which has two opposing key broad sides and two opposing key narrow sides. The key can have a respective groove on each of the key broad sides with a coding projection arranged therein. In this respect, the key can be designed, in particular, symmetrically with respect to rotations of 180° around the cylinder rotation axis, which can correspond to a longitudinal axis of the key.

Furthermore, the key may have one or more features of the features already mentioned above in connection with a locking cylinder to be operated or the locking system explained.

In addition, the invention relates to the use of a key of the type explained above for actuating a locking cylinder of the type explained above, wherein the key in particular has a coding elevation which is designed to urge the interrogation pin into the interrogation position when the key is fully inserted into the key channel.

The invention is explained below purely by way of example with reference to the drawings using exemplary embodiments. They show:

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of a first embodiment of a locking system with a locking cylinder and an associated key, but with a cylinder housing of the locking cylinder hidden,

Fig. 2 a top view of the associated key,

Fig. 3A to 3C show two perspective views of the key together with coding elements of a coding device of the locking cylinder and a longitudinal section of the locking cylinder with the key inserted to illustrate the interaction of the key with the coding device of the locking cylinder,

Fig. 4 is an exploded view of another embodiment of the locking system with the cylinder housing hidden,

Fig. 5A and 5B are respective cross-sectional views through the locking cylinder to illustrate the interaction of a coding elevation of the associated key with a locking device of the locking cylinder,

Fig. 6A and 6B show a respective longitudinal sectional view of a cylinder core of a respective embodiment of a locking cylinder with the key inserted to further illustrate the interaction of the coding elevation with the locking device, wherein in the embodiment according to Fig. 6B a mounting sleeve is also provided for pre-assembling components of the locking device,

Fig. 7A and 7B are a respective longitudinal sectional view illustrating a further embodiment of the locking cylinder and its locking device, wherein the interaction of the associated key with the locking device requires a recess in the coding elevation formed on the key, and Figs. 8A and 8B are respective perspective exploded views of a cylinder core of a lock cylinder according to a further embodiment.

Fig. 1 shows an exploded view of a locking system 123, which has a locking cylinder 11 and an associated key 23 provided for actuating the locking cylinder 11. However, with regard to the locking cylinder 11, Fig. 1 only shows a cylinder core 19 of the locking cylinder 11 comprising two cylinder core halves 65 and 67, wherein this cylinder core 19, when the locking cylinder 11 is mounted, is rotatably received in a core receiving section 15 of a cylinder housing 13 (not shown in Fig. 1) about a cylinder rotation axis D between a closed position G and an open position O (cf. Figs. 5A and 5B). Such a cylinder housing 13 is generally known to those skilled in the art and is illustrated, for example, in Figs. 5A and 5B, wherein the cylinder housing 13 illustrated therein has the core receiving portion 15 for receiving the cylinder core 19 and a flange portion 17 projecting radially away from the core receiving portion 15, so that the locking cylinder 11 in question is designed as a profile cylinder. Furthermore, the locking cylinder 11 can have tumblers (not shown in the figures) to prevent rotation of the cylinder core 19 relative to the core receiving portion 15 of the cylinder housing 13, unless the associated key 23 has been inserted completely through a key insertion opening 25 into a key channel 21 formed on the cylinder core 19 along a key insertion direction E, which corresponds to a longitudinal axis L of the associated key 23.

For example, tumblers of such a locking cylinder 11 can be designed as pin tumblers, which have housing pins arranged in the flange section 17 and prestressed by tumbler springs in the direction of the cylinder core 19, for example to engage in bores 37 of the cylinder core 19 when the key 23 is not inserted into the keyway 21. Core pins of the pin tumblers can also be arranged in the cylinder core 19, wherein the core pins can be displaced outwards by corresponding sorting structures of the key 23 upon complete insertion of the associated key 23 into the keyway 21, in order to thereby transfer the tumblers into a release configuration and push the housing pins back into the flange section 17 against their prestress, so that the tumblers release the cylinder core 19 for rotation into the open position O. However, the design of such tumblers and in particular such pin tumblers is generally known to those skilled in the art, so that it need not be discussed in detail here. Furthermore, it can be seen in particular from Figs. 5A and 5B that the key channel 21 has an elongated cross-section with two mutually opposing key channel broad sides 27 and 29 and two mutually opposing key channel narrow sides 31 and 33. Accordingly, a key shank 127 of the associated key 23 is also elongated and has two mutually opposing key broad sides 115 and 117 and two mutually opposing key narrow sides 119 and 129, so that the key 23 can be inserted snugly into the key channel 21. In particular, the key channel narrow sides 31 and 33 are further aligned perpendicular to the key channel broad sides 27 and 29, and the key narrow sides 119 and 121 are aligned perpendicular to the key broad sides 115 and 117.

Although FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate only one possible embodiment of a locking cylinder 11 according to the present disclosure, each of the disclosed locking cylinders 11 can generally comprise a cylinder housing 13 with a core receiving portion 15 for rotatably supporting the cylinder core 19, and the cylinder core 19 can generally comprise an elongated keyway 21. However, embodiments are also possible, for example, in which the locking cylinder 11 is not designed as a profile cylinder, but rather, for example, as a round or oval cylinder.

In order to be able to achieve further coding options in addition to the tumblers in such a locking cylinder 11, a coding device 39 is arranged on an end section 55 of the cylinder core 19 in the locking cylinder 11 of the locking system 123 illustrated in Fig. 1. The coding device 39 comprises, for example, two coding elements 56, which are designed as respective small plates 57 and can be inserted on an outer side of the cylinder core 19 through a receiving opening 61 into a receptacle 59 of the cylinder core 19. One of the coding elements 56 forms a first axial stop 41 and the other of the two coding elements 56 forms a second axial stop 43 for the associated key 23, wherein the two axial stops 41 and 43—as particularly illustrated in the longitudinal section of Fig. 3C—engage in the key channel 21 when the coding elements 56 are inserted into the receptacle 59. Furthermore, the second axial stop 43 is offset along the key insertion direction E relative to the first axial stop 41 in the direction of an axial end of the cylinder core 19 opposite the key insertion opening 25.

Fig. 1 further shows that the first axial stop 41 has a passage 45 delimited by two lateral boundaries 47, through which a coding elevation 125 formed on the associated key 23 can be inserted during insertion of the key 23 into the can be passed through the key channel 21. In contrast, the second axial stop 43 forms an axial stop for the coding elevation 125, so that the coding elevation 125 rests against the second axial stop 43 when the associated key 23 has been fully inserted into the key channel 21 (see in particular also Fig. 3C).

As can be seen in particular from Fig. 2, the coding elevation 125 on the associated key 23 is formed in a groove 51 which extends axially from a key tip 91 with respect to a longitudinal axis A of the associated key 23. In addition, the coding elevation 125 is formed free-standing in the axial groove 51, so that the coding elevation 125 forms a somewhat local and, for example, frustoconical elevation in the groove 51, wherein a depth of the groove 51 between the coding elevation 125 and a rear boundary 93 of the groove 51 corresponds to a depth of the groove 51 between the coding elevation 125 and the key tip 91. Furthermore, the key 23 is designed, in particular, as a reversible key and symmetrical with respect to rotations of 180° around the longitudinal axis A of the key 23, so that a groove 51 with a correspondingly designed coding elevation 125 is also provided on the key broadside 117 opposite the key broadside 115 visible in Fig. 2. This can, in particular, make it possible to insert the key 23 into the key channel 21 in any orientation with respect to such rotations of 180° and to actuate the locking cylinder 11.

3A and 3B illustrate that the outer boundaries 47 of the passage 45 form an inner guide for the groove 51, so that the key 23 can be centered and guided during insertion into the key channel 21 by the interaction of the inner sides of the groove 51 with the outer boundaries 47 of the passage 45 of the first axial stop 41. In particular, however, end faces 49 of the outer boundaries 47 of the first axial stop 41 facing the key insertion opening 25 form a stop for the rear boundary 93 of the groove 51 facing away from the key tip 91, so that when the key 23 is fully inserted into the key channel 21, the coding elevation 125 can bear against the second axial stop 43 and the rear boundary 93 of the groove 51 can bear against the first axial stop (see in particular Figs. 3B and 3C).

This design of the locking cylinder 11 and its cylinder core 19 with the coding device 39 enables, in particular, a coding of the locking cylinder 11 that goes beyond the tumblers. For example, by positioning the second axial stop 43, an axial position of the coding elevation 125 on the associated key 23 or in the groove 51 can be queried, for example, by a coding elevation 125 that is axially offset too far in the direction of the key tip 91 already before complete insertion of the key 23 into the key channel 21 can strike the second axial stop 43, so that the cylinder core 19 cannot be actuated by means of the key in question even if the key is fundamentally suitable for sorting the tumblers.

In addition, a width of the coding elevation 125 and a positioning of the coding elevation 125 transversely to the key insertion direction E can be scanned through the passage 45 formed by the first axial stop 41, since, for example, a coding elevation 125 that is too wide or incorrectly positioned in the transverse direction cannot be guided through the passage 45 and already strikes the first axial stop 41, so that the key in question cannot be fully inserted into the key channel 21 again.

1, 3A and 3B show that the passage 45 according to this embodiment is arch-shaped and the two lateral boundaries 47 are connected to one another on a side facing away from the key channel 21 by a connecting section 53. Therefore, a height of the coding elevation 125 in the sense of an extension of the coding elevation 125 starting from a bottom of the groove 51 perpendicular to an extension plane of the key shank 127 can also be scanned through the passage 45. Coding elevations 125 that are too high also already abut the first axial stop 41, so that the cylinder core 19 cannot be actuated by means of the relevant key, even if this key is suitable for sorting the tumblers. Furthermore, the engagement of the first axial stop 41 in the key channel 21 also requires that the coding elevation 125 is formed in a correctly designed groove 51, since a mere raised design of the key tip 91 as a whole or a groove that is too narrow would result in the key 23 already striking the first axial stop 41 with the key tip 91.

In addition, by designing the coding device 39 with two offset axial stops, a distance between the coding protrusion 125 and the rear limit 93 of the groove 51 can be checked, in that the rear limit 93 of the groove 51 can already strike the first axial stop 41, for example due to an insufficient distance between the coding protrusion 125 and the rear limit 93, before the coding protrusion 125 reaches the second axial stop 43. In this case, too, the key 43 in question cannot be fully inserted into the keyway 21. In this respect, the coding device 39 makes it possible, in particular, to realize numerous further codings of the locking cylinder 11 by varying an axial extension of the coding element 56 or of the plate 57, which forms the first axial stop 41 (querying the distance between the coding elevation 125 and the rear boundary 93 of the groove 51), varying a positioning of the passage 45 in the transverse direction (querying the position of the coding elevation 125 in the transverse direction), varying a width of the passage (querying the width of the coding elevation 125), varying an axial positioning of the second axial stop 43 (querying the axial position of the coding elevation 125), varying a height of the passage (querying the height of the coding elevation 125) and/or varying a width of the first axial stop 41 and/or the second axial stop (querying the width of the groove 51), in order to To increase the security against forgery of the assigned key 23.

Furthermore, Fig. 3C shows that the coding elements 56, after insertion into the receptacle 59, close flush with an outer side of the cylinder core 19, wherein, as can be seen from Fig. 1, the coding elements 56 also have a curvature on the outer side corresponding to the cylinder core 19, so that the cylinder core 19 can be completed to a certain extent by inserting the coding elements 56 in order to be able to be rotatably received in the core receiving section 15 of the cylinder housing 13.

Fig. 4 shows a further embodiment of a locking system 123 with a locking cylinder 11, wherein again the cylinder housing 13, which is basically illustrated with reference to Figs. 5A and 5B, is hidden. In this embodiment too, a coding device 39 is arranged on an end section 55 of a cylinder core 19 of the locking cylinder 11, which coding device has a first axial stop 41 and a second axial stop 43. As already in the embodiment explained with reference to Figs. 1 to 3C, the first axial stop 41 has a passage 45 for the explained coding elevation 125 of the associated key 23, so that the fully inserted key 23 can abut with the coding elevation 125 on the second axial stop 43 and with a rear boundary 93 of a groove 51, in which the coding elevation 125 is formed, on the first axial stop 41.

While the coding device 39 and its coding elements 56 can be inserted into a receptacle 59 of a first cylinder core half 65 of the cylinder core 19, in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4, a locking device 75 is also provided on a second cylinder core half 67 of the cylinder core 19. The locking device 75 has a query pin 77 that is pretensioned by a spring 79 in the direction of the keyway 21 and engages in the keyway 21. In addition, an outwardly and a locking pin 83 preloaded in the direction of the cylinder housing 13 by a spring 85 is provided, which can be pushed into a locking position S due to the preload, in which the locking pin 83 prevents rotation of the cylinder core 19 into the open position O. The operation of the locking device 75 is explained below with reference to Figs. 5A and 5B.

Fig. 5A illustrates the cylinder core 19 in the closed position G, in which the associated key 23 can be inserted into the keyway 21 and removed from the keyway 21. According to the illustration in Fig. 5A, however, no key 23 is inserted into the keyway 21 and the interrogation pin 77 engages in the keyway 21 due to its preload, which is deployed by the spring 79 supported on an edge 81 of the cylinder core 19. In addition, the locking pin 83 is supported by the spring 85 on an edge 87 of the cylinder core 19 and, due to the deployed preload, assumes the aforementioned locking position S, in which the locking pin 83 engages in a locking receptacle 97 formed in the core receiving section 15 of the cylinder housing 13.

For example, in order to open a lock, as part of which the locking cylinder 11 can be used, the cylinder core 19 can be moved by 90° from the closed position G illustrated in Fig. 5A into the open position O by rotating the cylinder core 19 along a direction of rotation D1 into the open position O after inserting the associated key 23 and transferring the tumblers into the release configuration. However, an additional coding can be created by the locking device 75, wherein the cylinder core 19 can only be rotated into the open position O by a key 23 which, on the one hand, can sort the tumblers and, on the other hand, has a coding elevation 125 designed to interact with the locking device 75.

As Fig. 5B illustrates, the interrogation pin 77 can be displaced outwards into an interrogation position A by the coding elevation 125 by inserting the associated key 23 into the keyway 21, counter to the pretension exerted by the spring 79. A permanent magnet 95 is also arranged on an end section 107 of the interrogation pin 77 facing the locking pin 83. However, as can be seen from the combination with Fig. 5A, this permanent magnet 95 does not come into direct mechanical contact with the locking pin 83 simply by inserting the associated key 23. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is provided that the locking pin 83 initially remains in the locking position S when the associated key 23 has been inserted into the keyway 21. However, a sensing gate 99 is formed on the cylinder housing 13, so that the cylinder core 19 can be moved from the closed position G along the direction of rotation D1 into a sensing rotational position C, despite the locking pin 83 being in the locked position S. During this rotation of the cylinder core 19, the locking pin 83 is guided along a sensing bevel 103 to a sensing section 101 of the sensing gate 99, whereby the locking pin 83 resting against the sensing section 101 no longer protrudes into the cylinder housing 13. Rather, during rotation from the closed position G into the sensing rotational position C, the locking pin 83 is pushed back against the pretension of the spring 85 into a release position F and, as shown in Fig. 5B, in the sensing rotational position C, comes into mechanical contact with the sensing pin 77, which is in the sensing position A, and the permanent magnet 95 arranged at its end section 107.

According to this embodiment, the strength of the permanent magnet 95 is selected such that the permanent magnet 95 can hold the locking pin 83 in the release position F against its pretension when the interrogation pin 77 is in the interrogation position A. Therefore, the cylinder core 19 can be rotated from the interrogation rotational position C shown in Fig. 5B into the open position O, provided that the interrogation pin 77 has previously been moved into the interrogation position A by the correctly formed coding elevation 125 of the key 23 and the locking pin 83 is held in the release position F by the magnetic force connection formed.

In order to be able to reliably hold the locking pin 83 in the release position F, the query pin 77 according to this embodiment is further designed to be wider than the locking pin 83 and rests against a retaining edge in the cylinder core 19 facing the locking pin 83, so that the locking pin 83 cannot pull the query pin 77 further outwards against its pretension in order to engage in the cylinder housing 13 despite the query pin 77 being positioned in the query position A. Furthermore, the strength of the attractive force exerted by the permanent magnet 95 on the locking pin 83 can exceed the preload exerted by the spring 85 on the locking pin 83 in order to be able to hold the locking pin 83 in the release position F, but can be less than a sum of the preload exerted by the spring 85 on the locking pin 83 and the preload exerted by the spring 79 on the query pin 77, so that the query pin 77 and the locking pin 83 can be released from one another again after the cylinder core 19 has been rotated back into the closed position G and the associated key 23 has been removed from the key channel 21.

In particular, the locking device 75 with the query pin 77 and the locking pin 83 thus enables a more extensive coding of the locking cylinder 11. From Fig. 5B, approximately It can be seen that the locking pin 83 assumes the release position F in the query rotational position C, regardless of whether the query pin 77 is in the query position A and a coding elevation 125 of the correct height is formed accordingly on the inserted key 23. However, the locking pin 83, which is not held in the release position F, due to its pretension as a result of further rotation of the cylinder core 19 in the direction of the open position O, engages with a blocking receptacle 109 formed on the cylinder housing 13 upon reaching a blocking rotational position B. This blocking receptacle has a blocking stop 111 against which the locking pin 83 strikes upon reaching the blocking rotational position B. Due to this striking, the locking pin 83 thus blocks further rotation of the cylinder core 19 in the direction of the open position O, unless the query pin 77 was previously arranged in the query position A and the locking pin 83 was thus, to a certain extent, taken over in the release position F upon passing the query rotational position C.

In order to be able to move the cylinder core 19 into the open position O, it is therefore necessary to insert an associated key 23 with a correctly formed coding elevation 125 into the keyway 21. However, a return bevel 105 adjoins the blocking receptacle 109 in a direction of rotation D2 opposite to the direction of rotation D1, so that the cylinder core 19 can be moved from the blocking rotational position B back into the closed position G even when the interrogation pin 77 is not positioned in the interrogation position A, in order to enable the removal of a possibly inadvertently inserted incorrect key. In principle, it can also be provided that the cylinder core 19 must first be rotated along the direction of rotation D2 opposite to the direction of rotation D1 in order to move the locking pin 83 into the release position F and to take it over by means of the interrogation pin 77 in order to then rotate the cylinder core 19 along the direction of rotation D1 into the open position O. In particular, in such embodiments it can also be provided that the locking receptacle 97 already has a blocking stop for the locking pin 83, so that in such embodiments the cylinder core 19, starting from the closed position G, must first be rotated along the second direction of rotation D2 into the query rotation position C in order to then be able to be rotated along the direction of rotation D1 via the closed position G into the open position O when the locking pin 83 is held in the release position F.

Through the interaction of the query pin 77 with the coding elevation 125, in particular, a height and positioning of the coding elevation 125 can be sensed and the cylinder core 19 can only be actuated when a coding elevation 125 of the correct height is positioned on the key shaft 127 in such a way that the coding elevation 125 comes into contact with the query pin 77. In addition, the formation of the associated Key 23 as a reversible key, that regardless of an orientation of the key 23 with respect to a rotation of 180° about its longitudinal axis A, a respective one of the coding elevations 125 can always interact with the locking device 75 and its interrogation pin 77, while the respective other of the two coding elevations 125 can interact in particular with the coding device 39 illustrated for example in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6A again illustrates in a longitudinal section the interaction of the coding elevation 125 with the interrogation pin 77 in order to urge the latter into the interrogation position A and thereby to be able to hold the locking pin 83 in the release position F.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 6B, a mounting sleeve 89 is also provided, in which the locking device 75 can be pre-assembled. In particular, the query pin 77, the spring 79, the locking pin 83, and the spring 85 can thus be inserted into the mounting sleeve 89 outside the cylinder core 19, whereupon the locking device 75 can be inserted as a pre-assembled unit in a single assembly step into a mounting receptacle 113 of the cylinder core 19. In particular, the mounting sleeve 89 can also provide the respective edges 81 and 87 for supporting the springs 79 and 85.

7A and 7B further illustrate an embodiment in which the coding device 75 requires additional coding in the form of a recess 129 formed on the coding elevation 125 of the associated key 23 in order to be able to hold the locking pin 83 in the release position F. In Fig. 7A, a key 23 has been inserted into the keyway 21 which, although it has a coding elevation 125 of the correct maximum height, no recess 129 is formed on the coding elevation 125. As a result, the interrogation pin 77, which is formed with a tip, is pushed beyond the interrogation position A by the coding elevation 125, and the locking pin 83 extends beyond the cylinder core 19 into the cylinder housing 13 (not shown in Fig. 7A), so that the locking pin 83 blocks rotation of the cylinder core 19 into the closed position G. While the coding elevation 125 of the key 23 shown in Fig. 7A could thus be suitable for correctly pushing the interrogation pin 77 of an embodiment according to one of Fig. 6A or 6B into the interrogation position A, the key 23 in question cannot be used to actuate the locking cylinder 11 according to Fig. 7A.

Fig. 7B, however, illustrates the design of the key 23 associated with this cylinder core 19 or the locking cylinder 11, in which the coding elevation 125 has the aforementioned recess 129, so that the interrogation pin 77 engages in the recess 129 and can be correctly arranged in the query position A in order to be able to hold the locking pin 83 in the release position F. In particular, in this embodiment it can be provided that a strength of the permanent magnet 95 is selected such that the permanent magnet 95 can pull the locking pin 83 at least a little way inwards against its pretension into the release position F. However, in this case too it can be provided that the locking pin 83 is first moved by a query link 99 in the direction of the query pin 77 in order to facilitate takeover by the query pin 77 and its permanent magnet 95. Furthermore, in principle it can also be provided in such embodiments that the locking pin 83 can be urged by a query link 99 into direct mechanical contact with the query pin 77 positioned in the query position A.

In addition, in embodiments according to Fig. 7B, it can be provided that a preload of the interrogation pin 77 exceeds a preload of the locking pin 83, so that the interrogation pin 77 cannot be pulled out of the interrogation position A by the locking pin 83 against the preload acting on the interrogation pin 77. On the other hand, the strength of the permanent magnet 95 or the attractive force exerted by the permanent magnet 95 on the locking pin 83 can again be less than a sum of the preloads of the locking pin 83 and the interrogation pin 77 in order to enable a separation of the locking pin 83 and the interrogation pin 77 after removal of the key 23.

8A and 8B illustrate a further embodiment of a locking cylinder 11, which has a locking device 75 and a coding device 39. In contrast to the coding devices 39 explained above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, the coding device 39 according to the embodiment of FIGS. 8A and 8B has only a single coding element 63, which is molded directly onto the cylinder core half 67 and can be formed, for example, in the course of a zinc die-casting process for producing the cylinder core halves 65 and 67.

The coding element 63 is designed in the manner of a fork 69 and has two extensions 71 pointing axially in the direction of the key insertion opening 25 of the key channel 21, which extensions form a first axial stop 41 and delimit a passage 45 for the coding elevation 125 of the associated key 23. The two extensions 71 are connected by a receiving section 73, so that the receiving section 73 can form a stop for the coding elevation 125. In addition, the coding element 63 is arranged directly on a base 131 of the cylinder core half 67 and the key channel 21, so that a height of the coding element 63 and in particular of the extensions 71 can also be used to scan a height of the coding elevation 125. Again, when designing the associated key 23 as a reversible key, one of the coding elevations 125 interacts with the coding device 39 and the coding element 63, whereas the other coding elevation 125 can urge the query pin 77 of the locking device 75 into the query position A in order to be able to hold the locking pin 83 in the release position F.

List of reference symbols

11 locking cylinders

13 cylinder housing

15 Core receiving section

17 Flange section

19 cylinder core

21 key channel

23 keys

25 Key insertion opening

27 Key channel broadside

29 Key channel broadside

31 Keyway narrow side

33 Keyway narrow side

37 bore

39 Coding device

41 first axial stop

43 second axial stop

45 passage

47 lateral boundary

49 front side

51 groove

53 connecting section

55 final section

56 coding element

57 tiles

59 recording

61 Receiving opening

63 Coding element

65 cylinder core half

67 Cylinder core half

69 Fork

71 extension

73 Recording section

75 locking device

77 Interrogation pin

79 spring 81 edge

83 Locking pin

85 spring

87 edge

89 Mounting sleeve

91 Key tip

93 rear limit of the groove

95 permanent magnet

97 Locking recording

99 query backdrop

101 Query section

103 Query slope

105 Return slope

107 End section of the query pin

109 Blocking recording

111 Blocking stop

113 Mounting bracket

115 Key Broadside

117 Key Broadside

119 Key narrow side

121 Key narrow side

123 locking system

125 Coding Survey

127 Key shaft

129 Deepening

131 floor

A query position

B Blocking rotation position

C Query rotation position

D Cylinder rotation axis

D1 Direction of rotation

D2 Direction of rotation

E Key insertion direction

F Release position

G Closed position

L Longitudinal axis

O Open position S Locking position

Claims

Claims 1. Lock cylinder (11), comprising a cylinder housing (13) with a core receiving section (15), a cylinder core (19) which is mounted in the core receiving section (15) so as to be rotatable about a cylinder rotation axis (D) between a closed position (G) and an open position (O) and has a key channel (21) extending along the cylinder rotation axis (D), into which key channel an associated key (23) can be inserted along a key insertion direction (E) through a key insertion opening (25), wherein the key channel (21) has an elongate cross-section with two mutually opposing key channel broad sides (27, 29) and two mutually opposing key channel narrow sides, at least one tumbler (35) which is designed to prevent the cylinder core (19) in the closed position (G) from rotating into the open position (O) when the key (23) is not inserted into the key channel (21). secure, wherein the at least one tumbler (35) can be sorted into a release configuration by inserting the associated key (23), in which the at least one tumbler (35) releases the cylinder core (19) for rotation relative to the cylinder housing (13), and a locking device (75) which has a query pin (77) pretensioned in the direction of the key channel (21) and engaging in the key channel (21), as well as a locking pin (83) arranged in alignment with the query pin (77), wherein the locking pin (83) is pretensioned outwards into a blocking position (S) with respect to the cylinder rotation axis (D) and is designed to prevent rotation of the cylinder core (19) into the open position (O) in the blocking position (S), and wherein the query pin (77) can be urged into a query position (A) by fully inserting the associated key (23) into the key channel (21), wherein the query pin (77) is attached to a the locking pin (83) facing end portion (107) has a permanent magnet (95) and/or wherein the locking pin (83) has a permanent magnet (95) at an end portion facing the interrogation pin (77), and wherein the permanent magnet (95) is designed to hold the locking pin (83) in a release position (F) when the interrogation pin (77) is urged into the interrogation position (A) against the pretension of the locking pin (83), in which release position the locking pin (83) releases the cylinder core (19) for rotation into the open position (O). 2. Lock cylinder (11) according to claim 1, wherein the locking pin (83) engages in the closed position (G) of the cylinder core (19) in a locking receptacle (97) formed on the cylinder housing (13). 3. Lock cylinder (11) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the interrogation pin (77) engages in the key channel (21) on one of the key channel broad sides (27, 29). 4. Lock cylinder (11) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the interrogation pin (77) is more strongly pretensioned than the locking pin (83). 5. Lock cylinder (11) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the cylinder housing (13) has a query link (99), wherein the locking pin (83) can be moved, in particular pushed into the release position (F), by rotating the cylinder core (19) starting from the closed position (G) into a query rotational position (C) along the query link (99) in the direction of the query pin (77), and wherein the query pin (77) and/or the locking pin (83) can be brought into operative contact with the permanent magnet (95) when the query rotational position (C) is reached, when the query pin (77) is in the query position (A). 6. Lock cylinder (11) according to claim 5, wherein the interrogation gate (99) has an interrogation bevel (103) along which the locking pin (83) can be guided during rotation of the cylinder core (19) from the closed position (G) into the interrogation position (A). 7. Lock cylinder (11) according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the interrogation gate (99) has an interrogation section (101) extending at least as far as an outer side of the cylinder core (19), wherein the locking pin (83) bears against the interrogation section (101) in the interrogation rotational position (C). 8. Lock cylinder (11) according to one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the cylinder core (19) is rotatable from the query rotational position (C) in the direction of the open position (O) into a blocking rotational position (B) when the query pin (77) is not in the query position (A), wherein the locking pin (83) is designed, when the query pin (77) is not in the query position (A), to engage a blocking receptacle (109) of the query link (99) due to its pretension when the cylinder core (19) is rotated from the query rotational position (C) into the blocking rotational position (B), wherein the blocking receptacle (109) has a blocking stop (111) for the locking pin (83), against which the locking pin (83) engaging in the blocking receptacle (109) strikes when the blocking rotational position (B) is reached. 9. Lock cylinder (11) according to claim 8, wherein the cylinder core (19) is rotatable from the blocking rotational position (B) into the closed position (G) when the interrogation pin (77) is not in the interrogation position (A). 10. Lock cylinder (11) according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the interrogation gate (99) has a return slope (105) along which the locking pin (83) can be guided out of the blocking receptacle (109) upon rotation of the cylinder core (19) from the blocking rotational position (B) in the direction of the closed position (G). 11. Lock cylinder (11) according to one of claims 5 to 10, wherein the cylinder core (19) is rotatable from the closed position (G) via the query rotational position (C) into the open position (O), or wherein the cylinder core (19) is rotatable from the closed position (G) along a first direction of rotation (D2) into the query rotational position (C) and from the query rotational position (C) along a second direction of rotation (D1) opposite to the first direction of rotation (D2) into the open position (O). 12. Lock cylinder (11) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the permanent magnet (95) is designed to pull the locking pin (83) into the release position (F) against the pretension of the locking pin (83) when the interrogation pin (77) is in the interrogation position (A). 13. Lock cylinder (11) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the associated key (23) can be inserted into the key channel (21) and removed from the key channel (21) in the closed position (G). 14. Locking cylinder (11) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the interrogation pin (77) and the locking pin (83) as well as respective prestressing elements, in particular respective springs (79, 85), for generating the respective prestress can be pre-assembled in a mounting sleeve (89), wherein the cylinder core (19) has a mounting receptacle (113) into which the mounting sleeve (89) can be inserted. 15. Lock cylinder (11) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the interrogation pin (77) can be urged into the interrogation position (A) by a coding elevation (125) arranged in an axial groove (51) extending from a key tip (91). 16. Lock cylinder (11) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the lock cylinder (11) further comprises a coding device (39) which has a first axial stop (41) and a second axial stop (43) for the key (23), wherein the first axial stop (41) and the second axial stop (43) engage in the key channel (21) and wherein the second axial stop (43) is offset along the key insertion direction (E) relative to the first axial stop (41) to an axial end of the cylinder core (19) facing away from the key insertion opening (25), wherein the first axial stop (41) has a passage (45) for the passage of a coding elevation (125) formed on the associated key (23), and wherein the second axial stop (43) forms a stop for the coding elevation (125). 17. Lock cylinder (11) according to claim 16, wherein the coding device (39) and the interrogation pin (77) engage in the key channel (21) on mutually opposite key channel broad sides (27, 29). 18. Lock cylinder (11) according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the coding device (39) and the interrogation pin (77) are designed to cooperate with respective coding elevations (125) formed on mutually opposite key broad sides (115, 117) of the associated key (23). 19. Lock cylinder (11) according to one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the passage (45) has two lateral boundaries (47) offset from one another transversely to the cylinder rotation axis (D), through which the coding elevation (125) can be passed when the key (23) is inserted into the key channel (21). 20. Lock cylinder (11) according to claim 19, wherein end faces (49) of the limits (47) facing the key insertion opening (25) form the first axial stop (41). 21. Lock cylinder (11) according to claim 19 or 20, wherein outer surfaces of the boundaries (47) facing away from the passage (45) form an inner guide for a groove (51) formed on the associated key (23), in which the coding elevation (125) is formed. 22. Lock cylinder (11) according to one of claims 19 to 21, wherein the passage (45) is formed in the manner of an arch and wherein the first stop has a connecting section (53) by which the lateral boundaries (47) are connected to one another on a side of the first axial stop (41) facing away from the key channel (21). 23. Lock cylinder (11) according to one of claims 16 to 22, wherein the first axial stop (41) and the second axial stop (43) are formed on respective coding elements (56), in particular respective plates (57), inserted into the cylinder core (19). 24. Lock cylinder (11) according to claim 23, wherein the cylinder core (19) has a receptacle (59) for inserting the coding elements (56). 25. Lock cylinder (11) according to claim 24, wherein the receptacle (59) has a receiving opening (61) on an outer side of the cylinder core (19) through which the coding elements (56) can be inserted into the receptacle, wherein the inserted coding elements (56) extend radially to the outer side of the cylinder core (19) and have a curvature on the outer side corresponding to the cylinder core (19). 26. Lock cylinder (11) according to one of claims 16 to 22, wherein the coding device (39) has a one-piece coding element (63) on which the first axial stop (41) and the second axial stop (43) are formed. 27. Lock cylinder (11) according to claim 26, wherein the coding element (63) is integrally formed on the cylinder core (19), in particular wherein the cylinder core (19) comprises two cylinder core halves (65, 67) (19), wherein the coding element (63) is integrally formed on one of the two cylinder core halves (65, 67) (19). 28. Lock cylinder (11) according to claim 26 or 27, wherein the coding element (63) is designed in the manner of a fork (69) and has two extensions (71) which delimit the passage (45) and point in the direction of the key insertion opening (25), between which extensions the coding elevation (125) can be inserted into the fork (69), wherein the extensions (71) form the first axial stop (41) and wherein a receiving section (73) which connects the two extensions (71) on a side of the fork (69) facing away from the key insertion opening (25) forms the second axial stop (43). 29. Locking system (123) comprising a locking cylinder (11) according to one of the preceding claims and the associated key. 30. Locking system (123) according to claim 29, wherein the associated key (23) has an axial groove (51) extending from a key tip (91) in which a coding elevation (125) is arranged, wherein the coding elevation (125) is designed to urge the interrogation pin (77) into the interrogation position (A) when the key (23) is fully inserted into the key channel (21). 31. Locking system (123) according to claim 30, wherein the coding elevation (125) is formed free-standing in the groove (51). 32. Locking system (123) according to claim 30 or 31, wherein the coding elevation (125) has a recess (129) for engagement of the interrogation pin (77) on an interrogation surface facing in the direction of the interrogation pin (77) when the key (23) is inserted into the key channel (21). 33. Locking system (123) according to one of claims 30 to 32, wherein the associated key (23) is designed as a reversible key with an elongated key shaft (127) which has two mutually opposite key broad sides (115, 117) and two mutually opposite key narrow sides (119, 121), wherein the key (23) has on each of the key broad sides (115, 117) a respective groove (51) with a coding elevation (125) arranged therein. 34. Locking system (123) according to claim 33, wherein the locking cylinder (11) further comprises a coding device (39) which has a first axial stop (41) and a second axial stop (43) for the key (23), wherein the first axial stop (41) and the second axial stop (43) engage in the key channel (21) and wherein the second axial stop (43) is offset along the key insertion direction (E) relative to the first axial stop (41) to an axial end of the cylinder core (19) facing away from the key insertion opening (25), wherein the first axial stop (41) has a passage (45) for the passage of one of the two coding elevations (125), and wherein the second axial stop (43) forms a stop for the one coding elevation (125), wherein the other of the two coding elevations (125) of the associated key (23) is designed to urge the interrogation pin (77) into the interrogation position (A) when the one coding elevation (125) bears against the second axial stop (43). 35. Key for use in a locking system (123) according to one of claims 29 to 34, wherein the key (23) is designed to sort the at least one tumbler (35) into the release configuration upon complete insertion into the keyway (21), and wherein the key (23) has a coding elevation (125) which is designed to urge the interrogation pin (77) into the interrogation position (A) upon complete insertion of the key (23) into the keyway (21). 36. Key according to claim 35, wherein the coding elevation (125) is arranged in an axial groove (51) extending from a key tip (91), in particular free-standing. 37. Key according to claim 35 or 36, wherein the coding elevation (125) has a recess (129) for engagement of the interrogation pin (77) on an interrogation surface facing in the direction of the interrogation pin (77) when the key (23) is inserted into the key channel (21). 38. Key according to one of claims 36 or 37, wherein the key (23) is designed as a reversible key with an elongated key shaft (127) which has two opposing key broad sides (115, 117) and two opposing key narrow sides (119, 121), wherein the key (23) has a respective groove (51) with a coding elevation (125) arranged therein on each of the key broad sides (115, 117).