1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to lock picks for padlocks, and their like, equipped with magnetically actuated pins or tumblers. It relates, more particularly, to lock picks which generage a randomly coded magnetic field by the simultaneous rotation of a number of wheels with interlocking gear teeth, with each wheel carrying a plurality of permanent magnets.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
The art of making locks, padlocks and other devices for preventing unauthorized access to places and things is old. The companion art of making lock picks is almost as old, and aims at providing means to gain access without the requisite key to operate the lock.
Until the recent introduction of magnetically coded "keys", usually in the form of a plastic card or bar with imbedded permanent magnets to create a field with a specified strength and orientation, all lock picks were themselves mechanical and were designed to move the tumblers, pins, levers and other forms of locking members into the proper alignment so that the lock could be opened. With the advent of magnetic locks a need arose for devices which could create the required fields without any prior knowledge of the field coded into the magnetic key. Locksmiths called upon to open locks to which keys have been lost, law enforcement and emergency service officers and others have a need for such magnetic lock picks. No device had yet appeared in the art which would answer to the need.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the invention to provide a device for opening locks designed to respond to magnetically coded keys.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a lock pick for magnetic locks and padlocks which is capable of creating a spatially varying field in a random manner and to alter rapidly the random field in a search for the correct combination.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a magnetic lock pick which is simple to manufacture, easy to use, and readily adapted to locks of different sizes and shapes.