The first mechanical locks were made of wood and created many thousands of years ago, probably by a number of civilizations at the same time.
To date, the earliest lock found was uncovered by archaeologists in the ruins of the Khorsabad Palace, near Nineveh in Egypt. Estimated to be 4,000 years old, this lock was a forerunner to a pin tumbler type of lock and worked using a large wooden bolt to secure a door, which had a slot with several holes in its upper surface. The holes were filled with wooden pegs that prevented the bolt from being opened.
Ever since those early times, locksmiths and would-be thieves have been battling to develop and overcome ever more sophisticated mechanical, and latterly electro-mechanical, security devices and systems.
Since the late 18th and early 19th centuries, lock picking has been a common technique employed to gain access to other peoples’ property. Gunpowder too has also been popular with thieves, who either used the explosive to blow safe doors off their hinges or to blast through the lock mechanism and gain access that way.
Mechanical locks
Probably the first commercially produced cylinders to offer good security against manipulation had a round lock mechanism and were manufactured by Joseph Bramah in 1784. The Bramah (safety) lock, operated by a tubular key, was so complex and secure that Joseph Bramah put it in his shop window and offered a reward of 200 guineas to anyone who could open it. Finally, 67 years later in 1851, American locksmith A.C. Hobbs finally opened the lock after spending 52 hours, spread over 16 days, at the Great Exhibition in London trying to open it!
Including the Bramah lock, there are four main types of mechanical lock in use today – the lever mechanism, developed in 1818; the pin tumbler mechanism, which followed in 1857, and the rotating disc mechanism, invented in 1907.
100 years ago, Emil Henriksson, an office machinery mechanic from Helsinki, invented the unique Abloy rotating disc mechanism cylinder lock. While repairing a cash register, the Finn realised that the rotating cylindrical disks of the machine could also be used as a lock mechanism. Two years later the first rotating disc mechanism locks went on sale.
Mechanical locks have become increasingly sophisticated and in 1946 the first lock system based on 5-pin cylinders was delivered. Two years later, the first 7-pin cylinder lock cases were being manufactured.
Key loss and unauthorised key copying can totally undermine the security provided by even the highest performance locks. In the 1950s, patent protection was secured for particular keys, as a means of maintaining tighter key control and preserving security. This prevented anyone other than manufacturers and approved key centres from cutting new or replacement keys.
Electromechanical locks made a major breakthrough at the beginning of the 80s, when the proven physical security of mechanical locks was combined with the added functionality provided by the integration of electronics.
The dawn of access control
One of the earliest forms of access control were time locks, which were first introduced in the late 19th century on bank safes and vaults in the USA.
First introduced in the 1940s, door releases were an important addition to the door security/safety environment.
Access control continued to advance and in the 1970s magnets became a popular additional feature and provided an additional protection against forced entry. Electro-magnets were subsequently developed, and offered a fail-unlocked or fail-locked access control solution.
The first Master Keying access control systems were developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Providing the correct balance between convenience and security, a well-designed master key system provides authorised staff and visitors with access only to those areas where they need to go. A mechanical key system also offers the advantages of high physical security and robustness, while remaining easy to install and low in cost.
When a greater level of sophistication is required, electro-mechanical key systems provide all the advantages of mechanical key systems linked to the benefits of electronic security – such as audit trails and cancellation facilities for lost or stolen keys.
Today, there are some very sophisticated access control systems that can either work independently, or be integrated with other systems – such as fire alarms and CCTV – to form a comprehensive security and safety system.
The ARX range of intelligent door operating systems from Abloy UK is a good example of how this new generation of access control systems can work. Ideally suited for use in applications where a number of doors – in one or more buildings – need to be controlled and managed simultaneously, ARX can be run either on a corporate computer network or over the internet without compromising the confidentiality of the data that is transmitted.
Smart cards
Smart card systems are extremely versatile, offering a vast array of functionality to match precisely individual operating requirements.
Nearly half of all access control systems currently use RFID proximity technology, although smart card technology continues to make near exponential advances and is challenging this dominance.
Another major difference between contactless smart cards and proximity cards is the flow of information. Although the latter can be loaded with information – such as an account number – they are “read-only”, because that’s a one-time programming process. By comparison, today’s contactless smart cards are “read-write” because they can be programmed and reprogrammed – although only by authorised sources – and then in a tightly secured process.
Today, smart cards contain a small integrated circuit with on-board storage space and far more security. As a result, not only are contactless smart cards capable of storing more information, they are also able to interact with card readers and accessory systems, rather than merely serving as mute subordinates.
What next?
In the next 100 years, locking and access control technology can be expected to develop at an even faster pace, providing specifiers, installers and end-users with even more sophisticated and secure solutions.
– Ray Callaghan has worked in the lock industry since 1970. For the last 22 years, he has been involved with residential, commercial, industrial, governmental and social locking products for Abloy. Today Ray concentrates primarily on the electro-mechanical area.
– Abloy UK is a leading supplier of high security locking and access control for a wide cross section of industry sectors. Products include mechanical and electromechanical locking devises, systems and door control from Abloy and Assa, effeff electric strikes and padlocks from Yale, Chubb and Union.
