padlock
A padlock (also padlock ) is a lock easier to seal closures. Padlocks are not installed, but simply attached to the bracket. Mostly they are hooked into the U-bracket of a throw-over trap, which covers the own fastening screw heads.
Padlocks are often found on cellar doors, lockers , tool boxes, garden fences, roller shutters in front of business entrances , chests , etc. Without any practical function, padlocks are increasingly found as love locks, for example. B. on bridges.
A small lock cylinder is usually built into the padlock , which requires the typical serrated key . There are also often padlocks keyed alike made execution or in a locking system integrated. Alternatively, there are also designs that are designed as a combination lock and require a multi-digit combination of digits to open.
Protection against break-in
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Due to the exposed location, padlocks are primarily affected by the destructive opening. The security-related attributes of padlocks are:
- Material thickness of the bracket
- any hardening of the bracket and the design of the housing.
- Degree of accessibility for attacks with severing tools
The less of the bracket that is visible after closing, and the thicker the bracket, the more difficult it is to use a bolt cutter . In addition to bolt cutters, which require the use of force for thicker stirrups, padlocks can be removed in a short time using an angle grinder (cutting disc) or, if the location is difficult to access, an arc cutter .
Since a destructive break-open usually takes place, the lock cylinders of padlocks are in many cases quite simple. Therefore, for experienced people, methods of non-destructive opening using procedures such as lockpicking are also available . In the case of a padlock with a combination of numbers, it is often possible to determine the correct combination of numbers by mechanical scanning with a thin metal foil without having to try out a large number of combinations of numbers.
Bolt lock
In the so-called bolt lock, the bolt is covered by a solid housing part. Because of the overlap, the thickness of the material to be cut often exceeds the maximum opening width of commercially available bolt cutters.
U-lock
In the round U-lock, the shackle / bolt is shaped as a segment of a circular ring, which is moved - actually rotated - around an angle to close in the round lock housing. Such difficult-to-pick locks are used on vending machines that are seldom checked or on shop shutters. By filling the lock mouth with one or two locking parts (ring, chain link, bracket, perforated thick sheet metal tab), forcing the lock is made more difficult. For locks, the term "Diskus" is a protected trademark of ABUS August Bremicker Söhne KG (e.g. German trademark 1130808).
Corrosion protection
It used to be customary to protect externally attached padlocks (for example locks on shed doors) from corrosion by rain and icing by overlapping a piece of rubber from a car tire tube about 15 cm × 15 cm in size. Today there are more and more locks that are built into the object to be protected and protected from the weather with flaps. Examples can be found on switch boxes that are outdoors.
Padlocks that are made entirely of stainless steel are expensive due to the high manufacturing costs, but are also very corrosion-proof. Their service life can be increased with a little thin oil. There can be a protective cover against splash water at the "keyhole".
Historical by Kunstschmiede elaborately decorated padlock of iron; in a temple in Kathmandu ( Nepal )
Padlock with keys
Lock with a four-digit combination
U-bolt lock
