How A Door Handle Lock Works

A standard doorknob lock set consists of a pair of knobs one on each side of the door that are connected through the door by a spindle and held together by mounting bolts.

How a door handle lock works.

When the door is unlocked a part called a tang is resting fully inside of the cylinder. The latch bolt is connected to the latch which protrudes from the edge of the door and engages the door frame preventing the door from opening. The pins are placed in pairs with one on top of the other. Inside the cylinder are all the parts that work together with the key to lock or unlock the door.

Key locks contain a small cylinder that runs down the middle of the doorknob and into the door. Springs at the top of the shaft keep the pins in place. The key to match the particular lock lifts the pins to the correct height to allow the latch the part that protrudes into the door frame to be pulled back against the spring allowing the door to open. The two most common types of locks in a home are simple key locks in a doorknob and deadbolt locks.

The spindle runs through the latch bolt which is inside the door perpendicular to the spindle. Cylinder lock body the cylinder or lock body is the part of the door lock where you insert the key. When it s locked the cylinder engages a series of spring loaded pins which keep the cylinder from turning. There is also quite a good diagram on this site in the section called how do yale locks work showing how the pins line up when the key is inserted.

Each pair rests in a shaft which is drilled through the cylinder and the housing around the cylinder. A door handle controls a door by manipulation of a latch a mechanical fastener that joins two or more objects together. Normal doorknob locks have five pairs of pins which interact with a single key to lock or unlock the door. When you insert a key the uneven edge pushes the pins upward to fit the key s height in that location within the lock body.