The Basic Development of Locks (Part One)
(1) Wooden door latches
With the development of human society, the development of locks has also developed from the stage of borrowing natural tools to the stage of independent creation, creation and manufacture of locking tools. The ancient wooden door latch is the same device as the wooden door lock. The opening and closing of the wooden door latch are very important. The principle is that by a movable crossbar on the inner side of the door panel, the person inside the door can move the crossbar to open and close the doors and windows. The crossbar is divided into two ways, that is, the horizontal block and vertical block to achieve the purpose of blocking and the effect of closing. This kind of structure seems to be very simple now, but at that time human beings were just civilized. The creation of the latch was a big breakthrough. However, this kind of door latch is very restrictive. It is only possible to control the opening and closing of the door when there are people in the door. If everyone goes out, the door cannot be locked. Later, people created another kind of wooden door latch, which bore a small opening on the door, and inserted a wooden or bamboo tube into the reserved small opening so as to move the crossbar in the door to achieve the purpose of opening or closing. This was the wooden door lock.
(2) Metal locks
Wooden locks have a long history and were still used until the Ming and Qing Dynasties. This is related to the development history of locks in people's thoughts at that time. At that time, people's thoughts in society were generally simple, and the difference between the rich and the poor was not so great. Wooden locks can meet people's needs to a large extent. Its cost is low, and the external shape is varied. However, the anti-theft ability is relatively low. It is even more vulnerable than the current locks, so people created metal locks. The earliest metal locks were bronze locks from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. With the increasing demand for lock products, since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the design of locks has become more and more complicated, and the mechanism structure has been widely used in the design of locks. The lock industry began to develop gradually, and the manufacture of locks also promoted the accelerated development of handicrafts. The most original copper locks still use the original wooden locks, but the material has been changed.
Leaf spring locks
With the innovation of technology and people's exploration, people have created locks with leaf spring structure. This lock is called the leaf spring lock due to the three spring sheets installed in the lock body. It uses the elastic relationship between the key and the spring plate to achieve the purpose of closing and opening, which was independently invented in China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It is also the earliest practical metal lock in the world. This kind of leaf spring lock has more than 3,000 years of development technology history, which is very worthy of the pride of the Chinese. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, metal locks had been generally manufactured and used. The leaf spring locks in the Han Dynasty were quite advanced in lock-making technology in the world at that time in terms of production technology, technology, mechanism and structure. However, with the development of the lock manufacturing industry, the development of these skills in China has gradually slowed down, or even stagnant, and its styling patterns are mostly decorative.
With the development of human society, the development of locks has also developed from the stage of borrowing natural tools to the stage of independent creation, creation and manufacture of locking tools. The ancient wooden door latch is the same device as the wooden door lock. The opening and closing of the wooden door latch are very important. The principle is that by a movable crossbar on the inner side of the door panel, the person inside the door can move the crossbar to open and close the doors and windows. The crossbar is divided into two ways, that is, the horizontal block and vertical block to achieve the purpose of blocking and the effect of closing. This kind of structure seems to be very simple now, but at that time human beings were just civilized. The creation of the latch was a big breakthrough. However, this kind of door latch is very restrictive. It is only possible to control the opening and closing of the door when there are people in the door. If everyone goes out, the door cannot be locked. Later, people created another kind of wooden door latch, which bore a small opening on the door, and inserted a wooden or bamboo tube into the reserved small opening so as to move the crossbar in the door to achieve the purpose of opening or closing. This was the wooden door lock.
(2) Metal locks
Wooden locks have a long history and were still used until the Ming and Qing Dynasties. This is related to the development history of locks in people's thoughts at that time. At that time, people's thoughts in society were generally simple, and the difference between the rich and the poor was not so great. Wooden locks can meet people's needs to a large extent. Its cost is low, and the external shape is varied. However, the anti-theft ability is relatively low. It is even more vulnerable than the current locks, so people created metal locks. The earliest metal locks were bronze locks from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. With the increasing demand for lock products, since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the design of locks has become more and more complicated, and the mechanism structure has been widely used in the design of locks. The lock industry began to develop gradually, and the manufacture of locks also promoted the accelerated development of handicrafts. The most original copper locks still use the original wooden locks, but the material has been changed.
Leaf spring locks
With the innovation of technology and people's exploration, people have created locks with leaf spring structure. This lock is called the leaf spring lock due to the three spring sheets installed in the lock body. It uses the elastic relationship between the key and the spring plate to achieve the purpose of closing and opening, which was independently invented in China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It is also the earliest practical metal lock in the world. This kind of leaf spring lock has more than 3,000 years of development technology history, which is very worthy of the pride of the Chinese. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, metal locks had been generally manufactured and used. The leaf spring locks in the Han Dynasty were quite advanced in lock-making technology in the world at that time in terms of production technology, technology, mechanism and structure. However, with the development of the lock manufacturing industry, the development of these skills in China has gradually slowed down, or even stagnant, and its styling patterns are mostly decorative.