The History of Locks

Since humans had the awareness of home and property protection, "the lock" has appeared. At that time, people just used ropes to tie up doors and then made a special knot at the opening part of the door, which was the embryo of locks.

Door bolts
5000 years ago, in the period of the Yangshao culture, Chinese ancestors invented wooden locks that can be installed on wooden frame architectures.That is, what we call "door bolts". This is the oldest lock in the world. The master of carpenters named Lu Ban improved the wooden lock by installing the mechanism, and the lock was formed in a real sense.

Reed Locks
The lock with copper reed structures appeared in the Han Dynasty, which was known as the reed lock. They are opened and closed by the elastic force of two or three copper plates. Due to the variation of reed devices and the style of keys that is determined by the shape of keyholes, the safety and security of locks made a great progress, and the reed lock had a broader range of application than that of the wooden lock.

Rim Locks 
In the 18th century, a British man invented the rim lock. The metal plate inside the rim lock rotates by the force of the spring, and the rim lock will be opened only when the plate is rotated by the key firstly to touch the notch of the lock tongue. The appearance of the rim lock's key is beautiful and elegant, and the rim lock and its keys are known as the symbol of locks and keys. Many countries made rim locks' keys into large golden keys as a present for friendly nations and distinguished guests, which symbolized respect, peace and friendship.

This kind of lock was commonly used in the 90s in China, and children' school desks in the countryside all used this kind of lock that was the best seller at that time, which means almost every child owned one.

Cam Locks
The cam lock that was invented by an English man Joseph Bramah in 1784 was a milestone in the lock history, and it was different from the traditional driving mode of locks which required human force to open the bolt. The structure of cam locks laid a foundation for the miniaturization of locks. At present, this kind of lock is relatively common in medium and small cities in China.

Pin Tumbler Locks
In 1848, an American Linus Yale invented the pin tumbler lock. Since then, humans have entered a modern era of locks. Safety of the pin tumbler lock is greatly improved by the combination and permutation of pins, which makes the pin tumbler lock the most commonly used in the world.

Fingerprint Locks
Now, with the application of microelectronic technology, a series of smart locks including the magnetic control lock, the electronic card lock, the fingerprint lock, the eye lock and the remote control lock have appeared. These locks have mechanical structures with incomparable security, and the convenience of fingerprint locks represents the latest development trend of locks. Given the current economic condition, fingerprint locks will be used for common people in the next ten years. 

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