Single-point locking

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Single-point locking is a locking system in cabinet doors where locking takes places only at the point halfway up the edge of the door, where the latch engages with the doorjamb. The term is most often used in items like lockers, where it is contrasted with the much more secure three-point locking, which uses movable rods to secure the top and bottom of the door when the door is locked, and the term is not normally used in situations where single-point locking is the only option normally found.

Typically, box lockers [1] (that is, with 4 or more tiers) use single-point locking, unless they are ordered with three-point locking as an optional extra, whereas full-length (single-tier) lockers most often come with three-point locking as standard. The reason for this is that, for some situations, single-point locking is considered adequately secure with smaller doors, because those are not as easy to force open as larger doors of otherwise-similar design. High-security models of tiered lockers, along with being constructed of thicker steel, may also have three-point locking, however many tiers are involved.

In Australia, cabinets cannot be legally used for storing firearms if they have only single-point locking—three-point locking is required by law, as part of the crackdown on gun storage after the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combination lock</span> Type of locking device in which a sequence of symbols, usually numbers, is used to open the lock

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead bolt</span> Locking mechanism

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An electric strike is an access control device used for door frames. It replaces the fixed strike faceplate often used with a latch. Like a fixed strike plate, it normally presents a ramped or beveled surface to the locking latch allowing the door to close and latch just like a fixed strike would. However, an electric strike's ramped surface can, upon command, pivot out of the way when the lock on the door is in the locked position and the door is opened, allowing a user to pull/push the door to open it without operating the mechanical lock or using a mechanical key. After the door is opened past the keeper, the keeper returns to its standard position and re-locks when power is removed or applied, depending upon the strike's configuration.

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Three-point locking, or a multipoint lock, is a locking system installed in cabinet or locker doors to enable more secure locking. Whereas in single-point locking, the door on a cabinet locks only at the point where the key is turned, halfway up the edge of the door, three-point locking enables the top and bottom of the door to be simultaneously secured. This is accomplished by attaching two long steel rods to the lock on the inside of the door, which extend vertically upwards and downwards: when the lock is turned, the rotary movement of the latch on the inside of the door translates to vertical movement in these rods, with the result that the upper rod moves upwards by an inch or so, and the lower rod moves downwards similarly. This causes the ends of the rods to move through small holes in the flanges at the top and bottom of the door, resulting from the metal of the door being turned inwards, and the rods then move a short distance into holes in the metal surrounding the door. This effectively immobilizes the top and bottom of the door, and greatly increases the security of the door-locking compared to a door with only single-point locking.

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References

  1. "Metal Lockers | Jorgenson Lockers".