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Wordlock is a brand of

combination lock A combination lock is a type of locking device in which a sequence of symbols, usually numbers, is used to open the lock. The sequence may be entered using a single rotating dial which interacts with several discs or ''cams'', by using a set o ...

s, made by Wordlock, Inc., that differs from traditional combination

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

in that it has letters on its dials instead of numbers. This allows the combination to be a four-letter or five-letter word or name, similar to a password, and therefore potentially easier to

remember Remember may refer to: Film and television * ''Remember?'', a 1939 film starring Robert Taylor and Greer Garson * ''Remember'' (1926 film), an American silent drama film * ''Remember'' (2015 film), a Canadian film by Atom Egoyan, starring Chris ...

than a series of digits. Wordlocks come in luggage locks, bike locks, padlocks, cable locks and commercial locks.

History

The

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

created the first word combination lock in the 13th Century. The idea never caught on in the West, however, until Todd Basche, former Vice President of Software Applications at

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...

, invented the modern word lock in 2004. He and Rahn Basche founded WordLock, Inc. in 2007 in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

, USA. Todd's patented WordLock

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specificat ...

maximizes the number of four-letter and five-letter words that can be spelled on the Wordlock dials. WordLock won the

Staples Inc. Staples Inc. is an American retail company headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, that offers products and services designed to support working and learning. The company opened its first store in Brighton, Massachusetts on May 1, 1986. By ...

Invention Quest in 2004Wordlock Wins 2004 Staples Invention Quest
/ref> and "Top 100 New Inventions" distinction at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Invent Now America competition in 2008.

Possible combinations

The five-ring WordLock contains 10 letters per ring. One such example follows: {, class="wikitable" , - ! Ring 1 !! Ring 2 !! Ring 3 !! Ring 4 , - , b, , l , , a , , d , - , p , , r , , n , , s , - , h , , u , , m , , n , - , m , , h , , l , , m , - , t , , n , , r , , p , - , w , , r , , t , , y , - , d , , a , , a , , e , - , l , , e , , u , , k , - , t , , f , , s , , t , - , b , , k , , l , , e , - Each ring rotates independently of the others, yielding a possible 10⁴ (or 10,000) different

combination In mathematics, a combination is a selection of items from a set that has distinct members, such that the order of selection does not matter (unlike permutations). For example, given three fruits, say an apple, an orange and a pear, there are th ...

s. WordLock contains one blank space on the fifth dial to make four letter words. About 2,000 words are possible as combinations.This can be checked using a wordlist file and standard UNIX-commandline tools as follows (depending on your particular lock's letters):

cat wordlist.txt ,  grep -i -E '^ BPFMDTALSORILCETNAP] ILANUTOSEDAOSKNRTEL] NTHYDERL$' ,  nl
cat wordlist.txt ,  grep -i -E '^ DEGHLMRSWAEILNOPRTU] EILNORSTUACDEKLNRST] DEHKRSTY$' ,  nl

However, this 2,000 word figure does not include the many possibilities for quasi-words (BLATS or WOOT); certain names (DILAN or MOSES); and acronyms, foreign words or gibberish known only to the lock owner.

References

External links

Wordlock, Inc.

Wordlock 30 Second TV Spot

Historical Locks: "Padlocks in China"

"Staples Introduces Innovative Lock That Uses Letters Instead of Numbers to Create Easy-To-Remember Word Combinations"

Wordlock Featured on ''Daily Grommet''

Wordlock Founders Featured on ''The Balancing Act Show''

Wordlock Padlock Featured on HSN
Locks (security device)

History

Possible combinations

See also

References

External links