Schlage
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{{Short description|American lock manufacturer}} |
{{Short description|American lock manufacturer}} |
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{{for|the surname|Schlage (surname)}} |
{{for|the surname|Schlage (surname)}}{{Overly detailed|date=April 2026}}{{Infobox company |
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{{Infobox company |
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| name = Schlage |
| name = Schlage |
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| logo = Schlage-logo-noTag.svg |
| logo = Schlage-logo-noTag.svg |
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[[File:Caltrain tunnel, San Francisco (7147248141).jpg|thumb|right|The 1926 "Old Office" of Schlage Lock lies just west of a tunnel constructed for Southern Pacific's [[Bayshore Cutoff]]]] |
[[File:Caltrain tunnel, San Francisco (7147248141).jpg|thumb|right|The 1926 "Old Office" of Schlage Lock lies just west of a tunnel constructed for Southern Pacific's [[Bayshore Cutoff]]]] |
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The Schlage Manufacturing Company was founded by inventor Walter Schlage (d. 1946) in 1920 with the help of three businessmen who each contributed $10 to become equal partners.{{cite web |url=http://www.locksmithledger.com/article/10290214/schlage |title=Schlage |author=Levine, Jerry |date=15 November 2014 |publisher=Locksmith Ledger |accessdate=11 April 2017}} Walter Schlage had already secured several patents dating back to 1909, when he patented a doorknob that would also complete an electrical circuit so that, for instance, the lights would turn on when the door was opened.{{cite patent |country=US |number=921168 |status=granted |title=Combined Lock and Signal and Lighting Switch |gdate=11 May 1909 |fdate=14 December 1908 |inventor=Schlage, Walter R. }} However, Schlage's key invention was the [[bored cylindrical lock]], which evolved through several iterations, including a 1917 filing for a mortise mechanism which locked when the knob was tilted,{{cite patent |country=US |number=1313920 |status=granted |title=Door Lock |gdate=26 August 1919 |fdate=29 March 1917 |inventor=Schlage, Walter R.}} one in April 1920 for a lock requiring one hole and a surface rabbet rather than a complex mortise pocket,{{cite patent |country=US |number=1456041 |status=granted |title=Door Lock |gdate=22 May 1923 |fdate=12 April 1920 |inventor=Schlage, Walter R. |assign1=}} and another the same year in October for a mortise with the lock mechanism activated by a button coaxial to the knob.{{cite patent |country=US |number=1489675 |status=granted |title=Door Lock |gdate=8 April 1924 |fdate=5 October 1920 |inventor=Schlage, Walter R. |assign1=}} This series would ultimately culminate in {{US Patent|1,674,841}}, filed in 1923,{{cite patent |country=US |number=1674841 |status=granted |title=Door Lock |gdate=26 June 1928 |fdate=20 August 1923 |inventor=Schlage, Walter R. |assign1=Schlage Lock Co.}} which was sold commercially as the Schlage "A" series lock. Schlage would later make a 1925 filing for a push button cylindrical lock fusing the two 1920 patents with the 1923 patent.{{cite patent |country=US |number=1579457 |status=granted |title=Door Lock |gdate=6 April 1926 |fdate=12 March 1925 |inventor=Schlage, Walter R. |assign1=}} |
The Schlage Manufacturing Company was founded by inventor Walter Schlage (d. 1946) in 1920 with the help of three businessmen who each contributed $10 to become equal partners.{{cite web |url=http://www.locksmithledger.com/article/10290214/schlage |title=Schlage |author=Levine, Jerry |date=15 November 2014 |publisher=Locksmith Ledger |accessdate=11 April 2017}} Walter Schlage had already secured several patents dating back to 1909, when he patented a doorknob that would also complete an [[Electrical network|electrical circuit]] so that, for instance, the lights would turn on when the door was opened.{{cite patent |country=US |number=921168 |status=granted |title=Combined Lock and Signal and Lighting Switch |gdate=11 May 1909 |fdate=14 December 1908 |inventor=Schlage, Walter R. }} However, Schlage's key invention was the [[bored cylindrical lock]], which evolved through several iterations, including a 1917 filing for a [[Mortise lock|mortise]] mechanism which locked when the knob was tilted,{{cite patent |country=US |number=1313920 |status=granted |title=Door Lock |gdate=26 August 1919 |fdate=29 March 1917 |inventor=Schlage, Walter R.}} one in April 1920 for a lock requiring one hole and a surface [[rabbet]] rather than a complex mortise pocket,{{cite patent |country=US |number=1456041 |status=granted |title=Door Lock |gdate=22 May 1923 |fdate=12 April 1920 |inventor=Schlage, Walter R. |assign1=}} and another the same year in October for a mortise with the lock mechanism activated by a button [[coaxial]] to the knob.{{cite patent |country=US |number=1489675 |status=granted |title=Door Lock |gdate=8 April 1924 |fdate=5 October 1920 |inventor=Schlage, Walter R. |assign1=}} This series would ultimately culminate in {{US Patent|1,674,841}}, filed in 1923,{{cite patent |country=US |number=1674841 |status=granted |title=Door Lock |gdate=26 June 1928 |fdate=20 August 1923 |inventor=Schlage, Walter R. |assign1=Schlage Lock Co.}} which was sold commercially as the Schlage "A" series lock. Schlage would later make a 1925 filing for a push button cylindrical lock fusing the two 1920 patents with the 1923 patent.{{cite patent |country=US |number=1579457 |status=granted |title=Door Lock |gdate=6 April 1926 |fdate=12 March 1925 |inventor=Schlage, Walter R. |assign1=}} |
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Schlage's first shop was at 229 Minna Street,{{cite report |url=http://sfocii.org/sites/default/files/FileCenter/Documents/1538-Revised%20Historic%20Resource%20Technical%20Report.pdf |title=Visitaction Valley Redevelopment EIR, Historic Resources Technical Report |author=Carey & Co |date=29 April 2008 |publisher=Wagstaff and Associates |accessdate=12 April 2017}} and he moved to 461 Bush Street, where many of his key patents were developed. The first factory (in 1923) was at 49 Shotwell Street. Because the bored cylindrical lock had a decided ease of installation advantage over the contemporary |
Schlage's first shop was at 229 Minna Street,{{cite report |url=http://sfocii.org/sites/default/files/FileCenter/Documents/1538-Revised%20Historic%20Resource%20Technical%20Report.pdf |title=Visitaction Valley Redevelopment EIR, Historic Resources Technical Report |author=Carey & Co |date=29 April 2008 |publisher=Wagstaff and Associates |accessdate=12 April 2017}} and he moved to 461 Bush Street, where many of his key patents were developed. The first factory (in 1923) was at 49 Shotwell Street. Because the bored cylindrical lock had a decided ease of installation advantage over the contemporary mortise lock, demand for the Schlage-designed lock rose and the company would purchase land in [[Visitacion Valley, San Francisco|Visitacion Valley]] in 1925, which would eventually become the company's Bayshore factory and administration complex. Eight buildings were eventually erected at the Bayshore complex,{{cite report |url=http://www.renewvisvalley.com/pdf/HABS/HABS_SchlageLockFactory-SPRR_2009.12.18-final.pdf |title=Schlage Lock Factory & Southern Pacific Railroad Buildings, San Francisco, CA |author=Page & Turnbull |date=18 December 2009 |publisher=Universal Paragon Corporation |accessdate=12 April 2017}} the first two of which (the Old Office and Plant 1) were dedicated in a ceremony on June 25, 1926 attended by dignitaries including Mayor [[James Rolph]]. |
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Charles Kendrick took over as chief executive after making a sizable investment in the company, and served as chief through his retirement in 1969. During World War II, Schlage Lock manufactured shell casings and bomb rail fuses. After the war, the company supplied lock hardware to the [[MetLife Building|Pan Am Building]] (1964) and the [[555 California Street|Bank of America Headquarters]] (1969) skyscrapers. The company was also busy post-war acquiring smaller hardware manufacturers, including the California Lock Company, Peabody Company, LCN Closers, the Von Duprin Factory, and the General Lock Company (Pontiac, Michigan). In 1974, the year the company was acquired by [[Ingersoll Rand]], Schlage employed 1,600 and was the largest manufacturer in San Francisco. Schlage had just completed a move from the Old Office building to a three-story New Office located nearby, at the corner of Bayshore and Leland. Schlage remained an Ingersoll Rand [[subsidiary]] for nearly 40 years, until Schlage and other security hardware companies were [[Corporate spin-off|spun off]] as part of [[Allegion]], formed in December 2013.{{cite press release |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ingersoll-rand-completes-spinoff-allegion-113000026.html |title=Ingersoll Rand Completes Spinoff of Allegion |date=2 December 2013 |publisher=Business Wire |accessdate=2012-01-23 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113112528/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ingersoll-rand-completes-spinoff-allegion-113000026.html |archivedate=2014-01-13 }} |
Charles Kendrick took over as chief executive after making a sizable investment in the company, and served as chief through his retirement in 1969. During [[World War II]], Schlage Lock manufactured [[shell casings]] and bomb rail fuses. After the war, the company supplied lock hardware to the [[MetLife Building|Pan Am Building]] (1964) and the [[555 California Street|Bank of America Headquarters]] (1969) skyscrapers. The company was also busy post-war acquiring smaller hardware manufacturers, including the California Lock Company, Peabody Company, LCN Closers, the Von Duprin Factory, and the General Lock Company (Pontiac, Michigan). In 1974, the year the company was acquired by [[Ingersoll Rand]], Schlage employed 1,600 and was the largest manufacturer in San Francisco. Schlage had just completed a move from the Old Office building to a three-story New Office located nearby, at the corner of Bayshore and Leland. Schlage remained an Ingersoll Rand [[subsidiary]] for nearly 40 years, until Schlage and other security hardware companies were [[Corporate spin-off|spun off]] as part of [[Allegion]], formed in December 2013.{{cite press release |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ingersoll-rand-completes-spinoff-allegion-113000026.html |title=Ingersoll Rand Completes Spinoff of Allegion |date=2 December 2013 |publisher=Business Wire |accessdate=2012-01-23 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113112528/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ingersoll-rand-completes-spinoff-allegion-113000026.html |archivedate=2014-01-13 }} |
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After 73 years of operation, the Schlage Lock Co. Bayshore factory was closed in 1999.{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Schlage-Co-to-shut-plant-in-Vis-Valley-3058238.php |title=Schlage Co. to shut down plant in Vis Valley |author=Raine, George |date=21 November 1998 |newspaper=San Francisco Examiner |accessdate=12 April 2017}} To settle an environmental lawsuit, the {{convert|12.3|acre|adj=on}} Bayshore factory site was transferred to Universal Paragon Corporation (UPC) from Ingersoll Rand in 2008.{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Old-Schlage-Lock-factory-in-S-F-finally-sold-3209939.php#photo-2352107 |title=Old Schlage Lock factory in S.F. finally sold |author=Temple, James |date=13 June 2008 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |accessdate=12 April 2017}} UPC owned an adjacent parcel on which it had intended to develop housing, but the groundwater had been contaminated by the Schlage Lock factory, and UPC filed suit seeking to make Ingersoll Rand responsible for cleanup. In May 2009, demolition began on the Schlage Bayshore site; though the original 1926 Spanish Colonial "Old Office", designed by local architect William Peyton Day will remain, the rest of the site is planned to become [[Brisbane Baylands development|affordable, green housing]].{{cite web|title=Schlage Lock, SF|publisher=Bearings|url=http://www.terrastories.com/bearings/schlage-lock-san-francisco|first=Jonathan|last=Haeber|date=14 May 2009 |accessdate=2009-06-23}}{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Schlage-site-plans-clouded-by-financing-4065867.php|title=Schlage site plans clouded by financing|work=SFGate |date=26 November 2012 |publisher=}} |
After 73 years of operation, the Schlage Lock Co. Bayshore factory was closed in 1999.{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Schlage-Co-to-shut-plant-in-Vis-Valley-3058238.php |title=Schlage Co. to shut down plant in Vis Valley |author=Raine, George |date=21 November 1998 |newspaper=San Francisco Examiner |accessdate=12 April 2017}} To settle an environmental lawsuit, the {{convert|12.3|acre|adj=on}} Bayshore factory site was transferred to Universal Paragon Corporation (UPC) from Ingersoll Rand in 2008.{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Old-Schlage-Lock-factory-in-S-F-finally-sold-3209939.php#photo-2352107 |title=Old Schlage Lock factory in S.F. finally sold |author=Temple, James |date=13 June 2008 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |accessdate=12 April 2017}} UPC owned an adjacent parcel on which it had intended to develop housing, but the groundwater had been contaminated by the Schlage Lock factory, and UPC filed suit seeking to make Ingersoll Rand responsible for cleanup. In May 2009, demolition began on the Schlage Bayshore site; though the original 1926 [[Spanish Colonial architecture|Spanish Colonial]] "Old Office", designed by local architect [[William Peyton Day]] will remain, the rest of the site is planned to become [[Brisbane Baylands development|affordable, green housing]].{{cite web|title=Schlage Lock, SF|publisher=Bearings|url=http://www.terrastories.com/bearings/schlage-lock-san-francisco|first=Jonathan|last=Haeber|date=14 May 2009 |accessdate=2009-06-23}}{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Schlage-site-plans-clouded-by-financing-4065867.php|title=Schlage site plans clouded by financing|work=SFGate |date=26 November 2012 |publisher=}}{{Update inline|date=April 2026}} |
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== Keyway types== |
== Keyway types== |
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Like many lock manufacturers, Schlage uses [[Milling (machining)|milled]] complex [[Keyhole|keyway]] shapes to mechanically prevent some non-[[OEM]] keys from entering or operating a lock. New keyway designs may be protected for a limited time by [[patent]] protection, which expires after a set number of years. |
Like many lock manufacturers, Schlage uses [[Milling (machining)|milled]] complex [[Keyhole|keyway]] shapes to mechanically prevent some non-[[OEM]] keys from entering or operating a lock. New keyway designs may be protected for a limited time by [[patent]] protection, which expires after a set number of years. |
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There is no law against duplicating the reverse, numbered or quad-key blanks, which are not patented and are not protected against third-party manufacturing.Schlage {{cite web|url=https://www.247locksmiths.io/tips/lockbumping.html|title=Keyways}} |
There is no law against duplicating the reverse, numbered or quad-[[Key blank|key blanks]], which are not patented and are not protected against third-party manufacturing.Schlage {{cite web|url=https://www.247locksmiths.io/tips/lockbumping.html|title=Keyways}} |
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As of 2008, Primus keys are no longer protected by patents; therefore, anyone is free to duplicate them. The Everest patents expired in 2014.[http://everestprimus.schlage.com/faqs.asp#19 Everest FAQs – Everest Primus by Schlage] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003183916/http://everestprimus.schlage.com/faqs.asp#19 |date=October 3, 2011 }} |
As of 2008, Primus keys are no longer protected by patents; therefore, anyone is free to duplicate them. The Everest patents expired in 2014.[http://everestprimus.schlage.com/faqs.asp#19 Everest FAQs – Everest Primus by Schlage] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003183916/http://everestprimus.schlage.com/faqs.asp#19 |date=October 3, 2011 }} |
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