Institutional (school) locksmiths know the types and functions of locks that are installed. Other locksmiths not specializing in education facilities may not be aware of these special function locks. Even in the era of bit keyed locks, specific locks were made for schools and institutions. This article is dedicated to the typical school, college and university of the 21st century.
The classroom functions place the control in hands of the instructors and staff. Only they can lock and unlock the room. Students cannot lock their instructors or anyone else out, but they can always exit.
Special functions dedicated to the educational facilities are, and always have been available in Unit and Mono locks, Cylindrical, Mortise, Tubular and Mortise Dead Locks. They are made in Grade's 1, 2 and 3. Depending on the installation, Grade 1, heavy duty, is found on most major institutions. Grade 2 on the other hand, may be found in schools if there was a cost factor involved. They may also be used on doors to control the outside knob for access into and out of an area.
Grade 3 is residential, so the question arises, “Why is the classroom function offered?” A possible answer to that would be a storeroom or large walk-in closet within the residence that the owner would leave open at times and locked when necessary. The inside is always free to exit without the mechanism to lock or unlock the outside knob.
CLASSROOM
Classroom locks are offered by United States as well as other manufacturers. Some locks have been private labeled. The original government numbering system used letters after their numbers, using the letter “S” suffix to indicate the classroom function. A number of manufacturers still use these letters after their product number as a designation of the function. The American Institute of Standards (ANSI) specifies a standard “E” or “F” with a number to designate door lock functions.
ANSI's basic function for the standard bore-in locks is F05. (Figure 1) To operate the lock, the key locks or unlocks the outside knob. The inside knob has no mechanism to lock or unlock. Locks come standard with deadlocking latch bolts.
Full mortise lock sets have a F05 designation and share the same function as the bored-in lock family. With mortise locks, there are additional functions to enhance more secure variations to the F05, including a F06 latch holdback feature.
ANSI F05 CLASSROOM Function (Figure 2): Key outside locks and unlocks outside lever/knob. Inside lever/knob always free to exit.
ANSI F06 CLASSROOM With Holdback (Figure 2): Key outside locks and unlocks outside lever/knob. Latch bolt can also be held withdrawn by outside key. When latch bolt is not in the holdback position, inside lever/knob always free to exit.
There are a number of Classroom auxiliary locks with different variations that will be discussed at the end of this article.
SECURITY INTRUDER CLASSROOM LOCKS
Over the past decade, tragic events in our schools have mandated higher standards than the ones in use over the past 100 years. Several years ago the industry introduced a new series of Classroom functions using the words “Security Intruder Locks.” These locks are only offered in Grade 1. Several manufacturers offer both the Grade 1 heavy duty and Extra Heavy Duty Institutional Hardware. In addition, some manufacturers offer slightly modified versions of the Security Intruder functions that may or may not carry an ANSI rating. Not all manufacturers in this category make all the functions. Therefore when keying systems are a factor, in order to apply a specific function that is not made by the primary product in the building, a secondary keying system may have to be installed. It is extremely important for everyone involved in any school project to study and maintain this information for service and installation.
BORED (CYLINDRICAL TYPE) SECURITY INTRUDER
(All Functions Equipped With Deadlocking Latch bolts)
F88 CLASSROOM SECURITY (Figure 4): Operated by lever or knob from either side except when outside is locked by a key inside. Latch bolt is retracted by key outside. Inside lever or knob always free to exit.
F110 CLASSROOM INTRUDER (Figure 4): Operated by lever or knob from either side except when outside is locked by a key inside. Key outside locks or unlocks outside lever or knob. Inside lever or knob always free to exit.
Note: The F88 function is not new. It has been around for years, but only applied to doors that required the control of the outside cylinder by an inside cylinder in lieu of a turn or pushbutton. It is an excellent function for stores, offices, public utilities, etc., to allow access at specific times while ensuring the exiting from the area all the time.
FULL MORTISE SECURITY INTRUDER
ANSI F32 INTRUDER LATCH BOLT LOCK (Figure 3): Key inside or outside locks or unlocks lever/knob. Key inside or outside also retracts latch bolt. Inside lever/knob always free to exit.
ANSI F33 INTRUDER DEAD BOLT LOCK (Figure 5): Key inside or outside locks dead bolt. Dead bolt is retracted by key from inside or outside. Inside lever/knob retracts both latch bolt and dead bolt - always free to exit.
ANSI F34 INTRUDER DEAD BOLT LOCK (Figure 5): Key inside or outside locks dead bolt. Dead bolt is retracted by key from inside or outside. Auxiliary dead latch or latch bolt deadlocked when dead bolt is projected. Inside lever/knob retracts both latch bolt and dead bolt - always free to exit.
ANSI F42 CLASSROOM LOCK (Figure 3): Key from either side except when outside lever/knob is locked from outside by key. When outside lever/knob is locked, latch bolt is retracted by key outside. Inside lever/knob always free to exit.
There are a number of slightly modified versions of the Security Intruder functions that may or may not carry an ANSI rating, which may be found among the major manufacturers in the United States and Canada .
AUXILIARY CLASSROOM LOCKING DEVICES
Additional dead bolt type security is listed among the locking devices for classrooms. They include full mortise dead bolts, mortise and tubular dead bolts. Some have ANSI designations; some do not.
E2171 Tubular Bored Classroom Deadlock (Figure 6): Locked and unlocked by outside cylinder. Inside thumb turn unlocks only.
E06091 Mortise Classroom Deadlock (Figure 8): Locked and unlocked by outside cylinder. Inside thumb turn unlocks only.
E06091(DC) (Modified) Mortise Classroom Deadlock (Figure 9): Locked and unlocked inside and outside by key. Inside thumb turn unlocks only.
F29 Full Mortise Classroom Deadlock (Figure 7): Locked and unlocked by outside cylinder. Inside thumb turn unlocks only.
F29 (DC) (Modified) Full Mortise Classroom Deadlock (Figure 10): Locked and unlocked inside and outside by key. Inside thumb turn unlocks only.
DORMITORIES
Dormitories are as much a part of educational facilities as the classrooms. Our industry has always had specific functions that apply to the housing of students. Many of these are also the same as apartment buildings and several are unique, exactly designated for dormitory buildings. In most cases they are Grade 1 and are recognized with an ANSI number. The mortise lock is dominant in this field.
F11 Dormitory Lock (Figure 11): The latch bolt is operated either side by lever/knob except when outside is made inoperative by a mechanical stop in the lock. Dead bolt projected by a key from either side. Dead bolt is retracted by a key from the outside or the lever/knob inside.
F13 Dormitory Lock (Figure 12): The latch bolt is operated either side by lever/knob. Dead bolt projected by a key from outside and a thumb turn inside. Dead bolt is retracted from the outside with the lever/knob inside.
Cylindrical locks do not offer dormitory functions because they do not have a dead bolt. However, I have seen and used the reversing of a hotel/motel lock principal with or without the indicator features to simulate a dormitory function. In hotel/motel functions, the outside knob is rigid, therefore always locked.
Here is an application that a locksmith can easily do. To convert a hotel/hotel function lock to operate as a dormitory lock, issue change keys cut on the emergency key blanks. This allows all the students living in the room to have access even if the inside mechanism is turned or pushed in. The grand master keys are also cut on emergency key blanks, to be used by authorized personnel only to gain entrance. If room service, (e.g., maids), is provided and the students do not wish to use it, they can block out the service keys by turning the button in the inside lever/knob. The service master keys are cut on the change key. This function depends on the manufacturers function system. It may or may not apply to all hotel/motel locks.
Check with your local locksmith distributor for full information on available brands of classroom function locks. Some lock manufacturers who produce these types of locks and their web sites are:
• Arrow, www.arrowlock.com
• Corbin-Russwin, www.corbinrusswin.com
• DORMA Architectural Hardware, www.dorma-usa.com
• Falcon, www.falcon.ingersollrand.com
• Marks USA , www.marksusa.com
• SARGENT, www.sargentlock.com
• Schlage, www.schlage.com
• Yale, www.yalecommercial.com
• Cal-Royal Products, www.cal-royal.com
Photos Available Soon
Laurence (Laurie) Simon has been in the industry close to 60 years. He is a third generation locksmith by trade, with a complete background in Locksmithing, Distribution, Manufacturing, Factory Representation and Architectural Hardware. He can be e-mailed at [email protected]. His web site is www.simon-says.net.
