Firearms – Safety mechanism – Firearm lock
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-24
2001-03-20
Carone, Michael J. (Department: 3641)
Firearms
Safety mechanism
Firearm lock
Reexamination Certificate
active
06202336
ABSTRACT:
DESCRIPTION
1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to a safety device for temporarily disabling a firearm, and more particularly to a safety device which can be utilized with both a revolver and an automatic pistol to disable loading and firing of the same.
2. Background of Related Art
Many people in today's society own firearms, such as handguns and rifles, and keep the firearms in their home. As the popularity of firearms has increased, so too has the number of injuries due to the use of such firearms. In many cases such injuries are caused by the accidental discharge of the firearm by a person not trained to operate the weapon, such as by a child. The need for devices to temporarily lock or secure the firearm so that they become inoperable to unauthorized persons has become an issue of increased importance in view of the number of accidental shootings each year. Numerous devices have been proposed in an attempt to prevent such accidents.
One such device is a firearm safe into which various types of firearms may be placed and locked. Although firearm safes can prevent access to the firearm by an unauthorized person, such devices may also prevent immediate access to the firearm by the firearm owner. For example, if there is a sudden need to obtain the firearm such as during a burglary, it may not be possible to reach the firearm safe in time to access the firearm. Other safety devices have been proposed which temporarily disable firing of the firearm. Such devices include trigger locks and gun locks which prevent firing of the firearm in any number of different ways. Trigger locks prevent access to the trigger to prevent firing of the firearm, but do not prevent loading of the weapon. Gun locks, on the other hand, may prevent both firing and loading of the weapon. Gun locks take many forms, one form being a rod-shaped lock which is inserted into the barrel and/or firing chamber of the firearm. Examples of such gun locking devices may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,478,098 to Hansen, U.S. Pat. No. 3,154,874 to Stewart, U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,880 to Finnegan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,211 to Hepp, U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,785 to Paterson, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,924 to Honey et al., to name a few.
Although a number of attempts have been made to design effective locking devices for firearms, such as the devices described in the aforementioned patents, previous devices have not always met with success. To be successful a firearm locking device should prevent the firearm from being both loaded and fired, be easy for the gun owner to operate while difficult for an unauthorized person to disable, and should not damage the firearm. The device should also preferably be designed for use with various style and/or size guns. The safety device should also be inexpensive to produce and preferably provide an indication if the firearm still has a bullet disposed therein.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a firearm safety device which is inexpensive to manufacture, easy for the gun owner to operate, difficult for an unauthorized person (such as a child) to disable, which can be designed for use with various size and style guns, and which provides an indication if the firearm still has a bullet disposed in it.
SUMMARY
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a safety device for temporarily disabling a firearm. The safety device includes a locking member which is inserted and locked within the barrel and firing chamber of a firearm to prevent firing of the same. The locking member preferably includes a rod having a leading or first end which is at least partially insertable within the firing chamber of the weapon, and an expandable outer sleeve including a trailing or second end which is expandable in a first, transverse direction. Expansion of the outer sleeve produces a tight frictional engagement between the sleeve and an inner wall of the barrel in order to secure the locking member within the firearm. The rod is at least partially insertable within a first end of the sleeve such that the overall length of the locking member is adjustable to fit different weapons, for example a revolver and an automatic pistol. In one embodiment, the first end of the expandable sleeve has a cavity for receiving the rod therein, and the second end is substantially solid having a pair of elongated slots extending along a length thereof. The slots allow the second end of the sleeve to expand in the first direction within the barrel of the firearm upon insertion of an expansion member, such as a wedge or threaded screw, into an opening in the second end of the sleeve. A compression spring is also preferably provided, the spring being disposed within the cavity of the sleeve, between the rod and the sleeve, such that the spring biases the rod outwardly and away from the sleeve in an uncompressed state. The spring may be utilized to extend the locking member into the firing chamber of an automatic pistol upon removal of the magazine, as described in further detail herein below.
A locking key is also preferably provided for inserting the wedge or threaded screw member into the second end of the sleeve in order to expand the same. In one embodiment, the key is part of a key assembly which includes an engagement member for holding the outer surface of the sleeve to prevent rotation, and a locking key for engaging and inserting the wedge or threaded screw member into the second end of the sleeve.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2836918 (1958-06-01), Pula et al.
patent: 4398366 (1983-08-01), Wernicki
patent: 4827649 (1989-05-01), Sheehan
patent: 5052142 (1991-10-01), Mikus
patent: 5398438 (1995-03-01), Williams
patent: 5664358 (1997-09-01), Haber et al.
patent: 5860241 (1999-01-01), Waters
Buckley Denise J
Carone Michael J.
Salter & Michaelson
LandOfFree
Safety device for firearms does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Safety device for firearms, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Safety device for firearms will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2444261