Firearms – Safety mechanism – Firearm lock
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-29
2001-07-10
Johnson, Stephen M. (Department: 3641)
Firearms
Safety mechanism
Firearm lock
C042S070020
Reexamination Certificate
active
06256920
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to safety securing devices for small arms. More particularly, it concerns firearm safety devices that can be inserted into a wide variety of small weapons to render them safe from inadvertent use, but can be easily removed by authorized persons to render them quickly operable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are a number of firearm trigger lock devices that attempt to render the weapon safe by locking only the position of the trigger, e.g., see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,560,134, 5,433,028, 5,417,000, 5,146,705, 3,964,383, 2,741,726 and 2,512,140. The utility of such locks is limited since, for example, they do not prevent the removal of the upper receiver assembly from an AR15/M16 type weapon which could still be fired by striking the firing pin with a pin and hammer.
In contrast, the new safety securing devices for small arms of the invention provide more extensive protection against unauthorized use since they require the bolt to be locked to the rear position to allow their insertion into the weapon.
A variety of firearm locks that do not focus on trigger position and involve insertion of locking elements on or into portions of the firearm intended to be rendered safe are known, e.g., see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,742,727, 4,532,729, 4,654,992, 4,987,693, 5,419,069, 5,446,986, 5,611,164, 5,680,723 and 5,737,864.
The present invention provides further improvements in removable firearm safety devices that render them remarkable as compared with any of prior known firearm lock devices, including those referenced above, as will become apparent from the following disclosures.
OBJECTS
A principal object of the invention is the provision of a remarkable new type of removable firearm safety devices.
Further objects include the provision of removable firearm safety devices that:
1. Assure that the firearm's magazine is removed from the weapon.
2. Guarantee that the firearm's bolt is withdrawn from the locking recess to assure that the firing pin cannot reach a primer.
3. Prevent disassembly of the firearm to allow firing in some fashion without removing the new firearm safety device.
4. Make movements of the trigger totally ineffective in attempting to fire the weapon.
5. Effectively tie “all parts of the gun together” in performing the locking operation.
6. Will work on automatic pistols, but not on revolvers and will be dimensionally weapons specific.
7. Function by the expansion of “dogs” (locking bars) into a transverse width that is larger than the entry size of the weapon cavity into which the removable firearm safety device is inserted in the locking operation.
Additional objects include the provision of a new type of firearm safety devices that offer the following advantages:
A. No metal parts to mar the finish of the firearm by using all plastic construction.
B. Allows user to lock the device in place with any hasp or padlock he already has (as long as it physically fits through the locking hole in the new firearm safety device) and can even be secured with cable ties which are used to secure weapons at many gun shows.
C. Provides a level of safety above that offered by mere trigger locks.
D. Enables pulling the locking bar away from the bottom of the firearm lock to lift the weapon's magazine latch thus allowing the lock to continue being removed from the weapon. Such one motion removal is desirable for reducing the time required to get the weapon into action if required.
E. Permits the magazine lock to hold the firearm lock in the weapon through out storage time whereby the locking bars of the firearm safety device do not wear against the dry film lubrication in the weapon's upper receiver and also keeps the weapon's magazine lock spring from being subjected to long term storage in a compressed position.
F. Enables the degree of the locking to be independent of the diameter of the weapon's lock shank. The new safety devices require a full 0.375 inches of stroke before their locking bars start to retract which means even a small diameter cable can be threaded through the large lock hole and still be securely held within the weapon.
G. Accept a locking bar within a gun rack that holds multiple similar weapons making use of the new firearm locks easier than having many single padlocks.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed descriptions given herein; it should be understood, however, that the detailed descriptions, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent from such descriptions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The objects are accomplished in accordance with the invention by the provision of safety devices that, when inserted into a firearm, renders it safe from inadvertent use. As with all such devices, the new devices of this invention can be removed from the weapon by destroying the safety device per se or cutting off the lock that interfaces with such device, but they are intended to make the weapons in which they are installed reasonably inaccessible to children and adults.
The new firearm locks require the bolt of the secured weapon to be locked to the rear position to allow insertion. Thus, they enter the weapon through the magazine cavity and pushing the locking bar of the new firearm locks closed expands two locking rods that expand into a cavity within the upper receiver of the weapon. Since the upper receiver cavity is larger than the passageway of the magazine, the firearm lock can not be pulled back thorough the passageway. The firearm safety device has a lower shoulder that is larger than the magazine cavity within the weapons lower receiver that prevents removal of the firearm safety device by pulling it upward and through the lower receiver.
The new firearm safety devices also have a shoulder that prevents the magazine release from releasing the bolt and carrier to travel forward.
Advantageously, the new firearm safety devices are molded from orange plastic to make them visible from a distance. That is important for use in gun ranges and at gun shows where it is necessary to be able to rapidly identify that a weapon is in a safe state. Alternatively, they may be made in other colors and a variety of moldable materials.
A particular advantage of the new firearm safety devices is that they can work with any type of locking device (padlock) that the gun owner already has thereby allowing him to have matched locks for all his weapons.
The new removable firearm safety devices work with AR15/M16 style weapons, but can be used in designs of other similar devices to lock firearms which have some type of internal cavity into which the locking bars can expand, e.g., insertion into bolt action type firearms from the top. The bolt is withdrawn to the rear position and the new firearm safety devices are inserted through the cartridge feed lips and expand into the space below them. On pump fed and auto loading shotguns, the new firearm safety devices can be inserted through the ejection port and expanded to the larger cavity within the weapon. On auto-loading pistols, the new firearm safety devices can be inserted through the magazine cavity and extend through the ejection port in the slide. The expansion bars of the new firearm safety devices can expand into the recesses within the frame of the gun under the grips. Thus, there are many different types of firearms to which the removable safety devices of the invention can be adapted.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3018576 (1962-01-01), Riechers
patent: 3877267 (1975-04-01), Harris, Jr.
patent: 4532729 (1985-08-01), Von Muller
patent: 4709496 (1987-12-01), Johnson
patent: 5491992 (1996-02-01), Mandall
patent: 5918402 (1999-07-01), Weinraub
patent: 5988376 (1999-11-01), Lax
patent: 6052934 (2000-04-01), Carpenter
patent: 2920679 (1979-11-01), None
patent: 4009372 (1990-10-01), None
Johnson Stephen M.
Knight's Armament Company
Palmer Carroll F.
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