GUN LOCKING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF USE

A gun lock system including a chamber restriction unit and a key. The chamber restriction unit includes a lock screw, a base, a nose, a stud connected between the nose and the base, at least two expandable rings and at least one solid spacer. The lock screw includes a threaded body and a lock screw head with a key receiver to receive the key. The base includes a threaded lock screw hole to receive the threaded body of the lock screw. The nose includes a lock screw body through hole to receive the threaded body of the lock screw. Each of the at least two expandable rings includes a stud hole to slide over the stud. Each of the at least one solid spacer includes a stud hole to slide over the stud and be between the two expandable rings.

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Description

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/804,854 filed Jun. 15, 2006

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the field of gun lock devices, and more particularly to a gun lock used in a chamber of any type of gun, including revolvers, rifles, shot guns or automatic type pistols and rifles.

As is generally known, there is a proliferation of gun use in the United States, that it has become a national problem. Hardly a day passes when the news media does not report the occurrence of a serious crime or suicide committed with the use of a gun, or the injury or death of an individual from an accidental gun shot wound. Various surveys report the significance of firearm population in terms of the injury and death that result from the use of firearms. Injuries resulting from either the intentional or unintentional use of firearms constitute one of the leading causes of death due to injury. The risk of firearm death is highest for adolescents and young adults. It is axiomatic that with a given probability of both intentional and unintentional woundings and deaths associated with firearms, that the ever increasing number of firearms in civilian hands will result in a correspondingly increasing number of such wounding and deaths.

Two major factors to be derived from the foregoing information form the basis for the present invention. One is the need and intent in today's society of the civilian population to be able to defend itself in time of need; the other is the need to achieve a significant reduction in the number of injuries and deaths resulting from the use of these guns. Various measures have been tried and adopted from time to time in an effort to achieve this objective, with varying degrees of success. However, the present invention is directed principally toward affecting a significant reduction in the number of injuries and deaths resulting from accidental or unintentional discharge of a gun from the following common situations, among others: (a) children playing with loaded guns which are accessible to them; (b) children committing suicide with guns which are directly accessible to them or are obtained from others; (c) unintentional shooting committed in the extreme stress of a highly emotional situation; (d) any shooting carried out with a stolen hand gun; and (e) any other situation where a shooting could have been prevented by rendering the gun inoperable and useless by anyone but the authorized owner or user.

Firearm safety devices have long been well known, having evolved from simple mechanical trigger obstructions to rather sophisticated built-in firing mechanism locking devices, as well as to external devices designed to be attached to a gun to prevent the gun from being operated in an unintended manner. For example, one type of gun lock device commercially available attaches to the trigger guard of the gun and prevents manual access to the trigger. The problem with this type is that there have still been accidental discharges of loaded guns. Another type of gun lock device is a cable which is passed down the muzzle end of the barrel of the gun and out through the chamber of the gun. The ends of the cable are then locked together with either a key or a combination lock. The cable can be easily cut. Another type gun lock devices to be found in the prior art is a rigid device which is inserted down the barrel of the gun and is locked therein by suitable means so that it cannot be removed except by an authorized person who knows how to unlock the device. However, the current design suffers from the disadvantages that it can easily be accidentally discharged during removal of the device from the gun, it may not work on existing guns, and the device can be removed from the gun by an unauthorized person, allowing the safety integrity of these devices to be defeated without great difficulty if one has common tools and skills, or can exert sufficient force to extract the rod from the barrel.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a gun lock system and method of use to over the disadvantages of current gun locking devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A gun lock system including a chamber restriction unit and a key. The chamber restriction unit includes a lock screw, a base, a nose, a stud connected between the nose and the base, at least two expandable rings and at least one solid spacer. The lock screw includes a threaded body and a lock screw head with a key receiver to receive the key. The base includes a threaded lock screw hole to receive the threaded body of the lock screw. The nose includes a lock screw body through hole to allow passage of the threaded body of the lock screw. Each of the at least two expandable rings includes a stud hole to allow each of the at least two expandable rings to slide over the stud. Each of the at least one solid spacer includes a stud hole to allow each of the at least one solid spacer to slide over the stud and be between the two expandable rings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side cut-away view of a gun lock system in a gun according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of three chamber restriction units according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of one of the three chamber restriction units shown in FIG. 2 according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a exploded view of the chamber restriction unit shown in FIG. 3 according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a exploded view of one of the three chamber restriction units shown in FIG. 2 according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is exploded view of the chamber restriction unit shown in FIG. 5 according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a exploded view of one of the three chamber restriction units shown in FIG. 2 according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is exploded view of the chamber restriction unit shown in FIG. 7 according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is a gun locking system and method of use. The gun locking system includes a chamber restriction unit and a key. The chamber restriction unit is shaped similar to ammunition used in a gun, so as to simulate gun ammunition. Gun ammunition usually includes a bullet and a casing. FIG. 1 shows a chamber restriction unit 10 in a chamber 12 of a gun 14 and a key 16 to engage the chamber restriction unit 10. The chamber restriction unit 10 of FIG. 1 simulates the casing and bullet combination of gun ammunition.

FIG. 2 shows three different versions of the chamber restriction unit. The chamber restriction unit 10 of FIG. 2 simulates the casing and bullet combination of gun ammunition for pistol ammunition. The chamber restriction unit 18 of FIG. 2 simulates the casing of gun ammunition used in small caliber pistols and rifles. The chamber restriction unit 20 of FIG. 2 simulates the casing of gun ammunition used in larger caliber rifles. The simulation of gun ammunition by the chamber restriction units 10, 18, 20 allows the chamber restriction units 10, 18, 20 to be loaded into the chamber 12 of the gun 14 using a gun magazine, the same as gun ammunition is loaded into the chamber 12 of the gun 14.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of chamber restriction unit 10 of FIG. 2, which simulates the casing and bullet combination of gun ammunition. The chamber restriction unit 10 includes a base 22, expandable ring 24, solid spacer 26, expandable ring 24, nose 28 and lock screw 30. The lock screw 30 includes a lock screw head 32 and a lock screw body 34. The lock screw body 34 is threaded. The lock screw head 32 includes a key receiver 36. The key receiver 36 is shown as a hex key cut out to receive a hex key. The base 22 includes an outside surface 38 and rear end 40 that simulates the rear end of a casing. This allows an extractor of a gun to remove the chamber restriction unit 10 from the chamber 12 of the gun 14. The base 22 also includes a stud 42 with a lock screw hole 44. The lock screw hole 44 is threaded to receive the threaded lock screw body 34. The expandable rings 24 and the solid spacer 26 each include a stud hole 46. The nose 28 is shaped like a bullet and the upper part of a casing. The top of the nose 28 includes a lock screw head chamber 48. The bottom 50 of the nose 28 includes a stud chamber 52 to receive the stud 42 of the base 22, as shown in FIG. 4. The nose 28 also includes a lock screw body through hole 54 between the lock screw head chamber 48 and the stud chamber 52. The lock screw body through hole 54 allows the lock screw body 34 of the lock screw 30 to pass onto the lock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base 22.

The chamber restriction unit 10 of FIG. 2 is assembled by placing one of the expandable rings 24 over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the expandable ring 24. The solid spacer 26 is placed over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the solid spacer 26. Then, the other expandable ring 24 is placed over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the expandable ring 24. An O-ring is typically chosen to be the expandable ring 24. The stud 42 of the base 22 is then inserted into the stud chamber 52 of the nose 28. The lock screw 30 is inserted into the lock screw head chamber 48 and through the lock screw body through hole 54. The lock screw 30 is threaded into the lock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base 22 just enough to tighten the components of the chamber restriction unit 10 together, without expanding the expandable rings 24. The chamber restriction unit 10 is ready for use and placed into the chamber 12 of a gun 14, as shown in FIG. 1. Once the chamber restriction unit 10 is in the chamber 12 of the gun 14, the key 16 is inserted into the barrel 56 of the gun 14 and into the key receiver 36 of the lock screw head 32. The lock screw 30 is then threaded further into the lock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base 22, by rotating the key 16. The lock screw 30 is threaded further in order to expand the expandable rings 24, due to pressure excreted from the nose 28, base 22 and solid spacer 26 being pressed together. The expandable rings 24 press against the chamber 12 of the gun 14 during the expansion of the expandable rings 24 to lodge the chamber restriction unit 10 in the chamber 12. The chamber restriction unit 10 is lodged in the chamber 12, such that the chamber restriction unit 10 can not be removed by the action of the gun 14, unless the lock screw 30 is unthreaded from the base 22 enough to allow the expandable rings 24 to retract.

FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of chamber restriction unit 20 of FIG. 2, which simulates casing of gun ammunition used in larger caliber rifles. The chamber restriction unit 20 includes a base 22, expandable ring 24, solid spacer 26, expandable ring 24, nose 28 and lock screw 30. The lock screw 30 includes a lock screw head 32 and a lock screw body 34. The lock screw body 34 is threaded. The lock screw head 32 includes a key receiver 36. The key receiver 36 is shown as a hex key cut out to receive a hex key. The base 22 includes an outside surface 38 and rear end 40 that simulates the rear end of a casing. This allows an extractor of a gun to remove the chamber restriction unit 20 from the chamber 12 of the gun 14. The base 22 also includes a stud 42 with a lock screw hole 44. The lock screw hole 44 is threaded to receive the threaded lock screw body 34. The expandable rings 24 and the solid spacer 26 each include a stud hole 46. The nose 28 is shaped like an upper part of a casing. The top of the nose 28 includes a lock screw head chamber 48. The bottom 50 of the nose 28 includes a stud chamber 52 to receive the stud 42 of the base 22, as shown in FIG. 6. The nose 28 also includes a lock screw body through hole 54 between the lock screw head chamber 48 and the stud chamber 52. The lock screw body through hole 54 allows the lock screw body 34 of the lock screw 30 to pass onto the lock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base 22.

The chamber restriction unit 20 of FIG. 2 is assembled by placing one of the expandable rings 24 over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the expandable ring 24. The solid spacer 26 is placed over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the solid spacer 26. Then, the other expandable ring 24 is placed over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the expandable ring 24. A thicker O-ring is shown as the expandable ring 24, as compared the one used with chamber restriction unit 10. The stud 42 of the base 22 is then inserted into the stud chamber 52 of the nose 28. The lock screw 30 is inserted into the lock screw head chamber 48 and through the lock screw body through hole 54. The lock screw 30 is threaded into the lock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base 22 just enough to tighten the components of the chamber restriction unit 20 together, without expanding the expandable rings 24. The chamber restriction unit 20 is ready for use and placed into the chamber 12 of a gun 14, as shown in FIG. 1. Once the chamber restriction unit 20 is in the chamber 12 of the gun 14, the key 16 is inserted into the barrel 56 of the gun 14 and into the key receiver 36 of the lock screw head 32. The lock screw 30 is then threaded further into the lock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base 22, by rotating the key 16. The lock screw 30 is threaded further in order to expand the expandable rings 24, due to pressure excreted from the nose 28, base 22 and solid spacer 26 being pressed together. The expandable rings 24 press against the chamber 12 of the gun 14 during the expansion of the expandable rings 24 to lodge the chamber restriction unit 20 in the chamber 12. The chamber restriction unit 20 is lodged in the chamber 12, such that the chamber restriction unit 20 can not be removed by the action of the gun 14, unless the lock screw 30 is unthreaded from the base 22 enough to allow the expandable rings 24 to retract.

FIG. 7 shows an exploded view of chamber restriction unit 18 of FIG. 2, which simulates the casing of gun ammunition used in small caliber pistols and rifles. The chamber restriction unit 18 includes a base 22, three expandable rings 24, two solid spacers 26, nose 28 and lock screw 30. The lock screw 30 includes a lock screw head 32 and a lock screw body 34. The lock screw body 34 is threaded. The lock screw head 32 includes a key receiver 36. The key receiver 36 is shown as a hex key cut out to receive a hex key. The base 22 includes an outside surface 38 and rear end 40 that simulates the rear end of a casing. This allows an extractor of a gun to remove the chamber restriction unit 18 from the chamber 12 of the gun 14. The base 22 also includes a stud 42 with a lock screw hole 44. The lock screw hole 44 is threaded to receive the threaded lock screw body 34. The expandable rings 24 and the solid spacers 26 each include a stud hole 46. The nose 28 is shaped like an upper part of a casing. The top of the nose 28 includes a lock screw head chamber 48. The bottom 50 of the nose 28 includes a stud chamber 52 to receive the stud 42 of the base 22, as shown in FIG. 8. The nose 28 also includes a lock screw body through hole 54 between the lock screw head chamber 48 and the stud chamber 52. The lock screw body through hole 54 allows the lock screw body 34 of the lock screw 30 to pass onto the lock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base 22.

The chamber restriction unit 18 of FIG. 2 is assembled by placing one of the expandable rings 24 over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the expandable ring 24. A solid spacer 26 is placed over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the solid spacer 26. Another expandable ring 24 is placed over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the expandable ring 24. Another solid spacer 26 is placed over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the solid spacer 26. Then, the final expandable ring 24 is placed over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the expandable ring 24. An O-ring is typically chosen to be the expandable ring 24. The stud 42 of the base 22 is then inserted into the stud chamber 52 of the nose 28. The lock screw 30 is inserted into the lock screw head chamber 48 and through the lock screw body through hole 54. The lock screw 30 is threaded into the lock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base 22 just enough to tighten the components of the chamber restriction unit 18 together, without expanding the expandable rings 24. The chamber restriction unit 18 is ready for use and placed into the chamber 12 of a gun 14, as shown in FIG. 1. Once the chamber restriction unit 18 is in the chamber 12 of the gun 14, the key 16 is inserted into the barrel 56 of the gun 14 and into the key receiver 36 of the lock screw head 32. The lock screw 30 is then threaded further into the lock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base 22, by rotating the key 16. The lock screw 30 is threaded further in order to expand the expandable rings 24, due to pressure excreted from the nose 28, base 22 and solid spacers 26 being pressed together. The expandable rings 24 press against the chamber 12 of the gun 14 during the expansion of the expandable rings 24 to lodge the chamber restriction unit 18 in the chamber 12. The chamber restriction unit 20 is lodged in the chamber 12, such that the chamber restriction unit 18 can not be removed by the action of the gun 14, unless the lock screw 30 is unthreaded from the base 22 enough to allow the expandable rings 24 to retract. Since the expandable rings 24 are smaller for smaller caliber ammunition, an additional ring 24 allows for more surface area contact between the chamber 12 of the gun 14 and the chamber restriction unit 18 and provides more resistant to prevent removal of the chamber restriction unit 18 without the key 16.

While different embodiments of the invention has been described in detail herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to the embodiments could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. It is envisioned that there can be different key and key receivers combinations then are shown. It is envisioned that the components shown in each embodiment shown in the figures can be mixed and matched. Accordingly, the particular arrangements are illustrative only and are not limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of any and all equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A gun lock system adapted to be used with a gun having a chamber and barrel, comprising: a chamber restriction unit and a key;

said chamber restriction unit comprising: a lock screw, said lock screw including a lock screw head, said lock screw head including a key receiver, said lock screw including a threaded body; a base, said base including a threaded lock screw hole to receive said threaded body of said lock screw; a nose, said nose including a lock screw body through hole to allow passage of said threaded body of said lock screw; a stud connected between said nose and said base; at least two expandable rings, each of said at least two expandable rings including stud holes to allow each of said at least two expandable rings to slide over said stud; at least one solid spacer, each of said at least one solid spacer including a stud hole to allow each of said at least one solid spacer to slide over said stud and be between said at least two expandable rings; and said at least two expandable rings positioned between said base and said nose so that when said threaded body of said lock screw is threaded into said threaded lock screw hole, said base, said at least one solid spacer and said nose move closer together and apply a compression force to said at least two expandable rings and expand said at least two expandable rings due to said compression force; and
said key having an end fashioned to fit into said key receiver of said lock screw such that said lock screw will rotate when said key is rotated to expand said expandable rings against the chamber of the gun, said key adapted to be long enough to fit down the barrel of the gun so as to reach said key receiver when said key receiver is in the chamber of the gun.

2. The gun lock system of claim 1, wherein said at least two expandable rings are O-rings.

3. The gun lock system of claim 1, wherein said base includes a rear section which is shaped like the rear of ammunition casing to allow an extractor of a gun to remove said chamber restriction unit from the chamber of the gun.

4. The gun lock system of claim 1, wherein said chamber restriction unit is shaped like ammunition used in the gun, to allow loading of said chamber restriction unit into the gun in a similar fashion as gun ammunition when using a gun magazine.

5. The gun lock system of claim 1, wherein said stud is formed as part of said base.

6. The gun lock system of claim 1, wherein said stud is formed as part of said nose.

7. The gun lock system of claim 1, wherein said nose includes a lock screw head chamber to receive said lock screw head.

8. A chamber restriction unit adapted to be used with a gun having a chamber and barrel, comprising:

a lock screw, said lock screw including a lock screw head, said lock screw head including a key receiver, said lock screw including a threaded body;
a base, said base including a threaded lock screw hole to receive said threaded body of said lock screw;
a nose, said nose including a lock screw body through hole to allow passage of said threaded body of said lock screw;
a stud connected between said nose and said base;
at least two expandable rings, each of said at least two expandable rings including stud holes to allow each of said at least two expandable rings to slide over said stud;
at least one solid spacer, each of said at least one solid spacer including a stud hole to allow each of said at least one solid spacer to slide over said stud and be between said at least two expandable rings; and
said at least two expandable rings positioned between said base and said nose so that when said threaded body of said lock screw is threaded into said threaded lock screw hole, said base, said at least one solid spacer and said nose move closer together and apply a compression force to said at least two expandable rings and expand said at least two expandable rings due to said compression force.

9. The chamber restriction unit of claim 8, wherein said at least two expandable rings are O-rings.

10. The chamber restriction unit of claim 8, wherein said base includes a rear section which is shaped like the rear of ammunition casing to allow an extractor of a gun to remove said chamber restriction unit from the chamber of the gun.

11. The chamber restriction unit of claim 8, wherein said chamber restriction unit is shaped like ammunition used in the gun, to allow loading of said chamber restriction unit into the gun in a similar fashion as gun ammunition when using a gun magazine.

12. The chamber restriction unit of claim 8, wherein said stud is formed as part of said base.

13. The chamber restriction unit of claim 8, wherein said stud is formed as part of said nose.

14. The chamber restriction unit of claim 8, wherein said nose includes a lock screw head chamber to receive said lock screw head.

15. A method of preventing the firing of a gun comprising:

inserting a chamber restriction unit in a chamber of the gun, the chamber restriction unit including a lock screw, where the lock screw includes a lock screw head, where the lock screw head includes a key receiver, where the lock screw includes a threaded body; a base, where the base includes a threaded lock screw hole to receive the threaded body of the lock screw; a nose, where the nose includes a lock screw body through hole to allow passage of the threaded body of the lock screw; a stud connected between the nose and the base; at least two expandable rings, each of the at least two expandable rings including stud holes to allow each of the at least two expandable rings to slide over the stud; at least one solid spacer, each of the at least one solid spacer including a stud hole to allow each of the at least one solid spacer to slide over the stud and be between the two expandable rings; and where the at least two expandable rings are positioned between the base and the nose so that when the threaded body of the lock screw is threaded into the threaded lock screw hole, the base, the at least one solid spacer and the nose move closer together and apply a compression force to said at least two expandable rings and expand said at least two expandable rings due to the compression force; and
inserting a key into a barrel of the gun such that the key is inserted into the key receiver, where the key has an end fashioned to fit into the key receiver of the lock screw such that the lock screw will rotate when the key is rotated to expand the expandable rings against the chamber of the gun; and
rotating the key to expand the expandable rings against the chamber of the gun and lodge the chamber restriction unit in the chamber such that the chamber restriction unit can not be removed from the chamber unless the lock screw is rotated by the key such that the expandable rings retract from the chamber.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the chamber restriction unit is inserted into the chamber in a manner that gun ammunition is normally loaded into the chamber from a gun magazine due to the chamber restriction unit being shaped similar to gun ammunition normally loaded into the chamber of the gun.

Patent History
Publication number: 20080086927
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 14, 2007
Publication Date: Apr 17, 2008
Inventors: Richard Wajdic (Latrobe, PA), James Washnock (Latrobe, PA)
Application Number: 11/762,821
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: 42/70.110
International Classification: F41A 17/44 (20060101);