ELECTRONIC TABLET CASE AND FIREARM HOLDER
Disclosed is an electronic tablet case capable of concealing a firearm. The case is formed from a housing having closeable panels that are hingedly connected, defining an interior and exterior. The exterior of one of the panels includes mounting elements for securing to an electronic tablet. The interior of one panel includes at least one support element for holding a firearm in position. The panels can be secured together by use of a zipper, hook & loop or the like fastener.
In accordance with 37 C.F.R. 1.76, a claim of priority is included in an Application Data Sheet filed concurrently herewith. Accordingly, the present invention claims priority as a continuation to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/748,302. Entitled “Electronic Tablet Case and Firearm Holder”, filed Jun. 24, 2015, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/016,313, entitled “Electronic Tablet Case and Firearm Holder”, filed Jun. 24, 2014. The contents of the above referenced applications are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates generally to cases for carrying a firearm and, more specifically, to a device for concealing a firearm within an electronic tablet case.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ARTFirearms are used for personal protection. To be effective, firearms must be readily accessible and are commonly found in waist belts and shoulder holsters worn by law enforcement officers. Many off-duty officers do not wish to publicly display firearms, and numerous states have now enacted concealed weapon permits that allow permitted citizens to carry a concealed firearm. This has led to an increase in the sale of firearms as violent crimes continue to exist.
It can be problematic for a citizen to carry a firearm in a conventional waist or shoulder holster. Open display of a firearm, even by an off duty officer, can invoke an undesired confrontation. For this reason, a number of prior art references are directed to the carrying of a firearm in an auxiliary or disguisable case. U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,062 discloses a guitar having a hinged door for placement of a firearm. U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,919 discloses a belt to be worn around an individual's waist, the belt having a carrying pouch for placement of a firearm. U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,031 discloses a fanny pack having a compartment for placement of a firearm. U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,919 discloses a pack body that is worn about an individual's waist and includes a compartment for concealing a firearm. U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,967 discloses a carrier having a quick release access for placement of a firearm. U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,424 discloses a pouch for securement of a firearm; the pouch appears to be a cellular telephone case. U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,219 discloses a case shaped to resemble an organizer for placement of a firearm. U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,830 discloses a briefcase with a hidden compartment for placement of a firearm. U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,565 discloses a zippered article case for placement of a firearm. U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,393 discloses a carrying case that has the appearance of a portable phone/radio with a hidden compartment for placement of a firearm. U.S. Pat. No. 8,074,477 discloses a storage device for quick access to a firearm. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0000965 discloses a case for placement of a firearm, the case having sub-panels allowing the case to be used for storing various items in addition to the firearm. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0047860 discloses a briefcase that operates as a ballistic shield and a firearm holder. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0025446 discloses a backpack for placement of a firearm. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0290837 discloses a rack lock frame for attachment to a motorcycle and placement of a firearm.
What is lacking in the art is a case for concealing a firearm that is inconspicuous in business environments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONDisclosed is an electronic tablet case capable of concealing a firearm. The case is formed from a housing having closeable panels that are hingedly connected, defining an interior and exterior. The exterior of one of the panels includes mounting elements for securing to an electronic tablet. The interior of one panel includes at least one support element for holding a firearm in position. The panels can be secured together by use of a zipper, hook & loop, mechanical or electronic latch or the like fastener. The mounting element may consist of hook & loop fasteners or include a bracket attachment for use with or without a cover panel to protect the tablet. Where a cover panel is employed, openings for charger access, volume access, microphone access, speaker access, fingerprint identification, and power switch access are contemplated. In addition, an aperture sized to reveal an electronic tablet logo can be positioned, such as that to disclose the IPAD Apple® logo. The result is a case that looks like an IPAD case but provides a concealed and readily accessible firearm.
It is an objective of the instant invention to provide a firearm case that does not attract attention.
It is a further objective of the instant invention to provide a firearm case disguised as an electronic tablet holder.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a firearm case that makes the weapon available for immediate access.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a firearm case that can carry one of a variety of different sized hand guns concealed inside.
Still another objective of this invention is to provide a case that is handy, inconspicuous and acceptable in most any environment.
It is yet another objective of this invention to provide an apparatus that, when closed, functions as an electronic tablet case and can unobtrusively conceal a weapon inside.
It is a further objective of this invention to provide adjustable fasteners to maintain the firearm and any accessory in a secure position within the case.
It is a still further objective of this invention to provide a case that enables the firearm to be extracted quickly. Other objectives and further advantages and benefits associated with this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description, examples and claims which follow.
Detailed embodiments of the instant invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific functional and structural details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representation basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure.
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In at least one embodiment, the firearm concealing electronic tablet case includes a panic button 250 positioned at a rear portion of the case close to where the hands of a user carrying the case would be. The panic button may be connected to a cell phone and a global positioning device (GPS) whereby the coordinates of the alarm could be sent to authorities and a phone line could be opened to allow an operator or police to hear what is happening in the vicinity of the case. In some embodiments the panic button may be a biometric button to prevent others from inadvertently activating the panic button.
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All patents and publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figures included herein.
One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A device for concealing a firearm within an electronic tablet case comprising: a housing having a first closeable panel hingedly connected to a second closable panel defining an interior and exterior of the housing, the exterior of said first panel having mounting elements for securing to an electronic tablet; the interior of said second panel having at least one support element for holding the firearm, and an attachment mechanism for securing said first panel to said second panel, concealing the firearm within the interior upon moving the attachment mechanism into a closed position and permitting ease of access to the firearm upon moving the attachment mechanism into an open position.
2. The device for concealing a firearm within an electronic tablet case according to claim 1 wherein said support element is a holster.
3. The device for concealing a firearm within an electronic tablet case according to claim 2 wherein said holster secures a hand gun.
4. The device for concealing a firearm within an electronic tablet case according to claim 2 wherein said holster secures a stun gun.
5. The device for concealing a firearm within an electronic tablet case according to claim 1 including a second support element for securement of a firearm support item.
6. The device for concealing a firearm within an electronic tablet case according to claim 5 wherein said second support element is a hand gun clip.
7. The device for concealing a firearm within an electronic tablet case according to claim 1 including a third panel which is constructed and arranged to cover an electronic tablet secured to said exterior of said first panel, said third panel hingedly coupled to said first panel.
8. The device for concealing a firearm within an electronic tablet case according to claim 7 wherein said third panel includes openings for charger access, volume access, microphone access, speaker access and power switch access.
9. The device for concealing a firearm within an electronic tablet case according to claim 7 wherein said third panel includes an aperture sized to reveal an electronic tablet logo.
10. The device for concealing a firearm within an electronic tablet case according to claim 1 wherein said attachment mechanism is a zipper extending about at least a portion of the perimeters of said first and second panels for concealing the firearm within the interior upon moving the zipper into a closed position and permitting ease of access to the firearm upon moving the zipper into an open position.
11. The device for concealing a firearm within an electronic tablet case according to claim 1 wherein said attachment mechanism is interengaging hook and loop attachment for securing said first panel to said second panel, concealing the firearm within the interior upon moving the hook to the loop attachment in a closed position and permitting ease of access to the firearm upon separating the hook from the loop attachment.
12. A firearm concealing electronic tablet case comprising:
- a first shell panel hingedly connected to a second shell panel, said second panel hingedly connected to a rear shell panel, said rear shell panel including a plurality of sidewalls extending substantially perpendicular with respect to said rear shell panel and away from said first and said second shell panels, a rear cover panel connecting said sidewalls to define a hollow interior portion, an access door forming a portion of said rear cover panel, said access door being hingedly connected to said rear cover panel for movement between an open and a closed position, a lock assembly for controllably preventing the release of said access door, an inside portion of said first shell panel having mounting elements for securing an electronic tablet thereto, said second shell panel contoured to cover a part of the rear portion of an electronic tablet while in a closed position having a screen portion of said electronic tablet facing a rear surface of said rear shell panel, said second shell panel having a width for use as an angle brace for supporting said electronic tablet in an angled position with respect to said rear shell panel.
13. The firearm concealing electronic tablet case of claim 12 wherein said hollow interior portion includes a support member for securing a weapon therein.
14. The firearm concealing electronic tablet case of claim 13 wherein said support member is a holster.
15. The firearm concealing electronic tablet case of claim 14 wherein said holster secures a hand gun.
16. The firearm concealing electronic tablet case of claim 12 wherein said lock assembly is an electronic lock, said hollow interior portion including at least one battery for operation of said electronic lock.
17. The firearm concealing electronic tablet case of claim 12 wherein said electronic lock is biometrically operated.
18. The firearm concealing electronic tablet case of claim 12 wherein said hollow interior portion includes a cell phone, said cell phone operable to call an emergency line upon the push of one button.
19. The firearm concealing electronic tablet case of claim 12 wherein said hollow interior portion includes a global positioning device, said global positioning device operable to send a distress call and a location upon the push of one button.
20. The firearm concealing electronic tablet case of claim 19 wherein said one button is a biometric button.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 16, 2017
Publication Date: Feb 8, 2018
Inventor: Blaine V. Ellingson (Jenson Beach, FL)
Application Number: 15/784,727