Vehicle Mounted Gun Rack

Abstract

The invention consists of a vehicle mounted gun rack having slidable mechanism thereon for cooperating with the stock portion of a gun to lock the gun in position in said gun rack and a key operated lock for operating said slidable mechanism to lock said gun in position or to enable removal of said gun from said rack.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is conventional to provide various types of gun racks of the horizontal type with means provided to lock guns in position against unauthorized removal.

Attention is invited to U.S. Pat. No. to M. L. Pinkerton et al., 3,326,385, issued June 20, 1967 which discloses a vehicle mounted gun rack including electrical locking means therefor operatively connected to the vehicle battery. It is also conventional to provide various mechanical locking devices for locking guns in a rack for safe keeping.

In the present system an improved gun rack is provided including novel gun locking means.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention involves a gun rack consisting of a specially constructed rack portion including specially constructed pear shaped loops to support the barrel end of a gun, a specially constructed rack portion for receiving and supporting the stock portion of the gun, and a specially constructed key operated lock mechanism cooperating with the stock receiving rack portion to lock the gun in position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the gun of the present invention on an appropriate mounting surface;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing the rack portion for housing the barrel end of a gun;

FIG. 3 is a vertical perspective view of the rack portion and lock mechanism for receiving and supporting the stock portion of a gun;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 5--5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 6--6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view showing the locking mechanism in open operation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings in detail wherein like numerals denote like parts throughout the several views, reference numeral 10 denotes a plate on which the rack parts are mounted, said plate being adapted for suitable mounting within a vehicle at any preferred location. The gun rack portions mounted in any suitable manner such as by bolts or welding to said plate consists of first and second rack portions generally denoted by reference numerals 12 and 14.

As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, rack portion 12 includes a rectangular shaped housing 16 formed of a steel front wall 18 having bent bottom and top walls 20,22 welded to a metal strip 24 having extensions 26 for securing the housing 16 to plate 10. Side walls 28 and 30 complete the housing and include inwardly extending flanges 32 for a purpose to be described. The front wall 18 is provided with a plurality of slots 34, 36, 38, 40 for receiving the ends of C-shaped clamp members 42 for holding the gun stock. The upper end of each clamp member 42 is straight and is provided with a notched portion 44 for a purpose to be described. The lower end of each clamp member 42 is also provided with notched portions 46 for a similar purpose as notched portions 44 and also includes a bent end portion 48 forming a pivot point for clamps 42.

Mounted in the side wall 30 adjacent its upper end is a key operated lock 50 for controlling vertical movement of a locking slide 52 sliding along the front wall 18 of housing 16 and retainer members 32. The slide 52 may be plastic coated to enable ready sliding movement. The retention of the sliding member against the inner face of the front wall by members 32 is clearly shown in FIG. 4. Also shown in FIG. 4 is the manner of operating the sliding lock bar 52. The upper end of slide member 52 has an inwardly extending flange 54 pivotally joined to the inner eccentric plate 56 connected to the lock through a link 58. Thus operation of the key 60 in one direction will raise the bar 52 to unlocked position as indicated in FIG. 7 thereby permitting clamps 42 to swing down 90.degree. to permit release of the gun stock from the clamp.

The locking slide 52 is also provided with a plurality of openings 62 to receive the free ends of clamp members 42 during movement of said clamp members. The openings 62 are located adjacent the openings 35, 36, 38 and 40 for receiving said free ends. As shown in FIG. 5, the upper portion of each opening 62 is restricted at 64 whereby such restricted portion cooperates with notches 44 and ends of clamp members to lock said clamp members in closed position when locking slide is in its lowered position. When the slide is raised the clamps 42 are free to swing outwardly as shown in FIG. 7.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rack portion 14 consists of a vertical plate 66 secured to plate 10 by screws 68. Enclosed loops 70 for receiving the barrel end of each gun are welded to vertical plate 66. As shown in FIG. 2, each loop is substantially pear shaped. This shape is designed to allow a snug fit for any size barrel gun from a double barrel which will fit the larger section of the loop to a single barrel which will simply fit lower in the loop thus eliminating possible rattling of the barrel during travel.

In the operation of the present rack, it will be apparent that a gun barrel is inserted in a loop 70 as shown in FIG. 2 and the gun stock resting on one of the clamps 42 which is in open position as shown in FIG. 7. The clamp 42 is then pivoted into closed position wherein the free end may cooperate with sliding lock bar 52 to lock the clamp in position. The locking bar will move downwardly upon rotation of the key lock wherein the reduced portion of the slide bar will enter the notches of the clamp to lock the bar in position. Reverse movement of the key will turn the lock eccentric to raise the locking bar enabling open swinging movement of the clamp to enable removal of the gun from the rack.

While we have herein disclosed a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, it is evident that the same is susceptible of various other changes and modifications by those skilled in the art and nevertheless within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A gun rack comprising a pair of rack sections, one of said rack sections comprising a housing having a front and side walls mounted on a backing strip, the other of said rack sections having at least one loop member for receiving the barrel portion of a gun, a plurality of slots formed in the front wall of said housing, opposed flanges extending from the said side walls and spaced from said front wall, a slidable member disposed in the area defined by said flanges and said front wall, a plurality of openings formed in said slidable member, said openings terminating in an opening of reduced area, a C-shaped clamp member having a pair of opposed notches formed at each end thereof, a key operated lock, a link connecting said lock and said slidable member, said C-shaped clamp member encircling the stock portion of said gun, the said openings in said slidable member and the said slots in the front wall of said housing being aligned, each said pair of opposed notches on said C-shaped clamp member engaging with the said reduced area of the openings formed in said slidable member when said slidable member is moved by actuation of said key lock from a lowermost locking position to an uppermost releasing position whereupon said C-shaped clamp member and gun stock supported thereby can be removed from said gun rack.