Abstract:
A safety lock device for lever action firearms. The safety device has two hardened side plates and transverse hardened pins. The safety lock device must be designed for each specific lever action firearm onto which it is intended to be used in order to insure the most secure fit and the highest confidence in the inability for disabling the device once installed onto the firearm. The combination of the hardened pins and a trigger channel and a separate lever channel for the open lever provide protection against the disabling of the lever action safety lock device.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 11/299,217, entitled “UNIVERSAL FIXED PIN TRIGGER LOCK”, filed on Dec. 9, 2005 by Thomas J. Farchione, for which a notice of allowance was issued Jan. 14, 2008, which is the non-provisional application from provisional application Ser. No. 60/635,128 filed Dec. 10, 2004. This application claims priority from the previous applications for material that is similar but claims priority for any new matter distinct from the subject matter of the previous application and which is being presented by this application. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention pertains to the field of firearm safety lock mechanisms. More particularly, the invention pertains to a safety lock having hardened fixed pins and hardened plates designed to fit only over and around the trigger and the open lever of lever action firearms. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Rifle manufacturers might provide some type of safety lock with new firearms to prevent an unauthorized or untrained individual from operating what can become a very dangerous device in the hands of such a person, specifically children. Different lock designs have evolved over time. Cable locks use lengths of cable to extend through the action or barrel of the weapon, thereby preventing usage. Another type of lock is a trigger guard plate lock which uses two “plate” sections that can be locked together from opposite sides over and around the trigger guard. A locking cylinder enables the clamping and tightening of this type of lock over the trigger guard. In certain designs, pins extend from one plate and insertion into holes in the other plate. When stationary pins (i.e., rigid and non-retractable pins) are used, they are located in such a manner as to abut parts of the trigger and trigger guard to hold the plates in a secure position on a particular firearm. There are also retractable pin designs having retractable spring biased pins. In this type of design, the locations of some pins may be blocked by components on the firearm (such as the trigger guard and trigger). Some designs combine the functions of a cable lock and a plate lock into one assembly. 
         [0004]    Lever action rifles provide a unique challenge to gun safety lock manufacturers. There are designs that require the opening of the action to insert a transverse locking plate through the receiver, thereby preventing the receiver from accepting a cartridge to be seated in the barrel by locking the receiver in its open position. A design such as this may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,694,659 B2, specifically  FIG. 16 . However, there are certain drawbacks to this design in that the lever is still able to move a small distance, with the coincidental movement of the receiver, all of which could cause damage to the receiver, the lever action and/or the end of the barrel into which the cartridge must be inserted. Such damage may cause gas to escape during the eventual discharge of the weapon, potentially causing injury to the shooter. There is a need, therefore, to secure the lever not only to prevent movement of the action but to provide a substantial degree of protection to the lever itself. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The instant device is a firearm safety lock device that is designed specifically for use with lever action rifles, such as the historic Winchester model rifles of the late 19 th  century. Of course, other manufacturers now produce similar lever action model rifles and the present safety lock device may be utilized with such similar weapons. The present safety lock device consists of an opposing pair of hardened plates located and sized to surround a portion of and secure in place the open lever of a lever action rifle. Each plate is attached to a cover element. The pair of steel plates are provided with interlocking hardened pins and a lock that are positioned around the lever in its fully open position. The pins are arranged not only to secure the lever in the open position, but their hardened construction, specifically a hardened steel alloy, prevents someone from sawing through or otherwise destroying any one or more of the pins to disable the safety lock device. 
         [0006]    In the manufacture of the safety lock device, the lever action rifle onto which the device is to be installed must first be measured to insure an accurate fit. Hardened pins are then arranged to insure that the lever remains fixed in an open position. The pins are secured by, for example, force fitting or the like, to one of the pair of plates. Mating holes are then provided in the opposing plate to receive each of the pins when the safety lock device is installed onto the firearm. One end of a conventional shaft type lock is securely installed through the plate and into the cover element that already has the pins secured to it. Similarly, a mating hole is formed in the opposing plate and its cover element so that upon installation, the other end of the lock inserts into its mating hole or cavity in the opposing cover element. The shaft of the lock mechanism progresses through the hole in the opposing plate until the pair of opposing plates are securely in contact with the open lever of the firearm. The hardened plates are designed to extend above, below, forward of and behind the open lever so to prevent a saw or other destructive device from disabling the safety lock device. The present safety lock device for lever action rifles complies with requirements such as those set forth in California Department of Justice AB 106 and ASTM F2369-04. 
         [0007]    It is often necessary, in order to comply with many local regulations, or beneficial (from a marketing standpoint) for gun manufacturers and/or the gun retailers to provide a lock that will precisely operate with each specific lever action rifle model produced providing a more secure firearm and lessening the chance that the lock is improperly installed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  shows an isometric view of the right side of a lever action rifle with the lever safety lock of the invention installed over the open lever. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  shows the same view of  FIG. 1  with the right side plate of the lever safety lock removed. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  shows a plan view of the right side of the firearm with the right side plate of the lever safety lock removed to show the configuration of the inside face of the left side of the lever safety lock. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  shows a cut away view along line A-A of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  shows a plan view of the right side of a lever action firearm having the lever safety lock securely installed around the open lever of the firearm. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  shows an isometric break away view of the lever safety lock of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    As is best shown in  FIG. 6 , the safety lock of this invention consists of two halves (a right cover element  100  and a left cover element  200 ) that are adapted to fit together over and around a lever  20  and a trigger  22  of a lever action firearm  10 . The right cover element  100  is formed from a high strength plastic or metallic die cast material. It is separately overmolded to abut a hardened plate  101  and separately overmolded to abut a hardened plate  102 . The left cover element  200  is also formed of a high strength plastic or die cast material and overmolds or abuts hardened plate  102 . The right and left cover elements are preferably produced from resilient, high strength plastic or die cast alloys. The hardened plates  101  and  102  are preferably made from a hardened metal alloy, such as hardened steel. The right cover  100  and the left cover  200  are formed preferably from a substantially rigid, yet abrasion resistant material, such as a synthetic polymer. One example of such a synthetic polymer is  90  Dura Santoprene®. Synthetic polymers that exhibit these properties provide for the positional integrity of the various individual components of the safety lock while not being sufficiently abrasive to scratch or otherwise mar the various surfaces of the firearm with which it comes into contact. Such surfaces include the trigger  22 , the lever  20 , and the right side  24  and left side  26  of receiver  21  (Please refer to  FIGS. 1-5 ). 
         [0015]    A locking means is used to non-permanently secure the 2 cover plates to each other. This locking means may consist of conventional locking devices, such as, for example, ratchet locks, “T” headed locks installed on the end of a shaft, cam locks, plunger locks, such as those that are spring loaded. This list is merely exemplary and is not intended to limit the type of lock that may be used with the safety lock of the invention. The most preferred embodiment of the locking means is shown in  FIG. 6 . Herein, a locking element  300  secures the right cover element  100  to the left cover element  200 , including the other plate elements listed above, to lock the lever action firearm  10  in an open lever position. The locking element  300  consists of a post  302  which extends from one side of the safety lock device to the other side. As shown in  FIG. 6 , the first end of the ratchet post  302  begins from hole  301  in the left cover element  200  and traverses through the other elements. A “T” shaped end  304  is formed to the second end of the post  302  and traverses through a locking engagement hole  306  in right cover plate  101 . It finally inserts within locking engagement cavity  310  in the right cover element  100 . A key (not shown) operatively engages a key slot in the second end of the ratchet post  302 . A protective cover  314 , made of hardened steel is installed over the locking engagement cavity  310 . Seal  312  to keep contaminants from entering the locking engagement cavity  310 . 
         [0016]    In the embodiments illustrated, a plurality of pins  400  extend from left cover element  200  through the left hardened plate  102 , right hardened plate  101 , into holes or pin receivers  402  of cover  100  (not shown). It should be readily understood that the features described with respect to the left and right protective plates and left and right side elements may be reversed at the discretion of the manufacturer and would not represent a patentably distinct embodiment of the invention. 
         [0017]    Pins  400  are advantageous elements in order to insure the mechanical integrity of the firearm safety device as they are relatively easy to manufacture and are uncomplicated enough to make so that tolerances can be designed into them to permit as tight or lose a fit into pin receivers  402  as desired. Ease of assembly and the inability to disable the safety lock once installed on the firearm are prime considerations. A key advantage of using hardened pins over hardened metal plates, whether the plates are placed horizontal or vertical to the axis of the locking device, is that the pins take up minimal space and provide for a lighter overall weight for the locking device. For example, if the diameters of all pins used in the safety lock device were calculated, they would make up less than 10% of the surface area of any one of the cover elements  100  or  200 . 
         [0018]    The safety lock device is installed such that the axes of its pins  400  are transverse to the axis of the barrel of the firearm. As best shown in  FIG. 6 , a lever channel  220  is formed in the left cover  200  are of sufficient depth to entirely seat the lever  20  in the open position. Similarly, a trigger channel  222  is formed in the left cover  200  to correspond with and fully seat the trigger in its resting position. 
         [0019]    In a first embodiment of the invention, best shown in  FIG. 6 , the lever channel  220  and the trigger channel  222  on the left cover  200  are of sufficient depth to entirely seat the lever  20  and trigger  22  within their respective channels,  220  and  222 . In this embodiment, the surface of the right cover  100  which abuts the left cover  200  is flat. 
         [0020]    In a second embodiment of the invention, corresponding channels  120  and  122 , not shown, are formed into the right cover  100 , which of course, must now be of greater thickness. Lever channel  120  matches up with lever channel  220  and trigger channel  122  matches up with trigger channel  222 , such that, as left cover  200  and right cover  100  are brought together to surround trigger  22  and the open lever  20 . 
         [0021]    The hardened steel or steel alloy pins  400  are positioned around the trigger  22  and the open lever  20  to prevent attempts to disable the safety lock by use of a saw or other invasive device. As shown best in  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  6 , two pins are located behind the trigger  22 , two are located under the open lever  20  and another pin  400  is located forward of the open lever. Of course, the location and number of pins is subject to the design preferences of the manufacturer of the safety lock. For example, a lever action firearm having greater forward movement of the lever may require more pins between the lever  20  and the trigger  22 . 
         [0022]    Accordingly, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention herein described are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Reference herein to details of the illustrated embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims, which themselves recite those features regarded as essential to the invention.