Abstract:
A gunlock that is semi-permanently attached to the trigger guard of a firearm. The gunlock is designed to stay attached to the trigger guard both when the firearm is locked and unlocked. A trigger jam simply moves into a locked position where it locks the trigger in a rearward or forward position. Once the correct combination has been entered via thumb-wheels, a push-button quickly releases the jam. If complete removal of the gunlock is desire able, a second push on the push-button completely release the gunlock. An alternative design of this gunlock incorporates the lock as an integral part of the trigger guard. Its compact streamline design provides an attractive appearance.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority under 35 USC §119(e) to U.S. provisional patent applications Ser. Nos. 60/223,612, filed Aug. 7, 2000; 60/224,789, filed Aug. 14, 2000; and 60/226,315, filed Aug. 21, 2000, all three of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     Not Applicable 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Gunlocks are an important tool to safeguard against accidental firearm discharges that may result in injury or death. Although there are many types of gun locks on the market today, there are still many people who do not lock up their firearms and many who reluctantly use what is available on the market. One reason people do not lock up their firearms or are unhappy with what is available is a matter of practicality. Many gunlocks are cumbersome to use and take away from the attractive appearance of their firearms. Others are time consuming to disengage which raises concern when home security is an issue. Many require the use of keys, and after forgetting your keys at home while on a hunting trip, firearm users become reluctant to make the same mistake twice and stop using gunlocks altogether. 
     The User Friendly Gunlock is practical, easy to use, disengages quickly and does not require keys. This gunlock looks attractive on firearms and can be incorporated into newly manufactured firearms, and the simple design keeps cost down. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to provide a gun lock that retrofits existing trigger guards as well as to provide a gun lock that can be incorporated as an integral part of newly manufactured guns. 
     The User Friendly Gunlock comprises a lock that is attached to trigger guard via an adapter where the adapter is designed to adapt the lock to a specific model or models of handgun trigger guards. The lock is designed to stay attached to the trigger guard both when the gunlock is in the locked position and when the gunlock is in the unlocked position. Fastening clamps from the adapter embrace and fasten the device onto existing trigger guards. Once attached, a trigger jam cam be moved into a position adjacent the trigger to lock the trigger in a rearward or forward position. Once the correct combination has been set via thumb-wheels, a button can be pushed to release the trigger jam and return the trigger jam to a rest position. Having returned the trigger jam to the rest position, another push of the button while the combination is still set unlatches the fastening clamps so the gunlock may be removed from the trigger guard if the owner of the gun wishes. 
     An alternative design of the gunlock incorporates the gunlock as an integral part of the trigger guard. To lock the gun, the user pushes a button forward until a cam moves into position adjacent the trigger, locking the trigger in a forward or rearward position. When the combination is entered via thumb-wheels, another button may be pushed forward, returning the cam to a rest position. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is perspective view of the housing. 
     FIG. 2 is perspective view of the keyed cylinder. 
     FIG. 3 is another perspective view of the keyed cylinder. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the end thumb-wheel. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the middle thumb-wheel. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the trigger jam. 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the lock pin. 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the trigger jam assembly. 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the trigger jam assembly in an unlocked position. 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the trigger jam assembly in a locked position. 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the adapter. 
     FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a partial assembly of the trigger lock. 
     FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the trigger lock fastened to a trigger guard. 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the trigger lock fastened to a trigger guard in an unlocked position. 
     FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the trigger lock fastened to a trigger guard in a locked position. 
     FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an alternative design where the housing is an integral part of the trigger guard. 
     FIG. 17 is section view  2 — 2  from FIG.  15 . 
     FIG. 18 is section view  1 — 1  from FIG.  15 . 
     FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the release cylinder of the alternative design. 
     FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the lock cylinder of the alternative design. 
     FIG. 21 is another perspective view of the lock cylinder of the alternative design. 
     FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the cylinder assembly of the alternative design. 
     FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a partial assembly of the alternative design. 
     FIG. 24 is another perspective view of the of a partial assembly of the alterative design. 
     FIG. 25 is a perspective view of the alternative design in an unlocked position. 
     FIG. 26 is a perspective view of the alternative design in an locked position. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to FIG.  1 . The housing  1  is surrounded by side walls and a base, and has mounting means  6  as shown. A notch  8  is located near the upper edge of a side wall. Thumb-wheel windows  10  are located on one side wall as shown. A trigger jam window is located on one side wall as shown. Jam supports  4  are located on either side of the trigger jam window  2 . Thumb-wheel pins  12  extend upwards from the base. Pedestal  14  elevates one thumb-wheel pin  12  higher than the other thumb wheel pins  12  as shown. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3. A keyed cylinder  18  has keys  16  extending upwards from one side. The push end  20  extends from the neck  21  and is large enough to easily push with ones thumb or finger. Extensions  22  and  24  extend from one side of the keyed cylinder  18 . Extension  24  has a return spring cavity  26  extending inwards as shown. Keys  28  extend downward as shown. 
     Referring to FIGS.  4 . and  5 . End thumb-wheel  30  and middle thumb-wheel  32  have extension  38  extending upwards and pin holes  36  extending through thumb-wheels  30  and  32  as shown. Key notches  34  extend into the extensions  38  as shown. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 6,  7 , and  8 . Trigger jam  40  has a pivot shaft  42  and a slotted lock pin cavity  44  extending partially through one end of the trigger jam  40  as shown. Lock pin  46  has a key  48  extending upwards and a notch  50  located at one end as shown. Lock pin  46  fits snugly into the slotted lock pin cavity  44  as shown with the key  48  extending upwards through the slot of the slotted lock pin cavity and the notch  50  end of the lock pin  46  partially extending outwards from the trigger jam  40  as shown. Lock pin return spring  56  is positioned between lock pin  46  and the back of lock pin cavity  44 , keeping one end of the lock pin normally extending outwards from the trigger jam  40  as shown. Trigger jam return spring  52  is positioned over one end of the pivot shaft  42 . FIG. 8 illustrates the trigger jam assembly  54 . 
     Referring to FIG.  9 . The trigger jam assembly  54  in an unlocked position is shown with a partial view of the housing  1 . The pivot shaft  42  is engaged with trigger jam supports  4 . The lock pin  46  is held inwards by an edge of the housing  1  as shown. This will, from this point forward, be referred to as the unlocked position. 
     Referring now to FIG.  10 . The trigger jam assembly  54  in a locked position is shown with a partial view of the housing  1 . The pivot shaft  42  is engaged with trigger jam supports  4 . The lock pin return spring  56  has pushed the lock pin  46  forward so the notch  50 (FIG. 7) is engaging the edge of housing  1  as shown. The trigger jam assembly  54  is prevented from returning to the unlocked position because the housing  1  blocks that portion of the lock pin  46  extending from the lock pin cavity  44  from moving in the direction to become unlocked. This will from this point forward be referred to as the locked position. 
     Referring to FIG.  11 . The adapter  58  Has ridges  60  extending upwards from either side. Attachment means  62  extend through the adapter  58 . Fixed clamps  64  extend upwards from one side of the adapter  58  and movable clamps  68  having key notches  72  extend through openings one the other side of the adapter  58  as shown. Notch  80  is positioned on one side as shown and extends through the base of the adapter  58 . Slot  66  extends through the base of the adapter  58 . 
     Referring to FIG. 12. A partial assembly of the User Friendly Gunlock in an unlocked position is shown. From this point forward, the term forward will refer to the direction indicated by arrow  69  and the term rearward will refer to the opposite direction to that indicated by arrow  69 . End thumb-wheels  30  and middle thumb-wheel  32  extend through thumb-wheel windows(FIG.  1 ). The keyed cylinder  18  is positioned over the extensions  38 (FIGS. 4 and 5) of thumb-wheels  30  and  32  so keys  28 (FIG. 3) are adjacent to extensions  38 (FIGS. 4 and 5) of the thumb-wheels  30  and  32 . When thumb-wheels  30  and  32  are turned so the open faces of the keyed notches  34 (FIGS. 4 and 5) are faced rearward, the keys  28 (FIG. 3) of the keyed cylinder  18  can engage the key notches  34 (FIGS.  4  and  5 ), allowing the keyed cylinder to move forward. This will from this point forward be referred to as the correct combination. The push end  20  extends outside the housing  1  with the neck  21  fitted into notch  8 (FIG. 1) of the housing  1 . The movable clamps  68  are positioned over the keyed cylinder  18  so the key notches  72 (FIG. 11) are adjacent to keys  16 (FIG.  2 ). The trigger jam assembly  54  is received through the trigger jam window  2 (FIG. 1) so the pivot shaft  42  engages the trigger jam supports  4 . The keyed cylinder return spring  74  extends from return spring cavity  26 (FIG. 2) at one end and is in contact with the housing  1  at the other end. Whenever the correct combination is entered and pressure is applied to push end  20  in a forward direction and then released, the keyed cylinder return spring  74  will push the keyed cylinder  18  back to the position shown here. 
     Still referring to FIG. 12, when the trigger jam assembly  54  is rotated upwards, the lock pin  46  locks the trigger jam assembly in the locked position as previously described in FIG.  10 . When the correct combination has been entered and forward pressure is applied to push end  20 , the keyed cylinder moves forward and the front face of extension  22  pushes on key  48  of lock pin  46 , forcing lock pin  46  forward allowing trigger jam return spring  52  to return the trigger jam assembly  54  to the unlocked position. When forward pressure is removed, the keyed cylinder return spring  74  returns the keyed cylinder  18  back to the position shown here. If forward pressure is applied again to push end  20  while the correct combination is still entered and the trigger jam assembly  54  is in the unlocked position, the keyed cylinder  18  is allowed to move forward enough so keys  16 (FIG. 2) completely disengage key notches  72 (FIG.  11 ), allowing the movable clamps to move outward. When forward pressure is removed, the keyed cylinder return spring  74  returns the keyed cylinder  18  back to the position shown in here. 
     Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14. Fasteners, preferably screws are used to fasten the adapter  58  to the housing  51  via attachment means  62 (FIG. 11) and mounting means  6 (FIG.  1 ). The adapter  58  is fastened to the trigger guard  76  with movable clamps  64  and fixed clamps  68 . Thumb-wheels  30  and  32  extend through the housing  1  as shown. The trigger jam  40  is in the unlocked position and the correct combination has been entered. If forward pressure is applied to push end  20 , keys  16 (FIG. 2) will completely disengage key notches  72 (FIG. 11) as previously described so that movable clamps  68  can move outwardly and disengage trigger guard  76 , unfastening the adapter  58  from the trigger guard  76 . 
     Referring now to FIG.  15 . The trigger jam  40  has been moved from below the trigger guard  76  in an unlocked position to the a position adjacent to the trigger  78  as shown in the locked position. In this position, the trigger jam  40  prevents movement of the trigger  78  from a forward position to a rearward position, preventing discharge of the firearm to which the trigger guard  76  belongs in a forward position as shown. The correct combination has been entered. If forward pressure is applied to push end  20 , the trigger jam  40  will return to the unlocked position as previously described. Here it is important to note that the trigger jam  40  can be used to jam or lock the trigger  78  in both a forward position as shown here, or rearward position which will also prevent discharge or proper operation of a firearm. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 16,  17 , and  18  where FIG. 17 is section view 2-2 from FIG.  16  and FIG. 18 is section 1-1 from FIG.  16 . Here the housing  100  is an integral part of the trigger guard  76 . A trigger jam window  114  is positioned beneath the trigger  78  as shown. Thumb-wheel windows  10  extend through one side of the housing  100  as shown. Thumb-wheel pins  12  extend upwards from the base. Pedestal  14  elevates one thumb-wheel pin  12  higher than the other thumb wheel pins  12  as shown. Trigger jam supports  106  extend inward from both sides of the housing  100  as shown. Tapered extension  112  extends inwards from one side of the housing  100  as shown. 
     Referring to FIG.  19 . Release cylinder  126  has a push end  128  extending from one end and keys  28  extending downwards as shown. Lock pin receiving hole  132  extends into but not all the way through release cylinder  126 . Lock pin return spring(not shown) is inserted into lock pin receiving hole  132  and lock pin  133  is then inserted into lock pin receiving hole  132 . The return spring(not shown) tends to keep the lock pin  133  extending outward from the lock pin receiving hole  132  as shown. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 20 and 21. Lock cylinder  134  has a hollow push end  136  with a push plate  138  extending downwards as shown. Extension  140  extends from the hollow push end  136 . Slot  142  is positioned as shown and lock pin lock hole  144  extends from one side of extension  140  to the other side of extension  140 . Return spring notch  148  is positioned as shown. Partial block  150  extends across a portion of hollow push end  136  as shown. 
     Referring now to FIG.  22 . Cylinder assembly  152  consists of the forward end of release cylinder  126 (FIG. 19) being inserted through the hollow push end  136  until the forward end of push end  128  encounters the partial block  150  as shown. Extension  140  applies inward pressure to lock pin  133  so that lock pin return spring(not shown) is applying outward pressure on lock pin  133 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 23 and 24. Cylinder assembly  152  is positioned over the thumb-wheels  30  and  32  so keys  28 (FIG. 19) are adjacent to extensions  38 (FIGS. 4 and 5) of the thumb-wheels  30  and  32 . When thumb-wheels  30  and  32  are turned so the open faces of the keyed notches  34 (FIGS. 4 and 5) are faced rearward, the keys  28 (FIG. 19) of the release cylinder  126  can engage the key notches  34 (FIGS.  4  and  5 ), allowing the cylinder assembly  152  to move forward. This will again from this point forward be referred to as the correct combination. The positions shown are in the unlocked position. Clips  158  are used to fasten the trigger jam  154  via trigger jam shaft  156  to trigger jam supports  106  extending from the partial view of the housing  100 . When forward pressure is applied to push plate  138 , the forward end of extension  140  pushes on trigger jam  154  causing trigger jam  154  to rotate about trigger jam shaft  156  so the forward end  162  of trigger jam  154  moves in an upward direction through the trigger jam window  114 (FIG.  16 ). When lock pin hole  144  lines up with lock pin  133 , lock pin return spring(not shown) forces lock pin  133  into lock pin hole  144 , locking lock cylinder  134 (FIGS. 20 and 21) forward and the forward end  162  of trigger jam  154  upwards. This will from this point forward be referred to as the locked position. It is an important note here that in this locked position, the push end  128  will extend out of the hollow push end  136  beyond push plate  138 . 
     One end of lock pin return spring  141  is inserted into slot  142 . Push pin  143  extends from the other end of lock pin return spring  141 . Push pin  143  is inserted into one side of lock pin lock hole  144  as shown. 
     When the correct combination is entered, and pressure is applied to push end  128 , cylinder assembly  152  moves forward so that lock pin return spring  141  contacts tapered extension  112 , forcing push pin  143  farther into lock pin lock hole  144  and pushing lock pin  133  out of lock pin lock hole  144 , allowing lock cylinder return spring, that is connected at one end to extension  140  and connected at the other end to a portion of the housing  100  not shown, to move the lock cylinder  134  rearward, and allowing the trigger jam shaft return spring  160 , that is connected to the trigger jam  154  at one end and connected to a portion of the housing  100  not shown at the other end, to return the trigger jam  154  to the unlocked position show in FIG.  23 . 
     FIG. 25 shows the trigger  78  in an unlocked position. In FIG. 26 the push plate  138  has been pushed forward, locking the trigger jam  154  in an upward position, locking the trigger  78  in a forward position. In this locked position, push end  128  extends outwards from the hollow push end  136  as shown. When the correct combination is entered and forward pressure is applied to push end  128 , trigger jam  154  will come to rest in the unlocked position as shown in FIG.  25 . Here it is an important note that the trigger jam  154  can be used to lock the trigger  78  in a forward or rearward position as previously described.