Abstract:
A firearm mount for a trunk or cargo space of a vehicle comprises a firearm mount and a support member. The firearm mount is shaped to receive and lockably secure a firearm. The firearm mount is connectable to the support member, and the support member is positionable within the trunk or cargo space to slidably retract inwardly to a storage position and to slidably extend outwardly to an access position. When installed, the firearm mount and the support member are positioned to suspend the firearm within the trunk or cargo for easy access.

Description:
FIELD 
     This application relates to firearm mounts, and specifically to firearm mounts suitable for use in the trunk or rear cargo area of a vehicle. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Providing for secure storage of firearms in vehicles continues to present challenges, especially for law enforcement and tactical personnel. These personnel frequently have a long arm, such as a shot gun or a rifle, on hand in the vehicle, in addition to a personal side arm worn in a holster. The shot gun or rifle is only used occasionally, but nevertheless it must be securely stored at all times yet still be easily accessible to authorized personnel. 
     Various firearm mounts designed for the passenger compartment of a vehicle are known. For example, some mounts can hold a long arm in an upright position between the driver&#39;s and front passenger&#39;s seats. The firearm is secured in the mount with a lock to prevent someone who gains access to the front seat area from removing it from the mount, e.g., to use it as a weapon or to steal it. 
     As standard sedans continue to decrease in size, there is less room to accommodate a standard firearm mount in the typical locations. In addition, it is always desirable to keep firearms out of view from passers by, especially when the officer is out of the vehicle or the vehicle is parked. Firearms can be stored in the trunk area of a sedan to keep them out of view, but this area must provide storage for other types of equipment. So, there may only be room to place the firearm in the trunk, and it may not be protected during transit. In addition, unless the firearm is stored in a particular position, it may not be accessible quickly enough to an officer. Even if quick access to the firearm is provided, security of the firearm needs to provided in situations where the trunk is open but the firearm is not in use. 
     SUMMARY 
     Described below are embodiments of a firearm mount that addresses problems in the prior art. 
     According to one implementation, a firearm mount for a trunk or cargo space of a vehicle comprises a firearm mount and a support member. The firearm mount is shaped to receive and lockably secure a firearm. The support member to which the firearm mount is coupleable is attachable within the trunk or cargo space to slidably retract inward to a storage position and to slidably extend outward to an access position. When installed, the firearm mount and support member are positioned to suspend the firearm within the trunk or cargo space for easy access. 
     The support member can define an outer side of a trunk tray member. The trunk tray member can comprises a shelf surface configured for positioning at a level above a lowest surface of the trunk. 
     The firearm mount can be a primary firearm mount configured to receive an intermediate portion of the firearm, and there can be a secondary firearm mount configured to receive an end of the firearm. For example, the secondary firearm mount can be shaped to receive a butt of a shotgun or rifle. 
     The firearm mount can comprise respective drawer slide assemblies connected to opposite ends of the support member and positionable within the trunk for attachment to trunk surfaces to support the firearm mount above a level of a trunk bottom surface. The firearm mount can comprise respective brackets for mounting the drawer slide assemblies in the trunk. The brackets can be configured for mounting to an underside of a rear deck of the vehicle. 
     The support member can define a lateral direction, and the firearm mount can be adjustably repositionable in a lateral direction along the support member. 
     The support member can comprise a T-rail section over a portion of a length of the support member. The firearm mount can have a shaped end and the T-rail can define a channel configured to receive the shaped end. 
     The support member can define a channel, and the firearm mount can comprise an end shaped to be slidably received within the channel. 
     According to a method implementation, mounting a firearm mount in a trunk of a vehicle comprises mounting a pair brackets to an underside of a rear deck of the vehicle at spaced apart locations aligned along a lateral axis, positioning a support member parallel to the lateral axis to span the brackets, and coupling a locking firearm mount to the support member such that a firearm can be mounted and locked in a suspended position within the trunk. 
     The method can also comprise positioning respective drawer slides between the brackets and the support member to allow the support member to be slid perpendicular to the lateral axis between storage and access positions. 
     Coupling the locking firearm mount to the support member can comprise slidably coupling the locking firearm mount such that a position of the locking firearm mount can be laterally adjusted. Slidably coupling the locking firearm mount can comprise fitting an end of the firearm mount into a channel attached to the support member. 
     The method can comprise actuating a lock release to unlock the support member to allow the support member to be moved between the storage and access positions. 
     Mounting a pair of brackets can comprise threading fasteners through apertures in the brackets and into existing holes in the rear deck. 
     The support member can form the rear of a tray having a support surface for storing equipment. The method can comprise moving the support member between predefined storage and access positions. 
     In some implementations, when the firearm mount is fully installed in the trunk, the brackets, the support member and the locking firearm mount do not contact a bottom surface of the trunk. 
     The foregoing features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a firearm mount according to a first implementation in which a sliding portion of the mount is embodied as a trunk tray and showing a shotgun mounted in the mount. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the firearm mount of  FIG. 1 , except no firearm is shown. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the firearm mount as installed in the open trunk of a police cruiser and shown in an extended position with a rifle secured in the mount. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , a firearm mount  100  for a trunk or rear area of a vehicle is shown.  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the firearm mount  100  showing a firearm  104  mounted in a mount  102  that is connected to a support member  106 . In  FIG. 1 , the firearm  104  is a shotgun, and in  FIG. 3 , the firearm  204  is a rifle. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the firearm mount  100  in which no firearm is shown for clarity. In  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the mount  100  is shown for clarity in isolation and without the surrounding structure of the vehicle trunk or cargo area to which the mount  100  is secured for use.  FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the firearm mount  100  as installed in a trunk of a sedan. 
     As best seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the support member  106  is moveable outwardly (defined as the direction towards the access opening of the trunk or cargo area), or inwardly in the opposite direction, to move the mount  102  holding the firearm  104 ,  204  from its storage position (shown in  FIG. 1 ) to an extended or access position projecting further outwardly (shown in  FIG. 3 ). This is particularly helpful with the deeper trunks of today&#39;s sedans. In general, the direction of movement is typically parallel with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and thus movement outwardly is in a rearward direction. In some cases, however, the outward direction of movement may not be aligned with the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, such as if the mount is mounted for access through a side opening of the vehicle instead of the trunk or rear cargo area. 
     In the illustrated implementations, the support member  106  can be slidably moveable between the storage and access positions. For example, ends of the member  106  can be connected to respective drawer slide assemblies  108 ,  110 , which are in turn fixed to the vehicle, e.g., to a lower side of a rear deck  117  ( FIG. 3 ) that separates the passenger compartment and trunk space. Other types of movement between positions can also be implemented. 
     Although not required, in the illustrated implementations, the support member  106  forms the outer side of a larger structure, e.g., a trunk tray  112  that provides for separated storage areas for various types of items within the trunk. 
     One or both of the drawer slide assemblies can be fitted with an optional lock element, e.g., a lock element  111   a  or  111   b , if desired. The lock element can be configured to lock the member  106  in the storage position and/or in the access position. 
     In addition to the member  106 , the trunk tray  112  has a bottom  115 , left and right sides  116   a ,  116   b , respectively, and an inner member  114 . Left and right brackets  118   a ,  118   b  may be used to affix the draw slide assemblies  108 ,  110 , respectively, to one or more surfaces of the vehicle trunk or cargo area. For example, the brackets  118   a ,  118   b  can have respective apertures  119   a ,  119   b  in upper horizontal surfaces to receive vertically oriented fasteners positioned to suspend the member  106  (and any other attached components) from an underside of the rear deck  117  of the vehicle. Attachment to other trunk surfaces is also possible. 
     In the illustrated implementations, no attachment to the bottom surface of the trunk is made, and the firearm  104 ,  204  is suspended within the trunk solely by contact between the mount  100  and points within the trunk at levels above the bottom surface. In other embodiments, e.g., with trays having a lesser width, it may be necessary to support one side of the mount  100  from the trunk bottom surface. The members  106  and  114  can be angled inwardly as shown to fit the geometry of the vehicle. In addition, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the angle of the member  106  makes the firearm more accessible upon opening of the trunk or cargo area. 
     In some implementations, the mount  102  includes only a single mount, such as a mount  120 , e.g., as shown for the rifle  204  in  FIG. 3 . In other implementations, the mount  102  includes two mounts, in which case the mount  120  is a primary mount and there is also a secondary mount  122 . The mount  120  can be dimensioned to receive the firearm at an intermediate area along its length, such as in the area of the forearm of the shotgun  104  or the receiver of the rifle  204 . If provided, the secondary mount can be dimensioned to receive a portion of the firearm spaced from the intermediate portion. For example, the secondary mount  122  in the illustrated implementation is dimensioned to receive a butt of a stock for the shotgun  104 . As best shown in  FIG. 2 , the mount  122  can include a butt mounting portion  130  and a bracket  132  that attaches to the member  106 . 
     The mount  102  is movably mounted because the support member  106  to which the mount  102  is connected is movable, such as by sliding. The mount  102  in some implementations is also adjustable in a lateral direction, e.g., to accommodate the geometry of different firearms and/or trunk and cargo spaces. In the illustrated implementations, there is an adjustable mount member  124  mounted between the mount  102  and the member  106  when they are assembled together. The adjustable mount member  124  can have a channeled portion shaped to receive a corresponding portion of the mount  102 , such as a portion of a bracket  106  attached to shotgun mount  126 . In this way, the mount  102  can be quickly loosened and moved left or right to a new desired position before it is re-secured in place. In addition to being adjustable in translation, the mount  102  in some implementations can be rotated to a different position as desired. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the mount is positioned toward a left end of the adjustable mount member  124 , whereas the mount is positioned towards the opposite right end in  FIG. 3 . 
     The mount  102  is lockable, usually with a built-in key lock or a padlock, to provide for secure storage of the firearm when the vehicle is unattended. An electronic locking mechanism can also be implemented. One suitable conventional mount is the Blac-Rac® mount Model 1070 (such as is shown in  FIG. 3 ) and other similar models. 
     In implementations with the tray  112 , the bottom  115  of the tray can be used to store equipment. Conventional trunk trays are used to store electronic and communications equipment. For convenience, the tray  112  can have one or more holes with grommets  134  for routing wires, cables and/or conduits, such as to a front area of the vehicle. In cases where temperatures and/or air flow are concerns, the trunk can be fitted with a 12V thermostat controlled fan unit, and the mount  100  can have a grille, such as in the bottom  115  to allow for air flow between the spaces below and above the tray, particularly when the trunk is closed. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , when in use as shown, the mounts  120  and  122  hold the firearm  104  securely, and the mount  120  is in a locked condition. The tray  112  is in a retracted or storage position as shown. When the need to access the firearm  104  arises, the trunk is unlocked/opened, either with a remote release button, a key or a keychain remote. The officer can then address the trunk and access the firearm  104 . If time and conditions permit, the officer can grasp the member  106 , unlock any optional lock element  111   a  and/or  111   b  that is present, and pull outward to move the firearm  104  and mount  120  closer so as to allow easier access. If conditions do not permit, then the firearm  104  can still be grasped and the mount  120  can be unlocked while the tray is still in the storage position. After the mount  120  is unlocked, it can be released or opened to allow the firearm to be removed from the mount  120  and the mount  122 . The tray  112  can also be moved between the storage and access positions to provide access to items stored on the tray or to areas behind the tray. 
     The mount  100  can be fabricated from any suitable materials. For example, the major components of the tray  112  can be formed of 0.125-inch 5052 AL or other similar materials. In some embodiments, the bottom  115  of the tray has dimensions of about 36 inches wide by about 18 inches deep, and the sides are about 3 inches high. The assemblies  116   a ,  116   b  can be high capacity (300 lbs.) lock in/lock out drawer slides with 18 inches of travel. The brackets  118   a ,  118   b  and/or the slides  116   a ,  116   b  can provide for multiple levels of height adjustment, such as three levels in 1-inch increments. The various components can be secured together by conventional fasteners, e.g., screws or bolts. For some vehicles, no drilling of holes is required because components mounted to the vehicle make use of existing holes. 
     In view of the many possible embodiments to which the disclosed principles may be applied, it should be recognized that the illustrated embodiments are only preferred examples and should not be taken as limiting the scope of protection. Rather, the scope of protection is defined by the following claims. I therefore claim all that comes within the scope and spirit of these claims.