WO1988009475A1

WO1988009475A1 - A security lock for hand guns

Info

Publication number: WO1988009475A1
Application number: PCT/DK1988/000084
Authority: WO
Inventors: Per Willumsen
Original assignee: Lyngslund-Jensen, Hanne, Birthe
Priority date: 1987-05-25
Filing date: 1988-05-25
Publication date: 1988-12-01

Abstract

It is desirable to secure hand guns against unauthorized use, and to this end is provided a locking block (12) for insertion into the breechblock (6) of the gun. The locking block is provided with key operated locking rollers (22), which, upon insertion, are lockable in projecting positions, in which they cooperate with the depressions (8) of the breechblock. By means of balls (28, 32) the locking block (12) is protected against drilling attacks, and the lock may be designed for mechanical or electronic operation.

Description

A security lock for hand guns

The present invention relates to a security lock for hand guns primarily of the type in which the breech or bolt is arranged to be blocked, when the gun is fired, by means of laterally protruding locking members, which project into 5. depressions in the sides of the breechblock, these locking members being arranged so as to be retractable to a released position by the return movement of the moving mechanism of the breech, in which released position they allow the breech to move rearwardly for effecting a throwing out of the cart- T0 ridge casing and a reception of a new cartridge. This locking principle is well known and is used with many automatic and semi-automatic guns.

The term "security lock" is intended to designate a separate locking device which is mounted in the region of the breech-

T5 block-with the purpose of rendering the gun unusable, e.g. in case of a stolen gun. It has already been suggested to make use of padlock-like locking devices in that region, which would be mountable and removable by the owner or user of the weapon by means of a special key, but that kind of 0 devices has been found to be too easy to breake, e.g. by external overcutting.

According to the invention it has- been recognized that the above-mentioned particular type of guns offer a corresponding possibility of holding an efficient security lock, viz. in 5 the form of a locking block member, which is introduced into the breechblock, optionally with an end portion project- , ing into the chamber, and having a built-in locking mecha¬ nism, which is operable by means of a key from a front side fζ thereof so as to be shiftable for respectively extending and 0 releasing locking members, which in principle correspond to the locking members of the breech, i.e. which may cooperate with the depressions in the sides of the breechblock for a total securing of the locking block against retraction from the breechblock.

In its inserted and locked condition the locking block will reveal itself only as a block end portion slightly protruding from the breechblock and having a key hole, and such a lock¬ ing block, the effective locking means of which are located partly inside the block and partly inside the breechblock, cannot be removed in an unauthorized manner with the use of just reasonably simple tools. This will apply also to attempts of pushing out the locking block by means of a push rod intro¬ duced through the barrel.

Attacks could be made against the locking block by means of a drilling machine, but of course such a hard material or just such a hard outer casing may be used which for a success- ful attack would require a highly developed expertise and equipment, and the use of the locking block, therefore, will thus, generally, prevent abuse of the weapon with a reasonably high certainty.

In connection with the invention, however, it is contemplated that it may be desirable to protect the locking block parti¬ cularly against drilling out attempts, and it is proposed, therefore, to mount a ball of a hard material outside the free end of the locking block, the .ball being held in a rota- table manner inside a surrounding hard mantle and being pro- vided with a through-passage for the key. Hereby it will be practically impossible to make a drill bit 'bite', as it will glance off along the ball and otherwise just cause the ball to rotate, and nothing more will happen. In a corresponding manner a ball may be mounted at the front end of the locking block, such that a drilling out through the barrel will be equally difficult or practically impossible.

By the invention the locking block will imitate the so-called breech or bolt head with its associated locking rollers, and care is taken that corresponding locking rollers of the locking block are brought into a locking engagement with the depressions of the sides of the breechblock which is more^' ? permanent than where this engagement is adapted to be re- 5 leased after each firing of the gun. It has been mentioned that this locking may be effected with the use of a mechanical key, which will also be usable for releasing the locking engagement, but according to the invention this system may well be modified towards the use of a touchfree, electroni- 10 cally controlled locking, with the locking block holding a battery for the actuation of a release mechanism for the locking rollers and a control unit for producing such an actuation in response to reception of suitably coded signals from outside.

T5 Hereby use may be made of an 'electronic key' of any suitable type, i.e. for affecting the locking block in any suitable manner, but in practice it is a preferred solution to make use of a photoelectric system, by which a receiver unit on the front end of the locking block is affected by light beams 0 from an 'electronic key' , which is placed at the mouth of the barrel.

In the following the invention is described in more detail with reference to the drawing, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the guide portion of a well 5 known rifle and of a locking block according to the invention as insertable therein.

Fig. 2 is a lateral sectional view of the locking block.

Fig. 3 is a corresponding view of a modified embodiment of the locking block, and 0^' Fig. 4 is a schematic sectional view of the barrel and the breechblock of a weapon and a further modified embodiment of the locking block. In Fig. 1 the barrel of the weapon is designated 2, the chamber 4, and the breechblock 6, and it is shown in dotted lines that the inner lateral sides of the breechblock are shaped with depressions 8, which as well known are adapted 5 to receive a pair of opposed locking rollers of a non-illu¬ strated bolt head. The breechblock 6 has a side opening 10 adapted for the throwing out of empty bullet cartridges. This opening is sufficiently large to enable the introduction of a safety locking block according to the invention.

tO Such a locking block according to the invention is designated 12. It is introduceable through the side opening 10 when the bolt is retracted or removed,- so as to be insertable into the breechblock 6, e.g. with a pointed front end portion 14 in¬ truding into the chamber 14. The safety lock consists of a

15 locking block member 16, which is provided with an axially oriented cylinder lock 18 having a key recess 20. This lock operates a pair of opposed side rollers 22 so as to cause these to be projecting or released, respectively, such that these rollers, upon insertion of the block unit, may be

20 blocked in protruding positions engaged in the depressions

8 so as to thereby lock the locking block against retraction or pushing-out from this locking engagement with the breech¬ block. The pointed front end portion 14 as projecting into the chamber 4 is provided particularly for making it diffi-

25 cult to drill out the locking block from the outer end of the barrel, as such an attempt against the pointed end will result in a damaging of the inner surface of the barrel.

Upon the insertion and locking of the locking block 16 the weapon will be really or readily usable only by the person 30 having the key to the lock or a master key to such locks.

As shown in Fig. 2 the security lock may consist of the locking block 16 surrounded by a tempered steel mantle 24, which forms the pointed front prolongation 14 and is bent inwardly at the rear end as shown at 26 for encapsulating the rear end of the lock cylinder 18.

In Fig. 3 it is shown that behind these parts a ball 28 may be mounted, housed inside the outer mantle 24 and having a slit-shaped throughlet 30 for the said key. The ball 28 is mounted such that even after a certain heating and an asso¬ ciated expansion it will still be freely rotatable, should it be subjected to the action of a rotating drill bit.

In Fig. 3 it is also shown that even in the outer end of the front end portion 14 a ball 32 may be mounted, corre¬ spondingly hindering a drilling out of the safety lock with the use of a long drill bit introduced through the barrel 2.

Instead of a mechanical, key operated locking mechanism it will be possible to use, in an advantageous manner, an elec¬ trically/electronically operated device as shown in Fig. 4 by wa -of example. The locking device illustrated there is provided with a photo cell 34 adjacent its front end portion 14, in front of the ball 32, and this cell 34 is electrically connected with an electronic control unit 36, which is voltage supplied from a battery 38 mounted adjacent the rear end of the locking block, to the rear of the ball 28, which is here not penetrated, since here there is used no mechanical key, but only an electronic key affecting the photo cell 34.

This electronic key is constituted by a unit 40, which is adapted to be introduced into the outer end of the barrel 2, and which comprises a light source 42, which by the intro¬ duction thereof may radiate against the photo cell 34, a battery 44, an electronic control unit 46 and an actuator switch 48. The unit 46 is adapted to affect the light source 42 such that the latter will radiate a characteristically modulated light, which, by hitting the photo cell 34 will produce an actuation of the control unit 36 in the locking unit 12. This unit is programmed in an individual manner such that only a preprogrammed modulation of the electronic key may actuate the unit 36.

If or when the unit 36 is thus actuated, it will cause cur¬ rent from the battery 38 to be supplied to a non-illustrated coil for attracting a magnetic armature, such that the latter is drawn away from a position in which it blocks the locking rollers or protrusions 22 against retraction, i.e. the entire locking block will then be retractable from its inserted, locked position.

It may be an associated problem that the lock cannot be released if it has been subjected to an attack, whereby the photo cell 34 or the battery 38 has been destroyed, viz. by a drilling out attempt from the front or the rear side_r respectively. Normally in such a case it will be acceptable to destroy the entire weapon or the guide frame part thereof, as such cases will be rather rare, but otherwise it will be a realistic possibility that the rear end of the locking block be provided with accessible wire terminals, which when re¬ quired may be galvanically connected with a master control unit operable to produce the modulated signal as required for actuating the control unit 36 of the lock and thus effect a release of the locking cams 22 by applied external energy.

Should the key get lost it will be -possible, also with the electronical system, to utilize a kind of universal key, which can effect a release of the blocking of the different single locks in the system.

The locking cams 22 may be arranged such that they are actuated with snap action by the very insertion of the lock, with the lock thereafter being non-retractable, but a safer locking is achieved by a total blocking of the projecting locking cams, and for this reason the lock is preferably so designed that even for its insertion it should be actuated by the key 40 for the required release of the locking cam until the lock has been fully inserted.

Corresponding locking means for making guns temporarily unusable may be designed to be mounted otherwise, e.g. for blocking the triggering function. The locks should neces¬ sarily be removable if they are bistable in such a manner that they are shiftable between an active and a passive con¬ dition by means of a key. With the use of an electronic key, which may be placed e.g. against the side of the weapon, the applied transfer medium may be light, ultrasonic sound, magnet fields or the like.

The concept 'electronic locks' is well known for other pur¬ poses, so it is deemed unnecessary here to describe the pos¬ sible' designs in more detail.

Claims

C L A I M S :

1. A security lock for hand guns, particularly of the type in which a breech or bolt is arranged to be releasably locked, when the gun is fired, by means of projecting locking members engaging with lateral depressions (8) in a breechblock (6) ,

5 characterized in that it consists of a block member (12), which is insertable in and retractable from such a locking position in the gun, in which the block member (12) will effectively obstruct the functioning of the weapon, prefer¬ ably by way of insertion into the breechblock (6) , the block TO member having key operated locking means that for arresting the block member can be blocked in an actuated position in locking engagement with portions of the weapon, preferably the said lateral depressions (8) in the breechblock (6) .

2. A security lock according to claim 1, characterized in T5 that the block member (12) at one or more places, where it may be exposable to drilling out attempts, is provided with a rotatably held, hard ball (28,32).

3. A security lock according to claim 1, characterized in that for its insertion into the breechblock (6) the block

20 member (12) is of approximately the same shape as the front portion of the breech head and has corresponding locking members (22), the block member (12.)--yet preferably being forwardly extended so as to project into the cartridge chamber (4) .

25 4. A security lock according to claim 3, characterized in that the block member (12) holds a mechanical cylinder lock (16,18) operable to block the locking members (22) in their projecting positions, and that an associated key slot (20) is provided in the rear end of the block member.

30 5. A security lock according to claim 4, characterized in that the key slot (20, 30) extend further rearwardly through a cover ball (28) mounted at the rear end of the block member.

,1

6. A security lock according to claim 1, characterized in that it is designed so as to be actuated by a so-called

5 "electronic key" (40) , preferably by light transmission through the barrel (2) of the weapon.

7. A security lock according to claim 6, characterized in that the block member (12) is provided with contact terminals on a part thereof, which is accessible in the locked position 0 for galvanic connection with an electronic^"key for emergency release of the locking means.