Patent Application
20190011222
Systems and methods are disclosed herein relating to improving storage of rifles and other firearms in various storage structures, such as, for example safes and/or gun cabinets. In some embodiments, the inventive concepts disclosed herein may allow for improving the efficiency of storage space within such structures by allowing firearms to be stored in an upright position within the storage structure without requiring that they be leaned against an interior wall of the structure or another item within the structure.
In a more particular example of a system for storage of firearms, the system may comprise a firearm storage structure configured to store a plurality of firearms therein, such as a gun safe or gun cabinet; a panel coupled to an interior surface of the firearm storage structure; and a plurality of rods. Each of the plurality of rods may be configured to be received in a barrel of one of the plurality of firearms. Each of the plurality of rods may comprise a tip configured to penetrate the panel. Preferably, the panel is made up of a material that is configured to removably receive the tips of the rods with each of the rods extending into a barrel of one of the plurality of firearms so as to allow each of the plurality of firearms to be stored in an upright position within the firearm storage structure, such as a foam or a foam-like material.
In some embodiments, the interior surface may comprise at least one of a lower surface of a shelf positioned within the safe and an overhead interior surface of the safe.
In some embodiments, each of the plurality of rods may comprise means for preventing the rod from falling completely into a barrel of a firearm, such as a washer or pin. In some such embodiments, the means for preventing the rod from falling completely into a barrel of a firearm may be positioned in between the tip and an end of the rod opposite from the tip. In some embodiments, the washer or other means for preventing the rod from falling completely into a barrel of a firearm may be movably positioned on the rod.
In some embodiments, the tip of each of the plurality of rods may comprise a threaded tip configured to be threadably received within the panel.
In another specific example of a system for storage of firearms according to other embodiments, the system may comprise a panel configured to be coupled to at least one of a lower surface of a shelf and an overhead interior surface of a firearm storage structure; and one or more rods comprising a penetrating tip at a first end of the rod and a barrel-receiving portion at a second end of the rod opposite from the first end. The barrel-receiving portion of the rod may be configured to be received within a barrel of a firearm, and the penetrating tip may be configured to be received within the panel so as to support the firearm in an upright position within the firearm storage structure. In some embodiments, the penetrating tip may be configured to be removably received within the panel such that the penetrating tip can be received within the panel, removed from the panel, and received within the panel again after being removed from the panel.
In some embodiments, the panel may comprise a resiliently-penetrable panel configured to allow the penetrating tip to be repeatedly inserted and removed from the resiliently-penetrable panel. In some such embodiments, the resiliently-penetrable panel may be configured to allow the penetrating tip to be repeatedly inserted and removed from the resiliently-penetrable panel at a single location. In some embodiments, the penetrating tip may be threaded.
Some embodiments may further comprise a barrel seat configured to engage an end of the barrel, which may be positioned in between the penetrating tip and the barrel-receiving portion, such as a washer. In some such embodiments, the washer may be movably positioned on the rod.
In a specific example of a method for storing firearms within a storage structure, the method may comprise coupling a penetrable panel with an interior surface of a storage structure; inserting a rod into a barrel of a firearm, and inserting the penetrating tip into the penetrable panel. The rod may comprise a penetrating tip, and the rod and/or the penetrable panel may keep the firearm aligned within the storage structure along, or at least substantially along, an axis defined by the rod.
In some implementations, the penetrable panel may comprise a resiliently-penetrable panel. In some such implementations, the method may further comprise, after the step of inserting the penetrating tip into the resiliently-penetrable panel, removing the penetrating tip from the resiliently-penetrable panel and inserting the penetrating tip into the resiliently penetrable panel a second time. In some implementations, the step of inserting the penetrating tip into the resiliently-penetrable panel a second time may comprise inserting the penetrating tip into the resiliently-penetrable panel at a location distinct from a location at which the penetrating tip was previously inserted into the resiliently-penetrable panel.
Some implementations may further comprise removing the penetrable panel from the interior surface of the storage structure and coupling a new penetrable panel with the interior surface of the storage structure.
The features, structures, steps, or characteristics disclosed herein in connection with one embodiment may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more alternative embodiments.
Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the disclosure are described, including various embodiments of the disclosure with reference to the figures, in which:
A detailed description of apparatus, systems, and methods consistent with various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided below. While several embodiments are described, it should be understood that the disclosure is not limited to any of the specific embodiments disclosed, but instead encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications, and equivalents. In addition, while numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments disclosed herein, some embodiments can be practiced without some or all of these details. Moreover, for the purpose of clarity, certain technical material that is known in the related art has not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure.
Apparatus, methods, and systems are disclosed herein relating to improving the efficiency of storage space within a firearm storage structure, such as a gun safe or gun cabinet, for example. More particularly, in some embodiments, the system may comprise a panel configured to be coupled to an interior surface of a firearm storage structure and one or more rods. The rod(s) may be configured to be received in a barrel of a firearm. The rod(s) may further comprise a tip configured to penetrate the panel. The panel may be made up of a material that is configured to removably receive the tips of the rods with each of the rods extending into a barrel of one of the firearms so as to allow the firearm(s) to be stored in an upright position within the firearm storage structure.
The embodiments of the disclosure may be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts may be designated by like numerals. It will be readily understood that the components of the disclosed embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the apparatus and methods of the disclosure is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, as claimed, but is merely representative of possible embodiments of the disclosure. In addition, the steps of a method do not necessarily need to be executed in any specific order, or even sequentially, nor need the steps be executed only once, unless otherwise specified. Additional details regarding certain preferred embodiments and implementations will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
System 100 further comprises a panel 110, which is coupled to an interior surface 106 of safe 105. In the depicted embodiment, interior surface 106 comprises an overhead interior surface or ceiling of safe 105. However, as discussed below in connection with other embodiments, panel 110 may instead be coupled with another interior surface of safe 105, such as a lower surface of a shelf positioned within safe 105 or another firearm storage structure, for example.
Panel 110 preferably comprises a penetrable material, such as a foam or foam-like material. Even more preferably, panel 110 comprises a material configured to be removably received and/or repeatedly penetrated by rods 120. Thus, preferably panel 110 comprises a resiliently-penetrable panel. Specific examples of suitable materials for panel 110 include various foams, such as closed-cell and open-cell foams, including, for example, polyethylene foam, polyurethane foam, polystyrene foam, an ethylene-vinyl acetate foam, layered mesh material, a thermoplastic material, and the like.
Panel 110 may be coupled with interior surface 106 in a number of different ways. For example, panel 110 may be coupled with interior surface 106 using an adhesive, fasteners, tape, or the like, or may be coupled with a support structure, such as clips, brackets, braces, posts, or the like, used to support a shelf on which interior surface 106 may be positioned. In some embodiments, as discussed in greater detail below, panel 110 may be removably coupled with interior surface 106, such as by way of hook-and-loop fabric, for example.
System 100 further comprises a plurality of rods 120 that may be used to maintain rifles 10 or other firearms in a desired position, such as, in the depicted embodiment, an upright position. This may allow for greater utilization of interior storage space within safe 105 to allow for storage of more rifles and/or use of the additional space for storage of other items, such as gun accessories, for example.
However, alternative embodiments are contemplated in which rods may be used to maintain rifles or other firearms in non-upright and/or non-vertical orientations. For example, in some embodiments, rods may extend horizontally or diagonally from a panel and may be used to store firearms in a variety of desired configurations as desired in order to optimize the internal storage area of a firearm storage structure. Most notably, handguns, for example, might be stored horizontally using panels coupled to an inner side wall of such a structure.
Rods 120 may also comprise a barrel seat 124, which may be configured to engage the end of a barrel of a rifle 10 or other firearm in order to prevent the entire rod 120 from falling into the barrel. In some embodiments and implementations, use of a barrel seat 124, and in particular a movable barrel seat 124, may allow for very limited penetration or, in some cases, no penetration, of the panel 110. In other words, by inserting a rod into a barrel and moving the barrel seat 124 to firmly abut the end of the barrel as the tip of the rod is abutted against the panel 110 (or against another surface), the rod may be capable of supporting the rifle 10 without panel penetration, or with very little panel penetration.
In the embodiment depicted in
In practice, typically a barrel-receiving portion 126 of the rod 120 is inserted into the barrel of a rifle 10 or another firearm, after which the rod may be raised up and tip 122 of rod 120 inserted into the panel 110 so as to penetrate the panel 110. Preferably, the material making up panel 110 is sufficiently strong to hold tip 122 in place and provide sufficient strength to prevent an associated rifle 10 from tipping over or otherwise being removed from the desired alignment created by rod 120. Similarly, preferably rod 120 comprises a sufficiently rigid material also with sufficient strength to maintain its associated rifle 10 or other firearm in a desired orientation/position. Examples of suitable materials for rod 120 include various rigid materials, such as metals, rigid plastics, fiberglass, wood, and the like.
In preferred embodiments, tip 122 may be configured to facilitate penetration into panel 110. For example, tip 122 may be pointed and/or threaded to facilitate a secure coupling with panel 110.
As with system 100, system 200 may comprise a plurality of rods 220 comprising tips 222, barrel seats 224, and barrel-receiving portions 226. As previously described, tips 222 of rods 220 may be penetrated within panel 210 and opposing barrel-receiving portions 226 received within respective barrels of firearms (not shown) to facilitate an efficient storage system for the firearms.
As shown in
As with systems 100 and 200, system 400 further comprises one or more rods 420 comprising tips 422, barrel seats 424, and barrel-receiving portions. As previously described, tips 422 of rods 420 may be penetrated within panel 410 and opposing barrel-receiving portions received within respective barrels of firearms (not shown) to facilitate an efficient storage system for the firearms.
However, in alternative embodiments, washer 424 may be permanently fixed to rod 420 at a predetermined location, such as near tip 422. Thus, washer 424 need not engage the end of the barrel of the rifle/firearm while in use in all embodiments. Indeed, washer 424 may be positioned between the end of the barrel of the rifle/firearm and the tip 422 during use such that, upon removing tip 422 from panel 410, in the event that a user releases rod 420, washer 424 will then engage the end of the barrel of the rifle/firearm to prevent the rod 420 from fully entering the barrel.
Each of the sub-panels, such as sub-panels 810a, 810b, and 810c, may similarly comprise a sheet 811 configured to facilitate attachment to sheet(s) 806. In this manner, if one or more particular regions of panel 810 experiences heavier use than other regions, this region or regions may be replaced without replacing the entire panel 810 by removing the sub-panel(s) associated with this region or regions and applying a new sub-panel or sub-panels.
Rods 820 of system 800 also differ from those previously described (although any of the previously-described rods may be used with system 800 as desired). Although rods 820 again comprise tips 822 and barrel seats 824, these elements differ from those of the previously-depicted embodiments. More particularly, tips 822 are pointed but not threaded. And, with respect to barrel seats 824, instead of washers, barrel seats 824 comprise pins that extend through rods 820 to provide a structure for engaging and preventing rods 820 from being fully received within a barrel of a firearm 10. Each of the barrel seats disclosed herein, including barrel seats 124, 224, 424, and 824, are examples of means for preventing a rod from falling completely into a barrel of a firearm.
The foregoing specification has been described with reference to various embodiments and implementations. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, various operational steps, as well as components for carrying out operational steps, may be implemented in various ways depending upon the particular application or in consideration of any number of cost functions associated with the operation of the system. Accordingly, any one or more of the steps may be deleted, modified, or combined with other steps. Further, this disclosure is to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope thereof. Likewise, benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to various embodiments. However, benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced, are not to be construed as a critical, a required, or an essential feature or element.
Those having skill in the art will appreciate that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. The scope of the present inventions should, therefore, be determined only by the following claims.
