Mounted gun housing

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and improved gun case for mounting onto handle bars of recreational vehicles and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hunting from all terrain vehicles (ATV) and other recreational vehicles has grown in popularity over the last several years. A major concern for ATV hunters is where to store their hunting rifles. The guns are traditionally stored in holding forks attached to the handle bars of the ATV so that the gun extends between the forks above and generally parallel to the handle bars. The gun is held in place with elastic fasteners stretched across the top of the forks. However, the gun will often rotate in the holding forks and result in the scope slamming against the handle bars of the ATV, thereby damaging or misaligning the scope. In addition, the gun and scope are exposed to the elements and debris while in the open holding forks. Rain, dust, mud, dirt or debris or rain can easily penetrate and damage or accelerate the wear of the rifle and scope.

Instead of exposing their hunting rifles and scopes to potential damage, many hunters store their guns in hard plastic cases attached to the side or rear of the ATV. These cases completely enclose and protect the guns, but do not allow for easy accessibility to the gun while riding the ATV.

Therefore, what is needed is a new mounted gun case which will allow for easy accessibility for a ATV hunter while still protecting the gun and/or scope from damage.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to an apparatus that satisfies the need to properly secure and store guns to an ATV with easy accessibility. A mounted gun case having features of the present invention comprises a protective gun housing and a mounting assembly designed to attach to handlebars. An embodiment of the present invention has a protective gun housing with a bottom portion and attached to it a first side wall, a second side wall, a butt end and an barrel end. The first and second side walls, the butt end and the barrel end define an opening at the top of the gun case through which a gun may pass.

Another embodiment having features of the present invention include a gun housing having a fastener attached to one of the side walls and engagably attached to the other side wall of the gun housing.

Another embodiment having features of the present invention includes a gun housing with a top portion hingedly attached to one of the side walls of the gun housing at the top opening where the gun may pass through.

Another embodiment having features of the present invention includes a gun rest attached to the mounted gun housing.

An object of the present invention is to provide a place to securely store hunting guns on an ATV.

Another object of this invention is to provide a place to store hunting guns on an ATV so that the gun and scope are secure and protected from being accidentally hit or exposed to excessive dirt or elements.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a place to store a hunting gun on an ATV so it is easily accessibility to the rider of the ATV.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, drawings and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1

presents a side view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2

presents a top view of the embodiment of the present invention depicted in FIG.

1

.

FIG. 3

presents a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention depicted in

FIG. 1

at a mounting bracket.

FIG. 4

presents a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention depicted in

FIG. 1

at the top opening.

FIG. 5

presents a side view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6

presents a top view of an embodiment of the present invention depicted in FIG.

5

.

FIG. 7

presents a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention depicted in

FIG. 5

at the butt end.

FIG. 8

presents a rear view of the embodiment of the present invention depicted in FIG.

5

.

FIG. 9

presents a side view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10

presents a top view of the embodiment of the present invention depicted in FIG.

9

.

FIG. 11

presents a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention depicted in

FIG. 9

at the butt end.

FIG. 12

presents a side view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13

presents a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention depicted in

FIG. 12

with a mounted hunting gun.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The mounted gun housing of the current invention is intended to be used primarily with all terrain vehicles (ATVs), but may be used on the handlebars or other area of attachment on any vehicle. An embodiment of the present invention consists generally of three portions: a protective gun housing, a soft gun case and a mounting system. The protective gun housing or case is generally made of a stiff or semi-stiff plastic and shaped to receive a gun such as a hunting rifle or shotgun. The protective case has an opening at the top of the case through which the gun and soft case are inserted and removed. The hard case is mounted above and generally parallel to the handlebars of the ATV. The gun and its accompanying protective soft case are stored inside the protective hard case once it is mounted. The gun is easily accessible through the top opening, but may be secured within the case by various different means.

FIGS. 1 through 4

illustrate various views of an embodiment of the present invention. Generally, gun housing

5

is attached to handlebars

40

with mounting assemblies

24

. Gun housing

5

consists of bottom portion

15

, side walls

8

, butt wall

10

, barrel front wall

11

and barrel top wall

13

. Barrel front wall

11

and barrel top wall

13

may be generally referred to as the barrel end

12

. Gun housing

5

of

FIG. 1

is designed to roughly outline the shape of a hunting rifle with an attached scope. As such, barrel end

12

is tapered to fit more snugly around the portion of soft case

6

that holds the barrel of the gun. Butt end

9

of gun housing

5

is taller to accommodate the butt end of a gun with an attached scope. Top opening

14

of gun housing

5

is formed by side walls

8

, butt wall

10

and barrel top wall

13

. Side walls

8

are deformed outwardly at action area

16

to create a greater distance between side walls

8

of the interior

19

of gun housing

5

. The deformation of side walls

8

also creates a larger opening at action area

16

of top opening

14

. The increased width at action area

16

in the interior

19

and at the top opening

14

allows for a hand gripped around the action area of a hunting rifle to easily slide in and out of gun housing

5

. A hunting rifle or a hunting rifle in its soft case

6

is inserted into and removed from gun housing

5

through opening

14

. The larger opening as shown in the figures extends horizontally from the base to the top of side walls

8

. The larger opening may also extend diagonally from the base toward the butt end of the top portion of side walls; in this fashion, the larger opening naturally fits the movement of a hand inserting the gun and soft case into the gun housing

5

.

An elastic fastener may be used to more tightly enclose the soft case and gun within the hard case. Elastic fastener

20

is stretched across top opening

14

between two prongs

22

attached to each of the side walls

8

. When secured, fastener

20

prevents soft case

6

from being jarred out of gun housing

5

. Fastener

20

may be easily removed by gripping grasp

21

and removing fastener

20

from prong

22

.

Mounting assemblies

24

consist primarily of a bracket to hold gun housing

5

and a mount to attach to handlebar

40

. As seen in

FIG. 3

, support members

26

extend along the outside of sidewalls

8

. Support member

26

is basically U-shaped and attached to gun housing

5

with pin

29

inserted through outer member

28

, support member

26

and side wall

8

. Support member

26

may be attached to gun housing

5

in any way known to a person of ordinary skill in the art within the scope of the invention, including screws, bolts, welding and glues. Gun housing

5

is also attached to support member

26

with bolt

32

and nut

33

on the bottom portion of gun housing

5

. Bolt

32

also serves to attach support member

26

and gun housing

5

to mounting collar

36

. Mounting collar

36

is designed to fit around handlebars

40

and be secured in place with collar bolt

38

.

FIGS. 5 through 8

illustrate another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, top opening

14

is covered with top cover

42

so as to completely enclose a gun. Top cover

42

is attached to gun housing

5

′ through hinge

44

attached to the barrel top wall

13

′. Top cover

42

is secured shut with fastener

46

which attaches to prongs

48

on the top cover

42

and on the butt wall

10

′.

FIGS. 9 through 11

show another embodiment of the present invention with top cover

42

′, except that cover

42

′ is attached to gun housing

5

′ through hinges

44

′ attached to side wall

8

′. In this manner, top cover

42

′ would open away from the driver of an ATV and allow for easy access to a stored gun. In addition to the embodiments shown here, top cover

42

may be attached to gun housing

5

′ in any way known to a person of ordinary skill in the art while staying within the scope of the invention.

The gun housing

5

of an embodiment of the present invention is made out of any stiff, semi-stiff or hard material such as plastic, metal or wood. The hard housing is intended to protect the gun from being nicked or banged by foreign objects when driving an ATV. In addition, the gun housing

5

is intended to protect the gun and scope from mud, dirt and water splashed up by an ATV while riding. The gun may be better protected if it is completely enclosed by gun housing

5

, however, by leaving an opening at the top of the gun housing, adequate protection is provided while still allowing easy access to the gun. Material used for gun housing

5

should be easy to clean as it will likely get dirty as it protects the gun from the elements.

The shape of gun housing

5

may vary and still stay within the scope of the invention. For example, gun housing

5

may be shaped as a rectangle similar to the design of many carrying cases for hunting rifles. The rectangular case may be attached to the handlebars go that the flat portion of the case runs parallel to the ground. A firearm with scope when stored in the rectangular case would ride flat on its side rather than with the underside of the rifle riding on the bottom of the gun housing. The rectangular case would open by unlatching and lifting the top side of the case.

The top cover

42

may be made of various different material. For example, the top cover may be made of the same material as the rest of the gun housing, but this is not required. The top covering could be made of a waterproof cloth-like material that stretches across the top opening of the gun housing to protect the stored firearm.

The gun housing may be attached to the mounting assembly in various different ways obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art. For example, instead of attaching the gun housing

5

to a bracket-like support member

26

, the barrel end

12

of gun housing

5

could be inserted through a ring which is bolted to the mounting collar

36

. Other similar methods of attaching gun housing

5

to mounting assemblies

24

will be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

In another embodiment of the present invention, gun housing

5

is tilted toward the rider of an ATV. In

FIGS. 1 through 4

, gun housing

5

is positioned at a 90° angle with respect to handlebars

40

. By tilting gun housing

5

with respect to handlebars

40

so that the top opening

14

of gun housing

5

directly faces a rider on an ATV, the gun inside gun housing

5

is even more accessible. For example, gun housing

5

may be mounted on handlebars

40

so that the gun housing

5

is at a 70° angle with respect to the ground. At such a tilt, the opening

14

of gun housing

5

will directly face the driver of an ATV and allow for quicker access to the stored gun. When mounting the gun housing at a tilt, care should be taken so that the case does not ride at an angle which would allow the gun to slide out of the case unintentionally. Instead of tilting the gun housing, the opening in the gun housing may be moved to a different position on the gun housing to allow for easy accessibility to an ATV rider.

The mounting assembly used for the present invention may comprise of any means known to a person of ordinary skill in the art without escaping the scope of the invention. The mounting assembly shown in

FIGS. 1-13

are meant for illustrative purposes only and do not restrict the scope of the invention.

Another embodiment of the present invention uses V-shaped brackets instead of the U-shaped brackets for support members

26

. The V-shaped bracket is inserted through slots in the bottom portion of the gun housing so that the bracket will create outward tension on the interior of the sidewalls of the gun housing. At the top end of the V-shaped bracket, the bracket is bent to fit into a slit in the gun housing that prevents the gun housing from moving with respect to the V-shaped brackets. Other manners to attach the brackets to the gun housing will be easily recognizable to a person of ordinary skill in the art and while staying within the scope of invention.

As an additional option to the mounted gun housing, a gun rest may be attached as seen in

FIGS. 12 and 13

. Gun support assembly

50

consists of support member

52

attached to bolt

32

with nuts

33

at one end and attached to gun cradle

54

with cradle mount

56

at the other end. Gun cradle

54

is curved on top so that rifle

60

will sit comfortably in it. Gun support assembly

50

allows an ATV hunter to remove the gun from gun housing

5

and rest the barrel end of the gun

60

on gun cradle

54

to steady the gun for aiming and firing. Gun mounting assembly may be attached to the mounted gun housing in any reasonable manner without escaping the scope of the invention.

The description and diagrams of embodiments of the present invention are intended to promote an understanding of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention. Further modifications, alterations or applications of the illustrated apparatus may fall within the scope of the invention.