Laws regarding the transport of guns vary by state. In the state of Texas for example, a non-felon private citizen may transport a hand gun in his own vehicle or a vehicle under his control if the hand gun is stored out of plain sight. With this in mind, guns are frequently stored in a glove compartment, under the seat or a console between seats. This presents a problem if the gun owner requires ready access to the gun for personal protection because the hand gun cannot be accessed quickly, and in any event, is not stored in a glove compartment or console in a ready state.
Gun safes having an integrated release for a hand gun are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 1,557,339 to Sander describes a gun case with a spring actuated release mechanism that is tensionably held against a case door and extends a hand gun from the case when the door is opened. U.S. Pat. No. 6,570,501 describes a hand gun case with a sliding mechanism on which a hand gun rides, and which extends from the case carrying the hand gun when identity verification, i.e., fingerprint identification, is provided.
Although the foregoing provide improvements in hand gun access, problems remain. One problem involves the securing of the case doors wherein a key must be turned or biometric identification provided before the door will open and the hand gun becomes available. Biometric identification does not work in all cases and with all people. Keys can become lost or dropped.
Commonly, law enforcement officers possess a back up firearm that may be carried in a police vehicle. Such a firearm must be reasonably accessible when the officer is present yet secured when the officer is away from the vehicle.
It would be desirable to provide a gun safe/case that permits a firearm to be secured by keyed lock, combination lock or other means wherein the case contains a gun carriage supporting the hand gun in a ready-to-use state when a rail of the carriage is extended therefrom.
It would be desirable to provide a gun safe/case that is readily mountable inside a vehicle whereby ready access to the gun is obtained by tapping a release of the case.
It would be especially desirable to provide a gun safe/case including a quick release mechanism for installation on the interior driver's side of a vehicle that can be actuated without the use of hands or requiring a user to visually inspect the case as a precursor to activating the release mechanism.