BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Gun locks have frequently included just a single lock which secures the gun to a rack which upon being unlocked renders the gun ready for use. Still ^* further, such locks cannot be employed once the lock has been removed from the rack, to inhibit use of the gun.

British Patent 968669 discloses a gun lock which fits around the trigger guard and prevents access to the trigger. The particular lock is not intended for securing to a wall or other structure. Similar comments also apply to the lock which is described in US Patent 3624945.

Disclosed in Australian Patent Application 85874/91 (USA Patent 5,153,360 ⁾ is a gun lock having trigger shields. The shields are held together by means of a bolt, access to which is prevented by a cylinder lock. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the above disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION There is disclosed herein a gun lock for a gun having a trigger and tr-igger guard, said gun lock comprising: a pair of shield halves co-operating to enclose the trigger to prevent access thereto by being located on opposite sides of the trigger guard; a shackle member to straddle the gun and having a pair of spaced arms to engage the shield halves to prevent removal of the shield halves from a position enclosing the trigger; and lock means operable to secure the shackle member to the shield halves to prevent removal of the shackle member from the shield halves. Preferably the shackle member which- straddles the gun is adapted to engage a wall bracket; the wall bracket in turn being adapted to be secured to a wall or floor so that when the gun is secured thereto, unauthorised removal of the gun is inhibited.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET \

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred form of the present invention win now ^. be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic side elevation of a gun, gun lock and wall mounting bracket; and

Figure 2 is a schematic parts exploded view of the gun lock of

Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the accompanying drawings there is schematically depicted a gun lock 10 to surround the trigger and trigger guard of a gun 11. The lock 10 is also adapted to co-operate with a wall bracket 12 which is intended to be secured to a structure (such as a wall or floor ⁾ .

The lock 10 includes a pair of shield halves 13 and 14 which are intended to be located on opposite sides of the trigger guard. The shield half 13 has a threaded shaft 15 and a projection 16 fixed thereto. The projection T6 and shaft 15 are rotatably mounted in the flange 34. The projection 16 has a shackle passage 17 which intersects with a further passage 18 which receives a lock assembly including a barrel 19. When the lock barrel 19 is located in the passage 18, the lock barrel partly protrudes into the shackle passage 17. More particularly, the lock barrel 19 1s operable by means of a key to be retained in the projection 16. Upon operation of the key, the barrel can be removed or located in a position not intersecting with the passage 17. Preferably the barrel 19 is captively located within the passage 18, and has an eccentric projection which is movable to engage within the recess 27. The projection being eccentric with respect to the rotational axis of the barrel 19.

As a still further construction of the barrel 19 could include an end shaft portion with a "cut out" which when positioned adjacent the shackle member 23, permitted movement thereof. However upon rotation of the barrel 19, the shaft portion would enter the recess 27.

The shield half 14 includes a flange 33, which rotatably supports a projection 20 having a shackle passage 21. The projection 20 also has a threaded passage 22 to threadably engage the shaft 15. Accordingly upon - engagement of the shaft 15 within the passage 22, and relative rotation between the projection 20 and projection 16, the shaft 15 will enter the passage 22 and prevent separation of the shield halves 13 and 14.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET

It should be appreciated that although in this embodiment both the shaft 15 and passage 22 can be rotated with respect to their respective flange 33,34, only one need be rotated. Still further, other securing means can be employed to extend between the projections 16 and 20, rather than a shaft and threaded passage.

Circllps 35 retain the projections 16 and 20 fixed to their respective flanges 33 and 34.

The gun lock 10 further Includes a shackle member 23 which in this embodiment is of a "U-shaped" configuration, so as to have a base 24 joining two generally parallel co-extensive arms 25 and 26. The arm 26 is provided with a series of recesses 27 to co-operate with the lock barrel 19. The arms 25 and 26 are adapted to enter the shackle passages 17 and 21 to prevent relative movement between the shield halves 13 and 14, to thereby prevent removal of the gun lock 10. When the arm 26 is located in the passage 17, the lock barrel 19 may be inserted or moved so as to be located in one of the recesses 27 to prevent removal of the shackle member 23.

The shackle member 23 is intended to co-operate with a floor or wall mountable bracket 28. The bracket 28 has a cylindrical wall 29 through which there passes aligned passages 30. The arm 25 is Intended to pass through the passages 30 and then into the passage 21, to secure the gun lock 10, and therefore the gun 11, to the wall or floor. The base 31 of the bracket 28 has a passage 32 through which a bolt or other fastener may pass to secure the bracket 28 to an associated structure. A bolt 33 passes through the passage 32 to engage the associated structure. The shackle member 23 would then inhibit or prevent removal of the bolt 33 when the arm 25 is located in the passages 30.