U.S. patent number 3,904,091 [Application Number 05/505,684] was granted by the patent office on 1975-09-09 for sidearm holsters.
Invention is credited to H. Jack Jones.
United States Patent |
3,904,091 |
Jones |
September 9, 1975 |
Sidearm holsters
Abstract
A sidearm holster having a latchable flap or strap composed of a
spring metal strip having one end anchored in the rear part of the
holster and arranged to snap upwardly when the flap is unlatched,
and provided with a latching mechanism which can be manually
actuated to positively unlatch the flap.
Inventors: |
Jones; H. Jack (Orlando,
FL) |
Family
ID: |
24011378 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/505,684 |
Filed: |
September 13, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
224/243;
224/911 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41C
33/0263 (20130101); F41C 33/0227 (20130101); Y10S
224/911 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F41C
33/02 (20060101); F41C 33/00 (20060101); F41C
033/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;224/2B,2C |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Schonberg; David
Assistant Examiner: Mitchell; David M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Spencer & Kaye
Claims
I claim:
1. In a sidearm holster having a closing member disposed to extend
over the top of a sidearm held in the holster and movable into a
closed position for keeping the sidearm in the holster, and into an
open position for permitting withdrawal of the sidearm, the
improvement comprising:
latch means carried by said closing member near the end thereof,
which, when said closing member is in its closed position, is
adjacent the side of said holster which faces away from its
wearer;
a manually operable latching mechanism mounted on said holster for
holding said latch means when said closing member is in its closed
position, said latching mechanism being manually movable into a
position for releasing said latch means; and
said closing member including spring means for causing said closing
member to spring into its open position, and to remain therein,
upon release of said latch means.
2. An arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein said closing member
is permanently connected to that side of said holster which faces
the wearer when the holster is being worn, and said spring means
comprise a strip of spring material joined to said closing member,
having one end permanently and immovably fastened to that side of
said holster which faces the wearer when the holster is being worn,
and having its opposite end disposed at a point adjacent said latch
means.
3. An arrangement defined in claim 1 wherein said latching
mechanism is arranged to be moved upwardly, when said holster is
being worn, to reach the position in which it releases said latch
means, and said latching mechanism comprises a pushbutton dispoed
to be pushed upwardly for moving said latching mechanism into such
releasing position.
4. An arrangement as defined in claim 3 wherein said holster is
provided with a recess in the vicinity of its bottom, said recess
being accessible at least from the bottom of said holster and said
pushbutton being located in said recess.
5. An arrangement as defined in claim 4 wherein said latching
mechanism further comprises a latch plate provided with a first
opening and a second opening located above said first opening and
having a dimension in the direction transverse to the movement of
said latching mechanism which is smaller than that of said first
opening, said first and said second openings being in
communication, and wherein said latch means includes a latch pin
extending transversely from said other end of said strip of spring
material and having a shank and an enlarged head disposed at the
free end of said shank, the diameter of said enlarged head being
less than the dimension of said first opening in the direction
transverse to movement of said latching mechanism, and larger than
the corresponding dimension of said second opening, and the
diameter of said shank being less than such dimension of said
second opening.
6. An arrangement as defined in claim 5 wherein said latching
mechanism further comprises spring biassing means arranged for
urging said latching mechanism in the direction away from its said
releasing position.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to sidearm holsters, particularly of
the type having a closing strap or flap extending around the rear
end, i.e. the hammer or handgrip, of a holstered sidearm.
Existing holsters of this type serve to satisfactorily hold the
sidearm, but do not provide complete security against surreptitious
removal of the sidearm by one other than the wearer.
Moreover, the holster flap, even when opened, tends to lie over the
sidearm and to impede drawing of the weapon, as well as its return
to the holster.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to reduce the possibility of
removal of a sidearm from its holster without the wearer's
knowledge.
More specific related objects are to render opening of the holster
flap by one other than the owner more difficult and to instantly
warn the wearer if the flap should open.
Another object of the invention is to cause the flap, once open, to
remain out of the path along which the sidearm is drawn from the
holster and returned thereto.
A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and
durable structure providing such capabilities.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved by including
in the flap or strap a spring strip having one end anchored in the
back part of of the holster to cause the flap or strap to snap up
and slap the wearer's side when the strap or flap is unlatched, and
by providing the holster with a latching mechanism which is
manually actuable to unlatch the strap or flap.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showing a preferred embodiment of
the invention.
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the operating mechanism of the
embodiment of FIG. 2.
FIG. 3 is a view similar to, and in the same direction as, that of
FIG. 2, showing the cover of the mechanism of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along line 4--4 of FIGS. 2 and
3.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 shows a sidearm holster 1 provided with a closing strap 3
and latching mechanism 5 according to the invention. The holster 1
is designed to receive a sidearm with its barrel extending
downwardly to the right of mechanism 5 and with the handgrip and
trigger in the region above mechanism 5. Strap 3 passes around the
hammer of the weapon.
According to one feature of the invention, strap 3 is composed of a
spring steel strip having its end 3a securely anchored to the back
part of the holster, this end of spring 3 being shown in broken
lines. The other end 3b of strap 3 lies, when in the closed
configuration, against the front part of the holster and is
provided with an element arranged to cooperate with latch mechanism
5 to maintain the strap in such closed configuration, as shown in
FIG. 1.
As long as the strap 3 is in the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the
sidearm cannot be withdrawn from the holster.
To withdraw the holster, the wearer presses upwardly on a
pushbutton 11 extending from the housing of mechanism 5. This
releases strap 3 and allows it to spring upwardly, clear of the
sidearm.
Since the strap is composed of, or includes, a spring steel strip,
it will slap against the wearer's side at the end of its upward
springing movement. Therefore, if someone other than the wearer
should attempt to remove the weapon, which would require first
releasing the latching mechanism, the resultant upward springing
movement of strap 3 would immediately alert the wearer to the
attempt.
In addition, the positive upward springing movement of strap 3
brings it to a position where it is clear of the sidearm and thus
does not interfere with either withdrawal of the sidearm or its
subsequent return to the holster.
Strap 3 may consist simply of a spring steel strip, or it may be
composed of such a strip encased in leather or other material to
match the remainder of the holster. Alternatively, the spring steel
strip could be embedded in a full flap which extends across the
entire width of the holster to completely cover the weapon.
While the holster is shown broken away in FIG. 1 in the region in
which pushbutton 11 is located, this region can be enclosed by the
front and rear parts of the holster, in which case it cannot be
seen and can only be reached via an opening in the bottom surface
of the holster. This form of construction provides maximum security
against accidental opening of the holster flap by the wearer or
unauthorized opening thereof by another. However, it also
interferes with reliable rapid drawing of the weapon when
desired.
Rapid drawing of the weapon can be facilitated by forming the
holster parts so that the pushbutton region is open at the front
and/or rear holster part, thus greatly enhancing access to the
pushbutton.
A preferred embodiment of the strap latching system is shown in
FIGS. 2-4 to include a housing 12 which can have a rectangular,
circular, elliptical, or other cross section and which may be
formed of two halves 12a and 12b joined together along a plane
coextensive with the front part 21 of the holster. In FIG. 2,
housing half 12a is removed to reveal the operating mechanism.
As is shown in detail in FIG. 4, each half may be provided with
tabs 14 by which the latching mechanism is secured to the front
part 21 of the holster by rivets 15 extending between opposing tabs
and through the material of the holster front part 21.
There are, of course, many other techniques available for fastening
the housing 12 to the holster, as by inserting the tabs through
slits in the holster and bending the tabs back to cause them to
grip the holster material. The housing could be of one piece and
could then be fastened to the holster by only a single set of tabs,
in place of the two sets depicted in FIGS. 2-4. This single set of
tabs could either be riveted or crimped to the holster material, as
described above. Other suitable fastening procedures, such as
cementing or encasing the housing between two plies of a multiple
ply material, could be employed.
Within housing 12 there is disposed an operating rod 23 extending
the length of the housing and passing through alinged openings in
the upper end 16 and the lower end 18 of the housing. Rod 23
carries a latching plate member 25 at its upper end and pushbutton
11 at its lower end.
Rod 23 is disposed to permit latching member 25 to be moved
upwardly from a latching position to an unlatching position by
upward movement of pushbutton 11.
The rod 23 is biassed downwardly into the latching position of
member 25 by a helical compression spring 27 mounted around rod 23
and pressed between a circular flange 16', forming part of housing
upper end 16 and surrounding the opening through which rod 23
passes, and a shoulder 24 rigidly fastened to rod 23 near housing
lower end 18.
Shoulder 24 can be located along rod 23 to abut against lower end
18 when member 25 is in its lowermost position, thereby defining
the latching position of member 25.
A pushbutton stop 28 fastened to housing lower end 18 serves as an
abutment for pushbutton 11 and thus defines the limit of upward
travel of latching member 25. Stop 28 can be mounted to permit
adjustment of the location of its abutment surface.
Latching member 25 is provided with a generally keyholeshaped
opening having a large diameter portion 25a and a narrow elongate
portion 25b. Member 25 cooperates with a latch pin 31 having an
enlarged head 31a and fastened at the free end of strip front
portion 3b. The diameter of enlarged head 31a is greater than the
width of elongate portion 25b but less than the diameter of portion
25a, while the diameter of the shank of pin 31 is less than the
width of portion 25b.
To guide latching plate 25 during its movement between its latching
and unlatching positions, housing half 12a carries a cover plate 34
and housing half 12b carried a backing plate 35. Plates 34 and 35
extend upwardly from housing upper end 16 and are spaced apart to
provide a passage for latching plate member 25.
Cover plate 34 is provided with a rectangular opening for insertion
of pin 31 while backing plate 35 is provided with an opening to
provide complete insertion of pin 31 into the latching device. The
upper edge 35a of the opening in backing plate 35 serves as an
abutment surface for engaging the enlarged head 31a of pin 31 to
hold the pin in position during unlatching, as will be explained
below with reference to the operation of the latching
mechanism.
To close the holster flap, it is pushed down by the wearer to bring
pin 31 into alignment with the opening in latching plate 25. Pin 31
on strap 3 is then in the position shown in FIG. 4.
Then the wearer pushes upwardly on button 11 with one hand to bring
opening portion 25a into alignment with head 31a, and pushes strap
3 with the other hand to cause head 31a to pass through opening
portion 25a so that the shank of pin 31 is located in the opening
in plate 25 and the enlarged head 31a is located in the opening in
backing plate 35.
Then, pushbutton 11 is released to lower plate 25 so that pin 31
engages in narrow elongate opening portion 25b. Pin 31 is prevented
from moving down by the lower edge of the opening in plate 34 and
such downward movement could, if necessary, also be prevented by
suitably locating the lower edge of the opening in backing plate
35.
To open the holster flap or strap, it is only necessary to push
upwardly on button 11 to bring the large diameter portion 25a of
the opening in plate 25 into alignment with enlarged portion 31a of
pin 31, whereupon the pin is unlatched and strap 3 snaps upwardly,
slapping the wearer's side. Any tendency of pin 31 to move upwardly
with plate 25 during the unlatching operation is opposed by
abutment of head 31a against edge 35a.
Embodiments of the invention can be designed to hold any type of
sidearm and need only be made slightly larger than conventional
holsters to accommodate the latching mechanism.
Closing and latching of the holster flap or strap involves a
positive operation requiring two hands.
Mechanically, the structure and operation of the latching system
according to the invention are simple and foolproof. Virtually all
parts of the system can be built into the holster leather or a
weatherproof housing to be protected from the elements.
The activation of the latch release mechanism is more convenient
for the wearer than for other and the operating pushbutton could be
concealed by the front part of the holster or could conceivably be
disguised to look like a portion of the front part.
Operation of the pushbutton causes the flap or strap to instantly
spring clear of the sidearm, thereby facilitating rapid drawing and
easy replacement of the weapon. Because of this, the wearer will be
instantly warned if someone else should operate the latching
mechanism.
The invention can be applied to any type of holster, including
swivel or straight holster or concealed, clip-on or harness-type
holsters.
It will be understood that the above description of the present
invention is susceptible to various modifications, changes and
adaptations, and the same are intended to be comprehended within
the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims.
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