Combined Shoulder and Belt Holster

This invention is an improvement on the inventions of my prior patents 3,630,420, 3,749,293, 3,847,315, and my pending application, Ser. No. 492,757, filed July 29, 1974.

The concept of a front opening holster including wire spring members having a pair of legs extending from a bight at the bottom of the holster to the upper region is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,630,420, referenced above. This patented design plus the improvement shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,293 has added a new dimension to the front opening holster in that uniform closing forces throughout the length of the holster are obtained allowing a smooth forward draw. This feature in combination with cylinder recesses to prevent the weapon from being drawn upward and out by other persons has resulted in a major safety feature. The value of an elongated wire spring for closing of the front opening is now well recognized.

In the field of shoulder holsters, it has been the common practice to support the weapon in the upright or horizontal position. One example of this appears in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,315. Other holsters have supported a short barrel revolver or automatics in an inverted position. Holsters designed for inverted mounting in this manner normally are withdrawn in an unnatural motion which is partly forward and partly down as compared with the front opening holster as disclosed in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,630,420 and 3,749,293 referenced above. Therefore it is apparent that the requirements of the two types of holsters are different and have never been reliably obtained in the same holster. Heretofore inverted shoulder holsters also suffered from the weakness of fatigue of elastic closures and of the leather, allowing the weapon to fall.

One additional limitation which has been prevalent in holsters of all designs except for that disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,315 is that the holsters are characteristically designed for one mode of operation on one side of the user.

Given the foregoing state of the art, I have invented a new holster which:

A. IS USABLE SELECTIVELY AS A SHOULDER HOLSTER OR A BELT WORN HOLSTER;

B. IS WEARABLE EITHER ON THE LEFT OR RIGHT SIDE IN EITHER LOCATION;

C. OPERATES EFFECTIVELY AS A RIOT-PROOF FRONT OPENING HOLSTER WITH WITHDRAWAL LIMITED IN AN UPWARD DIRECTION;

D. OPERATES WITH THE WEAPON INVERTED IN THE SHOULDER HOLSTER WHILE ALLOWING EASY WITHDRAWAL OF THE WEAPON FROM THE FRONT SIDE;

E. IS SIGNIFICANTLY THINNER THAN PRIOR ART SHOULDER OR FRONT OPENING HOLSTERS.

In addition to each of the foregoing features, I have designed the spring holster assembly so that the ends of the spring member in the upper corner of the holster extends upward to embrace the hammer of the weapon directly between the ends of the spring. This feature protects the hammer and rear sight at all times when the weapon is in the holster in either mode of wearing.

Further, I have designed the spring holster body arrangement whereby the spring bight portion is totally protected by leather from the weapon but without adding additional thickness to the holster.

One further feature involves a stop feature which provides a pivot for the weapon forward and outward on drawing when used in either mode.

These features are all obtained in accordance with this invention and may be more clearly understood from the following detailed description and by reference to the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a holster in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a holster in accordance with this invention, worn as an underarm or shoulder holster;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a holster of this invention worn on the belt for use by the right hand of the wearer;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view through the holster along lines 4--4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side elevational view of the holster of this invention on the left side of a belt with portions broken away for clarity with a short barreled revolver shown in phantom by dashed dot lines;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along lines 6--6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the spring of this invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an alternate configuration of the spring of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 8A is a fragmentary view of the hammer and rear sight region of a holster incorporating the spring of FIG. 8.

Now referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a holster 10 in accordance with this invention includes a body or outer facing 11 of leather or leather like material having a pair of sides 11A and 11B which define a weapon receiving pocket 12 between the sides 11A and 11B. Sides 11A and 11B are joined at a fold 13 which extends from the muzzle region 14 to the trigger guard enclosing region 15. The body 11 includes an end fold 20 which holds a D or other shaped ring 21 in its fold with the two outer facings 11A and 11B and the fold 20 secured together by a stitch line 22. An apparent continuation of stitch line 22, namely stitch line 22A actually stitches only the outer face 11A to its inner liner 23 which is visible through a pair of belt loop slots 24 and 25. The stitch line 22A extends along the front opening 35, best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, around a concave region 27 from which the hand grip of a weapon may extend. A second ring 30 is secured to a fold at tap 31 which is secured to the body sides 11A and 11B by a stitch line 32. An additional stitch line section 33 extends around the belt loop slots 24 and 25 to secure the inner liner 23 to the outer face 11A. The opposite face 11B includes similar stitch lines, again securing that outer face 11B to its inner liner 34 which may be seen at the top opening 12.

Employing the design of this invention, the major portion of the stitching may be accomplished before the holster is folded at 13. Thus, the stitch line 22A and 33 constitute a single continuous line while stitch lines 22 and 32 are done separately after folding, all simplifying assembly of the holster.

Features concealed in the holster in FIG. 1 but appearing in FIGS. 4, 7 and 8 are a spring 37 which biases the front opening 35, normally closed, and a pair of cylinder recesses, and positioned in the region of the belt loop slots 24 and 25 in the inner surface of the liner 23 and 34 to retain the revolver cylinder in place. The spring 37 may best be seen in FIGS. 4-8 and the cylinder recesses in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The presence of the tabs 20 and 31 and their loops 21 and 30 allow the entire holster to be worn as a shoulder holster as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. One other feature is apparent in FIG. 1, and that is a screw 40 which extends through the faces 11A and 11B and mechanically biases the two faces 11A and 11B together below or behind the barrel of the weapon. Biasing the holster body together at this point applies a generally uniform pressure against the entire weapon and augments the front casing pressure applied by the internal spring 37. The function of the screw 40 is most clearly seen in FIG. 4.

Of greater importance is that the screw 40 and its internal rubber spacer 47 shown in FIG. 4 provide a fulcrum for the barrel when the weapon is drawn, located below the barrel and in front of the cylinder. So positioned, the drawing of the hand grip and frame forward allows the barrel to pivot against the spacer 47 to aid in drawing.

Now referring specifically to FIGS. 2 and 3, the two different modes of use of the holster may be clearly seen and compared. In FIG. 2 the holster 10 is supported by opposite ends of a shoulder strap 50 which extends over the shoulder of the wearer in the same general manner as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,315. The ends of the shoulder strap 50 are secured permanently as by rivets or adjustable by snap or other fasteners to the rings 21 and 30 thereby supporting the holster 10 in the armpit region of the wearer with the grip 51 of the weapon 52 in an inverted position but forward for easy cross draw. It should be noted in FIG. 2 that the trigger and trigger guard are concealed within the holster 10 and also the hammer is located between the corners 26A and 36B of the holster 10.

The hammer in its uncocked or safe position is secured between the corners 36A and 36B which are biased inwardly against the side of the hammer whereby the hammer cannot become cocked within the holster or snag on clothing. The regions 36A and B also enclose the rear sight of the weapon 52.

The dual use of the holster and the hammer protection as described above is further apparent in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6. The holster 10 is there illustrated as a front opening belt carried holster for left or right hand draw. The rings 21 and 30 are unused at this time and small enough to provide no interference with the use of the holster. The body assembly 10 is symetrical and therefore the holster may be worn as shown or by passing the belt through either the slots 24 and 25, or 64 and 65. In either case, withdrawal as a front opening holster is accomplished in an easy and reliable manner.

Now referring specifically to FIGS. 5 and 6 where significant features of this invention may be clearly seen, in FIG. 5 a revolver 52 is shown in phantom form with the grip 51 extending out of the opening 12, and the barrel 53, trigger 54 and trigger guard 55 and cylinder 56, all enclosed within the holster 10. This position as shown in FIG. 5 is the normal position for the weapon regardless of whether it is worn on a belt as shown in FIG. 5 or as a shoulder holster as in FIGS. 1 and 2. The hammer 57 of the revolver 52 is shown positioned adjacent to the upper end 37A of the spring 37. Of course, the hammer 57 is protected from contact with the spring by the two sides of the liner 23. The rear sight 58 likewise is enclosed between the legs of spring 37. In FIG. 5, the liner sides 23 are broken away to show the relative position of the spring 37 and hammer 57. The trigger 54 and trigger guard 55 are nestled within the opposite corner portion of the holster body below the tab 31. The ends of the crescent shaped opening 12 conceal the trigger and trigger guard at one end and the hammer at the opposite end.

Another feature apparent in FIG. 4 involves the screw 40 and its associated spacer 47. It is apparent that the barrel 53 of the revolver 52 may pivot against the spacer 47 in being rotated forward to withdraw the weapon. This spacer 47 provides a fulcrum against which the weapon is pivoted. It prevents relative movement of the holster on drawing of the weapon and a smooth movement forward.

In as much as the holster of this invention is worn as a concealed shoulder holster, it is desirable to minimize the overall thickness. As we have found in the past, front opening holsters often tend to have an enlargement at the bottom which can provide a visible bulge. I have eliminated this problem in a manner which is illustrated in FIG. 5. Note that the spring 37 is a modified L shape with the foot 37B including a bight portion 37C positioned in a cutout 28 in the liner 23. The liner 23 includes two cutouts, one in each side, therefore defining the recess for the foot 37B of the spring. The spring is not adversely effected at all in its normal operation and the thickness of the bottom of the holster is thereby significantly reduced.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the cylinder 56 of the revolver 52 extends into recesses 70 and 71 in the form of cutouts to liner 23. The cutouts 70 and 71 conform to the side of the cylinder whereby the weapon is effectively prevented from upward withdrawal in the positions shown in FIG. 5, or downward withdrawal as in the positions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Between the outer faces 11A and 11B and the liner 23 is a pair of subliners 23A and 23B which seal the belt loop slots and include cylinder recesses to add depth to these recesses.

By comparison of FIGS. 1 and 4 with FIGS. 3 and 5, it may be seen that withdrawal of the weapon is in the forward direction regardless of the manner in which it is worn.

The shape of the spring 37 which makes it compatable with the holster in performing each of the functions described above is best seen in FIGS. 7 and 8. The spring is complex shape including the ends 37A which are bent inward as is apparent in both FIGS. 7 and 8. The spring in its unrestrained form has its legs crossed, as is apparent in FIG. 8. The foot includes a pair of parallel portions which terminate in the bight portion 37C. These parallel foot portions 37B each rest in a respective cutout 28, one of which appears in FIG. 5. Immediately beyond the foot bend are a pair of straight portions 37D joining curved sections 37E. Given the shape, as is best illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the spring 37 effectively closes the front opening 35 of the holster, and its ends 37A effectively bear against the hammer enclosing portion of the holster to provide closing pressure all the way from beyond the end of the barrel to above the hammer. This additional closing force over the full length of the front of the holster provides greater safety in the holding of the weapon, particularly in the inverted form when it must hold the weapon against gravity. The nestling of the foot portions 37B and the bight portion 37C in the mating recesses 28 also minimize the overall thickness of the holster.

In many cases this holster will be used with adjustable rear sight weapons. In such a case it is desired that the rear sight be enclosed but spaced from the holster leather and of course not touched by metal. This is accomplished employing the modified spring of FIG. 8 in place as shown in FIG. 8A.

In FIG. 8, the spring 370 includes mating offset bends 370A and B which define a gap 400 of FIG. 8A. The gap 400 provides clearance around rear sight 570.

The above described embodiments of this invention are merely descriptive of its principles and are not to be considered limiting. The scope of this invention instead shall be determined from the scope of the following claims including their equivalents.