US2765107A

US2765107A - Holster

Info

Publication number: US2765107A
Application number: US452502A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bruce W Browning
Original assignee: Browning Industries Inc
Current assignee: Browning Industries Inc
Priority date: 1954-08-27
Filing date: 1954-08-27
Publication date: 1956-10-02
Anticipated expiration: 1973-10-02

Description

Oct. 2, 1956 B. w. BRowNlNG 2,765,107

HOLSTER Filed Aug. 27, 1954 INVEN TOR. BRL/0E W BROWN/NG AT ORNEYS HOLSTER Bruce W. Browning, Ogden, Utah, assignor to Browning Industries, Inc., Ogden, Utah, a corporation of Utah Application August 27, 1954, Serial No. 452,502

4 Claims. (Cl. 224-2) The present invention relates to a holster for pistols.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a holster which affords an effective and convenient means of carrying a pistol and which holds the pistol securely against dislodgment by bumping or jarring or active movement of the wearer and yet enables it to be quickly and easily disengaged and removed from the holster for use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a holster of light weight and compact size, which takes up substantially no space additional to that required for the pistol itself.

Another object is to provide a holster of the character described which is simple and rugged in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and convenient and easy to put on and take off.

Other objects will be in part obvious, and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement ot parts which will be exemplied in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is an elevation view of a holster constructed in accordance with the present invention, showing the manner in which it engages a pistol carried thereby;

Figure 2 is a front elevation view of the structure shown in Figure l;

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective View of the holster;

Figure 4 is a View of a portion of the structure shown in Figure 3 illustrating certain features thereof; and

Figure 5 is a bottom View of the holster illustrating certain features thereof.

Referring to the drawing, a preferred embodiment of a holster constructed in accordance with the invention includes a frame 1 which is adapted to be worn on a belt 2 or similar support.

In accordance with the invention, the holster is arranged to support a pistol in an exposed condition, with the handle completely free and accessible, so that it can be grasped readily and with a minimum of fumbling. To this end the holster engages the pistol at only two points, its muzzle and its trigger guard, as will now be described. The frame 1 includes an elongated upright body 3 having at its lower end an outwardly extending foot or shelf 14 on which is secured an upright pin 16. The upper end of pin 16 is chamfered and the pin is the proper diameter to iit smoothly within the muzzle end of the pistol barrel, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 and support it against lateral movement, either outwardly or sideways. On the pin 16 is a compression spring 18 which engages the muzzle end of the pistol, supporting it resiliently and biasing the pistol in an upward direction. The lower turn of spring 18 is tightly wrapped around the pin 16 to secure the spring thereon.

At its upper end the body 3 is provided with an enlarged l nited States Patent 0 rice laterally extending head 19, which is thicker than body 3 and overhangs the rearward side of the body, as shown in Figure 4. Outwardly extending from head 19, and somewhat laterally displaced relative to shelf 14, is an arm 20 which is adapted to protrude through the opening between the trigger 22 and the trigger guard 24 of the pistol. The arm 20 has a downwardly facing notch 26 which hooks into engagement with the trigger guard 24 and effectively secures the pistol against displacement in an outward direction. The arm 20 is laterally displaced relative to the shelf 14 so that, when secured in the holster, a pistol will be disposed with its barrel substantially vertical, as shown in Figure 1. The upward bias of the spring 18 on the pistol maintains the trigger guard firmly bottomed in the notch and thus insures that the pistol will not inadvertently become dislodged from the holster. The under side 30 of the arm and the bottom of the notch are somewhat curved, as best shown in Figures 3 and 4, to complement the curvature of the inside of the trigger guard 24, and the

sides

32, 34 of notch 26 are inclined slightly inwardly and rearwardly so as to support the pistol inconspicuously with its handle flat against the hip of the wearer. The holster is supported from the wearers belt 2 by a vertically extending relatively wide strap 36 of resilient metal or the like which is folded back upon itself at its upper end to form a relatively rigid loop 38 through which the belt 2 may be threaded. The looped portion of the strap 36 is slidably received in a vertical slot 40 provided in the portion of head 19 which overhangs the rearward side of body 3. The strap 36 may thus be slid upwardly to enlarge the opening of the loop 38 and permit easier threading of the wearers belt through it, and may then be slid down in the slot 40 to decrease the vertical dimension of the loop as well as squeeze the sides of the loop together and thus cinch the holster tightly on the wearers belt.

One end of the strap 36 is extended to form a tang 4.4 provided with a lip 46 at its lower end which resilienly engages a row of ratchet teeth 48 on the rearward side of the body 3. The ratchet teeth 4S are slightly downwardly inclined, as best shown in Figure 3, so that the lip 46 cams over them easily when the strap 36 is slid downward during tightening of the loop 38 on the wearers belt. However, to loosen the strap 36 from the belt 2, the tang 44 must be separated from body 3 to disengage the lip 46 from the teeth 48. The lower end oi' tang 44 is provided with forwardly

bent ears

50, 52 which afford a convenient finger grip when disengaging the lip 46 from ratchet teeth 48.

A pistol is placed in the holster simply by slipping the muzzle over the pin 16 to compress the spring, swinging the handle in to slip the trigger guard around the arm 2i) and beneath the notch 26, and releasing the handle. Spring 18 insures that the trigger guard 24 will be securely seated in the notch 26, and thus the pistol is eiectively secured in the holster quickly and easily.

The engagement of the holster with the pistol is rm and secure, the pin 16 preventing any movement of the barrel outwards or sideways, and the engagement of the trigger guard in the notch 26 preventing any like movement of the upper portion of the pistol. Thus, though supporting the pistol with its handle entirely exposed for easy grasping when desired, the holster firmly holds the pistol against dislodgment by bumping, jarring, or physical activity, and the wearer need not restrain his activity for fear of the pistol falling out of the holster.

It may be seen that when carried in the holster the pistol is ready for use practically instantaneously, since it is merely necessary when drawing the pistol to press down and out on the handle to compress spring 18 and disengage the trigger guard from the notch 26, and then lift the pistol clear of the holster.

As many changes could be made struction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in thejaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim:

1.k A pistol holster comprising a frame having an elongate upright body, a laterally extending head on said body having a vertical slot therein, a strap having an upwardly extending loop portion adapted to be threaded by a belt or the like to support the holster, the lower end ot said loop portion being slidable in said slot to permit tightening of said strap on a belt, a vertically extending row of ratchet teeth on the rearward side of said body and a lip on one end of said strap resiliently engageable therewith to secure said strap loop portion in vertically adjusted position, a forwardly extending shelf on said body carrying an upright pin over which the muzzle end of the pistol barrel is adapted to be slipped, a forwardly' extending arm on said head laterally displaced relative to said pin and adapted to protrude through the trigger guard of the pistol, said arm having a downwardly facing notch into which the trigger guard is adapted to be received, and a compression spring on said pin engageable with the muzzle of the pistol to support the pistol resiliently and maintain the trigger guard seated in said notch.

2. A pistol holster comprising a frame having an elongate upright body, a foot on said body having means for engaging and supporting the forward end of a pistol barrel, a head on said body having a forwardly extending arm adapted to engage the trigger guard of a pistol, a rearwardly extending portion on said head overhanging the rearward side of said body and having a vertical slot, a strap having an upwardly extending loop portion adapted tobe threaded by a belt or the like to support the holster, the lower end of said loop portion 4 being slidable in said slot to permit tightening of said strap on a belt, a vertically extending row of ratchet in the above conteeth on the rearward side of said body and a lip on one end of said strap resiliently engageable therewith to secure said strap loop portion in vertically adjusted position.

3. A pistol holster comprising a frame having an elongate upright body having a front face and provided at its upper end with a xed arm extending outwardly in space beyond the front face of said body, said arm adapted to project through the trigger guard of a pistol and having a downwardly facing hook portion adapted to engage the inside of the trigger guard and overlie the edges of the engaged portion of the trigger guard, a shelf on said body below said arm and extending outwardly in space beyond the front face of said body, a support on said shelf with which the muzzle of the pistol is adapted to engage to prevent lateral and outward movement of the pistol muzzle, and resilient means associated with said support and engageable by the end of the pistol barrel to urge the pistol upwardly and maintain the pistol trigger guard in engagement with said hook portion to prevent lateral and outward movement of the pistol.

4. A pistol holster comprising a frame having an elongate upright body having a front face a xed arm on the upper end of said body, said arm extending outwardly in space beyond the front face of said body and adapted .to protnlde through the trigger guard of a pistol, said arm having downwardly facing notch into which the trigger guard is adapted to be received said notch adapted to overlie the edges of the received portion of the trigger guard to prevent lateral and outward movement thereof, a shelf on said body below said arm, said shelf extending forwardly in space beyond the front face oi said body and being displaced laterally of said arm, an upwardly extending pin on said foot over which the muzzle end of the pistol barrel is adapted to be slipped, and a compression spring on said pin engageable with the end of the pistol barrel to support the pistol resiliently and maintain the trigger guard seated in said notch.

References Cited `in the le of this patent l UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,166,781 Parrish Ian. 4, 1916 2,109,734 Preneta Mar. l, 1938 2,655,298 Riley Oct. 13, 1952