Holster

Feb. 22, 1938.

2,109,232

R- H. HOYT

HOLSTER

Filed Nov. 18,.1935

<img file="US2109232A_D0001.tif" />

Patented Feb. 22, 1938

2,109,232

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,109,232

HOLSTER Richard H. Hoyt, Los Angeles, Calif. Application November 18, 1935, Serial No. 50,310

Claims.

My invention relates to a holster for pistols, revolvers and the like and the particular construction herein disclosed is an improvement on the holster forming the subject matter of my 5 co-pending application for XT. S. Letters Patent filed August 28th, 1933, Serial No. 687,131 now Patent No. 2,037,132, dated April 14, 1936.

The principal objects of my present invention are, to generally improve upon and simplify the 10 construction of the holster disclosed in my aforesaid co-pending patent application as well as other existing forms of holsters, further, to provide simple and convenient means for supporting the holster from the shoulders of the wearer and 15 further, to provide simple and convenient means for detachably securing the holster to the wearer’s belt.

A further object of my invention is, to provide a holster having springs imbedded in its walls 20 in order to provide stays that render the walls of the holster more or less resilient and for the purpose of causing said walls to exert a certain degree of pressure upon the pistol or revolver carried in the holster so as to firmly hold same 25- against casual displacement and at the same time permitting the pistol or revolver to be easily and quickly withdrawn from the holster without liability of hanging therein or catching upon any part of the apparel of the person wearing the 30 holster.

With the foregoing and other objects in view my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangements of parts that will be hereinafter more fully described and 35 claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a holster constructed in accordance with my invention and showing the same associated with shoulder sup40 porting straps.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view looking against the outer face of the inner wall of the holster.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of a holster and showing the same detached from the support45 ing straps.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the holster.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line 5—5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on the line 50 6—6 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken on the line 7—7 of Fig. 2.

Figs. 8 and 9 are perspective views of the springs that are imbedded in the walls of the 55 holster for imparting resiliency thereto.

(Cl. 224—2)

Fig. 10 is a rear elevational view of portions of the straps that are utilized for supporting the holsters from the shoulders.

Fig. 11 is an elevational view of a member that provides an adjustable connection between the 5 wearer’s belt and one of the supporting straps on the opposite side of the body from the holster.

In the construction of my improved holster I employ two practically identical pieces of flexible material, preferably leather that are posi- 10 tioned one immediately against the other and the edges of these parts are united by a row or rows of stitching 10.

The flat body thus formed of the two pieces of material is folded double on a medial line, thus 15 forming a two-ply outer wall II and a two-ply inner wall 12.

The lower front portion of the outer wall 11 is cut away as designated by 13 so that the lower portion of said outer wall is somewhat narrower 20· than the corresponding portion of the inner wall and the lower ends of the outer and inner walls are permanently secured to each other, preferably by a row or rows of stitching 14.

In order that the holster may be detachably 25 connected to the belt of the wearer, the upper portion of a strap 15 is suitably secured, preferably by a row or rows of stitching, to the outer face of the intermediate portion of the inner wall 12, said strap extending downward and tapering 30 in width toward its lower end.

The lower portion of this strap 15 is adapted to pass through a transversely disposed slot 16 that is formed through the inner wall 12, and carried by said lower portion of said strap is the socket 35 member 17 of a snap fastener that is adapted to engage the complementary stud member 18 of the fastener and which latter is seated in the connected lower portions of the walls 11 and 12 just below the cut away lower portion 13 of the 40 outer wall 11.

Thus the strap 15, which functions as a belt receiving loop has its upper end permanently secured to the intermediate portion of the inner wall of the holster and the lower end of said strap 45 is detachably secured on the lower portion of the outer wall of the holster.

The belt B, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, passes between strap 15 and the inner wall of the holster. 50

Formed through the upper portion of the inner wall 12 of the holster, are three vertically disposed slots 19, 20 and 21 and passing through said slots, is a horizontally disposed holster supporting member 22. This member extends from ₅₅

3,109,232 the inner face of the inner wall 12 through slot 21, thence from the outer face of inner wall 12 through slot 20 and thence from the inner face of inner wall 12 outwardly through slot 19.

Thus one end of member 22 is positioned adjacent the inner face of inner wall 12 and the other end of said member is positioned adjacent the outer face of said inner wall.

Where the holster is worn on the lefthand side 10 of the wearer’s body, a strap 23 is secured to the front end of the holster supporting member 22 and extends upwardly in front of the left shoulder of the wearer, thence over said shoulder and said strap extends downward diagonally 15 across the back of the wearer to a point just above the wearer’s belt on the righthand side of the body.

From this point the strap extends upwardly in front of the wearer’s body over the right shoul20 der and thence diagonally downward on the back of the body.

The lower portion of this strap passes through a slot 24 that Is formed in the rear end of holster supporting member 22 and the free end of 25 said strap is engaged by a buckle 25 that is mounted on the strap a short distance from its end.

At the point where the straps cross on the back of the wearer, said straps pass through 30 slots 26 that are formed in an adjusting plate 27 and by pulling said straps through the slots in said adjusting plate, said straps may be arranged so as to fit snugly and conveniently upon the wearer’s body and shoulders and the holster will 35 be supported in convenient position on the side of the wearer’s body.

Adjustably. mounted on that portion of the strap that is positioned just above the belt on the righthand side of the wearer’s body, is a 40 member 28, the upper portion of which is provided with slots 29 that receive the strap 23 and secured to the lower portion of the member 28 on the inner face thereof, is a strap 30 that functions as a belt retainer or loop and the upper 45 end of said strap extending through a slot in member 28 and being secured to the outer face thereof by a snap fastener 31 and its complementary socket.

Formed in the upper portion of the outer wall 50 11 of the holster, is an opening 33 for the accommodation of the cylinder of the pistol or revolver that is carried in the holster.

That portion of the inner layer of material forming the inner wall 12 of the holster directly 55 opposite the opening 13 is cut away and the outer layer of material forming the inner wall 12 between the slots 19 and 20, is embossed or pressed outwardly as designated by 34 for the accommodation of the cylinder of the pistol.

Imbedded between the layers of material forming the walls of the holster and disposed above and to the sides of the opening 33 and the slots 19 and 20, is a double inverted U-shaped spring formed from a single piece of resilient wire (see 65 Fig. 8).

The wire forming this spring is bent at or near its center to form a semi-circular yoke 35 and from the ends of said yoke the wire extends upwardly to form substantially parallel legs 36 70 that are imbedded between the layers of material forming the body of the holster with one leg positioned adjacent and to the rear of slot 19 and the other leg positioned adjacent and to the rear of opening 33.

The yoke portion 35 of this spring is imbedded between the layers of material forming the holster and lies within the curved portion that connects the walls 11 and 12 a short distance below the opening 33 and the lower end of slot 19.

From the upper end of the leg 36 that is im- 5 bedded in wall 11, the wire forming the spring is bent to form a short curved portion 37 that extends toward the upper end of the other leg 36 and from said short bend 37 the wire is extended horizontally at right angles to the plane 10 occupied by the legs 36 to form a leg 38 that is imbedded between the layers of material forming the wall 11 and this portion of the spring occupies a position directly above opening 33.

From the end of the horizontal leg 38, the 15 wire extends downward substantially parallel with the legs 36 to form a leg 39 that is imbedded between the layers of material forming the holster body and occupying a position directly in front of opening 33. 20

The upper portion of the leg 36 that is imbedded between the legs of the material forming the inner wall 12, is bent slightly toward the inwardly bent portion 37 of the opposite leg 36 as designated by 40 and from said bent portion the 25wire is extended horizontally to form a leg 4i that is substantially parallel with leg 38 and which is imbedded between the layers of material directly above the upper ends of slots 19 and 20.

The intermediate portion of this horizontal leg 30 41 is bent slightly outward as designated by 42, in order to conform to the shape of the upper portion of the embossed or outwardly pressed portion 34 of wall 12 and to conform to the embossed portion 34 that accommodates the cyl- 35 inder of the pistol.

From the end of horizontal leg 41, the wires extend vertically downward to form a leg 43 that occupies a position substantially parallel with leg 39 and this leg 43 is embedded between the 40 layers of material forming the body of the holster and occupies a position between slots 20 and 21.

The normal tension of the spring just described tends to cause the upper portions of the holster walls to move toward each other so as to hug or 45 exert a certain degree of pressure on the pistol that is positioned in the holster, thereby holding the pistol firmly within the holder until it is withdrawn as a result of manual engagement.

To assist the spring just described in causing 50 the walls of the holster to exert yielding pressure upon the carried pistol, a substantially L-shaped spring as illustrated in Fig. 9, is imbedded between the layers of material forming the upper portion of wall 12. This spring is formed of 55 resilient wire and comprises a horizontal leg 44 that occupies a position just below the lower ends of slots 19, 20 and 21 and the vertical leg 45 of said spring occupies a position between slot 21 and the upper portion of the front edge of ⁶⁰wall 12.

The upper end of leg 45 is curved rearwardly as designated by 46 in order to conform to the curvature of the upper front corner of wall 12.

When the holster is used as a hip holster as 65 distinguished from, a shoulder supported holster, the upper portion of the L-shaped spring prevents the upper portion of the inner wall of the holster from bending and causes the butt of the gun to lay more closely to the body of the wearer. 70 ·

When used as a hip holster the wearer’s belt passes through the slots 19, 20 and 21.

The normal tendency of the spring just described is to exert pressure against the upper front portion of wall 12 through which member 75

2,109,232 passes and to cause this portion of the inner wall of the holster to move toward the adjacent upper front portion of the outer wall 11.

When my improved holster is applied to the 6 wearer’s body, the straps 23 pass over the shoulders of the wearer with portions of said straps crossed on the wearer’s back and at the crossing point said straps pass through the adjusting member 27.

The holster occupies a position on the lefthand side of the wearer’s body at or near the waistline thereof and if it is desired to connect the holster to the wearer’s belt, the latter is inserted between the strap 15 and the inner wall of the holster, 15 which strap functions as a readily releasable keeper and permits the holster to be readily adjusted forwardly or rearward# upon the belt.

On the righthand side of the wearer’s body the supporting strap is adjustably connected to mem20 her 28 and the latter has sliding engagement with the wearer’s belt.

The buckle 25 carried by the end of the strap that is connected to member 22 provides for adjustment of said strap so that the holster may 25 be adjusted to a convenient position on the wearer’s body.

The pistol or revolver is positioned in the holster with one side of the cylinder projecting through opening 33 and the opposite side of the 30 cylinder occupying the recessed portion 34 of the inner wall 12.

The provision of the cylinder receiving opening 33 and the removal of the inner layer of material forming the inner wall 12 between the slots 35 19 and 20, material# reduces the thickness of the holster so that it does not project an undue distance outwardly from the wearer’s body.

As hereinbefore described, the springs that are imbedded between the layers of material form40 ing the holster normally exert pressure on said walls to cause the same to hug the pistol or revolver so that the latter is firmly held within the holster so that it cannot be accidentally displaced.

Further, the pistol is firm# held in the holster 45 due to the fact that on one side the cylinder projects through opening 33 in the outer wall and on the other side the cylinder rests in the depression 34 formed in the inner wall.

To withdraw the pistol, the butt is manual# 50 engaged and pulled forward# and downwardly and the force exerted by this pull is sufficient to spread the upper front corners of the walls of the holster apart, thereby permitting the gun to be easily and quick# withdrawn.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a holster that is relative# simple in construction, inexpensive of manufacture and very effective in performing the functions for which it is intended.

The supporting or carrying means for the 60 holster may be readily adjusted so that the holster is conveniently and comfortably retained in proper position upon the wearer’s body and the construction of the holster is such that the inserted pistol or revolver is firm# held therein and 65 said pistol may be easily and quick# withdrawn without liability of hanging therein or catching upon any part of the apparel of the person wearing the holster.

It will be understood that minor changes in the 70 size, form, and construction of the various parts of my improved holster may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is set forth in the 75 appended claims.