Holster with hood assembly
View Patent ↗A holster having a body defining a cavity for receiving at least a portion of a weapon, the body comprising a pair of opposed side walls; a hood assembly pivotably connected to the body, wherein the hood assembly is pivotable between an open position and a closed position; a lock mechanism for maintaining the hood assembly in the closed position; a finger/thumb release associated with the lock mechanism for releasing the hood assembly from the closed position; and at least one pivot arm that extends from the hood assembly to a pivot plate, wherein the pivot plate automatically pivots the hood assembly to the closed position such that to the lock mechanism is automatically engaged as a forward face of a trigger guard of an inserted weapon urges the pivot plate.
1. A holster, comprising:
a body defining a cavity for receiving at least a portion of a weapon, said body comprising a pair of opposed side walls;
a hood assembly pivotably connected to said body, wherein said hood assembly is pivotable between an open position and a closed position;
a lock mechanism for maintaining said hood assembly in said closed position;
a finger/thumb release associated with said lock mechanism for releasing said hood assembly from said closed position; and
at least one pivot arm that extends from said hood assembly to a pivot plate, wherein said pivot plate automatically pivots said hood assembly to said closed position such that said lock mechanism is automatically engaged as a forward face of a trigger guard of an inserted weapon urges said pivot plate.
2. The holster of claim 1 , wherein said hood assembly is biased to said open position when a weapon is absent from said body.
3. The holster of claim 1 , wherein said hood assembly is biased to said open position by a spring.
4. The holster of claim 1 , wherein said lock mechanism is precluded from engaging when a weapon is absent from said body.
5. The holster of claim 1 , wherein a portion of said body comprises a removable, replaceable, interchangeable cup for accommodating an accessory for a received weapon.
6. The holster of claim 1 , wherein said pivot arm extends, along said interior of one of said opposed side walls, from said hood assembly to said pivot plate.
7. The holster of claim 1 , wherein said pivot arm extends, along an interior portion of one of said opposed side walls, from said hood assembly to said pivot plate.
8. The holster of claim 1 , wherein said hood assembly is pivotably attached at a point on said pivot arm adjacent to said pivot plate to a point on said body adjacent to said lower portion of said body.
9. The holster of claim 1 , wherein a pair of elongated pivot arms extend from said hood assembly to said pivot plate.
10. The holster of claim 1 , wherein said pivot plate automatically pivots said hood assembly to said closed position such that said lock mechanism is automatically engaged if a forward face of a trigger guard of an inserted weapon engages and urges said pivot plate a determined distance.
11. The holster of claim 1 , wherein said finger/thumb release comprises a thumb release.
12. The holster of claim 1 , wherein said finger/thumb release comprises a finger release.
13. The holster of claim 1 , wherein said lock mechanism is biased to an engaged position when said weapon is held in said body cavity.
14. A holster, comprising:
a body defining a cavity for receiving at least a portion of a weapon, said body comprising a pair of opposed side walls;
a hood assembly pivotably connected to said body, said hood assembly comprising a retaining hood and at least one elongated pivot arm that extends from said retaining hood to a pivot plate, wherein said hood assembly is pivotable between a closed position and an open position, wherein said hood assembly is biased to said open position when a weapon is absent from said body, and wherein said hood assembly automatically pivots to said closed position as a weapon is inserted into said body cavity;
a lock mechanism that maintains said hood assembly in said closed position when at least a portion of a weapon is received in said body cavity, wherein said lock mechanism is biased to an engaged position when at least a portion of a weapon is received in said body cavity; and
a finger/thumb release associated with said lock mechanism for releasing said hood assembly from said closed position for removal of said weapon.
15. The holster of claim 14 , wherein said hood assembly is biased to said open position by a spring.
16. The holster of claim 14 , wherein said lock mechanism is precluded from engaging when a weapon is absent from said body.
17. The holster of claim 14 , wherein a portion of said body comprises a removable, replaceable, interchangeable cup for accommodating an accessory for a received weapon.
18. The holster of claim 14 , wherein said hood assembly comprises a pair of elongated pivot arms.
19. A holster, comprising:
a body defining a cavity for receiving at least a portion of a weapon, said body comprising a pair of opposed side walls;
a hood assembly pivotably connected to said body, wherein said hood assembly is pivotable between a closed position for securing said weapon within said body cavity and an open position for insertion or removal of said weapon;
a lock mechanism for maintaining said hood assembly in said closed position when a weapon is held in said body cavity;
a finger/thumb release associated with said lock mechanism for releasing said hood assembly to pivot to said open position; and
at least one pivot arm that extends from said hood assembly to a pivot plate for automatically pivoting said hood assembly to said closed position and automatically engaging said lock mechanism as at least a portion of said weapon is inserted into said body cavity, wherein said pivot plate is positioned to engage a front face of said weapon's trigger guard as said weapon is inserted into said body cavity.