Front-opening handgun holster
View Patent ↗A handgun holster is provided herein which permits the removal of the handgun through the front of the holster as opposed to the traditional vertical removal of the handgun from the holster. The handgun holster comprises a housing having an internal cavity. The housing is defined by two parallel sidewalls which are a fixed distance apart, a fixed rear spacer wall and a front hinged spacer wall. The handgun can be removed from the holster when a person is in a seated position and/or in a more natural motion. This allows the handgun to be more readily produced for use in situations where a user may be in a vehicle, a tight space, or when the holster is mounted horizontally. The hinge is kept closed with sufficient pressure being provided by torsion springs in a hinge mechanism. However, the front hinged spacer wall can be moved to an open position by lifting the gun into a frontal position.
1 . A front-opening handgun holster comprising:
a housing having an internal cavity with a rectangular cross section and which is planar and which is defined by:
two parallel side walls having rear sidewall edges, and opposing front edges, one of the front edges being a spring hinge front edge which is configured for reception of a spring mechanism,
a fixed rear spacer wall located between the side walls, and which is flush with the rear sidewall edges, the fixed rear spacer wall having a width that comports with fixed spacing of the parallel side walls, and
a front spacer wall having a spring hinge end which mates with the spring hinge front edge and an opposing closure end which overlies the other front edge; and,
wherein the spring mechanism comprises a rod and at least two torsion springs, which are configured to fasten the spring hinge end of the front spacer wall to the spring hinge front edge.
2 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 1 , wherein the handgun holster is of a size and configuration capable of accommodating either a semiautomatic pistol or a revolver.
3 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 1 , wherein the handgun holster is made of a plastic selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride, injection molded polymer, leather, nylon and combinations thereof.
4 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 1 , wherein, the housing is of a shape which can accommodates a specific type of handgun.
5 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 1 , wherein the internal cavity of the housing is shaped to accommodate a single stack or double stack semi-automatic pistol.
6 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 1 , wherein the housing has a rectangular opening to the internal cavity along a top of the two parallel side walls.
7 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 1 , having a front opening which is rectangular and perpendicular to the sidewalls and is located between the spring hinge front edge and the other front edge.
8 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 1 , wherein the two parallel side walls are flat.
9 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 1 , wherein the sidewalls cover the trigger, trigger guard and at least 50%, of the length of the barrel of a handgun which is placed in the holster.
10 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 1 , wherein the sidewalls of the housing have parallel and flush top and bottom edges.
11 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 1 , wherein the parallel sidewalls have rear sidewall edges which are spaced apart by a distance of the width of the fixed rear spacer wall and which are identical and are curved along a height of the holster.
12 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 1 , wherein the front edges of the sidewalls each have different configurations.
13 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 12 , wherein one of the front edges of the sidewalls is a spring hinge front edge and is configured for reception of a spring mechanism such that the spring hinge front edge has a protruding centrally located section which is flush with plane of the side wall and has a rounded edge that contains a channel therethrough.
14 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 13 , wherein the spring hinge front edge also contains flat sections which are indented from the length of the protruding centrally located section.
15 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 1 , wherein the fixed rear spacer wall is curved in accordance with the curvature of the rear sidewall edges and is located between the sidewalls at the ends thereof.
16 . The front-opening handgun holster of claim 1 , wherein the front spacer wall and/or the side wall, adjacent to the front closure front edge has a button or latch mechanism which retains the front spacer wall in a closed position.
17 . A method of removing a handgun from a holster comprising:
providing a front-opening handgun holster which contains:
a housing having an internal cavity with a rectangular cross section and which is planar and which is defined by:
two parallel side walls having rear sidewall edges, and opposing front edges, one of the front edges being a spring hinge front edge which is configured for reception of a spring mechanism,
a fixed rear spacer wall located between the side walls, and which is flush with the rear sidewall edges, the fixed rear spacer wall having a width that comports with fixed spacing of the parallel side walls, and
a front spacer wall having a spring hinge end which mates with the spring hinge front edge and an opposing closure end which overlies the other front edge; and,
wherein the spring mechanism comprises a rod and at least two torsion springs, which are configured to fasten the spring hinge end of the front spacer wall to the spring hinge front edge;
fastening the front-opening handgun holster to an article of clothing;
inserting a handgun into the front-opening handgun holster, and,
removing the handgun through the front spacer wall of the front-opening handgun holster.
18 . The method of claim 17 further comprising wherein the article of clothing is a belt or a tactical clothing article.