Secondary vertical latching lever and secondary horizontal latching lever holsters

Abstract

A holster for a handgun having a trigger guard including a pouch having housing members secured to inside and outside faces of the pouch, the inside face being that closest to the wearer of the holster. A finger-operated, essentially vertical, lever including a blocking end is urged into the space within the trigger guard by means of a spring and is secured to an inside housing member such that it would not be readily apparent or operable by anyone attempting to remove the handgun from the holster. The holster may also include elongated upwardly extending straps and a snap fastener which can be wrapped around the butt of the handgun constituting a thumb break securing device. A second embodiment includes a horizontal double lever arrangement which blocks removal of the trigger guard as described. A third embodiment utilizes a blocking lever pinned to an outside housing member and having a vertical finger-operated button mounted flush with the surface of the outside housing member. A fourth embodiment includes a similar blocking lever with a finger-operated lever extending out of the pouch and positioned for actuation by a wearer's middle finger and inhibiting actuation by a wearer's trigger finger.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A holster for a handgun having a trigger guard comprising: 
 a pouch having an inside panel and an outside panel;    a housing secured in said pouch;    said housing including a slot for receiving said trigger guard and a fixed stop for said trigger guard;    a pivotable lever having a finger-engageable end and a blocking projection, said finger-engaging end being positioned relative to said pouch such that said finger-engaging end is spaced away from the wearer's trigger finger; and    a resilient device for urging said blocking projection into a space within said trigger guard when said handgun is in said holster such that said trigger guard is captured by said blocking projection;    wherein removal of said handgun requires moving of said finger-engaging end in opposition to the force of said resilient device into a position where said blocking projection cannot engage said trigger guard.    
     
     
         2 . A holster as claimed in  claim 1  wherein a fulcrum device is secured to said housing on one side of said slot and said lever is secured to said housing by said fulcrum device.  
     
     
         3 . A holster as claimed in  claim 1  wherein said pivotable lever is a first-class lever.  
     
     
         4 . A holster as claimed in  claim 1  wherein said pivotable lever is a second-class lever.  
     
     
         5 . A holster as claimed in  claim 2  wherein said resilient device is positioned on said one side of said slot and contacts said lever on the same side of said fulcrum device as said blocking projection.  
     
     
         6 . A holster as claimed in  claim 2  wherein said fulcrum device is secured to said housing at the end of said lever and said resilient device and said blocking projection are positioned between said fulcrum device and said finger-engagable end.  
     
     
         7 . A holster for a handgun having a trigger guard comprising: 
 a pouch having an inside panel and an outside panel;    a housing secured to said inside and outside panels;    a lever device pivotally secured within said housing including a finger-engaging end positioned such that said finger-engaging end is spaced away from the trigger finger of the wearer and a blocking end for engagement with the trigger guard of a handgun when positioned in said holster;    a resilient device urging said blocking end of said lever into a position within the trigger guard such that the trigger guard is captured by said blocking end;    wherein removal of said handgun requires moving said finger-engaging end in opposition to the force of said resilient device into a position where said blocking end cannot engage said trigger guard; and    wherein said trigger-engaging end of said lever is essentially inaccessible to the wearer's trigger finger in normal drawing of the handgun.    
     
     
         8 . A holster as claimed in  claim 7  wherein said resilient device is positioned within said housing.  
     
     
         9 . A holster as claimed in  claim 7  wherein said housing is secured to said outside panel with a fastener.  
     
     
         10 . A holster as claimed in  claim 7  wherein said housing comprises an inside guide and an outside guide, said lever device being pivotally secured to said outside guide and said inside guide including a fixed surface constituting a stop for said trigger guard.  
     
     
         11 . A holster as claimed in  claim 7  wherein said housing comprises an inside guide and an outside guide, said lever device being pivotally secured to said inside guide and said outside guide including a fixed surface constituting a stop for said trigger guard.  
     
     
         12 . A holster as claimed in  claim 11  wherein said inside guide and said outside guide cooperate to define a slot for receiving the trigger guard of said handgun.  
     
     
         13 . A holster for use with a handgun having a trigger guard, a grip region, and a barrel-containing region, said holster comprising: 
 a pair of generally planar body members joined at their periphery to form a pouch therebetween;    a pair of spaced slots through said body members to define a path for a wearer's supporting belt and to hold the holster adjacent to a wearer's body for close carrying of a handgun and concealment purposes;    the improvement therein in comprising:    a housing and a guide in said pouch, said guide defining a slot for receiving a handgun trigger guard;    a lever in said housing including a finger-engaging end and a trigger guard blocking end;    means for pivoting said lever within said slot to engage and release the blocking end of the trigger guard;    spring means for biasing said blocking end into engagement with the trigger guard;    the finger-engaging end extending out of the pouch defined by said body members away from the trigger guard when a handgun is located in said pouch, such that the trigger finger of the wearer is inaccessible to the trigger guard region of the handgun while normally operating the finger-engaging end of the lever.    
     
     
         14 . A holster in accordance with  claim 13  and wherein the finger-engaging end of said lever spaced away from the wearer's trigger finger and positioned for actuation by other fingers.  
     
     
         15 . A holster for a handgun having a trigger guard comprising: 
 a pouch having an inside part and an outside part;    a housing secured to said inside part and an outside guide secured to said outside part;    said housing and said outside guide cooperating to define a slot for receiving said trigger guard, said housing including a pivotable lever having a finger-engageable end and a blocking projection and said outside guide including a fixed surface serving as a stop for said trigger guard;    said finger-engaging end being positioned relative to said pouch for engagement by a wearer's middle finger; and    a resilient member in said housing urging the blocking projection of said lever into a position within said trigger guard when said handgun is in said holster, such that said trigger guard is captured by said blocking projection;    wherein removal of said handgun requires moving of said finger-engaging end in opposition to the force of said resilient member into a position where said blocking projection cannot engage said trigger guard.    
     
     
         16 . A holster as claimed in  claim 15  wherein said finger-engaging end is substantially inaccessible to the wearer's trigger finger during normal withdrawing of said handgun.