Firearm retention mechanism for a holster

Abstract

Provided in this disclosure is a firearm retention mechanism, for securely retaining a firearm within the internal contact surfaces of a holster. An ejector port lock of the firearm retention mechanism engages an ejector port of the firearm in an engagement position, to prevent rearward movement of the firearm out of the holster. A hood of the firearm retention mechanism contacts a rear face of the firearm against rearward movement and thereby secures the firearm into the holster in the engagement position. An internal actuator of the firearm retention mechanism performs a first operation of disposing the hood into a disengagement position from the rear face of the firearm and a second operation of releasing the ejector port lock from the ejector port, thereby permitting rearward movement of the firearm out of the holster.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A firearm retention mechanism, for securely retaining a firearm within the internal contact surfaces of a holster, comprising:
 an ejector port lock of the firearm retention mechanism for engaging an ejector port of the firearm in an engagement position, to prevent rearward movement of the firearm out of the holster;   a hood of the firearm retention mechanism for contacting a rear face of the firearm against rearward movement and thereby securing the firearm into the holster in the engagement position;   an internal actuator of the firearm retention mechanism for performing a first operation of disposing the hood into a disengagement position from the rear face of the firearm and a second operation of releasing the ejector port lock from the ejector port, thereby permitting rearward movement of the firearm out of the holster.   
     
     
         2 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 1 , further comprising first and second ejector port lock bosses formed on opposing sides of the ejector port lock, for engaging respective first and second ejector port lock mating apertures formed respectively on first and second internal contact surfaces of the holster, wherein the ejector port lock bosses and ejector port lock mating apertures define an axis of rotation for the ejector port lock, enabling the ejector port lock to rotationally lock into the ejector port of the firearm. 
     
     
         3 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 1 , wherein the hood is a generally U-shaped component having first and second opposing ends which are respectively attached to the holster and firearm retention mechanism to enable rotational movement of the hood into contact with the rear face of the firearm. 
     
     
         4 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 3 , wherein the hood further comprises first and second hood mating apertures which respectively engage first and second hood bosses formed on one of first and second internal contact surfaces of first and second external contact surfaces of the holster, wherein the hood mating apertures and the hood bosses define an axis of rotation for the hood. 
     
     
         5 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 4 , wherein the hood further comprises at least one hood catch surface along a bottom periphery of the hood, adjacent to and concentric with at least one of the first and second hood mating apertures, wherein the at least one catch surface is rotatable to a configuration to retain the hood into the engagement position. 
     
     
         6 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 3 , further comprising a spring for biasing the hood into the disengagement position in order to be tensioned in the engagement position. 
     
     
         7 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 6 , wherein the spring is a torsional spring and wherein at least one of the hood mating apertures is encircled by a torsion spring pocket that retains the torsional spring, wherein the torsion spring pocket and the torsional spring comprise a spring-loaded mechanism for biasing the hood into a disengagement position. 
     
     
         8 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 1 , wherein the internal actuator comprises a front tab that engages with a hinge axis slide body configured to interact with a front tab lock surface on the ejector port lock to retain the ejector port lock in the engagement position. 
     
     
         9 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 8 , wherein the front tab of the internal actuator further comprises a push side that interacts with a front tab push surface of the ejector port lock to release the ejector port lock from the engagement position. 
     
     
         10 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 8 , wherein the internal actuator further comprises a hinge axis slide body including a hood catch for retaining the hood and a boss feature for engaging the internal actuator to depress the hinge axis slide body and thereby release the hood catch and thus to release the hood from the engagement position. 
     
     
         11 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 10 , further comprising a spring for spring loading the hinge axis slide body to a rearward position, wherein the hinge axis slide body further comprises a protruding circular aperture for pairing the hinge axis slide body with a hole formed into the internal actuator, thereby configuring the internal actuator to rotate along an axis as defined by a center point of the circular aperture and to be linearly displaced into a forward position by a button lever affixed to the internal actuator. 
     
     
         12 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 11 , wherein the internal actuator further comprises a guide aperture that mates to a respective guide boss on an external surface of the holster, wherein the guide aperture and guide boss are configured to cooperate with the hinge axis slide body to provide different operative control states of the internal actuator based on linear position of the hinge axis slide body and the rotational position of the internal actuator. 
     
     
         13 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 12 , further comprising a first operative control state in which the guide aperture and guide boss disallow rotation until the hinge axis slide body is moved into the forward position by depressing the button lever, thereby constraining rotation of the internal actuator to be unidirectional and limited in degree. 
     
     
         14 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 12 , further comprising a second operative control state in which the hinge axis slide body is disallowed to return to its rearward position until both the internal actuator is rotated back to an original position by a spring exerting pressure onto the front tab of the internal actuator through the ejector port lock push surface, wherein the hood is manually returned to its engaged position. 
     
     
         15 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 11 , wherein the hood further comprises a circumferential positioning surface configured to disallow rearward return of the hinge axis slide body, the internal actuator, and the button lever unless the hood is rotated into the engaged position. 
     
     
         16 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 1 , further comprising an optic shroud for protecting from impact and debris a firearm mounted optic. 
     
     
         17 . The firearm retention mechanism of  claim 1 , further comprising side covers and a plurality of side cover accessories.