Police and military personnel typically employ a variety of tactical gear to hold weapons, magazines, and other equipment on their person when not in active use. However, these types of holsters, pouches, etc., are usually not well suited for the concealed carry of such equipment. In today's environment, the needs of protective service details, undercover law enforcement and intelligence personnel, as well as private citizens, call for more effective means of carrying weapons, magazines, and other equipment in unobtrusive, yet accessible, ways.
The present invention generally relates to clothing and holsters that are adapted for improving the wearer's ability to secure a firearm, such as a pistol, and weapon magazines on their person, without the need for load bearing equipment or external holsters.
According to first aspects of the invention, pants (trousers, shorts, etc.) may be provided including one or more of outer belt loops around a waist portion of the pants; front pockets; back pockets; inner belt openings around the waist portion of the pants; an inner pocket within at least one of the front pockets; and/or a hidden pocket that has an opening along a seam disposed between at least some of the outer belt loops and the openings of front and/or back pockets.
In embodiments, the inner pocket may be sized and configured to hold at least one of a smart phone, or a folding knife with a blade length over 3 inches. For examples, the inner pocket may have a width of about 3-4 inches and a depth of about 4-6 inches. In embodiments, each inner pocket may have a width of approximately 3 inches, and a depth of approximately 5.5 inches.
In embodiments, each inner pocket may have a top opening that starts about 1 inch below the opening of the front pocket.
In embodiments, the inner belt openings may provide access to a concealed belt slot that runs at least partially around the waist portion of the pants.
In embodiments, the inner belt openings may be spaced approximately equally around the waist portion of the pants, or they may be arranged in pairs that are disposed around the waist portion of the pants.
In embodiments, the inner belt openings may be cut in a piece of material that extends at least partially around the waist portion, and/or formed between pieces of fabric that extend at least partially around the waist portion.
In embodiments, a securing mechanism may be disposed in the belt slot, including, for example, a stiffener, at least two unlike materials inside of the belt slot that provide a non-slip surface, etc.
In embodiments, the opening of the hidden pocket may be between one or more bar tacks, or other reinforced attachments, of the seam, and/or may include a stiffening or friction-enhancing material therein.
In embodiments, the hidden pocket has a width of approximately 2-5 inches and a depth of approximately 5-8 inches.
Embodiments may include a belt, retaining strap, or other elongated element woven through at least some of the belt openings and at least partially disposed in the belt slot.
According to further aspects of the invention, methods of manufacturing pants may include one or more steps of attaching outer belt loops around a waist portion of the pants; providing front pockets; providing back pockets; providing a plurality of inner belt openings around the waist portion of the pants; providing an inner pocket within at least one of the front pockets; and/or providing at least one hidden pocket that has an opening along a seam disposed between at least some of the outer belt loops and the openings of the front and/or back pockets.
In embodiments, the inner pocket may be sized and configured to hold at least one of a smart phone, a folding knife with a blade length over 3 inches, or similar accessory.
In embodiments, each inner pocket may have a top opening that starts about 1 inch below the opening of the front pocket. In embodiments, each inner pocket may have a width of approximately 2-4 inches, preferably about 3 inches, and a depth of approximately 4-6 inches, preferably about 5.5 inches.
In embodiments, the inner belt openings may provide access to a concealed belt slot that runs at least partially around the waist portion of the pants.
In embodiments, the inner belt openings may be spaced approximately equally around the waist portion of the pants, or they may be arranged in pairs that are disposed around the waist portion of the pants.
In embodiments, the inner belt openings may be out in a piece of material that extends at least partially around the waist portion, and/or formed between pieces of fabric that extend at least partially around the waist portion.
Embodiments may include disposing a belt retention mechanism in the belt slot, the belt retention mechanism including, for example, a stiffener, sewn-in hooking material, reinforcements and/or injection molded hooking features.
In embodiments, the opening of the hidden pocket may be between one or more bar tacks, or other reinforced attachments, of the seam.
In embodiments, the hidden pocket has a width of approximately 2-5 inches and a depth of approximately 5-8 inches.
Embodiments may include inserting a belt, retaining strap or other elongated member through at least some of the inner openings and into at least part of the belt slot.
In embodiments, the belt, retaining strap or other elongated member may comprise a length of select materials that prevent slipping and enhance holster stabilization, such as BioThane®, nylon, etc.
According to further aspects of the invention, a holster system may include a holder with an opening configured to at least partially receive a firearm, preferably a handgun, and a plurality of slots configured to receive a strap of webbing or similar material therethrough. In embodiments, the holder may be a substantially monolithic piece of material (e.g. thermoplastic elastomer) that is at least one of molded, machined, cast, or 3-D patterned, in embodiments, the outer surface of the holder may be substantially symmetrical about the middle axis.
In embodiments, the outer surface of the holder may be relatively smooth, and devoid of attachment mechanisms such as loops, hooks, etc.
In embodiments, the plurality of slots may include a front slot that is forward of the opening, a back slot that is rearward of the opening, and at least one tilt slot that extends at least partially below, and at a different angle than, at least one of the front slot or the back slot.
In embodiments, the front slot and the second slot may be spaced apart a first distance that is approximately the same as a spacing between belt openings on a pair of pants.
According to further aspects of the invention, a holster system may include pants including a plurality of outer belt loops and a plurality of inner belt openings around a waist portion of the pants, the inner belt openings disposed at a first spacing around the waist portion; and a holster including an opening configured to at least partially receive a firearm, preferably a handgun; and a plurality of slots configured to receive a strap of webbing or similar material therethrough, the slots spaced apart from one other at approximately the same distance as the first spacing.
In embodiments, a plurality of different holsters may be provided; each of the plurality of holsters configured to receive a differently sized handgun, and having the same slot spacing.
Embodiments may also include an elongated member including a strap portion and a pair of extensions that are attached to the strap portion and that are configured to hold the elongated member in a position along the waist portion of the pants via engagement with the inner belt openings.
Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the invention may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the invention and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the invention claimed. The detailed description and the specific examples, however, indicate only preferred embodiments of the invention. Various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of the related technology. No attempt is made to show structural details of technology in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention and various ways in which it may be practiced. In the drawings:
It is understood that the invention is not limited to the particular methodology, protocols, etc., described herein, as these may vary as the skilled artisan will recognize. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It also is to be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, a reference to “a belt loop” is a reference to one or more belt loops and equivalents thereof known to those skilled in the art.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. The embodiments of the invention and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of one embodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the invention. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the invention may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the appended claims and applicable law.
Inner belt openings 120 may allow access to a concealed belt slot (e.g. not open to the outside of the pants) between the inner and outer fabric of the waistband. Inner belt openings 120 may be spaced substantially equally apart, such as shown in
In embodiments, a belt, retaining strap or other elongated member may be disposed at least partially in the concealed belt slot, and may comprise a length of select materials that prevent slipping and enhance holster stabilization, such as BioThane®, nylon, etc.
In embodiments, the concealed belt slot may run substantially throughout, or only partly around the waistband of the pants.
In some embodiments, the inner belt openings 120 may be cut in a piece of material that extends at least partially around the waist portion. In some examples, the “openings” may be formed between, or reinforced by, pieces of fabric that extend at least partially around the waist portion, such as elements 124 shown in
In some embodiments, a securing mechanism may be disposed in the belt slot (as generally indicated by the dashed line 202 in
With a belt, retaining strap or other elongated member 210 threaded through the concealed belt slot and the openings, a firearm, such as handgun 300, may be directly secured in the waistband of the pants (e.g. as shown in
Returning to
In embodiments, the opening of the hidden pocket may be between one or more bar tacks 142, 144, or other reinforced attachments, of the seam.
As shown in
According to further aspects of the invention, methods of manufacturing pants may include assembly of parts such as those described above using techniques as understood by those of skill in the art, and which are not described in unnecessary detail herein.
According to further aspects of the invention, a holster system may include a holder 500 like shown in
As also shown in
In embodiments, the front slot 511 and the back slot 512 may be spaced apart a first distance that is approximately the same as a spacing between inner belt openings on a pair of pants, such as those described herein.
Although described in the context of a firearm holster, “holders” as described herein may be configured to hold various different items, such as pistol magazines, rifle magazines, radios, flashlights, Tasers, mace or pepper spray, folding or fixed blade knives, or any other piece of equipment that a user may want to secure to their person. In some examples, a holster system may include a holder that is configured to hold a firearm, and one or more other holders configured to hold one or more magazines for the firearm, each of the holders configured (e.g. with appropriately spaced slots) to be secured to similar belt openings using retaining straps that are appropriately sized for the individual holder.
Returning to
As further shown in
As further shown in
In some examples, the retaining strap shown in
Although described in the context of a concealed belt slot, the retaining strap and holder configurations described herein may also be applied in various other contexts, such as attaching the holder to other tactical equipment or clothing with similar openings that the retaining strap may engage with.
While various embodiments have been described above, it is to be understood that the examples and embodiments described above are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the art, and are to be included within the spirit and purview of this application and scope of the appended claims. Therefore, the above description should not be understood as limiting the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.
This application claims priority under 37 CFR §1.78(a) to U.S. Provisional Application 62/063,254, filed Oct. 13, 2014 and titled “CONCEALED GUN BELT, HOLSTER AND MAGAZINE HOLDERS,” the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62063254 | Oct 2014 | US |