CONCEALMENT INSERT FOR A HOLSTER

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/705,593, filed on Oct. 10, 2024, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to implementations of a concealment insert for use with a holster.

BACKGROUND

Handgun holsters are routinely used to carry handguns in a secure and accessible manner. Many holsters are design for inside-the-waistband (IWB) carry, in which the holster is positioned inside the waistband of a wearer's clothing. With IWB holsters, one side of the holster typically rests directly against the wearer's body. To reduce printing of the handgun through clothing, some holsters include concealment wings or other attachments that apply pressure to rotate the handgun grip inward, toward the body. Holsters that incorporate such attachments often include recessed attachment areas. While these attachment areas allow secure mounting of concealment wings or similar hardware, they can leave discontinuities or gaps on the body-side of the holster when the attachment area is not occupied. The discontinuities may cause discomfort.

SUMMARY

It is to be understood that this summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. This summary is exemplary and not restrictive, and it is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor delineate the scope thereof. The sole purpose of this summary is to explain and exemplify certain concepts of the disclosure as an introduction to the following complete and extensive detailed description.

Disclosed are implementations of a concealment insert for use with a holster.

In one example implementation, a concealment insert includes a top edge, a bottom edge, a first lateral edge, a second lateral edge, a first side, and a second side. The first lateral edge and the second lateral edge are shaped to correspond to respective contours of exterior surfaces of the holster adjacent the attachment area. The first side is a sloped surface shaped to continue a contour of adjacent portions of an exterior side of the holster, and the second side is positioned opposite the first side.

In another example implementation, a holster system includes a holster having a cavity for receiving a handgun and a concealment insert coupled to an attachment area of the holster. The attachment area is defined by adjacent exterior surfaces of the holster, and the concealment insert is configured to substantially fill the attachment area.

In yet another example implementation, a holster system includes a holster having a cavity for receiving a handgun and a concealment insert coupled to an attachment area of the holster. The attachment area is defined between a trigger-guard retention surface, an external surface of the cavity, a contoured edge of the holster, and a rear edge of the holster. The concealment insert is configured to substantially fill the attachment area and to continue a contour of an exterior side of the holster adjacent the attachment area.

Any aspect of any implementation, in combination with any one or more aspects of any other implementation(s).

Any one or more of the features disclosed herein.

Any one or more of the features as substantially disclosed herein.

Any one or more of the features as substantially disclosed herein, in combination with any one or more other features as substantially disclosed herein.

Any one of the aspects, features, or implementations, in combination with any one or more other aspects, features, or implementations.

Use of any one or more of the aspects or features disclosed herein.

It should be appreciated that any feature described herein can be claimed in combination with any other feature(s) described herein, regardless of whether the features originate from the same described implementation.

The details of one or more aspects of the disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the techniques described in this disclosure will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

Numerous additional features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the implementation descriptions provided below.

Additional features and advantages are described herein and will be apparent from the following description and figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a concealment insert, shown coupled to a holster, in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the concealment insert and holster shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the concealment insert shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the concealment insert shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the concealment insert shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of the concealment insert shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the concealment insert shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is another side elevational view of the concealment insert shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the concealment insert shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 10 is a bottom plan view of the concealment insert shown in FIG. 3.

Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1-10 illustrate a concealment insert 100 according to the principles of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the concealment insert 100 is configured for attachment to the body-side of the holster 102. As used herein, the term “body-side” refers to the side of the holster 102 in direct contact with the wearer. The concealment insert 100 is configured to substantially fill the attachment area 120 of the holster 102, thereby improving overall comfort for the wearer.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the example holster 102 is formed from two clamshell-type halves 110, 112 that are secured together to create a cavity 114 for a handgun. Each half 110, 112 of the holster 102 includes an exterior side 116, 118 that defines an attachment area 120 for a concealment wing, such as a ModWing 108. Each attachment area 120 is a depression positioned between a trigger-guard retention surface 122, an external surface 124 of the gun cavity shaped to accommodate the dustcover of a handgun frame, a contoured edge 126 of the integral concealment wedge, and a portion 128 of the rear edge of the holster 102. Both attachment areas 120 of the holster 102 share a pair of openings 130, which are spaced and positioned to allow the use of Chicago screws 132 to attach the concealment insert 100 to the body-side attachment area 120 and, if desired, a concealment wing 108, to the other attachment area 120 (see, e.g., FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 1, the concealment insert 100 is configured to substantially fill the attachment area 120 on one side of the holster 102 and, in some implementations, is shaped to continue the contour of adjacent exterior surfaces.

The concealment insert 100 includes a top edge 140, a bottom edge 142, a first lateral edge 144, a second lateral edge 146, a first side 148, and a second side 150. The first and second lateral edges 144, 146 are shaped to substantially match the contours of adjacent surfaces 124, 126, 128 of the holster 102. The first lateral edge 144 faces the adjacent surfaces 124, 126 of the holster 102. The first side 148 is shaped to continue the contour of portions of the exterior side 116 or 118 of the holster 102 that are immediately adjacent to the attachment area 120.

The first lateral edge 144 extends between an end 141A of the top edge 140 and the bottom edge 142, and is shaped to substantially match the contour of both the external surface 124 of the gun cavity and the contoured edge 126 of the concealment wedge, which together partially define the attachment area 120.

The second lateral edge 146 extends between the opposite end 141B of the top edge 140 and the bottom edge 142, and is shaped to substantially align with the portion 128 of the rear edge of the holster 102 that partially defines the attachment area 120.

The first and second lateral edges 144, 146 join at one end to form the bottom edge 142, which has a rounded corner. However, in other implementations, the bottom edge 142 may not have a rounded corner.

The first side 148 is, in some implementations, a smooth, sloped surface interrupted by two openings 152 that extend through the concealment insert 100, positioned to align with the pair of openings 130 in the attachment area 120 of the holster 102. The two openings 152 are configured to accommodate fasteners, such as the previously mentioned Chicago screws 132, used to attach the concealment insert 100 to one of the attachment areas 120.

The second side 150 is positioned opposite the first side 148 of the concealment insert 100 and is configured to rest on the base of the attachment area 120. However, in some implementations, other hardware may be positioned between the second side 150 of the concealment insert 100 and the base of the attachment area 120.

The concealment insert 100 can be made of a high-density thermoplastic polymer, such as nylon 66, which has outstanding flex life, impact resistance, and abrasion resistance. The concealment insert 100 may be formed via injection molding or additive manufacturing.

The foregoing description of the invention is intended to be illustrative; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the claims to the precise forms disclosed. Those skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that many modifications and variations are possible in light of the foregoing description and associated drawings.

Reference throughout this specification to an “embodiment,” “implementation,” or words of similar import indicates that a particular described feature, structure, or characteristic is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, the phrase “in some implementations,” or a phrase of similar import, as used throughout this specification, does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the above description, numerous specific details are provided for a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations may not be shown or described in detail.