Handgun holster and retention apparatus

A handgun holder and retention apparatus for use in combination with a handgun having a trigger and a trigger guard surrounding the trigger. A holster body defines a pocket for holding such handgun and includes a region of the body which encloses the trigger guard of the handgun when the handgun is positioned in the holster body. An opening is provided through the inner side of the holster body and a slot extending through the outer side of the holster body has an open top. A detent is provided for extending through the opening and through the trigger guard for preventing unauthorized access to the handgun. A leaf spring apparatus is attached to the bottom thereof to the inner side of the holster body below the opening and is connected to one end of the detent at the top thereof for biasing the detent into the opening and into the trigger guard on the handgun. A downwardly extending lip is disposed on the other end of said detent. A second biasing device is operatively connected to said holster body for biasing the handgun upwardly to cause the downwardly extending lip to be disposed on the outward side of the lower portion of said trigger guard whereby the detent cannot be readily pushed out of the trigger guard until the handgun is pushed downwardly.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The present invention relates generally to a handgun holster and retention 
apparatus for preventing unauthorized access to a handgun disposed therein 
and more particularly to such an apparatus having an adjustable leaf 
spring mechanism associated therewith. 
BACKGROUND ART 
In the law enforcement field it is important to have ready access to a 
handgun but it is equally as important to prevent someone confronted by a 
law enforcement officer from gaining access to such handgun. This problem 
has been well known for years and attempts have been made to solve the 
problem, such as by providing a strap over the top of the handgun which 
snaps to the holster, for example. This solution simply does not provide a 
sufficient deterrent to the aforementioned problem. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,645,428 to Angell uses a holster which snaps open in front 
which is a fairly common construction and does not fully address the 
aforementioned problem. U.S. Pat. No. 2,349,376 to Ray shows a structure 
which may tend to interfere with the release of the handgun during draw. 
If a twisting motion is applied during an unauthorized access, the 
captured segment of the trigger guard could get past the apparatus used to 
prevent it, thereby resulting in successful acquisition of the pistol by 
unauthorized personnel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,243 to Bianchi et al uses a 
hesitation lock but this lock could be actuated by using the right knee, 
for example, thereby releasing the weapon into the left hand. U.S. Pat. 
No. 4,277,007 to Bianchi et al shows an apparatus which will not work with 
revolvers, i.e. handguns having protruding cylinders. Consequently, such a 
device simply is not universally adaptable to enough handguns to make it a 
practical device. Consequently, while the aforementioned problem has been 
addressed, the prior art simply does not solve the problem in an 
economical and straightforward way. 
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a handgun holder and retention apparatus 
for use in combination with a handgun having a trigger and a trigger guard 
surrounding the trigger. A holster body defines a pocket for holding such 
handgun and includes a region of the body which encloses the trigger guard 
of the handgun when the handgun is positioned in the holster body. An 
opening is provided through the inner side of the holster body and a slot 
extending through the outer side of the holster body has an open top. A 
detent is provided for extending through the opening and through the 
trigger guard for preventing unauthorized access to the handgun. A leaf 
spring apparatus is attached to the bottom thereof to the inner side of 
the holster body below the opening and is connected to one end of the 
detent at the top thereof for biasing the detent into the opening and into 
the trigger guard on the handgun. A downwardly extending lip is disposed 
on the other end of said detent. A second biasing device is operatively 
connected to said holster body for biasing the handgun upwardly to cause 
the downwardly extending lip to be disposed on the outward side of the 
lower portion of said trigger guard whereby the detent cannot be readily 
pushed out of the trigger guard until the handgun is pushed downwardly. 
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved handgun holder 
and retention apparatus. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a handgun holder and 
retention apparatus which prevents unauthorized access to the handgun 
disposed therein while at the same time permitting the user to have ready 
access to such handgun. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus of the 
aforementioned type which includes an adjustable leaf spring so that the 
force biasing the detent into the trigger guard can be adjusted to the 
user's requirements. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lip on the detent 
and a biasing mechanism to push the handgun up to make it difficult to 
move the detent from the trigger guard until and unless the handgun is 
pushed down against the pressure of the biasing mechanism.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate 
identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 
shows a holster apparatus (10) constructed in accordance with the present 
invention and having a handgun (11) disposed therein. The holster (10) has 
a leather body (12) with a loop (13) thereon for receiving a belt 
therethrough. The leather body (12) has layers of spacer leather (14) and 
(15) thereon. An opening (16) is disposed on one side of the holster and 
an opening (17) is disposed on the other side of the holster within the 
layers (14). A plurality of leaf springs (20), (21) and (22) constitute a 
first biasing structure (19). If less pressure is desired, one or more of 
springs (21) and (22) can be removed. If more pressure on detent (23) is 
desired, more leaf springs like (21) and (22) can be added. The biasing 
structure (19) has a detent (23) riveted to the top of leaf spring (20) by 
rivets (24). A rubber pad (25) as is best shown in FIG. 5, is placed on 
one end of the detent (23) over the rivets (24) to reduce wear and tear on 
the finger (26) shown in FIG. 8 used to push on the detent. 
Bolts (30) extend through washers (31) and openings (32) and (33) in the 
holster body (12) and threadably engage fasteners (34). These bolts (30) 
also extend through openings (35), (36) and (37) in leaf springs (20), 
(21) and (22) to firmly hold the bottom of the first biasing mechanism 
(19) in place in the holster body (12). Bolts (36), washer (37) and nuts 
(38) extend through openings (39) and (40) in the holster body (12) to 
hold the top of the holster in place. A screw (41) extends through 
openings (42) and (43) for holding the central part of the holster body 
parts together. 
A plunger assembly (45) is disposed in the bottom of the holster body (12) 
and includes a piston (46) which is slidably received in opening (47). A 
compression spring (48) abuts the bottom of the holster at one end and 
abuts the pistons (46) at the other end. The top of the spring is 
connected to the piston (46) by a screw (not shown). 
In operation, the handgun (11) can be inserted into the holster (10) by 
merely pushing it downwardly in ordinary fashion as shown in FIG. 6. As 
the handgun (11) is pushed downwardly, a trigger guard (50) will contact 
the top rounded portion of the detent (23) and the detent (23) will be 
pushed to the left as viewed in FIG. 6 to allow the lower portion of the 
trigger guard (50) to pass passed the detent (23). The handgun (11) is 
pushed far enough so that the bottom of the barrel (55) contacts the 
piston (46) and then the handgun (11) is further pushed so that the piston 
is pushed downwardly to the extent that the bottom portion of the trigger 
guard (50) passes below the lip (29) of the detent (23). Once that 
happens, the detent (23), which is biased to the right as shown in FIG. 6, 
will slide into the trigger guard (50) just below the trigger (51) as is 
shown in FIG. 7. 
If an unauthorized user attempts to remove the handgun (11) from the 
holster (10), the initial impulse will be to merely pull the handgun (11) 
upwardly. This will be prevented because the detent will prevent an upward 
movement of the handgun (11). Even if such unauthorized user notices the 
detent (23), and attempts to push on it to release the handgun (11), this 
will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, because the piston (46) is 
biasing the lower portion of the trigger guard (50) upwardly to the 
position shown in FIG. 7 whereby the lip (29) will prevent the handgun 
(11) from being removed. 
On the other hand, if the authorized user of the handgun which would be the 
person wearing the holster (10), wishes to use the handgun (11), the 
process is extremely quick and simple once the operation of the device is 
known to the user. The user would merely push down on the top of the 
handgun (11) for example as shown in FIG. 8, while at the same time using 
finger (26) to push the detent (23) to the left as viewed in FIG. 8. Once 
the lower portion of the trigger guard (50) clears the lip (29), the 
detent (23) will quickly move to the left as shown in FIG. 8 to permit the 
trigger guard to clear the detent (23) and the lip (29) thereon to allow 
the handgun (11) to be quickly removed. 
Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the present invention does indeed 
accomplish the aforementioned objects. Obviously, many modifications and 
variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above 
teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the 
appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as 
specifically described.