Abstract:
A firearm accessory holder which facilitates the secure carry and rapid deployment of a loaded full-moon clip when being worn on the waist belt. The carrier mounts to the wearer&#39;s waist belt by means of a belt loop. It secures the loaded full-moon clip by means of a wearer adjustable central compression expansion shaft in combination with a snap secured leather flap cover.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/281,359, filed Apr. 4, 2001. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates generally to firearm accessory holders and, more particularly, to ammunition clip holders that are worn on a waist belt. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Persons authorized to carry handguns commonly carry extra ammunition in a readily accessible carrier or pouch on their waist belt. For many years, holster makers have devised and manufactured many types of ammunition carriers for this purpose. Some of these items include pistol magazine carriers, revolver ammunition dump pouches, and what are commonly known as speed loader carriers. 
     Pistol magazines allow individual cartridges to be contained as a unit for rapid loading. Revolver users are afforded a similar convenience by grouping individual cartridges for their handguns into devices such as full-moon clips and various speed loading devices. The full-moon clip used by some revolvers is a circular shaped flat spring steel device with notches in its outer circumference, which accept and hold from five (5) to eight (8) cartridges in a circular pattern so they can easily be loaded simultaneously into the open cylinder of a revolver. 
     While revolvers designed to use full-moon clips have become more popular for competition and concealed carry by law enforcement officers and others who are legally authorized to do so, little attention has been given to design a full-moon clip carrier. Specifically, there is a need for a full-moon clip carrier, which simultaneously allows for secure carry and rapid access to the ammunition. 
     SUMMARY 
     A carrier for carrying a spare ammunition clip on a waist belt is provided including a carrier body that may be folded back on itself to encircle the spare ammunition clip, a belt loop to secure the carrier to a waist belt, a central shaft for securing the spare ammunition clip within the carrier, and at least one snap or other fastener such as a hook and loop system (e.g. the VELCRO™ system) for closing the carrier body around the spare ammunition clip. The carrier body and belt loop may be made of leather or another material normally used in the manufacture of handgun holsters and accessories. The central shaft may be made from rubber washers or other elastic material so that a diameter of the shaft can be adjusted by turning a retention screw. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
     FIG. 1 is an open frontal view of a carrier according to one aspect; 
     FIG. 2 is an open frontal view of the carrier of FIG. 1 with a loaded ammunition clip positioned on the center shaft; 
     FIG. 3 is an open side view of the carrier of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is an open side view of the carrier of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is a closed side view of the carrier of FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is an open side view of the carrier in a partially assembled state; and 
     FIG. 7 is an open side view of a carrier according to a second aspect having a hook and loon system. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An ammunition clip carrier  20  is provided which allows a wearer to conveniently and securely carry a spare ammunition clip  8  for a revolver on a waist belt. In a first aspect, a loaded full-moon clip may be carried. In another aspect, a device commonly known as a speed loader may be carried simply by altering the dimensions of the component parts of the carrier  20 . 
     Referring to FIG. 1, the carrier  20  may include a carrier body  2 , which may be cut from a single piece of leather or another material that is normally used in the manufacture of handgun holsters and accessories. In other embodiments, the carrier body  2  may be formed from more than one piece. The carrier body  2  may include a snap set having a male member  7  and a female member  1  attached at a first end  14  and a second end  15  of the carrier body  2  respectively. In another embodiment, shown in FIG.  7 . the carrier body may include a hook and loop fastener system  22  in place of the snap set. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 6, a shaft  4  may be attached to the carrier body  2  by means of a t-nut  13 , a retention washer  5  and a screw  6 . As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shaft  4  may be located on the vertical midline of the carrier body  2  in the lower half of the carrier body  2 . The t-nut  13  may be partially inserted through the carrier body  2  from a rear side  16  of the carrier body  2  before a belt loop  12  is attached to the rear side  16  of the carrier body  2 . Once the belt loop  12  is attached to the carrier body  2 , a base  17  of the t-nut  13  may be hidden between the carrier body  2  and the belt loop  12 . The belt loop  12  may be glued and stitched to the carrier body  2 . Referring to FIG. 1, a stitch  3  is shown which may attach the carrier body  2  to the belt loop  12 . 
     When the carrier is worn, the shaft  4  may be perpendicular to an outer surface of a wearer&#39;s belt. Referring to FIG. 3, the shaft  4  may be formed from rubber washers mounted on the t-nut  13 . The rubber washers which may make up the shaft  4  may be held in place by a retention washer  5  and a screw  6 . This configuration also allows the wearer to adjust a diameter of the shaft  4  by tightening or loosening the screw  6  thereby adjusting the amount of normal force exerted by the shaft  4  on an ammunition clip  8 . As the screw  6  is tightened, the length of the shaft body  4  is decreased causing the diameter of the compressed rubber washers to increase. In other embodiments, a different elastic material may be substituted for the rubber washers. 
     In operation, a spare ammunition clip  8  may be retained within the carrier  20  through the use of friction between the shaft  4  and the ammunition  8  that is being held. A spare ammunition clip  8  may be positioned over the shaft  4 . The diameter of the shaft  4  may be adjusted by turning the screw  6  in the shaft  4 , thereby adjusting the friction force between the central shaft  4  and ammunition being held. Furthermore, the carrier body  2  may be folded over the ammunition clip  8  so as to encircle it. The carrier body  2  can then be held closed around the ammunition clip  8  by a snap  1 ,  7  or other fastener to permit quick access to the ammunition. 
     Referring to FIGS. 3-5, the belt loop  12  may be formed from two pieces, the belt loop front  9  and the belt loop back  10 , which are stitched together at their top and bottom to form a top welt  11  and a bottom welt  18 . In another embodiment the belt loop may be formed from a single folded piece of material which may be either stitched or riveted to form the belt loop  12 . Like the carrier body  2 , the belt loop  12  may be formed from leather or another material that is commonly used in the manufacture of handgun holsters and accessories. 
     Referring to FIG. 5, an ammunition clip  8  is shown mounted on the shaft  4 . The carrier body  2  has been folded back on itself and the male snap member  7  and female snap member  1  are engaged so as to close the carrier body  2  over clip  8 . The sides of the ammunition clip  8  may be left exposed to allow the wearer to grip these points with his or her middle finger before disengaging the female snap member  1  from male snap member  7  with his or her index finger. The ammunition clip  8  can then be freely withdrawn from the carrier and inserted into an empty revolver cylinder.