Holster manufacturing system and method of making

• US 20060156525A1
• Filed: 10/03/2005
• Published: 07/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tactical Design Labs Inc.
• Original Assignee: Tactical Design Labs Inc.
• Inventors: Lowe, Mike, Jenkins, Taylor, Senn, Tony
• Application Number:
  US11/243,490
• Publication Number:
  US 20060156525A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 29/407.100
• CPC Class Codes: F41C 33/0209 Pouch or pocket like containers for small arms covering all or most of the small arm
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4978 Assisting assembly or disassembly
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 Assembling or joining

Abstract

The invention is a method of manufacturing plastic holsters for handguns which utilize a standardized outer shell which is bonded with an inner shell. The interior surface of the inner shell is configured to correspond to the surface features of a handgun. The inner shell is bonded to the outer shell to form one unitary piece. A mold core may be used, with the core including ridges which form ribs in the inner surface of the holster or the inner shell of the holster, with the ridges being closely configured to match the surface features of the specific handgun for which it is adapted. By modifying the depth of the grooves between ridges on the core, interior surfaces for holsters for various models of handguns can be quickly and inexpensively designed.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing handgun holsters of various sizes to fit different gun models, comprising the steps of:

configuring an outer shell of molded plastic, said outer shell having an inner surface and an outer surface, with said outer surface having desired holster exterior features, and said inner surface being configured to fit with a plurality of inner shells for different handguns;

configuring a plurality of inner shells of molded plastic, each with an exterior surface designed for attachment to said inner surface of said outer shell, and with an interior surface designed for interfitting engagement with surface features of a selected handgun;

selecting an inner shell based on the handgun the holster is to be made for; and

joining said outer shell and said selected inner shell to form a holster with an outer surface with desired holster exterior features, and an interior which interfits with surface features of a selected handgun.

2. The method of manufacturing handgun holsters of claim 1, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by heat.

3. The method of manufacturing handgun holsters of claim 1, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by chemical bonding.

4. The method of manufacturing handgun holsters of claim 1, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by sonic energy.

5. The method of manufacturing handgun holsters of claim 1, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by mechanical connection means.

6. The method of manufacturing handgun holsters of claim 1, in which mechanical connection means joining the outer shell and inner shell are interfitting features, such as snaps, detents, prongs or tangs.

7. The method of manufacturing handgun holsters of claim 1, in which the inner shell is formed as a flat unit, and is folded to the desired shape congruent with the surface features of a selected handgun, and then inserted into said outer shell, and the two are bonded together.

8. A method of manufacturing handgun holsters of various sizes to fit different gun models, comprising the steps of:

configuring an outer shell of molded plastic, said outer shell having an inner surface and an outer surface, with said outer surface having desired holster exterior features, and said inner surface being configured to fit with a plurality of inner shells for different handguns;

configuring a plurality of inner shells of molded plastic, each with an exterior surface designed for attachment to said inner surface of said outer shell, and with an interior surface designed for interfitting engagement with surface features of a selected handgun, in which the inner shell is formed as a flat unit;

selecting an inner shell based on the handgun the holster is to be made for; and

folding the flat inner shell to the desired shape congruent with the surface features of a selected handgun, and then inserting the inner shell into said outer shell; and

joining said outer shell and said selected inner shell to form a holster with an outer surface with desired holster exterior features, and an interior surface which interfits with surface features of a selected handgun.

9. The method of manufacturing handgun holsters of claim 8, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by heat.

10. The method of manufacturing handgun holsters of claim 8, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by chemical bonding.

11. The method of manufacturing handgun holsters of claim 8, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by sonic energy.

12. The method of manufacturing handgun holsters of claim 8, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by mechanical connection means.

13. The method of manufacturing handgun holsters of claim 12, in which mechanical connection means joining the outer shell and inner shell are interfitting features, such as snaps, detents, prongs or tangs.

14. A method of manufacturing handgun holsters of various sizes to fit different gun models, comprising the steps of:

configuring a mold which defines contours of an outer surface of a holster, with said outer surface having desired holster exterior features, in which liquid material can be injected to form said outer holster surface;

configuring a plurality of mold cores, for placement inside said mold, which define an interior surface of said holster, designed for interfitting engagement with surface features of a selected handgun;

choosing a mold core based on which handgun model the holster is to be made to fit, and when a mold core is selected, placing said mold core inside and spaced apart from said mold;

injecting or applying liquid material in said mold to form a holster that has desired holster exterior features defined by said mold, and which has in interior surface formed by said mold core, which interfits with surface features of a selected handgun;

removing said holster from between said mold and said mold core.

15. The method of claim 14, in which said mold core is shaped like the handgun the holster is to fit, and which further includes fins extending out from the mold core, with interstices between the fins, so that when liquid material fills said mold, the material in the interstices form fins on the interior of the holster.

16. A method of manufacturing security holsters for multiple pistol configurations comprising:

selecting a handgun for use within a handgun specific security holster;

configuring an inner mold with specific ribbing for securely receiving said handgun;

attaching a standard outer mold usable on a plurality of security holster configurations; and

inserting a molding material in between said inner mold and said standard outer mold in order to form said handgun specific security holster.

17. A security holster gun mold comprising:

a standard outer mold for creating external features and shapes of said security holster gun mold; and

an inner mold attachable to said standard outer mold for creating internal features and shapes wherein said inner mold further comprises rib forming grooves running parallel to a long axis of said inner mold for creating ribs during a molding process for allowing multiple guns to be molded using said standard outer mold.

18. The security holster gun mold of claim 17, wherein said rib forming grooves are adjustable allowing said inner mold to be adapted for molding a plurality of security holster configurations.

19. A holster manufacturing system for manufacturing holsters of different sizes to fit different gun models, comprising;

an outer shell of molded plastic, said outer shell having an inner surface and an outer surface, with said outer surface having desired holster exterior features, and said inner surface being configured to fit with a plurality of inner shells for different handguns;

a plurality of inner shells of molded plastic, each with an exterior surface designed for attachment to said inner surface of said outer shell, and with an interior surface designed for interfitting engagement with surface features of a selected handgun;

wherein

said inner shell is selected based on the handgun the holster is to be made for, and the outer shell and said selected inner shell are joined to form a holster with an outer surface with desired holster exterior features, and an interior which interfits with surface features of a selected handgun.

20. The manufacturing system for handgun holsters of claim 19, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by heat.

21. The manufacturing system for handgun holsters of claim 19, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by chemical bonding.

22. The manufacturing system for handgun holsters of claim 19, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by sonic energy.

23. The manufacturing system for handgun holsters of claim 19, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by mechanical connection means.

24. The manufacturing system for handgun holsters of claim 23, in which mechanical connection means joining the outer shell and inner shell are interfitting features, such as snaps, detents, prongs or tangs.

25. The manufacturing system for handgun holsters of claim 19, in which the inner shell is formed as a flat unit, and is folded to the desired shape congruent with the surface features of a selected handgun, and then inserted into said outer shell, and the two shells are bonded together.

26. A manufacturing system for handgun holsters of various sizes to fit different gun models, comprising;

an outer shell of molded plastic, said outer shell having an inner surface and an outer surface, with said outer surface having desired holster exterior features, and said inner surface being configured to fit with a plurality of inner shells for different handguns;

a plurality of inner shells of molded plastic, each with an exterior surface designed for attachment to said inner surface of said outer shell, and with an interior surface designed for interfitting engagement with surface features of a selected handgun, in which the inner shell is formed as a flat unit, with the inner shell selected based on the handgun the holster is to be made for;

wherein

said inner shell is configured for folding to the desired shape congruent with the surface features of a selected handgun, and for insertion into the said outer shell for joining said outer shell and said selected inner shell to form a holster with an outer surface with desired holster exterior features, and an interior surface which interfits with surface features of a selected handgun.

27. The manufacturing system for handgun holsters of claim 26, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by heat.

28. The manufacturing system for handgun holsters of claim 26, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by chemical bonding.

29. The manufacturing system for handgun holsters of claim 26, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by sonic energy.

30. The manufacturing system for handgun holsters of claim 26, in which the outer shell and inner shell are joined by mechanical connection means.

31. The method of manufacturing handgun holsters of claim 30, in which mechanical connection means joining the outer shell and inner shell are interfitting features, such as snaps, detents, prongs or tangs.

32. A manufacturing system for handgun holsters of various sizes to fit different gun models, comprising:

a mold which defines contours of an outer surface of a holster, with said outer surface having desired holster exterior features, in which liquid material can be injected to form said outer holster surface;

a plurality of mold cores, for placement inside said mold, which define an interior surface of said holster, designed for interfitting engagement with surface features of a selected handgun, with said mold core selected based on which handgun model the holster is to be made to fit;

wherein

said mold core is designed to be placed inside and spaced apart from said mold, so that liquid material may be injected between said mold and said mold core, to form a holster that has desired holster exterior features defined by said mold, and which has in interior surface formed by said mold core, which interfits with surface features of a selected handgun.

33. The manufacturing system for handgun holsters of claim 32, in which said mold core is shaped like the handgun the holster is to fit, and which further includes fins extending out from the mold core, with interstices between the fins, so that when liquid material fills said mold, the material in the interstices form fins on the interior of the holster.

34. A manufacturing system for handgun holsters of various sizes to fit different gun models, comprising:

an inner mold with specific ribbing for securely receiving said handgun; and

a standard outer mold usable on a plurality of security holster configurations;

wherein molding material is inserted between said inner mold and said standard outer mold in order to form said handgun specific security holster.