Belt supported hammer holder

Abstract

A hammer holder with means of support to a worker's belt includes a ring in a generally horizontal orientation to hold a hammer handle. A movable gate bridges a gap in the ring to permit passage of the hammer handle between two opposed ends of the ring opposite the support. The gate is supported to a fixed end of the gap to rotate inwardly to permit the passage of the handle into the enclosure. A spring between the fixed end and the movable gate member urges the gate outward to closed position defined by stop means. Alternatively, the gate may be two gate members supported by the ring at opposite ends of the bridge gap, each with its own spring means urging the gate outwardly and opposed stops on each supporting ring end and supported gate member to hold each gate in closed gate position against spring pressure.

1 . A hammer holder supported on a belt, waist band or other clothing comprising: 
 a support backing including means of attaching the backing to the clothing of a hammer user,    a ring composed of rigid materials, with the possible exception of a movable gate, and integrated with the support backing and so oriented relative thereto that the ring extends away from the backing and provides support for the hammer head and enclosure for the hammer handle adapted to assume a position having a major generally horizontal component when the backing is connected to clothing in predetermined orientation to hold a hammer handle, said ring being large enough to contain the handle of a hammer to be supported and too small to allow the head of the hammer to pass through, instead supporting the hammer head against the force of gravity, said ring having at least one movable gate member bridging a gap in the ring spaced away from the backing between two opposed ends of the ring at the gap segments sufficiently separated from one another to permit passage of the hammer handle past the at least one movable gate member into the ring, each gate member being movably supported to one of the opposed ends and so oriented as to allow the movable gate member to move inwardly to permit the passage of the hammer handle into the enclosure, and spring means between a supporting end of the ring and a gate member urging a stop on the movable gate member into stop means on at least one fixed end to define a closed ring position and preventing the at least one gate from moving outwardly beyond closed ring position to contain the handle once the handle has been moved into the ring and not permit its withdrawal through the gap closed by the at least one movable member.    
   
   
       2 . The hammer holder of  claim 1  in which the at least one movable gate member is relatively rigid and each gate member is rotatably supported from one of the open fixed ends of the ring and has spring means between the fixed end and movable gate means which urges the gate stop means on the gate member into a stop on a fixed end which prevents further outward gate movement and therefore prevents lateral removal of the hammer handle from the ring.  
   
   
       3 . The hammer holder of  claim 1  in which there is a single gate member which bridges the gap.  
   
   
       4 . The hammer holder of  claim 3  in which the single gate member is essentially rigid and rotatably supported at one end to one end of the ring to which it is connected by means including a spring urging it outward from the ring and the unsupported end of the movable gate means provides a stop which overlaps the other end of the ring and engages stop means of the ring which prevents the gate means from moving further outward under urging of the spring.  
   
   
       5 . The hammer holder of  claim 1  in which there are a pair of movable gate members, each respectively rotatably supported at the respective opposed ends of the ring which form the gap, each movable gate member is engaged by its own spring which spring is also engaged with its supporting end to urge the movable member outwardly, and a stop surface on each gate member being urged against a stop on the supporting ring member, each of which stops normally maintains its respective movable gate member in position effectively to close the ring to further the outward movement, but allows the movable gate member to yield to pressure from a hammer handle to move the gate inwardly into the ring.  
   
   
       6 . The hammer holder of  claim 3  in which the gate itself is at least made of partially flexible resilient material which provides the spring means between the at least one of the open fixed ends of the ring and the gate means which supports at least one gate means.  
   
   
       7 . The hammer holder of  claim 6  in which the gate means itself is a resilient leaf spring attached at one end to one of the open ends of the ring and so that the other end of the spring contacts or has a rest position opposed to the other fixed end of the ring, which either end acts as a stop to limit the spring gates further outward movement in response to lateral outward movement of a hammer handle.  
   
   
       8 . A hammer holder for support on a belt, waist band or other clothing comprising, 
 a support backing, including means of attaching the backing to the clothing of a hammer user, the support backing being composed of material sufficiently stiff to permit attachment and support in a fixed position relative to the essentially rigid hammer holding structure    a pair of rigid hammer holding arms composed of rigid materials attached to the support backing so oriented that the arms extend away from the backing and of sufficient length extending away from the support backing to permit enclosure of a hammer handle when its head is supported on the holding arms,    gate structure movably attached to at least one of the arms and cooperating with both of the arms to essentially close the gap between the effective end of the arms so that the hammer handle cannot pass through the gate structure without moving it inward,    resilient means, sufficiently within the arm and gate structure so as to not to expose spring ends and other snags, urging the gate structure into its closed gate position, and    stops on the arm and gate structure normally in contact in closed gate position against the urging of the resilient means.    
   
   
       9 . The hammer holder of  claim 8  in which at least the support backing is made of molded resinous material.  
   
   
       10 . The hammer holder of  claim 9  in which the hammer supporting arms as well as the support backing is molded in a unitary structure.  
   
   
       11 . The hammer holder of  claim 10  in which the entire structure including flexible gate structure is molded in one piece, the resinous material being selected so that by making the gate structure sufficiently thin, the gate structure will provide its own resiliency and the gate structure is molded in closed position with sufficient opposition that the gate structure will not move from closed position without significant lateral force by a hammer handle inwardly into the gate exerted manually by the hammer.  
   
   
       12 . The hammer holder of  claim 10  in which the entire structure including flexible gate structure is molded in one piece, the resinous material being selected so that by making the gate structure sufficiently thin, the gate structure will provide its own resiliency, a stop will oppose the gate structure from passing outward away from normally closed position and the gate structure is molded with a stop end on the gate structure beyond and outside the stop so that, when extra force is used to move gate structure beyond the stop into the enclose, its resiliency thereafter will tend to urge the gate stop against the fixed stop in its normally closed position and allow the gate structure to be moved by the by the force of the hammer handle passing through the gate into the enclosure.