Shrouded flip holster for concealed carry of a handgun

Abstract

A holster for concealed handgun carry that relies on the façade for concealment, such as a cell phone, cell phone case or toolbox. The facade is a pivotal shroud with an aperture to open enclosure that is pivotally attached to a holster pocket, and relies on an actuated hinges for securing the shroud in a closed position for concealment and an open position for access to a handgun. Spring loaded hinges may be used for providing opening of the hinged panels of the holster, providing access by the wearer to the handgun contained within the holster. Latching of a closed configuration may be accomplished by a snap, hook and loop fasteners and magnetic fasteners. Access to a handgun contained within the holster may be accomplished with minimal movement of an arm, hand or finger.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A shrouded flip holster for concealed carry of a handgun, comprising:
 a pivotal shroud having a box-like shape and an open enclosure, the shroud including a front panel opposite a back panel, a butt panel opposite a hammer panel, and a breech panel opposite an aperture to the open enclosure;   the pivotal shroud being pivotally connected to a forward facing portion of a holster pocket at the juncture of the hammer panel and the enclosure aperture; and   the pivotal shroud being pivotally positioned between a closed position and an open position, the closed position for concealing a handgun positioned within the enclosure aperture and the holster pocket, and the open position for enabling access to the handgun positioned in the holster pocket inside a waistband of a person wearing the shrouded flip holster.   
     
     
         2 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 1 , wherein in the closed position and the holster pocket positioned inside the waistband of person wearing the holster, the front panel faces outwards and opposite the back panel facing toward a body of the holster wearer, the butt panel faces rearward and opposite a hammer panel facing in a forward direction relative to the body of the holster wearer, and the breech panel faces upwards and opposite the aperture to the open enclosure facing in a downward direction relative to the body of the holster wearer. 
     
     
         3 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 1 , wherein the shroud is a single integrated molded assembly. 
     
     
         4 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 1 , wherein the holster pocket and associated raised back panel is a single integrated assembly. 
     
     
         5 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 1 , further comprising a means for releasably latching the shroud in the closed position and a means for providing pivotal motion to the shroud into the open position when the releasably latching means is released by a user. 
     
     
         6 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 5 , wherein the means for releasably latching between a shroud component and a holster pocket component is selected from the group consisting of a magnetic coupling, a grooved connector, a hook and loop fastener and a snap coupling. 
     
     
         7 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 5 , wherein the means for providing pivotal motion may be a single-point spring actuated hinge. 
     
     
         8 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 7 , wherein the single-point spring actuated hinge is positioned on the shroud for enabling the shroud to move away from garments when released. 
     
     
         9 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 1 , further comprising a pivotal connection between the breech panel and the butt panel for accommodating handguns with extended butts. 
     
     
         10 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 9 , further comprising a means for maintaining the breech panel and the butt panel in a closed position when the shroud is in a closed position, and means for enabling the breech panel and the butt panel to pivot open as the shroud is pivoted from the closed position to the open position. 
     
     
         11 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 1 , further comprising a waistband clip for securing the holster to a waistband. 
     
     
         12 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 11 , wherein the waistband clip includes a belt hook for securing the holster to a belt. 
     
     
         13 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 7 , wherein the single-point spring actuated hinge is a living hinge. 
     
     
         14 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 9 , wherein the pivotal connection between the breech panel and the butt panel is a living hinge. 
     
     
         15 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 1 , wherein the shrouded flip holster is a single molded unit including the shroud, a living hinge connecting the shroud and the holster pocket, a living hinge connecting the breech panel and the butt panel, spring retention sleeves for positioning springs associated with the living hinges, a waistband clip, a grooved connector for releasably latching the shroud in a closed position, and the holster pocket. 
     
     
         16 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 1 , further comprising pocket resizing holes and resizing clamps for providing adjustability to the pocket size to accommodate handguns of various sizes. 
     
     
         17 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 1 , wherein the flip holster provides concealed carry for a device selected from the group consisting of a tool, an instrument, a Taser, a can of mace and a knife. 
     
     
         18 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 1 , wherein a shape of the holster is configured to resemble a device selected from the group selected from a belt buckle, a tool case and a pager. 
     
     
         19 . A shrouded flip holster for concealed carry of a handgun, comprising:
 a pivotal shroud including a front panel opposite a back panel, a butt panel opposite a hammer panel, and a breech panel opposite an aperture to an open enclosure within the shroud;   means for pivotally attaching the pivotal shroud to a forward facing portion of a holster pocket at an edge of the hammer panel adjacent the aperture to the open enclosure;   means for releasably latching the pivotal shroud in a closed position to conceal a handgun within the visible pivotal shroud and a holster pocket secured within a waistband of a user; and   means for releasing the releasably latching means to allow the pivotal shroud to rotate to an open position for enabling access to the handgun within the holster pocket.   
     
     
         20 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 19 , further comprising means for enabling the butt panel to pivot relative to the breech panel for accommodating handguns with extended butts. 
     
     
         21 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 20 , wherein the means for enabling the butt panel to pivot relative to the breech panel is a spring-actuated hinge. 
     
     
         22 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 19 , wherein the means for pivotally attaching the pivotal shroud to a forward facing portion of a holster pocket is a single point spring-actuated hinge. 
     
     
         23 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 19 , wherein the handgun is completely concealed from view when in the closed position. 
     
     
         24 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 19 , wherein the handgun is readily accessible by a wearer and viewable to others when in the open position. 
     
     
         25 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 19 , further comprising a means for securing the holster inside the waistband of the user. 
     
     
         26 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 25 , wherein the means for securing the holster is a waistband clip. 
     
     
         27 . The shrouded flip holster of  claim 19 , wherein the releasably latching means is selected from the group consisting of a magnetic latch, a grooved connector, a hook and loop fastener and a snap coupling.