Magnetic pocket clip for holding firearm ammunition magazines

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/266,390 entitled MAGNETIC POCKET CLIP TO HOLD FIREARM MAGAZINE filed Dec. 11, 2015 by GRAIG MICHAEL DAVIS, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

This application also is a Continuation-In-Part of each of two pending Design Applications, namely:

1) Ser. No. 29/620,284 filed Sep. 15, 2016 by Graig Davis entitled Pants Pocket Magnetic Retainer For Ammunition Magazines; and,

2) Ser. No. 29/620,283 filed Sep. 15, 2016 by Graig Davis entitled Pants Pocket Magnetic Retainer For Ammunition Magazines.

The disclosures of all of the aforementioned applications are incorporated herein by reference.

Many of the people who carry concealed firearms also desire to carry one or more “backup magazines” each containing an auxiliary supply of ammunition.

To ensure that ammunition-containing backup magazines are readily accessible without being readily noticeable, those who carry concealed firearms often desire to carry their backup magazines in an easily accessed pocket of a garment—typically a front pants pocket.

Designing a holder for carrying a backup ammunition magazine in a front pants pocket needs to take into account the fact that a magazine loaded with ammunition is relatively heavy, often tends to move about, and quickly can become lodged in a less than comfortable pocket location where the magazine may not be easy to access.

Some designers of ammunition magazine holders have Laken the approach of providing plastic materials together with padding and/or soft leather to surround each backup magazine—but this often has tended to increase the size and bulbous nature of the holders, rendering them less suitable and more clumsy to be carried in a front pants pocket or the like.

Some designers of ammunition magazine holders have taken the approach of utilizing thin, relatively lightweight metal such as aluminum to define a retaining compartment for a backup magazine—but this approach has often has led to the provision of holders that are easily crushed or otherwise deformed, many of which have been cheaply and inappropriately constructed. The resulting holders have often been constructed from inexpensive materials that are not well suited to providing a lengthy life of good and reliable service.

Although some designers of magazine holders have attempted to provide a clip or other means for attaching one or more portions of a magazine holder to one or more selected portions of a garment, the clips or other forms of retainers that have been proposed or provided have not proven to be well suited to the task of retaining ammunition magazines at particular desired locations within a garment pocket.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a minimalist type of back-up magazine holder capable of being inconspicuously clipped inside a garment pocket, such as a front pants pocket or the like.

Magazine holders embodying the preferred practice of the present invention are ruggedly constructed, and include a small set of ferrous metal components that cooperate with a remarkably strong rare earth magnet that securely releasably retains ammunition magazines between a pair of parallel-extending arms of a C-shaped retaining member that can be quickly and easily interchanged with other sizes of C-shaped retaining members, thereby permitting magazine holders that embody the present invention to receive and releasably retain any of more than a hundred sizes and configurations of commonly used ammunition magazines for firearms.

A feature of ammunition magazine holders that embody the preferred practice of the present invention is that, with the removal of only two conveniently located screws, the C-shaped retaining member of each magazine holder can be quickly and easily interchanged with two or more other sizes of C-shaped retaining members, each of which is capable of retaining and restraining 30 or more sizes and configurations of commonly used backup ammunition magazines.

By purchasing a kit containing one assembled magazine holder together with two alternate sizes of C-shaped retaining members, a person who has even a large collection of concealed carry firearms can use his or her magazine holder to carry nearly all of the many commonly used sizes and shapes of backup ammunition magazines.

A further feature of ammunition magazine holders that embody the preferred practice of the present invention is that each of the holders includes a strong and well-designed pocket clip that is capable of clampingly engaging a flap of garment material such as covers the exterior of a pants pocket, to securely retain and hold an ammunition magazine in a selected position, thereby permitting a backup magazine to be quickly, easily and reliably accessed when it is wanted or needed.

Although the strong rare earth neodymium magnet that resides at the heart of magazine holders embodying the present invention is commercially available, it is understood to represent the most advanced commercialized permanent magnet material available today. Its strength and reliability provide magazine holders that embody the preferred practice of the present invention with product features of unequaled reliability.

A fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing principally front, top and right side features of a preferred practice of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an alternate perspective view showing principally rear, top and left side features thereof;

FIG. 3 is a top view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a left side view thereof;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view thereof;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view thereof, as seen from a plane indicated by a line 6 - 6 in FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view thereof;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a relatively small retaining member that can be substituted for a relatively large retaining member that is depicted in the exploded view of FIG. 7 , and in FIGS. 1-6 ;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a relatively medium sized retaining member than can be substituted for any of the retaining members that are shown in FIGS. 1-8 ; exploded view of FIG. 7 ;

FIG. 10 is a top view much like FIG. 3 , with a dotted rectangle labeled “M” added thereto to indicate generally where an ammunition magazine is received and releasably retained by the holder of the present invention; and,

FIG. 11 is a left side view much like FIG. 4 , with a dotted rectangle labeled “M” added thereto to indicate generally where an ammunition magazine can be positioned in a pocket of one's trousers, with “G” indicating where a flap or reach of garment pocket material can be received between the legs of a metal clip component of a holder embodying the present invention.

Shown in FIG. 1 are front, top and right side features of a magnetic pocket clip ammunition magazine holder 100 embodying a preferred practice of the present invention, that is designed to receive, one at a time, a wide variety of sizes and configurations of such ammunition magazines as are in current day use by, for and with firearms such as handguns, and even some long guns such as rifles (not shown).

Shown in FIG. 2 are rear, top and left side features of the same ammunition magazine holder 100 ; and, shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are top, left and bottom views of the magazine holder 100 .

Shown in the exploded view provided by FIG. 7 are the components of the magazine holder 100 . The components shown in FIG. 7 include a disc-shaped rare earth magnet 110 , a relatively thick ferrous metal plate 120 , a C-shaped ferrous metal retaining member 130 , a pocket clip 140 , and a disc-shaped resilient rubber pad 150 .

A pair of conventional, commercially available threaded fasteners, namely two torx-head screws 160 , have threaded stem portions 164 for being tightened into threaded holes 124 formed through the metal plate 120 after passing through holes 134 and 144 that are formed through the retaining member 130 and the pocket clip 140 , respectively.

Referring to FIG. 6 in conjunction with FIG. 7 , the disc-shaped rare earth magnet 110 has opposed front and rear surfaces surfaces 111 , 112 , respectively, and a round side surface 113 . A forty-five degree bevel 114 preferably provides a transition between the front surface 111 and the round side surface 113 .

The disc-shaped rare earth magnet 110 is preferably of a commercially available type of magnet such as can be purchased from Monroe Engineering LLC of Rochester Hills, Mich. (with a website at www.monroeengineering.com). Neodymium Iron Boron (NdFeB) and Samarium Cobalt (SmCo) rare earth magnets are alloys of the Lanthanide group of elements. Such rare earth magnets are understood to be made from the most advanced commercialized permanent magnet materials that are in existence today, and are available in a number of different grades that span a wide range of properties and application requirements, as is explained at Monroe Engineering's website.

The ammunition magazine holder 100 of the present invention is primarily intended to be provided in any of three sizes that will, for purposes of convenience, be referred to as “large,” “medium” and “small”—but can, of course, be provided in other sizes than are shown in the accompanying drawings or are explained in the text of this document. What differentiates the so-called “size” of various forms of the ammunition magazine holder 100 is the inside dimension of a C-shaped retaining component of the ammunition magazine holder 100 .

Shown in FIGS. 1-5 , and in the exploded view of FIG. 7 , is a magnetic pocket clip holder 100 that is provided with the largest of three presently available sizes of C-shaped retaining members 130 . Shown in FIG. 8 is the smallest of three presently available sizes of C-shaped retaining members 128 . Shown in FIG. 9 is an in-between or medium sized C-shaped retaining member 129 . The C-shaped retaining members 128 , 129 and 130 are interchangeable, in that any one of the C-shaped retaining members 128 , 129 and 130 can be substituted for another of the C-shaped retaining members 128 , 129 and 130 to thereby provide magazine holders 100 of small, medium and large sizes, respectively.

The small sized retaining member 128 (as shown in FIG. 8 ) preferably has a spacing between its right and left arms 201 , 202 , respectively, of 1.125 inches. The medium sized retaining member 129 (shown in FIG. 9 ) preferably has a spacing between its right and left arms 201 , 202 , respectively, of 1.313 inches. The largest size retaining member 130 (shown in FIGS. 1-7 ) preferably has a spacing between its right and left arms 201 , 202 , respectively, of 1.438 inches.

The right and left arms 201 , 202 , respectively, are preferably identically configured on all of the retaining members 128 , 129 , 130 , and preferably extend forwardly from the front surface 223 of the central region 200 approximately one-half inch, and measure about one inch in height—which ensures that the arms 201 , 202 do not interfere with portions of ammunition magazines being held in secure contact with the front surface 123 of the metal plate 120 (which is installed just forwardly of the central region 200 of the retaining members 128 , 129 , 130 ) by the attraction of the rare earth magnet 110 of the holder assemblies 100 .

As will be readily understood by those who are skilled in the art, ammunition magazine holders that embody the present invention are assemblies that can easily be taken apart and reassembled not only 1) because each assembled holder 100 is held together by two easily removed threaded fasteners, namely the screws 160 , but also 2) because each assembly 100 consists principally of the ferrous metal components 120 , 130 (or 128 , 129 + 130 ) that also tend to be held together by the attraction of the associated disc-shaped rare earth magnet 110 .

As will be explained, releasing and replacing any one of the C-shaped retaining members 128 , 129 , 130 from one of the holder assemblies 100 requires nothing more than loosening and removing the two threaded fasteners 160 , and replacing one of the retaining members 128 , 129 and 130 with a different one of the retaining members 128 , 129 and 130 , whereafter the two removed threaded fasteners 160 are reinstalled to extend through aligned sets of holes 134 , 144 formed through the assembled components 130 and 140 , respectively, with the replaced screws 160 then being tightened into the threaded holes 124 that extend through the metal plate 120 .

Reassembly of the magazine holder 100 with a differently selected C-shaped retaining member 128 , 129 or 130 is facilitated by virtue of the strong rare earth magnet 110 which helps to hold the components of the magazine holder assembly 100 in place while the threaded fasteners 160 are being positioned to extend through aligned holes formed through components 120 , 130 and 140 of the holder assembly 100 .

Each of the three sizes of retaining members 128 , 129 , 130 is capable of retaining and restraining more than 30 different sizes and configurations of ammunition magazines—such as are shown in various patents, such as Design Pats. D-614,721 and D-593,633 which depict generally straight ammunition magazines, and such as Design Pats. D-727,456 and D-593,635 which depict gently curved ammunition magazines. The disclosures of said design patents are incorporated herein by reference.

The metal plate 120 is preferably formed from ten gauge steel, and is therefore thicker than are the retaining members 128 , 129 and 130 , all of which are preferably formed from twenty gauge steel. Although the metal clip 140 can be formed from spring steel or the like (that typically has approximately the same thickness as the retaining members 128 , 129 and 130 ), the metal clip 140 is preferably formed from 0.40 inch thick titanium which can retain its integrity and its biasing action to provide a reliably lengthy service life.

As can be seen in FIG. 7 , a relatively large diameter passage 122 has an opening 121 through a front surface 123 of the metal plate 120 . As can be seen in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 6 , the passage 122 has a frustoconical configuration that widens as the passage 122 extends rearwardly from its relatively small diameter opening 121 through the front surface 123 to where the passage 122 opens through a rear surface 125 of the metal plate 120 .

The cross-sectional view of FIG. 6 shows how the bevel 114 of the disc-shaped magnet 110 engages the frustoconically tapered passage 122 to position the front surface ill of the disc-shaped magnet 110 at a protected location slightly rearwardly with respect to the front surface 123 of the metal plate 120 .

In this document, such words as “front,” “rear,” “forwardly,” “rearwardly,” “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “upwardly,” “downwardly,” “left,” “right,” “leftwardly,” and “rightwardly” and “vertically” are used simply for purposes of convenience, and are not to be considered to be limiting.

Referring still to FIG. 7 , in addition to the opposed front and rear surfaces 123 and 125 , respectively, the metal plate 120 has what will be referred to as a lower end region 126 and an upper end region 127 , as well as a bottom edge surface 189 and a top edge surface 190 . The upper end region 127 is bordered by not only the top edge surface 190 , but also by right and left inclined surfaces indicated by the numerals 191 and 192 , respectively.

The retaining member 130 shown in FIG. 7 and the retaining members 128 , 129 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 , respectively, all have features that are designated by common reference numerals, including the relatively wide central region 200 that is connected by right-angle bends to the right arm 201 and the left arm 202 , respectively, both of which arms extend forwardly from a front surface 223 of the central region 200 .

The central region 200 of each of the retaining members 128 , 129 , 130 has opposed front and rear surfaces 223 , 225 , respectively (see FIGS. 3 and 5 ), as well as a lower end region 226 and an upper end region 227 , and bottom edge surface 199 and a top edge surfaces 220 that join with inclined right and left surfaces 221 , 222 , respectively.

In preferred practice, the right and left arms 201 , 202 of each of the retaining members 128 , 129 , 130 preferably extend forwardly from the central region 200 of each of the retaining members 128 , 129 , 130 a distance of 0.536 inches, and have a height of 1.0 inch. By sizing the left and right arms 201 , 202 as has just been explained, the arms 201 , 202 are found to not obstruct portions of such ammunition magazines (not shown) as can normally be accommodated by the retaining members 128 , 129 , 130 .

Because some ammunition magazines (not shown) may need longer right and left arms 201 , 202 to assist in retaining these ammunition magazines in place between the right and left arms 201 , 202 of the retaining members 128 , 129 , 130 , serious consideration is being given to providing retaining members 128 , 129 , 130 that have longer left and right arms 201 , 202 .

Referring again to FIG. 7 , the metal clip 140 is of elongate configuration, and has an inverted U-shape bend 145 at its upper end, from which a relatively short front leg 147 and a relatively long rear leg 149 depend. The short front leg 147 has an enlarged formation 199 at its lower end region, through which the holes 144 extend. The long rear leg 149 narrows as it depends along an upper reach 153 of the rear leg 149 to where a gentle bend 155 is provided mid-way down the length of the long rear leg. From the region of the gentle bend 155 , a lower reach 154 of the long rear leg 149 extends to where another gentle bend 156 is provided near a rounded lower end region 157 of the long rear leg 149 . The lower reach 154 biases the bend 156 toward the rear surface 225 of the central region of the retaining member 130 , where the disc-shaped resilient rubber pad 150 is adhered to the rear surface 225 of the central region 200 of the retaining member 130 .

When the metal clip 140 is to receive a flap of pocket material (labeled “P” in FIG. 11 ) to clamp the pocket material P against the resilient rubber pad 150 , the area of the gentle bend can be moved rearwardly away from the resilient rubber pad 150 for as long as is needed to permit the pocket material P to be installed between the rear leg 149 and the rear surface 225 of the central region 200 of the retaining member 130 .

When being used, ammunition magazines (such as are designated schematically in FIGS. 10 and 11 by rectangles formed by broken lines and labeled “M”) are received between the forwardly-extending arms 201 , 202 of a retaining member 130 (or 128 , 129 ) and are held securely by the magnet 110 against a front surface 123 of the metal plate 120 . When positioned inside a pocket of a garment, a fabric portion indicated in FIG. 11 by broken lines labeled “P” extends between the front and rear legs 147 , 149 , respectively, of the metal clip 140 , and is clamped between the rear leg 149 and the rear surface 225 of the central region 200 of the receiving member 130 by the biasing action of the metal clip 140 .

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example, and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the manner of manufacture and assembly may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

It is intended to protect whatever features of patentable novelty exist in the invention disclosed in the text hereof, in the accompanying drawings, and/or in the referenced provisional and the two referenced design applications, the disclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.