US2093016A - Needle threader - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 14, 1937.

Filed March 8, 1955 Inn ant DI" TlF. MFINN Flt-t. army- Patented Sept. 14, 1937 I ED A E PATEN T I OFFICE 1 Claim.

My invention relates to improvements in needle threaders, andan object of my invention is todevise a needle threading device which will thread a needle with any size of thread up to the coarsest 5 size that the needle eye will pass.

Another object of my invention is to provide a needle threader in which the alignment of the thread and the needle eye for threading of the latter is effected substantially automatically when 10 the thread and the needle are engaged in the device by the user, so that the threading of the needle may be accomplished very rapidly and with a minimum of effort.

Yet another object is to devise a needle threader whereby, once the threading operation is completed, the needle may be disengaged therefrom by merely withdrawing it from the device, without the necessity of unhooking the thread from a threading element.

With these and other objects in view which will hereinafter appear as the specification proceeds, my invention consists of the construction and arrangement all as hereinafter more particularly described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of my needle threader, the thread and needle being positioned in the device ready for threading of the latter;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view similar to Fig. 2 showing the form assumed by the device after the thread has been passed through the needle-eye but before the threading element has been withdrawn, and

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken along the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Like characters of reference refer to corresponding parts in the different views.

Referring to the drawing, my needle threader comprises a U-shaped element l of spring material in one leg of which is a transverse needle head receiving groove 2 of V section. The groove 2 has a smaller groove 3 along its inner apex for receiving a thread 4 and an orifice 5 is disposed centrally of such groove which is adapted to pass freely a threading element 6 secured to and projecting from the other leg of the element I, the width of the groove 3 being substantially equal to the diameter of the threading element 6 for a reason which will hereinafter become apparent.

A needle 1 may be held in the groove 2 by means of a spring finger 8, which, as shown, may be a portion of the element l suitably bent out of the upper surface thereof, and which also coactsrwithltheflattened surface!) of the needle to align the eye l0 thereof with the orifice and the threading element 6. When the needle is inserted into the threader, a stop ll serves to position the eye In in register with the orifice 5.

I may provide a cylindrical projection l2 on one surface of the element I which may be inserted into the bore of an orthodox thread spool (not shown) for conveniently supporting the threader thereon.

The operation of my device is as follows: with the spring element l in the normal relaxed position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the thread is engaged in the groove 3, the finger 8 and the stop ll directing the thread into such groove when the thread is placed across the free end of the upper surface of the spring member I and pulled towards the groove. The head of the needle is then pushed into the groove 2 under the finger 8, until the end of the needle abuts the stop ll. Regardless of how the axis of the eye of the needle is oriented when the latter first engages the threader, as the head of the needle is pushed under the finger 8 the finger coacts with one of the orthodox flat surfaces 9 of the needle to cause it to rotate until, when the eye of the needle abuts the stop II, the eye IU of the needle is both in alignment and register with the orifice 5 and the threading element 6.

compress together the free ends of the element I, whereby the threading element 6 enters the orifice 5 and pushes a loop of the thread through the needle eye as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4. On allowing the spring element to relax, the threading element is withdrawn from the needle leaving the loop of thread in the eye, and as the needle is withdrawn from the threader the finger 8 engages the thread loop to pull more of it through the eye so that it may be readily grasped by the user to complete the threading operation. It will be noted that, by virtue of the groove 3 being of substantially the same width as the diameter of the threading element 6, it is im- 4 possible for the thread to escape the threading element once it is inserted into such groove, and actuation of the threader without threading of the needle is substantially impossible once the needle and thread have been properly positioned for threading.

While one embodiment of my device has been described above, it will be obvious that there are numerous other ways of applying the principle of pushing, rather than pulling, the thread To thread the b needle, it is then only necessary for the user to 2 t through the needle eye. As an example, it would be convenient to apply the device permanently to a thread spool, in which case a single spring needle engaging element could be secured to the spool end, and a pin suitably positioned in the spool end could replace the element 5 as shown.

An advantage of my improved needle threader,

is that the thread, after being laid parallel to the long axis of the needle, is pushed through the needle eye, and accordingly a needle may be threaded with thread of the largest size the eye will accommodate. In the orthodox threaders, a

hooked threading element is first pushed through the needle eye, and then a loop of the thread, laid transversely of the long axis of the needle,

' is pulled through the eye by the hook. With this type of device, the shorter diameter of'the eye has to be great enough to pass thehook 'element' and two thicknesses of thread, thus greatly limiting the size of the thread with which the threader may be used. j A further advantage ;of mydevice is that both the width of the needle receiving groove in the bottom thereof, and a threading pin reciprocable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the thread and needle receiving grooves and extending freely through an orifice in the thread receiving'groove, the width of the thread receiving groove being substantially equal to the diameter of the threading pin.

' JOHN FLETCHER MANN.

Lit/-

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