Abstract:
A needle pushing head is made integral with a ring for wearing on a finger. The head has at least one needle receiving indentation so that the needle can be placed therein and forced by the finger through cloth or other material.

Description:
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 271,333, filed Nov. 9, 1988, for &#34;Ring Needle Pusher&#34;, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 158,120, filed Feb. 16, 1988 (abandoned); which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 036,105, filed Apr. 8, 1987 (abandoned). 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to devices to be worn on the fingers for pushing needles with thread through material such as when sewing buttons on coats. 
     It is, of course, quite common to sew with a needle having a thread passed through the eye of the needle. This sewing may be for many purposes, such as for sewing buttons on a piece of cloth, sewing two pieces of material together, etc. It is, of course, well known that sewing through some material is quite simple. However, as the material gets firmer or thicker it becomes more difficult to push the needle through the material. For ages, seamstresses and sewers have used a thimble on one finger to aid in pushing the needle through the material. These thimbles are essentially little cups with a plurality of identations thereon and which fit over the end of the finger. While these thimbles are quite useful and have been used quite successfully, they do prevent one from using the tip of the finger on which the thimble is placed. 
     It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a device to be worn on the finger for pushing needles through materials that do not restrict the use of the tip of the finger. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This is a device to be worn on a finger for pushing a needle and thread through material. It includes a ring which is to be worn on a finger, preferably on the index finger. A needle pushing head is mounted on the outer periphery of the ring. The head is preferably block-like and made an integral part of the ring. The head has a needle receiving indentation which has an axis approximately perpendicular to the plane of the ring. 
     In operation, the sewing needle is threaded in the usual manner and the material is positioned as one would normally do in sewing. Preferably, the needle pusher is placed on the index finger of the right hand if one is right handed, or the left hand for left handed people. The needle is grasped by the thumb and tip of the index finger and placed in the position in which it is to enter the material. Then the eye end of the needle is placed in the needle receiving indentation of the head. Force is then applied by the finger to force the needle through the material. 
     In another embodiment the needle pushing head is modified so that it includes a cylindrical member welded or otherwise secured to the ring and with the axis of the cylinder approxiately parallel to the axis of the ring. A backing plate is provided on one side of the needle receiving cylinder. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 illustrates an elevation view of the preferred embodiment of the needle pusher. 
     FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 shows the needle pusher of my invention placed upon the finger of the sewer; 
     FIG. 5 is another embodiment of my invention showing a needle receiving cylindrical element attached to the ring; 
     FIG. 6 is a view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 5. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Attention is first directed to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. Shown thereon is a ring 10 with a needle pushing head 12 made integral therewith. The ring 10 is generally circular shaped and has an axis 32 in the center thereof. The ring has what may be called a ring plane which is perpendicular to the axis 32 and would pass generally along the line 34 of FIG. 2. 
     The needle pushing head 12 has main needle receiving indentation 14 and secondary needle receiving indentations 16 and 18. The indentation 14 is essentially in the middle of the forward face 13 of needle pushing head 12 between sides 36 and 38. The rear face 15 of head 12 is indicated in FIG. 3. The top of head 12 is indicated by reference number 17. Typically the width of main needle receiving indentation 14 is sufficiently large to receive the end of a needle and would normally be not over about three millimeters. The width W of the ring, illustrated in FIG. 3, is typically about six millimeters. These are merely typical dimensions and are not meant to be limited thereby. The device can be made of any material which will be comfortable to the wearer and of sufficient strength, rigidity and of abrasion resistance so that it can push the needle through the material. Typical material from which to make the ring and head includes pewter and silver. 
     Attention is next directed to FIG. 4 which shows the needle pusher of my device as it would normally be worn. The ring 10 is slipped on to the end of finger 24 which for most people would normally be the index finger. I have found that it is best that the ring 10 fits snugly up against the first joint of the finger but will not pass thereover. I then place the sewing needle 20 with thread 22 in indentation 14. Needle 20 is directed with the thumb and the tip 40 of finger 24 to the proper position on the material being sewed and is forced therethrough by applying force on needle 20 through head 12 and ring 10 from force by the finger 24. I have found that this is especially useful for pushing sewing needles through tough material such as leathers, canvass, plastic and so forth. 
     Attention is next directed to FIGS. 5 and 6 which show another embodiment of my invention. Shown therein is a ring portion 26 having a needle receiving cylinder 30 attached to the periphery of the ring 26 such as by soldering or welding or whatever may be appropriate for the material being used. One end of cylinder 30 is closed by a back up plate 28. The selection of the material as described above in regard to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 likewise applied to this embodiment. In an operation the sewing needle is inserted into needle receiving cylinder 30 and force applied somewhat similarly to that described in regard to FIG. 4. 
     While the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is manifest that many changes may be made in the details of construction and the arrangement of components without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. It is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for purposes of exemplification, but is to be limited only by the scope of the attached claim or claims, including the full range of equivalency to which each element thereof is entitled.