Abstract:
A needle container comprises a container body and a lid engageable thereon by means of a dovetail joint. The container body includes a needle holder separately mounted on a holder retainer so that the needle holder itself is interchangeable according to the kind and number of needles to be accommodated.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a sewing needle container having a needle holder constituting a part of the container body and which can be replaced with other needle holders according to the kinds and numbers of sewing needles to be held. 
     Conventionally, known sewing needle containers consist substantially of a container body, including a sewing needle holder, and a lid means which are assembled by means of a tenon-and-mortise joint with the lid acting as a mortise and sliding lengthwise along and over the container which acts as a tenon so as to open or close the container. Such conventional sewing needle containers, however, incorporate the sewing needle holder as an integral or inseparable part thereof. Therefore, when it is desired that the holder accommodate needles of a different kind or different number, the entire container must be replaced with a new container provided with a new holder since the holder is not separable from the container as described above. 
     This advantage of conventional needle containers results in that containers of various kinds and sizes must be made in order to accommodate various kinds of needles, resulting in high production costs. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a needle container which overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages whereby the new needle container can hold needles properly in place regardless of the kind or number of needles to be accommodated by merely replacing the holder, which is separably assembled, in the container. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a needle container which can be displayed in a display case in various forms according to its three basic parts; for instance: the needle holder alone, the needle holder together with the holder retainer, and the needle holder along with the holder retainer together with the lid. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a needle container according to one embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of the above needle container shown in FIG. 1 
     FIG. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along the line I--I of FIG. 2 
     FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along the line II--II of FIG. 2. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the sliding lid of the needle container. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the needle holder. 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the holder retainer. 
     FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the needle holder. 
     FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective and partial view of the needle holder showing the needle receiving apertures in detail. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 through FIG. 4 a container body 1 and a sliding lid 2 engaged with each other in a dovetail arrangement such that the sliding lid 2 is slidable along and over the container body 1 to open or close the container. 
     The container body 1 comprises a needle holder 3 which holds a desired number and size of needles 6 properly in place and a holder retainer 4 on which the needle holder 3 is separably mounted. 
     The holder 3 comprises a needle mounting portion 5 which is provided with parallel and spaced apertures 7 which receive the needles 6 and a needle shaft display recess 8 adjacent to the needle mounting portion 5. 
     The needle receiving apertures 7 snugly hold the desired number of needles 6, such as sewing needles, while the display recess 8 shows that the needles 6 are accommodated neatly and properly in the holder 3. 
     The holder retainer 4 comprises a recess 10 to hold the shanks of the needles at one end of the retainer 4, and numeral 11 indicates an upright guide plate at the other end of the retainer 4 to facilitate mounting the holder 3 on top of and within the holder retainer 4. An opening 12 in the central flat portion of the holder retainer 4 facilitates the sliding movement of the sliding lid 2 relative to the container body 1 by permitting the user to press his fingertips there against. 
     Needle fixing guides 13 at the mid-portion of the needle receiving apertures 7 snugly hold the central portion of the needles 6 in place. A film means 14 at the periphery of one end of the apertures 7 is provided to obtain the same effect as that of the above needle fixing guide 13. 
     Furthermore, the above needle container can be provided with a cardboard or other type mounting member 15 on which desired indications can be printed such as a trademark and the kind and number or size of the needles. This mounting member 15 can be sandwiched and held between the sliding lid 2 and the needle container body 1. Thus an inner peripheral edge of an opening 18 in the mounting member 15 is sandwiched between the side portions 16 of the sliding lid 2 and the lateral and horizontal extensions 17 of the needle holder 3. Needle fixing guide 13 comprises spaced projections extending into the apertures 7 and which engage the needles to support the latter in the apertures 7. Film means 14 are made of plastic and usually are casting fins produced at the time of die casting the needle holders. These fin-like films snugly hold the needles by the elasticity thereof. 
     The manner in which the needle container of this invention is assembled and displayed will now be described. The needle holder 3 which holds a desired number of needles 6 is mounted on the holder retainer 4. Subsequently the mounting member 15 on which the desired indications are printed is disposed over the needle holder 3 such that the inner peripheral edge of the mounting member 15 is in contact with the horizontal extensions 17. Finally, the sliding lid 2 is engaged and slid into position on the needle holder 3 along the dovetail joint, thus completing the assembly of the needle container while sandwiching the above mounting member 15 between the sliding lid 2 and the needle holder 3. 
     The sliding lid 2 is made preferably of transparent synthetic material, such as plastic, so that the particulars of the accommodated needles can be seen at a glance. 
     As has been described heretofore, the needle container of this invention has the following advantages: 
     (1) Since the needle holder 3 is separable from the holder retainer 4, various kinds of needles as well as various numbers of needles can be accommodated in the same needle container by merely replacing the needle holder with another needle holder containing the appropriate number or kinds of needles desired, thereby reducing the cost of producing the needle container. 
     (2) The mounting member on which the desired indications, such as a trademark, is printed can be sandwiched easily and precisely between the needle holder 3 and the sliding lid 2. 
     (3) Since there is an opening in the central flat portion of the holder retainer 4, the opening or closing movement of the sliding lid 2 relative to the container body can be facilitated by pressing with one&#39;s fingertip. 
     (4) Since the needle receiving apertures 7 are provided with fixing guides as well as thin films, the sewing needles can be held snugly within the above apertures.