IMPROVE- MENTS IN NEEDLE CASES OR NEEDLE HOLDERS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Bourne Turner; of Redditch, in the
County of Worcester, Needle Manufacturer, and Joseph Welch, of
Redditch, aforesaid, Watchmaker, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN NEEDLE CASES OR NEEDLE HOLDERS."
:
Sealed the 11th April 1871, and dated the 29th October 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Bourne Turner
and Joseph Welch at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 29th October 1870.
We, RICHARD BOURNE TURNER, of Redditch, in the County of
Worcester, Needle Manufacturer, and JOSEPH WELCH, of Redditch,
aforesaid, Watchmaker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN NEEDLE CASES OR NEEDLE HOLDERS," to be as
follows:-
Our Invention consists in constructing and arranging the parts of
needle cases or needle holders in the manner herein-after described,
whereby one needle at a time may be removed from the bulk of the

page_text: needles contained in the case or holder without interfering. with or
handling the said bulk of needles.
According to one arrangement of our Invention we construct the
needle case or needle holder as follows:-We make the needle case or
holder of two slightly trough-shaped metallic plates of a rectangular
figure, the said plates being engaged together at their shorter sides so as
to be capable of sliding upon one another. For convenience of description
we will call one of the said plates the body, and the other plate the slide.
The said body and slide are made of such a breadth as to hold 25 or
other number of needles, and when the said body and slide are engaged
together they enclose a rectangular space equal to the number of needles
to be held in the case, the said space having a diameter a little greater
than the thickness of the needles. At the back or inner edge of the
body of the needle case is a longitudinal groove or depression of a size
proper to receive a single needle. The inner turned down edge of the
slide constitutes a bar, which by bearing upon the body closes the back
of the case. To the front of the slide a flap is hinged, which by being
turned down upon the upper side of the body engages with a pin, and
securely fastens the body and slide together. The needles are introduced
into the case at the open front of the case, the said open front being
closed when the slide is pushed home upon the body by the hinge of the
flap described covering the said open front. The pushing home of the
slide also closes the groove or depression at the back of the body. When
the needle case is closed a single needle from the bulk passes by the
inclination of the case into the said longitudinal groove or depression,
and when the hinged flap has been turned from off the body and
the slide moved a short distance on the body the said longitudinal
groove or depression at the back of the case is uncovered; by then
inverting the case the needle falls from the groove or depression. On
returning the slide to its original position another needle passes by the
inclination of the case into the longitudinal groove, and is ready on the
opening of the case to be removed. In this way a single needle is
removed from the case without interfering with or handling the bulk of
needles.
According to another arrangement of our Invention we employ a case
or holder of the kind herein-before described, or a case of any other
convenient construction, but in order to remove one needle at a time
from the case we adopt the following construction of parts:-Across the

page_text: top of the body we place a small cylinder or roller turning in eyes or
In the said cylinder a longitudinal
bearings at the edges of the case.
groove is made of a size proper to
the case and immediately under the said roller a slot is made of a size
proper to permit of the passage of a single needle from the case.
receive a needle, and in the body of
When
the cylinder is so turned by a finger or arm at one end that the groove
in it coincides with the slot in the body of the case, a needle may by
inverting the case be made to pass through the slot described in the case
into the groove in the cylinder. By then giving the roller a partial
rotation the needle is brought by it outside the case, and can be
removed. The finger or arm used for turning the cylinder also serves
to fix it.
Our improvements may be applied to compound needle cases or
holders, that is, needle cases provided with a series of compartments in
which different sizes of needles are placed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Richard Bourne Turner and Joseph Welch in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th April 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, RICHARD
BOURNE TURNER, of Redditch, in the County of Worcester, Needle
Manufacturer, and JOSEPH WELCH, of Redditch, aforesaid, Watchmaker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Richard Bourne Turner and Joseph
Welch, Her special licence that we, the said Richard Bourne Turner and
Joseph Welch, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Richard Bourne Turner and Joseph Welch, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and.
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN

page_text: NEEDLE CASES OR NEEDLE HOLDERS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that we, the said Richard Bourne Turner and Joseph Welch, our
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or
their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or.
them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said t
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Richard Bourne Turner, on behalf of ]
the said Joseph Welch and myself, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say:--
Our Invention consists in constructing and arranging the parts of 1
needle cases or needle holders in the manner herein-after described
whereby one needle at a time may be removed from the bulk of the
needles contained in the case or holder without interfering with or
handling the said bulk of needles.
According to one arrangement of our Invention we construct the 2
needle case or needle holder as follows:-We make the needle case or
holder of two slightly trough-shaped metallic plates of a rectangular
figure, the said plates being engaged together at their shorter sides, so
as to be capable of sliding upon one another.
For convenience of description we will call one of the said plates 2
the body and the other plate the slide. The said body and slide are
made of such a breadth as to hold 25 or other number of needles, and
when the said body and slide are engaged together they enclose a
· rectangular space equal to the number of needles to be held in the case,
the said space having a diameter a little greater than the thickness of a
the needles. At the back or inner edge of the body of the needle case
is a longitudinal groove or depression of a size proper to receive a single
needle. The inner turned down edge of the slide constitutes a bar
which by bearing upon the body closes the back of the case. To the
front of the slide a flap is hinged which by being turned down upon
the upper side of the body engages with a pin or stud and securely
fastens the body and slide together. The needles are introduced into
the case at the open front of the case, the said open front being closed
ย

page_text: when the slide is pushed home upon the body by the hinge of the flap
described covering the said open front. The pushing home of the slide
also closes the groove or depression at the back of the body. When
the needle case is closed a single needle from the bulk passes by the
inclination of the case into the said longitudinal groove or depression,
and by moving the slide a short distance on the body the said longi-
tudinal groove or depression at the back of the case is uncovered; by
then inverting the case the needle falls from the groove or depression.
On returning the slide to its original position another needle passes
by the inclination of the case into the longitudinal groove and is ready
on the opening of the case to be removed. In this way a single needle
is removed from the case without interfering with or handling the bulk
of needles.
According to another arrangement of our Invention we employ a case
or holder of the kind herein-before described or a case of any other con-
venient construction, but in order to remove one needle at a time from
the case we adopt the following construction of parts:-Across the top of
the body we place a small cylinder or roller turning in eyes or bearings
at the edges of the case. In the said cylinder a longitudinal groove is
made of a size proper to receive a needle, and in the body of the case and
immediately under or opposite the said cylinder or roller a slot is made
of a size proper to permit of the passage of a single needle from the
When the cylinder is so turned by a finger or arm at one end
that the groove in it coincides with the slot in the body of the case a
needle may by inverting the case be made to pass through the slot
described in the case into the groove in the cylinder. By then giving
the roller or cylinder a partial rotation the needle is brought by it
outside the case and can be removed. The finger or arm used for
turning the cylinder also serves to fix it.
case.
Our improvements may be applied to compound needle cases or
holders, that is, needle cases provided with a series of compartments in
which different sizes of needles are placed.
Having explained the nature of our Invention we will proceed to
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in front elevation at a, edge view at b, and back
elevation at c, a needle case or needle holder constructed according to

page_text: the first described arrangement of our Invention; Figure 2 represents
in plan and cross section the body of the case detached, and Figure 3
represents in plan and cross section the slide of the said case detached;
Figure 4 represents in front elevation, drawn double the full size, the
said needle case open, that is, with the slide withdrawn ready for the
removal of a single needle from the case; Figure 5 represents a cross
section of Figure 4, and Figure 6 represents the same with the slide
pushed home to close the case.
The body of the case is marked d, and the slide of the case is marked e,
the said slide and body consisting of two trough-shaped rectangular
plates of metal engaged together at their shorter sides, so as to be
capable of sliding upon one another, that is to say, the shorter sides of
the body d are provided with overhanging parts or lips d, in which
the shorter sides e² of the slide e engage. The front of the case is open,
the front ends of the body and slide d, e, being without the bars or
side pieces with which the back ends are provided. To the open front
of the slide e a flap fis hinged at f2. By turning the said flap ƒ down
upon the upper side of the body da slot g in the said flap takes upon
a stud h on the body d, and by rotating the said stud so as to make it
cross the slot g in the manner represented in Figure 1 the body d and
slide e are connected together, the slide e being capable of a limited
sliding motion on the said body. By turning the stud h parallel with
the slot g the flap f may be raised from the body.
The slide e may
now be moved from off the body to the required distance and the case
be filled with needles at its open end. At the back or inner edge of
the body d is a longitudinal groove or depression d³ of a size proper
to receive a single needle. The inner turned down edge e* of the slide e
constitutes a bar which by bearing upon the body d closes the back of
the case. The needles having been introduced into the case at the open
or flap end in the manner before described the flap f is turned down
upon the body d and the slide e secured to the body by the slot and
stud g, h, the parts occupying the respective positions represented in
the section, Figure 6. The parts being in this position the groove or
depression d³ at the back of the body d is closed and the needles cannot
pass from the case. When it is wished to remove a needle from the
case the said case is inclined so as to cause a needle from the bulk of
needles in the case to pass into the longitudinal groove or depression d³.
By now moving the slide e on the body d by the pressure of the thumb

page_text: upon the said slide the groove or depression d³ is uncovered and the
needle is exposed as represented in Figures 4 and 5, and by inverting
the case the needle falls from the said groove or depression. When the
groove or depression d³ is uncovered, as seen in Figures 4 and 5, the
bar e* of the slide e prevents any of the needles from the bulk from
escaping from the case. On returning the slide e to the position,
Figure 6, and again inclining the case another needle passes from the
bulk into the groove d³, and is thereby ready on the opening of the
case to be removed. Thus a single needle can be removed at pleasure
from the case without interfering with or handling the bulk of needles
contained in the said case.
Figure 7 represents in front elevation a needle case or needle holder,
drawn double the full size, constructed according to the second described
arrangement of our Invention; Figures 8 and 9 are cross sections of
the same. The needle case consists of a flat body d with a jointed flap f
and a slide e, similar to the case first described, and filled with needles
in a like manner; or the flat case may be made in one piece, the open
end being closed in any convenient manner. Outside and parallel to
the longer sides of the case is a small cylinder or roller i turning in
eyes or bearings k, k, at the edges of the case. The said roller i is
rotated by the arm or handle on one end. In the said roller i is a
longitudinal groove m of a size proper to receive a needle, and in the
body d of the case and immediately, opposite the said roller is a slot n
of a size proper to permit of the passage of a single needle through it.
In order to remove one needle at a time from the case the cylinder or
roller i is turned by the arm or handle 7, so as to make the groove m in
the said cylinder or roller coincide with the slot n in the body, as
illustrated in Figure 8. By now inverting and inclining the case a
needle from the bulk of needles in the case passes through the slot n
into the groove m in the roller i (see Figure 8), and by turning the
roller so as to bring its groove outwards, as seen in Figure 9, the needle
carried by it falls therefrom. By repeating the operations described
the whole of the needles contained in the case may be removed one at
a time without handling the bulk of the needles in the case.
The arm
or handle may be so constructed as to fix the roller when not required
to be used.
Figure 10 represents in front elevation, and Figure 11 in side
elevation a compound needle case of an elliptical form provided with

page_text: grooved rollers of the kind last described. Figure 12 is a plan of the
top of the same; Figure 13 is a plan of the bottom of the same, the
cover or cap being removed; Figures 14 and 15 are vertical sections
of the case taken at right angles to one another, and Figure 16 is a
cross section of the same drawn double the full size.
The section,
Figure 14, is taken on the line p, Figure 16, and the section Figure 15,
The needle case or holder consists
between them being divided into
is taken on the line q, Figure 16.
of two concentric tubes, the space
four compartments s, s, by the grooved rollers t, t, and partitions u, u.
The compartments of the case are filled with needles of different sizes,
by preference at openings at the upper part of the case, which openings
are closed by small moveable plates. Each of the rollers t is provided
with two longitudinal grooves w, 20, and in the outer shell r of the case
The rollers t, t,
opposite the said rollers are longitudinal grooves x, x.
turn in bearings at the top and bottom of the case, the bottom bearings
being formed by the ring y. The rollers are turned by the arms or
handles 2, 2. The interior of the case is provided with a cushion 3, in
which pins or needles may be stuck. The bottom of the case is closed
by the cap or cover 4. To remove a needle from the compound case
one of the rollers t is so turned by its handle 2 that one of the grooves w
of the said roller is presented to that compartment s of the case from
which a needle is to be removed. Having so presented the groove of
the roller the case is inclined so as to cause one of the needles from
the bulk in the case to pass into the groove w. By now turning the
roller the groove in which the needle is carried is brought opposite
the slot in the case, and by inclining the case the needle passes from
the said groove and falling through the slot x is removed from the
case.
X
modifiantion of the compound

page_text: is presented to cach compartment of the case. The cap 5 turns on
the end of the cylinder p as an axis. The compartments of the case
are filled with needles through a hole 8 in the rotating cap 5, which
hole is brought in succession over the several compartments. This hole
is afterwards covered by the small jointed plate 10. The bottom of
the case may be made into a pin cushion, as seen in Figure 19. When
it is wished to remove a needle from the case the rotating cap 5 is
turned so as to bring the hole 6 in the said cap opposite that groove
of the cylinder p situated in the compartment of the case from which
a needle is to be removed. The needle which occupies the said groove
is thus brought opposite the hole 6, and by inclining the case the said
needle slides from the said groove through the hole 6, and is thereby
removed from the case. In this way one needle at a time may be
removed from any of the compartments of the case as may be required.
An arrow or mark on the rotating cap 5 (see Figure 18) being brought
opposite to a mark on the fixed case indicates when the cap 5 is in
the proper position for the passage of the needle through the hole 6.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that
we do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and
illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the
nature of our Invention; but we claim as our Invention,-
Firstly. The improvements in needle cases or needle holders herein-
before described and illustrated in Figures 1 to 6, both inclusive, of the
accompanying Drawing, whereby one needle at a time may be removed
from the bulk of needles contained in the case or holder, that is to
say, making the case or holder of two trough-shaped plates of metal,
sliding upon one another, one plate forming the body and the other
the slide for opening and closing the case, the said body being provided
with a groove or depression of a size proper to receive a single needle,
the inclination of the case causing one of the needles from the bulk to
pass into the said groove or depression, which is then uncovered by the
slide, and the needle removed by inverting the case, substantially as
described and illustrated.
Secondly. The improvements in needle cases or needle holders herein-
before described and illustrated in Figures 7 to 20, both inclusive, of
the accompanying Drawing, whereby one needle at a time may be
removed from the bulk of needles contained in the case or holder, that

page_text: is to say, removing the needles one at a time from the case by means
of a grooved roller or cylinder or grooved rollers or cylinders, either
fixed or moveable, the said rollers or cylinders being constructed and
combined with the case or holder, and used substantially as described
and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Bourne Turner, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
RICHARD BOURNE TURNER. (L.S.)