Improvements in and relating to Needles, Especially Applicable for use in Sewing Machines.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Jan., 1890-Accepted, 8th Feb., 1890
IPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Needles, Especially Applicable for
use in Sewing Machines.
I, Mrs. EVA JENNIE HALL, residing at Number 1016, Sixth Avenue, South, Still-
water, in the County of Washington, and State of Minnesota, one of the United
States of America, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
Referring to the accompanying drawings:
Figure 1, shows a view of my needle in elevation, with a part broken away to show
the construction of the spring and engaging shield;
Figure 2, a view in elevation of the needle turned to present its spring and shield
side to the front;
Figure 3, a section of the needle on line, x-x, of Figure 1, and—
Figure 4, a section on line, 2-z, of Figure 2.
The object of my invention is to provide an improved needle especially applicable
for use in sewing machines, and to this end-
My invention consists in the needle, and in the construction, arrangement and
combination of the parts thereof, as hereinafter specified.
My invention relates particularly to that class of needles in which there is a spring
closed eye into which the thread can be passed through an opening, instead of having
to be thrust end wise through the eye.
While the special object of the invention is to provide a sewing machine needle
which can be easily and quickly threaded by any one without the necessity of seeing
the needle eye, I wish it to be understood that I do not intend to limit myself to
sewing machine needles in the application of my invention.
Needles of other kinds, or for other purposes can advantageously be constructed in
accordance with my invention.
In the drawings, A, designates the holding portion of the needle to be gripped or
held by the holder on the needle armi or bar, and, A¹, the needle shank.
The needle eye, B, is as shown, set to, one side of a longitudinal line passing down
through the needle point.
This construction leaves a solid uncut portion of the needle shank in line with the
thrust of the needle point, so that there is no danger of the needle buckling or
breaking at the eye.
The side of the needle shank upon which the eye is situated, is flattened or cut
away, as shown, leaving the side of the eye open.
A spring, C, welded or otherwise fastened to or made in one piece with the needle
shank, extends up along the flat side of the needle, and closes the open side of the
needle eye.
The upper end of this spring is bent outward, away from the needle shank, as
shown, so as to facilitate the passage of the thread, inward and downward behind the
spring.
A concave downwardly extending shield, D, welded or otherwise attached to the
portion, A, of the needle covers the outwardly bent end of the spring, and also
serves to prevent the upper portion of the spring from swinging away from the needle
shank.
As shown, this shield extends downward and slightly outward, and has its lower
portion reduced in width to form a rounded point or tongue, whose end projects below
and outside of the end of the spring, C.

page_text: The concavity of the shield, obviously, prevents the spring end from moving to one
side or the other, so as to get out from behind or within the shield.
With the tapering tongue on the shield extending downward and outward beyond
the spring end, as set forth above, the thread will, if passed upward close to
the outer side of the spring, be most easily and surely guided inward over the
spring end, into position to be passed directly downward behind the spring to the
needle eye.
The point of the tongue will first engage the thread with its inner side, and the
inclined tongue edges or sides will then, as the thread is moved upward, guide or
force it inward.
The spring end is engaged by the portion of thread between the tongue edges and
pressed inward thereby, until the thread passes up beyond it. It then snaps out-
ward against the shield so as to properly guide the thread as it is passed down along
the needle.
The walls of the needle eye at its open side are preferably, made to extend somewhat
beyond the upper and lower sides of the eye, so that the thread, when in the needle
eye, will not tend during use of the needle to work out of the eye, and between the
needle shank and the spring.
A longitudinal thread groove, a, runs along one side of the needle shank from the
needle eye to the upper shank end and downward beyond from the eye a certain
distance towards the needle point.
Such groove is in the same plane as the needle eye, that is, to one side of line
passing through the needle point.
From the opposite side of the eye from groove, a, a second and shorter groove
extends up and down a short distance along the needle shank.
The upper and lower sides of the needle eye are, preferably, concaved as shown, so
as to form continuations of the grooves around through the eye.
With my needle, constructed as shown and described, the operation of threading is
a most simple and easy one, which can be performed even without looking at or seeing
the needle.
A portion of the thread held horizontally, or at right angles to the needle, is pressed
upward behind the shield, over the spring end and then down between the spring and
needle shank until it reaches the open side of the needle eye, through which it is
passed into the eye.
The spring closes the side of the eye again after the inward passage of the thread,
so that the latter can not get back out of the eye again during the use of the
needle.
With the sides of the needle eye overhanging the opening at the side of the
eye, there is no danger of the thread being so pressed or pulled outward against
the spring so as to cause the same to unclose the eye, and let the thread out
therefrom.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is―
1. In a needle, in combination with the shank having the open sided eye, the
spring for closing such eye extending upward close to the shank and having its upper
end bent outward to stand away from the side of the latter, a fixed hood on the shank
having a tongue extending outside of the spring end and engaging the same so as to
limit its outward movement and keep the portion of the spring below the bend close
against the needle shank, while the spring end stands away therefrom, substantially
as and for the purpose set forth.
2. In a needle, in combination with the shank having the open sided eye, the
spring attached to the shank below the eye, and extending upward past the latter, and

page_text: having its upper end bent outward and standing normally away from the shank, and
the fixed hood having a tapering concave tongue extending downward outside of
and past the spring end, substantially as and for the purpose described.
Did he and ..
T1900
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.