IMPROVEMENT IN THE PATTERN OF NEEDLES
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Apr., 1886.
Complete Left, 23rd Dec., 1886.
Complete Accepted, 11th Feb., 1887.
EDWARD GORDON CLEATHER of 4 Selborne Road Hove, Brighton; Esquire and
SANDFORD DAVIS of 4 York Road, Hove, Brighton, Tricycle Proprietor, do hereby
declare the nature of our invention for THE IMPROVEMENT IN THE PATTERN OF NEEDLES
to be as follows:-
The eye of these needles are made with a spring catch, so that by placing a looped
thread of cotton or other material over the needle and drawing it along towards the
eye, it will fall into the eye of the needle by itself and thus the needle is very easily
threaded. This invention also combines another improvement consisting of a catch in
the shape of a slot, which holds the thread and prevents it drawing out of the needle.
On putting the needle through the material, the thread becomes immediately wedged
between the two sides of the lower half of the eye, and can only be released by pushing.
the thread up out of the slot or catch.
EDWARD GORDON CLEATHER.
SANDFORD DAVIS.

page_text: We, EDWARD GORDON CLEATHER of 4 Selborne Road, Hove, Brighton, Esquire,
and SANDFORD DAVIS of 4 York Road, Hove, Brighton, Tricycle Proprietor, 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 :-
Heretofore needles have in some cases been made with a long eye cut through on
one side at the end of the eye next the point as shewn on an enlarged scale at Figure 1
of the drawings annexed, so as to make this side of the eye form a spring catch by
bending which inwards an opening is made through which a thread can be made to
pass into the eye but which springs out again when the thread has entered and then
again closes the opening.
Needles of this kind have been threaded by pressing a portion of the thread against
the catch side of the needle eye and moving it along the catch towards the point of the
needle. If the thread be pressed with sufficient force against the catch, the catch will
bend inwards sufficiently to leave an opening through which the thread will pass into
the eye but frequently the thread fails to enter owing to the catch not being pressed in-
wards or not sufficiently to give opening enough for the thread to pass through. According
to our invention we so form the catch that if a looped thread of cotton or other material
be placed over the needle and drawn along towards the eye it will when it arrives at
the opening drop to it and can then easily be drawn into the eye.
This we effect as shewn on an enlarged scale at Figure 2 by setting the point of the
catch a inwards so that the thread when drawn along the needle drops off the end of
the piece c onto the catch just in rear of the opening b. This dropping of the thread
on to the catch is very readily felt so that no difficulty is experienced in getting the
thread to the mouth of the opening and as the end of the piece e is inclined as shewn,
the thread when drawn forwards towards the point of the needle at once passes through
the opening into the eye-and thus the needle is very easily threaded.
In some cases also according to this invention we not only form needles with a slot
or slit through one side of what is commonly called the eye so as to allow of a thread
laid across the needle being drawn into the eye through this slot or slit, but in addition
we make the sides of the eye to incline towards one another so that the eye is narrower
at the back end than at the front in order that the thread when drawn back into this
narrow end may become wedged between the sides and thereby securely retained in
the eye and prevented from slipping endwise through it.
Figure 3 shows on an enlarged scale the eye of a needle formed in this manner.
The slot through the side of the eye is made to incline from the front of the eye
towards the back so that when a looped thread is drawn back along the needle it falls
to the opening as above described. A cross section of a thread wedged between
the sides of the narrow end of the eye is marked d.
b

page_text: By drawing the thread forwards to the wider part of the eye it can be readily
released and its position changed if desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we claim is :—
1. A needle with a slit formed through one side piece of the front end of an elongated
eye and with the forward end of this side piece set somewhat inwards so that a looped
thread when drawn backwards along the needle drops when it comes to the end of this
side piece or catch and is so readily brought over the opening into the eye and can
without difficulty be drawn into the eye substantially as described.
2. A needle with a slot or slit formed through one side of the front end of the eye
and with the eye made tapering so as to be narrower at the rear end than at the front
substantially as described.
3. A needle formed at the eye end substantially as herein before described and shown
at Figure 2 of the drawing annexed.
4. A needle formed at the eye end substantially as hereinbefore described and shewn
at Figure 3 of the drawing annexed.
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicants.