IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINE NEEDLES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International
Patent Office," Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINE
NEEDLES." A communication from abroad by Mrs. Hannah G.
Suplec, of San Francisco, California, United States of America.
-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 25th October 1869.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office,"
Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING
MACHINE NEEDLES," a communication, to be as follows:-
The said Invention consists chiefly in constructing the eye of the
needle with a slot or slit either V-shaped or otherwise oblique to form an
opening through which the thread may be passed or drawn into the eye,
in order to avoid the necessity of inserting the end thereof into the eye

page_text: in the usual manner, and also in so rounding the corners and edges
produced by the intersection of the surfaces enclosing the slot with the
other surfaces of the needle as to prevent the catching of the same in
any fabric being sewn thereby.
In order that the thread may be inserted with facility in the ordinary
sewing machine needle the eye must necessarily be many times larger
than the thread, but this way of forming the eye does not prevent the
loss of much time, especially in the case of persons having poor eyesight,
and furthermore the needle is weakened by reason of constructing the eye
so large; the thread is allowed great play and doubles or loops as the
shuttle or hook takes it and draws it through the cloth or fabric, the
changes in the tension and the friction wearing the thread, and the
stitches being rendered weak and unreliable. I am aware that other
needles have been manufactured having for their object the easy
introduction of the thread without the necessity or delay consequent upon
passing it through the eye in the usual way, but none have been
practically useful for the following reasons:-By cutting a slot or slit in
the side of the eye the needle is necessarily weakened by being deprived
of one arm of support, and consequently is easily snapped or broken by
vibration, or by the point coming in contact with some hard substance,
and furthermore ragged points or corners were left to catch or lift the
fabric as the thrusts of the needle were made. Slitting or cutting the
needle down to the eye from near the heel above the thrust or up to
the eye from near the point is attended with the same unfavorable
results as above referred to.
In order to overcome these objections I do not use the ordinary eye of
a sewing machine needle, but make a hole or opening at the proper point
in the needle or blauk of a sufficient size only to receive the thread freely,
and cut an opening or slot obliquely to the eye at one side, in which the
thread is placed. The eye hole should be made a little at one side or
excentric to the centre of the needle so as to have a preponderance of
metal at the side of the eye opposite to the slot or opening, in order to
meet the vibration and prevent breaking at that point. The slot may
be made V-shaped so as to pass from the side first upward and then
downward into the eye, or may be inclined in one direction only, either
from the exterior into the eye or across the same.
The upper and lower
points incident to the eye are rounded off so that no angles or corners
are left to retard the upward or downward thrust or progress, through

page_text: the fabric, the opening being only of sufficient size to receive and retain
the thread, so that it will not be easily carried out or unthreaded by the
action of the needle. A slight enlargement or protuberance is formed
below the slot. By this manner of construction the perforation of the
cloth will not be greatly enlarged, and it should here be remarked
that the enlargement at the point mentioned is of great importance, as it
allows the needles to pass through the fabric without catching or lifting
The needle with the V-shaped slot may be employed very
advantageously in sewing heavy fabrics, such as duck, canvass, felt, or
leather.
By making the part of the needle above the slot circular in its
transverse section only the upper external point would be left to catch
the cloth. By constructing this part wedge-shaped in its transverso
section the catching point is more easily removed in the rounding off
process, and by making it elliptical in section both the inner and outer
catching edge can be rounded off with greater facility and with a still
better result. The needle may be constructed with various modifications
of form, but all such modifications must be as above described with
regard to the rounding of the edges and points and the inclined or
oblique slot or a slot enclosed by planes inclined in such a manner that
the edges of the slot are caused to pass through the cloth at an angle
with instead of parallel to the horizon when the needle is held in a
vertical position..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 25th April 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," Southampton
Buildings, London,. Consulting Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-third year
of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special license, that I, the said
William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such

page_text: others as I, the said William Robert Lake, my 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 SEWING MACHINE NEEDLES,"
a communication to me from abroad by Mrs. Hannah G. Suplee, of San
Francisco, California, United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Robert Lake, my exccutors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said 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 William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing, forming a part of this Specification:-
The said Invention consists chiefly in constructing the needle with a
slot or slit either V-shaped or otherwise, obliquely extending from the
eye to the outside to form an opening through which the thread may be
passed or drawn into the eye, in order to avoid the necessity of inserting
the end thereof into the eye in the usual manner, and also in rounding
the corners and edges produced by the intersection of the surfaces
enclosing the slot with the other surfaces of the needle to prevent
the catching of the same in any fabric being sewn thereby.
In order that the thread may be inserted with facility in the ordinary
sewing machine needle the eye must necessarily be many times larger
than the thread, but this way of forming the eye does not prevent the
loss of much time, especially in the case of persons having poor eyesight,
and furthermore the needle is weakened by making the eye so large;
the thread is allowed great play, and is doubled or looped as the shuttle
or hook takes it and draws it through the cloth or fabric; the changes in
the tenison and the friction wear the thread and the stitches are rendered
weak and unreliable. I am aware that other needles have been manu-
factured having for their object the easy introduction of the thread

page_text: without the inconvenience or delay consequent upon passing it through
the eye in the usual way, but none have been practically useful for the
following reasons:-By cutting a slot or slit through the side into the
eye the needle is necessarily weakened by being deprived of one arm
or bar of support, and consequently is easily snapped or broken by
vibration or by the point coming in contact with some hard substance,
furthermore ragged points or corners were left to catch or lift the
fabric as the thrusts of the needle were made. Slitting the needle
down to the eye from near the part which is held in the machine arm
or up to the eye from near the point is also attended with unfavorable
results.
In order to overcome these objections I do not use the ordinary eye of
a sewing machine needle, but make a hole or opening at the proper point
in the needle or blank of a sufficient size only to receive the thread
freely; I then cut an opening or slot obliquely into the eye at one side, in
which the thread is placed. The eye hole should be made a little at one
side or eccentric to the axis of the needle so as to leave a preponderance
of metal at the side of the eye opposite to the slot or opening, in order
to resist the vibration and prevent breaking at that point. The slot may
be V-shaped so as to extend from the outside first upwards and then
downwards into the eye, or may be inclined in one direction only either
from the exterior into the eye or accross the same. The upper and lower
points incident to the eye are rounded off, so that no angles or corners
are left to retard the upward or downward thrust or progress through
the fabric, the opening being only of sufficient size to receive and retain
the thread so that it will not be easily carried out or displaced by the
action of the needle. A slight enlargement or protuberance is formed
below the slot. By this manner of construction the perforations of the
cloth will not be greatly enlarged and it should here be remarked that
the enlargement at the point mentioned is of great importance, as it
allows the needle to pass through the fabric without catching or lifting
the same.
The Drawing represents on an enlarged scale parts of needles having
my improvements.
Figures 1 and 2 are side and edge views of part of such a needle.
Figure 3 is a side view, and Figure 4 a section on the line x, x,
thereof looking upward.
Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, are similar side views and sections.

page_text: Figures 9, 10, 11, are a side a view, edge view, and transverse section
of a modification of my Invention herein-after described.
I will first describe the needle illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. a is the
slot or opening, which is cut obliquely up and down through one side of
the eye of the needle at about the centre of the eye, the external edge
being rounded so that no acute angles will be left to cut the thread of
the cloth when the needle is passing through it. At the side of the eye
of the needle immediately below the slot a is the protuberance d, which
projects a little beyond the side of the needle above the slot a, so that
as the needle enters the fabric the point c of the upper part of the slot
will not engage with or catch the threads of the said fabric, and the
needle may be withdrawn from the work without lifting the fabric. The
needle therefore works without any perceptible difference between its
operation and that of an ordinary needle. The perforations made by
this improved needle in the cloth may be a little larger than those of
an ordinary needle, but will not prevent the production of the finest
stitching. The obliquity of the slot effectually prevents the escape of
the thread from the eye b in either the upward or downward movement
of the needle. The upper and outer lip 1 of the slot may extend nearer
to or be further removed from the shoulder or lower lip 2 of the slot,
thus making the opening narrower or wider according to the size of the
needle and of the thread employed therein. The object of having the
slot as narrow as possible is simply to prevent the breaking or snapping
of the intact part at the opposite side e of the eye of the needle as the
needle is forced downward, and this part e of the needle may be made
a little thicker than usual to guard more effectually against such a
contingency.
It will be seen that in the modifications of the needle represented in
Figures 3, 5, 7, and 12 the sharp edges that would be formed if the
faces of the slot or opening a and the vertical sides of the needle were
extended until they intersected each other are avoided by rounding off
the outer and lower edges in a peculiar manner, as shown at 3, 4. It
will also be observed that the points or corners at 5, 6, 7, 8, are also
rounded.
For the purpose of rendering this description of my Invention perfectly
clear let it be supposed that the needles are formed with the slot or
opening a as described, but with the points or corners not rounded.
Then beginning with Figures 3, 5, 7, and 12 we should find that when

page_text: these needles are passed down through the cloth they would catch at the
part 4 only, if then these corners 4 are rounded as shown, it will be
found that such catching is prevented, we should then however find as
the needles passed upward the corners 3 would have a slight tendency
to catch and lift the cloth. This tendency is reduced to a minimum by
slightly rounding these corners. It would also be found that the needle
as shown in Figures 12, 13, 14, would catch in its upward movement at
the points 7. Finally after rounding off these points as shown it will
be found that the needles will work up and down through the cloth in
the most satisfactory manner. The points S may likewise be rounded off,
as shown in Figures 7 and 8. The needle shown in Figures 9 and 10
has to be rounded off at two points, as shown at 5, 6. It will be seen
that in this modification of my Invention the inclination of the slot a is
from side to side of the eye b, instead of being upward or downward from
the said eye to the exterior of the needle. By making the part intersected
by the line ff, circular in section, the point 4 only will be left to catch
the cloth (see Figures 3 and 4). By constructing this part f,f, wedge-
shaped in section as in Figures 5 and 6, the catching point is more easily
removed in the rounding off process, and by making it elliptical in section
as shewn in Figure 8, both the inner and outer catching edges can be
rounded off with greater facility and with a still better result. It may
also be semicircular, as in Figure 14.
In all these modifications of my needle the back part e opposite the
slot or opening a is made larger in sectional area than the front part f, f.
The needle may be constructed with various other modifications of form,
but in all such modifications the needle must be substantially similar to
those above described with regard to the rounding of the edges and points
and the inclined slot (or a slot cnclosed by inclined planes) by which the
edges of the slot are caused to pass through the cloth obliquely instead
of parallel to the horizon when the needle is held vertically.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I claim, -
First. The construction of a needle for sewing machines having an
inclined slot or opening a through the side into the eye with rounded
points and edges and with or without the protuberance d, substantially
as and for the purpose set forth.

page_text: Second. Making that part of the needle through which the slot a is
cut circular, semicircular, wedge-shaped, or elliptical for the purposes set
forth.
Third. Constructing the needle with a circular eye with an inclined
slot (or a slot enclosed between inclined planes or faces) and with
rounded edges, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of
April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)
Witness,
HARRY WRAIGHT,
Clerk to Messrs. Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Southampton Buildings,
London.