Improvements relating to Devices for Holding and Guiding the Thread on Spools or Reels and for Facilitating the Unwinding of the Thread therefrom.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Feb., 1889
Specification Accepted, 23rd Mar.. 1389
[Communicated from abroad by SAMUEL BARKER PRATT, Photographic Artist, and
CLARA BARKER PRATT, Married Woman, both of Boston, Massachusetts,
United States of America.]
"
Improvements relating to Devices for Holding and Guiding the
Thread on Spools or Reels and for Facilitating the Unwinding
of the Thread therefrom.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co. Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
Spools of thread for domestic use are apt, especially when lying in a basket or
workbox, to become more or less unwound, with the result that the thread from the
different spools is liable to become tangled and much trouble and loss of thread and
time ensue therefrom.
My device is intended to obviate this difficulty, to do away with any necessity
for slitting or notching the spool, and to provide an end of the thread always
ready for use but at the same time to prevent the spool from becoming unwound any
further.
In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of reference indicate like
parts,
Fig. 1 is an elevation of a spool of thread provided with my attachinent, showing
the thread in the act of being removed.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of a spool provided with the attachment.
Fig. 3 is a view of the spindle removed.
Fig. 4 is a cross section of a spool provided with the attachment.
Fig. 5 is a plan of the main portion of the attachment, laid flat, the elastic portion
having been removed.
Fig. 6 is a view of the elastic portion removed.
Fig 7 is a side view of a modification.

page_text: A, represents a flat strip of thin pliable material such as zylonite or some thin
metal broader at one end or portion and narrower at the other end or portion. a is
a hole situated near the end of the broad portion of sufficient size to admit the end
of the narrower portion. is a perforation centrally located in the strip of sufficient
size to allow of the passage of the thread. e is a hook or catch cut and formed up
from the body of the strip. A' is a hook formed by bending the end of the smaller
portion of the strip back upon itself. A" A" are guiding lips produced by forming
up the opposite edges of the broader portion of the strip at the points shown.
E represents an ordinary spool with the thread e wound upon it in the usual manner.
The strip A is wound around the loaded spool in the manner shown, that is, with its
narrower end projecting through the hole a and the end of the thread projecting
through the perforation b. An elastic band D catches over the hook e and the hooked
end A extending from one to the other as shown, hetween the lips A". The
object of this band is to force the strip to contract, as the thread is unwound from
the spool, by pulling the narrow end more and more through the perforation a in
the broad end.
H is a spindle made of wood, metal or other material, preferably round and provided
with two discs, flanges, or end pieces h. These discs are secured to the opposite ends
of the spindle in any desired manner, as by gluing, tacking, or otherwise; and one
or both are made of flexible material, so that the spindle may be inserted in the
hole and spool as shown, as the end pieces (which are not necessarily circular in
form) must be a little larger in diameter than the hole so that the spindle will not
drop out. If desired one dise may be of rigid material and the other of flexible
material.
To remove a piece of thread, the opposite discs are placed between the thumb and
finger as shown in figure 1, and the thread pulled by the other hand. This causes
the spool to rotate, while the attachment remains stationary, and the thread is drawn
through the perforation 6 until a sufficient quantity is unwound. The spool may then
be thrown into the workbasket without fear of more thread becoming unwound from
it. The attachment will readily follow the thread from end to end of the spool as it
unwinds without any assistance.
The elastic band is prevented from coming in contact with the thread thereby
producing too great friction thereupon by means of the position of the hook
which is sufficiently distant from the larger end to allow said strip to expand
sufficiently, and still allow the hooked end A to extend through the opening a, so
that the portion of the strip between the opening a and the hook e is always inter-
posed between the elastic band and the thread.
The elastic band is preferably, but not necessarily made in the form of a figure 8,
as shown in figure 6, in order that there may be two loops in said band either of
which may be caught over the hook c.
The modification in figure 7 shows the strip with the hooks c and A' and
perforation a omitted and the elastic band cemented at its ends to an end of the strip
and to a portion near the centre of the strip as shown, so that the free end of the
strip underlaps (thereby keeping the elastic from contact with the thread) and is held
in position by means of loops 1.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is
First. In an attachment for spools of thread a thin narrow strip perforated as at b
and adapted to extend around a loaded spool, and a band or piece of elastic material
secured to the strip at two points thereupon, and extending across the joint whereby
the strip is contracted upon the spool, as the thread is unwound therefrom, substantially
as and for the purpose described.
Second. In an attachment for spools of thread, a thin narrow strip perforated as
at b and adapted to extend around a loaded spool, and a band or piece of elastic
material secured to the strip at two points thereupon, one of said points being near

page_text: one end of the strip, and the other being relatively distant from the other end of the
strip, whereby said elastic band is made to extend across the joint without coming in
contact with the thread, and the strip is contracted as the thread is unwound,.
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Third. In an unwinding attachment for spools of thread the spindle H placed in the
sool hole and provided with end pieces or discs larger in diameter than the spool
hole one at least of said end pieces being flexible, substantially as and for the purpose.
dos ribed.
Fourth. The strip A provided with the perforation a, hook c, narrow hooked
end A¹ and perforation b in combination with an elastic connection secured to said
strip by means of said hooks c and A¹; substantially as and for the purpose set.
forth.
Fifth. In combination, the strip A provided with the perforation a, hook cj hooked
end A¹, lips A" and perforation ; the double looped elastic connection D, and
spindle H, h, substantially as and for the purpose described.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.