Improvements in and relating to Needles for use in Sewing Machines.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Needles for use in Sewing
Machines.
I, EVA JENNIE HALL, wife of Hugh Hall, residing at No. 1010 Sixth Avenue
South, in the City of Stillwater, County of Washington and State of Minnesota,
one of the United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Figure 1, shows a view in elevation of my improved needle, with the eye closing
spring removed;
Figure 2, a similar view of the needle with the spring fixed in place;
Figure 3, a view showing in elevation the spring receiving side of the needle,
and the inner face of the spring;
Figure 4, a similar view of the needle with the spring in place covering the open
side of the eye;
Figure 5, a detail view on an enlarged scale showing the attaching portion of
the spring in elevation, and the lower end portion of the needle in longitudinal
section;
Figure 6, a detail view, on an enlarged scale, of a longitudinal section of the
lower portion of the needle body and spring attached together;
Figure 7, a view of a section on line x, x, of Figure 6;
Figure 8, a view of a section on line y, y, of Figure 6;
Figure 9, a detail view, on an enlarged scale showing the upper spring end in its
receiving slot in the needle;
Figure 10, a similar view looking at the side of the needle end receiving slot,
and
Figure 11, a view of a section on line z, z, of Figures 9 and 10.
Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the figures.
The object of my invention has been to provide an improved quick-threading
needle for sewing machines and to this end-
My invention consists in the needle and in the parts thereof, constructed, arranged
and combined as hereinafter specified.
The special purpose which I have had in view has been to provide a needle,
which, while capable of being easily and quickly threaded without the necessity
of passing the thread endwise through a closed sided needle eye, shall be made in
as few parts as possible, and shall have no projection or protuberance on its side
which will be liable to be in the way or be broken off during use.
As will be seen from the drawings and the hereinafter given description, my
device consists essentially of only two parts, the needle body with its upper enlarged
portion or shank and its lower smaller pointed part provided with the open-sided
eye, and the spring for closing the opening into said eye.
Such spring is adapted to allow a thread to be passed down behind it into the
eye, and to normally close the side of the latter so as to prevent the thread from
getting out of the eye again while the needle is being used.
The upper spring end is thoroughly protected against being accidentally caught
and bent outward away from the needle body, while it is so arranged that a thread
can be readily passed up over and behind it."
As will be seen the spring is, at its lower end, attached to the needle body in the
simplest and firmest way, so that it will be securely held from being detached, and
will be normally held in line with said body.
In addition to this fastening I have provided simple and efficient means for

page_text: making certain that the upper spring end shall not spring or get to one side out of
the protecting slot during use of the needle.
In the drawings, A, designates the thick upper part of shank of the needle,
adapted to be engaged by the clamp on the needle bar of a sewing machine, and,
A¹, designates the reduced lower part of body, having on its lower end the usual
point, a.
Just above the latter is the thread receiving eye, a¹, which, as shown, is situated
out of line with or to one side of the center of the needle body and has its outer
side left open.
Extending from the eye, above and below the same on opposite sides of the
needle, are the thread grooves, a², a³, one running up to and into the enlarged
shank, A, and the other being shorter and extending only part way up
portion, A¹.
On the side upon which the eye is situated, said portion is slabbed off or
flattened to accommodate the eye closing spring, B, consisting essentially of a flat
strip of spring material, preferably steel, provided on the inner side of its lower
end with a short longitudinal web, b, and a tongue or projection, b', for attaching it
to the needle body.
Extending through the latter at a point below the eye, a¹, and in a direction at
right angles to the slabbed or flattened side of the needle body, is an opening, a³,
for receiving the spring tongue, while at the end of such opening towards the
spring is a longitudinal groove or narrow recess, a', to receive and engage the
web, b.
As shown in the drawings, there is a second corresponding groove, a³, at the
other end of the opening, for a purpose to be explained hereinafter.
Both grooves can be made in any desired way, and of any suitable shape, without
departure from my invention. They need not be of the same shape, and the
one, a, is not necessarily a longitudinal groove, but may be a simple recess, round
or otherwise in general form.
In making my needle I find it best and easiest to first cut the two grooves, a³, a³,
in substantially the shape shown in the drawings, by means of small circular
slotting or grooving saws, and then punch the opening, a³, through. The saws in
cutting through the outside surface or skin of the needle body and some ways
into the latter, make the punching operation a much easier one than it would
otherwise be.
With the needle punched and grooved or recessed, as described, and the spring
provided with the web, b, adapted to fit the groove, a', the spring is fastened in
place by inserting its tongue through the opening, as, until said web is seated in its
receiving groove, and then, by swaging or hammering, heading the outer or further
end of the tongue down into the groove, a.
The web tongue and head thereon will then be shaped substantially as shown in
Figures 6 and 8, and the spring end will be most firmly and securely fastened to
the needle body, so that the inner face of the spring will be close against the
flattened side of such body and will cover the opening into the eye.
The longitudinal web,, on the spring, fitting the longitudinal groove, a*, will
act to hold the spring body normally in line with the needle body and prevent its
turning or swinging to one side or the other.
While I prefer to make the groove, a³, a longitudinal one like, at, as its main
function is to accommodate the head produced on the tongue, b', by the hammering
or swaging operation, it does not necessarily have the shape of a narrow channel
or groove, but can be of any other desired form without departure from my
invention.
The tongue and the receiving opening, a³, therefor in the needle body are shown
to be flat or oblong in cross section, and I prefer such construction while I do not
limit myself thereto. A round or otherwise formed tongue and a correspondingly
shaped opening can be used instead.
From its point of attachment the spring extends up along the flat side of the

page_text: needle body, past the eye, and at its upper end projects into the cut or slot, C,
which runs upwardly and inwardly at an angle to the plane of the needle body's
flat side.
As shown, this slot begins in that part of the needle where the thick upper
portion or shank joins the smaller lower part of body, A¹, and extends up into said
thick part far enough to carry its inner end inward beyond the face against which
the spring rests and above the spring end.
The upper portion of the spring extending up beyond the lower side of the slot
into contact with the upper or outer wall of the latter, is unsupported by the
needle body against being bent inward by pressure on its outer side.
The slot should be made larger than is necessary to merely accommodate the
thickness of the spring end, so as to allow room for the passage of a thread between
the outer side of the spring and the outer wall of the slot. If desired, in order to
make room for the thread and to give greater flexibility to the upper part of the
spring, such part can be tapered off or reduced in thickness towards its end, as
indicated in Figure 10.
While the web, b, on the lower end of the spring fitting the groove, a*, as herein-
before described, will serve to hold the spring normally in line with the needle body,
so that the upper spring end will be in slot, C, I find it desirable to provide means
for certainly preventing said end from getting or being forced to one side or the
other, so as to get out of or project beyond the slot.
For this purpose I notch or fork the upper end of the spring, as shown at 6², in
the drawings. and have within the slot, C, a stop, C₁, situated between the arms of
the spring fork, so that neither of said arms can be carried past it by a sidewise
movement of the spring end. The stop and notch are of such size and shape with
relation to each other, as to leave a space between the stop and edges of the notch
sufficient to allow the free passage of a thread of the size to be used with the needle.
In other words, the stop does not fit the notch, and does not extend to the bottom
or lower end thereof. It is of such size, however, with reference to the notch as to
be engaged by a side of the latter, as the spring end is forced to one side, before
the outer edge of such end is carried beyond the protecting slot, C.
The form of stop which I prefer consists of a V-shaped part of the needle body
or shank left in the process of making slot, C, but I do not limit myself thereto.
If desired, the stop can be formed separately from the needle body or shank, and
put in place in the slot after the latter has been formed. It may be in the form of
a pin situated, as indicated by dotted lines in several figures of the drawings,
without departure from my invention.
With the relative construction of slot, stop, and notched spring end shown and
described, if a thread, D, be passed sidewise up into the slot to the position shown
in Figure 9, it will engage and press backward the arms forming the spring end on
opposite sides of the stop, C', and then passing above such arms, will allow the
spring end to fly forward again into its normal position against the front or outer
wall of the slot. Said slot is then closed against the outward passage of the thread,
and the latter is in position to be moved downward behind the spring end, and
between the main part of the spring and the needle body, until it reaches and
enters the open side of the thread receiving eye, a. While the thread is travelling
down, the spring yields outward, returning to its normal position close against the
needle body, when the thread passes into the eye.
The manner of using my improved needle, which will be fully understood from
the foregoing description and the drawings, is briefly as follows:-
:-
When the needle is to be threaded, the thread, either held between the fingers,
or in the form of a loop, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 9, is passed
bodily upward and inward into the slot, C. The portions of the thread or loop on
opposite sides of the stop, C', engaging the arms of the fork on the spring end,
force them inward and then pass above them. The spring end then snaps quickly
back into its normal position across the lower portion of the slot, so that the thread

page_text: can be moved downward at once with the certainty that it cannot get out of the
slot, but will be guided down behind the spring and between the latter and the
needle body, as indicated herein before. When the thread carried downward is in
the eye, the spring will effectually close the open side of the latter, so that the
thread cannot work or get ont again during a sewing operation.
My needle, constructed and arranged as described and shown, is cheaply and
easily made, and not liable to get out of order or be broken in use.
The eye-closing spring is most securely fastened at its lower end to the needle
body by a fastening which, while simple and most efficient in securely attaching
the spring, does not involve any injurious weakening of the needle body at its
point.
The cut or slot, C, arranged as described and shown, provides for the protection
of the upper end of the spring against being accidentally engaged and forced
outward away from the needle body by anything coming against it during use, and
the stop within the slot acts effectually with the notch or fork in the spring end, to
keep such end from getting or being forced to one side, so as to project beyond the
slot. The latter, beginning as it does in the thickened part of the needle, where
the slender body, A', joins the thicker upper part or shank, A, and running up into
such part alone, will, obviously, not weaken the needle, or render it at all liable to
break during use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A needle having the open-sided eye, the spring for closing the side of the
latter, and a slot into which the spring end projects adapted to allow a thread to
be passed in over and beyond the spring end, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
2. A needle having the open-sided eye, the spring attached to the needle body
below the eye and extending up past the open side of the latter, and a slot into
which the spring projects beginning below and extending beyond the spring end,
substantially as and for the purpose shown.
3. A needle having the open-sided eye, the spring attached to the needle body
below the eye and extending up past the open side of the latter, and the spring end
receiving slot extending upward and inward at an angle to the spring end,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
4. A needle having the enlarged portion or shank, and the reduced body with
open-sided eye, the spring attached to the body below the latter and extending up
past the open side of the same, and a slot into which the upper end of the spring
projects extending into the thicker upper part of the needle and adapted to allow
the passage of a thread up over and behind the spring end into position to be
carried down behind the spring to and into the needle eye, substantially as and for
the purpose described.
5. A needle having the open-sided eye, the spring for closing the opening into
such eye having its free end notched, and a stop situated between the sides of the
spring notch, adapted to allow the passage of a thread between it and the spring
end, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
6. A needle having the open-sided eye, the spring for closing the opening into
the latter having its end provided with a notch, a slot into which the spring end
projects, and a stop between the sides of the spring notch to limit the movement of
the spring end, substantially as and for the purpose shown.
7. A needle having the open-sided eye, the spring for closing the opening into
the latter having its free end notched, a slot into which the spring end projects, and
a stop within such slot consisting of a portion of the needle body projecting down
into the spring end notch, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
8. In a needle, in combination with the body having the open-sided eye and an

page_text: opening, the spring for closing the side of the eye, having the tongue passing
through the opening and headed down, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
9. In a needle in combination with the body having the open-sided eye and a
longitudinal groove or recess, the spring for closing the side of the eye attached
to the needle body and having on its attaching portion a thin longitudinal web
fitting the groove in the needle body, substantially as and for the purpose shown.
10. In a needle in combination with the body having the open-sided eye, the
spring for closing the side of the latter having a tongue engaging an opening in the
needle body and an engaging projection and recess on the spring and body,
respectively, tending to hold the spring body normally in line with the latter,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
11. In a needle in combination with the body having the open-sided eye, an
opening below such eye and a longitudinal groove at the end of the opening,
the eye-side closing spring having the tongue, and a thin longitudinal web
engaging, respectively, the opening and groove, substantially as and for the
described.
purpose
12. In a needle in combination with the body having an opening through it, and
a longitudinal groove and a depression at opposite ends of the opening, the spring
having the web engaging the longitudinal groove, and the tongue projecting
through the opening and headed down into the depression on the further side of
the needle body, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 16th day of Tuno 1901
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.