Improvements in Needles.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Aug., 1895-Accepted, 19th Oct., 1895
Improvements in Needles.
I, CHARLES WOODBURY STIMSON, of 134 West 70th Street, City, County
and State of New York United States of America, Physician 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:-
My invention relates to needles, and particularly to the eyes of needles, and to a
shape and construction thereof whereby the thread may be held firmly within the
eye of the needle and so may be prevented from being pulled out of the eye
unintentionally while the needle is in use; and my invention consists in the novel
shape and construction of the needle eye hereinafter described.
The objects of my invention are, first, to provide a needle having an eye so
formed that while the needle may be threaded in the customary manner and with
as great ease as is possible with the common needles now generally used, it may
also be possible to secure the thread in the eye, by a movement which is simple
and easily performed, so that the thread may be prevented absolutely from slipping
and from being drawn out of the eye unintentionally, and yet may be removed
from the needle, when desired, as easily and quickly as is possible with the ordinary
needle; second, to provide a needle which, while capable of holding the thread as
above specified, shall not be liable to cut or weaken the thread at the point where
it is held, so that there may be no danger of undue breakage of the thread; third,
to provide a needle which, while possessing the above qualities may be used as an
ordinary needle, when so desired, the thread being loose in the eye; and fourth, to
provide a needle which, while possessing the above advantages, shall be simple in
construction, strong, durable and cheap.
These objects are attained in the invention herein described and illustrated in
the drawings which accompany and form a part of this application, in which
the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts, and in
which :-
Figure 1 is a side elevation, greatly enlarged, of the upper or head end of a needle
having an eye of the preferred shape of my invention; Figure 2 is a similar view,
showing a modified form of eye, and Figure 3 is a view showing another modified form
of eye.
In the drawings, I is the needle. It may be of the same size, form, and pro-
portions as the ordinary needle used for the same class of work. The needle in
which my improved eye is formed may be of any class which is used with a thread,
cord, or other sewing material. The needle, the head of which is shown in the
drawings, in an ordinary sewing needle, and consequently the eye is in the extreme
upper portion thereof. The eye consists of an enlarged portion, 2, which
corresponds in shape and size to the ordinary needle eye, and a slot 3, com-
municating with the portion at the upper end thereof, and much narrower than
this portion 2 and than the diameter of the thread intended to be used in the
needle, and having a length considerably greater than the diameter of the thread.
The sides of the slot 3 are substantially parallel. The slot does not broaden at its
lower end, so as to merge gradually into the larger portion 2, but terminates
abruptly in this larger portion 2, so that at the end of the slot shoulders such as 5,
of Figure 2, and 5, 5, of Figures 1 and 3, are formed, against which the thread
may rest, as in an ordinary needle eye, when it is not desired to secure the thread
within the eye of the needle. The edges of these shoulders are rounded to prevent
possible cutting of the thread, as are all of the edges of the needle eye. Beyond

page_text: "
"
the end of this slot the needle is provided with a groove, 4, corresponding to a
similar groove in, the common needles now in use, in which the thread lies when
the needle is being drawn through the fabric, so that there may be as little
disturbance of the fabric as possible.
The larger portion, 2, of the eye, is formed in all respects similarly to the eyes
of common needles, and may be round, or it may be oval or "egg-shaped," as are
the eyes of common needles. Since the slot 3 terminates abruptly in this larger
portion 2 of the eye, the upper end of this portion 2-may have substantially the
shape, except at the point where the slot 3 ends, that it would have were no slot
there and because of the narrowness of the slot, there is left ample bearing
surface, so that the thread will not enter the slot, in the ordinary use of the needle,
unless it be intentionally pulled therein. It is possible, therefore, to use my
needle as an ordinary needle, with the thread loose in the eye, or to fasten the
thread in the eye, at will.
The needle is threaded in the ordinary manner, by passing the end of the thread
through the larger portion 2 of the eye. If the thread is to be fastened in the
eyc, it is necessary to pass but a very small portion of the thread through the eye,
so that thereby the wasting of a considerable portion of the thread, as is now
often the case, is avoided, and there is much less liability of the thread becoming
tangled in sewing. In order to fasten the thread in the eye, after the needle has
been threaded, the thread is grasped on both sides of the needle, and by a firm
steady pull the bight is drawn into the slot 3 and to the bottom thereof. It may
be found easier to pull the thread into the slot 3, particularly with the larger sizes
of thread, to so pull upon the thread that it will enter the slot 3 on one side of the
needle before it enters on the other side, so that the thread acts somewhat as a
wedge, and probably springs the sides of the needle apart slightly as it enters the
slot. When so within the slot 3, the thread is pressed so firmly by the sides of the
needle that that portion of it which is within the eye or very close thereto is no
longer round, but has been broadened and flattened. If the slot 3 be properly
proportioned for the size of thread used, however, the thread is not pressed or
- distorted sufficiently to weaken it, while it is held so firmly that it cannot be
. pulled from the eye while the needle is in use by a pull strong enough to break
the thread. When it is desired to remove the thread from the needle, however,
this may be done by pulling it toward the point of the needle, when the thread
will move down into the larger portion 2 of the eye, and so will be held in the eye
no longer.
.
If it is not desired to fasten the thread into the eye of the needle by pulling
it up into the slot 3, the needle may be used as an ordinary needle, with the
thread loose therein, the slot 3 being so narrow that, the thread will not enter
the same with the amount of tension to which the thread close to the eye of
the needle is ordinarily subjected in sewing, but will remain within the larger
portion 2 of the eye, bearing against the shoulder or shoulders 5 while the
thread is being pulled through the fabric. A form of eye which is especially
adapted to be used in either manner, that is, with the thread loose or fastened,
at will, is shown in Figure 2, wherein the mouth of the slot 3 is not situated
on the axis of the needle, but to one side thereof, and the slot then curves
around toward or even beyond the axis of the needle. When the needle is.in
use, the thread naturally tends to lie in the center of the eye, and as the slot
communicates with the larger portion 2 of the eye at the side instead of at the
center, there is less liability of the thread entering the slot 3 unintentionally than
with the form of eye shown in Figure 1, something that is not likely to occur in
any case if thread of the proper size is used in the needle, but might occur
accidentally if, too small a thread were used.
Figure 3 shows another modified form of eye,, in which there are two slots, 3
and 3', corresponding to the similar slot of Figure 2, and placed at the sides of
the needle. This needle is used in the same manner as the others, either slot being
used indifferently.

page_text: "I am aware that it is old to form the eye of a needle in two portions, one, larger
than the other, through which the thread is passed when threading the needle,, the
other small enough to hold the thread somewhat tightly, the two portions of the eve
being connected by a narrow neck, through which the thread may be pulled and
which is narrow enough to prevent the thread from being passed from one portion
of the eye to the other unintentionally. I have found that when the smaller of
these two portions of the eye is small enough to hold the thread sufficiently tightly
to prevent slipping, then it is almost impossible to draw the thread through the
narrow neck connecting the two portions of the eye; and when this neck is made
large enough to enable the thread to be passed through it, then the thread is not
held sufficiently tightly in the eye of the needle. I am likewise aware that it is
old to form a needle with a long tapering eye larger at the lower end than at the
upper. I have found, however, that in order for the thread to be held sufficiently
tightly in the eye, that portion of the eye within which it is held must have
substantially parallel sides, as if the sides taper perceptably, but one portion of the
thread will be held and the rest will not be held, so that a slight pull upon the
thread will break it. If the sides of a tapering eye be so nearly parallel as to.
avoid trouble from this cause, and if the larger end of the eye be large enough so
that it may be threaded in the ordinary manner, then the eye must be exceedingly
long, and will unnecessarily weaken the needle, besides greatly increasing the
difficulty and expense of making the same. I am likewise aware that it is old to
form the eye of a needle with a large portion, corresponding substantially to the
eye of an ordinary needle, and merging at the upper end, somewhat gradually, into
a narrow slot-shaped portion. This form of needle eye obviates some of the
objections to the tapering eye above mentioned, since it does not require that the
eye shall be of such extreme length as to weaken the needle. But this needle eye.
still retains the objection inherent with the tapering eye, that the needle cannot be
used as an ordinary needle, with the thread loose within the eye, but the thread
will inevitably become wedged in the narrower portion of the eye with the
ordinary strain due to pulling the thread through the fabric. By my invention
I avoid all of these difficulties. The larger portion of the eye is or may be as
large as the ordinary needle, so that the needle is as easy to thread as an ordinary
needle. The slot 3 is so narrow that it changes the shape of the thread, flattening.
the same, though not weakening it, and since the sides of the slot are parallel, or
substantially so, and since the slot is sufficiently long so that the whole width of
the thread is included within the slot, the thread is held all over, so that the
maximum holding power is obtained with the minimum danger of weakening the
thread. Moreover, since the larger portion 2 of the eye does not taper gradually
into the slot 3, but terminates in the same abruptly, leaving the upper end of the
portion 2 of substantially the same shape as if the slot 3 were not there, it is
possible, when desired, to use the needle as an ordinary needle with the thread
loose in the eye, the slot 3 being narrow, and there being sufficient bearing surface
on the shoulders 5, 5, so that the thread will not enter the slot 3 with the ordinary
strain due to pulling the thread through the fabric, but will remain loose within
the larger portion 2 of the eye.
Having thus completely described my invention, what I claim and desire to
secure by Letters Patent is :-
1. As an article of manufacture, the herein described needle provided with an
eye having a larger portion, as 2, and a narrower slot-shaped portion, as 3, terminating
abruptly in the larger portion, 2, so as to form shoulders 5 against which the thread
may bear without being drawn into the slot 3 when it is desired to use the needle
with the thread within the eye, substantially as described.
2. As an article of manufacture, the herein described needle provided with an
eye having a larger portion, as 2, and a narrower slot-shaped and curved portion,.
as 3, substantially as described.
3. As an article of manufacture, the herein described needle provided with an.

page_text: eye having a larger portion, as-2, and a narrower slot-shaped. and curved portion,
as 3, terminating abruptly in the larger portion, 2, so as to form a shoulder 5,
against which the thread may bear without being drawn into the slot 3 when it is
desired to use the needle with the thread loose within the eye, substantially as
described.
Dated this 1st day of August 1895.
DAY, DAVIES & HUNT,
321 High Holborn, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.