IMPROVEMENTS IN DEVICES FOR THREADING NEEDLES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN DEVICES FOR THREADING NEEDLES."-A communi-
cation from abroad by George Penrice Farmer, of Brooklyn, in
the County of Kings, State of New York, United States of
America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 25th March 1873.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DEVICES FOR THREADING NEEDLES,” a com-
munication to me from abroad by George Penrice Farmer, of Brooklyn,
in the County of Kings, State of New York, United States of America,
to be as follows :-
The first part of this Invention relates to the combination with a
spool of a device for guiding the thread of the spool through the eye

page_text: of a needle, the said device being arranged for attachment to or forming
part of the spool itself. To the edge of the flange of the spool is
secured a small plate so bent in the middle as to form a conical
guiding orifice or tube for the insertion of the thread. To the top
of the flange is secured another portion of the plate, or it may be
a separate plate bent so as to form a tubular guide for the needle,
the guide being so formed at and near its outer end that the per-
forated end of the needle cannot pass through it unless one of its
flattened sides is in contact with the flange of the spool, and the
eye of the needle in a proper position for receiving the thread passed
through its guide, a projection on the side plate forming a stop for
the end of the needle, so that the eye of the latter shall be in linc
with the narrowest portion or throat of the thread guide; on directing
the thread therefore through the said guide it must pass through the
eye of the needle. The thread guide should be of dimensions suitablo
for the thread wound on the spool to which the guide is attached, and
the needle guide should be adapted to a needle of appropriate size for
the thread.
In some cases the thread guide consists of a tapering hole formed
in the flange of the spool, and communicating with a groove formed
in the top of the flange, and constituting the needle guide. This
groove terminates at such a point in relation to the 'thread guide
that the eye of the needle, when the latter is adjusted to the end
of the groove, will coincide with the thread guide, and a staple-like
projection either rigid or yielding may be so arranged above the groove
as to ensure the self-adjustment of the needle in a proper position for
its eye to receive the thread; or the thread guide may be formed in a
projection on the flange of the spool, the need leguiding groove being
continued nearly across this projection.
In some cases the thread guide may be formed across the top of the
spool, in which case the thread will be directed horizontally through
the eye of the needle, the guide for which should be so arranged that
'the flattened sides of the needle will be vertical; or the needle threader
'may consist of a horizontally arranged thread guide, and a vertical
aperture for admitting the needle.
The second part of this Invention relates to the combination with a
spool of a needle threading device attached to or forming part of the

page_text: said spool, and constructed so as to enable a needle to be as readily
threaded with thread attached to a piece of work as with loose thread.
The principal points of difference between this part of the Invention
and that already described, are that the stop for the needle is dispensed
with, and that the needle guide consists of a simple open tapering groove
instead of being made in the form of a closed tube.
According to one arrangement the threader consists of a bent plate,
in the vertical portion of which is formed an open tapering groove
for the guidance of the thread, and the top portion of the said plate
is so bent as to form a tubular guide for the insertion of the perforated
end of the needle. The needle guide is flattened at the end adjoining
the thread groove, so that when the needle is inserted into the same
it shall have a tendency to turn the eye of the needle to a proper
position for receiving the thread. The flattened needle guide may
also be split so that the said guide may yield slightly in order to
permit the unobstructed passage through the same of the needle. If
the thread which is passed through the eye of the needle is attached
to a piece of work the needle must be pushed forward or drawn
entirely through its guide, and can thus be withdrawn; for owing to
the absence of any stop for the needle, and to the fact that the thread
guide is a simple open groove no obstruction is offered to the disengage-
ment of either the needle or thread, this form of threader therefore
answering equally well for loose thread, or thread made fast at onc
end.
In another modification of threader having the above advantage, the
tapering thread groove is formed in the edge of, the flange of the spool,
no plate being used for this portion of the device, and the needle guide
consists of a groove extending across the top of the flange, and covered
by a flat plate; the latter may if desired be dispensed with, and the
thread guide and needle guide may both be formed in and constitute
a part of the spool. In the latter modification the needle cyc can be
adjusted and held by the thumb nail during the operation of threading.
A staple-like projection may in some cases be arranged above the
needle guide to insure the proper adjustment of the needle, so that its
cyc may receive the thread, or instead of this rigid staple a yielding
spring, secured at one end to the top of the spool and extending over
the needle guide, may be used as an adjusting device for the needle.

page_text: As a further modification the needle threader may consist of a hori-
zontally arranged tapering thread groove for the thread guide formed
in the top of the spool, and a vertical guide for the needle formed in
the edge of the flange.
It is generally desirable when a plate threader is used that it shall t
be slightly elastic or yielding towards its outer edge, in order to be
self-accommodating to the needle, and to thus permit the proper adjust-
ment of the same. This elasticity may be obtained by securing the
plate to the spool at its inner edge only, the plate having in this case
a flange which enters the hole in the centre of the spool, and is retained 1
therein by a plug which may be tubular or solid.
In all of the above devices the needle guide terminates at such a
point in relation to the thread guide that when the needle is adjusted
to the same its eye will correspond with or bo opposite to the throat
of the thread guide, or in other words, will be in a proper position for
receiving the thread from the said guide.
The third part of the Invention relates to devices for threading the
needles of sewing machines. As the needle thread of a sewing machine
is or should be always fast to the reel, it is as necessary as in the
second part of the Invention that the threader should be so constructed
as to permit both the needle and thread to be readily disengaged after
the threading operation, and to successfully accomplish this both the
needle guide and thread guide, the latter especially, should be in the
form of open grooves rather than tubes. One of these threaders is formed
from a flat plate indented so as to form a funnel-shaped or tapering
groove, and a straight or parallel groove in continuation therewith.
This plate is bent transversely at the wide and narrow ends respectively
of the tapered groove. The end of the plate beyond the straight groove.
is then turned in against the said groove, and the lattor is bent at right
angles to the tapered groove, while the other end of the plate is curled
round so as to form a handle for the device.
In using this threader the sewing machine needle is inserted into the
straight or parallel groove until its point strikes the bottom of the same,
when its eye will be opposite the tapering groove which forms a table-
like guide for the thread, and enables the same to be readily passed
through the said eye. The turned-in portion of the end of the plate
serves as a spring or clamp to retain the threader in proper position

page_text: in respect to the needle, and much facilitates the adjustment of the
said threader. After the threading operation the device can be dis-
connected from the needle and thread by simply drawing it downwards,
the open grooves or guides offering no obstruction whatever to this
disengagement.
Another device consists of a plate indented so as to form open thread
guiding and needle grooves at right angles to each other, or thereabouts.
This plate is permanently hinged to the needle arm of a sewing machine,
so that when not in use it may be turned upwards out of the way, and
so that when turned downwards the needle shall enter the needle groove
with its eye directly opposite the thread groove through which the thread
is passed. This latter device can, it will be evident, be variously modified
in form, but the open grooves are in all cases essential.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th September 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-sixth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license
that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors,
administrators, or 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 DEVICES
FOR THREADING NEEDLES," a communication to me from abroad by George
Penrice Farmer, of Brooklyn, in the County of Kings, State of New
York, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others)

page_text: that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 John Henry Johnson, 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
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The said Invention relates, first, to the combination with a spool
of a device for guiding the thread of the spool through the eye of a
needle, the said device being arranged for attachment to or forming
part of the spool itself. This portion of the Invention is illustrated
in Figures 1 to 10 inclusive of the accompanying Drawing. Figure 1
being a perspective view of part of a spool with a needle threading
device; Figure 2, a view of the end of the spool with its threader;
Figure 3, a vertical section (drawn to an enlarged scale) on the line
1-2, Figure 2; Figure 4, a perspective view of the threading device
drawn to an enlarged scale.
Figures 5 and 6, views representing a modification of the Invention.
Figures 7 and 8, views representing another modification.
And Figures 9 and 10, views representing further modifications.
In Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, A represents a portion of a spool for
containing sewing thread, a being one of the flanges of the spool.
To the edge of this flange is secured a small plate B so bent in the
middle as to form a conical guiding orifice or tube c for the insertion
of the thread x in the direction of the arrow, Figure 3. To the top
of the flange is secured another portion D of the plate, or it may be
a separate plate bent so as to form a tubular guide e for the needle y,
the guide being so formed at and near its outer end that the perforated
end of the needle cannot pass through it unless one of its flattened
sides is in contact with the flange of the spool, and the eye of the
needle in a proper position for receiving the thread passed through
the guide c, a projection / on the plate B forming a stop for the
end of the needle, so that the eye of the latter shall be in line with

page_text: the narrowest portion or throat of the guide c; on directing the thread x
therefore through the said guide it must pass through the eye of the
needle. The guide c should be of dimensions suitable for the thread
wound on the spool to which the guide is attached, and the needle
guide e should be adapted to a needle of appropriate size for the
thread.
The remaining Figures illustrate other modes of combining a needle
threader with a spool; in Figures 5 and 6 for instance, the thread
guide c consists of a tapering hole formed in the flange of the spool,
and communicating with the groove e formed in the top of the flange a,
and constituting the needle guide. This groove e terminates at such
a point in relation to the thread guide that the eye of the needle, when
the latter is adjusted to the end of the groove, will coincide with the
thread guide, and a staple-liko projection m either rigid or yielding
may be so arranged above the groove as to insure the self-adjustment
of the needle in a proper position for its eye to receive the thread.
In the modifications shown in Figures 7 and 8, the thread guide c
is formed in a projection n on the flange a of the spool, the needlć
guiding groove e being continued nearly across this projection.
It is not essential in carrying out this part of the Invention that the
thread guide should be arranged in respect to the spool in the manner
shown in the several plans described above; it may for instance be
formed in the top of the spool, as shown at c in Figure 9, in which
case the thread will be directed horizontally through the eye of the
needle, the guide e for which should be so arranged that the flattened
sides of the needle will be vertical; or the needle threader may consist
of a horizontally arranged thread guide c, and a vertical aperture e for
admitting the needle (see Figure 10).
1. The second part of this Invention relates to the combination with a
spool of a needle-threading device attached to or forming part of the
said spool, and constructed as hereafter described so as to enable a
needle to be as readily threaded with thread attached to a piece of work
as with loose thread. This part of the Invention is shown in Figures
11 to 18, inclusive of the Drawing.
Figure 11 represents a sectional view of part of a spool with the
needle threader attached; Figure 12, a perspective view of the same;

page_text: Figure 14, a sectional view of a modification.
And Figures 15, 16, 17, and 18, views of other modifications.
It will be observed on reference to the above Figures that the
principal points of difference between this part of the Invention and
that already described, are that the stop h for the needle is dispensed 5
with, and that the needle guide e consists of a simple open tapering
groove instead of being made in the form of a closed tube.
When the stop and closed tube are employed the needle cannot be
drawn entirely through its guide, but must be withdrawn from the
same end into which it is inserted, the thread after having been passed 1
through the eye of the needle being drawn with the latter through
tho needle guide, an arrangement perfectly suitable for loose thread,
but which, it will be evident, prevents the use of the threader when
the needle has to be re-threaded with thread attached to a picce of
work, for as the thread has to be drawn through the needle guide it
would necessitate the detaching of the same from the work.
.
In Figures 11, 12, and 13, the threader consists of a bent plate B, D,
in the vertical portion of which is formed the open tapering groove c
for the guidance of the thread, and the top portion of the said plato
is so bent as to form a tubular guide e for the insertion of the perforated
end of the needle. The guide e is flattened at the end adjoining the
groove c, as best observed in Figure 13, so that wheen the needle is
inserted into the same it shall have a tendency to turn the eye of the
needle to a proper position for receiving the thread from the groove c.
The flattened needle guide may also be split in the manner indicated
by the line, (Figure 13) so that the said guide may yield slightly
in order to permit the unobstructed passage through the same of the
needle. The needle is passed through the guide e until its eye comes
on a line with the throat or narrowest portion of the groove c, so that
when the thread is directed up the latter it must pass through the eye
of the needle. The needle may then be drawn back or pushed forward
through its guide e which will complete the operation of threading.
the thread which is passed through the eye of the needle is attacheḍ
to a piece of work the needle must be pushed forward or drawn
entirely through its guide, and can thus be withdrawn, for owing to
the absence of any stop for the needle, and to the fact that the thread
guide is a simple open groove no obstruction is offered to the disengage.
If

page_text: ment of either the needle or thread; this form of threader therefore
answering equally well for loose thread or thread made fast at one
end.
There are various modifications of threaders having the above
advantage. In Figure 14 for instance, the tapering groove c, which
serves as a guide for the thread, is formed in the edge of the flange a
of the spool, no plate being used for this portion of the device, and
the guide e for receiving the needle consists of a groove extending
across the top of the flange and covered by a flat plate D. The
latter may if desired be dispensed with, and the thread guide and
needle guide may both be formed in and constitute a part of the
spool, as illustrated in Figure 15. In the latter modification the needle
eye can be adjusted and held by the thumb nail during the operation of
threading.
A staple-like projection m may in some cases be arranged above
the needle guide e to insure the proper adjustment of the needle, so
that its eye may receive the thread (see Figure 16), or instead of this
rigid staple a yielding spring secured at one end to the top of the spool
and extending over the needle guide may be used as an adjusting device
for the needle.
•
As a further modification the needle threader may consist of a hori-
zontally arranged tapering groove c for the thread guide formed in the
top of the spool, and a vertical guide e for the needle formed in the edge
of the flange a (see Figure 17). This arrangement is directly the reverse
of that shown in Figure 14.
'
It is generally desirable when a plate threader is used that it shall
be slightly elastic or yielding towards its outer edge, in order to be
self-accommodating to the needle, and to thus permit the proper adjust-
ment of the same. In Figure 18 this elasticity is obtained by securing
the plate to the spool at its inner edge only, the plate having in this
case a flange i which enters the hole in the centre of the spool, and is
retained therein by a plug ; which may be tubular or solid.
In all of the above devices the needle guide e terminates at such a
point in relation to the thread guide that when the needle is adjusted
to the same its eye will correspond with or be opposite to the throat
of the thread guide, or in other words, will be in a proper position for
receiving the thread from the said guide.

page_text: "
The third part of the Invention relates to devices for threading the
needles of sewing machines, shown in Figures 19 to 24 inclusive of the
Drawing.
.
Figures 19 and 20 represent face and sectional views of an indented
plate from which to form a threader for sewing machine needles; 5
Figure 21, the same partially bent into shape.
"
Figure 22 illustrates the complete threader and the method of using
the same.
And Figures 23 and 24 represent another form of needle threader
constructed for permanent attachment to a sewing machine. As the 1
needle thread of a sewing machine is or should be always fast to
the reel, it is as necessary as in the second part of the Invention
that the threader should be so constructed as to permit both the
.needle and thread to be readily disengaged after the threading operation, ..
and to successfully accomplish this both the needle guide and thread 1
guide, the latter especially, should be in the form of open grooves rather
than tubes.
The threader illustrated in Figure 22 is formed from a flat plate B
indented, as shown in Figures 19 and 20, so as to form a funnel-
shaped or tapering groove c and straight groove e. This plate is bent 2
transversely at the points indicated by dotted lines, first to the shape
shown in Figure 21, and then to that illustrated in Figure 22. The
portion d of the plate is thus turned in against the groove e, and the
latter is at right angles to the groove c, while the curved portion f of the
plate forms a handle for the device.
ศ
In using this threader the sewing machine needle is inserted into the
groove e until its point strikes the bottom of the same, when its eye
will be opposite the tapering groove c which forms a table-like guide
for the thread, and enables the same to be readily passed through the
..said eye. The portion d of the plate serves as a spring or clamp to 3
retain the threader in proper position in respect to the needle, and much
facilitates the adjustment of the said threader. After the threading
* operation the device can be disconnected from the needle and thread by
simply drawing it downwards, the open grooves or guides offering no
obstruction whatever to this disengagement..
The device illustrated in Figures 23 and 24 consists of a plate
indented so as to form open thread guiding and needle grooves e

page_text: and cat right angles to each other, or thereabouts. This plate is
permanently hinged to the needle arm S at t, so that when not in
use it may be turned upwards out of the way, as indicated by dotted
lines in Figure 24, and so that when turned downwards, as illustrated
by full lines, the needle shall enter the groove e with its eye directly
opposite the groove c through which the thread is passed. This latter
device can, it will be evident, be variously modified in form, but the
open grooves are in all cases essential.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,—
First. A spool with which is combined a needle-threading device,
substantially in the manner described.
Secondly. A needle-threading device arranged for attachment to or
forming part of a spool, substantially as specified.
Thirdly. A needle-threading device attached to or forming part of a
spool, and constructed substantially in the manner described, so as to
enable a needle to be threaded either with loose thread or with thread
attached to a piece of work.
Fourthly. A needle-threading device constructed and adapted for
application to a sewing machine needle, substantially as described and
illustrated in Figure 22.
Fifthly. A needle-threading attachment constructed substantially as
described, and combined with a sewing machine needle and needle arm,
substantially as specified and as illustrated in Figures 23 and 24.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of
September One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.