US2757837A - Needle threader - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 7, 1956 A. DRITZ 2,757,837

NEEDLE THREADER Filed May 5, 1954 2 Shets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR. fl i/luk 6772 g- 7, 1956 A. DRlTZ 2,757,837

NEEDLE THREADER Filed May 5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 24 V I N V EN TOR. FIG. 4&1/104? fla /r1 FIG. .14. M

United States Patent NEEDLE THREADER Arthur Dritz, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to John Dritz & Sons, New York, N. Y., a partnership Application May 5, 1954, Serial No. 427,694

3 Claims. (Cl. 223-99) The present invention relates to a needle threader and more particularly to a device for facilitating the threading of sewing needles.

The needle threader of the present invention is of the type in which a Wire element anchored at one end to a suitable holder has its other end or point free for the entrance and reception of the eye of a needle, the said wire element being adapted to pass through the eye of the needle, after which a thread is engaged with the wire element in such a way that when the needle is removed from the wire element the thread is looped through the eye of the needle thereby accomplishing the threading operation.

In a needle threader of this type it is highly desirable in order to really facilitate and assist in the threading of the needle, to be able to move and guide the needle so that the eye of the needle is easily, freely and surely located with reference to the entrance point of the wire element. A prime object of the present invention centers about the provision of a needle threader in which this is accomplished. To accomplish this, the needle threader of the present invention embodies means for magnifying the scene or locus where the eye of the needle enters the free end or point of the wire element, consequently visually enlarging or magnifying these parts, and at the same time concentrating or condensing the light at such scene or locus. By this means, in this first step of the manipulation of the needle threader, illumination of the area where the point of the wire element is to enter the eye of the needle is greatly enhanced, and the wire point and needle eye parts are magnified so as to be readily viewable to the user.

Other desiderata of a needle threader of this type and which are ancillary objects of the present invention are the following:

1. The needle threader should be so designed that the needle may be mechanically guided unerringly to the entrance point of the wire element. In the structure of the present invention the parts are so designed that the needle is guidingly confined by the parts of the needle threader into position and then through the wire element;

2. The needle threader should be provided with means for maintaining the wire element, which is the most fragile part of the needle threader and which is subject to ready distortion and damage, in a correctly located position and also protected against damage. In the structure of the present invention the parts are so organized that the wire element is always maintained in a centered and correct location, the same being at the same time arranged and positioned between the parts of the device so as to be protected from dislocating engagement with external objects; and

3. It is also desirable to so design the parts that the wireelement may be readily replaced, as the needs of service may require, by a new wire element. In the structure of the present device the parts are so organized that the wire element is made replaceable in a simple way.

To the accomplishment of these objects and such other objects as may hereinafter appear my invention relates to the needle threader as sought to be defined in the appended claims taken together with the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a top plan view of one form that the needle threader of the present invention may take, this view illustrating the movement of a needle into the threader;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the threader of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the other side of the said threader; I

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the threader;

Fig. 5 is a view of the same taken in cross-section in the plane of the line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a view'taken in cross-section in the plane of the line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 7 and 8 are fragmentary views showing sequential steps in the operation of threading a needle with said threader;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view similar to Fig. l but showing a modification;

Figs. l0, l1 and 12 are views similar to those of Figs. 2, 3 and 4 of the modification of Fig. 9;

Fig. 13 is a view taken in cross-section in the plane of line 13-13 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 14 is a view taken in cross-section in the plane of the line 14-14 of Fig. 9; and

Figs. 15 and 16 are fragmentary views illustrating steps in the threading of a needle performed by the use of this modification. 1

' Referring now more in detail to the drawings, and having reference to the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 8, the needle threader comprises a holder 20, a Wire element 22 anchored at one end to the holder and extending longitudinally thereof, the said wire element having its other end free for the entrance and reception of the eye of a needle 24, the said threader further including a backing and support plate 26 fixed to the holder 20 arranged below and extending longitudinally of the wire element 22. The needle 24, in the first step of the threading operation, is moved from the position shown in Fig. l to the position shown in Fig. 7, and in this movement the wire element 22 passes through the eye 28 of the needle. The backing or support plate 26 is formed'at a region intermediate the ends of the wire element 22 with a channel or orifice 36 through which a thread 32 is passed as indicated in Fig. 7 of the drawings. With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 7 the needle 24 is then removed from the wire element being moved to a position such as is indicated in Fig. 8, the thread being thereby looped through the eye of the needle and thereby accomplishing the threading operation.

The holder 20 in the preferred structure and design comprises an elongated member preferably made of a transparent plastic material and shaped to the configuration shown in the drawings. Preferably, an end 3d thereof is provided with a magnet plug 36, this being employed for magnetically attracting or picking up the needle to be threaded. The wire element 22 in this first form of the invention comprises a diamond-shaped, looped member otherwise well known in the art, transversely contractile when the same is moved through the eye of the needle, the end 38 thereof being embedded ina plate 40, the'other or free end 42 of the Wire loop being the free end or entrance point for the needle eye. The wire element 22 is secured in position between the holder 20 and the backing plate 26 by having the plate 40 secured between these parts. To permit removal and replacement of the wire element 22 the backing or support plate 26 is made removably attachable to the holder 20 by means of the screws 44.

As aforesaid, the needle threader of the present invention embodies means for magnifying the scene or locus where the needle eye enters the point or free end of the Wire element, and consequently visually enlarging or magnifying these parts and at the same time concentrating or condensing the available light at such scene or locus. This is accomplished by the provision of a magnifying lens 46 connected to the holder 20 and arranged above the free end of the wire element, as is most clearly shown in Fig. l of the drawings. This lens 46 has the effect of visually magnifying the eye of the needle 28 and the point 42 of the wire element as is best indicated in Fig. l of the drawings. The top face 48 of the plate 26 is formed as a reflective surface (as by painting the same with a white enamel); and in combination with the lens 46 the scene or locus of the wire point and the needle eye is more intensely illuminated, the lens 46 acting to condense a broad cone of light such as is indicated by the arrows 50 in Fig. 3 onto the reflective surface 48. The lens thus functions to magnify the locus of the free end of the wire element and its entrance into the eye of the needle, and to concentrate the light on these parts, thus greatly facilitating and assisting in the first step of threading the needle.

In the preferred construction the lens 46 and the holder 20 are formed of a unitary piece of transparent plastic material. The backing or support plate 26 is also preferably made of a thin sheet of transparent plastic material, coated, however, to provide for the reflective surface 48.

In the exemplified structure the bottom face 52 of the lens 46 and the face 48 of the backing plate 26, which are the contiguous faces of these elements, are planular and are spaced apart a distance to snugly receive and guidingly confine the shank and eye of the needle which is moved between these parts when the needle eye is directed' to the free end of the wire element, this action being best indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. In this way the needle is guidingly confined between parts of the needle threader into position and then through the wire element. The backing plate 26 is preferably made somewhat resilient so that it may be moved between the full and dotted line positions shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings by needles of varying thicknesses.

For maintaining the wire element 22 centered at the space between the plate 26 and the lens 46, a protuberance 54 is formed in the holder 20 and a second protuberance 56 is formed in the plate 26 on opposite sides of the wire element 22, the same serving to normally engage the wire element and effect its centering in the said space. The protuberance 54 being located between the center and the anchoring points of the wire element also serves the function to retain against normal displacement the needle 24 when it is moved to its innermost position, as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings.

Preferably the lens 46 is attached to the holder 20 at only one side of the threading channel 30, being free therefrom at its other side, this so as to provide a channel 58 for the freer release of the threaded needle 24, this action being best indicated in Fig. 8 of the drawings.

It will be observed that in addition to the functions described, the wire element 22, which is the most fragile part of the needle threader, being located between the backing plate 26 on one side of the holder 20 and lens 46 on the other side, is substantially enclosed by these parts and, therefore, protected against engagement with external objects and thereby against ordinary damage.

In the operation of the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 8 the needle 24 is first guided into the position shown in Fig. 1 and then moved to the left, the wire element passing through the eye of the needle, the needle being moved to the position shown in Fig. 7. The thread 32 is then passed through the channel 30 and through the loop of the wire element 22, as indicated in Fig. 7. The needle is then moved to the right and in its removal from the wire element a loop is formed in the thread with the eye of the needle engaging the loop. The needle may then be removed in either of the directions shown in Fig. 8 after which one of the threads of the loop is moved out of the eye of the needle.

In the modification shown in Figs. 9 to 16 of the drawings a different form of wire element is employed and th structure is modified for adaption to this different form of wire element. Otherwise the structure of Figs. 9 to 16 is the same as that of Figs. 1 to 8, and includes corresponding parts, all of which are designated by corresponding, but primed, reference characters.

In this modification the wire element 22' comprises a rigid plate provided with a loop-forming hook 62. The lens 46 is made integral with the holder 20' in the same way as in the structure of Figs. 1 to 8, these being attached only on one side of the wire element and being free at its other side, and providing at its other side the channel 58'. The plate 26 (which, in this form, is made to extend the full length of the holder 20') is also provided with a channel 64 registering with the said channel 58. In this modification the protuberances 54' and 56 are both formed in the plate 26.

In the use of this modified structure the threading operation is performed as illustrated in Figs. 9, l5 and 16. The needle 24 is inserted into the threader in a manner depicted in Figs. 9 and 15. The thread 32 is then placed over the hooked wire element 22', as is illustrated in Fig. 15. The needle 24' is then moved to the right (as viewed in Fig. 15) and is withdrawn or removed from the wire element. In this operative step the thread 32' is retained by the hook 62 of the wire element and a loop 60 is formed in the thread as depicted in Fig. 16. The loop is thereby threaded through the eye of the needle; and the needle 24' with the loop 60' therein is then moved from the dotted line position shown in Fig. 16 to the full line position shown therein, the parts being moved through registering channels 58', 64 and thereby removed from the threader. One of the threads of the loop is then withdrawn from the eye of the needle, thereby completing the needle threading operation.

The use and operation of the needle threader of the present invention and the advantages in the use thereof will in the main be fully apparent from the above detailed description. It will be further apparent that changes may be made in the described invention without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A needle threader comprising a holder, a wire ele ment anchored at one end to the holder and extending longitudinally thereof, the said wire element having its other end free for the entrance and reception of the eye of a needle, a support plate on the holder arranged below and extending longitudinally of the wire element, a magnifying lens on the holder arranged above the free end of the wire element, the contiguous faces of the lens and the support plate being planular and being spaced apart a distance substantially the same as the thickness of the needle to form a needle receiving channel to snugly re ceive and guidingly confine the needle which is moved into the threader between the lens and the support plate with the eye of the needle directed to the free end of the wire element, the lens functioning to magnify the locus of the free end of the wire element and its entrance into the eye of the needle and to concentrate light on such locus, the said plate being provided with a threading orifice below the wire element and the said lens being fixed to the holder only on one side of the wire element and being free therefrom at its other side, the lens and the support plate also functioning to enclose and protectively house the wire element.

2. A needle threader comprising a holder, a diamondshaped loop wire element anchored at one end to the holder and extending longitudinally thereof, the said wire element having its other end free for the entrance and reception of the eye of a needle, the said wire element being adapted to pass through the eye of the needle, a support plate on the holder arranged below and extending longitudinally of the wire element, a magnifying lens on the holder arranged above the free end of the wire element, the contiguous faces of the lens and the support plate being planular and being spaced apart a distance substantially the same as the thickness of the needle to form a needle receiving channel to snugly receive and guidingly confine the needle which is moved into the threader between the lens and the support plate with the needle eye directed to the free end of the wire element, the lens functioning to magnify the locus of the free end of the wire element and its entrance into the eye of the needle and to concentrate light on such locus, the said plate being provided with a threading orifice below the center of the wire element, the said lens being fixed to the holder only on one side of the wire element and being free therefrom at the other side, the lens and the support plate also functioning to enclose and protectively house the wire element.

3. A needle threader comprising a holder, 21 hooked wire element anchored at one end to the holder and extending longitudinally thereof, the said Wire element having its other end free for the entrance and reception of the eye of a needle, the said wire element being adapted to pass through the eye of the needle, a support plate on the holder arranged below and extending longitudinally of the wire element, and a magnifying lens on the holder arranged above the free end of the wire element, the contiguous faces of the lens and the support plate being planular and being spaced apart a distance substantially the same as the thickness of the needle to form a needle receiving channel to snugly receive and guidingly confine the needle which is moved into the threader between the lens and the support plate with the needle eye directed to the free end of the wire element, the lens functioning to magnify the locus of the free end of the wire element and its entrance into the eye of the needle and to concentrate light on such locus, the said lens being attached to the holder only on one side of the Wire element and being free therefrom at its other side and providing at such other side a threading channel, the plate being provided with a registering threading channel, the lens and the support plate also functioning to enclose and protectively house the wire element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 143,098 Schofield Sept. 23, 1873 1,175,504 Boye Mar. 14, 1916 1,239,270 Hawks Sept. 4, 1917 2,411,686 Ingwer et al Nov. 26, 1946 2,544,063 Biederman Mar. 6, 1951

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