US2771187A - Needle packet - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 20, 1956 c. HAILE NEEDLE PACKET Original Filed :June 15, 1951 United States Patent O NEEDLE PACKET Clement Haile, North Hollywood, Calif., assignor to Free Sewing Machine Co., Beverly Hills, Calif., a corporation of Illinois Continuation of application Serial No. 231,743, .lune 15, 1951. This application May 9, 1955, Serial No. 506,810

2 Claims. (Cl. 206-66) This application is a continuation of my application, Serial No. 231,743, led lune 15, 1951.

This invention relates to a new and improved needle packet for the more convenient selling, handling and safe keeping of sewing machine needles and the like.

Sewing machine needles have heretofore been packaged loosely in sizeable numbers per package using stili paper wrappers, and that has been unsatisfactory for a number of reasons, among which may be mentioned the high labor cost of such packaging, the unh-andiness and awkardness insofar as the handling of the package and the removal and replacement of needles are concerned, and the little or no protection against rusting `alforded by such packages. There is, therefore, a real demand for a package designed to overcome Ithese objections, one alfording such secure packing of needles in small inexpensive packets that will enable sewing machine manufacturers to supply to their dealers and others readypacket sets of two or more needles of a given size to fit a given machine so that each sale of needles can be made quickly and easily and with certainty that the customer will get what he or she has asked for and so that the customer, buying say two packets of two different sizes of needles for use on a given machine, will have packets properly identifying those needles so that thereafter a needle may be removed for use and replaced with certainty in the proper packet. Due to present ineicient methods of merchandising needles, users experience difficulty in -nding local sources of supply, and, frequently, when such sources are found, ind it dicult to obtain the exact types and sizes of needles required. Often the user, or an obliging dealer, must ultimately write the manufacturer to identify and order the correct type of needle to tit la specific make and model of machine. Under such circumstances there is no proiit for either the dealer or manufacturer in handling this necessary item. It is, therefore, the principal object of my invention to provide a needle packet of simple and economical construction designed to overcome the objections mentioned and at the same time meet all of the other requirements.

The needle packet of my invention comprises a light cardboard folder or cover, comparable to what is used as the cover of a match book, designed lto be opened and closed in the same manner, the cover having an envelope to receive the needles secured in place .therein by a staple that passes through and clinches together the folded lower end of the cover with the closed end of the envelope disposed within said fold. The envelope, which is open at its upper end to receive the needles pointed end down, preferably has Ia foldable ilap serving as a closure and this ap is held closed securely when .the cover flap is closed and tucked in under the stapled end in the wellknown way. For an even more secure closing of the flap on the envelope, the envelope may be arranged so that itsA ap folds inwardly toward the back of the cover, in the opposite direction from the folding of the cover flap. Also, although the needles seem to be held safely enough ICC because they take hold well enough at their pointed ends when inserted in the envelope, due to the pressure against the opposite sides of the lower end of the envelope exerted by the folded end of the cover as a result of the way in which it is stapled clamping the lower end of the envelope, I may close the upper end of the envelope a short distance inwardly from each side so that the butts of the needles cannot slip out past either end of the flap. However, when the envelope is made that way, the ilap may actually be dispensed with.

When the envelope is made of thermoplastic sheet material, such as vinyllilm, the closing of one end partially from opposite sides is easily attended to by heat-sealing the edge portions of the plastic `sheet material, as will soon appear, and no added expense is involved. This construction, besides being economical to manufacture and producing an envelope that is extremely durable, gives the following four important additional advantages:

(l) It affords a solid wall of plastic material of double thickness along the bottom and both sides of the envelope, this wall at the bottom serving as a pin cushion of ample depth into which the sharp ends of the needles can be stuck without damage to the needles or the envelope;

(2) The bonding-together of the marginal edge portions of the front and back walls of the envelope makes these walls have tighter engagement than would be possible if the front and back walls were in one piece and defined by a fold Iat the bottom of the envelope, and the bonded edge portion keeps them that way throughout the life of the envelope, so that the needles are tightly hugged from opposite sides by contact with the front and back walls and are, therefore, not apt to move about and have their pointed ends damaged;

(3) The snug engagement of the front and back walls ofthe envelope, resulting from the method of bonding thev marginal edge portions, insures alignment of the pointed end portions of the needles with the double-thickness wall at the bottom of the envelope thatserves as the pin cushion, s o that .the sharp ends of the needles are not apt to puncture the front and back wall but will be certain to be embedded in the double-thickness end Wall, thereby protecting the pointed ends of the needles and Iat the same ltime avoiding likelihood of damage to the envelope, and

(4) The bonded edge portions, besides giving strength to the envelope itself, increase the strength and durability of the Whole assembly, `because the staple that passes through the folded portion of the cardboard cover and through the lower end of the envelope is not apt to be torn out if the envelope is given rough usage in the removal and replacement of needles, the double-thickness wall across the bottom of the envelope being a definite safei guard.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. l is a perspective View of a needle packet made 1n accordance with my invention and shown closed;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the cover opened exposing the needle containing envelope, the ap of which is easily unfolded to afford access to the needles in the envelope;

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective of the packet disassembled;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an envelope similar to that of Fig. 3 but of modified or alternative construction;

Figs. 5 and 6 are side views of the packet, Fig, 5 showing the envelope arranged as in Figs. l and 2, and Fig. 6 showing the envelope turned around front to back so that its ap folds in the opposite direction from the cover iiap, and

Fig. 7 shows three fragmentary sectional details on an enlarged scale taken on the line 7-7 of Fig; 3, showing at the left how the front and back walls of the envelope lie normally in snug contact by reason of the way these walls are joined together at their marginal edge portions by heat sealing, and showing in the middle section and the section at the right how these walls tightly engage a needle entered pointed end downward, and how the pointed end portion is guided by the tight engagement of the walls toward engagement of the pointed end in the double-thickness wall at the lower end portion of the envelope.

Similar reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring rst to Figs. 1 to 3, the packet indicated generally by the numeral 7 in Figs. l and 2, comprises a light flexible cardboard folder or cover 8 which has one end folded over, as indicated at 9, at one end'of the back portion 10 and arranged to be fastened by means of a staple 11 in the manner of a match safe cover, so that the front cover flap 12 which is foldable into substantial parallelism with the back 1i) may have its free end portion tucked in under the stapled folded end 9 to hold the ap closed and yet permit it to be easily opened. An envelope 13 of a size large enough to accommodate sewing machine needles disposed lengthwise in the envelope, as shown in Fig. 2, is secured in place by the same staple 11 that clinches the folded end 9 of the cover, the closed lower end of the envelope being entered in the fold of the cover and having the two legs of the staple 11 passed through it. The needles are entered in the envelope with their pointed ends down, as indicated at 14 in Fig. 2, and I have found `that there is ample friction between the front and back walls of the envelope at the lower end partly because of the novel construction of the envelope itself and partly because of the pressure exerted on that end portion of the envelope by the stapling of the folded end of the cover so that the needles have little or no tendency to drop out even when the flap 15 of the envelope is laid open. The friction hold on the needles is particularly good when the envelope is made of the plastic sheet material known as vinylfilm, because that material has a velvety nish which reduces likelihood of slippage. Another advantage in using that material is that it is thermoplastic and can be heat-sealed or bonded so readily, as indicated along the three edges 16, 17 and 18 in Fig. 3. I prefer to use two pieces for the front and back walls of the envelope and heat-seal the two pieces together along the three marginal edge portions, as shown, instead of folding a single longer piece and heat-sealing along only the edge portions 16 and 18, because it actually costs less to use two pieces heat-sealed together in this manner, and there is moreover an advantage in that the heat-sealed edge portion 17 helps to make the front and back walls of the envelope lie in closer contact at the closed end of the envelope, thereby increasing the gripping action on the pointed ends of the needles. The heat-sealed end portion 17 is of double the thickness of the walls of the envelope, as indicated in Figs` 3 and 7, and is, moreover, of ample depth, and is, therefore, Well adapted to function as an abutment and pin cushion for the pointed ends of the needles 14, for protection of the pointed ends of the needles against damage and also to safegiard the envelope against damage by puncturing. The close contact of the front and back walls of the envelope with the pointed end portions of the needles, illustrated in Fig. 7, guides the same toward the double-thickness wall 17, to reduce likelihood of the envelope being punctured and insure engagement of the needle points in the wall 17. Of course, when the envelope is fastened by the staple 11 in the folded end 9 of the cover, there is even tighter engagement of the front and back walls of the envelope with the pointed end portions of the needles when they reach the vicinity of the double-thickness wall 4 properties, the same being water-repellent and not absorbent to either water or oil, so that sewing machine needles can be shipped safely in such envelopes and kept therein indefinitely without rusting. Ihe packing of say four needles in each packet with the cover imprinted, properly identifying the needles, so that the dealer, as

well as the user, will always know what type and size needles are contained in a given packet, enables the user to select a given needle for use and replace it in the proper packet, and sewing machine manufacturers are thereby enabled to make the needles available in a handy form not only at their dealers but also in various stores where such items have heretofore not been customarily available. The packet can moreover be easily filled by hand or by machine with whatever number of needles of a given type and size are to be packed in each packet. It is seen, therefore, that all of the objections mentioned above going with the use of the` old style paper wrappers are avoided with the present packet, and, at the same time, the new packet enables inauguratingv an entirely new `and better system of merchandising sewing machine needles.

In operation, the ap 15 ofthe` envelope 13 is easily unfolded when the cover flap 12 is opened. One can, therefore, easily remove and replace needles and thereafter the flap 15 on the envelope does not have to be folded down again because it tends to close of itself more or less and is held closed securely when the cover tiap 12 is folded over it and the edge portion of the liap is tucked in under the stapled end 9, as shown in Figs. l and 5. I may, however, vturn the envelope 13 around, front to back, as shown in the packet 7' in Fig. 6, so that the ap 15 folds inwardly toward the back 1l) in the opposite direction from the cover ap 12. With that arrangement one has to tuck the flap `15 in behind the envelope before the cover flap A12 can be folded over the envelope and its end portion tucked in under the stapled end 9, and, consequently, the envelope 13 is, therefore, more tightly closed. It will be understood that the cover 8 has suitably imprinted thereon the type and size of the needles in the envelope 13, as well as the make or makes and kinds of sewing machines on which the same are adapted to be used. There is, therefore, no guessworkabout it and the consumer, as Well as the dealer, is better satisfied. -While the main object of my invention has been the better and more attractive packaging of sewing machine needles, and the packet herein described is besty suited for such use, it is evident that other small articles adapted for packaging in a similar way might be put in this same packet or one altered to meet the new requirements ln the heat-sealing along the edges 16, 17 andl 18 I may, as shown on the envelope 13 in Fig. 4, heat-seal part way in from both sides of the Iopen end of the envelope, as indicated at 19 and 20, to reduce the likelihood, little as that may be, of the needles slipping out of the envelope past the ends 'of the ap 15'. The flap- 15 is shown as having square corners, as distinguished from the nearly semi-circular form of the flap 15 shown in Figs. l to 3. However, there is apiossibi-lity, particularly if the heat-sealing indicated at 19 and 20 is made long enough in the direction of closing the open end of the envelope, that the flap 15 may be dispensed with entirely, inasmuch as the closing of all but a narrow middle portion of the open end will eliminate any likelihood of needles slipping out once the cover ap. 1,2 is closed.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn, to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

l. In combination, a plurality of sewing needles 'having blunt butt portions and sharply pointed ends, and a needle packet comprisingy a cover madeof relatively cardboard providing a back portion withV a folded end portion dening a transverse narrow channel, and a front flap portion foldable and unfoldable relative to the other end of the back portion and adapted to have it-s free end portion retained behind said folded end portion, and an elongated needle containing envelope made of a relatively pliable waterproof material closed at one end and open at the other, the closed end being disposed in the aforesaid channel in the cover and fastened in place therein in more or less compressed condition by a staple passed through the folded end portion of the cover and the closed end portion of the envelope therein, the open end portion of said envelope having a needle retaining flap foldable and unfoldable with respect thereto, the sewing needles being disposed lengthwise in said envelope with their sharply pointed ends held frictionally between the otherwise tightly abutting front and back walls of the envelope in the aforesaid channel of the cover while their blunt butt ends are disposed toward the open end of the envelope.

2. The combination set forth in claim l, wherein said envelope comprises a pair of superposed sheets of ex-ible thermoplastic material joined together under Iheat and pressure by edge portions of appreciable width abutting face to face, such joining together resulting in said edge portions being integrally united to form a marginal edge portion of double thickness along the bottom end and along opposite sides thereby forming an open mouthed envelope, the front and back of which by reason of Athe method of uniting the edge portions tend to lie in close contact with one another and particularly at the closed bottom end where the double-thickness edge portion serves as a pin cushion into which the pointed end portions of the needles are adapted to be stuck without damage lto tthe needles or envelope, the needles being placed in the envelope through the open mouth end, pointed end first.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 121,860 Evans Dec. 12, 1871 1,970,394 Salinger Aug. 14, 1934 2,547,779 Renyck Apr. 3, 1951

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