US2616381A - Needle threading mechanism for sewing machines - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 4,1952 7 A. P. FILIP 2,516,331

V NEEDLE THREADING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Sept. 1, 1950 24 WE v I Jkvenioz 4 y -9- J W QW wane n5 mm 6 W @65594 49 filzfozney Patented Nov. 4, 1952 NEEELE THREADING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES Andrew P. Filip, Bridgeport, Coma, assignor to The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. 3., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 1, 1950, Serial No. 182,865

7 Claims.

This invention relates to needle-threading devices for use with sewing machines, and more specifically to a needle-threading device which is adapted to be detachably secured to the needlebar of a sewing machine.

It is an object of the invention to provide a means whereby the needle of a sewing machine may be threaded with-out requiring the operator manually to seek out the needle-eye in the usual manner of threading needles. Accordingly, this invention comprises a threading device which is adapted to be secured upon the sewing machine needle-bar, and it includes a needle-threading element which is controlled by simple hand operations and which automatically guides a thread-receiving portion of the threading element through the eye of the needle. Once the threading element is projected through the needle-eye, it becomes a simple procedure to thread the threading element by engaging the thread therewith. Thereafter, the present device is adapted automatically to withdraw the threading element through the needle-eye thereby to thread the needle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a threading device of the above noted character which, although efficient in operation, is at the same time relatively inexpensive of manufacture.

A' further object of the present invention is to provide such a threading device which can be applied to a sewing machine of the type having an eye-pointed needle, the bore axis of which eye is aligned substantially with the presserbar.

With the above and other objects in View, as will hereinafter appear, the invention comprises the devices, combinations, and arrangements or" parts hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view in front elevation of the head end of a sewing machine to which the present device has been applied, the full lines illustrating the device in its operative position, while the dotted lines illustrate the device in its throw-out or inoperative position.

Fig. 2 is a right hand side View in elevation of the device as disclosed in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary back side View in elevation of the device disclosed in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 represents, on an enlarged scale, the lower end portion of the present threading device.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-8 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a right hand side view, partly in section of the device disclosed in Fig. 1, and it illustrates the device as being biased into its thread-receiving position.

Fig. 8 is a View similar to Fig. 7, but it illustrates the threading element in its retracted position with the thread pulled through the eye of the needle.

Fig. 9 represents, on an enlarged scale, a sectional View taken substantially along the line 9-9 of Fi 1.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the portion of a sewing machine shown includes the part of the sewing machine head Iii which supports the usual reciprocatory needle-bar II and the presser-bar I2 which is disposed rearwardly of the needle-bar and in parallelism therewith. The lower end portion of the presser-bar carries a conventional presser-foot designated by the numeral 13.

The lower end portion of the needle-bar H is reduced, as at Hi, and upon this reduced portion is provided a sleeve-member 15. This sleevemember is provided with a longitudinal slot it to enable the sleeve to be clamped about the lower end portion It or the needle-bar, as by means of a bolt ll. Mounted upon a reduced lower end portion it of the sleeve I5 is a collar l8 which functions, by means of screw 9, to clamp a needle 20 within the slotted portion l6 of the sleeve l5. This needle is of the conventional sewing machine type provided with a thread or needle-eye 2B proximate to its point. It is to be particularly observed that the bore axis of the needle-eye 2G is aligned substantially with the presser-bar i2. The collar I8 not only functions to secure the needle in its proper position, but it also carries a stationary needlethread guide 2! through the medium of a locking screw 22. For a more complete disclosure of a sewing machine of the present type, reference may be had to the United States patent of Blames, No. 2,024,435, December 17, 1935.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 4 and 9, the present needle-threading device comprises a substantially rectangular block 23 which is provided with a circular aperture 24 which permits the block to be mounted directly upon the sleeve 15 3 between the locking bolt I1 and the collar l8. Threaded into the block 23, and communicating with the aperture 24, is a lock screw 25, of which the inner end portion 26 is adapted to be inserted forcibly within the slot l6 for the purpose of locking the block in any desired position of vertical adjustment; it being understood that the collar [8 may be removed from the sleeve l in order to permit the block 23 to be positioned over the sleeve.

Threaded into the rear face of the block 23 is a screw 21 having a cylindrical bearing surface or shoulder portion 28 which abuts directly against the face 2 of the block. The screw 21 is also provided with the usual slotted head portion 36. portion 28 of the screw 21 is a sheet metal arm, generally designated by the numeral 3|. More specifically, the upper or head portion of the arm 3| is provided with an aperture 32 entered by the cylindrical bearing surface 28 of the screw, and a spring washer 33 is interposed between the head portion of the screw and the arm 3| so as to bias the arm into frictional contact with the block 23. The lower end portion of the arm 3| is provided with a finger piece 34, while its intermediate section is formed with a substantially narrow neck designated by the numeral 35, which neck provides a fiexure point about which the lower end portion of the arm may be bent in response to a biasing movement applied against the finger piece 34. In other words, the arm 3| is made of relatively thin resilient sheet metal material and the neck portion 35, being relatively narrow, permits the lower portion of the arm to be flexed about a horizontal axis which is disposed substantially at 90 to the axis of the screw 21 about which the entire arm may pivot.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 3 and 5, the lower end portion of the arm 3| is provided at one side edge thereof with a shoulder piece 36 formed with a vertically disposed slot 37 and a pair of bent and spaced ear-elements 38 and 3d. These ear-elementsfunction as guide members which embrace the needle 28 whenever the lower end portion of the arm is biased toward the needle in a manner as is particularly disclosed in Fig. '7.

As may be best seen from Figs. 3 and 6, the rear face of the arm 3| carries a member 40 by means of a screw 45 which passes through an aperture provided in the member 36 so as to be threadedly secured within the arm portion itself. The free end portion 42 of the member 4!! is bent at right angles to the member so as to project forwardly through the slot 3i of the arm 3|. This forward portion 42 of the member 4!} is provided with a conventional thread-engaging hook 43 which, when the arm 3| is biased toward the needle in a manner disclosed in Fig. 7, passes through the eye 2|) of the needle to receive a loop of needle thread 53 which may be manually presented thereto. As soon as the forward biasing pressure against the arm 3| is released, the arm will spring back away from the needle so as to withdraw the thread-loop through the needleeye 20, thereby to thread the needle. Thereafter, the thread may be removed from the hook 43 and a desired length of the thread may be pulled through the needle-eye.

It will be appreciated that the arms 38 and 39 will engage the sides of the needle 2!] whenever the arm 3| is biased toward the needle so as to guide the hook element 43 of the threading device through the needle-eye. Also, it will be observed Pivotally mounted upon the shoulder,

that the longitudinal axis of the hook element 43 is disposed substantially in parallelism with the axis of the screw 21 about which the arm 3| pivots.

The upper portion of the arm 3| is provided with a head portion 4-4, the periphery of Which is provided with a pair of angularly spaced clefts or slots 45 and 46. Cleft 46 is normally adapted to be engaged by the free end portion 47 of an index arm 48 secured to the block 23 by means of a screw 49. This screw 49 is threaded directly into the block 23 as is best disclosed in Fig. 9. With the arm 41 received within the cleft 45 in a manner as disclosed in Figs. 1 and 3, the arm 3| is maintained in its operative position in which the hook 43' is in substantial alignment with the eye 20 of the needle so that whenever the lower portion of the arm 3| is biased toward the needle the hook will be forced to enter the needle-eye. Between the two angularly spaced clefts 45 and 46, there is provided an arcuate surface 50 over which the arm 41 is adapted to ride whenever the arm 3| is moved in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1. By so moving the arm in the clockwise direction, the entire needlethreading device will be swung into its inoperative position, at which point the arm 47. will then engage the cleft 45 for the purpose of maintaining the arm in this position which is illustrated in Fig. 1 by means of dotted lines. The arm 4'1 is sufficiently resilient to permit the arm 3| to be shifted about its pivot so as to move the arm 41 over the arcuate surface 5|). However, the head portion 44 of the arm 3| is provided with two abutment members 5| and 52 which are radially spaced at a greater distance from the pivot screw 21 than the surface 48 so as to prevent the arm 3| from being turned beyond a predetermined position in either direction.

From the above, it will be understood that the present thread-engaging device comprises a substantially unitary attachment which may be removably secured to the needle-bar of a usual type sewing machine. The block 23 is adapted to be adjusted vertically along the sewing machine needle-bar so as to position the hook-element 43 in a proper position relative to the eye of the needle. During the normal use of the sewing machine proper, the arm portion 3| of the needlethreading device is adapted to be positioned in a manner as illustrated in Fig. 1 by means of the dotted lines. In order to employ the present device for threading a needle, the lower portion of the arm 3| may be swung downwardly in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, until the index arm 4'! engages with the cleft 45 in which position the hook 43 will always be aligned with the needle aperture 29'. Thereafter, the lower portion of the arm 3! may be biased toward the needle so as to swing the hook throughthe needleeye at which juncture the hook may be threaded, whereupon the finger piece may be released permitting the arm to return again to its normal position. This latter movement of the arm functions to draw the bight of the thread through the eye of the needle in a manner as indicated in Fig. 8. Thereafter, the free end of the thread may be manually drawn through the needle-eye after which the arm 3| of the threading device may be swung upwardly t its inoperative posh tion which is such that the device will not interfere with the normal operation of the sewing machine.

It is pertinent to note that in a sewing machine of the type disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2, the needle '20 has its eye 20 aligned substantially with the presser-bar l2, and thus it is necessary to provide a needle threader which is positioned directly between the axes of the presser-bar and needle bar. The present threading device has been particularly designed to facilitate the threading of a needle employed in a sewing machine of this character. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that in order to thread a needle of this character the usual type of needle-threading device would be of no avail for the simple reason that there would not be enough space between the needle and presser-bars to permit the use thereof. Thus, the present device provides a novel and most useful unit for facilitating the threading of a needle, and at the same time it provides a mechanism which is inexpensive-of manufacture.

' Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein is:

l. A needle-threading device for a sewing machine having a needle-bar and an eye-pointed needle carried by said needle-bar, comprising, a clamping member adapted to be secured to said needle-bar, an elongated arm, a thread-engaging hook carried upon one end portion of said arm, the other end portion of said arm being pivotally mounted upon said clamping member and about an axis disposed substantially in parallelism with the longitudinal axis of said hook, thereby to permit said hook to be shifted into and out of alignment with the needle-eye, the hook-carrying end of said arm being rockable relative to said clamp and in a path disposed substantially in parallelism with the longitudinal axis of said hook thereby to permit said hook to be shifted in and out of the needle-eye whenever said hook is disposed in alignment therewith, and means carried by said clamping member for releasably locking said arm in either of two angularly spaced positions of its pivotal movement thereby to maintain said hook either in or out of a position of alignment with the needle-eye.

2. A needle-threading device for a sewing machine having a needle-bar and an eye-pointed needle carried by said needle-bar, comprising, a clamping member adapted to be secured to said needle-bar, an elongated arm flexible in one direction and having one end portion thereof pivotally secured to said clamping member about an axis disposed substantially at right angles to the direction of arm flexure thereby to permit said arm to be shifted into and out of parallelism with the needle, and an elongated thread-engaging hook carried upon the other end portion of said arm and being disposed with its longitudinal axis substantially in parallelism with the axis of pivotal movement of said arm thereby to permit said hook to be shifted in and out of the needle-eye in response to flexing movements of said arm whenever said arm is disposed in parallelism with the needle.

3. A needle-threading device for a sewing machine having a needle-bar and an eye-pointed needle carried by said needle-bar, comprising, a clamping member adapted to be secured to said needle-bar, an elongated arm flexible in one direction and having one end portion thereof pivotally secured to said clamping member about an axis disposed substantially at right angles to the direction of arm flexure thereby to permit said arm to be shifted into and out of parallelism with the needle, the said one end portion of said arm having a pair of spaced slots therein, an elongated thread-engaging hook carried uponthe other end portion of said arm and being disposed with its longitudinal axis substantially in parallelism with the axis of pivotal movement of said arm thereby to'permit said hook to be shifted in and out of the needle-eye in response to flexing movements of said arm whenever said arm is disposed in parallelism with the needle, and an element carried by said clamping member for releasably engaging either one of said two slots thereby to maintain said hook either in or out of a position of alignment with the needle-eye.

l. A needle-threading device for a sewing machine having a needle-bar and an eye-pointed needle carried by said needle-bar, comprising a clamping member adapted to be secured to said needle-bar, a substantially flat elongated sheet metal arm flexible in one direction and having a relatively narrow neck portion formed crosswise thereof and intermediate its ends for the purpose of localizing the area of arm flexure, one end portion of said arm being pivotally secured to said clamping member with the neck portion of said arm disposed adjacent said clamping member, the pivotal axis of said arm being disposed substantially at right angles to the direction of arm flexture, an elongated thread-engaging hook carried upon the other end portion of said arm and being disposed with its longitudinal axis in substantial parallelism with the direction of arm flexure, thereby to permit said hook to be shifted in and out of the needle-eye in response to flexin movements of said arm.

5. In a sewing machine having a reciprocatory needle-bar, an eye-pointed needle carried by said needle-bar, and a presser-bar disposed in parallelism with said needle-bar and in substantial alignment with the needle-eye, the combination therewith of a needle-threading device, comprising, a bearing surface provided upon said needlebar and defining a fixed axis of rotation disposed in parallelism with a line which intersects at right angles the longitudinal axis of each of said needle and presser bars, an elongated threadengaging hook having its longitudinal axis disposed substantially in parallelism with said fixed axis, said hook being supported upon said bearing surface for turning movements about said fixed axis thereby to shift said hook into and out of alignment with the needle-eye, and means connecting said hook with said bearing surface and affording a rocking axis disposed at right angles to said fixed axis thereby to provide a means for shifting said hook back and forth between said needle and presser bars and into and out of the needle-eye whenever said hook is disposed in alignment with the needle-eye.

6. In a sewing machine having a reciprocatory needle-bar, an eye-pointed needle carried by said needle-bar and a presser-bar disposed in parallelism with said needle-bar and in substantial alignment with the needle-eye, the combination therewith of a needle-threading device, comprising, a bearing surface provided upon said needlebar and defining a fixed axis of rotation disposed in parallelism with a line which intersects at right angles the longitudinal axis of each of said needle and presser bars, an elongated threadengaging hook having its longitudinal axis disposed substantially in parallelism with said fixed axis, said hook being supported upon said hearing surface for turning movements about said fixed axis thereby to shift said hook into and out of alignment with the needle-eye, means connecting said hook with said bearing surface and afiording a rocking axisidisposed at right angles tocssaidr fixed axis thereby to provide ameans for shifting'saidhook .back and forth between said needle and presser bars and into and out of the needle-eye whenever said hook is disposed in alignment therewith, and means carried by said needle-bar for releasably locking said hook in either of two angularly spaced positions of its turning movement about said fixed axis thereby to maintain said hook either in or out of a position of alignment with the needle-eye.

7. In a sewing machine having a reciprocatory needle-bar, an eye-pointed needle carried by said needle-bar, and a presser-bar disposed in parallelism with said needle-bar and in substantial alignment with the needle eyetthe combination therewith of a needle-threading device, comprising an elongated arm having its upper end portion pivotally mounted upon said needle-bar about an axis disposed in parallelism with a line 8 which. intersects at right angles the longitudinal axis. of each .ofsaid needle and presser bars, the intermediate portion of said her being flexible about an axis disposed at right angles to the pivotal axis, and an elongated thread-engaging hook carried upon the other end portion of said arm and being disposed with its longitudinal axis in substantial parallelism with the axis of pivotal movement of said arm.

ANDREW P. FJLIP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES vlEAfI'ENTS Number Name Date 321,469 Wilson July 7, 1885 392,626 Miner Nov. 13., 1888 1,246,199 Werner Nov. 13, 191-7

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