US3587498A

US3587498A - Sewing needle clamp

Info

Publication number: US3587498A
Application number: US884892A
Authority: US
Inventors: William Weisz
Original assignee: Singer Co
Current assignee: SSMC Inc
Priority date: 1969-12-11
Filing date: 1969-12-11
Publication date: 1971-06-28
Anticipated expiration: 1988-06-28

Abstract

A SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE AND NEEDLE CLAMP ARRANGEMENT WHEREIN THE SHANK OF THE NEEDLE IS PROVIDED WITH A BUTT PORTION MANY TIMES LARGER THAN THE NEEDLE BLADE. THE NEEDLE CLAMP INCLUDES A NEEDLE BUTT ACCOMMODATING SOCKET AND MEANS WHEREBY THE NEEDLE SIMPLY BY BEING INSERTED THEREIN IS

SECURED IN THE SOCKET BY FRICTION ALONE, AND MAY BE REMOVED FROM THE SOCKET QUIKCLY AND EASILY.

Description

United States Patent inventor Appl. No.

Filed Patented Assignee William Weisz Wayne, NJ. 884,892

Dec. 11, 1969 June 28, 1971 The Singer Company New York, N.Y.

SEWING NEEDLE CLAMP 1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl Int Cl D051) 55/02 Field of Search [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS v 1,746,009 2/1930 Mulford 128/221 Primary Examiner Richard J. Scanlan, Jr. At!0rneysMarshall J. Breen, Chester A. Williams, Jr. and

Robert E. Smith ABSTRACT: A sewing machine needle and needle clamp arrangement wherein the shank of the needle is provided with a butt portion many times larger than the needle blade. The needle clamp includes a needle butt accommodating socket and means whereby the needle simply by being inserted therein is secured in the socket by friction alone, and may be removed from the socket quickly and easily.

PATEN-TEU JUN28197| 3; 587,498

Fig. 4

BY WITNESSi ATTORNEY sawmc NEEDLE CLAMP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to devices for clamping the needle of a sewing machine in working position relative to the needle bar and has for an object to provide a needle clamp which is easy to assemble and which will securely clamp the needle yet permit the needle to be quickly removed when desired.

Another object of this invention is to provide the operator with a needle that is easily grasped, easily manipulated and one that cannot fully penetrate the needle-aperture in the sewing machine throat plate to cause damage should the needle be inadvertently dropped.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for quickly and easily clamping a plurality of needles to the needle bar of a sewing machine, as is required, for instance, for twin needle sewing.

Conventional needle clamps which employ a thumb screw to secure the needle shank therein are not only cumbersome and time consuming to use, but they can cause a painful bruise when an operators finger is pinched beneath the thumb screw. These difficulties are obviated with the present invention, and moreover, the enlarged butt portion may be formed with locating means correlated with needle eye orientation so as to facilitate proper positioning of the needle in the needle clamp.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS With the above and additional objects and advantages in view as will hereinafter appear, this invention comprises the devices, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment in which:

FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view illustrating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional elevational view taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the present invention and particularly the relationship of the enlarged butt portion of the needle, the mounting block, and the needle bar. I

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the enlarged butt portion fixedly carrying a' plurality of needles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As shown in FIGS. 1-4 inclusive a sewing machine needle bar at itsv lower portion is provided with a cylindrical bore 11. A needle mounting block 12 formed with a tang 13 of reduced diameter is fast to the needle bar 10, the tang 13 being fixedly seated in the bore 11 by means of a setscrew 14 accommodated in a threaded opening 15 formed in the lower portion of the needle bar 10. A spring clip 16 is formed with a ring 17 which embraces the tang 13 and is interposed between the needle bar 10 and the upper portion of the needle mounting block 12. Depending from the ring 17 of the spring clip 16 is a tab 18 which carries a needle releasing plunger pin 19 formed with an inclined camming face 20. Formed in the needle mounting block 12 transversely of the needle bar 10 is a plunger pin accommodation channel 21 which intersects a frustoconical needle accommodating seat 22 formed in the needle mounting block axially of the needle bar 10. The needle mounting block 12 may also be formed with exterior projections such as the two

arms

23 and 24, each capable of carrying accessories or driving various sewing attachments.

A sewing needle having a shank 25, a blade 26 and a threadeye 27 adjacent to a pointed extremity 28 is embedded at its shank end in an enlarged frustoconically shaped butt 29. The needle butt 29 is formed with a taper and size which corresponds with that of the needle accommodating seat 22. The tapered butt 29 includes a thread-eye reference key 30 projecting transversely of the needle shank 25, which thread-eye reference key 30 may be seated in a radial orientation slot 31 formed in the lower end of the needle mounting block 12 proximate the tapered needle channel 29 accommodating seat. As shown in FIG. 4 the tapered butt 29 may be formed with a block 32, in which the shanks 25 a plurality of sewing needles 33-33 are embedded. The arrangement illustrated in FIG. 4 would be used, for instance, when twin needle sewing is desired.

When it is desired to position a needle in the clamp, the operator simply places the tapered butt 29 of a selected needle into alignment with the tapered needle accommodating seat 22, taking care to align the thread-eye reference key 30 with the orientation slot keyway 31. The operator then urges the tapered butt 29 upwardly into a press fit frictional engagement with the tapered needle accommodating seat 22. It should be understood that it is solely the frictional engagement of the tapered needle butt internally of the tapered needle accommodating seat 22 that secures the needle to the needle bar. The needle may be removed from the needle mounting block 12 by depressing the plunger pin 19 inwardly of the plunger pin accommodating channel 21 so that the camming face 20 engages the upper portion of the tapered butt 29 and urges the tapered butt outwardly of the needle accommodating seat 22.

lclaim:

l. A needle clamp for securing a needle to a sewing machine needle bar, said needle clamp comprising means carried by said sewing machine needle bar and formed with a needle butt accommodating seat tapered inwardly with respect to the and a needle releasing plunger shiftably arranged in said channel.