TECHNICAL FIELD

[ 0001] The present invention relates to threading devices and more particularly, relates to a device for threading line, yarn, thread and the like into and through a desired opening or location.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

[ 0002 ] Fishing poles, for example, are typically

constructed from a generally rigid pole member to which is attached one or more "eyelets" through which fishing line must be threaded in order to utilize the fishing pole. In addition, there are other situations in which a line, yarn or the like must be threaded into or inserted through such as, for example, in the case of sewing garments or other textile materials.

[ 0003 ] To date, there has not been a convenient, reliable and efficient way to accomplish such tasks. Accordingly, what is needed is a threading device which is Universal and allows the user to thread yarn or the like into and through a desired opening or into and through material such as cloth or textile .

SUMMARY

[ 0004 ] The present invention features a threading device which includes a needle having a thread, line or yarn engagement region configured to temporarily hold the line, thread or yarn on and connected to the needle in a manner that allows the line, thread or yarn to be pulled forward yet releasably detached from the needle when desired. [ 00053 The needle is designed having a longitudinal axis with a tip proximate one end of the longitudinal axis and a base proximate an opposite end. The tip is typically sharp or pointed, although this is not a limitation of the present invention. The needle is releasably connected to a needle holder in 2 locations: the first location proximate the tip of the needle and the second location proximate the base of the needle. The releasable connection of the needle to the needle holding device proximate the tip and base of the needle allow the needle to be releasably disconnected from the needle holder first proximate the tip of the needle, following which the tip of the needle will releasably reconnect with the needle holder and next the base will be releasably disconnected and subsequently reconnected with the needle holder.

[ 00063 The needle includes surface features that are designed to engage with the features of the needle holder in a manner that allows the needle to releasably disconnect and reconnect from the top of needle holder but prevent it from being pushed rearward when force is applied during use. An optional feature proximate the base of the needle engages with a transverse slot at the rear of the needle holder to keep the needle from sliding forward when using the device to thread in a downward direction. [ 0007 ] During use, the needle is releasably connected and disconnected sequentially first proximate its tip and next proximate its base allows the needle with attached line, thread or yarn to be inserted into an opening or a piece of textile in a sequential "see- saw" type of action or manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description, taken together with the drawings wherein:

[0009] figure 1 is a perspective view of a needle

threading device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention ;

[0010] figure 2 is a side view of the needle threading device shown in figure 1 with the tip portion of the needle disengaged from the needle holder;

[0011] figure 3 is a perspective view of the needle threading device shown in figure 1 with the rear portion of the needle disengaged from the needle holder; [0012] figure 4 is a perspective view of the needle holder in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

[0013] figure 5 is a perspective view of a needle holder in accordance with another embodiment of the present

invention; [0014] figure 6 is a top view of one embodiment of a needle according to the present invention;

[0015] figure 7 is a view of the bottom portion of a needle holder illustrating a cavity for holding one or more permanent magnets in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] figure 8 is a top perspective view of a needle holder incorporating electromagnetically operated clamps in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; [0017 ] figure 9 is a perspective view of the needle holder of figure 8 illustrating the front of the needle disengaged from the front electromagnetic clamps in the needle holder;

[ 0018] figure 10 is a perspective view of the needle holder figure 8 illustrating the rear of the needle

disengaged from the rear electromagnetic clamps in the needle holder;

[ 0019 ] figure 11 is a perspective view of another

embodiment of a needle in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

[ 0020 ] figure 12 and 13 are perspective views of yet another embodiment of a needle in accordance with the teachings of the present invention,-

[ 0021] figure 14 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of a textile needle in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

[ 0022 ] figure 15 is a perspective view of a needle holder designed to accommodate the needle shown in figure 14; and

[ 0023 ] figures 16-21 are drawings of another embodiment of the invention, namely, a fishing tool incorporating the threading device described in figures 1-15 along with other fishing related tools.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024 ] The present invention features a threading device 10, figure 1, comprising a needle 12 and a needle base or holder 14. In all embodiments, the needle holder 14 includes a first needle holding portion 16 proximate the front of the needle and a second needle holding portion 18 proximate the rear of the needle. The needle holding portions 16 and 18 preferably have longitudinally oriented channels 43 and 45 sized to easily accept the width and height of the needle. The channel 43 in the front holding portion 16 opens to a slightly wider opening 46. The transition 44 between the narrower channel 43 and the larger opening 46 in needle holding portion 16 makes a ridge 44 designed to secure the needle from sliding backwards during use particularly when the rear portion of the needle is raised as shown in Fig. 3 and as will be explained in greater detail below. The needle 12 contains magnets or preferably is made from ferromagnetic metal such as iron or certain types of steel that has magnetic properties .

[ 0025 ] The needle 12 is held in place in the needle holder 14 by means of permanent magnets in the needle holder 14 or by an electromagnetic clamping mechanism in the needle holder 14 that can be energized and de-energized according with appropriate timing to allow use of the threading needle as will be explained below. [ 0026 ] The needle holder 14 includes, in addition to raised first and second needle holder portions 16 and 18, a central depressed region 17 which is preferably curved and may optionally include one or more rollers 15 which serve to move the holder 14 through the material or device through which a line 20 is to be threaded.

[ 0027 ] As shown in figures 1 - 3, operation of the threading device 10 in accordance with the teachings of the present invention begins by first inserting a piece of line

20 into a slot, cut out or other area 22 of the needle. The line or string is what is to be threaded into another device.

The tip 24 of the needle is disengaged from the front needle holder 16 and threaded through an object such as an eyelet on a fishing pole, a piece of textile or the like. As the tip 24 of the needle is disengaged from the needle holder 16 to be threaded into another device, the back end of the needle26 remains securely held within channel 45 of needle holder 18 such that the rear wall 47 of channel 45 can be used to apply pressure to the back of the needle to force it through material or an eyelet.

[ 0028 ] The same view of figure 1 is shown in cross-section in figure 2. Next, as shown in figure 3, the tip 24 of the needle is returned to the front needle holder 16 and

subsequently the back end of the needle 26 is raised from the rear of needle holder portion 18 such that the eyelet or material can pass around the rear portion 26 of the needle 12 along with any rope or line 20 attached to the needle.

[ 0029] When the rear of the needle is raised, the front of the needle 24 is held in place in slot 43 of needle holder 16 by magnetic force. Additionally, the larger diameter 48 of the front of the needle makes contact with the ridge 44 at the front of the slot 43 of the needle holder 16 to prevent the needle from sliding backwards. This allows the user to pull the needle through the eyelet or material while the rear of the needle is elevated. This "seesaw" motion is repeated for every threading action desired. The holder 14

facilitates gripping of the needle and threading it while the permanent or electromagnets located in the front and rear needle holder 16, 18 securely holds the needle in place when in use .

[ 0030 ] In a preferred embodiment, the needle holder 14, figure 4, includes a transverse slot 30 in the rear needle holding portion 18 that aligns with feature 32 at the back end 26 of the needle. This feature serves to keep the needle from sliding forward in the holder 14 when using the device in a downward direction. This is a preferred embodiment, however, and not a limitation of the present invention as the needle holder may be made without such a slot as shown in figure 5. The end of the needle need not have a tremendously long T portion but may be simply small protrusions 32 at the end of the needle as shown in figures 3 and 6.

[ 0031] As shown in figure 7, the bottom region 34 of the needle holder 14 may include a recessed region 36 into which one or more permanent magnets (one long magnet 37 in the entire slot or alternatively 2 shorter magnets 37a and 37b in the front and rear of the slot) may be provided to hold the needle 12 in place. [ 0032 ] Alternatively, as previously discussed, one or more electromagnetic clamps 38, 40, figure 8 may be utilized in place of permanent magnets. In this case, the electromagnets would be sequenced and timed such that first the front magnets 40 would be caused to turn off allowing the clamps to open and the front of the needle or threading rod to swing away from the holder as shown in figure 9. As the front of the needle/rod is pushed through the hole, the rear

electromagnets 38 remains closed. Subsequently as shown in figure 10, the front electromagnet reengages after the front of the needle has passed through the hole forcing a re- coupling of the front end of the needle and the holder and reengaging the front clamps. After re-securing the front of the needle, the rear electromagnet disengages allowing the rear clamps to open and the back of the needle to swing away from the holder so that the needle and attached line or cable can be pulled through. Once clear of the threading hole, the rear electromagnet reengages and forces a re-coupling of the back portion of the needle with the holder. The sequence can continue as desired. Clamps are shown but are not limiting as a sliding pin mechanism or other similar mechanism known or obvious to those skilled in the art is contemplated by this invention.

[ 0033 ] The needle 12a, figure 11, may take on different forms, shapes and methods of interconnecting with a thread or line. Although one line interconnection method is shown in figure 1, an additional method is shown in figure 11 which includes providing a hole 40 in needle 12a. In another embodiment shown in figure 12, the needle 12b may include a clamping mechanism 42 which can be utilized to clamp a wire, cable or line onto the needle 12b. This is shown in greater detail in figure 13. In yet another embodiment shown in figure 14, the needle 12c may be a textile type needle without any rear portion or protrusion 32 to mate with a rear portion of the needle holder 14, as shown in figures 5 and 15. [ 0034 ] The needle has a larger diameter area at the tip 49 as shown in figures 6 and 14. A narrower section 50 is directly posterior to the larger diameter tip as shown in figures 6 and 14. The narrow section can extend rearward the length of the needle as shown in figure 14, or be

intermittent as shown in fig 6. The transition between the narrow section 50 and the larger diameter tip 49 form a ridge or shelf 48 that contacts area 44 of the needle holder portion 16 and prevents the needle from sliding backwards during use. The narrow sections 50 form preferably flat surfaces on either side of the needle. When the narrow section 50 of the needle is engaged with the channels 43 and 45 of the needle holder, the flat sections keep the needle from rotating within the channel. The relatively tight tolerance between the narrow section 50 of the needle and the inside channel walls 43 and 45 of the holder, also help to keep the needle oriented in line with the channels as the needle "see saws" in and out of the holder during use.

[ 0035 ] Optionally, another feature 51 shown in figures 6 and 12 demonstrate an enlarged area just posterior to the narrow section 50 at the front of the needle. This enlarged area is designed to keep the needle from sliding forward when the back of the needle exits from channel 45 of the needle holder portion 18. This would be most useful when using the device to thread in a downward direction, as the enlarged area 51 comes in contact with the back side 52 of needle holder portion 16 preventing forward movement of the needle.

[0036] Accordingly, the present invention provides, in one embodiment, a stand-alone novel needle mechanism allowing a wire, line, thread, yarn or the like to be easily and quickly threaded through islets, cloth material or the like as desired.

[ 0037 ] In another embodiment contemplated by the present invention, the novel needle mechanism may be incorporated into another device such as a fishing tool 100, figure 16, which includes, in addition to the needle threading device 110, fishing line clippers 112 figure 17 (see also figure 18} , a knot tying tool 114 (see also figure 18) , a

removable/releasable clip 116 (see also figures 117 and 18) , a rotatable cover 118 designed to rotate in the direction of arros 119 figure 18, about the longitudinal axis 121 of the tool and selectively expose the clippers 112 and knot tying tool 114 as shown for example in figure 18 or the threading needle as shown in figures 16 and 17 for example. The fishing tool 100 also includes a slot 128, figures 16 and 18 into which several protrusions from the rotatable cover 130 engage allowing the cover 118 to rotate about the

longitudinal axis of the fishing tool.

[ 0038 ] The novel fishing tool 100 of the present invention also includes a fishhook threading device 122, figure 18 which includes a magnet 124 shown in dashed lines located beneath the plastic structure and the fishhook threading region 122. The magnet 124 allows the fishhook to stand vertically up right and aligns the eyelet of the fishing hook with a sloping trough 126 in the plastic allowing the fishing line 128 to be inserted into the trough and automatically feed into the fishing hook eyelet (not shown but well known in the art) and out the other side ready to be tied.

[ 0039] Accordingly, the above embodiment provides a novel fishing tool including, in addition to the needle mechanism, additional functionalities desired by those engaged in the sport of fishing including, for example, line clippers, a knot tying region and a fishhook eyelet threading region.

[ 0040 ] Modifications and substitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present invention, which is not to be limited except by the allowed claims and their legal equivalents.