Device for assisting with threading the eye of a needle

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (1) for assisting with threading the eye of a needle (26), the eye being of the type bounded at its periphery by an edge extending substantially in a plane referred to as the eye opening plane. The assistance device (1) comprises a solid body (2) forming a housing, referred to as eye housing (3), designed to be able to accept the eye of the needle and to hold the needle in position with respect to the solid body (2), a passage (4) in the solid body (2) comprising a portion referred to as guide portion (5). The guide portion (5) forms a first funnel (201) for guiding deployment of the hook from the retracted position toward the threading position, and a second funnel (202) for guiding retraction of the hook (16) from the threading position toward the retracted position, through the eye of the needle each time, the thread thus being drawn as the hook retracts from the threading position toward the retracted position.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a device for threading an eyed needle, that is to say, for putting in place a sewing thread - in particular a single strand of a sewing thread - through the eye of a sewing needle, also called a "eyed needle".

[0002] Throughout this text, the terms "sewing needle" and "eye needle" commonly refer to a sewing tool used to pull a thread through the fabric. Such a sewing needle has a pointed, longitudinal end designed to pierce the fabric and a second, relatively flattened, longitudinal end with a transverse hole, called the "eye," through which the thread passes. This eye allows the thread to be pulled through the fabric by the needle.

[0003] Devices are known to facilitate threading a sewing machine needle. For example, WO1993 / 018220 is a known device comprising a cylindrical body adapted to be positioned orthogonally to the elongation axis of the needle to be threaded, and a sleeve that moves in translation relative to the cylindrical body. The sleeve is equipped with a punch adapted to move with the sleeve so that the free end of the punch passes through the eye of the needle and draws the thread through the eye. Using the WO1993 / 018220 device is tricky. It requires precisely positioning the device and the free end of the punch opposite the opening of the needle's eye, so that the movement of the free end of the punch through the eye also draws the thread through the eye. This device does not allow for visual alignment of the device and the eye opening.The closest prior art is presented by DE 675708 C.

[0004] The invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the WO1993 / 018220 device.

[0005] It is also known to use a device commonly called a "needle threader," consisting of a metal gripping plate supporting a wire that is rigid in tension, elastic in bending, and has a bending stiffness greater than that of the sewing thread. The two longitudinal ends of the wire are fixed to the metal plate, the wire being folded back on itself into a plano-convex quadrilateral—particularly a rhombus—so that it can pass through the eye of the sewing needle by elastically deforming the wire.

[0006] Using such a needle threader does indeed facilitate threading a sewing needle in some cases. However, when the needle is a small-diameter sewing needle (cross-section) and the eye of the needle is also small, simply inserting the threader's wire through the eye remains difficult. This can be particularly problematic for visually impaired individuals and / or those prone to uncontrolled tremors.

[0007] The invention aims to overcome these drawbacks.

[0008] The invention aims to provide a device to aid in threading a needle with an eye, making it possible to overcome, at least in part, these drawbacks.

[0009] The invention aims to provide such an aid device which allows a needle with an eye to be threaded with a single sewing thread, in particular with a single length of sewing thread.

[0010] The invention also aims to provide such an aid device which allows a needle with an eye to be threaded with a single sewing thread, one of whose longitudinal ends is engaged in a spool of this sewing thread.

[0011] To this end, the invention relates to a device for threading a needle with an eye, as defined by claim 1. The eye of the needle being of the type limited peripherally by a rim extending substantially in a plane, referred to as the eye opening plane; the aid device comprises a solid body—in particular an ergonomic solid body—forming: a housing, called the eye housing, adapted to receive the eye of the needle and hold the needle in position relative to the solid body; and a passage through the solid body comprising a section, called the guide section; a first end of said guide section opening outside the solid body; a second end of said guide section opening into said eye housing; said guide section forming a funnel for guiding a sewing thread carried in movement through said guide section towards said eye housing, so that the sewing thread passes through the eye of the needle and opens outside the solid body, as a result of this movement, by which the needle is threaded.

[0012] Throughout the text: The term "threading," in its common usage, refers to the action of equipping a needle with a sewing thread—preferably a single thread—so that the thread passes through the eye of the needle only once, remaining attached to it, before and during a sewing operation. The term "threaded" describes the state of a needle with a sewing thread passing through its eye. The term "substantially" indicates, in a general way, that a structural or functional characteristic should not be taken as marking an abrupt discontinuity, which would have no physical meaning, but rather encompasses not only that structure or function, but also slight variations in that structure or function which, in the technical context considered, produce an effect of the same nature, if not the same degree.

[0013] The device according to the invention facilitates guiding the free end of the sewing thread towards the eye of the needle and threading the needle. The device allows a needle to be threaded with a thread attached to a spool of sewing thread. Nothing in the device according to the invention requires that both ends of the sewing thread be free.

[0014] The solid body is said to be "ergonomic" because it is sized and shaped so that it can be held with one hand by an individual, so that this individual can hold the sewing thread with the other of their two hands and proceed to thread the needle.

[0015] The solid body can be made of any material. It can be made of any solid material of natural origin, such as wood, or of any synthetic material, in particular any synthetic polymer material, whether composite or not. It can be made of at least one thermoplastic polymer material and / or at least one thermosetting polymer material. Advantageously, the material forming the solid body is chosen so as to allow the solid body to be manufactured by molding, in particular by thermoforming.

[0016] The solid body is traversed by the passage opening onto two opposite faces of the solid body.

[0017] In some embodiments, the solid body is formed as a single piece. However, nothing prevents the solid body from being formed in other embodiments from being composed of at least two parts—in particular, two parts—of complementary shapes adapted to cooperate with each other and be reversibly joined—in particular, one with the other—to form the solid body. Specifically, the design of the solid body as two complementary parts facilitates, or even enables, its manufacture by thermoforming. In these embodiments, the needle receiving channel is formed by assembling the complementary parts together.

[0018] Advantageously, the guide section forms a smooth, peripheral inner wall for guidance. The roughness of this peripheral inner wall is adapted to limit the frictional forces of the sewing thread on the inner wall and to facilitate the guidance of the sewing thread, particularly its free end, in contact with the inner wall without snagging of this end and the thread on the inner wall. In some embodiments, the roughness of the peripheral inner wall can range from 0 µm to 50 µm, in particular from 0 µm to 10 µm.

[0019] According to the invention, said guide section has a decreasing cross-section from its first end opening outside the solid body to its second end opening into said housing of the eye.

[0020] According to the invention, said guide section comprises a second section in the shape of a truncated cone (truncated cone) with a decreasing cross-section—in particular, a continuously decreasing cross-section—from its first end opening outside the body to its end opening into said eye housing. In certain advantageous embodiments, said guide section is in the shape of a truncated cone of revolution—in particular, with an axis of revolution orthogonal to said eye opening plane. However, nothing prevents said guide section from being in the shape of a truncated conic solid with a polygonal base, in particular, in the shape of a truncated pyramid. In some of these embodiments, the truncated conic solid with a polygonal base has a height (orthogonal to the base of the truncated conic solid and passing through the apex of the conic solid) orthogonal to said eye opening plane.

[0021] According to the invention, the second end of said guide section has an opening leading into said eye housing and arranged to extend opposite—in particular, entirely opposite—the eye of the threading needle. This facilitates guiding the end of the sewing thread toward the eye. In certain advantageous embodiments, the second end of said guide section has an opening leading into said eye housing and is slit-shaped, extending opposite the eye opening. It is also possible to provide that the second end of said guide section has an oblong opening leading into and opposite said eye housing.

[0022] In some embodiments, the solid body forms a channel—in particular a straight channel—for guiding the eye of the needle as it moves within the solid body until it reaches the eye's housing. The guide channel opens outside the solid body at one of its longitudinal ends and into the eye's housing at its other longitudinal end. In some embodiments, the guide channel may also have a funnel-shaped inlet for the needle at its longitudinal end, opening outside the solid body. The guide channel has a generally circular shape in any cross-section with respect to the channel's elongation axis. The guide channel is sized and shaped to receive the needle and position the eye of the needle in the eye's housing.However, nothing prevents the provision that, according to certain embodiments, the guide channel has two longitudinal grooves, radially opposed to each other and adapted to cooperate with opposite parts of the eye's rim and guide the eye of the needle moving within the guide channel to the eye's housing. According to these embodiments, the longitudinal grooves extend into the eye's housing, where they cooperate to hold the eye of the needle in such a way that the eye's opening plane is aligned with the second end of the guide section leading into the eye's housing.

[0023] In some embodiments, the eye housing is equipped with a device for detecting the position of the needle's eye against the stop in the eye housing. In some embodiments, the detection device is a sensor coupled to a light-emitting diode (LED) that indicates when the needle's eye is against the stop in the eye housing at the longitudinal end of the channel and that the eye's opening plane is oriented towards the second open end of the guide section. Any type of sensor is possible. It could be a pressure sensor, a piezoelectric sensor, or another type. It is also possible to provide for the detection device to form a closed electrical circuit with the LED due to the needle's position in the channel, with the needle's eye against the stop in the eye housing.The detection device comprises a first contactor located in the eye housing and acting as a stop positioned in line with the guide channel, and a second contactor designed to remain in contact with the cylindrical part of the needle when the needle is placed in the guide channel. The first and second contactors are connected by an electrical circuit comprising a light-emitting diode (LED) and a battery, such that the correct positioning of the needle in the guide channel and of the eye in the eye housing closes the electrical circuit, illuminates the LED, and indicates that the eye of the needle is extending along the guide section.

[0024] Furthermore, in embodiments in which the guide channel and said eye housing are provided with two radially opposed grooves, the device for detecting the position of the eye of the needle in the stop in said eye housing and the light-emitting diode are adapted to indicate that the eye of the needle is oriented in said eye housing such that said eye opening plane is substantially orthogonal to the elongation axis of said guide section and the needle is held in position relative to the solid body.

[0025] According to the invention, said guide section forms a guide funnel for a free end of the sewing thread driven in movement in said guide section towards said eye housing, so that said free end of the sewing thread passes through the eye of the needle and emerges outside the body.

[0026] According to the invention, the device for threading a needle with an eye comprises: a wire hook extending substantially in a plane and having a longitudinal end point adapted to be able to be engaged in the opening of the eye and to progress so that the wire hook passes through the eye, and; means for driving the hook in movement between: o a first position, called the retracted position, in which the hook does not extend into said eye housing and the eye of the needle can be placed in said eye housing, and; o a second position, called the threading position, in which the hook extends through said eye opening and in which at least a part of the hook extends outside the solid body; the hook being adapted to cooperate with the sewing thread so that the movement of the means for driving the hook in movement from said threading position to said retracted position allows the needle to be threaded.

[0027] According to the invention, the guide section is a guide section of the hook moving between said retracted position and said threading position and between said threading position and said retracted position.

[0028] In some embodiments, the hook is formed of at least one rigid metal wire in longitudinal tension and elastically deformable transversely in bending. The hook is adapted to be able to deform elastically during its movement through the eye. The hook is also adapted to be able to deform upon contact with the guide section, during its movement within the guide section between the retracted position and the threading position. In some embodiments, the hook is formed by folding the metal wire into at least two successive segments extending substantially in the same plane and forming the longitudinal end point of the hook.The longitudinal end point of the hook is formed by two consecutive adjacent sides of the hook forming an angle - in particular an acute angle - suitable so that the longitudinal end point of the hook can pass through the eye of the needle and to be able to pull the sewing thread through the eye of the needle.

[0029] In some embodiments, the hook is an open hook formed of two successive segments of the metal wire, folded one over the other, of which a first segment having a longitudinal end supported by the drive means of the hook and a second segment having a free end, the two segments being shaped to be able to cooperate with the sewing thread so that the hook allows the sewing thread to be caught by displacement of a loop of the sewing thread in overlapping along the first segment to the point of the longitudinal end of the hook, by which the sewing thread is drawn through the eye of the needle by displacement of the drive means of the hook from said threading position to said retracted position.

[0030] In these embodiments, the metal wire forming the open hook has a circular cross-section with a diameter between 0.20 mm and 0.40 mm, preferably between 0.25 mm and 0.35 mm, more particularly in the order of 0.30 mm.

[0031] In some other embodiments, the hook is a wire loop—in particular, a wire loop made of at least one metallic material—closed upon itself and extending substantially in a plane, forming a longitudinal end point adapted—specifically, sized—to be able to be engaged in the eye of the needle. In some of these embodiments, the hook is formed by folding a section of metal wire to form a plano-convex quadrilateral. In some of these embodiments, the hook is formed by folding the section of metal wire into a rhombus shape, the two longitudinal ends of the metal wire being fixed to the drive means. In these embodiments, the hook is adapted to be able to pass through the eye of the needle by elastic deformation of the metal wire.

[0032] According to some embodiments, the hook – in particular the thread loop closed upon itself – is formed from at least one material elastically deformable in bending between: a first conformation, called the deformed conformation, of the hook - in particular the loop - in which the hook - in particular the loop - is elastically deformed due to the passage of the hook - in particular the loop - through said eye opening, and; a second conformation, called the threading conformation, of the hook - in particular the loop -, distinct from said deformed configuration and in which the hook - in particular the loop - is formed so as to be able to cooperate with the sewing thread and allow the sewing thread to be caught; so that the hook - in particular the loop - can be elastically brought back from said deformed conformation to said threading conformation after the passage of the hook - in particular the loop - through said eye opening.

[0033] In these embodiments, the metal wire forming the thread-like loop has a circular cross-section with a diameter between 0.10 mm and 0.20 mm, more particularly on the order of 0.15 mm. The aid device according to these embodiments is particularly suitable for threading a needle with a small eye.

[0034] According to certain advantageous embodiments, the opening slot at the second end of said guide section has two transversely opposed enlargements adapted to allow the passage of the thread-like hook that carries the sewing thread in motion between said threading position and said retracted position.

[0035] According to the invention, the hook drive means comprise a trigger, the hook being mounted integrally with the trigger so as to be able to be driven by said trigger between said retracted position and said threading position (and between said threading position and said retracted position), in a direction parallel to the extension axis of said guide section and orthogonal to the opening plane of the eye. The trigger is arranged so as to be able to be moved by a user of the aid device.

[0036] In these embodiments, the aid device comprises a rigid frame for guiding the trigger and the hook as they move between the extended and retracted positions (and between the retracted and extended positions), the rigid frame being fixed to the solid body. In these embodiments, the trigger has a pusher extending outside the rigid frame and adapted to allow movement of the hook between the extended and retracted positions and between the retracted and extended positions.

[0037] In these embodiments, with the hook in the retracted position, the longitudinal end of the hook extends within the guide section between the first and second ends of said guide section. The longitudinal end of the hook moving within said guide section is guided all the way to the second end of said guide section, which opens into the eye housing, and until the eye is opened.

[0038] In some embodiments, the needle-threading aid includes elastic means for returning the trigger and hook to the retracted position. However, nothing prevents the needle-threading aid from including elastic means for returning the trigger and hook to the threading position.

[0039] According to some embodiments, the roughness of the peripheral inner guide wall is low and adapted to limit the friction forces of the hook on the inner wall and facilitate the guidance of the hook in contact with the inner wall and without catching the hook on the inner wall.

[0040] In some embodiments, the solid body has a groove extending from the guide channel and opening outside the solid body, said groove being adapted to allow the passage of two strands of the thread extending upstream and downstream of the eye of the needle, when the needle is withdrawn from the guide channel.

[0041] The invention also relates to a method for threading a needle with an eye as defined by claim 20. The eye of the needle is of the type limited peripherally by a rim extending substantially in a plane, called the eye opening plane. The method uses a threading aid according to the invention. In the method: The eye of the needle is disposed in said eye housing of a device for threading said needle, so that the second end of said guide section opens into said eye housing; a sewing thread is introduced into the first end of said guide section and moved along said guide section to said eye housing, said guide section forming a thread guide funnel, so that the sewing thread passes through the eye of the needle and opens outside the body, by which the needle is threaded, then; the threaded needle is extracted from the threading device.

[0042] Threading a needle with an eye does not require visualizing the eye of the needle during threading, thus making the threading process easier.

[0043] According to the invention, the aid device comprises a wire hook whose free longitudinal end is guided in movement within a guide section between a retracted position and a threading position. The wire hook is placed in the threading position, in which it extends outside the solid body. The sewing thread is then positioned relative to the hook such that the sole movement of the wire hook from the threading position to the retracted position is accompanied by the threading of the needle. In some embodiments, the hook being an open hook, the sewing thread is positioned so that it passes over the first segment of the open hook, and the open hook is drawn back into the retracted position, thereby threading the needle. The threaded needle is extracted from the aid device by sliding the needle within the guide channel.Advantageously, the needle is extracted from the device in a single movement, by a pull exerted simultaneously on the needle - in particular on the pointed end of the needle - and on one of the two ends of the sewing thread, along the longitudinal axis of the needle (the user simultaneously and jointly pinching the needle and one of the two strands of the sewing thread) so as to drive the other of the two strands of sewing thread sliding in the opening of the eye of the needle and in the hook, whereby this other strand of the sewing thread is released from the eye of the needle and the hook and whereby the needle is threaded by a single strand of the sewing thread.

[0044] In certain embodiments of a needle threading method, in which a longitudinal end section of the sewing thread is wound into a spool, the aid device according to the invention is held by the user in one of their two hands (preferably the left hand if the user is right-handed, the right hand if the user is left-handed). With the hook in the retracted position, the user inserts the needle into the guide channel with their dominant hand, opposite the dominant hand, so that the eye of the needle extends opposite the second end of the guide section. They then move the trigger and hook of the aid device from the retracted position to the threading position.The user then grasps the spool of thread with their dominant hand, from which a length of thread has been unwound. With their dominant hand, they position this freed length of thread so that it is threaded onto the hook, and the mere movement of the thready hook from its threading position to its retracted position threads the needle. The user then simply pinches the needle and the length of thread extending between the spool and the eye of the needle with their dominant hand holding the spool of thread, and pulls the needle out of the guide channel by applying tension to both the needle and the thread along the longitudinal axis of the guide channel. This tension causes the free end of the thread to slide through the eye and hook, thus threading the needle with a single strand of thread and making it ready for use.

[0045] The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a needle-threading aid according to the invention, in which the solid body is formed by hot molding, in particular from a thermoplastic solid material. The method is defined by claim 21.

[0046] The invention also relates to a device for threading a needle with an eye, a method for threading a needle with an eye and a method for manufacturing such a threading aid device.

[0047] Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, which refers to the accompanying figures given solely as a non-limiting description of certain embodiments of the invention and in which: [ Fig 1 ] there Figure 1 is a schematic perspective representation of a device for threading a needle with an eye, according to one embodiment, the device comprising a thread-like loop; [ Fig 2 ] there Figure 2 is a perspective representation of a device for threading a needle with an eye, according to another embodiment; [ Fig 3 ] there Figure 3 is a view of a variant of the embodiment of the figure 2 , which illustrates preferred embodiments of the device's housing, and in which the thread-like hook is a closed loop in the threading position; [ Fig 4 ] there Figure 4 shows the device of the figure 4 , when the wire hook is in the retracted position; [ Fig 5 ] there Figure 5 shows a variant of the device of the figure 4 , in which the wire hook is an open loop, in the same threading position as the hook of the figure 4 ; Fig 6 ] there Figure 6 shows, slightly from above, the device of the figure 5 including an upper component of the casing and a front closing cover that are removed from the rest of the casing; Fig 7 ] there Figure 7 is a partial view, slightly from below, of the device of the fi-gure 5 , whose front closing cover is removed from the rest of the casing; [ Fig 8 ] there Figure 8 shows, slightly from above, the device of the figure 5 with the upper element of the housing in place, and illustrates a funnel for retracting the hook into the body of the device, according to embodiments of the invention; [ Fig 9 ] there Figure 9 shows, slightly from below, the device of the figure 5 with the front cover of the housing removed, and illustrates an outlet funnel from the hook to the outside of the device, according to embodiments of the invention; [ Fig 10 ] there Figure 10 is a schematic perspective representation of a first part of the device for threading a needle with an eye, according to the embodiment of the invention shown in figure 2 ; Fig 11 ] there Figure 11 shows, viewed from the right side of the device, a funnel for inserting the needle into the device, according to embodiments of the invention; [ Fig 12 ] there Figure 12 The watch is a front view, slightly from above, of the top of the device. figure 5 with the front cover of the case removed; Fig 13 ] there Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of the top of the device figure 5 , in the AA section plane of the figure 12 ; Fig 14 ] there Figure 14 shows a cross-sectional view of the device figure 5 also in section AA of the figure 12 in which the hook is absent in order to better show the passage for the hook, its guide section, as well as the outlet funnel and the retraction funnel of the hook; this figure also shows a left-side view, as well as a top view, of the device of the figure 5 in which the hook has been removed, as for the cross-sectional view also shown on this figure 14 ; Fig 15 ] there Figure 15 is a cross-sectional representation of the embodiment of the device shown in figure 1 , the thread-like loop being in a retracted position; Fig 16 ] there Figure 16 is a cross-sectional representation of the embodiment of the device shown in figure 4 , the threaded loop being in a threading position; Fig 17 ] there Figure 17 is a cross-sectional view of the top of the device figure 3 in the AA section plane of the figure 12 , in which the hook is a closed loop that is in the threading position, essentially out of the device housing; [ Fig 18 ] there Figure 18 is another cross-sectional view of the top of the device figure 3 in the AA section plane of the figure 12 , similar to the view of the figure 17 , but in which the hook is in an intermediate position between the threading position and the retracted position, partially retracted into the housing but with its end point still free outside the device housing, as illustrated in the figure 4 ; Fig 19 ] there Figure 19 is another cross-sectional view of the top of the device figure 3 in the AA section plane of the figure 12 , similar to the view of the figure 17 and at the sight of the figure 18 , but in which the hook is in the retracted position, fully retracted into the device housing; Fig 20 ] there Figure 20 is a right-side view of the top of the device, in section plane BB of the figure 12 ; Fig 21 ] there Figure 21 is a right-side view of the top of the device, in the CC section plane of the figure 12 ; Fig 22 ] there Figure 22 is a right-side view of the top of the device, in the DD section plane of the figure 12 ; Fig 23 ] there Figure 23 is a schematic perspective representation of a device for threading a needle with an eye, according to another embodiment of the invention; [ Fig 24 ] there Figure 24 is similar to the Figure 5 , and shows the top of the device slightly from above and slightly to the left, and illustrates the placement of a length of sewing thread for attachment to the open loop hook which, in the figure, is in the threading position; Fig 25 ] there Figure 25 is a schematic perspective representation of the device for threading a needle with an eye, according to another embodiment of the invention, in which the hook is moved to the retracted position; [ Fig 26 ] there Figure 26 is similar to the Figure 24 , and shows the length of sewing thread caught by the hook in the form of an open loop which, in the figure, is in an intermediate position between the threading position and the retracted position, during the retraction of the hook into the housing of the device for threading a needle with sewing thread; Fig 27 ] there Figure 27 shows, in isolation, a device for detecting the correct positioning of the needle to be threaded, in the eye housing of the device, allowing the needle to be threaded into the correct position, according to embodiments of the invention; [ Fig 28 ] there Figure 28 shows the detection device of the figure 27 with a needle correctly inserted, fully seated in the device, and in the correct position for threading the needle; Fig 29 ] there Figure 29 shows part of the detection device figure 27 and of the figure 28 in place within the device's housing; Fig.30 ] there Figure 30 It also shows, from a slightly different angle, the same part of the detection device figure 25 and of the figure 26 , in place within the built-up body of the device's housing, that the figure 20 ; And, [ Fig 31 ] there Figure 31 is a schematic representation of a step in a needle threading process according to the invention.

[0048] In the figures of the accompanying drawings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, the dimensions and proportions of the elements are not necessarily to scale for the sake of simplification and clarity of the description. Furthermore, the needle threading aid shown is configured for conventional use by a right-handed user, that is, a user who primarily uses their right hand. Such a right-handed user will typically hold the device in their left hand and operate the trigger with their left thumb, while performing the more delicate manipulation of the needle and thread with their right hand. However, there is nothing preventing the device from being configured to be held in the right hand of a left-handed user, who would then manipulate the needle and thread with their left hand.The devices for right-handed and left-handed users respectively are mirror images of each other.

[0049] In the drawings, the device is systematically presented, unless explicitly stated otherwise, with an orientation in three-dimensional space such as that in which the device appears to the eyes of the user holding it in their hand(s), in front of them, for conventional use. The expression "three-dimensional space" (or 3D) characterizes the space surrounding the user, as perceived by their vision, with regard to width, height, and depth. This concept corresponds, in mathematics, to Euclidean geometry in space, according to which space is defined by three orthogonal axes, whereas a plane is composed of only two dimensions (2D) and is defined by only two of these three orthogonal axes. The three geometric dimensions are thus: the width (left / right) of the X axis; the depth (front / back) of the Y axis; and, the height (top / bottom) of the Z axis.

[0050] The position of any point in three-dimensional space with axes X, Y, and Z is indicated by coordinates, measured respectively along each of these axes X, Y, and Z with respect to a specific reference point, usually a single one. These coordinates are called: "abscissa" for the position of the point along the X axis of width; "ordinate" for the position of the point along the Y axis of depth; and, "elevation" for the position of the point along the Z axis of height.

[0051] For clarity, the X, Y and / or Z axes are represented on the figures in the drawings, where appropriate.

[0052] Furthermore, and unless explicitly stated otherwise, the terms and expressions in quotation marks below (and all derived terms, as well as semantically equivalent expressions) are used in this presentation according to the following convention: "Left", "right", "to the left" or "to the right", are used with reference to the direction of the X-axis, which is oriented horizontally from left to right on the figures in the drawings; and, "in front", "behind", "front", "back" and derivatives such as "forward" and "backward", as well as the verbs "forward" and "backward" or equivalent verbs and derived nouns, are used with reference to the direction of the Y-axis, which is oriented horizontally from back to front on the figures in the drawings;and, "on", "under", "above", "below" and their derivatives such as "above" and "below" or "over" and "underneath", the terms "superior" and "inferior", as well as the verbs "to go up" and "to go down" or equivalent verbs and derived nouns are used with reference to the direction of the Z-axis (or terrestrial gravitational direction), which is oriented vertically from bottom to top in the figures of the drawings.

[0053] Furthermore, the following relative terms, as well as others where applicable, are used by specifying which of the X, Y, or Z axes is being considered, unless this is implicitly clear from the context of their use in this presentation: "side", "next to" or "on the side"; "longitudinal", "lateral" or "transverse"; as well as "length", "width", "height" or "thickness".

[0054] Finally, from one figure to another in the drawings, identical or similar elements bear the same numerical references.

[0055] In these embodiments, the dimensions of the guide channel 12—its length and diameter in cross-section—are chosen to allow the eye of the needle to move within the guide channel 12 so that it can reach the eye socket 3. In some embodiments, the guide channel 12 has a circular shape in any cross-section. In these embodiments, the diameter in cross-section of the guide channel is chosen to allow the passage of the eye of the needle. In some other embodiments, the guide channel 12 has a non-circular shape in cross-section.This shape can be ovoid with a larger diameter, adapted to receive the eye of the needle and guide the needle's longitudinal movement within the guide channel 12, bringing the eye of the needle into the eye socket 3 so that the eye opening extends in a plane orthogonal to the axis 32 of the passage 4 through the solid body 2. This shape can be square, with the eye opening plane extending along a diagonal of this square section and orthogonally to the axis 32 of the passage 4 through the solid body 2. This shape can be rectangular, with the eye opening plane extending along the length of this rectangular section and orthogonally to the axis 32 of the passage 4 through the solid body 2.In some other embodiments, the guide channel 12 has, in any cross-section, a substantially circular shape and two longitudinal grooves 14, radially opposed and extending over the entire length of the guide channel 12, the two longitudinal grooves being adapted to cooperate with the opening rim of the eye of the needle extending substantially in said opening plane of the eye and guide the needle to its threading position.

[0056] In the embodiments, the guide section 5 forms a first funnel 201 funnel 8 limited laterally by a wall 10 having a cross-section transverse to the axis 32 passing through the passage 4 of the device, which is decreasing between the first end 6 and the second end 7 of said guide section 5 towards the opening of the eye of the needle 26. This funnel, called the hook exit funnel, serves to shape the hook so that it passes through the eye of the needle when the trigger is moved upwards, to move the hook from the retracted position 20 to the threading position 21 in which the free end 27 of the hook protrudes outside the housing 9 (formed of parts 9c, 9d, and 9e of the housing 9, which is also called solid body 2 in this description).

[0057] For example, the funnel 8 formed by said guide section 5 is convergent and shaped to open into a space 34 extending opposite the opening of the eye 27.

[0058] An embodiment of a device 1 according to the invention for threading a needle 26 with an eye is shown figure 1 This second embodiment of a device according to the invention is adapted to facilitate threading a needle with any sewing thread 28, particularly with a flexible sewing thread 28 exhibiting low flexural rigidity. A device 1 according to this second embodiment consists of a solid body 2 made of at least one polymer material. This may be a thermoplastic polymer material and / or a thermosetting polymer material. In particular, the material forming the solid body 2 is chosen so as to allow the solid body 2 to be manufactured by molding, particularly by hot molding. The device 1 enters: a first conformation, called deformed conformation, of the thread-like loop 16 in which the thread-like loop 16 is deformed due to its passage through said opening of the eye of the threading needle, and: a second conformation, called threading conformation, in which the thread-like loop 16 is formed so that it can be passed through by the thread 28 for sewing.

[0059] In the embodiment shown figure 1 The solid body 2 is formed of two parts 9c, 9d with complementary shapes, designed to be joined together by interlocking. This interlocking mechanism holds the two parts 9c, 9d together but also allows them to be separated. The two parts 9c, 9d forming the solid body 2 are held together by any reversible or irreversible means of assembly, for example, by elastic deformation (also called "clipping"). It is also possible for the two parts 9c, 9d to cooperate with each other by reversible interlocking of complementary surfaces. The two pieces 9c,9d forming the solid body 2 are assembled with each other in such a way that their respective faces extending opposite each other form, by virtue of their assembly, the passage and the said guide section through which the wire loop passes.The two parts 9c, 9d forming the solid body 2 cooperate to provide the channel 12 for receiving and guiding the sewing needle 26 as it moves longitudinally within the channel 12. It is also possible to design the two parts 9c, 9d forming the solid body 2 to be separated from each other so as to release the needle 26 after it has been threaded. Similarly, it is also possible to design the two parts 9a, 9b forming the solid body 2 to be inseparable, allowing the threaded needle to be extracted from the solid body 2 by its longitudinal movement within the guide channel 12, with the sewing thread passing through the opening 38 of the eye 27 of the needle being guided along the groove 25.In this embodiment, the two pieces 9c,9d forming the solid body 2 also cooperate in association to form the passage through the solid body 2 and said guide section, adapted to be able to guide the movement of a longitudinal end 36 of the thread-like loop 16 so that it passes through the opening of the eye of the needle.

[0060] The aid device 1 according to the second embodiment of the invention shown fi-gure 1 includes means 19 for driving the thread loop 16 in movement between a first position, called the retracted position 20, of the thread loop 16 in which the thread loop 16 extends backward from said eyelet 3 and does not pass through the eye 27 of the needle 26, and a second position, called the threading position 21, of the thread loop 16 in which the thread loop 16 extends through said eyelet and in which the thread loop 16 is in said threading conformation 18 and at least a part of the thread loop 16 extends outside the solid body 2. In the embodiment shown figure 4 The means 19 for driving the wire loop 16 comprise a rigid frame 23 and a trigger 22 mounted to slide relative to the frame 23, the trigger 22 carrying the wire loop. The frame 23 has two grooves 24a and 24b for guiding the trigger 22 and the wire loop 16 as it moves between the retracted position 20 and the threading position 21.

[0061] The solid body 2 has a groove 25 extending from the guide channel 12 and opening along its entire length outside the solid body 2. The groove 25 is adapted to allow the passage of the two longitudinal portions of the threaded thread in the needle 26 and extending upstream and downstream of the eye 27 of the needle 26, when the threaded needle is withdrawn from the aid device 1, by sliding in the guide channel 12.

[0062] The guide channel 12 for the needle 26 opens at one of its longitudinal ends outside the solid body 2 and at the other end into the housing 3 of the eye of the needle 26, so that the eye of the needle is guided longitudinally along the guide channel 12. The guide channel 12 has, in any cross-section, a shape adapted to receive and cooperate with the eye 27 of the needle 26. It may have, in any cross-section, a generally circular shape. In the embodiment shown, it has, in any cross-section, a generally circular shape designed to cooperate with the cylindrical part of the needle 26, and two grooves 14 extending radially outwards from the channel 12, diametrically opposed to each other, and longitudinally along the entire length of the guide channel.The grooves 14 are dimensioned – particularly in width and depth – to cooperate with at least part of the opening rim 39 38 of the eye and to guide the eye 27 of the needle 26 as it moves in the guide channel 12 to the eye housing 3. In this embodiment, the needle eye 27 is positioned in the eye housing 3 such that the opening rim 39 38 of the eye 27 extends in a plane perpendicular to the axis 32 passing through the passage 4 and the guide section 5.

[0063] A cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a device 1 according to the invention is shown figure 2 In a first position, referred to as the retracted position 20, of the wire loop 16 in which the trigger 22 is raised (i.e., away from the guide section 5), the wire loop 16 extends back from the eye slot 3 and does not pass through the eye 27 of the needle 26. In the retracted position 20, the free end 36 of the wire loop 16 extends into the guide channel 5. The guidance of the wire loop 16 between the retracted position 20 and the threading position 21 is improved. In said retracted position 20 of the thread-like loop 16, the needle 26 can be introduced into the guide channel 12 so that the longitudinal end of the eye 27 of the needle comes to rest in the housing 3 of the eye and that the opening plane of the eye 27 is orthogonal to the axis 32 passing through the passage 4 and the guide section 5.From this retracted position 20 of the wire loop 16, the latter can be moved by actuating the trigger 22 along the axis 32 passing through the passage, whereby the free end 36 of the wire loop 16 cooperates with the wall 10 of the guide section 5 so as to be guided towards the opening of the eye 27 and pass through it, without requiring the user to provide visual assistance of the opening of the eye and / or the free end 36 of the wire loop 16.As a result of this passage, the thread-like loop 16 transiently takes said deformed conformation, in which the thread-like loop 16 is deformed due to the stresses related to its passage through said opening of the eye 27 of the threading needle 26, and elastically returns to said threading conformation 18, in which the thread-like loop 16 is formed so that it can be passed through by the sewing thread 28, when the thread-like loop 16 is in said threading position 21.

[0064] A schematic, cross-sectional view of a device 1 according to the invention is shown figure 16 in the threading position 21 of the wire loop 16, in which the trigger 22 is close to the guide section 5, so that the free end of the wire loop 16 extends outside the solid body 2 of the device (upwards), and that the other end of the wire loop 16 which is attached to the trigger 22 always extends through the eye 27 of the needle 26 when the needle is positioned against the stop in the housing 3 of the eye. After the free end of the thread loop 16 passes through the eye of the needle 26 to reach the threading position 21 as shown in the figure, the thread loop 16 is elastically brought from said deformed shape into said threading shape 18, in which the thread loop 16 forms an opening for the passage of a length of sewing thread 28 as shown figure 1 In this threading configuration 18, the person using the aid device according to the invention can insert one of the longitudinal ends of the sewing thread section 28 into the passage opening formed by the wire loop 16. The user can then operate the trigger 22 downwards to bring the wire loop 16 back into the retracted position 20, whereby the wire loop 16 resumes its deformed shape by passing through the eye opening 27 into the interior of the device until it reaches the retracted position 20 and releases the eye opening, carrying with it the two strands of sewing thread 28 also through the eye opening of the needle 26, whereby said needle is threaded. It should be noted that, advantageously, it is then the eye of the needle itself as well as the internal wall of the guide section of the loop which essentially cause the deformation of the thread loop 16 which allows it to pass through the eye 27.The free end of the 102 re-entry funnel is only used to guide the free end of the wire loop 16 so that it engages properly in the passage 4.

[0065] Due to the release of the eye of the needle 26 by the thread hook 16 in the retracted position 20, said needle 26 is removed from the aid device 1. It is necessary to keep one of the two strands of thread 28 attached to the needle 26 and to release the thread loop 16 by sliding the other of the two strands of thread 28, thereby detaching the thread 28 from the thread loop 16.

[0066] A first variant of the aid device 1 according to the invention is shown figure 2 in which the threaded loop 16 is in the threading position 21. In this variant, the part 9c, which forms the solid body 2 with the part 9d, is provided with pins 41 adapted to cooperate with bores formed in the part 9d and to join the parts 9c and 9d to form the solid body 2. The solid body 2 is equipped with an alerting device 37—in particular a photoluminescent diode—connected to a sensor 40 adapted to detect the correct positioning of the eye 27 of the needle 26 in the eye socket 3. Thus, proper placement of the needle 26 in the guide channel 12 and of the eye 27 in the eye socket 3 is detected by the sensor, which, by virtue of this detection, activates the alerting device.The user is thus alerted to the correct positioning of the needle 26 in the channel and the eye 27 in the eye socket, so that the threaded loop 16 can be brought from the retracted position 20 to the threading position 21, thereby allowing the threaded loop 16 to be inserted. After the threaded loop 16 has been inserted, returning it to the retracted position 20 allows the threaded needle to be released.

[0067] A detail of the variant of the second embodiment of an aid device 1 according to the invention is shown figure 10 , which shows part 9d of the housing seen from above. In this figure, the wire loop 16 is in the retracted position 20 (and is therefore not visible on this figure 10 and part 9c of the solid body 2 is removed. Part 9c of the solid body 2 forms one part of the guide channel 12, the other part of the guide channel being formed in part 9c (not shown). Part 9d of the solid body 2 also forms part of the eye housing 3 and has a passage 4 adapted to cooperate with the second end 7 of the guide section 5 of the hook 16. A sensor 40 is disposed in the eye housing 3, opposite the entrance of the guide channel 12 into said eye housing 3. The sensor can be of any suitable type. It could, for example, be a piezoelectric sensor adapted to generate an electrical signal due to pressure exerted by the eye 27 of the needle on the sensor 40.

[0068] Alternative embodiments of this sensor 40 are illustrated, in particular in figure 27à 30 In these embodiments, the device includes a detector for the correct positioning of the needle 26 against the bottom of the channel 12. Correct positioning of the needle is understood to mean an arrangement of the needle with the eye of the 27 aligned with the axis 32 of the passage 4 for the hook 16, and with the eye correctly oriented perpendicular to said axis 32 (which coincides with the vertical axis Z in the figures). Referencing the needle according to this positioning is achieved by inserting the needle 26, eye 27 at the tip, into the channel 12 from right to left, and bringing it against the bottom of said channel.

[0069] As shown on the figures 27 et 28 The detection device comprises a first conductive branch 101, a second conductive branch 102, and a third conductive branch 108. In operational conditions, branches 101 and 102 are connected to each other via a battery 120. For this purpose, a free end of branch 101 includes a tab 103 which is offset towards the front of the device to come in front of a first face of the battery 120, in contact with said battery. Branch 102 also includes an extension 106 which extends transversely (along the Y-axis) relative to the longitudinal axis of said branch 102 (which coincides with the Z-axis) and which enters into elastic contact against the other face of the battery 120, behind said battery, by its end substantially at the center in a housing 2a formed in the frame of the casing 9, and more particularly in part 9d of said casing.

[0070] At the other end of branch 101, opposite leg 103, connects one terminal of a light-emitting diode 37, the other terminal of which is connected to one end of the conductive branch 108. Finally, branch 102 includes another end 104 opposite to that from which the transverse extension 106 extends.

[0071] As shown in the figure 28 , when the needle 26 is in the stop in the channel 12, it closes the electrical circuit thus formed by connecting in a conductive way the end 104 of the branch 102 and the other end 110 of the branch 108. The needle 26 being made of metal, generally steel, it is effectively conductive of the electric current.

[0072] The arrangement of the detection circuit within the housing body is illustrated by the figures 29 et 30 as well as by the figure 6 . In this last figure, we see that the end 104 of the branch 102 rubs against the needle 26 when the latter is inserted into the channel 12, through the collar 19. Similarly, we see that the end 110 of the branch 108 is held inside a slot extending from front to back along the direction of the Y axis, therefore transverse to the main axis of the conduit 12 for the needle 26 which extends from right to left along the direction of the X axis.

[0073] Back to figures 29 et 30 It can be seen that the arm 101 is housed in the body of the housing 9 between the left edge of this housing and a pillar 111a extending from back to front from the bottom of said housing. Similarly, the arm 101 is housed in the bottom of the housing between the right edge of said housing and the rib 24b forming one of the guide rails of the base 22a of the trigger 22. It includes a hole 102a which can cooperate with a pin 112a extending from back to front from the bottom of the housing, for better retention.

[0074] Another variant of the second embodiment of an aid device 1 according to the invention is shown figure 23 and to the figure 24 in which the hook is an open hook 42, which is in the threading position 21. The aid device 1 is shown such that the axis 32 passing through the passage 4 extends substantially vertically so that a sewing thread 28 straddles a first segment 43 having a longitudinal end supported by the drive means of the hook 42, namely the trigger 22. In this variant, the movement of the open hook 42 from the threading position 21 to the retracted position 20 allows the sewing thread 28 to be hooked onto the hook 42, which comes to rest on the free end 36 of the hook (as shown figure 25 and to the figure 26 ). Thus, the sewing thread 28 is drawn through the eye of the needle by moving the drive means of the hook 42 from the threading position 21 to the retracted position 20. In this variant, it is sufficient to position the sewing thread 28 straddling the first segment 43 of the hook 42 so that the thread 28 extends into the gap formed between the first segment 43 and the second segment 44 of the hook, and then move the trigger 22 from the threading position 21 to the retracted position 20 to thread the needle 26. Threading the needle is carried out without requiring the user to precisely aim at the opening of the eye of the needle and / or the free end 36 of the thread loop 16, as in other embodiments where the hook is a closed loop.

[0075] Threading the size 26 eyed needle is thus made easier.

[0076] In an advantageous embodiment of a needle-threading method according to the invention, a variant of an aid device 1 according to the invention is used, comprising a solid body 2 equipped with an open, thread-like hook 42 mounted integrally with a trigger 22 guided in movement by a rigid frame 3 between said retracted position 20 and said threading position 21. The open hook 42 being placed by a user 46 in said threading position 21 and protruding outside the solid body 2, the user 46 orients the aid device 1 so that the axis 32 passing through the passage 4 extends substantially horizontally.In this orientation, the user 46 places a sewing thread 28 relative to the open hook 42 so that the thread 28 overlaps the first segment 43 of the open hook 42 and so that the movement of the hook 42 from said threading position 21 to said retracted position causes the sewing thread 28 to hook onto the free end 36 of the open hook 42 (as shown). figure 25 ), carries the thread 28 through the eye 27 of the needle 26 and threads it. In this advantageous embodiment, it is sufficient to position the thread 28 overlapping the first segment 43 of the hook 42 so that the thread 28 extends into the gap formed between the first segment 43 and the second segment 44 of the hook, then move the trigger 22 from the threading position 21 to the retracted position 20 to thread the needle 26. In this advantageous embodiment, it is then sufficient, as schematically represented in figure 31, that the user 46 extracts the threaded needle 26 from the threading aid device 1 by pinching the needle 26 and one (and only one) of the two strands of thread 28 passing through the eye 27 and by pulling on the needle 26 and the pinched strand 50 of thread 28, along the axis of the guide channel 12 and in the direction indicated by the arrow 49, by sliding the needle in the guide channel 12, whereby one strand 47 of the thread 28 to be sewn is drawn sliding relative to the opening 38 of the eye 27 in the direction indicated by the arrow 48 and relative to the hook 16,42. This simple movement of the needle 26 results in a dissociation of the threaded needle 26 and the hook 16,42, whereby the needle 26 is threaded in a single step and in a simple way, by a single strand of the sewing thread 28.

[0077] In this advantageous embodiment, nothing prevents the needle 26, extracted from the device, along with the strand 50 of thread 28 pinched by the user 46, from being oriented along the axis 32 of the passage 4 of the device 1 according to the invention, which is substantially parallel to the extension axis of the hook 16, 42, and then the traction exerted on the needle 26 and the pinched strand of thread 28 continuing along this axis 32 of the passage 4. The sliding of the thread 28 is thus facilitated. In this advantageous embodiment, the two strands of thread 28 threaded through the needles 26 are brought substantially into alignment with the axis 32 moving within the groove 25 of the solid body 2. In this advantageous embodiment, the threaded needle 26 is extracted from the aid device 1 in a single movement allowing the sewing needle 26 to be threaded by a single strand of sewing thread 38.

[0078] Of course, in all embodiments of the invention, the aid device allows for easier threading of an eyed needle with a free length of thread, that is to say independent of a spool of thread, or with a length of thread of which only one first longitudinal end is free, the other longitudinal end being engaged in a spool of said thread.

[0079] In certain unrepresented embodiments of an aid device according to the invention in which the hook is an open hook, the solid body of the device according to the invention forms, by means of a positioning bead for the sewing thread in contact with the hook, such that the movement of the hook from said threading position to said retracted position causes the thread to hook onto the hook.

[0080] In the embodiments shown in the figures, this positioning bead is designed as a pointed angle bracket, with two downward-pointing wings 91 and 92 arranged at an angle, their points facing upwards. More precisely, the point in question is formed by the end of the common edge of the two wings 91 and 92 of the angle bracket, which extends from the plane of the upper face of the housing 9 (and more particularly of part 9c), away from said plane in the direction orthogonal to said plane. The edges of the angle bracket, formed by the respective slices of the wings 91 and 92, fall towards said plane from this common edge. In other words, the wings 91 and 92 of the angle bracket are downward-pointing, that is to say, they are arranged in the form of delta wings at an angle to each other.Advantageously, their angular opening is turned towards the mouth of the funnel 202 for retracting the hook 16, that is to say also towards the hook 16 when it is out of the housing 2, in its threading position 21.

[0081] In the example shown in the figures, the two wings 91 and 92 of the angle bracket are arranged at an angle of approximately 90°. This angle is an advantageous but not limiting example. Angles between approximately 60° and 120°, or even between approximately 30° and 150°, are also possible.

[0082] When using the needle threading aid according to this embodiment, a length of sewing thread 28 is presented by the user near the point formed by the drop wings 91 and 92, on the side of said drop wings 91 and 92, that is, between said wings 91 and 92 on one side and the hook 42 on the other, the latter being extended, in the threading position. The length of sewing thread 28 can then be easily guided by the user to slide along the edges of the wings 91 and 92, from the point downwards towards the bottom of the angle bracket. Since the wings 91 and 92 drop towards the mouth of the funnel 202, as mentioned above, the sewing thread naturally descends towards the hook 42, under the free end 45 of the second segment 44 of said open hook 42.The hooking of the thread 28 in the hook 42, when it is then pulled downwards along the Z-axis into the housing 2 until it reaches the retracted position, is thus greatly facilitated. Indeed, the user does not even have to manually pass a free end of a length of sewing thread through the diamond formed by the loop of the hook 16 in embodiments where said hook has the form of a closed loop.

[0083] It should be noted that, even in embodiments where the hook is a closed loop (so that the thread 28 cannot be caught in the hook as described above), the pointed angle bracket 91, 92 is still advantageous. Indeed, regardless of the embodiment of the hook 16, whether in the form of an open loop or a closed loop, the pointed angle bracket 91, 92 protects the end of the hook that protrudes outwards from the housing 9 from being bent, i.e., folded back towards the plane of part 9c of the housing 9. Such bending can be caused by a gesture of the user, or by improper handling of the device 1 when the hook is in the threading position, extending outwards from the housing 9 of said device.Despite the natural elasticity of the wire from which the hook 16 or 42 is formed, this folding could damage the device, preventing, for example, the hook from being able to return to the retracted position by manipulating the trigger downwards of the device 1.

[0084] In certain other embodiments of the aid device 1 according to the invention, in which the hook is an open hook 42, the end of the passage through the solid body and extending opposite said guide section forms a funnel 202 for guiding the hook as it moves from the threading position 21 to the retracted position 20. In particular, this funnel 202 serves to facilitate the retraction of the hook into the body 2 of the housing 9. This embodiment is therefore particularly well-suited to the use of a hook 42 in the form of an open loop, as shown in the figures 5 to 8 , 13, 23 and 24Indeed, thanks to the retraction funnel 202 for the hook inside the solid body 2, the movement of the hook from the threading position 21, in which the end tip 36 is outside the solid body 2, to the retracted position 20, in which the hook is fully retracted into said body, is facilitated. In particular, the movement of the free end 45 of the second segment 44 of the open hook 42 to engage in the passage 4, thus enabling the hook 16 to retract into the solid body 2, is secured. This prevents the free end 45 of the loop from catching on the upper edge of the housing 9, which could open the hook 42, potentially separating, possibly irreversibly, segment 44 from segment 43 of the open hook 42.

Claims

1. A device (1) for assisting with threading an eyed needle, to facilitate the threading of the needle with a sewing thread (28), the eye (3) of the needle being of the type peripherally delimited by a rim extending substantially in a plane, referred to as opening plane of the eye; the assistance device comprising: a solid body (2) forming: - a receiving portion, referred to as eye receiving portion (3), designed to be able to receive the eye of the needle and hold the needle in position in relation to the solid body (2), and; - a passage (4) which goes through the solid body (2) and comprising a portion, referred to as guide portion (5); ∘ a first end (6) of said guide portion (5) emerging to the outside of the solid body (2); ∘ a second end (7) of said guide portion (5) emerging in the eye receiving portion (3); a filiform hook (16, 42), which can open or closed, made of a material which is elastically deformable in flexion while it is being displaced through the eye of the needle and in contact with the guide portion (5); means (19) for drawing the filiform hook (16, 42) into the guide portion (5) of the filiform hook (16, 42), in displacement along a direction parallel to the axis of elongation of said guide portion (5) between a retracted first position (20), in which a longitudinal end point (36) of the filiform hook (16, 42) extends entirely in the guide portion (5), and another position, referred to as threading position (21), in which the filiform hook (16, 42) extends through the opening of the eye and in which at least part of the filiform hook (16, 42) extends out of the solid body (2) of the device; a trigger (22) forming part of the means (19) for drawing the filiform hook (16, 42), the filiform hook (16, 42) being mounted integrally with the trigger (22) so as to be able to be drawn, by actuating said trigger (22), in displacement between the retracted position (20) and the threading position (21); and, a stiff frame (23) for guiding the trigger (22) and the filiform hook (16, 42) in displacement, the longitudinal end point (36) of the filiform hook (16, 42) being designed to interact with the wall (10) of the guide portion (5) so as to be guided toward the opening of the eye (27) and pass through it when the hook (16) is being displaced between the retracted position (20) and the threading position (21), and to interact with a sewing thread (28) such that the displacement of the hook (16, 42) from said threading position (21) to said retracted position (20) makes it possible to thread the needle, wherein the guide portion (5) forms a first funnel (201) for guiding the filiform hook (16, 42) to bring said filiform hook out of the retracted position and into the threading position, and a second funnel (202) for returning the filiform hook (16, 42) to the retracted position (20) from the threading position (21), each time through the eye of the needle, and drawing the thread through when the filiform hook is being returned to the retracted position from the threading position.

2. The device (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the solid body (2) is formed in one piece.

3. The device (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the solid body (2) is formed of at least two parts (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d) that have complementary shapes and are designed to be able to interact with one another and be reversibly connected to one another so as to form the solid body (2).

4. The device (1) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the guide portion (5) forms a smooth peripheral internal guide wall (10).

5. The device (1) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the guide portion (5) has a cross section which decreases from its first end (6) emerging to the outside of the solid body (2) to its second end (7) emerging in the eye receiving portion (3).

6. The device (1) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the guide portion (5) has a frustoconical shape with a cross section which decreases from its first end (6) emerging to the outside of the solid body (2) to its second end (7) emerging in the eye receiving portion (3).

7. The device (1) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the second end (7) of the guide portion (5) has an opening (11) which emerges in the eye receiving portion (3) and is disposed so as to extend facing the eye of the needle to be threaded.

8. The device (1) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the solid body (2) forms a guide channel (12) for guiding the eye of the needle in displacement in the solid body (2) up to the eye receiving portion (3).

9. The device (1) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the guide channel (12) has a circular overall shape in any cross-section transverse to the axis of elongation (13) of the guide channel (12).

10. The device (1) as claimed in either of claims 8 and 9, wherein the guide channel (12) has two longitudinal grooves (14), which are radially opposite one another and are designed to be able to each interact with opposite parts of the rim of the eye and guide the eye of the needle in displacement in the guide channel (12) up to the eye receiving portion (3).

11. The device (1) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the longitudinal grooves (14) extend into said eye receiving portion (3), in which they interact so as to be able to hold the eye of the needle in place such that said opening plane of the eye extends facing the second end (7) of the guide portion (5) that emerges in said eye receiving portion (3).

12. The device (1) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the eye receiving portion (3) is provided with a detection member (40) for detecting the position of the eye of the needle in abutment in the eye receiving portion (3).

13. The device (1) as claimed in claim 12, wherein the detection member is a sensor coupled to a light-emitting diode which indicates that the eye of the needle is in abutment in said eye receiving portion (3).

14. The device (1) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the filiform hook (16, 42) extends substantially in a plane.

15. The device (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the filiform hook is an open hook (42) formed of two successive segments (43, 44) of metal wire that are folded on one another, namely a first segment (43) having a longitudinal end point supported by the means (19) for drawing the hook (42) and a second segment (44) having a free end (45), the first and second segments (43, 44) being shaped so as to be able to interact with the sewing thread (28) such that the hook (42) allows the sewing thread (28) to be snagged by displacement of a loop of the sewing thread (28) to be wrapped around the first segment (43) up to the longitudinal end point (36) of the hook (42), which means that the sewing thread (28) is drawn through the eye of the needle by displacement of the means (19) for drawing the hook (42) from the threading position (21) to the retracted position (20).

16. The device (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the filiform hook is a filiform loop (16) closed on itself and extending substantially in a plane and forming the longitudinal end point (36) designed to be able to be fitted in the opening of the eye.

17. The device (1) as claimed in one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the filiform hook (16, 42) is made of at least one material which is elastically deformable in flexion between: - a first shaping, referred to as deformed shaping, of the hook (16, 42) in which the hook (16, 42) is elastically deformed owing to the passage of said hook (16, 42) through the opening of the eye; and, - a second shaping, referred to as threading shaping (18), of the hook (16, 42), which is distinct from said deformed configuration and in which said hook (16, 42) is shaped so as to be able to interact with the sewing thread (28) and allow the sewing thread to be snagged; such that the filiform hook (16, 42) can be elastically brought from said deformed shaping to said threading shaping (18) after the hook (16, 42) has passed through said opening of the eye.

18. The device (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the stiff frame (23) for guiding the trigger (22) and the hook (16, 42) is integral with the solid body (2), and the trigger has a pushbutton extending out of the stiff frame and designed to make it possible to displace the filiform hook (16, 42).

19. The device (1) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the solid body (2) has a groove (25) extending from the guide channel and emerging to the outside of the solid body (2), said groove (25) being designed to allow the passage of two strands of the thread extending upstream and downstream of the eye of the needle, while the needle is being withdrawn from the guide channel (12).

20. A method for threading an eyed needle, the eye being of the type peripherally delimited by a rim extending substantially in a plane, referred to as opening plane of the eye, and wherein: - the eye (27) of the needle (26) is disposed in the eye receiving portion (3) of a device (1) for assisting with threading said needle as claimed in one of claims 1 to 19, such that the opening plane of the eye extends facing the second end (7) of the guide portion (5) that emerges in said eye receiving portion (3); - a sewing thread (28) is introduced into the first end (6) of the guide portion (5) by being drawn by the hook in displacement in said guide portion (5) up to said eye receiving portion (3), such that the sewing thread (28) passes through the eye of the needle, which means that the needle is threaded; and then - the threaded needle is removed from the threading assistance device (1).

21. A method for manufacturing a device (1) for assisting with threading an eyed needle as claimed in one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the solid body (2) is formed by hot molding a solid thermoplastic material.

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