US Patent 7523624 Latch needle for a loop-forming textile

A latch needle (1) having on its latch (7) a latch head (9) that is provided with a recess or a depression (12) for receiving a section of a tip (14) of the hook (4), said tip having the configuration of a truncated cone. The latch head (9) is wider than the latch shaft (8) of the latch (7), however, distinctly narrower than the needle shaft (20). Due to this measure, too great an expansion of the loops during the casting-off process is avoided, and the risk of a collision of the latch head with other components, for example, sinkers, is reduced.