<p>TITLE OF THE INVENTION NEEDLE POSITION DETECTOR A needle position detector for a sewing machine includes a pair of disk-like members axially mounted on a rotary shaft coupled to the armshaft of the sewing machine. Each of the disk-like members is provided with an optically nonreflective portion occupying a greater area of its circumference and an optically reflective portion occupying a smaller area of the circumference. The disk-like members are adjusted so that the angular positions of the respective reflective portions correspond to the upper and lower needle positions. A light emitting element is associated with each of the disk-like members to emit light in a radial direction thereto. A light sensitive element is also associated with each disk-like member to receive light reflected from the reflective portion of the associated disk-like member to generate a needle position signal.</p>
