L&p Property Management Company

Ormco Corporation

James F Bondanza

James T Frazer

Jeff A Kaetterhenry

Glenn E Leavis

Terrance L Myers

Roland Bulnes

David Brian Scott

Richard N Codos

Michael A James

M Burl White

A quilting machine has at least one needle and looper set for forming chain-stitched patterns on a thick multilayered material such as a mattress ticking, preferably a panel of the continuous web clamped stationary on a frame. The stitch forming elements are mounted on separate heads that move independently transversely relative to the panel on a bridge that moves longitudinally relative to the panel. The bridge is longitudinally moved by a servo and the heads are transversely moved on the bridge by separate linear servos. The needle and looper are each driven by a linear servo having an armature to which the element is directly fixed to reciprocate without intervening mechanical linkage assemblies. A controller drives the servos to chain-stitch patterns, differentially move the heads transversely to account for transverse needle deflection and to phase the needle and looper to compensate for longitudinal needle deflection. The controller determines or predicts needle deflection, either based on stored empirically determined data or optical sensing, and generates deflection compensation signals to drive the servos.

Servo driven quilter

The order in which panels are to be quilted, the amount of quilting-induced shrinkage, and the amount of crop between adjacent panels are stored in a machine readable file for use in operating a print line . Such information is printed or otherwise placed on the material at the print line so as to be readable by a sensor at a quilting station, where the information is read and used to control the quilter . Panels are quilted according to a schedule and in batches in the most efficient manner, and panels are cut according to information read from records on the material. Shrinkage is compensated for and appropriate crops are made between panels. The printing line prints series of panels on a web in rolls that can be fed, last-printed panel first, into the quilter.

Batchwise quilting of printed materials

A quilting system that includes a multiple needle quilting machine is provided with batch processing capability by the addition of a panel cutter in-line with and downstream of the quilting machine. The panel cutter is equipped with a programmed controller that is loaded with batch information for the production, on the quilting machine, of a plurality of quilts by stitching patterns on a multilayered web of fabric. The batch information includes information of a number of quilts to be quilted as well as the patterns to be quilted on each quilt and the composition of the material on which the patterns are to be quilted. Information is derived by the panel cutter controller from sensors on the panel cutter, which information is used to control the quilting machine by adjusting the length of quilted material from the quilter. The panel cutter controller may also operate the quilter to adjust for shrinkage in web length caused by the quilting, and to synchronize splices in the web between different material layer combinations for different quilts of the series to be quilted.

Quilt panel cutter with quilting system batch and panel length control

A quilting machine is provided having at least one set of single needle stitch forming elements for forming chain stitched patterns on a thick multilayered material such as a mattress cover. The machine is preferably web-fed, with a panel of the continuous web being clamped and held stationary on a frame. The stitch forming elements include a needle and a looper mounted on separate heads that are independently moveable on a bridge transversely relative to the panel, which is moveable longitudinally relative to the frame. The bridge is longitudinally moved by a servo and the heads are transversely moved on the bridge by separate servos. The stitching elements on each head are driven by separate servos. A controller drives the servos to chain stitch patterns and differentially move the heads transversely to account for transverse needle deflection. The drives of the needle and looper are phased to compensate for longitudinal needle deflection. The controller determines or predicts needle deflection. It may store empirically determined data and respond to control signals and/or sensors to determine or predict deflection and to calculate the needle deflection compensation, in response to which it generates deflection compensation signals to drive the servos. Infrared, LED or magnetic deflection sensors are preferred, but many other types are or will become available that will be suitable.

Web-fed chain-stitch single-needle mattress cover quilter with needle deflection compensation

A quilting apparatus is provided with a computer controlled presser plate adjusting mechanism. A presser plate rocker shaft is separate from and mechanically connected to a needle rocker shaft and imparts a reciprocating motion to the presser plate. The presser plate rocker shaft is adjustable to vary the range of its output link to the presser plate, thereby changing the endpoints of its reciprocating path of travel. Certain embodiments have an output end of the presser plate rocker shaft adjustable relative to the input end through a coupling to different angular positions relative to an input end in order to change the upper and lower ends of the range of reciprocation of the pressure plate relative to the needle plate. Alternatively, the length of a link between the needle and pressure plate rocker shafts is variable to make the presser plate adjustment. A motor or other actuator changes the coupling or link in response to a signal from a quilting machine controller, which can be made instantly, either manually by an operator at a controller interface terminal, by a batch mode program run by the controller to set the machine to the parameters required by products on a product schedule, or automatically in response to measurements from sensors that are interpreted by the controller in determining optimal pressure plate setting.

Quilting machine with adjustable presser plate and method of operating the quilting machine

A quilting machine includes a multiple needle quilter with a panel cutter located in-line therewith and downstream thereof and having an accumulator therebetween. A programmable controller operates the quilter to stitch a programmed series of one or more patterns on a web. A feed roller angular encoder measures the quilted web length fed under tension to the accumulator. A detector signals when the accumulator is full, whereupon the controller causes web to be fed from the accumulator to the panel cutter, where it passes without tension thereon toward a photo sensor. The photo sensor signals the controller which activates the cutter to sever a predetermined panel length from the web. The controller then reads information from the encoder and the accumulator detector to determine the amount of stressed quilt required to replenish the cutoff panel length. The ratio of measurements is then processed to determine the elongation change or 'shrinkage', which information is used to control the relative feed at the quilter, cutter and fabric supply and to track the quilted patterns and splices in the fabric of the web through the machine.

Growing community of inventors

Fremont, CA, United States of America

James F Bondanza