Abstract: A sewing machine for forming a "lock stitch" in a fabric material includes a reciprocally-mounted needle bar, a reciprocally-mounted needle thread take-up lever, and a rotary hook assembly located beneath the needle bar. In one embodiment, the sewing machine includes a needle thread take-up lever mounting and reciprocally moving device for reciprocally moving the take-up lever such that the distal needle thread engagement end thereof moves up and down in an arcuate path at a constant speed in timed relationship with the reciprocal movement of the needle bar.

Abstract: A border serger, used in the bedding industry, the serger having a left-hand and a right-hand sewing head, positioned approximately in a common horizontal plane, permitting border serging of both edges of one piece of border, or simultaneous border serging of one side of two pieces of border. The respective lateral spacing of the sewing heads can be adjusted as desired, for example, by having a motor driven acme threaded screw rod connected to the left-hand sewing head. A pair of pull rollers downstream of the sewing heads are used to pull the one or two pieces of border material past the sewing heads for serging. Typically, a border may be serged only along one side for the border to be used in box springs manufacture and serged along both sides for a border to be used in mattress manufacture.

Abstract: A multi-needle border machine having folders employable, for example, in mattress manufacturing. A multi-needle quilter for sewing mattress top pieces can be converted to sew one or many border pieces or a smaller version employing the same multi-needle technology can be made which can sew simultaneously, for example, one to three border pieces. For example, the machine is used to sew a mattress border piece including a ticking and a filler such as foam, the border having a des mired sewn pattern thereon. The border is the piece which goes around the sides of the mattress. By folding the edges of the ticking before sewing and by sewing so that the pattern sews into the folded areas, the need for a separate border serger is eliminated. By balancing machine components, the weight of the machine can be greatly reduced.

Abstract: A multi-needle quilting machine used, for example, to sew mattress ticking, filler such as foam, and backing together, the top having a desired sewn pattern thereon. The ticking/filler/backing are pulled straight through the quilter. A front needle bar and parallel rear needle bar spaced therefrom, the bars having needles at preselected locations, are moved left and right, with respect to the movement of the ticking/filler/backing, to create the desired pattern. The front and rear needle bars are operated in an out of phase relationship, that is, when the front needle bars are moving down, the rear needle bars are moving up. Also, movements of the needle bar cranks can be set such that the cranks for the front needle bars rotate in one direction and cranks for the rear needle bars rotate in the opposite direction. In sewing, loopers are moved left and right and, also, rocked front and back to create an oblong path. A spreader rotating shaft has a looper rotating shaft transverse thereto.

Abstract: A compressed air operated ergonomic system used with a tape edge machine carriage employed in mattress manufacturing. The operator's arm, leg, knee, or foot can be used to stop the sewing operation and stop the carriage from moving around the table. The compressed air system can also provide an operator air source, engage the gear mechanisms which permit the carriage to move around the table, provide needle cooling, and permit the sewing machine presser foot to be raised.

Abstract: A dry sewing machine, or a sewing machine which can be operated without oiling. The machine of the preferred embodiment is particularly adapted for making a type 401 two thread chain stitch, used in commercial sewing operations. In addition to employing sealed bearings, novel spreader and rocker frame assemblies are employed.

Abstract: A machine for filling a cloth bag with cloth filling material having a series of elongated fingers and a hollow spout mounted on a rectangular frame in registry with one another for movement relative to one another along the frame such that the fingers advance into and retract out of the passageway. A cloth filler material is spread upon the fingers and the bag to be filled is draped over the spout so that the inside bottom of the bag is facing the fingers. An air operated double acting cylinder is actuated to drive an endless cable which cable may either be operatively connected to a roller assembly connected to a rear end portion of the fingers or to the spout depending upon whether it is desired to move the fingers into and out of the spout or move the spout along and over the fingers. Movement of the fingers into the spout or vice versa forces the bottom of the bag through the spout and extends the bag over the fingers and the filler material spread thereon.

Abstract: A panel cutting machine having a table with an endless belt conveyor and a pair of rollers mounted thereon for advancing a fabric to be cut to a desired length across and beyond a line of cut of a cross-cutter and along the table toward a sensor located a preselected distance from the line of cut. The sensor, which may be the usual microswitch or a photo-electric sensor switch, responds to the arrival of the leading edge of the fabric to activate a roller revolution counter to count a predetermined number of further revolutions and fractions thereof of one of the rollers, corresponding to a further distance of advance of the leading edge of the fabric beyond the sensor. Upon completion of the count, the counter activates a control circuit to stop the rollers and conveyor and start a cross-cutter to cut the fabric along the cutting line to form a panel of the desired length.

Abstract: This serging machine uses a righthand serging sewing head for serging one edge of an elongate strip of material and another, preferably identical, righthand serging sewing head for serging the opposite edge of that same strip comtemporaneously. This is accomplished by directing the strip material from a front supply roll rearwardly through the machine along one run of a given path, turning the strip 180.degree. at the rear end of the machine to return it forwardly through the serging machine and its feed rolls along another generally parallel run of said path and then rewinding it on a front rewind roll at the front end of said path. One edge is serged during the rearward run; the other during the forward run. First and second motors are used to drive the serging sewing heads continuously. A third motor is used not only to drive the feed rolls continuously to pull the strip through the machine but also to drive the rewind roll through a slip clutch.