Abstract: In a quilting machine of the type including a bed plate, material supporting means including material feeding means for conducting material to be quilted over the bed plate, sewing thread supply means, a plurality of vertically reciprocal needles positioned above the bed plate for moving sewing threads through the material and the bed plate, a plurality of horizontally reciprocal shuttles mounted below the bed plate and cooperating with the vertically reciprocal needles for forming lock stitches in the material, vertically reciprocal presser means positioned above the bed plate for holding the material on the bed plate during formation of the stitches, thread take-up means positioned between the thread supply means and the needles for controlling thread tension during the formation of the stitches, and pattern controlling means for moving the material supporting means laterally in a preselected relationship with the material feeding means for obtaining sewing patterns, there is disclosed an improvement wherei

Abstract: In a quilting machine of the type including a bed plate, means for conducting material to be quilted over the bed plate, vertically reciprocal needles positioned above the bed plate for moving sewing threads through the material to form stitches therein, a presser foot positioned above the bed plate, means for supporting the presser foot for vertical reciprocation relative to the bed plate between upper and lower positions for periodically compressing and releasing the material, and means for driving the presser foot, there is disclosed an improvement wherein the presser foot supporting means comprises means including a pair of opposed, balanced springs for suspending the presser foot in a position intermediate the upper and lower positions, and wherein the presser foot driving means comprises means for cyclically, alternately, increasing and decreasing the compression of one of the springs and simultaneously decreasing and increasing the compression of the other of the springs to reciprocate the presser foot