Multi-needle chain stitch quilting apparatus and method

Abstract

A multi-needle chain-stitch quilting machine and method of operation thereof are provided that imparts relative motion between the needles and the material that is controlled so as to pull needle thread tails from the needle side of the quilted material. The feature of controlling thread tails may be optional to provide selection of either a high speed mode of operation without thread tail control or a quality mode of operation with reduction or removal of needle thread tails from the face of the quilted material. Thread trimmers may be included at each needle location on the looper side of the material to cut both needle and looper threads.

The following is claimed: 
     
       1. A method of operating a quilting machine having at least one stitching element pair that each includes a needle and a looper, to control needle thread tails on the needle side of a chain stitch quilted material having a needle side and a looper side, the method comprising:
 with a needle at a starting point on the material and in a retracted position spaced from the needle side of the material and a needle thread tail extending from each needle entirely on the needle side of the material, initiating a thread tail wipe cycle by operating a programmed controller to reciprocate the needle through a stitch cycle and back to the retracted position to poke the needle thread through the material to the looper side of the material at the starting point on the material; then   further operating the controller to advance a looper through a loop in the needle thread so that the needle thread extends from the needle and around the looper on the looper side of the material, then through the material with the needle thread tail remaining on the needle side of the material; then   with the tension applied to the needle thread, further operating the controller to impart relative movement between the needle and the material, in a path from and back toward the starting point, in a direction parallel to the material a distance sufficient to pull the needle thread until the needle thread tail is pulled to the looper side of the material; then   with the thread tail on the looper side of the material, operating the controller to drive the stitching element pair to sew a chain stitch sequence in the material.   
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 operating the controller to drive the stitching element pair to sew a tack stitch sequence at the end of the chain stitch sequence and then to move the needle to the retracted position; then 
 operating the controller to activate a thread trimming mechanism on the looper side of the material to trim both the needle thread and a looper thread and producing a needle thread tail on the looper side of the material; 
 with the tension applied to the needle thread, further operating the controller to impart relative movement between the needle and the material in a direction parallel to the material to position the needle at a second starting point on the material and to pull the needle thread until the needle thread tail is pulled out of the material to the needle side of the material; then 
 with a needle at the second starting point on the material and in a retracted position spaced from the needle side of the material and a needle thread tail extending from each needle entirely on the needle side of the material, initiating a thread tail wipe cycle by operating a programmed controller to reciprocate the needle through a stitch cycle and back to the retracted position to poke the needle thread through the material to the looper side of the material at a starting point on the material; then 
 further operating the controller to advance a looper through a loop in the needle thread so that the needle thread extends from the needle and around the looper on the looper side of the material, then through the material with the needle thread tail remaining on the needle side of the material; then 
 with the tension applied to the needle thread, further operating the controller to impart relative movement between the needle and the material, in a path from and back toward the second starting point, in a direction parallel to the material a distance sufficient to pull the needle thread until the needle thread tail is pulled to the looper side of the material; then 
 with the thread tail on the looper side of the material, operating the controller to drive the stitching element pair to sew a second chain stitch sequence in the material. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2  wherein the quilting machine is a multi-needle quilting machine having a plurality of stitching element pairs each that include a needle and a looper, wherein:
 the initiating of the thread tail wipe cycles is performed with each of a plurality of needles at respective starting points and in retracted positions spaced from the needle side of the material with each needle having a needle thread tail extending from the needle on the needle side of the material, by operating the programmed controller to reciprocate the needles simultaneously through a stitch cycle and back to the retracted position to poke the needle threads through the material to the looper side of the material at the respective starting points on the material; 
 the further operating of the controller to advance the looper includes operating the controller to advance each of a plurality of loopers through loops in respective needle threads so that the needle threads extend from the needles and around the loopers on the looper side of the material, then through the material with the needle thread tails remaining on the needle side of the material; 
 the further operating of the controller to impart relative movement includes further operating the controller, with tension applied to the needle threads, to impart relative movement between each of the needles and the material, in paths from and back toward the respective starting points, in a direction parallel to the material a distance sufficient to pull the needle threads until the needle thread tails are pulled to the looper side of the material; and 
 the operating of the controller to drive the stitching element pair includes operating the controller, with the thread tails on the looper side of the material, to drive each of the stitching element pairs to sew a respective one of a plurality of chain stitch sequences in the material. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1  wherein the quilting machine is a multi-needle quilting machine having a plurality of stitching element pairs each that include a needle and a looper, wherein:
 the initiating of the thread tail wipe cycles is performed with each of a plurality of needles at respective starting points and in retracted positions spaced from the needle side of the material with each needle having a needle thread tail extending from the needle on the needle side of the material, by operating the programmed controller to reciprocate the needles simultaneously through a stitch cycle and back to the retracted position to poke the needle threads through the material to the looper side of the material at the respective starting points on the material; 
 the further operating of the controller to advance the looper includes operating the controller to advance each of a plurality of loopers through loops in respective needle threads so that the needle threads extend from the needles and around the loopers on the looper side of the material, then through the material with the needle thread tails remaining on the needle side of the material; 
 the further operating of the controller to impart relative movement includes further operating the controller, with tension applied to the needle threads, to impart relative movement between each of the needles and the material, in paths from and back toward the respective starting points, in a direction parallel to the material a distance sufficient to pull the needle threads until the needle thread tails are pulled to the looper side of the material; and 
 the operating of the controller to drive the stitching element pair includes operating the controller, with the thread tails on the looper side of the material, to drive each of the stitching element pairs to sew a respective one of a plurality of chain stitch sequences in the material. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the path is a line, an arc, a triangle or some other combination of lines and arcs. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the movement is imparted by moving of the needles relative to the material and holding the material stationary relative to the machine. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 following the stitching of the patterns, operating the plurality of stitching element pairs to sew tack stitch sequences; then 
 with the top threads extending from top-thread supply spools through top-thread tensioners through the needles and into the material, releasing tension on the top threads and pulling off slack in the top threads between the supplies and the needles; then 
 imparting relative movement between the needles and the material that is sufficient to pull the slack in the top threads through the each needle to add thread tails between the needles and the material; then 
 cutting the top threads on the looper side of the material to create top-thread tails extending from the needle through the material to the looper side of the material; then 
 imparting relative movement between the needles and the material that is sufficient to pull the top thread tails from the material to the needle side of the material and locating the needles at new starting locations relative to the material; then 
 with each of a plurality of needles at the new starting locations and in retracted positions spaced from the needle side of the material with the needle thread tails extending from the needles on the needle side of the material, reciprocating the needles through a stitch cycle and back to the retracted positions to poke the needle threads through the material to below the material around respective loopers with ends of the thread tails remaining on the needle side of the material; then 
 with the tension applied to the needle threads, imparting relative movement between the needles and the material by a distance sufficient to pull the needle threads until the needle thread tails are pulled to the looper side of the material but insufficient to pull the needle thread tails out of the material. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1  wherein the imparting of the relative movement between the needles and the material proceeds along a path that is dependent on and differs in accordance with different patterns or quilted material properties. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1  wherein the imparting of the relative movement between the needles and the material proceeds along a path that is dependent on and differs in accordance with different patterns or quilted material properties. 
     
     
       10. A method of operating a multi-needle quilting machine having a plurality of stitching element pairs each that include a needle and a looper, to control needle thread tails on the needle side of a chain stitch quilted material having a needle side and a looper side, the method comprising:
 with each of a plurality of needles in retracted positions spaced from the needle side of the material to be quilted and with a needle thread tail extending from each needle on the needle side of the material, reciprocating the needles through a first stitch cycle and back to the retracted positions to poke the needle threads through the material to the looper side of the material where each needle thread has a loop that is entered by a looper of the respective stitching element pair while ends of the thread tails remain on the needle side of the material; then   with the tension applied to the needle threads, pulling the needle threads until the ends of the needle thread tails are pulled to the looper side of the material; then   with the needle thread tails to the needle side of the material, operating the plurality of stitching element pairs to sew a plurality of chain stitch sequences in the material.   
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10  further comprising:
 providing an option, selectable by a user of a quilting machine, for enabling or disabling the method so as to either reduce or eliminate needle thread tails with the method enabled, or alternatively to provide higher speed machine operation with the method disabled. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 10  further comprising:
 cutting the top threads with a plurality of thread trimming devices, each including a thread trimming mechanism situated one at each looper so as to be operable, when actuated, to cut a looper thread and the needle thread. 
 
     
     
       13. A multi-needle quilting machine comprising:
 a frame;   a plurality of chain stitching element pairs, each pair including a needle mounted to reciprocate through quilting material from the front side of a quilting material plane and a cooperating looper mounted to oscillate with respect to the needle on the back side of the quilting material plane to form chain stitches with a needle thread extending through the needle and a looper thread extending through the looper;   a motion system operative to move the material longitudinally relative to the frame and to impart relative transverse movement between the stitching element pairs and the material;   a plurality of thread trimming devices, each including a thread trimming mechanism situated one at each looper so as to be operable, when actuated, to cut a looper thread; and   a programmed controller operative to control the stitching element pairs, the motion system and the thread trimming devices.   
     
     
       14. The quilting machine of  claim 13  wherein:
 the controller is programmed to perform a thread tail wipe cycle by initiating the wipe cycle with each of a plurality of needles in retracted positions spaced from the needle side of the material and with a needle thread tail extending from each needle on the needle side of the material and operating the stitching element pairs to reciprocate the needles through a first stitch cycle and back to the retracted positions to poke the needle threads through the material to the looper side of the material where each needle thread has a loop that is entered by a looper of the respective stitching element pair while ends of the thread tails remain on the needle side of the material, then with tension applied to the needle threads, imparting relative movement of the needles parallel to the material to pull the needle threads until the ends of the needle thread tails are pulled to the looper side of the material, then with the needle thread tails to the needle side of the material, operating the plurality of stitching element pairs to sew a plurality of chain stitch sequences in the material. 
 
     
     
       15. The quilting machine of  claim 13  wherein:
 each thread trimming mechanism is situated at a looper so as to be operable, when actuated, to cut both the needle thread and the looper thread extending from the material. 
 
     
     
       16. The quilting machine of  claim 15  further comprising:
 a plurality of thread tail wipers on the front side of the material, one proximate the needle at each stitching element pair, that activates to pull the needle thread tail from the material to the front side thereof when the needle thread is cut. 
 
     
     
       17. The quilting machine of  claim 13  wherein:
 the trimming mechanisms are selectively operable, when actuated, to selectively cut individual looper threads. 
 
     
     
       18. The quilting machine of  claim 13  wherein:
 each thread trimming mechanism is operable, when actuated, to clamp the end of the cut looper thread extending from the looper. 
 
     
     
       19. The quilting machine of  claim 13  wherein:
 each thread trimming device includes linkage for moving the thread trimming mechanism thereof between a thread cutting position adjacent the looper and a rest position remote from the looper. 
 
     
     
       20. The quilting machine of  claim 13  wherein:
 each thread trimming mechanism is situated at a looper so as to be operable, when actuated, to cut both the needle thread and the looper thread extending from the material; 
 the trimming mechanisms are selectively operable, when actuated, to selectively cut individual looper threads; 
 each thread trimming mechanism is operable, when actuated, to clamp the end of the cut looper thread extending from the looper; and 
 each thread trimming device includes linkage for moving the thread trimming mechanism thereof between a thread cutting position adjacent the looper and a rest position remote from the looper. 
 
     
     
       21. A quilting machine comprising:
 a frame;   structure for supporting a length of a web of multi-layered material in a quilting plane;   a web drive for advancing a supported web in a longitudinal direction in the quilting plane;   a plurality of bridges, including a first bridge and a second bridge, spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction, each bridge being moveable relative to each other and relative to the supported material, longitudinally and transversely, adjacent and parallel to the quilting plane;   each bridge having a plurality of needles supported thereon on a needle side of the quilting plane and a plurality of loopers mounted thereon on a looper side of the quilting plane opposite the needle side, each needle being reciprocable in a direction perpendicular to the quilting plane through material supported in the quilting plane to sew stitches in the material;   a plurality of bridge longitudinal drives, one for each bridge, and operable to move the bridge bidirectionally in a longitudinal direction parallel to the plane;   a plurality of bridge transverse drives, one for each bridge, and operable to move the bridge bidirectionally in a transverse direction parallel to the plane;   a plurality of stitching element sets on each of the bridges, each including one of the needles and one of the loopers, and each operable to sew a series of stitches in material supported in the quilting plane; and   a programmed controller operable to selectively control the web drive, the bridge drives, and the stitching element sets, in accordance with pattern program data.   
     
     
       22. The quilting machine of claim 21 wherein:
 each of the stitching element sets includes a needle drive that is capable of being selectively enabled or disabled in response to a control signal from the controller so that selective ones of the needles reciprocate to sew stitches in the material.   
     
     
       23. The quilting machine of claim 21 wherein:
 each bridge has a plurality of presser feet thereon, one for each stitching element set, that is moveable on the bridge, toward and away from the plane, in synchronism with the reciprocating of one of the needles.   
     
     
       24. The quilting machine of claim 21 wherein:
 the bridges are separately and independently moveable longitudinally and transversely relative to the frame and the material.   
     
     
       25. The quilting machine of claim 21 wherein:
 the longitudinal direction is a vertical direction; and   each bridge is supported on each end thereof on a pair of elevators, one on each side of the frame, to move the bridge vertically relative to the frame and parallel to the plane of the material.   
     
     
       26. The quilting machine of claim 25 wherein:
 each bridge is moveable transversely in a horizontal direction relative to the frame.   
     
     
       27. The quilting machine of claim 24 wherein:
 each of the elevators is servo driven and separately controlled by the controller to maintain the bridges level while being moved.   
     
     
       28. The quilting machine of claim 21 further comprising:
 a plurality of linear servos on the frame controllable to move the bridges longitudinally on the frame in response to signals from the controller.   
     
     
       29. The quilting machine of claim 21 further comprising:
 a plurality of linear servo armatures, at least two on each bridge, at least one on each end thereof;   a plurality of linear servo stators, at least one at each side of the frame, each having one of the armatures of each bridge moveable longitudinally thereon.   
     
     
       30. The quilting machine of claim 21 further comprising:
 a plurality of linear servos, at least one on each bridge, controllable to move the bridges transversely relative to the frame in response to signals from the controller.   
     
     
       31. The quilting machine of claim 21 wherein:
 at least one of the stitching element sets is transversely moveable on the bridge.   
     
     
       32. The quilting machine of claim 21 wherein:
 at least one of the stitching element sets is transversely moveable on the bridge in response to a signal from the controller to change patterns.   
     
     
       33. The quilting machine of claim 21 wherein:
 at least one of the stitching element sets is transversely moveable on the bridge in response to a signal from the controller to vary the spacing between sets on the bridge during quilting.   
     
     
       34. The quilting machine of claim 21 wherein:
 the needles and loopers of the stitching element sets are moveable relative to each other and parallel to the quilting plane to compensate for needle deflection.   
     
     
       35. The quilting machine of claim 21 wherein:
 the loopers have a phase that is varied relative to that of the corresponding needle of the respective sets, to compensate for needle deflection.   
     
     
       36. The quilting machine of claim 21 wherein:
 each stitching element set has associated therewith at least one servo by which an element of the set is separately drivable.   
     
     
       37. The quilting machine of claim 21 wherein:
 each needle head and each looper head has associated therewith a servo by which it is separately drivable.   
     
     
       38. The quilting machine of claim 21 wherein:
 the web drive has a transversely extending pair of web drive rollers linked the web drive and journalled to the frame longitudinally downstream of the bridges;   each of the bridges has a pair of transversely extending pinch rollers moveable therewith and linked to the web drive rollers so as to move therewith as the web moves relative thereto, that roll with the web as the bridges move longitudinally.   
     
     
       39. The quilting machine of claim 21 wherein:
 the web drive has a transversely extending pair of web drive rollers linked to the web drive and journalled to the frame longitudinally downstream of the bridges;   each of the bridges has a pair of transversely extending pinch rollers moveable therewith and linked to the web drive rollers by at least one belt so as to rotate the pinch rollers at the same tangential speed as the web drive rollers minus the longitudinal speed of the respective bridge relative to the frame.   
     
     
       40. The quilting machine of claim 21 further comprising:
 a plurality of servo driven belts on the frame controllable to move the bridges longitudinally on the frame in response to signals from the controller.   
     
     
       41. A multi-needle quilting machine comprising:
 a frame for supporting a substrate web of material for quilting;   a material drive selectively operable to move the substrate web longitudinally relative to the frame;   one or more bridge assemblies selectively moveable longitudinally relative to the frame;   a plurality of stitching elements on the one or more bridge assemblies, stitching element being operable to sew a series of stitches on the substrate web of material;   a transverse drive selectively operable to impart transverse relative movement between the plurality of stitching elements and the substrate web of material;   a controller operable to control the operation of the material drive, the movement of the one or more bridge assemblies, the operation of the stitching elements and the operation of the transverse drive to sew series of stitches on the substrate web of material while either: a) moving the web of material relative to the frame while the one or more bridge assemblies has zero longitudinal velocity relative to the frame, b) moving the one or more bridge assemblies longitudinally relative to the frame while the substrate web of material is stationary relative to the frame, or c) moving both the substrate web of material and the one or more bridge assemblies relative to the frame, wherein either A) the one or more bridge assemblies include 1) two or more rows of the stitching elements with each row being moveable longitudinally relative to another one of the rows of stitching elements 2) or at least two bridges each including one or more rows of stitching elements, each bridge being moveable longitudinally and transversely relative to the other ones of the bridges, or B) the material drive is operable to move at least a portion of the substrate web longitudinally and vertically, and the stitching elements include needles oriented horizontally perpendicular to said portion of the web.   
     
     
       42. A method of quilting comprising:
 supporting a multi-layered material in a plane in a quilting machine having a plurality of bridges extending horizontally in a transverse direction adjacent the plane and spaced from one another in a longitudinal direction perpendicular to the transverse direction, each with a plurality of needles on one side of the plane and a corresponding plurality of loopers on the opposite side of the frame, each corresponding pair of needles and loopers providing a cooperating chainstitch-forming element set, each of the bridges being moveable transversely and longitudinally relative to each other and relative to and parallel to the plane;   moving one of the bridges relative to another of the bridges to carry a plurality of the needles and loopers in different transverse motions while sewing the stitches; and   reciprocating a plurality of the needles through the plane while oscillating a corresponding plurality of the loopers on the opposite side of the material from the needles so as to sew a corresponding plurality of series of stitches on the material to quilt the material.   
     
     
       43. The method of claim 42 further comprising:
 moving at least one of the bridges carrying a plurality of the needles and loopers transversely while sewing the stitches.   
     
     
       44. The method of claim 42 further comprising:
 moving at least two of the bridges each carrying a plurality of the needles and loopers transversely while sewing the stitches.   
     
     
       45. The method of claim 42 further comprising:
 moving one of the bridges oppositely relative to another of the bridges so as to cancel transverse distorting forces on the material.   
     
     
       46. The method of claim 42 wherein the longitudinal direction is a vertical direction, the method further comprising:
 moving at least one of the bridges carrying a plurality of needles and loopers vertically relative to the material while sewing the stitches.   
     
     
       47. The method of claim 46 wherein the longitudinal direction is a vertical direction, the method further comprising:
 moving at least one of the bridges carrying a plurality of needles and loopers vertically relative to the frame while sewing the stitches.   
     
     
       48. The method of claim 46 wherein the longitudinal direction is a vertical direction, the method further comprising:
 moving the material vertically relative to the frame while sewing the stitches.   
     
     
       49. The method of claim 42 further comprising:
 moving at least one of the bridges carrying a plurality of needles and loopers longitudinally relative to the frame and moving the material longitudinally relative to the frame while sewing the stitches.   
     
     
       50. The method of claim 42 further comprising:
 sewing stitches with the sewing elements on one bridge at one stitch rate while sewing stitches with the sewing elements of another bridge at a different stitch rate.   
     
     
       51. The method of claim 42 further comprising:
 providing a plurality of bridges adjacent the material, each having a plurality of needles and a corresponding plurality of loopers thereon;   performing with the needles and loopers on each of the bridges the step of reciprocating the respective plurality of needles through the plane while oscillating the corresponding respective plurality of loopers on the opposite side of the material from the needles so as to sew a corresponding plurality of series of stitches on the material to quilt the material.   
     
     
       52. The method of claim 51 further comprising:
 separately controlling the needles and loopers on different bridges to quilt patterns differently on the material.   
     
     
       53. The method of claim 42 further comprising:
 separately moving the bridges while performing with the needles and loopers on each of the bridges the step of reciprocating the respective plurality of needles through the plane while oscillating the corresponding respective plurality of loopers on the opposite side of the material from the needles so as to sew a corresponding plurality of series of stitches on the material to quilt the material.   
     
     
       54. The method of claim 53 further comprising:
 separately moving the bridges transversely while sewing the stitches.   
     
     
       55. The method of claim 53 further comprising:
 separately moving the bridges longitudinally while sewing the stitches.   
     
     
       56. The method of claim 42 further comprising:
 selectively with a controller enabling different ones of the needles while disabling others of the needles so as to quilt patterns with only the selected ones of the needles.   
     
     
       57. The method of claim 42 further comprising:
 compressing the material with a plurality of presser foot plates while sewing with the plurality of needles.   
     
     
       58. The method of claim 42 further comprising:
 compressing the material with a plurality of presser foot plates, one for each one of the needles, while sewing with the plurality of needles.