Patent ID: 7735439

Claim:
A system for quilting fabric panels, comprising: a quilter unit defining a sewing zone through which a fabric material is passed and having a main drive shaft, a needle bar along which a plurality of needles are mounted in spaced series for quilting a desired pattern in the fabric material passing thereunder, a presser foot driven in timed relationship with said needle bar, and a tension control assembly for maintaining the fabric material under a prescribed tension as it passes through said sewing zone; wherein said needle bar and said presser foot each are independently driven off said main drive shaft of said quilter unit such that said presser foot can be driven at varying rates with respect to said needle bar as needed for quilting fabric materials of varied thicknesses a supply of fabric material to be quilted located upstream from said quilter unit and from which the fabric material is fed to said quilter unit; a tension control assembly comprising a weighted tension bar about which the fabric material is passed for applying tension thereto and at least one actuator connected to said tension bar for adjusting the tension applied to the fabric material by said tension bar as needed to reduce stretch in the fabric material; and a panel cutter positioned downstream from said quilter unit and having a cutting mechanism for cutting the fabric material into strips or panels of a desired size.