Mattress cover closing machine and method

A machine for closing an open end of a cover encasing a mattress core in order to form a mattress, said machine comprising:

• a frame adapted to support at least an edge portion of the mattress core encased in the cover,
• a mattress core press mounted on said frame for vertical movement, said mattress core press adapted to compress an edge of the mattress core to a desired height,
• a mattress cover clamp mounted on said frame for vertical movement, said mattress cover clamp adapted to clamp free edges of the open end of the mattress cover together, and
• a sewing head carriage, a sewing head mounted on said carriage, and a sewing head motor mounted on said carriage for driving said sewing head, said sewing head carriage mounted on said frame for horizontal movement, said sewing head adapted to stitch the free edges of the open end of the mattress cover closed as said sewing head carriage traverses from one side of the mattress to the other side of the mattress,
• wherein said mattress core press comprises a platen having a pair of opposite ends, each said end operably connected to said frame by a pneumatic cylinder, said platen cooperating with a press base mounted on said frame.

A machine for closing an open end of a cover encasing a mattress core in order to form a mattress, said machine comprising:

• a frame adapted to support at least an edge portion of the mattress core encased in the cover,
• a mattress core press mounted on said frame for vertical movement, said mattress core press adapted to compress an edge of the mattress core to a desired height,
• a mattress cover clamp mounted on said frame for vertical movement, said mattress cover clamp adapted to clamp free edges of the open end of the mattress cover together, and
• a sewing head carriage, a sewing head mounted on said carriage, and a sewing head motor mounted on said carriage for driving said sewing head, said sewing head carriage mounted on said frame for horizontal movement, said sewing head adapted to stitch the free edges of the open end of the mattress cover closed as said sewing head carriage traverses from one side of the mattress to the other side of the mattress,
• wherein said mattress cover clamp comprises an upper vertically oriented plate having a pair of opposite ends, each said end operably connected to said frame by a pneumatic cylinder, said upper vertically oriented plate cooperating with a lower vertically oriented plate mounted on said frame.

A machine for closing an open end of a cover encasing a mattress core in order to form a mattress, said machine comprising:

• a frame adapted to support at least an edge portion of the mattress core encased in the cover,
• a mattress core press mounted on said frame for vertical movement, said mattress core press adapted to compress an edge of the mattress core to a desired height,
• a mattress cover clamp mounted on said frame for vertical movement, said mattress cover clamp adapted to clamp free edges of the open end of the mattress cover together, and
• a sewing head carriage, a sewing head mounted on said carriage, and a sewing head motor mounted on said carriage for driving said sewing head, said sewing head carriage mounted on said frame for horizontal movement, said sewing head adapted to stitch the free edges of the open end of the mattress cover closed as said sewing head carriage traverses from one side of the mattress to the other side of the mattress,
• further comprising a sewing head carriage motor mounted on said frame for driving said carriage from one side of the mattress to the other side of the mattress,
• wherein said sewing head carriage motor is operably connected to an elongated screw rotatably mounted on said frame, said elongated screw cooperating with a threaded block mounted on said sewing head carriage, whereby rotation of said screw by said sewing head carriage motor drives said sewing head carriage from one side of the mattress to the other side of the mattress.

A method of closing an open end of a cover encasing a mattress core in order to form a mattress, said method comprising:

• compressing an edge of the mattress core to a desired height with a mattress core press,
• clamping free edges of the open end of the mattress cover together with a mattress cover clamp, and
• stitching the free edges of the open end of the mattress cover closed with a sewing head mounted on a sewing head carriage that traverses from one side of the mattress to the other side of the mattress,
• wherein the sewing head has a sewing head motor for driving the sewing head and the sewing head carriage has a sewing head carriage motor for driving the sewing head carriage, the method further comprising:
• selecting a speed of the sewing head motor from a range of speeds, and
• selecting a speed of the sewing head carriage motor from a range of speeds,
• such that the selected speeds produce a desired number of stitches per unit length.

A method of closing an open end of a cover encasing a mattress core in order to form a mattress, said method comprising:

• compressing an edge of the mattress core to a desired height with a mattress core press,
• clamping free edges of the open end of the mattress cover together with a mattress cover clamp,
• selecting a desired number of stitches per unit length by which to stitch closed the open end of the cover,
• selecting a sewing head stitching speed at which to stitch closed the open end of the cover,
• selecting a sewing head travel speed by which to traverse from one side of the mattress to the other side of the mattress,
• the sewing head stitching speed and the sewing head travel speed cooperating to produce the selected number of stitches per unit length, and
• activating the sewing head to stitch closed the open end of the cover and to traverse from one side of the mattress to the other side of the mattress.

A machine for closing an open end of a cover encasing a mattress core in order to form a mattress, said machine comprising:

• a frame adapted to support at least an edge portion of the mattress core encased in the cover,
• a sewing head carriage movably mounted on said frame,
• a sewing head carriage motor mounted on said frame for driving said carriage from one side of the mattress to the other side of the mattress,
• a sewing head mounted on said carriage,
• a sewing head motor mounted on said carriage for driving said sewing head,
• said sewing head adapted to stitch free edges of an open end of the mattress cover closed as said sewing head carriage traverses from one side of the mattress to the other side of the mattress,
• a processor controller operably associated with said sewing head motor and said sewing head carriage motor, and
• an operator interface operably associated with said processor controller,
• said processor controller and said operator interface configured such that an operator can enter a selected speed for each of said sewing head motor and said sewing head carriage motor via said operator interface and said processor controller will operate said sewing head motor and said sewing head carriage motor at the selected speeds.