Depositing device for fiber rovings

A device for producing textile planar structures, the device comprising:

• a depositing face for depositing thereon a plurality of portions of fiber rovings beside one another;
• a supply device for providing a plurality of fiber rovings and at least one transfer installation for providing a free end of the fiber rovings;
• a plurality of path guiding rails disposed beside one another and above said depositing face, and one gripper unit and one cutting unit disposed on each of said path guiding rails,
• wherein each gripper unit is movably mounted and positionable along said path guiding rail independently of said gripper units of other path guiding rails;
• wherein each cutting unit is movably mounted and positionable along said path guiding rail independently of said cutting units of other path guiding rails;
• wherein said gripper unit and said cutting unit that are disposed on a respective said path guiding rail are movably mounted and positionable along the respective said path guiding rail independently of one another;
• and
• wherein said gripper unit and said cutting unit of a respective path guiding rail are collectively assigned one of the fiber rovings so as to process the respectively assigned fiber roving;
• said gripper units being configured for:
• gripping the free end of the respectively assigned fiber roving and acquiring the free end from said transfer installation;
• stretch the assigned fiber roving across said depositing face by moving along the path guiding rail, while keeping hold of the free end, away from said transfer installation up to a desired terminal position and thereby exerting a tensile force on the respectively assigned fiber roving in a longitudinal direction thereof;
• and
• releasing and depositing the free end on said depositing face at the terminal position of said gripper unit;
• said cutting units being configured for severing at least one of the stretched fiber rovings at a cutting position to form the portion of the respective fiber roving, wherein the cutting position in a stretched state of the fiber roving assigned to the gripper unit is located between said transfer installation and said terminal position;
• and
• each of said gripper units including a downholder configured for pressing the fiber roving against the depositing face in a region of the respective terminal position;
• and
• each of said cutting units including a downholder configured for pressing the fiber roving against the depositing face in a region of the respective cutting position.