Shuttleless weaving machine with gripper systems for the filling yarn insertion into and retraction from the shed

In a shuttleless weaving machine for weaving a fabric, including machine frame means, wherein a filling yarn is inserted by a gripper device advanced into and then retracted from a shed and including clamping means for the filling yarn, guide means (17) equipped with movable yarn guides (3) for presenting a particular selected filling yarn in a specific position to a filling yarn inserting gripping member of the gripper device, means (7) for cutting an inserted filling yarn from its associated supply spool between an interlacing point at the fabric and the path of the gripper device, a pivoting separating needle for inserting the selected filling yarn into a defined position between members of said cutting means, and a holding means (8) positioned between said cutting means and the path of the gripper device for holding the free end of the fed and cut filling yarn, the improvement comprising means (2') mounting said guide means (17) to said machine frame means so that each of said movable yarn guides in its operational position (3') is located at the same place, retraction means (4, 12, 13) operatively secured to said machine frame means and located substantially in an area between said movable yarn guides (3) and a path of said filling yarn inserting gripping member (1) of said gripper device (1) for retracting, by a distance, an end of a selected filling yarn (S1) from said holding means (8), and wherein said holding means (8) comprise yielding means for sufficiently yielding said selected filling yarn at least during a retraction by said retraction means for assuring uniformly short filling yarn ends.