Device for separating and delivering individual heddles or drop wires to a draw-in position

In an apparatus for picking up individual heddles (6) from a pack (5) of heddles having a long axis, a width, and a thickness and for delivering an individual heddle in an advance direction (V) to a draw-in zone for threading, including means for individually separating said heddles from said pack of heddles and for individually delivering each separated heddle to said draw-in zone, comprising guide means including upper and lower guide rails (4, 4') for holding said heddles so that said width of said heddles extends substantially perpendicularly to said advance direction, said guide rails preventing rotation of said heddles about said long axis, said guide rails defining a feed advance plane extending substantially vertically between said upper and lower guide rails (4, 4') and in said advance direction (V), said means for separating including at least two stationary magnetic plates (2, 2') forming a pair, means (17, 17') operatively mounting one of said magnetic plates on one side of said pack of heddles and the other magnetic plate opposite said one magnetic plate on the other side of said pack of heddles so that both magnetic plates extend in parallel to each other and on opposite sides of said feed advance plane to form a gap of constant width, each magnetic plate having a heddle thickness facing surface in parallel to said feed advance plane, said facing surfaces extending in parallel to each other, both facing surfaces having the same magnetic polarization so that the respective magnetic forces oppose each other across said feed advance plane, and so that said magnetic forces extend substantially perpendicularly to said length axis, each of said heddles having at least one magnetically responsive portion located for cooperation with said pair of magnetic plates, each of said magnetic plates having a shape which widens in said advance direction (V) and in parallel to said feed advance plane for providing a magnetic field strength which increases in said advance direction, whereby said magnetic plates cause said heddles to individually separate from said pack of heddles in said advance direction with spacings between neighboring heddles growing progressively larger with an increasing distance from said pack of heddles.