Heddle transferring apparatus

A heddle transferring apparatus comprising:

• a heddle magazine having upper and lower magazine bars which have a plurality of heddles supported thereon;
• a heddle bar supporting rack disposed in spaced and opposed relationship to said heddle magazine and having supported thereon a plurality of upper heddle bars in opposed relationship to said upper magazine bar and a plurality of lower heddle bars in opposed relationship to said lower magazine bar;
• means for separating one heddle from among said plurality of heddles and maintaining said separated heddle in a first predetermined position wherein a warp thread is passed through the heddle;
• a pair of upper and lower heddle transferring chucks for transferring to a second predetermined position said heddle maintained in said first predetermined position;
• a pair of upper and lower heddle receiving hooks for receiving said heddle transferred to said second predetermined position from said pair of heddle transferring chucks, each of said heddle receiving hooks being movable in a direction parallel to a warp-threading direction wherein a warp thread is passed through the heddle so as to be selectively stopped on an extension line of predetermined upper and lower heddle bars of said upper and lower heddle bars;
• a pair of upper and lower heddle retaining bars for retaining said heddle of said second predetermined position in cooperation with said heddle receiving hooks, each of said heddle retaining bars being disposed parallel to said warp-threading direction and in opposed relationship to the corresponding heddle receiving hook and being movable along a vertical plane perpendicular to said warp-threading direction;
• and
• a pair of upper and lower heddle pushing bars each disposed parallel to said warp-threading direction and in opposed relationship to the corresponding heddle receiving hook and each movable along said vertical plane perpendicular to said warp-threading direction so that the heddle received on said heddle receiving hooks is inserted on said predetermined upper and lower heddle bars.