Axially slidable weft thread presenting levers and clamping arrangement for minimizing thread waste

A loom for forming a woven web comprising;

• a weft insertion gripper adapted to insert a selected weft thread into an open shed of said woven web,
• a weft cutter arranged at an edge of a weaving path on a weaving plane of said loom adapted to correspond with an edge of said woven web,
• a read adapted to beat-up said inserted weft thread against a beat-up edge of said woven web,
• a multiple weft thread supply arrangement,
• a weft thread presenting and clamping arrangement including:
• a support bracket;
• a control shaft that has a shaft axis and that is supported relative to said support bracket;
• a plurality of thread presenting levers with respective thread clamps arranged respectively thereon, wherein said levers are arranged adjacent one another and supported to be axially slidable along said shaft;
• and a guide member connected to said support bracket and including a linear guide extending parallel to said shaft axis with a cap in said linear guide at a reference plane, wherein said linear guide engages said thread presenting levers to enable said levers to slide parallel to said shaft axis along said linear guide, prevent said levers from rotating about said shaft axis relative to said linear guide at positions away from said reference plane, and enable a single selected one of said levers respectively positioned at said reference Plane to rotate about said shaft axis while engaging said gap in said linear guide, and
• a weft thread selector arrangement interposed between said multiple weft thread supply arrangement and said weft thread presenting and clamping arrangement,
• wherein said weft thread presenting and clamping arrangement is arranged adjacent said edge of said weaving path with said shaft axis extending perpendicular to said weaving plane and intersecting a line extending along said beat-up edge, with said thread clamps facing toward said insertion gripper, with said selected thread presenting lever adapted to be pivotally rotated about said shaft axis toward said insertion gripper from a resting position to a working position, and with said thread clamps each positioned on a vertical plane spaced not more than 10 mm from said weft cutter in said resting position of said selected thread presenting lever.

In a gripper loom for weaving a woven web, including a weft insertion gripper adapted to insert successive selected weft threads into an open loom shed, a plurality of weft thread supplies, a weft thread selector arrangement including a plurality of weft thread selector needles respectively receiving weft threads from said weft thread supplies, and a weft cutter arranged at an insertion side of said loom shed,

• an improved arrangement for minimizing waste of said weft threads, comprising:
• a controllable weft thread presenting and clamping apparatus comprising a plurality of pivotally rotatable thread presenting levers carrying respective thread clamps, wherein said levers are respectively allocated to cooperate with respective corresponding ones of said selector needles, wherein said levers are vertically slidably displaceable to position a selected one of said levers into a reference plane, and said selected lever is pivotable in said reference plane from a first position (A) into a second position (B) nearer to said insertion gripper;
• and
• a respective weft thread back-tensioning device arranged in a weft thread path respectively between each thread presenting lever with said thread clamp and a corresponding one of said weft thread supplies, for holding said weft threads under tension while said weft threads are respectively presented to said insertion gripper.