Apparatus for threading weft carriers for travelling-wave loom

Abstract

The apparatus relates to travelling-wave looms, wherein weft thread carriers are conveyed along a closed trajectory of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,893. The apparatus includes a rotatable disk carrying rotatable winding members, lower grips for the end of the weft thread, a package holder and upper grips for the weft thread. Above the disk, beneath the upper grip for the weft thread, a mechanism for conveying the weft thread in a direction opposite to the downward movement thereof in the process of threading is mounted. This mechanism comprises a rod located in the zone wherein the carriers initially encounter the winding members. The weft thread is conveyed upwardly through the disk when a length of the thread defined between the upper grip and the thread guide provided in the disk encounters the rod during coordinated rotation of the disk with the weft thread carriers. The provision of the mechanism enables the apparatus as a whole to be considerably simplified and renders the latter capable of operating at any speed of the loom.