EP0646668B1 - Heald separator device for warp thread insertion machines - Google Patents

Abstract

The separating device contains carrier rails (13) for storing the healds in the form of a stack, a dividing-off member (18) for pushing the respective foremost heald (L1) laterally out of the stack into an intermediate position, and a first transfer means (19) for transporting the healds from the intermediate position in the direction of a heald carrier for the transport of the healds to their draw-in position. Provided in the region between the intermediate position and the heald carrier is a lock which contains a controlled clamp (38, 39) for the carrier rails (13) and which, in each case, is opened briefly for the transport of a separated heald (L1) to the heald carrier. Use for the separation of healds of all types, especially of those having closed end loops. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a heald separating device for warp threading machines, with support rails for storing the healds in the form of a stack, with a compartment member for laterally pushing the foremost heald from the stack into an intermediate position and with a first transfer means for transporting the healds from the intermediate position in the direction on a heald carrier for transporting the healds to their retracted position.

In a device of this type described in EP-A-0 448 957 (= US-A-5,184,380) for the separation of strands with open end loops, the mounting rails are attached laterally to mounting arms, the connection between the mounting rails and mounting arms in the area of open part of the end eyelets, so that the displacement of the strands on the mounting rails is not hindered by the mounting arms. Since the carrier rails must be fixed as close as possible to the heald carrier in order to enable the separated healds to be transferred to the heald carrier without interference, it is clear that this known device is not suitable for separating healds with closed end loops. Because the closed end loops encompassing the mounting rails on all sides could not pass through the mounting arms fixing the mounting rails.

A suitable device for the separation of strands with closed end loops is the USTER EMU (USTER - Registered trademark of Zellweger Uster AG). In this device, the support rails are clamped at only one end and project with their free end to a transfer station, at which the transfer to the heddle support rails of the heald frames takes place. Special strands are used here, which have an embossing that enables the intervention of a separating knife. The separated strands are then pushed by a transport element over the free ends of the mounting rails into the transfer station.

This device uses mounting rails of very short length and is therefore not suitable for automatic drawing machines. Because an empty carrier rail must be exchanged for a full carrier rail at very short intervals, which always means an unwanted stop of the drawing-in machine. In addition, the mounting rails, which are only clamped on one side, represent a considerable potential source of interference, especially at higher separation frequencies, as are required today by an automatic drawing-in machine.

The invention is now to provide a separating device of the type mentioned at the outset which enables trouble-free separation of strands with closed end loops.

This object is achieved according to the invention in that a lock having a first controlled clamp for holding the mounting rails is provided in the area between the intermediate position and the heddle carrier, and that this lock is in each case for the Transport of a separated strand is briefly opened by the transfer means to the strand holder.

A first preferred embodiment of the separating device according to the invention is characterized in that the lock has a second controlled clamp arranged at a distance from the first clamp, and that the separated strands are transported step by step from the intermediate position to the second clamp and from there to the heddle carrier, wherein the second clamp is closed during the first transport step and the first clamp is closed during the second transport step.

A second preferred embodiment of the separating device according to the invention is characterized by a second transfer means, the first transfer means being provided for the first transport step from the intermediate position to the second clamp and the second transfer means being provided for the second transport step from the second clamp to the heddle carrier.

Fig. 1

eine perspektivische Gesamtdarstellung einer Kettfadeneinziehmaschine,

Fig. 2

eine schematische Draufsicht auf die Einziehmaschine von Fig. 1,

Fig. 3

eine perspektivische Darstellung des Litzenmoduls der Einziehmaschine von Fig. 2, in Richtung des Pfeiles III von Fig. 2 gesehen,

Fig. 4

eine Ansicht eines Details des Litzenmoduls in Richtung des Pfeiles IV von Fig. 3,

Fig. 5

eine Ansicht in Richtung des Pfeiles V von Fig. 4; und

Fig. 6a-6d

schematische Darstellungen des Funktionsablaufs.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment and the drawings; it shows:

Fig. 1

an overall perspective view of a warp threading machine,

Fig. 2

1 shows a schematic plan view of the drawing-in machine from FIG. 1,

Fig. 3

2 shows a perspective illustration of the strand module of the drawing-in machine of FIG. 2, seen in the direction of arrow III of FIG. 2,

Fig. 4

3 shows a view of a detail of the strand module in the direction of arrow IV in FIG. 3,

Fig. 5

a view in the direction of arrow V of Fig. 4; and

6a-6d

schematic representations of the functional sequence.

1, the drawing-in machine consists of a base frame 1 and of various assemblies arranged in it, each of which forms a functional module. In front of the base frame 1, a warp beam carriage 2 with a warp beam 3 arranged on it can be seen. The warp beam carriage 2 also contains a lifting device 4 for holding a thread frame 5 on which the warp threads KF are stretched. This tensioning takes place before the actual pulling-in and at a location separate from the drawing-in machine, the thread frame 5 being positioned at the lower end of the lifting device 4 in the immediate vicinity of the warp beam 3. For pulling in, the warp beam carriage 2 with the warp beam 3 and lifting device 4 is moved to the so-called upgrade side of the pulling-in machine and the thread frame 5 is lifted up by the lifting device 4 and suspended in the base frame 1, where it then assumes the position shown.

The thread frame 5 is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the base frame 1 by a drive, not shown. With this shifting, the warp threads KF are guided past a thread separation group 6 forming part of a so-called yarn module, and are separated and divided in the process. After division, the warp threads KF are cut off and presented to a pull-in needle 7, which forms part of the so-called pull-in module. For the division of the warp threads, for example, that in the warp knitting machine USTER TOPMATIC used compartment equipment can be used.

In addition to the pull-in needle 7, a monitor 8 can be seen, which belongs to an operating station and is used to display machine functions and machine malfunctions and for data input. The operating station, which forms part of a so-called programming module, also contains an input stage for the manual input of certain functions, such as crawl gear, start / stop, repetition of processes, and the like. The drawing-in machine is controlled by a control module containing a control computer, which is arranged in a control box 9. In addition to the control computer, this control box contains a module computer for each so-called main module, the individual module computers being controlled and monitored by the control computer. The main modules of the drawing machine are, in addition to the modules already mentioned, drawing module, yarn module, control module and programming module, the strand, the lamella and the sheet module.

The thread separation group 6, which presents the warp threads KF to be drawn in to the pull-in needle 7, and the path of movement of the pull-in needle 7, which runs vertically to the plane of the stretched warp threads KF, determine a plane in the region of a support 10 forming part of the base frame, which supports the already mentioned upgrade side of the so-called disassembly side of the drawing machine. The warp threads and the individual elements into which the warp threads are to be fed are fed in on the upgrade side, and the so-called dishes (strands, Slats and leaf) can be removed with the warp threads drawn in. During the pulling-in, the thread frame 5 with the warp threads KF and the warp beam carriage 2 with the warp beam 3 are moved past the thread separating group 6 to the right, the pull-in needle 7 successively removing the warp threads KF stretched on the frame 5.

When all the warp threads KF have been drawn in and the thread frame 5 is empty, the latter is together with the warp beam carriage 2, the warp beam 3 and the lifting device 4 on the dismantling side and can be removed from the base frame 1.

Immediately behind the plane of the warp threads KF are the warp thread guard slats LA, behind them the healds LI and even further behind the reed. The lamellae LA are stacked in hand magazines, and the full hand magazines are hung in inclined feed rails 11, on which they are transported to the right, towards the pull-in needle 7. There they are separated and brought into the feed position. After pulling in, the slats LA arrive on slat support rails 12 on the dismantling side.

The strands LI are lined up on rails 13 and manually or automatically shifted to a separation stage on them. Then the strands LI are individually brought into their retracted position and, after they have been drawn in, distributed to the corresponding mounting rails 14 on the dismantling side. The reed is also moved past the pull-in needle 7 step by step, the corresponding sheet gap being opened for the feed. After this The sheet is also on the disassembly side. A part of the reed WB can be seen to the right of the mounting rails 14. This illustration is to be understood purely for illustrative purposes, since the reed is of course located on the upgrade page in the position of the frame 5 shown.

As can be seen from the figure, a so-called crockery trolley 15 is provided on the dismantling side. This is inserted together with the slat support rails 12 fastened thereon, the support rails 14 and a holder for the reed into the base frame 1 in the position shown and, after being pulled in, carries the dishes with the warp threads KF drawn in. At this point in time, the warp beam carriage 2 with the warp beam 3 is located directly in front of the dishwashing carriage 15. Now the dishes are reloaded from the dishwashing carriage 15 onto the warp beam carriage 2 by means of the lifting device 4, which then carries the warp beam 3 and the drawn-in dishes and to the relevant weaving machine or can be moved to an interim storage facility.

The functions described are distributed over several modules, which represent practically autonomous machines that are controlled by the common control computer. The cross-connections between the individual modules run via this higher-level control computer and there are no direct cross-connections between the individual modules. The main modules of the drawing-in machine which have already been mentioned are themselves modular again and generally consist of sub-modules.

This modular structure, which is described in CH-A-579 871, can be seen particularly well from the illustration in FIG. 2. 2 shows the base frame 1, the warp beam carriage 2 with the warp beam 3, the lifting device 4 and the thread frame 5, which are coupled together with the warp beam carriage 2, the yarn module, the slat module, the heddle module, the sheet module, the operating station with the Screen 8, the feed module, the control box 9, the sub-module strand magazine, the sub-module lamella magazine, and the crockery trolley 15 with the lamella support rails 12 and the support rails 14.

• Litzenmagazin: Entgegennahme der Litzen vom Anwender ab Stapel, Weitergabe der Litzenstapel an das Teilmodul "Litzenseparierung".
• Litzenseparierung: Aufnahme der Litzenstapel, Separierung der Litzen vom Stapel, Weitergabe der separierten Litzen an das Teilmodul "Litzenpositionierung".
• Litzenpositionierung: Uebernahme der Litzen vom Teilmodul "Litzenseparierung", Transport der Litzen zur Einzugsposition, seitliche und vertikale Positionierung der Litzen, Transport der Litzen mit dem eingezogenen Kettfaden zur vorbestimmten Tragschienenposition, Uebergabe der Litzen an die jeweilige Tragschiene.
• Litzenförderung: Förderung der Litzen mit den eingezogenen Kettfäden entlang der Tragschienen von der Auffüllseite an das andere Ende.

As can be seen from the already mentioned CH-A-679 871, the strand module, which processes the strands LI from the magazine stack to the strand carrying a drawn-in warp thread on a mounting rail 14, consists of the following sub-modules:

• Strand magazine: acceptance of the strands by the user from the stack, transfer of the strand stacks to the sub-module "strand separation".
• Strand separation: picking up the strand stacks, separating the strands from the stack, passing on the separated strands to the sub-module "strand positioning".
• Strand positioning: transfer of the strands from the "strand separation" sub-module, transport of the strands to the retracted position, lateral and vertical positioning of the strands, transport of the strands with the drawn-in warp thread to the predetermined mounting rail position, transfer of the strands to the respective mounting rail.
• Strand conveying: conveying the strands with the drawn-in warp threads along the mounting rails from the filling side to the other end.

The sub-module "strand separation" for the processing of strands with open end loops is described in US-A-5,184,380, the sub-module "strand positioning" in EP-A-0 500 848 (= WO-A-92/05303). In the following, the sub-module "heald magazine" and then the sub-module "heald separation" will now be described, each for the processing of healds with closed end loops.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the heald magazine essentially consists of a lower and an upper profile rail 16 or 17, in which the heald support rails 13 and means for conveying the strands lined up on the support rails are stored to the separating station. The separating station denoted by ST in the figure connects directly to the heddle support rails 13, the separating station ST having an upper and a lower separation stage for each heddle support rail 13, with a separating knife 18 which can be moved transversely to the strand stack and one or two transmitters 19. In addition, a common separation finger 20 is provided for both separation stages. All of these organs are described in detail in US-A-5,184,380, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

According to the illustration, the heddle magazine is configured in two paths and contains two pairs of heddle support rails 13 and of separation stages. On the separator side of the profile rails 16 and 17, a solid plate 21 is attached, which carries two pins 22 projecting at the end. These pins serve as an interface to the sub-module "strand positioning" and are provided for engagement and fixing in corresponding recesses of this sub-module.

The two profile rails 16 and 17 are fastened in a height-adjustable manner on a support 24 mounted on a rail-guided sliding carriage 23. The distance between the end loops of the strands is adjustable with a crank 25; the offset of the thread eyes is also adjustable. Reference number 26 denotes a housing with the electrics and electronics and reference number 27 denotes a housing for the pneumatic control. Both housings are connected via corresponding lines to the sliding carriage 23, which in turn is connected to the corresponding supply and data lines of the drawing-in machine and is therefore in particular also connected to the control module in the control box 9 (FIGS. 1, 2).

On each profile rail 16, 17, two heald support rails 13 are held, which extend from the right end of the profile rails in FIG. 3, that is the loading side of the heald magazine, to the separating station ST and which have a length of over two meters. The strands to be stacked are lined up on so-called transfer rails (not shown), that is a pair of rails which are connected to one another by a web at one end and project freely from this web. The web not only serves as a carrier for the transfer rails, but is also a type of handle for handling them. To fill the heald magazine, the transfer rails with the healds located thereon are docked onto the ends of the heald support rails 13 on the loading side and pushed onto the heald support rails.

After a relatively short shift by hand, the strands come into the effective range of a means of transport which conveys the strands in the direction of arrow A against the separating station ST. This means of transport is formed by a conveyor belt 29 equipped with laterally projecting brushes 28 contacting the strands, such a conveyor belt 29 being arranged along each strand support rail 13. Each pair of conveyor belts 29 assigned to a path of the heddle magazine is driven by its own motor 30. Shortly before the separation station ST, a motor-driven pressure brush 31 is arranged on the side next to each heald support rail 13, which presses the healds against the respective separation stage and ensures a constant dynamic pressure in the separation station ST.

The heddle magazine shown in FIG. 3 can be used universally and is suitable for the storage of heddles with open and those with closed end loops. Stranded wires with open end loops can be easily stored because they have hook-like end loops and can therefore be easily moved on the mounting rails if only the carriers holding the mounting rails lie in the area of the open part of the end loops, i.e. the mouth of the hook. Stranded wires with closed end loops, on the other hand, can only be moved on free mounting rails all around, but this is the case with mounting rails with a length of more than one half a meter cannot be realized. In the illustrated strand magazine, the displaceability of strands with closed end eyelets on the strand support rails 13 is made possible by the fact that each strand support rail 13 is held by several controlled clamps K ₁ to K ₆ and thus the transport path of the strands on the support rails is divided into several sections for receiving a strand package in each case is. The strands are transported in packages from section to section, whereby the clamp between these sections is opened when moving from one section to the next.

The opening and closing of terminals K ₁ to K ₆ is controlled so that two adjacent terminals can never be open at the same time. To control the terminals, detectors 32 (FIGS. 6a, 6b) for the passage of strands are arranged in their immediate vicinity. When the heald magazine is empty and the first heald stack is pushed from the transfer rails onto the heald support rails 13, the detector 32 arranged on the first clamp K ₁ detects the presence of this heald stack on the first clamp and opens it. The strand of strands can thus pass through the first clamp, comes into the effective range of the conveyor belt 29 equipped with the brushes 28 and is automatically pushed by it to the second clamp K ₂ .

After a certain, adjustable period of time, for example 9 seconds, the first clamp K _{1 is} closed and the automatic transport of the strand stack to the separation station ST begins, which takes place step by step from clamp to clamp. As soon as the terminal K ₁ is closed again and the detector 32 detects the presence of strands at the terminal K ₂ , the terminal K _{2 is} opened until its detector no longer detects strands. Then the clamp K _{3 is} opened, and so on. As soon as the section between terminals K ₁ and K _{2 is} empty and terminal K ₂ is closed again, a new stack of strands can be transferred from the transfer rails. When a strand stack is transported through the strand magazine, which is not completely empty but at least partially filled, the opening of a clamp is dependent on a further criterion, namely whether the section adjoining the clamp to be opened is empty. Whether this criterion is met is determined on the basis of the signal from the detector at the terminal terminating the section mentioned in transport direction A: If this detector has registered the complete passage of the previous strand stack, the section in question is empty. The signals of the individual detectors are processed in a common controller in the housing 26, the controller always "knowing" in which section a particular strand stack is currently located and which sections are empty and which are full due to the package-wise transport of the strand stacks from section to section . In this way, congestion in the sections or overfilling are excluded from them.

Further details of the sub-module "heald magazine", in particular the clamps K ₁ to K ₆ and the detectors 32 are described in our simultaneously filed patent application "Device for handling healds for warp threading machines" (EP-A-0 646 667).

The separation station ST will now be described below, reference being made, as already mentioned, to the disclosure of US Pat. No. 5,184,380, which describes a separation station for lamellae with open end loops. To put it simply, it can be said that the strand separation as such and the means for carrying it out with strands with closed end loops are the same as those with open end loops, and that the difference in the transfer of the separated strands to those for the transport of the strands their stranded position is provided.

The heald carrier, which is described in WO-A-92/05303, comprises, inter alia, two vertically spaced transport planes, in each of which an endless transport means in the manner of a belt or a chain is guided. The means of transport are provided with pin-like strand holders, into which the strands are hung with their end loops. The means for transferring the separated strands to the strand holder thus have the function of shifting the separated strands on their support rails in the direction of the strand holder and transferring them to the strand holders.

For this purpose, the support rails have at their end facing the strand holders a U-shaped or semicircular recess which lies in the level of the path of movement of the strand holders and engages around their free end. As a result, the ends of the mounting rails and the strand holder overlap, so that a reliable strand transfer to the strand holder is ensured.

4 shows a view of the lower separation stage of the separation station ST in the direction of arrow IV of FIG. 3, that is to say seen from the heddle holder, and FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the lower separation stage in the direction of arrow V of FIG. 4. As described in the already mentioned US-A-5,184,380, a guide channel 32 is formed in the separating stage for a stack of strands, which through the conveyor belts 29 and the pressure brush 31 (FIG. 3) forward against the one in FIG. 5 right-hand end of the guide channel 32 is pressed. At this end, a stop 33 is arranged in front of the guide channel 32, which is worked on a guide plate 34.

The foremost strand LI lies outside the guide channel 32 and is pushed laterally out of the strand stack into an intermediate position by the pneumatically driven separating knife 18. In this case, a finger-like transmitter 36 (FIG. 6a) assigned to a sensor 35 is moved against the sensor 35 by the wire LI, as a result of which a sensor signal confirming the separation is generated. This sensor signal triggers a working stroke of the first transmitter 19, which shifts the strand along a leading edge of the guide plate 34 away from the strand stack against the strand holder designated by reference number 37 in FIGS. 6a to 6d.

If strands are processed with closed end loops, then in the area of the separating station, the support rails 13 protrude freely away from the clamp K ₆ (FIG. 3) to the strand holders, namely over a length of approximately 25 cm. It has been shown that the free ends of the mounting rails 13 vibrate during operation tend, which can interfere with both the separation of the strands and their transfer to the strand holder. To prevent such faults and to enable safe separation and transfer, a controlled lock is provided at the free ends of the support rails 13 in the area of the separation station, which is closed in the normal state and fixes the support rail, and which is briefly opened in each case for a strand passage.

As shown, the controlled lock is formed by a pair of clamps 38 and 39, each consisting of two jaws. One of the two clamping jaws each carries a projecting cone 40, which is provided for penetration into a corresponding bore in the mounting rail 13. The two cones 40 of the pair of clamps are arranged on different sides of the mounting rail 13, so that the cone 40 of the one clamp moves into the mounting rail from the one side and the cone 40 of the other clamp from the other side.

The clamp 38, 39 is driven by a link 42 driven by a pneumatic tappet 41, which acts on appropriately designed ends of the clamping jaws and drives them in a form-fitting manner. As a result, the adjustment of the terminals 38, 39 is fully under control at all times.

The terminals 38, 39 are spaced a few millimeters apart. The strand transfer takes place in such a way that the separated strand LI begins in a first step from the first transmitter 19 through the opened first terminal 38 to the closed second clamp 39 (the position of the strand LI after this first step is shown in FIG. 4) and then, with the first clamp 38 closed, transported through the open second clamp 39 to the strand holder 37 and hooked into it. The second transport step from the second clamp 39 to the strand holder 37 is carried out by a second transmitter 43.

FIGS. 6a to 6d schematically show the functional sequence for strand separation and transfer. The arrows drawn in the individual figures each symbolize a movement and its direction, which occurred immediately before the instantaneous state shown in the figure in question.

6a shows the instantaneous state immediately after the separation. The foremost strand LI has been pushed or bent sideways out of the strand stack with the separating measurement 18, the strand end loops still being guided on the mounting rails 13. During its lateral displacement, the stranded wire LI has moved the transmitter 36 against the sensor 35, which generates a separation signal immediately after the separation has taken place. At this time, the first clamp 38 of the lock has just been opened and the second clamp 39 is closed.

6b shows the first step of the strand transfer; this state is also shown in FIG. 4. The separation signal of the sensor 35 triggered by the completely separated strand has triggered a working stroke of the first transmitter 19, whereby the separated strand LI from that shown in FIG. 6a The intermediate position is transported through the open first clamp 38 to the closed second clamp 39. At the end of this transport movement, the severing finger 20 comes into action and completely separates the separated strand LI, possibly wedged in the region of the thread eye with the next strand, by a pivoting movement transverse to the support rail 13 from the strand stack.

As soon as the first transmitter 19 is fully extended and the separated strand LI has reached the second terminal 39, the functional step shown in FIG. 6c takes place, which relates to the lock formed by the two terminals 38 and 39. The lock is now being prepared for the transfer of the strand LI to the strand holder 37. For this purpose, the first terminal 38 is first closed and then the second terminal 39 is opened, which means that the state shown in FIG. 6c is reached.

6d shows the second and last step of the strand transfer from the second clamp 39 to the strand holder 37. After the second clamp 39 has been opened, the second transmitter 43 is moved out of its rest position shown in FIGS. 6a to 6c and meets the position before now open second terminal 39 positioned wire LI. The strand is moved further by the second transmitter 43 on the mounting rail 13 and is finally hung on the needle-shaped strand holder 37. During this time, the first transmitter 19 has moved back into its rest position, which means that the state shown in FIG. 6d is reached.

After a corresponding sensor has detected the takeover of the wire by the wire holder 37 (see WO-A-92/05303, FIG. 3), the second transmitter 43 is also moved back into its rest position and the second terminal 39 is closed. Then the first clamp 38 is opened and the separating knife 18 is moved back to its starting position laterally next to the guide channel 32. The foremost strand of the strand stack can thus emerge from the guide channel 32 and be separated by a corresponding transverse movement of the separating knife 18, with which the instantaneous state shown in FIG. 6a is reached again.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show the lower stage of the separation station ST (FIG. 3) mounted on the lower profile rail 16; the upper step is mirrored to the upper profile rail 17, the separating finger 20 forming part of the upper step. The separating finger 20 can be designed as a so-called twin or tandem finger and have a tuning fork shape. This tandem finger is used when separating strands with open end loops.

The illustrated and described separation station for strands with closed end loops is of course also suitable for the separation of strands with open end loops, but it is more complex and expensive than the separation station for strands with open end loops described in US Pat. No. 5,184,380.

Claims (10)

1. Heald-separating apparatus for warp-thread drawing-in machines, with carrier rails (13) for the storage of the healds (4) in the form of a stack, with a dividing-off member (18) for pushing the respective foremost heald laterally out of the stack into an intermediate position, and with a first transfer means (19, 43) for transporting the healds from the intermediate position in the direction of a heald carrier (37) for transporting the healds to their drawing-in position, characterized in that a lock having a first controlled clamp (38, 39) for holding the carrier rails (13) is provided in the region between the intermediate position and the heald carrier (37), and in that this lock is briefly opened respectively for transporting a separated heald (LI) to the heald carrier (37) by the transfer means (19, 43).
2. Heald-separating apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that the lock has a second controlled clamp (39) arranged at a distance from the first clamp (38), and in that the transport of the separated healds (LI) takes place in steps from the intermediate position up to the second clamp and from the latter up to the heald carrier (37), the second clamp being closed during the first transport step and the first clamp being closed during the second transport step.
3. Heald-separating apparatus according to Claim 2, characterized by a second transfer means (43), the first transfer means (19) being provided for the first transport step from the intermediate position up to the second clamp (39) and the second transfer means being provided for the second transport step from the second clamp to the heald carrier (37).
4. Heald-separating apparatus according to Claim 3, characterized in that each of the two controlled clamps (38, 39) has a clamping gripper consisting of two clamping jaws, and in that the two clamping jaws are actuated in order to open and close the clamps.
5. Heald-separating apparatus according to Claim 4, characterized in that the clamping jaws are driven positively by a common drive (41, 42).
6. Heald-separating apparatus according to Claim 5, characterized in that the drive has a pneumatically actuable slotted link (42) acting on the clamping jaws.
7. Heald-separating apparatus according to Claim 6, characterized in that the clamping jaws are designed as two-armed levers and are mounted on pivot axes, and in that one end of the clamping jaws is provided for engagement with the carrier rail (13) and the other end is provided for engagement with the slotted link (42) of the drive.
8. Heald-separating apparatus according to Claim 7, characterized in that a nose-like fixing member (40) provided for engaging into-a corresponding bore of the carrier rail (13) is arranged at the said one end of one of the clamping jaws of each clamp (38, 39).
9. Heald-separating apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 8, in which the first transfer means (19) is formed by a tappet having a stroke adjustable in the longitudinal direction (A) of the carrier rails (13), characterized in that the second transfer means (43) is likewise formed by a tappet having a stroke adjustable essentially in the longitudinal direction (A) of the carrier rails (13), and in that this tappet is arranged above or below the tappet forming the first transfer means.
10. Heald-separating apparatus according to Claim 9, characterized in that the two tappets have separate drives and are controlled in such a way that the tappet (19) provided for the first transport step is not moved back into its initial position before the commencement of the second transport step.

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