Abstract: A reed in a loom is driven or oscillated back and forth to perform the beat-up motion by a direct reed drive that avoids using the main loom drive for operating the reed. The direct drive is an electromagnetic motor which uses as one of its components a reed support shaft (4) either as a rotor or as a stator. The reed support shaft acting as a rotor carries a reed slay which mounts the reed to the rotor. When the reed support shaft acts as a stator, the reed slay is mounted to separate rotor elements. In both instances the reed support shaft is part of a rotary or linear electromagnetic direct drive motor construction.

Abstract: At least one of two flexible leaf springs that form a thread gap is controlled by a linearly moveable element of a linear motor or drive. Multi-thread brakes are formed by assembling a plurality of such brakes on a common support whereby a single stator may cooperate with a plurality of linearly moveable armatures forming a corresponding plurality of thread brakes or each thread brake may have its own stator and its own armature arranged in a row either linearly or along a curved support, whereby a compact structure is achieved.

Abstract: A reed in a loom is driven or oscillated back and forth to perform the beat-up motion by a direct reed drive that avoids using the main loom drive for operating the reed. The direct drive is an electromagnetic motor which uses as one of its components a reed support shaft (4) either as a rotor or as a stator. The reed support shaft acting as a rotor carries a reed slay which mounts the reed to the rotor. When the reed support shaft acts as a stator, the reed slay is mounted to separate rotor elements. In both instances the reed support shaft is part of a rotary or linear electromagnetic direct drive motor construction.

Abstract: At least one of two flexible leaf springs that form a thread gap is controlled by a linearly moveable element of a linear motor or drive. Multi-thread brakes are formed by assembling a plurality of such brakes on a common support whereby a single stator may cooperate with a plurality of linearly moveable armatures forming a corresponding plurality of thread brakes or each thread brake may have its own stator and its own armature arranged in a row either linearly or along a curved support, whereby a compact structure is achieved.

Abstract: An apparatus for reducing the load on a weft thread being inserted into a loom shed reduces the necessary number of weft thread monitors or stop motion devices functioning as thread tension sensors while still ensuring a reliable tension measurement, especially in a gripper loom in which a plurality of different weft thread types are to be respectively inserted into the loom shed using a weft thread selector and insertion arrangement. A single first thread tension sensor (14) is provided to be common to all of the weft thread types (6) that are to be inserted. The sensor (14) is arranged in a first arrangement plane at a location downstream of the weft thread selector and change arrangement (8). A single second thread tension sensor (19) is arranged in a second arrangement plane at a location between the first thread tension sensor (14) and the weft thread selector and change arrangement (8).