Abstract: A weft picking system for an air jet loom is provided with a microcomputer as a controller. The weft picking system comprises a weft traction device including a pair of rollers, one of which is driven by an inverter motor. A weft yarn fed from a weft measuring and storing device can be placed between the rollers to be drawn toward a weft posture regulating nozzle. The weft posture regulating nozzle is arranged to project the weft yarn into the shed of warp yarns and regulates the posture of the weft yarn under the influence of air jet ejected from the nozzle and from a plurality of sub-nozzles. The rollers always rotate during a weaving operation of the loom. A change-over device is provided to change the weft yarn from a first state of being placed between the rollers to a second state of separating from the rollers or vice versa.

Abstract: An air jet loom is equipped with a weft storage device for detaining a weft yarn prior to weft picking through a weft inserting nozzle. The weft storag device includes a roller reel on which the weft yarn is wound in the shape of a coil. The roller reel consists of a plurality of rollers arranged in the shape of a reel in which the axis of each rollers is outside any of planes containing an axis of the roller reel. Some of the rollers are driven around their axis. An engaging member is movably disposed in the vicinity of the unwinding end section of the roller reel and normally engaged with the weft yarn but disengaged from the weft yarn during weft picking, thereby sharply reducing weft picking resistance applied the weft yarn to be picked into the shed of warp yarns.