The present invention relates to a heddle, comprising: an inserted heddle eyelet which is provided with a passage opening for a warp yarn; a carrier part which is provided for attachment of the inserted heddle eyelet, in which, in the attached state of the inserted heddle eyelet, this carrier part consists of a part in which the inserted heddle eyelet is accommodated and at least one part which extends beyond this inserted heddle eyelet.

Heddles are used during weaving to position warp yarns during shed formation by imposing a movement upon the heddle. For this purpose, the heddle has a heddle eyelet through which a warp yarn can extend.

The movement imposed upon the heddle can be achieved by an individual control of the heddle. For example, a heddle can be a jacquard heddle. This jacquard heddle is permanently connected at one end to a harness cord, and connected at the other end to a return spring which is connected to the base or the frame of the weaving loom. The harness cord can take up a number of positions due to the movement of one or more hooks of a jacquard device, and such that a knife set carries the hooks, and hence also the heddle and the harness cord, along with it in an upward movement, while return springs pull the hook, heddle and harness cord down again together with the downward movement of the knife.

The movement imposed upon the heddle can also be performed by moving a plurality of heddles up and down at the same time. For example, a plurality of heddles can each be connected by a respective harness cord to the same hook or to the same set of hooks of a jacquard device, or a plurality of heddles can be installed in a weaving frame in such a way that the weaving frame is moved by a drive and selection device between two or more positions in the vertical direction in order to form a desired pattern in a fabric or fabric structure. This latter method is commonly used for controlling warp yarns in ground threads of pile fabrics or for controlling pile warp yarns in pile fabrics or of warp yarns in flat fabrics in combination with a cam disc machine or a dobby device when a limited patterning is required.

During the weaving of both flat fabrics and pile fabrics, there is a steady trend towards fabrics with an increasing density. Here the number of warp yarns extending alongside one another in the weft direction increases.

A trend is also to be observed towards bringing more colours into the fabrics. Particularly during double-face pile weaving, this means a continuing increase in the number of warp yams extending alongside one another in the weft direction. In double- face pile weaving, namely, all types of pile warp yams that can be employed to form the colour or pattern in the fabric are generally used in each warp system, with the pile warp yam forming the colour or pattern extending between the upper and lower fabric and binding in each of these fabrics over a weft yarn, while the pile warp yarns that do not form the colour or pattern are concealed as dead pile in the ground fabric of one of the two fabrics.

This means in concrete terms that when, for example, a double-face carpet is woven with a reed density of 500 dents per metre with 8 colours with 2 binding warp yarns and 1 tight warp yam per ground fabric, 7000 warp yams per metre weaving width are involved in the shed formation, of which 4000 pile warp yarns (8 colours x 500 reed dents per metre), and 3000 ground warp yarns (3 ground warp yarns per fabric x

2 fabrics x 500 reed dents per metre). During the formation of the shed, these warp yarns change their position in the vertical direction by means of heddles which are controlled in a manner as described in the example given above.

Furthermore, lancets are also employed in many cases in the shed formation zone during double-face pile weaving, either as spacers or as carriers of loop weft yarns. In their turn these lancets take their place in weft direction in the available space per warp system. The warp yams and heddles can thus also collide with these lancets during shed formation.

Finally there is a trend towards increasing the weaving speed in order to produce economically.

From the above, it is clear that with increasing densities, increasing numbers of colours and increasing weaving speeds, the load to which the heddles are exposed during shed formation increases due to the interaction with other yarns, with other heddles and with lancets, so that it becomes more critical to satisfy the demands made, namely: to achieve the vertical positioning of the warp yarn, not to obstruct the movement of the driven warp yarn in warp direction

(avoidance of collision, damage, breakage), - to hinder the movement of neighbouring heddles and warp yarns as little as possible (collision, damage, breakage), to minimize the interference with lancets, to show good wear resistance against contact with neighbouring heddles, warp yarns and lancets, - to keep the weight as low as possible in order to limit the load on the shed-forming mechanism and the associated consumption of the weaving loom.

The evolutions described below have been implemented in order to meet the abovementioned demands. Initially heddles were manufactured from wire material with generally two wires used alongside one another and with a heddle eyelet being formed in the middle zone of the heddle. The warp yarn extends through this heddle eyelet. The two wires are joined together at a number of points outside the heddle eyelet.

The advantage of this embodiment is that the heddle can be produced inexpensively, and that due to the limited dimensions of the wire material there is adequate free space for neighbouring warp yarns and lancets outside the heddle eyelet. If the formed heddle eyelet is rotated as a result of a collision with the neighbouring warp yarn package, the parts outside the heddle eyelet still allow sufficient passage for the neighbouring warp yarns and any lancet.

This embodiment does have the disadvantage, however, that the wire in the heddle eyelet is not particularly suitable for withstanding the wear caused by the warp yarn passing through it. The thickness of the heddle eyelet is also limited to the thickness of the wire. The joints of the two wires outside the heddle eyelet are also not always resistant to the effect of the warp yarns moving beside them and to the action of lancets which are situated next to the reciprocating heddle.

A change has therefore taken place towards embodiments with a wear-resistant inserted eyelet that is inserted into a space formed in the two wires and that is normally joined to these wires by means of a soldering process. As a result, the resistance to wear of the warp yarn in the heddle eyelet has increased significantly. However, the nearby warp yarns, the adjacent heddles and the neighbouring lancets collide with this joint, resulting in a risk of the inserted heddle eyelet coming loose from of the heddle.

Another variant consists of manufacturing heddles from strip material. This strip material is steel generally available on the market with a limited thickness and with a width sufficient to allow the creation of an opening as heddle eyelet. Sometimes material is taken away above and below the heddle eyelet in order to limit the weight and to create more space for the nearby yarns, heddles and any lancets. The removal of this material, however, is an expensive production step that has the further disadvantage that after removal of the material above and below the heddle eyelet, a great deal of refinishing is necessary in order to give the machined sides smooth transitions so that the warp yarns moving along these sides are not hindered in their movement or are not damaged. There is therefore also a variant in which heddles are manufactured from commercially available strip material in which openings are already provided in the middle which will serve as heddle eyelet. No more additional finishing is necessary here to provide smooth transitions, as these have already been created during the production process of the strip material. The necessary width of the strip material, however, is quite considerable. In addition, the eyelet thickness is limited, offering limited resistance to wear against the action of the yarn that moves through the heddle eyelet.

In another variant, the width of the employed strip material can be limited again by carrying out additional machining at the point of the opening made for the heddle eyelet in order to produce the heddle eyelet and to adapt the form of the heddle (by, for example, twisting the strip material) so that the movement of the neighbouring warp yarns and lancets from above the heddle eyelet to below the heddle eyelet or vice versa can take place more quickly. Such solutions are described, inter alia, in American patent publication US 5,348,055 and British patent publication GB 448 723.

These solutions, however, still are starting from a thin base material so that the wear resistance in the heddle eyelet is limited, due both to the limited thickness of the base material and to the compromise that has to be made within this one type of material between resistance to wear, the machinability of the heddle eyelet, the fastening of the heddle in the weaving device and the raw material costs.

Furthermore, the twisting of the strip material has to take place quite a distance away from the heddle eyelet in order not to distort the eyelet. As a result, the heddle eyelet part is fairly large.

European patent publication EP 947 620 describes a heddle made from flat steel strip material, in which strip material, after a number of machinings, an inserted heddle eyelet is installed, the entire outer edge of which has a thickness which is smaller than the thickness of the flat steel strip material in order to avoid interference. This embodiment results in a heddle in which the inserted heddle eyelet only contacts the carrying part to a limited degree, making attachment thereof during production difficult and limiting the eventual strength of the connection of the inserted heddle eyelet to the carrying part after installation.

American patent publication US 6,283,163 describes a heddle made from wire material having an oval inserted heddle eyelet which is provided all round its edge with a hollowing and which is thicker than the carrier. With this type of solution, if a certain thickness and therefore resistance to wear of the inserted heddle eyelet is to be achieved, a relatively thick wire (for example typically 0.9 mm wire diameter for an eyelet thickness of 1.2 mm) has to be chosen in order to be able to hold the inserted heddle eyelet securely and to prevent the inserted heddle eyelet from protruding too much relative to the wire material, so that the neighbouring heddles, yarns and lancets are not hindered. A larger wire diameter on the other hand is disadvantageous with regard to the weight of the unit.

US 6,283,163 furthermore discloses filling the cavities between the carrier part and the inserted heddle eyelet with adhesive in order to create a smooth transition. However, this has the drawback that this relatively soft layer of adhesive may wear down due to the action of the neighbouring (moving) components, as a result of which the inserted heddle eyelet may start to protrude after some time and cause interference when yarns, lancets and heddles which adjoin said eyelet in the weaving loom are moved or when said eyelet is moved with respect to yarns, lancets and heddles which adjoin said eyelet in the weaving loom.

Belgian patent publication BE 342071 describes a heddle made from wire material with an inserted heddle eyelet which is punched from a profiled strip material with edge constrictions, in which the inserted heddle eyelet and the wire material are of equal thickness. In order to achieve a certain resistance to wear, a wire which is equally thick and therefore heavy and voluminous thus has to be provided. In addition, it is not possible to guarantee that the eyelet will be perfectly centred after installation and it may protrude slightly and cause a hindrance or damage to the neighbouring yarns, heddles or lancets. This is even more likely to be the case if the eyelet is tin-plated or welded to the wire, resulting in the addition of more material. The result of the straight shape of the edge constriction is that, for a certain chosen length of this constriction, in combination with the desired width of the inserted heddle eyelet, a voluminous inserted heddle eyelet has to be provided. However, a larger volume for the heddle is disadvantageous for obtaining higher-density fabrics, and because of the associated increase in weight which increases the load on the shed-formation mechanism and the associated consumption of the weaving loom.

The object of the invention is consequently to provide a heddle which does not exhibit the abovementioned drawbacks of the prior art and which offers sufficient resistance to the action of neighbouring warp yarns, heddles and lancets, and which is in addition designed to reduce the hindrance to the neighbouring warp yarns, heddles and lancets to a minimum, in which the weight of the heddle is limited and the volume taken up by the parts of the heddle outside the heddle eyelet, in particular the volume between the heddle eyelet and the connection of the heddle with the rest of the weaving loom, is limited and in which, in addition, the heddle eyelet offers a good resistance to wear against the action of the threaded warp yarn.

The object of the invention is achieved by providing a heddle, comprising: an inserted heddle eyelet which is provided with a passage opening for a warp yarn; - a carrier part which is provided for attachment of the inserted heddle eyelet, in which, in the attached state of the inserted heddle eyelet, this carrier part consists of a part in which the inserted heddle eyelet is accommodated and at least one part which extends beyond this inserted heddle eyelet, in which, in the attached state of the inserted heddle eyelet in the carrier part, the outer edge of the inserted heddle eyelet is designed such that, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the heddle, the inserted heddle eyelet at its outermost points is thinner than the corresponding zone of the carrier part in the longitudinal direction of the heddle and in which at least a part of the inserted heddle eyelet situated between said outermost points is thicker at its outer edge than the corresponding zone of the carrier part in the longitudinal direction of the heddle.

The outer edge of the inserted heddle eyelet is situated on the outer periphery of the inserted heddle eyelet and is formed by the lateral surfaces of the inserted heddle eyelet, being the surfaces which are situated on the side of the inserted heddle eyelet, or those surfaces which can be seen best in a side view of the inserted heddle eyelet when the longitudinal direction thereof extends in the vertical direction.

The outer edge of the inserted heddle eyelet can be viewed as the entirety of lines and surfaces which form the connection between the front surface and the rear surface of the inserted heddle eyelet.

Viewed in the longitudinal direction of the inserted heddle eyelet, the outermost points of the inserted heddle eyelet are situated laterally on the upper and lower side of the inserted heddle eyelet.

Making the inserted heddle eyelet of the heddle according to the present invention locally thinner or thicker with respect to the adjoining carrier part allows the weight of the heddle according to the invention to be limited and the volume taken up by the heddle parts outside the heddle eyelet, in particular the volume between the heddle eyelet and the connection of the heddle to the rest of the weaving loom to be limited.

In addition, the relatively thick outer edge situated between the outermost points of the inserted heddle eyelet makes an improved attachment to the adjoining relatively thin carrier part possible.

The use of an inserted heddle eyelet makes it possible to choose the thickness and the material thereof independently of the carrier part, so that wear by the threaded warp yarn can be reduced by using a wear-resistant material or a material which is wear- resistant after treatment, and by choosing the thickness of the inserted heddle eyelet around the passage opening to be greater than the thickness of the carrier material.

In a preferred embodiment of the heddle according to the invention, when the heddle is viewed in side view in the attached state of the inserted heddle eyelet, the inserted heddle eyelet is covered by the carrier part at its outermost points. As a result thereof, the inserted heddle eyelet will not get caught or collide with the adjacent yarns, heddles of lancets during the typically reciprocating movement of or with respect to these components. Also, these components are not able to damage any additional connecting means (e.g. tin, lead, adhesive) between the inserted heddle eyelet and carrier part because they do not contact these additional connecting means, due to the shape of the inserted heddle eyelet at its ends in the longitudinal direction and due to the position of the inserted heddle eyelet, as a result of which the ends, in side view, are completely inside the material of the carrier part.

By configuring, in a more preferred embodiment of the heddle according to the invention, the transition between the part of the inserted heddle eyelet which is thinner than the carrier part and the part which is thicker than the carrier part to be smooth, the impact on the neighbouring yarns, heddles or lancets will be minimal during a reciprocating movement of or with respect to said components, as a result of which the service life of the inserted heddle eyelet and of said components will be affected positively.

According to a particular embodiment of the heddle according to the invention, the outer edge of the inserted heddle eyelet is at least partly provided with at least one groove having a shape which corresponds to the shape of the carrier part. The one or more grooves are provided for positioning the inserted heddle eyelet., The grooves are preferably to the left and right of the passage opening when it is viewed from the front and the longitudinal direction of the inserted heddle eyelet extends vertically. Preferably, said groove has a curved configuration. This makes it possible, for a certain width of the inserted heddle eyelet and for a certain desired length of the groove required for attaching the inserted heddle eyelet, to make this inserted heddle eyelet more compact and also lighter and at the same time for the inserted heddle eyelet to adjoin the carrier part more closely.

In a more particular embodiment of the heddle according to the invention, the thickness of the inserted heddle eyelet increases from the outer edge which comprises at least one groove to the zone which contains the passage opening. This makes it possible to provide a smoother transition between the carrier part at the lateral grooves and the inserted heddle eyelet at the lateral grooves and ultimately towards the passage opening of the inserted heddle eyelet. It is advantageous if the transition between the abovementioned zones is very gradual, without abrupt transitions, in order not to cause any damage to neighbouring or adjacent yarns, heddles or lancets.

The carrier part is preferably composed of two or more metal wires. Preferably, the carrier part is composed of 2 x n wires, with n = 1, 2, 3, etc. Here, in each case n wires are inserted on each side of the inserted heddle eyelet. In this way, it is possible to produce an inexpensive, less voluminous and lighter variant, for example by using 2 x 2, 2 x 3 or 2x 4 wires.

Use of metal wire material for construction of the carrier part has the advantage that such material has good material properties regarding roughness, strength and wear. In a more preferred embodiment, said wires are connected to one another by twisting in the part which extends beyond the inserted heddle eyelet. Twisting offers the additional advantage that the inserted heddle eyelet can be attached more securely.

In an advantageous embodiment of the heddle according to the invention, the carrier part is composed of three or more wires, with each of the two outer wires extending along a different part of the outer edge of the inserted heddle eyelet, while the other wires are interrupted in the zone where the inserted heddle eyelet is situated. Preferably, the interrupted wires are locally flattened or tapered as they run to the thinner end of the inserted heddle eyelet, thus limiting the obstruction to the neighbouring components. Such heddles have the additional advantage that, due to the combination of several wires, they are strong despite the fact that the carrier part is very thin.

In a preferred embodiment of the heddle according to the invention, the carrier part is made from a metal strip or plate material which comprises a local cut for the inserted heddle eyelet. By locally cutting or splitting the strip or plate material, an opening is created for the inserted heddle eyelet. This embodiment has the advantage that metal strip or plate material exhibiting good material properties regarding roughness, strength and wear, which improves the strength and resistance to wear and limits obstruction with respect to other heddles, yarns and lancets, is moreover commercially available.

In another preferred embodiment of the heddle according to the invention, the carrier part is made from plastic. The plastic used is preferably fibre reinforced. In the case of such a heddle, the inserted heddle eyelet in the carrier part can also be sheathed, which provides even greater freedom regarding the shape of the carrier part, in particular towards the protection of the thinner zone of the inserted heddle eyelet at the zones around the outermost points viewed in the longitudinal direction of the heddle.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the following detailed description of a heddle according to the present invention. The description is intended simply as an illustrative example and can therefore in no way be interpreted as a limitation of the area of application of the invention or of the patent rights sought in the claims.

hi the following description, reference numerals are used to refer to the attached figures, in which: figure Ia shows a perspective view of the inserted heddle eyelet according to the invention; figure Ib shows a cross section of the inserted heddle eyelet illustrated in figure

Ia; - figures 2a to 2c show a heddle according to the invention in front view, longitudinal section (along B - B) and cross section (along C - C) halfway along the ends of the inserted heddle eyelet, with the carrier part being made from wire material, with an extra twist at the ends of the inserted heddle eyelet; figures 3a to 3c show a heddle according to the invention in front view, longitudinal section (along B - B) and cross section (along C - C) halfway along the ends of the inserted heddle eyelet, with the carrier part being made from 2x2 wires; figure 3d shows in detail how 2 wires of the carrier part of the heddle illustrated in figures 3a to 3c are interrupted and are locally tapered at their outermost points, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the inserted heddle eyelet; figures 4a to 4c show a heddle according to the invention in front view, longitudinal section (along B - B) and cross section (along C - C) halfway along the ends of the inserted heddle eyelet, with the carrier part being made from 2x2 wires and all wires being uninterrupted; - figures 5a to 5c show a heddle according to the invention in front view, longitudinal section (along B - B) and cross section (along C - C) halfway along the ends of the inserted heddle eyelet, with the carrier part being made from 2x2 wires and all wires being uninterrupted, with an extra twist at the outermost points, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the inserted heddle eyelet; figures 6a to 6c show a heddle according to the invention in front view, longitudinal section (along B - B) and cross section (along C - C) halfway along the ends of the inserted heddle eyelet, with the carrier part being made from strip material; - figures 7a to 7c show a heddle according to the invention in front view, longitudinal section (along B - B) and cross section (along C - C) halfway along the ends of the inserted heddle eyelet, with the carrier part being made from strip material; figure 7d shows an additional cross section (along D - D) of the heddle illustrated in figures 7a to 7c, at an outermost point viewed in the longitudinal direction of the inserted heddle eyelet, where the carrier part is relatively thick.

The heddle (1) according to the invention comprises an inserted heddle eyelet (2) made from a preferably wear-resistant material (obviously, other suitable materials can also be used) which is provided with a passage opening (4) for a warp yarn, and a carrier part (3) which is designed to accommodate this inserted heddle eyelet (2). The carrier part (3) can be made from metal wires, from metal strip or plate material which is locally split in order to produce an opening for the inserted heddle eyelet or from optionally fibre-reinforced plastic.

In the attached state of the inserted heddle eyelet (2), the carrier part (3) consists of a part which forms an opening in which the inserted heddle eyelet (2) is accommodated and at least one part which extends outside this inserted heddle eyelet, and in which the carrier part (3), at least in the part in which the inserted heddle eyelet (2) is accommodated, is thinner in the thickness direction than the part of the inserted heddle eyelet (2) which is situated around the passage opening (4).

When it is attached to the heddle, the inserted heddle eyelet (2) has, viewed from an outermost point (6 ',6") of the inserted heddle eyelet (2) in the longitudinal direction of the heddle (1), a smooth transition from a zone where the inserted heddle eyelet (2) is thinner than the carrier part (3) which is present there, as a result of which it is covered by the carrier part (3) in a side view, to a zone situated around the centre between the outermost points (6,6") of the inserted heddle eyelet (2), viewed in the longitudinal direction of the heddle (1), where the inserted heddle eyelet (2) is thicker in the edge zone on the outer periphery (outer edge) than the carrier part which is present there and where there is a groove (5', 5") in the outer edge which allows the inserted heddle eyelet (2) to be positioned in the direction according to the passage opening (4) with respect to the carrier part (3). When the passage opening is viewed from the front and the longitudinal direction of the inserted heddle eyelet extends vertically, the grooves (5 ',5") are situated to the left and to the right of the passage opening. The shape of these grooves in combination with the shape of the carrier part allows the inserted heddle eyelet to be positioned in the direction according to the passage opening. Since, due to weight and volume considerations, it has been decided to make the carrier part thinner than is common in the prior art in combination with a desired thickness of the inserted heddle eyelet (2) at the passage opening (4), it is appropriate to make the inserted heddle eyelet thicker than the carrier part at these grooves. This makes it possible to securely grip the carrier part to ensure reliable positioning and also produces a larger contact surface for connecting the inserted heddle eyelet (2) to the carrier part (3) by means of clamping, tin-plating, soldering or adhesive bonding or by another connection technique.

Preferably, and as represented in Fig. Ib, the thickness of the inserted heddle eyelet (2) increases from its outer edge where the at least one groove (5 ',5") is situated to the zone where the passage opening (4) is situated. This makes it possible to produce a smoother transition from the carrier part (3) at the lateral grooves (5 ',5") to the inserted heddle eyelet (2) at the lateral grooves (5 ',5") and ultimately towards the passage opening (4) of the inserted heddle eyelet (2). Such an embodiment has the advantage that the transition between said zones is very gradual, without abrupt transitions, so that no damage can be caused to neighbouring or adjacent yarns, heddles or lancets.

The ratio between the thickness of the inserted heddle eyelet (2) around the passage opening (4) and the thickness of the carrier part (3) in the zone of contact with the inserted heddle eyelet (2) may vary, in embodiments according to the invention, between 2 and 4, and is preferably between 2.2 and 3. Typical examples have a wire or strip thickness of 0.4 mm or 0.5 mm and a thickness of the inserted heddle eyelet (2) around the passage opening (4) of 1.2 mm. The inserted heddle eyelet (2) can be produced in various ways: by means of punching and/or deforming the end points, by building a three-dimensional object layer by layer via selective laser-sintering or selective laser-melting, or by means of injection-moulding powders with metal (Metal Injection Moulding), followed by sintering. An inserted heddle eyelet of this type may be made from steel or stainless steel, preferably from a hard or hardenable variant, or may be provided afterwards with a wear-resistant coating.

The inserted heddle eyelet (2) can also be made from a ceramic material, for example by means of injection-moulding powders containing ceramics (Ceramic Injection Moulding).

As illustrated in Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5, the carrier part (3) can be made from a metal wire material. The carrier part (3) represented in Figures 2a and 2b consists of 2 wires which are connected to one another by twisting, just outside the zone in which the inserted heddle eyelet (2) is situated. Twisting offers the additional advantage that the inserted heddle eyelet (2) can be fixed more securely. In this case, the grooves (5', 5") present in the inserted heddle eyelet (2) are preferably V-, U- or C- shaped.

It is possible for the carrier part (3) to consist of several (2 x n) relatively thin wires, with in each case n wires then being inserted on each side of the inserted heddle eyelet (2). In this way, it is possible to produce an inexpensive, less voluminous and lighter variant, for example by using 2 x 2, 2 x 3 or 2 x 4 wires. It is also possible in this case to optionally choose to twist these wires just outside the zone of the inserted heddle eyelet (2).

In one particular embodiment, the carrier part (3) can be formed by 3 or more relatively thin wires which are situated next to one another in the zone where the inserted heddle eyelet (2) is not situated, and not all the wires of which run continuously around the outer periphery of the inserted heddle eyelet (2), so that an opening is created locally by the interrupted wires. These interrupted wires (9) can then, for example, be flattened or tapered locally as they run to the thinner end of the inserted heddle eyelet (2), thus limiting the obstruction to neighbouring components. The heddle illustrated in Figure 3 comprises 4 wires, 2 of which are interrupted and thus create the opening for the heddle eyelet (2). Such heddles have the additional advantage that, due to the combination of several wires, they are strong despite the fact that the carrier part (3) is very thin.

The cross section of the chosen wire material may be round, oval or have another shape. Wire material with a round cross section has the advantage that it is readily commercially available in different types of material. Other types of wire material may facilitate the attachment or positioning of the inserted heddle eyelet due to their shape, or may simplify the connection of the heddle to the rest of the device due to their shape.

The carrier part (3) can also be made from a metal strip or plate material which is split locally in order to create an opening for the inserted heddle eyelet (2) (see Figures 6 and 7). The following metals are suitable for this purpose: stainless steel, spring steel, or softer materials provided with one or more coatings to counteract corrosion or wear. A variant thereof is produced by forming a carrier part (3) from a relatively thick metal strip or plate material which is flattened before being split at the location where the inserted heddle eyelet ends up (denoted by reference numeral 10 in Figure 7). As a result thereof, a stronger variant of a certain inserted heddle eyelet (2) is produced and the possibility is also created of protecting the relatively thin zone of the inserted heddle eyelet (2) at the outermost points (6 ',6"), viewed in the longitudinal direction of the heddle, even better behind the carrier material when viewing the heddle in side view.

An embodiment made from plate material allows more freedom regarding the shape of the carrier material, for example based on creating the opening for the eyelet or for an improved connection with the other components (not shown) which control the movement of the heddle. When the carrier part (3) of the heddle (1) is made from a metal strip or plate material, then the inserted heddle eyelet (2) is preferably provided with U-shaped or C-shaped grooves on its outer periphery (outer edge).

Several techniques may be considered for connecting the inserted heddle eyelet (2) to a metal carrier part (3). If the shape of the groove in the inserted heddle eyelet (2) and the shape of the carrier (3) at that location complement one another well at that location, a clamping connection is an inexpensive solution. Other solutions, such as tin-plating, soldering and adhesive bonding produce a more secure connection of the inserted heddle eyelet (2) to the carrier part (3). Additional connecting material can be added in the opening between the inserted heddle eyelet (2) and the carrier part (3) at the location of the ends of the inserted heddle eyelet in the longitudinal direction. The relatively thin tip of the inserted heddle eyelet (2) can also be embedded and thus contribute to the strength of the connection.

The strip material which is used to produce the carrier part may be either flat or profiled strip material. Flat strip material has the advantage that it is readily commercially available in various kinds of material. Other shapes can facilitate the attachment or positioning of the inserted heddle eyelet due to their shape or can facilitate the connection of the heddle to the rest of the device due to their shape.

However, the carrier part (3) can also be made from optionally fibre-reinforced plastic by, for example, starting from a profiled material.

If such an embodiment starts from an inserted heddle eyelet (2) which is injection moulded in the carrier part (3), this allows even greater freedom regarding the shape of the carrier part (3), in particular towards the protection of the relatively thin zone of the inserted heddle eyelet (2) at the location of the zones around the outermost points (6',6") viewed in the longitudinal direction of the heddle (1).

For connecting the inserted heddle eyelet (2) to a carrier part (3) made from a plastic profile, still clamping and adhesive bonding may be considered. If the shape of the groove (5', 5") in the inserted heddle eyelet (2) and the shape of the carrier (3) at that location complement one another well, a clamping connection is an inexpensive solution in this case as well.

Adhesive bonding produces a more secure connection between the inserted heddle eyelet (2) and the carrier part (3). It is also possible to add additional connecting material in the opening between the inserted heddle eyelet (2) and the carrier part (3) at the location of the ends of the inserted heddle eyelet (2) in the longitudinal direction. The relatively thin tip of the inserted heddle eyelet (2) can also be embedded and thus add to the strength of the connection.