Patent attributes
A clamping device (18) for temporarily clamping the fabric (2) in place is provided on the weaving machine (1), and interacts with a ventilating device (23) that effects the temporary elimination of the clamping action. The operation of the ventilating device (23) is controlled by the movement of the beat-up device (11) via a mechanical connection that exists between the beat-up device (11) and the clamping device (18), and is effected by a mechanical transmission (28)—to be understood in the broadest terms—via which the clamping force can be eliminated or also generated in some embodiments. Due to the controlled release of the fabric at times or during phases of operation of the weaving machine (1) that can be adjusted and selected, a simple adaptation of the operation of the weaving machine (1) to different types of fabric can be achieved. An operation with less longitudinal pull of the fabric is possible. The clamping device (18) is suitable as a spreader device and can be adapted to various situations without great manual effort.