The Goodyear & Tire Rubber Company

Francis Cornet

Michel Lemaire

John Kolbjoern Roedseth

Douglas Raymond Weaver

Robert Albert Lammlein, Jr

Roger Marthoz

Jean-Marie Durand

John Kolbjoern Rodseth

John Kolbjorn Roedseth

Method and apparatus for stabilizing a fire building drum wherein the fire building drum has two ends, is permanently supported at a single cantilever support end, and the remaining end is a free end. The method comprises providing a free end support engaged with the free end to stabilize the tire building drum by restricting lateral movement of the free end; and freeing the free end by temporarily retracting the free end support when desired, e.g., to enable application of annular fire components on the tire building drum, or to enable removal of a built tire from the fire building drum. Preferably, the free end support allows rotation of the fire building drum while the free end support is engaged with the free end. A preferred embodiment uses overtravel of actuator linkages stopped against an extension stop to lock the free end support in place, engaged with the free end, to stabilize the tire building drum without requiring continued power input.

Stabilizer for cantilevered tire building drum

Method and apparatus for precision alignment of a moving tire building drum to an automated tire building system working axis, wherein the automated tire building system comprises one or more work stations with application drums aligned to the working axis, and the tire building drum is moved into and out of each work station, comprising: supporting the tire building drum on a rigid, two-sided drum support frame having flat skates with flat bearing rollers under one side, and V-skates with V-mounted bearing rollers under the other side; providing a rail system comprising first and second approximately parallel rails passing through the one or more work stations, wherein the first rail is substantially flat-topped, and the second rail is substantially inverted V-shaped on top; causing the one or more flat skates to ride on the first rail, and causing the one or more V-skates to ride on the second rail; and positioning the drum support frame, the flat skates, and the V-skates relative to the tire building drum and the first and second rails; and positioning the first and second rails relative to the working axis; such that when the flat skates ride on the first rail and the V-skates ride is on the second rail, the tire building drum is riding on the rail system and is precision aligned to the working axis. Exit ramps and funneling entry ramps are provided for exiting and re-entering the rail system. The tire building drum is moved by a vehicle having a flexible connection.

Precision alignment of tire building drum to automated tire building system working axis

Method and apparatus for stabilizing a tire building drum wherein the tire building drum has two ends, is permanently supported at a single cantilever support end, and the remaining end is a free end. The method comprises providing a free end support engaged with the free end to stabilize the tire building drum by restricting lateral movement of the free end; and freeing the free end by temporarily retracting the free end support when desired, e.g., to enable application of annular tire components on the tire building drum, or to enable removal of a built tire from the tire building drum. Preferably, the free end support allows rotation of the tire building drum while the free end support is engaged with the free end. A preferred embodiment uses overtravel of actuator linkages stopped against an extension stop to lock the free end support in place, engaged with the free end, to stabilize the tire building drum without requiring continued power input.

Method and apparatus for precision longitudinal registration of a movable tire building drum ( ) to an automated tire building system ( ) work station ( ), wherein the automated tire building system comprises one or more work stations with application drums ( ), and the tire building drum is moved longitudinally forward ( ) into and out of each work station, comprising: providing a work station longitudinal reference point ( ) upon a forward-facing surface ( ) of a laterally extendible portion ( ) of the work station; providing a drum reference point ( ) upon a rearward-facing surface ( ) of the tire building drum; and after the tire building drum has been moved into a work station, halting the tire building drum movement, laterally extending the work station longitudinal reference point rearward of the tire building drum, and then moving the tire building drum longitudinally rearward to abut the drum reference point against the work station longitudinal reference point. The tire building drum can be moved by a self-propelled vehicle ( ) which is flexibly connected to the tire building drum with a coupling ( ) which can be uncoupled. Then the tire building drum is moved longitudinally rearward by: coupling the work station to the tire building drum; uncoupling the tire building drum from the vehicle; and longitudinally moving the tire building drum relative to the vehicle. The flexible connecting means allows controlled lateral and vertical movement of the tire building drum relative to the vehicle while the vehicle is moving the tire building drum forward.

Precision longitudinal registration of tire building drum to automated tire building system work station

A method for mounting beads on a tire carcass which is being laid up on tire building drum, particularly applicable to cases wherein the drum has a free end and an opposite end which is supported by a drum support (or comparable impediment to installing a bead from the opposite end of the drum). The method comprises disposing a first of two beads on the drum in an area which is between a carcass layup area and the drum support. The bead is moved into this position from the free end of the drum, and this is done before the process of laying up the carcass has resulted in there being an impediment to installing the bead from the free end of the drum, such as bumps resulting from tire insert components. This may be prior to any carcass components have been laid up, or after an inner liner has been laid up, or after an inner liner and inserts and a ply have been laid up on a drum having pockets (recesses) to alleviate bump formation. With the bead &ldquo;parked&rdquo; on the drum, yet out of the way of laying up the carcass, the carcass may be laid up. After laying up the carcass the bead is moved into position on the carcass. Then, additional tire components may be laid up on the tire carcass and/additional steps performed in the formation of the carcass. The other bead is installed onto the carcass in a conventional manner. In this manner, both beads may be installed from a one free end of a drum. A bead loading system includes a rail, two carriers hanging from the rail, and a bead holder at the end of each carrier. In a flexible, automatic tire building system having a sequence of work stations, after a completed carcass is removed from a drum at a last one of the workstations, a first bead for a subsequent carcass can be placed onto the drum at the last workstation, before the drum is re-circulated to the first work station.

Bead loading method and apparatus

A tire bead holder assembly for centering and gripping a circular tire bead before placement on a bead setter has circumferentially spaced radially moveable fingers actuated by a chain drive for simultaneous controlled movement of the fingers and application of centering pressure without distortion of the bead.

Bead holder

A strip of resilient material is clamped uniformly across the width of the material at a first position by vertically spaced clamps which are separated to stretch a section of the material beyond the elastic limit. The stretched section of material is released and transported on a horizontal conveyor to a second position where the stretched section is cut by a cutter providing edges of reduced thickness which are suitable for overlapping other stretched edges of reduced thickness for splicing.

Growing community of inventors

Habay-la-Vieille, Belgium

Francis Cornet