Bridgestone Corporation

Masaharu Sumiuchi

Shoji Takahashi

Yuichi Seki

Hiroshi Ogawa

Masami Adachi

Seiichiro Nishide

Yukitaka Okafuji

Kunio Tajima

Toshinori Yabe

Masato Sueyasu

Masajiro Fujiwara

Seiichiro Nishiide

Takeshi Yonezawa

An apparatus for building green tires includes a carcass band forming drum for forming a carcass band, a first forming drum arranged rearward of and coaxially to the carcass band forming drum for forming green cases, a first transfer unit movable between the carcass band and first forming drums for transferring and pressing beads to the carcass band and for transferring the united beads and the carcass band to the first forming drum and folding axial edges of the carcass band about the beads upon itself in cooperation with the first forming drum, a second forming drum arranged rearward of the first forming drum for toroidally deforming the green case, second transfer unit movable between the first and second forming drums for transferring and delivering the green case from the first forming drum and second forming drum, a band forming drum arranged rearward of the first forming drum for forming a band, and a third transfer unit movable between the band forming drum and the second forming drum for transferring the band to an outer side of the green case to form a green tire.

Two stage tire building apparatus

A transfer apparatus for tire constituting members transfers them from a pre-process drum such as a carcass band forming drum to a post-process drum such as a tire forming drum. The apparatus includes a movable frame movable between the pre-process drum and the post-process drum, a holder mounted on the movable frame so that the holder is able to surround and grasp the tire constituting member, and a correction mechanism mounted on the holder on a near side to the post-process drum to expand an axial end of the tire constituting member which is tapered due to rubber contraction and gravity for correcting the tire constituting member into a substantially cylindrical shape.

Transfer apparatus for tire constituting members

A method of bending back a tire component, comprising a step in which the diameters of a pair of cylindrical bodies, whose diameters can be increased and decreased, are decreased to a minimum value to hold beads by the bodies, respectively, and the beads are set in prescribed positions on the component wound on a forming drum; a step in which the diameters of the bodies are increased to an intermediate value and the bladders of the drum are inflated so that the component is pinch-held at both side edges thereof by the bladders and the bodies; a step in which the bodies are moved to positions located nearly outside the beads in the radial directions of the bodies, so that both the side edges of the component are moved outward in the radial directions of the bodies as the component remains in pressure contact with the beads near the side edges; and a step in which the diameters of the bodies are increased to a maximum value and the bodies are thereafter moved toward the longitudinally central portion of the drum so that the component is bent back at both the side edges thereof around the beads by the bodies, the bladders and the body of the drum.

Method of bending back tire component and apparatus for said bending-back

A method and apparatus for forming a tire in which an inner circumference of a tire carcass is wrapped around a tire bead by being grasped by an expanding air bladder against a stopper plate. The stopper plate, with the bladder still inflated is raised relative to the bead and main tire carcass and then moved into the annular portion of the tire carcass to encase the bead.

Method for forming a tire around a bead

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Masaharu Sumiuchi