Bridgestone Corporation

Bridgestone Tire Company Limited

Norio Abe

Osamu Fukaura

Yoshiaki Kawahara

A filler-provided bead forming apparatus include a cylindrical drum, a transport device for transferring a belt-shaped filler to the proximity of one end of the drum, a pair of grasping units for grasping both ends of the filler arranged on the transport device, respectively, and moving device for moving the grasping units grasping the filler and wrapping the filler around the drum such that the filler is lying on the drum and a bottom end of the filler on a thicker side thereof is in register with the one end of the drum and further for butt joining longitudinal ends of the filler. The apparatus further includes a transfer device for transferring a bead to the one end of the drum, a bladder provided on the drum for raising the filler wound around the drum about the bottom end of the filler on the thicker side thereof upon being expanded to bring the bottom end of the filler into contact with an outer circumference of the bead, and a pressure-joining device for urging the bottom end of the filler against the bead to pressure-join them.

Filler-provided bead forming apparatus

A rotatably supported annular tire bead is rotated by drive rollers held in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the bead, and during rotation of the bead a tape is fed and stuck onto the inner circumferential surface of the bead. The opposite side edge portions of this tape extending from this bead are stuck onto the opposite side surfaces of the bead by being pinched from the opposite sides by flange portions of the drive rollers and flange members opposed thereto, subsequently the opposite side edge portions of the tape are folded back onto the outer circumferential surface of the bead by means of scraper members, and thus the bead is perfectly covered by the tape. The above-mentioned flange members are fitted around the drive rollers so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and they are biased to reduce the intervals between the flange members and the flange portions of the drive rollers. Furthermore, there is provided expanding means for expanding the above-mentioned intervals.

Apparatus for covering a tire bead with a tape

A tire bead wire apparatus comprising a festoon mechanism for accumulating a bead wire strip, movable bead transferring means for transferring the bead wire strip fed from the festoon mechanism, cutting means for cutting the bead wire strip into predetermined lengths, a rotatable bead former assembly comprising a plurality of different bead formers which are different in diameter in relation to one another, former rotating means for driving the bead formers to rotate about their own axes, means for holding the end portion of the cut bead wire strip against a peripheral surface of the bead former, and pressing means for joining together the end portions of the cut bead wire strip to form an annular bead wire.

Tire bead wire forming apparatus

A tire bead wire supply apparatus for supplying bead wires for tires one to each of a plurality of treating means for the bead wires. According to the invention the apparatus comprises holding means for holding a plurality of bead wires, driving means for moving the holding means so as to pass in immediate front of each of the treating means in succession and stopping the holding means at the immediate front of each of the treating means and transferring means for receiving each of the bead wires from the holding means stopped at the immediate front of each of the treating means and transferring it to the each of the treating means, thereby making the apparatus inexpensive and small-sized and operate with higher efficiency.

Tire bead wire supply apparatus

A strip supplying apparatus comprising a stationary frame structure, a movable frame structure movable with respect to the stationary frame structure along the side wall of the stationary frame structure and having a plurality of winding reels rotatable on the movable frame structure about an axis of rotation substantially in parallel with a direction in which the movable frame structure are moved with respect to the stationary frame structure, the winding reels being spaced in an equal pitch to each other, drive unit mounted on the stationary and movable frame structures for driving the movable frame structure to move with respect to the stationary frame structure by the pitch; unwinding unit mounted on the stationary frame for unwinding a strip unwound from each of the winding reels, joining unit mounted on the stationary frame structure for joining the trailing and leading end portions of the strips unwound from two adjacent winding reels, the unwinding and joining unit being held in line with one of the winding reels, detecting unit for detecting the trailing end portion of the strip unwound from the winding reel to produce a signal to drive the movable frame structure to move with respect to the stationary frame structure by the pitch; and tension adjusting unit for adjusting tension of the strip fed from the unwinding unit.

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Kodaira, Japan

Norio Abe