The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 03, 2002
Filed:
May. 12, 2000
James M. Kirby, Akron, OH (US);
Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC, Nashville, TN (US);
Abstract
A first stage tire building drum for building a run flat tire has a cylindrical central portion for receiving the strip components thereon for fabricating a first stage body ply carcass and has a pair of bead receiving areas adjacent the central portion for receiving bead rings thereon. The central portion and bead areas preferably are formed by a plurality of moveable arcuate segments. A spacer or sleeve is formed by a plurality of arcuate segments and is mounted on the center of the cylindrical drum portion and forms a pair of adjacent recesses. The spacer has a smooth outer cylindrical surface. The spacer has a height equal to the thickness of run flat tire sidewall inserts and a width equal to the distance between the inside edges of the opposed sidewall inserts. The elastomeric inserts are placed in the recesses adjacent the central spacer, and in combination with smooth outer surface of the spacer, provide a substantially smooth continuous flat surface for receiving the various tire components thereon without interruption.