Expandable belt and tread drum with reverse offset fingers

Abstract

An assembly defining a portion of an arcuate outer surface of a tire building drum, the assembly including first and second interlacing deck segments coupled to a central support member to be moved in a radially reciprocating manner, each of the interlacing deck segments including a plurality of center sections coupled together, a plurality of first grooves between the center sections, a plurality of first finger portions extending from the center sections away from the central support member, a plurality of second finger portions extending from the center sections in an opposite direction over the central support member, and a plurality of second grooves formed adjacent each of the second finger portions, wherein the second finger portions are arranged in parallel over the central support member, and the first grooves in each of the interlacing deck segments are aligned with the second grooves of the other of the interlacing deck segments.

Description

[0001] Cross References to Related Applications [0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 797,758, filed January 28, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. technical field [0003] The present general inventive concept relates to a radially expandable and contractible table surface for use in tire building drums and other apparatus, and more particularly, to a radially expandable and contractible table surface having oppositely offset fingers . Background technique [0004] The manufacture of vehicle tires generally involves the steps of forming the tire carcass, forming the tire's annular belt and tread "package" separately from the carcass, and then combining the belt and tread package with the tire carcass to form Form a "birth" fetus. The green tire is then processed to form the tread and various other features of the finished tire. Other supplementary steps such as joining the belt and ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

This finger segment improves overall kit support, largely eliminates the need for sleeves, and reduces runout, but drum expansion is still limited because the finger segment is on the larger diameter Will no longer dock, resulting in areas without BT kit support

Dual deck BT drums have an expanded diameter range and relatively quick segment replacement, which reduces runout somewhat, but also requires storage of unused segments, which greatly reduces convenience

Images