Disclosed is a bead-apex storage system and a method for handling carriers, each carrier supporting a stack of bead-apexes stacked in a stacking direction and alternated with spacers separating the bead-apexes, wherein the bead-apex storage system includes a plurality of storage stations for storing the carriers and a transfer station for transferring one of the plurality of bead-apexes to a tire building machine, wherein the bead-apex storage system further includes a spacer gripper for lifting one or more of the spacers from one of the carriers in one of the plurality of storage stations and for carrying said one or more lifted spacers to the transfer station, wherein the bead-apex storage system includes a spacer gripper base for supporting the spacer gripper, wherein the spacer gripper base is movable from the transfer station to any one of the plurality of storage stations.

A green tyre (2) for bicycles is built, comprising at least one carcass ply (4) having axially opposite end flaps (4a) engaged with respective bead cores (5) and a tread band (6) applied in a radially outer position around the at least one carcass ply (4). The built tyre (2) removed from the building drum, is profiled so as to translate the tread band (6) in a radially outer direction with respect to the bead cores (5), so as to impart a cross-sectional convex profile to the tyre (2) in a radially outer direction. The profiled tyre is engaged by means of a transfer member (31) comprising a gripping device (30) which retains it at the radially outer surface (2b) so as to maintain the cross-sectional convex profile in a radially outer direction.

An applicator roll, a tire component servicer, and a method for applying a strip to a drum are provided. The applicator roll includes an outer ring that is rotatable about a rotation axis and that defines a retaining surface. The applicator roll is provided with suction openings for retaining the strip to the retaining surface. The applicator roll includes a follower that is rotatable inside the outer ring to follow a part of the strip on the retaining surface. The follower defines a chamber that extends in the circumferential direction over a retaining arc along the outer ring. The follower is rotatable about the rotation axis independently of the outer ring to a first retaining position on the outer ring in which the chamber is arranged in air communication with one or more suction openings within said retaining arc.

A method and a device for vulcanizing tires. The device and method allow a small width and an inexpensive construction of the device in particular by virtue of the special design of or the material flow produced by the device and method. The device has at least one vulcanization chamber and at least one unloader for unloading an at least partially vulcanized tire out of the vulcanization chamber. The device additionally has at least one depositing device, at least one sliding device, and a transport belt for transporting the tire away.

A process for applying noise-reducing elements to a tyre for vehicle wheels. A plurality of noise-reducing elements are arranged on a feeding belt movable along a predetermined feeding direction. The noise-reducing elements are subsequently aligned along the feeding direction and brought into mutual contact, to then be transferred onto a service plane arranged downstream of the feeding belt along the feeding direction and having, on an upper surface thereof, a continuous film which supports a layer of adhesive material. The layer of adhesive material is applied onto a lower surface of each of the noise-reducing elements taking it from the continuous film. The noise-reducing elements are then transferred one by one onto a conveyor belt arranged downstream of the service plane along the feeding direction. The noise-reducing elements are finally positioned one by one on a radially inner surface of a tyre.

A plant for building tyres for vehicle wheels, includes a sleeve building area in which devices for obtaining carcass sleeves operate, a crown building area in which devices for obtaining crown structures operate and a shaping station for shaping each carcass sleeve according to a toroidal configuration. Transfer devices for transferring the carcass sleeves from the sleeve building area to the shaping station, by means of a first translator configured for picking up each carcass sleeve from an outlet station of the sleeve building area, a second translator configured for releasing each carcass sleeve in the shaping station, and a storage device operatively interposed between said first translator and second translator.

An apparatus for looping anchoring annular structures of a tyre for vehicle wheels, includes at least three looping drums. Each looping drum has a longitudinal axis thereof, with respect to which it is radially expandable/contractible in a manner so as to turn up the loop around an anchoring annular structure. The apparatus also includes a loop deposit station, a loading station configured for loading the anchoring annular structures on the looping drum and an unloading station configured for unloading the looped anchoring annular structures from the looping drum. The loop deposit station, loading station and unloading station are angularly offset from each other. A turret transfer apparatus supports the looping drums in positions angularly offset with respect to each other and is configured for transferring the looping drums between the loop deposit station, the loading station and the unloading station rotating around a vertically-arranged transfer axis.

The process for producing tyres comprises arranging no more than four sets of noise-reducing elements, each set being associated with a respective dimension L.sub.x different from each other; feeding in succession a set of tyres for vehicle wheels, having different values C of the inner circumferential extension; for each inner circumferential extension value, determining a respective number n.sub.x of noise-reducing elements for each set of noise-reducing elements, with x ranging from 1 to N, wherein for at least one value of the inner circumferential extension at least two respective numbers n.sub.x differ from 0; for each tyre, collecting from each set of noise-reducing elements the respective number n.sub.x of noise-reducing elements and applying the collected noise-reducing elements in circumferential sequence along an inner surface of the tyre, with dimension L.sub.x oriented circumferentially.

A fully automated bead filler production line system and a fully automated bead filler molding and attaching method, implementing highly efficient production of bead filler in order to solve the problem in traditional production lines of large occupied area and low efficiency. To achieve said goal, the solution is to provide a fully automated bead filler production line system, comprising: a bead filler molding processing section, a functional auxiliary section, a filler and bead molding processing section, and automated material flow sections. The bead filler molding processing section, the functional auxiliary section, and the filler and bead molding processing section are sequentially linked, and two material flow sections are provided, on either side of the filler and bead molding processing system respectively.

Method and plant for producing tyres for vehicle wheels in which: each vulcanizer (30) of a plurality of vulcanizers (30) is associated with a respective pick-up logic of green tyres from at least one storage area (20) of green tyres; upon each request to vulcanize a green tyre in a vulcanizer (30) of the plurality of vulcanizers (30), the pick-up logic associated with said vulcanizer (30) is applied to select and pick up a green tyre from the storage area (20); the respective pick-up logic associated with each vulcanizer (30) comprises a first pick-up rule of green tyres from the storage area (20) and, for at least one of the plurality of vulcanizers (30), the first pick-up rule is changed into at least one second pick-up rule at least once during the production in the plant (1) of at least one lot of tyres.