A method and apparatus for forming an apex or an apex in combination with a bead, the method comprising the steps of: winding a strip of rubber onto a rotatable platen to form an apex, wherein the rotatable platen may further include a radially expandable bead chuck for supporting a bead. The rotatable platen may optionally include a nonstick coating such as titanium nitride and optionally include one or more radially oriented bars. The optional one or more radially oriented bars may be movable into a first position flush with the outer surface of the platen, and movable into a second position that preferably is nonflush and protrudes from the outer surface of the platen. The rotatable platen is further optionally retractable from the bead chuck to facilitate removal of the apex from the apparatus.

The method comprises a braiding step during which a braiding wire is wound in helical turns about, and along, a generatrix line which is closed in a ring about a main axis, so as to form a bead wire element called “braided torus” within which the braid wire has, on the one hand, a winding section which corresponds to the helical turns and which occupies a braid volume, and, on the other hand, in an extension of said winding section, a surplus length of braid wire called “excess section”. After the braiding step, there is a folding step during which the excess section is plastically deformed by folding, preferably by means of a punch and an anvil, so as to form an elbow which makes the excess section diverge with respect to the helical turns and makes said excess section protrude at least partly with respect to the braid volume.

A process and a drum for looping annular anchoring structures in a process for building tyres for vehicle wheels includes: depositing a loop on a drum including a radially expandable/contractible intermediate annular portion and, in a position axially adjacent to the opposite axial ends of the intermediate annular portion, a pair of radially expandable/contractible lateral annular portions; associating an annular anchoring structure with a radially outer annular surface portion of the loop defined at the intermediate annular portion; and turning up each of opposite end edges of the loop on the annular anchoring structure through the lateral annular portions as a result of a thrusting stress imparted by a respective lateral annular portion of the pair of lateral annular portions because of a synchronous radial movement and a synchronous axial displacement of a respective plurality of circumferentially adjacent first angular sectors.

The method includes procuring an annular core 3 of main axis Z3. The core is closed on itself by a core join 6 which occupies, in azimuth about said main axis Z3, a first angular sector S6. Then, a braiding is performed by helically winding, about the core 3, a braid wire 4 that is held closed by a braid join 8, of sleeve 9 type, which occupies a second angular sector S8. A method during which a registration element 16, with respect to which the position of the first angular sector S6 is known, is sought and detected on the core 3, and the azimuthal orientation of the core 3 is adapted during the braiding, with reference to said registration element 16, so that the second angular sector S8 occupied by the braid join 8 does not overlap the first angular sector S6 occupied by the core join 6.

A bead forming system for forming a tire bead may include the following: a housing, a first bead former configured to facilitate the formation of the tire bead, and a base secured to the first bead former, where the first bead former includes a bead-receiving surface that is rotatable relative to the base. The base may be adjustable such that the first bead former is movable from a first position to a second position. The first position may be on a first side of the housing, and the second position may be on a second side of the housing. A second bead former may be located in the second position when the first bead former is located in the first position, where the second bead former is located in the first position when the first bead former is located in the second position.

A winding device is provided that includes a base plate that is rotated by a rotary shaft and segments. With rotation of the base plate, a wire is wound on the outer circumference of the segments, which rotate integrally with the base plate, to form a bead ring. The winding device includes an manipulation shaft that is rotated by a handle, and conversion mechanisms that are provided between the manipulation shaft and each of the segments The conversion mechanisms transmit and convert rotation of the manipulation shaft to movement of each segment in the radial direction of the base plate.

An annular bead core forming former is for manufacturing a bead core including a wire array in which a bead wire is helically wound in a width direction of the bead core. The bead core forming former comprises a main body portion having an outer circumferential surface with a circumferential groove extending in a circumferential direction for winding the bead wire and at least one width adjusting portion which moves relatively to the main body portion to changes a width of the circumferential groove.

A tire 22 includes a pair of bead portions 66 to be fitted to a rim R. Each bead portion 66 includes a bead 30 having a core 52 and an apex 54. An outer surface 68 of the bead portion 66 includes a seat face 70 and a flange face 72 disposed radially inward and axially outward, respectively, of the bead 30, a heel face 74 disposed between the seat face 70 and the flange face 72, and a plurality of vent lines 78 projecting from the heel face 74 and extending in the circumferential direction. A contour of the heel face 74 is represented by an arc on a cross-section, of the tire 22, taken along a plane including a rotation axis of the tire 22, and a radius Rh of the arc is not less than 8 mm and not greater than 15 mm.

Provided is a drum set for manufacturing a bead-apex for a tire and an assembly including the drum set, wherein the drum set has drum segments which form a drum, wherein the drum segments are radially movable, wherein the drum set is arranged to be movable between an operational position in which the drum set is supported on a base and a storage position in which the drum set is unsupported by the base. The drum set further includes a support member for supporting the drum segments of the drum set with respect to each other, wherein the support member is provided with guides for guiding the radial movements of the drum segments when the drum set is in the operational position, while the guides are arranged for retaining the drum segments of the drum set to the support member when the drum set is in the storage position.

The present invention forms bead apex rubber with good precision on the outer circumferential surface of the bead core. A molding process, in which unvulcanized rubber is made to flow into a bead apex molding chamber that is surrounded by surfaces that include the outer circumferential surface of a circular bead core and the bead apex rubber is formed directly on the outer circumferential surface of the bead core that is rotating around the core axis, is provided. The molding process comprises: a tip forming step that forms the leading end of the bead apex rubber; a middle section forming step that sequentially forms the bead apex rubber to be continuous with the leading end; and a joining step to join the back end and the leading end of the bead apex rubber by inflowing the unvulcanized rubber therebetween.