A toroidal forming drum and a process for budding tyres. The toroidal forming drum is expanded within a shaped carcass sleeve for supporting the carcass sleeve against an abutment surface externally provided by the forming drum. An elementary semi-finished product is applied around the shaped carcass sleeve by pressing the elementary semi-finished product toward the abutment surface. The abutment surface has circumferential rows of solid portions alternated with hollow portions. The solid portions, arranged along axially opposite circumferential edges of the abutment surface, have a transverse size between 10% and 60% of a transverse size presented by the solid portions arranged in proximity to an axial centreline plane of the abutment surface.

Methods for controlling curing apparatuses for tyre production, wherein the curing apparatuses are adapted to work on green tyres to obtain corresponding finished tyres by acquiring, through a processing unit, initial parameters describing at least one of the shape and dimensions of the finished tyres. The processing unit computes first parameters describing the green tyres, the first parameters having at least one parameter representative of an axial height of the green tyres; second parameters describing the curing apparatuses, the second parameters having one or more parameters representative of dimensions of the curing apparatuses; and third parameters as a function of the first parameters and the second parameters, the third parameters having one or more parameters representative of positions taken by movable members included in the curing apparatuses. The processing unit generates signals for controlling the movable members of the curing apparatuses.

Methods for controlling curing apparatuses for tyre production, wherein the curing apparatuses are adapted to work on green tyres to obtain corresponding finished tyres, by acquiring, through a processing unit, initial parameters describing at least one of the shape and dimensions of the finished tyres; computing, through the processing unit, as a function of the initial parameters, first parameters describing the green tyres, the first parameters having at least one parameter representative of an axial height of the green tyres; acquiring, through the processing unit, second parameters describing the curing apparatuses, said second parameters having one or more parameters representative of dimensions of the curing apparatuses; computing, through the processing unit, third parameters as a function of the first parameters and the second parameters, the third parameters having one or more parameters representative of positions taken by movable members included in the curing apparatuses; generating, through the processing unit, as a function of the third parameters, control signals for controlling the movable members of said curing apparatuses and for obtaining said finished tyres starting from the green tyres; sending the control signals from the processing unit to the curing apparatuses. Also disclosed are a curing line operating in accordance with the methods, a processing unit programmed for implementing the methods, and an electronic unit included in the processing unit.

In an assembly station, a carcass sleeve and an outer sleeve manufactured along respective building lines are mutually coupled. Integrated into the assembly station are engagement devices that can be alternatively-coupled to an auxiliary drum carrying an outer sleeve and to a building drum carrying a carcass sleeve. The building drum is engaged on the assembly station before removal of the auxiliary drum. A grip unit picks up the outer sleeve from the auxiliary drum associated with the engagement devices in order to position it around the carcass sleeve carried by the building drum.

A plant and a process for producing tires wherein the process includes the steps of: a) building a green tire on a toroidal support in a building line of a tire production plant; b) transferring the green tire and the relevant toroidal support from the building line of the production plant to a first holding unit; c) transferring the green tire and the relevant toroidal support from the first holding unit to a vulcanization line of the production plant; d) molding and vulcanization the green tire in the vulcanization line of the production plant; e) separating the molded and vulcanized tire from the relevant toroidal support; f) transferring the toroidal support, separated from the relevant tire, from the vulcanization line to the first holding unit; and g) transferring the toroidal support, separated from the relevant tire, from the first holding unit to the building line of the production plant, wherein steps b) and g) are carried out through a first transfer device and steps c) and f) are carried out through a second transfer device different from the first transfer device.

A plant for building tires for vehicle wheels, includes at least one forming drum having a supporting shaft axially projecting from opposite sides relative to a central body. A handling device is adapted to engage the forming drum and transfer it between at least one loading/unloading location and a work location provided for carrying out at least one process working on the forming drum. The handling device includes a grip assembly carrying at least two grip members each engaging the supporting shaft in the vicinity of each of the end portions thereof, and at least one motor associated with at least one of said grip members for driving the forming drum in rotation while the at least one process working is being carried out in the work location.

An intermediate article of manufacture formed as a first stage bead area subassembly for a split ply pneumatic tire carcass is disclosed. The bead area subassembly has an annular bead core; a bead apex; a ply strip; and preferably a sidewall affixed to the ply strip. The subassembly is formed into a disk-shaped bead area monocomponent. The ply strip is wrapped about the bead core and the apex to form a ply turnup and both the ply strip and the ply turnup extend radially outwardly from the bead core. The bead area subassembly when formed into the disk-shaped bead area monocomponent is placed on an annular holder device.

In an assembly station a carcass sleeve and an outer sleeve manufactured along respective building ones are mutually coupled. Integrated into the assembly station are engagement devices that can be alternatively coupled to an auxiliary drum carrying an outer sleeve and to a building drum carrying a carcass sleeve. A grip unit picks up the outer sleeve from the auxiliary drum associated with the engagement devices in order to position it to a location radially external to the carcass sleeve carried by the building drum associated with the engagement devices in place of the auxiliary drum. Shaping devices that can be operatively coupled to the building drum cause radial expansion of the carcass sleeve so as to enable the latter to be coupled to the outer sleeve retained by the grip unit.

A method of manufacturing a tire product comprising: a step of preparing a core-assembly 4 of a rigid core 2 and a rubber member 3 formed on the rigid core 2, wherein the rigid core 2 is attached to a spindle device 7, and the rubber member 3 is to be vulcanization-molded, and constitutes all or a portion of a green tire, a step of conveying the core-assembly 4 from the spindle device 7 into a mold 50, and a step of vulcanization-molding the rubber member 3 on the rigid core 2 in the mold 50. The conveying of the core-assembly includes obtaining the weight of the rubber member 3 included in the core-assembly 4.

A toroidal forming drum and a process for budding tyres. The toroidal forming drum is expanded within a shaped carcass sleeve for supporting the carcass sleeve against an abutment surface externally provided by the forming drum. An elementary semi--finished product is applied around the shaped carcass sleeve by pressing the elementary semi-finished product toward the abutment surface. The abutment surface has circumferential rows of solid portions alternated with hollow portions. The solid portions, arranged along axially opposite circumferential edges of the abutment surface, have a transverse size between 10% and 60% of a transverse size presented by the solid portions arranged in proximity to an axial centreline plane of the abutment surface.