This manufacturing method of a pneumatic tire having a tread reinforcing layer reduces tire mass while maintaining the durability performance of the tire. A tread reinforcing layer formation step includes a winding step for winding belt-shape plies around an approximately cylindrical winding surface. The winding step involves: a first winding step in which, with the side edges of the belt-shape plies spaced from one another, said belt-shape plies are spirally wound from a first end located on one side of the tire in the axial direction, to a second end located on the other side of the tire in the axial direction; and a second winding step in which, with the side edges of the belt-shape plies spaced from one another, said belt-shape plies are spirally wound from the second end to the first end in the direction opposite that in the first winding step. A lattice-form tread reinforcing layer is formed that has gaps substantially rhombic in shape and bounded by the belt-shape plies.

In a method of manufacturing a pneumatic tire, a placement unit is moved relative to a forming drum in a drum circumferential direction to repeatedly perform a one-side step of delivering a reinforcing wire in a folded back state in a length from a central portion toward one side in the width direction of the forming drum and compression bonding the reinforcing wire to an innerliner of an outer surface of the forming drum, and after delivering the reinforcing wire in the length toward the one side in the width direction as described above, perform an other-side step of delivering the reinforcing wire in a folded back state in a length from the central portion toward an other side in the width direction of the forming drum and compression bonding the reinforcing wire to an outer surface of the innerliner.

A strip rubber adhering method includes: extruding strip rubber of a shape having an apex portion in cross section from an extruder and moving the same forward toward a drum; pressing a surface of the strip rubber on the apex portion side by a pressure bonding roller, adhering the strip rubber to the drum, moving relatively the drum and the extruder with respect to each other in an axial direction of the drum, and winding the strip rubber around the drum in a spiral manner; and exposing the surface of the strip rubber on the apex portion side to wind from a blowing apparatus in the vicinity of a position of adhesion of the strip rubber to the drum and cooling the surface of the strip rubber on the apex portion side.

A strip rubber adhering apparatus includes a rotating drum; an extruder configured to extrude strip rubber of a shape having an apex portion in cross section toward the drum; a pressure bonding roller configured to press a surface of the strip rubber on the apex portion side in the direction of the drum, and adhere the surface of the strip rubber on a side opposite to the apex portion side to the drum; and a blowing apparatus configured to supply wind toward the surface of the strip rubber on the apex portion side in the vicinity of a position of adhesion of the strip rubber with respect to the drum, wherein the drum and the extruder are relatively movable in the direction of axis of the drum with respect to each other.

The method includes laying a set of carcass reinforcers on a core. The carcass reinforcers each follow a laying trajectory which is contained in a laying plane that is parallel to the central axis of the core and at a distance from the central core. As such, each carcass reinforcer follows, in the crown zone of the core, a radial plane containing the central axis. The carcass reinforcers therefore extend parallel to the central axis in the crown of the tire, while, in orthogonal projection in a reference plane normal to the central axis, this same carcass reinforcer forms, in the lateral zones of the core and therefore in the sidewalls of the tire, a non-zero inclination angle with respect to the radial plane containing the central axis.