A method for manufacturing a motorcycle tire comprises: building a raw tire main body, building a breaker, sticking the breaker, and building a band. The building of the breaker comprises: moving two cylindrical support rings to operating positions, swelling the raw tire main body to have its crown portion protruding from the support rings through a gap therebetween, and winding a breaker ply material on the support rings to form a cylindrical breaker ply whose inner surface is adhered to the raw tire main body. The sticking of the breaker comprises: expanding a profiled deck to swell the raw tire main body into a second swollen state, and turning down both edge portions of the breaker while being supported by the profiled deck. The building of the band comprises: spirally winding a tape on the curved breaker ply while being supported by the profiled deck.

A method for manufacturing a motorcycle tire includes forming a cylindrical raw tire body including a carcass body including a carcass ply and bead cores on the carcass ply, and forming a cylindrical belt ply wound in a cylindrical shape. The forming of the belt ply includes filling the tire body to expand to first expanded phase, winding a sheet-type belt ply by extending the sheet-type belt ply on bell rings to form the cylindrical belt ply with inner surface bonded to the apex of the tire body, filling the tire body to expand the apex of the tire body along with the belt ply to second expanded phase, increasing diameter of an expandable profile deck to expand the apex of the tire body along with the belt ply to third expanded phase, and winding down edges of the belt ply to bond the belt ply to the tire body.

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.

The invention relates to a belt and tread drum (1, 401, 501, 601), an assembly of the belt and tread drum and a pressing device and to a method for manufacturing a belt and tread package (9), wherein the belt and tread drum comprises a first support member (2), wherein the first support member (2) comprises a tread support surface (20) which faces away from the drum axis (x) for supporting the tread layer (92) where said tread layer (92) is wider than the belt layer (91), wherein the first support member (2) is positionable in a raised position outside the circumferential surface (S) in the radial direction, wherein the belt and tread drum (1, 401, 501, 601) further comprises a first retaining element (4, 404) and a second retaining element for retaining the tread layer (92) at the first support member.

A support for assembling a green tire includes a baseplate with symmetry of revolution and members fixed to the baseplate. Each of the members includes: external elements mounted to be movable relative to one another; and a flexible strip attached to the elements of the member, such that the elements of the member are attached to one another via the flexible strip.

A transfer ring for use in the manufacture of tires comprises a radially expandable and collapsible segmented gripping surface defined by a plurality of shoes, each shoe having an inwardly-facing surface mounted for movement toward and away from a central axis of the cylindrical gripping surface. Each inwardly-facing surface has first and second side edges. Each side edge has a central portion configured to be substantially parallel to a central portion of the other side edge and forms a mid-portion therebetween. Each side edge has first and second tapered portions on opposite respective ends of the central portion. Each tapered portion extends toward a tapered portion of the other side edge. The tapered portions cooperate to form a end portions that decrease in width away from the mid-portion.

The invention relates to a belt and tread drum, an assembly of the belt and tread drum and a pressing device and to a method for manufacturing a belt and tread package, wherein the belt and tread drum comprises a first support member and a second support member, wherein each support member comprises a tread support surface which faces away from the drum axis for supporting the tread layer where said tread layer is wider than the belt layer, wherein each support member is positionable in a raised position outside the circumferential surface in the radial direction, wherein the belt and tread drum further comprises a first retaining element and a second retaining element for retaining the tread layer at the first support member and the second support member, respectively.

A tire building drum is disclosed. A thrust plate is mounted at a tapered end of a central shaft. An actuator is slidable along the shaft between first and second positions. Arcuate segments are arranged in a circumferential relationship about the shaft to define a working surface. First guide rails are slidably secured to the thrust plate, with a first end of each first rail mounted near a first end of one of the segments and a second end extending radially inwardly along the thrust plate. Second guide rails are slidably secured to the actuator, with a first end of each second rail mounted near a second end of one of the segments and a second end extending radially and axially inwardly along the actuator. Each of the guide rail second ends extends radially inward toward the inwardly tapered shaft portion when the actuator is in the first position.

A pair of annular inserts of elastomeric material is circumferentially applied by spiraling around a laying surface of an auxiliary drum. Then a plurality of strip-like elements disposed in parallel side by side relationship with each other in the circumferential extension of the laying surface is applied onto the auxiliary drum, so as to form at least one first belt layer. Respectively opposite end portions of each strip-like element are radially superposed, each against one of the annular inserts, so that each of the annular inserts projects from a respective end edge of the strip-like element. The cap structure formed on the auxiliary drum is coupled to a carcass structure through toroidal conformation of the latter, in such a manner that the radially external ends of sidewall portions previously manufactured on the carcass plies are associated with the axially external ends of the annular inserts.

During building of tyres, at least one first forming drum is employed which has a deposition surface and includes sectors radially movable relative to a geometric rotation axis, and circumferentially distributed one after the other. A plurality of strip-like elements is deposited in circumferential side by side relationship on the deposition surface set in the first deposition configuration, to form at least one component of at least one first crown structure. Setting of the deposition surface includes the actions of radially moving the sectors to give the deposition surface a predetermined diameter and carry out a relative movement between a central portion and axially external end portions of each sector to shape the deposition surface according to a predetermined curvature outline.