A process and an apparatus for building tyres and a tyre for vehicle wheels are described. A substantially cylindrical carcass sleeve, having at least one carcass ply, is formed by laying consecutively adjacent strip-like elements one after the other around the circumferential extension of a substantially cylindrical deposition surface. Circumferentially consecutive strip-like elements are laid one after the other to form overlap zones along respective longitudinal edges superimposed on each other. Each overlap zone has, along a longitudinal extension thereof, terminal sections that are laterally opposite with respect to an intermediate section. The intermediate section of each overlap zone has greater width than the width of the terminal sections.

In a process for building tyres for vehicle wheels, a carcass sleeve is arranged on a shaping drum including two half-drums and two supports. Each support is operatively associated with one of the half-drums and carries a plurality of turning-up levers having free ends positioned close to the respective half-drum. Two annular anchoring structures are disposed around the carcass sleeve and each of the two supports is locked to the respective half-drum by interposing only stiff mechanical elements in mutual contact between the support and the half-drum. The carcass sleeve is shaped in a toroidal conformation, by setting a threaded shaft in rotation and moving the half-drums close to each other. Subsequently, each of the two supports is unlocked from the respective half-drum and the threaded shaft is set in rotation to move each support close to the respective half-drum and lift up the free ends of the turning-up levers until the end flaps of the carcass sleeve are turned up around the annular anchoring structures.

A method for managing a carcass structure building line, a plant and a process for building tyre carcass structures, wherein the plant includes a carcass structure building line provided with a plurality of stations including an unloading station and n building stations. A group of forming drums being processed includes m forming drums being processed defining a first size of carcass structure being processed. Three groups of entering forming drums include respective entering forming drums, defining a second size of carcass structure being processed. A pair of support elements being processed includes a first and a second support element being processed and three pairs of entering support elements respectively include a first and a second entering support element. The invention also relates to a method for managing a carcass structure building line.

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.

A method for managing a carcass structure building line, a plant and a process for building tyre carcass structures, wherein the plant includes a carcass structure building line provided with a plurality of stations including an unloading station and n building stations. A group of forming drums being processed includes m forming drums being processed defining a first size of carcass structure being processed. Three groups of entering forming drums include respective entering forming drums, defining a second size of carcass structure being processed. A pair of support elements being processed includes a first and a second support element being processed and three pairs of entering support elements respectively include a first and a second entering support element. The invention also relates to a method for managing a carcass structure building line.

In building tyres, an intermediate portion of a carcass structure is built at a time on a respective forming drum within an intermediate forming line. The forming drum with the intermediate portion of the carcass structure is made available at a first transfer location. The intermediate portion of the carcass structure is completed through n completion locations with n1 and then transferred for the subsequent assembling with a crown structure to a second transfer location. At an operating moment in which the first transfer location is occupied by a forming drum coming from the intermediate forming line or intended for the intermediate forming line, from one to n locations selected from the n completion locations and the second transfer location are occupied by respective forming drums.

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.

In building tyres, an intermediate portion of a carcass structure is built at a time on a respective forming drum within an intermediate forming line. The forming drum with the intermediate portion of the carcass structure is made available at a first transfer location. The intermediate portion of the carcass structure is completed through n completion locations with n1 and then transferred for the subsequent assembling with a crown structure to a second transfer location. At an operating moment in which the first transfer location is occupied by a forming drum coming from the intermediate forming line or intended for the intermediate forming line, from one to n locations selected from the n completion locations and the second transfer location are occupied by respective forming drums.

An apparatus builds an uncured tire. The apparatus includes a cylindrical tire building drum for receiving a ply structure, an applicator for applying a first wedge strip and a second wedge strip to each of two shoulder portions of the ply structure, an extruder for dispensing a strip of material, and a cutting device for splitting the strip of material into the first wedge strip and the second wedge strip.

A tire manufacturing device includes: a molding drum; a first moving portion in which the molding drum moves in order to mold an inner liner layer on the molding drum; a second moving portion in which the molding drum moves in order to mold a ply layer on the inner liner layer; a stitcher position where a carcass band is formed by performing pressing from above the ply layer laminated on the inner liner layer; and a transfer position where the carcass band is transferred from the molding drum to a transport device that transports the carcass band to a subsequent process, and the stitcher position and the transfer position are adjacent to each other.