Unwinding system and method for unwinding a tire component from a stock reel and for outputting said tire component in a transport direction

A method for unwinding a tire component from a stock reel and for outputting said tire component in a transport direction, using an unwinding system, wherein the unwinding system comprises:

• a reel station configured for receiving the stock reel;
• an output conveyor for conveying the tire component in the transport direction;
• and
• a transfer device for transferring a leading end of the tire component from the reel station to said output conveyor,
• wherein the output conveyor extends at least partially above the reel station and comprises a support surface extending in a support plane parallel to the transport direction,
• wherein said support surface is arranged for receiving the tire component from the transfer device and for supporting said tire component at a first side of the support plane,
• wherein the transfer device comprises a retaining member which is movable along a guide path between a pick-up position at a second side of the support plane opposite to the first side of the support plane, for picking up the leading end of the tire component from the reel station, and a release position at the first side of the support plane for disposing the leading end of the tire component on the support surface of the output conveyor,
• wherein the retaining member comprises a retaining surface for releasably retaining the leading end of the tire component to said retaining member,
• wherein, in the release position, the retaining surface is facing towards the support plane at the first side of said support plane, and
• wherein the retaining surface is offset between the release position and the pick-up position over an offset angle of at least ninety degrees around an inverting axis that is parallel to the support plane and perpendicular to the transport direction,
• the method comprising the steps of:
• using the transfer device to pick-up the leading end of the tire component originating from the stock reel at the pick-up position at the reel station;
• retaining the leading end to the retaining surface while guiding said leading end along the guide path from the pick-up position to the release position;
• transferring said leading end onto the support surface of the output conveyor in the release position by releasing said leading end of the tire component from the retaining surface.