Interlaced bead lock segments for tire building drum
OwnerKenneth Conger, Steven Phippeninventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Method and apparatus for locking a pneumatic tire carcass ply between a bead pocket of an annular bead lock mechanism and a bead ring in a way that clamps all ply reinforcement cords between the bead pocket and the bead with a uniform clamping pressure. The bead lock mechanism is expandable from a retracted radius to a larger expanded radius by simultaneous radial movement of a plurality of bead lock segments each of which have circumferentially extending fingers that are axially staggered such that the fingers of circumferentially adjacent bead lock segments are interlaced when the bead lock mechanism is expanded to the expanded radius.
Claims11
A bead lock segment for a tire building drum, wherein a plurality of the bead lock segments are arranged circumferentially to form an annular bead lock mechanism that is expandable from a retracted radius to a larger expanded radius by simultaneous radial movement of the plurality of bead lock segments, for the purpose of locking a carcass ply between a radially outer bead pocket of the bead lock segment and a bead ring when the bead lock segments are at the expanded radius;
- the bead lock segment characterized by:
- a first finger that circumferentially extends the bead pocket counterclockwise from the bead lock segment;
- and
- a second finger that circumferentially extends the bead pocket clockwise from the bead lock segment;
- wherein:
- the first finger is axially staggered relative to the second finger.
A bead lock mechanism for a tire building drum, wherein a plurality of bead lock segments are arranged circumferentially to form the annular bead lock mechanism that is expandable from a retracted radius to a larger expanded radius by simultaneous radial movement of the plurality of bead lock segments, for the purpose of locking a carcass ply between a radially outer bead pocket of the bead lock segments and a bead ring when the bead lock mechanism is at the expanded radius;
- the bead lock mechanism characterized by:
- a first finger that circumferentially extends the bead pocket counterclockwise from each one of the bead lock segments;
- and
- a second finger that circumferentially extends the bead pocket clockwise from each one of the bead lock segments;
- wherein:
- the first finger is axially staggered relative to the second finger.
A method for locking a pneumatic tire carcass ply between an annular bead lock mechanism and a bead ring, wherein the bead lock mechanism is expandable from a retracted radius to a larger expanded radius by simultaneous radial movement of a plurality of bead lock segments that have a radially outer bead pocket;
- the method characterized by the steps of:
- providing a counterclockwise extending first finger and an axially adjacent finger recess on each one of the plurality of bead lock segments;
- providing a clockwise extending second finger and an axially adjacent finger recess on each one of the plurality of bead lock segments;
- dimensioning and positioning the first fingers, the second fingers, and the finger recesses such that when the bead lock mechanism is expanded to the expanded radius, the first finger of each bead lock segment is interlaced with the second finger of a circumferentially adjacent bead lock segment, thereby providing a circumferentially continuous bead pocket.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.