Radial tire belt folding drum

A rotatable belt folding drum comprising a rotatable, cylindrical main shaft;

• a pair of central hubs slidably mounted on said main shaft at opposite sides of a centerplane of said drum;
• a plurality of circumferentially spaced drum segments disposed in a generally cylindrical configuration around said central hubs;
• each of said drum segments having a pair of radially extending slider bars slidably mounted on said pair of central hubs for radial movement of each of said drum segments relative to said central hubs;
• each of said drum segments having a pair of bladder support brackets slidably mounted on a radially outer surface of each of said segments and adjustably connected to said slider bars for axial adjustment of said bladder support brackets at each end of each of said segments;
• a pair of annular inflatable turnup bladders positioned around said drum segments and each of said bladders having a cavity in communication with a source of fluid pressure;
• each of said central hubs being connected to a corresponding central inner hub positioned inside said main shaft;
• a central hub assembly spacing screw extending through said main shaft and in threaded engagement with said central inner hubs, said screw having threads of opposite hand at positions on opposite sides of said centerplane for moving said central inner hubs in opposite directions upon rotation of said spacing screw to lengthen or shorten the distance between said bladder support brackets;
• a central filler block mounted on each of said drum segments between said bladder support brackets;
• a generally cylindrical, stretchable sleeve of resilient material having a cylindrical radially inner surface for mounting on a surface of said central filler block of each of said segments, said sleeve having a contoured radially outer surface for shaping the belt applied to said outer surface;
• a pair of drum expanding outer hubs slidably mounted on said main shaft at positions spaced axially from said central hubs and at opposite sides of said central hubs from said centerplane;
• a pair of links connecting each of said drum expanding outer hubs with an opposite end of each of said segments;
• a pair of drum expanding inner hubs positioned inside said main shaft and connected to said drum expanding outer hubs;
• a drum diameter control screw extending through said main shaft and in threaded engagement with said drum expanding inner hubs and said screw having threads of opposite hand at positions on opposite sides of said centerplane for expanding and contracting said segments upon rotation of said screw in predetermined directions;
• and
• means to rotate said drum diameter control screw to stretch said sleeve after application of at least one belt to stress said belt in tension.

A rotatable belt folding drum comprising a rotatable, cylindrical main shaft;

• a pair of central hubs slidably mounted on said main shaft at opposite sides of a centerplane of said drum;
• a plurality of circumferentially spaced drum segments disposed in a generally cylindrical configuration around said central hubs;
• each of said drum segments having a pair of radially extending slider bars slidably mounted on said pair of central hubs for radial movement of each of said drum segments relative to said central hubs;
• each of said drum segments having a pair of bladder support brackets slidably mounted on a radially outer surface of each of said segments and means for adjustably connecting said bladder support brackets to said slider bars for axial adjustment of said bladder support brackets at each end of each of said segments;
• a pair of annular inflatable turnup bladders positioned around said drum segments and each of said bladders having a cavity in communication with a source of fluid pressure;
• each of said central hubs being connected to a corresponding central inner hub positioned inside said main shaft;
• a central hub assembly spacing screw extending through said main shaft and in threaded engagement with said central inner hubs, said screw having threads of opposite hand at positions on opposite sides of said centerplane for moving said central inner hubs in opposite directions upon rotation of said spacing screw to lengthen or shorten the distance between said bladder support brackets;
• said means for adjustably connecting said bladder support brackets and said slider bars being operable independently of the operation of said central hub assembly spacing screw for individual adjustment of each of said bladder support brackets to align the fold lines of said bladders;
• a pair of drum expanding outer hubs slidably mounted on said main shaft at positions spaced axially from said central hubs and at opposite sides of said central hubs from said centerplane;
• a pair of links connecting each of said drum expanding outer hubs with an end of each of said segments;
• a pair of drum expanding inner hubs positioned inside said main shaft and connected to said drum expanding outer hubs;
• and
• a drum diameter control screw extending through said main shaft and in threaded engagement with said drum expanding inner hubs, said screw having threads of opposite hand at positions on opposite sides of said centerplane for expanding and contracting said segments upon rotation of said screw in predetermined directions.