Apparatus for vulcanizing pneumatic vehicle tires

In an apparatus for vulcanizing a pneumatic vehicle tire, the tire beads of which, in a mounted state, are disposed on the radially inner periphery of a wheel rim, and including, for vulcanizing a raw tire blank, with the tire beads being displaced laterally outwardly, a heating press that is provided with tire tread and sidewall mold parts for the outer areas of said tire blanks, two axially displaceable contour rings to form the inner regions of said tire beads, and a heating bellows, the improvement in combination therewith wherein:

• said contour rings include an upper contour ring and a lower contour ring which can be moved into a loading position above a vulcanization position, in which said upper and lower contour rings are positioned adjacent to one another, to provide adequate space for mounting of a green tire relative thereto, said lower contour ring having an annular disk-like configuration;
• upper heating bellows clamping means and lower heating bellows clamping means, said upper heating bellows clamping means comprising a retaining plate secured to an upper end of an axially movable piston rod, and with said upper contour ring being connected to said retaining plate;
• an axially displaceable bellows head to which said lower heating bellows clamping means is connected, with said upper heating bellows clamping means being positioned above, said lower heating bellows clamping means at all times during operation to prevent folding and inversion of said heating bellows;
• and
• axially displaceable support means located radially outwardly of said upper and lower heating bellows clamping means to which said lower contour ring is secured, with said support means and said bellows head and said piston rod being arranged at a bottom portion of said mold parts and being displaceable relative to one another;
• with said piston rod as well as said support means, and said bellows head being operatively connected with one another so that said upper contour ring and said lower contour ring automatically are moved along with said bellows head with said piston rod being further movable independently from said bellows head from said loading position to an upper position for stretching said heating bellows and to said loading position which is below said upper position;
• and with said support means being further movable independently from said bellows head from said loading position to said upper position and from said upper position to said loading position by said upper contour ring.