Apparatus for joining carcass ply

An apparatus for joining a carcass ply, which butt-joins a wind start end and a wind finish end of a carcass ply wound around a cylindrical drum, comprising:

• a pair of joining sections for joining the ends of the carcass ply;
• and
• aligning sections for aligning the ends of the carcass ply during joining by the joining section, wherein
• the joining sections and the aligning sections are disposed such that the ends of the carcass ply can be joined together below the cylindrical drum,
• the pair of joining sections are installed at a right position and a left position so as to be slidable along a travel line in an axial direction of the drum,
• each of the joining sections comprises an upper cone-shaped joining roller and a lower cone-shaped joining roller as a pair, upper and lower vertical drive sections for driving the joining rollers in a vertical direction, and a connecting member for connecting the vertical drive sections,
• each of the aligning sections comprises a multiplicity of aligning rollers, and a multiplicity of roller drive sections for supporting the aligning rollers rotatably and driving the aligning rollers in a direction orthogonal to the travel line of the joining sections from a central side of the carcass ply toward a joining end of the carcass ply while pressing the carcass ply against the cylindrical drum by the aligning rollers, and
• the aligning sections with the aligning rollers and the roller drive sections are installed on both sides of a joining line of the carcass ply and along the joining line.