Abstract: Method for transferring and placing beads for tires, providing: a bead storage unit in which a number of beads are vertically stacked placing spacers in between them, a collection unit for empty spacers, placed in the vicinity of the bead storage unit, a tire building machine for receiving the beads thereon, a bead retaining means for picking up and retaining a bead, wherein the bead retaining means is provided with engagement jaws that are arranged at equal angular distance in a circumferential direction on the bead retaining means, wherein the engagement jaws are driven or withdrawn in radial direction, a spacer retaining means for picking up and retaining a spacer, and arranging the bead retaining means and the spacer retaining means on a common transfer means.

Abstract: The present inventions includes methods and apparatus for preparing a portion of a tire for repair, the methods having steps that include forming an edge along an opening within the tire, the edge extending between an interior and an exterior surface of the tire and including one or more tire reinforcement endings, the edge being formed to include an alternating arrangement of tire reinforcement endings. Particular embodiments of the present invention includes methods of preparing a portion of a tire for repair, the method having steps that include forming an edge within an opening of a tire, said edge extending between an interior and exterior tire surface and including one or more reinforcement endings of the tire; and, applying a wrap about the edge to substantially cover the one or more tire reinforcement endings.

Abstract: Tire building drum having a drum shaft and two drum halves arranged around the drum shaft. In the drum shaft one threaded spindle is arranged. On either side of the center of the tire building drum a driving nut is arranged on the spindle. Each driving nut is fixedly connected to the drum half in question via a connection part. Each drum half has a folding arm unit that is connected to the drum half in question so as to swing. The folding arm unit is movable in axial direction of the tire building drum. Each drum half further has a bead ring core clamping unit intended for supporting and clamping a bead ring core. The bead ring core clamping unit is arranged on a cylindrical part. The cylindrical part is provided with a cylinder slot for accommodating the connection part and with a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism can be brought into engagement with the drum shaft.

Abstract: A tire manufacturing apparatus capable of precisely mounting an annular tread on a base tire with the width center of the base tire aligned accurately with the width center of the annular tread without causing the tread to wave or the tread edges to turn up or deform. The tire manufacturing apparatus includes a drum to which a base tire is secured, a plurality of holding means extending in the width direction of the annular tread for holding the inner periphery of the annular tread, and a detecting means for detecting the amount of displacement of the annular tread relative to a predetermined position of each of the holding means. The holding means are each provided with a conveying means for moving the position of the annular tread held by the holding means. Each of the conveying means positions the annular tread at the predetermined position of each of the holding means based on the amount of displacement detected by the detecting means.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a plastic fuel tank including a built-in neck, by molding a parison in a mold. The neck is molded by locally deforming the parison using a concave counter-form and a convex form configured to enter the counter-form, these two parts being secured one of them to the mold and the other to a core located inside the mold, or vice versa.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for manufacturing tires for vehicle wheels, includes building, on a toroidal support, a carcass structure including at least one carcass ply associated, at axially opposite end edges thereof, with annular anchoring structures, the building step of the carcass structure includes forming at least one reinforcing structure, operatively associated with the annular anchoring structures through deposition on the toroidal support of at least one reinforcing element along a predetermined curvilinear deposition path. The deposition of the at least one reinforcing element includes the steps of: cutting to size a piece of at least one reinforcing continuous band-like element fed by a feeding device along a predetermined feeding direction, deforming the piece obtained according to the curvature of a deposition part of the deposition path intended to receive the piece, and depositing the deformed piece at the deposition part.

Abstract: A roller assembly for use during tire construction includes a telescoping tube arrangement and a roller positioned thereabout. The telescoping tube arrangement has an inner tube section and an outer tube section and which can be adjusted in length to accommodate the width of the tire component under construction. The roller includes a cylindrical surface of a desired hardness which is positionable into engagement with the outer surface of the tire component under construction and which includes a plurality of roller sections which are positionable about the telescoping tube arrangement and in a side-by-side relationship with one another. In addition, each roller section defines a peripheral surface so that when the roller sections are positioned in a side-by-side relationship along the tube arrangement, the peripheral surfaces of the roller sections collectively provide the cylindrical surface of the roller.

Abstract: The element (12) for shaping a circumferential portion of a raw tire blank substantially exhibiting symmetry of revolution about a main axis (X) comprises a bearing surface (16) for bearing radially against a circumferential portion of a radially internal surface of the blank. The element (16) is designed in such a way that the radial profile of the bearing surface (16) is modifiable.

Abstract: A system and method for removing an outer layer of resilient material from an object to achieve a target outer dimension includes performing an initial cut at a cutting depth to remove an outer layer of the material. A parameter indicative of a work input to a cutter that performed the cut is acquired and used to determine the cutting depth that will be used for performing a subsequent cut to remove an additional layer. In this way, subsequent cuts are performed until the target outer dimension is achieved.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a plastic fuel tank including: a) inserting a plastic parison including two distinct parts into an open two-cavity mold; b) inserting a core, bearing at least part of a reinforcing element configured to create a link between the two parison parts, inside the parison; c) pressing the parison firmly against the mold cavities, for example by blowing through the core and/or creating suction behind the cavities; d) fixing the part of the reinforcing element to at least one of the parison parts using the core; e) withdrawing the core; f) closing the mold, bringing its two cavities together to grip the two parison parts around their periphery to weld them together; g) injecting a pressurized fluid into the mold and/or creating a vacuum behind the mold cavities to press the parison firmly against the mold cavities; and h) opening the mold and extracting the tank.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a pneumatic tire having a built-in sealant layer, before cure, includes an unvulcanized pneumatic tire assembly having an outer circumferential rubber tread and a supporting carcass. A precursor sealant layer is situated between the supporting carcass and an innermost rubber inner liner. The precursor sealant layer includes a non-flowing polyurethane composition that is neither gel-like nor tacky and is self-supporting. The precursor sealant layer, during curing of the unvulcanized pneumatic tire assembly, thermally degrades so as to provide a gel-like and tacky, self-healing polyurethane composition which defines the built-in sealant layer. The resulting tire, with its innermost polyurethane composition, allows for elimination or reduction in blister formation by reducing or elimination the amount of gases typically given off by organoperoxide-butyl based sealant layers, such as when the tire is at its running temperature. Consequently, the thickness of the inner liner may be reduced.

Abstract: A method and system for retreading a tire, whereby: the worn tread is removed from the tire to expose a lateral surface of a casing; the lateral surface of the casing is skived, thus resulting in the formation of holes and/or craters; a three-dimensional profile of the lateral surface is acquired by a three-dimensional scanner; the locations of the holes and/or craters in the lateral surface are determined by analyzing the three-dimensional profile; cement is only applied at the holes and/or craters in the lateral surface, by supplying the locations of the holes and/or craters to an automatic, electronically controlled applicator; the holes and/or craters are filled with green rubber; a green-rubber cushion and a tread strip are wound about the lateral surface of the casing; and the tire is cured.

Abstract: Method for stake-fastening an accessory (4) into a plastic fuel tank, whereby:—the accessory (4) is equipped with at least one orifice (5) which passes right through the accessory (4); —at least some of the plastic of which the wall of the tank (1) is made is melted; and—some of the molten plastic is forced through the orifice (5) of the accessory without becoming detached from the remainder of the molten plastic; —the protruding molten plastic is given an appropriate shape (8) to obtain a self-formed plastic rivet, and is left to solidify; the size and shape of the orifice (5) and/or of the solidified plastic (8) being such that the accessory (4) is mechanically fastened to the tank by at least some of the solidified plastic (8), the stake-fastening of the accessory (4) occurring at the time of manufacture of the tank (1) through the moulding of a split or at least two-part parison.

Abstract: A method of producing a honeycomb structure includes a step of forming a ceramic block by bonding a plurality of honeycomb units that have a plurality of cells partitioned by cell walls using a bonding layer, or steps of forming a ceramic block of a single honeycomb unit and providing a coating layer on an outer peripheral portion of the ceramic block. The bonding layer or coating layer is provided as a paste of a bonding material or a coating material including particles of a foaming material having a diameter in a range of approximately 1 ?m to approximately 50 ?m. The method further includes a step of blowing up the foaming material, and a step of evaporating the foaming material and forming bubble marks having a diameter in a range of approximately 100 ?m to approximately 300 ?m.

Abstract: A system and method for removing an outer layer of resilient material from an object to achieve a target outer dimension includes performing an initial cut at a cutting depth to remove an outer layer of the material. A parameter indicative of a work input to a cutter that performed the cut is acquired and used to determine the cutting depth that will be used for performing a subsequent cut to remove an additional layer. In this way, subsequent cuts are performed until the target outer dimension is achieved.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods of forming a tire. A drum has an expansion device that is configured to turn-up the lateral ends of the tire carcass about respective bead-and-apex assemblies while generally maintaining a constant orientation of the bead-and-apex assemblies. Further, the expansion device turns-up the lateral ends of the tire carcass while at the same time radially expanding the tire carcass. The methods entail turning-up the lateral ends of the tire carcass around the bead-and-apex assemblies and also moving a portion of the tire carcass lying between the bead-and-apex assemblies in a radially-outward direction relative to an axis of rotation of the drum.

Abstract: A tooling head for construction of a tire cord to an annular surface is provided having a first roller and a second roller for alternative engagement against the annular surface in a forward and a rearward direction, respectively, the first and second rollers having a spaced apart orientation and annular grooves defining a passageway between the rollers. A guide tube extends between the roller annular grooves within the passageway. A cord exiting guide tube end is axially offset to remote extremities of the first and second roller annular grooves and a first and second axially extending slits are formed within the guide tube opposite the roller annular grooves, respectively.

Abstract: Building a carcass structure in the manufacturing of a tire for vehicle wheels includes associating, at each end edge of a carcass ply laying on a forming support, at least one respective annular reinforcing structure obtained by depositing at least one respective reinforcing element. The deposition of the at least one respective reinforcing element includes feeding a continuous reinforced band-like element at a cutting unit, cutting to size at least one first reinforcing element from the continuous reinforced band-like element, moving the first reinforcing element from the cutting unit toward a first end edge of the carcass ply, positioning the first reinforcing element on the first end edge, cutting to size at least one second reinforcing element from the continuous reinforced band-like element, moving the second reinforcing element from the cutting unit toward a second end edge of the carcass ply opposite said first end edge, and positioning the second reinforcing element on the other end edge.

Abstract: A robust process for the continuous preparation of solutions of high molecular weight UHMW PO that is capable of producing strong materials at high production capacity, is conservative of capital and energy requirements, and the articles made therefrom.

Abstract: A method for fabricating a mold includes the steps of forming a photo-polymerizable resin layer between a master substrate and a transparent mold substrate, wherein a first pattern is formed on the master substrate; solidifying the resin layer by exposing the resin layer to a UV light through the transparent mold substrate; and forming a mold having a second pattern by separating the resin layer from the master substrate, wherein the second pattern is in a form of a recess on the resin layer at a portion corresponding to the first pattern and the resin layer being engaged with the mold substrate.