Abstract: The invention is directed to a center deck assembly for a tire building drum. The tire building drum is rotatably mounted on a central drive shaft and includes a center section. The center deck assembly is disposed in the center section of the drum and includes a hub that seats on and is secured to the central drive shaft. At least one piston extends circumferentially in the tire building drum about the hub and a plurality of segment bars are disposed about the circumference of the center deck assembly. The at least one piston is operably connected to the segment bars by a plurality of linkages, in which each of the linkages includes a scissor-lever mechanism.

Abstract: A method of building a tire on a second stage tire building drum is disclosed. The method employs the steps of mounting a green cylindrically shaped tire carcass onto a tire building drum so that each bead are seated in a respective bead pocket segment, inflating the carcass under low pressure and expanding the carcass into engagement with tread and belt assembly while allowing the one or more of the hubs or one or more of the bead pocket segments to freely slide in the axial direction.

Abstract: A second stage tire building drum is disclosed. The tire building drum has two hubs with an inner sleeve mounted to a central shaft of the tire building drum and configured for axial movement. At least one of the hubs is configured for free axial movement. Preferably, each hub further include a sliding sleeve mounted on the inner sleeve for unconstrained sliding in the axial direction relative to the inner sleeve. Preferably, each hub has a bead receiving mechanism mounted on the sliding sleeve and comprised of one or more segments that are radially expandable. Preferably, each segment has a pocket with a curved surface for receiving a bead.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a center deck assembly for a tire building drum. The tire building drum is rotatably mounted on a central drive shaft and includes a center section. The center deck assembly is disposed in the center section of the drum and includes a hub that seats on and is secured to the central drive shaft. At least one piston extends circumferentially in the tire building drum about the hub and a plurality of segment bars are disposed about the circumference of the center deck assembly. The at least one piston is operably connected to the segment bars by a plurality of linkages, in which each of the linkages includes a scissor-lever mechanism.