Pneumatic tire building drum

Claim 1

IN APPARATUS FOR MAKING CORD REINFORCED PNEUMATIC VEHICLE TIRES BY THE FLAT BAND PROCESS, A BAND EXPANDING DRUM COMPRISING A SUPPORT MEMBER HAVING AN AXIS OF SYMMETRY AND MEANS MOUNTING SUCH MEMBER FOR ROTATION ABOUT SUCH AXIS, A PLURALITY OF DRUM FORMING ELEMENTS ARRANGED ABOUT THE SUPPORT MEMBER IN SIDE BY SIDE RELATION, SAID ELEMENTS HAVING RELATIVELY NARROW OUTWARDLY DIRECTED FACES SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLELING SAID AXIS AND SUBSTANTIALLY EQUIDISTANT THEREFROM, SAID ELEMENTS EACH BEING MOUNTED FOR BODILY MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID AXIS AND COLLECTIVELY DEFINING A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL WORK SURFACE, AN INFLATABLE MEMBER INTERPOSE BETWEEN THE ELEMENTS AND THE SUPPORT MEMBER TO MOVE THE ELEMENTS RADIALLY SIMULTANEOUSLY IN EXPANDING THE DRUM SURFACE, THE ELEMENTS EACH HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED PORTIONS EXTENDING RADIALLY INWARDLY TOWARD THE ROTATIONAL AXIS AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE INFLATABLE MEMBER AND IN EMBRACING RELATION TO THE LATTER, MEANS INTERLOCKING WITH THE ELEMENTS TO LIMIT THE OUTWARD MOVEMENT THEREOF TO RESTRICT THE DRUM SURFACE EXPANSION TO A PREDETERMINED DIAMETER, AND MEANS HOLDING THE ELEMENTS AGAINST THE INFLATABLE MEMBER AND ADAPTED TO CONTRACT THE ELEMENTS AND THE WORK SURFACE DEFINED BY THE ELEMENTS UPON DEFLATION OF THE INFLATABLE MEMBER.