Inflatable bladder for a tire building drum

Claim 2

A turnup bladder and a tire building drum, the drum having a circumferential bladder seating groove open radially outwardly thereof and a circumferentially extending outwardly open U-shaped channel for air spaced axially from said groove, said bladder being secured to said drum only by its own elastic tension, said bladder comprising an annular inflatable tube having in its uninflated condition an inner edge disposed proximate said groove, an outer edge disposed at an axial distance from the groove and a generally cylindrical wall extending between said inner and said outer edge and snugly engaging said drum, an elastic ring secured integrally to said inner edge and adapted to seat snugly conjugately in said groove, a pair of circumferentially extending ribs integral with said wall snugly engaging said drum circumferentially respectively adjacent and axially outward of said channel, and a flangeless port in said wall between said ribs providing open communication between said bladder and said channel for air flow therebetween independent of the relative angular relation of said bladder and said drum.

Claim 3

An inflatable turnup bladder and a tire building drum having an axially central part and an axially outwardly extending cylindrical bladder support surface, the bladder comprising an inner wall constructed and arranged for snug engagement with said cylindrical surface being secured thereto only by elastic tension, an outer wall cooperating with said inner wall to define an inflatable chamber and joined to said inner wall to define respectively an inner edge adjacent to said central part and an outer edge remote from said part, said bladder being axially rollable toward said inner edge when said chamber is inflated, said drum being provided with a U-shaped air channel opening outwardly of said surface and extending in a circumferential direction therearound, said channel being located axially of the drum between said inner and said outer edge when the bladder is placed around the drum, said inner wall having a flangeless port open therethrough at a fixed axial distance from said inner edge at a distance equal to the axial distance between said channel and said inner edge, said port providing passage for air between said channel and said chamber.

Claim 4

An inflatable turnup bladder and a tire building drum having an axially central part and an axially outwardly extending cylindrical bladder support surface, the bladder comprising an inner wall constructed and arranged for snug engagement with said cylindrical surface being secured thereto only by elastic tension, an outer wall cooperating with said inner wall to define an inflatable chamber and joined to said inner wall to define respectively an inner edge adjacent to said central part and an outer edge remote from said part, said bladder being axially rollable toward said inner edge when said chamber is inflated, said drum being provided with a U-shaped air channel opening outwardly of said surface and extending in a circumferential direction therearound, said channel being located axially of the drum between said inner and said outer edge when the bladder is placed around the drum, said inner wall having a flangeless port open therethrough at a fixed axial distance from said inner edge at a distance equal to the axial distance between said channel and said inner edge, said port providing passage for air between said channel and said chamber.

Claim 5

An inflatable bladder for a tire building drum having a central part and a cylindrical bladder support surface, comprising an inner wall constructed and arranged for snug engagement with said cylindrical surface, an outer wall cooperating with said inner wall to define an inflatable chamber and joined to said inner wall to define respectively an inner edge adjacent to said central part and an outer edge remote from said part, said drum being provided with an air channel opening to said surface and extending in a circumferential direction therearound, said channel being located axially of the drum between said inner and said outer edge when the bladder is placed therearound, and including a flangeless port open through said inner wall to pass air between the channel and the chamber, and a second flangeless port opening through said inner wall and normally closed to air flow therethrough by said surface and so located between said inner and said outer edge axially of the bladder so as to be opened to exhaust air from the chamber in response to axial movement of the bladder beyond a predetermined axial displacement while being inflated.

Claim 6

An inflatable bladder for a tire building drum having a central part and a cylindrical bladder support surface, comprising an inner wall constructed and arranged for snug engagement with said cylindrical surface, an outer wall cooperating with said inner wall to define an inflatable chamber and joined to said inner wall to define respectively an inner edge adjacent to said central part and an outer edge remote from said part, said drum being provided with an air channel opening to said surface and extending in a circumferential direction therearound, said channel being located axially of the drum between said inner and said outer edge when the bladder is placed therearound, and including a flangeless port open through said inner wall to pass air between the channel and the chamber, and a second flangeless port opening through said inner wall and normally closed to air flow therethrough by said surface and so located between said inner and said outer edge axially of the bladder so as to be opened to exhaust air from the chamber in response to axial movement of the bladder beyond a predetermined axial displacement while being inflated.