US 11,691,369 B2
Apparatus and method for automatic tire ply sitiching
Phillip T. Brasher, Jr., Nashville, TN (US); Chad P. Wright, McMinnville, TN (US); Wesley R. Minton, McMinnville, TN (US); and Angel M. Carvajal, Mount Juliet, TN (US)
Assigned to Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC, Nashville, TN (US)
Appl. No. 17/632,578
Filed by BRIDGESTONE AMERICAS TIRE OPERATIONS, LLC, Nashville, TN (US)
PCT Filed Jul. 21, 2020, PCT No. PCT/US2020/042861
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Feb. 3, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/034438, PCT Pub. Date Feb. 25, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/889,627, filed on Aug. 21, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0266559 A1, Aug. 25, 2022
Int. Cl. B29D 30/30 (2006.01); B29C 53/42 (2006.01)
CPC B29D 30/3007 (2013.01) [B29C 53/42 (2013.01)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An automatic splicing apparatus for splicing together two ends of a sheet of tire material on a tire building drum, the apparatus comprising:
a splicer foot including:
a splicer foot frame having an opening defined therein, the opening having opposing sides, the splicer foot frame including a toe defining a forward end of the splicer foot frame, a heel and two side rails extending from the toe to the heel, the side rails of the splicer foot frame having an opposed pair of non-circular recesses defined therein;
a first continuous unitary V-shape axle having two arms having non-circular ends closely received in the opposed pair of the non-circular recesses of the side rails so that the continuous unitary V-shape axle is fixedly held between the side rails, the continuous unitary V-shape axle being pointed in a forward direction; and
two non-powered lower rollers mounted on the two arms of the first continuous unitary V-shape axle so that the two non-powered lower rollers are arranged in a V-shape pattern; and
a plurality of powered upper rollers configured to operate in coordination with the lower rollers to engage the ends of the sheet of tire material.