Patent ID: 7144467

Claim:
The process of building a tire on a tire building drum having an expandable center section and two expandable end sections, comprising the steps of: (a) applying an innerliner on a flat application surface of the tire building drum while the center section and the end sections and are in their fully collapsed conditions wherein the center section has substantially the same diameter as the outer surfaces of the end sections; (b) next expanding both the center section and the end sections to an intermediate expanded position, the center section of the drum having a pair of spaced recesses; (c) next applying a pillar insert into each recess of the center section when the center section and the end sections are expanded to the intermediate expanded position whereby the application surface across the building drum is substantially flat; (d) next applying a first ply onto the substantially flat application surface, followed by applying post inserts atop the first ply and substantially above the pillar insert, followed by applying a second ply, wherein the first ply is applied onto the outer surface of the center section and the outer surfaces of the end sections when the center section and the end sections are in the intermediate expanded position; (e) next moving a pair of beads into place above fingers of a bead lock assembly in each of the expandable end sections; (f) expanding each bead lock assembly and the center section to their fully-expanded positions so that the fingers grip the inextensible beads; (g) next turning up the innerliner, first ply and second ply about the beads; (h) next collapsing the bead lock assemblies and the center section to their fully collapsed position; and (i) removing a completed green tire carcass from the drum.