Patent ID: 7128117

Claim:
A tire building drum having an axis and a centerplane intersecting the axis, comprising: a plurality of axially extending, circumferentially spaced-apart expanding segments, each of said expanding segments being expandable from a first radius in a collapsed condition of said drum to a second radius in an expanded condition of said drum; a pair of flanges centered about the axis at a fixed distance from one another; a plurality of ramp elements, each supporting an expanding segment, disposed between the flanges and radially guided between the flanges; two conical elements, each disposed coaxially between the pair of flanges, axially moveable therebetween, and having a tapered face; wherein the tapered face of each of the two conical elements engages an inner surface of the ramp elements for forcing the expanding segments radially outward from the axis; characterized in that: there are two conical elements, each frustoconical disposed coaxially with their bases facing each other; and the inner surfaces of the ramp elements are V-shaped; and a plurality of base members supporting a plurality of fixed segments; in each flange, a first plurality of grooves for receiving opposite side edges of the plurality of base members.