Patent ID: 7887658

Claim:
An apparatus for building a tire comprising an outer shaft, an intermediate shaft, and a center shaft disposed coaxially with each other, a building drum supported on the outer shaft and having a uniform outer diameter over the entire length, and means for rotating these shafts disposed on one side of the building drum, wherein the building drum comprises two drum portions that are axially divided and which are displaceable in mutually approaching and separating directions and are adapted to be radially expanded and contracted, the intermediate shaft is connected to one drum portion, the one drum portion is drivably connected to the other drum portion so that the one drum portion and the other drum portion are able to reciprocably move in mutually opposite directions in the axial direction, and cam members adapted to bring the drum portions into radial expansive/contractive transformations are connected to the center shaft, and wherein the apparatus further comprises a first motor constantly drivably connected to the intermediate shaft and to the center shaft via a differential speed reducer and selectively drivably connected to the outer shaft, and a second motor constantly drivably connected to the center shaft via a differential speed reducer.