Patent ID: 7476286

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a tyre for a vehicle wheel, comprising: building a cylindrical carcass sleeve; applying a belt structure to the carcass sleeve at a position radially external to the carcass sleeve; applying a tread band to the belt structure at a position radially external to the belt structure; shaping the tyre into a toroidal conformation; and vulcanizing the tyre; wherein the tyre comprises: a carcass structure; the belt structure; and the tread band; wherein the carcass structure comprises: at least one carcass ply; and a pair of annular reinforcing structures; wherein the at least one carcass ply is operatively associated with the annular reinforcing structures, wherein the carcass sleeve comprises the at least one carcass ply and the annular reinforcing structures, wherein each annular reinforcing structure comprises at least one bead wire, wherein the annular reinforcing structures are suitable for mounting the tyre on a rim, wherein the at least one carcass ply is turned up on at least one of the annular reinforcing structures, wherein building the carcass sleeve comprises: feeding the at least one carcass ply onto a drum; placing at least one of the annular reinforcing structures at a position radially external to the at least one carcass ply; and turning up the at least one carcass ply on the at least one of the annular reinforcing structures; wherein placing at least one of the annular reinforcing structures at a position radially external to the at least one carcass ply comprises: locating the at least one bead wire by hanging the at least one bead wire on a loader; damping out any swinging of the at least one bead wire; gripping the at least one bead wire by grasping elements, the grasping elements comprising a plurality of shaped discs, including two shaped discs spaced circumferentially from one another on a radially inner end of a gripper unit support member, wherein gripping the at least on bead wire by the grasping elements includes engaging the bead wire within a recess defined between portions of the shaped discs; and positioning the at least one bead wire on the at least one carcass ply.