Patent ID: 6863760

Claim:
A method for stabilizing a tire building drum, wherein the tire building drum has two ends, is permanently supported at a single cantilever support end and the remaining end is a free end; the method comprising the steps of: providing a free end support engaged with the free end to stabilize the tire building drum by restricting lateral movement of the free end; freeing the free end by temporarily retracting the free end support when desired; locking the free end support in place, engaged with the free end, to stabilize the tire building drum without requiring continued power input; and wherein the step of locking comprises: moving mechanical elements that extend the free end support past the point that causes the free end support to be engaged with the free end; end providing a stop for the mechanical elements at a point such that forces resulting from lateral movement of the free end act to hold the free end support in a state of engagement with the free end.