Patent ID: 8454777

Claim:
A method of transferring and adhering a pre-built belt member onto a building drum, the pre-built belt member already embedded with reinforcing cords made of metal arranged obliquely in parallel to each other in a rubber material and has at least a longitudinal distal end thereof obliquely cut along the direction of the cords, at a belt building position from a supply portion which faces the belt building position in an opposed manner, said method comprising: using a supply conveyor to feed the pre-built belt member toward the building position and using a hand device, which includes a press plate extending in the feeding direction of the supply conveyor, such that the pre-built belt member is held on a lower surface of the press plate of the hand device while also being located on the supply conveyor, and thereby moves toward the building drum while being directly sandwiched between the press plate and the supply conveyor, wherein the pre-built belt member is transferred to the building drum by the hand device along with a feeding operation of the supply conveyor and, at some point after the hand device has begun to cross the distal end of the supply conveyor, the pre-built belt member is adhered to the building drum by the hand device pressing the pre-built belt member to a peripheral surface of the building drum while rotating the building drum in synchronism with the transfer of the pre-built belt member by the hand device, wherein each portion the pre-built belt member is carried to and wound around the building drum by the press plate of the hand device, wherein the hand device traverses back and forth, engages a section of the pre-built belt member from the supply conveyor and adhering it to the building drum, and then returning to the supply conveyor to engage the next section of the pre-built belt member and adhering it to the building drum, this step being done until the entire pre-built belt member is adhered to the building drum, wherein when the hand device is returning to the supply conveyor to engage the next section of the pre-built belt member, the hand device is in a retracted position above the supply conveyor, wherein the hand device traverses back and forth, engages a section of the pre-built belt member from the supply conveyor and adhering it to the building drum, and then returning to the supply conveyor to engage the next section of the pre-built belt member and adhering it to the building drum, at least 3 times.