Patent ID: 7921894

Claim:
A tire molding machine comprising: a pair of bead core supporting devices configured to support respective bead rings arranged on a radially outer side of a carcass band and axially spaced by a predetermined distance from each other; and a molding drum including a bead lock section configured to radially expand those portions of the carcass band that are situated on a radially inner side of the bead cores so as to urge the carcass band against the bead cores, at least one of the bead cores having a center axis with a controllable inclination angle, wherein: at least one of the bead core supporting devices, that is configured to hold the at least one of the bead cores, comprises: an annular upright plate; a bead holder ring secured to the annular upright plate; and a bead holder ring posture control portion configured to control an inclination angle of a center axis of the bead holder ring relative to the annular upright plate, wherein the bead holder ring is configured to hold the bead core in parallel with a surface of the ring, the bead holder ring posture control portion is configured to control the inclination angle of the center axis of the bead holder ring in two different directions, the bead holder ring posture control portion comprising: spherical bearings arranged at not less than two locations on the bead holder ring, linear motion shafts each extending in a direction perpendicular to the annular upright plate and having a tip end that is pivotally connected to the bead holder ring in omni-directional manner by the spherical bearing; and shaft moving portion configured to move the linear motion shafts to desired positions in an axial direction of the annular upright plate.