Patent ID: 7837816

Claim:
A method for building a radial tire on a tire-building machine that has an expandable carcass drum with a cylindrical external circumference and two bellows supports with inflatable bellows arranged on opposite axial sides of the expandable carcass drum, comprising: expanding the expandable carcass drum and segments of the two bellows supports while each inflatable bellows is uninflated, wherein the expanding results in the cylindrical external surface of the expandable carcass drum and an essentially cylindrical outside surface of the uninflated bellows forming an at least essentially uniform cylindrical load-bearing surface; after the expanding, laying and splicing an inner liner and a carcass ply having projections on the carcass drum, wherein the projections project beyond edges of the carcass drum; after the splicing, retracting the segments of the two bellows supports so that the essentially cylindrical outside surface of the two bellows supports have a reduced diameter that is less than an external diameter of the cylindrical external surface of the expandable carcass drum; after the retracting, positioning bead cores with core profiles on the projections of the carcass ply; turning up the projections of the carcass ply around outsides of the bead cores by inflation of the inflatable bellows; after the turning up, deflating the inflatable bellows; and expanding the segments of the two bellows supports with the uninflated bellows.