Patent ID: 7235147

Claim:
A tire structural member forming method comprising the steps of: providing a forming drum of a diameter on which a tire structural member in the form of a band-shaped member is to be formed, and a transfer drum of a diameter greater than the diameter of the forming drum; determining a width of said band-shaped member by dividing the circumference of said forming drum by a predetermined integer; cutting a long band having the thus determined width into successive strips of a predetermined length; applying a predetermined number equal to said integer of the strips successively in a circumferentially adjoining arrangement onto the transfer drum with side edges of adjacent strips overlapping each other, while the transfer drum is held stationarily at a position and turned intermittently at that position, to thus obtain the band-shaped member having a predetermined length which is substantially equal to the circumfrence of the forming drum; moving the transfer drum holding the band-shaped member away from said position to another position close to the forming drum to hold a leading end of the band-shaped member between the transfer drum and the forming drum; transferring the band-shaped member from the transfer drum to the forming drum by turning the transfer drum and the forming drum in opposite directions, respectively, at the same surface speed, whereby the leading end and a trailing end of the band-shaped member are brought into abutting contact with each other; and forming a tire structural member on the forming drum by bonding together the leading end and the trailing end of the band-shaped member transferred to the forming drum.