Patent ID: 7854603

Claim:
Station apparatus within a tire curing line for assembling and disassembling a toroidally shaped core configured to carry a cured tire, the core including a plurality of core segments assembling to form a core body and extending generally radially from a central core axis within a core central axial passage, the core further including an upper locking mechanism and a lower locking mechanism connected to the core body, the station apparatus comprising: a base; a station locking mechanism mounted to the base operative to lock to the lower core locking mechanism; a transport device operative to lock to the upper core locking mechanism and to lower the core in substantially a vertical core axis orientation into locked engagement with the station locking mechanism; a core segment manipulating mechanism operative to move respective core segments radially inward from a radially outward position to a radially inward segment removal position; a tire unloading mechanism operative to support a cured tire during radial movement of the core segments inward; and wherein the transport device includes at least one segment removal device for removing the core segments individually from a cured tire and from around the central axis and placing the core segments individually in respective storage locations.