Patent ID: 8784717

Claim:
A process for moulding and curing a tyre, the process comprising: introducing a green tyre into a curing mould, said mould comprising a first sidewall plate and a second sidewall plate, a ring of circumferential sectors circumscribing a mould cavity, an expandable bladder delimited by a membrane, and a first and a second bead moulding ring each movable between a first contracted operating position and a second extended operating position, the second bead moulding ring comprising a plurality of petal-like elements; and moulding and curing said green tyre in said curing mould, wherein between introducing said green tyre and moulding and curing said green tyre: extending the first bead moulding ring from said first contracted operating position to said second extended operating position, forming a first circumferential bearing surface which bears against a first axially inner surface portion of a first annular fixing structure of said green tyre; extending the second bead moulding ring to form a second circumferential bearing surface which bears against a first axially inner surface portion of a second annular fixing structure of the green tyre, wherein extending the second bead moulding ring includes rotating the petal-like elements with respect to each other; making the second sidewall plate bear against the second annular fixing structure; and pressing a second axially inner surface portion of said first annular fixing structure by expanding said membrane at a pre-moulding pressure which is less than a moulding pressure, whereby said first annular fixing structure is brought into contact with said first sidewall plate, thus shaping an axially outer surface portion of said first annular fixing structure using the first sidewall plate and shaping said first axially inner surface portion of said first annular fixing structure using the first circumferential surface of the first bead moulding ring.