BigPatents India

A method and apparatus for conveying and applying a strip component such as a tire tread is disclosed. The method includes the steps of placing the strip component on a belt conveyor, determining a guideline of the strip component at an exit end of the belt conveyor, and laterally adjusting the exit end of the belt conveyor to align the guideline of the strip component with a predetermined guideline such as the guideline of a tire building drum. The apparatus includes a belt support transverse housing which is laterally moveable by a motion controller in response to a sensor which detects the guideline of the strip component. Guides on the transverse housing move the belts of the conveyor on slider plates without physically touching the conveyed strip component, thereby preventing damage to the component material. The invention described above may be utilized in a single conveyor, or in multiple conveyor apparatus where the conveyors may be keyed together of synchronized transmission of the components.