Mitsuru Fujimoto

Title: Mitsuru Fujimoto: Tire Inspection and Handling Innovations

Introduction

Mitsuru Fujimoto is an inventor associated with Shirakawa, Japan, and Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited. His patent work focuses on equipment for inspecting tires and handling them during manufacturing. His portfolio includes 2 patents.

Latest Patents

**Tire Inspecting Apparatus.** This apparatus is designed to detect excessive indents or defects on one or both sidewalls of an inflated tire. Supply, inspection, and delivery conveyors are arranged in line, while contact detectors engage the tire’s sidewalls as it rotates above the inspection conveyor. The detectors generate an electrical signal when they identify an excessive indent or defect.

**Tire Withdrawal Arrangement.** This arrangement supports tire removal during a green-tire shaping process. A movable platform car carries a rotating support stand fitted with elevating and rocking tire-support arms. After the arms withdraw a tire from the shaping former, the stand rotates and the arms rock to transfer the tire onto a conveyor.

Career Highlights

Fujimoto’s listed inventions address two practical stages of tire production: identifying sidewall defects and transferring tires from a shaping former to a conveyor. Both designs apply mechanical handling and inspection mechanisms to manufacturing operations.

Collaborations

Fujimoto’s listed coworkers include Hironobu Motooka and Minoru Kikuchi. His work is associated with Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited.

Conclusion

Mitsuru Fujimoto’s patents reflect a focus on tire-manufacturing equipment, combining automated defect detection with mechanisms for controlled tire withdrawal and transfer.