Patent Application
20210138478
The invention generally relates to paper shredders, and in particular, to an automatic paper shredder with a staple removing structure and a staple removing method using the same.
Paper shredders are composed of a set of rotary blades, a paper comb and a drive motor. Paper is fed between the mutually-engaged blades to be cut into numerous paper scraps, thereby ensuring the confidentiality. As security equipment serves as a security function and can keep modern office environments clean, paper shredders have become indispensable simple devices in offices.
In the prior art, automatic and continuous paper shredders are provided with an automatic paper feed mechanism, and such paper shredders can automatically draw in paper placed on a paper holding plate of the paper feed mechanism and then automatically shred paper drawn therein. However, when the paper shredders are used to shred files bound together with staples, one of the following two situations can happen if the staples are not removed:
First, too many pieces of paper are drawn in at a time and cannot be shredded by the paper shredders, and consequentially, the paper shredders are jammed with paper and stop operating. Second, a piece of to-be-drawn-in paper is dragged by the staples and the rest of paper and cannot be drawn into the paper shredders, and consequentially, the paper shredders stop operating. Alternately, the to-be-drawn-in paper is pulled into the paper shredders together with other files binding with the paper, and consequentially, the paper shredders get jammed and stop operating.
Files to be shredded by automatic and continuous paper shredders frequently are bound together with staples, and only after the staples on the files are removed, the files can be shredded by the paper shredders. The staple removing process is troublesome and time-consuming, but if the staples are not removed, the files bound together with the staples cannot be automatically shredded by the paper shredders. What is needed is an automatic paper shredder with a staple removal structure.
Provided are an automatic paper shredder with a staple removing structure, and a staple removing method using the same, are provided which can automatically remove staples or clips or both, thus, greatly improving paper shredding efficiency and saving time. An automatic paper shredder with a staple removing structure also can prevent damage by staples and/or clips to the whole paper shredder, thus, protecting the whole paper shredder in use and prolonging the service life of the paper shredder.
The automatic paper shredder with a staple removing structure includes a shredder cover, a paper holding box, a shell, a paper holding plate, a paper inlet, a paper shredding component, a drive motor, a paper pick-up component, a paper pressing plate, a straight through-hole, a waste paper bin, and a staple removing component. The shredder cover is pivotally connected with one end of the paper holding box and is used for closing or opening the paper shredder. The shell is disposed below the paper holding box and is fixedly connected with the paper holding box. The paper holding plate is disposed on the upper end face of the inner side of the paper holding box and is used for holding a stack of paper placed thereon by users. The paper inlet is formed in the paper holding plate and divides the paper holding plate into a first paper holding plate part and a second paper holding plate part. The paper shredding component comprises a first cutter shaft and a second cutter shaft, wherein the first cutter shaft and the second cutter shaft are respectively disposed below the left side and the right side of the paper inlet and are used in cooperation to shred paper entering the paper inlet. The drive motor is disposed inside the paper holding box, is connected with the first cutter shaft, the second cutter shaft and the paper pick-up component, and is used for driving the first cutter shaft and the second cutter shaft and for causing the paper pick-up component to operate. The paper pressing plate is elastically connected to the lower end face of the shredder cover through a plurality of elastic components, is disposed corresponding to the upper surface of the paper holding plate, and is used for tightly pressing against the stack of paper placed on the paper holding plate when the users close the shredder cover. The paper pick-up component includes a paper pick-up roller shaft and paper pick-up rollers, wherein the paper pick-up roller shaft is disposed inside the first paper holding plate part and is close to the paper inlet. The paper pick-up rollers are telescoped around the paper pick-up roller shaft, wherein the upper parts thereof partially protrude from the upper surface of the first paper holding plate part via paper pick-up holes formed in the first paper holding plate part, and are driven by the drive motor to rotate, so that the bottom piece of paper in the stack of paper placed on the paper holding plate is driven by the paper pick-up rollers to move towards the inner wall of the paper holding box and then to move reversely under a counter-acting force of the inner wall. The bottom piece of paper is bent and deformed at the paper inlet so as to move downwardly to enter the paper inlet. The straight through-hole is formed in one side or two sides of the paper holding plate and is communicated with the waste paper bin. Removed staples (or clips) fall into the waste paper bin located on the lower portion of the paper shredder after passing the straight through-hole. The waste paper bin is disposed inside the shell and is used for collecting paper scraps. The staple removing component is located at an end of the first paper holding plate part or an end away from the paper inlet, or is located at an end of the second paper holding plate part, away from the paper inlet. The staple removing component is used to abut against a staple (or clip) with a vertical surface when the paper pressing plate presses against the stack of paper on the paper holding plate, so that the staple (or clip) deflects and is separated from the bottom piece of paper when the bottom piece of paper in the stack of paper enters the paper inlet. In general, the staple removing component is parallel to the paper inlet. Optionally, the staple removing component is an angled part of the end of the second paper holding plate part away from the paper inlet, of the first paper holding plate part. In addition, the staple removing component is an angled part of the end of the second paper holding plate part away from the paper inlet. Furthermore, the staple removing component optionally may be a staple removing plate, which is fixedly disposed at an angled position of the end of the first paper holding plate part away from the paper inlet, or at an angled position of the end of the second paper holding plate part away from the paper inlet. The staple removing plate is made from metal. The paper holding plate is obliquely disposed by a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal plane. The first paper holding plate part and the second paper holding plate part sequentially incline downwards to allow the users to conveniently place the stack of paper thereon and to reduce the friction force on the stack of paper. The lower surface of the paper pressing plate may be parallel to the upper surface of the paper holding plate. The first paper holding plate part is longer than the second paper holding plate part in the direction perpendicular to the paper inlet.
The automatic paper shredder further can include a storage slot, in which the storage slot is formed in the outer side of the end of the first paper holding plate part and/or the second paper holding plate part away from the paper inlet and is used to recover staples (or clips) for reuse. The automatic paper shredder further includes a storage plate, wherein the storage plate is transversely disposed in the straight through-hole and forms, together with the circumferential side wall of the straight through-hole, a half-open recovery slot which is open upwards and is used to recover staples (or clips) for reuse. The automatic paper shredder further includes a magnet, in which the magnet is disposed in the storage slot or the recovery slot and is used to attract scattered staples (or clips).
Furthermore, the paper pressing plate is matched in shape with the paper holding plate. Alternately, the paper pressing plate is larger than or as large as the paper holding plate. The inner wall of the paper holding box is not provided with u-shaped or n-shaped holding strips, used for holding the four corners of the stack of paper, at horizontal positions corresponding to the upper surfaces of the first paper holding plate part and the second paper holding plate part. A first lug is disposed in the middle of the end, away from the paper inlet, of the first paper holding plate part, has an upper surface even with the upper surface of the first paper holding plate part, and extends towards the inner wall of the paper holding box. A second lug is disposed in the middle of the end, away from the paper inlet, of the second paper holding plate part. A third lug is disposed at a position, corresponding to the second lug, of the inner wall of the paper holding box. The upper surfaces of the second lug and the third lug are even with the upper surface of the second paper holding plate part. A gap is formed between the second lug and the third lug, and the second lug is matched with the third lug in shape.
Optionally, the gap is formed in the upper surfaces of the second lug and the third lug or the lower surfaces of the second lug and the third lug, or penetrates through the upper surfaces and the lower surfaces of the second lug and the third lug. When the gap is formed in the upper surfaces of the second lug and the third lug, the second lug is connected with the lower end of the third lug, and the straight through-hole in the left sides and right sides of the second lug and the third lug is integrated with the gap. When the gap is formed in the lower surfaces of the second lug and the third lug, the second lug is connected with the upper end of the third lug, and the straight through-hole in the left sides and right sides of the second lug and the third lug is integrated with the gap. When the gap penetrates through the upper surfaces and the lower surfaces of the second lug and the third lug, the straight through-hole in the left sides and right sides of the second lug and the third lug is integrated with the gap.
The invention further discloses a staple removing method using an automatic paper shredder. The staple removing method uses the above-mentioned automatic paper shredder for paper shredding and staple removing. The method includes opening the shredder cover of the paper shredder and placing pieces of stacked paper bound together with a staple (or clip) at any one of four corners onto the paper holding plate obliquely disposed with respect to the horizontal plane. The method also includes closing the shredder cover, and tightly pressing the stacked paper placed on the paper holding plate by the paper pressing plate, which is disposed on the lower end face of the shredder cover and elastically connected with the shredder cover through the plurality of elastic components. The lower surface of the paper pressing plate is parallel to the upper surface of the paper holding plate. The method additionally includes starting the drive motor of the paper shredder to drive the first cutter shaft and the second cutter shaft, which are disposed below the left side and the right side of the paper inlet in the paper holding plate, to operate and simultaneously to rotatingly drive the paper pick-up rollers disposed around the paper pick-up roller shaft, which is located inside the first paper holding plate part and is close to the paper inlet. The method further includes picking up the bottom piece of stacked paper placed on the paper holding plate by the paper pick-up rollers, so that the bottom piece of paper is made to move towards the inner wall of the paper holding box and then to move reversely under a counter-acting force of the inner wall. The bottom piece of paper is bent and deformed at the paper inlet so as to downwardly enter the paper inlet. The method still further includes abutting against the staple (or clip) by the vertical surface of the staple removing component located at the end, away from the paper inlet, of the first paper holding plate part or the second paper holding plate part while the paper pressing plate tightly presses against the stacked paper on the paper holding plate, so that the staple (or clip) deflects to be separated from the bottom piece of paper when the bottom piece of paper in the stacked paper enters the paper inlet. The staple removing component is parallel to the paper inlet.
The staple removing method includes enabling the removed staple (or clip) to pass through the straight through-hole which is formed in one side or two sides of the paper holding plate and communicated with the waste paper bin and then to fall into the waste paper bin located on the lower portion of the paper shredder after. Recovering the staple (or clip) for reutilization, (1) by the storage slot which is formed in the outer side of the end, away from the paper inlet, of the first paper holding plate part or the second paper holding plate part, or both, or (2) by the half-open recovery slot which is open upwards and is formed by the storage plate transversely disposed in the straight through-hole and the circumferential side wall of the straight through-hole. Scattered staples (or clips) are attracted by the magnet disposed in the storage slot or the recovery slot.
The foregoing and other aspects of the invention may be more fully understood from the following description, when read together with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numbers indicate like parts. Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Some embodiments are described in detail with reference to the related drawings. Additional embodiments, features and/or advantages will become apparent from the ensuing description or may be learned by practicing the invention. In the FIGURES, which are not drawn to scale, like numerals refer to like features throughout the description. The following description is not to be taken in a limiting sense but is made merely for describing the general principles of the invention.
In embodiments of the invention, the paper holding plate of the automatic paper shredder with the staple removing structure is obliquely disposed to better conform to the using habits of users, and thus, the users can place a stack of paper on the paper holding plate conveniently. Meanwhile, the friction force on the stack of paper can be reduced by being decomposed into a component force in the horizontal direction and a component force in the vertical direction. The design of one-side configuration of the paper pick-up component of the automatic paper shredder with the staple removing structure simplifies the paper pick-up structure and reduces the economic cost. The lower surface of the paper pressing plate of the automatic paper shredder with the staple removing structure is parallel to the upper surface of the paper holding plate so that all corners of the stack of paper placed on the paper holding plate can be tightly pressed and compacted. The automatic paper shredder with the staple removing structure is provided with the storage slot, the storage plate and the magnet so that staples (or clips) can be recovered to be reused. Through the paper pick-up rollers on one side and the asymmetrical configuration of the paper holding plate of the automatic paper shredder with the staple removing structure, paper is moved forwards after being picked up and is bent above cutter cores of the paper shredding component, and after the bent point of the paper is grabbed by the set of cutter cores, the paper is pulled to rotate until the paper is completely shredded.
When multiple pieces of paper bound together with a staple (or clip) are shredded, the bottom piece of paper in contact with the paper pick-up rollers is grabbed by the cutter cores, the staple and the paper above are reversely pulled, the rest of paper with the tail end bound together with the staple is bent to the maximum degree. When the bottom piece of paper is completely shredded, the staple is left on the piece of paper above, this process is performed repeatedly until all the pieces of paper on the paper pick-up rollers are shredded, and thus, automatic paper shredding and staple removing are realized. The automatic paper shredder with the staple removing structure overcomes the defects of the prior art and can automatically remove staples (or clips) on a stack of paper through cooperation with a paper shredding structure, without operation of workers by hand or other tools. Paper can be automatically picked up in batches, and thus, the overall paper shredding efficiency is improved. Damage by staples (or clips) to the whole shredder is prevented, and thus, the whole shredder is protected in use and has a longer service life. In general, the automatic paper shredder has the characteristics of being high in automation degree, convenient to use, safe, reliable, ingenious in design, simple in structure, low in cost, and efficient.
As shown in
In selected embodiments, staple removing component 10 is a staple removing plate, which is fixedly disposed (1) at an angled position of the end, away from paper inlet 4, of first paper holding plate part 31, or (2) at an angled position of the end, away from paper inlet 4, of the second paper holding plate part 32. In such embodiments, the staple removing plate can be fixed in a buckled connection manner, a clamped connection manner, or a glued connection manner. Compared with the scheme of using the angled part of first paper holding plate part 31, or the angled part of second paper holding plate part 32, as the staple removing component 10, the staple removing plate is not prone to being worn and has a longer service life. Preferably, the staple removing plate is made from a metal. In these embodiments, the staple removing plate can be an iron sheet or other rigid objects if the front end of the first paper holding plate part 31 is made rigid enough to resist against staples (or clips) without being worn. In order to resist against the staples (or clips), the iron sheet can be designed in different shapes. As a simple term, “staple removing plate” represents any plates capable of separating staples, clips or other paper fasteners from one or more pieces of paper, as mentioned herein. Furthermore, paper holding plate 3 is obliquely disposed by a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal plane. First paper holding plate part 31 and second paper holding plate part 32 sequentially incline downwards so that the users can conveniently place the stack of paper on first paper holding plate part 31 and second paper holding plate part 32. The friction force on the stack of paper is reduced by being decomposed into a component force in the horizontal direction and a component force in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the lower surface of paper pressing plate 8 is parallel to the upper surface of paper holding plate 3 so that all corners of the stack of paper placed on the paper holding plate 3 can be tightly pressed and compacted by the paper pressing plate 8. As can be seen from
In embodiments, the automatic paper shredder further includes a storage slot 41, which is formed in the outer side of the end, away from paper inlet 4, of first paper holding plate part 31, second paper holding plate part 32, or both, and is used to recover staples (or clips) for reutilization. In other embodiments, the automatic paper shredder further includes a storage plate 40, which is transversely disposed in the straight through-hole 9 and forms, together with the circumferential side wall of the straight through-hole 9, a half-open recovery slot 42, which is open upwards and is used to recover staples (or clips) for reutilization. The automatic paper shredder may further include magnet 43 which is disposed in storage slot 41 or recovery slot 42 and is used for attracting scattered staples (or clips).
Typically, paper pressing plate 8 is matched in shape with paper holding plate 3. Paper pressing plate 8 may be larger than, or as large as, paper holding plate 3. If paper pressing plate 8 is smaller than paper holding plate 3, both ends of the stack of paper may slightly tilt upwards, consequentially, affecting the staple removing effect in the later stage. Typically, the inner wall of paper holding box 2 is not provided with u-shaped or n-shaped holding strips, used for holding the four corners of the stack of paper, at horizontal positions corresponding to the upper surfaces of first paper holding plate part 31 and second paper holding plate part 32. In the prior art, due to the configuration of holding strips, the four corners of a stack of paper could be completely pressed under the condition where the internal size of paper holding box 2 is consistent with the size of the paper and the size of the paper pressing plate 8. This may severely affect the staple removing effect and may even result in failures to staple removal.
As shown in
In this embodiment, gap 14 is formed in the upper surfaces or lower surfaces of second lug 12 and third lug 13. Gap 14 penetrates through the upper surfaces and lower surfaces of second lug 12 and third lug 13. When gap 14 is formed in the upper surfaces of second lug 12 and third lug 13, second lug 12 is connected with the lower end of third lug 13, and straight through-hole 9 in the left sides and right sides of second lug 12 and third lug 13 is integrated with gap 14. When gap 14 is formed in the lower surfaces of second lug 12 and third lug 13, second lug 12 is connected with the upper end of third lug 13, and straight through-hole 9 in the left sides and right sides of second lug 12 and third lug 13 is integrated with gap 14. When gap 14 penetrates through the upper surfaces and the lower surfaces of second lug 12 and third lug 13, straight through-hole 9, in the left sides and right sides of second lug 12 and third lug 13, is integrated with gap 14.
As shown in
Furthermore, the staple removing method further may include S330, in which disposing of the staple (or clip) by the removed staple (or clip) falling into the waste paper bin located on the lower portion of the paper shredder after passing through the straight through-hole which is formed in one side or two sides of the paper holding plate and communicated with the waste paper bin. Alternately, the staple (or clip) can be recovered for reutilization, (1) through the storage slot which is formed in the outer side of the end, away from the paper inlet, of the first paper holding plate part and/or the second paper holding plate part; or, (2) through the half-open recovery slot which is open upwards and is formed by the storage plate transversely disposed in the straight through-hole and the circumferential side wall of the straight through-hole. The scattered staples (or clips) may be attracted by magnet 43 disposed in the storage slot or the recovery slot.
As variations, combinations and modifications may be made in the construction and methods herein described and illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments but defined in accordance with the foregoing claims appended hereto and their equivalents.
