The invention relates to the field of paper shredders and in particular to an automatic paper shredder.
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, a paper shredder serves a security function, and is capable of keeping modern office environments clean. Thus, paper shredders have become indispensable simple devices in offices.
In the prior art, flip-type automatic paper shredders are provided with a paper pressing plate located on the inner side of an upper cover. However, because the paper pressing plate is of an integrated structure, under the condition where staples or clips are left in a stack of paper, there will be a small contact surface (or contact point) and a large gap between the integrated paper pressing plate and the stack of paper, resulting in a poor paper pressing effect. What is needed is an improvement on existing paper shredders, which solves the aforementioned problems.
In general, the defects of the prior art are overcome by providing an automatic paper shredder which is provided with a spliced paper pressing plate, thereby effectively improving the paper pressing effect, and improving the paper shredding efficiency.
An automatic paper shredder includes a shredder cover, a paper holding box, a shell, a paper holding plate, a paper holding plate inlet, a paper shredding component, a drive motor, a paper pressing plate, a paper pick-up component, and a waste paper bin. The shredder cover is connected with one end of the paper holding box in a pivoted manner 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 paper placed thereon by users. The paper holding plate 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, in which the paper holding plate is obliquely disposed by a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal plane, and the first paper holding plate part and the second paper holding plate part sequentially incline downwards so that users can place a stack of paper on the first paper holding plate part and the second paper holding plate part conveniently, and the friction force on the stack of paper can be reduced. The paper shredding component includes a first cutter shaft and a second cutter shaft, in which the first cutter shaft and the second cutter shaft are respectively below the left side and the right side of the paper holding plate inlet and are used in cooperation to shred paper entering the paper holding plate 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. The drive motor is used for driving the first cutter shaft, the second cutter shaft, and 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, in which the paper pick-up roller shaft is disposed inside the first paper holding plate part, and is proximate to the paper holding plate inlet. The paper pick-up rollers are telescoped around the paper pick-up roller shaft, in which 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. The paper pick-up rollers 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, and is bent and deformed at the paper holding plate inlet so as to move downwards to enter the paper holding plate inlet. The waste paper bin is disposed inside the shell, is located below the paper holding plate inlet, and is used for collecting paper scraps.
In embodiments, the lower surface of the paper pressing plate is parallel to the upper surface of the paper holding plate. Also, the number of the elastic components is an odd number, and the odd-numbered elastic components are respectively and asymmetrically disposed on two sides of a paper pressing plate inlet. In addition, the paper pressing plate includes a first paper pressing part and a second paper pressing part, in which the first paper pressing part and the second paper pressing part are fixedly connected through a bilateral connecting block, and a paper pressing plate inlet is defined by the first paper pressing part, the second paper pressing part, and the bilateral connecting block, and corresponds to the paper holding plate inlet in position. Moreover, the first paper pressing part and the second paper pressing part are of an asymmetrical-length and nonuniform-thickness structure.
In embodiments, the paper pressing plate further includes an auxiliary paper pressing block, in which the auxiliary paper pressing block is disposed in the middle of an end of the first paper pressing part that is away from the paper pressing plate inlet and is used for conducting auxiliary pressing on the stack of paper placed on the paper holding plate. The paper pressing plate further includes a paper pressing plate roller shaft and paper pressing plate rollers, in which the paper pressing plate roller shaft is disposed on the first paper pressing part and is proximate to the paper pressing plate inlet, and the paper pressing plate rollers are disposed around the paper pressing plate roller shaft.
In embodiments, the paper pressing plate roller shaft and the paper pressing plate rollers are of a rubber-coated or soft rubber-sleeved cylindrical shaft core structure and are used for preventing multiple pieces of paper from being simultaneously shredded. Also, the paper pressing plate further includes a damping plate, in which the damping plate is disposed on the first paper pressing part, is proximate to or attached to the paper pressing plate inlet and is provided with roller through-holes. The paper pressing plate rollers penetrate through the roller through-holes to partially protrude from the lower surface of the first paper pressing part. In addition, the paper pressing plate further includes a soft rubber piece, in which the soft rubber piece is disposed on the damping plate and is located between the paper pressing plate rollers. The upper surface of the soft rubber piece is lower than, or even with, the top horizontal cross-section of each paper pressing plate roller, thereby improving the paper feeding efficiency. The paper pressing plate rollers correspond to the paper pick-up rollers in the vertical direction.
Moreover, the paper pressing plate further includes a convex rib, in which the convex rib is disposed on the second paper pressing part, is proximate to the paper pressing plate inlet, and is used for applying a vertical resolving force to the stack of paper placed on the paper holding plate, so as to guide the paper towards the paper holding plate inlet. The paper pressing plate further includes a shredder cover inlet, in which the shredder cover inlet is formed in the shredder cover. The shredder cover inlet, the paper pressing plate inlet, and the paper holding plate inlet are correspondingly disposed in the vertical direction. The paper pressing plate is matched with the paper holding plate in shape.
Furthermore, the paper holding box includes an upper cover and a lower cover, in which the upper cover includes a first upper cover part and a second upper cover part. The first upper cover part and the second upper cover part are fixedly connected through connecting pieces. The upper cover and the lower cover are fixedly connected. The lower cover and the shell are fixedly connected. The first upper cover part is provided with a pair of insertion holes in a left side and a right side with respect to the second upper cover part. The second upper cover part is provided with a pair of insertion columns on a left side and a right side with respect to the first upper cover part. The first upper cover part and the second upper cover part are joined by inserting the pair of insertion columns into the pair of insertion holes. The connecting pieces are horseshoe-shaped, and the front side and the rear side of the top of each connecting piece are each provided with a connecting buckle. Two connecting holes are correspondingly formed in two sides of each of a left insertion joint and a right insertion joint of the first upper cover part and the second upper cover part and are respectively located on the first upper cover part and the second upper cover part. After the first upper cover part and the second upper cover part are joined by inserting the pair of insertion columns into the insertion holes, the connecting buckles are clamped in the connecting holes to achieve clamped connection of the first upper cover part and the second upper cover part. Also, the paper holding box further includes connecting blocks, in which the connecting blocks are disposed on the back sides of a left insertion joint and a right insertion joint of the first upper cover part and the second upper cover part. The connecting blocks are used for conducting secondary fixation on the left insertion joint and the right insertion joint of the first upper cover part and the second upper cover part with external screws.
Embodiments possess multiple advantages over the prior art. The paper holding plate of the automatic paper shredder 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 disintegrated into a fractional force in the horizontal direction and a fractional force in the vertical direction. The lower surface of the paper pressing plate of the automatic paper shredder 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 paper pressing plate formed by two spliced parts of the automatic paper shredder has a better paper pressing effect than the paper pressing plate of existing integrated structures. Under the condition where staples or clips are left in a stack of paper, there typically will be a small contact surface (or contact point) and a large gap between the paper pressing plate of an integrated structure and the stack of paper. However, by adoption of the paper pressing plate formed by the two spliced parts of the invention, the gap will be greatly decreased, thereby greatly improving the paper pressing effect. The damping plate, the soft rubber piece, and the convex rib are disposed on the lower surface of the paper pressing plate of the automatic paper shredder, so that the horizontal friction force is effectively enhanced, and a vertical resolving force is derived from the friction force by the convex rib, thereby achieving a good guiding effect and improving the paper pick-up effect; the auxiliary paper pressing block is additionally arranged, thereby effectively improving the paper pressing effect. The automatic paper shredder is provided with the shredder cover inlet through which paper can be manually fed when the paper pick-up component in the paper holding box breaks down, and thus, the automatic paper shredder can be used in two ways. The paper pressing effect is effectively improved through the design of the paper pressing plate formed by two spliced parts, and the paper pick-up effect is effectively improved through the damping plate, the soft rubber piece, and the convex rib, thereby improving the paper shredding efficiency. The automatic paper shredder has the characteristics of being high automated, convenient to use, safe, reliable, ingenious in design, simple in structure, and low in cost.
A brief description of accompanying drawings used for illustrating the embodiments, 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.
The embodiments of the invention are discussed below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Paper holding plate inlet 4 is formed in the paper holding plate 3, and divides paper holding plate 3 into first paper holding plate part 31 and second paper holding plate part 32. Paper holding plate 3 can be 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 can sequentially incline downwards so that the users can place a stack of paper on first paper holding plate part 31 and second paper holding plate part 32. A friction force on the stack of paper can be reduced by being decomposed into a fractional force in the horizontal direction and a fractional force the vertical direction. In this embodiment, first paper holding plate part 31 can be longer than second paper holding plate part 32 in the direction perpendicular to paper holding plate inlet 4. That is to say, the paper holding plate 3 can be divided by paper holding plate inlet 4 into two asymmetrical parts. As second paper holding plate part 32 is shorter than first paper holding plate part 31, when staples (or clips) in the stack of paper are located on the side of first paper holding plate part 31, the bottom piece of paper in the stack of paper has a short travel distance, and rapidly enters paper holding plate inlet 4, thereby greatly improving the paper shredding efficiency.
Paper shredding component 5 includes first cutter shaft 51 and second cutter shaft 52, in which first cutter shaft 51 and second cutter shaft 52 can be respectively disposed below the left side and the right side of paper holding plate inlet 4, and can be used in cooperation to shred paper entering the paper holding plate inlet 4. Drive motor 6 is disposed inside paper holding box 2. Drive motor 6 is connected with the first cutter shaft 51, the second cutter shaft 52, and the paper pick-up component 8. Drive motor 6 is used for driving the first cutter shaft 51, the second cutter shaft 52 and the paper pick-up component 8. Paper pressing plate 7 is elastically connected to the lower end face of shredder cover 1 through a plurality of elastic components 9. Paper pressing plate 7 is disposed corresponding to the upper surface of the paper holding plate 3 and is used for tightly pressing against the stack of paper placed on paper holding plate 3, when the users close the shredder cover 1.
Paper pick-up component 8 includes paper pick-up roller shaft 81 and paper pick-up rollers 82. Paper pick-up roller shaft 81 is disposed inside first paper holding plate part 31 and is proximate to paper holding plate inlet 4. Paper pick-up rollers 82 are telescoped around paper pick-up roller shaft 81. The upper parts of paper pick-up rollers 82 may partially protrude from the upper surface of first paper holding plate part 31 via paper pick-up holes formed in the first paper holding plate part 31. Paper pick-up rollers 82 are driven by the drive motor 6 to rotate, so that the bottom piece of paper in the stack of paper placed on paper holding plate 3 is driven by paper pick-up rollers 82 to move towards the inner wall of paper holding box 2 and then to move reversely under a counter-acting force of the inner wall. The paper is bent and deformed at the paper holding plate inlet 4, so as to move downwards to enter the paper holding plate inlet 4. In this embodiment, the number of paper pick-up rollers 82 is two. However, in actual implementation, there may be no limitation in this regard, and the number of the paper pick-up rollers 82 can be three or more. In addition, the design idea of one-side configuration of paper pick-up component 8 simplifies the paper pick-up structure and reduces the economic cost. Waste paper bin 22 can be disposed inside shell 40, is located below the paper holding plate inlet 4, and is used for collecting paper scraps. As shown in
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Furthermore, the first paper pressing part 71 and the second paper pressing part 72 can be of an asymmetrical-length and nonuniform-thickness structure. In this embodiment, first paper pressing part 71 is longer than second paper pressing part 72. First paper pressing part 71 and second paper pressing part 72 each may have a triangular cross section, as shown in
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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.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20200276594 A1 | Sep 2020 | US |