Patent Grant
11084041
This application is related to, and claims priority to, both U.S. application Ser. No. 16/289,419, entitled “AUTOMATIC PAPER SHREDDER,” filed 28 Feb. 2019, and U.S. application Ser. No. 16/289,524, entitled “AUTOMATIC PAPER SHREDDER WITH STAPLE REMOVING STRUCTURE AND STAPLE REMOVING METHOD USING SAME,” filed 28 Feb. 2019, with the contents of both related applications being incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
The invention relates to the field of paper shredders, in particular to a paper shredder provided with a paper limiter.
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 so as to be cut into numerous tiny paper scraps, thus, ensuring the confidentiality. As security equipment which has a security function and can keep modern office environments clean, paper shredders have become indispensable simple devices in offices.
An existing flip-type automatic paper shredder is provided with a paper pressing plate located on the inner side of an upper cover. The paper pressing plate is used for pressing paper placed in a paper tray to restraining the paper from moving, so that the paper pressing effect is effectively improved. However, a paper shredder provided with a height limit block and a paper limit block to limit the length and thickness of to-be-shredded paper stacked in the paper tray is presently not available.
A paper shredder is provided having a paper tray, a paper inlet, a shredder cover, a paper pressing plate, paper pick-up rollers, a shredder cutter shaft, a motor, a wastepaper barrel, and a paper limiter. The paper tray is arranged on an upper portion of a shredder body and formed to carry a stack of to-be-shredded paper. The paper inlet is formed in the paper tray and guides the to-be-shredded paper into a shredding area. The shredder cover has an end rotatably connected to the shredder body by a rotary shaft and is configured for closing or opening the shredder body. The paper pressing plate is arranged below the shredder cover and presses the stack of to-be-shredded paper placed in the paper tray. The paper pick-up rollers arranged on one side of the paper inlet and feeds the stack of to-be-shredded paper placed in the paper tray towards the paper inlet. The shredder cutter shaft is arranged under the paper inlet and shreds the to-be-shredded paper guided into the shredding area. The motor is connected to the shredder cutter shaft and drives the shredder cutter shaft to operate. The wastepaper barrel is arranged in a lower portion of the shredder body and is located below the paper inlet to collect shredded paper. The paper limiter is arranged on an inner side of the paper tray and limits one of a thickness or a length of the stack of to-be-shredded paper placed in the paper tray.
In an embodiment, the paper limiter has a main paper limit block arranged on a side of the paper tray away from the rotary shaft, and a distance from a side of the main paper limit block proximate to the rotary shaft to a side of the paper tray proximate to the rotary shaft is approximately equal to the length of the to-be-shredded paper. In embodiments, the paper limiter further includes a main height limit block arranged on an inner side of an end of the paper tray proximate to the rotary shaft, and wherein the stack of to-be-shredded paper is clamped in the main height limit block when being placed into the paper tray so that the thickness of the stack of to-be-shredded paper is limited. In an embodiment, at least one main paper limit block is configured. When one main paper limit block is configured, the main paper limit block is in a middle of an inner side of an end of the paper tray away from the rotary shaft. When two or more main paper limit blocks are configured, the main paper limit blocks are uniformly arranged at intervals on the inner side of the end of the paper tray away from the rotary shaft.
In selected embodiments, the main paper limit block is an extendable structure used for limiting paper with different lengths in a length direction of the paper. In other embodiments, the main paper limit block is integrally formed with the paper tray.
The paper limiter further includes a plurality of main paper limit block vertical holes arrayed in parallel. The main paper limit block vertical holes are parallel to an inner side of an end of the paper tray away from the rotary shaft and allow the main paper limit block to be inserted therein to limit paper with different lengths. In embodiments in which at least one main height limit block is configured, the main height limit block is in a middle of the inner side of the end of the paper tray proximate to the rotary shaft. When two or more main height limit blocks are configured, the main height limit blocks are uniformly arranged at intervals on the inner side of the end of the paper tray proximate to the rotary shaft. In embodiments, the inner side formed with the main height limit block is provided with a plurality of main height limit block horizontal holes arrayed in parallel from top to bottom, and the main height limit block is inserted into at least one of the main height limit block horizontal holes to limit the paper in different heights.
In yet other embodiments, the paper limiter further includes a main height limit block fixing bracket, which is perpendicularly arranged on a bottom surface of the paper tray, is proximate to the inner side of the end of the paper tray proximate to the rotary shaft, and has an upper end in one of an U shape or an inverted T shape. A main height limit block vertical hole, matched with the upper end of the main height limit block fixing bracket in shape, is formed in a lower end face of the main height limit block. The main height limit block is clamped and connected to the main height limit block fixing bracket by the main height limit block vertical hole so that the stack of to-be-shredded paper is limited in thickness. In embodiments, the paper limiter further includes a main height limit block mounting bracket and two fastening screws, in which the main height limit block mounting bracket is fixed to a back of the inner side of the end of the paper tray proximate to the rotary shaft and is in a U shape. Two screw holes are formed in a side of the main height limit block facing the rotary shaft. A U-shaped groove is formed in a position of the paper tray opposite to the main height limit block mounting bracket and is narrower than the main height limit block mounting bracket. The two fastening screws penetrate through the main height limit block mounting bracket and the U-shaped groove to be fixedly connected to the main height limit block at a same height The two fastening screws can penetrate through the U-shaped groove at different heights to be fixedly connected to the main height limit block at the same height, so that the stack of to-be-shredded paper is limited in thickness. In embodiments, the paper limiter further includes an auxiliary height limit block arranged on a least one of a left side and a right side of the end of the paper tray proximate to the rotary shaft.
In selected embodiments, at least one of the main height limit blocks and the auxiliary height limit block is integrally formed with the paper tray. In yet other embodiments, the inner side formed with the auxiliary height limit block is provided from top to bottom with a plurality of auxiliary height limit block horizontal holes arrayed in parallel. The auxiliary height limit block is inserted into at least one of the auxiliary height limit block horizontal holes to limit the paper in different thicknesses. The main height limit block horizontal holes and the auxiliary height limit block hole horizontal holes are formed in approximately the same height. In still other embodiments, the paper limiter further includes an auxiliary height limit block fixing bracket, in which the auxiliary height limit block fixing bracket is perpendicularly arranged on a bottom surface of the paper tray, is proximate to a least one of the left side or the right side of the end of the paper tray proximate to the rotary shaft, and has an upper end in one of an U-shape or in an inverted T-shape. An auxiliary height limit block vertical hole, matched with the upper end of the auxiliary height limit block fixing bracket in shape, is formed in a lower end face of the auxiliary height limit block. The auxiliary height limit block is clamped and connected to the auxiliary height limit block fixing bracket via the auxiliary height limit block vertical hole so that the stack of to-be-shredded paper is limited in thickness. The paper pressing plate includes a friction plate, two paper pressing plate rollers, and two roller grooves. The two roller grooves are formed in the paper pressing plate in parallel and correspond to the paper pick-up rollers on the paper tray in position. The two paper pressing plate rollers penetrate through the roller grooves to extend onto the paper pressing plate and are matched with the paper pick-up rollers to feed the stack of to-be-shredded paper placed in the paper tray towards the paper inlet. The friction plate is arranged between the two roller grooves and is as wide as the roller grooves, and a length of the friction plate is equal to a distance between adjacent sides of the two roller grooves. The paper limiter further includes a main paper limit block and a main height limit block. The main paper limit block is arranged on a side of the paper tray proximate to the rotary shaft and a distance from a side of the main paper limit block away from the rotary shaft to a side of the paper tray away from the rotary shaft is equal to the length of the to-be-shredded paper. The main height limit block is arranged on an inner side of an end of the paper tray away from the rotary shaft, and the stack of to-be-shredded paper is clamped in the main height limit block when being placed into the paper tray.
Also provided herein is a paper shredder, having a paper tray arranged on an upper portion of a shredder body and formed to carry a stack of to-be-shredded paper; a paper inlet formed in the paper tray and guiding the to-be-shredded paper into a shredding area; a shredder cover having an end rotatably connected to the shredder body by a rotary shaft and configured for closing or opening the shredder body; a paper pressing plate arranged below the shredder cover and pressing the stack of to-be-shredded paper placed in the paper tray; paper pick-up rollers arranged on one side of the paper inlet and feeding the stack of to-be-shredded paper placed in the paper tray towards the paper inlet; a shredder cutter shaft arranged under the paper inlet and shredding the to-be-shredded paper guided into the shredding area; a motor connected to the shredder cutter shaft and driving the shredder cutter shaft to operate; a wastepaper barrel arranged in a lower portion of the shredder body and located below the paper inlet to collect shredded paper; and a paper limiter arranged on an inner side of the paper tray and limiting one of a thickness or a length of the stack of to-be-shredded paper placed in the paper tray. The paper limiter further includes at least one of a main paper limit block and a main height limit block, in which the main paper limit block is arranged on a side of the paper tray proximate to the rotary shaft and a distance from a side of the main paper limit block away from the rotary shaft to a side of the paper tray away from the rotary shaft is equal to the length of the to-be-shredded paper. The main height limit block is arranged on an inner side of an end of the paper tray away from the rotary shaft. The stack of to-be-shredded paper is clamped in the main height limit block when being placed into the paper tray.
The paper pressing plate includes a friction plate, two paper pressing plate rollers, and two roller grooves, in which the two roller grooves are formed in the paper pressing plate in parallel and correspond to the paper pick-up rollers on the paper tray in position. The two paper pressing plate rollers penetrate through the roller grooves to extend onto the paper pressing plate and are matched with the paper pick-up rollers to feed the stack of to-be-shredded paper placed in the paper tray towards the paper inlet. The friction plate is arranged between the two roller grooves and is as wide as the roller grooves, and a length of the friction plate is equal to a distance between adjacent sides of the two roller grooves.
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.
The technical solutions provided by embodiments of the invention are clearly and completely described and discussed below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Clearly, the embodiments described below are only certain illustrative ones, and are not all possible ones of the invention. All other embodiments obtained by those ordinarily skilled in this field without creative labor based on these illustrative ones should also fall within the protection scope of the invention.
As shown in
Paper tray 1 can be arranged on an upper portion of shredder body 18 and is used for carrying a stack of to-be-shredded paper (not shown). Paper inlet 2 is formed in paper tray 1 and is used for guiding the to-be-shredded paper into a shredding area (not shown). Shredder cover 3 has an end rotatably connected to shredder body 19 through rotary shaft 20 and is used for closing or opening shredder body 19. Paper pressing plate 4 is arranged below shredder cover 3 and is used for pressing the stack of to-be-shredded paper placed in paper tray 1. Paper pick-up rollers 5 are arranged on one side of paper inlet 2 and are used for feeding the stack of to-be-shredded paper placed in paper tray 1 towards paper inlet 2. Shredder cutter shaft 17 is arranged under paper inlet 2 and is used for shredding the to-be-shredded paper falling from paper inlet 2. Motor 16 is connected to shredder cutter shaft 17 and is used for driving shredder cutter shaft 17. Wastepaper barrel 21 is arranged in the lower portion of shredder body and is located below paper inlet 2 to collect shredded paper. Paper limiter 22 can be arranged on an inner side of paper tray 1 and is used for limiting the thickness, length, or both, of the stack of to-be-shredded paper placed in paper tray 1. Paper limiter 22 can include one or more of main paper limit block 6, auxiliary paper limit block 23, main height limit block 8, or auxiliary height limit block 12.
In an embodiment, as shown in
In an embodiment, main paper limit block 6 used for limiting the stack of to-be-shredded paper in length can be a fixed or a non-fixed structure, particularly:
when main paper limit block 6 is a fixed structure, main paper limit block 6 is integrally formed with paper tray 1; and
when main paper limit block 6 is a non-fixed structure, main paper limit block 6 is extendable and can be used for limiting paper with different lengths in the length direction of the paper. Paper limiter 22 may further include a plurality of main paper limit block vertical holes 7. As shown in
In addition, as can be seen in
Auxiliary paper limit block 23, used for limiting the stack of to-be-shredded paper in width, can be a fixed or a non-fixed structure, particularly:
when auxiliary paper limit block 23 is a fixed structure, auxiliary paper limit block 23 can be integrally formed with paper tray 1; and
when auxiliary paper limit block 23 is a non-fixed structure, auxiliary paper limit block 23 can be extendable and can be used for limiting paper with different widths in the width direction of the paper. Also, paper limiter 22 further includes a plurality of auxiliary paper limit block vertical holes 24, wherein auxiliary paper limit block vertical holes 24 are arrayed in parallel, are parallel to least one of the left side and the right side of the end of paper tray 1, are proximate to main paper limit block 6, and can allow auxiliary paper limit block 23 to be inserted therein so as to limit paper with different widths, and thus, the positioning of paper with different widths is achieved.
In an embodiment, as shown in
Furthermore, one, two or more main height limit blocks 8 can be configured. When one main height limit block 8 is configured, main height limit block 8 can be in the middle of the inner side of the end of paper tray 1 proximate to the rotary shaft. Alternately, when two or more main height limit blocks 8 are configured, main height limit blocks 8 are uniformly arranged at intervals on the inner side of the end of paper tray 1, proximate to the rotary shaft. Also, the main height limit blocks 8 can be centralized in the middle of the inner side of the end of paper tray 1 proximate to the rotary shaft.
In this embodiment, main height limit block 8 used for limiting the stack of to-be-shredded paper in height can be of a fixed or non-fixed structure, particularly:
when main height limit block 8 is a fixed structure, main height limit block 8 is integrally formed with paper tray 1; and
when main height limit block 8 is a non-fixed structure, there are the following three exemplary cases:
In case 1, the inner side formed with main height limit block 8 is provided with a plurality of main height limit block horizontal holes arrayed in parallel from top to bottom. Main height limit block 8 can be inserted into at least one of the main height limit block horizontal holes to limit paper in different heights
In case 2, as shown in
In case 3, as shown in
In addition, as shown in
Auxiliary height limit block 12 used for limiting the stack of to-be-shredded paper in height can be a fixed or a non-fixed structure, particularly:
when the auxiliary height limit block 12 is a fixed structure, the auxiliary height limit block 12 is integrally formed with paper tray 1
when the auxiliary height limit block 12 is a non-fixed structure, there are the following several cases:
In case 1, the inner side formed with the auxiliary height limit block 12 is provided with a plurality of auxiliary height limit block horizontal holes (not shown) in parallel, from top to bottom. Auxiliary height limit block 12 can be inserted into at least one of the auxiliary height limit block horizontal holes, so that paper is limited in different heights. In an embodiment, the main height limit block horizontal holes and the auxiliary height limit block horizontal holes are formed at the same height.
In case 2, paper limiter 22 further includes an auxiliary height limit block fixing bracket (not shown), wherein the auxiliary height limit block fixing bracket is perpendicularly arranged on the bottom surface of paper tray 1, is proximate to a least one of the left side and the right side of the end, proximate to the rotary shaft, of paper tray 1 and has an upper end in a U shape or in an inverted T shape and an auxiliary height limit block vertical hole (not shown) matched with the upper end of the auxiliary height limit block fixing bracket in shape is formed in the lower end face of the auxiliary height limit block 12, and the auxiliary height limit block 12 is clamped and connected to the auxiliary height limit block fixing bracket via the auxiliary height limit block vertical hole, so that the stack of the to-be-shredded paper is limited in height. In this embodiment, the distance from the lower end faces of main height limit block 8 and the auxiliary height limit block 12 to the bottom surface of paper tray 1 is not greater than the distance from the upper end faces of main paper limit block 6 and the auxiliary paper limit block to the bottom surface of paper tray 1.
In another embodiment, as shown in
In a variation of this embodiment, the position of main paper limit block 6 and the position of main height limit block 8 of paper limiter 22 are exchanged, compared with main paper limit block 6 and main height limit block 8 shown in
The above embodiments are not intended to limit the protection scope of the invention. Any changes or substitutes easily achievable for any skilled artisan in this technical field, based on the technical solutions disclosed above, should also fall within the protection scope of the invention. Thus, the protection scope of the invention should be subject to the protection scope defined by the claims.
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