Patent ID: 7757987
Filing Date: 2010-07-20
Classification: B02C

Abstract:
1. A mobile shredder for shredding documents and other materials, comprising: a truck having a truck body defining an enclosure, and including a partition in the enclosure that divides a storage volume from the remainder of the enclosure for storage of shredded material in the storage volume; a prime mover disposed in an engine/transmission compartment of the truck, comprising an internal combustion engine and a transmission for propelling the truck along the ground; a shredder mounted in the enclosure outside the storage volume, the shredder having an input shaft that, when rotated, drives the shredder for shredding material; an electric shredder motor disposed outside the engine/transmission compartment and having an output shaft mechanically coupled to the input shaft of the shredder such that operation of the electric shredder motor causes the output shaft to rotate the input shaft of the shredder for shredding material fed into the shredder, whereby the shredder is driven solely by mechanical power provided by the electric shredder motor; an AC generator system driven by the prime mover for generating the electrical power that powers the electric shredder motor, the AC generator system comprising a power takeoff (PTO) unit mechanically coupled with the prime mover for extracting mechanical power from the prime mover, and an AC generator disposed outside the engine/transmission compartment, the PTO unit being mechanically coupled with the AC generator for rotatably driving the AC generator by the mechanical power extracted from the prime mover; a power distribution module electrically connected to the electric shredder motor for distributing electrical power to the electric shredder motor; and a manual transfer module electrically connected between the AC generator and the power distribution module, the manual transfer module being structured and arranged to be connected to an electric utility grid to receive electrical power therefrom, such that electrical power for powering the electric shredder motor is selectively obtainable either from the grid or from the AC generator when the manual transfer module is not connected to any grid.