Source: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/82174638/Shredder-With-Thickness-Detector---Patent-7946514
Timestamp: 2013-12-12 03:52:18
Document Index: 521740378

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 2010100056', 'Application No. 2010100084', 'Application No. 2010100084', 'Application No. 2008202504', 'Application No. 200580034478', 'Application No. 2007108715', 'Application No. 05784240', 'Application No. 2', 'Application No. 08102126', 'application No. 08170857', 'Application No. 08102126', 'Application No. 2005285398', 'Application No. 2005285398', 'Application No. 2008100182']

Shredder With Thickness Detector - Patent 7946514
United States Patent: 7946514
7,946,514
A shredder includes a thickness detector device having a contact portion
in a throat of a housing. The contact portion is movable by a thickness
between opposing major surfaces of at least one article being received by
the throat. The thickness detector device includes a detectable portion
movable by the contact portion, and a detector for detecting at least one
position of the detectable portion that includes a position when the
detectable portion has been moved by the contact portion by an amount
that correlates to a predetermined maximum thickness. A controller is
coupled to the thickness detector, is operable to prevent a motor from
driving cutter elements in a shredding direction responsive to the
detector detecting that the detectable portion has been moved by the
amount that correlates to the predetermined maximum thickness, and is
configured to vary the predetermined maximum thickness based on receiving
Matlin; Tai Hoon K. (Round Lake Beach, IL), Gach; Eric (Mount Prospect, IL)
12/578,292
11767152Jun., 20077631823
10937304Sep., 20047311276
11385864Mar., 20067798435
241/30  ; 241/100; 241/101.3; 241/236; 241/36
241/30,36,101.3,100,236
19835093
0562076
0524708
0856945
0855221
H05-092144
20000346288
2005070553
2006036370
2007109753
2007122364
Australian Examination Report for Australian Innovation Patent Application No. 2010100056, dated Mar. 5, 2010. cited by other
Examination Report for Australian Patent Application No. 2010100084, mailed Mar. 16, 2010. cited by other
Examination Report for Australian Patent Application No. 2010100084, mailed Jun. 10, 2010. cited by other
Examination Report for Australian Patent Application No. 2008202504, mailed Mar. 13, 2009. cited by other
Office Action for Chinese Patent Application No. 200580034478.5, mailed Apr. 10, 2009. cited by other
Notice of Allowance for Russian Patent Application No. 2007108715, dated May 6, 2009. cited by other
TI&#39;s Digital Signal Controllers Put Brake on SawStop Table Saw, Feb. 9, 2005, pp. 1-3. (printed from www.embeddedstar.com/press/content/2005/2/embedded17827.html). cited by other
Examination Report for European Patent Application No. 05784240.3, mailed on Mar. 31, 2008. cited by other
Office Action for Canadian Patent Application No. 2,579,137, mailed on May 21, 2009. cited by other
International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2005/028290 dated Nov. 21, 2005. cited by other
Picture of Unknown Shredder with Oil Container on Side. cited by other
Search Report issued in European Patent Application No. 08102126.3, May 19, 2008, 5 pages. cited by other
Search Report issued in European patent application No. 08170857.0, Feb. 10, 2009, 6 pages. cited by other
Notification of Transmittal of International Search Report, Search Report and Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority for PCT/US2008/078458, mailed Mar. 30, 2009, 21 pages. cited by other
Notification of Transmittal of International Search Report, Search Report and Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority for PCT/2007/064601, mailed Feb. 8, 2008, 21 pages. cited by other
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for PCT/US2005/028290, mailed Oct. 22, 2008. cited by other
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for PCT/US2007/064601, mailed Sep. 23, 2008. cited by other
Examination Report for European Patent Application No. 08102126.3, mailed Mar. 4, 2009. cited by other
Examination Report for Australian Patent Application No. 2005285398, mailed Feb. 22, 2008. cited by other
Notice of Acceptance for Australian Patent Application No. 2005285398, mailed Apr. 15, 2008. cited by other
Examination Report for Australian Patent Application No. 2008100182, mailed Jul. 7, 2008. cited by other
International Search Report for PCT/US2006/000010 mailed May 11, 2006. cited by other
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for PCT/US2006/000010 mailed Dec. 19, 2006. cited by other
Complaint for Declaratory Judgment filed on Nov. 15, 2010 by Royal Applicance Manufacturing Co., d/b/a/ TTI Floor Care North America and Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd. against Fellowes, Inc. cited by other
ACCO REXELl, Deckside and Office 115V Machines Illustrated Parts Lists and Service Instructions, Aug. 18, 1999. cited by other
11/767,152, filed Jun. 22, 2007 and currently pending, which is a
divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/444,491,
filed Jun. 1, 2006 and currently pending, which is a continuation-in-part
of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/177,480, filed Jul. 11, 2005 and
currently pending, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/937,304, filed on Sep. 10, 2004 and issued on
Dec. 25, 2007 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,311,276, the entire contents of which
are all incorporated herein by reference. U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 11/444,491, filed Jun. 1, 2006 and currently pending is also a
continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/385,864,
filed on Mar. 22, 2006 and currently pending, the entire content of which
to drive the cutter elements in a shredding direction so that the cutter elements shred the articles fed therein;  a thickness detector device comprising a contact portion in the throat, the contact portion being movable by a thickness between opposing
major surfaces of the at least one article being received by the throat, a detectable portion movable by the contact portion, and a detector for detecting at least one position of the detectable portion, the at least one position of the detectable
portion including a position when the detectable portion has been moved by the contact portion by an amount that correlates to a predetermined maximum thickness;  and a controller coupled to the thickness detector;  wherein the controller is operable to
prevent the motor from driving the cutter elements in the shredding direction responsive to the detector detecting that the detectable portion has been moved by the amount that correlates to the predetermined maximum thickness;  and wherein the
controller is configured to vary the predetermined maximum thickness based on receiving an input parameter.
2.  A shredder according to claim 1, further comprising an input for enabling a user to select a type of material to be shredded, the input being coupled to the controller and the input parameter being the material selected via the input such
that controller is configured to vary the predetermined maximum thickness based on the material selected via the input.
3.  A shredder according to claim 2, wherein the input is a selector switch.
4.  A shredder according to claim 1, wherein the controller is also operable to illuminate an indicator to alert a user responsive to the detector detecting that the detectable portion has been moved by the amount that correlates to the
predetermined maximum thickness of the at least one article.
5.  A shredder according to claim 4, wherein the controller is also operable to sound an audible alarm indicator to alert a user.
6.  A shredder according to claim 1, wherein the controller comprises a microcontroller.
7.  A shredder according to claim 1, wherein the detector comprises an optical sensor.
8.  A shredder according to claim 7, wherein the optical sensor comprises an infrared LED and a dual die infrared receiver configured to detect the direction and amount of the movement of the detectable portion and to communicate the movement to
9.  A shredder according to claim 1, wherein the contact portion and the detectable portion of the thickness detector device are portions of a single member.
10.  A shredder according to claim 1, wherein the detector is configured to detect a plurality of positions of the detectable portion.
11.  A method of operating a shredder comprising: (a) a housing having a throat open to an exterior of the housing for permitting a user to feed at least one article to be shredded;  (b) a shredder mechanism received in the housing and including
an electrically powered motor and cutter elements, the shredder mechanism enabling the at least one article fed into the throat to be shredded to be fed into the cutter elements and the motor being operable to drive the cutter elements in a shredding
direction so that the cutter elements shred the articles fed therein;  (c) a thickness detector device comprising (i) a contact portion in the throat, the contact portion being movable by a thickness between opposing major surfaces of the at least one
article being received by the throat, (ii) a detectable portion movable by the contact portion, and (iii) a detector for detecting at least one position of the detectable portion, the at least one position of the detectable portion including a position
when the detectable portion has been moved by the contact portion by an amount that correlates to a predetermined maximum thickness;  and (d) a controller coupled to the thickness detector;  wherein the controller is operable to prevent the motor from
driving the cutter elements in the shredding direction responsive to the detector detecting that the detectable portion has been moved by the amount that correlates to the predetermined maximum thickness;  and wherein the controller is configured to vary
the predetermined maximum thickness based on receiving an input parameter;  the method comprising: the controller receiving the input parameter and varying the predetermined maximum thickness based on the input parameter;  detecting with the detector
when the detectable portion has moved the amount that correlates to the predetermined maximum thickness;  and the controller preventing the motor from driving the cutter elements in the shredding direction responsive to the detector detecting when the
detectable portion has moved the amount that correlates to the predetermined maximum thickness.
12.  A method according to claim 11, wherein the shredder further comprises an input for enabling a user to select a type of material to be shredded, the input being coupled to the controller and the input parameter being the material selected
via the input such that controller is configured to vary the predetermined maximum thickness based on the material selected via the input;  the method further comprising the user using the input to select the type of material to be shredded.
13.  A method according to claim 12, wherein the input is a selector switch, and the act of the user using the input to selected the type of material to be shredded is performed by the user using the selector switch.
14.  A shredder comprising: a housing having a throat open to an exterior of the housing for permitting a user to feed at least one article to be shredded;  a shredder mechanism received in the housing and including an electrically powered motor
elements shred the articles fed therein;  a thickness detector device configured to detect a thickness between opposing major surfaces of the at least one article being received by the throat, the thickness detector device comprising a first portion in
the throat, a second portion that is configured to rotate upon movement of the first portion, and an optical detector configured to detect a position of the second portion;  and a controller coupled to the thickness detector device;  wherein the optical
detector is configured to detect at least one position of the second portion and to communicate such detection to the controller, the at least one position including a position when the thickness of the at least one article is at least equal to a
predetermined maximum thickness;  wherein the controller is operable to prevent the motor from driving the cutter elements in the shredding direction responsive to the detector detecting that the thickness of the at least one article is at least equal to
the predetermined maximum thickness;  and wherein the controller is configured to vary the predetermined maximum thickness based on receiving an input parameter.
15.  A shredder according to claim 14, further comprising an input for enabling a user to select a type of material to be shredded, the input being coupled to the controller and the input parameter being the material selected via the input such
16.  A shredder according to claim 15, wherein the input is a selector switch.
17.  A shredder according to claim 14, wherein the controller is also operable to illuminate an indicator to alert a user responsive to the detector detecting that the thickness of the at least one article is at least equal to the predetermined
18.  A shredder according to claim 17, wherein the controller is also operable to sound an audible alarm indicator to alert a user.
19.  A shredder according to claim 14, wherein the controller comprises a microcontroller.
20.  A shredder according to claim 14, wherein the first portion and the second portion are portions of a single member.
21.  A shredder according to claim 14, wherein the optical detector is configured to detect a plurality of positions of the second portion.  Description
receive more sheets of paper than the stated capacity.  A common frustration of users of shredders is to feed too many papers into the feed throat, only to have the shredder jam after it has started to shred the papers.  To free the shredder of the
papers, the user typically reverses the direction of rotation of the cutter elements via a switch until the papers become free.
In an embodiment, a shredder is provided.  The shredder includes a housing having a throat open to an exterior of the housing for permitting a user to feed at least one article to be shredded, and a shredder mechanism received in the housing and
including an electrically powered motor and cutter elements.  The shredder mechanism enables the at least one article fed into the throat to be shredded to be fed into the cutter elements and the motor is operable to drive the cutter elements in a
shredding direction so that the cutter elements shred the articles fed therein.  The shredder includes a thickness detector device that includes a contact portion in the throat, the contact portion being movable by a thickness between opposing major
surfaces of the at least one article being received by the throat, a detectable portion movable by the contact portion, and a detector for detecting at least one position of the detectable portion.  The at least one position of the detectable portion
includes a position when the detectable portion has been moved by the contact portion by an amount that correlates to a predetermined maximum thickness.  The shredder includes a controller coupled to the thickness detector.  The controller is operable to
prevent the motor from driving the cutter elements in the shredding direction responsive to the detector detecting that the detectable portion has been moved by the amount that correlates to the predetermined maximum thickness.  The controller is
configured to vary the predetermined maximum thickness based on receiving an input parameter.
In an embodiment, there is provided a method of operating a shredder that includes: (a) a housing having a throat open to an exterior of the housing for permitting a user to feed at least one article to be shredded; (b) a shredder mechanism
received in the housing and including an electrically powered motor and cutter elements, the shredder mechanism enabling the at least one article fed into the throat to be shredded to be fed into the cutter elements and the motor being operable to drive
the cutter elements in a shredding direction so that the cutter elements shred the articles fed therein; (c) a thickness detector device comprising (i) a contact portion in the throat, the contact portion being movable by a thickness between opposing
major surfaces of the at least one article being received by the throat, (ii) a detectable portion movable by the contact portion, and (iii) a detector for detecting at least one position of the detectable portion, the at least one position of the
detectable portion including a position when the detectable portion has been moved by the contact portion by an amount that correlates to a predetermined maximum thickness; and (d) a controller coupled to the thickness detector; wherein the controller is
operable to prevent the motor from driving the cutter elements in the shredding direction responsive to the detector detecting that the detectable portion has been moved by the amount that correlates to the predetermined maximum thickness; and wherein
the controller is configured to vary the predetermined maximum thickness based on receiving an input parameter.  The method includes the controller receiving the input parameter and varying the predetermined maximum thickness; detecting with the detector
when the detectable portion has moved the amount that correlates to the predetermined maximum thickness; and the controller preventing the motor from driving the cutter elements in the shredding direction responsive to the detector detecting when the
In an embodiment, there is provided a shredder that includes a housing having a throat open to an exterior of the housing for permitting a user to feed at least one article to be shredded, and a shredder mechanism received in the housing and
including an electrically powered motor and cutter elements.  The shredder mechanism enables the at least one article fed into the throat to be shredded to be fed into the cutter elements and the motor being operable to drive the cutter elements in a
shredding direction so that the cutter elements shred the articles fed therein.  A thickness detector device is configured to detect a thickness between opposing major surfaces of the at least one article being received by the throat.  The thickness
detector device includes a first portion in the throat, a second portion that is configured to rotate upon movement of the first portion, and an optical detector configured to detect a position of the second portion.  The shredder includes a controller
coupled to the thickness detector device.  The optical detector is configured to detect at least one position of the second portion and to communicate such detection to the controller, the at least one position including a position when the thickness of
the at least one article is at least equal to a predetermined maximum thickness.  The controller is operable to prevent the motor from driving the cutter elements in the shredding direction responsive to the detector detecting that the thickness of the
at least one article is at least equal to the predetermined maximum thickness.  The controller is configured to vary the predetermined maximum thickness based on receiving an input parameter.
The switch lock 52 causes the switch 42 to move from either its on position or reverse position to its off position by a caroming action as the switch lock 52 is moved from a releasing position to a locking position.  In the releasing position,
In an embodiment of the invention, the shredder 10 includes a thickness detector 100 to, detect overly thick stacks of documents or other articles that could jam the shredder mechanism 16, and communicate such detection to a controller 200, as
Shredder with thickness detector, Matlin, et al., Tai Hoon K. Matlin, Eric Gach, Application number 12 578-292, Solid Material Comminution Or Disintegration, Paper shredder, maximum thickness, Patent Search, Patent Agent, Patent Number, safety system, grip portion, dangerous condition, thickness increases, detection system
1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to shredders for destroying articles, such as documents, compact discs, etc. 2. Description of Related Art Shredders are well known devices for destroying articles, such as documents, compact discs ("CDs"), expired credit cards, etc. Typically, users purchase shredders to destroy sensitive articles, such as credit card statements with accountinformation, documents containing company trade secrets, etc. A common type of shredder has a shredder mechanism contained within a housing that is removably mounted atop a container. The shredder mechanism typically has a series of cutter elements that shred articles fed therein and discharge theshredded articles downwardly into the container. The shredder typically has a stated capacity, such as the number of sheets of paper (typically of 20 lb. weight) that may be shredded at one time; however, the feed throat of a typical shredder canreceive more sheets of paper than the stated capacity. A common frustration of users of shredders is to feed too many papers into the feed throat, only to have the shredder jam after it has started to shred the papers. To free the shredder of thepapers, the user typically reverses the direction of rotation of the cutter elements via a switch until the papers become free. In addition, shredders that are subjected to a lot of use should have periodic maintenance done to them. For example, the cutter elements may become dull over time. It has been found that lubricating the cutter elements may improve theperformance of cutter elements, particularly if the shredder is used constantly over a long period of time. The present invention endeavors to provide various improvements over known shredders.BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an aspect of the invention to provide a shredder that does not jam as a result of too many papers, or an article that is too thick, being fed into the shredder. In an embodiment, a shredder is provided. The
Silicon Wafer Thickness Variation Measurements using Infrared