Patent ID: 7195185

Claim:
A shredder comprising: a waste receptacle having an interior waste receiving space; a shredder mechanism including a motor and cutter elements, the shredder mechanism enabling articles to be shredded to be fed into the cutter elements and the motor being operable to drive the cutter elements so that the cutter elements shred the articles therein, the shredder mechanism being positioned so that the shredded articles are discharged into the waste receiving space; the receptacle including a waste opening separate from the shredder mechanism for enabling articles to be discarded through the waste opening and received in the waste receiving space without passing through the shredder mechanism; a cover moveable between (1) a closed position that covers the waste opening, and (2) an open position that opens the waste opening; and a sensor for sensing the position of the cover and operatively connected to the shredder mechanism, the shredder mechanism being inoperable at least when the sensor senses that the cover is in the open position, wherein the waste receptacle has a base frame and a removable waste container providing the waste receiving space, the base frame including an upper portion on which the shredder mechanism is supported, the waste container being removably mounted beneath the upper portion to enable shredded articles from the shredder mechanism or articles discarded through the waste opening to be received in the waste receiving space, the removable mounting of the waste container enabling the waste container to be removed from the base frame out from underneath the upper portion for emptying, even when the cover is in the closed position.