Patent ID: 7097087

Claim:
An electric stapler comprising: a housing having an exterior, an interior, a front end, a rear end, a top, and a bottom, wherein said housing has a slot for receiving items to be stapled at said front end; a stapling mechanism contained within said housing, said stapling mechanism comprising a staple carriage accommodating a supply of U-shaped staple pins arranged in a sheet-like row in a groove slidable toward a staple punching outlet at a front end of said groove, a staple biasing means within said staple carriage for urging said staple pins toward said staple punching outlet, a punching arm having a staple punching plate at a front end thereof, wherein said punching arm is vertically movably supported to punch out said staple pins in said staple carriage one after another through the staple punching outlet, a matrix anvil for bending a staple pin punched out through said staple outlet, an arm drive means including an electric motor for driving said punching arm up and down, a control circuit for controlling the operation of said motor, and means for supplying electricity to power said motor; a manually operated power switch controlled by a power button on the exterior of said housing; and a manually actuated reverse switch that causes that motor to operate in the reverse direction in order to clear staple jams, wherein said manually operated power switch must be actuated in order to cause said motor to operate to drive a leading staple pin in said staple carriage into an item to be stapled.