Patent ID: 7267256

Claim:
An electric stapler comprising: a driver unit including a driver that strikes out a staple toward sheets to be bound; a clincher unit arranged to be vertically separated from the driver unit and including a clincher base for holding a clincher mechanism that clinches legs of the staple penetrating through the sheets; a driver drive motor on the driver unit for operating the driver, the driver drive motor being capable of being started and stopped; a clincher drive motor on the clincher unit for reciprocating the clincher base and operating a clincher, the clincher drive motor being capable of being started and stopped; a driver drive shaft rotated by the driver drive motor so as to actuate driver in a striking operation; a clincher drive shaft rotated by clincher drive motor to actuate the clincher mechanism and the clincher base; and a driver drive shaft encoder that outputs a pulse signal upon rotation of the clincher drive shaft; a clincher drive shaft encoder that outputs a pulse signal upon rotation of the clincher drive shaft, control means operatively connected to said driver drive shaft encoder and said clincher drive shaft encoder for counting said pulse signals, and wherein the control means starts the driver drive motor before a clamp operation by the clincher unit is terminated by stopping the clincher drive motor, when the control means has counted a predetermined number of pulse signals from the clincher drive shaft encoder after the clincher drive motor is started, and the control means starts again the clincher drive motor of the clincher unit before the striking operation of the staple by the driver unit is terminated by stopping the driver drive motor, when the control device has counted a predetermined number of pulse signals from the driver drive shaft encoder after the driver unit is started.