Patent ID: 8505841

Claim:
A shredder device for fragmenting at least one media sheet having a variable thickness, comprising: a bin including a containment space for collecting fragments formed from the at least one media sheet; and, a head assembly adjacent to the bin, including: a core mount assembly supporting a motor drive assembly and a cutter assembly including a at least one cutting shaft, where the core mount includes first and second support members that rotatably support the cutting shaft between inner faces of the first and second support members such that the cutting shaft extends generally perpendicular to the first and second support members, and where the first and second support members have outer faces opposite their respective inner faces, an optical sensor generating a focus beam for sensing the variable thickness of the at least one media sheet and positioned adjacent the outer face of the first or second support member; a controller operatively associated with the optical sensor and the motor drive assembly, and, a media feed path directing a travel of the at least one media sheet toward the cutter assembly; wherein the optical sensor is removed from both the media feed path and the cutter assembly such that it generates the focus beam away from a proximity of the media feed path and the cutter assembly.