Patent ID: 7601052

Claim:
A key destroyer comprising: a grinding element; a motor arranged to move the grinding element; an enclosure for the grinding element; a tube leading into the enclosure to a grinding area within the enclosure; a key holder having jaws that releasably grip a head of a key to be destroyed; the key holder, with a key gripped by the holder, being slidable into the tube so that a coded end of the key advances toward the grinding area; a safety wall at an inner end of the tube having an oblong opening orienting the coded end of the key and admitting only the coded end of the key into contact with the grinding element so that advancing the holder and the gripped key grinds away only the coded end of the key; and the tube and the safety wall support the key and the key holder against lateral force applied by the grinding element in grinding away the coded end of the key, the head of which can then be removed from the holder jaws.