Patent ID: 6886614

Claim:
A pencil sharpener comprising: a first longitudinally elongated external shell having internal ribs defining a first plurality of support surfaces; a sharpening sub-assembly for sharpening a pencil, said sharpening sub-assembly comprising: a blade-supporting shaft; a rotary blade and a pinion supported co-axially on said blade-supporting shaft, said rotary blade having spiral cutting edges; a blade holder defining a cavity for receiving an end of the said pencil therein and supporting said blade-supporting shaft, said blade holder being supported by said first and second external shells to be rotatable around an axis of said cavity; a cutter gear module defining a pencil-receiving opening and including an annular ring gear meshing with said pinion; and a drive shaft which drives said blade holder around said axis; and a second longitudinally elongated external shell mated with said first external shell to define a substantially closed compartment, said second external shell having internal ribs defining a second plurality of support surfaces; wherein each support surface extends along an edge of a respective internal rib, and wherein said first and second pluralities of support surfaces cooperate with each other to laterally position and fixedly retain said sharpening sub-assembly within said shells; and wherein said drive shaft is capable of driving said blade holder around said cavity, causing said pinion to travel along said annular ring gear and said rotary blade to rotate and sharpen the pencil advanced into said cavity.