Patent ID: 7913731

Claim:
An automatic pencil sharpener, comprising: a housing defining a bore configured to receive a pencil therein; a selectable control configured to allow selection of a degree of sharpness to which the pencil will be sharpened, wherein the selectable control is configured to allow any one of at least two degrees of sharpness to be selected for the pencil to be inserted into the bore; a cutting mechanism disposed in the housing and adapted to sharpen the pencil in the bore, the selectable control being in operable communication with the cutting mechanism to control operation thereof, the cutting mechanism being configured to sharpen the pencil to any one of a plurality of degrees of sharpness depending on the selectable control, wherein the cutting mechanism is configured to secure the pencil inserted in the bore, automatically advance the pencil during the sharpening thereof, and then to at least partially eject the pencil after sharpening, wherein the cutting mechanism comprises a plurality of wheels configured to secure the pencil within the bore, the wheels being configured to transport the pencil during the sharpening process and during ejection from the automatic pencil sharpener; whereby the automatic pencil sharpener is adapted for a pencil placed in the bore to be automatically sharpened and at least partially ejected without further manual manipulation of the pencil during sharpening and at least partial ejection, wherein the housing comprises a display having a countdown timer therein, the countdown timer representing the time for the sharpening process to be completed.