Patent ID: 7048165

Claim:
A staple sheet-detecting mechanism of an electric stapler, comprising: a detecting element for detecting whether a staple sheet is positioned in a feeding passage when a forming plate and a driver are moved relative to said feeding passage, and a rocking member arranged above a tip edge of said feeding passage in a feeding direction of the staple sheet, a first end of the rocking member being configured to contact the tip edge of the staple sheet in the feeding direction, and a second end of the rocking member being configured to turn on or off said detecting element, the forming plate and the driver being arranged directed to a direction orthogonal to the feeding passage, said forming plate being configured to form staples of the staple sheet in a one side-opened rectangular form and said driver being configured to penetrate the staple formed in a one side-opened rectangular shape into copy papers, wherein a rocking fulcrum of the rocking member is located nearer to a side of the feeding passage than to a side of the detecting element, the rocking member and the detecting element are arranged substantially between said driver and a cartridge and above said feeding passage, and each of the forming plate and the driver is formed with a slot, so as to avoid interference against the rocking member.