Patent ID: 8353323

Claim:
An electric pencil sharpener comprising: (a) a motor; (b) a cutter assembly, wherein the cutter assembly is operatively connected to the motor, and wherein the cutter assembly further includes: (i) a conical housing defining a conical cavity therein for receiving a pencil in need of sharpening; and (ii) at least one rotary blade mounted in close proximity to the conical cavity, wherein the at least one rotary blade further includes spiral cutting edges for sharpening the pencil; (c) a switch assembly positioned at the narrow end of the conical housing of the cutter assembly, wherein the switch assembly further includes: (i) a shutoff switch operative to deactivate the motor; and (ii) mechanical means for actuating the shutoff switch when a desired degree of sharpening of the pencil has been achieved by the cutter assembly; and (d) an indicator for indicating that sharpening of the pencil is complete, wherein the indicator is in electrical communication with the shutoff switch; and (e) an electronic control unit in electrical communication with the switch assembly, the motor, and the indicator, wherein the electronic control unit is operative to provide a delay of a predetermined period of time between when the shutoff switch is actuated and when the motor is deactivated, and wherein providing a delay of a predetermined period of time allows the motor to continue to run and complete sharpening of the pencil prior to triggering the indicator.