Patent ID: 7240870

Claim:
A hand-held device for shredding paper comprising: a housing having a handle portion and a shredding portion; the shredding portion also having an elongated inlet aperture and an elongated outlet aperture the inlet aperture and the outlet aperture forming a slot through which paper to be shred can pass, said slot including a bulbous opening at each end for flexion and for passing through excess paper shreddings; a pair of rotating wheel assemblies disposed intermediate said inlet and outlet apertures; means integral to each said wheel assembly for frictionally engaging one or more sheets of paper; the handle also having a drive means for imparting rotational motion to said rotating wheel assemblies wherein the drive means includes a motor and a gear reduction means coupled to at least one of said wheel assemblies and wherein the motor, the gear reduction means and the wheel assemblies lie generally along a same longitudinal axis; and a switching means for actuating said drive means.