US 8,353,323 B2Granted

Sharpener with autostop feature

AssigneeElmer's Products, Inc.

InventorsMichael Schumacher, Ben Dunlap, Theo Muir

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An electric pencil sharpener comprising a motor; a cutter assembly operatively connected to the motor, wherein the cutter assembly further includes: a conical housing defining a conical cavity therein for receiving a pencil; and 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; a switch assembly positioned at the narrow end of the conical housing, wherein the switch assembly further includes: a shutoff switch operative to deactivate the motor; mechanical means for actuating the shutoff switch when a desired degree of sharpening has been achieved by the cutter assembly; and an electronic control unit in electrical communication with the switch assembly and the motor, wherein the electronic control unit is operative to provide a delay of a predetermined period of time between when the shutoff switch is activated and when the motor is deactivated.

Claims20

Dependent claims

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.

10 more elements

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 first 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 first 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;
and
(f) a second switch assembly in electrical communication with the electronic control unit, wherein the second switch assembly is operative to engage a pencil inserted into the conical housing and activate the motor.

12 more elements

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;
(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;
and
(iii) a fly-away cutting mechanism for disengaging the at least one rotary blade from the pencil being sharpened;
and
(c) a first 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 activate the fly-away mechanism and 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 first 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;
and
(f) a second switch assembly in electrical communication with the electronic control unit, wherein the second switch assembly is operative to engage a pencil inserted into the conical housing and activate the motor.

14 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/826,041Filed 29 Jun 2010 · us provisional application
Priority: 29 Jun 2009
Published: US 2010/0326568 A130 Dec 2010
Granted: 15 Jan 2013
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.