US Patent:
20120111979, May 10, 2012
Inventors:
Michael Dale Jensen - Round Lake IL, US
Dennis William Gruber - Arlington Heights IL, US
Daniel Namie - Elburn IL, US
Dipin Surati - Des plaines IL, US
Assignee:
Fellowes, Inc. - Itasca IL
International Classification:
B02C 25/00
Abstract:
A shredder includes a shredding mechanism and a vibration sensor configured to detect vibrations generated by the shredding mechanism. The shredder includes a controller configured to regulate operation of the shredder's motor in response to the detected vibrations. The controller may regulate operation of the shredder so as to keep the detected vibrations below a predetermined vibration level during operation of the shredder. The controller may modify operation of the shredder (e.g., turn the shredder off, conduct an autocorrect sequence, increase or decrease the shredder's speed, display an error message) in response to the detected vibrations having a predetermined characteristic (e.g., frequency and/or amplitude within a predetermined range, a characteristic that indicates a material/paper jam or misfeed). The controller may change the predetermined characteristics over the life of the shredder to account for gradual changes to the shredder's baseline vibration characteristics as components wear in and out.