Public access information destruction system performing pay-per-use shredding
First Claim
1. An apparatus for shredding material for use in public facilities on a pay-per-use basis, comprising:
- a shredder, with an inlet and an outlet, shredding material fed into the shredder inlet;
a feed chute positioned proximate to the shredder, wherein the feed chute comprises an outlet spaced apart from the shredder inlet by at least about 3 inches and having a maximum thickness of less than about 0.5 inches, whereby the shredder is safely operable in the public facilities;
a controller selectively operating the shredder; and
a payment receipt mechanism receiving a payment from a user;
wherein the controller determines validity of the received payment and when validated, operates the shredder and wherein the controller comprises a shred period calculator converting the received payment to a shred time period.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Reexamination
Accused Products
Abstract
A pay-per-use shredding system for public use for destroying documents and media containing private or personal information. The system includes a shredder, a feed chute for receiving material and an outlet feeding the material to the shredder inlet, and a storage bin below the shredder outlet to receive shredded materials. A portal provides a line of sight to the interior of the storage bin for user visual confirmation of destruction. The system further includes a payment receipt mechanism, such as a keypad, a card receptor, or a bill or coin receptor. A controller acts to validate and/or authenticate payment at the receipt mechanism and to determine a shred time period. The controller operates the shredder for the shred time period, such as in response to a start instruction from the user via a start button. A display is decremented to show the remaining shred time to the user.
12 Citations
16 Claims
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1. An apparatus for shredding material for use in public facilities on a pay-per-use basis, comprising:
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a shredder, with an inlet and an outlet, shredding material fed into the shredder inlet; a feed chute positioned proximate to the shredder, wherein the feed chute comprises an outlet spaced apart from the shredder inlet by at least about 3 inches and having a maximum thickness of less than about 0.5 inches, whereby the shredder is safely operable in the public facilities; a controller selectively operating the shredder; and a payment receipt mechanism receiving a payment from a user; wherein the controller determines validity of the received payment and when validated, operates the shredder and wherein the controller comprises a shred period calculator converting the received payment to a shred time period. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A public-access shredding system, comprising:
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a cabinet with a front panel and an internal shelf; a feed chute in the front panel with an opening for receiving material for shredding; a storage bin formed in a lower portion of the cabinet, the storage bin comprising a visual confirmation window of substantially transparent material providing a visual path through the front panel of the cabinet to the storage bin; a shredder disposed between the feed chute and the storage bin; a control board in the cabinet, the control board comprising a processor and logic operating to run the shredder for a timed shredding session in response to receipt of a payment; a display on the front panel of the cabinet; a timer measuring a length of time of the running of the shredder; logic for determining an available shredding time by reducing the timed shredding session by the running length of time for the shredder; and logic for operating the display to show the available shredding time or for displaying the length of time of the running of the shredder. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for shredding material for use in public facilities on a pay-per-use basis, comprising:
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a shredder, with an inlet and an outlet, shredding material fed into the shredder inlet; a controller selectively operating the shredder; a payment receipt mechanism receiving a payment from a user, the controller comprising a shred period calculator converting the received payment to a shred time period; a storage bin positioned to receive in an inner compartment the material fed into and shredded by the shredder output from the shredder outlet, wherein the storage bin comprises a portal of substantially transparent material with a line of sight to the inner compartment from a location exterior to the storage bin visually exposing at least a portion of the inner compartment of the storage bin; wherein the controller determines validity of the received payment and when validated, operates the shredder for the shred time period. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An apparatus for shredding material for use in public facilities on a pay-per-use basis, comprising:
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a shredder, with an inlet and an outlet, shredding material fed into the shredder inlet; a feed chute positioned proximate to the shredder, wherein the feed chute comprises an outlet spaced apart from the shredder inlet by at least about 3 inches and having a maximum thickness of less than about 0.5 inches, whereby the shredder is safely operable in the public facilities; a controller selectively operating the shredder; and a payment receipt mechanism receiving a payment from a user; wherein the controller determines validity of the received payment and when validated, operating the shredder, and wherein the controller comprises a payment validator performing the validating of the received payment, wherein the payment receipt mechanism comprises a device for receiving an activation code and the payment validator operates to compare an activation code in the received payment with a controller-accessible payment code and wherein the controller further stores usage time for use in later invoicing a user associated with the activation code.
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Specification