US3860049A

US3860049A - Pencil sharpener

Info

Publication number: US3860049A
Application number: US365610A
Authority: US
Inventors: Shigeaki Kuramochi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-09-07
Filing date: 1973-05-31
Publication date: 1975-01-14
Anticipated expiration: 1992-01-14
Also published as: DE2345746A1; JPS4944820A; IT990756B; FR2198845A1; JPS5226172B2; DE2345746B2; FR2198845B1; GB1441124A

Abstract

A pencil sharpener including a sharpening blade, a feed member and associated apparatus for feeding a pencil into the sharpening blade and for removing a pencil from the sharpening blade, with a guide member associated with the feed member and mounted for tilting about an axis normal to the length of the guide member and about another axis extending parallel to the length of the guide member, an inclined guide surface for guiding a pencil into the guide member, with a regulating plate for regulating the feeding of pencils to the guide member, a feed actuator having a pencil holding passage therein and pivotally mounted for guiding pencils to the inclined guide surface, a vibratory plate mounted for supplying pencils to the feed actuator with a pivotally mounted lever engaging the vibratory plate, the feed actuator having serrated teeth or stops for engaging the pivotally mounter lever. Actuation of the lever triggers the apparatus to feed a pencil to and from the sharpening blade, and a plurality of pencils can then be successively sharpened by the apparatus without manually feeding them to the sharpening blade.

Description

[ Jan. 14, 1975 United States Patent Kuramochi PENCIL SHARPENER [76] Inventor: Shigeaki Kuramochi, No. 24-17,

Koishikawa S-chome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan [22] Filed: May 31, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 365,610

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Sept. 7, 1972 Japan 47-89846 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,712,351 1/1973 Kuramochi 144/2872 Primary Examiner-Andrew R. Juhasz Assistant Examiner-W. D. Bray Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Stevens, Davis, Miller & Mosher [57] ABSTRACT A pencil sharpener including a sharpening blade, a feed member and associated apparatus for feeding a pencil into the sharpening blade and for removing a pencil from the sharpening blade, with a guide member associated with the feed member and mounted for tilting about an axis normal to the length of the guide member and about another axis extending parallel to the length of the guide member, an inclined guide surface for guiding a pencil into the guide member, with a regulating plate for regulating the feeding of pencils to the guide member, a feed actuator having a pencil holding passage therein and pivotally mounted for guiding pencils to the inclined guide surface, a vibratory plate mounted for supplying pencils to the feed actuator with a pivotally mounted lever engaging the vibratory plate, the feed actuator having serrated teeth or stops for engaging the pivotally mounter lever. Actuation of the lever triggers the apparatus to feed a pencil to and from the sharpening blade, and a plurality of pencils can then be successively sharpened by the apparatus without manually feeding them to the sharpening blade.

2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 1 4|975 3 850 U49 SHEET 10F 5 FIG./

PATENTEO JAN 4l975 SHEET 2 OF 5 FIG PATENTED JAN 1 4 I915 SHEET 3 BF 5 FIG.3

PATENTEU JAN 1 4:975

SHEET 4 UP 5 PENCIL SHARPENER This invention relates to pencil sharpeners, and more particularly it is concerned with a pencil sharpener of the type which permits a number of pencils to be sharpened successively without requiring any manual attention.

Pencil sharpeners of the prior art require manual insertion of each pencil to be sharpened into a sharpening blade section. Pencil sharpeners of this type are low in efficiency when a large number of pencils are to be sharpened at a time, because it takes time to insert each pencil in the sharpening blade section one after another. Thus, the provision of a pencil sharpener which permits a large number of pencils to be sharpened continuously at high efficiency without requiring any manual attention has been sought.

In view of this situation, I have previously proposed to provide a pencil sharpener which permits a large number of pencils to be sharpened at a time at high efficiency by automatically and continuously sharpening one pencil after another supplied from the pencil case in association with a pencil sharpening operation.

An object of this invention is to provide, in the pencil sharpener of the type described, an improvement which consists in the provision of means whereby a large number of pencils contained in the pencil case can be fed smoothly one after another to the sharpening section.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a pencil sharpener which permits a number of pencils to be successively sharpened at high efficiency without requiring manually feeding each pencil to the sharpening blade and which permits sharpened pencils to be guided by the guide member and discharged from the sharpener without any trouble so that a continuous pencil sharpening operation may be performed smoothly, an improvement consisting in the provision of means whereby the feed actuator is caused to pivot in association with the pencil sharpening operation to supply pencils to the guide surface while holding them, the pencils supplied to the guide surface are positively fed to the guide member by the regulating plate operating in association with a pencil sharpening operation, a large number of pencils are fed smoothly to the feed actuator because they are prevented from getting entangled with one another due to the vibration of the vibratory plate caused by the pivotal lever engaging the serration-like irregularities formed in the feed actuator, and the feeding of pencils is facilitated by the provision of the opening and closing plate which is moved back and forth in association with a pencil sharpening operation so as to open and close the pencil supply opening formed between the opening and closing plate and the vobratory plate moving in vibratory motion, whereby continuous sharpening of pencils at high efficiency can be performed.

Additional objects as well as features and advantages of the invention will become evident from the description set forth hereinafter when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of one embodiment of the pencil sharpener according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the essential portion of the pencil sharpener according to this invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the pencil holder; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the pencil feeder according to this invention.

One embodiment of the present invention will now be explained with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, the pencil sharpener of this invention comprises a casing 1 which mounts on one side thereof an electric motor 2 which drives a rotary shaft 3 having mounted at one end thereof a gear 4. A gear 5 maintained in meshing engagement with the gear 4 is carried by a hollow rotary shaft 6 rotatably mounted to the casing 1. The shaft 6 also carries a gear 7 which is maintained in meshing engagement with a gear 8 carried by a rotary shaft 9 rotatably mounted to the casing 1. The shaft 9 also carries a worm (not shown) which is maintained in meshing engagement with a worm gear mounted on a rotary shaft 10 rotatably mounted to the casing l and extending across the width thereof. Cams 11 and 12 are secured to opposite ends of the shaft 10 respectively. The cam 11 is a segmental cam which is formed with a cam edge 13 in its periphery. An engaging edge 14 adapted to engage the cam edge 13 is formed in an op eration plate 15 which is supported for rotation at its lower end by a shaft 16 rotatably mounted to the casing 1. A connection member 17 is pivotally connected at one end thereof to the upper end portion of the operation plate 15 which is formed at the rear edge thereof with a recess 18 for preventing the operation plate 15 from coming into contact with the rotary shaft 10 when the former moves in rotary motion. The connection member 17 is pivotally connected at the other end thereof to a feed member 20 adapted to slide along a guide rail 19. The feed member 20 is formed with a guide groove 21 for inserting the rotary shaft 10 therein. Mounted between the feed member 20 and the rail 19 is a coiled spring 22 which urges by its biasing force the feed member 20 to move toward a blade 23 operative in association with the electric motor 2. Provided in the front of the feed member 20 is a pencil holder 24 which consists of two holding members 24a and 24b as shown in FIG. 4. Arcuate serrated pencil holding edges 24d are formed in the lower ends of the adjacent surfaces 240 of the holding members 24a and 24b, and the holding members 2411 and 24b are connected by a shaft 25 to the front surface of the feed member 20 for opening and closing motion. Substantially arcuate resilient members 27 are inserted at opposite ends thereof into holes 26 of opposite sides of the holding members 24a and 24b so as to urge the two members 24a and 24 b to move in a direction in which they hold a pencil therebetween. Formed between the adjacent surfaces 24c of the holding members 24a and 24b is a concaved portion 24e for receiving therein a sharp pointed conical opener 28 mounted on the forward end of the rail 19 and facing the direction in which the feed member 20 moves. If the conical opener 28 is introduced into the concaved portion, the two members 24a and 24b will be moved apart from each other.

A pencil feed guide member 29 is supported by a pivotal support member 31 through a pin 30 for pivotal movements about the longitudinal axis thereof. The pivotal support member 31 is supported by the casing 1 through a shaft 32 for pivotal movements about an axis normal to the longitudinal axis thereof. Mounted between a projection 33 on the underside of the support member 31 and the casing l is a coiled spring 34 which urges by itsbiasing force the support member 31 to be disposed on a horizontal plane so that its forward end'may be disposed in a position corresponding to the position of the pencil holder 24.

.The guide member 29 is substantially U-shaped in cross-section so as to positively support apencil therein. The member 29 is formed on opposite sides thereof with holding projections 35 except for the portion of the member 29 which is disposed on the side near the blade 23 where a cutout portion is formed.

A lever 36 (see FIG. 6) engaging the cam 12 at one end thereof is pivotally supported by a shaft 121. The level 36 is connected to the projection 33 of the support member 31 through a connecting rod 37. The lever 36 is maintained in engagement with the cam 12 by the biasing force of the spring 34.

Formed in the body 1 on one side of the guide member 29 is a guide surface 38 which is inclined transversely and downwardly toward the guide member 29 and which is inclined longitudinally such that it becomes parallel to the guide member 29 when the latter is tilted about the shaft 32. An introducing opening 39 (right and middle in FIG. 2) is disposed on one side of the guide surface 38 and upwardly thereof, and a feed actuator 40 is supported for pivotal motion about longitudinally extending

shafts

49 and 50 above the introducing opening 39.

The upper surface of feed actuator 40 has an increasingly greater width in going toward its front end (right side in FIG. 5) and is formed with a convex arcuate surface 41. A pencil guide opening 42 is formed on one side of the convex arcuate surface 41, and there is formed a vertical pencil holding passage 43 communicating at its upper end with the pencil guide opening 42 and at its lower end with a lateral surface of a pencil shifting opening 45 formed in a bottom surface 44 of feed actuator 40 in a position biased in one direction from the pencil holding passage 43. The bottom surface 44 is curved in arcuate form so that it can be pivoted over and along an arcuate guide surface 46 disposed on one side of the introducing opening 39 and inclined transversely and downwardly toward'the introducing opening 39 and having a front end (right side in FIG. 5) which is inclined downwardly.

A base plate 47 (see FIG. 3) of a major diameter is disposed at the front end of actuator 40 while a base disc 48 of a minor diameter is disposed at the rear end thereof. The centers of two

base plates

47 and 48 are rotatably supported by

shafts

49 and 50 connected to the body 1. A connecting rod 51 is pivotally connected at one end thereof to the base plate 47 in an eccentric position, and a coil spring 52 is mounted between connecting rod 51 and body 1 so as to normally urge by its biasing force the feed actuator 40 to move counter clockwise in FIG. 2 to bring the pencil shifting opening 45 into a position in which it is disposed on the arcuate guide surface 46. The connecting rod 51 is pivotally connected at the other end thereof to a pivotal member 53 pivotally supported by a shaft 59 connected to the body 1.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, a cam 56 is formed with an engaging edge adapted to engage the pivotal member 53 and a coil spring 54 is mounted at the opposite end thereof to cam 56 and pivotal member 53 for maintaining the engaging edge 55 in engagement with the pivotal member 53. Cam 56 is pivotally supported by shaft 59, and a projecting member 60 formed with an engaging edge 58 adapted to engage the cam 56 as shown in FIG. 3 is disposed above the feed member 20. The engaging edge 58 is inclined upwardly so that it has a larger height in going toward the feed side as shown in FIG. 3.

- Formed on the upper edge of the base plate 47 of feed actuator 40 are serration-like irregularities 61 which are engaged by a pivotal lever 62 pivotally supported by a shaft 63 connected to the body I as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. A projection 65 formed at one side of a vibratory plate 64 engages the upper surface of the front end of pivotal lever 62. The vibratory plate 64 is pivotally supported at opposite ends of one side thereof by shafts 72. A pencil supply opening 67 is formed between the vibratory plate 64 and an opening and closing plate 66 which is mounted on one side of the vibratory plate 64 for movement toward and away from the vibratory plate 64.

A plurality of rods 68 extending from opposite ends of one side of the opening and closing plate 66 support at the ends thereof coupler rods 69 connected to each other by a connecting bar 70. A coil spring 73 mounted between a pivotal frame 71 secured to the middle portion of connecting bar and the body 1 urges by its biasing force the opening and closing plate 66 to move toward the vibratory plate 64, so that the pencil supply opening 67 normally has a width smaller than the diameter of pencils.

A projection 74 adapted to be brought into and out of engagement with the connecting bar 70 is formed on the feed actuator 40, so that the pivotal movement of feed actuator 40 to feed pencils pushes and moves the connecting bar 70 and the opening and closing plate 66 is moved away from the vibratory plate 64 against the biasing force of spring 73. This increases the width of pencil supply opening 67. When the feed actuator 40 is restored to its original position, the opening and closing plate 66 is moved toward the vibratory plate 64 by the biasing force of spring 73, thereby reducing the width of pencil supply opening 67.

In FIG. l, a pencil feed operation lever 75 is pivotally connected at its lower end to the body 1 and adapted to be engaged by a projection 76 formed on the base plate 47 of feed actuator 40. When manually operated, the lever 75 pivots to move the feed actuator 40 in pivotal motion to feed pencils and move the opening and closing plate 66 toward and away from the vibratory plate 64 and to vibrate the vibratory plate 64.

Interposed between the guide surface 38 and guide member 29 is a pencil feed regulating plate 77 which is pivotally supported at the upper portion of its rear end through a shaft 78 by a side portion 79 depending from the edge of guide surface 38 as shown in FIG. 6. The regulating plate 77 is adapted to swing about shaft 78 along the side portion 79. A fixed guide plate 80 for holding the regulating plate 77 is disposed between the regulating plate 77 and guide member 29 as shown in FIG. 3, the upper surface of the upper edge 81 of fixed guide plate 80 being inclined forwardly downwardly so that it may be in the same plane as the guide member 29 when the latter is inclined.

Formedin the lower portion of the rear end of regulating plate 77 is a projection 82 which pivotally supports one end of a connecting bar 83 which is formed at the other end thereof with a horizontal slot 84 receiving therein a shaft 85 for pivotally connecting the connecting rod 37 to the projection 33 of support member 31. A spring 87 is mounted between the projection 82 and body 1 to normally cause the regulating plate 77 to extend upwardly away from the guide surface 38 by its biasing force.

As shown in FIG. 3, a pivotal member 89 formed with a projection 88 adapted to be brought into and out of engagement with a projection 86 formed at one side of the rear end of guide member 29 is pivotally supported by the body 1. The pivotal member 89 is urged by the biasing force of a spring 90 to move in a direction in which its projection 88 comes into engagement with the projection 86 of the guide member 29. The projection 88 in pivotal member 89 is shaped such that its lower edge 88a extends horizontally and its upper edge 91 is inclined. Thus, when the support member 31 pivots clockwise about the shaft 32, the projection 86 engages the horizontal edge 88a of projection 88 so that the guide member 29 may pivot clockwise about shaft 30 in FIG. 2. When the support member 31 pivots counter clockwise about shaft 32 in FIG. 1, the inclined edge 91 of projection 88 engages the projection 86, so that the guide member 29 pivots counter clockwise in FIG. 2 about shaft 30.

As shown in FIG. 6, a checking member 92 is disposed above the guide surface 38 and formed at the underside of its rear end with a projection 93 which is pivotally supported by shaft 78. The checking member 92 is formed at its front end portion with a large width checking portion 94 adapted to be brought into and out of engagement with the guide surface 38, and a gap small enough to permit one pencil to be disposed therein is formed between the checking portion 94 and regulating plate 77. A lateral projection 95 adapted to engage the upper edge of regulating plate 77 is formed on the front end portion of checking member 92. A weight 96 is disposed on the upper surface of checking member 92 to bring the projection 95 into engagement with the upper edge of regulating plate 77. The checking member 92 pivots as the regulating plate 77 pivots, so that the checking portion 94 is brought into and out of engagement with the guide surface 38.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 6, a pivotal member 124 adapted to engage a projection 123 formed on the feed actuator 40 is pivotally supported by a shaft 126 connected to the body 1. A controller 125 adapted to be brought into and out of engagement with the guide surface 38 for controlling the supply of pencils isprovided on the pivotal member 124.

The blade 23 for sharpening pencils which is of the same construction as known blades for sharpening pencils is rotatably mounted on a rotary frame 98 which is rotated by the hollow rotary shaft 6. A pencil is fed to the blade 23 through the bore of the hollow rotary shaft 6 disposed against the holding member 24.

An outlet 99 is formed at the front side of guide surface 38 as shown in FIG. 6 for discharging short pencils therethrough.

In FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, a pencil case 100 is detachably mounted on the body 1 in a position above the vibratory plate 64 and opening and closing plate 66. A tilting feed vibratory plate 102 is pivotally supported at one side of pencil case 100 by shaft 101. Pencils are dropped on to the vibratory plate 64 through a gap 105 formed between the other side edge of feed vibratory plate 102 and the inner wall of pencil case 100. A cover plate 104 is pivotally connected at one side thereof to one side of pencil case by shafts for opening and closing motion, so that the pencils in the case 100 may be pressed against the feed vibratory plate 102.

An ancillary pencil case 107 is detachably mounted above the pencil case 100. When a large number of pencils are to be treated, pencils are supplied from the ancillary pencil case 107 to the pencil case 100. The ancillary case 107 is formed therein with a tilting guide surface 108 for supplying pencils to the pencil case 100.

Formed at one end surface of feed vibratory plate 102 and disposed longitudinally thereof is a projection 109 (see FIG. 3) adapted to be engaged by the free end of a vibratory lever 110 which is pivotally supported at its base by a shaft 1 12 connected to the body 1. A pushup lever 111 adapted to engage the vibratory lever 110 is pivotally supported at its front end by a shaft 113 connected to the body 1 and has a base which is disposed in the path of movement of a projecting bar 114 formed at the rear end of feed member 20. When the feed member 20 moves rearwardly, the push-up lever 111 is pushed and moved by the projecting bar 114 to push up the vibratory lever 110 and push the projection 109, so as to thereby cause the feed vibratory plate 102 to pivot clockwise in FIG. 2. When the feed member 20 moves forwardly, the push-up lever 11] is released from the influence of projecting bar 114 and the feed vibratory plate 102 is restored to its original position. Thus, the feed vibratory palte 102 is caused to vibrate each time a pencil is sharpened.

In FIG. 3, a switch 115 with a knob 116 for actuating the switch 115 is mounted on the upper surface of body 1. The knob 116 is supported by a rotary shaft 117 which mounts a lever 118 adapted to engage an engaging portion 127 formed in a resilient pusher 119 disposed on the feed member 20.

In FIG. 1, there is provided a lever 120 for applying an impact to the feed member 20. When the lever 120 is manually manipulated, an impact is applied to a projection formed on the feed member 20 as shown in FIG. 2 so as to actuate the same when it fails to operate as planned.

In operation, when the cover plate 104 is moved to its open position, the pencils contained in the ancillary pencil case 107 are shifted through the inclined guide surface 108 to the pencil case 100, roll on the feed vibratory plate 102, and placed on the vibratory plate 64, so that a pencil is disposed in the pencil supply opening 67 formed between the vibratory plate 64 and opening and closing plate 66. I

If the operation lever 75 is moved clockwise in FIG. 2 at this time, lever 75 will be brought into engagement with the projection 76 and cause the feed actuator 40 to pivot clockwise in FIG. 2 about

shafts

49 and 50. The pivoting of feed actuator 40 causes the projection 74 to push and move the connecting bar 70 rightwardly in FIG. 2 against the biasing force of spring 73. The connecting bar 70 pushes and moves the opening and closing plate 66 through the coupler rods 69 as shown in FIG. 5, so that the dimension of the pencil supply opening 67 between the opening and closing plate 66 and vibratory plate 64 is increased and the pencil disposed on the supply opening 67 moves to the convex arcuate surface 41 of feed actuator 40. As the actuator 40 further pivots and the pencil supply opening 67 is brought into index with the pencil guide opening 42,

the pencil moves through the guide opening 42 to the bottom surface 44 of feed actuator 40.

If the operation lever 75 is released, the feed actuator 40 will be restored to its original position by the biasing force of spring 52 mounted between the body 1 and connecting rod 51, so that the pencil on the bottom surface 44 drops through pencil shifting opening 45 on to the guide surface 38 and is brought into contact with the regulating plate 77 to be held thereby. If the knob 116 is manipulated to close the switch 115 at this time, electric motor 2 will be actuated to rotate rotary shaft through the gear train. As the result, cam 12 is rotated and the lever 36 adapted to be driven by cam 12 is caused to pivot clockwise in FIG. 6 about a shaft 121. This causes, through connecting rod 37, the support member 31 to pivot together with the guide member 29 clockwise in FIG. 1 about shaft 32.

At this time, the projection 86 is brought into engagement with the pivotal member 89 by virtue of inclination of the guide member 29 as shown in FIG. 3 so that the guide member 29 is caused to pivot clockwise in FIG. 3 about shaft 30. If there is a sharpened pencil present on the guide member 29 at this time, such pencil is discharged in a direction away from the plane of FIG. 1 and introduced into a receiver (not shown) connected to one side of the body 1. The projection 86 is released from engagement with the projection 88 formed in pivotal member 89 as the support member 31 for the guide member 29 pivots counter clockwise in FIG. 3 about shaft 32, the guide member 29 is permitted to be restored to its original position by pivoting by its own weight about shaft 30.

If the support member 31 pivots clockwise in FIG. 3

as cam 12 rotates, the regulating plate 77 will be caused, through the connecting bar 83, to pivot clockwise in FIG. 3 about shaft 78, so that the regulating plate 77 becomes parallel to the inclined guide member 29. Thus, the pencil on the guide surface 38 is allowed to move in rolling motion on the inclined guide surface 38, drop on to the guide member 29 and slide forwardly (rightwardly in FIG. 1) along the inclined guide member 29. When the pencil is going to be placed on the guide member 29, the checking member 92 maintained in engagement with the regulating plate 77 through projection 95 has been caused to pivot clockwise in FIG. 6 about shaft 78 by the weight of weight 96 as the result of aforementioned pivoting of regulating plate 77 as shown in FIG. 6. Thus, the checking portion 94 of checking member 92 is brought into contact with the guide surface 38 to preclude feeding of more than one pencil to the guide member 29.

A short pencil not worth sharpening disposed on the guide surface 38 is discharged through the outlet 99 opening on the guide surface 38 and drops downwardly. A further rotation of cam 12 causes the support member 31, through the lever 36 and connecting rod 37, to pivot counter clockwise about shaft 32 in FIG. 1 into its original position, so that the guide member 29 is maintained in a horizontal position. The regulating plate 77 is caused, through the connecting bar 83, to pivot counter clockwise about shaft 78 in FIG. 6 and to extend between the guide member 29 and guide surface 38, thereby preventing the next following pencil from being shifted to the guide member 29. The checking member 92 is caused to pivot upwardly into its oirginal position by its projection 95 engaging the regulating plate 77, with the checking portion 94 moving upwardly to permit pencils to move between the checking member 92 and guide surface 38. This permits the pencils to move in a rolling motion toward the regulating plate 77.

The rotation of the shaft 10 causes the cam 11 to move in pivotal motion, with a result that the operation plate 15 is moved in pivotal motion in an anticlockwise direction in FIG. 1. This causes the connection member 17 pivotally connected to the operation member 15 to move the feed member 20 rearwardly (to the left in FIG. 1) along the rail 19 against the biasing force of the spring 22. This brings the conical opener 28 into engagement with a concaved portion 24e of the holder 24 provided in the feed member 20, and the opener 28 forces the two members 24a and 24b of the holder 24 apart from each other against the biasing force of the resilient member 27. Further rotation of the rotary shaft 10 results in the feed member 20 being started to its original position by the engagement of the cam 11 with the operation plate 15 and the biasing force of the spring 22 urging the feed member 20. Upon the starting of the feed member 20 to its original position, the opener 28 is released from engagement with the concaved portion 242 of the holder 24, so that the two members 24a and 24b of the holder 24 are forced by the biasing force of the resilient member 27 to move toward each other so as to hold the pencil on the guide member 28 therebetween. Upon release of the cam 11 from engagement with the operation plate 15, the feed member 20 is caused by the biasing force of the spring 22 to return abruptly to its original position so as to feed the pencil held by the holder 24 to the blade 23 being rotated through the gear 5. Thus, the pencil is sharpened by the blade 23. Further rotation of the rotary shaft 10 causes the feed member 20 to move rearwardly (to the left in FIG. 1) through the operation plate 15 actuated by the cam 12 and the connection member 17. When the conical opener 28 is inserted in the concaved portion 24e of the holder 24 formed in the feed member 20, the two members 24a and 24b of the holder 24 are moved apart from each other by the opener 28, so that the sharpened pencil is released from the holder 24 and placed on the guide member 29 again. Further rotation of the rotary shaft 10 causes the lever 36 to be moved by the cam 12 in pivotal motion in a clockwise direction in FIG. 6 about the shaft 121. This causes the support member 31, through the connecting rod 37, to move in pivotal motion in a clockwise direction in FIG. 1 against the biasing force of the spring 34, so that the guide member 29 tilts such that the portion of the guide member 29 disposed nearer to the blade 23 (to the right in FIG. 1) is disposed in a lower level than the rest of the guide member 29. As the guide member 29 tilts, the projection 86 is brought into engagement with the horizontal edge 88a of the projection 88, so that the guide member 29 moves in pivotal motion in a clockwise direction in FIG. 3 about the shaft 30. This causes the sharpened pencil on the guide member 29 to drop downwardly from the guide member 29 into a receiving tray provided on one side of the casing 1.

In this way, the pencils are supplied successively to the guide member 29, sharpened as cams l1 and 12 rotate, and discharged from the sharpener.

A movement of the feed member 20 leftwardly in FIG. 3 causes the cam 56 engaged by the projecting member 60 to pivot clockwise about shaft 59 in FIG. 2. The cam 56 and pivotal member 53 are caused to pivot as a unit by the engagement of the engaging edge 55 of cam 56 with the pivotal member 53 and the biasing force of spring 54. This causes the feed actuator 40 connected to the pivotal member 53 through the connecting rod 51 to pivot clockwise about

shafts

49 and 50 in FIG. 2. Pivoting of the feed actuator 40 results in the projection 74 pushing and moving the connecting bar 70 against the biasing force of spring 73, so as to move the opening and closing plate 66 and increase the dimension of pencil supply opening 67. Thus, a pencil on the vibratory member 64 is fed through the pencil supply opening 67 to the pencil holding passage 43 and moved in rolling motion to the guide surface 38 as the feed actuator 40 pivots to its original position.

When the feed member moves rightwardly in FIG. 1, cam 56 is brought into engagement with the inclined engaging edge 58 of projection 60, so that cam 56 is pivoted into its original position. The pivotal member 53 connected to cam 56 by spring 54 is also caused to pivot to its original position, so that the feed actuator 40 is caused to pivot to its original position through the connecting rod 51 loaded with spring 52.

At the time the feed actuator 40 is caused to pivot to its original position as aforementioned, the pivotal lever 62 is caused to oscillate up and down about shaft 63 because the projection 62a in pivotal lever 62 is maintained in engagement with the serration-like irregularities 61, thereby causing the vibratory plate 64 to vibrate. This shakes and puts the pencils on the vibratory plate 64 in order so that they may successively move in rolling motion toward the pencil supply opening 67.

When the feedactuator 40 pivots between two positions, the projection 123 of actuator 40 engages the pivotal member 124 and causes the latter to pivot. This causes the controller 125 which is integral with the pivotal member 124 to move upwardly away from the guide surface 38, thereby permitting the pencil held in place on the guide surface 38 by the controller 125 to move in rolling motion toward the regulating plate 77.

When the feed member 20 moves leftwardly in FIG. 1 as aforementioned, the projecting bar 114 pushes and moves the push-up lever 111 which pushes and moves upwardly the vibratory lever 110. This pushes upwardly the vibratory plate 102 through projection 109, so that the pencils in the pencil case 100 are supplied smoothly on the vibratory plate 64.

Thus, the cycle of the aforementioned pencil feeding and sharpening operations is repeated. In the absence of a pencil for feeding on the guide member 29, the feed member 20 moves a greater distance forwardly (to the right in FIG. 1) that when a pencil is held by the holder 24 as the cam 11 is released from engagement with the operation plate 15, with a result that the feed member 20 pushes and moves the lever 118 by the pusher 119. This opens the switch so that the motor 2 is shut-off.

While the invention has been shown and described as being automatically operated by an electric motor, it is to be understood that the pencil sharpener according to this invention can be operated manually by turning a handle.

I claim:

1. A pencil sharpener comprising a sharpening blade, a feed member for feeding a pencil to said sharpening blade and for moving a sharpened pencil from the sharpening blade in association with a sharpening operation of the sharpening blade, a guide member disposed in said feed member for tilting about an axis normal to the length of the feed member for guiding a pencil toward the sharpening blade in association with the oper' ation of the feed member and for pivoting about an axis parallel to the length of the guide member, for guiding a sharpened pencil to be discharged from the pencil sharpener, an inclined guide surface for guiding pencils to said guide member, a regulating plate pivotally mounted for feeding to said guide member in associa tion with a pencil sharpening operation the pencils supplied to said inclined guide surface, a feed actuator having a pencil holding passage for pivoting in association with a pencil sharpening operation for guiding pencils to said guide surface, a vibratory plate for supplying pencils to said feed actuator, and a pivotal lever engaged by said vibratory plate, said feed actuator having serration-like irregularities therein for engaging said pivotal lever.

2. A pencil sharpener as claimed in claim 1 further comprising an opening and closing plate defining be tween said vibratory plate and the opening and closing plate a pencil supply opening for supplying a pencil therethrough to said feed actuator, said opening and closing plate mounted for pivotal movement toward and away from the vibratory plate in association with a pencil sharpening operation to thereby close and open the pencil supply opening.

Claims

1. A pencil sharpener comprising a sharpening blade, a feed member for feeding a pencil to said sharpening blade and for moving a sharpened pencil from the sharpening blade in association with a sharpening operation of the sharpening blade, a guide member disposed in said feed member for tilting about an axis normal to the length of the feed member for guiding a pencil toward the sharpening blade in association with the operation of the feed member and for pivoting about an axis parallel to the length of the guide member, for guiding a sharpened pencil to be discharged from the pencil sharpener, an inclined guide surface for guiding pencils to said guide member, a regulating plate pivotally mounted for feeding to said guide member in association with a pencil sharpening operation the pencils supplied to said inclined guide surface, a feed actuator having a pencil holding passage for pivoting in association with a pencil sharpening operation for guiding pencils to said guide surface, a vibratory plate for supplying pencils to said feed actuator, and a pivotal lever engaged by said vibratory plate, said feed actuator having serration-like irregularities therein for engaging said pivotal lever.

2. A pencil sharpener as claimed in claim 1 further comprising an opening and closing plate defining between said vibratory plate and the opening and closing plate a pencil supply opening for supplying a pencil therethrough to said feed actuator, said opening and closing plate mounted for pivotal movement toward and away from the vibratory plate in association with a pencil sharpening operation to thereby close and open the pencil supply opening.