Super-sensor protects little hands and paws from shredder teeth
Personal paper shredders increasingly are found in homes and small offices to destroy documents, even credit cards, to protect against identity theft.
One consequence of the presence of shredders -- often described as "boxes with teeth"-- has been finger amputations and cuts, notably among young children. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found there were 50 such injuries among children under 5 from January 2000 through September 2005.
(Thomas Delany/Sun-Times)
Even dogs and cats have gotten tongues and paws caught in the "throat," or opening, in shredders.
That's where Itasca-based Fellowes Inc., which pioneered personal shredders 15 years ago, came to the rescue with new technology that disables shredders when a human or pet is about to enter the danger zone.
The Powershred DS1 personal shredder with SafeSense earned Fellowes a 2007 Chicago Innovation Award.
Tai Matlin, manager of research and development for Fellowe's Business Machines group, said, "Humans and large animals create energy. With our patent-pending SafeSense technology, we put sensors into the shredders that can detect that zap of energy, and then turn off the motor if a human or large animal is in danger."
He noted that similar sensors are used in iPod touch wheels and elevator buttons.
Nancy Heaton, senior marketing manager for business machines, said SafeSense was introduced in Fellowe's $99 Powershred DS1 in August 2005. The device quickly became Fellowes best-selling personal shredder, with 3.6 million units having been shipped.
SafeSense now is available in 10 Fellowes' shredder models, and soon will be available in seven others.
Matlin said SafeSense has been copied by Fellowes' competitors.