A shredding machine includes a housing which defines a passageway through which a sheet of material to be shredded may pass, a punching mechanism comprising a plurality of punch members, a mechanism to move the punch members from a retracted position in which the punch members are spaced from the passageway to an advanced position in which the punch members extend through the passageway, and a feeding mechanism for feeding the sheet of material through the punching mechanism so that repeated movement of the punch members between the retracted and the advanced positions effects shredding of the material. A method of shredding sheet material comprises feeding a sheet of material to be shredded past a punching mechanism and repeatedly punching the sheet material so as to shred the entire sheet.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/GB03/01997 (WO 03/095094), filed May 9, 2003, under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.365 and 37 C.F.R. .sctn.1.53b.
Priority Data
May 09, 2002 [GB] 0210599.7 Jun 28, 2002 [GB] 0214954.0
