ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 9 -- United States Patent no. 12,491,727, issued on Dec. 9.
"Sharpener with variable heating element" was invented by Kevin J Conway (Santa Monica, Calif.), Michael C. Santa Ana (Fullerton, Calif.), Eric R. Garcia (Alhambra, Calif.) and Regina M. Garcia (Alhambra, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A pencil sharpener is disclosed. The pencil sharpener may include a first receptacle for sharpening a distal end of a pencil; and a second receptacle for heating the distal end of the pencil, the heater configured to heat an end of the pencil at a temperature corresponding to a material of the pencil."
The patent was filed on June 13, 2023, under Application No. 18/334,182...