JPH05219B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a waste ink tank, and more particularly to a waste ink tank that is used in an inkjet printer or the like and is configured to detect ink overflow.

[Prior art]

Conventional waste ink tanks of this type have an electrode provided in the tank, and when the amount of waste ink in the tank reaches a certain level, electricity is applied through the electrode to detect overflow.

However, in the case of such a waste ink tank, configuring an electrode inside the tank not only increases the cost but also complicates the structure of the waste ink tank.

〔the purpose〕

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks by arranging a reflective photo sensor outside the window provided in the tank, and detecting when the level of waste ink reaches the window position. ,
To provide a waste ink tank that does not require a special device for overflow detection in the internal structure of the tank.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained in detail below based on the drawings.

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1A is a waste ink tank container, 1B is its top cover, and a see-through window 2 is provided on the side of the tank container 1A. A see-through window 2 allows the inside of the tank to be seen through. Reference numeral 3 denotes an ink absorber loaded in the tank, and in this example, the ink absorber 3 is white and porous, such as Bell Eater.

Furthermore, 4 is an injection hole bored in the container 1A, and waste ink is passed through an injection pipe 5 inserted into the interior from the injection hole 4.
The ink is guided to the ink absorber 3 in the tank and absorbed by the absorber 3. When the waste ink is absorbed by the absorber 3, the white absorber 3 turns black due to the black waste ink up to the level at which the ink is absorbed.
The level of waste ink is detected through the see-through window 2, thereby detecting the overflow level.

Next, such a detection means will be explained with reference to FIG. Here, reference numeral 10 is a reflective photo sensor provided at a position opposite to the outside of the transparent window 2, and reference numeral 11 is a comparator whose negative input terminal is connected to the photo sensor 10. R1 is a resistor placed between this input line and the ground, R2 and R3 are resistors for supplying a reference voltage to the positive input terminal of the comparator 11, and the power supply voltage is controlled by resistors R2 and R3.
A reference voltage divided from Vcc is sent to the comparator 11.

Next, the operation for detecting overflow of waste ink in the waste ink tank configured as described above will be described. Now, when waste ink is introduced into the tank via the ink injection pipe 5, this ink is absorbed by the absorber 3, and the absorber 3 changes from white to black from the bottom of the tank depending on the amount of ink. The color changes and reaches the position of the transparent window 2 in an overflow state.

On the other hand, the reflective photo sensor 10 detects the color of the absorber 3 in the tank through the see-through window 2, so when this color changes from white to black, the output current from the photo sensor 10 becomes the minimum value. The detection voltage is supplied to the negative input terminal of comparator 11. Note that the reference voltage determined by the resistors R2 and R3 is set to be higher than the resistor R1 when the above-described detected voltage is output to the comparator 11.

Therefore, when the overflow detection voltage from the photo sensor 10 is input to the comparator 11, the comparator 1
The output voltage _V0 from 1 goes from “L” level to “H”
Overflow can be detected by changing the level.

In the above explanation, the position where the see-through window 2 is provided is not explained in detail, but in the present invention, discoloration of the ink absorber 3 is detected from the see-through window 2 to the photo sensor 1.
Since the overflow state of the tank is detected by detecting 0, in order to accommodate enough ink, taking into account the permeability of the absorber 3, the viewing window 2 should be located as far away from the injection hole 4 as possible. Needless to say, it is preferable to set the absorber 3 at a position where it contains enough ink and finally changes color.

〔effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, a see-through window is provided at a height near the water level where the ink in the tank overflows, and a photo sensor is placed on the outside facing the see-through window. A photo sensor installed in the see-through window detects when the ink absorber installed in the tank is discolored by the ink, and an overflow detection signal is output from the comparator. Therefore, it is possible to provide a waste ink tank that can detect overflow of waste ink with a simple structure and is inexpensive because there is no need to provide electrodes in the tank as in the conventional case.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of the construction of a waste ink tank according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the waste ink overflow detection device together with a cross section of the waste ink tank. 1A...tank container, 1B...tank lid, 2...
...See-through window, 3... Ink absorber, 4... Injection hole,
5... Injection tube, 10... Reflective photo sensor, 1
1... Comparator.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A container for storing waste ink, a see-through window provided in the container, an ink absorber loaded in the container, and an ink absorber disposed outwardly facing the see-through window, and configured to display the color of the ink absorber. A waste ink tank comprising: a detection means for detecting an overflow state of the container.