JP2007062236A - Image forming apparatus and waste liquid storing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow an easy replacement of waste liquid storing tanks without increasing the size of an image forming apparatus main body when filling-up of a waste liquid storing unit is detected to urge replacement of the waste liquid storing units. <P>SOLUTION: A waste liquid tank 100 is equipped with: a tank case main body 101, an absorbing member 102 for absorbing a liquid-like waste liquid stored in this case main body 101; a lid member 103 covering the upper part of the case main body 101; and a fill-up sensor 112 for detecting that the waste liquid is filled up. When the waste liquid tank is installed on/removed from the image forming apparatus main body, the tank is slid on approximately in the direction approximately vertically intersecting in the plane same as the installing/removing direction in the image forming apparatus main body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a waste liquid storage unit.

  In various image forming apparatuses such as printers, facsimiles, copiers, plotters, printer / facsimile / copier multifunction machines, etc. equipped with a liquid droplet ejection head for ejecting the recording liquid, A mechanism for maintaining and recovering the performance of the recording head to be ejected is indispensable.

  The main functions of this head performance maintenance and recovery mechanism are a cap function that covers with a highly-sealing cap member to prevent thickening and sticking of the recording liquid near the nozzle hole due to natural evaporation of ink, and a nozzle function. The ejection failure due to the bubbles is recovered by discharging the recording liquid, and the ejection recovery function that sucks and discharges the recording liquid from the nozzle of the head through the cap function, and the flying state of the droplets attached to the nozzle surface is changed. It consists of a wiping function for wiping off the residual recording liquid that causes it.

By performing such a performance maintaining and recovering operation of the head, the recording liquid that is not used for recording (image formation) is discharged as waste liquid, and the waste liquid for storing the waste liquid of this recording liquid A storage unit (also referred to as a waste liquid storage container or a waste liquid tank) is provided.
JP 2004-066458 A

  If an attempt is made to satisfy such a life of the waste liquid storage unit up to the life of the image forming apparatus main body, the volume of the waste liquid storage unit becomes very large, and accordingly, the main body size of the image forming apparatus is very large. Will end up.

Thus, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3 describe that the waste liquid storage unit can be replaced. Further, when exchanging the waste liquid storage unit, it is generally slid and detached in a straight line.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-331685 JP 2002-79692 A

Further, Patent Document 4 describes that the waste liquid storage unit can be replaced and the waste liquid storage unit is slid in a direction perpendicular to the attaching / detaching direction.
JP 2000-168107 A

Furthermore, as a structure of the waste liquid storage unit, Patent Document 5 describes that a rib is provided inside the main body case, but the height of the rib has no particular technical significance.
JP 2002-326376 A

Patent Document 6 describes that the height of the rib near the waste ink inlet is set higher than the height of the other ribs.
JP 2001-171148 A

  Further, when the waste liquid storage unit is full and overflows, the inside of the apparatus is adversely affected. Therefore, a full tank detection device for detecting that the waste liquid storage unit is full is generally provided.

  By the way, in recent image forming apparatuses using ink, the use of pigment-based inks using organic pigments, carbon black or the like as colorants has been studied or put into practical use in order to enable high-quality printing on plain paper. However, unlike dyes, pigments are not soluble in water, and are usually used as water-based inks in a state where pigments are mixed with a dispersant, dispersed, and stably dispersed in water.

  Such a pigment-based ink generally has a higher viscosity than a dye-based ink, causing a problem due to the high viscosity. That is, the waste liquid (waste ink) of high-viscosity ink is easy to thicken. When the thickened waste liquid is dropped onto the absorbing member, the waste liquid is likely to accumulate on that portion, and the waste liquid is not absorbed by the absorbing member. As a result, the recording liquid deposited in the waste liquid storage unit may overflow from the waste liquid storage unit.

  Therefore, it is necessary to reliably detect that the waste liquid storage unit is full, and to be able to replace the waste liquid storage unit when a full tank is detected. There is a problem that the waste liquid storage tank must be easily replaced without increasing the size.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an image forming apparatus capable of easily exchanging a waste liquid storage tank without increasing the size of the main body of the image forming apparatus, and storing waste liquid that causes accumulation However, a waste liquid storage unit that can reliably detect full tanks, and even when absorbing liquid is absorbed by an absorbing member and full tank detection is performed using a reflective sensor, full tank detection is reliably performed without shortening the service life. It is an object of the present invention to provide a waste liquid storage unit that can hold the absorbent even when the absorbent is absorbed by an absorbing member, and an image forming apparatus including these waste liquid storage units.

  In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention has a configuration in which a waste liquid storage unit is detachable while sliding in a direction substantially orthogonal to the detaching direction inside the image forming apparatus main body and substantially perpendicular to the detaching direction. did.

  The waste liquid storage unit according to the present invention is provided with a partition portion that partitions between a portion into which the waste liquid is charged and a full tank detection unit that detects that the waste liquid is full, and this partition portion is charged with the waste liquid. It was set as the structure where the part corresponding to a site | part is lower than the other part. Here, the partition portion can be configured such that the portion in the vicinity of the full tank detecting means is also lower than the other portions.

  The waste liquid storage unit according to the present invention includes a full tank detecting means for detecting that the waste liquid is full and a rib that surrounds the full tank detecting means. Here, it is preferable that the full tank detecting means is a reflection type optical sensor, and the height of the rib is set to a height that secures a focal length of the full tank detecting means.

  The waste liquid storage unit according to the present invention has a configuration in which a rib for holding an absorbing member that absorbs the waste liquid is provided. Here, the rib preferably has a cross-shaped cross section.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes the waste liquid storage unit according to the present invention.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the waste liquid storage unit is configured to be detachable while sliding in a direction substantially orthogonal to the detaching direction within the image forming apparatus main body. It becomes possible to detach and attach while avoiding interference with other units, and it becomes possible to easily replace the waste liquid storage tank without increasing the size of the main body of the image forming apparatus.

  According to the waste liquid storage unit according to the present invention, a partition part is provided for partitioning between a portion where the waste liquid is charged and a full tank detecting means for detecting that the waste liquid is full, and the waste liquid is charged into the partition part. Since the part corresponding to the part to be generated is lower than the other parts, it can penetrate the detection part by the full tank detection means beyond the partition part where the deposit is lowered, Even when full tank detection is performed by a change, full tank detection can be reliably performed.

  According to the waste liquid storage unit according to the present invention, since it is provided with the full tank detection means for detecting that the waste liquid is full and the rib is provided surrounding the full tank detection means, the full tank detection is performed. Even when the reflection type sensor is used, the full tank detection can be reliably performed without shortening the service life.

  According to the waste liquid storage unit according to the present invention, since the rib for holding the absorbing member that absorbs the waste liquid is provided, the absorbing member can be reliably held.

  Since the image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes the waste liquid storage unit according to the present invention, it is possible to surely detect the full tank of the waste liquid, or the absorption member is securely held, so that the absorption function varies. To reduce.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view of the image forming apparatus as an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention as viewed from the front side.
The image forming apparatus includes an apparatus main body 1, a paper feed tray 2 for loading paper loaded in the apparatus main body 1, and a sheet on which an image is recorded (formed) by being detachably mounted on the apparatus main body 1. A paper discharge tray 3 for stocking is provided. Furthermore, a cartridge loading for loading an ink cartridge that protrudes from the front surface to the front side of the apparatus main body 1 and is lower than the upper surface is provided at one end side of the front surface of the apparatus main body 1 (side of the paper supply / discharge tray section). The cartridge loading unit 4 has an operation / display unit 5 provided with operation buttons and a display.

  The cartridge loading unit 4 includes a plurality of recording liquid cartridges that contain recording liquids (inks) of different colors, for example, black (K) ink, cyan (C) ink, magenta (M) ink, and yellow (Y) ink. Ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y (referred to as “ink cartridge 10” when colors are not distinguished) are inserted from the front side to the rear side of the apparatus main body 1 and can be loaded. A front cover (cartridge cover) 6 that is opened when the ink cartridge 10 is attached or detached is provided on the front side of the unit 4 so as to be openable and closable. Further, the ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y are configured to be loaded side by side in a vertical state.

  The front cover 6 is entirely transparent so that the plurality of ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y loaded in the cartridge loading unit 4 can be visually recognized from the outside with the front cover 6 closed. It is formed of a translucent member. In addition, if the ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y can be visually recognized from the outside, a part of the ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y may be formed of a transparent or translucent member.

  Further, the operation / display unit 5 has the remaining amounts of the ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y of each color at the arrangement positions corresponding to the mounting positions (arrangement positions) of the ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y of the respective colors. A remaining amount display portion 11k, 11c, 11m, 11y of each color for displaying the near end and the end is arranged (referred to as “remaining amount display portion 11” when colors are not distinguished). Further, the operation / display unit 5 is also provided with a power button 12, a paper feed / print resume button 13, and a cancel button 14.

Next, the mechanism of this image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining the overall configuration of the mechanism unit, and FIG.
A carriage 33 is slidably held in the main scanning direction by a guide rod 31 which is a guide member horizontally mounted on the left and right side plates 21A and 21B constituting the frame 21, and a stay 32. Move and scan in the direction indicated by the arrow (carriage main scanning direction).

  As described above, the carriage 33 includes a recording head 34 including four droplet discharge heads that discharge ink droplets of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (Bk). A plurality of ink ejection openings are arranged in a direction crossing the main scanning direction, and are mounted with the ink droplet ejection direction facing downward.

  As an inkjet head constituting the recording head 34, a piezoelectric actuator such as a piezoelectric element, a thermal actuator that uses a phase change caused by film boiling of a liquid using an electrothermal transducer such as a heating resistor, and a metal phase change caused by a temperature change. It is possible to use a shape memory alloy actuator to be used, an electrostatic actuator using an electrostatic force, or the like provided as pressure generating means for generating a pressure for discharging a droplet.

  A driver IC is mounted on the recording head 34 and is connected to a control unit (not shown) via a harness (flexible print cable) 22.

  In addition, the carriage 33 is equipped with a sub tank 35 for each color for supplying ink of each color to the recording head 34. As described above, each color sub-tank 35 is supplementarily supplied with ink of each color from the ink cartridge 10 of each color mounted in the cartridge loading unit 4 via the ink supply tube 36 of each color. The cartridge loading 4 is provided with a supply pump unit 24 for feeding ink in the ink cartridge 10, and the ink supply tube 36 is engaged with the rear plate 21 </ b> C constituting the frame 21 in the middle of turning. It is held by a stop member 25.

  On the other hand, as a paper feeding unit for feeding the papers 42 stacked on the paper stacking unit (pressure plate) 41 of the paper feeding tray 2, a half-moon roller (feeding) that separates and feeds the papers 42 one by one from the paper stacking unit 41. A separation pad 44 made of a material having a large friction coefficient is provided facing the paper roller 43) and the paper feed roller 43, and the separation pad 44 is urged toward the paper feed roller 43 side.

  In order to feed the paper 42 fed from the paper feeding unit to the lower side of the recording head 34, a guide member 45 for guiding the paper 42, a counter roller 46, a transport guide member 47, and a tip pressure roller. And a holding belt 48 which is a conveying means for electrostatically attracting the fed paper 42 and conveying it at a position facing the recording head 34.

  The transport belt 51 is an endless belt, and is configured to wrap around the transport roller 52 and the tension roller 53 and circulate in the belt transport direction (sub-scanning direction). This transport belt 51 is, for example, a surface layer that is a sheet adsorbing surface formed of a pure resin material having a thickness of about 40 μm that is not subjected to resistance control, such as ETFE pure material, and resistance control by carbon with the same material as this surface layer. And a back layer (medium resistance layer, ground layer).

  A charging roller 56 is provided as charging means for charging the surface of the conveyor belt 51. The charging roller 56 is disposed so as to come into contact with the surface layer of the conveyor belt 51 and to be rotated by the rotation of the conveyor belt 51, and applies a predetermined pressing force to both ends of the shaft as a pressing force. The transport roller 52 also functions as an earth roller, and is in contact with the middle resistance layer (back layer) of the transport belt 51 and is grounded.

  In addition, a guide member 57 is disposed on the back side of the conveyance belt 51 so as to correspond to a printing area by the recording head 34. The guide member 57 has an upper surface that protrudes toward the recording head 35 from the tangent line of two rollers (the conveyance roller 52 and the tension roller 53) that support the conveyance belt 51, thereby maintaining high-precision flatness of the conveyance belt 51. Like to do.

  The transport belt 51 rotates in the belt transport direction of FIG. 3 when the transport roller 52 is rotationally driven via a drive belt by a sub-scanning motor (not shown).

  Further, as a paper discharge unit for discharging the paper 42 recorded by the recording head 34, a separation claw 61 for separating the paper 42 from the conveying belt 51, a paper discharge roller 62, and a paper discharge roller 63 are provided. The paper discharge tray 3 is provided below the paper discharge roller 62. Here, the height from between the paper discharge roller 62 and the paper discharge roller 63 to the paper discharge tray 3 is increased to some extent in order to increase the amount that can be stored in the paper discharge tray 3.

  A duplex unit 71 is detachably mounted on the back surface of the apparatus body 1. The duplex unit 71 takes in the paper 42 returned by the reverse rotation of the conveyance belt 51, reverses it, and feeds it again between the counter roller 46 and the conveyance belt 51. The upper surface of the duplex unit 71 is a manual feed tray 72.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 for maintaining and recovering the nozzle state of the recording head 34 is disposed in the non-printing area on one side of the carriage 33 in the scanning direction.

  The maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 includes cap members (hereinafter referred to as “caps”) 82a to 82d (hereinafter referred to as “caps 82” when not distinguished from each other) for capping the nozzle surfaces of the recording head 34, and nozzle surfaces. A wiper blade 83 that is a blade member for wiping the recording medium, an empty discharge receiver 84 that receives liquid droplets when performing empty discharge for discharging liquid droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge the thickened recording liquid, and a wiper A wiper cleaner 85 that is a cleaning member for removing the recording liquid adhering to the blade 83, and a cleaner roller 86 that constitutes a cleaner unit that presses the wiper blade 83 toward the wiper cleaner 85 when the wiper blade 83 is cleaned are provided.

  Then, the waste liquid of the recording liquid generated by the maintenance / recovery operation by the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81, the ink discharged to the cap 82, the ink attached to the wiper blade 83 and removed by the wiper cleaner 85, and the idle ejection to the idle ejection receiver 94. The discharged ink is discharged and stored in a waste liquid tank 100 which is a waste liquid storage unit according to the present invention indicated by a virtual line in FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, in the non-printing area on the other side in the scanning direction of the carriage 33, idle discharge is performed to discharge liquid droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge the recording liquid thickened during recording or the like. An empty discharge receiver 88 for receiving the droplets at the time is disposed, and the empty discharge receiver 88 is provided with an opening 89 along the nozzle row direction of the recording head 34.

  Next, an example of the waste liquid tank 100 which is a waste liquid storage unit in the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is a perspective explanatory view of the waste liquid tank, FIG. 5 is a perspective explanatory view seen from the opposite side of FIG. 4 except for the absorbing member of the waste liquid tank, and FIG. 6 is a view around the full tank detection sensor of the waste liquid tank. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of the cross section A of FIG. 1 viewed from the direction of the arrow.

  The waste liquid tank 100 includes a tank case main body (container main body) 101, an absorbent member (absorber) 102 made of a laminate that absorbs liquid waste liquid stored in the case main body 101, and an upper portion of the case main body 101. A lid member 103 (not shown) for covering is provided (see FIG. 6).

  In the waste liquid tank 100, the waste liquid discharged from the above-described maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 is supplied (supplied) from the waste liquid inlet provided in the lid member 103 to the waste liquid inlet 104. Then, a space 105 where the bottom surface of the case body 101 is exposed is formed by forming a portion where the absorbing member 102 is not provided, corresponding to a portion where the waste liquid is introduced through the waste liquid inlet 104. Yes. Accordingly, the waste liquid can be directly reached the bottom surface of the case main body 101 through the space 105 without directly putting it into the absorbing member 102, and the waste liquid with low fluidity and high viscosity is deposited and accommodated in the space 105. In addition, the liquid having high fluidity in the waste liquid put into the space 105 can be absorbed by the absorbing member 102.

  The case main body 101 is formed with ribs 107 that are partition portions for partitioning the side wall surface of the space 105. As a result, a part 102a of the absorbing member 102 faces the space 105, and the liquid waste liquid penetrates into the absorbing member 102 only from the wall surface part of the part 102a.

  Further, a full tank sensor 112 made up of a reflection type photosensor that is a full tank detection means for detecting that the waste liquid is full is disposed on the absorbing member 102 with the rib 107 of the waste liquid inlet 104 interposed therebetween. (See FIG. 7). The portion corresponding to the waste liquid inlet 104 of the rib 107, which is a partition for partitioning the portion where the full tank sensor 112 detects the full tank and the space 105 of the waste liquid inlet 104, is higher than the other parts. A difference in height is provided as the lower portion 108 having a reduced height.

  The height of the lower portion 108 of the rib 107 is lower than the height of the absorbing member 102 as shown in FIG. 102 can enter the detection portion 102b. Note that the detection portion 102 b of the absorbing member 102 that detects the full tank by the full tank sensor 112 is partly partitioned by the rib 109 on the side surface orthogonal to the rib 107.

  Further, the case main body 101 is provided with a rib 110 having a cross-sectional cross shape in order to hold the absorbing member 102, and the rib 110 penetrates the absorbing member 102. Thus, by providing the rib 110 penetrating the absorbing member 102, the position of the absorbing member 102 can be maintained, and the waste liquid can be efficiently absorbed. In particular, the flat cross-sectional shape of the rib 110 is a cross shape. Thus, the absorbing member 102 can be held more reliably.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, ribs 114 a to 114 d are formed around the sensor attachment portion 115 on the lid member 103 to which the full sensor 112 is attached. The ribs 114 a to 114 d press the detection portion 102 b of the absorbing member 102 when the lid member 103 is attached to the case body 101, so that the distance between the surface of the absorbing member 102 and the full sensor 112 becomes the focal length of the full sensor 112. Keep it at a distance that can be secured.

  In the waste liquid tank 100 configured as described above, waste ink discharged from, for example, the empty discharge receptacle 84 of the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 enters the space 105 of the waste ink inlet 104 of the waste liquid tank 100 as shown in FIG. It is thrown. If the waste ink 121 a put into the space 105 is liquid waste ink, it is absorbed from the portion 102 a of the absorbing member 102, and other waste ink accumulates in the space 105.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the waste ink 121b is gradually accumulated, and the low portion 108 where the height of the rib 107 is further lowered at the full ink detection portion 102b of the waste ink inlet 104 and the absorbing member 102 is reduced. Get over and come into contact with the side surface of the detection portion 102b of the absorbing member 102 beyond the rib 107.

  When the deposition further proceeds, as shown in FIG. 10, the waste ink 121c completely gets over the detection portion 102b of the absorbing member 102 and proceeds to the vertically downward direction of the full tank sensor 112 that detects that the waste liquid tank 100 is full. To do. Thus, the full sensor 112 detects that the waste liquid is full.

  That is, when a full photo sensor is used as a full sensor to detect a full tank due to a change in the color of the absorbing member caused by the absorbing member absorbing waste ink, the absorbing member is absorbed by the absorbing member like pigment ink. This is only moisture, and when a recording liquid in which the pigment component is deposited is used, the color of the absorbing member does not change, and there is a possibility that full detection cannot be performed.

  Therefore, as described above, the space 105 where the absorbing member 102 is not provided is formed, and the rib 107 is further provided so that the contact area between the absorbing member 102 and the waste ink is reduced as much as possible, and accumulation on the absorbing member is prevented as much as possible. To do. Then, a full tank sensor is arranged in the vicinity of the waste ink input port where waste liquid is deposited, and a low portion 108 is provided in which the height of the rib separating the space between the detection part by the full sensor and the space is lowered. Gets over the lower part 108 of the rib 107 and enters the detection site. As a result, even when a full tank is detected by a change in the color of the absorbing member, such as a reflective photosensor, the color changes due to the intrusion of deposits on the absorbing member, so that the full tank can be detected accurately. become. The same effect can be obtained even if only the rib portion of the waste liquid inlet is made lower than the others.

  In addition, as described above, when a full tank is detected by a change in the color of the absorbing member, the reflective photosensor can function satisfactorily as a sensor unless the focal length is secured with the absorbing member. Can not. In this case, if the thickness of the absorbing member is adjusted to be thin in order to ensure the focal length of the full tank sensor, the life of the waste liquid tank itself is shortened.

  Therefore, as described above, by providing the ribs 114a to 114d for enclosing the vicinity of the full sensor 112 and securing the focal length of the full sensor 112, the distance between the full sensor 112 and the absorbing member 102 can be reduced. Since the focal length can be secured, the full tank detection can be performed accurately without shortening the life of the waste liquid tank.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the detachment of the waste liquid tank 100 from the image forming apparatus main body can be performed while slid in a direction substantially perpendicular to the detachment direction on substantially the same plane. In this manner, by sliding the waste liquid tank in the same plane and in the direction perpendicular to the attachment / detachment direction, the waste liquid tank can be attached / detached without interfering with other units 122 inside the image forming apparatus, and the waste liquid tank can be downsized In addition, it is possible to reduce the size of the image forming apparatus on which the waste liquid tank is mounted.

  Note that the water content of the waste ink is absorbed by the absorbing member, particularly when pigment ink is used. However, if only the pigment component is deposited, the expected life of the waste liquid tank will increase the life of the image forming apparatus main body. Although it may be significantly lower, if it is difficult to replace the waste liquid tank, the image forming apparatus must be transported to each site or factory even temporarily, and the user cannot use the image forming apparatus during that period. However, such a problem can be solved by replacing the waste liquid tank.

  In the above embodiments, the printer configuration has been described as the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to an image forming apparatus such as a printer / fax / copier multifunction machine. Further, the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus using a recording liquid or a fixing processing liquid that is a liquid other than ink.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention as viewed from the front side. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating an outline of a mechanism unit of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is principal part plane explanatory drawing of the mechanism part. FIG. 3 is an explanatory perspective view illustrating an example of a waste liquid storage unit (for a waste liquid tank) of the image forming apparatus. It is the perspective explanatory view seen from the opposite side to Drawing 4 similarly except an absorption member. It is an isometric view explanatory drawing similarly used for description of the rib around a full tank sensor. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view taken along a cross section A in FIG. 4. It is typical cross-sectional explanatory drawing similar to FIG. 7 explaining the accumulation of the deposit in the space of the waste liquid tank. FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view similar to FIG. 7 illustrating a state in which deposits are also accumulated up to a side surface of a detection site by a full tank sensor. FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view similar to FIG. 7, illustrating a state where the deposit has similarly penetrated to the detection site by the full tank sensor. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of removal | desorption with respect to the image forming apparatus main body of the waste liquid tank.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Ink cartridge 33 ... Carriage 34 ... Recording head 35 ... Sub tank 81 ... Maintenance recovery mechanism 82 ... Cap 83 ... Wiper blade 84 ... Empty discharge receptacle 100 ... Waste liquid tank 101 ... Tank case main body 102 ... Absorbing member 103 ... Cover member 104 ... Waste liquid inlet 105 ... Space 107 ... Rib 108 ... Low rib part 110 ... Rib for holding absorbing member 112 ... Full tank sensor (full tank detecting means)
114a-114d ... rib

Claims (8)

  An image forming apparatus in which a liquid waste storage unit that discharges recording liquid droplets to form an image on a recording medium and stores the liquid waste of the recording liquid is replaceably mounted. The waste liquid storage unit is a main body of the image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming apparatus is detachable while sliding in a direction substantially orthogonal to the detaching direction substantially in the same plane.   In a waste liquid storage unit for storing waste liquid in an image forming apparatus that discharges recording liquid droplets to form an image on a recording medium, the portion where the waste liquid is charged and a full tank that detects that the waste liquid is full A waste liquid storage unit characterized in that a partition part for partitioning with the detection means is provided, and the part corresponding to the part into which the waste liquid is charged is lower than the other part.   3. The waste liquid storage unit according to claim 2, wherein a part of the partition portion in the vicinity of the full tank detecting means is lower than other parts.   A waste liquid storage unit that stores waste liquid in an image forming apparatus that discharges recording liquid droplets to form an image on a recording medium includes a full tank detection unit that detects that the waste liquid is full. A waste liquid storage unit comprising a rib surrounding the tongue detecting means.   5. The waste liquid storage unit according to claim 4, wherein the full tank detecting means is a reflection type optical sensor, and the height of the rib is set to a height that ensures a focal length of the full tank detecting means. A waste liquid storage unit characterized by   In a waste liquid storage unit that stores waste liquid in an image forming apparatus that discharges recording liquid droplets to form an image on a recording medium, a rib is provided to hold an absorbing member that absorbs the waste liquid. A featured waste liquid storage unit.   The waste liquid storage unit according to claim 6, wherein the rib has a cross-shaped flat cross section. 8. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium by discharging recording liquid droplets, comprising the waste liquid storage unit according to claim 2.

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