JPS6097858A - Waste ink tank - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect the overflow of waste ink in a simple structure by arranging detecting means arranged externally to a transmission chamber for detecting the color of an ink absorber to detect the overflow state of a vessel. CONSTITUTION:When waste ink is fed into a tank through an ink filling tube 5, the ink is absorbed to an absorber 3, the absorber 3 is discolored from white to black colors from the bottom of the tank in response to the quantity of the ink and arrives at the position of a transmission window 2 in the overflow state. On the other hand, since a reflecting photosensor 10 detects the color of the absorber 3 in the tank through the window 2, when the color is changed from white to black colors, the output current form the photosensor 10 becomes minimum, and the detected voltage at this time is supplied to the input terminal of the negative side of a comparator 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Overview] 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]

In conventional waste ink tanks of this type, an electrode is installed in the tank, and when the amount of waste ink in the tank reaches a certain level, M
It was configured such that overflow was detected by applying current through one pole.

However, with such waste ink tanks,
Providing electrodes inside the tank not only increases costs but also complicates the structure of the waste ink tank.

〔the purpose〕

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks by arranging a reflective photosensor outside the window provided in the tank, so that when the level of waste ink reaches the position of the window, this is detected by the sensor. An object of the present invention is 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 described in detail below based on the drawings.

1 and 1 show an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, /A is a waste ink tank container, 7B is its top lid, and a transparent window λ is provided on the side of the tank container /A. The inside of the tank can be seen through this see-through window. 3
is an ink absorber loaded in a tank, and in this example, this ink absorber 3 is made of white and porous material such as Bell Eater.

Furthermore, g is an injection hole drilled in the container/A, and the waste ink is guided to the ink absorber 3 in the tank by the injection pipe S inserted inside from the injection hole t, and is absorbed by the absorber 3. .

However, when the waste ink is absorbed by the absorber 3,
Since 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 the waste ink is detected through the see-through window due to this discoloration, and the overflow level is thereby detected.

Next, such a detection means will be explained with reference to FIG.

Here, /.theta. is a reflective photosensor provided at a position opposite to the outside of the transparent window, and l/ is a comparator whose negative input terminal is connected to the photosensor /.theta. R/ is a resistor placed between this input line and the ground, R, 2 and R3 are resistors for supplying the reference voltage to the positive input terminal of the comparator //, and resistors R- and R3 A reference voltage divided from the power supply voltage v0° is sent to the comparator l/.

Next, the operation for detecting overflow of waste ink in the waste ink tank configured as described above will be described. Now, the ink injection tube! When the waste ink is introduced into the tank through the ink, this ink is absorbed by the absorber 3, and the absorber 3 changes color from white to black from the bottom of the tank depending on the amount of ink. In the overflow state, the position of the viewing window 2 is reached.

On the other hand, the reflective photosensor/θ detects the color of the absorber 3 in the tank through the see-through window, so when this color changes from white to black, the output current from the photosensor lθ becomes the minimum value. The detected voltage at this time is supplied to the negative input terminal of the comparator //. Note that here the resistances R2 and R
The reference voltage determined by 3 is set so that it becomes higher than the resistance R/ when the above-mentioned detection voltage is output to the comparator I/.

Therefore, when the overflow detection voltage from the photosensor 10 is input to the comparator //, the output voltage vo from the comparator // changes from "L" level to "H" level, thereby detecting an overflow. be able to.

In the above explanation, the position where the see-through window is provided has not been described in detail, but in the present invention, the overflow state of the tank can be detected by detecting the discoloration of the ink absorber 3 through the see-through window 2 using the photosensor 10. Therefore, in order to accommodate enough ink while taking into account the permeability of the absorber 3, the viewing window 2 should be located as far away from the injection hole as possible, and the absorber 3 should contain enough ink. It goes without saying that it is preferable to set the position so that the color changes last.

〔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 disposed on the outside facing the see-through window. The output from the sensor is compared with a comparator, and the photo sensor installed in the see-through window detects when the ink absorber installed inside the tank is discolored by ink, and the overflow is detected by the comparator. Since I output the signal,
It is possible to provide a waste ink tank that is inexpensive because it is not necessary to provide electrodes in the tank as in the conventional case, and that can detect overflow of waste ink with a simple structure.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of the structure of the waste ink tank of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the waste ink overflow detection device together with a cross section of the waste ink tank. /, /l...Tank container, /B...Tank lid, C...See-through window, 3...Ink absorber, l...Injection hole, 5...Injection pipe, /θ・...Reflection type photosensor, (b) l/... comparator. Patent applicant Canon Co., Ltd. (7)

Claims (1)

[Claims] A container for storing waste ink, a see-through window provided in the container,
An ink absorber loaded in the container; and a detection means disposed outside facing the transparent window to detect the color of the ink absorber and detect an overflow state of the container. A waste ink tank featuring: