Patent ID: 8186805

Claim:
A waste ink collecting device for a printer, the waste ink collecting device comprising: a ratchet wheel defining a receiving groove to receive waste ink; a detent comprising a main body, and a hook, wherein the main body defines an elongated first hole, an elongated second hole, and an elongated third hole, the second hole is between the first hole and the third hole, the hook extends from an end of the main body away from the first hole; a reciprocatingly movable transmission pole extending into the first hole to drive the detent; an immovable first pole extending into the second hole, wherein a diameter of the first pole equals to a width of the second hole; and an immovable second pole extending into the third hole, wherein a diameter of the second pole is smaller than a width of the third hole; wherein when the transmission pole moves forward, the hook of the detent is driven to engage with the ratchet wheel and drive the ratchet wheel to rotate for a certain angle, and when the transmission pole moves backward, the hook is driven to move away from the ratchet wheel.