Patent Publication Number: US-2009219338-A1

Title: Waste liquid collector

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-49541 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Feb. 29, 2008, Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-49542 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Feb. 29, 2008, Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-49543 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Feb. 29, 2008, Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-119185 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Apr. 30, 2008, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-119186 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Apr. 30, 2008, are expressly incorporated by reference herein. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to a waste liquid collector which is detachably mounted on a device which includes a discharge unit discharging a waste liquid and is capable of storing the waste liquid discharged from the discharge unit when being mounted on the device. 
     2. Related Art 
     In the past, as a liquid ejecting device which ejects a liquid to a target from nozzle openings formed in a liquid ejecting head, an ink jet printer (hereinafter, simply referred to as “a printer”), for example, was well known. In this printer, a so-called cleaning process of forcedly sucking thickened ink within a print head (liquid ejecting head) as waste ink (waste liquid) is performed in order to prevent the nozzle openings from clogging due to the thickened ink (liquid) and discharge bubbles and dust mixed in the ink within the print head. 
     The waste ink forcedly sucked from the print head by the cleaning process is discharged to a waste ink tank (waste liquid collector) disposed at a predetermined location inside the printer through a flexible tube functioning as a liquid passage and is absorbed by a waste ink absorbing member (waste liquid absorbing member) received in the waste ink tank. Here, an absorption capability of the waste ink absorbing member is limited. Therefore, when the absorption capability reaches the limit, an absorption efficiency of the waste ink may decrease. In order to solve this problem, recently, a waste ink tank which can be detachably mounted on the printer has been suggested, as disclosed in JP-A-2007-130998, for example. 
     That is, the waste ink tank which has a box-like shape having a bottom portion and an open top portion so that an ink solvent of the waste ink absorbed by the waste ink absorbing member volatilizes is detachably mounted inside the printer disclosed in JP-A-2007-130998. The waste ink forcedly sucked from the print head is discharged from a downstream end (hereinafter, also referred to as “a discharge unit”) of the tube extending and facing downward from a sucking pump to the inside of the waste ink tank. Then, the waste ink discharged to the waste ink tank is absorbed by the waste ink absorbing member. When the absorption capability of the waste ink absorbing member reaches the limit, the waste ink tank is detached from the printer and replaced with a new waste ink tank. 
     The problem to be solved in the invention is as follows. In the printer disclosed in JP-A-2007-130998, a mount location for mounting the waste ink tank is configured to be located below the sucking pump and an attachment and detachment port of the waste ink tank is formed on the front side of the printer so as to correspond to the mount location. When the waste ink tank is mounted on or detached from the mount location inside the printer, a mounting work for mounting the waste ink tank on the mount location and a detaching work for detaching the waste ink tank from the mount location are performed by moving the waste ink tank through the attachment and detachment port of the printer in a horizontal direction. 
     That is, the mounting work is completed just by inserting the waste ink tank from the front side of the printer to the inside of the printer through the attachment and detachment port to be mounted on the mount location. On the other hand, the detaching work is completed just by extracting the waste ink tank from the mount location to the outside of the printer through the attachment and detachment port in the state where the waste ink tank is mounted on the mount location. That is, the waste ink tank at the mount location is not normally maintained in a positioned state. Accordingly, when the printer is moved in a mounted state where the waste ink tank mounted on the printer, which is disclosed in JP-A-2007-130998, is mounted on the printer, the waste ink tank may operate, for example, thereby causing the mounted state of the waste ink tank to be unstable. 
     SUMMARY 
     An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a liquid waste collector. 
     According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a waste liquid collector which is detachably mounted on a device including a discharge unit discharging a waste liquid and stores the waste liquid discharged from the discharge unit when the waste liquid collector is mounted on the device. The waste liquid collector includes: a pressed portion which is pressed to be moved in a detachment direction in which the waste liquid collector is detached from the device when the waste liquid collector is mounted on the device; and an engagement portion which engages with a part of the device on the basis of a pressing force applied to the pressed portion. 
     With such a configuration, when the waste liquid collector is mounted on the device, the pressed portion is pressed to be moved in the detachment direction from the device. Accordingly, even when the waste liquid collector is intended to be moved in the detachment direction due to the pressing force, the movement of the waste liquid collector in the detachment direction is regulated thanks to the engagement of the engagement portion with the part of the device and thus the waste liquid collector is mounted on the device in the positioning state. As a result, the waste liquid collector can be mounted on and detached from the device discharging the waste liquid for exchange. Moreover, the stable mount state can be ensured when the waste liquid collector is mounted on the device. 
     In the waste liquid collector according to this aspect of the invention, the engagement portion may engage with the part of the device at the time of movement in the detachment direction and does not engage with the part of the device at the time of movement in a mount direction which is reverse to the detachment direction. 
     With such a configuration, the engagement portion does not engage with the part of the device, when the waste liquid collector is moved in the mount direction reverse to the detachment direction. That is, the movement of the waste liquid collector is not regulated in the mount direction at the time of being mounted on the device. In addition, when the waste liquid collector is moved in the mount direction against the pressing force for pressing the pressed portion in the detachment direction and then moved in the detachment direction on the basis of the pressing force applied to the pressed portion, the waste liquid collector becomes a positioning state where the movement is regulated thanks to the engagement of the part of the device with the engagement portion in the detachment direction. Accordingly, thanks to the pressing force applied to the pressed portion and the engagement of the engagement portion with the part of the device, the waste liquid collector maintains the positioning state where the movement is regulated. 
     The waste liquid collector according to this aspect of the invention may further include an opening through which the discharge unit is inserted or extracted at the time of mounting or detaching the waste liquid collector on or from the device. 
     With such a configuration, the waste liquid collector can be easily mounted on and detached from the device, since the discharge unit of the device is moved to be inserted into and extracted from the opening. 
     In the waste liquid collector according to this aspect of the invention, the engagement portion may disengage from the part of the device with displacement in a direction intersecting the detachment direction. 
     With such a configuration, when the waste liquid collector is displaced in its posture in the direction intersecting the detachment direction in the mount state on the device, the engagement state of the engagement portion with the part of the device is released. Therefore, it is possible to easily detach the waste liquid collector from the device thanks to the pressing force applied to the pressed portion. 
     The waste liquid collector according to this aspect of the invention may further include a gripping portion which is used to grip the waste liquid collector when the engagement portion is displaced in the direction intersecting the detachment direction and which is formed at a location which is more away in the detachment direction than the engagement portion when viewed from the pressed portion. 
     With such a configuration, when the gripping portion is gripped in the mount state on the device and the waste liquid collector is displaced in the direction intersecting the detachment direction, the engagement state of the engagement portion with the part of the device is simply released. Therefore, the waste liquid collector can be easily detached from the device. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a liquid ejecting device including: a liquid ejecting head which ejects a liquid; a discharge unit which discharges the liquid ejected as a waste liquid from the liquid ejecting head; the waste liquid collector according to the above-described configuration which is detachably mounted on a mount location corresponding to the discharge unit and stores the liquid discharged as the waste liquid from the discharge unit when the waste liquid collector is mounted on the mount location; a pressing unit which presses a pressed portion of the waste liquid collector to move the waste liquid collector in the detachment direction from the mount location; and a locking portion which detachably locks with an engagement portion of the waste liquid collector in the state where the pressed portion is pressed by the pressing unit, so as to regulate movement of the waste liquid collector in the detachment direction. 
     With such a configuration, in the liquid ejecting device in which the waste liquid collector can be mounted and detached the same operation advantages as those of the waste liquid collector described above can be obtained. 
     According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a waste liquid collector which is detachably mounted on a device including a discharge unit discharging a waste liquid and stores the waste liquid discharged from the discharge unit when the waste liquid collector is mounted on the device. The waste liquid collector includes: an engagement portion which detachably engages with a locking portion included in the device when the waste liquid collector is mounted on the device; and a convex portion which protrudes in a direction intersecting an engagement releasing direction in which the engagement of the engagement portion is released from the locking portion when the waste liquid collector is mounted on the device, so as to come in contact with a part of the device with displacement of the waste liquid collector in the engagement releasing direction. 
     With such a configuration, the waste liquid collector is positioned in the device by allowing the engagement portion to engage with the locking portion included in the device when the waste liquid collector is mounted on the device. In addition, when the waste liquid collector is displaced in a direction in which the engagement portion disengages from the locking portion in the mount state, the displacement of the waste liquid collector is regulated and the mount state is maintained by bringing the convex portion protruding in the direction intersecting the engagement releasing direction into contact with the part of the device. As a result, the waste liquid collector can be mounted on and detached from the device discharging the waste liquid for exchange and the stable mount state can be ensured when the waste liquid collector is mounted on the device. 
     The waste liquid collector according to this aspect of the invention may further include: an opening through which the discharge unit is inserted or extracted at the time of mounting the waste liquid collector or detaching on or from the device; and a collector-side connection terminal which comes in contact with a device-side connection terminal included in the device when the discharge unit of the device is inserted into the opening. The convex portion may be located on the same side on which the collector-side connection terminal is located, when viewed from the opening in a width direction perpendicular to insertion and extraction directions of the discharge unit into or from the opening. 
     With such a configuration, when the convex portion comes in contact with the part of the device in the case where the waste liquid collector is displaced in the direction in which the engagement portion disengages from the locking portion, the waste liquid collector may be deformed due to stress applied with the contact. In this case, in the case where the convex portion is located opposite the collector-side connection terminal when viewed from the opening in the width direction perpendicular to the insertion and extraction directions of the discharge unit, the deformation degree of the portion in which the collector-side connection terminal is formed may increase, thereby causing contact failure of the collector-side connection terminal with the device-side connection side. However, in the above-described configuration, since the collector-side connection terminal is located on the same side on which the convex portion is located in view from the opening through which the discharge unit is inserted and extracted, it is possible to reduce the contact failure with the device-side connection terminal. 
     In the waste liquid collector according to this aspect of the invention, the engagement portion may engage with the locking portion of the device on the basis of a pressing force applied to the waste liquid collector so as to be moved in a detachment direction in which the waste liquid collector is detached from device. 
     With such a configuration, since the engagement portion of the waste liquid collector engages with the locking portion of the device in the pressing contact state on the basis of the pressing force applied to the waste liquid collector so as to be moved from the device in the detachment direction, the waste liquid collector can be mounted on the device in the positioning state and the stable mount state can be ensured. 
     According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a liquid ejecting device includes: a liquid ejecting head which ejects a liquid; a discharge unit which discharges the liquid ejected as a waste liquid from the liquid ejecting head; the waste liquid collector according to the above-described configuration which is detachably mounted on a mount location corresponding to the discharge unit and stores the liquid discharged from the discharge unit as the waste liquid when the waste liquid collector is mounted on the mount location; a locking portion which detachably locks with an engagement portion of the waste liquid collector, when the waste liquid collector is mounted on the mount location; and a displacement regulating unit which regulates displacement of the waste liquid collector by bringing the waste liquid collector into contact with a convex portion of the waste liquid collector when the waste liquid collector is displaced in an engagement releasing direction in which the waste liquid collector disengages from the locking portion. 
     With such a configuration, in the liquid ejecting device in which the waste liquid collector can be mounted and detached, the same operation advantages as those of the waste liquid collector described above can be obtained. 
     In the liquid ejecting device according to this aspect of the invention, the displacement regulating unit is provided so as to be displaced between a regulation location where the waste liquid collector faces the convex portion of the waste liquid collector in the close state and a non-regulation location where the waste liquid collector gets away from the regulation location. 
     With such a configuration, when the waste liquid collector is mounted on the device, it is possible to prevent the waste liquid collector from being moved carelessly from the mount location, by locating the displacement regulating unit at the regulation location. Moreover, it is possible to easily detach the waste liquid collector by locating the replacement regulating unit at the non-regulation location, when the waste liquid collector is detached from the device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an ink jet printer according to embodiments. 
         FIG. 2  is a partially-omitted sectional view illustrating a housing in a printer. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view illustrating a waste ink tank according to a first embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a partially-exploded plan view illustrating the waste ink tank according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a partially-exploded front view illustrating the waste ink tank according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 6A  is a rear side view illustrating the waste ink tank according to the first embodiment and  FIG. 6B  is a rear side view illustrating a waste ink tank according to a comparative example. 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view illustrating a tube supporting mechanism. 
         FIG. 8A  is a partially-exploded front view illustrating the tube supporting mechanism in a normal state and  FIG. 8B  is a partially-exploded front view illustrating the tube supporting mechanism when a support member is retreated. 
         FIG. 9A  is a partially-exploded front view illustrating the tube supporting mechanism pivoted upward and  FIG. 9B  is a partially-exploded front view illustrating the support member pivoted downward. 
         FIG. 10  is a partially-omitted sectional view illustrating the inside of a receiving chamber when the waste ink tank is mounted. 
         FIG. 11  is a partially-omitted sectional view illustrating the inside of the receiving chamber when the waste ink tank is mounted likewise. 
         FIG. 12  is a partially-exploded plan view illustrating a waste ink tank according to a second embodiment. 
         FIGS. 13A to 13D  are rear side views simply illustrating a waste ink tank according to modified examples. 
         FIG. 14  is a rear side view illustrating a waste ink tank according to a modified example. 
         FIG. 15  is a rear side view illustrating a waste ink tank according to a modified example. 
         FIG. 16  is a rear side view illustrating a waste ink tank according to a modified example. 
         FIG. 17  is a rear side view illustrating a waste ink tank according to a modified example. 
         FIG. 18  is a partially-omitted plan view illustrating a waste ink tank according to a modified example. 
         FIG. 19  is a partially-omitted plan view illustrating a waste ink tank according to a modified example. 
         FIG. 20  is a partially-omitted plan view illustrating a waste ink tank according to a modified example. 
         FIG. 21  is a partially-omitted sectional view illustrating a housing receiving a waste ink tank according to a modified example. 
         FIGS. 22A and 22B  are partially-omitted sectional views illustrating a waste ink tank according to modified examples. 
         FIGS. 23A and 23B  are plan views illustrating a waste ink tank according to modified examples and  FIG. 23C  is a front view illustrating a waste ink tank according to a modified example. 
         FIGS. 24A to 24D  are perspective views illustrating an ink absorbing member according to modified examples. 
         FIG. 25  is a partially-exploded front view illustrating a waste ink tank according to a modified example. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described. 
     First Embodiment 
     Hereinafter, an ink jet printer which is an example of a liquid ejecting device including a waste liquid collecting system in which a waste liquid collector according to the invention is detachably mounted will be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 11  according to a first embodiment. “Front and rear directions”, “upper and lower directions”, and “right and left direction” in the following description refer to “front and rear directions”, “upper and lower directions”, and “right and left direction” indicated by arrows in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , unless particularly mentioned. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , an ink jet printer (hereinafter, referred to as “a printer)  11  as a liquid ejecting device according to this embodiment includes a frame  12  having a rectangular shape in plan view. A platen  13  extends in the right and left direction inside the frame  12 . A sheet-feeding mechanism which is disposed above the platen  13  and includes a sheet-feeding motor  14  feeds a print sheet P from the rear side to the front side. In addition, a guide shaft  15  extending in parallel in a longitudinal direction (the right and left directions) of the platen  13  is disposed above the platen  13  inside the frame  12 . 
     A carriage  16  is supported by the guide shaft  15  so as to reciprocate along a shaft direction (the right and left directions) of the guide shaft  15 . A driving pulley  17  and a driven pulley  18  are rotatably supported at locations corresponding to both ends of the guide shaft  15  in the rear surface of the inside of the frame  12 , respectively. A carriage motor  19  which serves as a driving source when the carriage  16  reciprocates is connected to the driving pulley  17 . A timing belt  20  fixing and supporting the carriage  16  is suspended between the pair of pulleys  17  and  18 . Accordingly, the carriage  16  is configured to move in the right and left directions through the timing belt  20  by drive of the carriage motor  19  while being guided by the guide shaft  15 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a print head as a liquid ejecting head  21  is disposed on the lower surface of the carriage  16 . On the other hand, plural ink cartridges  23  (in this embodiment, five ink cartridges) for supplying ink as a liquid to the print head  21  are detachably mounted on the carriage  16 . The ink cartridges  23  individually correspond to plural nozzle opening rows (not shown) formed on a nozzle formation surface  21   a  (see  FIG. 2 ) which is the lower surface of the print head  21 . In addition, the ink cartridges  23  individually supply ink to the corresponding nozzle rows through ink passages (not shown) formed inside the print head  21 . 
     A home position HP which is a maintenance location where the carriage  16  is positioned when the printer  11  is turned off or the print head  21  is subjected to maintenance is provided in one end (the right end in  FIG. 1 ) of the inside of the frame  12 , that is, in a non-print area which the print sheet P does not reach. In addition, a maintenance unit  24  for performing various maintenance operations is disposed below the home position HP so that the print head  21  keeps performing satisfactory ejection of ink onto the print sheet P. 
     The maintenance unit  24  includes a cap  25  having a substantially rectangular box-like shape corresponding to the lower surface (the nozzle formation surface) of the print head  21  and an elevation mechanism (not shown) moving up and down the cap  25 . In addition, when the cap  25  is moved up by drive of the elevation mechanism (not shown) in the state where the carriage  16  moves to the home position HP, the cap  25  is configured so as to come in contact with the nozzle formation surface  21   a  which is the lower surface of the print head  21  in the state where the cap  25  surrounds the nozzle rows. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a housing  26  having a rectangular parallelepiped shape and being formed in the front and rear directions is formed in one end (the right end in  FIG. 1 ) of the inside of the frame  12  and below the home position HP. A receiving chamber  30  receiving a waste liquid collecting system  29  including a waste ink tank  27  as a waste liquid collector and a tube supporting mechanism  28  as a liquid passage forming unit is formed inside the housing  26 . In addition, a mount location  31  of the waste ink tank  27  is configured below the receiving chamber  30 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 10 , the height (which is a distance between a bottom wall  32  and a top wall  33 ) of the inside of the receiving chamber  30  is set sufficiently higher than the height of the waste ink tank  27  so that the waste ink tank  27  is tilted in its posture inside the receiving chamber  30 . 
     A rectangular mounting/detaching port  34  for passing the waste ink tank  27  at the time of mounting or detaching the waste ink tank  27  to or from the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30  is formed on the front surface of the housing  26 . An opening door  36  is provided in the mounting/detaching port  34  so that the upper end portion thereof is rotatably supported on a pair of right and left shafts  35  formed in both ends of the upper edge of the mounting/detaching port  34 . By holding a hand  36   a  formed on the front surface of the opening door  36  to open or close the opening door  36  about the shafts  35 , the opening door  36  is opened and closed between a closing location indicated by a solid line and an opening location indicated a two-dot chain line in  FIG. 2 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , inside the receiving chamber  30  of the housing  26 , a front step surface  37 , an intermediate step surface  38 , and a rear step surface  39  are formed in a stepped shape from a front side to a rear side in the front and rear directions on the upper surface of the bottom wall  32 . The front step surface  37  is formed so as to have the same height as that of the lower edge of the mounting/detaching port  34 . A locking step  40  as a locking portion which makes the intermediate step surface  38  lower than the front step surface  37  is formed between the rear end of the front step surface  37  and the front end of the intermediate step surface  38  so as to extend in the right and left directions. 
     The intermediate step surface  38  is formed so as to have a length in the front and rear directions slightly shorter than the length of the waste ink tank  27  in the front and rear directions. The almost entire area of the intermediate step surface  38  and the rear half area of the front step surface  37  form the mount location  31  of the waste ink tank  27 . The rear step surface  39  is formed so as to be slightly lower than the intermediate step surface  38  with a stepped portion  41  interposed therebetween. The tube supporting mechanism  28  supporting the flexible tube  43 , which discharges ink forcedly sucked as waste ink (waste liquid) from the inside of the cap  25  to the waste ink tank  27  with drive of a sucking pump  42 , is disposed on the rear step surface  39 . 
     Next, the waste liquid collecting system  29  having the waste ink tank  27  and the tube supporting mechanism  28  and being provided in the printer  11  will be described. 
     First, the waste ink tank  27  will be described. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the waste ink tank  27  includes a container member  44  which is made of synthetic resin and has a box-like shape having an open top portion and a bottom portion, plural ink absorbing members (waste ink absorbing member)  45   a  to  45   d  (four ink absorbing members in this embodiment) formed of a non-woven fabric or a felt having an external shape corresponding to the open shape of the container member  44 , and a film member  46  as a sealing member which has an external shape corresponding to the open shape of the container member  44 . An inside space of the container member  44  serves as a receiving space  47 . The ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are received in a laminated manner in the receiving space  47 . An upper opening  48  of the container member  44  is sealed by attaching the film member  46  to the container member  44  to cover the upper opening  48  of the container member  44  in which the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are received. As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , an air communicating hole  90  is formed at one location on a front side of the intermediate portion of the film member  46 . 
     Ribs  52  having a thin plate shape are formed in the upper and lower directions at plural locations of inner wall surfaces of a rear wall  49 , a left wall  50 , and a right wall  51  of the container member  44  (two locations on the rear wall  49  and three locations on each of the left wall  50  and the right wall  51 ). In  FIG. 3 , just one rib  52  on the rear wall  49  and just three ribs  52  on the right wall  51  are illustrated. In addition, cut-in portions  53  are formed in the outer peripheries of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  so as to correspond to the locations of the ribs  52 . 
     A columnar post  54  is positioned at the almost central location of the inner bottom surface of the container member  44 . Round holes  55  as fitting holes for fitting with the post  54  are perforated at the almost central locations of the ink absorbing members  45  so as to correspond to the post  54 . The ribs  52  are inserted into the corresponding cut-in portions  53  and the post  54  is inserted into the holes  55  so that the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are received in the laminated manner in the reception space  47  of the container member  44 . In particular, the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are regulated so as not to move toward the inner wall surfaces of the side walls inside the container member  44  by locking the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  with the post  54  fitting with the holes  55  formed at the almost central locations. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , a concave portion  56  is formed in the rear left corner of the container member  44 . In consequence, the rear wall  49  is divided into a main rear wall  49   a  located on the relatively rear side and a sub rear wall  49   b  located on the relatively front side. In addition, the left wall  50  is divided into a main left wall  50   a  located on the relatively left side and a sub left wall  50   b  located on the relatively right side. In the upper of the concave portion  56 , a reinforcing rib  56   a  having a substantially triangular plate shape in plan view is formed between the sub rear wall  49   b  and the sub left wall  50   b.    
     A connection port  57  as an opening having a round shape is formed through the main rear wall  49   a.  A cylinder portion  58  having a cylindrical shape which is horizontally long in the cross-section is formed on the sub rear wall  49   b  so as to protrude toward the rear side. A long hole  58   a  of the cylinder portion  58  serves as a positioning unit. The cylinder portion  58  is connected to the sub left wall  50   b  through the reinforcing rib  58   b.  The connection port  57  is formed so that the diameter of the inner circumferential surface becomes gradually smaller in a deeper portion. In addition, the connection port  57  has a function of guiding a member toward the inner center of the connection port  57 , when a member inserted into the connection port  57  from the outside comes in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the connection port  57  in the front and rear directions. A sealing portion  91  having a ring shape surrounding the connection port  57  bulges from the main rear wall  49   a  in the circumference of the connection port  57 . In addition, the end surface of the sealing portion  91  forms a flat and smooth surface shape parallel to the main rear wall  49   a.    
     A connection terminal (collector-side connection terminal)  59  of a circuit board (not shown) storing various kinds of information on the capacity or the like of the waste ink tank  27  is attached to the outside surface of the sub left wall  50   b.  When the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  of the printer  11 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , a plane-shaped contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  comes in contact with the connection surface of a connection terminal (device-side connection terminal)  87  (see  FIG. 7  to  FIGS. 9A and 9B ) provided in the tube support mechanism  28  on the side of the printer  11 , as indicated by two-dot chain line in  FIG. 6A . When both the connection terminals  59  and  87  are appropriately connected to each other, various information (for example, information on a use start date of the waste ink tank  27 , the number of times of cleaning, an integration value of a discharge amount of waste ink, and the like) on the waste ink are exchanged between the circuit board on the side of the waste ink tank  27  and a control unit (not shown) of the printer  11 . 
     In the waste ink tank  27 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  5 , and  6 A, the connection terminal  59  is not formed on the main rear wall  49   a  on which the connection port  57  is formed, but formed at a location lower than the locations of the connection port  57  and the cylinder portion  58  (the long hole  58   a ) on the sub left wall  50   b  formed perpendicularly to the main rear wall  49   a.  That is, in the container member  44  having the box-like shape which has the bottom portion, the connection terminal  59  is not formed at an upper side location in which deformation is easily caused when a stress is applied and which is closer to the upper opening  48 , but formed at a lower side location in which rigidity is relatively high and deformation is difficult due to closeness to the bottom portion and at a location which is not formed immediately below the connection port  57 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6A , the connection terminal  59  is provided at the lower location of the sub left wall  50   b  so that the contact surface  59   a  is not perpendicular to a straight line L extending in a radial direction oriented from the center  57   a  of the connection port  57  to the oblique downward side when the main rear wall  49   a  is viewed from the front side. That is, the connection terminal  59  is provided so that the contact surface  59   a  extends along the vertical plane and in the front and rear directions. In the waste ink tank  27 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , the connection terminal  59  is provided at a location between the connection port  57  and the cylinder portion  58  (the long hole  58   a ) in the front and rear directions. 
     A locked step  60  as an engagement portion which makes concave and convex engagement in the front and rear directions with the locking step  40  formed on the bottom wall  32  of the housing  26  is formed at a location closer to the rear end than the front end of the outside bottom surface of the container member  44  so as to extend in the right and left directions. In the container member  44 , as shown in  FIGS. 2  to  FIG. 5 , a convex portion  92  having a rectangular parallelepiped shape protrudes from a left end location of the lower front end toward the front side. On the other hand, a protrusion  93  as a displacement regulating unit is formed as a member corresponding to the convex portion  92  on the side of the rear surface of the opening door  36  which is provided in the mounting/detaching port  34  of the receiving chamber  30  in the printer  11  so as to be opened or closed. In addition, when the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30  and the opening door  36  is closed, the protrusion  93  becomes a location regulation state where the protrusion  93  is located above the convex portion  92  of the waste ink tank  27  with a slight clearance interposed therebetween. On the other hand, when the opening door  36  is opened, the protrusion  93  becomes a location non-regulation state where the protrusion  93  is spaced from the regulation location. 
     In the upper front end of the container member  44 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , a gripping portion  94  gripped when a user mounts or detaches the waste ink tank  27  is formed in a cross-sectional L shape in which the front end is curved downward. That is, the gripping portion  94  is formed like cutting the lower portion of the front surface of the container member  44  from a midway point in the upper and lower directions in an inward direction (the rear side in this case) of the container member  44 , thereby having a shape which can be easily gripped by the fingers of the user. In addition, the convex portion  92  described above is formed on the left side of both sides of the cut concave portion. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are formed so that a lowermost first ink absorbing member  45   a  has the same thickness of that of an uppermost fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and a second ink absorbing member  45   b  on a second layer from the downward side has the same thickness as that of a third ink absorbing member  45   c  on a third layer from the downward side. In each of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  and the third ink absorbing member  45   c,  a through-hole  61  having a square shape is formed at a location closer to the rear side than the center portion. In the third ink absorbing member  45   c,  a cut-in groove  62  serving as a connection portion and a guide unit having a predetermined width and is cut in the front and rear directions from the rear end edge to the through-hole  61 . In each of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and the second ink absorbing member  45   b,  no cut-in groove is formed at a location corresponding to the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c.  In addition, when the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and the second ink absorbing member  45   b  are received in the reception space  47  of the container member  44  in a lamination state where the third ink absorbing member  45   c  is interposed therebetween from both the upper and lower sides, the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  is blocked from both the upper and lower sides. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the groove width of the rear end portion of the cut-in groove  62  is configured as a broader groove corresponding to an arrangement distance between the pair of ribs  52  which are formed on the inner wall surface of the rear wall  49  of the container member  44  so as to interpose the connection port  57  from the both right and left sides. However, the groove width of the front end portion close to the through-hole  61  is narrower than the groove width of the rear end portion. A tapered portion  95  which is broader toward the rear end portion is formed at a connection location between the front end groove having the narrower width and the rear end groove having the broader width. 
     Next, the tube supporting mechanism  28  will be described. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIGS. 8A and 8B , the tube supporting mechanism  28  includes a base body  63  in which a front end distance between both the right and left walls having a rectangular shape is the same and which having a substantial ⊃-shape in plan view connected to a front wall having a rectangular shape. A horizontal plate  64  having a rectangular plate shape extends frontward from the lower front end of the base body  63 . Right and left screw holes  65  are formed in the horizontal plate  64 . The base body  63  is fixed to the rear step surface  39  in the bottom wall  32  of the housing  26  by screw-connecting setscrews  66  to the screw holes  65  of the horizontal plate  64 , respectively. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , plural through-holes  67 ,  68 , and  69  (three through-holes in this embodiment) are formed in the front wall of the base body  63  so as to extend in the upper and lower directions. Among the through-holes  67  to  69 , the central through-hole  68  has the height to be arranged coaxially with the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  mounted on the mount location  31  of the receiving chamber  30 , when the base body  63  is fixed onto the rear step surface  39  of the bottom wall  32  of the housing  26 . An inward flanges  70  (see  FIGS. 8A and 8B ) is formed at an intermediate location in an axial direction of the inner circumferential surface of each of the upper through-hole  67  and the lower through-hole  69 . In addition, in the base body  63 , a substantially U-shaped tube fixing portion  71  through which the flexible tube  43  is inserted to be supported is formed in the intermediate portion of the upper end of the front wall. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIGS. 8A and 8B , a support member  72  for supporting the flexible tube  43  in a straight shape is assembled with the front surface of the base body  63 . The support member  72  is a resin molded product having rigidity, including a cylindrical body  73  as a main body which can be inserted into and extracted from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 , and having a predetermined length in the front and rear directions. A brim portion  74  having a rectangular plate shape is integrally formed at a location on the slight rear side (base end side) from the intermediate location in an axial direction of the cylindrical body  73 . In the support member  72 , a base end cylindrical portion (second support member)  75  protruding more rearward than the brim portion  74  of the cylindrical body  73  has an outer diameter smaller than the hole diameter of the intermediate through-hole  68  of the base body  63  and an inner diameter into which the flexible tube  43  can be inserted. 
     On the other hand, in the support member  72 , a circular mounted portion  96  having a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the sealing portion  91  of the waste ink tank  27  bulges from the front surface of the brim portion  74  so as to be arranged coaxially with the cylindrical body  73 . A cylinder-shaped portion of the support member  72  protruding more frontward than the circular mounted portion  96  of the brim portion  74  of the cylindrical body  73  is formed as a discharge unit  97  which is inserted to support the downstream end side of the flexible tube  43  inside the connection port  57  in order to discharge the waste ink into the waste ink tank  27 , when the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31 . 
     In the discharge unit  97 , the base end joined to the circular mounted portion  96  is formed as a fitting cylindrical portion  98  of which an inner diameter and an outer diameter are the same in an inside deep portion of the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 . In a portion having a predetermined length and serving as the second support member formed more frontward (on front end side) than the fitting cylindrical portion  98 , the outer diameter of the portion is slightly smaller than the width in the right and left directions of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  received inside the waste ink tank  27  and the length of the portion is substantially equal to a distance from the rear end edge of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  to a substantial center of the through-hole  61 . In the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73 , a portion having a predetermined length on the front end side than the fitting cylindrical portion  98  is formed as a non-cylindrical portion  77  in which the circumferential wall of the relatively long cylindrical shape formed from a front end cylindrical portion  76  to the rear-side fitting cylindrical portion  98  is cut by the about half, excluding the front end cylindrical portion  76  which is relatively short and has a cylindrical shape in order to inward fit with the front end serving as a downstream end of the flexible tube  43 . In addition, on the inside surface of the non-cylindrical portion  77 , a pair of insertion claws (fixing portions)  78  protrude at each of plural locations (three locations in this embodiment) in an axial direction of the cylindrical body  73  so that a distance with the pair of insertion claws  78  facing each other is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the flexible tube  43 . 
     In the support member  72 , when the base end cylindrical portion  75  in the cylindrical body  73  is loosely inserted into the intermediate through-hole  68  of the base body  63 , the portion having the predetermined length on the front end side including the front end (downstream end) in the flexible tube  43  inserted from the base end side opening of the base end cylindrical portion  75  is supported by the front end cylindrical portion  76  and the non-cylindrical portion  77 . That is, the front end cylindrical portion  76  in the cylindrical body  73  supports the front end of the flexible tube  43  in the fitting state in that the inner diameter of the front end cylindrical portion  76  is the same as the outer diameter of the flexible tube  43 . In addition, the non-cylindrical portion  77  fixes the flexible tube  43  by inserting the flexible tube  43  from the side so that the fixing claws  78  fix the plural locations (three locations in this embodiment) of the portion from the front end to the base end of the flexible tube  43 . Accordingly, the portion having the predetermined length on the front end side in the flexible tube  43  is supported by the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  so as to extend in a direction in which the front end of the flexible tube  43  is oriented. 
     When the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  in the support member  72  supporting the flexible tube  43  is inserted into the container member  44  from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 , as indicated by two-dot chain line in  FIG. 4 , the waste ink is discharged into the through-holes  61  formed in the second ink absorbing member  45   b  and the third ink absorbing member  45   c  from a front end opening  76   a  of the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73 . Accordingly, in this embodiment, the front end opening  76   a  of the front end cylindrical portion  76  in the discharge unit  97  of the support member  72  supporting the flexible tube  43  forms a discharge port for discharging the waste ink. 
     In this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 4 , when the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  is inserted into the container member  44  from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 , a distance Y between the front end opening  76   a  and an air communication hole  90  is configured to be longer than a distance X between the front end opening  76   a  as the discharge port of the discharge unit  97  and the connection port  57  in the mounted state. In addition, after the waste ink discharged from the front end opening  76   a  is absorbed by the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  and the waste ink soaks and spreads in the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d,  an ink solvent gasifies. Then, the ink solvent evaporates from the air communication hole  90  of the film member  46  to the outside. 
     A pin  85  as a counter member which can be inserted into or extracted from the long hole  58   a  of the cylinder portion  58  of the waste ink tank  27  protrudes toward the front side in the left edge of the front surface of the brim portion  74  of the support member  72 . Likewise, a vertical plate portion  86  having a rectangular plate shape protrudes in the left edge of the front surface of the brim portion  74  toward the front side from a location below the pin  85 . A connection terminal  87  (device-side connection terminal) corresponding to the connection terminal  59  formed on the sub left wall  50   b  of the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on one surface (right surface) of the vertical plate portion  86 . The connection terminal  87  is connected to the control unit (not shown) of the printer  11  with a harness (not shown) interposed therebetween. 
     On the other hand, a pair of upper and lower cylinders  79  formed so as to be respectively inserted into the upper through-hole  67  and the lower through-hole  69  of the base body  63  bulge in parallel toward the rear side from two upper and lower locations of the base end cylindrical portion  75  in the rear surface of the brim portion  74  of the support member  72 . In addition, the upper and lower cylinders  79  are respectively inserted into the upper through-hole  67  and the lower through-hole  69  of the base body  63  in a state where the cylinders  79  are put into coil springs  80  serving as an urging unit against each circumferential surface. In this case, the front ends of the coil springs  80  come in contact with the rear surface of the brim portion  74  of the support member  72 . In addition, the rear ends of the coil springs  80  come in contact with the flanges  70  respectively formed at the midway locations of the inner circumferential surfaces of the upper through-hole  67  and the lower through-hole  69 , respectively. A screw holes (not shown) is formed on the front end surface of each of the cylinders  79 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIGS. 8A and 8B , an assemble plate  81  for assembling the support member  72  to the base body  63  is disposed on the rear surface of the base body  63 . The assembly plate  81  has a rectangular plate shape coming in contact with the rear surface of the front wall when the assembly plate  81  is disposed between both the right and left walls of the base body  63  having the substantial ⊃-shape in plan view. A through-hole  82  corresponding to the intermediate through-hole  68  of the base body  63  is formed in the substantial center of the assembly plate  81 . Screw insertion holes  83  are formed at two locations which correspond to the upper though-hole  67  and the lower through-hole  69  of the base body  63  in upper and lower portions of the through-hole  82  in the assembly plate  81 . In addition, the assembly plate  81  is screw-fixed by setscrews  84  inserted through the screw insertion holes  83  into the cylinders  79  of the support member  72  of which the front ends protrude from the upper through-hole  67  and the lower through-hole  69  of the base body  63  toward the rear side. 
     Next, operations of the waste ink collecting system  29  having the above-described configuration and the printer  11  will be described below. 
     First, a method of forming a liquid passage when the liquid passage is formed by supporting the flexible tube  43  discharging the waste ink into the waste ink tank  27  by the tube support mechanism  28  in the waste ink collecting system  29  will be described. 
     Here, when the liquid passage for discharging ink (liquid) ejected as waste ink (waste liquid) from the print head  21  into the waste ink tank  27  is formed, the base body  63  in the tube support mechanism  28  is first fixed onto the rear step surface  39  inside the receiving chamber  30  by the setscrews  66 . Then, after the front end (downstream end) of the flexible tube  43 , of which the base end (upstream end) is connected to the cap  25 , is inserted into the through-hole  82  of the assembly plate  81  from the rear side, the front end of the flexible tube  43  is also inserted into the intermediate through-hole  68  of the base body  63  from the rear side and the front end of the flexible tube  43  is extracted toward to the front side from the intermediate through-hole  68  to some extent. 
     Subsequently, the front end of the flexible tube  43  extracted toward the front side from the intermediate through-hole  68  of the base body  63  is inserted into the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  which is not assembled to the base body  63 . That is, the front end of the flexible tube  43  is inserted into the base end cylindrical portion  75  of the cylindrical body  73 . Likewise, the front end of the inserted flexible tube  43  is extracted from the non-cylindrical portion  77  of the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  to the outside for the moment. 
     Then, a portion having a predetermined length on the front end side of the flexible tube  43  is loosened to some extent so as to easily grip the portion having the predetermined length in the outside of the non-cylindrical portion  77 . In this state, the front end of the flexible tube  43  is inserted into the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  from the rear side (base end side). At this time, the front end of the flexible tube  43  is locationally matched with the front end of the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  in the front and rear directions. Then, the flexible tube  43  is fitted and supported by the front end cylindrical portion  76  in a stable state. 
     Subsequently, the base end side of the flexible tube  43  is pulled from the base end cylindrical portion  75  of the cylindrical body  73  in an extraction direction and the loosened portion of the flexible tube  43  formed outside the side of the non-cylindrical portion  77  is removed. The portion having the predetermined length on the front end side of the flexible tube  43  of which the loosened state is removed is pressed sequentially from the front end side against the inner surface of the non-cylindrical portion  77  to be pushed between the insertion claws  78  facing each other. Then, the flexible tube  43  is fixed by the insertion claws  78  to become a stably supported state so that the portion having the predetermined length on the front end side is expanded in a substantial straight shape along the non-cylindrical portion  77 . 
     In this way, the flexible tube  43  is supported by the support member  72 . Subsequently, the support member  72  which has supported the flexible tube  43  in the above-described manner is assembled to the base body  63 . That is, the base end cylindrical portion  75  of the cylindrical body  73  is loosely inserted into the intermediate through-hole  68  of the base body  63  inserted into the base end side of the flexible tube  43 . In addition, the cylinders  79  protruding from the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  toward the rear side are inserted into the upper through-hole  67  and the lower-through-hole  69  of the base body  63 , respectively. At this time, the coil spring  80  is inserted in advance into each of the cylinders  79 . 
     Then, the coil springs  80  through which the cylinders  79  are respectively inserted are respectively interposed between the rear surface of the brim portion  74  and the flanges  70  of the upper through-hole  67  and the lower through-hole  69  to be slightly contracted. In addition, the front ends of the cylinders  79  protrude from the through-holes  67  and  69  toward the rear side, respectively. The assembly plate  81  is brought into contact with the front ends of the cylinders  79  of which the heads respectively protrude from the through-holes  67  and  69 , while locationally matched to the screw insertion holes  83 . Then, the assembly plate  81  is screw-fixed by the setscrews  84 . Subsequently, the midway portion on the base end side of the flexible tube  43  extracted from the through-hole  82  of the assembly plate  81  toward the rear side is fixed by the tube fixing portion  71  formed in the upper portion of the base body  63 . 
     In this way, the flexible tube  43  is supported by the tube support mechanism  28 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 8A , the tube support mechanism  28  is installed below the cap  25  in the home position HP, while supporting the flexible tube  43  in a state where the flexible tube  43  is oriented toward the front side in which the mount location  31  of the waste ink tank  27  is positioned. In this installation state, in order for the coil springs  80  through which the cylinders  79  of the support member  72  are inserted to maintain the slightly contracted state and press the brim portion  74  toward the front side by the contracted press force, the support member  72  is movably maintained in the front and rear directions in a state where the cylindrical body  73  is oriented toward the front side. 
     The support member  72  of the tube support mechanism  28  is in an urged state toward the front side by an urging force of the coil springs  80 , since the coil springs  80  respectively inserted through the cylinders  79  are respectively inserted are in the slightly contracted state. Accordingly, when a press force is further applied to the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  from the front side to the rear side, the brim portion  74  receives the press force and is retreated toward the rear side. Therefore, as shown in  FIG. 8B , the support member  72  is retreated toward the rear side in the state where the support member  72  supports the assembly plate  81  and the flexible tube  43 , while further contracting the coil springs  80 . 
     In the support member  72  of the tube support mechanism  28 , the base end cylindrical portion  75  of cylindrical body  73  and the cylinders  79  protruding from the brim portion  74  toward the rear side are loosely inserted into the through-holes  67 ,  68 , and  69  of the base body  63 , respectively, so that a clearance is present in a diametric direction. Accordingly, when an external force is applied to the cylindrical body  73  (particularly, the front end cylindrical portion  76 ) of the support member  72  from a direction intersecting the axial direction of the cylindrical body  73 , the support member  72  receiving the external force is pivoted on a point on the base end side (specifically, a point coming in contact with the flange  70  in the cylinder  79 ). 
     That is, when the external force oriented from the downward side to the upward side is applied to the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73 , the support member  72  is pivoted so that the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  is moved upward, as shown in  FIG. 9A . On the other hand, when the external force oriented from the upward side to the downward side is applied to the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73 , the support member  72  is pivoted so that the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  is moved downward, as shown in  FIG. 9B . Even though not shown, when the external force is applied to the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  from the right and left directions, the support member  72  is pivoted so that the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  is moved in the right and left directions. In this way, the support member  72  supporting the flexible tube  43  in the tube support mechanism  28  has a configuration in which the front end is pivotable on the point on the base end side. 
     Next, a method of mounting or detaching the waste ink tank  27  on or from the mount location  31  formed inside the receiving chamber  30  of the housing  26  of the printer  11  will be described. 
     When the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30 , the opening door  36  on the front side of the housing  26  is first opened. Subsequently, the waste ink tank  27  is inserted into the opened mounting/detaching port  34  from the rear end side on which the connection port  57  is formed, and then the waste ink tank  27  is moved toward the rear side which is the mount direction in which the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , in the waste ink tank  27 , the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  in the tube support mechanism  28  is inserted into the connection port  57  of the main rear wall  49   a  in a previous step in which the entire waste ink tank  27  is inserted inside the receiving chamber  30 . 
     Here, when the waste ink tank  27  is moved up to the inside deep portion of the receiving chamber  30  through the mounting/detaching port  34 , the gripping portion  94  in the front end of the waste ink tank  27  is gripped by the user of the printer  11  and the waste ink tank  27  is moved in the mount direction manually by the user. Accordingly, when the gripping portion  94  in the front end of the waste ink tank  27  is gripped by the user, the container member  44  rarely maintains a horizontal state in its posture in the previous step in which the entire waste ink tank  27  is inserted inside the receiving chamber  30 . Instead, as shown in  FIG. 10 , the container member  44  is normally slanted in its posture so that the rear end of the waste ink tank  27  is lower than the front end. Accordingly, in a case where the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  of the tube support mechanism  28  is fixed in a horizontally oriented state, it is difficult to insert the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  up to the inside deep portion of the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  moved in the mount direction in the slanted state. 
     However, the tube support mechanism  28  according to this embodiment has the configuration in which the front end of the support member  72  is pivotable on the point on the base end side. With such a configuration, when the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  is inserted into the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  moved in the state where the waste ink tank  27  is slanted in its posture, the front end of the support member  72  of the tube support mechanism  28  is pivoted so as to correspond to the slant. Accordingly, the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  in the support member  72  is inserted up to the inside deep portion of the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  without any problem. 
     The support member  72  of the tube support mechanism  28  may be locationally deviated from the center  57   a  of the connection port  57 , when the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  is inserted into the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 . In this embodiment, however, the inner circumferential surface of the connection port  57  in the waste ink tank  27  is configured as the tapered surface which the diameter is smaller as getting deeper to the inside portion of the connection port  57 . Therefore, the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  is slidably guided toward the center  57   a  of the connection port  57 , when the cylindrical body  73  is inserted into the connection port  57 . In consequence, in the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72 , the front end cylindrical portion  76  is smoothly inserted into the cut-in groove  62  of the third absorbing member  45   c  disposed so as to correspond to the location of the connection port  57  in the waste ink tank  27 . 
     In the cut-in groove  62 , the tapered portion  95  of which the width is narrower toward the front end is formed on the rear end which is the connection port  57  and the groove width of a portion in the front end of the tapered portion  95  is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the discharge unit  97 . The thickness of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  provided with the cut-in groove  62  is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the discharge unit  97 . Accordingly, in the discharge unit  97 , when the front end cylindrical portion  76  is inserted into the cut-in groove  62 , the front end cylindrical portion  76  is slidably guided by the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  including the tapered portion  95  in the third ink absorbing member  45   c  and by the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  blocking the cut-in groove  62  from both the upper and lower sides so that the insertion direction becomes a direction (predetermined direction) oriented toward the through-hole  61 . 
     When the waste ink tank  27  is further moved toward the inside deep portion of the receiving chamber  30  in the state shown in  FIG. 10 , the rear wall  49  (specifically, the end surface of the sealing portion  91 ) of the waste ink tank  27  comes in contact with the brim portion  74  (specifically, the circular mounted portion  96 ) of the support member  72 . In addition, the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  reaches the location of the through-hole  61  formed in the third ink absorbing member  45   c.  In this case, when the sealing portion  91  of the rear wall  49  of the waste ink tank  27  comes in contact with the circular mounted portion  96  of the brim portion  74  of the support member  72 , the connection portion  57  is closed and sealed by the circular mounted portion  96 . Accordingly, the circular mounted portion  96  serves as a closing unit which closes the connection port  57  as the opening, when the sealing portion  91  comes in contact with the circular mounted portion  96 . In addition, since the sealing portion  91  has the ring shape surrounding the connection port  57 , a sealing function thereof is easily ensured by bringing the end surface formed as the flat and smooth surface into contact with the facing surface of the flat and smooth surface as in the circular mounted portion  96 . 
     Likewise, when the sealing portion  91  of the rear wall  49  of the waste ink tank  27  comes in contact with the circular mounted portion  96  of the brim portion  74  of the support member  72 , the pin  85  protruding from the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  is inserted into the hole  58   a  of the cylinder portion  58  formed on the sub rear wall  49   b  of the waste ink tank  27 , and thus the waste ink tank  27  mounted on the mount location  31  is positioned in the upper and lower directions, the right and left directions, and a rotation direction. In this case, the pin  85  and the long hole (positioning unit)  58   a  serve as a maintaining unit which maintains the positioning state so that the movement of the waste ink tank  27  is regulated in the upper and lower directions, the right and left directions, and the rotation direction in the mount location  31 . 
     In particular, When the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the printer  11 , the waste ink tank  27  may be moved toward the mount location  31  of the printer  11  with rotation about the axis of the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  inserted into the connection port  57  to be mounted in some cases. Therefore, the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  may be locationally deviated from the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  in the rotation direction in the connection state. In addition, as in a comparative example in  FIG. 6B , when the contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  is formed perpendicularly to a straight line L extending in a radial direction from the center  57   a  of the connection port  57 , the contact surfaces of the connection terminals  59  and  87  may be deviated from each other in the rotation direction at the time of rotating the waste ink tank  27 , thereby impairing the contact surfaces and causing connection failure. 
     In order to solve this problem, as shown in  FIG. 6A , the contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  according to this embodiment is formed perpendicularly to the straight line L extending toward the radial direction from the center  57   a  of the connection port  57 . Therefore, the contact surfaces of both the connection terminals  59  and  87  are not deviated from each other in the rotation direction in the connection, when the waste ink tank  27  is rotated. That is, in  FIG. 6A , when the waste ink tank  27  is rotated clockwise, the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  is moved so that the contact surface  59   a  becomes away from the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11 . On the contrary, in  FIG. 6A , when the waste ink tank  27  is rotated counterclockwise, the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  is moved in a direction in which the contact surface  59   a  is pressed against the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11 . 
     In this case, the long hole  58   a  as the positioning unit serves as a contact portion for regulating the rotation of the waste ink tank  27  by bringing an inner circumferential surface  99  into contact with the pin  85 . That is, the long hole  58   a  regulates the counterclockwise rotation by which the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  is spaced from the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11 , by bringing the upper inner surface of the inner circumferential surface  99  into contact with the pin  85 . On the other hand, the long hole  58   a  regulates the clockwise rotation of the waste ink tank  27 , by bringing the lower inner surface of the inner circumferential surface  99  into contact with the pin  85 . 
     With such a configuration, even when the waste ink tank  27  is moved and mounted on the mount location  31  of the printer  11  with the rotation about the axis of the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  inserted into the connection port  57 , the contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  is not deviated from the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  in the rotation direction in the connection. When the pin  85  is inserted into the long hole  58   a,  the upper and lower inner surfaces of the inner circumferential surface  99  of the long hole  58   a  come into contact with the pin  85 , and thus the rotation stops. Therefore, the location is determined at the rotation location at which the contact surfaces of both the connection terminals  59  and  87  appropriately come in contact with each other. 
     When the waste ink tank  27  is further pushed toward the rear side to press the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  in this state, the support member  72  is retreated while further contracting the coil springs  80 . When the support member  72  is retreated up to a location where the brim portion  74  is closest to the front wall of the base body  63 , as shown in  FIG. 11 , the waste ink tank  27  is horizontally maintained in its posture and the bottom surface of the container member  44  of the waste ink tank  27  is brought into contact with the intermediate step surface  38  forming a part of the mount location  31  in the receiving chamber  30 . At this time, the locked step  60  formed on the bottom surface of the container member  44  of the waste ink tank  27  is located in an inside deeper portion of the receiving chamber  30  than the locking step  40  formed in the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30 . In other words, the waste ink tank  27  is outside the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30  in the mount direction at this time. That is, the locked step  60  of the waste ink tank  27  does not engage with the locking step  40  of the printer  11  at the time of moving the waste ink tank  27  the mount direction. 
     When a force (for example, a force of the fingers of a user) applied to move the waste ink tank  27  in the mount direction is released in the state shown in  FIG. 11 , the waste ink tank  27  is pressed in the front direction (that is, the detachment direction of the waste ink tank  27 ) by the brim portion  74 . That is because the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  is advanced by the urging force of the contracted coil springs  80 . That is, the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  serves as a pressing unit using the urging force of the coil springs  80  as a pressing force and the rear wall  49  of the container member  44  serves as a pressed unit. The brim portion  74  presses the waste ink tank  27 . In addition, the waste ink tank  27  receiving this pressing force is slidably moved on the intermediate step  38  of the mount location  31  toward the front side. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the locked step  60  of the container member  44  locks with the locking step  40  of the mount location  31 . That is, The locking step  40  which cannot lock with the locked step  60  at the time of moving the waste ink tank  27  to the locked step  60  of the container member  44  in the mount direction reverse to the detachment direction serves as a locking unit which performs the locking to regulate the movement of the waste ink tank  27  in the detachment direction from the detachment direction at the time of slidably moving the waste ink tank  27  in the detachment direction. 
     Accordingly, the waste ink tank  27  receives the urging force of the coil springs  80  from the rear side through the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  and the locking step  40  of the mount location  31  locks with the locked step  60  of the bottom surface of the container member  44  from the front side. Accordingly, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the waste ink tank  27  is positioned at the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30  so as not to be moved in the front and rear direction. With such a configuration, the coil springs  80  as the urging unit and the locking step  40  as the locking unit serve as a maintaining unit which maintains the waste ink tank  27  so as to be positioned at the mount location  31 . When the opening door  36  of the mounting/detaching port  34  is returned to the closing location, the mounting of the waste ink tank  27  on the mount location  31  ends. 
     Since the opening door  36  of the mounting/detaching port  34  is positioned at the closing location in the mount state shown in  FIG. 2 , the protrusion  93  on the rear surface of the opening door  36  is in a location regulation state close to the convex portion  92  of the front end of the waste ink tank  27 . Accordingly, even though the waste ink tank  27  is displaced upward with application of an impact from the outside in a case of carrying the printer  11 , the protrusion  93  of the opening door  36  comes in contact with the convex portion  92  of the waste ink tank  27  and thus regulates the upward displacement. Accordingly, the locked step  60  of the waste ink tank  27  does not disengage from the locking step  40  formed at the mount location  31  of the printer  11 . 
     When the cap  25  moves up by drive of the elevation mechanism (not shown) and comes in contact with the nozzle formation surface  21   a  of the print head  21  in the state shown in  FIG. 2  and then the sucking pump  42  is driven, the thickened ink in the print head  21  due to negative pressure generated in the cap  25  is forcedly discharged (ejected) as the waste ink into the cap  25  through nozzle openings (not shown). When the inside of the cap  25  becomes an air sucking state where air is sucked by air opening in a state where the sucking pump  42  continues to be driven, the waste ink is guided from the inside of the cap  25  to the downstream end which is the front end of the flexible tube  43  to be discharged into the waste ink tank  27 . 
     In this case, the front end opening  76   a  of the discharge unit  97  extends from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  to the through-hole  61  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c.  The through-hole  61  of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  is disposed below the through-hole  61  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c.  The fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and the first ink absorbing member  45   a  are disposed so as to block the upper and lower portions of the two through-holes  61 , respectively. In addition, much waste ink discharged into the through-holes  61  is absorbed gradually into the inside from the upper surface of the first ink absorbing member  45   a  located below the through-hole  61  and soaks into the entire first ink absorbing member  45   a.  The waste ink further soaks into the other ink absorbing members  45   b  to  45   d  and spreads inside the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  to be satisfactorily absorbed and maintained. Some of waste ink is absorbed into the inside of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  from the side surface or the upper surface of the through-holes  61 . 
     Accordingly, in the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d,  a location near the through-holes  61  to which the waste ink is discharged from the front end opening  76   a  of the discharge unit  97  is a location where the waste ink is absorbed most. On the other hand, in the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d,  the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  into which the waste ink is discharged from the front end opening  76   a  of the discharge unit  97  soaks least is a location where an amount of absorbed ink is the least. In general, the waste ink absorbed by the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  has a property in which the waste ink is easy to be soaked and spread from the location where the amount of absorbed amount is much to the location where the amount of absorbed amount is less. 
     The air communication hole  90  formed in the film member  46  sealing the upper opening  48  of the container member  44  in the waste ink tank  27  according to this embodiment is configured to be located on the front end side than the center portion of the container member  44 . That is, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the distance Y between the front end opening  76   a  and the air communication hole  90  is configured to be longer than the distance X between the front end opening (discharge port)  76   a  of the discharge unit  97  discharging the waste ink and the connection port  57 . The air communication hole  90  is located above the upper surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  located uppermost among the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d.  Accordingly, after the waste ink soaks up to a location which gets away from the front end opening  76   a  in the front and rear direction and soaks up to the uppermost absorbing member  45   d  in the upper and lower directions, that is, the waste ink spreads to the whole of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d,  the waste ink evaporates from the upper surface of the uppermost ink absorbing member  45   d.    
     Accordingly, since the waste ink evaporates from the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  during the soaking, the waste ink can soak into the broad range without clogging the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d.  Therefore, it is possible to discharge more amount of waste ink. Gasification of the ink solvent of the waste ink is accelerated from the spread area extending the broad range, thereby accelerating dryness of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d.  In addition, since the location of the front end opening  76   a  is a location where the waste ink is discharged, the distance X may be set as a distance between the through-hole  61  as a waste liquid receiver for receiving the waste ink and the connection port  57  or the distance Y may be set as a distance between the through-hole  61  and the air communication hole  90 . 
     On the other hand, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the waste ink tank  27  mounted on the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30  is detached from the printer  11 , the opening door  36  of the mounting/detaching port  34  is opened again. Then, the protrusion  93  on the rear surface of the opening door  36  becomes a location non-regulation state where the protrusion  93  gets away from the regulation location where the waste ink tank  27  is close to the convex portion  92  and permits the upward displacement of the waste ink tank  27 . When the user of the printer  11  puts hands inside the mounting/detaching port  34 , grips the gripping portion  94  on the front end of the waste ink tank  27 , raises the front end of the waste ink tank  27  upward to slant the waste ink tank  27  in its posture, the locking state of the locking step  40  and the locked step  60  is released. In this state, since the urging force of the coil springs  80  becomes the pressing force through the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  in the waste ink tank  27  and is applied in the detachment direction (front side), the urging force (pressing force) helps movement in the detachment direction. Accordingly, the waste ink tank  27  is easily detached from the mounting/detaching port  34 . 
     In this case, when the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  in the support member  72  is extracted from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 , the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  and the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  blocking the cut-in groove  62  from both the upper and lower sides function as a contact unit, and contact with the cylindrical portion located on the front end side than the fitting cylindrical portion  98  in the discharge unit  97  to remove the waste ink. In particular, when the waste ink tank  27  in a state where the absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  reaches the limit is detached, the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are swollen by the absorbed waste ink. Accordingly, in the swollen third ink absorbing member  45   c,  the right and left groove widths of the cut-in groove  62  are narrowed. In the swollen fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and second ink absorbing member  45   b,  a distance (that is, a groove height) of the lower surface and the upper surface facing each other to block the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  from both the upper and lower sides is narrowed. Accordingly, since a contact pressure of the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c,  the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  against the discharge unit  97  becomes more strong, the waste ink attached to the discharge unit  97  is surely removed. 
     On the other hand, when the waste ink tank  27  in which the amount of absorbed waste ink of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  is small is detached, the above absorbing members are not swollen. Therefore, the contact pressure of the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62 , the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  against the discharge unit  97  is weak. In this case, since the absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  is still high, the waste ink attached to the discharge unit  97  is easily absorbed into the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  even with weak contact pressure through the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62 , the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b.  Accordingly, in the cylindrical portion of the front end than in the fitting cylindrical portion  98  of the discharge unit  97 , the attached waste ink is removed by the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c,  the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b,  when the discharge unit  97  is extracted from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 . Therefore, the third ink absorbing member  45   c  provided with the cut-in groove  62  functions as a removing unit and the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and the second ink absorbing member  45   b  blocking the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  from the upper and lower sides also function as the removing unit. 
     After the old waste ink tank  27  is detached, a new waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30  in the same manner described above. In this way, since the waste ink tank  27  can be mounted on and detached from the predetermined mount location  31 , the old waste ink tank  27  is easily exchanged with the new waste ink tank  27 . A main constituent element of the liquid passage guiding the waste ink up to the waste ink tank  27  is the flexible tube  43  having an excellent non-permeable property of a gasified liquid but no rigidity property. However, since the flexible tube  43  is supported in the straight line by the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  having a rigidity property and inserted into the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  together with the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73 , the flexible tube  43  can be surely inserted up to the location (the location of the through-holes  61 ) close to the center of the waste ink tank  27  in which the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are received in the laminated manner. 
     According to this embodiment, advantages described below can be obtained. 
     (1) In the waste ink tank  27 , the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  supporting the portion having the predetermined length on the downstream end side of the flexible tube  43  is inserted into and extracted from the connection port  57  and the connection port  57  is connected to or disconnected from the downstream end of the flexible tube  43  supported by the support member  72 , by moving the container member  44  toward the rear side which is the mount direction in which the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30  or the front side which is the detachment direction. With such a configuration, the old waste ink tank  27  can easily be exchanged with the new waste ink tank  27 . 
     (2) When the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  of the printer  11  and rotated about the axis of the discharge unit  97  while the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 , the contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  is moved to be close to or away from the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  in the rotation direction. That is, the contact surfaces of both the connection terminals  59  and  87  are deviated from each other, when the waste ink tank  27  is rotated in the rotation direction in the connection. In addition, when the contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  is brought into pressing contact with the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  during the rotation of the waste ink tank  27 , it is possible to ensure the connection state where both the connection terminals  59  and  87  are appropriately brought into contact with each other. 
     (3) The connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  is provided in the lower portion in which the rigidity is relatively high in the container member  44  which the box-like shape having the bottom portion. Therefore, even when a stress is applied to the container member  44 , a problem with the displacement of the connection terminal  59  can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to satisfactorily maintain the appropriate connection state where the connection terminal  59  is connected to the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11 . 
     (4) Since the connection port  57  into which the discharge unit  97  is inserted is located above the connection terminal  59  in the container member  44 , the waste ink can be stored up to the height location of the connection port  57 . Accordingly, it is possible to improve a storage efficiency of the waste ink in the container member  44 . 
     (5) The connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  is not located immediately below the connection port  57 . Therefore, even when the stored waste ink leaks from the connection port  57  to the inside in the mount state of the printer  11  on the mount location  31 , it is possible to prevent the connection terminal  59  from being smeared due to the leaked waste ink. 
     (6) When the waste ink tank  27  is rotated in the state where the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57  at the time of mounting the waste ink tank  27  on the printer  11  and the contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  comes in contact with the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11 , the further rotation of the waste ink tank  27  is regulated by the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  which serves as a stopper. In addition, when the waste ink tank  27  is moved toward the inside in the mount direction while maintaining the contact state of both the connection terminals  59  and  87 , the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port of the waste ink tank  27 . In addition, the contact surfaces  57  of both the connection terminals  59  and  87  appropriately come in contact with each other. Accordingly, it is possible to simply and appropriately mount the waste ink tank  27  on the printer  11 . 
     (7) When the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  of the printer  11  and the waste ink tank  27  is rotated about the axis of the discharge unit  97  while the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57 , the rotation can be regulated by a simple operation of inserting the pin  85  as the counter member into the long hole  58   a  as the positioning unit. That is, by adjusting the posture of the waste ink tank  27  to insert the pin  85  as the counter member into the long hole  58   a,  it is possible to position and mount the waste ink tank  27  on the mount location  31  in the connection state where the contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  appropriately comes in contact with the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11 . 
     (8) In this case, since the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  regulates the rotation in the direction getting away from the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  by bringing the upper inner surface of the inner circumferential surface  99  of the long hole  58   a  into contact with the pin  85 . Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the waste ink tank  27  from being rotated in a direction in which a failure in contact between both the connection terminals  59  and  87  is caused. 
     (9) In this case, the inner circumferential surface  99  of the long hole  58   a  into which the pin  85  is inserted is provided in the insertion and extraction directions of the discharge unit  97  into and from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 . With such a configuration, when the waste ink tank  27  is moved toward the inside in the mount direction while inserting the discharge unit  97  into the connection port  57 , the contact state where the inner circumferential surface  99  of the long hole  58   a  comes in contact with the pin  85  is maintained. Moreover, the contact state where the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  comes in contact with the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  is maintained. The contact state of both the connection terminals  59  and  87  at the time of mounting the waste ink tank  27  can be appropriately ensured. 
     (10) In the waste ink tank  27 , the contactable state where the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  can come in contact with the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  is maintained, while regulating the movement from the center  57   a  of the connection port  57  in the radial direction, by first bringing the discharge unit  97  into the connection port  57  at the time of mounting the waste ink tank  27  on the printer  11 . In this state, next, on the basis of the positioning function of the long hole  58   a  as the positioning unit, the waste ink tank  27  is positioned so that the contact surfaces of both the connection terminals  59  and  87  are in the appropriate contact state. Accordingly, when the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  of the printer  11 , it is possible to ensure the appropriate connection state where both the connection terminals  59  and  87  come in contact with each other. 
     (11) Since the urging force (pressing force) of the coil springs  80  is applied to the rear wall (pressed portion)  49  of the waste ink tank  27  in the detachment direction at the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30 , the waste ink tank  27  is intended to be moved in the detachment direction by the urging force. In this case, however, since the movement in the detachment direction is regulated thanks to the engagement of the locking step  40 , which is provided at the mount location  31 , with the locked step  60 , which is provided on the bottom surface of the waste ink tank  27 , the positioning state of the waste ink tank  27  at the mount location  31  is maintained. Accordingly, it is possible to ensure the stable mount state at the mount location  31 . 
     (12) When the waste ink tank  27  is moved in the mount direction which is a direction reverse to the detachment direction, the locked step  60  on the bottom surface does not engage with the locking step  40  provided at the mount location  31 . Accordingly, when the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the printer  11 , the waste ink tank  27  can be easily mounted without association with the presence of the locking step  40 . 
     (13) When the waste ink tank  27  is displaced in its posture in the direction in which the locked step  60  disengages from the locking step  40  in order to detach the waste ink tank  27  from the mount location  31 , it is possible to easily detach the waste ink tank  27  by use of the urging force of the coil springs  80  applied to the rear wall  49 . 
     (14) When the gripping portion  94  is gripped by the user and raised in the upper direction intersecting the detachment direction in order to detach the waste ink tank  27  from the mount location  31 , the position of the waste ink tank  27  is displaced. At this time, since the engagement of the locked step  60  with the locking step  40  at the mount location  31  is simply released, it is possible to easily detach the waste ink tank  27  from the printer  11 . 
     (15) On the other hand, when the waste ink tank  27  is displaced in its posture in the direction in which the locked step  60  disengages from the locking step  40  due to inclination of the printer  11  in the state where the waste ink tank  27  is mounted, for example, the convex portion  92  protruding toward the front side intersecting the engagement releasing direction comes in contact with the protrusion  93  of the opening door  36 . Accordingly, the displacement of the waste ink tank  27  is regulated in the engagement releasing direction in which the locked step  60  disengages from the locking step  40  is released and the stable mount state can be ensured. 
     (16) In the waste ink tank  27 , when the convex portion  92  comes in contact with the protrusion  93  of the opening door  36  with the displacement in the engagement releasing direction in which the locked step  60  disengages from the locking step  40 , the container member  44  may be deformed due to the stress applied with the contact. In this case, when the convex portion  92  is located on the side reverse to the connection terminal  59  in view from the connection port  57  in the width direction perpendicular to the insertion and extraction directions of the discharge unit  97  into and from the connection port  57 , the deformation degree of the portion in which the connection terminal  59  is provided may increase. Therefore, the failure in the contact with the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  may be caused. In order to solve this problem, in this embodiment, the connection terminal  59  is located on the same side on which the convex portion  92  is located, when viewed from the connection port  57  through which the discharge unit  97  is inserted and extracted. Therefore, even when the convex portion  92  comes in contact with the protrusion  93  of the opening door  36 , the deformation degree of the portion in which the connection terminal  59  of the container member  44  is provided can decrease. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the failure in the contact with the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11 . 
     (17) When the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31 , it is possible to prevent the waste ink tank  27  from being moved carelessly from the mount location  31 , by locating the opening door  36  at the closing location so that the protrusion  93  as the displacement regulating unit is located at the regulation location. On the other hand, when the waste ink tank  27  is detached from the mount location  31  of the printer  11 , it is possible to easily detach the waste ink tank  27 , by locating the opening door  36  at the opening location so that the protrusion  93  as the displacement regulating unit is located at the non-regulation location. 
     (18) The waste ink tank  27  has the configuration in which the upper opening  48  of the container member  44  is sealed by the film member  46  as the sealing member and the ink solvent of the waste ink absorbed by the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  through the air communication hole  90  formed at one location of the film member  46  is evaporated to the outside. With such a configuration, this configuration is different from a case where the upper opening  48  of the container member  44  is not sealed and open. The solvent component of the waste ink received inside the waste ink tank  27  is suppressed from being excessively evaporated and volatilized. In addition, the residue of the waste ink is not accumulated on the surfaces of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  received in the laminated manner. Accordingly, by suppressing the deterioration in the absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d,  it is possible to prevent deterioration in a storage efficiency of the waste ink by the waste ink tank  27 . 
     (19) In the waste ink tank  27 , when the waste ink is discharged from the front end opening  76   a  as the discharge port of the discharge unit  97  in the state where the discharge unit  97  of the printer  11  is inserted into the connection port  57  and the sealing portion  91  comes in contact with the circular mounted portion  96  of the brim portion  74  in the support member  72  of the printer  11 , the waste ink is absorbed into the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d.  The waste ink absorbed into the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  permeates a broad area in the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  including the portion near the air communication hole  90  which is more away from the portion near the front end opening  76   a  as the discharge port than the connection port  57 . In consequence, since the permeating area of the waste ink in the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  is broad, the gasification of the ink solvent of the waste ink from the broad permeating area is accelerated. Accordingly, since the solvent component gasified from the broad permeating area is evaporated outside the waste ink tank  27  through the air communication hole  90 , the waste ink tank  27  can maintain the satisfactory absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  included therein. 
     (20) In this case, the air communication hole  90  is configured to allow the reception space  47  as the inner space of the waste ink tank  27  receiving the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  to communicate with the air at the location above the upper surface of the uppermost ink absorbing member  45   d.  With such a configuration, even when the waste ink is absorbed to the extent that the absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  reaches the limit, the problem with leakage of the waste ink from the air communication hole  90  to the outside can be reduced. 
     (21) The waste ink tank  27  can be manufactured by a simple work for attaching the film member  46  to the upper opening  48  of the container member  44  having the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  therein after forming the air communication hole  90  in the film member  46 . 
     (22) Even when a downstream passage portion (the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  in the support member  72 ) of the liquid passage extracted from the connection port  57  of the container member  44  with the detachment of the waste ink tank  27  from the mount location  31  is smeared due to the attachment of the waste ink in the container member  44 , the waste ink is removed by the contact of the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c.  In this case, as for the discharge unit  97 , the lower surface of the uppermost fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  comes in contact with the discharge unit  97  from the upper side and the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  on the second layer from the upper side comes in contact with the discharge unit  97  from both the right and left sides. Additionally, the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  on the third layer from the upper side comes in contact with the discharge unit  97  from the lower side. That is, the three ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  come in contact with the discharge unit  97  in an insertion manner from the upper, lower, right, and left directions. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the vicinity of the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  or the mount location  31  from being smeared due to the leakage of the waste ink from the front end cylindrical portion  76  and the non-cylindrical portion  77  of the cylindrical body  73  and the portion (that is, the discharge unit  97 ) of the flexible tube  43  exposed in the non-cylindrical portion  77  in the support member  72 , when the waste ink tank  27  is detached from the printer  11 . 
     (23) In particular, when the waste ink tank  27  in which the absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  reaches the limit is detached, the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are swollen due to the absorbed waste ink. Therefore, the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  blocking the cut-in groove  62  and the groove width of the cut-in groove  62  from the upper and lower sides becomes narrow. Accordingly, since the contact pressure of the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c,  the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  against the discharge unit  97  becomes strong, the waste ink attached on the discharge unit  97  can be surely removed. 
     (24) On the other hand, when the waste ink tank  27  in which an absorption amount of waste ink is small in the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  is detached, the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are not swollen. In addition, the contact pressure of the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c,  the lower surface of the fourth absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second absorbing member  45   b  against the discharge unit  97  is weak. However, in this case, the absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  is high. Accordingly, even when the contact pressure against the discharge unit  97  is weak, the waste ink attached to the discharge unit  97  can easily be removed by absorption of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  through the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62 , the lower surface of the fourth absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second absorbing member  45   b.    
     (25) In particular, the upper surface of the second absorbing member  45   b  comes in contact with the discharge unit  97  from the lower side in the gravity direction. Accordingly, in the discharge unit  97 , the waste ink attached to the circumferential surface is surely removed. In particular, it is possible to efficiently remove the waste ink attached to the discharge unit  97  extracted from the connection port  57 , since the upper surface of the second absorbing member  45   b  surely comes in contact with the lower surface of the discharge unit  97  considered that an attachment degree of the waste ink is the highest because the attached waste ink is curved along the outer circumferential surface of the discharge unit  97  in the gravity. 
     (26) In order to remove the waste ink attached to the discharge unit  97 , the cut-in groove  62  may extend in the insertion and extraction directions of the discharge unit  97  in the ink absorbing member  45   c.  Accordingly, it is possible to improve a manufacture efficiency of the waste ink tank  27 . 
     (27) When the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57  at the time of mounting the waste ink tank  27 , the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c,  the lower surface of the fourth absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second absorbing member  45   b  serving as a guide unit guide the discharge unit  97  in the predetermined direction (that is, the direction in which the through-holes  61  are present). Therefore, the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57  in an appropriate direction. As a result, the waste ink tank  27  can be mounted easily and precisely at the time of mounting the waste ink tank  27 . 
     (28) Even when the center of the discharge unit  97  is locationally deviated in the direction perpendicular to the insertion and extraction directions at the time of inserting the discharge unit  97  into the connection port  57 , the deviation of the discharge unit  97  is corrected by the tapered portion  95  located on the side of the connection port  57  in the cut-in groove  62  serving as the guide unit. Accordingly, it is possible to easily guide the discharge unit  97  in the appropriate direction after the deviation. 
     (29) Since the cut-in groove  62  serving as the guide unit extends along the insertion and extraction directions of the discharge unit  97  at the location corresponding to the connection port  57 , a long guide distance can be secured for the discharge unit  97  inserted into the connection port  57  at the time of mounting the waste ink tank  27 . Accordingly, it is possible to guide the insertion direction more exactly. 
     (30) The movement of the waste ink tank  27  toward the inner wall surface is regulated by the engagement of the post  54  serving as the movement regulating unit with the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  received inside the container member  44 , even when the waste ink tank  27  is dropped after the detachment from the printer  11 . With such a configuration, the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  do not strongly come in pressing contact with the inner wall surface of the container member  44  when the waste ink tank  27  is dropped, and the waste ink absorbed therein is not squeezed. Accordingly, even when the waste ink tank  27  is dropped after the detachment from the printer  11 , the waste ink absorbed and maintained by the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  can be prevented from being leaked from the inside. 
     (31) In this case, since the post  54  serving as the movement regulating unit can ensure a locking function of regulating the movement of the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  by a fitting depth of the post  54  with the holes  55  as fitting holes of the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d,  it is possible to reduce a problem with pivot when the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  is dropped. 
     (32) The post  54  is erected at the substantially center on the inner bottom surface of the container member  44 . Therefore, even when a direction of the container member  44  is oriented in any direction in which the waste ink tank  27  is accidentally dropped, a distance between the post  54  formed in the substantially center of the inner bottom surface and the inner wall surface which is a lower side of a drop direction of the container member  44  is almost uniform. Accordingly, even though the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  may be swollen in the drop direction due to an impact when the waste ink tank  27  is dropped, the swollen portions of the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  can be prevented from strongly coming in pressing contact with the inner wall surface of the container member  44  depending on the direction of the ink absorbing members. 
     (33) Even when the liquid passage for discharging the waste ink is formed by the flexible tube  43  which is the main constituent element, the flexible tube  43  is inserted into and extracted from the connection port  57  of the container member  44  in the waste ink tank  27  in the state where the flexible tube  43  is supported in the straight line by the support member  72  having rigidity. Accordingly, it is possible to satisfactorily mount and detach the waste ink tank  27 . 
     (34) The liquid passage for discharging the waste ink into the waste ink tank  27  is formed by supporting the flexible tube  43  by use of the front end cylindrical portion  76  as a first support unit, the base end cylindrical portion  75  as a second support unit, and the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  including the non-cylindrical portion  77 . The downstream end of the flexible tube  43  which is the downstream end of the liquid passage formed in the above-described manner is supported by the discharge unit  97  including the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  in the support member  72  in the state oriented in the direction in which the mount location  31  is present. Accordingly, it is possible to stably form the liquid passage in which the flexible tube  43  of which the movement is unstable is the main constituent element. 
     (35) When the liquid passage for discharging the waste ink is formed, the downstream end of the flexible tube  43  is inserted into the front end cylindrical portion (the first support unit)  76  having the cylindrical shape in the support member  72 , the downstream end of the flexible tube  43  is supported in the fitting state. Since the front end cylindrical portion  76  supporting the downstream end of the flexible tube  43  in this manner is formed in the front end of the cylindrical body  73  having the predetermined length in the support member  72 , the downstream end of the flexible tube  43  which is a substantial discharge port of the waste ink is also disposed in the front end of the cylindrical body  73  in the support member  72 . Accordingly, it is possible to satisfactorily discharge the waste ink. 
     (36) In the flexible tube  43 , the portion having the predetermined length on the downstream end side is supported in the substantially straight shape by the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  in the direction in which the downstream end is oriented. For example, when the waste ink is discharged into the waste ink tank  27 , the downstream end of the flexible tube  43  can be easily guided up to the center of the waste ink tank  27 . 
     (37) In the flexible tube  43 , the downstream end is supported in the fitting state by the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the support member  72 . In addition, the portion having the predetermined length on the base end side from the downstream end is supported by the base end cylindrical portion  75  of the support member  72  and interposed by the fixing claws  78  of the non-cylindrical portion  77 . Accordingly, the portion having the predetermined length on the downstream side of the flexible tube  43  can be supported in the stable state by the cylindrical body  73  (the front end cylindrical portion  76 , the non-cylindrical portion  77 , and the base end cylindrical portion  75 ) of the support member  72 . 
     (38) Even when the container member  44  is slanted in its posture at the time of mounting or detaching the waste ink tank  27 , the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  inserted into or extracted from the connection port  57  of the container member  44  at the slant in the support state of the flexible tube  43  is shaken. Accordingly, it is possible to easily mount and detach the waste ink tank  27  without any problem. 
     Second Embodiment 
     Next, a second embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to  FIG. 12 . In the second embodiment, since only a formation location of the air communication hole  90  is different from that in the first embodiment and the other configuration is the same, the air communication hole  90  will be mainly described below. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the same constituent elements and repeated description is omitted. 
     In the waste ink tank  27  according to this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 12 , the air communication hole  90  is formed at the substantially center in the longitudinal direction of the film member  46 . In addition, when the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  is inserted into the container member  44  from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 , a distance Y between the front end opening  76   a  and the air communication hole  90  is configured to be shorter than a distance X between the connection port  57  and the front end opening  76   a  as the discharge port of the discharge unit  97 . 
     With such a configuration, in this embodiment, the waste ink is actively evaporated in portions near the through-holes  61 , which are locations where the waste ink discharged from the front end opening  76   a  as the discharge port of the discharge unit  97  and absorbed by the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  is stored most. Therefore, an amount of absorbed waste ink can be reduced before the waste ink soaks into the entire ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d.  As a result, it is possible to increase the amount of waste ink to be discharged into the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d.    
     In the second embodiment, the following advantage can be obtained instead of the advantage of (19) described in the first embodiment. 
     (39) In the waste ink tank  27 , the air communication hole  90  is located in the vicinity of the front end opening  76   a  as the discharge port of the discharge unit  97  discharging the waste ink. With such a configuration, gasification of the solvent component of the waste ink can be accelerated from the portions near the through-holes  61  which are the portions absorbing the most amount of waste ink absorbed in the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d.  Moreover, it is possible to satisfactorily maintain the absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  included in the waste ink tank  27 . 
     The embodiments described above can be modified as follows. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 13A to 13D , the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  may have a non-circular shape. For example, a gap  100  is formed between the connection port  57  and the discharge unit  97  in the mount state where the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57 . In this case, a communication passage (not shown) communicating the gap  100  to the air is formed in at least one of the circular mounted portion  96  of the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  and the sealing portion  91  of the waste ink tank  27 . 
     In this case, in the mount state where the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57 , the gap  100  is formed between the discharge unit  97  and the opening edge of the connection port  57  serves as the air communication hole  90 . Therefore, it is necessary to form the air communication hole  90  as a part (the film member  46  or the like) of the waste ink tank  27 . In addition, the solvent of the waste ink discharged into the waste ink tank  27  through the gap  100  serving as the air communication hole  90  can be evaporated. 
     In this case, in the connection port  57 , the opening edge of the connection port  57  contacts with the outer circumference of the fitting cylindrical portion  98  of the discharge unit  97  at least three points P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 , when the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57 . When the opening edge is halves by a straight line L 1  formed by one point (for example, P 1 ) amount at least the three points P 1 , P 2 , and P 3  and the center (the center  57   a  of the connection port  57 ) of the discharge unit  97 , the other points (P 2  and P 3 ) other than the one point (for example, P 1 ) are located on one edge and the other edge of the opening edge halved by the straight line L 1 . Accordingly, when the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57 , the movement of the discharge unit  97  in the connection port  57  in a direction perpendicular to the insertion and extraction directions of the discharge unit  97  into the connection port  57  is regulated by bringing the three points (P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 ) on the opening edge into contact with the outer circumference of the fitting cylindrical portion  98  of the discharge unit  97 . 
     Accordingly, in the case of the waste ink tank  27  shown in  FIGS. 13A to 13D , the gap  100  formed between the connection port  57  and the discharge unit  97  serves as the air communication hole  90 , even though the air communication hole  90  is not formed. As a result, it is possible to satisfactorily maintain a collection efficiency of ink. 
     The opening edge of the connection port  57  contacts with the outer circumference of the fitting cylindrical portion  98  of the discharge unit  97  at least at three points (P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 ) and the movement of the discharge unit  97  is regulated in the direction perpendicular to the insertion and extraction directions. Accordingly, even though the positioning unit is not provided, the discharge unit  97  can be positioned by the connection port  57 . 
     In the modified examples shown in  FIGS. 13A to 13D , the fitting cylindrical portion  98  of the discharge unit  97  is formed to have a cylindrical shape of a cross-sectional non-circle (for example, a polygon such as a triangle or a quadrangle). In addition, the opening edge of the connection port  57  as opening of the waste ink tank  27  into which the discharge unit  97  is inserted may be formed to have a circular shape. Even with such a configuration, the advantages described above in the modified examples shown in  FIGS. 13A to 13D  can be obtained likewise. 
     As shown in  FIG. 14 , the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  may be formed below the right wall  51  of the container member  44 . With such a configuration, in the connection terminal  59 , the contact surface  59   a  of the connection port  57  is also not perpendicular to a straight line L passing through the center  57   a  of the connection port  57 . Accordingly, the same advantages as those in the embodiments can be obtained. 
     As shown in  FIG. 15 , the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  may be formed in the same height as that of the center  57   a  of the connection port  57  in the sub left wall  50   b  of the container member  44 . With such a configuration, when a swollen portion  101  having a slant surface on the sub left wall  50   b  of the container member  44  and the connection terminal  59  is formed on the slant surface, the contact surface  59   a  of the connection port  57  is also not perpendicular to a straight line L passing through the center  57   a  of the connection port  57 . Accordingly, the same advantages as those in the embodiments can be obtained. 
     As shown in  FIG. 16 , in the positioning unit, the cylinder portion  58  may be omitted and a contact portion may be formed by the reinforcing rib  56   a.  In addition, the positioning unit serving as the contact portion may be configured by a member having a plate shape different from that of the reinforcing rib  56   a  of the concave portion  56 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 17 , without dividing the rear wall  49  of the container member  44  of the waste ink tank  27  into the main rear wall  49   a  and the sub rear wall  49   b,  the connection port  57  is perforated through the rear wall  49 . In addition, a rectangular hole  102  as a positioning unit into which the pin  85  can be inserted and a rectangular hole  103  as a fixing location of the connection terminal  59  may be punched. 
     As shown in  FIG. 18 , the waste ink tank  27  may be formed so that the main rear wall  49   a  on which the connection port  57  of the container member  44  is formed is retreated toward an inward side of the container member  44 . As shown in  FIG. 19 , in the waste ink tank  27 , the main rear wall  49   a  on which the connection port  57  of the container member  44  is formed may not be formed in a plane shape, but may be formed in a circular arc plane shape. 
     As shown in  FIG. 20 , in the waste ink tank  27 , the sealing portion  91  may not be formed on the main rear wall  49   a  on which the connection port  57  of the container member  44  is formed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 21 , in the waste ink tank  27 , the locked step  60  formed on the bottom surface of the container member  44  may be configured by the protrusion  104  protruding from the bottom surface. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 22A and 22B , in the waste ink tank  27 , the gripping portion  94  formed on the front end of the container member  44  may be configured by a slant shaft  94 A or a horizontal shaft  94 B. In this case, when the opening door  36  is at the closing location for the slant shaft  94 A or the horizontal shaft  94 B, the protrusion  93  may come close to regulate displacement. In this case, the convex portion  92  is not necessary. 
     As shown in  FIG. 23A , the air communication hole  90  may be formed by cutting the front end side of the film member  46 . As shown in  FIG. 23B , a portion (a part having an elliptic shape indicated by a dashed line) of the upper opening  48  of the container member  44  may not be adhered to the film member  46 . As shown in  FIG. 23C , a notched portion  105  may be formed in a part of the upper opening  48  of the container member  44  to which the film member  46  is adhered. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 24A to 24D , as the contact portions for removing the ink attached to the discharge unit  97  and the guide unit guiding the insertion direction, a slit  106  having a cross shape or the like may be formed from the cress-section of the ink absorbing member  45   c  to the through-holes  61 , instead of the cut-in groove  62 . Alternatively, a hole extending in the insertion and extraction directions of the discharge unit  97  may be formed instead of the slit  106 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 25 , in the post  54  fitting and engaging with the holes  55  of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d,  the air communication hole  90  is formed from the upper end surface located above the upper surface of the uppermost ink absorbing member  45   d  in an axial direction and the lower portion of the air communication hole  90  may communicate with the air communication hole  90  by an omission groove  107  on the outside of the right and left walls in the lower portion of the post  54 . 
     In the waste ink tank  27 , the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are not received in the reception space  47  which is the inner space, but the reception space  47  may store the waste ink as a waste ink container. 
     The thicknesses of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  may be the same as each other or may be different from each other. The thickness can be arbitrarily determined and the number of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  can be changed. 
     The printer  11  may be realized as a so-called full line type printer in which the shape of a print head corresponds to the entire width of a print sheet P in a direction intersecting a transport direction of the print sheet P. 
     The printer  11  may be realized as a so-called off-carriage type printer  11  in which the ink cartridges  23  are not mounted on the carriage  16  but on a predetermined location inside the printer  11 , and ink is pressurized and supplied from the ink cartridges  23  to the print head  21  through an ink supply tube. 
     The sealing member may be a lid member such as a resin plate other than the film member  46 . 
     In the container member  44  of the waste ink tank  27 , the upper opening  48  may be sealed by a sealing member, when mounted on the mount location  31 . That is, the container member may be displaced in the state where the upper opening  48  is sealed, by bringing a lid member, which is opened and closed on the rear end edge of the upper opening  48  of the container member  44 , into contact with a contact member formed inside the reception  30  at the time of moving the container member  44  in the mount direction. 
     In the tube support mechanism  28 , the coil springs  80  may be disposed between the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  and the front wall of the base body  63 . In this case, the cylinders  79  may not be provided on the rear surface of the brim portion  74 . 
     The non-cylindrical portion  77  of the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  may not be formed by cutting the circumferential wall of the cylindrical body  73 , but may be formed by a connection member which connects a space between two cylindrical bodies individually forming the front end cylindrical portion  76  and the base end cylindrical portion  75  which each a cylindrical shape. 
     A removing member having a circularly ring shape may be mounted on the inner circumferential surface of the connection port  57  of the container member  44  in the waste ink tank  27 . 
     In the tube support mechanism  28 , the portion having the predetermined length on the downstream end side of the flexible tube  43  may be supported by a support member having a straight line shape and the plural tube fixing portions  71  provided on the upper surface of the base body  63  in the front and rear directions at an interval. In this case, the support member  72  may be formed only by a simple cylindrical member or a non-cylindrical member. 
     In the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72 , the entire front end may be formed as a non-cylindrical portion than the brim portion  74 . In this case, it is preferable that the front end of the non-cylindrical portion is provided with the insertion claws  78  as the fixing portion. 
     In the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72 , the base end cylindrical portion may be formed as a non-cylindrical portion. In this case, it is preferable that the base end of the non-cylindrical portion is provided with the insertion claws  78  as the fixing portion. 
     As for the pin  85  and the long hole  58   a,  the pin  85  may be provided in the container member  44  of the waste ink tank  27  and the long hole  58   a  may be provided at the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30 . 
     The support member  72  of the tube support mechanism  28  may be fixed in a horizontal state so as not to be shaken with respect to the base body  63 . 
     The locking unit locking with the waste ink tank  27  at the mount location  31  from the detachment direction may be formed as a locking protrusion protruding from the bottom wall  32  of the receiving chamber  30 , as well as the locking step  40 . Alternatively, the locking unit may lock with the side walls  50  and  51  of the container member  44  of the waste ink tank  27  by friction. 
     The locking step  40  may lock with the rear wall  49  of the waste ink tank  27 . 
     In the embodiments described above, the liquid ejecting device has been realized as the ink jet printer, but the invention is not limited thereto. The liquid ejecting device can be realized as a device capable of ejecting or discharging another liquid other than ink, a liquid-formed substance in which particles of a functional material are dispersed or mixed, or a fluid-formed substance such as gel. Examples of the liquid ejecting device include a liquid-formed substance ejecting device ejecting a liquid-formed substance in which a material such as an electrode material or a coloring material (pixel material) used to manufacture a liquid display device, an EL (electroluminescence) display device, and a plane emission display is dispersed or solved; a liquid ejecting device ejecting a bio organic material used to manufacture a bio chip; and a liquid ejecting device ejecting a liquid as a sample used by a precise pipette. In addition, examples of the liquid ejecting device include a liquid ejecting device ejecting a lubricant to a precision instrument such as a clock or a camera by a pin point; a liquid ejecting device ejecting a transparent resin liquid such as ultraviolet cured resin on a board to form a minute hemispheric lens (optical lens) used in an optical communication element or the like; a liquid ejecting device ejecting an acid etching liquid or an alkali etching liquid to etch a substrate; and a liquid-formed substance ejecting device ejecting gel (for example, physical gel). The invention is applicable to one device thereof. In addition, in the specification of the invention, “the liquid” includes an inorganic solvent, an organic solvent, a solution, a liquid resin, a liquid metal (metallic melt), a liquid-formed substance, and a fluid-formed substance. 
     Third Embodiment 
     Hereinafter, an ink jet printer which is an example of a liquid ejecting device including a waste liquid collecting system in which a waste liquid collector according to the invention is detachably mounted will be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 11  according to a first embodiment. “Front and rear directions”, “upper and lower directions”, and “right and left direction” in the following description refer to “front and rear directions”, “upper and lower directions”, and “right and left direction” indicated by arrows in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , unless particularly mentioned. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , an ink jet printer (hereinafter, referred to as “a printer)  11  as a liquid ejecting device according to this embodiment includes a frame  12  having a rectangular shape in plan view. A platen  13  extends in the right and left direction inside the frame  12 . A sheet-feeding mechanism which is disposed above the platen  13  and includes a sheet-feeding motor  14  feeds a print sheet P from the rear side to the front side. In addition, a guide shaft  15  extending in parallel to a longitudinal direction (the right and left directions) of the platen  13  is disposed above the platen  13  inside the frame  12 . 
     A carriage  16  is supported in the guide shaft  15  so as to reciprocate along a shaft direction (the right and left directions) of the guide shaft  15 . A driving pulley  17  and a driven pulley  18  are rotatably supported at locations corresponding to both ends of the guide shaft  15  in the rear surface of the inside of the frame  12 , respectively. A carriage motor  19  which serves as a driving source when the carriage  16  reciprocates is connected to the driving pulley  17 . A timing belt  20  fixing and supporting the carriage  16  is suspended between the pair of pulleys  17  and  18 . Accordingly, the carriage  16  is configured to move in the right and left directions through the timing belt  20  by drive of the carriage motor  19  while being guided by the guide shaft  15 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a print head as a liquid ejecting head  21  is disposed on the lower surface of the carriage  16 . On the other hand, plural ink cartridges  23  (in this embodiment, five ink cartridges) for supplying ink as a liquid to the print head  21  are detachably mounted on the carriage  16 . The ink cartridges  23  individually correspond to plural nozzle opening rows (not shown) formed on a nozzle formation surface  21   a  (see  FIG. 2 ) which is the lower surface of the print head  21 . In addition, the ink cartridges  23  individually supply ink to the corresponding nozzle rows through ink passages (not shown) formed inside the print head  21 . 
     A home position HP which is a maintenance location where the carriage  16  is positioned when the printer  11  is turned off or the print head  21  is subjected to maintenance is provided in one end (the right end in  FIG. 1 ) of the inside of the frame  12 , that is, in a non-print area which the print sheet P does not reach. In addition, a maintenance unit  24  for performing various maintenance operations is disposed below the home position HP so that the print head  21  keeps performing satisfactory ejection of ink onto the print sheet P. 
     The maintenance unit  24  includes a cap  25  having a substantially rectangular box-like shape corresponding to the lower surface (the nozzle formation surface) of the print head  21  and an elevation mechanism (not shown) moving up and down the cap  25 . In addition, when the cap  25  is moved up by drive of the elevation mechanism (not shown) in the state where the carriage  16  moves to the home position HP, the cap  25  is configured so as to come in contact with the nozzle formation surface  21   a  which is the lower surface of the print head  21  in the state where the cap  25  surrounds the nozzle rows. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a housing  26  having a rectangular parallelepiped shape and being formed in the front and rear directions is formed in one end (the right end in  FIG. 1 ) of the inside of the frame  12  and below the home position HP. A receiving chamber  30  receiving a waste liquid collecting system  29  including a waste ink tank  27  as a waste liquid collector and a tube supporting mechanism  28  as a liquid passage forming unit is formed inside the housing  26 . In addition, a mount location  31  of the waste ink tank  27  is configured below the receiving chamber  30 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 10 , the height (which is a distance between a bottom wall  32  and a top wall  33 ) of the inside of the receiving chamber  30  is set sufficiently higher than the height of the waste ink tank  27  so that the waste ink tank  27  is tilted in its posture inside the receiving chamber  30 . 
     A rectangular mounting/detaching port  34  for passing the waste ink tank  27  at the time of mounting or detaching the waste ink tank  27  to or from the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30  is formed on the front surface of the housing  26 . An opening door  36  is provided in the mounting/detaching port  34  so that the upper end portion thereof is rotatably supported on a pair of right and left shafts  35  formed in both ends of the upper edge of the mounting/detaching port  34 . By holding a hand  36   a  formed on the front surface of the opening door  36  to open or close the opening door  36  about the shafts  35 , the opening door  36  is opened and closed between a closing location indicated by a solid line and an opening location indicated a two-dot chain line in  FIG. 2 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , inside the receiving chamber  30  of the housing  26 , a front step surface  37 , an intermediate step surface  38 , and a rear step surface  39  are formed in a stepped shape from a front side to a rear side in the front and rear directions on the upper surface of the bottom wall  32 . The front step surface  37  is formed so as to have the same height as that of the lower edge of the mounting/detaching port  34 . A locking step  40  as a locking portion which makes the intermediate step surface  38  lower than the front step surface  37  is formed between the rear end of the front step surface  37  and the front end of the intermediate step surface  38  so as to extend in the right and left directions. 
     The intermediate step surface  38  is formed so as to have a length in the front and rear directions slightly shorter than the length of the waste ink tank  27  in the front and rear directions. The almost entire area of the intermediate step surface  38  and the rear half area of the front step surface  37  form the mount location  31  of the waste ink tank  27 . The rear step surface  39  is formed so as to be slightly lower than the intermediate step surface  38  with a stepped portion  41  interposed therebetween. The tube supporting mechanism  28  supporting the flexible tube  43 , which discharges ink forcedly sucked as waste ink (waste liquid) from the inside of the cap  25  to the waste ink tank  27  with drive of a sucking pump  42 , is disposed on the rear step surface  39 . 
     Next, the waste liquid collecting system  29  having the waste ink tank  27  and the tube supporting mechanism  28  and being provided in the printer  11  will be described. 
     First, the waste ink tank  27  will be described. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the waste ink tank  27  includes a container member  44  which is made of synthetic resin and has a box-like shape having an open top portion and a bottom portion, plural ink absorbing members (waste ink absorbing member)  45   a  to  45   d  (four ink absorbing members in this embodiment) formed of a non-woven fabric or a felt having an external shape corresponding to the open shape of the container member  44 , and a film member  46  as a sealing member which has an external shape corresponding to the open shape of the container member  44 . An inside space of the container member  44  serves as a receiving space  47 . The ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are received in a laminated manner in the receiving space  47 . An upper opening  48  of the container member  44  is sealed by attaching the film member  46  to the container member  44  to cover the upper opening  48  of the container member  44  in which the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are received. As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , an air communicating hole  90  is formed at one location on a front side of the intermediate portion of the film member  46 . 
     Ribs  52  having a thin plate shape are formed in the upper and lower directions at plural locations of inner wall surfaces of a rear wall  49 , a left wall  50 , and a right wall  51  of the container member  44  (two locations on the rear wall  49  and three locations on each of the left wall  50  and the right wall  51 ). In  FIG. 3 , just one rib  52  on the rear wall  49  and just three ribs  52  on the right wall  51  are illustrated. In addition, cut-in portions  53  are formed in the outer peripheries of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  so as to correspond to the locations of the ribs  52 . 
     A columnar post  54  is positioned at the almost central location of the inner bottom surface of the container member  44 . Round holes  55  as fitting holes for fitting with the post  54  are perforated at the almost central locations of the ink absorbing members  45  so as to correspond to the post  54 . The ribs  52  are inserted into the corresponding cut-in portions  53  and the post  54  is inserted into the holes  55  so that the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are received in the laminated manner in the reception space  47  of the container member  44 . In particular, the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are regulated so as not to move toward the inner wall surfaces of the side walls inside the container member  44  by locking the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  with the post  54  fitting with the holes  55  formed at the almost central locations. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , a concave portion  56  is formed in the rear left corner of the container member  44 . In consequence, the rear wall  49  is divided into a main rear wall  49   a  located on the relatively rear side and a sub rear wall  49   b  located on the relatively front side. In addition, the left wall  50  is divided into a main left wall  50   a  located on the relatively left side and a sub left wall  50   b  located on the relatively right side. In the upper of the concave portion  56 , a reinforcing rib  56   a  having a substantially triangular plate shape in plan view is formed between the sub rear wall  49   b  and the sub left wall  50   b.    
     A connection port  57  as an opening having a round shape is formed through the main rear wall  49   a.  A cylinder portion  58  having a cylindrical shape which is horizontally long in the cross-section is formed on the sub rear wall  49   b  so as to protrude toward the rear side. A long hole  58   a  of the cylinder portion  58  serves as a positioning unit. The cylinder portion  58  is connected to the sub left wall  50   b  through the reinforcing rib  58   b.  The connection port  57  is formed so that the diameter of the inner circumferential surface becomes gradually smaller in a deeper portion. In addition, the connection port  57  has a function of guiding a member toward the inner center of the connection port  57 , when a member inserted into the connection port  57  from the outside comes in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the connection port  57  in the front and rear directions. A sealing portion  91  having a ring shape surrounding the connection port  57  bulges from the main rear wall  49   a  in the circumference of the connection port  57 . In addition, the end surface of the sealing portion  91  forms a flat and smooth surface shape parallel to the main rear wall  49   a.    
     A connection terminal (collector-side connection terminal)  59  of a circuit board (not shown) storing various kinds of information on the capacity or the like of the waste ink tank  27  is attached to the outside surface of the sub left wall  50   b.  When the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  of the printer  11 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , a plane-shaped contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  comes in contact with the connection surface of a connection terminal (device-side connection terminal)  87  (see  FIG. 7  to  FIGS. 9A and 9B ) provided in the tube support mechanism  28  on the side of the printer  11 , as indicated by two-dot chain line in  FIG. 6A . When both the connection terminals  59  and  87  are appropriately connected to each other, various information (for example, information on a use start date of the waste ink tank  27 , the number of times of cleaning, an integration value of a discharge amount of waste ink, and the like) on the waste ink are exchanged between the circuit board on the side of the waste ink tank  27  and a control unit (not shown) of the printer  11 . 
     In the waste ink tank  27 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  5 , and  6 A, the connection terminal  59  is not formed on the main rear wall  49   a  on which the connection port  57  is formed, but formed at a location lower than the locations of the connection port  57  and the cylinder portion  58  (the long hole  58   a ) on the sub left wall  50   b  formed perpendicularly to the main rear wall  49   a.  That is, in the container member  44  having the box-like shape which has the bottom portion, the connection terminal  59  is not formed at an upper side location in which deformation is easily caused when a stress is applied and which is closer to the upper opening  48 , but formed at a lower side location in which rigidity is relatively high and deformation is difficult due to closeness to the bottom portion and at a location which is not formed immediately below the connection port  57 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6A , the connection terminal  59  is provided at the lower location of the sub left wall  50   b  so that the contact surface  59   a  is not perpendicular to a straight line L extending in a radial direction oriented from the center  57   a  of the connection port  57  to the oblique downward side when the main rear wall  49   a  is viewed from the front side. That is, the connection terminal  59  is provided so that the contact surface  59   a  extends along the vertical plane and in the front and rear directions. In the waste ink tank  27 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , the connection terminal  59  is provided at a location between the connection port  57  and the cylinder portion  58  (the long hole  58   a ) in the front and rear directions. 
     A locked step  60  as an engagement portion which makes concave and convex engagement in the front and rear directions with the locking step  40  formed on the bottom wall  32  of the housing  26  is formed at a location closer to the rear end than the front end of the outside bottom surface of the container member  44  so as to extend in the right and left directions. In the container member  44 , as shown in  FIGS. 2  to  FIG. 5 , a convex portion  92  having a rectangular parallelepiped shape protrudes from a left end location of the lower front end toward the front side. On the other hand, a protrusion  93  as a displacement regulating unit is formed as a member corresponding to the convex portion  92  on the side of the rear surface of the opening door  36  which is provided in the mounting/detaching port  34  of the receiving chamber  30  in the printer  11  so as to be opened or closed. In addition, when the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30  and the opening door  36  is closed, the protrusion  93  becomes a location regulation state where the protrusion  93  is located above the convex portion  92  of the waste ink tank  27  with a slight clearance interposed therebetween. On the other hand, when the opening door  36  is opened, the protrusion  93  becomes a location non-regulation state where the protrusion  93  is spaced from the regulation location. 
     In the upper front end of the container member  44 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , a gripping portion  94  gripped when a user mounts or detaches the waste ink tank  27  is formed in a cross-sectional L shape in which the front end is curved downward. That is, the gripping portion  94  is formed like cutting the lower portion of the front surface of the container member  44  from a midway point in the upper and lower directions in an inward direction (the rear side in this case) of the container member  44 , thereby having a shape which can be easily gripped by the fingers of the user. In addition, the convex portion  92  described above is formed on the left side of both sides of the cut concave portion. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are formed so that a lowermost first ink absorbing member  45   a  has the same thickness of that of an uppermost fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and a second ink absorbing member  45   b  on a second layer from the downward side has the same thickness as that of a third ink absorbing member  45   c  on a third layer from the downward side. In each of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  and the third ink absorbing member  45   c,  a through-hole  61  having a square shape is formed at a location closer to the rear side than the center portion. In the third ink absorbing member  45   c,  a cut-in groove  62  serving as a connection portion and a guide unit having a predetermined width and is cut in the front and rear directions from the rear end edge to the through-hole  61 . In each of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and the second ink absorbing member  45   b,  no cut-in groove is formed at a location corresponding to the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c.  In addition, when the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and the second ink absorbing member  45   b  are received in the reception space  47  of the container member  44  in a lamination state where the third ink absorbing member  45   c  is interposed therebetween from both the upper and lower sides, the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  is blocked from both the upper and lower sides. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the groove width of the rear end portion of the cut-in groove  62  is configured as a broader groove corresponding to an arrangement distance between the pair of ribs  52  which are formed on the inner wall surface of the rear wall  49  of the container member  44  so as to interpose the connection port  57  from the both right and left sides. However, the groove width of the front end portion close to the through-hole  61  is narrower than the groove width of the rear end portion. A tapered portion  95  which is broader toward the rear end portion is formed at a connection location between the front end groove having the narrower width and the rear end groove having the broader width. 
     Next, the tube supporting mechanism  28  will be described. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIGS. 8A and 8B , the tube supporting mechanism  28  includes a base body  63  in which a front end distance between both the right and left walls having a rectangular shape is the same and which having a substantial ⊃-shape in plan view connected to a front wall having a rectangular shape. A horizontal plate  64  having a rectangular plate shape extends frontward from the lower front end of the base body  63 . Right and left screw holes  65  are formed in the horizontal plate  64 . The base body  63  is fixed to the rear step surface  39  in the bottom wall  32  of the housing  26  by screw-connecting setscrews  66  to the screw holes  65  of the horizontal plate  64 , respectively. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , plural through-holes  67 ,  68 , and  69  (three through-holes in this embodiment) are formed in the front wall of the base body  63  so as to extend in the upper and lower directions. Among the through-holes  67  to  69 , the central through-hole  68  has the height to be arranged coaxially with the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  mounted on the mount location  31  of the receiving chamber  30 , when the base body  63  is fixed onto the rear step surface  39  of the bottom wall  32  of the housing  26 . An inward flanges  70  (see  FIGS. 8A and 8B ) is formed at an intermediate location in an axial direction of the inner circumferential surface of each of the upper through-hole  67  and the lower through-hole  69 . In addition, in the base body  63 , a substantially U-shaped tube fixing portion  71  through which the flexible tube  43  is inserted to be supported is formed in the intermediate portion of the upper end of the front wall. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIGS. 8A and 8B , a support member  72  for supporting the flexible tube  43  in a straight shape is assembled with the front surface of the base body  63 . The support member  72  is a resin molded product having rigidity, including a cylindrical body  73  as a main body which can be inserted into and extracted from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 , and having a predetermined length in the front and rear directions. A brim portion  74  having a rectangular plate shape is integrally formed at a location on the slight rear side (base end side) from the intermediate location in an axial direction of the cylindrical body  73 . In the support member  72 , a base end cylindrical portion (second support member)  75  protruding more rearward than the brim portion  74  of the cylindrical body  73  has an outer diameter smaller than the hole diameter of the intermediate through-hole  68  of the base body  63  and an inner diameter into which the flexible tube  43  can be inserted. 
     On the other hand, in the support member  72 , a circular mounted portion  96  having a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the sealing portion  91  of the waste ink tank  27  bulges from the front surface of the brim portion  74  so as to be arranged coaxially with the cylindrical body  73 . A cylinder-shaped portion of the support member  72  protruding more frontward than the circular mounted portion  96  of the brim portion  74  of the cylindrical body  73  is formed as a discharge unit  97  which is inserted to support the downstream end side of the flexible tube  43  inside the connection port  57  in order to discharge the waste ink into the waste ink tank  27 , when the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31 . 
     In the discharge unit  97 , the base end joined to the circular mounted portion  96  is formed as a fitting cylindrical portion  98  of which an inner diameter and an outer diameter are the same in an inside deep portion of the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 . In a portion having a predetermined length and serving as the second support member formed more frontward (on front end side) than the fitting cylindrical portion  98 , the outer diameter of the portion is slightly smaller than the width in the right and left directions of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  received inside the waste ink tank  27  and the length of the portion is substantially equal to a distance from the rear end edge of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  to a substantial center of the through-hole  61 . In the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73 , a portion having a predetermined length on the front end side than the fitting cylindrical portion  98  is formed as a non-cylindrical portion  77  in which the circumferential wall of the relatively long cylindrical shape formed from a front end cylindrical portion  76  to the rear-side fitting cylindrical portion  98  is cut by the about half, excluding the front end cylindrical portion  76  which is relatively short and has a cylindrical shape in order to inward fit with the front end serving as a downstream end of the flexible tube  43 . In addition, on the inside surface of the non-cylindrical portion  77 , a pair of insertion claws (fixing portions)  78  protrude at each of plural locations (three locations in this embodiment) in an axial direction of the cylindrical body  73  so that a distance with the pair of insertion claws  78  facing each other is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the flexible tube  43 . 
     In the support member  72 , when the base end cylindrical portion  75  in the cylindrical body  73  is loosely inserted into the intermediate through-hole  68  of the base body  63 , the portion having the predetermined length on the front end side including the front end (downstream end) in the flexible tube  43  inserted from the base end side opening of the base end cylindrical portion  75  is supported by the front end cylindrical portion  76  and the non-cylindrical portion  77 . That is, the front end cylindrical portion  76  in the cylindrical body  73  supports the front end of the flexible tube  43  in the fitting state in that the inner diameter of the front end cylindrical portion  76  is the same as the outer diameter of the flexible tube  43 . In addition, the non-cylindrical portion  77  fixes the flexible tube  43  by inserting the flexible tube  43  from the side so that the fixing claws  78  fix the plural locations (three locations in this embodiment) of the portion from the front end to the base end of the flexible tube  43 . Accordingly, the portion having the predetermined length on the front end side in the flexible tube  43  is supported by the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  so as to extend in a direction in which the front end of the flexible tube  43  is oriented. 
     When the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  in the support member  72  supporting the flexible tube  43  is inserted into the container member  44  from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 , as indicated by two-dot chain line in  FIG. 4 , the waste ink is discharged into the through-holes  61  formed in the second ink absorbing member  45   b  and the third ink absorbing member  45   c  from a front end opening  76   a  of the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73 . Accordingly, in this embodiment, the front end opening  76   a  of the front end cylindrical portion  76  in the discharge unit  97  of the support member  72  supporting the flexible tube  43  forms a discharge port for discharging the waste ink. 
     In this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 4 , when the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  is inserted into the container member  44  from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 , a distance Y between the front end opening  76   a  and an air communication hole  90  is configured to be longer than a distance X between the front end opening  76   a  as the discharge port of the discharge unit  97  and the connection port  57 . In addition, after the waste ink discharged from the front end opening  76   a  is absorbed by the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  and the waste ink soaks and spreads in the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d,  an ink solvent gasifies. Then, the ink solvent evaporates from the air communication hole  90  of the film member  46  to the outside. 
     A pin  85  as a counter member which can be inserted into or extracted from the long hole  58   a  of the cylinder portion  58  of the waste ink tank  27  protrudes toward the front side in the left edge of the front surface of the brim portion  74  of the support member  72 . Likewise, a vertical plate portion  86  having a rectangular plate shape protrudes in the left edge of the front surface of the brim portion  74  toward the front side from a location below the pin  85 . A connection terminal  87  (device-side connection terminal) corresponding to the connection terminal  59  formed on the sub left wall  50   b  of the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on one surface (right surface) of the vertical plate portion  86 . The connection terminal  87  is connected to the control unit (not shown) of the printer  11  with a harness (not shown) interposed therebetween. 
     On the other hand, a pair of upper and lower cylinders  79  formed so as to be respectively inserted into the upper through-hole  67  and the lower through-hole  69  of the base body  63  bulge in parallel toward the rear side from two upper and lower locations of the base end cylindrical portion  75  in the rear surface of the brim portion  74  of the support member  72 . In addition, the upper and lower cylinders  79  are respectively inserted into the upper through-hole  67  and the lower through-hole  69  of the base body  63  in a state where the cylinders  79  are put into coil springs  80  serving as an urging unit against each circumferential surface. In this case, the front ends of the coil springs  80  come in contact with the rear surface of the brim portion  74  of the support member  72 . In addition, the rear ends of the coil springs  80  come in contact with the flanges  70  respectively formed at the midway locations of the inner circumferential surfaces of the upper through-hole  67  and the lower through-hole  69 , respectively. A screw holes (not shown) is formed on the front end surface of each of the cylinders  79 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIGS. 8A and 8B , an assemble plate  81  for assembling the support member  72  to the base body  63  is disposed on the rear surface of the base body  63 . The assembly plate  81  has a rectangular plate shape coming in contact with the rear surface of the front wall when the assembly plate  81  is disposed between both the right and left walls of the base body  63  having the substantial ⊃-shape in plan view. A through-hole  82  corresponding to the intermediate through-hole  68  of the base body  63  is formed in the substantial center of the assembly plate  81 . Screw insertion holes  83  are formed at two locations which correspond to the upper though-hole  67  and the lower through-hole  69  of the base body  63  in upper and lower portions of the through-hole  82  in the assembly plate  81 . In addition, the assembly plate  81  is screw-fixed by setscrews  84  inserted through the screw insertion holes  83  into the cylinders  79  of the support member  72  of which the front ends protrude from the upper through-hole  67  and the lower through-hole  69  of the base body  63  toward the rear side. 
     Next, operations of the waste ink collecting system  29  having the above-described configuration and the printer  11  will be described below. 
     First, a method of forming a liquid passage when the liquid passage is formed by supporting the flexible tube  43  discharging the waste ink into the waste ink tank  27  by the tube support mechanism  28  in the waste ink collecting system  29  will be described. 
     Here, when the liquid passage for discharging ink (liquid) ejected as waste ink (waste liquid) from the print head  21  into the waste ink tank  27  is formed, the base body  63  in the tube support mechanism  28  is first fixed onto the rear step surface  39  inside the receiving chamber  30  by the setscrews  66 . Then, after the front end (downstream end) of the flexible tube  43 , of which the base end (upstream end) is connected to the cap  25 , is inserted into the through-hole  82  of the assembly plate  81  from the rear side, the front end of the flexible tube  43  is also inserted into the intermediate through-hole  68  of the base body  63  from the rear side and the front end of the flexible tube  43  is extracted toward to the front side from the intermediate through-hole  68  to some extent. 
     Subsequently, the front end of the flexible tube  43  extracted toward the front side from the intermediate through-hole  68  of the base body  63  is inserted into the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  which is not assembled to the base body  63 . That is, the front end of the flexible tube  43  is inserted into the base end cylindrical portion  75  of the cylindrical body  73 . Likewise, the front end of the inserted flexible tube  43  is extracted from the non-cylindrical portion  77  of the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  to the outside for the moment. 
     Then, a portion having a predetermined length on the front end side of the flexible tube  43  is loosened to some extent so as to easily grip the portion having the predetermined length in the outside of the non-cylindrical portion  77 . In this state, the front end of the flexible tube  43  is inserted into the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  from the rear side (base end side). At this time, the front end of the flexible tube  43  is locationally matched with the front end of the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  in the front and rear directions. Then, the flexible tube  43  is fitted and supported by the front end cylindrical portion  76  in a stable state. 
     Subsequently, the base end side of the flexible tube  43  is pulled from the base end cylindrical portion  75  of the cylindrical body  73  in an extraction direction and the loosened portion of the flexible tube  43  formed outside the side of the non-cylindrical portion  77  is removed. The portion having the predetermined length on the front end side of the flexible tube  43  of which the loosened state is removed is pressed sequentially from the front end side against the inner surface of the non-cylindrical portion  77  to be pushed between the insertion claws  78  facing each other. Then, the flexible tube  43  is fixed by the insertion claws  78  to become a stably supported state so that the portion having the predetermined length on the front end side is expanded in a substantial straight shape along the non-cylindrical portion  77 . 
     In this way, the flexible tube  43  is supported by the support member  72 . Subsequently, the support member  72  which has supported the flexible tube  43  in the above-described manner is assembled to the base body  63 . That is, the base end cylindrical portion  75  of the cylindrical body  73  is loosely inserted into the intermediate through-hole  68  of the base body  63  inserted into the base end side of the flexible tube  43 . In addition, the cylinders  79  protruding from the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  toward the rear side are inserted into the upper through-hole  67  and the lower-through-hole  69  of the base body  63 , respectively. At this time, the coil spring  80  is inserted in advance into each of the cylinders  79 . 
     Then, the coil springs  80  through which the cylinders  79  are respectively inserted are respectively interposed between the rear surface of the brim portion  74  and the flanges  70  of the upper through-hole  67  and the lower through-hole  69  to be slightly contracted. In addition, the front ends of the cylinders  79  protrude from the through-holes  67  and  69  toward the rear side, respectively. The assembly plate  81  is brought into contact with the front ends of the cylinders  79  of which the heads respectively protrude from the through-holes  67  and  69 , while locationally matched to the screw insertion holes  83 . Then, the assembly plate  81  is screw-fixed by the setscrews  84 . Subsequently, the midway portion on the base end side of the flexible tube  43  extracted from the through-hole  82  of the assembly plate  81  toward the rear side is fixed by the tube fixing portion  71  formed in the upper portion of the base body  63 . 
     In this way, the flexible tube  43  is supported by the tube support mechanism  28 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 8A , the tube support mechanism  28  is installed below the cap  25  in the home position HP, while supporting the flexible tube  43  in a state where the flexible tube  43  is oriented toward the front side in which the mount location  31  of the waste ink tank  27  is positioned. In this installation state, in order for the coil springs  80  through which the cylinders  79  of the support member  72  are inserted to maintain the slightly contracted state and press the brim portion  74  toward the front side by the contracted press force, the support member  72  is movably maintained in the front and rear directions in a state where the cylindrical body  73  is oriented toward the front side. 
     The support member  72  of the tube support mechanism  28  is in an urged state toward the front side by an urging force of the coil springs  80 , since the coil springs  80  respectively inserted through the cylinders  79  are respectively inserted are in the slightly contracted state. Accordingly, when a press force is further applied to the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  from the front side to the rear side, the brim portion  74  receives the press force and is retreated toward the rear side. Therefore, as shown in  FIG. 8B , the support member  72  is retreated toward the rear side in the state where the support member  72  supports the assembly plate  81  and the flexible tube  43 , while further contracting the coil springs  80 . 
     In the support member  72  of the tube support mechanism  28 , the base end cylindrical portion  75  of cylindrical body  73  and the cylinders  79  protruding from the brim portion  74  toward the rear side are loosely inserted into the through-holes  67 ,  68 , and  69  of the base body  63 , respectively, so that a clearance is present in a diametric direction. Accordingly, when an external force is applied to the cylindrical body  73  (particularly, the front end cylindrical portion  76 ) of the support member  72  from a direction intersecting the axial direction of the cylindrical body  73 , the support member  72  receiving the external force is pivoted on a point on the base end side (specifically, a point coming in contact with the flange  70  in the cylinder  79 ). 
     That is, when the external force oriented from the downward side to the upward side is applied to the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73 , the support member  72  is pivoted so that the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  is moved upward, as shown in  FIG. 9A . On the other hand, when the external force oriented from the upward side to the downward side is applied to the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73 , the support member  72  is pivoted so that the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  is moved downward, as shown in  FIG. 9B . Even though not shown, when the external force is applied to the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  from the right and left directions, the support member  72  is pivoted so that the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  is moved in the right and left directions. In this way, the support member  72  supporting the flexible tube  43  in the tube support mechanism  28  has a configuration in which the front end is pivotable on the point on the base end side. 
     Next, a method of mounting or detaching the waste ink tank  27  on or from the mount location  31  formed inside the receiving chamber  30  of the housing  26  of the printer  11  will be described. 
     When the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30 , the opening door  36  on the front side of the housing  26  is first opened. Subsequently, the waste ink tank  27  is inserted into the opened mounting/detaching port  34  from the rear end side on which the connection port  57  is formed, and then the waste ink tank  27  is moved toward the rear side which is the mount direction in which the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , in the waste ink tank  27 , the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  in the tube support mechanism  28  is inserted into the connection port  57  of the main rear wall  49   a  in a previous step in which the entire waste ink tank  27  is inserted inside the receiving chamber  30 . 
     Here, when the waste ink tank  27  is moved up to the inside deep portion of the receiving chamber  30  through the mounting/detaching port  34 , the gripping portion  94  in the front end of the waste ink tank  27  is gripped by the user of the printer  11  and the waste ink tank  27  is moved in the mount direction manually by the user. Accordingly, when the gripping portion  94  in the front end of the waste ink tank  27  is gripped by the user, the container member  44  rarely maintains a horizontal state in its posture in the previous step in which the entire waste ink tank  27  is inserted inside the receiving chamber  30 . Instead, as shown in  FIG. 10 , the container member  44  is normally slanted in its posture so that the rear end of the waste ink tank  27  is lower than the front end. Accordingly, in a case where the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  of the tube support mechanism  28  is fixed in a horizontally oriented state, it is difficult to insert the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  up to the inside deep portion of the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  moved in the mount direction in the slanted state. 
     However, the tube support mechanism  28  according to this embodiment has the configuration in which the front end of the support member  72  is pivotable on the point on the base end side. With such a configuration, when the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  is inserted into the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  moved in the state where the waste ink tank  27  is slanted in its posture, the front end of the support member  72  of the tube support mechanism  28  is pivoted so as to correspond to the slant. Accordingly, the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  in the support member  72  is inserted up to the inside deep portion of the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  without any problem. 
     The support member  72  of the tube support mechanism  28  may be locationally deviated from the center  57   a  of the connection port  57 , when the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  is inserted into the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 . In this embodiment, however, the inner circumferential surface of the connection port  57  in the waste ink tank  27  is configured as the tapered surface which the diameter is smaller as getting deeper to the inside portion of the connection port  57 . Therefore, the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  is slidably guided toward the center  57   a  of the connection port  57 , when the cylindrical body  73  is inserted into the connection port  57 . In consequence, in the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72 , the front end cylindrical portion  76  is smoothly inserted into the cut-in groove  62  of the third absorbing member  45   c  disposed so as to correspond to the location of the connection port  57  in the waste ink tank  27 . 
     In the cut-in groove  62 , the tapered portion  95  of which the width is narrower toward the front end is formed on the rear end which is the connection port  57  and the groove width of a portion in the front end of the tapered portion  95  is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the discharge unit  97 . The thickness of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  provided with the cut-in groove  62  is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the discharge unit  97 . Accordingly, in the discharge unit  97 , when the front end cylindrical portion  76  is inserted into the cut-in groove  62 , the front end cylindrical portion  76  is slidably guided by the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  including the tapered portion  95  in the third ink absorbing member  45   c  and by the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  blocking the cut-in groove  62  from both the upper and lower sides so that the insertion direction becomes a direction (predetermined direction) oriented toward the through-hole  61 . 
     When the waste ink tank  27  is further moved toward the inside deep portion of the receiving chamber  30  in the state shown in  FIG. 10 , the rear wall  49  (specifically, the end surface of the sealing portion  91 ) of the waste ink tank  27  comes in contact with the brim portion  74  (specifically, the circular mounted portion  96 ) of the support member  72 . In addition, the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  reaches the location of the through-hole  61  formed in the third ink absorbing member  45   c.  In this case, when the sealing portion  91  of the rear wall  49  of the waste ink tank  27  comes in contact with the circular mounted portion  96  of the brim portion  74  of the support member  72 , the connection portion  57  is closed and sealed by the circular mounted portion  96 . Accordingly, the circular mounted portion  96  serves as a closing unit which closes the connection port  57  as the opening, when the sealing portion  91  comes in contact with the circular mounted portion  96 . In addition, since the sealing portion  91  has the ring shape surrounding the connection port  57 , a sealing function thereof is easily ensured by bringing the end surface formed as the flat and smooth surface into contact with the facing surface of the flat and smooth surface as in the circular mounted portion  96 . 
     Likewise, when the sealing portion  91  of the rear wall  49  of the waste ink tank  27  comes in contact with the circular mounted portion  96  of the brim portion  74  of the support member  72 , the pin  85  protruding from the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  is inserted into the hole  58   a  of the cylinder portion  58  formed on the sub rear wall  49   b  of the waste ink tank  27 , and thus the waste ink tank  27  mounted on the mount location  31  is positioned in the upper and lower directions, the right and left directions, and a rotation direction. In this case, the pin  85  and the long hole (positioning unit)  58   a  serve as a maintaining unit which maintains the positioning state so that the movement of the waste ink tank  27  is regulated in the upper and lower directions, the right and left directions, and the rotation direction in the mount location  31 . 
     In particular, When the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the printer  11 , the waste ink tank  27  may be moved toward the mount location  31  of the printer  11  with rotation about the axis of the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  inserted into the connection port  57  to be mounted in some cases. Therefore, the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  may be locationally deviated from the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  in the rotation direction in the connection state. In addition, as in a comparative example in  FIG. 6B , when the contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  is formed perpendicularly to a straight line L extending in a radial direction from the center  57   a  of the connection port  57 , the contact surfaces of the connection terminals  59  and  87  may be deviated from each other in the rotation direction at the time of rotating the waste ink tank  27 , thereby impairing the contact surfaces and causing connection failure. 
     In order to solve this problem, as shown in  FIG. 6A , the contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  according to this embodiment is formed perpendicularly to the straight line L extending toward the radial direction from the center  57   a  of the connection port  57 . Therefore, the contact surfaces of both the connection terminals  59  and  87  are not deviated from each other in the rotation direction in the connection, when the waste ink tank  27  is rotated. That is, in  FIG. 6A , when the waste ink tank  27  is rotated clockwise, the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  is moved so that the contact surface  59   a  becomes away from the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11 . On the contrary, in  FIG. 6A , when the waste ink tank  27  is rotated counterclockwise, the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  is moved in a direction in which the contact surface  59   a  is pressed against the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11 . 
     In this case, the long hole  58   a  as the positioning unit serves as a contact portion for regulating the rotation of the waste ink tank  27  by bringing an inner circumferential surface  99  into contact with the pin  85 . That is, the long hole  58   a  regulates the counterclockwise rotation by which the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  is spaced from the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11 , by bringing the upper inner surface of the inner circumferential surface  99  into contact with the pin  85 . On the other hand, the long hole  58   a  regulates the clockwise rotation of the waste ink tank  27 , by bringing the lower inner surface of the inner circumferential surface  99  into contact with the pin  85 . 
     With such a configuration, even when the waste ink tank  27  is moved and mounted on the mount location  31  of the printer  11  with the rotation about the axis of the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  inserted into the connection port  57 , the contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  is not deviated from the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  in the rotation direction in the connection. When the pin  85  is inserted into the long hole  58   a,  the upper and lower inner surfaces of the inner circumferential surface  99  of the long hole  58   a  come into contact with the pin  85 , and thus the rotation stops. Therefore, the location is determined at the rotation location at which the contact surfaces of both the connection terminals  59  and  87  appropriately come in contact with each other. 
     When the waste ink tank  27  is further pushed toward the rear side to press the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  in this state, the support member  72  is retreated while further contracting the coil springs  80 . When the support member  72  is retreated up to a location where the brim portion  74  is closest to the front wall of the base body  63 , as shown in  FIG. 11 , the waste ink tank  27  is horizontally maintained in its posture and the bottom surface of the container member  44  of the waste ink tank  27  is brought into contact with the intermediate step surface  38  forming a part of the mount location  31  in the receiving chamber  30 . At this time, the locked step  60  formed on the bottom surface of the container member  44  of the waste ink tank  27  is located in an inside deeper portion of the receiving chamber  30  than the locking step  40  formed in the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30 . In other words, the waste ink tank  27  is outside the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30  in the mount direction at this time. That is, the locked step  60  of the waste ink tank  27  does not engage with the locking step  40  of the printer  11  at the time of moving the waste ink tank  27  the mount direction. 
     When a force (for example, a force of the fingers of a user) applied to move the waste ink tank  27  in the mount direction is released in the state shown in  FIG. 11 , the waste ink tank  27  is pressed in the front direction (that is, the detachment direction of the waste ink tank  27 ) by the brim portion  74 . That is because the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  is advanced by the urging force of the contracted coil springs  80 . That is, the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  serves as a pressing unit using the urging force of the coil springs  80  as a pressing force and the rear wall  49  of the container member  44  serves as a pressed unit. The brim portion  74  presses the waste ink tank  27 . In addition, the waste ink tank  27  receiving this pressing force is slidably moved on the intermediate step  38  of the mount location  31  toward the front side. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the locked step  60  of the container member  44  locks with the locking step  40  of the mount location  31 . That is, The locking step  40  which cannot lock with the locked step  60  at the time of moving the waste ink tank  27  to the locked step  60  of the container member  44  in the mount direction reverse to the detachment direction serves as a locking unit which performs the locking to regulate the movement of the waste ink tank  27  in the detachment direction from the detachment direction at the time of slidably moving the waste ink tank  27  in the detachment direction. 
     Accordingly, the waste ink tank  27  receives the urging force of the coil springs  80  from the rear side through the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  and the locking step  40  of the mount location  31  locks with the locked step  60  of the bottom surface of the container member  44  from the front side. Accordingly, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the waste ink tank  27  is positioned at the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30  so as not to be moved in the front and rear direction. With such a configuration, the coil springs  80  as the urging unit and the locking step  40  as the locking unit serve as a maintaining unit which maintains the waste ink tank  27  so as to be positioned at the mount location  31 . When the opening door  36  of the mounting/detaching port  34  is returned to the closing location, the mounting of the waste ink tank  27  on the mount location  31  ends. 
     Since the opening door  36  of the mounting/detaching port  34  is positioned at the closing location in the mount state shown in  FIG. 2 , the protrusion  93  on the rear surface of the opening door  36  is in a location regulation state close to the convex portion  92  of the front end of the waste ink tank  27 . Accordingly, even though the waste ink tank  27  is displaced upward with application of an impact from the outside in a case of carrying the printer  11 , the protrusion  93  of the opening door  36  comes in contact with the convex portion  92  of the waste ink tank  27  and thus regulates the upward displacement. Accordingly, the locked step  60  of the waste ink tank  27  does not disengage from the locking step  40  formed at the mount location  31  of the printer  11 . 
     When the cap  25  moves up by drive of the elevation mechanism (not shown) and comes in contact with the nozzle formation surface  21   a  of the print head  21  in the state shown in  FIG. 2  and then the sucking pump  42  is driven, the thickened ink in the print head  21  due to negative pressure generated in the cap  25  is forcedly discharged (ejected) as the waste ink into the cap  25  through nozzle openings (not shown). When the inside of the cap  25  becomes an air sucking state where air is sucked by air opening in a state where the sucking pump  42  continues to be driven, the waste ink is guided from the inside of the cap  25  to the downstream end which is the front end of the flexible tube  43  to be discharged into the waste ink tank  27 . 
     In this case, the front end opening  76   a  of the discharge unit  97  extends from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  to the through-hole  61  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c.  The through-hole  61  of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  is disposed below the through-hole  61  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c.  The fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and the first ink absorbing member  45   a  are disposed so as to block the upper and lower portions of the two through-holes  61 , respectively. In addition, much waste ink discharged into the through-holes  61  is absorbed gradually into the inside from the upper surface of the first ink absorbing member  45   a  located below the through-hole  61  and soaks into the entire first ink absorbing member  45   a.  The waste ink further soaks into the other ink absorbing members  45   b  to  45   d  and spreads inside the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  to be satisfactorily absorbed and maintained. Some of waste ink is absorbed into the inside of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  from the side surface or the upper surface of the through-holes  61 . 
     Accordingly, in the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d,  a location near the through-holes  61  to which the waste ink is discharged from the front end opening  76   a  of the discharge unit  97  is a location where the waste ink is absorbed most. On the other hand, in the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d,  the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  into which the waste ink is discharged from the front end opening  76   a  of the discharge unit  97  soaks least is a location where an amount of absorbed ink is the least. In general, the waste ink absorbed by the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  has a property in which the waste ink is easy to be soaked and spread from the location where the amount of absorbed amount is much to the location where the amount of absorbed amount is less. 
     The air communication hole  90  formed in the film member  46  sealing the upper opening  48  of the container member  44  in the waste ink tank  27  according to this embodiment is configured to be located on the front end side than the center portion of the container member  44 . That is, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the distance Y between the front end opening  76   a  and the air communication hole  90  is configured to be longer than the distance X between the front end opening (discharge port)  76   a  of the discharge unit  97  discharging the waste ink and the connection port  57 . The air communication hole  90  is located above the upper surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  located uppermost among the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d.  Accordingly, after the waste ink soaks up to a location which gets away from the front end opening  76   a  in the front and rear direction and soaks up to the uppermost absorbing member  45   d  in the upper and lower directions, that is, the waste ink spreads to the whole of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d,  the waste ink evaporates from the upper surface of the uppermost ink absorbing member  45   d.    
     Accordingly, since the waste ink evaporates from the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  during the soaking, the waste ink can soak into the broad range without clogging the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d.  Therefore, it is possible to discharge more amount of waste ink. Gasification of the ink solvent of the waste ink is accelerated from the spread area extending the broad range, thereby accelerating dryness of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d.  In addition, since the location of the front end opening  76   a  is a location where the waste ink is discharged, the distance X may be set as a distance between the through-hole  61  as a waste liquid receiver for receiving the waste ink and the connection port  57  or the distance Y may be set as a distance between the through-hole  61  and the air communication hole  90 . 
     On the other hand, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the waste ink tank  27  mounted on the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30  is detached from the printer  11 , the opening door  36  of the mounting/detaching port  34  is opened again. Then, the protrusion  93  on the rear surface of the opening door  36  becomes a location non-regulation state where the protrusion  93  gets away from the regulation location where the waste ink tank  27  is close to the convex portion  92  and permits the upward displacement of the waste ink tank  27 . When the user of the printer  11  puts hands inside the mounting/detaching port  34 , grips the gripping portion  94  on the front end of the waste ink tank  27 , raises the front end of the waste ink tank  27  upward to slant the waste ink tank  27  in its posture, the locking state of the locking step  40  and the locked step  60  is released. In this state, since the urging force of the coil springs  80  becomes the pressing force through the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  in the waste ink tank  27  and is applied in the detachment direction (front side), the urging force (pressing force) helps movement in the detachment direction. Accordingly, the waste ink tank  27  is easily detached from the mounting/detaching port  34 . 
     In this case, when the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  in the support member  72  is extracted from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 , the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  and the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  blocking the cut-in groove  62  from both the upper and lower sides function as a contact unit, and contact with the cylindrical portion located on the front end side than the fitting cylindrical portion  98  in the discharge unit  97  to remove the waste ink. In particular, when the waste ink tank  27  in a state where the absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  reaches the limit is detached, the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are swollen by the absorbed waste ink. Accordingly, in the swollen third ink absorbing member  45   c,  the right and left groove widths of the cut-in groove  62  are narrowed. In the swollen fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and second ink absorbing member  45   b,  a distance (that is, a groove height) of the lower surface and the upper surface facing each other to block the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  from both the upper and lower sides is narrowed. Accordingly, since a contact pressure of the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c,  the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  against the discharge unit  97  becomes more strong, the waste ink attached to the discharge unit  97  is surely removed. 
     On the other hand, when the waste ink tank  27  in which the amount of absorbed waste ink of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  is small is detached, the above absorbing members are not swollen. Therefore, the contact pressure of the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62 , the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  against the discharge unit  97  is weak. In this case, since the absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  is still high, the waste ink attached to the discharge unit  97  is easily absorbed into the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  even with weak contact pressure through the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62 , the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b.  Accordingly, in the cylindrical portion of the front end than in the fitting cylindrical portion  98  of the discharge unit  97 , the attached waste ink is removed by the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c,  the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b,  when the discharge unit  97  is extracted from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 . Therefore, the third ink absorbing member  45   c  provided with the cut-in groove  62  functions as a removing unit and the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and the second ink absorbing member  45   b  blocking the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  from the upper and lower sides also function as the removing unit. 
     After the old waste ink tank  27  is detached, a new waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30  in the same manner described above. In this way, since the waste ink tank  27  can be mounted on and detached from the predetermined mount location  31 , the old waste ink tank  27  is easily exchanged with the new waste ink tank  27 . A main constituent element of the liquid passage guiding the waste ink up to the waste ink tank  27  is the flexible tube  43  having an excellent non-permeable property of a gasified liquid but no rigidity property. However, since the flexible tube  43  is supported in the straight line by the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  having a rigidity property and inserted into the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  together with the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73 , the flexible tube  43  can be surely inserted up to the location (the location of the through-holes  61 ) close to the center of the waste ink tank  27  in which the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are received in the laminated manner. 
     According to this embodiment, advantages described below can be obtained. 
     (1) In the waste ink tank  27 , the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  supporting the portion having the predetermined length on the downstream end side of the flexible tube  43  is inserted into and extracted from the connection port  57  and the connection port  57  is connected to or disconnected from the downstream end of the flexible tube  43  supported by the support member  72 , by moving the container member  44  toward the rear side which is the mount direction in which the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30  or the front side which is the detachment direction. With such a configuration, the old waste ink tank  27  can easily be exchanged with the new waste ink tank  27 . 
     (2) When the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  of the printer  11  and rotated about the axis of the discharge unit  97  while the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 , the contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  is moved to be close to or away from the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  in the rotation direction. That is, the contact surfaces of both the connection terminals  59  and  87  are deviated from each other, when the waste ink tank  27  is rotated in the rotation direction in the connection. In addition, when the contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  is brought into pressing contact with the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  during the rotation of the waste ink tank  27 , it is possible to ensure the connection state where both the connection terminals  59  and  87  are appropriately brought into contact with each other. 
     (3) The connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  is provided in the lower portion in which the rigidity is relatively high in the container member  44  which the box-like shape having the bottom portion. Therefore, even when a stress is applied to the container member  44 , a problem with the displacement of the connection terminal  59  can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to satisfactorily maintain the appropriate connection state where the connection terminal  59  is connected to the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11 . 
     (4) Since the connection port  57  into which the discharge unit  97  is inserted is located above the connection terminal  59  in the container member  44 , the waste ink can be stored up to the height location of the connection port  57 . Accordingly, it is possible to improve a storage efficiency of the waste ink in the container member  44 . 
     (5) The connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  is not located immediately below the connection port  57 . Therefore, even when the stored waste ink leaks from the connection port  57  to the inside in the mount state of the printer  11  on the mount location  31 , it is possible to prevent the connection terminal  59  from being smeared due to the leaked waste ink. 
     (6) When the waste ink tank  27  is rotated in the state where the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57  at the time of mounting the waste ink tank  27  on the printer  11  and the contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  comes in contact with the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11 , the further rotation of the waste ink tank  27  is regulated by the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  which serves as a stopper. In addition, when the waste ink tank  27  is moved toward the inside in the mount direction while maintaining the contact state of both the connection terminals  59  and  87 , the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port of the waste ink tank  27 . In addition, the contact surfaces  57  of both the connection terminals  59  and  87  appropriately come in contact with each other. Accordingly, it is possible to simply and appropriately mount the waste ink tank  27  on the printer  11 . 
     (7) When the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  of the printer  11  and the waste ink tank  27  is rotated about the axis of the discharge unit  97  while the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57 , the rotation can be regulated by a simple operation of inserting the pin  85  as the counter member into the long hole  58   a  as the positioning unit. That is, by adjusting the posture of the waste ink tank  27  to insert the pin  85  as the counter member into the long hole  58   a,  it is possible to position and mount the waste ink tank  27  on the mount location  31  in the connection state where the contact surface  59   a  of the connection terminal  59  appropriately comes in contact with the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11 . 
     (8) In this case, since the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  regulates the rotation in the direction getting away from the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  by bringing the upper inner surface of the inner circumferential surface  99  of the long hole  58   a  into contact with the pin  85 . Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the waste ink tank  27  from being rotated in a direction in which a failure in contact between both the connection terminals  59  and  87  is caused. 
     (9) In this case, the inner circumferential surface  99  of the long hole  58   a  into which the pin  85  is inserted is provided in the insertion and extraction directions of the discharge unit  97  into and from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 . With such a configuration, when the waste ink tank  27  is moved toward the inside in the mount direction while inserting the discharge unit  97  into the connection port  57 , the contact state where the inner circumferential surface  99  of the long hole  58   a  comes in contact with the pin  85  is maintained. Moreover, the contact state where the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  comes in contact with the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  is maintained. The contact state of both the connection terminals  59  and  87  at the time of mounting the waste ink tank  27  can be appropriately ensured. 
     (10) In the waste ink tank  27 , the contactable state where the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  can come in contact with the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  is maintained, while regulating the movement from the center  57   a  of the connection port  57  in the radial direction, by first bringing the discharge unit  97  into the connection port  57  at the time of mounting the waste ink tank  27  on the printer  11 . In this state, next, on the basis of the positioning function of the long hole  58   a  as the positioning unit, the waste ink tank  27  is positioned so that the contact surfaces of both the connection terminals  59  and  87  are in the appropriate contact state. Accordingly, when the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31  of the printer  11 , it is possible to ensure the appropriate connection state where both the connection terminals  59  and  87  come in contact with each other. 
     (11) Since the urging force (pressing force) of the coil springs  80  is applied to the rear wall (pressed portion)  49  of the waste ink tank  27  in the detachment direction at the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30 , the waste ink tank  27  is intended to be moved in the detachment direction by the urging force. In this case, however, since the movement in the detachment direction is regulated thanks to the engagement of the locking step  40 , which is provided at the mount location  31 , with the locked step  60 , which is provided on the bottom surface of the waste ink tank  27 , the positioning state of the waste ink tank  27  at the mount location  31  is maintained. Accordingly, it is possible to ensure the stable mount state at the mount location  31 . 
     (12) When the waste ink tank  27  is moved in the mount direction which is a direction reverse to the detachment direction, the locked step  60  on the bottom surface does not engage with the locking step  40  provided at the mount location  31 . Accordingly, when the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the printer  11 , the waste ink tank  27  can be easily mounted without association with the presence of the locking step  40 . 
     (13) When the waste ink tank  27  is displaced in its posture in the direction in which the locked step  60  disengages from the locking step  40  in order to detach the waste ink tank  27  from the mount location  31 , it is possible to easily detach the waste ink tank  27  by use of the urging force of the coil springs  80  applied to the rear wall  49 . 
     (14) When the gripping portion  94  is gripped by the user and raised in the upper direction intersecting the detachment direction in order to detach the waste ink tank  27  from the mount location  31 , the position of the waste ink tank  27  is displaced. At this time, since the engagement of the locked step  60  with the locking step  40  at the mount location  31  is simply released, it is possible to easily detach the waste ink tank  27  from the printer  11 . 
     (15) On the other hand, when the waste ink tank  27  is displaced in its posture in the direction in which the locked step  60  disengages from the locking step  40  due to inclination of the printer  11  in the state where the waste ink tank  27  is mounted, for example, the convex portion  92  protruding toward the front side intersecting the engagement releasing direction comes in contact with the protrusion  93  of the opening door  36 . Accordingly, the displacement of the waste ink tank  27  is regulated in the engagement releasing direction in which the locked step  60  disengages from the locking step  40  is released and the stable mount state can be ensured. 
     (16) In the waste ink tank  27 , when the convex portion  92  comes in contact with the protrusion  93  of the opening door  36  with the displacement in the engagement releasing direction in which the locked step  60  disengages from the locking step  40 , the container member  44  may be deformed due to the stress applied with the contact. In this case, when the convex portion  92  is located on the side reverse to the connection terminal  59  in view from the connection port  57  in the width direction perpendicular to the insertion and extraction directions of the discharge unit  97  into and from the connection port  57 , the deformation degree of the portion in which the connection terminal  59  is provided may increase. Therefore, the failure in the contact with the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11  may be caused. In order to solve this problem, in this embodiment, the connection terminal  59  is located on the same side on which the convex portion  92  is located, when viewed from the connection port  57  through which the discharge unit  97  is inserted and extracted. Therefore, even when the convex portion  92  comes in contact with the protrusion  93  of the opening door  36 , the deformation degree of the portion in which the connection terminal  59  of the container member  44  is provided can decrease. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the failure in the contact with the connection terminal  87  of the printer  11 . 
     (17) When the waste ink tank  27  is mounted on the mount location  31 , it is possible to prevent the waste ink tank  27  from being moved carelessly from the mount location  31 , by locating the opening door  36  at the closing location so that the protrusion  93  as the displacement regulating unit is located at the regulation location. On the other hand, when the waste ink tank  27  is detached from the mount location  31  of the printer  11 , it is possible to easily detach the waste ink tank  27 , by locating the opening door  36  at the opening location so that the protrusion  93  as the displacement regulating unit is located at the non-regulation location. 
     (18) The waste ink tank  27  has the configuration in which the upper opening  48  of the container member  44  is sealed by the film member  46  as the sealing member and the ink solvent of the waste ink absorbed by the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  through the air communication hole  90  formed at one location of the film member  46  is evaporated to the outside. With such a configuration, this configuration is different from a case where the upper opening  48  of the container member  44  is not sealed and open. The solvent component of the waste ink received inside the waste ink tank  27  is suppressed from being excessively evaporated and volatilized. In addition, the residue of the waste ink is not accumulated on the surfaces of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  received in the laminated manner. Accordingly, by suppressing the deterioration in the absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d,  it is possible to prevent deterioration in a storage efficiency of the waste ink by the waste ink tank  27 . 
     (19) In the waste ink tank  27 , when the waste ink is discharged from the front end opening  76   a  as the discharge port of the discharge unit  97  in the state where the discharge unit  97  of the printer  11  is inserted into the connection port  57  and the sealing portion  91  comes in contact with the circular mounted portion  96  of the brim portion  74  in the support member  72  of the printer  11 , the waste ink is absorbed into the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d.  The waste ink absorbed into the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  permeates a broad area in the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  including the portion near the air communication hole  90  which is more away from the portion near the front end opening  76   a  as the discharge port than the connection port  57 . In consequence, since the permeating area of the waste ink in the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  is broad, the gasification of the ink solvent of the waste ink from the broad permeating area is accelerated. Accordingly, since the solvent component gasified from the broad permeating area is evaporated outside the waste ink tank  27  through the air communication hole  90 , the waste ink tank  27  can maintain the satisfactory absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  included therein. 
     (20) In this case, the air communication hole  90  is configured to allow the reception space  47  as the inner space of the waste ink tank  27  receiving the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  to communicate with the air at the location above the upper surface of the uppermost ink absorbing member  45   d.  With such a configuration, even when the waste ink is absorbed to the extent that the absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  reaches the limit, the problem with leakage of the waste ink from the air communication hole  90  to the outside can be reduced. 
     (21) The waste ink tank  27  can be manufactured by a simple work for attaching the film member  46  to the upper opening  48  of the container member  44  having the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  therein after forming the air communication hole  90  in the film member  46 . 
     (22) Even when a downstream passage portion (the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  in the support member  72 ) of the liquid passage extracted from the connection port  57  of the container member  44  with the detachment of the waste ink tank  27  from the mount location  31  is smeared due to the attachment of the waste ink in the container member  44 , the waste ink is removed by the contact of the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c.  In this case, as for the discharge unit  97 , the lower surface of the uppermost fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  comes in contact with the discharge unit  97  from the upper side and the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c  on the second layer from the upper side comes in contact with the discharge unit  97  from both the right and left sides. Additionally, the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  on the third layer from the upper side comes in contact with the discharge unit  97  from the lower side. That is, the three ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  come in contact with the discharge unit  97  in an insertion manner from the upper, lower, right, and left directions. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the vicinity of the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  or the mount location  31  from being smeared due to the leakage of the waste ink from the front end cylindrical portion  76  and the non-cylindrical portion  77  of the cylindrical body  73  and the portion (that is, the discharge unit  97 ) of the flexible tube  43  exposed in the non-cylindrical portion  77  in the support member  72 , when the waste ink tank  27  is detached from the printer  11 . 
     (23) In particular, when the waste ink tank  27  in which the absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  reaches the limit is detached, the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are swollen due to the absorbed waste ink. Therefore, the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  blocking the cut-in groove  62  and the groove width of the cut-in groove  62  from the upper and lower sides becomes narrow. Accordingly, since the contact pressure of the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c,  the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing member  45   b  against the discharge unit  97  becomes strong, the waste ink attached on the discharge unit  97  can be surely removed. 
     (24) On the other hand, when the waste ink tank  27  in which an absorption amount of waste ink is small in the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  is detached, the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are not swollen. In addition, the contact pressure of the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c,  the lower surface of the fourth absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second absorbing member  45   b  against the discharge unit  97  is weak. However, in this case, the absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  is high. Accordingly, even when the contact pressure against the discharge unit  97  is weak, the waste ink attached to the discharge unit  97  can easily be removed by absorption of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  through the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62 , the lower surface of the fourth absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second absorbing member  45   b.    
     (25) In particular, the upper surface of the second absorbing member  45   b  comes in contact with the discharge unit  97  from the lower side in the gravity direction. Accordingly, in the discharge unit  97 , the waste ink attached to the circumferential surface is surely removed. In particular, it is possible to efficiently remove the waste ink attached to the discharge unit  97  extracted from the connection port  57 , since the upper surface of the second absorbing member  45   b  surely comes in contact with the lower surface of the discharge unit  97  considered that an attachment degree of the waste ink is the highest because the attached waste ink is curved along the outer circumferential surface of the discharge unit  97  in the gravity. 
     (26) In order to remove the waste ink attached to the discharge unit  97 , the cut-in groove  62  may extend in the insertion and extraction directions of the discharge unit  97  in the ink absorbing member  45   c.  Accordingly, it is possible to improve a manufacture efficiency of the waste ink tank  27 . 
     (27) When the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57  at the time of mounting the waste ink tank  27 , the right and left inner groove surfaces of the cut-in groove  62  of the third ink absorbing member  45   c,  the lower surface of the fourth absorbing member  45   d,  and the upper surface of the second absorbing member  45   b  serving as a guide unit guide the discharge unit  97  in the predetermined direction (that is, the direction in which the through-holes  61  are present). Therefore, the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57  in an appropriate direction. As a result, the waste ink tank  27  can be mounted easily and precisely at the time of mounting the waste ink tank  27 . 
     (28) Even when the center of the discharge unit  97  is locationally deviated in the direction perpendicular to the insertion and extraction directions at the time of inserting the discharge unit  97  into the connection port  57 , the deviation of the discharge unit  97  is corrected by the tapered portion  95  located on the side of the connection port  57  in the cut-in groove  62  serving as the guide unit. Accordingly, it is possible to easily guide the discharge unit  97  in the appropriate direction after the deviation. 
     (29) Since the cut-in groove  62  serving as the guide unit extends along the insertion and extraction directions of the discharge unit  97  at the location corresponding to the connection port  57 , a long guide distance can be secured for the discharge unit  97  inserted into the connection port  57  at the time of mounting the waste ink tank  27 . Accordingly, it is possible to guide the insertion direction more exactly. 
     (30) The movement of the waste ink tank  27  toward the inner wall surface is regulated by the engagement of the post  54  serving as the movement regulating unit with the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  received inside the container member  44 , even when the waste ink tank  27  is dropped after the detachment from the printer  11 . With such a configuration, the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  do not strongly come in pressing contact with the inner wall surface of the container member  44  when the waste ink tank  27  is dropped, and the waste ink absorbed therein is not squeezed. Accordingly, even when the waste ink tank  27  is dropped after the detachment from the printer  11 , the waste ink absorbed and maintained by the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  can be prevented from being leaked from the inside. 
     (31) In this case, since the post  54  serving as the movement regulating unit can ensure a locking function of regulating the movement of the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  by a fitting depth of the post  54  with the holes  55  as fitting holes of the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d,  it is possible to reduce a problem with pivot when the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  is dropped. 
     (32) The post  54  is erected at the substantially center on the inner bottom surface of the container member  44 . Therefore, even when a direction of the container member  44  is oriented in any direction in which the waste ink tank  27  is accidentally dropped, a distance between the post  54  formed in the substantially center of the inner bottom surface and the inner wall surface which is a lower side of a drop direction of the container member  44  is almost uniform. Accordingly, even though the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  may be swollen in the drop direction due to an impact when the waste ink tank  27  is dropped, the swollen portions of the ink absorbing members  45   b,    45   c,  and  45   d  can be prevented from strongly coming in pressing contact with the inner wall surface of the container member  44  depending on the direction of the ink absorbing members. 
     (33) Even when the liquid passage for discharging the waste ink is formed by the flexible tube  43  which is the main constituent element, the flexible tube  43  is inserted into and extracted from the connection port  57  of the container member  44  in the waste ink tank  27  in the state where the flexible tube  43  is supported in the straight line by the support member  72  having rigidity. Accordingly, it is possible to satisfactorily mount and detach the waste ink tank  27 . 
     (34) The liquid passage for discharging the waste ink into the waste ink tank  27  is formed by supporting the flexible tube  43  by use of the front end cylindrical portion  76  as a first support unit, the base end cylindrical portion  75  as a second support unit, and the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  including the non-cylindrical portion  77 . The downstream end of the flexible tube  43  which is the downstream end of the liquid passage formed in the above-described manner is supported by the discharge unit  97  including the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the cylindrical body  73  in the support member  72  in the state oriented in the direction in which the mount location  31  is present. Accordingly, it is possible to stably form the liquid passage in which the flexible tube  43  of which the movement is unstable is the main constituent element. 
     (35) When the liquid passage for discharging the waste ink is formed, the downstream end of the flexible tube  43  is inserted into the front end cylindrical portion (the first support unit)  76  having the cylindrical shape in the support member  72 , the downstream end of the flexible tube  43  is supported in the fitting state. Since the front end cylindrical portion  76  supporting the downstream end of the flexible tube  43  in this manner is formed in the front end of the cylindrical body  73  having the predetermined length in the support member  72 , the downstream end of the flexible tube  43  which is a substantial discharge port of the waste ink is also disposed in the front end of the cylindrical body  73  in the support member  72 . Accordingly, it is possible to satisfactorily discharge the waste ink. 
     (36) In the flexible tube  43 , the portion having the predetermined length on the downstream end side is supported in the substantially straight shape by the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  in the direction in which the downstream end is oriented. For example, when the waste ink is discharged into the waste ink tank  27 , the downstream end of the flexible tube  43  can be easily guided up to the center of the waste ink tank  27 . 
     (37) In the flexible tube  43 , the downstream end is supported in the fitting state by the front end cylindrical portion  76  of the support member  72 . In addition, the portion having the predetermined length on the base end side from the downstream end is supported by the base end cylindrical portion  75  of the support member  72  and interposed by the fixing claws  78  of the non-cylindrical portion  77 . Accordingly, the portion having the predetermined length on the downstream side of the flexible tube  43  can be supported in the stable state by the cylindrical body  73  (the front end cylindrical portion  76 , the non-cylindrical portion  77 , and the base end cylindrical portion  75 ) of the support member  72 . 
     (38) Even when the container member  44  is slanted in its posture at the time of mounting or detaching the waste ink tank  27 , the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  inserted into or extracted from the connection port  57  of the container member  44  at the slant in the support state of the flexible tube  43  is shaken. Accordingly, it is possible to easily mount and detach the waste ink tank  27  without any problem. 
     Fourth Embodiment 
     Next, a second embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to  FIG. 12 . In the second embodiment, since only a formation location of the air communication hole  90  is different from that in the first embodiment and the other configuration is the same, the air communication hole  90  will be mainly described below. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the same constituent elements and repeated description is omitted. 
     In the waste ink tank  27  according to this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 12 , the air communication hole  90  is formed at the substantially center in the longitudinal direction of the film member  46 . In addition, when the discharge unit  97  of the cylindrical body  73  is inserted into the container member  44  from the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27 , a distance Y between the front end opening  76   a  and the air communication hole  90  is configured to be shorter than a distance X between the connection port  57  and the front end opening  76   a  as the discharge port of the discharge unit  97 . 
     With such a configuration, in this embodiment, the waste ink is actively evaporated in portions near the through-holes  61 , which are locations where the waste ink discharged from the front end opening  76   a  as the discharge port of the discharge unit  97  and absorbed by the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  is stored most. Therefore, an amount of absorbed waste ink can be reduced before the waste ink soaks into the entire ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d.  As a result, it is possible to increase the amount of waste ink to be discharged into the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d.    
     In the second embodiment, the following advantage can be obtained instead of the advantage of (19) described in the first embodiment. 
     (39) In the waste ink tank  27 , the air communication hole  90  is located in the vicinity of the front end opening  76   a  as the discharge port of the discharge unit  97  discharging the waste ink. With such a configuration, gasification of the solvent component of the waste ink can be accelerated from the portions near the through-holes  61  which are the portions absorbing the most amount of waste ink absorbed in the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d.  Moreover, it is possible to satisfactorily maintain the absorption capability of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  included in the waste ink tank  27 . 
     The embodiments described above can be modified as follows. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 13A to 13D , the connection port  57  of the waste ink tank  27  may have a non-circular shape. For example, a gap  100  is formed between the connection port  57  and the discharge unit  97  in the mount state where the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57 . In this case, a communication passage (not shown) communicating the gap  100  to the air is formed in at least one of the circular mounted portion  96  of the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  and the sealing portion  91  of the waste ink tank  27 . 
     In this case, in the mount state where the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57 , the gap  100  is formed between the discharge unit  97  and the opening edge of the connection port  57  serves as the air communication hole  90 . Therefore, it is necessary to form the air communication hole  90  as a part (the film member  46  or the like) of the waste ink tank  27 . In addition, the solvent of the waste ink discharged into the waste ink tank  27  through the gap  100  serving as the air communication hole  90  can be evaporated. 
     In this case, in the connection port  57 , the opening edge of the connection port  57  contacts with the outer circumference of the fitting cylindrical portion  98  of the discharge unit  97  at least three points P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 , when the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57 . When the opening edge is halves by a straight line L 1  formed by one point (for example, P 1 ) amount at least the three points P 1 , P 2 , and P 3  and the center (the center  57   a  of the connection port  57 ) of the discharge unit  97 , the other points (P 2  and P 3 ) other than the one point (for example, P 1 ) are located on one edge and the other edge of the opening edge halved by the straight line L 1 . Accordingly, when the discharge unit  97  is inserted into the connection port  57 , the movement of the discharge unit  97  in the connection port  57  in a direction perpendicular to the insertion and extraction directions of the discharge unit  97  into the connection port  57  is regulated by bringing the three points (P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 ) on the opening edge into contact with the outer circumference of the fitting cylindrical portion  98  of the discharge unit  97 . 
     Accordingly, in the case of the waste ink tank  27  shown in  FIGS. 13A to 13D , the gap  100  formed between the connection port  57  and the discharge unit  97  serves as the air communication hole  90 , even though the air communication hole  90  is not formed. As a result, it is possible to satisfactorily maintain a collection efficiency of ink. 
     The opening edge of the connection port  57  contacts with the outer circumference of the fitting cylindrical portion  98  of the discharge unit  97  at least at three points (P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 ) and the movement of the discharge unit  97  is regulated in the direction perpendicular to the insertion and extraction directions. Accordingly, even though the positioning unit is not provided, the discharge unit  97  can be positioned by the connection port  57 . 
     In the modified examples shown in  FIGS. 13A to 13D , the fitting cylindrical portion  98  of the discharge unit  97  is formed to have a cylindrical shape of a cross-sectional non-circle (for example, a polygon such as a triangle or a quadrangle). In addition, the opening edge of the connection port  57  as opening of the waste ink tank  27  into which the discharge unit  97  is inserted may be formed to have a circular shape. Even with such a configuration, the advantages described above in the modified examples shown in  FIGS. 13A to 13D  can be obtained likewise. 
     As shown in  FIG. 14 , the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  may be formed below the right wall  51  of the container member  44 . With such a configuration, in the connection terminal  59 , the contact surface  59   a  of the connection port  57  is also not perpendicular to a straight line L passing through the center  57   a  of the connection port  57 . Accordingly, the same advantages as those in the embodiments can be obtained. 
     As shown in  FIG. 15 , the connection terminal  59  of the waste ink tank  27  may be formed in the same height as that of the center  57   a  of the connection port  57  in the sub left wall  50   b  of the container member  44 . With such a configuration, when a swollen portion  101  having a slant surface on the sub left wall  50   b  of the container member  44  and the connection terminal  59  is formed on the slant surface, the contact surface  59   a  of the connection port  57  is also not perpendicular to a straight line L passing through the center  57   a  of the connection port  57 . Accordingly, the same advantages as those in the embodiments can be obtained. 
     As shown in  FIG. 16 , in the positioning unit, the cylinder portion  58  may be omitted and a contact portion may be formed by the reinforcing rib  56   a.  In addition, the positioning unit serving as the contact portion may be configured by a member having a plate shape different from that of the reinforcing rib  56   a  of the concave portion  56 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 17 , without dividing the rear wall  49  of the container member  44  of the waste ink tank  27  into the main rear wall  49   a  and the sub rear wall  49   b,  the connection port  57  is perforated through the rear wall  49 . In addition, a rectangular hole  102  as a positioning unit into which the pin  85  can be inserted and a rectangular hole  103  as a fixing location of the connection terminal  59  may be punched. 
     As shown in  FIG. 18 , the waste ink tank  27  may be formed so that the main rear wall  49   a  on which the connection port  57  of the container member  44  is formed is retreated toward an inward side of the container member  44 . As shown in  FIG. 19 , in the waste ink tank  27 , the main rear wall  49   a  on which the connection port  57  of the container member  44  is formed may not be formed in a plane shape, but may be formed in a circular arc plane shape. 
     As shown in  FIG. 20 , in the waste ink tank  27 , the sealing portion  91  may not be formed on the main rear wall  49   a  on which the connection port  57  of the container member  44  is formed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 21 , in the waste ink tank  27 , the locked step  60  formed on the bottom surface of the container member  44  may be configured by the protrusion  104  protruding from the bottom surface. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 22A and 22B , in the waste ink tank  27 , the gripping portion  94  formed on the front end of the container member  44  may be configured by a slant shaft  94 A or a horizontal shaft  94 B. In this case, when the opening door  36  is at the closing location for the slant shaft  94 A or the horizontal shaft  94 B, the protrusion  93  may come close to regulate displacement. In this case, the convex portion  92  is not necessary. 
     As shown in  FIG. 23A , the air communication hole  90  may be formed by cutting the front end side of the film member  46 . As shown in  FIG. 23B , a portion (a part having an elliptic shape indicated by a dashed line) of the upper opening  48  of the container member  44  may not be adhered to the film member  46 . As shown in  FIG. 23C , a notched portion  105  may be formed in a part of the upper opening  48  of the container member  44  to which the film member  46  is adhered. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 24A to 24D , as the contact portions for removing the ink attached to the discharge unit  97  and the guide unit guiding the insertion direction, a slit  106  having a cross shape or the like may be formed from the cress-section of the ink absorbing member  45   c  to the through-holes  61 , instead of the cut-in groove  62 . Alternatively, a hole extending in the insertion and extraction directions of the discharge unit  97  may be formed instead of the slit  106 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 25 , in the post  54  fitting and engaging with the holes  55  of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d,  the air communication hole  90  is formed from the upper end surface located above the upper surface of the uppermost ink absorbing member  45   d  in an axial direction and the lower portion of the air communication hole  90  may communicate with the air communication hole  90  by an omission groove  107  on the outside of the right and left walls in the lower portion of the post  54 . 
     In the waste ink tank  27 , the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  are not received in the reception space  47  which is the inner space, but the reception space  47  may store the waste ink as a waste ink container. 
     The thicknesses of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  may be the same as each other or may be different from each other. The thickness can be arbitrarily determined and the number of the ink absorbing members  45   a  to  45   d  can be changed. 
     The printer  11  may be realized as a so-called full line type printer in which the shape of a print head corresponds to the entire width of a print sheet P in a direction intersecting a transport direction of the print sheet P. 
     The printer  11  may be realized as a so-called off-carriage type printer  11  in which the ink cartridges  23  are not mounted on the carriage  16  but on a predetermined location inside the printer  11 , and ink is pressurized and supplied from the ink cartridges  23  to the print head  21  through an ink supply tube. 
     The sealing member may be a lid member such as a resin plate other than the film member  46 . 
     In the container member  44  of the waste ink tank  27 , the upper opening  48  may be sealed by a sealing member, when mounted on the mount location  31 . That is, the container member may be displaced in the state where the upper opening  48  is sealed, by bringing a lid member, which is opened and closed on the rear end edge of the upper opening  48  of the container member  44 , into contact with a contact member formed inside the reception  30  at the time of moving the container member  44  in the mount direction. 
     In the tube support mechanism  28 , the coil springs  80  may be disposed between the brim portion  74  of the support member  72  and the front wall of the base body  63 . In this case, the cylinders  79  may not be provided on the rear surface of the brim portion  74 . 
     The non-cylindrical portion  77  of the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72  may not be formed by cutting the circumferential wall of the cylindrical body  73 , but may be formed by a connection member which connects a space between two cylindrical bodies individually forming the front end cylindrical portion  76  and the base end cylindrical portion  75  which each a cylindrical shape. 
     A removing member having a circularly ring shape may be mounted on the inner circumferential surface of the connection port  57  of the container member  44  in the waste ink tank  27 . 
     In the tube support mechanism  28 , the portion having the predetermined length on the downstream end side of the flexible tube  43  may be supported by a support member having a straight line shape and the plural tube fixing portions  71  provided on the upper surface of the base body  63  in the front and rear directions at an interval. In this case, the support member  72  may be formed only by a simple cylindrical member or a non-cylindrical member. 
     In the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72 , the entire front end may be formed as a non-cylindrical portion than the brim portion  74 . In this case, it is preferable that the front end of the non-cylindrical portion is provided with the insertion claws  78  as the fixing portion. 
     In the cylindrical body  73  of the support member  72 , the base end cylindrical portion may be formed as a non-cylindrical portion. In this case, it is preferable that the base end of the non-cylindrical portion is provided with the insertion claws  78  as the fixing portion. 
     As for the pin  85  and the long hole  58   a,  the pin  85  may be provided in the container member  44  of the waste ink tank  27  and the long hole  58   a  may be provided at the mount location  31  inside the receiving chamber  30 . 
     The support member  72  of the tube support mechanism  28  may be fixed in a horizontal state so as not to be shaken with respect to the base body  63 . 
     The locking unit locking with the waste ink tank  27  at the mount location  31  from the detachment direction may be formed as a locking protrusion protruding from the bottom wall  32  of the receiving chamber  30 , as well as the locking step  40 . Alternatively, the locking unit may lock with the side walls  50  and  51  of the container member  44  of the waste ink tank  27  by friction. 
     The locking step  40  may lock with the rear wall  49  of the waste ink tank  27 . 
     In the embodiments described above, the liquid ejecting device has been realized as the ink jet printer, but the invention is not limited thereto. The liquid ejecting device can be realized as a device capable of ejecting or discharging another liquid other than ink, a liquid-formed substance in which particles of a functional material are dispersed or mixed, or a fluid-formed substance such as gel. Examples of the liquid ejecting device include a liquid-formed substance ejecting device ejecting a liquid-formed substance in which a material such as an electrode material or a coloring material (pixel material) used to manufacture a liquid display device, an EL (electroluminescence) display device, and a plane emission display is dispersed or solved; a liquid ejecting device ejecting a bio organic material used to manufacture a bio chip; and a liquid ejecting device ejecting a liquid as a sample used by a precise pipette. In addition, examples of the liquid ejecting device include a liquid ejecting device ejecting a lubricant to a precision instrument such as a clock or a camera by a pin point; a liquid ejecting device ejecting a transparent resin liquid such as ultraviolet cured resin on a board to form a minute hemispheric lens (optical lens) used in an optical communication element or the like; a liquid ejecting device ejecting an acid etching liquid or an alkali etching liquid to etch a substrate; and a liquid-formed substance ejecting device ejecting gel (for example, physical gel). The invention is applicable to one device thereof. In addition, in the specification of the invention, “the liquid” includes an inorganic solvent, an organic solvent, a solution, a liquid resin, a liquid metal (metallic melt), a liquid-formed substance, and a fluid-formed substance.