JP2009269202A - Waste liquid collector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waste liquid collector which can be detachably mounted on a device discharging a waste liquid and is capable of satisfactorily maintaining waste liquid absorption capability of a waste liquid absorbing member internally provided. <P>SOLUTION: A waste ink tank which is detachably mounted in a printer including a discharge portion 97 discharging a waste ink and stores the waste ink discharged from the discharge portion in a mount state on the printer includes: an ink absorbing member 45 which absorbs the waste ink; a connection port 57 through which the discharge portion is inserted or extracted when mounting or detaching the waste ink tank on or from the printer in a state where the ink absorbing member is received in a reception space 47; a sealing portion 91 which comes in contact with a part of the printer to seal the connection port in a state where the discharge portion is inserted in the connection port; and an air communicating hole 90 through which the reception space in which the ink absorbing member is received can communicate with the air in a state where the sealing portion comes in contact with a part of the printer. In the mount state, a distance X between the discharge port of the discharge portion and the air communicating hole is configured to be shorter than a distance Y between the discharge port of the discharge portion and the connection port. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waste liquid recovery body that can be attached to and detached from a device that includes a discharge unit that discharges waste liquid, and that can receive the waste liquid discharged from the discharge unit when attached to the device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, an ink jet printer (hereinafter simply referred to as “printer”) is widely known as a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid onto a target from a nozzle opening formed in a liquid ejecting head. In such a printer, the nozzle opening is normally blocked by the thickened ink (liquid), and bubbles and dust mixed in the ink in the recording head (liquid ejecting head) are discharged from the inside of the recording head. So-called cleaning is performed in which the ink having increased viscosity is forcibly sucked and discharged as waste ink (waste liquid).

  Then, the waste ink forcibly sucked from the recording head by the cleaning is discharged to a waste ink tank (waste liquid collecting body) disposed at a predetermined position in the printer through a flexible tube functioning as a liquid flow path. The ink is absorbed by the waste ink absorbing material (waste liquid absorbing material) accommodated in the waste ink tank. Here, there is a limit to the absorption capacity of the waste ink absorbing material, and when the absorption capacity is saturated, the absorption efficiency of the waste ink is lowered. Therefore, recently, as described in, for example, Patent Document 1, a waste ink tank that can be attached to and detached from such a printer has been proposed.

That is, the printer described in Patent Document 1 has a bottomed box-shaped waste ink tank that is open at the top so that the ink solvent of the waste ink absorbed by the waste ink absorber can be volatilized. Removably mounted. The waste ink forcibly sucked from the recording head is discharged into the waste ink tank from the downstream end (hereinafter referred to as “discharge portion”) of a tube extending downward from the suction pump. It has become. The waste ink discharged into the waste ink tank is absorbed by the waste ink absorber, and when the absorption capacity of the waste ink absorber is saturated, the waste ink tank is removed from the printer and a new waste ink tank is obtained. It is to be exchanged with.
JP 2007-130998 A

  By the way, in such a waste ink tank, when the waste ink is discharged from the discharge port at the tip of the discharge portion inserted from the opening, the waste ink is absorbed by the waste ink absorbing material. In this case, in the waste ink absorbing material, the portion near the discharge port where the waste ink is discharged is the portion where the amount of waste ink absorption is the largest, and the waste ink penetrates and diffuses into the waste ink absorbing material from that portion. Then, the ink solvent vaporized in the diffusion region evaporates to the outside of the waste ink tank through the air communication hole. That is, the ink solvent of the waste ink absorbed by the waste ink absorbing material is vaporized in the diffusion region of the waste ink absorbing material and evaporated from the air communication hole to the outside of the waste ink tank, thereby drying the waste ink absorbing material. It was promoted to recover the waste ink absorption capacity. Therefore, from the viewpoint of maintaining good waste ink absorption capacity in the waste ink absorbing material, the vaporization of the ink solvent from the vicinity of the discharge port where the waste ink absorption amount is the largest in the waste ink absorbing material is promoted. Is desired.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its purpose is to be able to attach and detach and replace the device for discharging the waste liquid and to maintain the waste liquid absorption ability of the waste liquid absorbent material that is built in well. An object of the present invention is to provide a waste liquid recovery body that can be used.

  In order to achieve the above object, the waste liquid recovery body of the present invention can be attached to and detached from a device having a discharge part for discharging the waste liquid, and can receive the waste liquid discharged from the discharge part in a mounted state with respect to the device. A waste liquid absorber that is capable of absorbing the waste liquid, an opening that allows the discharge part to be inserted and removed when the apparatus is attached to and detached from the apparatus in a state where the waste liquid absorber is housed in an internal space, and the opening In the mounted state in which the discharge portion is inserted into the seal portion, a seal portion that comes into contact with a part of the device so as to seal the opening, and a state in which the seal portion comes into contact with a portion of the device An air communication hole that allows the internal space in which the waste liquid absorbing material is accommodated to communicate with the atmosphere, and in the mounted state, between the waste liquid discharge port of the discharge unit and the air communication hole. The distance is Shorter than the distance between the outlet of the exit portion of the waste liquid and said opening.

  According to this configuration, the waste liquid collecting body can be attached to and detached from the apparatus by being moved so that the discharge part on the apparatus side is inserted into and removed from the opening. When the waste liquid is discharged from the discharge port of the discharge part in the mounting state in which the discharge part is inserted into the opening and the seal part is in contact with a part of the apparatus, the waste liquid is absorbed by the waste liquid absorbent. . Here, in the waste liquid absorbent material, the location near the discharge port is the location with the largest amount of waste liquid absorption, while the location near the air communication hole is the location with the least amount of waste liquid absorption and is absorbed by the waste liquid absorbent material. The waste liquid has the property of easily penetrating and diffusing toward a portion where the amount of absorption is small. For this reason, the permeation / diffusion of the waste liquid discharged from the discharge port and absorbed by the waste liquid absorbent is promoted from the vicinity of the discharge port to the vicinity of the air communication hole located closer to the opening. As a result, in the waste liquid absorbent material, since the amount of waste liquid absorbed is relatively small, the waste liquid can be quickly permeated and diffused in the vicinity of the air communication hole where the solvent evaporation efficiency of the waste liquid is high. The solvent of the waste liquid vaporized at the location evaporates to the outside of the waste liquid recovery body through the air communication hole. Therefore, the waste liquid recovery body can be attached and detached with respect to the apparatus for discharging the waste liquid, and the waste liquid absorption capacity of the waste liquid absorbent material incorporated therein can be favorably maintained.

  In the waste liquid recovery body of the present invention, the atmosphere communication hole is configured to communicate with the atmosphere at a position above the upper surface of the waste liquid absorbent material in the internal space in which the waste liquid absorbent material is accommodated.

  According to this configuration, even when the waste liquid is absorbed to the extent that the waste liquid absorbing material is saturated with the waste liquid absorption capacity, the waste liquid recovery body can reduce the risk of the waste liquid leaking out from the air communication hole.

In the waste liquid recovery body of the present invention, the seal portion is formed in an annular shape surrounding the opening.
According to this configuration, the waste liquid recovery body reliably seals the opening by the seal when the seal is in contact with a part of the apparatus with the discharge part inserted in the opening. be able to.

  Further, the waste liquid recovery body of the present invention accommodates the waste liquid absorber in the inner space of a bottomed box-shaped container member in which the opening and the seal part are formed, and the upper end opening of the container member is a film member. The air communication hole is formed in the film member.

  According to this configuration, after the air communication hole is formed in the film member, the waste liquid recovery body can be easily manufactured by attaching the film member to the upper end opening of the container member in which the waste liquid absorbing material is housed. .

  The liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention includes a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid, a discharge unit that discharges the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head, and a mounting position where the discharge unit is disposed. When the waste liquid recovery body is configured to be detachable and can receive the liquid discharged from the discharge portion as waste liquid in the state of being mounted at the mounting position, and when the waste liquid recovery body is mounted at the mounting position And a closing portion that contacts the seal portion so as to close the opening.

  According to this configuration, in the liquid ejecting apparatus in which the waste liquid recovery body is detachable, the same operational effects as those of the invention relating to the above-described waste liquid recovery body can be enjoyed.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an ink jet printer that is a type of liquid ejecting apparatus including a waste liquid recovery system in which a waste liquid recovery body is detachable will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the terms “front-rear direction”, “up-down direction”, and “left-right direction” refer to “front-rear direction”, “up-down direction” indicated by arrows in FIGS. And “left-right direction”.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) 11 as a liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a frame 12 having a rectangular shape in plan view. A platen 13 extends in the left-right direction in the frame 12, and the recording paper P is fed from the rear side to the front side by a paper feed mechanism having a paper feed motor 14 on the platen 13. ing. A guide shaft 15 extending in parallel with the longitudinal direction (left-right direction) of the platen 13 is installed above the platen 13 in the frame 12.

  A carriage 16 is supported on the guide shaft 15 so as to be capable of reciprocating along the axial direction (left-right direction) of the guide shaft 15. A driving pulley 17 and a driven pulley 18 are rotatably supported at positions corresponding to both end portions of the guide shaft 15 on the rear surface in the frame 12. A carriage motor 19 serving as a drive source for reciprocating the carriage 16 is coupled to the drive pulley 17, and a timing belt 20 that fixes and supports the carriage 16 is hung between the pair of pulleys 17 and 18. . Accordingly, the carriage 16 is moved in the left-right direction via the timing belt 20 while being guided by the guide shaft 15 by the drive of the carriage motor 19.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a recording head 21 as a liquid ejecting head is provided on the lower surface of the carriage 16. On the other hand, a plurality (five in this embodiment) of ink cartridges 23 for detachably mounting ink as liquid to the recording head 21 are mounted on the carriage 16 in a detachable manner. Each of these ink cartridges 23 individually corresponds to a plurality of nozzle opening rows (not shown) formed on a nozzle formation surface 21a (see FIG. 2) formed on the lower surface of the recording head 21. The ink is individually supplied to the corresponding nozzle row via an ink flow path (not shown) formed therein.

  Further, the carriage 16 is positioned at one end portion in the frame 12 (right end portion in FIG. 1), that is, a non-printing area where the recording paper P does not reach when the printer 11 is powered off or when the recording head 21 is maintained. A home position HP serving as a maintenance position is provided. At a position below the home position HP, a maintenance unit 24 that performs various maintenance operations is provided so that the ejection of ink from the recording head 21 to the recording paper P is well maintained.

  The maintenance unit 24 includes a cap 25 having a substantially rectangular box shape corresponding to the lower surface (nozzle formation surface) of the recording head 21, and a lifting device (not shown) for moving the cap 25 up and down. When the cap 25 is raised based on the driving of the lifting device (not shown) in a state where the carriage 16 is moved to the home position HP, the cap 25 is placed on the nozzle forming surface 21a that is the lower surface of the recording head 21. The nozzle rows are in contact with each other while being surrounded.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a housing portion 26 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape along the front-rear direction is formed at a position below the home position HP at one end portion (right end portion in FIG. 1) in the frame 12. ing. A housing chamber 30 is formed in the housing portion 26 for housing a waste liquid collection system 29 including a waste ink tank 27 as a waste liquid collection body and a tube support mechanism 28 as a liquid flow path forming device. A mounting position 31 of the waste ink tank 27 is set at the lower part of the head. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 10, the height of the storage chamber 30 (the distance between the bottom wall 32 and the top wall 33) can tilt the posture of the waste ink tank 27 in the storage chamber 30. Thus, the height of the waste ink tank 27 is set sufficiently higher.

  A rectangular attachment / detachment port 34 is formed on the front side of the housing portion 26 for allowing the waste ink tank 27 to pass through the attachment / detachment position 31 in the storage chamber 30. The detachable opening 34 is provided with an open / close door 36 whose upper ends are rotatably supported by a pair of shaft portions 35 provided on both sides of the upper edge portion of the detachable opening 34. Then, the opening / closing door 36 is closed and opened by a solid line in FIG. 2 and an open position shown by a two-dot chain line when a knob 36a formed on the front surface of the opening / closing door 36 is gripped and opened and closed. It opens and closes between.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the accommodation chamber 30 of the housing portion 26, a front step surface 37, a middle step surface 38, and a rear step surface 39 are stepped on the upper surface of the bottom wall 32 in order from the front to the rear in the front-rear direction. It is formed to make. The front step surface 37 is formed at the same height as the lower edge portion of the attachment / detachment opening 34, and serves as a locking portion between the rear end and the front end of the middle step surface 38 that makes the middle step surface 38 lower than the front step surface 37. Are formed so as to extend in the left-right direction.

  The middle step surface 38 is formed to have a length in the front-rear direction that is slightly shorter than the length in the front-rear direction of the waste ink tank 27, and the mounting position of the waste ink tank 27 is defined by substantially the entire region of the middle step surface 38 and the rear half region of the front step surface 37. 31 is configured. The rear-stage surface 39 is formed slightly lower than the middle-stage surface 38 through the step portion 41, and the ink that is forcibly sucked as waste ink (waste liquid) from the cap 25 as the suction pump 42 is driven on the rear-stage surface 39. Is provided with a tube support mechanism 28 that supports a flexible tube 43 for discharging the ink into the waste ink tank 27.

Next, a waste liquid recovery system 29 provided with the waste ink tank 27 and the tube support mechanism 28 and 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 synthetic resin container member 44 having a bottomed box shape with an open top, a non-woven fabric formed in a shape corresponding to the opening shape of the container member 44, A plurality of (four in the present embodiment) ink absorbing materials (waste liquid absorbing materials) 45a to 45d made of felt or the like, and sealed in a shape corresponding to the opening shape of the container member 44. A film member 46 is provided as a stop member. The internal space of the container member 44 is a storage space 47, and the ink absorbing materials 45 a to 45 d are stored in the storage space 47 in a stacked state. And the container member 44 is affixed with respect to the container member 44 so that the upper end opening 48 of the container member 44 in the state which accommodated each ink absorber 45a-45d may be covered. The upper end opening 48 is sealed. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the film member 46 has an air communication hole 90 formed at one location in the substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction.

  Further, a plurality of ribs having a thin plate shape are provided at a plurality of locations on the rear wall 49 of the container member 44 and the inner wall surfaces of the left and right side walls 50 and 51 (two on the rear side wall 49 and three on each of the left and right side walls 50 and 51). 52 is formed along the vertical direction. FIG. 3 shows only one rib 52 on the rear side wall 49 and three ribs 52 on the right side wall 51. A cut 53 is formed on the outer edge of each of the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d so as to correspond to the position of each of the ribs 52.

  Further, a columnar column 54 is erected at a position that is approximately the center of the inner bottom surface of the container member 44, and the column 54 is positioned at a position that is approximately the center of each ink absorbing material 45 so as to correspond to the column 54. A circular hole 55 is formed as a fitting hole through which each can be fitted. Each of the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d is laminated in the accommodation space 47 of the container member 44 so that the corresponding rib 52 enters each of the notches 53 and the column 54 is inserted into the hole 55. Is housed in. In particular, each of the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d is locked to the column 54 fitted in the hole 55 in the substantially central portion, thereby restricting movement of each side wall to the inner wall surface side in the container member 44. It has been.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a recessed portion 56 is formed in a corner portion on the left side of the rear portion of the container member 44. As a result, the rear side wall 49 is separated into the main rear side wall 49a positioned relatively on the rear side and the sub rear side wall 49b positioned relatively on the front side, and the left side wall 50 is positioned relatively on the left side. The main left side wall 50a and the sub left side wall 50b positioned on the right side are separated. A reinforcing rib 56a having a substantially triangular plate shape in plan view is provided between the auxiliary rear side wall 49b and the auxiliary left side wall 50b at the upper part of the recessed portion 56.

  The main rear side wall 49a is formed with a circular connection port 57 as an opening, and the sub-rear side wall 49b is provided with a cylindrical portion 58 having a horizontally long cross section protruding rearward. Positioning means is constituted by the long hole 58 a of the cylindrical portion 58. The cylindrical portion 58 is connected to the sub left side wall 50b by a reinforcing rib 58b. Further, the connection port 57 is formed so that the diameter of the inner peripheral surface gradually becomes smaller toward the inner depth, and a member inserted into the connection port 57 from the outside is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the connection port 57. On the other hand, when sliding in the front-rear direction, the member has a function of guiding the member toward the inner back center of the connection port 57. Further, an annular seal portion 91 is formed to bulge around the connection port 57 in the main rear side wall 49a so as to surround the connection port 57, and the end surface of the seal portion 91 is smooth and parallel to the main rear side wall 49a. It is formed so as to have a planar shape.

  In addition, a connection terminal (collector side connection terminal) 59 of a circuit board (not shown) storing various information relating to the capacity of the waste ink tank 27 and the like is attached to the outer surface of the sub left side wall 50b. When the waste ink tank 27 is mounted at the mounting position 31 of the printer 11 as shown in FIG. 2, the connection terminal 59 has a flat contact surface 59a which is shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the contact surface of the connection terminal (device-side connection terminal) 87 (see FIGS. 7 to 9) provided in the tube support mechanism 28 on the printer 11 side is in surface contact. Then, when both the connection terminals 59 and 87 are appropriately connected as described above, various types of waste ink are connected between the circuit board on the waste ink tank 27 side and the control device (not shown) on the printer 11 side. Information (for example, information on the start date of use of the waste ink tank 27, the number of times cleaning is performed, the waste ink discharge amount integrated value, etc.) is exchanged.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6A, the connection terminal 59 is not on the main rear side wall 49a which is the same as the connection port 57 in the waste ink tank 27, but on the sub left side wall which intersects with this at a right angle. 50b is provided at a position below the connection port 57 and the cylindrical portion 58 (long hole 58a) in the vertical direction. That is, in the container member 44 having a bottomed box shape, the connection terminal 59 is relatively high in rigidity because it is close to the bottom portion, not the upper position close to the upper end opening 48 that easily deforms when stress is applied. It is provided at a position on the lower side that is not easily deformed and at a position that is not directly below the connection port 57.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6A, the connection terminal 59 has a contact surface 59a in a radial direction in which the contact surface 59a is obliquely lower left from the center 57a of the connection port 57 when the main rear side wall 49a is viewed from the front. It is provided at a lower position of the sub left side wall 50b so as to be non-perpendicular to the straight line L extending toward the front. That is, the connection terminal 59 is provided so that the contact surface 59a extends along the vertical plane and in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 5, the connection terminal 59 is provided in the waste ink tank 27 at a position between the connection port 57 and the cylindrical portion 58 (the long hole 58 a) in the front-rear direction.

  Further, at a position slightly closer to the rear end than the front end of the outer bottom surface of the container member 44, an engagement step portion formed on the bottom wall 32 of the housing portion 26 and an engagement portion capable of engaging in a concavo-convex manner in the front-rear direction. The locked stepped portion 60 is formed so as to extend in the left-right direction. Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 2-5, from the left end position of the front-end lower part in the container member 44, the convex part 92 which makes a rectangular parallelepiped shape protrudes toward the front. On the other hand, a protrusion 93 as a displacement restricting portion is formed as a member configuration corresponding to the convex portion 92 on the rear surface side of the open / close door 36 provided in the printer 11 so as to be freely opened and closed at the attachment / detachment port 34 of the accommodation chamber 30. Has been. Then, when the waste ink tank 27 is mounted at the mounting position 31 in the storage chamber 30 when the open / close door 36 is in the closed position, the protruding portion 93 is a convex portion 92 of the waste ink tank 27. However, when the open / close door 36 is in the open position, it is in a non-restricted position state that is separated from the restricted position.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, from the upper part of the front end of the container member 44, a gripping portion 94, which is a part where the user grips the waste ink tank 27 when attaching and detaching, has an L-shaped cross section with the tip portion bent downward. It is formed to make. That is, the grip portion 94 is formed so as to be recessed so that the lower portion of the container member 44 extends from the middle of the front surface in the vertical direction toward the inner side (in this case, the rear side) of the container member 44, thereby It is formed in a shape that is easy to grasp. And the convex part 92 mentioned above is formed in the left side among the right-and-left both sides of the recessed part.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, each of the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d has the first ink absorbing material 45a in the lowermost layer and the fourth ink absorbing material 45d in the uppermost layer formed in the same form with the same thickness, The second ink absorbing material 45b second from the bottom and the third ink absorbing material 45c third from the bottom are formed to have the same thickness. The second ink absorbing material 45b and the third ink absorbing material 45c are formed with square-shaped through holes 61 at positions slightly rearward of the center of the second ink absorbing material 45b and the third ink absorbing material 45c. A contact portion having a predetermined width and a notch groove 62 as a guide portion are formed in the front-rear direction from the rear end edge toward the through hole 61. The fourth ink absorbing material 45d and the second ink absorbing material 45b are not formed with a cut groove at a position corresponding to the cut groove 62 of the third ink absorbing material 45c. When the fourth ink absorbing material 45d and the second ink absorbing material 45b are accommodated in the accommodation space 47 in the container member 44 in a stacked state sandwiching the third ink absorbing material 45c from the upper and lower sides, The cut groove 62 of the third ink absorbing material 45c is closed from both the upper and lower sides.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cut groove 62 has a groove width at the rear end portion of a pair of ribs 52 formed so as to sandwich the connection port 57 from the left and right sides on the inner wall surface of the rear side wall 49 of the container member 44. While the groove width is set to be wide corresponding to the arrangement interval, the groove width on the front end side on the through hole 61 side is formed to be narrower than the groove width on the rear end portion. Then, a tapered portion 95 is formed in such a manner as to widen toward the rear end side at a position where the narrow front end side groove portion and the wide rear end groove portion are connected.

Next, the tube support mechanism 28 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 (a) and 8 (b), the tube support mechanism 28 has a substantially U-shape in plan view in which the front ends of the left and right side walls forming a rectangular shape are connected by a front wall having the same rectangular shape. The base portion 63 is provided. A horizontal plate portion 64 having a rectangular plate shape extends forward from a lower portion of the front end of the base portion 63, and a pair of left and right screw holes 65 are formed through the horizontal plate portion 64. The base portion 63 is fixed on the rear surface 39 of the bottom wall 32 of the housing portion 26 by screwing a set screw 66 into each screw hole 65 of the horizontal plate portion 64. .

  As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of (three in this embodiment) through holes 67, 68, 69 are formed in the front wall of the base portion 63 so as to be arranged in the vertical direction. Among the through holes 67 to 69, the central through hole 68 is mounted at the mounting position 31 in the storage chamber 30 when the base body portion 63 is fixed onto the rear surface 39 of the bottom wall 32 of the housing portion 26. The height is formed so as to be coaxial with the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27. Also, inward flange portions 70 (see FIGS. 8A and 8B) are formed at axially intermediate positions on the inner peripheral surfaces of the upper through hole 67 and the lower through hole 69, respectively. Further, a tube stopper 71 having a substantially U shape capable of sandwiching and supporting the flexible tube 43 is formed at a substantially central portion of the upper end portion of the front wall of the base portion 63.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8A and 8B, a support member 72 for supporting the flexible tube 43 in a straight line is assembled on the front surface side of the base portion 63. The support member 72 is a resin molded product having a predetermined length of rigidity in the front-rear direction formed mainly of a cylindrical body 73 that can be inserted into and removed from the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27. A rectangular plate-shaped flange 74 is integrally formed at a position slightly rearward (base end side) of the intermediate position 73 in the axial direction. And in the support member 72, the base end side cylindrical part (2nd support part) 75 formed so that it might protrude on the back side rather than the collar part 74 of the cylindrical body 73 has the outer diameter of the base | substrate part 63. The diameter is smaller than the diameter of the central through hole 68, and the inner diameter is formed such that the flexible tube 43 can be inserted.

  On the other hand, in the support member 72, a circular pedestal portion 96 having a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the seal portion 91 of the waste ink tank 27 is swelled on the front side of the collar portion 74 so as to be coaxial with the cylindrical body 73. Has been formed. In the support member 72, the cylindrical portion formed so as to protrude forward from the circular pedestal portion 96 of the flange portion 74 of the cylindrical body 73 is formed when the waste ink tank 27 is mounted at the mounting position 31. In order to discharge the waste ink into the waste ink tank 27, the discharge portion 97 is inserted into the connection port 57 while supporting the downstream end side of the flexible tube 43.

  Of the discharge portion 97, the base end side portion connected to the circular pedestal portion 96 is a fitting cylinder portion 98 having the same inner diameter and outer diameter at the inner back portion of the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27. A predetermined length portion serving as a second support portion on the front side (front end side) of the fitting cylinder portion 98 is a lateral width of the cut groove 62 of the third ink absorbing material 45c accommodated in the waste ink tank 27. The outer diameter dimension is slightly smaller than the dimension, and the length dimension is substantially the same as the distance dimension from the rear end edge of the third ink absorbing material 45 c to the approximate center of the through hole 61. A predetermined length portion of the discharge portion 97 of the cylindrical body 73 that is closer to the distal end than the fitting cylindrical portion 98 has a cylindrical shape so that the distal end that is the downstream end of the flexible tube 43 is fitted inside. A non-cylinder in which a relatively long cylindrical portion from the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 to the rear fitting cylindrical portion 98 is cut out about half of the peripheral wall, except for the relatively short distal end side cylindrical portion 76. It is formed so as to be a shape portion 77. In addition, on the inner surface of the non-cylindrical portion 77, the opposing claws 78 that are opposed to each other by pinching claws (fastening portions) 78 that are paired with each other at a plurality of locations (three locations in the present embodiment) in the axial direction of the tubular body 73. Is spaced from the outer diameter of the flexible tube 43 in an arrangement manner.

  The support member 72 is inserted from the proximal-side opening of the proximal-side tubular portion 75 in a state where the proximal-side tubular portion 75 of the tubular body 73 is loosely inserted into the central through hole 68 of the base portion 63. A predetermined length portion on the distal end side including the distal end (downstream end) of the inserted flexible tube 43 is supported by the distal tubular portion 76 and the non-cylindrical portion 77. That is, the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 in the cylindrical body 73 is formed so that the inner diameter thereof is equal to the outer diameter of the flexible tube 43, so that the distal end of the flexible tube 43 is supported in a fitted state. The non-cylindrical portion 77 is fastened so that a plurality of portions (three portions in the present embodiment) that are continuous from the distal end to the proximal end side of the flexible tube 43 are sandwiched from the side by the respective sandwiching claws 78. Therefore, the cylindrical body 73 of the support member 72 supports the predetermined length portion on the distal end side of the flexible tube 43 so as to extend along the direction in which the distal end of the flexible tube 43 is directed. .

  And the discharge part 97 of the cylindrical body 73 in the support member 72 which supported the flexible tube 43 in this way is the container member 44 from the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27, as shown with a dashed-two dotted line in FIG. The waste ink is discharged into the through hole 61 formed in the second ink absorbing material 45b and the third ink absorbing material 45c from the front end opening 76a of the front end side cylindrical portion 76 of the cylindrical body 73 while being inserted into the through hole 61. It is supposed to be. Accordingly, in this embodiment, in the present embodiment, the discharge opening for discharging the waste ink is configured by the distal end opening 76a of the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 in the discharge portion 97 of the support member 72 that supports the flexible tube 43. Yes.

  In the case of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, when the discharge portion 97 of the cylindrical body 73 is inserted into the container member 44 from the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27, the discharge in the discharge portion 97 is performed. The distance Y between the tip opening 76a and the atmosphere communication hole 90 is shorter than the distance X between the tip opening 76a as the outlet and the connection port 57. Since the position of the tip opening 76a is a position for discharging waste ink, the distance X may be the distance between the through hole 61 as a waste liquid receiving portion that receives the waste ink and the connection port 57, and the distance Y is the through hole. The distance between 61 and the air communication hole 90 may be used. The waste ink discharged from the tip opening 76a is absorbed by the ink absorbers 45a to 45d. However, since the distance Y between the through hole 61 and the air communication hole 90 is short, the inside of the ink absorbers 45a to 45d. Before penetrating and diffusing over a wide range, the ink solvent can be positively vaporized in the vicinity of the through hole 61, and the ink solvent can be evaporated to the outside from the air communication hole 90 of the film member 46. Yes.

  Further, a pin 85 as a mating member that can be inserted into and removed from the long hole 58a of the cylindrical portion 58 of the waste ink tank 27 protrudes forward from the left edge of the front surface of the collar portion 74 of the support member 72. ing. Similarly, a vertical plate portion 86 having a rectangular plate shape is formed to project forward from a position below the pin 85 on the left side edge of the front surface of the flange portion 74. A connection terminal (device side connection terminal) 87 corresponding to the connection terminal 59 provided on the sub left side wall 50b of the waste ink tank 27 is attached to one side surface (right side surface) of the vertical plate portion 86. The connection terminal 87 is connected to a control device (not shown) of the printer 11 via a harness (not shown).

  On the other hand, the rear surface of the flange portion 74 of the support member 72 can be inserted into the upper through-hole 67 and the lower through-hole 69 of the base portion 63 from two locations, the upper side and the lower side of the base end side cylindrical portion 75. A pair of upper and lower cylindrical portions 79 formed in the above are projected in parallel toward the rear. The upper and lower cylindrical portions 79 are inserted into the corresponding upper through hole 67 and lower through hole 69 of the base portion 63 with coil springs 80 functioning as biasing means penetrating the respective peripheral surfaces. It is like that. In this case, the front end of the coil spring 80 abuts on the rear surface of the flange portion 74 of the support member 72, and the rear end is provided in the middle of each inner peripheral surface of the upper through hole 67 and the lower through hole 69. It comes in contact with the flange portion 70. In addition, screw holes (not shown) are formed in the tip surface of each cylindrical portion 79.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8A and 8B, an assembly plate 81 for assembling the support member 72 to the base body 63 is disposed on the rear surface side of the base body 63. The assembly plate 81 is formed so as to form a rectangular plate shape that can come into contact with the rear surface of the front wall in a state where the assembly plate 81 is disposed between the left and right side walls in the substantially U-shaped base portion 63 in plan view. A through hole 82 corresponding to the central through hole 68 of the base portion 63 is formed. In addition, screw insertion holes 83 are formed at two locations corresponding to the upper through hole 67 and the lower through hole 69 of the base portion 63 on the upper side and the lower side of the through hole 82 in the assembly plate 81. Then, the assembly plate 81 is formed in the screw insertion hole 83 with respect to each columnar portion 79 of the support member 72 projecting the front end portion from each of the upper and lower through holes 67 and 69 of the base portion 63 toward the rear. It is screwed with a set screw 84 inserted therethrough.

Therefore, the operation of the waste liquid recovery system 29 and the printer 11 configured as described above will be described below.
First, a liquid flow path forming method in the case where the liquid flow path is formed by supporting the flexible tube 43 for discharging the waste ink to the waste ink tank 27 by the tube support mechanism 28 in the waste liquid recovery system 29 will be described.

  When forming a liquid flow path for discharging ink (liquid) discharged from the recording head 21 as waste ink (waste liquid) to the waste ink tank 27, first, the base portion 63 in the tube support mechanism 28 is provided. It is fixed on the rear stage surface 39 in the storage chamber 30 by a set screw 66. Then, after the distal end (downstream end) of the flexible tube 43 whose base end (upstream end) is connected to the cap 25 is inserted from the rear side into the through hole 82 of the assembly plate 81, the base portion 63 passes through the center. The hole 68 is also inserted from the rear side, and is further pulled out to some extent from the central through hole 68.

  Next, the tip of the flexible tube 43 drawn forward from the central through hole 68 of the base portion 63 is inserted into the cylindrical body 73 of the support member 72 before being assembled to the base portion 63. To do. That is, the distal end of the flexible tube 43 is inserted into the proximal end side cylindrical portion 75 of the cylindrical body 73, and the distal end of the inserted flexible tube 43 is also the distal end side cylindrical portion of the cylindrical body 73. The non-cylindrical part 77 before 76 is once pulled out.

  Then, the predetermined length portion on the distal end side of the flexible tube 43 is slack enough to be easily gripped outside the non-cylindrical portion 77, and in this state, the distal end of the flexible tube 43 is tubular. It inserts in the front end side cylindrical part 76 in the body 73 from back side (base end side). Then, the flexible tube 43 is fitted and supported in a stable state by the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 while the distal end is aligned with the distal end of the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 of the cylindrical body 73 in the front-rear direction. Is done.

  Then, the proximal end side of the flexible tube 43 is pulled in the direction of pulling out from the proximal end side cylindrical portion 75 of the cylindrical body 73, and the flexible tube 43 formed outside the side of the non-cylindrical portion 77. Try to eliminate the slack part. Then, the predetermined length portion on the distal end side of the flexible tube 43 in which the slackness is almost eliminated is sequentially pressed against the inner surface of the non-cylindrical portion 77 from the distal end side, and between the nail claws 78 facing each other. Push in. Then, the flexible tube 43 is in a stable support state in which the predetermined length portion on the distal end side thereof is fixed by the pinching claws 78 so as to extend substantially linearly along the non-cylindrical portion 77.

  When the flexible tube 43 is supported by the support member 72 as described above, next, the support member 72 that supports the flexible tube 43 is assembled to the base portion 63. That is, the base end side cylindrical portion 75 of the cylindrical body 73 is loosely inserted into the central through hole 68 of the base portion 63 in a state where the base end side of the flexible tube 43 is inserted at that time, and the base portion 63. Each cylindrical portion 79 protruding rearward from the flange portion 74 of the support member 72 is inserted into the upper through hole 67 and the lower through hole 69. In this case, a coil spring 80 is inserted in advance with respect to each cylindrical portion 79.

  As a result, the coil spring 80 penetrating each cylindrical portion 79 is sandwiched between the rear surface of the flange portion 74 and the flange portions 70 in the upper and lower through-holes 67 and 69 and slightly contracted. The tip of the portion 79 is projected rearward from the corresponding through holes 67 and 69. Therefore, the assembly plate 81 is brought into contact with the tip of each columnar portion 79 protruding so as to cue from the through holes 67 and 69 while being aligned with the screw insertion hole 83, and is screwed by the set screw 84. Then, the intermediate position on the proximal end side of the flexible tube 43 drawn rearward from the through hole 82 of the assembly plate 81 is fixed by a tube stopper 71 provided on the upper portion of the base body 63.

  Thereby, the support operation | work of the flexible tube 43 by the tube support mechanism 28 is complete | finished. Then, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 8A, the tube support mechanism 28 supports the flexible tube 43 in a state in which the flexible ink tube 43 is directed to the front side where the waste ink tank 27 is mounted, and the home. It is installed at a position below the cap 25 at the position HP. Further, in the installed state, the coil spring 80 penetrating each columnar part 79 of the support member 72 is maintained in a slightly contracted state, and the collar 74 is pressed toward the front side by the accumulated pressure. The support member 72 is held so as to be movable in the front-rear direction with the cylindrical body 73 oriented forward.

  Here, the support member 72 of the tube support mechanism 28 is in a pressure accumulation state in which the coil spring 80 penetrating each columnar portion 79 is slightly contracted, and is urged forward by the urging force of the coil spring 80. It is in. Therefore, when a pressing force is applied from the front side to the rear side with respect to the flange portion 74 of the support member 72, the flange portion 74 is retracted rearward due to the pressing force. As shown in (b), the support member 72 is retracted backward while further contracting the coil spring 80 while supporting the flexible tube 43 together with the assembly plate 81.

  Further, the support member 72 of the tube support mechanism 28 includes a cylindrical portion 79 projecting rearward from the proximal-side cylindrical portion 75 and the flange portion 74 of the cylindrical body 73. 68 and 69 are loosely inserted in the radial direction. Therefore, when an external force is applied to the cylindrical body 73 (particularly, the distal end side cylindrical portion 76) of the support member 72 from a direction intersecting the axial direction of the cylindrical body 73, the external force is received. Thus, the support member 72 swings with the base end side (specifically, the contact portion of the cylindrical portion 79 with the flange portion 70) as a fulcrum.

  That is, when an external force is applied from the lower side to the upper side with respect to the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 of the cylindrical body 73, the support member 72 is positioned at the distal end of the cylindrical body 73 as shown in FIG. The side cylindrical portion 76 is swung so as to move upward. On the other hand, when an external force is applied from the upper side to the lower side with respect to the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 of the cylindrical body 73, the support member 72 is connected to the distal end of the cylindrical body 73 as shown in FIG. The side cylindrical portion 76 is swung so as to move downward. Although not shown, when an external force is applied to the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 of the cylindrical body 73 from the left-right direction, the support member 72 moves the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 of the cylindrical body 73 left and right. Swing to move in the direction. In this way, the support member 72 that supports the flexible tube 43 in the tube support mechanism 28 has a configuration in which the distal end side is swingable with the proximal end side as a fulcrum.

Next, a method for attaching / detaching the waste ink tank 27 to / from the mounting position 31 provided in the housing chamber 30 of the housing portion 26 of the printer 11 will be described.
When the waste ink tank 27 is mounted at the mounting position 31 in the storage chamber 30, first, the opening / closing door 36 on the front side of the housing portion 26 is opened. Then, the waste ink tank 27 is inserted into the opened attachment / detachment port 34 from the rear end side where the connection port 57 is formed, and the waste ink tank 27 is moved toward the rear side in the mounting direction to the mounting position 31. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the waste ink tank 27 is placed in the tube 57 of the support member 72 in the tube support mechanism 28 in the connection port 57 of the main rear side wall 49a before the whole of the waste ink tank 27 enters the storage chamber 30. The cylindrical portion 76 at the front end side of the cylindrical body 73 is inserted.

  Here, when the waste ink tank 27 is moved to the inside of the storage chamber 30 through the attachment / detachment port 34, the waste ink tank 27 is normally used by the grip portion 94 at the front end of the waste ink tank 27. It is gripped by the user and moved in the mounting direction by the user's manual operation. Therefore, the waste ink tank 27 gripped by the user at the front end grip 94 is rarely placed in a horizontal position before the whole of the waste ink tank 27 enters the storage chamber 30, but rather As shown in FIG. 10, the posture of the container member 44 is often tilted so that the rear end portion is lower than the front end portion. Therefore, when the cylindrical body 73 of the support member 72 of the tube support mechanism 28 is fixed in a state of being oriented in the horizontal direction, the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27 that moves in the mounting direction in an inclined posture. It becomes difficult to insert the front end side cylindrical portion 76 of the cylindrical body 73 to the inner depth.

  However, in this respect, the tube support mechanism 28 of the present embodiment is configured such that the support member 72 can swing freely on the distal end side with the base end side as a fulcrum. Therefore, when the support member 72 of the tube support mechanism 28 is inserted into the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27 that has been moved in a state in which the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 of the cylindrical body 73 is inclined, the inclination thereof is inclined. The tip side is swung so as to correspond. Therefore, the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 of the cylindrical body 73 in the support member 72 is inserted without any trouble to the inner depth of the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27.

  Further, the support member 72 of the tube support mechanism 28 is displaced from the center 57 a of the connection port 57 when the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 of the cylindrical body 73 is inserted into the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27. Can be. However, in this respect, the inner peripheral surface of the connection port 57 in the waste ink tank 27 of the present embodiment is a tapered surface whose diameter decreases toward the inner back side of the connection port 57, so that the cylindrical body 73 of the support member 72. Is slidably guided toward the center 57 a of the connection port 57 as it is inserted into the connection port 57. As a result, the cylindrical body 73 of the support member 72 is inserted into the cut groove 62 of the third ink absorbing material 45c in which the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 is disposed in the waste ink tank 27 at a position corresponding to the connection port 57. It is inserted smoothly.

  In addition, the cut groove 62 is formed with a tapered portion 95 gradually narrowing toward the front end side at a portion on the rear end side which is the connection port 57 side, and at the front end side with respect to the taper portion 95. The groove width of the portion is formed slightly wider than the outer diameter of the discharge portion 97. Further, the thickness of the third ink absorbing material 45 c in which the cut groove 62 is formed is slightly thicker than the outer diameter of the discharge portion 97. Therefore, when the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 is inserted into the cut groove 62, the discharge portion 97 has the right and left inner surfaces of the cut groove 62 including the taper portion 95 in the third ink absorbing material 45 c and the cut groove 62. Is guided by the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing material 45d and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing material 45b so that the insertion direction is a direction toward the through hole 61 (a preset direction).

  Then, when the waste ink tank 27 is further moved inward from the state shown in FIG. 10, the rear side wall 49 of the waste ink tank 27 (specifically, the end surface of the seal portion 91). And the collar portion 74 (specifically, the circular pedestal portion 96) of the support member 72 are in contact with each other, and the cylindrical body 73 of the support member 72 is formed with the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 in the third ink absorbing material 45c. It reaches the position of the through hole 61. In this case, when the seal portion 91 of the rear side wall 49 of the waste ink tank 27 and the circular pedestal portion 96 of the collar portion 74 of the support member 72 come into contact with each other, the connection port 57 is sealed by the circular pedestal portion 96. Obstructed. In this respect, the circular pedestal portion 96 functions as a closing portion that closes the connection port 57 as an opening portion by contacting the seal portion 91. In addition, since the seal portion 91 is formed in an annular shape surrounding the connection port 57, the end surface formed on the smooth flat surface comes into surface contact with the opposite surface of the smooth flat surface of the circular pedestal portion 96. Is easily secured.

  Similarly, when the seal portion 91 of the rear side wall 49 of the waste ink tank 27 and the circular pedestal portion 96 of the flange portion 74 of the support member 72 come into contact with each other, the protrusion portion is protruded from the flange portion 74 of the support member 72. The pins 85 are inserted into the elongated holes 58a of the cylindrical portion 58 provided in the auxiliary rear side wall 49b of the waste ink tank 27, whereby the waste ink tank 27 is positioned in the vertical and horizontal directions and the rotational direction with respect to the mounting position 31. Is made. In this respect, the pin 85 and the long hole (positioning means) 58a function as a holding means for holding the waste ink tank 27 in a positioning state so as to restrict movement in the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, and the rotation direction at the mounting position 31. To do.

  In particular, at the time of mounting on the printer 11, the waste ink tank 27 is directed toward the mounting position 31 of the printer 11 while rotating around the axis of the discharge portion 97 of the cylindrical body 73 inserted into the connection port 57. The connection terminal 59 on the waste ink tank 27 side and the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side may be connected to each other in the rotational direction. Further, as shown in the comparative example of FIG. 6B, the contact surface 59a of the connection terminal 59 of the waste ink tank 27 is perpendicular to the straight line L extending in the radial direction from the center 57a of the connection port 57. When the waste ink tank 27 is rotated, the contact surfaces of the connection terminals 59 and 87 may be slid and damaged so as to pass each other along the rotation direction, resulting in poor contact.

  In this regard, as shown in FIG. 6A, in this embodiment, the contact surface 59a of the connection terminal 59 of the waste ink tank 27 is perpendicular to the straight line L extending in the radial direction from the center 57a of the connection port 57. Therefore, when the waste ink tank 27 rotates, the contact surfaces of the connection terminals 59 and 87 do not slide in contact with each other along the rotation direction. That is, in FIG. 6A, when the waste ink tank 27 rotates in the clockwise direction, the connection terminal 59 of the waste ink tank 27 moves so that the contact surface 59a is separated from the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side. On the other hand, in FIG. 6A, when the waste ink tank 27 rotates counterclockwise, the connection terminal 59 of the waste ink tank 27 moves in a direction to press the contact surface 59a against the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side.

  Further, in this case, the long hole 58a as the positioning means functions as a contact portion whose inner peripheral surface 99 is in contact with the pin 85 to regulate the rotation of the waste ink tank 27. That is, the long hole 58a rotates in the counterclockwise direction in which the connection terminal 59 of the waste ink tank 27 is separated from the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side when the upper inner surface portion of the inner peripheral surface 99 contacts the pin 85. On the other hand, the lower inner surface portion of the inner peripheral surface 99 abuts on the pin 85, thereby restricting the waste ink tank 27 from rotating in the opposite clockwise direction.

  For this reason, the waste ink tank 27 is mounted by being moved toward the mounting position 31 of the printer 11 while rotating around the axis of the discharge portion 97 of the cylindrical body 73 inserted into the connection port 57. In addition, the contact surface 59a of the connection terminal 59 is not slidably contacted with the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side so that the contact surfaces pass along the rotation direction. When the pin 85 is inserted into the long hole 58a, the upper and lower inner surface portions of the inner peripheral surface 99 of the long hole 58a come into contact with the pin 85, so that rotation is stopped. , 87 are positioned at the rotational position where the contact surfaces are in proper contact with each other.

  In this state, when the waste ink tank 27 is further pushed backward so as to press the flange 74 of the support member 72, the support member 72 moves backward while further contracting the coil spring 80. Then, when the support member 72 is retracted to the position where the collar portion 74 is closest to the front wall of the base portion 63, the posture of the waste ink tank 27 is made horizontal as shown in FIG. The bottom surface of the container member 44 is brought into surface contact with the middle step surface 38 constituting a part of the mounting position 31 in the accommodation chamber 30. At this time, the locked step portion 60 formed on the bottom surface of the container member 44 in the waste ink tank 27 is located in the storage chamber 30 more than the locking step portion 40 formed in the mounting position 31 in the storage chamber 30. Located on the inner side. In other words, at this time, the waste ink tank 27 has passed the mounting position 31 in the storage chamber 30 in the mounting direction. That is, the locked step portion 60 of the waste ink tank 27 is formed in a shape that does not engage with the locking step portion 40 on the printer 11 side when moving in the mounting direction.

  Then, when the force (for example, the force of the user's hand) that has acted to move the waste ink tank 27 in the mounting direction is released from the state shown in FIG. 11, the waste ink tank 27 is accumulated. Since the urging portion 74 of the support member 72 moves forward by the biasing force of the coil spring 80, the urging portion 74 is pressed forward (that is, in the direction of taking out the waste ink tank 27). That is, the collar portion 74 of the support member 72 functions as a pressing means that uses the biasing force of the coil spring 80 as a pressing force, and presses the waste ink tank 27 in the take-out direction using the rear side wall 49 of the container member 44 as a pressed portion. . In response to this pressing force, the waste ink tank 27 slides forward on the middle step surface 38 of the attachment position 31, and the locked step portion 60 of the container member 44 is attached to the attachment position 31 as shown in FIG. The locking step 40 is locked. That is, when the waste ink tank 27 moves in the mounting direction opposite to the take-out direction with respect to the locked step portion 60 of the container member 44, the locking step portion 40 that cannot be locked is attached to the waste ink tank 27. During sliding movement in the take-out direction, it functions as a locking means that locks from the take-out direction side so as to restrict movement of the waste ink tank 27 in the take-out direction.

  For this reason, the waste ink tank 27 receives the urging force of the coil spring 80 from the rear via the flange 74 of the support member 72, and the engagement position 31 is engaged with the locked step 60 on the bottom surface of the container member 44 from the front. As shown in FIG. 2, the stop portion 40 is locked and is positioned so as not to move in the front-rear direction at the mounting position 31 in the storage chamber 30. In this respect, the coil spring 80 as the urging means and the locking step portion 40 as the locking means function as a holding means for holding the waste ink tank 27 at the mounting position 31 in a positioned state. When the opening / closing door 36 of the attachment / detachment port 34 is returned to the closed position, the mounting operation of the waste ink tank 27 to the mounting position 31 is completed.

  2, the opening / closing door 36 of the opening / closing opening 34 is in the closed position, and the protrusion 93 on the back surface side of the opening / closing door 36 is restricted close to the convex portion 92 at the front end of the waste ink tank 27. In position. For this reason, even when the printer 11 is carried around and the waste ink tank 27 is displaced upward due to an impact from the outside, in this case, the protruding portion 93 of the open / close door 36 contacts the convex portion 92 of the waste ink tank 27. It abuts and regulates such upward displacement. Therefore, the engaged state of the locked step portion 60 of the waste ink tank 27 with respect to the locking step portion 40 provided at the mounting position 31 of the printer 11 is not released.

  Then, from the state shown in FIG. 2, the cap 25 is raised based on the driving of the lifting device (not shown) and comes into contact with the nozzle forming surface 21 a of the recording head 21. After that, when the suction pump 42 is driven, the cap The ink having increased viscosity from the inside of the recording head 21 due to the negative pressure generated in the ink 25 is forcibly discharged (discharged) as waste ink into the cap 25 through a nozzle opening (not shown). Then, when the suction pump 42 continues to be driven and the cap 25 is opened to the atmosphere so as to be in an empty suction state in which the atmosphere is sucked, the waste ink is discharged from the cap 25 to the downstream end which is the tip of the flexible tube 43. And is discharged into the waste ink tank 27.

  In this case, the leading end opening 76a of the discharge portion 97 reaches the through hole 61 of the third ink absorbing material 45c from the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27. A through hole 61 of the second ink absorbing material 45b is disposed below the through hole 61 of the third ink absorbing material 45c, and the fourth ink absorbing material 45d is closed so as to close the upper and lower sides of the two through holes 61. The first ink absorbing material 45a is disposed. And most of the waste ink discharged into the through hole 61 is gradually absorbed from the upper surface of the first ink absorbing material 45a located at the lower part of the through hole 61 into the entire first ink absorbing material 45a. In the process, it further permeates into the other upper ink absorbing materials 45b to 45d, diffuses into each of the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d, and is well absorbed and retained. A part of the ink may be absorbed into each of the ink absorbing materials 45 a to 45 d from the side surface or the upper surface side of the through hole 61.

  Therefore, in the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d, the vicinity of the through hole 61 through which the waste ink is discharged from the front end opening 76a of the discharge portion 97 is the portion having the largest amount of waste ink absorption. On the other hand, in the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d, the fourth ink absorbing material 45d in which the waste ink discharged from the front end opening 76a of the discharging portion 97 penetrates the latest becomes the portion having the smallest ink absorption amount. In general, the waste ink absorbed by the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d has a property that it easily permeates and diffuses from a location where the amount of absorption is large to a location where it is small.

  In addition, the atmospheric communication hole 90 formed in the film member 46 that seals the upper end opening 48 of the container member 44 in the waste ink tank 27 of the present embodiment has a formation position that is substantially the center in the longitudinal direction of the container member 44. Is set to a position. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the distance between the tip opening 76a and the air communication hole 90 is larger than the distance X between the tip opening (discharge port) 76a of the discharge portion 97 that discharges waste ink and the connection port 57. The air communication hole 90 is located in the vicinity of the vicinity of the through hole 61 where Y is shorter and the amount of waste ink absorbed is the largest.

  For this reason, in the vicinity of the through hole 61 where the amount of waste ink absorbed is the largest, the air communication hole 90 for evaporating the ink solvent of the waste ink to the outside is in the immediate vicinity, so that the evaporation of the ink solvent is promoted. Since the waste ink absorbed by the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d is positively evaporated in the vicinity of the through hole 61, the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d are allowed to penetrate the entire ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d. It is possible to reduce the amount of waste ink absorbed by 45d. As a result, it is possible to increase the amount of waste ink that can be discharged to the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d.

  On the other hand, when the waste ink tank 27 attached to the attachment position 31 in the storage chamber 30 is removed from the printer 11 as shown in FIG. 2, the open / close door 36 of the attachment / detachment port 34 is opened again. . Then, the protrusion 93 on the back surface side of the open / close door 36 enters a non-restricted position state that is separated from the restricted position close to the convex portion 92 of the waste ink tank 27, and allows the upward displacement of the waste ink tank 27. . Then, the user of the printer 11 inserts his / her hand into the insertion / removal port 34 to grip the grip 94 at the front end of the waste ink tank 27 and lift the front end of the waste ink tank 27 upward. When the posture 27 is tilted, the locked state of the locking step 40 and the locked step 60 is released. In this state, the urging force of the coil spring 80 acts as a pressing force on the waste ink tank 27 via the flange 74 of the support member 72 and acts in the take-out direction (forward). The force (pressing force) assists the movement in the take-out direction, and the waste ink tank 27 is easily taken out from the attachment / detachment port 34.

  In this case, when the discharge portion 97 of the cylindrical body 73 in the support member 72 is pulled out from the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27, the cylindrical portion on the tip side of the discharge tube 97 with respect to the fitting tube portion 98. On the other hand, the left and right inner surfaces of the cut groove 62 of the third ink absorbing material 45c, the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing material 45d and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing material 45b that close the cut groove 62 from both the upper and lower sides serve as contact portions. Make sliding contact so that it can function and wipe away. In particular, when the waste ink tank 27 in which the absorption capacity of the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d is saturated is taken out, the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d are swollen by the waste ink absorbed. Therefore, the swollen third ink absorbing material 45c narrows the left and right groove width of the cut groove 62. In addition, the swollen fourth ink absorbing material 45d and the second ink absorbing material 45b are spaced from each other between the lower surface and the upper surface facing each other so as to block the cut groove 62 of the third ink absorbing material 45c from above and below (that is, the groove height). ) Will be narrowed. Accordingly, the contact pressure with respect to the discharge portion 97 by the inner surfaces of the left and right grooves of the cut groove 62, the lower surface of the fourth ink absorption material 45d, and the upper surface of the second ink absorption material 45b in the third ink absorbing material 45c is increased. The attached waste ink is surely wiped off.

  On the other hand, when the waste ink tank 27 at the stage where the amount of waste ink absorbed by the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d is still small is taken out, since such swelling does not occur, the inner surfaces of the left and right grooves of the cut groove 62 and the fourth ink are removed. The contact pressure with respect to the discharge part 97 by the lower surface of the absorbing material 45d and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing material 45b is weak. However, in this case, since the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d still have a high absorption capacity, the waste ink adhering to the discharge portion 97 even if the contact pressure is weak, the inner surfaces of the left and right grooves of the cut groove 62 and the fourth ink. The ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d are easily absorbed by the lower surface of the absorbing material 45d and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing material 45b. Therefore, the waste ink attached when the cylindrical portion of the discharge portion 97 on the front end side of the fitting cylindrical portion 98 is extracted from the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27 is in the third ink absorbing material 45c. Wiping and removal are performed by the inner surfaces of the left and right grooves of the cut groove 62, the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing material 45d, and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing material 45b. In this regard, the third ink absorbing material 45c in which the cut groove 62 is formed, and the fourth ink absorbing material 45d and the second ink absorbing material 45b that block the cut groove 62 of the third ink absorbing material 45c from the upper and lower sides are wiped off. Functions as a member.

  After the old waste ink tank 27 is taken out, the new waste ink tank 27 is attached to the attachment position 31 in the storage chamber 30 in the same procedure as described above. As described above, since the waste ink tank 27 can be attached to and detached from the predetermined mounting position 31, the replacement work of the old and new waste ink tank 27 is easily performed. The main part of the liquid flow path for guiding the waste ink to the waste ink tank 27 is a flexible tube 43 that is excellent in gas-liquid impermeability but has no rigidity, but such a flexible tube 43 has a rigid support. Since the cylindrical body 73 of the member 72 is linearly supported and inserted into the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27 together with the discharge portion 97 in the cylindrical body 73, the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d are stacked and accommodated. It can be reliably inserted to a position near the center in the waste ink tank 27 (the position of the through hole 61).

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The waste ink tank 27 is movable with respect to the connection port 57 by moving the container member 44 to the rear side in the mounting direction or the front side in the removal direction with respect to the mounting position 31 in the storage chamber 30. The discharge portion 97 of the cylindrical body 73 in the support member 72 that supports a predetermined length portion on the downstream end side of the flexible tube 43 is inserted and removed, and the connection port 57 is downstream of the flexible tube 43 supported by the support member 72. Since it is connected to or disconnected from the end, the replacement work of the old and new waste ink tanks 27 can be easily performed.

  (2) When the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the attachment position 31 of the printer 11, the waste ink tank 27 rotates around the axis of the discharge portion 97 while inserting the discharge portion 97 into the connection port 57. The connection terminal 59 of the waste ink tank 27 moves so that the contact surface 59a approaches or separates from the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side in the rotation direction. That is, when the waste ink tank 27 rotates, the contact surfaces of the connection terminals 59 and 87 do not slide in contact with each other along the rotation direction, and the waste ink tank 27 contacts the connection terminal 59 during the rotation. When the surface 59a is brought into contact with the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side, a connection state in which the connection terminals 59 and 87 are appropriately brought into contact with each other can be ensured.

  (3) Since the connection terminal 59 of the waste ink tank 27 is provided at a lower position where the rigidity is relatively high in the container member 44 having a bottomed box shape, even if stress is applied to the container member 44, The possibility that the position of the connection terminal 59 is displaced can be reduced, and an appropriate connection state with respect to the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side can be favorably maintained.

  (4) On the other hand, the connection port 57 into which the discharge portion 97 is inserted is located above the container member 44 from the position where the connection terminal 59 is provided, and waste ink can be stored up to the height position. Therefore, the waste ink storage efficiency in the container member 44 can be improved.

  (5) Since the connection terminal 59 of the waste ink tank 27 is not located immediately below the connection port 57, the waste ink stored inside the connection port 57 in the mounting state with respect to the mounting position 31 of the printer 11 is temporarily stored. Even if it leaks, it is possible to avoid the possibility that the connection terminal 59 is contaminated by the leaked waste ink.

  (6) When the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the printer 11, when the waste ink tank 27 is rotated with the discharge portion 97 inserted into the connection port 57, the contact surface 59a of the connection terminal 59 is located on the printer 11 side. When abutting against the connection terminal 87, the waste ink tank 27 is restricted from further rotation by the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side functioning as a stopper. When the waste ink tank 27 is moved toward the back in the mounting direction while maintaining the contact state of both the connection terminals 59 and 87, the discharge portion 97 is inserted into the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27. At the same time, the connection terminals 59 and 87 are in a connected state in which the contact surfaces are in proper contact with each other, so that the waste ink tank 27 can be easily and appropriately attached to the printer 11.

  (7) When the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the attachment position 31 of the printer 11, the waste ink tank 27 rotates around the axis of the discharge portion 97 while inserting the discharge portion 97 into the connection port 57. The rotation restriction can be achieved by a simple operation of inserting the pin 85 as the counterpart member into the long hole 58a as the positioning means. That is, by adjusting the posture of the waste ink tank 27 so that the pin 85 as a counterpart member is inserted into the long hole 58a, the contact surface 59a of the connection terminal 59 connects the waste ink tank 27 to the mounting position 31. The connector 11 can be accurately positioned and mounted in a connection state in which the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side is in proper contact.

  (8) In this case, the upper inner surface portion of the inner peripheral surface 99 of the long hole 58a is in contact with the pin 85, so that the connection terminal 59 of the waste ink tank 27 is connected to the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side. Therefore, the rotation of the waste ink tank 27 in a direction in which the connection terminals 59 and 87 cause poor contact can be suppressed.

  (9) Further, in that case, the inner peripheral surface 99 of the long hole 58 a into which the pin 85 is inserted is provided along the insertion / extraction direction of the discharge portion 97 with respect to the connection port 57 of the waste ink tank 27. Therefore, when the waste ink tank 27 is moved to the rear side in the mounting direction while inserting the discharge portion 97 with respect to the connection port 57, the contact state between the inner peripheral surface 99 of the long hole 58a and the pin 85 is maintained. In addition, the contact state of the connection terminal 59 of the waste ink tank 27 with respect to the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side is also maintained, and the contact state of both the connection terminals 59 and 87 at the time of mounting can be appropriately ensured.

  (10) Further, when the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the printer 11, the discharge portion 97 is first inserted into the connection port 57, thereby restricting movement of the connection port 57 from the center 57 a in the radial direction. However, the connection terminal 59 is brought into a position where it can come into contact with the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side. In this state, the waste ink tank 27 is then positioned based on the positioning function of the long hole 58a as positioning means so that the contact surfaces of the connection terminals 59 and 87 are in proper contact with each other. The Therefore, when the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the attachment position 31 of the printer 11, it is possible to ensure a connection state in which the connection terminals 59 and 87 are in proper contact.

  (11) Since the biasing force (pressing force) of the coil spring 80 acts on the rear side wall (pressed portion) 49 of the waste ink tank 27 in the take-out direction at the mounting position 31 in the storage chamber 30, the biasing force As a result, the waste ink tank 27 tends to move in the take-out direction. However, in that case, the locking step portion 40 provided at the mounting position 31 is locked to the locked step portion 60 provided on the bottom surface of the waste ink tank 27, thereby restricting movement in the take-out direction. Therefore, the waste ink tank 27 is held in the positioning state at the mounting position 31, and a stable mounting state can be secured at the mounting position 31.

  (12) When the waste ink tank 27 moves in the mounting direction opposite to the take-out direction, the locked stepped portion 60 provided on the mounting position 31 has the locked stepped portion 60 on the bottom surface. 40 does not engage. Therefore, when the printer 11 is mounted, the waste ink tank 27 can be easily mounted regardless of the presence of the locking step 40.

  (13) When the waste ink tank 27 is to be removed from the mounting position 31, the waste ink tank 27 is moved in a direction in which the locked state of the locked step portion 60 with respect to the locking step portion 40 is released. If the posture is displaced, the waste ink tank 27 can be easily removed with the urging force of the coil spring 80 acting on the rear side wall 49 as an assisting force.

  (14) When the waste ink tank 27 is taken out from the mounting position 31, if the user grips the grip portion 94 and lifts it upward in the direction intersecting the removal direction, the posture of the waste ink tank 27 is changed. Since the engaged state of the locked step portion 60 with respect to the locking step portion 40 is easily released, the removal work from the printer 11 can be easily performed.

  (15) On the other hand, when the waste ink tank 27 is mounted, the posture of the printer 11 is inclined and the waste ink tank 27 is displaced from the locking step portion 40 in the direction in which the locked step portion 60 is disengaged. In this case, the convex portion 92 projecting forwardly intersecting the disengagement direction comes into contact with the projection portion 93 of the open / close door 36. Therefore, the displacement of the waste ink tank 27 in the direction in which the engaged state of the locked step portion 60 with respect to the locking step portion 40 is released is restricted, and a stable mounting state can be ensured.

  (16) When the projection 92 contacts the projection 93 of the open / close door 36 when the waste ink tank 27 is displaced from the locking step 40 in the direction in which the locked step 60 is disengaged, The container member 44 may be deformed by the stress applied with the contact. In such a case, when the convex portion 92 is located on the side opposite to the connection terminal 59 when viewed from the connection port 57 in the width direction orthogonal to the insertion / extraction direction of the discharge portion 97 with respect to the connection port 57, the connection There is a possibility that the degree of deformation of the portion where the terminal 59 is provided becomes large, resulting in poor contact with the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side. In this respect, in the present embodiment, since the connection terminal 59 is located on the same side as the projection 92 when viewed from the connection port 57 through which the discharge portion 97 is inserted and removed, the projection 92 is formed on the projection 93 of the door 36. Even in the case of contact, the degree of deformation of the portion of the container member 44 where the connection terminal 59 is provided can be reduced, and the possibility of poor contact with the connection terminal 87 on the printer 11 side can be reduced.

  (17) In a state where the waste ink tank 27 is mounted at the mounting position 31, the waste ink tank 27 is not prepared by positioning the open / close door 36 at the closed position so that the projection 93 serving as a displacement restricting portion is positioned at the restricting position. The movement from the mounting position 31 can be suppressed. On the other hand, when the waste ink tank 27 is taken out from the mounting position 31 of the printer 11, the waste ink tank is formed by positioning the open / close door 36 at the open position so that the protrusion 93 as the displacement restricting portion is located at the non-regulating position. 27 can be easily taken out.

  (18) In the waste ink tank 27, the upper end opening 48 of the container member 44 is sealed by a film member 46 as a sealing member, and ink is absorbed through an air communication hole 90 formed at one location of the film member 46. The ink solvent of the waste ink absorbed by the materials 45a to 45d is evaporated to the outside. Therefore, unlike the case where the upper end opening 48 of the container member 44 is opened without being sealed, the solvent component of the waste ink received in the waste ink tank 27 is suppressed from being excessively evaporated and volatilized, Thus, waste ink residues do not accumulate on the surfaces of the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d stacked and accommodated. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a decrease in the waste ink storage efficiency in the waste ink tank 27 by suppressing a decrease in the absorption capacity of the ink absorbers 45a to 45d.

  (19) In the waste ink tank 27, the discharge portion 97 on the printer 11 side is inserted into the connection port 57, and the seal portion 91 comes into contact with the circular pedestal portion 96 of the flange portion 74 of the support member 72 on the printer 11 side. When the waste ink is discharged from the tip opening 76a serving as the discharge port of the discharge portion 97 in the mounted state, the waste ink is absorbed by the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d. The waste ink absorbed by the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d is disposed in the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d by positioning the atmosphere communication hole 90 in the vicinity of the front end opening 76a that is a discharge port of the discharge portion 97 that discharges the waste ink. The vaporization of the solvent component of the waste ink from the vicinity of the through-hole 61 where the amount of waste ink absorption is the largest can be promoted, and the absorbing ability of the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d installed therein is favorably maintained. Can do.

  (20) In this case, the atmosphere communication hole 90 has an accommodation space 47 that is an internal space of the waste ink tank 27 in which the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d are accommodated above the upper surface of the uppermost ink absorbing material 45d. Therefore, even when the waste ink is absorbed to the extent that the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d saturate the absorption capacity, the possibility that the waste ink leaks out from the atmosphere communication hole 90 is reduced. can do.

  (21) In addition, after forming the air communication hole 90 in the film member 46, the film member 46 is affixed to the upper end opening 48 of the container member 44 in which the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d are installed. The ink tank 27 can be manufactured.

  (22) A flow path portion on the downstream end side of the liquid flow path extracted from the connection port 57 of the container member 44 when the waste ink tank 27 is removed from the mounting position 31 (the discharge portion of the cylindrical body 73 in the support member 72). 97) even if the container member 44 is contaminated due to the adhesion of the waste ink, such waste ink is removed by sliding contact so that the inner surfaces of the left and right grooves of the cut groove 62 of the third ink absorber 45c are wiped away. . That is, in this case, the lower surface of the uppermost fourth ink absorbing material 45d contacts the discharging portion 97 from the upper side with respect to the discharging portion 97 and the cut groove 62 of the third ink absorbing material 45c second from the top. The inner surfaces of the left and right grooves are in contact with the discharge portion 97 from both the left and right sides, and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing material 45b third from the top is in contact with the discharge portion 97 from below. That is, these three ink absorbing materials 45b, 45c, and 45d come into contact with the discharge portion 97 so as to be sandwiched from above, below, left, and right directions. Accordingly, the flexible tube 43 exposed at the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 and the non-cylindrical portion 77 of the cylindrical body 73 of the support member 72 and the non-cylindrical portion 77 in a state where the waste ink tank 27 is detached from the printer 11. It is possible to prevent the waste ink from flowing down from this portion (that is, the discharge portion 97) and contaminating the periphery of the connection port 57 and the mounting position 31 of the waste ink tank 27.

  (23) In particular, when the waste ink tank 27 in which the absorption capacity of the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d is saturated is taken out, the volume of the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d is swollen by the waste ink absorbed. The groove width of the cut groove 62 and the gap between the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing material 45d and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing material 45b that close the cut groove 62 from both the upper and lower sides are narrowed. Therefore, the contact pressure with respect to the discharge part 97 by the inner surfaces of the left and right grooves of the cut groove 62 in the third ink absorbing material 45c, the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing material 45d, and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing material 45b is also increased. The waste ink adhering to the ink can be reliably wiped away.

  (24) On the other hand, when taking out the waste ink tank 27 at a stage where the amount of waste ink absorbed by the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d is still small, the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d are not swollen, and the third ink absorbing material Although the contact pressure to the discharge portion 97 by the inner surfaces of the left and right grooves of the cut groove 62 in 45c, the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing material 45d, and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing material 45b is weak, in this case, the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d High absorption capacity. Therefore, even if the contact pressure with respect to the discharge portion 97 is weak as described above, the waste ink adhering to the discharge portion 97 is cut into the left and right groove inner surfaces of the cut groove 62, the lower surface of the fourth ink absorbing material 45d, and the second ink absorbing material. The ink absorbents 45a to 45d can be easily absorbed and removed through the upper surface of 45b.

  (25) In particular, the upper surface of the second ink absorbing material 45b contacts the discharge portion 97 from the lower side in the gravity direction. Therefore, in the discharge portion 97, the waste ink attached to the outer peripheral surface thereof is surely wiped off, and particularly, the attached waste ink travels around the outer peripheral surface of the discharge portion 97 according to gravity, so that the waste ink adheres most. Since the upper surface of the second ink absorbing material 45b is also in reliable contact with the lower surface of the discharge portion 97, which is considered to be the waste ink, the waste ink adhering to the discharge portion 97 pulled out from the connection port 57 is efficiently removed. Can do.

  (26) And, in order to remove the waste ink adhering to the discharge portion 97 in this way, it is only necessary to form the cut groove 62 in the ink absorbing material 45c so as to extend along the insertion / extraction direction of the discharge portion 97. Therefore, the manufacturing efficiency of the waste ink tank 27 can be improved.

  (27) When the waste ink tank 27 is attached, if the discharge portion 97 is inserted into the connection port 57, the discharge portion 97 is connected to the inner surfaces of the left and right grooves of the cut groove 62 of the third ink absorbent 45c and the fourth ink. Since the lower surface of the absorbing material 45d and the upper surface of the second ink absorbing material 45b function as a guide portion, they are guided in a preset direction (that is, the direction in which the through hole 61 is present), so 97 is inserted in the appropriate direction. Accordingly, the waste ink tank 27 can be easily mounted in an accurate mounting state when mounted.

  (28) Even when the center of the discharge portion 97 is displaced in the direction perpendicular to the insertion / extraction direction at the stage when the discharge portion 97 is inserted into the connection port 57, the discharge portion 97 functions as a guide portion. The positional deviation is corrected by the tapered portion 95 located on the connection port 57 side in the groove 62. Therefore, after that, the discharge part 97 can be easily guided in an appropriate direction.

  (29) Moreover, since the cut groove 62 functioning as the guide portion is provided so as to extend along the insertion / extraction direction of the discharge portion 97 at a position corresponding to the connection port 57, the connection port is provided when the waste ink tank 27 is mounted. A long guide distance can be secured with respect to the discharge portion 97 inserted into 57, and the insertion direction can be guided more accurately.

  (30) Even when the waste ink tank 27 is dropped in a state where it is taken out from the printer 11, the ink absorbing materials 45b, 45c, and 45d accommodated in the container member 44 are columns that function as a movement restricting portion. The movement toward the inner wall surface due to the locking of 54 is restricted. Therefore, the ink absorbing materials 45b, 45c, and 45d are not compressed by being strongly pressed against the inner wall surface of the container member 44 when dropped, and the waste ink absorbed inside at that time may be squeezed out. Absent. Therefore, even when the waste ink tank 27 is dropped in the state where it is taken out from the printer 11, it is possible to avoid the possibility that the waste ink absorbed and held in the ink absorbing materials 45b, 45c, and 45d leaks from the inside.

  (31) Further, in this case, the column 54 functioning as the movement restricting portion is the ink absorbing material 45b, 45c corresponding to the fitting depth of the column 54 with respect to the hole 55 as the fitting hole of the ink absorbing material 45b, 45c, 45d. , 45d can be secured to restrict the movement of the ink absorbing materials 45b, 45c, 45d, and the possibility that the ink absorbing materials 45b, 45c, 45d will swing when dropped is reduced.

  (32) Since the column 54 is erected substantially at the center of the inner bottom surface of the container member 44, the orientation of the container member 44 when the waste ink tank 27 is dropped is in any direction. Even if it faces, the column 54 provided at the substantially central portion of the inner bottom surface has a substantially uniform distance to the inner wall surface on the lower side in the dropping direction of the container member 44. Therefore, even if the ink absorbing materials 45b, 45c, and 45d bulge in the dropping direction due to an impact at the time of dropping, the bulging portions of the ink absorbing materials 45b, 45c, and 45d depend on the orientation at the time of dropping. It is possible to avoid the possibility of being strongly pressed against the inner wall surface.

  (33) Even when the liquid flow path for discharging the waste ink is formed using the flexible tube 43 as a main component, the flexible tube 43 is linearly supported by the support member 72 having rigidity. Thus, since the waste ink tank 27 is inserted into and removed from the connection port 57 of the container member 44, the waste ink tank 27 can be attached and detached satisfactorily.

  (34) The liquid flow path for discharging the waste ink into the waste ink tank 27 includes a distal end side cylindrical portion 76 as a first support portion, a proximal end side cylindrical portion 75 as a second support portion, and a non-cylinder. It is formed simply by supporting the flexible tube 43 by the cylindrical body 73 of the support member 72 having the shape portion 77. The downstream end of the flexible tube 43 serving as the downstream end of the liquid flow path formed as described above is attached to the mounting position 31 by the discharge portion 97 including the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 of the cylindrical body 73 in the support member 72. It is supported in a state oriented in a certain direction. Therefore, the liquid flow channel mainly composed of the flexible tube 43 whose behavior is unstable can be stably formed with a simple configuration.

  (35) When forming a liquid flow path for discharging waste ink, when the downstream end of the flexible tube 43 is inserted into the cylindrical distal end side cylindrical portion (first support portion) 76 of the support member 72, The downstream end of the flexible tube 43 is supported in a fitted state. Further, since the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 that supports the downstream end of the flexible tube 43 is formed at the distal end portion of the cylindrical body 73 having a predetermined length in the support member 72, the substantial amount of waste ink is substantially reduced. The downstream end of the flexible tube 43 serving as the discharge port is also disposed at the tip of the cylindrical body 73 in the support member 72, and waste ink can be discharged well.

  (36) In addition, the flexible tube 43 is supported by the cylindrical body 73 of the support member 72 in a substantially linear shape at a predetermined length on the downstream end side in the direction in which the downstream end is directed. Therefore, for example, when discharging waste ink into the waste ink tank 27, it is possible to easily guide the downstream end of the flexible tube 43 to the vicinity of the center in the waste ink tank 27.

  (37) The flexible tube 43 is supported in a state where the downstream end thereof is fitted to the distal end side tubular portion 76 of the support member 72, and the base end side portion is supported by a predetermined length from the downstream end. The member 72 is supported by the proximal cylindrical portion 75 in the inserted state and is held by the pinching claws 78 of the non-cylindrical portion 77. Therefore, a predetermined length portion on the downstream end side of the flexible tube 43 is stabilized by the cylindrical body 73 (the distal end side cylindrical portion 76, the non-cylindrical portion 77, the proximal end side cylindrical portion 75) in the support member 72. Can be supported in a state.

  (38) Even when the attitude of the container member 44 is inclined when the waste ink tank 27 is attached or detached, the support that is inserted and removed while the flexible tube 43 is supported by the connection port 57 of the container member 44 with respect to the inclination. Since the tubular body 73 of the member 72 is swung so as to follow, the attaching / detaching operation of the waste ink tank 27 can be easily performed without any trouble.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.
As shown in FIGS. 12A to 12D, the connection port 57 in the waste ink tank 27 is between the discharge unit 97 in a mounted state in which the discharge unit 97 is inserted into the connection port 57. It may be formed in a non-circular shape so that the gap 100 is formed. In this case, a communication path (not shown) that communicates the gap 100 with the atmosphere in at least one of the circular pedestal portion 96 of the flange portion 74 of the support member 72 and the seal portion 91 of the waste ink tank 27 that abuts the same. Is formed.

  In this case, since the gap 100 formed between the discharge portion 97 and the opening edge of the connection port 57 functions as the air communication hole 90 in the mounted state in which the discharge portion 97 is inserted into the connection port 57, In particular, it is not necessary to form the air communication hole 90 in a part of the waste ink tank 27 (film member 46 or the like). Then, the solvent of the waste ink discharged into the waste ink tank 27 can be evaporated through the gap 100 functioning as the atmosphere communication hole 90.

  Further, in this case, when the discharge port 97 is inserted into the connection port 57, the connection port 57 has an opening edge of the connection port 57 and at least three points P1, P1 and an outer peripheral portion of the fitting tube portion 98 of the discharge unit 97. Contact at P2 and P3. Further, when the opening edge is bisected by a straight line L1 connecting one of the at least three points P1, P2 and P3 (for example, P1) and the center of the discharge portion 97 (center 57a of the connection port 57). The other points (P2, P3) other than the one point (for example, P1) are respectively located on one edge and the other edge of the opening edge divided by the straight line L1. Therefore, when the discharge portion 97 is inserted into the connection port 57, the discharge edge 97 moves in the connection port 57 in a direction orthogonal to the insertion / extraction direction of the discharge portion 97 with respect to the connection port 57. At least three points (P 1, P 2, P 3) are regulated by contacting the outer peripheral portion of the fitting tube portion 98 of the discharge portion 97.

  Therefore, in the case of the waste ink tank 27 shown in FIGS. 12A to 12D, the gap formed between the connection port 57 and the discharge portion 97 without the air communication hole 90 being specially formed. Since 100 functions as the air communication hole 90, the ink recovery efficiency can be maintained well.

  Moreover, the opening edge of the connection port 57 contacts the outer peripheral part of the fitting cylinder part 98 of the discharge part 97 at at least three points (P1, P2, P3), and the discharge part 97 moves in a direction orthogonal to the insertion / extraction direction. Therefore, the discharge portion 97 can be positioned by the connection port 57 without any special positioning means.

  12 (a) to 12 (d), the fitting tube portion 98 of the discharge portion 97 is formed so as to have a non-circular cross section (for example, a polygon such as a triangle or a quadrangle). In addition, the opening edge of the connection port 57 as an opening in the waste ink tank 27 into which the ink is inserted may be formed in a circular shape. Also when comprised in this way, the effect demonstrated regarding the modification shown to Fig.12 (a)-(d) can be obtained similarly.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the connection terminal 59 of the waste ink tank 27 may be provided at a position below the right side wall 51 of the container member 44. Even in such a configuration, the connection terminal 59 has the same effect as each embodiment because the contact surface 59a is not perpendicular to the straight line L passing through the center 57a of the connection port 57.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the connection terminal 59 of the waste ink tank 27 may be provided at the same height position as the center 57 a of the connection port 57 on the sub left side wall 50 b of the container member 44. In this case, if the bulging portion 101 having an inclined surface is formed on the auxiliary left side wall 50b of the container member 44 and the connection terminal 59 is provided on the inclined surface, the straight line L passing through the center 57a of the connection port 57 is formed. Since the contact surface 59a is non-vertical, the same effects as those of the embodiments can be obtained.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the positioning means may omit the cylindrical portion 58 and form a contact portion with the reinforcing rib 56 a. Further, a positioning means that functions as a contact portion may be configured by a plate-like member different from the reinforcing rib 56a of the recessed portion 56.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the container member 44 of the waste ink tank 27 does not separate the rear side wall 49 into the main rear side wall 49a and the sub rear side wall 49b. A rectangular hole 102 serving as a positioning means for allowing 85 to be inserted and a rectangular hole 103 serving as a mounting location of the connection terminal 59 may be formed.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the waste ink tank 27 may have a shape in which a main rear side wall 49 a in which the connection port 57 in the container member 44 is formed is retracted inward of the container member 44. As shown in FIG. 18, the waste ink tank 27 may have a main rear side wall 49a in which the connection port 57 in the container member 44 is formed in a circular arc shape instead of a flat shape.

As shown in FIG. 19, the waste ink tank 27 may not have the seal portion 91 formed on the main rear side wall 49a in which the connection port 57 of the container member 44 is formed.
As shown in FIG. 20, the waste ink tank 27 may be configured by a protruding portion 104 in which a locked stepped portion 60 formed on the bottom surface of the container member 44 protrudes from the bottom surface.

  21A and 21B, in the waste ink tank 27, the grip portion 94 formed at the front end portion of the container member 44 may be configured by an oblique shaft 94A or a horizontal shaft 94B. In this case, when the open / close door 36 is in the closed position with respect to the oblique shaft 94A and the horizontal shaft 94B, the protruding portion 93 may be brought into a restricted position state for restricting displacement, and close to it. In this case, the convex portion 92 is not necessary.

  As shown in FIG. 22 (a), the air communication hole 90 may be formed by cutting the front end side of the film member 46, or as shown in FIG. A part of the upper end opening 48 (portion indicated by a dotted line in the figure as an ellipse) may be formed not to adhere to the film member 46. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 22C, the cutout portion 105 may be provided in a part of the upper end opening 48 of the container member 44 to which the film member 46 is adhered.

  As shown in FIGS. 23A to 23D, the contact portion for wiping off the ink adhering to the discharge portion 97 and the guide portion for guiding the insertion direction have slits 106 such as a cross shape instead of the cut grooves 62. You may make it form from the end surface of the ink absorption material 45c to the through-hole 61. FIG. Or you may form the hole extended in the insertion / extraction direction of the discharge part 97 instead of the slit 106. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 24, the column 54 fitted and locked in the hole 55 of the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d communicates with the atmosphere in the axial direction from the upper end surface located above the upper surface of the uppermost ink absorbing material 45d. A hole 90 may be formed, and the lower part of the air communication hole 90 may be communicated by the groove 107 to the outside of the left and right side walls at the lower part of the column 54. In this case, it is desirable that the distance between the through hole 61 and the atmospheric communication hole 90 of the column 54 is shorter than the distance between the through hole 61 and the connection port 57.

  Even if the waste ink tank 27 is configured to store the waste ink directly by using the storage space 47 as a waste ink storage chamber without storing the ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d in the storage space 47 serving as an internal space thereof. Good.

  The ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d may all have the same thickness, or may all have different thicknesses. The thickness is arbitrary, and the number of ink absorbing materials 45a to 45d may be changed according to the thickness.

  The printer 11 may be embodied as a so-called full-line type printer in which the recording head has an overall shape corresponding to the entire width of the recording paper P in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the recording paper P.

  The printer 11 mounts the ink cartridge 23 at a predetermined location in the printer 11 different from that on the carriage 16, and pressurizes and supplies the ink from each of the ink cartridges 23 to the recording head 21 side through the ink supply tube. A so-called off-carriage type printer 11 may be used.

In addition to the film member 46, the sealing member may be a lid member such as a resin plate material.
The container member 44 of the waste ink tank 27 may have a configuration in which the upper end opening 48 is sealed with a sealing member when the container member 44 is mounted at the mounting position 31. That is, for example, when the lid member that opens and closes with the rear end edge of the upper end opening 48 of the container member 44 as a fulcrum is in sliding contact with the contact member provided in the storage chamber 30 when the container member 44 moves in the mounting direction, the mounting is completed. At the time, the upper end opening 48 may be displaced into a sealed state.

  In the tube support mechanism 28, the coil spring 80 may be disposed between the flange portion 74 of the support member 72 and the front wall of the base portion 63. In this case, the structure which does not provide the cylindrical part 79 in the rear surface side of the collar part 74 may be sufficient.

  The non-cylindrical portion 77 of the cylindrical body 73 in the support member 72 is not formed by hollowing out the peripheral wall of the cylindrical body 73, but the distal end side cylindrical portion 76 and the proximal end side cylindrical portion that form a cylindrical shape, respectively. You may comprise by the connection member which connects between the two cylindrical bodies which form 75 separately.

A wiping member may be attached to the inner peripheral surface of the connection port 57 of the container member 44 in the waste ink tank 27 in an annular shape.
The tube support mechanism 28 includes a plurality of tube stoppers provided with a predetermined length portion on the downstream end side of the flexible tube 43 together with a linear support member and spaced on the upper surface of the base portion 63 in the front-rear direction. 71 may be supported. In this case, the support member 72 may be configured by only a cylindrical body or a non-cylindrical member.

  -The cylindrical body 73 in the support member 72 may be entirely composed of a non-cylindrical portion with respect to the flange portion 74. In this case, it is desirable that the non-cylindrical portion is provided with a pinch claw 78 as a fastening portion at the tip.

  -As for the cylindrical body 73 in the supporting member 72, the base end side cylindrical part may be comprised by the non-cylindrical part. In this case, it is desirable that the non-cylindrical portion is provided with a pinch claw 78 as a fastening portion at the base end portion.

  The pin 85 and the long hole 58 a may be configured such that the pin 85 is provided on the container member 44 side of the waste ink tank 27, while the long hole 58 a is provided at the mounting position 31 in the storage chamber 30.

The support member 72 in the tube support mechanism 28 may be configured to be fixed in a horizontal state in which the support member 72 is not swung with respect to the base portion 63.
The locking means for locking to the waste ink tank 27 from the take-out direction side at the mounting position 31 may have a configuration in which a locking projection is formed protruding from the bottom wall 32 of the storage chamber 30 in addition to the locking step 40. . Further, the locking means may be configured to be frictionally locked from the side with respect to the side walls 50 and 51 of the container member 44 in the waste ink tank 27.

The locking step portion 40 may be configured to be locked to the rear side wall 49 of the waste ink tank 27.
In the above embodiment, the liquid ejecting apparatus is embodied as an ink jet printer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and liquids other than ink, liquids obtained by dispersing or mixing functional material particles in liquids, gels, etc. It can also be embodied in a device that ejects or discharges such a fluid. For example, a liquid material ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid material in the form of dispersed or dissolved materials such as electrode materials and color materials (pixel materials) used for manufacturing liquid crystal displays, EL (electroluminescence) displays, and surface-emitting displays. Further, a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a bio-organic matter used for biochip manufacturing, or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid that is used as a precision pipette and serves as a sample may be used. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid injection devices that pinpoint lubricant oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid onto the substrate, a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as acid or alkali to etch the substrate, and a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a fluid such as a gel (eg, physical gel) It may be. The present invention can be applied to any one of these devices. In the present specification, “liquid” includes, for example, an inorganic solvent, an organic solvent, a solution, a liquid resin, a liquid metal (metal melt), and the like, as well as a liquid and a fluid.

1 is a perspective view of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view of a housing portion in the printer. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the waste ink tank according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a partially broken plan view of the waste ink tank according to the embodiment. The partially broken front view of a waste ink tank. (A) is a rear side view of the waste ink tank of the embodiment, and (b) is a rear side view of the waste ink tank of the comparative example. The disassembled perspective view of a tube support mechanism. (A) is a partially broken front view of the tube support mechanism in a normal state, (b) is a partially broken front view of the tube support mechanism showing a state in which the support member is retracted. (A) is a partially broken front view of the tube support mechanism showing a state of swinging upward, (b) is a partially broken front view of the tube support mechanism showing a state of swinging the support member downward. FIG. 3 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view illustrating a state in a storage chamber when a waste ink tank is mounted. Similarly, a partially omitted cross-sectional view showing a state in the storage chamber when the waste ink tank is mounted. (A)-(d) is a rear side simplified side view of the waste ink tank of a modification. The rear side view of the waste ink tank of a modification. The rear side view of the waste ink tank of a modification. The rear side view of the waste ink tank of a modification. The rear side view of the waste ink tank of a modification. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a partially omitted waste ink tank. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a partially omitted waste ink tank. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a partially omitted waste ink tank. FIG. 10 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view of a housing portion that houses a waste ink tank according to a modification. (A) and (b) are some omission cross sections of the waste ink tank of a modification. (A) and (b) are the top views of the waste ink tank of a modification, (c) is a front view of the waste ink tank of a modification. (A)-(d) is a perspective view of the ink absorber of a modification. The partially broken front view of the waste ink tank of a modification.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Printer (liquid ejecting apparatus), 21 ... Recording head (liquid ejecting head), 27 ... Waste ink tank (waste liquid collection body), 28 ... Tube support mechanism which functions as a liquid flow path formation apparatus, 29 ... Waste liquid collection system, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 31 ... Installation position, 40 ... Locking step part (locking means) which functions as a holding | maintenance part, 43 ... Flexible tube which comprises a liquid flow path, 44 ... Container member, 45, 45a-45d ... It functions as a wiping member Ink absorbing material (waste liquid absorbing material), 46 ... Film member as a sealing member, 47 ... Storage space (internal space), 48 ... Upper end opening, 49a ... Main rear side wall (pressed part), 54 ... Column (moving) Regulating part), 57... Connection port (opening), 57a... Center of the connection port, 58a... Long hole as positioning means functioning as a holding part, 59 .. recovery body side connection terminal, 59a. Stop (Engagement part), 62 ... notch groove (contact part, guide part), 72 ... support member, 75 ... proximal end side cylindrical part that functions as a second support part, 76 ... distal end side that functions as a first support part Cylindrical part, 76a ... tip opening as discharge port, 77 ... non-cylindrical part functioning as second support part, 78 ... pinching claw (fastening part), 80 ... coil spring (biasing means) functioning as holding part , 85 ... Pins as counterpart members that function as holding parts, 87 ... Device side connection terminals, 90 ... Atmospheric communication holes, 91 ... Seal parts, 92 ... Convex parts, 95 ... Tapered parts, 97 ... Discharge parts, 99 ... inner peripheral surface (contact portion), 100 ... gap, L, L1 ... straight line, X, Y ... distance.

Claims (2)

A waste liquid recovery body that is attachable to and detachable from a device having a discharge unit that discharges waste liquid, and that can receive the waste liquid discharged from the discharge unit in a state of being attached to the device,
A waste liquid absorber capable of absorbing the waste liquid;
An opening that allows the discharge portion to be inserted and removed when the waste liquid absorbing material is housed in an internal space when attached to and detached from the device;
A seal part that contacts the part of the device so as to seal the opening in the mounted state in which the discharge part is inserted into the opening;
In the state where the seal portion is in contact with a part of the device, the air communication hole that allows the internal space in which the waste liquid absorbing material is accommodated to communicate with the atmosphere,
In the mounted state, the distance between the waste liquid discharge port of the discharge unit and the atmosphere communication hole is shorter than the distance between the waste liquid discharge port of the discharge unit and the opening. Characteristic waste liquid recovery body. 2. The air communication hole according to claim 1, wherein the air communication hole is configured to communicate with the atmosphere at a position above the upper surface of the waste liquid absorbent material in the internal space in which the waste liquid absorbent material is accommodated. Waste liquid recovery body.

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