Waste fluid quantity measuring device and printer equipped therewith

A waste fluid quantity measuring device, comprising:

• a waste fluid tank;
• a support platform mounted for movement between a first position and a second position, the waste fluid tank being supported on the support platform such that the total mass of the waste fluid tank is supported by the support platform, wherein the waste fluid tank is raised to a higher position when the support platform is moved from the first position to the second position;
• an actuator connected to the support platform and configured to move the support platform from the first position to the second position, with a constant force;
• a sensor configured to detect the support platform in the second position;
• a timer configured to clock the elapsed time between actuation of the actuator and the movement of the support platform into the second position;
• a memory device configured to store correlation data indicative of a correlation between elapsed time clocked by the timer and a quantity of waste fluid within the waste fluid tank;
• and
• a waste quantity determination device configured to classify the quantity of the waste fluid in the waste fluid tank based on the elapsed time clocked by the timer and the correlation data in the memory device.