JPH0457264A - Tape cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely attach a leaf spring to a specified attaching position by reinforcing an elastic locking piece for locking a slider by the use of the leaf spring and providing a position regulating means for the leaf spring at the attaching part of the leaf spring. CONSTITUTION:In this tape cassette, the metallic leaf spring 20 for reinforcing the engaging force of the elastic locking piece 16 with the slider is attached on the inner surface side of the bottom of the lower half 4 of a cassette housing 2. A position regulating rib 24 is provided as the position regulating means for the leaf spring 20 around the attaching part of the spring 20. By pressing the outer edge of the base end part of the spring 20 by the use of the rib 24, the spring 20 is surely fixed and held so that it may not turn in a caulking part.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to, for example, a digital audio tape recorder (D
The present invention relates to a tape cassette used in a high-density recording/reproducing apparatus such as AT), and particularly relates to the structure of a locking mechanism of a slider for sealing the inside of the cassette.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention relates to a tape cassette having a slider that is slidably attached to a cassette case in the front and rear directions, and the slider is reliably locked by reinforcing an elastic locking piece for locking the slider with a leaf spring. In addition, by providing a leaf spring position defining means on the mounting portion of the leaf spring, the leaf spring can be reliably and easily mounted at a predetermined mounting position.

[Prior Art] Currently, a digital audio tape recorder (DAT) has been proposed, which converts analog signals such as acoustic signals into digital signals, records them on magnetic tape, and plays them back.This digital audio tape recorder uses a rotating head. There are some that are designed to achieve high recording density.

The structure of a conventional tape cassette used for such high-density recording will be explained using FIGS. 7 to 10. In the figures, (1) shows the DAT tape cassette as a whole, and (2) shows the cassette case. And this cassette case (2)
is formed by combining an upper half (3) and a lower half (4) by screwing or the like. A pair of reel shaft insertion holes (5) are formed on the left and right sides of the lower half (4).
) with a pair of reel hubs ( ) on which magnetic tape (6) is wound.
7) are rotatably arranged.

The magnetic tape (6) wound around the reel hub (7) passes through the left and right tape guides (8) provided at the front of the cassette case (2) to the front opening of the cassette case (2). (
9) has been derived and exposed.

Further, in the front part of the lower half (4), a loading pocket part (10
) is formed, and when the tape cassette is loaded into the cassette deck, the tape loading guide member of the deck example enters into this pocket portion (10), and the magnetic tape (6) is inserted into the cassette case (2). It is designed so that it can be pulled out (tape loading) to the front.

On the other hand, a transparent window (11) is formed in the upper half (3), and the reel hub (7) is provided through the transparent window (11).
) You can check the remaining amount of magnetic tape (6) wound on the tape. Furthermore, a front cover (12) that opens and closes the front opening (9) of the cassette case (2) is attached to the front end of the upper half (3) so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction. In use, the front cover (12) closes the front opening (9), that is, the magnetic tape exposed area.
Further, when a tape cassette is loaded into a cassette deck, the front cover (12) is opened and rotated upward by a mechanism on the deck side, so that the magnetic tape is exposed.

Further, a slider (13) is attached to the bottom side of the lower half (4) of the cassette case (2) so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. This slider (13) is always biased forward by the force of the torsion spring (14), and when the tape cassette is not in use, it is in the front closed position and the lower half (
The pocket portion (10) and reel shaft insertion hole (5) of 4) are closed, and when the tape cassette is loaded into the cassette deck, the slider (1) is closed by the mechanism on the deck side.
3) is slid to the rear open position against the force of the torsion spring (14), thereby lower half (4)
The pocket portion (10) and the reel shaft insertion hole (5) are opened.

Furthermore, this tape cassette has a slider (
A slider lock mechanism (15) for holding the slider (13) in a locked state in the front closed position and the rear open position, respectively.
) are provided on the left and right.

That is, this slider lock mechanism (15) is composed of an elastic lock piece (16) integrally formed at the bottom of the lower half (4) of the cassette case (2) so as to be able to swing in the vertical direction.
The slider (13) corresponds to this elastic lock piece (16).
Engagement holes (17) and (18) are bored in the front and rear. The elastic lock piece (16) has a lock protrusion (1
6a) is formed, and when the lock protrusion (16a) of this elastic lock piece (16) is engaged with the rear engagement hole (18), the slider (13) is locked in the front closed position. Further, when the lock protrusion (16a) of the elastic lock piece (16) is engaged with the front engagement hole (17), the slider (13) is locked in the rear open position. In addition, this elastic lock piece (16)
The slider (13) is unlocked by a release member disposed on the cassette deck side.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In conventional tape cassettes constructed in this way, the slider (13) may be held in a half-open state depending on the cassette deck, and the elastic locking piece (16) may remain pushed up (Fig. 9B). As a result, the elastic locking piece (16) becomes fatigued and a so-called "settling" occurs, that is, the elastic locking piece (16) cannot return to its original position and the slider (
13) The lock function may be lost.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes a slider that is slidably attached to a cassette case housing a magnetic tape in the front-rear direction and opens and closes a loading guide member insertion part and a reel shaft insertion hole. , an elastic lock piece provided on the cassette case side that engages with an engagement hole drilled in the slider to lock the slider in the closed position and the open position; A leaf spring for reinforcing the engagement force of the locking piece is attached, and a means for determining the position of the leaf spring is provided at the mounting portion of the leaf spring.

[Effect]

In the tape cassette of the present invention constructed as described above, the elastic locking piece is reinforced with a leaf spring, so that so-called "sagging" does not occur in the elastic locking piece, and the slider is always reliably locked. Furthermore, since this tape cassette is provided with means for determining the position of the leaf spring, the leaf spring can be easily and reliably attached to an accurate position.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. Parts corresponding to the conventional example shown in FIGS. 7 to 10 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals. Explanation will be omitted.

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the tape cassette of the present invention, that is, in this tape cassette, on the bottom inner surface side of the lower half (4) of the cassette housing (2),
A metal leaf spring (20) is attached to reinforce the engagement force of the elastic lock piece (16) with the slider (13). In this example, the leaf spring (20) is disposed symmetrically in a direction perpendicular to the left and right elastic lock pieces (16), and one end (base end) of the leaf spring (20) corresponds to the left and right elastic lock pieces (16). ) (Insert the caulking hole (21) drilled in the leaf spring (20) into the caulking pin (22) protruding from the lower half (4), then attach the head of the caulking bottle (22). The other end (free end) is in contact with the upper surface of the free end of the elastic locking piece (16).

Note that this leaf spring (20) is arranged so as to fit into a recess (23) formed on the bottom inner surface of the lower half (4), so that the leaf spring (20) is attached to the magnetic field of the lower half (4). The structure is such that it does not protrude from the tape support surface and does not affect the running of the magnetic tape.

Further, a position defining rib (24) is provided around the attachment part of the leaf spring (20), that is, the caulking part, as a means for determining the position of the leaf spring (20). By pressing the outer edge of the proximal end of the plate spring (20), the plate spring (20) is securely held fixed so as not to rotate at the caulked portion.

Furthermore, the upper edge of this position defining rib (24) is formed into a slope (24a) that slopes downward toward the direction of the caulking part, and this slope (24a) allows the leaf spring (20) to 20) is a comb that guides and makes it easy to install it in a predetermined mounting position.

Note that the parts other than those described above are configured in the same manner as in the conventional example described above.

In the tape cassette of this example configured as described above, the left and right elastic lock pieces (16) are reinforced with leaf springs (20), so that even if the slider (13) is held in a half-open state, the elastic Even if the lock piece (16) remains pushed up for a long time, the elastic lock piece (16) is given a strong biasing force by the leaf spring (20), so so-called "sagging" will not occur. The force to securely lock the slider (13) can be maintained,
Therefore, the slider (13) is always locked stably.

Also, by providing a position defining rib (24) at the attachment part of this leaf spring (20), the leaf spring (20) will not shift relative to the elastic locking piece (16) (it will ensure that it is installed in the correct position). Therefore, the elastic lock piece (16) can be reinforced in a stable state at all times, improving reliability, and when the leaf spring (20) is installed, the leaf spring (20) can be easily installed in a predetermined mounting position. This is also effective in terms of workability during cassette assembly.

In the configuration of this example, the locking force of the slider (13) can be set to an arbitrary strength by appropriately selecting the thickness and length of the leaf spring (20). However, the first
In this embodiment, due to the structure of the lower half (4), the front wall (4)
Since a) becomes an obstacle, there is a restriction on the length of the leaf spring (20). Therefore, in such a case, the leaf spring (20) may be arranged diagonally with respect to the elastic locking piece (16) as in the second embodiment shown in FIG.

Further, FIGS. 4 and 5 show a third embodiment of the present invention, and in this embodiment, the left and right elastic locking pieces (16) are
This structure is reinforced with two leaf springs (20). That is, the leaf spring (20) is fixed to the lower half (4) by caulking at its central portion, and its both ends extend left and right and are in contact with the upper surface of the free end of the elastic locking piece (16).

Also in this example, a position-defining rib (24) is provided around the attachment part of the leaf spring (20), and the position-defining rib (24) presses the outer edge of the central part of the leaf spring (20), thereby causing the leaf spring (20) to become flat. The spring (20) is configured to be reliably fixed and held at the caulked portion without rotating, and the upper edge of the position defining rib (24) is formed into a slope (24a) to prevent the leaf spring (20) from rotating. This makes it easy to install.

Further, in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the leaf spring (20) is caulked at a plurality of locations as means for determining the position of the leaf spring (20). That is, in this example, the leaf spring (20) has two caulking holes (21) in the front and back in the center, and correspondingly, two caulking pins (22) on the lower half (4) side are also provided in the front and rear. By caulking the leaf spring (20) with this caulking pin (22), the leaf spring (20) is fixedly supported at three places in the front and rear of the lower half (4), so that the leaf spring (20) is Elastic lock piece (
16) It is maintained in a securely attached state without shifting.

In the third and fourth embodiments described above, the left and right elastic locking pieces (16) are reinforced with the - number of leaf springs (20), so that the slider (13) by the elastic locking pieces (16) is The locking strength of the slider (13) is equalized on the left and right sides, so that a more stable locking state of the slider (13) can be obtained.

In addition, in the third and fourth embodiments, the leaf spring (2
By appropriately selecting the thickness of plate 0), the locking force of the slider (13) can be set to an arbitrary strength.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can take various other configurations.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above explanation, the tape cassent of the present invention is equipped with a leaf spring that reinforces the engagement force of the elastic lock piece, so that so-called "sagging" does not occur in the elastic lock piece, so that the slider is always securely moved. Moreover, in the present invention, by providing the leaf spring position determining means in the mounting portion of the leaf spring, the leaf spring can be reliably installed in an accurate position, and therefore the elastic locking piece can always be reinforced in a stable state. In addition to improving reliability, it also has excellent practical effects that were not available in the past, such as the ease of installing the leaf spring in the specified mounting position, which improves workability when assembling the cassette. .

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the lower half showing the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the lower half showing the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the lower half showing the third embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a plan view of the lower half showing the fourth embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the DAT tape cassette (with the slider closed), and FIG. 8 is the same view from below. Fig. 9 is a jointed side view of the main parts showing the conventional example, A is a locked state of the slider, B is a half-open state of the slider, and Fig. 10 is a view of the lower half and the slider. It is an explanatory diagram of a relationship.

In the figure, (2) is the cassette case, (13) is the slider, (
16) is an elastic locking piece, (17) and (18) are engagement holes provided in the slider, (20) is a plate spring, and (24) is a position defining rib as a position determining means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A slider that is slidably mounted in the front-rear direction on a cassette cassette housing a magnetic tape and opens and closes a loading guide member insertion portion and a reel shaft insertion hole, and a slider provided on the cassette cassette side. and an elastic locking piece that locks the slider in a closed position and an open position by engaging with an engagement hole formed in the slider, the tape cassette comprising: A tape cassette characterized in that a leaf spring for reinforcing the engagement force of a lock piece is attached, and a means for determining the position of the leaf spring is provided at a mounting portion of the leaf spring.