GB2212969A - Cassette holder spring blade has snap action connection with mounting plate - Google Patents

Abstract

The spring blade 55 is inserted into the slot 56 cut in the angle of the mounting plate 54 which is pivoted between side walls of the cassette holder, a projection 57 on the upper edge of the slot 56 being engaged with a hole 58 in the spring plate to provide a pivot about which the spring blade is turned so that a bevel 62 on its catch end 55a deflects beneath and engages behind portion 60b of the mounting plate. An upwardly bent tab on the mounting plate may be used to deflect the catch in place of the bevel 62 on the catch end of the spring blade. <IMAGE>

Description

MOUNTING STRUCTURE FOR CASSETTE HOLDING DOWN SPRING PLATE IN TAPE RECORDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1) Field of the~Invention This invention relates to a mounting structure for a cassette holding down spring plate in a tape recorder, and more particularly to improvements in or relating to a spring plate mounting structure in a tape recorder wherein the cassette holding down spring plate for holding down a tape cassette loaded in position in the tape recorder is mounted onto a spring plate supporting plate only by an easy operation to insert one end portion of the spring plate into a slit of the supporting plate and pivot the spring plate in a direction in a plane of the spring plate.

2) Description of the Prior Art An exemplary one of cassette tape recorder mechanisms in which a conventional mounting structure for a cassette holding down spring plate is incorporated is shown in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 5, the cassette tape recorder mechanism is constituted such that, when a tape cassette 4 is inserted in position into a cassette holder 3 which is supported for pivotal motion on a pair of opposite side walls of a chassis 1 and biased to its operative position or in the downward direction toward a bottom wall of the chassis 1 by a spring 2, the cassette holder 3 is released from its arrested condition by an arresting member 5 so that it is pivoted to its operative position by the spring 2 whereupon a downwardly bent end of an extension 7 of a spring plate supporting plate 6 which extends between and is supported for pivotal motion on a pair of opposite side walls 3a and 3b of the cassette holder 3 is contacted with and stopped by an upper face of the chassis 1 to pivot the spring plate supporting plate 6 around its axis thereby to cause a cassette holding down spring plate 8 secured at one end portion thereof to the supporting plate 6 to press against an upper face of the tape cassette 4 to hold down the tape cassette 4.

The tape recorder mechanism shown in FIG. 5 further includes a take-up reel receiver 9 and a capstan 10 mounted on and extending upwardly from an upper face of the chassis 1, and a reproducing head 11 and a pinch roller 12 also mounted on the chassis 1.

A structure for mounting the cassette holding down spring plate 8 on the spring plate supporting plate 6 in the tape recorder is particularly shown in FIGS. 6 to 8.

Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, the spring plate supporting plate 6 has a slit 13 formed therein in which one end portion of the spring plate 8 is received. The supporting plate 6 further has an engaging hole 15 formed therein through which an offset engaging portion 14 of the spring plate 8 pass from the upper to the down face side of the supporting plate 6 thereby to hold the spring plate 8 at a predetermined mounted position on the supporting plate 6. The supporting plate 6 has a swell 17 which is fitted in a rectangular hole 16 perforated in the spring plate 8 to prevent the spring plate 8 from dropping off the supporting plate 6.

When the spring plate 8 is to be mounted onto the supporting plate 6, at first the one end portion of the spring plate 8 is inserted forwardly in one direction into the slit 13 as seen in FIG. 7, and then the spring plate 8 is pushed down at the offset engaging portion 14 thereof to deform the offset engaging portion 14 downwardly until it passes downwardly through the engaging hole 15 of the supporting plate 6 as seen in FIG. 8. After then, with the offset engaging portion 14 of the spring plate 8 held down in this condition, the spring plate 8 is pushed strongly in the one direction until the offset engaging portion 14 comes to a position below the supporting plate 6 and a step of the offset engaging portion 14 is stopped by an edge of the engaging hole 15 of the supporting plate 6.Thereupon, the swell 17 of the supporting plate 6 is fitted into the rectangular hole 16 by the resilient restoring force of the spring plate 8 itself.

With the conventional mounting structure for a cassette holding down spring plate, it is necessary, after the one end portion of the spring plate 8 is inserted into the slit 13 of the supporting plate 6, for an operator to strongly push the entire spring plate 8 forwardly in the one direction with one hand while it is held down at the offset engaging portion 14 thereof so as to be resiliently deformed downwardly with a fingertip of the other hand in which a body of the tape recorder mechanism or the spring plate supporting plate 6 is grasped. There is a problem, accordingly, that, in order to perform such a mounting operation rapidly, both hands must cooperate skillfully, and high skill is required for the operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a mounting structure for a cassette holding down spring plate in a tape recorder wherein a cassette holding down spring plate can be mounted rapidly onto a spring plate supporting plate without skill.

In order to attain the object, according to the present invention, there is provided a mounting structure for a cassette holding down spring plate in a tape recorder wherein, when a tape cassette is inserted into a cassette holder supported for pivotal motion on a chassis, the arrested condition of the cassette holder at an inoperative position is canceled so that the cassette holder is pivoted to an operative position whereupon a spring plate supporting plate which is mounted for pivotal motion on and extends between the opposite side walls of the cassette holder is abutted with and stopped by a particular portion of the chassis to pivot the spring plate supporting plate around its axis thereby to cause a cassette holding down spring plate secured at one end portion thereof to the spring plate supporting plate to press against an upper face of the tape cassette to hold down the tape cassette, characterized in that the spring plate supporting plate has a slit formed therein for passing the one end portion of the cassette holding down spring plate therethrough and further has a pivot projection formed on and extending from an edge of the slit into the slit while a pivotal support hole for receiving the pivot projection therein is formed in the one end portion of the cassette holding down spring plate, and the spring plate supporting plate and the spring plate have engaging portions for engaging with each other to hold the spring plate at a predetermined mounted position on the spring plate supporting plate and slidably contacting portions for slidably contacting with each other when the spring is pivoted around the pivot projection of the spring plate supporting plate, whereby at least one of the slidably contacting portions is inclined relative to a plane of the spring plate so that, when the spring plate is pivoted around the pivot projection, the one end portion of the spring plate is deformed laterally from the plane of the spring plate upon sliding contact between the slidably contacting portions, and then when the slidably contacting portions are disengaged from each other, the spring plate is resiliently returned to its initial shape whereupon the engaging portions are brought into engagement with each other.

With the mounting structure for a cassette holding down spring plate in a tape recorder of the present invention, the spring plate is to be mounted onto the spring plate supporting plate, it is first inserted from the one end portion thereof into the slit of the supporting plate, and the pivot projection of the supporting plate is fitted into the pivotal support hole of the spring plate. Then, the spring plate is pivoted around the the pivot projection whereupon the slidably contacting portions of the spring plate and the supporting plate are slidably contacted with each other so that the spring plate is deformed laterally and then the engaging portions are engaged with each other, thereby completing the mounting operation.

Thus, when the cassette holding down spring plate is to be mounted onto the supporting plate, the mounting operation is completed very readily only by grasping a body of the tape recorder mechanism or the supporting plate with one hand and then inserting the one end portion of the cassette holding down spring plate into the slit of the supporting plate and pivoting the cassette holding down spring plate with the other hand.

Thereupon, pivotal motion of the spring plate is made around a fulcrum provided by the pivot projection.

Since the pivot projection is provided, however, at a position near the end of the spring plate to which a load is applied and besides at least one of the slidably contacting portions on the supporting plate or the spring plate is inclined, if a slight force is applied to the other end portion of the spring plate to pivot the spring plate, the spring plate can be pivoted by the very light force. Besides, there is no necessity of making an operation with the one end portion of the spring plate held down with one hand as in the conventional structure, the operation requires no skill and can be performed rapidly.

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tape recorder mechanism in which a mounting structure for a cassette holding down spring plate according to an embodiment of the present invention is incorporated; FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the tape recorder mechanism of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing details of the spring plate mounting structure of the tape recorder mechanism of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a spring plate mounting structure showing a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a plan view of a cassette tape recorder mechanism which employs a conventional mounting structure for a spring plate mounting structure; FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view showing details of the spring plate mounting structure of the tape recorder mechanism of FIG. 5; and FIGS. 7 and 8 are a partial perspective view and a sectional view of the spring plate mounting structure of FIG. 6 illustrating a cassette holding down spring plate being mounted onto a spring plate supporting plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 3, there is shown a tape recorder mechanism in which a mounting structure for a cassette holding down spring plate according to the present invention is incorporated. The tape recorder mechanism shown includes a chassis 20 formed from a metal plate of a substantially rectangular shape as viewed from above, and a cassette holder 21 mounted for pivotal motion on and relative to the chassis 20 with the opposite end portions thereof adjacent a cassette insertion opening of the tape recorder being pivotally supported at upwardly bent walls 22a and 22b of the chassis 20.The cassette holder 21 is arrested at an inclined inoperative position relative to a bottom wall 20b of the chassis 20 by an arresting member 23 which is mounted at a lower end thereof for limited pivotal motion at an end portion of the chassis 20 at an upper left location in FIG. 1.

The arresting member 23 has an ejecting finger 23a located adjacent a pivoting end of the cassette holder 21 and extending upwardly above a bottom wall 2la of the cassette holder 21. The arresting member 23 further has an arresting finger 23b for contacting with a lower face of the bottom wall 21a of the cassette holder 21 to arrest the cassette holder 21 at its inclined inoperative position. A torsion coil spring 25 extends between a pivoting end portion of the ejecting finger 23a of the arresting member 23 and an end portion of a pivotal member 24 at which the pivotal member 24 is connected to a pivoting end portion of the cassette holder 21.When the cassette holder 2i is in its inoperative position, the spring 25 biases the arresting member 23 in a direction opposite the direction in which a tape cassette 4 is to be inserted and also biases the cassette holder 21 to its operative position toward the bottom plate 20b of the chassis 20.

An eject operating member 26 is mounted for back and forth sliding movement in the cassette inserting direction on the chassis 20 and extends along the bottom wall 20a and the left side wall 22a of the chassis 20.

When the eject operating member 26 is manually pushed to move in the direction of an arrow mark I against a biasing force of a return spring not shown while the cassette holder 21 is in its operative position, the pivotal member 24 is pushed to pivot by the eject operating member 26 whereupon the pivoting end portion of the cassette holder 21 is pushed to pivot the cassette holder 21 upwardly to its inoperative inclined position. When the cassette holder 21 eaches its inoperative position, the eject operating member 26 is arrested at the pushed in position by the pivotal member 24. When the cassette holder 21 is pivoted to its inoperative position, the arresting finger 23b is pivoted to an arresting position below the bottom wall 21b of the cassette holder 21 by way of the torsion coil spring 25 interconnecting the pivotal member 24 and the arresting plate 23 while at the same time the tape cassette 4 within the cassette holder 21 is pushed back in the reverse cassette removing direction by the ejecting finger 23a of the arresting plate 23.

A motor 27 is mounted at a rear side extension 20a of the chassis 20. The motor 27 is deenergized by way of a switch 28 when the cassette holder 21 is moved to its inoperative position but is energized to rotate due to switching of the switch 28 when the cassette holder 21 is moved its operative position.

A capstan 29 and a take-up reel receiver 30 are mounted on the bottom wall 20b of the chassis 20 and connected to be driven to rotate by the motor 27.

A head mounting plate 31 is mounted on the rear face of the bottom wall 20b of the chassis 20 for sliding movement in a direction perpendicular to the cassette inserting direction, that is, in a leftward or rightward direction in FIG. 1. A reproducing head 32 and a pinch roller 33 are mounted on the head mounting plate 31 and extend upwardly above the bottom wall 20b of the chassis 20. The head mounting plate 31 is normally biased in the leftward direction in FIG. 1 by the biasing orce of a spring not shown. When the eject operating member 26 is moved to its pushed in position, the head mounting plate 31 is retracted in the rightward direction in FIG. 1 by the eject operating member 26.

To the contrary, when the eject operating member 26 is released from the arrested condition thereof by the pivotal member 24 and returned to its initial position by the return spring not shown, the head mounting plate 31 is advanced in the leftward direction in FIG. 1 so that the pinch roller 33 is pressed against the capstan 29 and the reproducing head 32 is contacted with a tape within the tape cassette 4 thereby to perform a reproducing operation.

The cassette holder 21 has a pair of upwardly bent side walls 21b and 21c on the opposite left and right sides of the bottom wall 21a thereof, and an elongated spring plate supporting plate 34 is supported for pivotal motion on and extends between upper end portions of the side walls 21b and 21c of the cassette holder 21. A cassette holding down spring plate 35 is secured at one end portion thereof to an intermediate portion of the spring plate supporting plate 34 and extends from the latter over a large extent toward the cassette insertion opening of the tape recorder.

An abutting element or tab 41 is formed at a left end portion in FIG. 1 of the supporting plate 34 and extends in the direction opposite the cassette insertion opening of the tape recorder with respect to the axis of pivotal motion of the supporting plate 34. When the cassette holder 21 is in its inoperative position, the abutting tab 41 is held in abutting engagement with the top end of the left side wall blub'of the cassette holder 21 under the biasing force of a torsion coil spring 42.

But when the cassette holder 21 is pivoted down from the inoperative to the operative position, the abutting tab 41 is soon abutted with and stopped by a stopping element or projection 43 (refer to FIG. 2) formed on the left side wall 22a of the chassis 20. As the cassette holder 21 is further pivoted down, the supporting plate 34 is pivoted around its axis against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 42 while the abutting tab 41 of the supporting plate 34 is spaced away from the top of left side wall 21b of the cassette holder 21.

Thereupon, the cassette holding down spring plate 35 is pivoted to move the other end portion thereof toward the bottom wall 21a of the cassette holder 21.

Such pivotal motion of the cassette holding down spring plate 35 is caused by pivotal motion of the cassette holder 21 from the inoperative to the operative position. Thus, if a tape cassette 4 is inserted in position into the cassette holder 21, the other end portion of the cassette holding down spring plate 35 will press against an upper face of the tape cassette 4 and hold down the tape cassette 4 against the cassette holder 21.

The structure for mounting the cassette holding down spring plate 35 on the spring plate supporting plate 34 is particularly shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3, the spring plate supporting plate 34 has an upwardly bent wall 34b on one side of a body portion 34a thereof adjacent the cassette insertion opening of the tape recorder, and a slit 36 is formed in the supporting plate 34 across the boundary between the body portion 34a and upwardly bent wall 34b. A pivot projection 37 is formed on and extends downwardly from an upper edge of the slit 36 into the slit 36. A widened portion or extension 34c is formed on the side of the supporting plate 34 remote from the slit 36 and has an opening 38 of a substantially L-shape in plan perforated therein. The widened portion 34c of the supporting plate 34 further has an engaging hole 39 perforated therein in an opposing relationship to the two sides of the L-shape of the opening 38.A slidably contacting portion 40 is formed on an edge of the Lshaped opening 38 adjacent the engaging hole 39 on the same arcuate line centered at the pivot projection 37 on the supporting plate 34. The slidably contacting portion 40 is here in the form of an inclined tab which is inclined in the upward direction toward the inside of the opening 38.

The spring plate 35 has a small round pivot projection receiving hole 44 formed therein for receiving the pivot projection 37 of the supporting plate 34 therein. The spring plate 35 has an extension 35a at the one end thereof. The extension 35a extends horizontally in one direction and is bent first downwardly, then horizontally in the one direction and then upwardly so that it presents a substantially angular U-shape in side elevation. The upwardly bent portion at the end of the extension 35a serves as an engaging portion 45 for engaging with the engaging hole 39 of the supporting plate 34 from below. The engaging portion 45 of the spring plate 35 is cut obliquely at the opposite corners of the top end thereof, and the left cut portion in FIG. 3 serves as a slidably contacting portion 46 for slidably contacting with the slidably contacting portion 40 of the supporting plate 34.

When the cassette holding down spring plate 35 having such a construction as described above is to be mounted onto the supporting plate 34, at first the one end portion of the spring plate 35 is inserted into the slit 36 from the side of the cassette insertion opening of the tape recorder. In this instance, the spring plate 35 can be easily inserted into the slit 36 because the slit 36 is formed over the bent wall 34b and the body portion 34a of the supporting plate 34.

Subsequently, the pivot projection 37 of the supporting plate 34 is fitted into the pivotal support hole 44 of the spring plate 35 as shown in FIG. 3. Then, the Ushaped extension 35a of the spring plate 35 is dropped into the opening 38 of the supporting plate 34 such that the slidably contacting portion 46 on the spring plate 36 may oppose the slidably contacting portion 40 on the support plate 34 from sidewardly. The spring plate 35 is then manually operated at the other end portion thereof to pivot in the direction of an arrow mark III in FIG. 3 around the pivot projection 37 of the supporting plate 34.Thereupon, the inclined slidably contacting portion 46 of the spring plate 35 is first pressed against and slidably moved along the inclined slidably contacting portion 40 of the supporting plate 34 while resiliently deforming the extension 36a of the spring plate 35 laterally downwardly. Then when the spring plate 35 is pivoted until the engaging portion 45 thereof reaches the engaging hole 39 of the supporting plate 34, the engaging portion 45 is admitted into and engaged with the engaging hole 39 from below as the extension 35a of the spring plate 35 is returned to its initial shape by its own resiliency. The one end portion of the spring plate 35 is thus secured in position to the supporting plate 34 as shown in phantom in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 shows a cassette holding down spring plate mounting structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The mounting structure of the present embodiment includes a modified spring plate supporting plate 54 and a modified cassette holding down spring plate 55 which are generally similar to the spring plate supporting plate 34 and the cassette holding down spring plate 35, respectively, of the first embodiment described hereinabove. In particular, the cassette holding down spring plate 55 is similar to the cassette holding down spring plate 35 in that it has a similar round hole 58 formed therein.Meanwhile, the spring plate supporting plate 54 is similar to the spring plate supporting plate 34 in that it has a similar slit 56 formed therein for passing one end portion of the cassette holding down spring plate 55 therethrough and it also has- a pivot projection 57 formed thereon which extends into the slit 56 and is received in the hole 58 of the cassette holding down spring plate 55. The other cooperating portions of the spring plate supporting plate 54 and the cassette holding down spring plate 55, however, are different from those of the spring plate supporting plate 34 and the cassette holding down spring plate 35.

In particular, an extension 59 is provided at an intermediate portion of the supporting plate 54 in which the slit 56 is formed. The extension 59 has a substantially angular S-shape in plan and extends in the direction away from a cassette insertion opening of the tape recorder.

Engaging portions for restraining pivotal motion of the spring plate 55 are provided by a right edge 60a in FIG. 4 of a base portion of the extension 59 extending in the cassette inserting direction, and a left edge 60b in FIG. 4 at an end portion of the extension 59. Another right edge in FIG. 4 of the end portion of the extension 59 extending in the cassette inserting direction serves as a slidably contacting portion 61 on the supporting plate 54 side.

Meanwhile, the cassette holding down spring plate 55 has an extension 65a which is bent substantially in an angular U-shape in side elevation similarly as in the first embodiment. The top edge of an upwardly bent portion 63 at the end of the extension 55a is inclined, however, such that the height increases toward the right end from the left end thereof in FIG. 4, and thus serves as a slidably contacting portion 62 on the spring plate 55 side. Further, a right side edge in FIG. 4 of the upwardly bent portion 63 serves as an engaging portion 63a on the spring plate 55 side.

Also in the cassette holding down spring plate mounting structure of the present embodiment, a mounting operation of the cassette holding down spring plate 55 only involves insertion of the one end portion of the spring plate 55 into the slit 56 of the supporting plate 54 until the pivot projection 57 is fitted into the pivot projection receiving hole 58 and pivotal motion of the spring plate 55 in a certain direction, that is, in the direction indicated by an arrow mark IV in FIG. 4, but does not involve a step of deforming an end portion of the spring plate 55 with a hand in which a body of the tape recorder mechanism or the spring plate supporting plate 54 is grasped. Accordingly, the spring plate 55 can be mounted readily and rapidly onto the spring plate supporting plate 54 with one hand.

It is to be noted that while in the first embodiment the slidably contacting portions 40 and 46 of the spring plate supporting plate 34 and the spring plate 35 are inclined relative to the plane of the spring plate and in the second embodiment only the slidably contacting portion 62 on the spring plate 55 side is inclined, only the slidably contacting portion on the spring plate supporting plate side may alternatively be inclined.

Claims (5)

CLAIMS:

1. A mounting structure for a cassette holding down spring plate in a tape recorder wherein, when a tape cassette is inserted into a cassette holder supported for pivotal motion on a chassis, the arrested condition of said cassette holder at an inoperative position is canceled so that said cassette holder is pivoted to an operative position whereupon a spring plate supporting plate which is mounted for pivotal motion on and extends between the opposite side walls of said cassette holder is abutted with and stopped by a particular portion of said chassis to pivot said spring plate supporting plate around its axis thereby to cause a cassette holding down spring plate secured at one end portion thereof to said spring plate supporting plate to press against an upper face of the tape cassette to hold down the tape cassette, characterized in that said spring plate supporting plate has a slit formed therein for passing the one end portion of said cassette holding down spring plate therethrough and further has a pivot projection formed on and extending from an edge of said slit into said slit while a pivotal support hole for receiving said pivot projection therein is formed in the one end portion of said cassette holding down spring plate, and said spring plate supporting plate and said spring plate have engaging portions for engaging with each other to hold said spring plate at a predetermined mounted position on said spring plate supporting plate and slidably contacting portions for slidably contacting with each other when said spring is pivoted around said pivot projection of said spring plate supporting plate, whereby at least one of said slidably contacting portions is inclined relative to a plane of said spring plate so that, when said spring plate is pivoted around said pivot projection, the one end portion of said spring plate is deformed laterally from the plane of said spring plate upon sliding contact between said slidably contacting portions, and then when said slidably contacting portions are disengaged from each other, said spring plate is resiliently returned to its initial shape whereupon said engaging portions are brought into engagement with each other.

2. A mounting structure for a cassette holding down spring plate in a tape recorder as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that said slidably contacting portion of said spring plate supporting plate is inclined relative to the plane of said spring plate.

3. A mounting structure for a cassette holding down spring plate in a tape recorder as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that said slidably contacting portion of said cassette holding down spring plate is inclined relative to the plane of said spring plate.

4. A mounting structure for a cassette holding down spring plate in a tape recorder as set forth in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said spring plate supporting plate has an upwardly bent wall formed on one side of a body portion thereof, and said slit is formed in said supporting plate across the boundary between said body portion and said upwardly bent wall.

5. A mounting structure for a cassette holding down spring plate in a tape recorder substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.