JP2000339912A - Single-reel type magnetic tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To always precisely position and hold a tape leading member in a waiting condition in a single-reel type magnetic tape cartridge in which a pin- shaped tape leading member is coupled to a reel-out end of a tape, and surely perform a tape leading operation. SOLUTION: A tape leading opening 4 is opened at a corner of a case main body 1. A pair of bearing sections 15 is provided at upper and lower positions at the inside of the tape leading opening 4. The respective bearing sections 15 receive engaging axis portions 11 at upper and lower ends of the tape leading member 7, respectively, to position them. An engagement piece 16 is provided at the bearing section 15, and the engagement piece 16 and the bearing section 15 cooperate with each other to position and hold the engaging axis portion 11. The engagement piece 16 is provided with a first arm 27 and a second arm 28 each in the shape of a leaf spring. These arms 27 and 28 elastically press and hold an axially end surface and an axially circumferential surface of the engaging axis portion 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a single-reel type magnetic tape cartridge in which a tape pull-out tool is connected and fixed to a pay-out end of a magnetic tape, and an improved holding structure of the tape pull-out tool in a non-use state. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A magnetic tape cartridge of this type (hereinafter simply referred to as a tape cartridge) is known, for example, from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-7749. In this case, the drawer is formed of a plastic molded product so that the tape drawer in an unused state can be held in a predetermined posture by a pair of protrusions provided in the loading pocket.

In the above-described tape cartridge, the tape pulling-out device when not in use is held in a cantilever manner by a pair of protrusions. For this reason, the position of the tape puller held and held in the standby state is slightly likely to vary. Further, when a drop impact is received, the tape pull-out tool may fall off from the protruding piece.

[0004] In order to solve such a problem, the present inventors have previously proposed a tape pull-out tool and a holding structure thereof as shown in FIG. 10 (Japanese Patent Application No. 10-54389). Here, a tape puller 40 is formed in a pin shape, and engagement shaft portions 41 provided at both upper and lower ends thereof are engaged with a pair of bearing portions 42 and springs 43 formed in the upper and lower walls of the upper and lower cases. I can keep it. In the vicinity of the bearing portion 42, a retaining wall 44 parallel to the upper wall and the bottom wall is formed so as to protrude integrally. The spring 43 is formed of a torsion coil type spring, and is provided at the tip of one of the spring arms with a partial arc-shaped pressing portion 45 that is in close contact with the peripheral surface of the engagement shaft portion 41.

[0005]

In the above holding structure, the retaining wall 44 is provided in parallel with the upper and lower walls of the upper and lower cases.
, The structure of the mold for forming the upper case and the lower case is complicated, and the manufacturing cost of the tape cartridge is increased accordingly. Remove one spring arm from retaining wall 4
Since it is necessary to assemble in a narrow gap between 4 and the top wall (or bottom wall), assembly is troublesome. Since the pressing portion 45 in the standby holding state circumscribes the peripheral surface of the engagement shaft portion 41 in a point contact manner, a slight variation in the processing shape of the spring 43 causes a variation in the holding position of the tape puller 40. There is a risk.

When the tape puller 40 is stored in the bearing portion 42 on standby, the upper and lower end surfaces of the engaging shaft portion 41 are brought into contact with the bearing portion 42 so that the bearing surface is cut off. May cause noise and signal loss. As the wear of the bearing surface progresses, there is a possibility that the vertical position of the tape puller 40 held and held on standby may gradually shift.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a tape cartridge which can always hold a tape puller in an appropriate position and in a proper posture when not in use, and thus can reliably perform a capture and pullout operation of the tape puller. Another object of the present invention is to provide a tape cartridge provided with an engagement piece which can position the tape pulling tool forward, backward, left and right, and can also be positioned vertically.

[0008]

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a tape cartridge according to the present invention comprises a box-shaped case body 1 and a single reel 2 on which a tape 3 is wound. A pin-shaped tape pull-out tool 7 is connected to the feeding end of the tape 3. A tape outlet 4 for pulling out the tape puller 7 is opened in the peripheral side wall of the case body 1. Bearing portions 15 are provided on the inner surface of the upper wall and the inner surface of the bottom wall of the case body 1 facing the tape outlet 4 to receive the engaging shaft portions 11 provided at the upper and lower ends of the tape extracting device 7. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, engaging pieces 16 circumscribing the outer surface of the engaging shaft 11 and positioning and holding the engaging shaft 11 in cooperation with the bearing 15 are arranged on each bearing 15. is there.

As shown in FIG. 4, the engagement piece 16 includes a first arm 27 for receiving the shaft end surface of the engagement shaft 11 and a second arm 28 for receiving the shaft peripheral surface of the engagement shaft 11. It can be formed by a press-formed product made of a plate.

The vertical interval between the first arms 27 of the pair of upper and lower engaging pieces 16 is set slightly smaller than the vertical length of the tape puller 7. Then, both first arms 27.2
7 is provided so as to be elastically deformable in the vertical direction, and the guide end surface 3 for the tape puller 7 is provided at its free end.
2 can be formed obliquely.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a third arm 35 for regulating the position for receiving the peripheral surface of the engaging shaft 11 is provided between the second arm 28 and the engaging shaft 11. And can be provided integrally.

The second arm 28 faces the outer surface of the second arm 28.
Is formed integrally with the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b.

[0013]

The tape puller 7 is formed in a pin shape, and the upper and lower engaging shafts 11 are positioned and held by the bearings 15 and the engaging pieces 16 provided on the upper and lower inner surfaces of the case body 1. As compared with the conventional type, the tape pulling-out tool 7 can be reliably held in standby with high positional accuracy. Further, the engagement piece 16 is formed of an elastic material, and abuts against the outer surface of the engagement shaft 11 in the standby holding state to prevent the engagement shaft 11 from coming out of the bearing 15. Therefore, even when the tape puller 7 moves due to a drop impact, the shock can be absorbed by the elasticity of the engagement piece 16 and the tape puller 7 can be returned to the original standby position. Therefore, according to the tape cartridge of the present invention, the unused tape puller 7 is always held at an appropriate position in a standby state, and the capturing operation and the pulling operation can be reliably performed. Performance can be improved.

The engaging piece 16 is formed by a press-formed product,
The first arm 27 receives the shaft end faces of the upper and lower engagement shaft portions 11,
According to the holding structure in which the second arm 28 and the bearing portion 15 cooperatively receive the shaft peripheral surface of the engagement shaft portion 11, the tape puller 7 is positioned in the front-rear, left-right, up-and-down directions, and held in the standby state. The position accuracy of the tape puller 7 thus improved can be improved. Further, since the shaft end surface of the engagement shaft portion 11 is received by the first arm 27, it is possible to prevent the bearing surface from being scraped when the tape pull-out tool 7 is taken in and out, and thus the plastic powder generated by the bearing surface being cut is caused. Problems such as noise and missing signals can be eliminated, and the reliability of reading and writing signals of the tape cartridge can be improved accordingly. It is also possible to prevent the vertical position of the tape puller 7 from gradually shifting during long-term use.

According to the standby holding structure in which the upper and lower end surfaces of the tape puller 7 are elastically held by the pair of upper and lower first arms 27, 27, for example, the tape puller 7 is moved by the elasticity of one first arm 27 to the other. Since the tape puller 7 can always be held at a fixed vertical position by being pressed against the first arm 27, the positional accuracy of the tape puller 7 in the standby holding state is further improved. The introduction guide surface 32 provided on the first arm 27 that presses the tape pulling tool 7 operates so that the engaging shaft portion 11 rides on the first arm 27 when the tape pulling tool 7 is pulled into the bearing 15 and stored. It is provided to make it easy to go up.

The second arm 28 cooperates with the bearing 15 to pinch and hold the engaging shaft 11 to position the tape puller 7 in the front, rear, left and right directions. In such a case, an excessive external force may act on the cantilevered second arm 28 to cause plastic deformation. Such a second arm 2
In order to avoid malfunction of the tape puller 8 and always keep the tape puller 7 in an appropriate position on standby, a third arm 35 is provided separately from the second arm 28, and the engagement shaft 11 is received by the third arm 35. , The second arm 28 is prevented from being deformed. The second in this case
The arm 28 mainly exerts an action of retaining and holding the engagement shaft portion 11. The reason why the third arm 35 is provided integrally with the first arm 27 is that the projecting dimension of the cantilevered third arm 35 is made as small as possible, and the deformation stress thereof is sufficiently larger than that of the second arm 28. It is for setting.

The stopper projections 33 provided on the inner surfaces of the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b receive a part of the expanded second arm 28 when the tape pull-out tool 7 is taken in and out.
The second arm 28 is prevented from being plastically deformed beyond the elastic limit. As described above, according to the structure in which the third arm 35 and the stopper projection 33 are added, even when a large external force such as a drop impact acts on the tape pull-out tool 7, the excessive deformation of the second arm 28 is reliably prevented. As a result, the tape puller 7 when not in use can be properly held.

[0018]

1 to 7 show an embodiment of a single reel type magnetic tape cartridge according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, the magnetic tape cartridge has a rectangular box-shaped case main body 1 in which upper and lower cases 1a and 1b are joined together with a lid.
The tape 3 is wound around one reel 2 arranged inside the case body 1. A tape outlet 4 is provided at one end of the front side wall of the case body 1 and can be opened and closed by a slidable lid 5. The lid 5 is closed and biased by a spring.

In order to pull out the tape 3 wound around the reel 2 to the outside of the case, a tape pulling-out tool 7 is connected to a feeding end of the tape 3. In FIG. 6, the tape puller 7
Is made of a pin-shaped turned product made of a rigid metal material such as stainless steel, and most of its vertical height is occupied by a small-diameter connection shaft portion 8, and flange-shaped portions are formed above and below the connection shaft portion 8, respectively. A thin partition wall 9 is formed so as to protrude. An operating shaft 10 and an engaging shaft 11 are integrally formed above and below the partition wall 9. The operating shaft 10 has the same diameter as the connecting shaft 8, and the engaging shaft 11 matches the diameter of the partition wall 9.
The end of the tape 3 is wound around the connecting shaft portion 8 in a loop shape, a C-shaped buffer 12 is fitted around the outer surface of the loop portion, and a C-shaped clamp formed of a thin metal plate is formed on the buffer 12. 13
Is externally connected to connect the tape puller 7 to the tape 3. The buffer 12 is interposed to prevent the tape 3 from coming into contact with the circumferential edge of the clamp 13 and being cut off.

In order to position and hold the tape puller 7 when not in use in an upright posture inside the case of the tape outlet 4, the inner surface of the upper wall of the upper case 1a and the inner surface of the bottom wall of the lower case 1b are respectively provided. A bearing portion 15 for receiving the engagement shaft portion 11 is provided, and an engagement piece 16 for positioning and holding the engagement shaft portion 11 is provided on each bearing portion 15.

In FIG. 4, the bearing 15 on the lower case 1b side is shown.
Is provided with a long recess 18 on the inner surface of the bottom wall,
An inverted L-shaped receiving rib 19 protrudes from the front end of 8, and a guide surface 20 is provided between the receiving rib 19 and the bottom wall front edge. The guide surface 20 is formed in a front-spreading shape when viewed from the upper surface side,
Its front end is formed in a round curved surface. The receiving rib 19 includes a first rib 19a that is long in the front-rear direction and a second rib 19b that is long in the left-right direction extending from the rear end of the first rib 19a toward the case side wall, and will be described later in the middle of the second rib 19b. An escape groove 21 for the first arm 27 is provided. Both corners adjacent to the escape groove 21 are cut out in a partial arc shape so that the engaging shaft 11
Is a receiving surface 22 for receiving the peripheral surface. The engagement shaft portion 11 is received and positioned at three places of the pair of receiving surfaces 22 and the receiving surface 23 of the first rib 19a. At the center of the recess 18 behind the second rib 19b, a pin 24 for welding and fixing the engaging piece 16 is provided in a protruding manner.

The engagement piece 16 is made of a press-formed product made of an elastic metal plate such as a stainless steel plate or a spring plate, and receives a shaft end face of the engagement shaft 11 at a front portion of a rectangular mounting portion 26. The first arm 27 and the second arm 28 for receiving the shaft peripheral surface of the engagement shaft portion 11 are integrally formed. First
The arm 27 is formed in the shape of a leaf spring, and in the middle thereof, a detour portion 29 that goes over the escape groove 21 of the second rib 19b is bent in a U-shape, and the arm 27 is bent from the upright wall on the rear side of the detour portion 29 to the second position.
The arm 28 extends forward in a cantilever manner. Second arm 28
At the front end side, a partially arcuate pressing portion 30 circumscribing the peripheral surface of the engagement shaft portion 11 is provided, and furthermore, a guide portion 31 inclined to the case side wall side at the forefront is continuously bent.

After the hole provided in the center of the plate surface of the mounting portion 26 is fitted to the pin 24, the engaging end 16 is fixed to the bottom wall by melting and expanding the protruding end of the pin 24.
In this mounting state, the leading end of the first arm 27 is in close contact with the recess on the front side of the relief groove 21 and is flush with the guide surface 20 (see FIG. 5). The second arm 28 projects forward along the side end of the second rib 19b, and the pressing portion 30
The rib 19a faces left and right. The facing distance between the front bent portion of the pressing portion 30 and the first rib 19 a in the free state is smaller than the diameter of the engagement shaft portion 11. Therefore, FIG.
When the tape pull-out tool 7 is stored in the bearing portion 15 as shown in FIG. 7, the engaging shaft portion 11 slips through the guide portion 31 while pushing it outward, and is elastically contacted and held by the pressing portion 30. You. That is, three receiving surfaces 22 provided on the receiving rib 19
23 and the pressing portion 30 cooperate to position and hold the engagement shaft portion 11.

The bearing 15 on the upper case 1a is formed symmetrically with the bearing 15 on the lower case 1b. The engagement piece 16 is also formed basically vertically symmetrically with the engagement piece 16 on the lower case 1b side, but has a partially different structure. See Figure 4 for details.
As shown in (1), the protruding end of the first arm 27 is bent obliquely toward the upper wall of the case, and an introduction guide surface 32 is provided at the front end of the arm. When the engagement piece 16 is disposed on the bearing portion 15 on the upper case 1a side, and the mounting portion 26 is fixed so as not to be disengaged by the pin 24, the leading end of the introduction guide surface 32 has an escape groove as shown in FIG. Abuts on the recess on the front side of the engaging shaft 1
The receiving wall 27a of the first arm 27 that receives the shaft end surface of the first arm 27 floats away from the recess. This is to allow elastic deformation of the receiving wall 27a in the thickness direction.

The vertical interval between the pair of first arms 27 in the free state is set slightly smaller than the vertical length of the tape puller 7. Therefore, when the tape puller 7 is stored in the standby position, the upper engagement shaft 11 is moved to the upper first arm 2.
7 is slightly pushed up and deformed, and is held in the upper and lower bearing portions 15. That is, the tape puller 7 is pushed down by the upper first arm 27 and is always held at the vertical position defined by the lower first arm 27.

As described above, the second arm 28 is elastically deformed in a direction approaching the case side wall when the tape pull-out tool 7 is taken in and out. However, if an excessive expanding force acts on the second arm 28 for any reason. A part thereof is plastically deformed, so that the engagement shaft portion 11 cannot be held without play. In order to prevent such excessive deformation of the second arm 28, a stopper projection 33 is provided on the side where the second arm 28 is expanded and deformed.

When a magnetic tape cartridge is loaded in the tape drive, the lid 5 is opened and the tape outlet 4 is opened. At the same time, the reel lock that has prevented the idle rotation of the reel 2 is released. In this state, the catcher on the tape drive side enters the case from the tape pull-out port 4, catches and engages the upper and lower operation shafts 10 of the tape pull-out tool 7, and pulls out the tape 3 through the tape pull-out tool 7. Then, the tape drawer 7 is delivered to the take-up reel on the tape drive side. When the recording or reading of the data on the tape 3 is completed, the tape 3 is rewound on the reel 2. The tape pull-out tool 7 is again engaged and captured by the engagement piece 16 and the bearing portion 15, and is positioned and held in a standby state.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show another embodiment of the present invention in which the capturing structure of the tape puller 7 is partially changed. The main change is that the receiving rib 19 of the bearing portion 15 is provided in a state where the receiving rib in the above-described embodiment is turned left and right, and accordingly, the second arm 28 is detoured so as to face the case side wall. The left arm of the portion 29 and the second arm 28
In order to prevent excessive deformation, a third arm 35 is separately provided.

The third arm 35 is formed by bending an L-shape from the side edge of the receiving wall 27a of the first arm 27.
Are located on the side of the second arm 28 facing the first rib 19a. In this case, the upright wall 35a is formed by the pressing portion 30 of the second arm 28.
Instead, the tape puller 7 is positioned and held by receiving the peripheral surface of the engaging shaft 11. Therefore, the second arm 28 functions exclusively as a member for preventing the engagement shaft portion 11 from coming off. In this alternative embodiment as well, a stopper projection 33 is provided adjacent to the second arm 28 in order to prevent excessive deformation of the second arm 28 in the expanding direction. The other parts are the same as those of the previous embodiment, and the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

In addition to the above embodiment, the second arm 28 can be provided as a pair of arms on the left and right sides of the first arm 27.
The second arm 28 can be bent and formed integrally with the mounting portion 26. If necessary, the entire engagement piece 16 may be formed of a plastic molded product. Tape puller 7
Can be a plastic molding.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of the magnetic tape cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a tape outlet.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a bearing portion and an engagement piece.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a tape pull-out tool.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 1, showing a housed state of the tape drawer.

FIG. 8 is an internal plan view of an engagement piece and a bearing showing another embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a sectional view taken along line CC in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a comparative example of the capturing structure of the tape pull-out tool.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case main body 2 Reel 3 Tape 4 Tape pull-out port 7 Tape pull-out tool 11 Engagement shaft part 15 Bearing part 16 Engagement piece 27 First arm 28 Second arm 32 Introduction guide surface 33 Stopper projection

Claims (5)

[Claims] A tape (3) is provided inside a box-shaped case body (1).
And one reel 2 on which a tape 3 is wound.
A pin-shaped tape pull-out tool 7 is connected to a pay-out end of the magnetic tape cartridge, and a tape pull-out port 4 for pulling out the tape pull-out tool 7 is opened in a peripheral side wall of the case body 1; Engagement shaft portions 1 provided at the upper and lower ends of a tape puller 7 on the inner surface of the upper wall and the inner surface of the bottom wall of the case body 1 facing the outlet 4.
Bearing portions 15 are provided for receiving the bearing shafts 1, respectively, and each of the bearing portions 15 circumscribes the outer surface of the engaging shaft portion 11 and positions and holds the engaging shaft portion 11 in cooperation with the bearing portion 15. A single-reel type magnetic tape cartridge, wherein a mating piece 16 is arranged. The engagement piece includes a first arm that receives a shaft end surface of the engagement shaft portion, and a second arm that receives a shaft peripheral surface of the engagement shaft portion. 2. The single-reel magnetic tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge is formed of a press-formed product. 3. The first of a pair of upper and lower engaging pieces 16, 16.
The vertical spacing of the arms 27 is set slightly smaller than the vertical length of the tape puller 7, and at least one of the first arms 27 is provided so as to be elastically deformable in the vertical direction. 3. The single reel type magnetic tape cartridge according to claim 2, wherein an introduction guide surface 32 for the tape pull-out tool 7 is formed obliquely at an end. 4. A third arm (35) for regulating a position between the second arm (28) and the engaging shaft (11) for receiving a peripheral surface of the engaging shaft (11).
The single reel type magnetic tape cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the magnetic tape cartridge is provided integrally with the first arm 27. 5. The second arm 2 facing the outer side of the second arm 28.
3. The single reel type magnetic tape cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the stopper projections 33 for preventing excessive deformation of the magnetic tape 8 are formed integrally with the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b.