JP2001057047A - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the smooth opening and closing operation of a door member by moving the door member by which the one leg part of a torsion spring is brought into contact with the projecting part of the door member at all times while being slid on the projecting part and the other leg part is slid on a wall surface. SOLUTION: In the closing state of the door member 7, the coil part at the center of the torsion spring 10 is assembled to face downward and the one leg part 10b is brought into contact with the projection 73 of the door member 7 and is brought into contact with the wall 25 existing deep in the guide groove of a lower case of the other leg part 10c. While the projecting part 72 disposed vertically at the door member 7 is guided by the guide groove, the door member is moved to an open direction by a door releasing member of the device. Where the door member 7 opens half, the one leg part 10b abuts on the projection 73 of the door member 7 and the contact part of the front end 10c1 of the other leg part 10c moves toward the upper side of the wall 25. When the door member 7 is completely opened, the one leg part 10b abuts on the projection 73 of the door member 7 and the other leg part 10c abuts on the upper part of the wall 25.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a one-reel type tape cartridge used for a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus, and more particularly to a tape cartridge having a door member for opening and closing a tape drawing-out opening of a case.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A one-reel type tape cartridge has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-169380. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a one-reel type cartridge 100 disclosed in the publication, in which a magnetic tape 106 wound around a single reel including a rotating hub 104 and a flange 108 is housed inside a case 102. , Case 102
A block receiving recess 118 is provided in an opening 160 provided at one corner of the head, and a leader block 116 for tape insertion is removably fitted therein. Leader block 116
Is formed with a recess 150 for locking the leading end of the magnetic tape 106 by a locking pin 152. Further, a concave portion 154 is provided on an outer surface side of the leader block 116 for receiving and locking a drawer pin which can enter from the recording / reproducing apparatus side and pull out the leader block 116.

When the cartridge 100 is used, an automatic insertion mechanism on the apparatus side operates to cause a pull-out pin (not shown) to first enter the concave portion 154 and lock the leader block 116, and then pull out the leader block 116. The leader block 116 is inserted along a predetermined tape running path of the apparatus, and finally, the leader block 116 is housed and fixed in a receiving portion provided on the outer periphery of the hub of the take-up reel on the apparatus side. In the case of rewinding, the leader block 116 returns to the position shown in the opening of the cartridge 100 by following the reverse path.

In a tape cartridge of the type described in JP-A-58-169380, the leading end of the tape is fixed to a leader block 116 via a pin 152 made of synthetic resin.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional tape cartridge, the leading end of the tape is fixed to the leader block. The leader block is large enough to close the tape outlet of the case. This leader block is drawn into the device and forms a part of the reel that winds the tape in the device. Met. Therefore, instead of this, it is conceivable that the leading end of the tape is attached to a pin-shaped leader member, and the leader member is used only for pulling out the tape of the apparatus.
In this case, it is difficult to close the tape draw-out opening of the case with a pin-shaped leader member, so it is necessary to provide a door member for opening and closing the tape draw-out opening. Since the door member is always urged by the spring in the direction to close the tape pull-out opening, the door member moves stably when the door member is opened against this spring force and when the door member is closed by the spring force. There is a need.

[0006]

According to the present invention, one tape reel having a tape wound thereon is rotatably housed in a case body, and the tip of the tape is fixed to a pin-shaped leader member. In a tape cartridge pulled out to the apparatus from the provided tape pull-out port by a tape pull-out member, the tape cartridge has a door member for opening and closing the tape pull-out port, and the door member slides in a guide groove formed in the upper and lower cases, A torsion spring is provided in the case adjacent to the tape outlet, and the two legs of the torsion spring are bent into a round shape at one end, and one leg abuts on a convex portion formed on the door, and The leg of the door contacts the wall surface inside the case and the door moves, so that one leg always slides on the projection of the door and always contacts the projection of the door. The other leg slides on the wall,
The wall surface on which the other leg slides is constituted by only one case. In a preferred embodiment, the wall surface on which the other leg slides is constituted by only one case. In a preferred embodiment, a relief is formed in the door member so that the torsion spring does not contact other than the convex portion during the sliding operation.

[0007]

[Operation] Regardless of the position of the door member, one foot of the torsion spring abuts against the projection provided at the center of the door member and presses it. Thus, a highly reliable door opening / closing mechanism can be provided.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a tape cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this cartridge, one tape reel 3 around which a tape is wound is rotatably housed in a main body case composed of upper and lower cases 1 and 2. The lower case 2 has an opening 21 into which the drive shaft of the apparatus is inserted.
Having. The upper and lower cases 1 and 2 have a tape outlet 99
Notches 12, 22 forming FIG. 5 are formed.
The tape reel 3 includes a hub 32 integrally formed with an upper flange 31 and a lower flange 33, and a metal plate 3 on a lower surface of the hub 32.
4 are integrally formed. Engaging teeth (not shown) are provided around the metal plate 34 to engage with the drive shaft of the apparatus.
The metal plate 34 is magnetically attracted to the drive shaft of the apparatus, and the tape reel 3 rotates. Since the tape is directly adhered to the outer peripheral surface of the hub with water or the like, no fixing member for fixing the tape is provided.

The inner surface of the hub 32 has an engaging tooth portion 35,
It is engaged with a brake lock 5 which is pressed in the axial direction by the brake spring 4 but does not rotate, thereby preventing unnecessary rotation of the tape reel 3 when not in use. The brake lock 5 has a tooth portion 51 on the lower surface side, and is engaged with the engagement tooth portion 35 of the hub 32. The brake lock 5 is constantly pressed to the brake position by the brake spring 4. The guided projection 52 of the brake lock 5 can be reliably moved up and down (a brake position and a brake release position) by a position restricting portion 11 (FIG. 2) provided on the inner surface of the upper case 1. A brake release plate 9 is interposed between the hub 32 and the brake lock 5. The brake release plate 9 includes a main plate 91 and leg portions 92. The leg portion 92 is inserted into the hole 36 on the lower surface of the hub 32. When the leg portion 92 is mounted on the device, the magnetized suction plate constituting a part of the drive shaft on the device side rises to suck the metal plate 34. At the same time, the brake release member of the device lifts the brake lock 5 upward against the brake spring 4 to release the engagement with the tape reel 3, so that the tape reel 3 can rotate.

The leading end of the tape 6 is fixed to the leader member 8. The leader member 8 includes a pin member 81 and a C-shaped clamp 82. The tape 6 is wound around a pin member 81, and is fixed by fitting a C-shaped clamp 82 from above. When mounted on the apparatus, the leader member 8 is held by the holding member of the apparatus, and the tape 6 is pulled out.

The tape outlet 99 is opened and closed by the door member 7. The door member 7 is constantly urged by a torsion spring 10 in a direction to close the tape pull-out opening.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the upper and lower cases 1 and 2.
(A) is the upper case 1 and (b) is the lower case 2. Leader member storage portions 13 and 23 are formed inside the notches 12 and 22 and surrounded by U-shaped ribs for holding the leader member. Further, there are guide grooves 14 and 24 for guiding the door member 7 along the notches 12 and 22.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show the door member 7, wherein FIG. 3A is a plan view, FIG. 3B is a front view, FIG. 3C is a perspective view, and FIG. The door member 7 is a quadrangular plate-like body, and has a to-be-released projection 71 with which a door member releasing portion (not shown) of the device is engaged at one end. A projection 73 is formed. In addition, a plurality of convex portions 72 are formed at the upper and lower ends. These projections 72 have the function of reducing the contact area between the door member 7 and the inside of the guide grooves 14 and 24 when the door member 7 moves within the guide grooves 14 and 24, thereby smoothing the movement. As shown in FIG. 3D, the lower portion of the projection 73 is formed to be thin so as to form an escape portion 74 for avoiding interference with the torsion spring during movement of the door member as described later. Have been.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the torsion spring 10. The torsion spring 10 includes a central coil portion 10a and legs 10b and 10c on both sides thereof. Both legs 10b, 1
The tip of 0c is a bent portion 10b1, 10c1.

FIG. 5 shows upper and lower cases 1, 2 of a tape pull-out opening 99 for showing the movement of the door member 7 and the torsion spring.
FIG. FIG. 5A shows a state where the door member 7 is closed. The torsion spring 10 is a coil part 10
a with the lower leg 10b
Abuts against the projection 73 of the door member 7 and abuts on the wall 25 at the back of the guide groove 24 in the lower case of the other leg 10c. The bent portion 10b1 of the leg 10b enters the escape portion 74 provided on the door member 7, thereby avoiding interference with the door member 7. The door member 7 is moved in the opening direction by the door release member of the apparatus while the protrusions 72 provided above and below the door member 7 are guided by the guide grooves 14 and 24.

FIG. 5B is a view in which the door member 7 is opened halfway. Two legs 10 of torsion spring 10
b and 10c are closed compared to the closed state of the door member 7. However, one of the legs 10b is connected to the projection 73 of the door member 7.
Is in contact with The other leg 10c has its tip 1
The contact portion of 0c1 has moved above the wall 25.

FIG. 5C is a view when the door member 7 is completely opened. Also in this position, one leg 10b
Is in contact with the projection 73 of the door member 7. The other leg 1
0c is in contact with the upper part of the wall 25.

As described above, regardless of the open position of the door member 7, the leg portion 10b of the torsion spring 10 always comes into contact with and presses the projection 73 of the door member 7, so that the door member 7 is pressed in a certain direction. Opening and closing becomes smooth. Leg 10b
Of the door member 7 is bent so as not to be in contact with any part other than the projection 73 of the door member 7. The other leg 10c
Slides on the wall 25 in accordance with the movement of the door member 7, so that the front end 10c1 is bent so that the door 25 can slide on the wall 25 smoothly. Note that the wall 25 is formed only of the lower case 2, whereby the movement of the leg tip 10 c 1 can be further smoothed. If the joints of the upper and lower cases are set sufficiently high so that the positions of the bent portions 10b1 and 10c1 of the torsion spring are lower than the joint of the upper and lower cases, the bent portions 10b1 and 10c1 are aligned when the leg 10c moves. When the torsion spring is incorporated, the torsion spring does not jump upward if the wall 25 of the lower case is sufficiently high. Particularly preferably, the wall 25 is formed only from the lower case.

In the present embodiment, the tip of the projection 73 has an R-shape, and the leg 10b of the torsion spring 10 contacts only the tip of the projection 73. However, leg 10
b is a projection 73 during opening and closing of the door member 7
In order to prevent contact with other parts, the tip of the projection 73 may be a flat portion having a certain width,
Further, the leg 10b may be bent halfway. In any case, the torsion spring always presses the substantially central portion of the door member.

[0020]

According to the present invention, regardless of the position of the door member, one foot of the torsion spring comes into contact with and presses the projection provided at the center of the door member, thereby suppressing the inclination of the door member when the door is opened and closed. Therefore, a smooth opening / closing operation of the door member can be performed, and a highly reliable door opening / closing mechanism can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a tape cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a plan view of an upper case, and FIG. 2B is a plan view of a lower case.

3A and 3B are a plan view and a perspective view of a door member, wherein FIG. 3A is a plan view, FIG. 3B is a front view, FIG. 3C is a perspective view, and FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the torsion spring.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are side views in which a case side wall is cut away at each stage of opening and closing a door member.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a conventional one-reel type cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lower case 2 Lower case 3 Tape reel 4 Brake spring 5 Brake lock 7 Door member 8 Leader member 10 Torsion spring 10a Coil part 10b Leg part 10c Leg part 11 Position control part 12 Notch 13 Leader member storage part 14 Guide groove 15 Convex part Reference Signs List 21 Opening into which drive shaft is inserted 22 Notch 23 Leader member storage portion 24 Guide groove 25 Wall 71 Projection to be released 72 Projection 73 Projection 99 Tape outlet

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A single tape reel having a tape wound therein is rotatably accommodated in a case body, and a leading end of the tape is fixed to a pin-shaped leader member. In a tape cartridge pulled out by a tape pull-out member, the tape cartridge has a door member for opening and closing a tape pull-out port, and the door member slides in a guide groove formed in an upper and lower case, and is provided in a case adjacent to the tape pull-out port. A torsion spring is provided, the two legs of the torsion spring are bent at the tip, one leg abuts a convex portion formed on the door, and the other leg abuts a wall surface in the case. By moving the door member, one leg always contacts the convex portion of the door member while sliding on the convex portion, and the other leg portion slides on the wall surface. Tape cartridge to be butterflies. 2. The tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the wall surface on which the other leg slides is formed by only one case. 3. The tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a relief is formed in the door member so that the torsion spring does not contact any portion other than the convex portion during the sliding operation.