JP2001195861A - Tape reel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the deterioration of electrical characteristics by preventing the wrinkles of a tape. SOLUTION: This tape reel 1 has a hub part 2 around which the tape 7 is wound, upper and lower flange parts 3 and 4 which are respectively separately disposed at both ends in the axial direction of the hub part and a buffer part 5 which is disposed to be fitted onto the peripheral surface of the hub part and consists of a (soft) material having a relatively low hardness. The hardness of the buffer part is specified from JIS-A10 to JIS-A95 and the thickness thereof from 0.1 to 10 mm.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to the technical field of tape reels. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technical field of a tape reel in which a buffer portion made of a material having a lower hardness (softer) than the hub portion is provided on a hub portion around which the tape is wound so as to be externally fitted.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A tape cassette usually comprises a pair of rotatable tape reels a rotatably supported in a case body. The tape reel has a hub portion b around which the tape a is wound and an axial direction of the hub portion b. There is a case in which a flange portion is provided at each end at (see FIG. 12). The drawings show only the tape a and the hub b, and the tape cassette and the flange as a whole are omitted.

In such a tape reel, a concave portion c is formed on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical hub portion b for attaching one end of the tape a to the hub portion b. A clamp member d to be fitted is provided, and the tape a is fixed to the hub portion b with the end of the tape a interposed between the clamp member d and the concave portion c.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional tape reel, a step e occurs between the outer peripheral surface of the hub portion b and the outer peripheral surface of the clamp member d.
The step e is transferred to the tape a wound around the hub portion b, and a deformation called so-called “sleeping” occurs (see FIG. 13).

Further, after the tape a is wound around the hub b, a temperature change causes a difference in heat shrinkage between the hub b and the tape a to cause the tape a to be tightened, thereby causing "wrinkles" in the tape a. There is.

[0006] Such "sleeping" and "wrinkles"
In recording or reproducing, there is a problem that a spacing loss occurs between the tape a and the magnetic head at the time of recording or reproduction and a contact failure occurs, thereby deteriorating recording characteristics and reproduction characteristics.

In particular, in recent years, with the miniaturization of the tape cassette and the increase in the recording density of the tape a, even a slight deformation of the tape a deteriorates the electrical characteristics, so that the specifications regarding the deformation of the tape a tend to be strict. .

For this reason, it is conceivable to provide a buffer portion in the hub portion b. However, at present, there is no concrete buffer portion capable of solving the above problem.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-mentioned problems and prevent the tape from being adversely affected.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a tape reel comprising:
In order to solve the above-described problem, a hub around which the tape is wound, a pair of flanges provided separately at both ends in the axial direction of the hub, and an outer fitting provided on a peripheral surface of the hub. And a buffer portion made of a material having a relatively low hardness (soft), wherein the buffer portion has a hardness of JIS-A10 to JIS-A95 and a wall thickness of 0.1.
mm to 10 mm.

Therefore, in the tape reel of the present invention,
Since the wound tape is wound around the hub portion via the buffer portion, even if there is a step generated when the tape is wound, the buffer portion absorbs the step, so that the wound tape has a so-called " The "bush" does not occur, and even if the tape and the hub are wound up due to the difference in the heat shrinkage, the buffer absorbs the tightening, so that so-called "wrinkles" do not occur and damage the tape. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the electrical characteristics during recording / reproduction from deteriorating.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In describing the tape reel of the present invention, first, the configuration of the tape reel and the manufacturing process thereof will be described, and then specific materials and dimensions will be described.

The tape reel 1 is rotatably supported in a case (not shown) of the tape cassette. The tape reel 1 includes a hub 2, a pair of flanges 3, 4 provided at both ends in the axial direction of the hub 2, and a buffer 5 provided externally on the hub 2 (see FIG. 1). 1 to 5
reference). Hereinafter, the flange portion 3 is referred to as “lower flange portion 3”.
The flange portion 4 is referred to as “upper flange portion 4”.

The hub portion 2 has a substantially cylindrical outer shape, and has an engaging hole 2a opened at one end face in the axial direction (see FIGS. 3 to 5). In the engaging hole 2a, engaging protrusions 2b, 2b,. Further, a pressed projection 6 is provided integrally with the other end of the hub 2 in the axial direction, and the pressed projection 6 is pressed by a pressing spring (not shown) provided in the case body to rotate the tape reel 1. Unnecessary movement in the axial direction at the time is restricted.

A tape 7 as a magnetic recording medium is wound around the hub 2 (see FIG. 1). When a tape cassette is mounted on a mounting portion of a tape drive, a reel provided on the mounting portion is provided. The engaging shaft is inserted into the engaging hole 2a and is engaged with the engaging protrusions 2b, 2b,..., And the rotation of the reel engaging shaft rotates the tape reel 1 to direct the tape 7 in a predetermined direction. Is to be run.

The lower flange 3 is made of the same material as the hub 2,
For example, ABS resin (acrylonitrile, butadiene,
The hub 2 is formed integrally with the hub 2 by a styrene copolymer resin, and is provided on the side of the hub 2 where the opening is formed in the axial direction (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

The outer peripheral portion of the lower flange portion 3 is formed as a gear-shaped regulated portion 3a. In a predetermined state, the regulated portion 3a is engaged with stopper means (not shown) arranged on the case body. The rotation of the tape reel 1 is regulated. On the inner peripheral edge of the lower flange portion 3, an annular arrangement groove 3b is formed on the surface facing the upper flange portion 4 (see FIGS. 2, 4 and 5). Holes 3c, 3c are formed in the inner peripheral edge of the lower flange portion 3 at positions 180 ° opposite to each other with respect to the center of the hub portion 2 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

The upper flange portion 4 is formed separately from the hub portion 2, the lower flange portion 3, and the buffer portion 5, and is attached to the other end of the hub portion 2 in the axial direction by, for example, caulking (FIG. 1). reference). When the upper flange 4 is attached to the hub 2 in this manner, the upper flange 4
The protruding portion 6 provided on the hub portion 2 is protruded from (see FIG. 1).

The buffer portion 5 is formed integrally with the hub portion 2 and the lower flange portion 3 by, for example, two-color molding.
And lower hardness (softer) than the material of the lower flange 3
It is formed of a material, for example, a polyester elastomer. The material and dimensions of the buffer 5 will be described later.

The buffer portion 5 has a cylindrical shape and is provided on the hub portion 2 so as to be fitted externally.
b. Further, the other end surface of the buffer portion 5 abuts on the inner peripheral edge of the surface facing the lower flange portion 3 of the upper flange portion 4 when the upper flange portion 4 is attached to the hub portion 2.

As described above, in the tape reel 1, since the one end 5 a of the cushioning portion 5 is arranged in the fitting groove 3 b of the lower flange portion 3, the tape 7 to be wound Contact only with the buffer 5.

Accordingly, the tape 7 is hardly deformed, and the output of the tape 7 can be prevented from being reduced due to the deformation.

Further, since the buffer portion 5 is formed integrally with the hub portion 2 and the lower flange portion 3 by two-color molding, good processing accuracy of the tape reel 1 is secured, and the output of the tape 7 is further reduced. Prevention can be achieved.

In the above description, the case where the other end surface of the buffer portion 5 is in contact with the inner peripheral edge of the surface facing the lower flange portion 3 of the upper flange portion 4 has been described. An annular arrangement groove may also be provided on the inner peripheral edge, and the other end of the buffer portion 5 may be arranged in the arrangement groove so as to be internally fitted.

A method of integrally forming the hub 2, the lower flange 3, and the buffer 5 by two-color molding will be described below (see FIGS. 6 to 10).

The molding die 8 includes a movable die 9 located below.
And a fixed mold 10 located above.

The movable die 9 has a support hole 9a opened upward.
A sleeve 11 having a cylindrical end at least at the tip is slidably supported in the up-down direction in the support hole 9a. A cylindrical ejector portion 12 is supported inside the sleeve 11 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. A substantially cylindrical fixing portion 13 is fixedly disposed inside the ejector portion 12 with respect to the movable die 9.

On the upper surface of the movable die 9, a shallow forming recess 9b continuous with the support hole 9a is formed.

The fixed die 10 is provided with a molding projection 10a inserted into the center of the support hole 9a of the movable die 9. A first gate 14 and a second gate 15 are formed on the fixed die 10 at positions opposite to each other by 180 ° with respect to the molding protrusion 10a.

When the movable mold 11 is brought into contact with the fixed mold 10, a cavity 16 having a predetermined shape is formed, and the cavity 16 is formed by the hub 2 and the lower flange 3.
And a second portion 16b for forming the buffer portion 5. Second part 16
b is not formed in a state where the sleeve 11 is moved upward and inserted into the cavity 16 and is at the insertion position (see FIGS. 6 and 7), and the sleeve 11 is moved downward and retreats from the cavity 16 and retreats. It is formed in the position (see FIGS. 8 and 9).

When the movable die 9 is moved upward and abuts against the fixed die 10, a cavity 16 is formed (see FIG. 6). At this time, the sleeve 11 is at the insertion position, and its tip is in contact with the fixed mold 10.
6b is not formed. At this time, the distal end surface of the ejector unit 12 is located slightly below the upper surface of the fixing unit 13.

As described above, when the movable mold 9 is brought into contact with the fixed mold 10 to form the first portion 16a of the cavity 16, the first material (ABS resin) 17 is supplied from the first gate 14 to the first material 16A. The first portion 16a is filled (see FIG. 7). Then, the filled first material 17 is cooled and solidified in the first portion 16a, whereby the hub portion 2 and the lower flange portion 3 are integrally formed (see FIG. 8).

The first material 17 is cooled and solidified to form the hub portion 2.
When the lower flange portion 3 is formed, the sleeve 11 is then moved downward with respect to the movable mold 9, and the movement is stopped when the distal end surface of the sleeve 11 coincides with the distal end surface of the ejector portion 12. A second portion 16b is formed (see FIG. 8). Then, when the second portion 16b is formed, the second material (elastomer) 18 is filled into the second portion 16b from the second gate 15 (see FIG. 8). A hole 3c is formed in the lower flange portion 3, and the second material 18 is filled into the second portion 16b from the second gate 15 through the hole 3c. At this time, the second material 1
8 flows into the arrangement groove 3b formed in the lower flange portion 3. The filled second material 18 is the second part 1
6b, it is cooled and solidified, whereby the buffer portion 5 is formed integrally with the hub portion 2 and the lower flange portion 3 (see FIG. 9).

Thus, the hub portion 2 and the lower flange portion 3
And when the buffer part 5 is integrally formed by two-color molding,
The movable mold 9 is moved downward together with the sleeve 11, the ejector section 12, and the fixed section 13 and released (see FIG. 9).

The movable die 9 is stopped at a predetermined position, and then the sleeve 11 and the ejector portion 12 are integrally moved upward to form a molded product (the hub portion 2, the lower flange portion 3, and the buffer portion 5) into a cavity. 16 (see FIG. 10).
reference). At the time of this protrusion, one end surface of the buffer portion 5 is pressed by the sleeve 11 and one end surface of the hub portion 2 is pressed by the ejector portion 12.

As described above, when the molded product is protruded, the cushioning portion 5 formed of a soft material is pressed by the cylindrical sleeve 11, so that the cushioning portion 5 is cushioned by friction with the surface of the movable mold 9 forming the cavity 16. The portion 5 is hardly deformed, and the buffer portion 5 is hardly peeled off from the hub portion 2.

Further, as described above, when the molded product is protruded, the buffer portion 5 is pressed by the sleeve 11 and the hub portion 2 is pressed by the ejector portion 12 so that the deformation of the buffer portion 5 at the time of protrusion and the hub portion are pressed. The possibility of separation of the buffer portion 5 from the tape reel 2 becomes extremely small, and the processing accuracy of the tape reel 1 can be further improved.

The protrusion of the hub portion 2 formed of a material having a relatively high hardness (hardness) is not limited to the cylindrical ejector portion 12 as described above. An ejector pin may be provided, and the ejection may be performed by the ejector pin.

The second portion 1 of the cavity 16
Since the sleeve 6b is formed by the movement of the sleeve 11, the sleeve 11 plays a role of forming a part (second part) 16b of the cavity 16 by the movement and a role of protruding a molded product. The number of parts of the mold 8 is reduced, the manufacturing cost of the tape reel 1 can be reduced, and the structure of the molding die 8 can be simplified.

Next, the material and dimensions of the buffer section 5, test results, and the like will be described.

As described above, the material of the buffer section 5 is as follows.
A polyester-based elastomer resin having excellent chemical resistance and weather resistance and containing no chlorine-based compound is preferable.
Examples of such an elastomer resin include Primalloy (trade name) of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Hytrel (trade name) of DuPont Toray Co., Ltd., Gleek of Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Teijin Limited Nouvellen) and Toyobo Co., Ltd. Perprene. In the following tests, Primaloy (trade name) manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation was used.

The test method is as follows. A hub section 2 having a diameter of 11.7 mm is provided with a buffer section 5 having a thickness of tmm, and the buffer section 5 is provided with a width of 6.35 m.
m, a tape 7 having a wall thickness of 7 μm was wound, and a test was performed while changing the wall thickness and hardness of the buffer section 5.
The tape 7 wound was left for 72 hours in an environment of high temperature and high humidity (45 ° C., 80%), and the result of the test was evaluated based on the deterioration of electrical characteristics. The winding speed and the winding tension of the tape 7 on the hub portion 2 are almost the same as those of the existing specifications, for example, 8 m / s and 20 gf.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the hardness / thickness of the buffer portion and the deterioration of the electrical characteristics. It should be noted that the deterioration of the electric characteristics in this figure is based on the image quality, the sound quality, and the TC level.
It is calculated after conversion.

As a result of the test, as is apparent from FIG. 11, even if the hardness of the buffer portion 5 having any thickness is too high (hard) or too low (soft), the electrical characteristics deteriorate significantly ( Worse). This is because if the hardness is too high (hard), the step formed at the time of winding cannot be absorbed and “sleeping” occurs, and if the hardness is too low (soft), “wrinkles” due to winding are generated. It is presumed that this would occur.

When the hardness of the buffer section 5 is high (hard) (substantially JIS-A70 or more), the thickness of the buffer section 5 is t = 1.0 m.
It was found that m was the smallest in the deterioration of the electric characteristics, and from this, the deterioration of the electric characteristics was large (deteriorated) regardless of whether the film was thinner or thicker.

Further, when the hardness of the buffer portion 5 is low (soft) (substantially less than JIS-A35), the thickness is t.
= 1.0 mm has the smallest deterioration in electrical characteristics.
It was found that the electrical characteristics deteriorated greatly (deteriorated) regardless of whether the film became thinner or thicker.

Particularly, in the buffer portion 5 having a hardness of JIS-A40 to JIS-A70 and a thickness of t = 5.0 mm or less, the electrical characteristics are almost zero, that is, there is no deterioration. I knew it was in a state.

Here, the POIN of the electrical characteristic degradation shown in FIG.
T = 39.38 is the current tape reel, that is, the buffer unit 5
These are the results of testing the tapes without any of the above by the above test method. Therefore, when the electrical characteristic deterioration P is 39.38 or less, it can be evaluated that the buffer portion 5 has an effect, and the hardness of the buffer portion 5 is JIS-A10 to JIS-A10.
In the range of JIS-A95, the thickness is 0.1 mm to 10.0
By setting the thickness in the range of mm, the tape 7 is less likely to cause "sleeping" and "wrinkles", and can be less likely to cause deterioration in electrical characteristics.

In the above-described embodiment, a description has been given of a case where the buffer portion 5 is formed in two colors together with the hub portion 2 and the lower flange portion 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the buffer portion is formed separately. An object may be externally fitted to the hub portion.

In practicing the present invention, the end of the tape to the hub may be fixed by an adhesive or by welding, but not limited thereto. In such a case, a slit may be formed in the buffer portion so that the slit can hold the tape end.

Further, the specific shapes and structures of the respective parts shown in the above-described embodiments are merely examples of the embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto. Should not be construed as limiting the technical scope of the present invention.

[0053]

As is apparent from the above description, the tape reel of the present invention comprises a hub on which the tape is wound and a pair of flanges provided at both ends in the axial direction of the hub. A tape reel provided with a buffer made of a material having a relatively low hardness, which is provided on the peripheral surface of the hub portion and is made of a material having a relatively low hardness, wherein the hardness of the buffer portion is JIS-A10 to JIS-A95. Thickness from 0.1mm to 10m
m.

Therefore, in the tape reel of the present invention,
Since the wound tape is wound around the hub portion via the buffer portion, even if there is a step generated when the tape is wound, the buffer portion absorbs the step, so that the wound tape has a so-called " The "bush" does not occur, and even if the tape and the hub are wound up due to the difference in the heat shrinkage, the buffer absorbs the tightening, so that so-called "wrinkles" do not occur and damage the tape. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the electrical characteristics during recording / reproduction from deteriorating.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention together with FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, and is a schematic perspective view showing a tape reel on which a tape is wound.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the tape reel showing a state where an upper flange portion is removed.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged bottom view of the tape reel.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3;

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

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a movable mold is abutted on a fixed mold to form a cavity, together with FIG. 7 to FIG.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where the first material is filled.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where a hub portion and a flange portion are formed and a second material is filled.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a movable mold and a fixed mold are separated from each other.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where a molded product is protruded.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the hardness / thickness of the buffer portion and the deterioration of electrical characteristics.

FIG. 12 shows a conventional tape reel together with FIG. 13, and FIG. 12 is a plan view of a hub portion.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a partially enlarged hub portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Tape reel, 2 ... Hub part, 3 ... Lower flange part, 4
... upper flange, 5 ... buffer, 7 ... tape

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hub around which a tape is wound, a pair of flanges provided separately at both ends in the axial direction of the hub, and a relatively hard material provided on the peripheral surface of the hub so as to be fitted around the hub. And a buffer portion made of a material having a low hardness, wherein the buffer portion has a hardness of JIS-A10 to JIS-A95.
A tape reel having a thickness of 0.1 mm to 10 mm.