JP2001209994A - Cassette loading device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely regulate the position of a small cassette loaded in a cassette holder with respect to the cassette loading device of a front loading type using two kinds, large and small, of tape cassettes. SOLUTION: This cassette loading device 20 of a front loading type using two kinds, large and small, of tape cassettes, is provided with first and second cassette holders 2 and 3 for loading the two kinds of tape cassettes, a locking lever 4 linked with the first and second cassette holders 2 and 3 and releasing its locking with the device side corresponding to the inserting operation of the tape cassettes into the cassette holders, a spring member 6 provided in the locking lever 4, and a member 13 for regulating the width direction position of the first tape cassette abutted on the spring member 6, and the member 13 for regulating the width direction position of the first tape cassette is moved to the first tape cassette side by the locking releasing operation of the locking lever 4 for the cassette holder.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cassette loading device such as a so-called front-loading video tape recorder (hereinafter, referred to as a VTR) which allows a tape cassette to be inserted from a cassette insertion opening in front of a front panel. In particular, the present invention relates to a cassette mounting device using two types of tape cassettes, large and small.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a VTR that can use not only one kind of tape cassette but also two kinds of large and small tape cassettes.
Is being developed. In this VTR, two types of tape cassettes, large and small, are mounted on a common VTR mechanism, and the VTR is assembled by matching the front surfaces of the large cassette (second tape cassette) and the small cassette (first tape cassette).
A method of attaching to a TR mechanism is adopted. The reason is that if the front surfaces of the first and second tape cassettes are different from each other, it becomes difficult to load the magnetic tape into the VTR mechanism according to a predetermined tape path. In other words, when the magnetic tape is pulled out from the first and second tape cassettes, if the front surfaces of the first and second tape cassettes are different, the pull-out position of the magnetic tape is different accordingly, and the tape pull-out members are respectively moved. Is required to be moved to the position of the magnetic tape.

At this time, the first and second tape cassettes are
Each requires a mechanism to prevent retraction when opening and closing the front lid (hereinafter referred to as a lid). If the prevention mechanism is not provided there, the tape cassette is retracted more than necessary, and the lid is returned to the original closed position by the spring provided on the tape cassette. Therefore, the tape pull-out member enters a predetermined position in the cassette, and the tape cannot be mounted at a predetermined position of the VTR mechanism (recording / reproducing device), and the tape pull-out member may be damaged. Because. Therefore, conventionally, in order to prevent the first and second tape cassettes from retracting when the lid is opened and closed, for example, the second tape cassette is provided with a vertical fixing wall on the chassis side as described later, The wall prevented the cassette holder from retracting due to the reaction of the lid rotation during the vertical movement.

On the other hand, the first tape cassette mounted on the cassette holder is prevented from retreating by pressing the first tape cassette from above to the cassette holder side by a biasing means such as a spring. Was what I was doing.

[0005] Here, the second tape cassette is inserted into a conventional front loading type cassette mounting device, and V
A procedure for mounting the TR mechanism at a predetermined position will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 4 (a) to 4 (c)
FIGS. 3A and 3B are operation explanatory diagrams of a conventional front loading type cassette mounting device, respectively, and are side views of the cassette mounting device 30. FIGS. 2A, a tape insertion port 2 formed in a panel 21 is formed.
1a, insert the tape cassette T into the cassette holder 2
The tape cassette T is placed on the tape cassette 3. In (b), the cassette holder 23 is horizontally moved along the guide grooves 24a, 24b on the chassis 24 side together with the tape cassette T by a holder driving mechanism (not shown) as shown by an arrow a1. In (c), the guide grooves 24a, 24 on the chassis 24 side.
Since b is an inverted L-shaped groove, the cassette holder 23 moves to vertical movement along the guide grooves 24a and 24b as indicated by an arrow a2. During the vertical movement, the tip of the lid T1 on the tape cassette T side is brought into contact with the lid opening / closing member 25a provided on the VTR mechanism 25 side, and the lid T1 is opened.

The opening / closing operation of the lid T1 causes the tape cassette T to receive a reaction force in the direction of arrow a3. That is, the cassette mounting surface 23 of the cassette holder 23 is placed on the tape cassette T.
A force that lifts up from a as shown by an arrow a4 and a force that returns in the direction of arrow a5 opposite to the cassette insertion direction act. Therefore, a cassette holding member 26 is mounted on the upper surface of the cassette holder in order to prevent the tape cassette T from floating, and a fixed wall 24c is provided on the chassis 24 side in order to prevent the tape cassette T from retreating, thereby preventing these movements. Things.

[0007]

By the way, if the above-mentioned solution for preventing the first and second tape cassettes from retreating is applied to a shared cassette mounting device without any problem, the following problem arises. A point occurs. That is, in the first tape cassette, when the pressing force against the cassette holder is increased, the load for inserting and removing the cassette increases, and particularly, the feeling of inserting the second tape cassette having a large thickness is deteriorated. Further, in the case of the first tape cassette, the difference in the depth dimension from the second tape cassette indicates
If a fixed wall for preventing the cassette from retreating during the vertical movement is provided on the cassette insertion port side, the movement path cannot be adopted when the cassette holder on which the second tape cassette is mounted moves vertically. .

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and a front loading type cassette mounting apparatus using two types of tape cassettes, the first and second types, is provided. First and second cassette holders 2 and 3 for mounting a tape cassette;
A locking lever 4 which is linked with the second cassette holders 2 and 3 and releases locking with the apparatus side in connection with the operation of inserting the tape cassette into the cassette holder; The provided spring member 6 and a width direction position regulating member 13 of the first tape cassette which comes into contact with the spring member 6
A cassette mounting mechanism for moving the width-direction position regulating member 13 of the first tape cassette toward the first tape cassette by releasing the locking lever 4 from the cassette holder. This has been solved by providing the device 20.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state before a first tape cassette is mounted in a cassette holder in a cassette mounting apparatus 20 according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a first tape cassette in the cassette mounting apparatus 20 according to the present invention. Is a plan view showing a state after being mounted in the cassette holder.

First, the first and second tape cassettes are selectively inserted into the cassette holder, and when predetermined recording / reproduction is completed, the two cassettes project from the cassette insertion opening of the cassette holder reaching the standby position. The quantities are approximately the same, ie
As an example of a method for making the front surface the same, a first cassette holder for mounting a second tape cassette (large cassette) in a cassette mounting device, and a slidably attached to the first cassette holder, A second cassette holder that is moved forward of the first cassette holder at the standby position to mount the first tape cassette (small cassette), and that relative movement between the two cassette holders is performed by two racks and a gear that is interposed therebetween; The applicant of the present invention has disclosed a device in which the projection amounts of the first and second tape cassettes can be adjusted at the time of ejection by using the cassette mounting device described in
A patent application has already been filed as No. 0-98510.

Referring to FIG. 3, the contents of the cassette mounting apparatus of the above-mentioned application, particularly, the cassette holder locking mechanism 10 provided with the first and second cassette holders 2 and 3 will be schematically described with reference to FIG. explain. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cassette holder locking mechanism 10. The cassette holder locking mechanism 10 locks the first and second cassette holders 2 and 3 waiting at the standby position for inserting a large cassette (not shown) and a small cassette 1 (described later) to the side plate 12. The cassette holder locking mechanism 10 releases the lock on the side plate 12 in accordance with the operation of inserting the large and small cassettes. Although it is provided at 12, it is of course possible to provide it at the right side.

Thus, the cassette holder locking mechanism 1
By providing 0 on the left and right side plate sides, when a large or small tape cassette or the like is obliquely inserted into the first or second cassette holder 2 or 3, one of the cassette holders provided on the left and right side plate sides can be used. Since the lock mechanism 10 cannot be unlocked, oblique insertion of the large and small cassettes into the first and second cassette holders 2 and 3 can be prevented, and accordingly, the first and second cassette holders 2 and 2 can be prevented. 3 can also be prevented from moving horizontally.

In FIG. 3, a locking portion 12f is formed on the front side (cassette insertion side) of the side plate 12 so as to protrude inward. In addition,
The locking portion 12f is not formed so as to be cut and raised, but may be configured to be fixed thereto as a hook member (not shown). Also, the second cassette holder 3
The rotating shaft 19 is attached to the back surface of the L-shaped bent piece 3c formed at the left end of
Is fixed downward, and the locking lever 4 is rotatable around the rotation shaft 19 while being urged toward the locking portion 12f (clockwise in the drawing) of the side plate 12 by the tension spring 17. Is provided. At this time, the tension spring 17 is locked between the locking lever 4 and the rear surface of the left convex upper surface 3b of the second cassette holder 3. 3d is a rack.

The locking lever 4 has a locking claw 7 which is locked to a locking portion 12f of the side plate 12 and protrudes toward the locking portion 12f at one end side via a rotation shaft 19. I have. Further, the locking lever 4 raises the other end side via the rotating shaft 19 from the back surface of the L-shaped bent piece 3c of the second cassette holder 3 to above the left bottom surface 2a of the first cassette holder 2, A slide member 8 to be described later is provided in the vicinity of the raised portion.
The pressed part 4b which comes in contact with and separates from the pressed part 8b is further formed.
The small tape cassette abutting portion 4a having a "U" shape is formed so as to face forward in the cassette insertion direction of the concave portion 3a of the second cassette holder 3 by being connected at the same height as the pressed portion 4b.

On the left convex upper surface 3b of the second cassette holder 3, two guide pins 91 and 92 are fixed in a straight line extending in the depth direction.
The slide member 8 is inserted into the elongated hole 5 of the slide member 8 so that the slide member 8 is moved in the depth direction (directions of arrows X1 and X2).
Is slidably provided. The slide member 8 is
A pressing portion 8b for pressing the pressed portion 4b of the locking lever 4 is formed at the front, and a large cassette contact portion 8a with which the front surface of a large cassette (not shown) abuts is formed by bending upward and backward. .

When a large cassette (not shown) is inserted along with the first cassette holder 2 and the front surface of the large cassette contacts the large cassette contact portion 8a of the slide member 8, the slide member 8 moves in the direction of arrow X2. Then, the large cassette contact portion 8a is configured to contact the stopper piece 2a1 provided at the back of the bottom surface 2a of the first cassette holder 2.

As is apparent from the above description, it is understood that the first cassette holder 2 and the second cassette holder 3 are linked to the locking lever 4 and the like and are formed with a step.

Here, the outline of the operation of the cassette holder locking mechanism 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 3. First, an example in which the small cassette is mounted at the mounting position of the second cassette holder 3 will be described. This will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows the initial state, in which the first and second cassette holders 2 and 3 are located in front of a device (not shown).
Waiting for insertion of large and small cassettes. In this initial state, the cassette holder locking mechanism 10 is configured such that the locking lever 4 attached to the upper surface of the second cassette holder 3
Is rotated clockwise around the rotation shaft 19 by the urging force of the second cassette holder since the locking claw 7 of the locking lever 4 is locked to the locking portion 12f of the side plate 12. 3 is locked at the standby position. At this time, the first cassette holder 2 on which the second cassette holder 3 is mounted is locked at the standby position via the second cassette holder 3.

The convex upper surface 3b of the second cassette holder 3
The sliding member 8 attached to the
Since the pressed portion 4b of the locking lever 4 urged in the clockwise direction is in contact with the slide member 8b, the slide member 8 is guided by the guide pins 91 and 92 in the elongated hole 5 to move in the direction of the arrow X1. Has moved to the near side of

Here, when the small cassette 1 is inserted into the second cassette holder 3, the front surface of the small cassette 1
Abuts against the small cassette contact portion 4a and presses the small cassette contact portion 4a.
7 rotates counterclockwise around the rotation shaft 19 against the urging force of the locking plate 7 so that the locking claw 7 of the locking lever 4 is
The lock is released from the lock portion 12f. Therefore, the second cassette holder 3 into which the small cassette 1 has been inserted is movable.

Thereafter, the second cassette holder 3 into which the small cassette 1 has been inserted is not shown from the standby position with respect to the first cassette holder 2 with the locking from the locking portion 12f of the side plate 12 being released. It slides horizontally to a predetermined position toward the rotating drum. As described above, when the second cassette holder 3 slides horizontally to a predetermined position, the guide pins 91 and 92 fixed to the second cassette holder 3 are moved to the second position.
The slide member 8 is moved in the direction of the arrow X2 in the elongated hole 5 integrally with the cassette holder 3. As described above, by providing the slide member 8 having the elongated hole 5 so as to be slidable on the second cassette holder 3, the second cassette holder 3 is horizontally moved to the predetermined position with respect to the first cassette holder 2. It is possible to slide.

Then, the second cassette holder 3 on which the small cassette 1 is placed moves horizontally to a predetermined position.
When the first and second cassette holders 2 and 3 move slightly horizontally as a unit, and then move vertically downward to be mounted at a predetermined position of the recording / reproducing apparatus, the magnetic force stored in the small cassette 1 is reduced. The tape is loaded at a predetermined position by loading means (not shown), and predetermined recording and reproduction are performed there.

When the predetermined recording / reproduction on the magnetic tape is completed, the magnetic tape is unloaded and stored in the small cassette 1 again, and the slide member 8 moves in the direction of the arrow X1 by the reverse operation. With this movement, the locking lever 4 is rotated clockwise around the rotation shaft 19 by the urging force of the tension spring 17, and the small cassette contact portion 4a provided on one side thereof is also rotated clockwise. As a result, the second cassette holder 3 on which the small cassette 1 is placed is ejected to the initial position.

Next, when a large cassette (not shown) is inserted into the first cassette holder 2, the front surface of the large cassette comes into contact with the large cassette contact portion 8a of the slide member 8, and the slide member 8 moves in the direction of arrow X2. I do. As a result, the pressing portion 8b of the slide member 8 is
, The locking lever 4 rotates counterclockwise around the rotating shaft 19 against the biasing force of the tension spring 17, and the locking claw 7 of the locking lever 4 The locking is released from the locking portion 12f. Accordingly, the first cassette holder 2 into which the large cassette (not shown) is inserted can be moved.

In this state, when performing predetermined recording / reproduction on a magnetic tape stored in a large cassette (not shown), the first cassette holder 2 on which the large cassette is mounted is moved horizontally in the direction of arrow X2. Thus, after the first cassette holder 2 and the second cassette holder 3 are integrally moved slightly horizontally by the same operation as described above, the first cassette holder 2 and the second cassette holder 3 are further vertically lowered to be mounted at a predetermined position of the recording / reproducing apparatus. Then, the magnetic tape stored in the large cassette is loaded at a predetermined position by loading means (not shown), and predetermined recording and reproduction are performed there.

When the predetermined recording / reproduction on the magnetic tape is completed, the magnetic tape is unloaded and stored again in a large cassette (not shown), and the large cassette in the first cassette holder 2 Slide member 8
Of the locking lever 4 in contact with the large cassette contact portion 8a
After the horizontal movement slightly in the direction of arrow X1 integrally with the second cassette holder 3 together with the like, the first cassette holder 2 on which the large cassette is placed is ejected to the initial position by the urging force of the tension spring 17. .

At the time of the movement to the eject end, the second cassette holder 3 also moves in the direction of arrow X1 at the same time. The first cassette holder 2 and the front end of the insertion side are configured to be in contact with one side of the insertion side so as to be in contact with the one side.

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 on the basis of the technical contents of the above-mentioned application. Note that the same parts as those of the related art described below use the same reference numerals,
Detailed description is omitted. 1 and 2, 6
Is a spring member fixed to the locking lever 4, 13 is a small cassette width direction position regulating member (only the left side is shown for convenience of explanation), and 14 and 15 are respectively formed in the second cassette holder 3. It is the elongated hole. In addition, this long hole 14,
15, the small cassette width direction position regulating member 1 described above is provided.
3, a pin (not shown) standing upright is inserted.

The small cassette width direction position regulating member 13
Is configured such that its height is lower than the upper surface 2a of the first cassette holder 2.

Here, the small cassette width direction position regulating member 13 which is a main part of the present invention will be described in detail. The small cassette width direction position regulating member 13 is always in contact with the spring member 6 fixed to the locking lever 4, and the inside of the long holes 14 and 15 is urged by the spring member 6 in the arrow direction. The distance W ₁ between the left and right cassette widthwise position regulating member 13 when in the insertion waiting position in FIG. 1 is slightly narrower than the width W of the small cassette 1 (see Figure 1).

Next, the operation of inserting the small cassette 1 into the second cassette holder 3 will be described with reference to FIG. When the small cassette 1 is inserted from a predetermined width direction position, the small cassette 1 is inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus while its position is regulated by the small cassette width direction position regulating member 13. At this time, the left small cassette width direction position regulating member 13 is pushed by the side surface of the small cassette 1 and moves to the left side opposite to the arrow direction. The small cassette 1 is pressed by the elastic force. However, the force of the spring member 6 for pressing the small cassette 1 are the minor As is apparent from the description of the interval W ₁ mentioned above, there is no possibility that the insertion feeling is impaired.

When the small cassette 1 is further inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus and the front surface of the small cassette 1 contacts the locking lever 4,
The locking lever 4 rotates counterclockwise as described with reference to FIG. 3, the engagement between the locking claw 7 and the locking portion 12 f is released, and the cassette insertion standby position of the second cassette holder 3. Is released. At this time, since the spring member 6 fixed to the locking lever 4 also rotates counterclockwise, the force for pressing the small cassette width direction position regulating member 13 in the direction of the small cassette 1 increases, and the small cassette 1 The second cassette holder 3 is firmly held at a predetermined position.

Next, the operation when a large cassette (not shown) is inserted into the first cassette holder 2 will be described. When the large cassette is inserted into the predetermined position, the operation of the small cassette width direction position restricting member 13 of the small cassette 1 is the same as that of the insertion of the small cassette 1, but as described above, the small cassette width direction position restricting member is operated. Since the height of 13 is lower than the upper surface 2a of the first cassette holder 2, its operation does not affect the operation of inserting a large cassette (not shown).

[0034]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained by the configuration as described above. The small cassette (the first cassette) mounted in the second cassette holder
Is securely held at a predetermined position, the lid opening / closing operation can be reliably performed. The timing of pressing the small cassette width direction position regulating member coincides with the release of the lock of the cassette holder, so that the insertion feeling of the cassette is not deteriorated. Only when the small cassette (first tape cassette) is inserted, the position regulation in the width direction acts effectively, so that the insertion operation of the large cassette (second tape cassette) is not affected at all.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a cassette mounting apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of an embodiment showing a state before the tape cassette is mounted on a cassette holder.

FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the cassette mounting apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of an embodiment showing a state after the tape cassette of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cassette holder locking mechanism.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view of a conventional front loading type cassette mounting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 small cassette 2 first cassette holder 3 second cassette holder 4 locking lever 6 spring member 13 first tape cassette width direction position regulating member 20 cassette mounting device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A front loading type cassette mounting apparatus which uses first and second types of tape cassettes, wherein the first and second cassette holders for mounting the two types of tape cassettes are provided. A locking lever that is linked to the second cassette holder and releases locking of the tape cassette with the apparatus side in connection with the operation of inserting the tape cassette into the cassette holder; and a spring provided on the locking lever. A first tape cassette that is in contact with the spring member in a width direction of the first tape cassette; and a locking lever that locks the first tape cassette in the width direction of the first tape cassette. A cassette mounting device, wherein the cassette mounting device is configured to move to the first tape cassette side by a releasing operation.