JP2004133998A - Magnetic tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a magnetic tape cartridge capable of easily realizing the automation of work for fixing a bent door and a compression coil spring to a cartridge case, and its assembling method. <P>SOLUTION: In a state in which a conical compression coil spring 7 is fixed to the door side spring hooking part 70 of a sliding door 6, the sliding door 6 is gripped by using a robot hand RH, the guide bar 72 of the door side spring hooking part 70 is pressed and fitted into a slit 8a, and the sliding projection 60 of the sliding door 6 is fitted into a guide groove 13 to be fixed while the conical compression spring 7 is compressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a magnetic tape cartridge, and more particularly to a magnetic tape cartridge that can easily realize automation of an operation of assembling a curved door and a compression coil spring to a cartridge case.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an external recording medium for data backup such as a computer, there is a magnetic tape cartridge configured by housing a single reel wound with a magnetic tape as a recording medium in a case (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-265560 (FIG. 2)
[0004]
There are various types of magnetic tape cartridges of this type. In recent years, in order to reduce the operating space of the tape pull-out mechanism in the drive device for the purpose of reducing the size of the drive device, A magnetic tape cartridge has been developed in which a magnetic tape outlet is formed at a corner, and the magnetic tape outlet is opened and closed by a curved door.
[0005]
In such a magnetic tape cartridge, in order to open and close the door, the door is fitted into a guide groove formed on the inner surface of the cartridge case, and the door is provided on the inner surface of the door (the surface facing the inner side of the cartridge case). The door is always biased in the closing direction by hanging a tension coil spring between the side spring hook and the case side spring hook provided on the inner surface of the cartridge case, and the outer surface of the door (on the outside of the cartridge case). A structure in which the door is opened by pushing the operating protrusion formed on the facing surface) by an operating arm attached to the loading mechanism of the drive device is conceivable.
[0006]
As a method of automating the assembly operation of the door and the tension coil spring to the cartridge case in the manufacturing process of the magnetic tape cartridge having the above-described structure, first, the door is gripped by the robot hand and set in the guide groove, and then An assembly method is conceivable in which the tension coil spring is gripped by a robot hand, one end thereof is attached to the door-side spring hook and the other end is attached to the case-side spring hook. When assembling the tension coil spring, one end thereof may be attached to the case-side spring hanging portion, and the other end may be attached to the door-side spring hanging portion.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above assembling method, if the door set in the guide groove swings or tilts to the left or right, the position of the door side spring hooking portion with respect to the cartridge case shifts. There was a problem that the work of attaching to the spring hook and the case side spring hook became difficult. In addition, if the gap between the door and the case side spring hook is narrow, the robot coil hand grips the tension coil spring when attaching both ends of the tension coil spring to the door side spring hook and the case side spring hook. There is a problem that it is difficult to insert the robot hand between the door and the case side spring hook. That is, the above-described assembling method has a problem that it is difficult to automate the assembling work of the door to the cartridge case and the tension coil spring.
[0008]
Further, since the tension coil spring expands and contracts at a predetermined angle with respect to the sliding direction of the door, there is a problem that the door cannot be opened and closed smoothly.
[0009]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic tape cartridge capable of easily realizing the automation of the operation of assembling a curved door and a spring for biasing the door in the closing direction on the cartridge case and smoothly opening and closing the door. And an assembly method thereof.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The magnetic tape cartridge of the present invention includes a cartridge case composed of an upper half and a lower half, a magnetic tape outlet formed at a corner of a side wall portion of the cartridge case, and a curved door that opens and closes the magnetic tape outlet. A guide groove that slidably guides the door in its opening and closing direction, a compression coil spring that urges the door to a closed position of the magnetic tape outlet, and a door provided on the door, A door-side spring hook for locking one end, a guide rod provided on the door and penetrating through an inner diameter of the compression coil spring to guide expansion and contraction of the compression coil spring, and provided on an inner surface of the cartridge case. And a case side spring hooking portion for locking the other end portion of the compression coil spring.
[0011]
In the magnetic tape cartridge of the present invention, one end of the compression coil spring is locked by the door side spring hook provided on the door, and the other end of the compression coil spring is provided by the case side spring hook provided on the inner surface of the cartridge case. It is comprised so that a part may be latched. The compression coil spring, one end of which is locked to the door-side spring hook, is configured to be extended and contracted by a guide bar provided on the door. According to the magnetic tape cartridge configured as described above, the door can be opened and closed by urging the door only in one direction, so that the door can be opened and closed smoothly. In addition, since the compression coil spring can be attached to the door in advance, it is possible to facilitate the assembly of the door and the compression coil spring to the cartridge case.
[0012]
Moreover, the door-side spring-hanging portion can be provided with a drop-off preventing piece that hangs with the one end portion. As described above, by providing the door-side spring hanging portion with the drop-off preventing piece, it is possible to prevent the compression coil spring from falling off when one end of the compression coil spring is assembled to the door-side spring hanging portion. As a result, there is no need to grip the compression coil spring when assembling the door with the compression coil spring on the inner surface of the cartridge case, so the door and the compression coil spring are assembled to the cartridge case with one hand or one robot hand. It becomes possible.
[0013]
Moreover, a conical compression coil spring can be used for the compression coil spring. Thus, by using the conical compression coil spring, the length when the spring is contracted can be set short, and the opening / closing mechanism portion of the door can be made small.
[0014]
The magnetic tape cartridge assembling method of the present invention is the magnetic tape cartridge assembling method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein one end of the compression coil spring is preliminarily attached to the door-side spring hook portion. Is held in an assembled state, the door is gripped and assembled to the inner surface of the cartridge case.
[0015]
According to the method for assembling the magnetic tape cartridge of the present invention, the one end of the compression coil spring is held in advance in the door-side spring hook, the door is gripped, and is assembled to the inner surface of the cartridge case. Can do. As a result, by attaching a spring to the door in advance, the door and the compression coil spring can be assembled at the same time inside the cartridge case.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a magnetic tape cartridge and an assembling method thereof according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.
[0017]
First, a magnetic tape cartridge according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. In the drawings to be referred to, FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a magnetic tape cartridge MC according to the present invention. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a main part of the inner surface of the lower half 1B included in the magnetic tape cartridge MC shown in FIG. 3A is an enlarged perspective view showing the slide door 6 included in the magnetic tape cartridge MC shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3B is a conical compression assembled to the door-side spring hook. It is a perspective view which shows a coil spring.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 1, a magnetic tape cartridge MC is a single reel in which a magnetic tape MT as a recording medium is wound inside a cartridge case 1 divided into a lower half 1A and an upper half 1B. 2. Lock plate 3 and compression coil spring 4 for locking the rotation of the reel 2, release pad 5 for releasing the locked state of the reel 2, the corner 1C of the cartridge case 1 at the lower half 1A and the upper half 1B A sliding door 6 that opens and closes the magnetic tape outlet 1D formed across the bridge, a conical compression coil spring 7 that urges the sliding door 6 to the closed position of the magnetic tape outlet 1D, and a plate member that locks the conical compression coil spring 7 8. Leaf spring 9 for locking the leader pin L attached to the tip of the magnetic tape MT when the slide door 6 is closed, the erroneous erasure preventing claw 10, the cartridge It is constructed by assembling Jimemori 11 or the like. The corner 1C of the cartridge case 1 is formed obliquely by notching a part of the side wall portion of the cartridge case 1. Here, the “slide door 6” corresponds to a “door” in the claims. The “plate member 8” corresponds to a “case side spring hook” in the claims. In addition, “upper half 1A, lower half 1B” refers to the upper half at the time of assembly as “upper half 1A” and the lower half as “lower half 1B”.
[0019]
2, the lower end 6b (see FIG. 3) of the slide door 6 is fitted into the inner surface 12 of the lower half 1B. When the slide door 6 is opened and closed, the slide door 6 can be slid in the opening and closing direction. A curved shallow guide groove 13 that guides to the plate, a plate member 8 in which a slit 8a is formed, a leader pin holding recess 15 that holds the lower end of a leader pin L (see FIG. 1) locked to a leaf spring 9 (see FIG. 1), etc. Is formed. Although not shown, a support portion, a guide groove, and a leader pin holding recess are also formed on the inner surface of the upper half 1A at positions corresponding to the guide groove 13 and the leader pin holding recess 15 formed on the inner surface 12 of the lower half 1B. Has been. A plate member that does not have a slit corresponding to the plate member 8 is formed in the upper half 1A.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 3A, the slide door 6 is formed in a horizontally long thin plate shape, and has a shape curved in the plate thickness direction. And the door side spring hook part 60 is formed in the rear-end part (end part which becomes an opening direction side when the slide door 6 is assembled | attached to the lower half 1B) 6e. A plurality of sliding protrusions 60 are formed on the upper end 6a and the lower end 6b of the sliding door 6 so as to be slidably fitted in the guide grooves 13 formed in the upper half 1A and the lower half 1B. In addition, let the edge part which becomes the closing direction side of the slide door 6 be the front-end part 6f, and let the intermediate part of the front-end part 6f and the rear-end part 6e of the slide door 6 be the middle part 6g.
[0021]
On the outer surface (the surface facing the outside of the magnetic tape cartridge MC) 6c of the slide door 6, an operation protrusion 61 for projecting the slide door 6 is provided. When the magnetic tape cartridge MC is assembled, the operation projecting piece 61 faces the operation opening 1E (see FIG. 1) formed in the side wall portion of the upper half 1A. The sliding door 6 is opened by being pushed by an operating arm attached to the loading mechanism of the drive device.
[0022]
A stopper 62 that holds the lower end of the leader pin L (see FIG. 1) when the slide door 6 is in a closed state is formed on the inner surface 6b of the slide door 6 at its front end 6f.
[0023]
A door-side spring hook 70 is formed at the rear end 6e of the slide door 6 (the opening direction side of the slide door 6). The door-side spring hook 70 has a drop-off prevention piece 71 and a guide bar 72 to which the conical compression coil spring 7 is assembled. The drop-off preventing piece 71 is provided with a protruding piece 71a having a size that can be inserted into the large-diameter portion 7a having the largest diameter of the conical compression coil spring 7 (see FIG. 3B). The protruding piece 71 a is formed to extend from the rear end 6 e of the slide door 6. Further, a pair of locking pieces 71b are formed to protrude from the protruding piece 71a. The protruding amount of the locking piece 71b is set to be larger than the diameter of the large diameter portion 7a, and the large diameter portion 7a can be locked between the locking piece 71b and the rear end portion 6e.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 3B, the conical compression coil spring 7 is formed so as to gradually expand in diameter from one end to the other end. The conical coil spring 7 is made of a steel material or the like wound in a conical shape, with a small diameter portion as a small diameter portion 7b and a large diameter portion as a large diameter portion 7a. The large-diameter portion 7 a is formed so as to be attached to the drop-off preventing piece 71 of the door-side spring hook portion 70. The small diameter portion 7 b penetrates the guide rod 72, so that the expansion and contraction direction of the conical compression coil spring 7 is guided along the guide rod 72.
[0025]
Next, a method for assembling the conical compression coil spring 7 to the door side spring hook 70 of the slide door 6 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the conical compression coil spring is assembled to the slide door.
When the magnetic tape cartridge MC is assembled, the conical compression coil spring 7 is assembled to the spring hook 70 of the slide door 6.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the conical compression coil spring 7 is assembled to the door-side spring hook 70 in advance before assembling the slide door 6 inside the lower half 1 </ b> B. As a method of assembling the conical compression coil spring 7 to the door-side spring hook 70, the large-diameter portion 7a of the conical compression coil spring 7 is inserted from the end of the guide rod 72 (on the opening direction side of the slide door 6). The large-diameter portion 7a is fitted between 71b and the rear end portion 6e. As a result, the conical compression coil spring 7 can be assembled to the door side spring hook 70 of the slide door 6 in a locked state. Further, the small diameter portion 7 b of the conical compression coil spring 7 is configured to guide the expansion and contraction direction of the conical compression coil spring 7 by penetrating the guide rod 72.
The conical compression coil spring 7 can be assembled to the door-side spring hook 70 in a natural length state. The assembly work may be performed manually or may be performed using an assembly device such as a robot hand.
[0026]
Further, the plate member 8 is formed with a slit 8 a into which the guide rod 72 of the door side spring hook 70 can be fitted. The slit 8a is formed so that the guide rod 72 can be fitted so as to correspond to the trajectory of the sliding door 6 in the opening / closing direction. Further, the plate member 8 can lock the small diameter portion 7 b of the conical coil spring 7.
[0027]
Next, a method for assembling the magnetic tape cartridge according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the drawings to be referred to, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a sliding door held by a component holding jig. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the slide door shown in FIG. 5 is gripped by the robot hand of the assembling apparatus. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the slide door is assembled to the lower half.
[0028]
When assembling the magnetic tape cartridge MC, the slide door 6 in which the upper half 1A, the lower half 1B, the reel 2, the lock plate 3, the compression coil spring 4, the release pad 5, and the conical compression coil spring 7 are assembled on the transport pallet. , The leaf spring 9, the erroneous erasure prevention claw 10, the cartridge memory 11 and the like are arranged, and in the assembly process of each component, each component is attached to the lower half using an assembly device equipped with a robot hand. 1B is assembled at a predetermined position.
[0029]
Each component is held on the transport pallet by a component holding jig 20 dedicated to each component so that the robot hand of the assembly apparatus can easily hold it. As shown in FIG. 5, the slide door 6 is vertical without tilting left and right or tilting forward and backward by a component holding jig 20 having a slide door holding groove 21 for holding the slide door 6 on its upper surface. It is held in a standing posture.
[0030]
When assembling the slide door 6 held by the component holding jig 20 to the lower half 1B, first, as shown in FIG. 6, the robot hand RH is moved above the component holding jig 20 to slide. Grab the middle part 6 g of the door 6 and lift it from the component holding jig 20. In addition, when lifting from the component holding jig 20, it is preferable to lift the slide door 6 in an inclined state (a state in which the rear end portion 6e is positioned below the front end portion 6f). Further, when the robot is lifted from the component holding jig 20, the slide hand 6 may be inclined by adjusting the robot hand RH.
[0031]
Then, after moving the robot hand RH above the lower half 1B, the robot hand RH is lowered toward the inner surface 12 of the lower half 1B, and the tip of the guide bar 72 of the door-side spring hook 70 is moved to the plate member 8. Fit into the slit 8a. Then, the conical compression coil spring 7 is gradually lowered so that the sliding door 6 becomes horizontal while being contracted, and is assembled in accordance with the guide groove 13 formed on the inner surface of the lower half 1B.
[0032]
When the slide door 6 is assembled to the inner surface 12 of the lower half 1B, the guide bar 72 of the door-side spring hook 70 can be maintained in a state of being fitted to the slit 8a of the plate member 8 as shown in FIG. . That is, the conical compression coil spring 7 can be disposed between the door-side spring hook 70 and the plate member 8, and the small diameter portion 7 b of the conical compression coil spring 7 can be locked by the plate member 8.
[0033]
As described above, the slide door 6 in the state where the conical compression coil spring 7 is assembled to the door-side spring hook 70 is gripped by the robot hand RH, and the guide bar 72 of the door-side spring hook 70 is pressed against the slit 8a. The conical compression coil spring 7 of the sliding door 6 can be assembled to the inner surface of the lower half 1B by fitting the sliding projection 60 of the sliding door 6 into the guide groove 13 while fitting and contracting the conical compression coil spring 7. it can.
[0034]
Therefore, the slide door is set in the guide groove formed on the inner surface of the cartridge case, and then both ends of the tension coil spring are door-side spring hooks provided on the slide door and the case side formed on the inner surface of the cartridge case. It is not a complicated attachment method of attaching to the spring hook part, but it can be easily assembled because it is attached to the inner surface of the cartridge case in a state where the compression coil spring is already attached to the door side spring hook part of the slide door.
Further, by using the conical compression coil spring 7, the opening / closing mechanism of the slide door 6 can be made compact.
[0035]
Furthermore, since the conical compression coil spring 7 is assembled to the door side spring hook 70 of the slide door 6, it can be assembled to the inner surface 12 of the lower half 1B. In addition, it is possible to reduce the assembly failure due to dropping of the conical compression coil spring 7 or the like.
[0036]
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made as long as it is based on the technical idea of the present invention.
[0037]
Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the conical compression coil spring 7 is assembled to the door side spring hook 60 of the slide door 6 and is assembled from the component holding jig 20 to the inner surface of the lower half 1B by the robot hand RH. For example, when the slide door 6 and the conical compression coil spring 7 are separately arranged in advance on the component holding jig 20 and assembled to the inner surface 12 of the lower half 1B, the conical compression coil spring 7 is attached to the slide door 6 by hand. The same effect can be obtained by assembling the inner surface 12 of the lower half 1B after assembling with work or a robot hand.
[0038]
Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the conical compression coil spring 7 is used. However, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, even when the compression coil spring 14 is assembled to the door side spring hook 70 of the slide door 6, the same. An effect can be obtained.
[0039]
In the embodiment of the present invention, it is assumed that one robot hand RH is used in assembling the magnetic tape cartridge MC. However, for example, the same effect can be obtained by using two or more robot hands. It can also be assembled manually.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a magnetic tape cartridge capable of easily realizing the work of assembling the door and the compression coil spring to the cartridge case.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a magnetic tape cartridge according to the present invention.
2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a main part of an inner surface of a lower half included in the magnetic tape cartridge shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
3A is an enlarged perspective view showing a sliding door included in the magnetic tape cartridge shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
(B) It is a perspective view which shows the conical compression coil spring assembled | attached to a door side spring hook part.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a conical compression coil spring is assembled to the slide door.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a sliding door held by a component holding jig.
6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the slide door shown in FIG. 5 is gripped by the robot hand of the assembling apparatus. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the slide door is assembled to the lower half.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
6 Sliding door (door)
6e Rear end part 6f Front end part 6g Middle abdominal part 7 Conical compression coil spring 7a Large diameter part 7b Small diameter part 8 Plate member (case side spring hook)
8a Slit 14 Compression coil spring 20 Component holding jig 70 Door side spring hook 71 Drop-off prevention piece 71a Projection 71b Locking piece 72 Guide bar RH Robot hand MC Magnetic tape cartridge

Claims (1)

A cartridge case consisting of an upper half and a lower half;
A magnetic tape outlet formed at a corner of the side wall portion of the cartridge case;
A curved door that opens and closes the magnetic tape outlet;
A guide groove for slidably guiding the door in its opening and closing direction;
A compression coil spring that urges the door to a closed position of the magnetic tape outlet;
A door-side spring hook that is provided on the door and locks one end of the compression coil spring;
A guide rod provided in the door and guiding expansion and contraction of the compression coil spring through an inner diameter of the compression coil spring;
A magnetic tape cartridge comprising a case-side spring hook portion provided on an inner surface of the cartridge case and locking the other end portion of the compression coil spring.

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