JP2006040449A - Recording tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording tape cartridge capable of easily discriminating whether a recording tape is recorded or not from the outside without burdening a user. <P>SOLUTION: In a recording tape cartridge 10 provided with a case 12 for rotatably housing a single reel 20 around which a recording tape T is wound, a seal member 70 is stuck on the case 12, a look of the seal member changing in accordance with disturbance from a drive device after starting recording by the drive device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording tape cartridge in which a recording tape such as a magnetic tape mainly used as a recording / reproducing medium for a computer or the like is accommodated in a case.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a recording tape cartridge in which a recording tape such as a magnetic tape used as a data recording / reproducing medium for a computer or the like is wound around a single reel and the reel is accommodated in a case. A leader member such as a leader pin, a leader tape, or a leader block is provided at the tip of the recording tape, and a leader provided on the drive device side draws the leader member from the opening of the recording tape cartridge and is fixed thereto. The recording tape is wound around a take-up reel on the drive device side.

  In addition, a reel gear is engraved in the center of the lower surface of the reel exposed from the opening formed in the lower surface of the recording tape cartridge, and the drive gear provided on the rotating shaft on the drive device side is attached to the reel gear. The reel is configured to be rotationally driven by meshing. Therefore, by rotating the reel of the recording tape cartridge and the take-up reel of the drive device in synchronization, data can be recorded on the recording tape and data recorded on the recording tape can be reproduced.

  A recording tape cartridge having such a configuration includes a WORM (Write Once Read Many) cartridge that is read-only and cannot be overwritten once written. Since this WORM cartridge is not overwritten, important data is often recorded, and whether or not information has already been recorded on the WORM cartridge is determined, for example, by installing a drive device in the recording tape cartridge. This is determined by accessing the memory board (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

However, with such a configuration, it is impossible to determine whether or not the WORM cartridge has already been recorded unless it is loaded in the drive device. For this reason, conventionally, a user sticks an identification seal member to a recorded WORM cartridge. However, in this case, there is a problem that the sticking work becomes a burden on the user. Moreover, there is a concern that the sticking of the seal member may be forgotten.
JP 2000-268443 A JP 2003-123342 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a recording tape cartridge that can easily determine whether or not recording has been performed from the appearance without imposing a burden on the user.

  In order to achieve the above object, the recording tape cartridge according to claim 1 of the present invention is a recording tape cartridge comprising a case that rotatably accommodates a single reel on which the recording tape is wound, A seal member whose appearance changes due to a disturbance applied from the drive device after the start of recording by the drive device is affixed to the case.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, after the recording by the drive device is started, the seal member whose appearance changes due to the disturbance applied from the drive device is attached to the case. This makes it easy to discriminate (can be identified at a glance). In addition, since the drive device causes a disturbance, it is reliably displayed that the recording has been completed without causing any trouble that places a burden on the user.

  The recording tape cartridge according to claim 2 is the recording tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the case includes an upper case and a lower case which are joined with their peripheral walls abutting each other, and the seal A member is affixed across the upper case and the lower case.

  In the invention of claim 2, since the seal member is stuck across the upper case and the lower case, it is possible to give an impression that it is difficult to disassemble the person who tries to disassemble the case illegally. That is, the cheating can be prevented psychologically. In fact, the case can be made difficult to disassemble by the seal member.

  The recording tape cartridge according to claim 3 is the recording tape cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the seal member is pasted on the peripheral wall of the case and across at least two surfaces. It is characterized by that.

  In the invention of claim 3, since the seal member is stuck across at least two surfaces of the case peripheral wall, it is easy to recognize the seal member. Moreover, when pasted across the upper case and the lower case, it is possible to give an impression that it is even more difficult to disassemble the person who tries to disassemble the case illegally. In fact, the case can be made more difficult to disassemble by the seal member.

  Furthermore, the recording tape cartridge according to claim 4 is the recording tape cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the disturbance is heat, light, or pressure.

  In the invention of claim 4, the disturbance from the drive device is heat, light or pressure. That is, the appearance of the seal member changes when heat, light, or pressure is applied. Therefore, the means for generating the disturbance can be a simple structure. In addition, the light irradiated to the sealing member is light having a wavelength different from the wavelength of light such as sunlight, a fluorescent lamp, or a light bulb.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a recording tape cartridge that can easily determine whether or not recording has been performed from the appearance without imposing a burden on the user.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail based on examples shown in the drawings. For convenience of explanation, in FIG. 1, the loading direction of the recording tape cartridge 10 into the drive device is indicated by an arrow A, which is the forward direction (front side) of the recording tape cartridge 10. The arrow B direction orthogonal to the arrow A is the right direction (right side).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the recording tape cartridge 10 has a case 12 having a substantially rectangular box shape. In this case 12, an upper case 14 and a lower case 16 made of a resin such as PC are connected to a peripheral wall 14B erected on the periphery of the top plate 14A and a peripheral wall 16B erected on the periphery of the bottom plate 16A. In the contacted state, they are joined by ultrasonic welding, screwing or the like.

  Inside the case 12, only one reel 20 is rotatably accommodated. In this reel 20, a bottomed cylindrical reel hub 22 constituting an axial center portion and an upper flange 24 provided at the upper end portion thereof are integrally formed, and a lower flange 26 is ultrasonically welded to the lower end portion of the reel hub 22. Configured. A recording tape T such as a magnetic tape as an information recording / reproducing medium is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the reel hub 22, and the end of the wound recording tape T in the width direction is wound by the upper flange 24 and the lower flange 26. Part is held.

  An opening 18 for pulling out the recording tape T wound around the reel 20 is formed in the right wall 12B of the case 12, and a drive tape is drawn from the opening 18 at the free end of the recording tape T. A leader pin 30 that is pulled out while being locked (engaged) by a drawing member of the apparatus is fixed. An annular groove 32 is formed at both ends of the leader pin 30 protruding from the widthwise end of the recording tape T, and the annular groove 32 is locked to a hook or the like of the drawing member. Thereby, when the recording tape T is pulled out, the hook or the like does not come into contact with the recording tape T to be damaged.

  Further, a pair of upper and lower pin holding portions 36 for positioning and holding the leader pin 30 in the case 12 on the inner side of the opening 18 of the case 12, that is, on the inner surface of the top plate 14 A of the upper case 14 and the inner surface of the bottom plate 16 A of the lower case 16. Is provided. The pin holding portion 36 has a substantially semicircular shape with the drawing tape T drawn side open, and both end portions 34 of the leader pin 30 in an upright state can enter and leave the pin holding portion 36 from the open side. Has been.

  In addition, a leaf spring 38 is fixedly disposed in the vicinity of the pin holding portion 36, and the bifurcated tip portion of the leaf spring 38 is engaged with the upper and lower end portions 34 of the leader pin 30. The leader pin 30 is held by the pin holding portion 36. When the leader pin 30 enters and exits the pin holding portion 36, the tip of the leaf spring 38 is appropriately elastically deformed to allow the leader pin 30 to move.

  Further, a gear opening 40 for exposing the reel gear (not shown) of the reel 20 to the outside is provided in the center portion of the lower case 16, and the reel gear serves as a drive gear (not shown) of the drive device. It is meshed and is driven to rotate in the case 12. The reel 20 is partially protruded from the inner surfaces of the upper case 14 and the lower case 16 so that the reel 20 is not rattled by the floating regulation wall 42 as an inner wall on a circular locus coaxial with the gear opening 40. Is held in.

  In addition, two support ribs 44 are erected on the right rear portion of the lower case 16 at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction, and the two pressing ribs are spaced from the support rib 44 at a predetermined interval in the front-rear direction. Ribs 46 are erected at predetermined intervals in the left-right direction. The front surface of the support rib 44 is an inclined surface 44A inclined at a predetermined angle, and the memory board M is arranged (held) in a state inclined at a predetermined angle between the support rib 44 (inclined surface 44A) and the pressing rib 46. It has become.

  This is because the drive device accessed from the lower surface (bottom surface) side of the case 12 and the library device accessed from the rear wall (rear surface) side (containing a plurality of recording tape cartridges 10 and automatically loaded into the drive device This is to make it possible to deal with both of the devices. The memory board M stores various types of information for each recording tape cartridge 10, and communicates with a drive device or library device to read information and write (rewrite) information as necessary. ) Is now possible.

  Further, a write protect (not shown) is set on the left rear portion of the lower case 16 so as to enable / disable recording on the recording tape cartridge 10, and an operation projection (not shown) for operating the write protect is provided. (Not shown) is formed with a notch 48 projecting. A similar notch (not shown) is also formed in the upper case 14, and an opening for projecting the operation protrusion is formed when the upper case 14 and the lower case 16 are joined. Yes.

  The opening 18 is opened and closed by a door 50. As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the door 50 is formed in a rectangular plate shape having a size capable of closing the opening 18, and can be moved along the right wall 12 </ b> B of the case 12. 14A and the bottom plate 16A are formed with groove portions 64 into which the upper and lower end portions of the door 50 are slidably fitted.

  A shaft 52 projects from the center of the rear end of the door 50, and a coil spring 58 is fitted into the shaft 52. An enlarged portion 54 that prevents the coil spring 58 from falling off is formed at the rear end of the shaft 52. Further, the lower case 16 is provided with a support base 60 having a locking portion 62 that locks the rear end of the coil spring 58 fitted on the shaft 52.

  Accordingly, the door 50 is supported by the urging force of the coil spring 58 when the shaft 52 is slidably supported on the support base 60 and the rear end of the coil spring 58 is locked by the locking portion 62. In this configuration, the opening 18 is always urged in the closing direction. When the opening 18 is opened, it is preferable that a support base 66 that supports the shaft 52 is further protruded on the rear side of the support base 60.

  Further, a projection 56 for opening / closing operation projects outwardly from the front end of the door 50. When the recording tape cartridge 10 is loaded into the drive device, the convex portion 56 engages with an opening / closing member (not shown) on the drive device side. It is configured to open against the urging force.

  In the recording tape cartridge 10 as described above, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a predetermined position on the right wall 12B and / or the left wall 12C of the case 12 is caused by disturbance applied from the disturbance generating means 80 of the drive device. A seal member 70 whose appearance changes is affixed. The disturbance mentioned here may be a simple structure of the disturbance generating means 80, for example, heat or light (in this case, light having a wavelength different from that of sunlight, fluorescent light, light bulb, etc.), pressure, and the like. .

  The seal member 70 is appropriately selected according to the type of disturbance. For example, a thermal paper label that develops color when heated (Fuji Photo Film's thermal paper for labels), a pressure sensitive paper label that produces color when pressure is applied (a prescale made by Fuji Photo Film), sunlight, A photosensitive paper label (copy art manufactured by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.) that develops color when irradiated with light having a wavelength different from the wavelength of light such as a fluorescent lamp or a light bulb can be used as the seal member 70.

  In addition, as above-mentioned, the site | part which sticks the sealing member 70 has the right wall 12B and / or the left wall 12C preferable. The size, shape, number, and the like of the seal member 70 are not limited to those shown in the figure, but the front wall 12A is used for positioning when loaded into the drive device, and the flatness of the seal member 70 is impaired. It is not preferable, and a label or the like describing a title or the like is affixed to the rear wall 12D, so it is difficult to secure a space for affixing.

  Moreover, it is preferable that this sealing member 70 is stuck over the upper case 14 and the lower case 16, that is, as shown in FIG. 4A, over the peripheral wall 14B and the peripheral wall 16B. By sticking in this way, it is possible to give an impression that it is difficult to disassemble the recording tape cartridge 10 (case 12) to a person who tries to disassemble it illegally. That is, an illegal act (decomposing act) on the recording tape cartridge 10 can be prevented psychologically. Further, in practice, the seal member 70 can make the case 12 difficult to disassemble.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 4 (B), for example, when pasting across the right wall 12B and the rear wall 12D, the illegal act (decomposing action) is further prevented psychologically. This is preferable because the case 12 can be made difficult to disassemble. In addition, in this way, when pasted across at least two surfaces, there is an advantage that the user can easily find (recognize) the seal member 70.

  Next, the operation of the recording tape cartridge 10 configured as described above will be described. In the recording tape cartridge 10 having the above-described configuration, the opening 18 is closed by the door 50 when not in use (when stored or transported). When the recording tape T is used, the recording tape cartridge 10 is loaded into the drive device along the arrow A direction with the front wall 12A at the head.

  Then, first, an opening / closing member (not shown) provided on the drive device side engages with the convex portion 56 of the door 50. In this state, when the recording tape cartridge 10 further moves in the arrow A direction, the opening / closing member moves the convex portion 56 relatively rearward against the urging force of the coil spring 58. Then, the door 50 on which the convex portion 56 projects is slid rearward in the groove portion 64 along the right wall 12B to open the opening 18.

  Thus, when the recording tape cartridge 10 is loaded into the drive device at a predetermined depth and the opening 18 is completely opened, the recording tape cartridge 10 is accurately positioned at a predetermined position in the drive device by positioning means (not shown) of the drive device. And further sliding (substantially backward movement) of the door 50 is restricted.

  If the recording tape cartridge 10 is a WORM cartridge, the drive device accesses the memory board M to detect the information. That is, the recording tape cartridge (WORM cartridge) 10 is recognized by the drive device as a cartridge that is not overwritten once written.

  Then, a drawing member (not shown) of the drive device enters the case 12 from the opened opening 18 and grips and pulls out the leader pin 30 positioned and held by the pin holding portion 36. At this time, since the recording tape cartridge 10 is accurately positioned in the drive device, the drawing member can reliably hold the leader pin 30.

  The leader pin 30 extracted from the opening 18 is accommodated in a take-up reel (not shown). Then, by rotating the take-up reel and the reel 20 synchronously, the recording tape T is sequentially drawn out from the case 12 while being taken up by the take-up reel, and is arranged along a predetermined tape path. Information is recorded or reproduced by a recording / reproducing head (not shown).

  That is, when it is determined that all the data has been recorded based on the information read from the memory board M by the drive device, the recording tape cartridge 10 can be executed only for reproduction. Processing such as discharging from the apparatus is executed. If it is determined that all recording has not been performed (or some unrecorded areas exist), information can be recorded on the recording tape cartridge 10 and information can be recorded from a predetermined position on the recording tape T. Done.

  When the recording tape cartridge 10 that has finished recording information is ejected from the drive device, first, the recording tape T is rewound onto the reel 20 and the leader pin 30 is held by the pin holder 36. If the additional recording on the recording tape cartridge 10 is impossible, as shown in FIG. 5, the recording tape cartridge 10 is affixed to, for example, the right wall 12B by the disturbance generating means 80 provided in the drive device. Disturbance is applied to the seal member 70.

  That is, since the recording tape cartridge 10 is a WORM cartridge, when information has already been recorded (when appending is impossible), it is preferable that the recording tape cartridge 10 is not loaded into the drive device for the purpose of recording information. . Therefore, heat or light as shown in FIG. 5A or pressing force by the cylinder 78 as shown in FIG. 5B is applied to the surface of the seal member 70.

  When a disturbance such as heat, light, pressure, or the like is applied to the seal member 70, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, a predetermined color is developed (appearance changes). It can be easily distinguished from the non-recording tape cartridge 10. That is, even if it is not loaded in the drive device, it can be easily determined at a glance whether the recording tape cartridge 10 has already been recorded (cannot be additionally written) or is unrecorded (can be additionally written). .

  Thus, when a disturbance is applied to the recording tape cartridge 10, the positioning means for the recording tape cartridge 10 of the drive device is released, and the recording tape cartridge 10 is moved in the direction opposite to the arrow A direction by an unillustrated ejection mechanism. Is done. Along with this movement, the door 50 slides in the closing direction of the opening 18 by the biasing force of the coil spring 58 and completely closes the opening 18 (returns to the initial state). Then, the recording tape cartridge 10 with the opening 18 closed is completely discharged from the drive device.

  As described above, by applying disturbance (heat, light, pressure, etc.) from the drive device to the seal member 70 that is previously attached to a predetermined position of the recording tape cartridge 10, the state of the seal member 70 (appearance) ), And this allows the user to determine whether the recording tape cartridge 10 is unrecorded (addable) or recorded (not appendable), so there is no problem that puts a burden on the user, And the display is performed reliably.

  Further, since the change can be easily confirmed visually by, for example, coloring the seal member 70, the recording tape cartridge 10 is unrecorded (recordable) or recorded (unrecordable). Whether it is the tape cartridge 10 is easily and reliably identified (from the appearance) by just looking at the sealing member 70 at a glance. That is, it is not necessary to check the recording tape cartridge 10 loaded in the drive device as in the prior art.

  Therefore, the present invention can be particularly preferably applied to the recording tape cartridge 10 that cannot be overwritten, such as a WORM cartridge. That is, since it is possible to reliably prevent an action in which a WORM cartridge that has already been recorded is erroneously loaded into the drive device, the usability of the recording tape cartridge 10 is improved for the user.

  Note that the content that changes due to disturbance is not limited to color development, and may be configured such that characters, patterns, and the like are raised. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the disturbance is described as after the information recording is finished (immediately before the recording tape cartridge 10 is ejected from the drive device). However, it is known that the recording is not added from the beginning. In the case of the tape cartridge 10, a configuration may be adopted in which a disturbance is applied immediately after information recording is started or while information recording is being executed.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the drive device has been described as a type of drive device that recognizes that the recording tape cartridge 10 is a WORM cartridge by accessing the memory board M. However, the shape of the case 12 indicates that the recording tape cartridge 10 is a WORM cartridge. It may be a recognized drive device.

Schematic perspective view of recording tape cartridge Outline exploded perspective view of recording tape cartridge Schematic perspective view showing door and case opening The schematic perspective view which shows the corner | angular part of the case where the sealing member was affixed Schematic perspective view showing disturbance generating means of drive device Explanatory drawing showing the color change of the seal member

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Recording tape cartridge 12 Case 14 Upper case 16 Lower case 18 Opening 20 Reel 30 Leader pin 50 Door 70 Seal member 80 Disturbance generating means

Claims (4)

In a recording tape cartridge having a case that rotatably accommodates a single reel on which a recording tape is wound,
A recording tape cartridge, wherein a seal member whose appearance changes due to a disturbance applied from the drive device after the start of recording by the drive device is attached to the case.   The case includes an upper case and a lower case that are joined with each other in contact with each other, and the seal member is pasted across the upper case and the lower case. Item 8. A recording tape cartridge according to Item 1.   3. The recording tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the seal member is affixed on the peripheral wall of the case and across at least two surfaces. 4.   4. The recording tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the disturbance is heat, light, or pressure.

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