JP2007109305A - Recording media cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording media cartridge which is environment-friendly. <P>SOLUTION: In the recording media cartridge 10 provided with a case 12 housing a recording media T, at least the case 12 is formed by a metal material. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

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

  Conventionally, there is a recording tape cartridge (recording media cartridge) in which a recording tape such as a magnetic tape used as a data recording / reproducing medium of a computer or the like is wound around a single reel and the reel is accommodated in a case. It is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Most of such recording tape cartridges (recording media cartridges) are made of plastic (synthetic resin) except for a small amount of metal parts such as spring members. However, in recent years, from the viewpoint of environmental problems such as harmful substances generated when discarded (incinerated), products that are easy to recycle and tend to be environmentally friendly tend to be preferred. For example, in recent years, the adoption of biodegradable plastic that can be biodegraded by bacteria and the like and has a low environmental impact after disposal has started.
JP 2004-95070 A

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to obtain an environmentally friendly recording media cartridge.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording media cartridge according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein at least the case is formed of a metal material. It is characterized by.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium cartridge comprising a case for accommodating a magnetic recording tape medium, wherein at least the case is made of a metal material.

  According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, since at least the case is made of metal, the case can be reused as a recycled material by melting the case after discarding the recording media cartridge. That is, the recyclability of the recording media cartridge can be improved. Therefore, an environmentally friendly recording media cartridge can be obtained.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium cartridge according to the third aspect, wherein the case and the reel are formed of a metal material. The recording medium cartridge includes a case that houses a reel on which a magnetic recording tape medium is wound. It is characterized by being.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since at least the case and the reel are made of metal, after the recording medium cartridge is discarded, the case and the reel can be melted to be reused as a recycled material. That is, the recyclability of the recording media cartridge can be improved. Therefore, an environmentally friendly recording media cartridge can be obtained.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the recording medium cartridge according to the first aspect, the electronic parts in the case and all parts other than the recording medium are formed of a metal material. Yes.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, since all the parts excluding the electronic parts and the recording medium are made of metal, after disassembling and removing them, all the remaining parts are melted and reused as recycled materials. Can do. Therefore, the recyclability of the recording media cartridge can be further improved.

  The recording medium cartridge according to claim 5 is the recording medium cartridge according to claim 2 or 3, wherein all parts except the electronic parts in the case and the magnetic recording tape medium are formed of a metal material. It is characterized by having.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, since all the parts except the electronic parts and the magnetic recording tape medium are made of metal, after disassembling and removing them, all the remaining parts are melted and reused as recycled materials. can do. Therefore, the recyclability of the recording media cartridge can be further improved.

  The recording media cartridge according to claim 6 is the recording media cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein all parts in the case are formed of a metal material. It is said.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, since all the components in the case are made of metal, the recording media cartridge can be melted as it is and reused as a recycled material without disassembling. Therefore, the recyclability of the recording media cartridge can be further improved.

  A recording media cartridge according to claim 7 is the recording media cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the metal material is nonmagnetic.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, there is no possibility of adversely affecting the recording medium or magnetic recording tape medium accommodated in the case.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the recording medium cartridge according to the seventh aspect, the metal material is stainless steel.

  According to invention of Claim 8, generation | occurrence | production of rust can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the recording medium or the magnetic recording tape medium from being contaminated with rust.

  As described above, according to the present invention, an environmentally friendly recording medium cartridge can be provided.

  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. A recording tape cartridge 10 will be described as an example of the recording medium cartridge. 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 front 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, the upper case 14 and the lower case 16 made of metal have 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, respectively. In this state, they are joined by screwing or the like.

  Note that the metal material used for the case 12 (the upper case 14 and the lower case 16) is non-magnetic because the recording tape T (reel 20) as a recording medium is accommodated therein, as will be described later. From the viewpoint of preventing rust and the like from occurring, stainless steel is preferred.

  Inside the case 12, only one reel 20 is rotatably accommodated. The reel 20 includes a bottomed cylindrical reel hub 22 constituting an axial center portion, a lower flange 26 provided at a lower end portion thereof, and an upper flange 24 provided at an upper end portion thereof. The upper flange 24 and the lower flange 26 are also made of a metal material.

  Then, 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 an end portion in the width direction of the wound recording tape T by the upper flange 24 and the lower flange 26. Is held. Therefore, the material of the metal used for the reel 20 (reel hub 22, upper flange 24, lower flange 26) must be nonmagnetic, and stainless steel is preferable from the viewpoint of preventing rust and the like from occurring. .

  A reel gear (not shown) is formed in an annular shape on the lower surface of the bottom wall 28 of the reel hub 22, and a gear opening 40 for exposing the reel gear to the outside is formed in the center of the lower case 16. Has been. The reel gear exposed from the gear opening 40 is meshed with a drive gear (not shown) formed on a rotation shaft (not shown) of the drive device and is driven to rotate, whereby the reel 20 is placed in the case 12 within the case 12. 12 can be rotated relative to 12.

  When not in use (during storage, transportation, etc.), the reel 20 is partially projected on the inner surface of the upper case 14 and the lower case 16, and is on a circular locus coaxial with the gear opening 40. It is the structure hold | maintained so that it may not rattle by the floating regulation wall 42 as an inner wall.

  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 as an electronic component is disposed (held) at a predetermined angle between the support rib 44 (inclined surface 44A) and the pressing rib 46. ).

  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. Various types of information are stored in the memory board M, and information can be read and information can be written (rewritten) as necessary by communicating with the drive device or the library device.

  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 metal leader pin 30 that is pulled out while being locked (engaged) by a drawing member (not shown) of the apparatus is fixed.

  An annular groove 32 is formed at both ends of the leader pin 30 projecting 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. The metal material used for the leader pin 30 must also be non-magnetic, and stainless steel is preferable from the viewpoint of preventing rust and the like from occurring.

  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.

  The opening 18 is opened and closed by a metal door 50. The door 50 is formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape having a size capable of closing the opening 18, and is provided on the top plate 14 </ b> A and the bottom plate 16 </ b> A inside the opening 18 so as to move along the right wall 12 </ b> B of the case 12. A groove portion 64 is formed in which the upper and lower end portions of 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 inserted 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 inserted into 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. The convex portion 56 engages with an opening / closing member (not shown) on the drive device side as the recording tape cartridge 10 is loaded into the drive device. Thereby, the door 50 is configured to be opened against the urging force of the coil spring 58. In addition, the metal material used for the door 50 needs to be non-magnetic like the case 12, and stainless steel is preferable from the viewpoint of preventing rust and the like from occurring.

  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). The recording tape T is wound around the reel hub 22 of the reel 20.

  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, the opening / closing member 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 lowered by a predetermined height, and the positioning member (not shown) of the drive device is moved to the lower case. 16 is inserted into a positioning hole (not shown) formed in 16. As a result, the recording tape cartridge 10 is accurately positioned at a predetermined position in the drive device, and further sliding (rearward movement) of the door 50 is restricted.

  Further, the lowering operation of the recording tape cartridge 10 causes the rotation shaft to relatively enter from the gear opening 40 and mesh the drive gear with the reel gear. The reel 20 can rotate relative to the case 12 in the case 12 in a state where the drive gear and the reel gear are completely meshed with each other.

  On the other hand, a drawing member provided on the drive device side 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 engage the hook with the annular groove 32 of the leader pin 30.

  Thus, 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).

  When the recording tape cartridge 10 that has finished recording and reproducing information is ejected from the drive device, first, the recording tape T is rewound onto the reel 20 by the reverse rotation of the rotating shaft. When the recording tape T is rewound to the end of the reel 20 and the leader pin 30 is held by the pin holding portion 36, the recording tape cartridge 10 is raised by a predetermined height, and the positioning member is moved from the positioning hole. At the same time, the rotary shaft is extracted from the gear opening 40, and the engagement of the drive gear with the reel gear is released.

  The recording tape cartridge 10 is moved in the direction opposite to the arrow A direction by an unillustrated ejecting mechanism. Then, with this movement, the door 50 slides in the closing direction of the opening 18 by the urging force of the coil spring 58 and completely closes the opening 18 (returns to the initial state). In this way, the recording tape cartridge 10 with the opening 18 closed is completely discharged from the drive device.

  Here, even if an impact is applied to the recording tape cartridge 10 due to dropping or the like, the case 12, the reel 20, etc. are made of metal, so that they are more resistant than conventional recording tape cartridges made of resin. The impact property is high, and the confidentiality of the case 12 itself is improved. Therefore, sufficient storage / reliability of data recorded on the recording tape T can be ensured.

  Since all parts except the memory board M and the recording tape T are made of metal, after disposal, the recording tape cartridge 10 is disassembled and removed, and then all the remaining parts are melted to recycle the recycled material. Can be reused as That is, the recyclability of the recording tape cartridge 10 is improved. Therefore, the recording tape cartridge 10 is environmentally friendly.

  When the recording tape cartridge 10 is not provided with the memory board M, the recording tape T melts without disassembling the recording tape cartridge 10 because there is no problem even if the recording tape T is melted together with other metal parts. be able to. That is, in this case, the recyclability of the recording tape cartridge 10 can be further improved.

  Further, since the metal is non-magnetic, there is no possibility of adversely affecting the recording tape T wound around the reel 20 accommodated in the case 12. In particular, when the metal is made of non-magnetic stainless steel, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of rust, so that it is possible to prevent a problem that the recording tape T is contaminated with rust.

  As described above, at least the case 12 of the recording tape cartridge 10, preferably all parts except the memory board M and the recording tape T, are made of metal, so that the environmentally friendly recording tape cartridge 10 can be obtained. That is, almost all the components of the discarded recording tape cartridge 10 can be melted and reused (recycled) as a recycled material, so that the burden on the environment can be reduced.

  Note that the recording medium cartridge according to the present invention is not limited to the illustrated recording tape cartridge 10 but can be applied to a disk cartridge containing a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or the like. .

Schematic perspective view of recording tape cartridge Outline exploded perspective view of recording tape cartridge

Explanation of symbols

10 Recording tape cartridge (recording media cartridge)
12 Case 14 Upper Case 16 Lower Case 20 Reel 22 Reel Hub 24 Upper Flange 26 Lower Flange 30 Leader Pin 50 Door T Recording Tape (Recording Media / Magnetic Recording Tape Media)

Claims (8)

In a recording media cartridge having a case for storing a recording medium,
A recording medium cartridge, wherein at least the case is made of a metal material. In a recording media cartridge having a case for accommodating a magnetic recording tape medium,
A recording medium cartridge, wherein at least the case is made of a metal material. In a recording media cartridge having a case for accommodating a reel on which a magnetic recording tape medium is wound,
A recording medium cartridge, wherein at least the case and the reel are made of a metal material.   The recording medium cartridge according to claim 1, wherein all parts except the electronic parts and the recording medium in the case are made of a metal material.   The recording medium cartridge according to claim 2 or 3, wherein all parts except the electronic parts and the magnetic recording tape medium in the case are formed of a metal material.   The recording media cartridge according to claim 1, wherein all parts in the case are formed of a metal material.   The recording medium cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the metal material is non-magnetic.   The recording medium cartridge according to claim 7, wherein the metal material is stainless steel.

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