JP2008112540A - Reel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reel capable of suppressing the surface wobbling width of a flange even when an area having no tooth partially is formed in a reel gear formed on a bottom wall. <P>SOLUTION: The reel 20 is provided with a hub 22 on which a recording tape T is wound, a first flange 24 disposed in one end of the hub 22, a second flange 26 disposed in the other end of the hub 22, a bottom wall 28 formed on a predetermined circumference and having a reel gear 44 having an area of no tooth partially formed, a bulged part 46A stacked on the area 44A of no tooth, and a reel plate 46 fixed to the bottom wall 28. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a reel around which a recording tape such as a magnetic tape used mainly as a recording / reproducing medium of a computer or the like is wound.

  Conventionally, a recording tape cartridge in which a recording tape such as a magnetic tape used as a data recording / reproducing medium (data backup) for a computer or the like is wound around a synthetic resin reel and the reel is housed in a single case. It has been known. In such a recording tape cartridge, high precision is required for the dimension and shape of the reel around which the recording tape is wound (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

However, since the reel is molded from a resin material, an error is likely to occur during molding. For example, in a reel (see, for example, Patent Document 2) in which a through-hole into which a leg portion of a release member for releasing braking of a braking member can be inserted is formed on the bottom wall without a part of the reel gear, the through-hole There is a difference in the thickness of the area where the reel gear teeth are formed and the area where the reel gear teeth are formed by the amount of the reel gear teeth. Therefore, the stress distribution of the resin is not uniform, and there is a possibility that deformation due to the difference in shrinkage of the resin occurs. And thereby, there exists a problem which the surface runout width of the lower flange provided in the bottom wall side will increase.
JP 2005-50487 A JP 2006-228350 A

  Therefore, in view of such problems, the present invention is to obtain a reel capable of suppressing the surface runout width of the flange even if the reel gear formed on the bottom wall has a partially toothless area. Objective.

  In order to achieve the above object, a reel according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a hub around which a recording tape is wound, a first flange provided at one end of the hub, A second flange provided at the other end, a bottom wall provided with a reel gear formed along a predetermined circumference and partially formed with a toothless area, and an overlap with the toothless area And a reel plate which is provided with an overhanging portion and is fixed to the bottom wall.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, even if the reel gear formed on the bottom wall has a partially toothless area, the reel plate overhangs the rigidity of the toothless area. Since it can be ensured (can be reinforced), the dimensional accuracy of the flange can be maintained with high accuracy. Therefore, the surface runout width of the flange can be suppressed.

  A reel according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the reel according to claim 1, the shape of the overhanging portion is substantially the same as the shape of the area without the teeth.

  According to invention of Claim 2, the rigidity of an area without a tooth | gear can be ensured favorable (it can reinforce favorably). Therefore, the dimensional accuracy of the flange can be maintained with high accuracy, and the surface runout width of the flange can be suppressed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a reel capable of suppressing the surface runout width of the flange even if the reel gear formed on the bottom wall has a partially toothless area.

  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 to 5, the recording tape cartridge 10 has a case 12 having a substantially rectangular box shape. In the case 12, an upper case 14 and a lower case 16 made of resin such as PC (polycarbonate) are respectively provided with a peripheral wall 14B standing on the periphery of the top plate 14A and a peripheral wall 16B standing on the periphery of the bottom plate 16A. Are joined together by ultrasonic welding, screwing, or the like.

  Inside the case 12, only one reel 20 is rotatably accommodated. In the reel 20, a bottomed cylindrical reel hub 22 constituting an axial center portion and a lower flange 26 provided at a lower end portion thereof are integrally formed, and an upper flange 24 is ultrasonically welded to an upper 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 on 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.

  A reel gear 44 is formed in a substantially annular shape on the lower surface of the bottom wall 28 of the reel hub 22. That is, on the reel gear 44, a plurality of toothless areas 44A (the illustrated one is three at intervals of 120 degrees) are formed partially (missing a part of the teeth). A through-hole 28A through which a leg portion 94 of a release member 90 described later is inserted is formed in the bottom wall 28 of the area 44A that does not exist.

  A gear opening 40 for exposing the reel gear 44 to the outside is formed in the center portion of the lower case 16. The reel gear 44 exposed from the gear opening 40 is engaged with a drive gear 102 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) formed on the rotary shaft 100 of the drive device and is driven to rotate, so that the reel is formed in the case 12. 20 is rotatable relative to the case 12.

  When not in use (when not loaded in the drive device, for example, during storage or transportation), the reel 20 is partially projected on the inner surfaces of the upper case 14 and the lower case 16, respectively. It is held so as not to be rattled by a floating regulating wall 42 as an inner wall on a circular locus coaxial with the opening 40.

  A reel plate 46, which is an annular metal plate made of a magnetic material, is fixed coaxially and integrally to the inside of the reel gear 44 on the lower surface of the bottom wall 28 by insert molding. It is attracted and held by the magnetic force of an annular magnet (not shown) provided on the rotating shaft 100.

  In addition, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the reel plate 46 has a plurality of (in this case, three) toothless areas 44 </ b> A that are formed at predetermined portions of the reel gear 44 and can be overlapped. The overhanging portions 46A (three in this case) extend in the radial direction in substantially the same shape, preferably the same shape as the toothless area 44A.

  A through hole 46B communicating with the through hole 28A is formed in the overhanging portion 46A. The inner diameter of the through hole 46B is preferably the same as or slightly larger than the inner diameter of the through hole 28A. With such a configuration, it becomes possible to reliably insert a leg portion 94 of a release member 90 described later into the through holes 28A and 46A.

  The right wall 12B of the case 12 is formed with an opening 18 for pulling out the recording tape T wound around the reel 20, and a drive end at the free end of the recording tape T drawn from the opening 18 has a drive. A 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.

  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 movement of the leader pin 30.

  The opening 18 is opened and closed by a 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 is projected 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 slidably supported on the support base 60 and the rear end of the coil spring 58 is locked to the locking portion 62, so that the door 50 is always urged by the urging force of the coil spring 58. The opening 18 is biased 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.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a write protect 70, which is set to enable / disable recording on the recording tape T, is provided at the left rear portion of the case 12 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction. An opening 68 is formed in the rear wall for projecting an operation projection 72 for manually operating the write protect 70. The opening 68 is formed by a notch 68A formed in the peripheral wall 14B of the upper case 14 and a notch 68B formed in the peripheral wall 16B of the lower case 16 when the upper case 14 and the lower case 16 are joined. It is the structure formed.

  Furthermore, the lower case 16 is provided with a long hole 69 that exposes the protrusion 74 of the write protect 70 in the left-right direction, and when the recording tape cartridge 10 is loaded in the drive device, the drive The position of the write protect 70 is detected on the apparatus side, and it is automatically determined whether or not recording on the recording tape T is possible. The protrusion 74 does not protrude from the lower surface of the lower case 16.

  A plurality of engagement gears 48 (for example, three at intervals of 120 degrees) are provided on the periphery of the upper surface of the bottom wall 28 of the reel hub 22 at regular intervals with a predetermined gap therebetween. There are a plurality of through holes 28A (three in this case at intervals of 120 degrees) through which leg portions 94 of a release member 90 described later are inserted at predetermined positions on the reel gear 44. A disc-shaped braking member 80 formed of a resin material is inserted into the reel hub 22.

  A brake gear 84 that can mesh with the engagement gear 48 is formed in an annular shape on the periphery of the lower surface 80 </ b> A of the brake member 80, and the upper surface of the brake member 80 is directed downward from the inner surface of the top plate 14 </ b> A of the upper case 14. An engagement protrusion 86 having a substantially cross-shaped rotation restriction rib 76 that is protruded and inserted therein is erected so as to be slightly higher than the height of the rotation restriction rib 76. Yes. As a result, the braking member 80 is not rotatable with respect to the case 12 (upper case 14), and is movable in the vertical direction within the reel hub 22.

  A compression coil spring 98 is disposed between the upper case 14 and the braking member 80. That is, one end of the compression coil spring 98 abuts on the inner side (between the rotation restricting rib 76 and the annular protrusion 78) of the annular protrusion 78 provided on the outer side of the rotation restricting rib 76 of the upper case 14, and the other end is the braking member. 80 is arranged in contact with an annular groove 88 provided on the upper surface of 80. Due to the biasing force of the compression coil spring 98, the braking member 80 is constantly biased downward.

  Therefore, when the recording tape cartridge 10 is not in use (when not loaded in the drive device), the braking gear 84 is always meshed with the engagement gear 48 and the relative rotation of the reel 20 with respect to the case 12 is prevented. The rotation is locked. At this time, the reel 20 is pressed against the lower case 16 side by this urging force, and the reel gear 44 is exposed from the gear opening 40.

  Further, a release member 90 having a substantially equilateral triangular shape in a plan view formed of a resin material is inserted inside the reel hub 22 and below the braking member 80 (between the bottom wall 28 and the braking member 80). The The release member 90 is provided with a plurality of through holes 92 (three in the figure are hexagonal in the figure) formed in a predetermined shape at appropriate positions, so that the release member 90 is reduced in weight. .

  Further, on the lower surface of the release member 90 and at each apex portion, the bottom wall 28 is inserted into a through hole 28A formed in the bottom wall 28 and a through hole 46B formed in the overhanging portion 46A of the reel plate 46. A leg portion 94 protruding from the lower surface of the (reel plate 46) to the reel gear 44 by a predetermined height is provided. A substantially hemispherical release protrusion 82 projecting from the center of the lower surface 80A of the braking member 80 is brought into contact with the center of the upper surface 90A, which is a flat surface of the release member 90.

  With such a configuration, the contact area between the braking member 80 and the release member 90 is reduced as much as possible, and sliding resistance during use (when the reel 20 rotates) is reduced as much as possible. The material of the braking member 80 is, for example, POM (polyacetal), and the material of the release member 90 is, for example, PBT (polybutylene terephthalate).

  Next, the operation of the recording tape cartridge 10 including the reel 20 having the above configuration will be described. In the recording tape cartridge 10, the opening 18 is closed by the door 50 when not in use (for storage or transport). The braking member 80 is positioned at the rotation lock position by the urging force of the compression coil spring 98, and the braking gear 84 is engaged with the engaging gear 48. For this reason, the reel 20 is prevented from rotating with respect to the case 12.

  On the other hand, 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 projection 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.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lowering operation of the recording tape cartridge 10 causes the rotary shaft 100 to relatively enter from the gear opening 40 and engage the drive gear 102 with the reel gear 44. Then, as the drive gear 102 engages with the reel gear 44, the leg portion 94 protruding on the reel gear 44 is pushed up against the urging force of the compression coil spring 98 and is braked via the release member 90. The member 80 is pushed upward, and the meshing between the brake gear 84 and the engagement gear 48 is released.

  Then, in a state where the drive gear 102 and the reel gear 44 are completely meshed, the reel plate 46 is attracted and held by the magnetic force of the annular magnet provided inside the drive gear 102, so that the reel 20 is driven. While the engagement of the reel gear 44 with the gear 102 is maintained, the lock is released in the case 12 so as to be rotatable relative to the case 12 (see FIG. 5).

  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. Further, since the rotation lock state of the reel 20 is released, the reel 20 can rotate as the leader pin 30 is pulled out.

  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 shaft T is rewound onto the reel 20 by the reverse rotation of the rotary shaft 100. 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 100 is extracted from the gear opening 40 and the meshing of the drive gear 102 with the reel gear 44 is released.

  Then, the braking member 80 and the release member 90 are pressed downward by the urging force of the compression coil spring 98, and the leg portion 94 of the release member 90 moves through the through hole 28 </ b> A in the bottom wall 28 and the through hole 46 </ b> B in the reel plate 46. And a predetermined height protrudes from the lower surface of the bottom wall 28 (reel plate 46) onto the reel gear 44, and the brake gear 84 meshes with the engagement gear 48.

  As a result, the reel 20 is again in a rotation-locked state in which relative rotation in the case 12 is prevented, and then 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). Thus, the relative rotation of the reel 20 with respect to the case 12 is locked, and the recording tape cartridge 10 with the opening 18 closed is completely ejected from the drive device.

  Here, the structure of the reel 20 will be further described. As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a plurality of areas 44 </ b> A in which the teeth of the reel gear 44 are partially missing are formed at equal intervals on the lower surface side of the bottom wall 28 (three shown in the figure). The reel plate 46 is inserted into the bottom wall 28 by insert molding so that the overhanging portion 46A having the same shape (preferably the same shape) as the area 44A in a bottom view is superimposed on the area 44A having no teeth. It is fixed. Therefore, compared to the area 44B where the teeth of the reel gear 44 are formed, the rigidity of the area 44A without teeth where the plate thickness is reduced by that amount and the rigidity is reduced is better secured.

  That is, even when the reel 20 has a configuration in which the reel gear 44 formed along a predetermined circumference on the lower surface side of the bottom wall 28 is formed with a partially toothless area 44A, during insert molding, Since the toothless area 44A can be reinforced with the overhanging portion 46A of the metal reel plate 46, the difference in shrinkage of the resin in the entire bottom wall 28 can be reduced, and the size of the lower flange 26 ( Shape) accuracy can be maintained with high accuracy. Therefore, the surface runout width of the lower flange 26 can be suppressed.

  In the case of the recording tape cartridge 10 having the release member 90, through holes 28A and 46B are formed in the bottom wall 28 of the toothless area 44A and the overhanging portion 46A of the reel plate 46, respectively. The difference in resin shrinkage in the entire bottom wall 28 can be reduced, and the dimensional (shape) accuracy of the lower flange 26 can be maintained with high accuracy. That is, the reel plate 46 according to the present embodiment can be suitably applied to the reel 20 of the recording tape cartridge 10 provided with the release member 90.

  Further, the overhanging portion 46A that projects in the radial direction is provided so as to overlap the area 44A without teeth of the reel gear 44, so that the overhanging portion 46A can be formed at the time of insert molding in a mold (not shown). There is also an effect that the reel plate 46 can be prevented from rotating with respect to the bottom wall 28.

  In the recording tape cartridge 10 of the above embodiment, the leader pin 30 is provided as a leader member. However, the recording tape cartridge 10 is not limited to the above embodiment, and for example, a leader tape (not shown) is used as the leader member. ). Further, the recording tape T only needs to be grasped as a long tape-like information recording / reproducing medium capable of recording information and reproducing the recorded information, and the recording tape cartridge 10 (reel 20) can perform any recording / reproduction. Needless to say, the present invention is also applicable to the recording tape T of the system.

Schematic perspective view of recording tape cartridge Schematic exploded perspective view of the recording tape cartridge as seen from above Schematic exploded perspective view of the recording tape cartridge as seen from below Schematic side sectional view showing the recording tape cartridge before the drive gear of the rotating shaft is engaged Schematic side sectional view showing the recording tape cartridge after the drive gear of the rotating shaft is engaged Schematic bottom view of reel Schematic perspective view of reel plate

Explanation of symbols

10 Recording tape cartridge 12 Case 20 Reel 22 Reel hub 24 Upper flange (first flange)
26 Lower flange (2nd flange)
28 Bottom wall 28A Through hole 44 Reel gear 44A Area 44B Area 46 Reel plate 46A Overhang portion 46B Through hole 48 Engaging gear 50 Door 80 Brake member 84 Brake gear 90 Release member 94 Leg portion

Claims (2)

A hub around which recording tape is wound;
A first flange provided at one end of the hub;
A second flange provided at the other end of the hub;
A bottom wall having a reel gear formed along a predetermined circumference and partially formed with a toothless area;
A reel plate that is overlaid on the toothless area and that is secured to the bottom wall;
A reel comprising:   The reel according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the overhanging portion is substantially the same as the shape of the area without the teeth.

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