JP2802533B2 - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a tape cartridge provided with a horizontal slide type switching piece as an erroneous erasure preventing means, and has an improved support structure of the switching piece.

[Conventional technology]

A tape cartridge in which a detection opening is opened and closed by a horizontally slidable switching piece is known, for example, from Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-4748.

The erroneous erasure prevention means of the switching method has an advantage that signal recording can be prohibited or permitted any number of times by switching the switching pieces. For this reason, even tape cartridges provided with the erroneous erasure prevention means of the nail removal method are gradually replacing the switching method. For example, adoption of a switching type erroneous erasure prevention means is also being studied for VHS-C type tape cartridges.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The inventor made a prototype in which the means for preventing erroneous erasure of a VHS-C type tape cartridge was changed from a nail removal system to a switching system, and checked the function thereof. As a result, it has been found that there is a problem in the following points regarding the support structure of the switching piece.

That is, as shown in FIGS.
40 is slidably incorporated in the detection opening 42 on the lower case 41b side, and when it is slid in the direction of the arrow from the solid line position, the state is switched to a state where recording of a magnetic signal is prevented.
An inverted L-shaped regulating arm 43 is integrally formed on the inner surface of the switching piece 40, and the arm 43 is hooked from above onto the inner back wall 44 of the detection opening 42 so that the switching piece 40 is moved in and out of the case. It prevents falling down.

As described above, the switching piece 40 is restricted from falling in and out of the case by the inner inner wall 44, and is simultaneously held by the upper and lower cases 41a and 41b. However, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), when an external force F is applied to the switching piece 40 toward the inside of the case, the inner inner wall 44 bends and deforms inward of the case.
There was room for the 40 to penetrate into the inner side of the rear wall of the upper case 41a.

To avoid such a malfunction, for example, the upper case 41a
It is conceivable to provide a regulating member on the inner surface of the rear wall for preventing the switching piece 40 from getting into.

However, with a VHS-C type tape cartridge, the eighth
It is being studied to provide a detection hole for identifying a tape property, a recording mode, and the like in the wall portion 45 indicated by oblique lines in FIG. For this reason, there is a fluctuation that the switching piece 40 cannot be prevented from being entrapped using the wall portion 45.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve the support structure of the switching piece,
The purpose is to prevent the switching piece from getting into the inner surface of the upper case, improve the robustness against external force, and ensure the functional reliability.

[Means for solving the problem]

The tape cartridge prototyped by the inventor has a structure in which the external force acting on the switching piece is borne only by the inner inner wall provided on the lower case side, and this causes the switching piece to dig in. Therefore, in the present invention, the external force is also applied to the upper case, thereby preventing the inner back wall from being bent inward and deformed.

That is, in the present invention, as shown in FIG.
A detection opening 11 for accommodating a switching piece 12 for preventing erroneous erasure is formed in a concave shape toward the inside of the case on a rear side wall of the main body case 1 in which the lids 1b are connected in a lid-like manner. The piece 12 is incorporated along the inner back wall 13 of the detection opening 11 so as to be slidable between a recording permission posture and a recording prevention posture, and an upper and lower case near the concave base end of the inner back wall 13. 1a ・
It is required that an engagement means 29 for transmitting the deformation operation of the inner back wall 13 toward the inside of the case to the upper case 1a be provided on the joint end face of 1b.

[Operation] The engaging means 29 provided on the joint end surfaces of the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b
When the inner back wall 13 integral with the lower case 1b is deformed inward of the case, this deformation operation is transmitted to the rear wall 10a of the upper case 1a. That is, in a state where the external force F directed inward of the case acts on the switching piece 12, the rear wall 10 of the lower case 1 b including the inner back wall 13 is formed.
b and the rear wall 10a of the upper case 1a cooperate to oppose the external force F. As a result, the deformation strength of the inner back wall 13 can be increased, and at the same time, the rear wall 10a of the upper case 1a is deformed along with the deformation when deformed, so that the switching piece 1 is disposed between the inner back wall 13 and the rear wall 10a of the upper case 1a.
It is possible to eliminate the occurrence of a large gap that allows the penetration of 2.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, in the present invention, the engaging means 29 is provided between the joining end faces of the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b near the concave base end of the inner inner wall 13, and the external force F acting on the inner inner wall 13 is applied by the engaging means. 29 to the rear wall 10a of the upper case 1a, and the rear wall 1 of the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b.
0a and 10b cooperate to form a support structure against external force F.
Thereby, when an external force F inwardly acting on the case acts on the switching piece 12, the inner inner wall 13 can be prevented from easily deforming with a small force, and even if the inner outer wall 13 is bent by an excessive external force F. Even when deformed, the rear wall 10 of the upper case 1a
a can be deformed along with the inner back wall 13 to eliminate the gap between the two 10a and 10b that allows the switching piece 12 to penetrate, so that the switching piece 12 penetrates into the inner surface of the upper case 1a. , The robustness of the erroneous erasure prevention means can be improved, and its functional reliability can be improved.

In particular, in the case of a VHS-C type tape cartridge, in order to provide identification means in the future, there is a restriction on the structural standard that a structure for preventing the switching piece 12 from being entangled cannot be formed on the rear wall portion of the upper case 1a facing the detection opening 11. However, even in this case, the operation failure of the switching piece 12 can be reliably eliminated.

〔Example〕

1 to 7 show a VHS-C type as a first embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body case formed by connecting an upper case 1a and a lower case 1b in a lid-like manner. A tape reel 2 for feeding and a tape reel 3 for winding are arranged on the left and right inside the main body case 1, and the tape 4 led out from the tape reel 2 for feeding is placed on the left and right of the front end of the case. It is wound up on a tape reel 3 for winding up via provided guide members 5. A pocket 6 for tape loading is recessed between the two guide members 5, and the front outer side of the tape 4 traversing the pocket 6 is covered with a front lid 7 attached to the main body case 1 when not in use. .

Utilizing a dead space at the rear left corner of the main body case 1, a switching type erroneous erasure prevention means is provided. The erroneous erasure prevention means has a switching piece 12 mounted on a detection opening 11 formed in the rear side wall of the main body case 1. The switching piece 12 extends over a recording (recording) preventing posture and a recording (recording) permission posture. Sliding operation is possible only in the horizontal direction.

The detection opening 11 is opened below the joint surface between the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b, that is, in the rear wall 10b on the lower case 1b side, and includes the position where the claw pieces are provided in the conventional tape cartridge. It is formed in a horizontally long rectangular shape extended to the left side. The inside of the detection opening 11 is partitioned by an inner back wall 13 which is formed to be recessed inward of the case so as to be continuous with the rear wall 10b.

6 and 7, the switching piece 12 is a plastic molded product and is received by the main wall 14 for preventing the detection piece P of the deck from entering the detection opening 11 and the bottom wall 16 of the detection opening 11. The supporting base wall 15 and an inverted L-shaped regulating arm 17 projecting inward from the upper end of the main wall 14 are integrally formed. The switching piece 12 is accommodated in the detection opening 11 so as to be freely slidable with reference to a guide groove 18 formed along the inner back wall 13 and a protruding base end (lower end) thereof.

For more details, hook the regulating arm 17 on the inner back wall 13 from above,
Furthermore, slide claws 19 provided on the lower surface of the base wall 15
When the main wall 14 is fitted into the recording opening 18, the recording permission posture (the solid line state in FIG. 5) where the main wall 14 is located on the right end side of the detection opening 11 and the recording prevention posture (the position shown in FIG. (In an imaginary line state). In this installed state, the main wall 14 and the regulating arm 17 abut against the inner and outer surfaces of the inner inner wall 13 to prevent the switching piece 12 from falling in and out of the case.

The regulating arm 17 of the switching piece 12 maintains the above-described switching postures,
It is also used for positioning. 1 and 2, positioning grooves 21 and 22 are recessed from the upper surface of the inner inner wall 13 to the inner surface thereof in correspondence with the movement position of the regulating arm 17 in each switching posture. The protrusion 23 provided on the sliding contact surface of the regulating arm 17 is selectively engaged with the recess 22 to perform positioning. In the middle of switching, the rule arm 17 is elastically deformed upward and comes into sliding contact with the inner back wall 13.

After assembling the switching piece 12 into the detection opening 11 of the lower case 1b as described above, cover the upper case 1a to cover the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b.
Perform a temporary assembly. This provisionally assembled state is maintained by engaging the joining claw 24 provided on the lower case 1b with the engaging hole 25 provided on the upper case 1a corresponding to the claw 24. Further, the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b are integrated with screws (not shown).

When the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b are assembled,
12 is a bottom wall 16 of the detection opening 11 and an upper case opposed thereto.
It is sandwiched and held up and down by the joint end face 1a. Specifically, the step 27 at the base end of the protruding end of the regulating arm 17 is pressed and held by a holding recess 28 formed by cutting out the joint end surface of the upper case 1a, thereby restricting the switching piece 12 from floating upward. The holding recess 28 is formed to be horizontally long corresponding to the left and right sliding range of the step 27.

The main wall 14 of the switching piece 12 is always in contact with the inner wall 13. Therefore, when an external force F directed inwardly of the case acts on the switching piece 12, the inner rear wall 13 bends and deforms inwardly of the case. In order to increase this deformation strength, the inner inward wall 13 is deformed inward to the upper case 1a at the joint end surface of the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b at the base end portion on the right side of the inner inner wall 13, An engaging means 29 for transmitting is provided.

In FIG. 6, the engagement means 29 is provided on the rear wall 10b of the lower case 1b.
Engagement recess 30 formed in the upper case 1a and the rear wall 10a
And a receiving claw 31 protruding downward from the front. The receiving claw 31 and the engaging concave portion 30 engage with each other with the receiving claw 31 positioned inside the case.

In the state where the switching piece 12 is switched to the recording prevention posture,
As shown in FIG. 5, a movement regulating rib 32 for preventing the switching piece 12 from moving upward is provided on the inner surface of the rear wall of the upper case 1a.
The restricting rib 32 is provided adjacent to a region where an identification hole will be formed in the future, in a state facing the upper surface of the restricting arm 17.

As described above, if the deformation operation of the inner rear wall 13 is transmitted to the rear wall 10a of the upper case 1a by providing the engaging means 29, the inner rear wall 13 and the rear wall 10a cooperate to generate an external force F. Since they oppose each other, the deformation strength of the inner back wall 13 is improved. When an excessive external force F is applied so that the inner back wall 13 is deformed, the rear wall of the upper case 1a
10a can be deformed along with the inner wall 13 to prevent a large gap from being formed between them, and the switching piece 12 penetrates into the inner surface of the upper case 1a due to the inner wall 13 deforming by bending inward of the case. Can also be eliminated.

(Another embodiment example)

The engagement means 29 can also be provided on both sides of the concave base end of the inner back wall 13. In this case, on the side where the joining claws 24 are provided, the engaging means 29 can be configured using the joining claws 24.

In order to prevent the inner back wall 13 from bending inward of the case, in addition to the engaging means 29, a reinforcing rib is integrally formed in a region below the positioning grooves 21 and 22 on the inner surface of the inner back wall 13. Is also good.

The engaging means 29 may be any means as long as it can contact the inside and outside and transmit an external force directed toward the inside of the case to the upper case 1a, and its outer shape and cross-sectional shape can be arbitrarily selected, and the shape is not particularly limited.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 to 7 show an embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a main part, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the whole interior, FIG. 5 is a rear view of the main part, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the erroneous erasure prevention means, and FIG. It is a perspective view of a piece. 8 (a) and 8 (b) show a conventional tape cartridge. FIG. 8 (a) is a rear view of a main part, and FIG. 8 (b) is a vertical side view. 1 ... body case, 1a ... upper case, 1b ... lower case, 10a ... rear wall of upper case, 10b ... rear wall of lower case, 11 ... detection opening, 12 ... switching piece, 13 ... ... inner back wall, 29 ... engaging means,

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A detection opening (11) for accommodating a switching piece (12) for preventing erroneous erasure is provided on a rear side wall of a main body case (1) obtained by connecting upper and lower cases (1a and 1b) in a lid-like manner. The switching piece (12) slides between the recording permission position and the recording prevention position along the inner back wall (13) of the detection opening (11). The upper and lower cases (1a and 1b) are connected to the joint end surfaces of the upper and lower cases (1a and 1b) in the vicinity of the concave base end of the inner inner wall (13). The engagement means (2
9) A tape cartridge provided with: