JP4367755B2 - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Description

  In the present invention, as shown in the figure, a reel 2 around which a tape 3 is wound is built in a main body case 1, a leader pin 7 is connected to a feeding end 3 a of the tape 3, and a leader 5 is provided in an opening 5 provided in the main body case 1. The present invention relates to a single reel type tape cartridge provided with means for holding the pin 7 in a standby posture, and is an improvement to the clamp member 9 which is fitted on the outer periphery of the leader pin 7 from the lateral outer side.

  This type of tape cartridge is provided for backup of computer data. When the tape cartridge is loaded in the tape drive, the leader pin 7 is captured by a member on the tape drive side and the tape 3 is pulled out of the main body case 1 for operation. It has become.

  Regarding the connection structure of the tape end 3 a to the leader pin 7, there are Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 as conventional examples. In this case, the feeding end 3 a of the tape 3 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the leader pin 7, and a plastic clamp member 9 is externally attached to the outer periphery of the leader pin 7 with the winding end of the tape 3 sandwiched between them. ing. The clamp member 9 is formed in a vertically long cylindrical shape having a longitudinally split groove 15 that is elastically deformed and fitted to the leader pin 7.

JP 2000-322868 (reference numeral 85 in FIG. 3) JP-A-11-185435 (reference numeral 16 in FIG. 4)

  This type of clamp member 9 holds the tape end 3a in a wound state by elastically deforming the longitudinal groove 15 so that the longitudinal groove 15 expands and externally attaching to the leader pin 7. Therefore, when the clamp member 9 receives a large external force such as a drop impact, the longitudinal groove 15 may be elastically deformed in the direction of separating from the upper and lower one ends, and the leader pin 7 may be detached from the clamp member 9. In particular, when a non-uniform external force is strongly applied to the upper end and the lower end of the clamp member 9, the leader pin 7 interrupts one end of the longitudinal groove 15 like a wedge, and the entire clamp member 9 is detached from the leader pin 7. With danger.

  However, if the thickness dimension of the cylinder wall of the clamp member 9 is set to be large in the vertical direction, there is a disadvantage that it is difficult to attach the leader pin 7 this time.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to prevent the clamp member from being inadvertently detached from the leader pin while ensuring good workability of attaching the leader pin to the clamp member, so that the end of the tape is securely attached to the leader pin. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tape cartridge that can be connected to prevent slipping.

Therefore, according to the present invention, in the above-described single reel type tape cartridge, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper and lower ends 16, 16 or at least one end 16 of the clamp member 9 has an outer peripheral surface that is radially outer than other portions. The clamp member 9 is formed to have a thick wall by overhanging, and the inner peripheral surface of the clamp member 9 is formed in a straight circular shape between the upper and lower sides .

  Specifically, the leader pin 7 includes engagement shaft portions 10 provided at the upper and lower ends of the round shaft, and circular flanges 11 and 11 provided above and below the middle of the round shaft. In the state where the feeding end 3a of the tape 3 is wound around the intermediate shaft portion 12 between 11 and 11, the clamp member 9 is externally fitted to the intermediate shaft portion 12, and the clamp member 9 is attached. The outer diameter of the circular outer peripheral surface of the thick end portion 16 is set to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the flange 11.

  As a material of the clamp member 9, polyacetal (POM) which is excellent in rigidity, strength, elastic restoring force and fatigue resistance, and has good moldability (productivity) can be suitably produced at low cost. Instead of polyacetal, the clamp member 9 may be formed of polycarbonate (PC) which is tough, excellent in impact resistance and good in moldability (productivity), or a composite plastic material containing polycarbonate.

  The inner diameter dimension of the clamp member 9 is naturally set to be larger than the outer diameter dimension of the intermediate shaft portion 12 of the leader pin 7, and in the state where the clamp member 9 is mounted on the intermediate shaft portion 12, the clamp member 9 itself The tape end 3a is wound around the leader pin 7 with the elastic restoring force.

  The leader pin 7 is held in a vertical standby posture in the opening 5 of the main body case 1 via the upper and lower engaging shafts 10 and 10. Between the engaging shafts 10 and 10 and the flanges 11 and 11 on the round shaft of the leader pin 7, there are operating shafts 13 and 13, and the tape pull-out member on the tape drive side is the operating shafts 13 and 13. Then, the tape 3 is pulled out of the main body case 1 and operated.

  Since the clamp member 9 of the present invention is formed so as to be thicker than the other portions by limiting both the end portions 16 and 16 in the vertical direction or at least one end portion 16, the thickness dimension of the cylindrical wall of the clamp member 9 is increased and decreased. Compared to a configuration in which the length is increased over the entire length in the direction, there remains room for the clamp member 9 to be easily elastically deformed through the longitudinal groove 15. Therefore, the clamp member 9 can be easily fitted on the leader pin 7. The expensive plastic material for molding the clamp member 9 is also less than the total thickness, and is suitable for mass production at low cost.

  On the other hand, when the clamp member 9 is externally fitted to the leader pin 7, the clap member 9 tends to be separated from the upper and lower one ends of the longitudinal groove 15 when receiving an external force. However, since the end portion 16 in the vertical direction of the clamp member 9 is formed thick and has increased rigidity, the longitudinal groove 15 is prevented from being separated from the end side. Therefore, even when a drop impact or the like is received, the state in which the clamp member 9 is detached from the leader pin 7 or is about to be detached can be reliably prevented. Even if only the upper and lower end portions 16 of the clamp member 9 are formed thick, the detachment of the clamp member 9 can be halved.

  In a state where the clamp member 9 is externally fitted to the intermediate shaft portion 12 of the leader pin 7, the outer diameter size of the circular outer peripheral surface of the thick end portion 16 of the clamp member 9 is the outer diameter size of the circular flange 11 of the leader pin 7. The outer peripheral surface of the thick end portion 16 does not protrude outward in the radial direction of the circular flange 11. Therefore, the thick end 16 does not get in the way of capturing and pulling out the leader pin 7 on the tape drive side, and smooth operation is guaranteed.

Embodiment 1 FIGS. 1 to 5 show Embodiment 1 of a single reel type tape cartridge according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a rectangular box-shaped main body case 1 formed by joining upper and lower cases 1 a and 1 b in a lid-like manner. A single reel 2 is rotatably accommodated in the center of the body case 1, and a magnetic tape (hereinafter simply referred to as a tape) 3 is wound around the reel 2.

  An opening 5 for drawing out the tape is formed on a part of the outer peripheral side surface of the main body case 1, specifically, on the right end side of the front side wall 4. The body case 1 is slidably equipped with a lid 6 that opens and closes the opening 5, and the lid 6 is moved and urged to close the opening 5 by a spring member (not shown) when not in use.

  In order to pull out the tape 3 in the main body case 1 to the outside of the case, the feeding end portion 3 a of the leader tape portion of the tape 3 is connected to the vertically long leader pin 7 via the clamp member 9.

  1 and 3, the leader pin 7 is made of a metal pin, and includes engagement shaft portions 10 and 10 provided at the upper and lower ends of the round shaft, and circular flanges 11 and 11 provided above and below the middle of the round shaft. In addition, the clamp member 9 is externally fitted to the intermediate shaft portion 12 between the upper and lower flanges 11 and 11 of the round shaft in a state where the feeding end portion 3a of the tape 3 is wound. The round shaft of the leader pin 7 is formed between the upper and lower engaging shaft portions 10 and 10 and the flanges 11 and 11 as operation shaft portions 13 and 13.

  The clamp member 9 is a plastic molded product made of POM that can be elastically deformed. As shown in FIG. 4, the clamp member 9 is formed in a vertically long cylindrical shape having a C-shaped cross section with a longitudinal groove 15 extending vertically.

  In addition, the inner peripheral surface of the clamp member 9 is formed in a straight circular shape between the upper and lower sides, but the circular outer peripheral surfaces of the upper and lower end portions 16, 16 of the clamp member 9 are larger in diameter than the circular outer peripheral surface of the central portion 17. Overhangs outward in the direction. That is, the upper and lower end portions 16, 16 of the clamp member 9 are thicker than the central portion 17 and have a larger diameter. The vertical length of each of the upper and lower thick end portions 16 is set to about 1/4 of the total length of the clamp member 9, and the vertical length of the central portion 17 is set to about 1/2 of the total length of the clamp member 9. .

  Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, the tape feed end 3a of the tape 3 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate shaft portion 12 of the leader pin 7 in a state of almost one turn. Next, the clamp member 9 is externally fitted to the outer periphery of the intermediate shaft portion 12 of the leader pin 7 from the laterally outer side of the leader pin 7 via the longitudinal groove 15 while being expanded and deformed.

  The inner diameter of the clamp member 9 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the intermediate shaft portion 12 of the leader pin 7. Therefore, the tape delivery end 3a is clamped to the leader pin 7 by the elastic restoring force of the clamp member 9 in a crimped state. In this mounted state, the outer diameter of the circular outer peripheral surface of the thick end 16 of the clamp member 9 is set to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the circular flange 11. The outer peripheral surface does not protrude outward in the radial direction of the circular flange 11. Note that the winding start end of the tape feeding end portion 3 a is in a state of protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the leader pin 7 to the longitudinal groove 15 of the clamp member 9.

  When not in use, the leader pin 7 is positioned and set in an upright standby posture in the opening 5 of the main body case 1 and held. For this purpose, bearing portions 19 for engaging and capturing the respective engaging shaft portions 10 of the pins 7 are provided on opposing inner wall surfaces of the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b as shown in FIG.

  When the tape cartridge is loaded into the tape drive, the lid 6 is opened, and the capturing device on the tape drive side captures and engages the upper and lower operation shaft portions 13 of the leader pin 7 in the opening 5, so that the leader pin 7 is Then, the tape 3 is pulled out of the main body case 1.

  In the illustrated clamping member 9, the thickness of the central portion 17 is set to 0.7 mm, and the thickness of the upper and lower end portions 16 is set to 0.75 mm. According to this, the rigidity in the upper and lower end portions 16 of the clamp member 9 is increased by 23% in comparison with the case where the entire thickness of the clamp member 9 is 0.7 mm. Therefore, it can be expected that the open end portion of the vertically dividing groove 15 is surely restricted from inadvertently expanding and deforming at the upper and lower ends. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the clamp member 9 from being detached from the leader pin 7.

(Example 2) FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show Example 2 of the present invention, in which only the upper and lower one end portions of the clamp member 9, only the lower end portion 16 in the figure, are formed with the above-mentioned thickness. Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. According to this, the clamp member 9 can be easily externally fitted to the intermediate shaft portion 12 of the leader pin 7 while opening the upper end side of the longitudinal groove 15. On the other hand, the detachment of the clamp member 9 from the leader pin 7 can be halved as compared with the conventional example at the thick end 16 at the lower end.

(Another Example) In the present invention, in Example 1, the thick portion 16 having a predetermined vertical width can be formed also in the central portion 17 of the clamp member 9. The tape 3 may be a cleaning tape instead of a magnetic tape.

Longitudinal front view of essential parts of Example 1 Overall perspective view of Embodiment 1 The front view around the opening part of the main body case in Example 1 The perspective view which shows the leader pin and clamp member in Example 1. AA line sectional view in FIG. Longitudinal front view of essential parts of Example 2 The perspective view which shows the leader pin and clamp member in Example 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body case 3 Tape 3a Tape delivery end part 5 Opening part 7 Leader pin 9 Clamp member 10 Leader pin engagement shaft part 11 Leader pin intermediate shaft part 12 Leader pin circular flange 13 Leader pin operation shaft part 15 Clamp Longitudinal groove 16 of member Thick end of clamp member

Claims (2)

The main body case, one reel built in the main body case, a tape wound around the reel, a leader pin connected to a feeding end portion of the tape, and a vertically long cylindrical shape having a split groove are plastic molded. An elastically deformable clamp member that is fitted on the outer periphery of the leader pin from the lateral outer side, a tape drawer opening provided in the body case, and a leader pin in a standby posture in the opening Holding means,
At least one end part of the upper and lower sides of the clamp member is set to be thick by projecting the outer peripheral surface radially outward from the other part ,
The tape cartridge is characterized in that an inner peripheral surface of the clamp member is formed in a straight circular shape between the upper and lower sides . The leader pin includes engagement shaft portions provided at the upper and lower ends of the round shaft, and circular flanges provided above and below the middle of the round shaft,
A feeding end portion of the tape is wound around an intermediate shaft portion between the upper and lower flanges in the round shaft,
The clamp member is externally fitted to the intermediate shaft portion,
2. The tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein an outer diameter of a circular outer peripheral surface of the thick end is set to be substantially the same as an outer diameter of the flange in a state where the clamp member is mounted.

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