JP4864921B2 - Recording tape cartridge - Google Patents

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.

  Conventionally, 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. Cartridges are known. Such a recording tape cartridge may incorporate a non-contact type memory board having an IC chip storing various information such as a recording capacity and a recording format.

The IC chip of this memory board is configured to be accessible (read / write) by electromagnetic waves, and a library device for accessing various information stored in the IC chip from the rear side of the case, or from the lower side of the case The memory board is inclined at a predetermined angle (for example, 45 °) in the case so as to be compatible with the drive device to be accessed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-185431

  However, since the memory board described in Patent Document 1 has its upper end and lower end bonded to the case with an adhesive and inclined at a predetermined angle (for example, 45 °), the manufacturing cost of the recording tape cartridge is low. There is a problem that takes. In addition, when the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the memory board are respectively fixed to the case with an adhesive, it is difficult to stably place the memory board at a predetermined angle (for example, 45 °).

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to obtain a recording tape cartridge in which a memory board can be stably inclined at a low manufacturing cost.

In order to achieve the above object, the recording tape cartridge according to claim 1 of the present invention exposes a case that houses a reel around which the recording tape is wound, and an IC chip that stores various types of information . A non-contact type memory board provided in a state ; a support member provided in the case and having a recess formed in a support surface for incliningly arranging the memory board at a predetermined angle ; and the recess having the adhesive function The IC chip is embedded, and the IC chip is embedded, and the memory board around the IC chip is bonded to the support member to hold the memory board .

According to the first aspect of the invention, the IC chip in an exposed state can be protected in the concave portion formed in the support surface of the support member for incliningly arranging the memory board at a predetermined angle, and the protection having an adhesive function Contains material .

Therefore, before providing the memory board, the protective material is well held by the support member, and the memory board is simply supplied into the case with the IC chip facing (embedded) in the protective material, and the protective material is adhered to the support member. Fixed .

As a result, the memory board is stably inclined at a predetermined angle with a relatively low manufacturing cost. Further, since the IC chip protective material is provided on the case side, it is not necessary to provide the memory board with a protective material for protecting the IC chip. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the memory board can also be reduced .

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a recording tape cartridge in which a memory board can be stably tilted at a low manufacturing cost.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail based on the embodiments 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). A direction orthogonal to the arrow A direction and the arrow B direction is indicated by an arrow C, which is an upward direction (upper side) of the recording tape cartridge 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, 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 polycarbonate (PC) 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.

  That is, for example, in the upper case 14 and the lower case 16, screw bosses 15 are formed in the vicinity of each corner portion, and a screw (not shown) is screwed into the screw boss 15 from the lower surface side of the lower case 16, The case 12 can be assembled. In 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 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 44 to the outside is formed in the center portion of the lower case 16. Yes. The reel gear 44 exposed from the gear opening 40 is engaged with a drive gear (not shown) formed on a rotation shaft (not shown) of the drive device and is driven to rotate. Relative rotation with respect to the case 12 is possible.

  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. Further, 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.

  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 (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 horizontal direction. An opening 68 is formed in the rear wall 12D for projecting an operation projection 72 for operating the write protect 70 manually. 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 120 degree intervals) are provided on the periphery of the upper surface of the bottom wall 28 of the reel hub 22 with a predetermined gap therebetween (for example, three at 120 degree intervals). A plurality of through holes 28A (in this case, three at intervals of 120 degrees) are formed at predetermined positions between 48 and on the reel gear 44. A disc-shaped braking member 80 formed of a resin material is inserted into the reel hub 22.

  A braking gear 84 that can mesh with the engaging gear 48 is formed in an annular shape on the periphery of the lower surface 80 </ b> A of the braking member 80. The upper surface of the braking member 80 faces 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, leg portions 94 protruding from the lower surface of the bottom wall 28 to the reel gear 44 by a predetermined height are provided on the lower surface of each of the release members 90 and at the respective vertex portions.

  Further, a flat support convex portion 96 is formed at the center of the upper surface 90A of the release member 90, and a substantially hemispherical release protrusion 82 protruding from the center of the lower surface 80A of the braking member 80 comes into contact therewith. (See FIGS. 2 and 3). As a result, the contact area between the braking member 80 and the release member 90 is reduced, and the sliding resistance during use (during rotation of the reel 20) is reduced. For example, polyacetal (POM) is used as the material of the braking member 80, and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) is used as the material of the release member 90, for example.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, various information such as recording capacity and recording format is stored in the right rear portion of the case 12, and a memory board M having an IC chip h that can be accessed in a non-contact manner is provided in a predetermined manner. Sloped at an angle. The memory board M is formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape (substantially rectangular shape in plan view), and the IC is formed at the center of one surface (lower surface) on one end side (for example, the left half side) from the substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction. A chip h is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 to 6, the memory board M is placed at a predetermined angle θ (for example, on the inner surface of the bottom plate 16 A of the lower case 16 and on the rear side of the right rear screw boss 15 and the support base 66. A support member 100 that is inclined at θ = 45 ° is integrally formed. This support member 100 is formed in a substantially triangular prism shape that is a substantially right isosceles triangle in a side view, and a top surface that is inclined at a predetermined angle θ has a slightly smaller area than the memory board M and has a substantially rectangular support. The surface 102 is used.

  A concave portion 104 having a predetermined area and having a substantially square shape in plan view is formed on one end side (in this case, the left half side) of the support surface 102, and the IC chip h is placed in the concave portion 104. A protective material P that can be protected and has an adhesive function is accommodated. Here, as this protective material P, for example, an epoxy resin adhesive, an acrylic resin adhesive, a polyurethane resin adhesive, and the like can be mentioned, and among them, it is possible to carry out artificial curing within the process, and dimensional stability. An ultraviolet curable epoxy resin adhesive having excellent durability is most preferable. In addition, the shape of the recess 104 is not limited to a substantially square shape in plan view, and may be, for example, a rectangular shape, a trapezoidal shape, a square shape such as a rhombus, or a circular shape as long as the IC chip h can be protected. Also good.

  Now, the memory board M is provided on the support surface 102 of such a support member 100. In this case, the longitudinal direction is the left-right direction and the IC chip h is embedded facing the protective material P. Provided. At this time, since the protective material P has a bonding function, one surface (lower surface) of one end side (the left half side in this case) of the memory board M around the IC chip h is bonded to the protective material P. Is done. That is, as a result, the memory board M is fixed in a state of being bonded onto the support surface 102 by the protective material P, and is stably inclined at a predetermined angle θ.

  Two position restricting ribs (position restricting members) 105 for restricting the position of the lower end of the memory board M are provided on the front side of the support member 100 at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction, or to the left of the support member 100. A position restriction rib (position restriction member) 106 for restricting the position of the left end of the memory board M is provided on the side, and a position restriction rib (position restriction) for restricting the position of the right end of the memory board M is provided on the right side of the support member 100. Member) 108 may be provided so as to restrict the position of the memory board M in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction.

  Further, since the memory board M is bonded and fixed to the support member 100 in this manner, a holding member or the like for holding the memory board M may not be formed on the upper case 14 side, but is shown in FIG. As described above, the holding rib 110 facing the other surface (upper surface) of the memory board M with a slight gap on the inner surface of the top plate 14A of the upper case 14 and on the rear side of the screw boss 15 on the right rear side. You may make it project two by a predetermined space | interval in the left-right direction.

  Next, the operation of the recording tape cartridge 10 configured as described above 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, 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 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. Thus, 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, by the lowering operation of the recording tape cartridge 10, the rotating shaft relatively enters from the gear opening 40 and meshes the drive gear with the reel gear 44. Then, as the drive gear meshes 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 the braking member is interposed via the release member 90. 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 and the reel gear 44 are completely engaged, the reel plate 46 is attracted and held by the magnetic force of the annular magnet provided inside the drive gear, so that the reel 20 is attached to the drive gear. While the meshing of the reel gear 44 is maintained, the unlocked state in which the relative rotation with respect to the case 12 is enabled in the case 12 is made.

  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 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 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, the leg portion 94 is inserted into the through hole 28A, and the predetermined height from the lower surface of the bottom wall 28 onto the reel gear 44. The brake gear 84 meshes with the engagement gear 48 while projecting. 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.

  Next, the operation of the support member 100 that holds the memory board M at a predetermined angle θ (for example, θ = 45 °) will be described. In the manufacturing process of the recording tape cartridge 10, the memory board M is supplied to the lower case 16 side. Here, the memory board M is not provided with the protective material P for protecting the IC chip h, and the IC chip h is exposed. That is, since the protective material P is provided on the IC chip h when the memory board M is supplied into the case 12, it is not necessary to provide the protective material P at this time. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the memory board M can be reduced, and the productivity can be improved.

  On the other hand, the lower case 16 is formed with a support member 100 for incliningly arranging the memory board M at a predetermined angle θ. A protective material P for protecting the IC chip h is accommodated in advance in the recess 104 formed on the support surface 102 of the support member 100. Therefore, before the memory board M is supplied, the protective material P is satisfactorily held on the support surface 102. The memory board M is supplied into the lower case 16 with the IC chip h facing the protective material P, and the IC chip h is embedded (embedded) in the protective material P. Thereby, the IC chip h is protected (sealed) by the protective material P.

  Moreover, this protective material P has an adhesion function. Therefore, when the memory board M is provided on the support surface 102 so that the IC chip h is embedded in the protection material P, the memory board M is bonded and fixed on the support surface 102 by the protection material P. Thereby, the memory board M is stably held at the predetermined inclination angle θ without falling off from the support surface 102 of the support member 100 (without being displaced along the support surface 102).

  Note that the protective material P housed and held in the recess 104 does not protrude greatly from the inside of the recess 104 in a side view. That is, the protective material P protrudes from the support surface 102 only to the extent that the memory board M can be bonded. Accordingly, the displacement of the memory board M in the rotation direction with the direction away from the support surface 102, that is, the width direction on the other end side (right half side) of the memory board M as the axial direction is also suppressed.

  Therefore, the position of the memory board M is stabilized, and a library device (not shown) that accesses the memory board M from the rear side or a drive device (not shown) that accesses the memory board M from the lower side. The communication distance can be stabilized. Note that the position restricting ribs 105, 106, 108 may restrict the position of the memory board M in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, and according to this, the position of the memory board M can be further stabilized.

  After the memory board M is held (inclined) in the lower case 16 at a predetermined angle θ, the upper case 14 is covered with the lower case 16 at a predetermined timing, but the memory board M is dropped from the lower case 16. In this case, the memory board M is held between the upper case 14 and the lower case 16 so that the memory board M is not troubled. Moreover, since it is only necessary to provide the lower case 16 with the support member 100 having the support surface 102 in which the concave portion 104 is formed, the shape can be simplified and the dimensional accuracy can be improved.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the concave portion 104 is formed large in the left-right direction so as to include the other end side (right half side) of the support surface 102 (formed in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view long in the longitudinal direction) If the protective material P is accommodated therein, it can be supplied to the lower case 16 without restricting the horizontal direction of the memory board M.

  In other words, with such a configuration, even if the IC chip h is supplied in a state of being provided substantially at the center of one surface (lower surface) on the other end side (right half side), the IC chip h is protected by the protective material P. And the memory board M can be bonded onto the support surface 102. Therefore, in this case, the cost on the production line of the recording tape cartridge 10 can be reduced, and the productivity can be improved.

  Although the recording tape cartridge 10 according to the present embodiment has been described above, the recording tape cartridge 10 according to the present embodiment is not limited to the illustrated one, and may be appropriately selected within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention. The design can be changed. For example, the recording tape cartridge 10 of the above embodiment has a configuration having the leader pin 30 as the leader member, but may have a configuration having a leader tape (not shown).

  In addition, although the two position restricting ribs 105 and the holding ribs 110 are provided, each may be provided, for example, one or three or more. Furthermore, although the door 50 is also configured to be a linear movement locus, for example, a planar view substantially arcuate door that is a substantially arcuate movement locus in plan view may be used. The recording tape T only needs to be understood as a long tape-like information recording / reproducing medium capable of recording information and reproducing the recorded information, and the recording tape cartridge 10 can be recorded in any recording / reproducing system. Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to the tape T.

Schematic perspective view of recording tape cartridge Schematic exploded perspective view of the recording tape cartridge as viewed from above Schematic exploded perspective view of the recording tape cartridge as viewed from below Schematic perspective view showing a state before the memory board is held by the support member Schematic perspective view showing a state after the memory board is held on the support member Schematic side view showing the state after holding the memory board on the support member Schematic perspective view showing a state before the memory board is held by the support member of the modified example

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Recording tape cartridge 12 Case 14 Upper case 16 Lower case 20 Reel 30 Leader pin 50 Door 70 Write protect 80 Braking member 90 Release member 100 Support member 102 Support surface 104 Concave part 105 Position control rib 106 Position control rib 108 Position control rib 110 Holding Rib h IC chip M Memory board P Protective material T Recording tape

Claims (1)

A case for accommodating a reel on which a recording tape is wound;
A non-contact type memory board provided with an IC chip storing various information exposed ;
A support member provided in the case and having a recess formed in a support surface for incliningly arranging the memory board at a predetermined angle;
A protective material that has an adhesive function and is accommodated in the recess, the IC chip is embedded, and the memory board around the IC chip is bonded to hold the memory board to the support member ;
A recording tape cartridge comprising:

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