JP4925122B2 - Tape drive - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to tape Pudoraibu.

  A rotation lock structure that restricts the rotation of the tape reel when not in use is known, for example, from Patent Document 1. There, a lock body that is guided and supported only in the upper case by the upper case, a spring that pushes and urges the lock body, gear teeth provided on the lock body, and an inner bottom of the reel hub corresponding to the gear teeth. A rotation lock structure is constituted by formed gear teeth or the like. In the non-use state, the lock body meshes with the inner bottom wall of the reel hub via both gear teeth, so that the tape reel can be fixed and held in a non-rotatable manner. In use, the lock body can be held in the unlocked posture by pushing up the lock body with a lock release pin provided on the drive shaft of the tape drive.

  According to this type of rotation lock structure, the tape reel when not in use can be fixed and held non-rotatably, but upward movement cannot be restricted. Therefore, when receiving a strong external force such as a drop impact, the upper flange of the tape reel may collide with the inner wall of the main body case and be deformed to damage the edge of the recording tape. As the recording capacity of the tape cartridge increases, the thickness dimension of the recording tape tends to be thinner, and the physical strength of the recording tape itself is also a factor that tends to damage the tape edge.

  In addition to the rotation lock structure as described above, Patent Document 2 discloses a tape cartridge having a floating lock structure for restricting the upward movement of the tape reel. There, three lock pieces that reciprocally slide in the radial direction are arranged on the inner surface of the upper wall of the main body case, and the outer ends of the lock pieces are inserted and engaged between the opening edge of the reel hub and the case upper wall. Therefore, the upward movement of the tape reel is regulated. Each lock piece is locked and biased by a spring. However, when the lock body described above is pushed up by a lock release pin of the tape drive, the lock piece is unlocked against the spring biasing force. For this purpose, a cam piece is integrally provided on the lower surface of the inner end of the lock piece, and a release protrusion for unlocking the lock piece via the cam piece is provided on the upper surface side of the lock body.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-46993 (paragraph number 0014, FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-276413 (paragraph number 0055, FIG. 2)

  According to the tape cartridge of Patent Document 2, the tape reel when not in use can be locked and held so as not to move upward. However, since the structure of the floating lock is composed of three lock pieces, a lock spring, a cam piece for unlocking, a release protrusion, and a guide structure provided on the inner surface of the upper wall of the main body case, the lock structure is complicated. Inevitably, the manufacturing cost of the tape cartridge increases accordingly. There is also a disadvantage that the case structure of the upper case becomes complicated. Since it is necessary to provide an entrance opening for the unlocking pin on the bottom wall of the reel hub, the molten resin cannot be made to flow uniformly when the reel hub including the upper flange is formed.

  In a state where the tape reel is rotationally driven by the drive shaft of the tape drive, the lock body is pushed up by the lock release pin against the elasticity of the spring for energizing the lock body and the spring for energizing each lock piece, Must be kept unlocked. Therefore, in the unlocked state, it is inevitable that a large frictional resistance is generated between the lower surface of the lock body and the unlocking pin, and it is inevitable that the power loss in the tape drive is increased accordingly. There is also a disadvantage that the structure of the drive shaft becomes complicated.

  The object of the present invention is to reliably prevent the device on the tape drive side from being operated while the main body case is still loaded in the tape drive in an inappropriate loading posture, thereby preventing malfunction of the device on the tape drive side. An object of the present invention is to provide a tape drive that can eliminate failures and improve reliability.

  The tape drive according to the present invention is a single reel type tape cartridge in which a single tape reel 2 for winding a recording tape 3 is accommodated in a main body case 1 composed of an upper case 1a and a lower case 1b. Applies. A floating lock structure is provided between the upper surface of the tape reel 2 and the upper case 1a to restrict the upward movement of the tape reel 2 when not in use. The tape drive loading section 48 is provided with an unlocking body 36 that engages with an entry groove 37 formed on the outer surface of the main body case 1 to unlock the floating lock structure. The tape drive includes a sensor 45 that detects whether the loading posture of the tape cartridge is appropriate and that the floating lock structure has been properly unlocked, and an output signal from the sensor 45. And a control circuit 46 for controlling the operation.

  The sensor 45 is configured by a sensor that detects an external force that acts on the unlocking body 36. The control circuit 46 compares the detection signal output from the sensor 45 with a preset reference signal, and confirms whether the loading posture of the tape cartridge is appropriate and the structure of the floating lock has been properly unlocked. It is configured so that it can be determined.

  In the tape drive according to the present invention, a sensor 45 is provided for detecting whether or not the loading posture of the tape cartridge is appropriate and that the structure of the floating lock has been properly unlocked. In accordance with the output signal from the sensor 45, the tape drive The operation of the device on the drive side can be controlled by the control circuit 46. Therefore, according to the tape drive of the present invention, the main body case 1 remains loaded in an inappropriate loading posture with respect to the loading portion 48 or the floating lock structure is not fully unlocked. It is possible to reliably prevent the device on the tape drive side from being operated. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the reliability of the tape drive by eliminating the malfunction or failure of the device on the tape drive side.

  According to the tape drive in which the external force acting on the unlocking body 36 is detected by the sensor 45 and the detection signal output from the sensor 45 is processed by the control circuit 46, the suitability of the loading posture of the tape cartridge can be determined with a simpler sensor structure. Can be determined. Specifically, the control circuit 46 determines that the loading posture of the tape cartridge is inappropriate or that the floating lock structure is not completely unlocked based on the detection signal of the sensor 45. The structure of the tape drive can be prevented from being unnecessarily complicated. It also helps to prevent the tape drive manufacturing costs from increasing.

(Example) shows the tape cartridge of the single-reel type tape drive is applied according to the present invention in FIGS. 1-9. 1 and 2, the tape cartridge accommodates one tape reel 2 inside a rectangular box-shaped main body case 1, and a recording tape 3 (magnetic tape), which is an information recording medium, is wound around the tape reel 2 and accommodated. ing. A leader block 4 is fixed to the feeding end of the recording tape 3.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the main body case 1 is constructed by joining and fixing upper and lower cases 1a and 1b in a lid-like manner, and has a loading opening 6 for taking in and out the recording tape 3 on one side of its front wall. (See FIG. 2). The loading opening 6 can be opened and closed by a slidable shutter 7. When the tape cartridge is not in use, the leader block 4 is held and fixed in a predetermined standby posture by a holding structure provided in the main body case 1 with its front end facing the loading opening 6. When the main body case 1 is loaded into the tape drive, the shutter 7 is opened, the leader block 4 is engaged and connected to the tape drive capturing body, and the recording tape 3 is pulled out of the case.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the tape reel 2 includes a pair of upper and lower disk-shaped flanges 10 and 11 and a reel hub 12 around which the recording tape 3 is wound, and the upper flange 10 is connected to the reel hub 12. The lower flange 11 is integrally formed and fixed to the reel hub 12 by ultrasonic welding. The reel hub 12 is formed of a cylindrical wall having a circular cross section, and includes a spring receiving boss 13 at the center of the inside thereof. A hub space 14 that opens upward is formed by the reel hub 12 and the spring receiving boss 13.

  As shown in FIG. 1, at the center of the lower surface of the lower flange 11, a ring-shaped circumferential wall that fits into the drive shaft entry hole 15 of the lower case 1b protrudes downward, along the inner base end thereof. Gear teeth 16 are formed in a circular shape. A positioning rib 17 having a triangular cross section protrudes in a circular shape at the center of the lower surface of the lower flange 11 adjacent to the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall. The lower surface of the lower flange 11 is supported by a ring-shaped boss wall that bulges to the inner surface opening of the drive shaft entry hole 15, and the positioning ribs 17 are engaged and supported by a circumferential positioning groove 18 that is recessed in the boss wall. By doing so, the entire tape reel 2 can be supported in a properly positioned state with respect to the drive shaft entry hole 15. An appropriate amount of gap (1 mm) is secured between the lower flange 11 and the inner bottom surface of the lower case 1b in this state.

  A reel spring 22 is disposed between the upper case 1a and the spring receiving boss 13 in order to mainly restrict rotational movement of the tape reel 2 in the unused state. Specifically, a compression coil type reel spring 22 is arranged between a spring receiving flange 24 mounted on the inner surface of the upper case 1a and rotatably supported by the bearing body 23, and the spring receiving boss 13. Yes. By pressing and energizing the tape reel 2 with the reel spring 22, the positioning rib 17 and the positioning groove 18 are in close contact with each other, so that the rotation of the tape reel 2 is restricted by the frictional resistance between both 17 and 18, At the same time, the radial movement can be restricted.

  The present invention is characterized in that the above-described single reel type tape cartridge is provided with a floating lock structure for restricting the upward movement of the tape reel 2 when not in use. As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, a pair of left and right floating locks is provided on the inner surface of the upper case 1a so that the upward movement of the tape reel 2 can be more reliably regulated.

  The structure of the floating lock includes a lock piece 27 mounted on the inner surface of the upper case 1a and a lock spring 28 that swings and urges the lock piece 27 toward the lock posture. 27 can be unlocked. As shown in FIG. 4, the lock piece 27 is provided on a plate-like swing arm 30 that is pivotally supported by a support shaft 29 provided on the upper case 1 a so as to be reciprocally swingable. A release piece 31, a round shaft-shaped regulating body 32 provided on the lower surface of the swing arm 30 on the swing tip side, and a swing protrusion 33 provided near the swing tip on the top surface of the swing arm 30. It consists of a plastic molded product provided integrally. The lock spring 28 is a torsion coil type spring, and each of the spring arms 28 a continuously provided on both sides thereof is brought into contact with one side of the lock piece 27.

  By supporting one end of the swing arm 30 with a support shaft 29 provided integrally with the upper case 1a, the lock piece 27 is in a locked posture in which the release piece 31 is exposed at the rear end of an entry groove 37 described later (see FIG. 5 and the state shown in FIG. 7) and the unlocking posture in which the release piece 31 is pushed away from the entry groove 37 (state shown in FIG. 8). The restricting body 32 in the locked posture is opposed to the upper end surface of the reel hub 12 with a slight margin gap, and regulates the tape reel 2 from moving upward beyond the margin gap. Further, the restricting body 32 in the unlocking posture retreats and swings upward in the hub space 14 surrounded by the reel hub 12 as shown in FIG. 3 to allow the tape reel 2 to move upward.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pair of left and right lock pieces 27 and 27 are symmetrically arranged with the central axis in the front-rear direction passing through the rotation center of the tape reel 2 as the axis of symmetry, and both are inclined in a C shape, The center of the left and right regulating bodies 32 in the locked posture passes through the center of rotation of the tape reel 2 and faces the upper end surface of the reel hub 12 on a straight line orthogonal to the previous symmetry axis. As described above, when the movement of the opposed positions around the reel hub 12 is restricted by the restricting body 32, the tape reel 2 can be received at a uniform position and the upper and lower flanges 10 and 11 can be prevented from being greatly inclined in a specific direction.

The floating lock structure is unlocked by using a loading operation when loading the main body case 1 into the tape drive. For this purpose, an entrance groove 37 that allows relative entry of the unlocking body 36 of the tape drive is formed on the outer surface of the upper wall of the upper case 1a from the front edge of the case to the middle of the case. An operation opening 38 for exposing the release piece 31 to the entry groove 37 is provided at the corner (see FIG. 5). In an actual use state, when the main body case 1 is inserted and loaded into the tape drive, the entrance groove 37 is engaged and guided by the unlocking body 36 fixed to the loading portion of the tape drive .

  When the lock piece 27 is in the locked posture, a part of the release piece 31 is exposed to the entry groove 37 from the operation opening 38 as shown in FIG. When the main body case 1 in this state is loaded into the tape drive, the entry groove 37 engages with the unlocking body 36, and both 36 and 37 move relative to each other. When the release piece 31 comes into contact with the lock release body 36, the release piece 31 is pushed out of the entry groove 37 against the urging force of the lock spring 28.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the lock piece 27 is switched to the unlocking posture. At this time, the regulating body 32 is located immediately above the hub space 14. Therefore, when the tape reel 2 is driven to rotate while being pushed up by the drive shaft D, the regulating body 32 is accommodated in the hub space 14 as shown in FIG. There is no inhibition. Around the upper surface of the drive shaft D, gear teeth 20 that mesh with the previous gear teeth 16 are formed.

  The swing protrusion 33 provided on the swing arm 30 is guided to move by a partially arcuate guide groove 40 formed in a recess on the inner surface of the upper case 1a (see FIGS. 2 and 7). Adjacent to the guide groove 40, a recess 41 that allows the displacement of the release piece 31 is formed on the inner surface of the upper case 1a. When one end of the swing arm 30 is pivotally supported by the support shaft 29 and the swing protrusion 33 is moved and guided by the guide groove 40, the lock piece 27 can be swung as compared with the case where the lock piece 27 is supported only by the support shaft 29. The moving operation can be smoothed to ensure the switching between the locked posture and the unlocked posture.

  According to the tape cartridge configured as described above, the upward movement of the tape reel 2 can be reliably restricted while simplifying the structure of the floating lock, and the upper flange 10 is in contact with the upper case 1a even when receiving a drop impact. Thus, the upper tape edge of the recording tape 3 can be reliably prevented from being deformed or damaged by the upper flange 10. In addition, the manufacturing cost of the tape cartridge can be reduced to the extent that the number of components can be greatly reduced to simplify the structure of the floating lock. Further, since the floating lock structure is unlocked using the loading operation with respect to the tape drive, there is no room for unlocking the floating lock structure in the non-use state, and the tape reel 2 in the non-use state is freed from the floating lock. The structure can always reliably hold the lock, and the tape edge of the recording tape 3 can be reliably prevented from being damaged.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the non-use state, the lower surface of the lower flange 11 is exposed outside the case from the drive shaft entry hole 15, but when the tape cartridge is handled, another object is accidentally contacted with the lower flange 11, Alternatively, the entire tape reel 2 may be inclined in the main body case 1 due to a drop impact or the like. In such a case, the peripheral edge on the inclined lower end side of the lower flange 11 tries to contact the inner surface of the lower case 1b while the upper surface of the tape reel 2 is received by the one restricting body 32.

  However, as described above, in a state where the positioning rib 17 is properly engaged and supported by the positioning groove 18, if an appropriate amount of clearance is secured between the lower flange 11 and the inner bottom surface of the lower case 1b, Even if the entire tape reel 2 is inclined, a clearance E (see FIG. 9) is secured between the peripheral edge of the lower end of the lower flange 11 and the lower case 1b so that the lower flange 11 contacts the lower case 1b. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the lower tape edge of the recording tape 3 from being deformed or damaged by the lower flange 11.

  FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the support structure of the tape reel 2. In this case, gear teeth 17a and 18a having a V-shaped cross-section are formed on the engaging surfaces of the positioning rib 17 and the positioning groove 18, and these gear teeth 17a and 18a mesh with each other, so that they are not in use. The rotation of the tape reel 2 can be more reliably regulated. Since others are the same as the previous embodiment, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same members, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

  In the above embodiment, the individual lock pieces 27 are individually unlocked by the two unlocking bodies 36, but the left and right lock pieces 27 can be unlocked simultaneously by the single unlocking body 36. . In the above embodiment, the lock piece 27 is reciprocally swung to be displaced into the locked posture and the unlocked posture. However, for example, the lock piece 27 is moved along the upper wall of the upper case 1a. By reciprocatingly sliding, it can be displaced to the locked posture and the unlocked posture.

  At least one lock piece 27 may be provided, but two or more lock pieces 27 can be provided if necessary. The release piece 31 can be provided anywhere within the entry groove 37 and does not need to be provided at the end of the entry groove 37 as described in the embodiment. The structure of the floating lock of the present invention can be used in combination with the rotation lock structure.

  When the tape cartridge configured as described above is loaded in the wrong loading posture with respect to the tape drive, or when the floating lock structure is not completely unlocked due to insufficient tape cartridge insertion and loading. In some cases, the device on the tape drive side may malfunction or fail. For example, the tape reel 2 cannot be rotationally driven by the drive shaft D, or the leader block 4 cannot be pulled out properly. In order to prevent such equipment failures and malfunctions, check the appropriateness of the tape cartridge loading posture prior to operation of the equipment on the tape drive side, and make sure that the floating lock structure is completely unlocked. An operation check structure for checking is provided in the tape drive.

  As an inappropriate loading posture of the tape cartridge, the main body case 1 should be loaded with the front end opening of the entry groove 37 being the loading start end, and the main body case 1 is loaded with the front and rear sides reversed. In some cases, the main body case 1 is loaded in an upside down state, and the tape cartridge is loaded in the loading section 48 with one side surface of the main body case 1 as a loading start end.

  In FIG. 12, the operation confirmation structure includes a sensor 45 for detecting whether the loading posture of the tape cartridge is appropriate, a floating lock structure being properly unlocked, and an output signal from the sensor 45. It comprises a control circuit 46 for controlling the operation of the device, a warning display 47 and the like.

  The sensor 45 is a commercially available sensor such as a strain gauge, and is attached to the unlocking body 36 disposed on the upper wall of the loading unit 48 of the tape drive, and detects an external force acting on the unlocking body 36. The control circuit 46 compares the detection signal output from the sensor 45 with a preset reference signal, and confirms that the loading posture of the tape cartridge is appropriate and that the structure of the floating lock has been properly unlocked. judge. The warning indicator 47 is composed of one or a plurality of LEDs, and is displayed in a light-emitting manner when the loading posture of the tape cartridge is inappropriate or when the floating lock structure is not properly unlocked. The For example, one LED is blinked to indicate an abnormal situation. Moreover, when the warning display body 47 is comprised by several LED, the content of abnormality can be specified by the difference in the emission color of several LED, or the difference in blinking pattern.

  When the main body case 1 is loaded in a proper posture with respect to the loading portion 48, the unlocking body 36 and the intrusion groove 37 simply move relative to each other, and a large external force acts on the unlocking body 36. There is no. In a state where the lock release body 36 completely unlocks the lock piece 27 against the urging force of the lock spring 28, an external force corresponding to the spring elasticity of the lock spring 28 that has been bent and deformed acts on the lock release body 36. When the unlocking of the lock piece 27 by the unlocking body 36 is insufficient, the amount of bending of the lock spring 28 is smaller than that in the completely unlocked state, and the external force acting on the unlocking body 36 is correspondingly reduced. Get smaller. When the main body case 1 is forcibly loaded into the loading portion 48 with the improper loading posture, a strong external force exceeding the spring elasticity of the lock spring 28 acts on the unlocking body 36.

  The control circuit 46 uses the difference in external force acting on the lock release body 36 as described above to determine the loaded state, and forcibly ejects the tape cartridge in which the loaded state is abnormal. Specifically, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 11, when the main body case 1 is loaded into the loading section 48 in the first step, the external force acting on the unlocking body 36 is detected by the sensor 45 (second step), and the detection result is controlled. It is output to the circuit 46. At this time, the value of the external force detected by the sensor 45 is NS. The control circuit 46 has previously inputted a lower limit value N1 and an upper limit value N2 of appropriate external force values.

  In the third step, the comparison circuit compares the external force value NS and the external force value upper limit value N2 to determine whether or not the inequality (NS> = N2) is satisfied. When the inequality (NS> = N2) is satisfied, processing is performed according to the system branching from the third step. Specifically, it is determined that the main body case 1 is in an improper loading posture and is loaded in the loading unit 48, the warning display 47 is displayed in a light-emitting manner, and the tape drive loading device is activated. Forcibly eject the tape cartridge. If the inequality (NS> = N2) is not satisfied, the process proceeds to the fourth step.

  In the fourth step, the comparison circuit compares the external force value NS with the lower limit value N1 of the external force value to determine whether or not the inequality (NS <= N1) is satisfied. When the inequality (NS <= N1) is satisfied, processing is performed according to the system branching from the fourth step. Specifically, it is determined that either the unlocking of the lock piece 27 by the unlocking body 36 is insufficient or the external force is not applied to the unlocking body 36, and the warning display 47 Is displayed, the tape drive loading device is activated, and the tape cartridge is forcibly ejected. If the inequality (NS <= N1) is not satisfied, the process proceeds from the fifth to the seventh step.

  In the fifth to seventh steps, it is determined that the main body case 1 is loaded in an appropriate posture with respect to the loading section 48, and the drive shaft D of the tape drive device is connected to the tape reel 2 or the leader block 4 Is issued to the take-up reel 50 by being pulled out of the case. As described above, the information signal is read from and written to the recording tape 3 only when the tape cartridge is loaded in the loading unit 48 in an appropriate state.

  The sensor 45 constituting the operation confirmation structure does not have to be a sensor that detects an external force acting on the unlocking body 36. For example, the unlocking body 36 is supported so as to be reciprocally displaceable, and is standby-biased by a balance spring that has the same spring characteristics as the lock spring 28 and can exhibit the same spring tension. And when the external force exceeding the upper limit N2 acts on the unlocking body 36, the unlocking body 36 is displaced against the urging force of the balance spring. The displacement of the unlocking body 36 at this time is detected by the first sensor. In addition, a second sensor that detects whether or not the loading start end of the main body case 1 is properly loaded in the loading unit 48 is provided in the loading unit 48.

  In the above operation check structure, it can be determined whether or not the tape cartridge is properly loaded in the loading unit 48 from the detection results of the first sensor and the second sensor. When the first sensor detects the displacement of the unlocking body 36, it can be known that the main body case 1 is forcibly loaded in an inappropriate loading posture with respect to the loading unit 48. Further, by knowing from the second sensor that the loading start end of the main body case 1 is not loaded to the proper position, it is possible to know that the structure of the floating lock is not completely unlocked. The first sensor and the second sensor can be configured by various sensors such as a micro switch, a proximity switch, or an optical sensor.

It is the sectional view on the AA line in FIG. It is a partially broken plan view of the tape cartridge. It is sectional drawing of the state which carried out lock release operation of the structure of the floating lock. It is a perspective view of a lock piece. It is a perspective view which shows the related structure of the lock piece and the approach groove | channel for lock release. It is the BB sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is a cross-sectional top view which shows the positional relationship of the lock piece in a locked state. It is a cross-sectional top view which shows the positional relationship of the lock piece in a lock release state. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the tilt control effect | action of a lock piece. It is sectional drawing which shows another Example of the support structure of a tape reel. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence at the time of poor loading of a main body case. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the operation confirmation structure in a tape drive.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body case 2 Tape reel 3 Recording tape 12 Reel hub 14 Hub space 22 Reel spring 27 Lock piece 28 Lock spring 31 Release piece 32 Restriction body 36 Lock release body 37 Entrance groove 38 Operation opening

Claims (2)

A tape drive for a single reel type tape cartridge in which a single tape reel for winding a recording tape is accommodated in a main body case constituted by an upper case and a lower case ,
Between the upper surface of the tape reel and the upper case, there is provided a floating lock structure that restricts the upward movement of the tape reel when not in use.
The tape drive loading portion is provided with an unlocking body that engages with an entry groove formed on the outer surface of the main body case to unlock the structure of the floating lock,
A device for detecting whether or not the tape cartridge is properly loaded in the tape drive, a sensor for detecting that the structure of the floating lock has been properly unlocked, and an output signal from the sensor, the device on the tape drive side And a control circuit for controlling the operation of the tape drive. The sensor is composed of a sensor that detects an external force acting on the unlocking body,
The control circuit compares the detection signal output from the sensor with a preset reference signal, and whether or not the loading posture of the tape cartridge is appropriate and the structure of the floating lock is properly unlocked. configuration tare Ru claim 1 tape drive according to determine that.

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