JPH02173992A - Tape cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely lock a slider at a low cost by forming one part of a torsion spring, which energizes a hub lock member in a locking direction, into the shape of a coil giving a function holding the lock at the opening and closing position of the slider to the coil part. CONSTITUTION:The coil part 14a is formed in both end parts of the torsion spring 14 which energizes the hub lock member 13 in the locking direction, and the function assisting the lock holding power of a slider lock piece 18 is given to the coil part 14a. Therefore, the number of parts does not increase, compared with a tape cassette which is newly assembled the coil spring for a slider lock, separately, and an assembly work is not complicated as well. Thus, the slider can surely be locked with keeping a low cost.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to a digital audio tape recorder (DAT).
Regarding tape cassettes applied to.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention provides a tape cassette that has a hub lock member that locks a reel hub disposed inside a cassette case and a slider that opens and closes a reel shaft insertion hole formed in a lower half, in which the hub lock member is attached in a locking direction. By forming part of the torsion spring that exerts force into a coil shape and giving this coil part the function of locking the slider in the open/closed position, we have realized a tape cassette that securely locks the slider at low cost. This is what I did.

[Prior Art] Currently, a digital audio tape recorder (DAT) has been proposed that converts an analog signal such as an acoustic signal into a digital signal and records or plays it back on a magnetic tape.This digital audio tape recorder uses a rotating head. There are some that are designed to achieve high recording density.

In tape cassettes used for such high-density recording, if fingerprints or dust adhere to the magnetic tape, dropouts will occur in the playback signal, so to prevent this, it is necessary to seal the magnetic tape inside the tape cassette. .

The general structure of this conventional sealed tape cassette for DAT will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8.

In the figure, (1) shows the tape cassette as a whole;
(2) is a cassette case, and this cassette case (2) is formed by combining an upper half (3) and a lower half (4) with screws or the like. A pair of reel shaft insertion holes (5) are formed on the left and right sides of the lower half (4), and a pair of reel hubs (7) with a magnetic tape (6) wound over these reel shaft insertion holes (5).
are arranged so that they can be rotated freely. The magnetic tape (6) wound around the reel hub (7) is led out to the front opening (9) of the cassette case (2) via left and right tape guides (8) provided on the lower half (4). It's exposed.

Further, in the front part of the lower half (4), a loading pocket part (10
) is formed, and when a tape cassette is loaded into a magnetic recording/reproducing device, a guide member for tape loading on the device side enters into this pocket portion (10), and the magnetic tape (6) is inserted into the cassette case ( 2) The tape is pulled out to the front (tape loading).

On the other hand, a transparent window (11) is formed in the upper half (3), and the reel hub (7) is provided through the transparent window (11).
) You can check the remaining amount of magnetic tape (6) wound on the tape. In addition, a front cover (12) that opens and closes the front opening (9) of the cassette case (2) is attached to the front end of the upper half (3) so that it can be rotated in the vertical direction, so that no tape cassette is used. In this state, the front opening (9), that is, the magnetic tape exposed part, is closed by this front face 1 (12).
Furthermore, when a tape cassette is loaded into a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus, the front cover (12) is opened and rotated upward by a mechanism on the apparatus side, thereby exposing the magnetic tape.

Further, a hub lock member (13) is incorporated in the cassette case (2) to prevent unnecessary rotation of the left and right wheel hubs (7) when not in use.

This hub lock member (13) has a locking pawl (13) corresponding to a locking groove (7a) formed on the outer periphery of the reel hub (7).
a), and is always biased in the locking direction by a torsion spring (14) fixed to a spring fixing part (13b) at the center thereof. That is, both ends of this torsion spring (14) extend in a V-shape, and the ends thereof are brought into contact with the front wall (3a) of the upper half (3), so that the hub lock member (13) is always positioned rearward. In other words, the locking claw (13a) is biased in the direction of engaging with the locking groove (7a) of the reel hub (7), so that the reel hub (7) is locked so that it cannot rotate when the tape cassette is not in use. . When the tape cassette is loaded into the magnetic recording/reproducing device and the front surface M (12) is opened and rotated upward as described above, the engaging portions (13c) extending from the front of both ends of the hub lock member (13) A part of the edge of the front cover (12) comes into contact with the front cover (12) and acts to pull it out, so that the hub lock member (13) is pushed forward against the biasing force of the torsion spring (14), that is, locked. The claw (13a) is the reel hub (7)
The reel hub (7) is thereby released from the locked state.

Note that this hub lock member (13) is temporarily fixed to the upper half (3) in advance during the tape cassette assembly process.
The upper half (3) and the lower half (4) are assembled into the cassette case at the same time. As a temporary fixing structure of the hub lock member (13) to the upper half (3), elongated holes (15) long in the front-back direction are formed on the left and right sides of the hub lock member (13), and the hub lock member (13) is provided with long holes (15) on the left and right sides. The block member (13) is crimped onto a crimping pin (16) formed on the back side of the upper half (3).

Also, on the bottom of the lower half (4) of the cassette case (2),
A slider (17) is mounted so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. When the tape cassette is not in use, this slider (17) is in the front closed position, blocking the pocket portion (10) of the lower half (4) and the reel shaft insertion hole (5), and also holds the tape cassette in place. When loaded into the magnetic recording/reproducing device, the slider (17) is slid to the rear open position by a mechanism on the device side, thereby opening the pocket portion (10) of the lower half (4) and the reel shaft insertion hole (5). Ru.

A locking mechanism is provided between the slider (17) and the lower half (4) to hold the slider (17) in a locked state in the front closed position and the rear open position, respectively. That is, the locking mechanism of this slider consists of left and right slider lock pieces (18) formed in a part of the lower half (4) so as to be able to elastically swing in the vertical direction, and corresponding to the slider lock pieces (18). Consists of front and rear engagement holes (19a) and (19b) formed in the slider (17),
Engagement protrusion (18a) at the tip of slider lock piece (18)
When the slider (17) is engaged with the engagement hole (19b) on the rear side, the slider (17) is locked in the front closed position, and the retaining protrusion (18a) of the slider lock piece (18) is engaged with the engagement hole (19b) on the front side. When engaged with the hole (19a), the slider (17) is locked in the rear open position.
Slider (17) with this slider lock piece (18)
The lock is released by a release member disposed on the side of the magnetic recording/reproducing device.

In addition, a limiter turbine (20) is provided protruding from the back side of the upper half (3) corresponding to the slider lock piece (18), and the tip end surface of the limiter pin (20) is connected to the slider lock piece (18). ) is opposed to the back side of the tip part at a predetermined distance. And this limiter pin (
20) restricts the amount of elastic swing of the slider lock piece (18), that is, prevents the slider lock piece (18) from being damaged by swinging deformation more than necessary.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional general DAT tape cassette constructed as described above, the slider (17) is locked only by the elasticity of the slider lock piece (18) itself, so the opening/closing operation of the slider (17) is Due to repetition and changes over time, the engagement force of the slider lock piece (18) becomes weaker, resulting in the inconvenience that the slider (17) becomes loosely locked.

For this reason, conventionally, the upper half (3) and slider lock piece (1
A tape cassette is proposed in which a coil spring is newly inserted between the tip of the slider lock piece (18) and the tip of the slider lock piece (18), and the elasticity of the coil spring assists the locking force of the slider lock piece (18) with respect to the slider (17). (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-279573).

However, in the case of this conventional tape cassette, in addition to the general structure, a coil spring for the slider lock piece is newly incorporated, which increases the number of parts, and the work of assembling the small coil spring is extremely complicated, so the cassette assembly is difficult. This has the disadvantage of complicating the process and increasing costs.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and is a tape that assists the locking force of the slider lock piece without adding any new parts, and enables reliable locking of the slider while maintaining costs. The purpose is to provide cassettes.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a hub lock member that locks the rotation of a reel hub disposed inside a cassette cassette, and a tape provided on the lower half of the cassette cassette. In a tape cassette that includes a slider that opens and closes a loading pocket and a reel shaft insertion hole, and a slider lock piece that is provided on the lower half and locks the slider in the open and close position, the hub lock member is biased in the locking direction. A coil spring part is formed in a part of the torsion spring, and this coil spring part assists the lock holding force of the slider lock piece.

[Effect]

With this configuration, the number of parts does not increase compared to the conventional method, and the assembly work is not complicated, so it is possible to manufacture a tape cassette with reliable slider locking while maintaining low cost. .

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. Parts corresponding to those of the tape cassettes in FIGS. 4 to 8 described above are given the same reference numerals, and their explanations will be omitted. do.

The present invention utilizes a torsion spring (14) that biases the hub lock member (13) in the locking direction, and a portion of the torsion spring (14) is also used as a slider locking spring. That is, in this example, the torsion spring (14) attached to the hub lock member (13) is
) is extended into a coil shape to form a coil part (14a).
is formed, and the half lock member (13) is attached to the upper half (
3), when assembling this coil part (13a) into the upper half (
3) Fit and assemble the glue turbine (20). Also, the coil part of this torsion spring (14) (
The inner diameter of the limiter bin (20) is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the limiter bin (20).
a) is fitted into the limiter bin (20) in a light press-fit manner.

In the assembled state in which the upper half (3) and the lower half (4) are combined, the tip of the coil portion (14a) corresponds to the back side of the tip of the slider lock piece (18), and therefore, the tip of the coil portion (14a) ) is subjected to elastic deformation of the slider lock piece (18), that is, the slider (17 of the slider lock piece (18)
) will be assisted. Therefore, the locking force of the slider (17) by the slider lock piece (18) does not weaken due to repeated opening/closing operations of the slider (17) or changes over time.

In this case, the tape cassette of this example has a hub lock member (
13) torsion spring (
A coil part (14a) is formed at both ends of the slider lock piece (14), and this coil part (14a) has a function of assisting the lock holding force of the slider lock piece (18). Compared to the case where an auxiliary coil spring is separately assembled, an increase in the number of parts is suppressed, and the assembly work is not complicated. Furthermore, even if a fall shock is applied, the coil spring will not come off.

In addition, in this example, the coil portion (14a) of the torsion spring (14) is configured to fit into the limiter pin (20) in a light press-fit manner, so that the hub lock member can be used in the tape cassette assembly process. (13
) can be easily temporarily fixed to the upper half (3). That is, in this type of tape cassette, the half lock member (13) is temporarily fixed to the upper half (3) in advance in the assembly process as described above, and then the upper half (3)
However, in the temporary fixing work of the hub lock member (13) to the upper half (3), conventionally the hub lock member (13) is attached to the upper half (4).
3), in this example, the hub lock member (13) is simply press-fitted by lightly press-fitting the coil portion (14a) of the torsion spring (14) fixed to the hub lock member (13) into the liminter pin (20). ) can be temporarily fixed to the upper half (3), and the surface will not come off even during transportation on the assembly line, so the work of temporarily fixing the hub lock member (13) to the upper half (3) is easier than before. It is extremely easy to perform and has the effect of improving production efficiency. Additionally, in this example, the conventional haflock member (
■The long hole (15) and upper half (3) formed in
) is no longer necessary.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, in the tape cassette of the present invention, a coil portion is formed in a part of the torsion spring for biasing the half lock member, and this coil portion assists the locking force of the slider lock piece. Due to this structure, the number of parts does not increase compared to the conventional tape cassette (which newly incorporates a coil spring for the slider lock separately), and the assembly work is not complicated, so it is possible to maintain low costs. However, it is possible to realize a tape cassette in which the slider is reliably locked.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the upper half of the tape cassette of the present invention seen from the back side, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of the main part of the tape cassette of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the torsion spring. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a general tape cassette;
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the same, with the front cover and slider open, Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the same, Fig. 7 is a plan view of the upper half seen from the back side, Fig. 8 is the same, FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of the main part. In the figure, (13) is a hub lock member, (14) is a torsion spring, (14a) is a coil portion, (17) is a slider, and (18) is a slider lock piece. Agent Sadado Ito Hidenari Matsukuma

Claims (1)

[Claims] A hub lock member that locks the rotation of a reel hub disposed inside the cassette case, and a slider that opens and closes a tape loading pocket and a reel shaft insertion hole provided in the lower half of the cassette case. , a tape cassette comprising a slider lock piece provided on the lower half and locking the slider in the open/closed position, wherein a coil portion is formed in a part of the torsion spring that biases the hub lock member in the locking direction. A tape cassette characterized in that the coil portion assists the locking force of the slider lock piece.