JPH0356926Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention is ideal for application to tape cassettes for video tape recorders, for example. This invention relates to a tape cassette whose lid is locked in a closed state by a lock lever.

[Summary of the idea]

In the present invention, horizontal fulcrum pins are provided on both sides of the upper end of the vertical lock lever, and a T-shaped horizontal protrusion is provided on the lower end of the lock lever for contacting the lock release protrusion. Of the upper and lower halves constituting the cassette housing, the lower half is provided with a pair of vertical supporting walls with a space between them;
By inserting the lock lever from above into the gap between the pair of support walls, the fulcrum pin is fitted into a pair of recesses provided at the upper ends of the pair of support walls and is pivotably supported. , by engaging the locking convex portion provided on the lock lever with the engaging hole provided on the front cover rotatably attached to the cassette housing, the front cover is held in the closed state. In the tape cassette configured to lock, the gap between the pair of supporting walls is configured to be a narrow gap approximately equal to the plate thickness of the locking lever, and the pair of supporting walls are substantially perpendicular to a part of opposing surfaces of the pair of supporting walls. By forming vertical grooves and inserting the protrusion along the pair of vertical grooves, the lock lever is installed by being inserted from above into a narrow gap between the pair of support walls. Therefore, even if the lock lever is provided with a T-shaped protrusion at the lower end, it is possible to insert the lock lever from above into the narrow gap between the pair of support walls without enlarging the gap between the pair of support walls. It is designed so that it can be inserted and installed.

[Conventional technology]

First, a conventional example of a tape cassette for a video tape recorder will be explained with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10. Note that these figures show the main parts.

In FIGS. 8 and 9, a cassette casing 1 is made up of upper and lower halves 2 and 3 molded from synthetic resin, etc., which are joined from above and below, and a tape 4 is wound inside the cassette casing 1. A pair of left and right reels 5 are rotatably housed. The tape 4 is guided by a pair of left and right tape guides 6 and stretched along a front opening 7 of the cassette case 1, and the front opening 7 is configured to be opened and closed by a front lid 8. There is. That is, the front cover 8, which is molded from synthetic resin or the like, has a substantially U-shaped planar shape, and a pair of support shafts 9 integrally provided inside the left and right side plates 8a are attached to the left and right sides of the upper and lower halves 2 and 3. The front cover 8 rotates in the directions of arrows a and b in FIG. 9 by being sandwiched and pivoted from above and below by pivot recesses 10 and 11 provided in the upper and lower dividing surfaces of the walls 2a and 3a. It is freely attached to the cassette housing 1. Then, a torsion coil spring 12 is inserted into the outer periphery of one of the support shafts 9 by its coil portion 12a within the gap between one side plate 8a of the front lid 8 and one of the side walls 2a, 3a of the upper and lower halves 2, 3. By locking both ends 12b and 12c of the torsion coil spring 12 with a pair of locking portions 13 and 14 integrally provided on the side plate 8a and the side wall 3a, the front cover 8 is moved to the ninth position. It is urged to rotate in the direction of arrow a in the figure, and the front opening 7 is closed by the front plate 8b of the front lid 8 as shown by the solid line. Also, as shown by the dashed line, the front cover 8 resists the torsion coil spring 12 and moves as shown by the arrow b.
When the lid is opened in this direction, the front opening 7 is opened.

Next, on the front end side of one side wall 3a of the lower half 3, there is a pair of vertical support walls 16 with a gap between them.
a, 16b are integrally provided in a substantially U-shape in plan view, and these pair of supporting walls 16a, 1
A lock lever 18 is vertically mounted within the gap 17 between the lock levers 6b. That is, the lock lever 18 is molded from synthetic resin or the like, and has horizontal fulcrum pins 19 on both sides of the upper end, as shown in FIG.
are provided integrally with each other, and a horizontal protrusion 20 is provided integrally at the lower end in a T-shape.
This lock lever 18 is connected to a pair of supporting walls 16.
inserted from above into the gap 17 between a and 16b,
The fulcrum pin 19 is fitted into a pair of recesses 21a and 21b provided at the upper ends of the pair of support walls 16a and 16b, and is pivotally supported so as to be rotatable in the directions of arrows c and d in FIG. The fulcrum pin 19 is held down from above by a pair of ribs 22a and 22b integrally provided on the upper half 2. A torsion coil spring 23 is inserted into the outer periphery of the fulcrum pin 19 with its coil portion 23a, and both ends 23b and 23c of the torsion coil spring 23 are connected to the rear end surface 18a of the lock lever 18 and the upper end of one of the support walls 16a. The lock lever 18 is urged to rotate in the direction of the arrow c in FIG. The protrusion 25 is engaged with a recess 26 provided on the back surface of the front plate 8b of the front lid 8, and the front lid 8 is locked in the closed state. Note that the lower front end side of the lock lever 18, which is biased to rotate in the direction of arrow c, is in contact with the front end bottom wall 27 of the lower half 3 from behind. As is conventionally known, when this tape cassette is inserted into the cassette holder 29 of a video tape recorder in the direction of arrow e, the lock release protrusion 30 provided on the bottom plate of the cassette holder 29 locks the lower half 3. It is inserted relatively into a slit 31 provided at the lower part of the front end bottom wall 27 from the direction of arrow f, and the protrusion 30 of the lock lever 18 is pressed against the protrusion 20 of the lock lever 18. As a result, the lock lever 18 is rotated in the direction of the arrow d as shown by the dashed line against the torsion coil spring 23, and the lock of the front cover 8 in the closed state is released.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, the conventional tape cassette described above has the following problems.

That is, in the conventional tape cassette, as shown in FIG. It is configured so that rotation in the c direction is restricted. This occurs when the lock lever 18 is rotated in the direction of the arrow d by a mischievous operation or the like when the tape cassette is not in use to unlock the front cover 8 and open the front cover 8.
This is to prevent the lower end of the lock lever 18 from protruding forward due to the torsion coil spring 23 rotating the lock lever 8 more than necessary in the direction of the arrow c.

Therefore, the lock lever 18 is connected to the pair of support walls 16.
When installing in the gap 17 between a and 16b, it is possible to fit the fulcrum pin 19 of the lock lever 18 into the pair of recesses 21a and 21b and then rotate it from the front as shown in the direction of arrow g. Therefore, as described above, the lock lever 18 must be inserted from above into the gap 17 between the pair of support walls 16a and 16b.

By the way, in order to ensure that the lock release protrusion 30 of the cassette holder 29 contacts the lower end of the lock lever 18, even if the lock lever 18 and the lock release protrusion 30 are slightly out of phase in the left-right direction, In order to ensure that these two parts 18 and 30 come into contact with each other, a protrusion 20 at the lower end of the lock lever 18 is formed in a T-shape, as shown in FIG. Therefore, in order to insert the lock lever 18 into the gap 17 between the pair of support walls 16a and 16b from above, the pair of support walls 16
It is necessary to make the width L ₁ of the gap 17 between a and 16b at least wider than the width L ₂ of the T-shaped protrusion 20 of the lock lever 18. As a result, the external width _L3 of the pair of support walls 16a and 16b inevitably becomes large, and a very large space is required to mount the lock lever 18.

In the conventional example described above, when the tape cassette is loaded into the video tape recorder, the tape 4 pulled out from inside the cassette housing 1 is moved to the tape guide 32 on the video tape recorder side, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. It is configured to span the Therefore, when the tape 4 is wound around the reel 5 to the maximum extent, the tape 4
Since it is necessary to provide a pair of support walls 16a and 16b having a large external width _L3 so as not to contact the cassette case 1, the total width of the cassette housing 1 increases accordingly.

Therefore, even if the lock lever is provided with a T-shaped protrusion at the lower end, the present invention has been developed so that the lock lever can be inserted into the narrow gap between the pair of support walls without increasing the gap between the pair of support walls. can be installed by inserting it from above.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention provides the above-mentioned tape cassette.
The gap between the pair of support walls is configured to be a narrow gap approximately equal to the plate thickness of the lock lever, a pair of substantially perpendicular vertical grooves are formed in a part of the opposing surfaces of the pair of support walls, and the protrusion is formed into a narrow gap approximately equal to the thickness of the lock lever. By inserting the lock lever along a pair of vertical grooves, the lock lever is inserted into a narrow gap between the pair of support walls from above and attached.

[Effect]

In the present invention, even if a T-shaped protrusion is provided at the lower end of the lock lever, this protrusion is inserted along the pair of vertical grooves, so the gap between the pair of supporting walls is independent of the width of the protrusion. The lock lever can be installed by being inserted from above into the narrow gap between the pair of support walls while forming a narrow gap approximately equal to the plate thickness of the lock lever.

〔Example〕

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a tape cassette for a video tape recorder will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. Note that each figure shows the main parts. Further, the same parts as those of the conventional example described in the above [Prior Art] section are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

In the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, one side wall 3a of the lower half 3 is used as in the conventional example.
A pair of vertical supporting walls 36a and 36b having a space therebetween are integrally provided on the front end side of the support walls 36a and 36b, which are substantially U-shaped in plan view.
A lock lever 18 is vertically mounted within a gap 37 between a and 36b. By the way, as shown in FIG. 1, the gap 3 between the pair of support walls 36a and 36b
The width _L4 of the lock lever 18 is formed by a narrow gap approximately equal to the plate thickness t of the lock lever 18. and the second
5 and 6, a portion of the opposing surfaces 38a, 38b of the pair of support walls 36a, 36b has a substantially vertical shape that is continuous with the pair of recesses 21a, 21b at the upper end. A pair of vertical grooves 40a, 40b
is formed. In this embodiment, each of the pair of vertical grooves 40a, 40b is constituted by a pair of slits.

Next, the lock lever 18 is attached to a pair of support walls 36.
When installing in the narrow gap 37 between the lock lever 18 and the lock lever 18, the T-shaped protrusion 20 at the lower end of the lock lever 18 should be inserted along the pair of vertical grooves 40a and 40b, as shown in the direction of the arrow h in FIG. The lock lever 18 is inserted from above into the narrow gap 37 between the pair of support walls 36a and 36b as shown in FIG.
A pair of recesses 21a, 21b at the upper ends of a, 36b
Fit inside. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the lock lever 18 is rotatably supported in the directions of arrows c and d, as in the conventional example. Note that locking and unlocking of the front cover 8 by the lock lever 18 is the same as in the conventional example.

According to this embodiment configured as described above, as shown in FIG.
Even if a letter-shaped protrusion 20 width L ₅ is provided,
Since this protrusion 20 is inserted from above along the pair of vertical grooves 40a, 40b, the width _L4 of the gap ₃₇ between the pair of support walls 36a, 36b can be adjusted independently of the width L5 of the protrusion 20. It is possible to form a narrow gap approximately equal to the thickness t. Therefore, the external width _L6 of the pair of support walls 36a, 36b can also be reduced to correspond to the narrow gap 37, and the space for mounting the lock lever 18 becomes extremely small. As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of support walls 36 are formed outside the tape running path when the tape 4 is wound around the reel 5 to the maximum extent
Since the external width _L6 of a and 36b can be reduced, there is no need to increase the overall width of the cassette housing 1.

Note that the gap 3 between the pair of support walls 36a and 36b
Since the width L ₄ of the lock lever 18 is formed into a narrow gap that is approximately equal to the plate thickness t of the lock lever 18, the lock lever 18 is configured to close the gap 3 between the pair of support walls 36a and 36b.
The lock lever 18 is positioned within the lock lever 7 without rattling in the left-right direction, and the rotation of the lock lever 18 is performed extremely smoothly.

In addition, the T-shaped protrusion 2 of the lock lever 18
Since the width _L5 of the cassette holder 29 can be set independently of the width _L4 of the gap 37 between the pair of support walls 36a and 36b, the width _L5 can be set sufficiently large, and the lock release protrusion of the cassette holder 29 can be 30 can be brought into even more reliable contact.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the lock lever 18 of this embodiment, a pair of protrusions 42 and 43 are integrally provided on the rear end surface 18a at a distance from each other in the vertical direction. The end portion 23b of the torsion coil spring 23 is configured to be locked. Therefore, the end portion 23b of the torsion coil spring 23 is prevented from shifting sideways and unexpectedly from the rear end surface 18a of the lock lever 18, and the rotation bias of the reel lock lever 18 by the torsion coil spring 23 is always maintained. It can be done reliably.

Next, FIG. 7 shows a modification of the present invention, in which a pair of support walls 36a, 36
A pair of vertical grooves 45a and 45b are formed with a thin wall remaining on a part of the facing surface of the groove b. As in this modification, by leaving a thin wall thickness in the pair of vertical grooves 45a, 45b, the pair of supporting walls 36a, 36b
The intensity may be set around .

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various effective changes can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, in the embodiment, the pair of support walls are provided on the front end side of one side wall of the lower half, but they may be provided on the front end sides of both side walls of the lower half. It may also be located at a position spaced apart from one side wall of the lower half.

The present invention is not limited to tape cassettes for video tape recorders, but can be applied to tape cassettes for various recording and reproducing devices that record or reproduce various types of information using various recording or reproducing methods.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the lock lever is provided with a T-shaped protrusion at the lower end, the gap between the pair of support walls can be formed into a narrow gap that is approximately equal to the plate thickness of the lock lever. The lock lever can be installed by being inserted from above into the narrow gap between the pair of support walls. Therefore, the external width of the pair of support walls can be made extremely small, and the lock lever can be installed in an extremely small space within the cassette housing, making it possible to reduce the overall width of the cassette housing.

That is, by providing a T-shaped protrusion at the lower end of the lock lever, it is possible to ensure the contact between the lower end of the lock lever and the lock release protrusion. T in the section
As in the case of using a lock lever without a letter-shaped protrusion, the overall width of the cassette housing can be reduced to reduce the size of the tape cassette.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 7 show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a tape cassette for a video tape recorder.
Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the - line in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a plan view of the main parts, Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the - line in Figure 3, Figure 5A is an exploded perspective view of the main parts, and Figure 5B. is a view similar to Figure 5A viewed from a different angle, Figure 6 is a sectional view similar to Figure 4 when the lock lever is installed, and Figure 7
The figure is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2 in a modified example. 8 to 10 show conventional examples of tape cassettes for video tape recorders.
Figure 8 is a plan view of the main part, Figure 9 is the - of Figure 8.
10 is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 9. In addition, in the symbols used in the drawings, 1...cassette housing, 2...upper half, 3...lower half, 4...
... Tape, 8 ... Front cover, 9 ... Support shaft, 18 ... Lock lever, 19 ... Fulcrum pin, 20 ... Protrusion,
21a, 21b... recess, 25... lock protrusion, 26... recess (engaged hole), 30... lock release protrusion, 36a, 36b... support wall, 37...
...Gap between supporting walls, 38a, 38b...Opposing surfaces of supporting walls, 40a, 40b...Vertical grooves, 45a, 45
b...It is a vertical groove.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] Horizontal fulcrum pins 19 are provided on both sides of the upper end of the vertical lock lever 18, and a lock release protrusion 3 is provided at the lower end of the lock lever 18.
A horizontal protrusion 20 is provided in a T-shape for contacting the cassette housing 1, and of the upper and lower halves 2 and 3 that constitute the cassette housing 1, the lower half 3 has a pair of vertical support walls 36a and 36b with a gap between them. and the lock lever 18 is connected to the pair of support walls 36.
By inserting the fulcrum pin 19 into the gap 37 between the pair of support walls 36 and 36b from above,
A pair of recesses 21a provided at the upper ends of a and 36b,
21b and is rotatably supported, and a lock provided in the lock lever 18 is inserted into an engaged hole 26 provided in the front cover 8 which is rotatably attached to the cassette housing 1. In the tape cassette configured to lock the front lid 8 in the closed state by engaging the projection part 25, the gap 37 between the pair of support walls 36a and 36b is provided.
is formed into a narrow gap approximately equal to the plate thickness of the lock lever 18, and the opposing surfaces 3 of the pair of support walls 36a, 36b
A pair of longitudinal grooves 40 substantially perpendicular to parts of 8a and 38b
a, 40b, and the protrusion 20 is formed in the pair of vertical grooves 40a, 40b.
A tape cassette characterized in that the lock lever 18 is inserted from above into a narrow gap 37 between the pair of support walls 36a, 36b and attached.