JPH04176073A - Tape cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify manufacturing and assembling and to decrease the cost by providing protruding parts at the lower parts of the side wall parts of the main body part of a containing case, and providing protruding parts which are engaged with the protruding parts of the main body part of the containing case at the side wall parts of a slider. CONSTITUTION:A slider 10 has a main surface plate 10a along the outer surface of a case bottom wall 4 and side walls 10b which are made to protrude upward from both right and left ends of the main surface plate 10a. Detaining pieces 10c for protruding strips are provided at the lower parts of both right and left side walls 10b. Meanwhile, a protruding strip 4a is provided at the lower part of the side wall part of a lower half 1b so that the detaining piece 10c is engaged and held. When the detaining piece 10c for the protruding strips of the slider 10 is arranged so that the piece 10c is engaged with the protruding strip 4a of each lower half 1b, the slider 10 is slid only in the back and forth directions along the bottom wall 4 in this constitution. Since the engaging and holding mechanism of the slider 10 has the simple structure, the manufacturing and assembling are simplified, and low cost is achieved.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a tape cassette used, for example, in a digital audio tape recorder.

[Background of the invention]

It is well known that tape cassettes have been used in recording and/or reproducing devices such as digital audio recorders. As shown in FIG. 5, this type of tape cassette consists of a storage case main body formed by combining an upper half 50a and a lower half 50b, and a supply side reel disposed inside the storage case main body. and a take-up reel, a reel locking member for locking the supply reel and the take-up reel, and a slider 5 for opening and closing a tape loading pocket formed on the outer surface of the bottom wall of the case body.
I, and a front lid that opens and closes the front side of the pocket. Incidentally, the tape cassette used in this digital audio recorder is more resistant to dust and dirt than conventional audio tape cassettes, and various measures have been taken from this viewpoint. The slider 51 mentioned above is one of them. However, the structure of the part where the slider 51 is hung on the side wall of the lower half 50b of the storage case main body is complicated as shown in FIG. be. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 52 indicates a hook piece that is hooked to the side wall of the lower half 50b.

[Disclosure of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to provide a tape cassette that is excellent in preventing the intrusion of dirt and dust. The object of the present invention is to provide a supply reel and a take-up reel, a storage case main body in which a reel disk insertion hole is formed at a position corresponding to the supply reel and take-up reel, and a storage case main body. A tape cassette comprising a slider for slidingly opening and closing a reel disk insertion hole, wherein a convex portion is provided at a lower side wall portion of the storage case main body portion, and a convex portion of the storage case body portion is provided on the side wall portion of the slider. This is achieved by a tape cassette characterized by having a convex portion that is hooked onto the tape cassette.

[Embodiment] Figs. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of the tape cassette (particularly a digital audio chip type tape cassette) according to the present invention. Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the whole, and Fig. 2 3 is a plan view of the lower half in which parts such as a supply reel and a take-up reel are assembled, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a locking mechanism of the slider, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the main parts. The case body 1 of the tape cassette A is formed by screwing together an upper half 1a and a lower half 1b made of plastic such as polypropylene, polystyrene, or ABS resin in a lid-like manner. A supply reel 3a and a take-up reel 3b to be wound are provided. These reels 3a and 3b are the lower half 1 of the case body 1.
The left and right reel disc insertion holes 5 are transparently provided in the bottom wall 4 of b.
a, 5b and rotates, and when loaded into a recording/playback device, the reel disk on the recording/playback device side is inserted into each insertion hole 5a, 5b.
It is fitted and engaged with each reel 3a, 3b via. A tape loading pocket 6 is recessed in the front central part of the case body 1, and the tape 2 is led out to the front of the case via a pair of tape guides 7a and 7b provided on the left and right sides of the front end of this pocket 6. It is connected to both reels 3a and 3b. Then, when loaded into the recording/playback device,
The tape 2 is pulled forward through the pocket 6 by a loading pin 8 (not shown) on the recording/reproducing apparatus side. In this state, the tape 2 is the tape guide 7a. It is far from 7b. The front and bottom sides of the pocket 6 are open, and the front side is opened and closed by a front cover 9 for protecting the tape, and the bottom side is opened and closed by a slider 10 molded from, for example, polyacetal resin. The slider 10 has a main surface plate 1 along the outer surface of the case bottom wall 4.
0a, and side walls 10b, 10b extending upward from both left and right ends of the main surface plate 10a, and a protruding retaining piece is provided at the lower part of the left and right side walls 10b, 10b. 10c. ]Oc is provided protrudingly. Note that 10d and IOd are the side walls 10b and Jo of the slider 10.
This is a step formed at the upper end of b, and this step 10d,
10d is a stepped portion 1 formed at the lower end of the side wall of the upper half 1a.
It is configured to mesh with 0e and 10e. however,
This portion does not necessarily have to be constructed into an interlocking structure. On the other hand, protrusions 4a, 4a are provided at the lower part of the side wall portion of the lower half 1b, for example, at the lower end thereof, so that the retaining pieces 10c, 10c are retained therein. And a protruding retaining piece 10c of the slider 10. When the slider 10c is arranged so as to be hooked to the protrusions 4a, 4a of the lower half 1b, the slider 1o is configured to slide only in the front-rear direction along the case bottom wall 4. The slider 10 is disposed on the outer lower surface of the case bottom wall 4 and slides forward and backward in the front and rear directions.
When the slider 1 moves forward and completely closes the opening lower surface of the pocket 6, the reel disk insertion holes 5a and 5b are closed by the main face plate 10a of the slider 10, and the slider 1
When o is retracted to completely open the lower surface of the opening of the pocket 6, the through holes 11a and llb of the slider 10 align with the reel disk insertion holes 5a and 5b, and the reel disk on the recording/reproducing device side is configured such that it can enter into the tape force center A. Note that lla and llb are provided on the left and right sides of the central portion of the main surface plate 10a, and are the reel disk insertion holes 5a. This is a through hole corresponding to 5b. Further, a spring 12 is attached between the lower half 1b and the slider 10 in order to always close the lower surface of the tape cassette with the slider 10 when the tape cassette is not used. A pair of left and right locking means are provided between the case bottom wall 4 and the slider 10 in order to lock and hold the slider 10 in each of the open and closed positions. This locking means includes locking pieces 13a and 13b provided at the left and right positions of the case bottom wall 4, and engagement holes 14a provided at two positions in the front and rear of the left and right positions of the slider 10. It consists of 14b, 15a, and 15b. The lock pieces 13a, 13b are arranged in holes 13al that are long in the front and back at the rear positions of both ends of the pocket 6 in the case bottom wall 4.
, 13b+ are opened, and these holes 13a+, 13b+
The locking pieces 13a and 13b are extended forward from the rear end in the form of cantilevered arms. The locking pieces 13a, 13b have an arm shape that elastically deforms vertically with the proximal end side as a fulcrum, and engagers 16a, 16b are provided at the front ends thereof to protrude downward. The engaging elements 16a and 16b are connected to the engaging hole 14a.
, 14b or 15a, 15b, the slider 10 is latched and held in each of the open and closed positions. When the slider 10 is in the forward advancing position that closes the lower surface of the opening of the blur throat 6, that is, when it is not in use, the engaging elements 16a and 16b are connected to the engaging hole 14a of the slider 10,
14b, and completely controls the forward and backward sliding movement of the slider 10. Furthermore, since the slider 10 is urged to slide forward by the spring 12, in this state, the engager 16a , 16b and the rear end edges of the engagement holes 14a, 1.4b are brought into contact and secured, locking the forward sliding of the slider 10 without wobbling. There is. Now, when the tape cassette is horizontally inserted into the housing of the recording/playback device from the front side of the case and loaded, the lock release member fixed to the recording/playback device side is inserted into the notch formed at the lower end of the front plate of the front M9. The lock release member is guided through the engagers 16a, 1
Hit 6b and kick it up. After the subsequent operation, the slider 1o is prevented from moving, but from this state the case body l is inserted into the storage front, and the engagers 16a and 16b are moved into the case. When the main body 1 is completely set, it fits into the engagement holes 15a and 15b, and prevents the slider 10 from sliding back. When removing Cheeve cassette A from the recording/playback device,
Since the slider 1o is non-slidably integrated with the case body 1, by moving the case body 1 backward,
When the fixed lock release member moves relatively forward, the retainers 16a and 16b are disengaged from the engagement holes 15a and 15b, and the tape cassette is completely removed, the lock piece 13
The elasticity of the elements a and 13b causes the engagers 16a and 16b to close the engagement hole 14.
a, 14b, and automatically returns to its original state. Reference numeral 17 denotes a protruding strip formed along the sliding direction on the upper surface side of the slider 10, so that when the slider 10 is disposed with respect to the lower half 1b, a gap is provided between the lower surface of the lower half 1b and the lower half 1b. It has become. Therefore, the play is absorbed by this gap, and the slider 10 is moved relative to the case body 1.
slides smoothly without wobbling. Moreover, the protruding stripes 17 sufficiently reinforce the main surface plate 10a of the slider 10 even if the main surface plate 10a is made thinner. Note that the protrusion 17 may be provided on the lower half lb side instead of being provided on the slider 10. The front lid 9 includes a front plate 9a that closes the front surface of the case body 1 between the left and right sides, a connecting piece 9b extending rearward from both left and right ends of the front plate 9a, and protruding oppositely from the inner surface of the connecting piece 9b. It is a plastic molded product made of polypropylene, polystyrene, ABS resin, etc., and has a pivot shaft. Then, with the left and right connecting pieces 9b fitted onto the front ends of the left and right side walls of the case body 1, the front lid 9 is attached by fitting and pivoting the pivots into transparent pivot holes on the case side. The front 19 rotates on the pivot opening between a closed position and an upward open position, and is always rotated to the same position by a spring member such as a toshijin spring (not shown). Forced. When the tape cassette 7)A is not in use, the front lid 9 is closed, and the outer front surface of the tape 2 is covered and protected. Then, when the tape force sensor) A is loaded into the recording/reproducing device, the front cover 9 is opened and the tape 2
is pulled out to the front of the case and becomes standby. When tape cassette A is not in use, the left and right reels 3a, 3
If b rotates freely, the tape will become slack, causing tape loading failure and other troubles. To prevent this, a gluing means is provided. That is, each reel 3a, 3b has a retaining part with a smaller diameter above the main part around which the tape 2 is wound,
A linear engagement groove is formed over the entire circumference of the circular outer circumferential surface of the cough station part. A plastic reel lock plate is incorporated into the case body 1 (upper half la). This reel lock plate has a gate-like shape having a horizontal plate part and leg parts integrally hanging from the left and right ends of the plate part, and the horizontal plate part is connected to both reels 3a.
, 3b, and is located directly under the top plate of the upper half la across the left and right sides so as not to contact and interfere with interior components, especially the tape 2, and the lower ends of the left and right legs are connected to the bottom wall of the case. The receiver is fixedly supported on the inner surface of the case 4 so as to be slidable back and forth, and is also slidably guided in the front and back direction by coming into contact with the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the case. A spring member is installed between this reel lock plate and the upper half 1a, and the entire reel lock plate is slidably biased toward the rear side of the case by this spring member. From the left and right rear ends of the horizontal plate portion of the reel lock plate, engaging pieces that come into contact with the engaging portions of the left and right reels 3a and 3b are cantilevered backward. Incidentally, each of the securing pieces may be elastically deformed in the left-right direction and the front-back direction. Each reel 3a, 3b has each reel disk insertion hole 5a, 5.
Although it is free to move within a certain range in the radial direction on b,
Even if each reel 3a, 3b moves to the maximum, the tip of each corresponding retaining piece always contacts the outer periphery of the retaining part from the front in a state that is located outside the reel center in the left and right direction. The position is set so that A guide is integrally formed at the lower ends of the left and right legs of the reel lock plate to be long in the front-rear direction, and the guide slides on the case bottom wall 4 and also slides on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the case. Then, the guy extending forward)'(7) Tip part 18a, 1
8b (18a not shown) is bent outward into an L-shape, and the tip portions 18a, 18b are exposed to the left and right outer sides of the case body 1, forming the left and right connecting pieces 9b, 9' of the front lid 9.
It is located below b. More specifically, the outer surfaces of the front ends of the left and right side walls of the case on which the connecting piece 9b of the front cover 9 is pivotally supported are inward, and the outer surface of the side wall portion of the lower half 1b is further extended than the side wall portion of the upper half 1a. It is located inside. Each guide is in a state along the outer surface of the side wall portion of this lower half 1b.
The receiver extending outward from b is stopped and supported by the wall, and in this state, the guide is located inside the outer surface of the side wall portion of the upper half Ia, and only the guide tips 18a and 18b are located outside. When the tape cassette A is not in use, the reel lock plate is urged to slide backward by a spring member, and the tips of the left and right retaining pieces are moved laterally outward from the engaging portions of the left and right reels 3a and 3b. These parts are brought into contact and secured from the front, and this applies a brake to the rotation of each reel 3a, 3b. Note that a jagged surface is formed at the tip of each retaining piece to ensure more reliable frictional engagement with the retaining portion of each reel. When the tape force set) A is loaded into the recording/reproducing device, the front cover 9 rotates upward, and along with this, the connecting piece 9b of the front cover 9,
The reel lock plate 9b rotates from above and comes into contact with the rear surfaces of the left and right guide tips 18a and 18tH, and moves the entire reel lock plate toward the front side of the case against the spring member. Although the amount of forward movement of this reel lock plate is very small, the left and right retaining pieces are now removed from the retaining parts of the left and right reels 3a and 3b, allowing each reel 3a and 3b to rotate freely. . After that, in a state where the tape is completely set at the loading position, the tape loading member on the recording/reproducing device side enters the pocket 6, and the reel disk enters the reel disk insertion holes 5a and 5b, respectively, and recording/reproduction is performed. It becomes like this. 19 is a slip sheet arranged on the bottom wall 4 of the lower half 1b of the case body 1 on which the reels 3a and 3b are placed, and this slip sheet 19 is, as shown in FIG.
Reel disk insertion hole 5a. Holes 20a and 20b are formed corresponding to the holes 5b, and the overall shape thereof is configured to resemble the shape of the bottom wall 4 of the lower half 1b. In particular, when the slip sheet 19 is placed on the bottom wall 4 of the lower half 1b, the holes 13a+, 1 formed by the slip sheet 19 for the locking pieces 13a, 13b are formed.
3b+ is configured to be covered. The tape cassette constructed as described above has protruding retaining pieces 10c and IOc protruding from the lower portions of the left and right side walls 10b, 10b of the slider 10, and the lower half 1
b has protrusions 4a, 4a on which retaining pieces 10c, 10c are hooked;
, the mechanical strength of the left and right side walls 10b, 10b of the slider 10 is increased.
For example, it is difficult to bend, and even if it falls, an accident such as the slider 10 coming off from the lower half 1b will not occur. Also, the protruding strips 10c, 10C of the slider 10 and the protruding strip 4a of the lower half 1b hooked thereto. 4a, since its configuration position is on the lower side, the hooking portion is attached to the side wall 10b, 1.4a. Compared to the case above the Ob, it is difficult to release these latched states even if a slight deflection occurs.
Even if the slider 10 falls, an accident such as the slider 10 coming off from the lower half Ib will not occur. Furthermore, the locking and holding mechanism of the slider 10 can be constructed from a simple convex strip, and therefore can be easily constructed and manufactured at low cost.
Furthermore, it is easy to assemble and can be worked efficiently. In addition, the retaining piece 10c of the slider 10 in the above embodiment,
The protrusions 4a, 4a of [10c and lower half]b do not necessarily have to be continuous.

【effect】

The tape cassette according to the present invention includes a supply reel and a take-up reel, a storage case main body in which a reel disk insertion hole is formed at a position corresponding to the supply reel and the take-up reel, and the storage case main body. A tape cassette is provided with a slider for slidingly opening and closing a reel disk insertion hole of the storage case body, wherein a convex portion is provided at the lower side wall portion of the storage case body portion, and a convex portion of the storage case body portion is provided on the side wall portion of the slider. Since it is provided with a convex part that is hooked to the part,
The mechanical strength of the side wall of the slider is high, for example, it is difficult to bend, and even if it falls, there will be no accident such as the slider being detached from the storage case main body. Although the slider is located on the lower side, it is difficult to release these latching conditions even if it is slightly bent than when it is above the side wall, and even if it falls, the slider will come off. Such accidents are unlikely to occur, and the slider retaining mechanism can be configured in a simple manner, so it can be easily configured and manufactured at low cost.
Furthermore, it has features such as easy assembly and efficient work.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 4 show one embodiment of the tape cassette according to the present invention, with Figure 1 being a schematic perspective view of the entire tape cassette, and Figure 2 showing parts such as a supply reel and a take-up reel assembled therein. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the locking mechanism of the slider, FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the main part, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional tape cassette. A... Tape cassette, 1... Case body, 1a.
...Top half, 1b...Bottom half, 2...Tape,
3a...supply side reel, 3b...take-up side reel, 4
...Bottom wall, 4a...Convex strip, 5a, 5b...Reel disc insertion hole, 6...Pocket, 7a, 7b...
Tape guide, 9...Front cover, 9a...Front plate, lO
...Slider, 10a...Main surface plate, lOb...Side wall, 10c--Removal piece, 1]a, 11b-Through hole, 1
2... Spring, 13a, 13b... Lock piece, 14a
, 14b, 15a, 15b...-engaging hole, 16a, 16
b... Engagement element, 17... Convex strip, 19... Slip sheet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A supply reel, a take-up reel, a storage case main body with reel disk insertion holes configured at positions corresponding to the supply reel and take-up reel, and slide the reel disk insertion hole in the storage case main body. A tape cassette comprising a slider that opens and closes, wherein a convex portion is provided at the lower part of the side wall of the storage case body, and a convex portion is provided on the side wall of the slider to be hooked to the convex portion of the storage case body. A tape cassette characterized by: