JPH04258861A - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To give gradation in color of a window part and a surrounding part for visually checking the remaining amount of a tape of a main unit case which are formed with two colors and to improve the transparency and emphasized legibility of the window part by providing the difference in thickness between window part and the window-surrounding part and making the roughness of the front and back surfaces of the window part and the window-surrounding part different from each other. CONSTITUTION:In a tape cartridge provided with case main unit part 7 which is made by primarily forming a main unit case 1 with opaque resin and a window part 5 and a window-surrounding part 6 which are made by secondarily forming with transparent resin, the thickness of the window part 5 is made smaller then that of the window-surrounding part 6 and the transparency of the window part 5 is increased to improve the visibility of the remaining amount of the tape and to give the color gradation. The front and back surfaces of the window part 5 are finished glossily; while both or either of the front and back surfaces of the window-surounding part 6 are embossed. Thus, the color gradation can be further emphasized and the border between the window part 5 and the window surrounding part 6 can be readily recognized.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cartridge having a window for visually checking the amount of remaining tape.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art A prior art example of this type of tape cartridge is Japanese Utility Model Application No. 1-113886. When molding a main case with a window for visualizing the amount of tape remaining using a two-color molding method, the main case body other than the window is first molded, and then the window is second molded. . At this time, only the periphery of the window portion has a cross-sectional structure in which it is laminated with the case body, and this laminated portion obtains a composite color of the color of the primary molding material and the color of the secondary molding material. In addition, by changing the thickness ratio of the laminated portion to obtain multiple types of composite colors, the tape cartridge can be produced in a wide variety of colors.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in a structure in which the case main body part which is primarily molded and the area around the window part which is secondarily molded are laminated, the contact area between each layer is large, so that the first and second molding resins are Warping and twisting are likely to occur due to differences in shrinkage rates. Additionally, because only the thickness ratio changed, the boundary between the window and the main body of the case was not clearly defined, and the image of the window tended to fade. The present invention provides a tape cartridge in which a main body case formed by two-color molding has a case main body portion primarily molded from an opaque resin and a window portion for visually checking the remaining amount of tape that is secondarily molded from a transparent resin. Part 2
By changing the wall thickness and the roughness of the front and back surfaces of the window surrounding part and the window part, which are formed at the same time as the next forming, it is possible to perform two-color molding without the problem of warping or twisting. The purpose is to enhance the image of the window by creating different shades of color.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] As shown in the drawing, the tape cartridge of the present invention has a window portion 5 that is formed in the main body case 1 having a wall thickness that is thinner than that of a window surrounding portion 6, and The front and back surfaces 5a and 5b of the window portion 5 are formed as mirror surfaces, and the front and back surfaces 6a and 6b of the window surrounding portion 6 or one side thereof is formed as a textured surface.

[0005]

[Function] Since the wall thickness of the window portion 5 is thinner than that of the window surrounding portion 6, the transparency of the window portion 5 increases, and the difference in wall thickness makes the window portion 5 thinner than that of the window surrounding portion 6.
The color of the window surrounding portion 6 is lighter, and the color of the window surrounding portion 6 is darker than that. Both the front and back surfaces 5a and 5b of the window portion 5 are mirror-finished, while the front and back surfaces 6a and 6b of the window surrounding portion 6 or one side thereof is formed into a textured surface, so that the color of the window portion 5 and the window surrounding portion 6 can be changed. The shading becomes more noticeable.

[0006]

[Effects of the Invention] By forming the window portion 5 which is secondarily molded from transparent resin into a thin wall, the transparency of the window portion 5 itself is improved.
The remaining amount of tape can be easily checked visually. The wall thickness of the window surrounding part 6, which is second-formed at the same time as the window part 5, is made thicker than that of the window part 5, and the roughness of the front and back surfaces 6a and 6b of the window surrounding part 6, or one side of the window part 5, is made thicker than that of the window part 5. By making it rougher than this, the color shading of the window portion 5 and the window surrounding portion 6 can be clearly expressed, which is excellent in terms of design, and is advantageous because the outline of the window portion 5 can be emphasized. In this way, the color shading of the window part 5 and the window surrounding part 6 can be achieved without laminating the periphery of the window part to the case body as in the conventional case, so the case can be created without warping or twisting that would occur with laminated molding. It is advantageous to mold it integrally with the main body part 7 in two colors.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 2 shows a standard Phillips type tape cartridge. The main body case 1 of this device has drive shaft insertion holes 2, 2 on the left and right sides of the center, and hubs 4, 4 on which the tape 3 is wound on the left and right sides inside the main body case 1 are inserted into the left and right drive shaft insertion holes 2.
It is placed above and rotatably housed.

In FIG. 2, the main body case 1 includes a window portion 5 formed at an intermediate location between the left and right drive shaft insertion holes 2, and a window surround surrounding the window portion 5 and the left and right drive shaft insertion holes 2. Part 6
and a case body 7 other than the window 5 and the window surrounding portion 6. Using a two-color injection molding method, the case body 7 is primarily molded with an opaque resin such as styrene resin with a coloring agent added, and the window portion 5 and window surrounding portion 6 are secondarily molded with colored transparent or colorless transparent resin such as styrene resin. Molded. As shown in FIG. 1, the window surrounding part 6 on the secondary molding side is not laminated on the case main body part 7 on the primary molding side, or is slightly laminated or joined and molded in a small stepped shape. Since the bonding area is reduced, warping and twisting due to the difference in shrinkage rate between the primary and secondary molding resins is less likely to occur.

[0009] In the secondary forming, only the window portion 5 is formed to be thin, and the window surrounding portion 6 is formed to have a thicker wall than the window portion 5 by forming a cross section on the back side of the window portion 6 into a convex arc shape. In order to make only the window portion 5 thinner, a nest fixing pin 10 may be set in the slide core 9 for secondary molding, as shown in FIG. 3, which shows a cross section of the molding die. Reference numeral 11 indicates a gate on the secondary molding side. By forming the window part 5 thinly and the window surrounding part 6 thickly in this way, the transparency of the window part 5 is improved, and the tape 3
It is easier to see the winding status and remaining amount from the outside, and the window 5
Thus, it was possible to create shading in the color of the window surrounding part 6.

[0010] The front surface 5a and back surface 5b of the window portion 5 are formed into a mirror surface, and the front surface 6a or back surface 6b of the window surrounding portion 6 is formed into a textured surface such as a satin pattern. This is done by mirror-finishing the surfaces of the molding die corresponding to the front surface 5a and back surface 5b of the window portion 5, and adding texture to the surface of the molding mold corresponding to the front surface 6a or back surface 6b of the window surrounding portion 6. This was achieved by Now, the color shading of the window part 5 and the window surrounding part 6 becomes clearer,
The boundary between the window part 5 and the window surrounding part 6 could be made clear.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cross-sectional shapes of the window portion 5 and the window surrounding portion 6, which have different wall thicknesses, are such that the front and back surfaces 6a and 6b of the window surrounding portion 6 have a convex arc shape, and the thin window portion 5 in the center is shaped like a convex arc. can also be formed flat.

[0012] In addition to the illustrated tape cartridge, the present invention is also applicable to DAT and video cartridges, for example.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is an overall plan view.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a molding die.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing another embodiment corresponding to FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Main body case 3 Tape 5 Window section 6 Window enclosure 7　Case body part

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A main body case 1 molded by two-color molding includes a case main body part 7 which is primarily molded from an opaque resin, and a window part 5 for visualizing the remaining amount of tape and a window which is secondarily molded from a transparent resin. It has a window surrounding part 6 which is a region connecting the periphery of the part 5 and the case body part 7, and the wall thickness of the window part 5 is set thinner than that of the window surrounding part 6. Both sides 5a/5
b is formed into a mirror surface, and both front and back surfaces 6a and 6b of the window surrounding portion 6
Alternatively, a tape cartridge characterized in that one side thereof is formed with a grained surface.