JPH05242639A - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a tape cartridge advantageous for miniaturizing a tape deck in the tape cartridge provided with a cover opening/closing mechanism to operate upper-opening of a front cover linked with a forward/backward sliding operation of a slide frame which is externally fitted to the case of main body, by evading that the front cover is projected forward and upward from the case at the time of cover opening. CONSTITUTION:A supporting shaft 24 for left/right cover arms 23 of the front cover 11 is supported by a supporting hole 6 provided at the outside wall 4a of a tape pulling out port 4 to support the front cover 11 so as capable of upper-opening the front cover 11. Opening pins 25 are provided at upper corners of front part of side walls 13 of the slide frame 10, thereby guided grooves 27 of the cover arms 23 are operated to open the front cover 11. A supporting hole 26 is formed in the groove state extending to the back of the case so that the front cover 11 in the upper opening state is pulled in the back of the case, then the projecting degree of the front cover 11 to the outer face of the case is restricted to the minimum.

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 pocket for loading a tape, the upper and lower opening surfaces of the pocket being a slide frame, and the front opening of the pocket being openably and closably covered by a front lid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art To prevent dust and protect the tape when it is not in use, it has been a recent practice to block or cover the opening of the main body case and the tape running path exposed on the outer surface of the case with a shutter or a cover. It has become a common sense in the cartridge. For example, one example can be seen in a DAT type tape cartridge and a tape cartridge for 8 mm video. In the former, the lower surface and the front surface of a tape loading pocket (hereinafter, simply referred to as a pocket) are covered with a shutter that slides back and forth along a bottom wall of a case and a front lid that swings upward and swings around a point. Furthermore, in the latter, only the tape that crosses the front edge of the pocket,
A front lid that swings upward and swings around one point and an inner lid that opens and closes in conjunction with this cover the front and back surfaces of the tape.

As a lid opening / closing structure other than the above, the present applicant opens and closes the upper and lower surfaces of the pocket with a box frame-shaped slide frame, and covers the outer surface of the tape with a front lid that swings upward and swings in conjunction with the slide frame. The form was previously proposed (JP-A-63-23447).
No. 6).

[0004]

The above lid opening / closing structure is
It has a great influence on the mechanical design of a tape deck, a video deck, or a video tape deck integrated with a camera (hereinafter collectively referred to as a tape deck). In terms of mechanical design,
It is desired that the front lid does not largely protrude out of the case when used while being loaded in the tape deck, that is, the space occupied by the tape cartridge from the loading to the use is small. Particularly in the case of a portable tape deck, it is desirable to make the exclusive space as small as possible because it is necessary to make the whole compact to make it easier to carry.

From this point of view, when the conventional lid opening / closing structure is viewed, particularly the degree of protrusion when the front lid is opened, more specifically, the degree of protrusion of the front lid above the case with reference to the top wall and front end surface of the main body case. And the degree of protrusion to the front of the case becomes a problem. The slide frame method proposed by the present applicant has the smallest degree of protrusion above the case, followed by the DAT method and the 8 mm video method tape cartridge. On the contrary, the degree of protrusion to the front of the case is smaller in the order of 8 mm video system, DAT system, and slide frame system.

[0006] In the lid opening / closing structure of the slide frame type in which the degree of protrusion to the front of the case is large, the front lid interferes and the rotary magnetic head cannot be arranged near the pocket. This means that the tape pull-out distance from the pocket becomes long, which is not only disadvantageous for downsizing the internal mechanism, but also slows the response speed of the mechanism. The same applies to a DAT tape cartridge in which the main surface wall of the front lid projects toward the front of the case when the lid is open. In this respect,
The 8mm video tape cartridge does not project to the front of the case at all, but the front lid projects far above the case compared to the other two systems. The upper and lower thickness of the body case is 100
, The degree of upward protrusion exceeds 43. Therefore, it is inevitable that the loading mechanism for pulling the entire tape cartridge to the predetermined position becomes large.

As described above, in the conventional lid opening / closing structure, it is inevitable that the front lid largely projects toward the front of the case or the upper side of the case, and there is a limit in realizing the downsizing of the tape deck.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve the opening / closing structure of the front lid based on a lid opening / closing mechanism of a slide frame type, so that the protrusion of the front lid to the outside of the case at the time of opening the lid is reduced. , To obtain a tape cartridge suitable for miniaturizing a tape deck. Another object of the present invention is to obtain a tape cartridge in which a slide frame and a front lid which is opened and closed by the slide frame can be easily assembled in a main body case.

[0009]

According to the present invention, a main body case 1 is provided.
A slide frame 10 that is externally fitted and mounted on the slide frame 10 to open and close the tape loading pocket 6, and a front lid 11 that opens and closes the front opening of the slide frame 10 in conjunction with the slide of the slide frame 10. In a tape cartridge including a spring 20 that biases the slide frame 10 to move freely, a front lid 11 is continuously extended from the left and right ends of the main surface wall 22 toward the rear of the case, Outer side walls 4a of the tape outlets 4 on the left and right of the case 1
And a lid arm 23 that is inserted between the left and right frame side walls 13 of the slide frame 10, and the front and rear sliding operation of the slide frame 10 is performed between the frame side wall 13, the cover arm 23, and the outer side wall 4a. A lid opening / closing mechanism for converting the front lid 11 into a vertical opening / closing operation is provided. The lid opening / closing mechanism is provided at a support shaft 24 provided near the front portion of the lid arm 23 and at a front upper corner of the frame side wall 13. The operation pin 25, the support hole 26 provided in the outer wall 4a corresponding to the support shaft 24, and the passive groove 27 provided in the lid arm 23 and engaged with the operation pin 25. It is required that the passive groove 27 be inclined downward toward the rear of the case and the support hole 26 be formed in a groove shape extending toward the rear of the case.

Specifically, the slide frame 10 is divided into a frame main body 10A consisting of a pair of left and right frame side walls 13 and a bottom wall 15 and an upper wall 14 connecting and fixing the left and right frame side walls 13 to each other. To do. Further, the front end of the outer wall 4a and the lid arm 23
Guide grooves 29 and 30 for assembly are formed from the peripheral edge of the support hole 26 and the passive groove 27 in correspondence with the support shaft 24 and the operation pin 25.

[0011]

When the lid is closed, the front lid 11 has the main surface wall 2
2 covers the front opening of the slide frame 10, and the lid arm 23 is supported by the support hole 26 provided in the main body case 1 and the operation pin 25 provided in the slide frame 10. When the slide frame 10 is opened and operated from this state, the passive groove 27 is moved to the operation pin 25.
Since it is pushed up by, the front lid 11 moves upward. The slide frame 10 is further opened and moved, and accordingly, the pocket 6 is moved.
The upper and lower surfaces of the front lid 11 are opened, and at the same time, the entire front lid 11 is pulled toward the rear of the case while maintaining the open posture. In this way, the front lid 11 is operated to open upward, and the lid opening / closing form is further drawn to the rear side of the case. The front lid 11 is prevented from protruding to the front of the case while minimizing the degree of protrusion of the front lid to the upper side of the case. This is to reduce the degree of protrusion of the front lid 11 to the outside of the case as a whole.

The reason why the passive groove 27 is inclined downward toward the rear of the case is to operate the front lid 11 to open upward and to absorb the change in the distance between the operation pin 25 and the support shaft 24 that move linearly. Incidentally, when the passive groove 27 is inclined upward, a force in the closing direction acts on the front lid 11, so that the slide frame 10 cannot be opened. Further horizontal passive groove 2
7, the opening timing of the front lid 11 is delayed, and the slide stroke of the slide frame 10 cannot be effectively used. Since the support hole 26 is formed in a groove shape extending rearward of the case, the front lid 11 after being moved upward and upward is drawn rearward of the case in the open posture. Support shaft 2
4 is provided near the front part of the lid arm 23, and the operation pin 25 is provided at the upper upper corner of the frame side wall 13 in order to minimize the upward protrusion of the front lid 11 when the lid is opened.

According to the slide frame 10 formed by being divided into the frame main body 10A and the upper wall 14, the frame side wall 13 can be flexibly deformed laterally outward, so that the operation pin 25 provided on the inner surface of the frame side wall 13 can be deformed. It can be easily fitted into the passive groove 27 of 11. Further, when guide grooves 29 and 30 for assembly are provided on the outer side wall 4a and the lid arm 23, the guide grooves 29 and 30 are provided.
The slide shaft 24 and the operation pin 25 can be slid along 30 to facilitate the assembly of these.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, the tape is protected and the dust is protected by the slide frame 10 and the front lid 11 which is opened and closed in conjunction with the slide frame 10, while the front lid 11 is prevented from protruding largely above the case. After moving upward and upward, it was pulled further toward the rear of the case. As a result, the front lid 11 in the used state can be positioned rearward of the front end of the case, and the front lid 11 can be prevented from protruding significantly to the outer surface of the case as compared with the conventional lid opening / closing structure. Therefore, when manufacturing a tape deck to which the tape cartridge of the present invention is applied, the space occupied by the tape cartridge inside the deck can be reduced, and the tape deck can be surely miniaturized accordingly. In particular, in a portable tape deck, the rotary magnetic head, the tape loading mechanism, and the like can be collectively arranged close to the pocket 6 whose outer surface is sufficiently opened, which is advantageous in miniaturizing the tape deck.

Since the slide frame 10 is formed by being divided into a frame main body 10A composed of a frame side wall 13 and a bottom wall 15 and an upper wall 14, the operation pin 2 is formed while the frame side wall 13 is flexibly deformed.
5 can be dropped into the passive groove 27, and the slide frame 1
It is possible to easily assemble the 0 to the front lid 11. Further, a guide groove 29 for assembling the outer wall 4a and the lid arm 23.
Since 30 is provided, the front lid 11 can be assembled to the main body case 1 only by pushing the lid arm 23 so that the support shaft 24 moves along the guide groove 29, and the operation pin 25 is provided along another guide groove 30. Just move to the front lid 11 side,
The front lid 11 and the slide frame 10 can be assembled.
Thereby, the body case 1 of the slide frame 10 and the front lid 11
The tape cartridge can be assembled easily and the tape cartridge can be assembled efficiently.

[0016]

1 to 5 show an embodiment of a tape cartridge having a lid opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention. This tape cartridge is a digital type video tape cartridge which is planned to be put on the market in the near future, and basically, as shown in FIG. A pair of hubs 2
Have. The tape 3 pulled out from one hub 2
The tape is guided by the tape guides 5 provided at the tape outlets 4 on the left and right sides of the front surface and wound on the other hub 2. Left and right tape outlets 4
・ A tape loading pocket 6 is provided between 4 and 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the pocket 6 has an open upper and lower surface and a front surface.

The main body case 1 is formed by joining upper and lower cases 1a and 1b, which are divided into upper and lower parts, into a lid-like shape, and has a window 7 in the upper case 1a for visually recognizing the remaining tape amount. As shown in FIG. 5, a slide frame 10 is externally fitted to the outer surface of the front portion of the main body case 1 to protect the tape when not in use and to prevent dust, and the front opening of the slide frame 10 is openably and closably closed. A paragraph surface 12 is provided on the outer surface of the main body case 1 to guide the slide frame 10 to move.

In FIG. 3, the slide frame 10 includes a frame main body 10A composed of left and right frame side walls 13 and a bottom wall 15, and a frame side wall 1.
3 is divided into upper wall 14 for connecting and fixing, and formed,
In the assembled state, it is formed in a laterally long rectangular box frame shape that is fitted onto the paragraph surface 12. The slide frame 10 fitted onto the paragraph surface 12 can slide back and forth within the paragraph range. By this slide back and forth, the upper wall 14 opens and closes the upper surface of the pocket 6, and the bottom wall 15 opens and closes the lower surface of the pocket 6. In order to close and urge the slide frame 10 as a whole, a torsion coil type spring 20 is arranged at one inner side of the pocket 6, one end of which is hooked on the inner wall of the pocket and the other end of the bottom wall 15 is provided. It is hung on the spring bridge 21.

The slide frame 10 is opened to the rear of the case by the release claw P (see FIG. 1) by utilizing the loading operation to the tape deck. By utilizing the opening operation of the slide frame 10, the front lid 11 is operated from the lid closed state to the lid open state. The front lid 11 includes a main surface wall 22 that closes the front opening of the slide frame 10 from the outer surface, and a rectangular lid arm 23 that extends from the left and right ends of the main surface wall 22 toward the rear of the case. The lid arm 23 is incorporated in a state of being inserted between the outer side wall 4a of the tape outlet 4 and the frame side wall 13, and these adjacent face walls 4a.
Between 23, a lid opening / closing mechanism that converts the forward / backward sliding operation of the slide frame 10 into the vertical opening / closing operation of the front lid 11 is provided.

In FIG. 1, the lid opening / closing mechanism includes a support shaft 24 provided in the upper half of the lid arm 23 near the front of the case, and a frame side wall 1.
3, an operation pin 25 provided in the upper corner of the front part, a support hole 26 provided in the outer wall 4a, and a passive groove 27 provided in the lid arm 23. As shown in FIG. 1A, the support hole 26 is formed as a V-shaped bent groove extending toward the rear of the case, and the support shaft 24 is engaged with the front end thereof. The passive groove 27 on the upper front side is formed as a concave arc groove that is inclined downward toward the rear of the case, and the operation pin 25 is engaged with this.

FIG. 1 (b) shows a state in which the front lid 11 is opened, and the operating pin 25 is moved along with the slide frame 10 and linearly moves rearward, thereby pushing up the passive groove 27 to push up the front lid. 11 is moved upwardly around the support shaft 24. At this time, in order to prevent the cover arm 23 from coming into contact with and interfering with the bottom wall 15 of the slide frame 10, the radius is the vertical distance from the center of the support shaft 24 located at the front end of the support hole 26 to the bottom wall 15. The outline of the lid arm 23 is housed in the area. The front lid 11 opens and moves until the main surface wall 22 is substantially parallel to the upper surface of the case with the operation pin 25 passing above the support shaft 24, and thereafter the lid arm 23 moves along with the operation pin 25. To do. The support hole 26 is formed in a long groove for this backward movement,
The lid arm 23 can be moved with respect to the main body case 1.

The support hole 26, which is bent in a V-shape, has a function of slightly pushing up the front lid 11 in addition to the above-described action absorbing function. When the main surface wall 22 is pushed up, the protrusion size from the top surface of the case is slightly increased, but the pocket 6 is correspondingly increased.
Since the extra space between the upper surface opening and the main surface wall 22 is large, the extra space is provided for the operation space of the tape loading pin that enters the pocket 6. Without this extra space,
It is necessary to move the tape loading pin upward outside the pocket 6 to ensure hooking with the tape 3,
The mechanism becomes complicated.

In order to facilitate the assembling of the slide frame 10 and the front lid 11 to the main body case 1, the outer side wall 4a.
The shallow guide grooves 29 and 30 are formed on the outer surface of the cover arm 23 and the outer surface of the cover arm 23. The former guide groove 29 is provided so as to correspond to the support shaft 24, and is formed so as to be inclined upward from the front end of the outer wall 4a toward the support hole 26. The latter guide groove 30 is the operation pin 2
It is provided corresponding to No. 5, and is formed in an upward slope shape from the rear edge of the outer surface of the lid arm 23 toward the passive groove 27.

When assembling, first the slide frame 10
The frame main body 10A is fitted onto the main body case 1, and one end of the spring 20 is hooked on the spring receiver 21. Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the frame main body 10A is moved to the stroke end behind the case,
The entire front lid 11 is pushed toward the rear of the case with the tip of the support shaft 24 riding on the front edge of the guide groove 29, and the support hole 26
Fit the support shaft 24 in. In this state, the slide frame 10 is returned to the front lid 11 side so that the protruding end of the operation pin 25 is guided by the guide groove 30.
The operation pin 25 is pushed onto the front lid 11 side and dropped into the passive groove 27. Next, the upper wall 1
4 is put on the paragraph surface 12 and welded to the frame side wall 13 or fixed with screws.

According to the slide frame 10 formed by being divided into the frame main body 10A and the upper wall 14, the molding die can be simplified as compared with the slide frame 10 in which the upper wall 14 is integrally molded.
Further, it is advantageous in that the warping deformation due to the molding strain of the slide frame 10, particularly the warping deformation of the upper wall 14 and the bottom wall 15 is eliminated, and the front-back sliding with respect to the main body case 1 can be smoothly performed. Of course, the assembly can be easily performed as described above.

In FIG. 2, lock claws 33 are provided on the left and right sides of the main body case 1 in order to prevent the tape from slackening when not in use. 35 is engaged with a gear tooth-shaped lock tooth 36 provided on the lower portion of each hub 2. The lock claw 33 can be horizontally swung about a shaft 37, and a release arm 38 thereof is projected into a backward movement region of the slide frame 10 so that the lock release operation is performed in conjunction with the slide operation of the slide frame 10. .. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the lock claw 33 is unlocked by the slide frame 10.

In addition to the above embodiment, the support hole 2 of the lid arm 23
6 can be formed as a linear groove parallel to the upper wall of the case or a triangular hole. Further, the passive groove 27 may be formed as a convex arc groove. If necessary, a torsion coil spring or a leaf spring that closes and biases the front lid 11 can be added between the lid arm 23 and the main body case 1.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing a lid opening / closing mechanism.
1A shows the lid closed state, and FIG. 1B shows the lid open state.

FIG. 2 is an internal plan view of the tape cartridge.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a tape cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view showing an assembling state of the front lid.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the tape cartridge with the lid closed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Main Body Case 4 Tape Outlet 4a Outer Side Wall 6 Pocket 10 Slide Frame 10A Frame Main Body 11 Front Lid 13 Frame Side Wall 14 Top Wall 15 Bottom Wall 20 Spring 22 Main Surface Wall 23 Cover Arm 24 Spindle 25 Operation Pin 26 Support Hole 27 Passive Groove 29 ・ 30 Guide groove

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Nobuyuki Kaku Inventor Nobuyuki Kaku 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Inside the Hitachi Media Visual Media Research Institute (72) Hidekazu Takeda 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Hitachi, Ltd. Visual Media Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Kenji Ojiji, 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A slide frame (10) which is externally fitted to the main body case (1) so as to be slidable back and forth and opens and closes a pocket (6) for tape loading, and a front opening of the slide frame (10) is interlocked with the front and rear slide of the slide frame (10). A front cartridge 11 is provided with a front lid 11 that opens and closes and a spring 20 that biases the slide frame 10 to move freely. The front lid 11 includes a main surface wall 22 and a case from the left and right ends of the main surface wall 22. It is provided with a lid arm 23 which is continuously extended rearward and which is inserted between the outer side walls 4a of the left and right tape outlets 4 of the main body case 1 and the left and right frame side walls 13 of the slide frame 10. A lid opening / closing mechanism that converts the forward / backward sliding movement of the slide frame 10 into the vertical opening / closing movement of the front lid 11 is provided between the lid arm 23 and the outer side wall 4a. Near the front Support shaft 24
An operation pin 25 provided on the upper front corner of the frame side wall 13, a support hole 26 provided on the outer wall 4a corresponding to the support shaft 24, and an operation pin 25 provided on the lid arm 23. Passive groove 27
The tape cartridge in which the passive groove 27 is inclined downward toward the rear of the case and the support hole 26 is formed in a groove shape extending toward the rear of the case when the lid is closed. 2. The slide frame 10 comprises a pair of left and right frame side walls 1.
The tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the tape cartridge is formed by being divided into a frame main body 10A composed of 3 and a bottom wall 15 and an upper wall 14 connecting and fixing the left and right frame side walls 13 together. 3. Guide grooves 29, 30 for assembling are provided from the front end of the outer side wall 4a and the peripheral edge of the lid arm 23 toward the support hole 26 and the passive groove 27, the support shaft 24 and the operation pin 25.
The tape cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, which is formed in correspondence with.