JPH0528606Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a recording and reproducing disk cassette that can be used for recording and reproducing various analog and digital signals.

[Conventional technology]

A conventional disk cassette consists of a case divided into upper and lower halves, forming a cassette housing, in which a rotatably housed disk-shaped recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a disk) is placed. An opening into which a recording or reproducing head is inserted is formed in at least one of the upper and lower cases of the cassette housing. The opening is provided with a shutter in order to prevent dirt and dust from adhering to the disk since the disk is exposed. The shutter engages with a spring member disposed inside the cassette housing so as to always receive a biasing force in the direction of closing the opening. When in use, there are many structures in which the shutter is slid into an open state. The conventional structure will be explained below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 7, the cassette housing consists of an upper case and a lower case, and has a built-in disk. There is a step on the outer edge of the upper case and a through hole in the center.
The upper case is also provided with a stepped portion 〓′ and a through hole 〓′ (not shown) which face the stepped portion 〓 and the through hole 〓 when engaged with the upper case 〓. External materials for rotationally driving the disk are inserted into the through holes. Now, the stepped part 〓, 〓′ and the stepped part 〓,
A U-shaped shutter is placed on the side wall of 〓′. The surface of the shutter facing the stepped portion is provided with protruding claws, which are engaged with and held in guide grooves provided along the side walls of the stepped portion. It is guided so that it can move in any direction. The protruding claws were formed near the bent portion of the U-shaped portion of the shutter, and were forced into the guide groove formed in the stepped portion of the upper case. A through groove is formed in the side wall, and a locking piece integrally protrudes from the shutter to engage with a spring disposed inside the cassette housing that applies a biasing force to the shutter. It penetrates through the groove and is always engaged.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

In the above structure, the protruding pawls 〓 〓 and 〓 〓 provided near the bent portion of the base of the U-shaped portion of the shutter are forced into engagement with the guide groove 〓 〓 provided along the side wall 〓 of the stepped portion 〓. Even if the shutter is made of thin metal or plastic, the shutter is pushed in at a place that has no elasticity, causing the shutter to deform in the opening direction and causing the free end of the shutter to protrude beyond the step. was. In order to solve this situation, if the amount of engagement between the guide groove and the protruding pawls is made smaller, if an unexpected force is applied from the outside to the free end of the shutter, the shutter will close to the cassette housing. 〓Sometimes they fell off. It is also possible to move the protruding claws formed on the shutter to the free end side where they have sufficient elasticity, but in this case as well, if an inadvertent force is applied to the free end, the shutter may be pushed away from the cassette housing. It was easy to fall off. Also, cassette housing〓〓
In a structure in which the locking piece is engaged with the shutter by passing through the through groove used in the side wall through the internally disposed biasing spring of the shutter, the spring cannot be seen from the through groove. This resulted in an unsightly appearance, and dirt and foreign objects could enter through the through grooves, causing malfunctions of the springs.
This also caused problems in the opening and closing operations of the shutter itself.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to securely hold the shutter against the cassette casing and ensure reliable operation of the spring that applies the biasing force to the shutter, so that it can be used permanently. The object of the present invention is to provide a disk cassette which has a good appearance as well as a good appearance.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The disk cassette of the present invention includes: a cassette housing rotatably housing a disk-shaped recording medium; an upper case formed by dividing the cassette housing in the thickness direction; a lower case, an opening into which the head is inserted into the upper case and the lower case, a shutter which engages with the cassette housing to open and close the opening; a biasing means that applies a biasing force in a direction to always close the opening, and a locking groove formed at both ends of the outer surface of the upper case and the lower case, respectively, in which the shutter is disposed; a locking part that is fixed to the locking groove so as to sandwich the lower case and is formed in a fork shape and has a plurality of protrusions on opposing surfaces of the fork shape, and the locking parts are arranged at both ends. It is characterized by having a U-shaped guide plate.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of each component in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the upper case as seen from the side of the upper case, with the upper case partially cut away and the periphery of the spring member viewed. FIG. 4 is a bottom view seen from the lower case side. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which the guide plate is removed, viewed from the F side in FIG. 3. 6th
The figure is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a conventional disk cassette.

In each figure, it is the upper case, which together with the lower case forms a cassette housing. The upper and lower cases are approximately square, with an outer peripheral wall formed on four sides of the outer periphery, and an opening into which a recording/reproducing head (not shown) is formed on one side of the outer peripheral wall. A bridging rib is integrally formed near the outer end of the opening to ensure the strength of the lower case. The bridging rib may be formed on the upper case side, or may be formed in halves on the upper and lower cases. A through hole is formed inside the cassette housing near the center of the lower case, and a ring-shaped protrusion protrudes toward the inside of the cassette housing at the edge of the through hole. A disk having a clamp plate serving as a direction guide is arranged, and the upper surface of the protruding portion can come into contact with the vicinity of the outer periphery of the clamp plate of the disk, so that the disk cassette is in a free state where it is not attached to a recording/reproducing device. The disc is configured to receive the inner circumferential side of the disk outside the signal writing surface, so that the signal surface is protected. Also, the upper case does not have a through hole like the lower case, and of course there is no clamp plate on the upper case side of the disk, but the protrusion for protecting the disk is almost the same as the lower case. are formed at the same location.
Although the disk cassette of this invention is described as being for single-sided recording and playback, it is also possible to record and play back on both sides.
In that case, a through hole may be formed in the upper case side as well as the lower case side, and clamp plates may be arranged on both sides of the disk. Also, protrusions that are flush with the protrusions are formed near the outer peripheral edges of the disks in the upper and lower cases, so that similarly, areas where signals are not written can be received at the outer peripheral edges of the disks. The signal surface is protected. A stepped portion ′ is formed around the opening on the outer surface of one end of the upper and lower cases. In the stepped portion, a shutter, ′, which is divided into two parts approximately at the center of the opening, is arranged to sandwich the upper and lower cases, and when not in use, the opening is closed, and when in use, there are shutters on both sides. The shutter is opened to allow a recording or reproducing head (not shown) to be inserted therein, and the shutter is arranged so as to be movable within the step , and protrudes outward from the step . To prevent this, the free end of the shutter, '', is bent slightly inward in advance, and the free end, ' side, makes sliding contact with the upper and lower cases, but there is a gap in the other parts, so that it is not subject to the load during opening and closing operations. It's becoming more and more difficult to do so. In addition, a rail protrusion is formed at the free end of the shutter, ', and at the portion that comes into contact with the upper and lower cases of ', in order to reduce the contact area. shutter,
A notch ' is formed in the U-shaped corner portion of ' , which is engaged with an external member (not shown) for opening the shutter ' . A through groove is provided in the side wall of the stepped portion, ′.
′ is formed, and inside the upper and lower cases inside the through groove
a spring member for biasing ′ in the closing direction;
' is placed. The engagement between the spring member,' and the shutter is achieved by the tip of the locking piece integrally formed near the corner of the shutter,' passing through the through groove,', and the upper and lower cases,
They are configured to engage internally. In addition, a guide plate is provided on the side wall of the stepped portion ``to prevent the shutter ``from falling off'' from the upper and lower cases.
There is a slight gap between the shutter and the upper and lower cases, which allows the shutter and the shutter to open and close smoothly, and at the same time prevents it from falling off from the upper and lower cases. Both ends of the guard plate are bent approximately at right angles, and the bent portion is formed into a U-shape, with a plurality of protrusions on the opposing inner sides.
The grooves 〓〓, 〓〓′ formed in the upper case and the grooves 〓〓, 〓〓′ formed in the lower case are opposed in the thickness direction of the upper and lower cases. When the U-shaped portions of the locking portions are pushed into the grooves 〓〓〓〓〓〓〓〓′ and 〓〓′ as if sandwiching the upper and lower cases, the plurality of protrusions 〓〓 will be fixed. , the grooves 〓〓〓〓〓〓′, 〓〓, 〓〓′ will bite into the inside of the upper and lower cases and prevent it from slipping out. The guide plate also has the function of hiding the through groove,', so that the interior of the cassette housing in which the spring member,' is disposed, is not visible through the through groove,'. The guide plate can also be used as a name plate, and marks or characters may be placed on the outer surface of the plate by printing or other means. A slight gap is formed at the joint portion of the shutter, ′ in the closed state, and the shutter, ′ is opened on both sides.
The urging force of the spring member ′ prevents the shutters ′ from colliding with each other even if the shutters ′ are suddenly closed, and the closing direction stopper of the shutters ′ at this time is located on the outer surface of the bridging rib integrally formed on the lower case. The protrusion 27 formed at
and a protrusion formed integrally within the stepped portion of the upper and lower cases, respectively, are in contact with each other. A gap is provided at the joint in the closed state of the shutter, ', but if the disk inside the disk cassette is visible through the gap, dirt and dust may get in, and the appearance is not good, so one side of the shutter, ' An overlapping portion, ′ is provided facing the other side so that the gap is not visible from the outside.

Next, the assembly order of the disk cassette according to the present invention will be explained. First, the disk with the clamp plate integrally held is placed on the lower case.
Next, set the spring member, '' in a predetermined position.
Next, the upper case is positioned using a guide portion (not shown) as a guide and placed over the lower case. Next, the upper and lower cases are fixed by screwing or ultrasonic welding (not shown). Next, insert the U-shaped shutter, ' from the side wall side so as to cover the opening, and at this time, lock the tip of the locking piece of the shutter, ' with the spring member, '.
Next, insert the guide plate from the side wall side into the upper and lower cases, and the grooves 〓〓, 〓〓′, 〓〓,
〓〓′ Push the locking part into place and fix it. This completes the disk cassette. Further, the guard plate may be fixed to the upper and lower cases by means such as screw tightening and welding.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, according to the present invention, the shutter is fixed to the locking grooves formed in both ends of the outer surfaces of the upper case and the lower case, and the upper case and the lower case are sandwiched. In addition, the locking part is formed in a fork shape and has a plurality of protrusions on opposing surfaces of the fork, and the U-shaped guide plate has the locking parts arranged at both ends. This makes it easy to attach and detach the guide plate, significantly improving its workability, and has the remarkable effect of improving ease of disassembly and making it easy to repair the shutter when it malfunctions in opening and closing.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Γ FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the present invention. Γ second
The figure is an exploded perspective view of each component in FIG. 1. Γ FIG. 3 is a plan view of the area around the spring member with the upper case partially cut away, as seen from the upper case side. Γ
Figure 4 is a bottom view seen from the lower case side. Γ FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which the guide plate is removed, viewed from the F side in FIG. 3. Γ Figure 6 is A- in Figure 3.
A sectional view. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a conventional disk cassette. 1... Upper case, 2... Lower case, 3... Opening, 4... Cassette housing, 5... Disk, 6,
6'...Shutter, 7,7'...Spring member, 12
……Guide plate.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A cassette housing rotatably housing a disk-shaped recording medium, an upper case and a lower case formed by dividing the cassette housing in the thickness direction, and the upper case and the lower case. an opening into which the head is inserted into the case; a shutter that engages with the cassette housing to open and close the opening; and a shutter disposed inside the cassette housing and attached in a direction such that the shutter always closes the opening. a biasing means for applying a force, and a locking groove formed at both ends of outer surfaces of the upper case and the lower case, respectively, in which the shutter is disposed, and a locking groove that clamps the upper case and the lower case. A locking part that is fixed to the stop groove and is formed in a fork shape and has a plurality of protrusions on opposing surfaces of the fork shape, and a U-shaped guide plate with the locking parts arranged at both ends. A disk cassette comprising: