JPH06275041A - Tape cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a tape from sagging due to the uncertainty of a hub lock at the time of impact occurrence, etc., and also to prevent the generation of a tape damage, misloading and jamming accompanying with the sag. CONSTITUTION:In respect to a hub lock member 40 which is mounted so as to make it slidable in a cassette casing housing the tape wound on a pair of reel hubs 4a, 4b rotatably pivoted to execute the hub lock and release the hub lock by the sliding operation, a lock pawl part 41 is formed so as to have an elasticity in the sliding direction against the main body part 43 of the hub lock member.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to DAT (Digital Audi
o A tape cassette suitable for use in a tape recorder, etc.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, analog signals such as acoustic signals are transmitted to a PC.
2. Description of the Related Art A digital audio tape recorder (DAT) that converts a digital signal such as an M signal and records it on a magnetic tape or reproduces the recorded signal is widely used.

In the tape cassette used for this DAT, when the magnetic tape is touched by a finger and oil and fat components are attached to the magnetic tape, or dust is adhered to the magnetic tape, a dropout may occur in a reproduced signal, so that the tape cassette needs to be sealed as much as possible. Yes,
In addition, a space for inserting a guide system inside the housing is required for loading the magnetic tape from the tape cassette during recording and reproduction. Therefore, a lid that can be opened and closed is provided on the front surface of the housing, and a slider that slides from the open position to the closed position to open and close the lower portion of the front surface of the tape cassette is provided on the lower surface of the lower shell.

When the tape cassette is not used,
A mechanism for locking the reel hub in a non-rotatable manner is provided so that slack and winding disorder of the tape will not occur due to impact and vibration of the cassette housing.

First, the structure of a conventional tape cassette will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11, and the lid and hub lock mechanism will be referred to. 7 and 8A and 8B show DAT.
1 is a perspective view of the tape cassette 1 used for
FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view.

The housing of the tape cassette 1 has an upper shell 2 and a lower shell 3 joined together by screws B to be integrated,
A pair of reel hubs 4a and 4b around which the magnetic tape T is wound are housed inside the housing. Window 2 on the upper shell 2
By forming a, the remaining amount of the magnetic tape T wound around the reel hubs 4a and 4b can be confirmed. Further, a lid 7 is provided on the front surface of the tape cassette 1 so that the magnetic tape T is not exposed when the tape cassette is stored, and the lid 7 is rotatably supported in front of the upper shell 2. The lid 7 is attached to the upper shell 2 in a state of being biased by a lid spring 7a to a closed position that closes the front surface of the housing.

A reel shaft insertion hole 3a is formed on the inner surface of the bottom portion of the lower shell 3 so as to correspond to a pair of reel hubs. When the tape cassette 1 is mounted on the DAT, the reel shaft insertion hole 3a is used to reel the DAT reel. The axis is inserted. Also,
On the front surface of the lower shell 3, there is formed a concave space 5 into which a guide member for loading the tape of the DAT is inserted when the tape cassette 1 is mounted on the DAT.

Further, the lower shell 3 is provided with a slider 6 which is slidable in the front-back direction of the lower shell 3 in a state of covering the bottom outer surface and both outer surfaces of the lower shell 3. The slider 6 has a reel shaft insertion hole 6a corresponding to the reel shaft insertion hole 3a of the lower shell 3 when the slider 6 slides to one slide position. The slider 6 is biased toward the front side (closed position) with respect to the lower shell 3 by a slider spring 8.

As described above, in the tape cassette 1 in which the housing is formed by the upper shell 2 and the lower shell 3, the slider 6 slidably mounted on the lower surface of the lower shell 3 and the front surface of the upper shell 2 are rotatable. The space 7 on the front side of the housing can be opened and closed by the lid 7 attached to the. When the tape cassette 1 is stored, the slider 6 is held at the closed position on the front side of the tape cassette, as shown in FIG. 8A, so that the lower portion of the space 5 is closed by the slider 6 and the space 5 The front of is closed by a lid 7. Further, at this time, the reel shaft insertion hole 3a formed in the lower shell 3 and the reel shaft insertion hole 6a of the slider 6 do not correspond to each other, so that the reel shaft insertion hole 3a is also closed by the slider 6.

As shown in FIG. 9, the slider spring 8 biasing the slider 6 to the closed position is attached by inserting the shaft pin 6e protruding from the slider 6 into the torsion coil portion 8a. In this state, both arm portions 8b of the slider spring 8 are attached to the lower shell 3
The urging force is obtained by contacting the front wall portion 3d. The slider 6 is provided with a spring position regulating rib 6f in the vicinity of the rear of the shaft pin 6e, and the slider spring 8 attached to the shaft pin 6e is favorably formed on both side arms by the position regulating rib 6f. In this way, the lower shell 3 of the both side arm portions 8b is properly brought into contact with the front wall portion 3d during the assembling or the sliding of the slider 6.

On the other hand, when the tape cassette 1 is attached to the DAT, the slider 6 is slid and held to the rear open position as shown in FIG. 8B, and in this state, the reel shaft insertion hole of the slider 6 is held. The DAT reel shaft 6a can be inserted in correspondence with the position of the reel shaft insertion hole 3a of the lower shell 3. In addition, the lower part of the space 5 is opened by the movement of the slider 6 as described above, and the front of the space 5 is also opened by rotating the lid 7 upward, so that a guide member for loading the DAT tape is formed. Can be inserted.

3c _{1 to} 3c ₄ are screw insertion holes into which screws B for integrating the lower shell 3 and the upper shell 2 are inserted. The screw insertion holes 3c _{1 to} 3c ₄ are shown in FIG. A screw can be inserted in the open position as shown in b). That come to position the slider 6 is opened, together with the screw insertion hole 3c _3, 3c ₄ of the tape cassette front side is exposed to the housing bottom surface side, the position of the screw insertion hole 3c _1, 3c ₂ of the tape cassette rear side slider Hole 6
Since it corresponds to d ₁ and 6d ₂ , screws can be inserted respectively.

Further, as described above, the slider 6 is held at the front closed position when the tape cassette 1 is stored,
When the tape cassette 1 is mounted on the DAT, it is held at the rear open position. As a holding means for the slider 6 at each position, the slider 6 has an engaging hole 6b,
6c is provided, and the lower shell 3 is provided with FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, a slider lock portion 3b capable of engaging with the engagement hole 6b or 6c is formed.

The slider lock portion 3b is formed integrally with the lower shell 3 and has a spring property of always returning in the direction of the engaging hole 6b of the slider 6, so that the slider 6
Is in the closed position, the slider 6 is held in the closed position by engaging the engaging hole 6b, and when the slider 6 is in the open position, the slider 6 is engaged in the open position by engaging the engaging hole 6c. To hold.

A spring (slider lock spring) 10 in a compressed state is provided between the slider lock portion 3b and the upper shell 2 in order to prevent the return force of the slider lock portion 3b from being lowered due to so-called fatigue. Is inserted. The slider lock spring 10 is attached to a limiter pin provided on the inner surface side of the upper shell 2 to press the slider lock portion 3b toward the slider 6.

Reference numeral 9 shown in FIG. 9 is a prism for detecting the tape end, which is attached to the inner surface side of the upper shell 2. Reference numeral 11 is a havelock member, and 12 is a havelock spring. Further, 13 is a slippery sheet interposed between the upper shell 2 and the reel hubs 4a, 4b, and 14 is a slippery sheet interposed between the lower shell 3 and the reel hubs 4a, 4b. 14 is a reel hub 4
It has the functions of stabilizing the rotating torque in a and 4b and preventing irregular winding of the magnetic tape T. Reference numeral 15 denotes a safety tab slidably attached to the rear surface of the housing, which sets whether the tape cassette is in a recordable state or an erasure prevention state by a sliding position.

By the way, the hub lock member 11 is integrally provided with a pair of lock claw portions 11a, 11a corresponding to the reel hubs 4a, 4b, as can be seen from FIG. 10 which is a plan view of the state in which the upper shell 2 is removed. When the tape cassette is not used, the lock claw portion 11a is locked by the hub lock spring 12 to the locked portion 4 of the reel hubs 4a and 4b.
The hubs 4a, 4 are urged to come into contact with the a ₁ , 4b _1.
The rotation of b is locked. FIG. 11A shows the state of the lid portion at this time from the side surface of the cassette housing.

From the closed state of FIG. 11A, when the tape cassette is used, the slider 6 is first slid to the open position as shown in FIG. 11B, and further, as shown in FIG.
As the lid 7 rotates as shown in FIG.
However, at the same time, the rotation of the lid 7 shown in FIG. 11C causes the engaging portion 7b of the lid 7 to pull the engaged portion 11b of the hub lock member 11 forward. Then, the entire hub lock member 11 slides to the front side of the housing, so that the lock claw portion 11a of the hub lock member 11 is locked to the locked portions 4a of the reel hubs 4a and 4b.
_1, apart from 4b _1, the reel hub 4a, 4b is rotatable. That is, tape running is enabled.

When the lid 7 is closed, the lid 7
Since the engaged portion 11b is released from the engaged portion 11b, the hub lock member 11 slides toward the rear surface side of the cassette housing again by the biasing force of the have lock spring 12, that is, the lock claw portion 11a is moved to the reel hub. 4a, 4b
Of the reel hub 4 by contacting the locked portions 4a ₁ and 4b ₁ of
Lock a and 4b so that they cannot rotate.

Thus, for example, in a tape cassette for DAT, the reel hub 4 is moved by the sliding of the hub lock member 11 by the action of the lid 7 and the hub lock spring 12.
The a and 4b can be set in a non-rotatable state and a rotatable state. The hub lock member 11
Since it requires lubricity and high strength, it is manufactured by injection molding using, for example, a polyacetal resin.

[0021]

By the way, since the hub lock member 11 is required to perform a smooth sliding operation, a gap is provided in the cassette housing as shown in FIG. It is designed to have no contact or only slight contact with the inner surface of the housing when sliding.

Further, when the tape cassette is not used, the hub lock member 11 is held at the hub lock position only by the urging force of the hub lock spring 12, and the hub lock member 11 against a relatively large shock or vibration. The position regulation capability of 11 is not always sufficient.

Therefore, when the cassette housing is vibrated or impacted when the tape cassette is dropped, transported, or carried,
The hub lock member 11 may be inclined by the gap g. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, the reel hub 4
The hub lock member 1 with respect to the line H connecting the centers of a and 4b
1 The main body is tilted from the parallel state as shown by the line H _K. In this case, as shown in the drawing, one lock claw portion 11a is separated from the locked portion 4a ₁ of the reel hub 4a as shown by d in the drawing, and the hub lock is released.

As a result, the reel hub 4a rotates and the magnetic tape T sags. If the tape becomes slack, the tape is likely to be damaged, and it causes misloading or jamming when the tape is loaded into the DAT deck. Therefore, it becomes a big problem that the hublock becomes unstable. Even if such a tilt of the hub lock member does not occur, the hub lock member may momentarily slide to the front side of the cassette housing due to an impact or the like. Occurs.

Here, for example, a compact cassette tape, which has a claw piece protruding from the plastic case engaging with the reel hub when the plastic cassette is stored in a dedicated plastic case, has a hub lock. In a tape cassette of a type in which the reel shaft insertion hole 3a is closed by a slider 6 when it is not used like a cassette, a hub lock means cannot be built in the storage case, and therefore, due to vibration or shock, as described above. There is a strong demand for a hublock member that will not be released.

[0026]

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a tape-shaped recording medium is wound around and housed in a pair of reel hubs that are rotatably supported. It is slidably mounted in the cassette housing,
By the sliding operation, the pair of lock claw portions are brought into a locked state and a non-locked state with the locked portion of the reel hub, whereby the reel hub can be put into a rotatable state and a non-rotatable state. In a tape cassette provided with a hublock member, a pair of lock claw portions provided on the hublock member are formed so as to have elasticity in the sliding direction with respect to the main body portion of the hublock member. is there.

In this case, the lock claw portion is formed in the state in which the slit is provided in the main body portion of the hub lock member in a direction substantially orthogonal to the sliding direction thereof, so that the sliding direction of the hub lock member is increased. The elasticity of the slit is obtained, and the end portion of the slit is curved.

Further, the lock claw portion is formed with an arm portion continuous from the main body portion so that a slit is formed in the main body portion of the hub lock member in a direction substantially orthogonal to the sliding direction thereof. By being provided at the tip of the, the elasticity in the sliding direction of the hub lock member can be obtained, and the width of the main body side part of the arm part is larger than the width of the lock claw part side part of the arm part. , Widely formed.

Further, the lock claw portion is, relative to the pair of reel hubs, irrespective of the displacement state due to the elasticity of the hub lock member with respect to the main body portion, rather than the center line drawn in the front-rear direction of the cassette housing in each reel hub. At a position on the outside of the reel hub, the reel hub is configured to abut and lock the locked portion of each reel hub.

[0030]

The lock claw portion has elasticity in the sliding direction with respect to the main body portion of the hub lock member, so that the lock portion is locked against a certain amount of displacement or inclination of the main body portion of the hub lock member. The elasticity of the claws absorbs this, and the lock claws themselves can keep the reel hub locked.

When the lock claw portion is provided with elasticity by the slit provided between the lock claw portion and the main body portion of the hub lock member, the end portion of the slit is formed into a curved surface so that the elasticity is provided. Less likely to be damaged when flexing.

Further, the lock claw portion is formed with an arm portion continuous from the main body portion so that a slit is formed in the main body portion of the hub lock member in a direction substantially orthogonal to the sliding direction thereof. If it is provided at the tip of the arm, the load at the time of bending is applied to the main body side part of the arm part, so the width of the main body side part of this arm part is wider than the width of the lock claw part side part of the arm part. By doing so, the strength of the lock claw portion and the arm portion to which elasticity is given can be compensated.

Further, the lock claw portion is, with respect to each of the pair of reel hubs, the locked portion of each reel hub at a position outside the center line of the reel hub drawn in the front-rear direction of the cassette housing. By abutting against, it is possible to obtain a good locking action.

[0034]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows the tape cassette of the embodiment as an upper shell 2.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the tape cassette with the tape cassette removed. However, since the structure of the tape cassette of the present embodiment is substantially the same as that described in FIGS. 7 to 11 except for the hub lock member, it has the same function parts as those in FIGS. 7 to 11 in FIGS. Are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description will be omitted.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 40 denotes a hub lock member. Further, only the hub lock member 40 is shown in a perspective view in FIG. In the hub lock member 40, a pair of lock claw portions 41, corresponding to the reel hubs 4a, 4b,
41 is provided, and the engaged portion 42 is engaged with the engaging portion 7b of the lid 7 so that the entire hub lock member 40 slides in the hub lock releasing direction.
Is provided.

Further, as in the above-mentioned conventional example, the hub lock member 40 is biased toward the rear surface of the cassette housing by the hub lock spring 12, and the engaged portion 42 is engaged when the lid 7 is closed. When the lock claws 41 are not engaged, the lock claws 41 are engaged with the locked parts 4a ₁ of the reel hubs 4a, 4b.
4b ₁ can be engaged to keep the hub lock state.

As can be seen from the drawings, the lock claw portion 41 is formed at the tip of the arm portion 44 which is continuously projected from the main body portion 43 of the hub lock member 40. A slit 45 is formed between the arm portion 44 and the main body portion 43. That is, the slit 45 is formed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the sliding direction of the hub lock member 40 (that is, the front and rear direction of the cassette housing).
As a result, the lock claw portion 41 has elasticity in the direction in which it comes into contact with and separates from the locked portions 4a ₁ and 4b ₁ of the reel hubs 4a and 4b, that is, in the sliding direction of the hub lock member 40.

An enlarged view around the lock claw portion 41 is shown in FIG. As can be seen from this enlarged view, the arm portion 44 is
Than the width W ₂ of the end portion of the lock pawl portion 41 is provided, it is formed so as towards the width W ₃ of the base portion contiguous with the body portion 43 is widened.

Further, F in the drawing indicates a havelock spring 12
The urging force is shown by, for example, about 30 g on one side. At this time, the length of the slit 45 (arm 44) is L, the width of the lock claw portion 41 is W ₃ , and the reel hub 4 is
When the radius of a and 4b is R, the slit 45 (the arm 4
The length L of 4) is W ₃ <L <R.

Further, the width S of the slit 45 is a width capable of absorbing the inclination and shock / vibration of the hub lock member 40, specifically, about 0.3 mm to 1.0 mm is preferable.

The terminal end portion 45a of the slit 45 is curved in a substantially circular shape. For example, the curved surface has at least R0.15 or more.

As described above, the lock claw portion 41 is attached to the main body portion 43 of the hub lock member 40 with respect to the hub lock member 4.
Since the elasticity in the sliding direction of 0 is given, the lock claw portion 41 is locked by the reel hubs 4a and 4b even if shock or vibration is applied.
The locked state can be favorably maintained with respect to the locked portions 4a ₁ and 4b ₁ .

For example, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 5, the lock claw portion 41 contacts the locked portions 4a ₁ and 4b ₁ of the reel hubs 4a and 4b while flexing the arm portion 44 to some extent, and has a locked state. However, even if the main body 43 of the hub lock member 40 is tilted as shown by the solid line in the figure due to some shock or vibration, the bending state of the arm portion 44 of the lock pawl portion 41 is somewhat increased as shown in the figure. By returning, the impact of shock etc. is absorbed, and the lock claw portion 4
1 itself maintains the locked state with respect to the locked portions 4a ₁ and 4b ₁ .

By maintaining the hublock state satisfactorily in this way, it is possible to prevent the magnetic tape T from slackening, winding disorder, etc., and damaging the tape, causing misloading or jamming when loading the DAT deck. Etc. are resolved.

Further, as described above, the slit end portion 45 is
Since a is a curved surface, the force applied to the base portion of the arm portion 44 due to the bending can be diffused, and the arm portion 4
4 can be prevented from being damaged, and the durability of the hub lock member 40 can be improved. Further, also in the arm portion 44 itself, since the width W _{3 of the} root portion which is affected by the flexure is formed to be relatively wide, the strength of the arm portion 44 is improved and the durability of the hub lock member 40 is improved. improves.

Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the lock claw portions 41, 4 are respectively arranged with respect to the center lines Ca, Cb of the reel hubs 4a, 4b drawn in the front-rear direction of the cassette housing.
1 is brought into contact with the locked portions 4a ₁ and 4b ₁ at positions closer to the side surfaces of the housing than the center lines Ca and Cb, respectively. Further, this position state is not affected by the bending (the lock claw 41 is bent even when the center line C is bent).
It does not fall within the range from a to Cb). That is, the lock claw portion 41 is formed by the hub lock member 4
Regardless of the displacement state due to elasticity with respect to the main body portion 43 of 0, at a position outside the pair of reel hubs (4a, 4b) with respect to the center lines Ca, Cb drawn in the cassette housing front-rear direction in each reel hub 4a, 4b,
It abuts against the locked portions 4a ₁ and 4b ₁ .

As a result, the lock claw portion 41 can favorably lock the rotation of the reel hub even if the contact force is not so large. (The locking claw portion 41 is positioned at a position within the range from the center line Ca to Cb and the locked portion 4a
_When abutting and locking with respect to ₁ and 4b ₁ , the direction of the abutting force thereof coincides with the direction in which the reel hubs 4a and 4b are rotated in the direction in which the magnetic tape T is fed out, and it is difficult to perform good reel hublock. )

In the above embodiment, the slit 45 is formed by the arm portion 44 projecting from the main body portion 43 to give elasticity to the lock claw portion 41. However, as a modified example, both ends are opened as shown in FIG. Not slit 45
May be provided to give elasticity to the lock claw portion 41. In this case, both end portions 45a of the slit 45 are curved surfaces.

The present invention can be applied to tape cassettes other than the DAT cassette as long as the tape cassette is provided with a hub lock member that takes a have lock state and a have lock release state by sliding.

[0050]

As described above, in the tape cassette of the present invention, the lock claw portion has elasticity in the sliding direction with respect to the main body portion of the hub lock member, so that the hub lock member has a certain degree. The elasticity of the lock claw portion absorbs the positional deviation and inclination of the main body portion, and the lock claw portion itself can keep the reel hub locked.
That is, there is an effect that the reel hub can be reliably locked and locked against various impacts and vibrations. Thus, it is possible to eliminate the slack of the tape and the accompanying damage to the tape, misloading, and jamming.

When the lock claw portion is made to be elastic by the slit provided between the lock claw portion and the main body of the hub lock member, the end portion of the slit is formed into a curved surface so that the elasticity can be improved. When flexed, it is possible to favorably prevent damage and improve durability. Further, the lock claw portion is formed with an arm portion continuous from the main body portion so that a slit is formed in the main body portion of the hub lock member in a direction substantially orthogonal to the sliding direction, and at the tip of the arm portion. If it is provided, the load at the time of bending is applied to the main body side part of the arm part, so by making the width of the main body part side of this arm part wider than the width of the lock claw part side part of the arm part. The strength of the lock claw portion and the arm portion to which elasticity is imparted can be improved, and the durability of the hub lock member can be improved.

Further, the lock claw portion is, with respect to the pair of reel hubs, irrespective of the bending state thereof, more than the center line drawn in the front-rear direction of the cassette housing in each reel hub.
By making contact with the locked portion of each reel hub at a position on the outer side of the pair of reel hubs, there is an effect that the rotation lock of the reel hub can always be performed favorably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tape cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention without an upper shell.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the tape cassette of this embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a hub lock member in the tape cassette of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged plan view of a hub lock member in the tape cassette of this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a hub lock operation of a hub lock member in the tape cassette of this embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a modified example of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a tape cassette.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the tape cassette viewed from the bottom side.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional tape cassette.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a conventional tape cassette without an upper shell.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of opening and closing a lid of a conventional tape cassette.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram when a conventional hub lock member is tilted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Upper shell 3 Lower shell 7 Lid 12 Havelock spring 40 Havelock member 41 Lock claw part 42 Engaged part 43 Main body part 44 Arm part 45 Slit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pair of locks is slidably mounted in a cassette housing in which a tape-shaped recording medium is wound and housed in a pair of reel hubs that are rotatably supported. A hub lock member is provided which can bring each reel hub into a rotatable state and a non-rotatable state by the pawl portion being in a locked state and a non-locked state with the locked portion of each reel hub. Tape cassette, wherein the pair of lock claw portions provided on the hub lock member are formed to have elasticity in a sliding direction with respect to a main body portion of the hub lock member. . 2. The lock claw portion is formed in a state in which a slit is provided in a main body portion of the hub lock member in a direction substantially orthogonal to a sliding direction thereof, so that 2. The tape cassette according to claim 1, wherein the slit is formed to have elasticity, and the end portion of the slit is a curved surface. 3. The lock claw portion has an arm portion continuous from the main body portion so that a slit is formed in the main body portion of the hub lock member in a direction substantially orthogonal to the sliding direction thereof. By being provided at the tip of the arm portion, elasticity is obtained in the sliding direction, and the width of the portion of the arm portion on the main body portion side is the same as that of the lock claw of the arm portion. The tape cassette according to claim 1, wherein the tape cassette is formed wider than the width of the portion on the side of the section. 4. The lock claw portion is, with respect to the pair of reel hubs, irrespective of a displacement state due to elasticity of the hub lock member with respect to a main body portion, with respect to a center line drawn in the cassette housing front-rear direction of each reel hub. The tape cassette according to claim 1, wherein the tape cassette is configured so as to abut and lock the locked portion of each reel hub at a position on the outside of the pair of reel hubs.