JPH06295553A - Tape cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a tape cassette hardly causing a tape damage, etc., and capable of safely and surely opening its lid by eliminating the interfere of a lid opening member of a small-sized (S) cassette with a large-sized (L) cassette. CONSTITUTION:The L cassette 1 is provided with an opening pin (L) 58 at a position where it abuts on the side surface part of a front cover 4 so as to open the lid by the pin (L) 58. The S cassette is similarly provided with an opening pin (S) 57 at the position of the left side surface part 34a of the front lid so as to open the lid by the pin (S) 57. A recording and reproducing device in which the L cassette 1 and the S cassette can be loaded is provided with both pins (S) 57 and (L) 58. At such a time, the pin (S) 57 is positioned at the recessed 3s part of the lower half 3 of the L cassette 1, so that the pin (S) 57 does not interfere with the lower half 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cassette used in a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus such as a video tape recorder for recording / reproducing by winding a magnetic tape on a cylinder having a built-in magnetic head at a predetermined angle. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus, particularly a video tape recorder, the same recording format has been aimed at satisfying both the need for long-time recording and the need for downsizing and weight reduction over recording time. While
There are systems with different cassette sizes. VT for broadcasting
As R, the "D3 format standard" corresponds to the system. In this "D3 format standard", three types of cassettes (S, M, L) having different sizes are standardized.

FIG. 50 is a plan view showing a case where an S cassette having the shortest recording time and an M cassette having an intermediate recording time are mounted in a recording / reproducing apparatus. M cassette 101
Has a supply reel 102 and a take-up reel 103, and a magnetic tape 107 is stretched over the front surface in the space of the opening 106 by guide posts 104 and 105 that are set up in a cassette. A triangular area represented by tangents 109 and 110 extending from the maximum tape winding diameter of the supply reel 102 and the outer diameter of the reel hub 108 can guide the magnetic tape 107 to the outside of the cassette space without contacting the upper and lower cassette halves of the M cassette 101. This is a possible tape guide area 111. Therefore, the first post for guiding the magnetic tape coming out of the cassette must be arranged so that the magnetic tape exists in this tape guide area 111. The position of the tangent line 109 is determined by the configuration of the upper and lower half sidewalls. On the other hand, the tangent line 110 is determined by the tangent line connecting the guide post 104 and the reel hub 108.

The S cassette 112 has the same size of the opening 106 and the positions of the guide posts 104 and 105 as the M cassette 101. Also, other structures are almost the same as the M cassette 101, but with the limitation of the cassette size,
Due to the positional relationship of the reel hub 113, the tape guide area 119 of the S cassette is smaller than the tape guide area 111 of the M cassette 101 and is included in the tape guide area 111 of the M cassette 101.

Next, a tape running system for selectively recording and reproducing by mounting the two cassettes on the recording and reproducing apparatus will be described. A magnetic tape is wound around the rotary head cylinder 115 by 180 degrees and rotates at high speed. Reference numeral 116 is a capstan motor, and 117 is a pinch roller. Since the magnetic tape 107 that has come out of the supply reel 102 is wound around the post 118 in the tape guide region 119 of the S cassette 112, the magnetic tape that has come out of the supply reel 120 of the S cassette 112, including the upper and lower halves, is not in contact with S1. You will be guided to post 118. Similarly, the post 121 is arranged so that the magnetic tape between the take-up reel 103, the take-up reel 122 and the post 121 is guided in a non-contact manner with respect to all other objects.

As shown in FIG. 48, the magnetic tape stretched on the front surface is covered with a front lid 123 and a back lid 124 so as to be protected from being easily touched from the outside. This front lid 12
The elastic member 3 is urged in the closing direction by an elastic member, and is held at this position by a lock member (not shown). When mounted on the recording / playback device, the lock by the lock member is released,
The front cover 123 is rotated against the elastic member as shown in FIG. 49 to expose the magnetic tape. In this opening operation of the front lid 123, a part of the back lid 124 contacts the opening member 125 and the M cassette 101 is lowered to open the back lid 124, and the front lid 123 interlocked with the back lid 124 is also opened. To be done.

[0007]

As described above, although the cassette size is different, the fact that the opening 106 has the same size position makes it possible to use the back cover 1 located at the opening 106.
The back cover 124 and the front cover 123 are opened by abutting against the back cover 24. However, the opening member 125 is
Because of the above space, the space in which various traveling system parts such as posts required for loading can be arranged in the opening 106 becomes smaller accordingly.

Further, since the opening member 125 is arranged close to the magnetic tape 107 stretched over the front surface, there is a possibility that tape damage may occur.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems and enables the opening of the lid by engaging with the side surface of the front lid, and avoids interference with the opening member of other cassettes. The purpose is to provide a cassette.

[0010]

In order to achieve this object, a tape cassette according to the present invention comprises a cassette housing including a lower half and an upper half for housing a pair of reels around which a magnetic tape is wound, and the cassette. A tape cassette configured with a rotatable front cover that covers a front opening of a housing, wherein a cutout is provided in a part of a lower surface of the lower half, and the front cover covers the cutout. is doing.

[0011]

The present invention provides a recording / reproducing apparatus in which a tape cassette having the above-described structure and a small cassette having a small size with respect to the tape cassette are arranged so that their openings are at the common position, and the front lid opening means of the small cassette is used. When the tape is provided so as to contact and open the side surface of the front lid, the tape cassette and the front lid opening means do not interfere with each other because the notch is formed in the lower half lower surface of the cassette. Moreover, since the notch of the tape cassette is usually covered with the front lid, the notch is not lost.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. A tape cassette having a long recording time (hereinafter referred to as L cassette) and a small tape cassette having a short recording time (hereinafter referred to as S cassette). Although only one of the left and right sides is shown, the configuration is left-right symmetrical unless otherwise specified.

2 (a), 2 (b) and 2 (c) are external plan views of the L cassette 1. FIG. L cassette 1 is mainly upper half 2
And a lower half 3, a front cover 4 and a canopy 5. FIG. 3 is a rear view of FIG. The lower half 3 is provided with a reel hole 3a through which the reel is exposed, a reel lock hole 3b, positioning holes 3c to 3f, and a start / end LED hole 3g. Further, hatched portions 3h to 3k are support portions serving as a cassette height reference and indicate a range in which the cassette height determining pins provided in the recording / reproducing apparatus can be arranged. 10 is a plan view of the lower half 3 as in FIG. 2, and FIG. 11 (a) is an AA section, (b) is a BB section, and (c) is a CC section. As shown in FIG. 11B, the positioning holes 3c and 3d are formed in the lowermost surface portion (line indicated by a chain line) that serves as a support portion, while the positioning holes 3e and 3f are shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the starting and terminating LED hole 3g is d _{2 with} a larger depression than d ₁ at a position d ₁ depressed from that.
It is configured in a recessed position. The positioning holes 3d and 3f are circular holes, but the positioning holes 3c and 3e are elongated holes. As shown in FIG. 16, the magnetic tape 14 whose start and end are locked by the supply reel 8 and the take-up reel 10 is wound around and guided by the tape guide portion 3 m formed on the front surface of the lower half 3. .

FIG. 1 shows the correspondence between the L cassette 1 and the traveling system. The tape guide portion 55 indicated by hatching is an area for guiding the magnetic tape, and the post 51 of the recording / reproducing apparatus must be arranged so that the magnetic tape 14 entering and exiting this area is in this area. Then, the magnetic tape 14 reaches the post 51 of the traveling system without contacting any part of the cassette from the supply reel 8 and the take-up reel 10, so that the tape traveling can be performed with extremely high accuracy.

5 to 7 show a reel lock mechanism. In the left half of FIG. 5, the brake off in which the reel lock claw 7 is separated from the supply reel 8 is shown, and in the right half, the reel lock claw 7 is shown.
Shows the brake on engaged with the claw portion 10a of the take-up reel 10. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the brake on, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the brake off. Reel lock claw 7 is spring 9
As shown in the right half of FIG. 5, the tip claw portion 7a normally engages with the claw portion 10a of the take-up reel 10 to prohibit the rotation of the take-up reel 10 as shown in the right half of FIG. ing. The take-up reel 10 has a structure in which it is difficult to rotate in the counterclockwise direction and easily rotate in the clockwise direction because it is a mechanism for winding the tape when rotating in the clockwise direction. The reverse is true for the supply reel 8. The reel lock claw 7 is provided with a recess 7b that opens downward at a reel lock hole 3b position provided in the lower half 3 of the cassette shown in FIG. The shaft 11 of the recording / reproducing apparatus is provided in the recess 7b.
7, the reel lock claw 7 retracts against the spring 9 as shown in FIG. 7, and the claw portion 7 of the reel lock claw 7 moves.
b is separated from the claw portion 8a of the supply reel 8 and the claw portion 10a of the take-up reel 10, and each reel can rotate.

Next, the structure of the supply reel 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. Upper and lower flanges are integrally formed on the supply reel 8, and the above-mentioned claw portion 8a is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the lower flange. The convex portion 8b at the upper center of the reel is urged downward by a reel pressing spring (not shown) provided in the upper half 2. FIG. 8 shows an engagement state between the supply reel 8 and the reel table 12 provided in the recording / reproducing apparatus.
A plurality of outwardly opening blades 12a provided at the tip of the reel table 12 engage with blades 8c similarly provided on the supply reel 8 to rotate integrally with the reel table 12. ing. As shown in FIG. 9, a cylindrical portion 8d is formed below the blade portion 8c of the supply reel 8 and a conical portion 8e is formed below the blade portion 8c. The cylindrical portion 8d performs centering with the reel table 12 when engaged with the reel table 12, and minimizes rotational runout when the supply reel 8 rotates. The conical portion 8e is a guide portion for smoothly engaging the supply reel 8 and the reel table 12. On the lower surface of the supply reel 8, a reel receiving portion 8 of an annular protrusion that abuts on the reel table 12 is provided.
f and a reel hole 3 provided in the lower half 3 in a concentric circle configuration
A reel holding portion 8g composed of an annular ring slightly smaller than a is configured. In the non-engagement state with the reel table 12, the position of the supply reel 8 is regulated by the fitting between the reel hole 3a of the lower half 3 and the reel holding portion 8g of the supply reel 8.

The lid structure for covering the magnetic tape 14a stretched over the front surface shown in FIG. 16 comprises a canopy 5, a back lid 13, and a front lid 4, as shown in FIG. Each configuration will be described with reference to the external perspective view of each lid shown in FIG. In the front lid 4, a shaft 4a provided on a side surface 4d has a cutout portion 2b of the upper half 2 and a cutout portion 3 of the lower half 3 shown in FIG.
It is sandwiched between n and is rotatably supported, and is biased in the counterclockwise direction (direction to close the lid) by a spring (not shown). A shaft 5a provided on a side surface 5b of the canopy 5 is rotatably supported in engagement holes 4b at both ends of the front cover 4. Further, a support hole 5c is formed from the center of the canopy 5,
The shaft 13a of the back cover 13 is engaged with the support hole 5c so that the back cover 1
3 is rotatable. The other axis 5d of the canopy 5 is
It is engaged and guided in a guide groove 2a formed in the side surface portion 2c of the upper half 2 shown in FIGS. The guide shaft 13b of the back cover 13 is engaged with and guided by the cam groove 3r formed in the side surface of the opening 3p of the lower half 3. As described above, the canopy 5, the back cover 13, and the front cover 4 are interlocked and guided by the upper half 2 and the lower half 3. Therefore, when the front cover 4 is rotated, the canopy 5 and the back cover 5 are continuously connected to it. The lid 13 is guided by the cam groove 3r and the guide groove 2a and moves rearward. Figure 1
The opening / closing operation of the lid mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. By bringing a lid releasing member (not shown) of the recording / reproducing apparatus into contact with a part of the side surface portion 4d of the front lid 4 and lowering the tape cassette relatively, the front lid 4 moves clockwise around the shaft 4a. Rotate. Accordingly, the canopy 5 moves rearward along the guide groove 2a to the upper part of the upper half. The back cover 13 also moves upward along the cam groove 3r. When the front lid 4 is rotated by about 90 degrees, the magnetic tape 1 stretched on the front as shown in FIG.
4a is exposed.

A DD cross section of the lower half 3 shown in FIG. 10 is shown in FIG. 12 including a lid mechanism. The lower half 3 is provided with a recess 3s which is recessed at this portion by d ₃ more than other portions. As shown in FIG. 23, the front lid 4 has a magnetic tape 14a.
In addition to the front surface portion 4f and the both side surface portions 4d for covering the recess 3s
Corresponding to the above, the protrusion portion 4e which is a plane parallel to the lower half 3 at the same height is provided. Therefore, since the recess 3s is covered by the protrusion 4e of the front lid 4, the hermeticity is not impaired. As shown in FIG. 16, this recess 3s is outside the magnetic tape path from the supply reel 8 to the take-up reel 10, and it is rare that the outside air directly touches the magnetic tape.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a lid lock mechanism.
(B) is a plan view showing the front cover 4 by an imaginary line. (A) is a side view. The lid lock claw 6 provided on the side surface of the lower half 3 so as to be rotatable around a shaft 6d is urged clockwise by a spring (not shown). Therefore, the protrusion 4c of the front lid 4 and the claw portion 6a of the lid lock claw 6 are engaged with each other, and the front lid 4
The clockwise rotation of is prohibited. This lid lock claw 6
The projection 6b of the lower half 3 is configured to be exposed from a part of the lower half 3 and the front of the projection 6b of the lower half 3 is notched, so that the recording / reproducing apparatus is provided within the hatched portion 6c shown in the figure. If a release member (not shown) is inserted, the protrusion 6 of the lid lock claw 6 does not interfere with the cassette.
By contacting b, the lid lock claw 6 can be rotated counterclockwise against the spring. As a result, the front lid 4 is unlocked and can be rotated clockwise about the shaft 4a.

FIG. 16 shows a detection optical path 15 for detecting the start and end of the tape. LE of the lower half 3
By inserting the light emitting element provided in the recording / reproducing apparatus into the D hole 3g and arranging the light receiving elements at positions outside the cassette on the optical path, the beginning and end of the tape can be detected. Figure 1
Although the lid 7 is in the opened state, the optical path hole 16 is provided in the side surface of the lower half 3 to form an optical path between the light receiving element and the light emitting element.
This optical path hole 16 is shown in FIG. 17 only when the front cover 4 is released.
When the front cover 4 is exposed and the front cover 4 is closed,
Since the side surface 4d of the above blocks the optical path hole 16, the hermeticity can be considered.

Next, the function of transmitting / receiving the information recorded on the tape between the recording / reproducing apparatus and the cassette will be described. FIG.
18B is a sectional view taken along line EE in FIG. 18 and FIG. Reference numeral 17 denotes a memory P plate, which is provided with four terminals 17a for exchanging signals between the semiconductor memory and the outside. The memory P plate 17 is inserted and held from above in a slit portion 3t provided in the lower half 3 shown in FIGS. The slit 3t is open on the side of the opening 3p, and the above-mentioned terminal 17a is exposed on the side of the opening 3p. Behind the memory P plate 17, a start / end LED hole 3g is formed. 19 to 21 show the contact state between the signal transmitting / receiving connector provided in the recording / reproducing apparatus and the memory P board 17. Connector 1
40, the appearance of which is shown in FIG. 40, comprises a light emitting element 19 and four leaf-spring-shaped connector terminals 20, and is fixedly provided in the recording / reproducing apparatus. The four connector terminals 20 have a biasing force in the clockwise direction in FIG.
The terminals 7a of No. 7 are in contact with each other at a constant contact pressure.
Therefore, it becomes possible to write and read information to and from the semiconductor memory of the memory P board through this terminal 17a. The position of the terminal 17a is located below the memory P board 17, and the contact point 20 between the bent portion 20a of the connector terminal 20 and the terminal 17a.
By increasing the distance b, the spring constant of the terminal 17a is reduced. That is, even if the relative position of the cassette 18 and the connector 18 varies, the contact pressure of the connector terminal 20 with respect to the memory P plate 17 is small, and a stable contact pressure and a highly reliable contact structure can be secured. The connector terminal 20 is formed in a U-shape and the bent portion 20a is located upward so that the connector terminal 20 is protected from being deformed by applying an unreasonable force when the cassette is loaded or unloaded. This is because

An S cassette compatible with the L cassette 1 described above will be described. FIG. 24 (a),
(B), (c) is an external plan view of the S cassette 31.
Like the L cassette 1, the S cassette 31 is mainly the upper half 3.
2, a lower half 33, a front lid 34, and a canopy 35. Since the S cassette 31 has a shorter recording time than the L cassette 1, the plane size of the cassette is naturally small. Also L
The thickness of the cassette 1 is set to H ₂ and the thickness of the S cassette 31 is set to H ₄
Then, the S cassette 31 is made thinner in terms of thickness such that H ₂ > H ₄ . FIG. 25 is a rear view of FIG. 24. The lower half 33 is provided with a reel hole 33a, a reel lock hole 33b, positioning holes 33c to 33f, and a start / end LED hole 33g. Further, hatching portions 33h to 33k are support portions serving as a cassette height reference and indicate a range in which a cassette height determining pin provided in the recording / reproducing apparatus can be arranged. FIG. 26A is a GG cross section, FIG.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line HH. The positioning holes 33c to 33f are formed on the lowermost surface portion (line indicated by the alternate long and short dash line) serving as a support portion, but the start and end LED holes 33g are formed at positions depressed by d ₄ . The height H ₁ of the tape center from the lowermost surface of the lower half 3 of the L cassette 1 and the height H ₃ of the tape from the lowermost surface of the lower half 33 of the S cassette 31 shown in FIGS. Because of the different winding diameters, the L cassette 1 is larger together with the entire cassette thickness such that H ₁ > H ₃ . In such a structure, the dimensional relationship of the L cassette 1 and the S cassette 31 in the cassette thickness direction is as follows.

H ₁ -d ₁ = H ₃ (1) H ₁ -d ₂ = H ₃ -d ₄ (2) In the equation (1), two cassettes are connected to the center of the tape. When considered as a reference, the plane in which the positioning holes 3e and 3f of the L cassette 1 exist is the positioning holes 33c to 33f of the S cassette 31.
And a plane where the hatching portions 33h to 33k exist, that is, a plane having the same height as the lowermost surface of the lower half 33.

In the equation (2), when the two cassettes are considered with the center of the tape as a reference, the plane where the start / end LED holes 3g of the L cassette 1 exist and the start / end LED holes 33g of the S cassette 31 exist. The plane indicates that the planes have the same height.

Since the area of the tape guide portion 53 shown in FIG. 34 is the same as 55 shown in FIG. 1, the post 54 must be provided so that the magnetic tape is guided in this area. The magnetic tape 44, whose start and end are locked by the supply reel 38 and the take-up reel 40, is wound around and guided by a tape guide portion 33m formed on the front surface of the lower half 33. The magnetic tape 44a stretched between the tape guide portions 33m and the distance L ₁ between the above-described positioning holes 33e and 33f are the same as the similar distance L ₃ of the L cassette 1 shown in FIG. In addition, the positioning holes 33e and 33f of the S cassette 31
The distance L ₂ is the same as the distance L ₄ between the positioning holes 3e and 3f of the L cassette 1. This means that when the recording / reproducing apparatus has positioning pins at the positions of the positioning holes 3e and 3f of the L cassette 1, the S cassette 31 is arranged such that the positioning holes 33e and 33f of the S cassette 31 engage with the positioning pins. It means that you can do things. As a result, as shown in FIG. 38, the magnetic tapes 4a and 44a stretched over the front surface are at the same position.

27 to 29 show a reel lock mechanism, but since the reel lock mechanism is basically the same as the reel lock mechanism of the L cassette 1, the description of the structure is omitted. The reel 11 of the L cassette 1 is configured to be unlocked by the shaft 11 which is a reel lock releasing member of the S cassette 31. When the reel lock hole 33b of the S cassette 31 and the reel lock hole 3b of the L cassette 1 are arranged differently as shown in FIG. 38, their positions are different, so a member fixed to the recording / reproducing apparatus cannot correspond to both cassettes. Since the members having the same shape can be used for releasing, if the position is changed depending on the cassette, the parts can be shared.

The structure of the supply reel 38 is shown in FIG. 35. Since the reel structure is basically the same as the supply reel 8 of the L cassette 1, only different parts will be described.
On the lower surface of the supply reel 38, there is provided a reel receiving portion 38f, which is an annular protrusion that contacts the reel table 42. In the L cassette 1, the reel receiving portion 8f and the reel holding portion 8g are concentrically arranged, but in the S cassette 31, only the reel receiving portion 38f has a reel hole 33a which is slightly larger than the reel receiving portion 38f. By doing so, the position of the supply reel 38 is regulated by fitting the reel hole 33a of the lower half 33 and the reel receiving portion 38f of the supply reel 38. Figure 41 shows L cassette 1 and S
The figure which attached the cassette 31 to the same reel table 50 is shown. S on the right side across the center of rotation of the reel table 50
The engagement state between the cassette 31 and the reel table 50 is shown, and the engagement state between the L cassette 1 and the reel table 50 is shown on the left side. The blade portion 8c, the cylindrical portion 8d, and the conical portion 8e are
Since the S cassette 31 has the same size and position as the L cassette 1, the S cassette 31 engages with the reel table 50.
Rotational force can be transmitted. Since the heights from the center of the tape to the lower half of the L cassette 1 and the S cassette 31 are different as described above, the reel receiving portions 38f and 8f of the respective cassettes are also different as shown in the drawing. However, the reel receiving portion 38f of the S cassette 31 has a smaller diameter than the reel receiving portion 8f of the L cassette 1, and the height of the reel receiving portion 8f of the L cassette 1 is the lowermost surface portion of the lower half 33 of the S cassette 31. Since the reel table 50 is lower than the above, the reel table 50 can be configured to contact the reel receiving portions 38f and 8f, respectively, and independently of the reel supporting portions 50a and 50b that guarantee the height of each reel.

The lid structure and the lid opening / closing operation are shown in FIGS. 31 to 33. As with the L cassette 1, the lid 35 includes a canopy 35, a back lid 43, and a front lid 34. The external structure is also the L cassette 1 shown in FIG.
The only difference is the structure shown in FIG. In the L cassette 1, the lower half 3 is provided with the depression 3s, and correspondingly, the front lid 4 is partially provided with the projection 4e. However, in the S cassette 31, the front lid 34 and the lower half 3 are provided.
The abutting portion of 3 does not have a protrusion 4e as seen in the L cassette 1, and the front lid 34 has a front portion 44f and a side portion 44d that cover the magnetic tape 44a (not shown, but a side portion of the front lid 4 of the L cassette 1). 4d)) and is in a substantially U shape.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a lid lock mechanism.
(A) is a plan view and (b) is a side view. Since the lid lock mechanism has the same configuration as the L cassette 1, detailed description will be omitted.

FIG. 34 shows a detection optical path 45 for detecting the beginning and end of the tape. Beginning end L of lower half 33
By inserting the light emitting element provided in the recording / reproducing apparatus into the ED hole 33g and arranging the light receiving elements at positions outside the cassette on the optical path, the start end and the end of the tape can be detected.
Although the opening / closing of the lid of the L cassette 1 and the opening / closing of the optical path hole 16 have been described with reference to FIG. 17, the S cassette 31 has the same configuration.

36, 37 and 39 show a holding mechanism for the memory P board 17. As described in the equation (2), when the two cassettes are considered with the tape center as a reference, the plane of the L-cassette 1 where the start and end LED holes 3g exist and the S-cassette 31.
The planes in which the start and end LED holes 33g exist are planes of the same height. For the same reason, the position of the memory P plate 17 provided above the start and end LED holes 3g and 33g is 2 as well.
The height relationship from the tape center of the two cassettes is the same. When arranged as shown in FIG. 38, the memory P plates 17 of the L cassette 1 and the S cassette 31 are in common positions. That is, in a recording / reproducing apparatus in which two cassettes can be mounted, one connector 18 can be used for both cassettes.

Positioning of the cassette with respect to the recording / reproducing apparatus when the S cassette 31 and the L cassette 1 are arranged as shown in FIG. 38 will be described. First, both cassettes are positioned at the front position and the rear position of both cassettes. However, when arranged in this way, the front position becomes common, so that the L cassette 1 3e, 3f, and S cassette 31 33e, 33
Positioning pins are provided for f. Correspondingly, the placement of the height determining pins to guarantee the height of the cassette is
In the L cassette 1, they are respectively placed in 3h and 3i, and in the S cassette 31, they are respectively placed in 33h and 33i. Since 3h and 3i do not interfere with the S cassette 31, the height determining pin for the L cassette 1 can select an appropriate position. The height determining pin for the S cassette 31 is shown in FIG.
It is provided at the position (a). This position is, as shown in the diagram (b), the reel holding portion 8g and the reel receiving portion 8 of the reel 8.
It is in the middle of f. Since the S cassette 31 is at a position higher than the L cassette 1 by d ₁ , the height determining pin 52 of the S cassette 31 interferes by d _1, but at this position, the height between the reel holding portion 8g and the reel receiving portion 8f is increased. It becomes a dent and can avoid interference.

When the cassettes are arranged as shown in FIG. 38, L
Although the lateral width G 1 of the opening 3p of the cassette ₁ is wider than the lateral width G ₂ of the opening 33p of the S cassette 31, most of the tape guide portion 53 overlaps 55. Therefore, a common post can be arranged to guide the tape of any cassette to this common part. S cassette 3
At the position of the left side surface portion 34a of the front lid 34 of No. 1, there is a recess 3s of the lower half 3 of the L cassette 1. FIG. 42 is a relational diagram in which this portion is enlarged and the cassette lid opening member 56 is provided in the recording / reproducing apparatus.

To open and close the lid of the L cassette 1, an opening pin (L) 58 is provided at a position where it abuts the side surface portion 4d of the front lid 4. Similarly, the left side surface portion 34 of the side surface portion 34 of the S cassette 31
The open pin (S) 57 is provided at a position a which is slightly lower than the release pin (L) 58. The two opening pins are attached to the cassette lid releasing member 56 having a substantially U shape.
As shown in FIG. 42, the release pin (S) 57 and the cassette lid release member 56 are located in the recess 3s of the lower half 3 of the L cassette 1 to avoid interference with the lower half 3.
FIG. 43 shows a lid release trajectory of the front lid 4 by the lid release pin (L) 58. FIG. 44 shows a lid release trajectory of the front lid 44 by the lid release pin (S) 57. Note that (a) to (f) in the figure
In each of the drawings, the position of the cassette is displayed with the position of the lid release pin (S) 57 being common. S cassette 31
In this case, since there is no contact with the left side surface portion 34a of the front lid 34 to release the lid and there is no interference with the lid release pin (L) 58, there is no particular problem. FIG. 43 shows the positional relationship between the lid release pin (S) 57, the front lid 4 and the lower half 3 in the contact with the left side surface 4a of the front lid 4 by the lid release pin (L) 58, the lid release, and the lid opening / closing locus. Is represented. The lid release pin (S) 57 is located at the position of the recess 3s of the lower half 3 of the L cassette 1, in other words, at the position of the protrusion 4e of the front lid 4. However, as is clear from the drawings of the respective locus positions, the protrusion 4e and the lid release pin (S) 57 do not interfere at any position.

Next, an example of mounting such tape cassettes having different cassette sizes in the recording / reproducing apparatus will be described. FIG. 46 shows the L cassette 1 mounted on the recording / reproducing apparatus, and FIG. 47 shows the S cassette 31 mounted on the same recording / reproducing apparatus. The magnetic tapes 14 and 44 are guide posts 6
6, 61, 62, 65, the rotary head cylinder 60, the capstan 64, and the pinch roller 63. The reel table 50 that engages with the supply reel 8 and the take-up reel 10 is rotatably supported with the rotation center of the relay gear 67 as a rotation axis. In FIG. 46, it is moved to the reel position of the L cassette 1, and in FIG. 47 it is moved to the reel position of the S cassette 31 to be positioned. The driving force of the capstan 64 is applied to the center gear 6 by the belt 70.
The relay gear 67 is selectively driven by the drive gear 68 which is transmitted to the gear 9 and is brought into rolling contact therewith. As described above, even if the reel positions are different, the load on the mechanism can be reduced.

[0036]

As is apparent from the above description, the tape cassette of the present invention and the tape cassette of the present invention, which are compatible with each other and have a small size, are mounted in two types of tape cassettes of different sizes. In a possible recording / reproducing apparatus, since the large cassette of the present invention has a recess in the lower half, the lid of the small cassette can be released at the position of the recess by engaging with the side surface portion of the front lid,
There is no need to worry about damaging the magnetic tape stretched over the front. Further, since the opening and closing of the lid is performed by the front lid having a simple rotation structure, a stable operation can be expected as compared with the back lid guided by the cam groove. Since the lid releasing member is located outside the opening, there is no restriction on the arrangement of the loading member.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an L cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is an external plan view of the L cassette, FIG. 2B is an external side view of the L cassette, and FIG. 2C is an external front view of the L cassette.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the L cassette.

FIG. 4B is a plan view of a lid lock mechanism of the L cassette, and FIG. 4A is a side view of a lid lock mechanism of the L cassette.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the reel lock of the L cassette.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the L cassette during reel lock operation.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the L cassette when the reel lock is not operating.

FIG. 8 is a side view when the reel of the L cassette is engaged with the reel table.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the reel of the L cassette.

FIG. 10 is a rear view of the lower half of the L cassette.

11A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 10, FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 10, and FIG. 11C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.

12 is a sectional view taken along line D-D of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a side view of a lid mechanism of the L cassette.

FIG. 14 is a side view of the lid mechanism of the L cassette.

FIG. 15 is a side view of the lid mechanism of the L cassette.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the L cassette.

FIG. 17 is a side view of the L cassette when the lid is opened.

FIG. 18A is a plan view of a semiconductor memory portion of an L cassette, and FIG. 18B is a side view of a semiconductor memory portion of an L cassette.

FIG. 19 is a side view of the memory loading / writing connector installation of the L cassette.

20 is a front view of FIG.

FIG. 21 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the upper and lower halves of the L cassette.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a lid mechanism of the L cassette.

FIG. 24A is an external plan view of the S cassette, FIG. 24B is an external side view of the S cassette, and FIG. 24C is an external front view of the S cassette.

FIG. 25 is a rear view of the S cassette.

26 is a sectional view taken along line GG and HH of FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a reel lock plan view of the S cassette.

FIG. 28 is a sectional view of the S cassette during a reel lock operation.

FIG. 29 is a sectional view of the S cassette when the reel lock is not operating.

FIG. 30A is a plan view of the lid lock mechanism of the S cassette, and FIG. 30B is a side view of the lid lock mechanism of the S cassette.

FIG. 31 is a side view of the lid mechanism of the S cassette.

FIG. 32 is a side view of the lid mechanism of the S cassette.

FIG. 33 is a side view of the lid mechanism of the S cassette.

FIG. 34 is a plan view of the S cassette.

FIG. 35 is a side view when the reel of the S cassette is engaged with the reel table.

FIG. 36 is a front view of the semiconductor memory portion of the S cassette.

FIG. 37 is a side view of FIG. 36.

FIG. 38 is a plan view of S and L cassettes.

FIG. 39 is a perspective view of the semiconductor memory portion of the S cassette.

FIG. 40 is a perspective view of a connector.

FIG. 41 is a side view of the engagement of the S and L cassettes with the reel table.

FIG. 42 is a plan view of the lid releasing mechanism of the S and L cassettes.

FIG. 43 is a side view of the lid release trajectory of the L cassette.

FIG. 44 is a side view of the lid releasing mechanism of the S cassette.

45A is a plan view of the height positioning mechanism of the S cassette, and FIG. 45B is a side view of the height positioning mechanism of the S cassette.

FIG. 46 is a plan view of application of an L cassette to a recording / reproducing device.

FIG. 47 is a plan view of application of an S cassette to a recording / reproducing device.

FIG. 48 is a side view of a lid opening / closing portion in a conventional tape cassette.

FIG. 49 is a side view of completion of lid release in the conventional tape cassette.

FIG. 50 is a plan view of application of two tape cassettes of different sizes to a recording / reproducing apparatus in the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 L Cassette 2 Upper Half 3 Lower Half 3s Recess 4 Front Lid 5 Canopy 31 S Cassette 33 Lower Half 34 Front Lid 35 Canopy

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Yoshinori Shiomi 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Akihiro Nishimura, 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cassette housing including a lower half and an upper half for housing a pair of reels around which a magnetic tape is wound,
A tape cassette configured with a rotatable front lid that covers a front opening of the cassette housing, wherein a notch is provided in a part of a lower surface of the lower half, and the front lid covers the notch. A tape cassette characterized in that it is configured like this.