JPH06349242A - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a tape cartridge incorporating a memory element in which the terminal parts of the memory element and the contacts are provided in two directions while protecting the terminal part. CONSTITUTION:A polyhedral memory element 25 is prepared having terminal parts 26 on the rear surface and the lower surface. The memory element 25 is disposed such that the terminal parts 26 are exposed through the openings 29 made through the rear wall 27 and the bottom wall 28 of the body case 1. Consequently, contact can be made with the terminal part 26 from the rear side or the under side of the body case 1 on the deck side. The memory element 25 is urged constantly toward the openings 29 by means of resilient members 31. Since the impact to the resilient member 31 due to falling accident, for example, is absorbed by the resilient members 31, the terminal part 26 is protected.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cartridge containing a memory element.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a tape cartridge of this type, for example, JP-A-63-166085 and JP-A-63-16085.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 164085, there is a device having a built-in memory element for storing characteristic data of a tape or setting data at the time of recording such as a recording mode and audio recording data. There, when the tape cartridge is loaded into the deck, the terminal part of the memory element is the deck (VTR).
The terminal portion of the memory element remains exposed on the outer surface of the body case so as to come into contact with the connection terminal on the side.

[0003]

However, in the conventional example in which the terminal portion of the memory element is exposed on the outer surface of the main body case as described above, the terminal portion is impacted by accidental drop of the tape cartridge or collision with another object. It is easily added and damaged. In particular, since the memory element is in the mounted state in which it is fixed to the main body case, the impact applied to the terminal portion is large and is easily damaged.

An object of the present invention is to protect a terminal portion from an external force in a tape cartridge in which the terminal portion of the memory element is exposed on the outer surface of the main body case by devising a means for holding the memory element with respect to the main body case. . Another object of the present invention is to provide a degree of design freedom on the deck side by exposing the terminal portion of the memory element over a plurality of adjacent surfaces of the main body case, and especially to realize a compact design, The point is that the range of application to various decks can be expanded.

[0005]

A tape cartridge according to the present invention is provided with a polyhedral memory element 25 having terminal portions 26 on a plurality of adjacent surfaces inside a main body case 1 containing a tape 2 as shown in the figure. The terminal portion 26 of the memory element 25 is exposed from each opening 29 provided in each of a plurality of adjacent outer surfaces of the main body case 1, and the memory element 25 is always provided from the inside of the main body case 1 to each opening 29 by the elastic body 31. It was urged to move toward.

[0006]

The terminal portion 26 in which the memory element 25 is exposed to the opening 29 on any outer surface of the main body case 1 due to an accidental drop or the like.
Even if a shock is applied, the elastic body 31 absorbs and relaxes the shock applied to the terminal portion 26. The elastic body 31 can also increase the contact pressure of the terminal portion 26 with respect to the connection terminal on the deck side. The terminal portion 26 of the memory element 25 is connected to the main body case 1
If exposed in two or three or more directions, it is possible to provide a contact with the terminal portion 26 regardless of which direction the deck-side connection terminal is positioned.

[0007]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) FIGS. 1 to 6 show a first embodiment of a tape cartridge according to the present invention. 2 and 3, the main body case 1 is a plastic upper and lower case 1
A pair of reels 3 in which the tapes 2 are wound on the left and right inside the main body case 1 by abutting a and 1b together
Has been placed. The tape 2 pulled out from one reel 3 is the tape outlets 5, 5 on the front left and right of the main body case 1.
It is guided by the tape guide 6 provided on the other side and wound on the other reel 3. A tape loading pocket 7 is provided in the center of the front surface of the main body case 1, that is, between the left and right tape outlets 5. The pocket 7 is open on the upper and lower surfaces and the front surface. The tape 2 led out to the front side of the main body case 1 is covered and protected by a front lid 9, a back lid 10 and an upper lid 11 when not in use.

The front lid 9 extends from the left and right sides to a position where the front faces of the left and right tape outlets 5 and 5 and the pocket 7 are closed as shown by a solid line in FIG. 4 and an upper open position as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It can be freely opened and closed around the support shaft 12. The front lid 9 is constantly urged to rotate in the closing direction by a spring member 13 fitted to one of the left and right support shafts 12.

The upper lid 11 is closed at the position where the upper surface of the pocket 7 is closed as shown by the solid line in FIG. It can be opened and closed freely from position to position.
For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper lid 11 pivotally connects the connecting shafts 15 at the front ends of the arm portions 14 provided at the left and right ends of the upper lid 11 to the upper and left connecting holes 16 at the upper end of the front lid 9, respectively. 1
4, a slide shaft 17 provided on the inner surface of the rear end of the main body case 1 is provided on the outer surface of the left and right side walls of the main body case 1, and the guide groove 1 has a V-shape.
9 is slidably engaged.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the back cover 10 is rotatably pivotally connected to the pin holes 21a of the boss 21 provided on the inner surface of the upper cover 11 by connecting pins 20 provided on the left and right of the upper end thereof. To do. Also, leg portions 22 are provided on the left and right of the lower rear surface of the back cover 10, and slide pins 23 provided on the leg portions 22 are provided on the left and right side walls in the pocket 7 to form the "S" shaped guide groove 2
4 is slidably engaged. Therefore, the back cover 1
0 indicates a closed position for covering the back surface side of the tape 2 in the pocket 7 as shown by the solid line state in FIG. 4 when the front lid 9 and the upper lid 11 are opened and closed, and the upper surface of the pocket 7 as shown by the two-dot chain line state in FIG. It is openable and closable to the open position located below the upper lid 11 in the open state at the rear.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the main body case 1 has a memory element 25 built therein. This memory element 25
Is, for example, a ROM chip that stores fixed data such as the specifications and characteristic data of the tape 2, a RAM chip that stores variable data such as setting data at the time of recording, and a battery are combined into one unit in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. The rear surface 25a and the lower surface 25b as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
The terminal portions 26 that come into contact with the connection terminals on the deck side when mounted on the deck are respectively provided on the two surfaces.

The memory element 25 is installed so that the terminal portions 26 are exposed on two adjacent surfaces of the outer wall of the main body case 1. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the lower case 1b has a rear wall 27 and a bottom wall. The terminals 26 are installed so that the terminals 26 are exposed. In this case, openings 29 and 29 are provided in the left and right central portions of the rear wall 27 and the bottom wall 28, respectively.
.29 to the rear surface 25a and the lower surface 25 of the memory element 25
The terminal portions 26 on both sides of b are exposed to the outside. It is advantageous to form the openings 29, 29 in such a manner that they communicate with each other as shown in the drawing, because it is not necessary to form an undercut portion when the lower case 1b is molded with plastic, and thus the mold is released.

The left and right center portions of the rear wall 27 and the bottom wall 28 in which the openings 29, 29 are formed are triangular dead spaces formed between the left and right reels 3, 3 and the rear wall 27. No special installation space required, as applicable. The memory element 25 installed at this location is partitioned from the storage area of the reels 3 and 3 by enclosing the left and right sides and the front three sides of the memory element 25 with surrounding ribs 30 integrally projecting from the bottom wall 28. Then, between the front surface 25c of the memory element 25 and the enclosing rib 30, and between the upper case 1a and the memory element 25.
An elastic body 31 made of a compression coil spring or the like is interposed between the elastic body 31 and the upper surface 25d. The memory element 25 is always urged to move backward and downward by the elastic body 31 so that the terminal portion 26 faces each opening 29.

As means for limiting the rearward and downward movement of the memory element 25, the width of each opening 29 in the left-right direction is made smaller than the width of each of the rear surface 25a and the lower surface 25b of the memory element 25 in the left-right direction. 25 back 2
5a or the lower surface 25b is the inner surface of the rear wall 27 or the bottom wall 28
By contacting the inner surface of the memory element 25, the memory element 25 cannot be moved further backward or downward.

Instead of the compression coil spring, the elastic body 31 may be another torsion coil spring, or a leaf spring as shown in FIG. In addition to metal springs, non-metal springs such as plastic and rubber can also be used. In addition, the elastic body 31 is not limited to a metal or non-metal spring separate from the main body case 1, and may be a plastic spring integrally molded with the main body case 1.

As described above, in the memory element 25 held in the main body case 1, the terminal portion 26 is exposed in each of the opening 29 of the rear wall 27 and the opening 29 of the bottom wall 28.
Whether the connection terminal on the deck side is positioned so as to face the rear wall 27 or the bottom wall 28 of the main body case 1 when loaded on the deck, the terminal portion 26 and the contact point should be adapted accordingly. You can In addition, the memory element 25 unexpectedly encounters a fall accident or the like, and its terminal portion 26
When the memory element 25 receives an impact and an external force is applied to the memory element 25, the elastic body 31 is compressed and deformed by the forward movement or upward movement of the memory element 25 to absorb and absorb the impact. When the terminal portion 26 is loaded on the deck and comes into contact with the connection terminal on the deck side, the contact pressure can be increased by the elastic body 31.

(Second Embodiment) FIGS. 8 to 10 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the memory element 25 is a pentahedron whose upper surface 25d and lower surface 25b are triangular, and the remaining three surfaces 25a, 25c, and 25e are quadrangular. Are provided with terminal portions 26, respectively. Then, the memory element 25 is installed at a corner where the side wall 32, the rear wall 27, and the bottom wall 28 of either the left side or the right side of the lower case 1b intersect. In this case, those rear wall 27 and side wall 3
2. The openings 29 are provided in the bottom wall 28, respectively, and the memory element 2
The terminal portions 26 of the lower surface 25b, the rear surface 25a, and the side surface 25e of No. 5 are exposed in the openings 29, respectively. An elastic body 31 interposed between the front surface 25c of the memory element 25 and the surrounding rib 30 formed over the rear wall 27 and the side wall 32 causes the memory element 25 to be obliquely rearward toward the openings 29 of the rear wall 27 and the side wall 32. To the opening 29 of the bottom wall 28 by an elastic body 31 which is urged to move the memory element 25 between the upper surface 25d of the memory element 25 and the upper case 1a.
The movement is urged toward. In addition, as the adjacent outer wall of the main body case 1 on which the memory element 25 is installed, the memory element 25 may be arranged so that the terminal portion 26 is exposed across two surfaces of the pocket rear wall 33 and the bottom wall 28.

[0018]

According to the present invention, the terminal portion 26 of the memory element 25 is exposed in each of the openings 29 provided in the adjacent plural faces of the main body case 1, so that the terminal portion 26 is exposed on the deck side. It is possible to have a contact with the terminal part 26 even from the direction of,
The compact design can be improved, and the range of application to various decks can be expanded. Moreover, the elastic body 3
1, the memory element 25 is always opened on either side of each opening 29.2.
Even when the tape cartridge is dropped on the floor surface or collides with another object and impacts the terminal portion 26, the elastic body 31 impacts. Therefore, the terminal portion 26 can be prevented from being damaged or deformed, and the impact resistance is excellent. Further, the elastic body 31 can increase the contact pressure with the connection terminal on the deck side of the terminal portion 26, and can surely obtain a good terminal contact state.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an essential part of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the entire first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the entire inside of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a pocket portion of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an essential part of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the entire first embodiment viewed from the bottom.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part showing a modified example of the elastic body in the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an overall exploded perspective view showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an overall internal plan view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the entire second embodiment seen from the bottom.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Main body case 2 Tape 3 Reel 25 Memory element 26 Terminal part 29 Opening 31 Elastic body

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Noriaki Masuda 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Ltd.Inside the Hitachi Media Visual Media Research Institute (72) Inventor Hidekazu Takeda 292, Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa (72) Inventor Tatsumi Nishijima, 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A main body case 1 accommodating a tape 2 is provided with a polyhedral memory element 25 having a terminal portion 26 over a plurality of adjacent surfaces, and the terminal portion 26 of the memory element 25 is provided in the main body case 1. It is exposed from each opening 29 provided in each of a plurality of adjacent outer surfaces, and the memory element 25 is always urged to move from the inside of the main body case 1 toward each opening 29 by the elastic body 31. Tape cartridge.