JPH065042A - Tape cassette and recording and regenerating apparatus using tape cassette thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To decrease the number of parts by locking the open state of a metal shutter, which opens and closes the bottom surface side of the front opening part of a tape cassette with a reel-lock releasing pawl, which releases the locked state of a pair of tape reels. CONSTITUTION:An opening part 7, which exposes a tape 5, is formed at the front side of a case-shaped cassette main body 2. The front side of the opening part 7 is opened and closed with a front lid 10. A metal shutter 20 opens and closes the bottom surface side of the opening part 7 in conformity with the opening and closing operations of the front lid 10. The metal shutter 20 is slidably provided at a slide reference surface 40 of the bottom surface of the cassette main body 2. A reel lock member 14, which regulates the rotations of a pair of tape reels 6 and 6 in the tape extending direction, is provided in the cassette main body 2. The locked state of each tape reel with the reel lock member 14 is released with a reel unlock pawl 53 on the side of a recording and regenerating apparatus. The open lock state of the shutter 20 is maintained with the unlock pawl 53.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cassette such as a digital audio tape (DAT) cassette and a recording / reproducing apparatus such as a digital VTR using the cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a DAT cassette capable of recording and reproducing by using a digital signal is known. This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 14 to 16. In FIG. 14, reference numeral 100 denotes a DAT cassette (tape cassette), which is a casing type cassette body 1 including upper and lower shells made of synthetic resin.
Has 01. A pair of tape reels 1 each having a magnetic tape (not shown) wound inside the cassette body 101.
02 and 102 are rotatably housed. A front lid (lid) 103 for opening and closing an opening (not shown) formed on the front side of the cassette body 101 is supported rotatably upward from the horizontal direction.

The bottom surface 10 of the cassette body 101 is also
On the front surface 1a, a shutter 104 of a synthetic resin-made front-faced type is slidably supported in the front-rear direction. This shutter 1
A pair of reel stand insertion holes 104a, 10
4a is formed, and a pair of long grooves 104b, 104b having a concave cross section is formed on the bottom surface thereof from the position near each reel base insertion hole 104a to the front end. A pair of engaging holes 104c and 104d are formed at two positions near the rear end and the front end of each long groove 104b. Notches 103a and 103a are formed in the lower edge of the front lid 103 facing the pair of long grooves 104b and 104b. In addition, the pair of long grooves 104b of the shutter 104 when closed,
On the bottom surface 101a of the cassette main body 101 facing the engagement holes 104c on the rear end side of 104b, elastic pieces 101c having elasticity are formed by the slits 101b each having a flat U-shape in the front-rear direction. A claw portion 101d is integrally projectingly formed on the outer end of each elastic piece 101c. The claw portion 101d of each elastic piece 101c of the cassette body 101 is engaged with the engagement hole 104c on the rear end side of each long groove 104b of the shutter 104 to lock the closed state of the shutter 104, and Each long groove 104
The open state of the shutter 104 is locked by engaging with the engaging hole 104d on the front end side of b. The shutter 104 is always biased in the closing direction by an elastic means such as a spring (not shown).

[0004]

However, in the conventional DAT cassette 100, the open state of the shutter 104 is locked only by the respective claw portions 101d of the pair of elastic pieces 101c, 101c integrally formed on the bottom surface 101a of the cassette body 101. DAT cassette 10
0 due to vibration or the like when it is attached to a recording / reproducing apparatus such as a digital VTR, the above-mentioned claw portions 101d cause the engaging holes 104d on the front end side of the pair of long grooves 104b, 104b of the shutter 104.
There is a possibility that the shutter 104 may be closed because the shutter 104 may be easily dismounted after passing over the. Further, each long groove 1 is provided on the shutter 104.
Since the thickness to form 04b is indispensable,
The thickness of the shutter 104 is increased, which hinders the reduction of the thickness of the cassette body 101. Although it is conceivable that the shutter is formed of a metal plate, the opening / closing lock of the metal shutter is provided by the cassette body 10 described above.
It is difficult to apply the structure to the claw portion of the elastic piece of No. 1 and the long groove of the shutter made of synthetic resin, and the cassette body 10 made of synthetic resin due to the edge portion of the metal shutter.
It is necessary to solve various problems, such as preventing 1 from being scraped off.

Therefore, the present invention provides a tape cassette capable of reliably locking the opened state of the shutter and a recording / reproducing apparatus using the cassette.

[0006]

A pair of tape reels around which a tape is wound are rotatably accommodated in a casing type cassette body, and an opening for exposing the tape is formed on the front side of the cassette body. , The top side and the front side of the opening can be opened and closed by a lid, and a shutter for opening and closing the bottom side of the opening according to the opening and closing operation of the lid can be slid on the bottom side of the cassette body. When the lid is closed, the lower surface side of the opening is closed by the shutter to completely close the tape exposed in the opening with the lid and the shutter, while the pair of tapes is provided in the cassette body. A reel lock member is provided for restricting the rotation of the reel in the tape feeding direction via a biasing means, and the locked state of the pair of tape reels by the reel lock member is set on the recording / reproducing apparatus side. In the tape cassette is freely released by Rurokku release member, the open state of the shutter, are locked freely configured by the reel lock releasing member releasing the lock of the pair of tape reels.

Further, the shutter is formed of a metal plate, an engagement hole into which the reel lock release member is inserted and engaged is formed in the metal shutter, and the reel lock release member of the engagement hole is formed. Is formed by bending. Further, an escape groove portion is formed on the bottom surface side of the cassette body facing the bent portion of the engagement hole of the shutter.

Further, in the recording / reproducing apparatus using the tape cassette having the above structure, the reel lock releasing member is provided with a portion for releasing the locked state of the pair of tape reels and a portion for locking the opened state of the shutter. is there.

[0009]

Since the shutter open state is locked by the reel lock release member that unlocks the pair of tape reels, the open state of the shutter is reliably maintained.
The shutter is not closed when the lid is opened.

Further, since the shutter is formed of a metal plate, the shutter can be made thin. Furthermore, an engaging hole into which the reel lock releasing member is inserted and engaged is formed in the metal shutter, and a portion of the engaging hole with which the reel lock releasing member abuts is bent, or the shutter is released. Since the escape groove is formed on the bottom surface side of the cassette main body made of resin facing the bent portion of the engaging hole, the cassette main body is not scraped off by the metal shutter.

Further, in the recording / reproducing apparatus using the tape cassette having the above structure, the reel lock releasing member is provided with a portion for releasing the locked state of the pair of tape reels and a portion for locking the opened state of the shutter, Since one reel lock releasing member has two functions, the number of parts is reduced accordingly, and the structure of the entire apparatus is simplified and the cost is reduced.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 4, etc., reference numeral 1 denotes a DAT cassette (tape cassette), the cassette body 2 of which is formed in a casing type by upper and lower shells 3 and 4 made of synthetic resin. A pair of tape reels 6 and 6 around which a magnetic tape 5 is wound is rotatably housed in the casing type cassette body 2. A part of the magnetic tape 5 is exposed in an opening 7 formed on the front side of the cassette body 2. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the opening 7 is formed by a partition wall 8 which is erected in the approximate center of the front side of the lower shell 4 so as to be recessed rearward in a generally upside down shape, and most of the upper surface side thereof is formed as described above. It is covered by the front side of the substantially plate-shaped upper shell 3. Front end portions 8a, 8a of both side walls of the partition wall 8 serve as a tape inlet / outlet for the opening portion 7 integrally formed in a substantially semi-cylindrical shape.

The upper surface and the front surface side of the opening 7 are opened and closed by a front cover (cover) 10. This front lid 10 is made of synthetic resin, and its both sides 10a, 1
Support shafts 10 that are integrally projecting from the inner surfaces of
b and 10b are fitted into the insertion holes 4b 'and 4b' formed on the front sides of the side walls 4b and 4b of the lower shell 4, respectively. As a result, the front lid 10 has the pair of support shaft portions 10
By swinging upward from the horizontal direction around b and 10b, the opening 7 is opened and closed except for the bottom side. Further, the front lid 10 has at least one of the support shaft portions 1
The torsion coil spring 11 wound around 0b is always biased in the closing direction. The cassette body 2 is a pair of reel stands 51 on the chassis 50 of the recording / reproducing apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 10, when one side part 10a of the front lid 10 is lifted by the lid opening / closing pin 52 arranged at a predetermined height on the chassis 50 when it is mounted on the cassette 51 via the cassette holder 56, as shown in FIG. The front lid 10 is opened against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 11.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the lower shell 4 is
Is formed in a box-like shape in which the upper surface side is opened by the partition wall 8 integrally formed on the front side of the bottom wall 4A, both side walls 4b, 4b, and the rear wall 4c, and is formed in the approximate center of the bottom wall 4A. A pair of reel holder insertion springs 12, 12 and a pair of reel pressing leaf springs 13 welded to the pair of bosses 3a, 3a of the upper shell 3,
The hub portions (reel base receiving portions) 6a of the pair of tape reels 6 and 6 are rotatably supported between the hubs 13 and 13, respectively. As shown in FIG. 10, when the cassette body 2 is mounted on the chassis 50 of the recording / reproducing apparatus, the lower portions of the hub portions 6a of the pair of tape reels 6 and 6 are rotatably supported on the chassis 50. A pair of reel stands 51, 5
1 is fitted. Further, a plurality of tooth portions 6c, 6c, ... Are formed on the outer peripheral portion of each lower flange 6b of the pair of tape reels 6, 6.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the bottom wall 4 is provided at the center of the bottom wall 4A of the lower shell 4 on the rear wall 4c side.
A pair of guide walls 4d, 4d are integrally projected from A. A reel lock member 14 is slidably arranged in the front-rear direction between the pair of guide walls 4d. The reel lock member 14 is formed of a synthetic resin in a generally U-shape, and a pair of locking claws 1 which are engaged with and disengaged from the tooth portions 6c of the flanges 6b of the pair of tape reels 6 and 6 are provided on the front side thereof.
It has 5,15. Also, this reel lock member 1
A compression coil spring (biasing means) 16 as a reel lock spring is interposed between the rear wall 4 and the rear wall 4c. The compression coil spring 16 urges the pair of locking claws 15, 15 of the reel lock member 14 so as to always lock with the tooth portions 6c of the lower flanges 6b of the pair of tape reels 6, 6. Accordingly, the rotation of the pair of tape reels 6 and 6 in the feeding direction of the magnetic tape 5 is restricted. A rectangular reel lock release hole 17 is formed in the bottom wall 4A of the lower shell 4 facing the recess 14a of the reel lock member 14. Through this release hole 17, a reel lock release claw (reel lock release member) 53, which is erected on the chassis 50 of the recording / reproducing apparatus and has a tapered upper rear side, is inserted, and the reel lock release portion 53a on the upper side thereof is connected to the reel. The reel lock member 14 is inserted into the recess 14a of the lock member 14 and retracts against the biasing force of the compression coil spring 16. As a result, the pair of locking claws 15, 15 of the reel lock member 14 are separated from the tooth portions 6c of the lower flanges 6b of the pair of tape reels 6, 6. As shown in FIG. 2, an IC memory terminal 18 is embedded in the center of the bottom surface 4a of the bottom wall 4A of the lower shell 4 between the pair of reel base insertion holes 12,12.

Further, the bottom side of the opening 7 of the cassette body 2 is opened and closed by a metal (sheet metal) shutter 20. The shutter 20 is formed by bending a metal plate, and is formed in a substantially square front shape with a bottom piece portion 21 and both side piece portions 22, 22. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the two side pieces 22, 22 of the shutter 20 slide in the front-rear direction along the respective shutter receiving surfaces 19, 19 which are formed with steps on both side surfaces of the cassette body 2. It is supposed to do. The engaging projection 22a formed at the center of each side piece 22 slides along the guide groove 19a of each shutter receiving surface 19 and is bent and formed inward at the upper edge of each side piece 22. The engaging piece portion 22b is inserted and engaged with the elongated groove 19b formed in the upper portion of each shutter receiving surface 19.

Both corners on the rear side of the bottom piece 21 of the shutter 20 are notched, and a shutter receiving surface (dotted in FIG. 6) is formed on the bottom surface 4a of the lower shell 4 of the cassette body 2 as a slide reference surface. (Shown by) 40 is slidable. The shutter receiving surface 40 of the lower shell 4 has a cassette height determining reference surface 41 (see FIG. 6) formed at each corner portion thereof.
(Shown with diagonal lines) is a surface that projects slightly outward. A pair of front and rear cassette positioning reference holes 42, 42 and 43, 43 having a long hole shape and a round hole shape are formed on the respective cassette height determining reference surfaces 41 on the front side and the rear side of each corner portion. The front and rear cassette height determining reference surfaces 41 of the respective corners are formed at the same height, but a pair of front and rear positioning pins 54, 54 on the chassis 50 of the recording / reproducing apparatus and By changing the heights of 55 and 55, the position height surfaces of the front and rear cassette height determining reference surfaces 41 may be changed respectively in the front and rear.

Further, at a position corresponding to the pair of reel base insertion holes 12, 12 of the bottom piece 21 of the shutter 20, the IC memory terminal 18, and the reel lock release hole 17,
A pair of reel stand insertion holes 23, 23, an elliptical hole 24, and a rectangular engaging hole 25 are formed respectively. The reel lock releasing claw 53 is inserted and engaged in the engaging hole 25, and a bent portion 25a is formed in a portion of the reel lock releasing claw 53 with which the shutter lock portion 53b abuts. On the bottom surface 4a of the lower shell 4 facing the bent portion 25a of the engagement hole 25, there is formed an escape groove portion 4e extending in the front-rear direction across the reel lock release hole 17. Further, on both sides of the front edge of the bottom piece portion 21 of the shutter 20, a pair of cutout portions 26, 26 and a pair of locked piece portions 27, in that order from the outside.
27 and a pair of shutter pressing pieces 28, 28 are formed respectively. The narrowed portions 26a are formed around the pair of notches 26, 26 to reduce the gap between the lower shell 4 and the bottom surface 4a. The shutter 20 is biased by a shutter return torsion coil spring 29 so as to always close the bottom side of the opening 7.

Further, on the bottom surface 4a of the lower shell 4, a pair of elastic pieces 4 are provided on both front sides facing the pair of cutout portions 26, 26 and the pair of locked piece portions 27, 27 of the shutter 20.
5 and 45 are integrally projected. Each elastic piece 45 is divided into a portion facing each of the cutout portions 26 and the locked piece 27 through a slit 44 having a substantially C-shape, and is arranged in a row at a position facing each cutout portion 26 in order from the front side. , A mountain-shaped first cam surface portion 46 having front and rear inclined surfaces 46a and 46b, and a mountain-shaped second cam surface portion 47 having front and rear inclined surfaces 47a and 47b, respectively, are formed integrally with each other, and A triangular block-shaped first lock portion 48 having inclined surfaces 48b on the rear side in order from the front side in a row facing the lock piece 27.
And a second triangular block having a slanted surface 49a on the front side.
The lock parts 49 are integrally formed by projecting. Each of the elastic pieces 45 is elastically deformed upward by contacting the respective trapezoidal release projections 57 of the cassette holder 56 of the recording / reproducing apparatus with the respective cam surface portions 46, 47 of the elastic pieces 45.
At this time, each shutter pressing piece 58 of the cassette holder 56 presses each shutter pressed piece 28 of the shutter 20, so that the shutter 20 is moved in the opening direction against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 29. ing.

A pair of groove portions 4f, 4f are formed on the bottom surface 4a of the lower shell 4 at positions facing the pair of cutout portions 26, 26 of the shutter 20.
A pair of groove portions 4g, 4g are formed at positions opposed to the pair of shutter pressed piece portions 28, 28. A pair of cutouts 10c, 10c are formed at positions of the shutter 20 of the front lid 10 that face the pair of cutouts 26, 26, and a pair of shutter-pressed pieces 28, 28 of the shutter 20 are pressed. A pair of notches 10d, 1 at a position facing each other.
0d is formed.

According to the DAT cassette 1 and the recording / reproducing apparatus such as a digital VTR using the cassette 1 of the above embodiment, when the DAT cassette 1 is inserted into the cassette holder 56 of the recording / reproducing apparatus, the pair of cassette holders 56 is released. The projections 57, 57 unlock the shutter 20 in the closed state. That is, as shown in FIG. 13A, each first lock portion 4 of the pair of elastic pieces 45, 45 of the cassette body 2 is
A pair of locked pieces 2 of the shutter 20 at the front end 48a of
When the cassette body 2 is inserted into the cassette holder 56 in the closed lock state in which the shutters 7 and 27 are locked and the opening 7 is closed by the shutter 20, the pair of release projections 57 and 57 of the cassette holder 56 causes As shown in b),
The closed lock state is released by pushing up each elastic piece 45 upward. When the cassette body 2 is further inserted into the cassette holder 56, the pair of shutter pressing pieces 58, 58 of the cassette holder 56 presses the pair of shutter pressed pieces 28, 28 of the shutter 20. The shutter 20 is the bottom surface 4a of the cassette body 2.
The shutter receiving surface 40 on the side is slid to open the bottom side of the opening 7.

When the shutter 20 opens the opening 7, the open lock state of the shutter 20 is as shown in FIGS. 11 and 13C.
As shown in FIG. 6, each locked piece portion 27 of the shutter 20 is held by being brought into contact with and locked to the rear end 49b of the second lock portion 49 of each elastic piece 45 of the cassette body 2. At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, each locked piece portion 27 of the shutter 20 is pressed against the rear end 49b side of the second lock portion 49 of each elastic piece 45 of the cassette body 2 by the biasing force of the shutter return torsion coil spring 29. At the same time, each shutter pressing piece 28 of the shutter 20 is in contact with each shutter pressing piece 58 of the cassette holder 56.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the cassette body 2
From the state where the bottom surface side of the opening 7 of the cassette is opened by the shutter 20, the cassette holder 56 is placed on the chassis 50, and
When descending to the 1,51 side, the chassis 5
Reel lock releasing part 5 of reel lock releasing claw 53 on 0
The reel lock member 14 is fixed to the compression coil spring 16 by 3a.
It is moved backward in the cassette body 2 against the compressive force of. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the pair of locking claws 15 and 15 of the reel lock member 14 are disengaged from the tooth portions 6c of the lower flanges 6b of the pair of tape reels 6 and 6, respectively. The locked state of the reels 6 and 6 is released.

The cassette body 2 is provided on the chassis 50 with a pair of front and rear positioning pins 54, 54 and 55, 55.
Immediately before being positioned and mounted on the shutter 20, the shutter lock portion 53b of the reel lock release claw 53 pushes the bent portion 25a of the engagement hole 25 of the shutter 20 slightly rearward, so that the shutter 20 moves to the position shown in FIG. From the open lock state shown in FIG. 12, it is delicately moved backward as shown in FIG. This state is a state in which the shutter 20 is locked in the open state on the chassis 50 side of the recording / reproducing apparatus (in the open locked state of the shutter 20 on the chassis 50 side, the cassette body 2 has the positioning reference holes 42 and 43). The respective positioning pins 54 and 55 are inserted in, so that the cassette body 2 cannot move in the left-right direction shown in FIG. 10).

In the open lock state of the shutter 20 by the reel lock release claw 53 of the recording / reproducing apparatus, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
7, 27 and a pair of shutter pressed piece portions 28, 28 are
The pair of elastic pieces 45, 45 of the cassette body 2 are slightly separated from the rear ends 49a, 49a of the second lock portions 49, 49 and the pair of shutter pressing pieces 58, 58 of the cassette holder 56, and the pair of elastic pieces of the cassette body 2 are separated. The shutter 20 is not locked by the second lock portions 49, 49 of the pieces 45, 45. As a result, when the recording / reproducing apparatus of the cassette body 2 is mounted, the pair of elastic pieces 4 made of synthetic resin
Since a pair of locked piece portions 27, 27 of the metal shutter 20 do not exert a force on 5, 5 and the like, the pair of elastic pieces 45, 45 made of the synthetic resin easily deformed due to temperature change.
The thermal deformation of can be reliably prevented.

As described above, since the reel lock release claw 53 on the recording / reproducing apparatus side holds the open lock state of the shutter 20, the cassette body 2 is attached to the recording / reproducing apparatus side.
It is possible to reliably prevent the shutter 20 from being closed due to an impact or the like after the mounting. Further, since the shutter 20 is formed of a metal plate, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the shutter 20. Furthermore, an engaging hole 25 into which the reel lock releasing claw 53 is inserted and engaged is formed in the metallic shutter 20, and the shutter lock portion 53b of the reel lock releasing claw 53 of the engaging hole 25 is abutted. Since the bent portion 25a is formed in the contacting portion or the escape groove portion 4e is formed on the bottom surface 4a side of the synthetic resin cassette main body 2 facing the bent portion 25a, the metal shutter 20 allows the synthetic resin cassette main body to be formed. 2 is never scraped off.

Further, the reel lock release claw 53 has
A reel lock releasing portion 53a for releasing the locked state of the pair of tape reels 6, 6 and a shutter lock portion 53b for holding the open locked state of the shutter 20 are provided, and one reel lock releasing claw 53 has the above two functions. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced by that amount, and the structure of the entire recording / reproducing apparatus can be further simplified and the cost can be further reduced.

Although the DAT cassette used in a digital VTR or the like as the tape cassette has been described in the above embodiment, the tape cassette is not limited to the DAT cassette, and a so-called 8 mm tape cassette as a video tape cassette is used. The above embodiment may be applied to a tape cassette such as the above. Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the lid body is composed of only the front lid, but the lid body may be composed of the front lid and the upper lid.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, a pair of tape reels around which a tape is wound are rotatably housed in a casing type cassette body, and the tape is placed on the front side of the cassette body. An opening is formed to be exposed, and the upper surface side and the front surface side of the opening are opened and closed by a lid, and the shutter for opening and closing the lower surface of the opening is opened and closed according to the opening and closing operation of the lid. Is slidably provided on the bottom side of the cassette, and when the lid is closed, the lower surface of the opening is closed by the shutter so that the tape exposed in the opening is completely closed by the lid and the shutter. A reel lock member for restricting rotation of the pair of tape reels in the tape feeding direction through a biasing means is provided inside the main body, and the pair of tape reels is locked by the reel lock member. In a tape cassette that can be released by a reel lock releasing member on the recording / reproducing apparatus side, the open state of the shutter is configured to be lockable by the reel lock releasing member that unlocks the pair of tape reels. Since the opened state is locked by the reel lock release member that unlocks the pair of tape reels, the opened state of the shutter can be reliably held and the shutter is closed when the lid is opened. There is no such thing.

Further, since the shutter is made of a metal plate, the shutter can be made thin. Furthermore, an engaging hole into which the reel lock releasing member is inserted and engaged is formed in the metal shutter, and a portion of the engaging hole with which the reel lock releasing member abuts is bent, or the shutter is released. Since the escape groove is formed on the bottom surface side of the cassette main body made of resin facing the bent portion of the engaging hole, the cassette main body is not scraped off by the metal shutter.

Further, in the recording / reproducing apparatus using the tape cassette having the above structure, the reel lock releasing member is provided with a portion for releasing the locked state of the pair of tape reels and a portion for locking the opened state of the shutter, Since one reel lock releasing member has two functions, it is possible to reduce the number of parts by that amount, and it is possible to further simplify the structure and reduce the cost of the entire device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a DAT cassette showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the cassette.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the cassette.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the cassette.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a metal shutter used in the cassette.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a cassette height determination reference surface of the cassette and a slide reference surface of the shutter.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a locked state of a pair of tape reels of the cassette.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a lock release state of a pair of tape reels of the cassette.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view before mounting the cassette.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view after mounting the cassette.

FIG. 11 is a bottom view showing an open lock state of the shutter of the cassette.

FIG. 12 is a bottom view showing an open lock state of the shutter by the reel lock releasing claw on the recording / reproducing apparatus side.

13A to 13D are explanatory views showing the opening / closing operation of the shutter.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a conventional DAT cassette.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the conventional cassette as seen from the bottom side.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged explanatory view of a portion that locks the shutter of the conventional cassette.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... DAT cassette (tape cassette) 2 ... Cassette body 4a ... Bottom surface 4e ... Escape groove 5 ... Magnetic tape 6,6 ... A pair of tape reels 7 ... Opening portion 10 ... Front lid (lid body) 14 ... Reel lock member 16 ... Compression coil spring (biasing means) 20 ... Metal shutter 25 ... Engagement hole 25a ... Bend portion 53 ... Reel lock release claw (reel lock release member) 53a ... Reel lock release portion 53b ... Shutter lock portion

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pair of tape reels around which a tape is wound are rotatably housed in a casing type cassette body, and an opening for exposing the tape is formed on the front side of the cassette body. A lid is provided on the bottom side of the cassette body so that the top side and the front side of the cassette can be opened and closed by a lid, and the bottom side of the opening is opened and closed according to the opening / closing operation of the lid. A reel lock member for restricting the rotation of the pair of tape reels in the tape feeding direction through a biasing means is provided in the cassette body, and the locked state of the pair of tape reels by the reel lock member is recorded / reproduced by the recording / reproducing apparatus. In a tape cassette that can be released by a reel lock release member of the above, the reel in which the shutter is opened and the pair of tape reels are unlocked Tape cassette, characterized in that the locking freely configured by click release member. 2. The shutter is formed of a metal plate, an engagement hole into which the reel lock release member is inserted and engaged is formed in the metal shutter, and the reel lock release member of the engagement hole is formed. 2. The tape cassette according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the tape cassette which is in contact with the tape cassette is bent. 3. The tape cassette according to claim 2, wherein an escape groove is formed on the bottom surface side of the cassette main body made of resin facing the bent portion of the engagement hole of the shutter. 4. A recording / reproducing apparatus using the tape cassette according to claim 1, wherein the reel lock releasing member comprises:
A recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: a portion for releasing the locked state of the pair of tape reels and a portion for locking the opened state of the shutter.