JPH07312006A - Cassette loading device for tape recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely prevent a cassette from jumping out and to enable soft ejecting operation by regulating a slider member in movement at the time of ejecting the cassette and temporarily interrupting this ejection accordingly. CONSTITUTION:When a relative distance between the tip of a PE plate 40 and a pack slider 26 is changed beyond a reverse reference of a reverse spring 46 as a result of continually pressing an ejecting lever 56, the direction of energizing force of the spring 46 is reversed, and the slider 26 is pressed toward a cassette holder 4 by a leg 50, and hence the cassette C is pushed out in its ejecting direction. At this time, the tip of the leg 50 is moved in a guide slot 54, entailing a turn of a regulating ring 52, and upon arrival at the final end of the slot 54, the movement of the slider 26 is stopped, and hence the ejecting operation of the cassette C is temporarily interrupted. Subsequently, when the lever 56 is gradually released from its operation, the plate 40 is turned in accordance with push-back operation of the lever 56, and hence the soft ejection is carried out from an interrupting position to a completing position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape recorder, and more particularly to a cassette loading device for a tape recorder capable of stably ejecting a cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A cassette loading device of this type is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 52-39111.
The cassette is inserted into the cassette case and ejected using the spring force, and the ejecting of the cassette from the cassette case during ejection is prevented by the brake shoes provided on the cassette case. ing.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned known cassette loading device, the mounting of the brake shoes not only increases the number of parts and complicates the structure, but also increases the braking force on the brake shoe side. Adjustment with the biasing force on the spring side is difficult. Therefore, if the braking force of the brake shoe is excessive compared to the biasing force of the spring, ejection of the cassette from the cassette case will be insufficient, and conversely, if the braking force is too small, the cassette case will not be ejected. Inviting the cassette to pop out.

Further, even if the braking force of the brake shoe and the urging force of the spring are properly adjusted, the cassette is pushed back to its take-out position at the time of ejection, giving a soft feeling to the ejection operation of the cassette. I can't. The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object thereof is to reliably prevent a cassette from popping out at the time of ejecting and to perform the ejecting operation softly. To provide.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a cassette loading device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a cassette case into which a cassette can be inserted, and the cassette case is provided in the cassette case and the cassette is inserted when the cassette is inserted. After that, the slider member movable together with the cassette while holding the cassette, the eject member rotatably provided in the cassette case, the tip of the eject member and the slider member are connected to each other, A reversing spring which, when inserted by a predetermined distance, reverses the biasing direction of the slider member according to the relative position of the tip of the eject member and the slider member, and pulls the cassette into the cassette case via the slider member. And operates by receiving an operation force from the outside to rotate the eject member against the biasing force of the return spring. Thereby, the relative position between the eject member and the slider member is changed, and the biasing direction of the reversing spring with respect to the slider member is reversed, and an eject lever for ejecting the cassette via the slider member, When ejecting the cassette,
It is provided with a restricting unit that limits the distance of the slide member from the tip of the eject member against the biasing force of the reversing spring and temporarily interrupts the eject operation of the cassette.

In the cassette loading device of the second aspect, the reversing spring is a torsion coil type reversing spring.
In this reversing spring, the tip of one leg is hooked on the tip of the eject member, and the tip of the other leg is hooked on the slide member, and in this case, the regulating means is the eject member. The guide link is rotatably attached to the tip of the guide spring, and a guide slot formed on the guide link and slidably guiding the tip of the other leg of the reversing spring.

[0007]

According to the cassette loading device of claim 1, when the cassette is inserted into the cassette case by a predetermined distance,
The cassette is held by the slider member, after which the slider member moves as the cassette is inserted. In this movement process, when the relative position between the tip of the eject member and the slider member changes beyond the reversing reference of the reversing spring, the direction of the urging force of the reversing spring is reversed, and the reversing spring is inserted through the slider member. And the cassette loading is completed.

When an operating force is applied to the eject lever from the outside in the loaded state of the cassette, the eject lever operates against the biasing force of the return spring to rotate the eject member. When the relative position between the tip of the eject member and the slider member changes by exceeding the reversing reference of the reversing spring due to the rotation of the eject member, the direction of the urging force of the reversing spring is reversed again, and the reversing pattern is generated by the slider member. The cassette is pushed out via and the ejecting operation is started. At this time, the restricting means limits the distance the slider member is separated from the tip of the eject member, and temporarily suspends the eject operation of the cassette.

After that, when the operating force applied to the eject lever is gradually released, the eject lever causes the return spring biasing force to return and rotate the eject member. With this return rotation, the reversing spring and the slider member are rotated. The remaining eject operation of the cassette is performed via the. According to the cassette loading device of the second aspect, since the reversing spring is a torsion coil type reversing spring, the function of the above-mentioned reversing spring is easily realized, and in this case, the regulating means also serves as the guide slot. It is easily realized by the restriction link having.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a loading device for a cassette C of a tape recorder. The loading device includes a cassette case 2, and the cassette case 2 includes a front side cassette holder 4 and a rear side case lifter 6. As shown in FIG. 2, the case lifter 6 comprises a lifter plate 8, and a rear end portion of the lifter plate 8 has a pair of side plate portions 10 bent downward from both side edges thereof. The rear ends of the side plate portions 10 are supported by a main chassis (not shown) of the cassette reproducing device via a pair of fixed shafts 12.
The case lifter 6 is rotatable around the fixed shaft 12 in the vertical direction.

The cassette holder 4 is arranged under the case lifter 6 so that a part thereof overlaps with each other, and has a thin box shape in which a front surface, a rear surface and a bottom surface are largely opened. Both side walls of the cassette holder 4 constitute guide rails 14 of the cassette C by partially bending the lower edges thereof inward. In addition, the insertion guide 1 for the cassette C is provided above and below the front opening of the cassette holder 4.
6 is provided.

A pair of engagement protrusions 18 are provided on the upper surface of the cassette holder 4. The upper ends of the locking protrusions 18 are bent toward the case lifter 6 side, and a pair of lifter claws 20 projecting from the front end edge of the lifter plate 8 are respectively buried under the corresponding locking protrusions 18. When the case lifter 6 is in the horizontal posture shown in FIG. 2,
The lift claw 20 of the lifter plate 8 lifts the cassette holder 4 via the engagement protrusion 18. The cassette holder 4 itself is supported so as to be vertically movable with respect to the main chassis.

A guide hole 22 is formed at the center of the upper wall of the case lifter 6, that is, the lifter plate 8.
The guide hole 22 extends from the front edge to the rear edge of the lifter plate 8. A cross plate portion 24 is formed by cutting and raising between the pair of lifter claws 20 of the lifter plate 8, and the cross plate portion 24 is formed by the guide hole 2
2 extends across the front end.

A synthetic resin pack slider 26 is attached to the guide hole 22 as a slider member, and the pack slider 26 is slidable along the guide hole 22. As shown in FIG. 3, a step 27 is formed on one side surface of the pack slider 26.
On the other hand, from one inner edge of the guide hole 22, the stopper portion 29 is located at the front end edge side thereof. When the pack slider 26 is in a position close to the cross plate portion 24, the step 27 of the slider back 26 abuts on the stopper portion 29 to prevent the pack slider 26 from moving toward the cassette holder 4.

A pack finger 28 projecting downward is integrally formed from the rear end of the pack slider 26, and the pack arm 3 is formed from the front end of the pack slider 26.
0 is integrally formed. The pack slider 26 is shown in FIG.
In the position of, the pack arm 30 goes over the lower side of the stopper plate 24 of the lifter plate 8 and enters the center opening 32 which is a notch in the upper surface of the cassette holder 4. A triangle-shaped pack claw 34 protruding downward is integrally formed at the tip of the pack arm 30, and the base end thereof is formed as a self-hinge 36. Therefore, the pack arm 30 is elastically rotatable in the vertical direction about the self-hinge 36 at the base end, as shown by the arrow in FIG. An arm stopper 38 is arranged above the pack arm 30 in the vicinity of the cross plate portion 24. The arm stopper 38 has a center opening 38.
And is formed integrally with the cassette holder 4. The arm stopper 38 regulates the upward rotation range of the pack arm 30.

On the upper surface of the lifter plate 8, a pack eject plate (hereinafter simply referred to as an eject member)
A PE plate) 40 is attached. The PE plate 40 has a base end located on one side plate portion 10 of the lifter plate 8 and is rotatably supported via a rotation pin 42, and a tip end thereof extends toward the guide hole 22. ing. The lifter plate 8 is formed with a circular arc hole 43 centering on the rotation pin 42, and the PE plate 40 is formed with a pinch piece 44 which is located under the lifter plate 8 through the circular arc hole 43. Has been done. Therefore, the PE plate 40 clamps the lifter plate 8 in cooperation with the pinch piece 44, and while maintaining this state, the PE plate 40 can rotate about the rotating pin 42 along the arc hole 43.

The tip of the PE plate 40 and the pack slider 26 are connected to each other by a reversing spring 46. The reversing spring 46 is obtained by pulling out both legs of a thin torsion coil spring in the same direction, one leg 48 of which is rotatably hooked to the tip of the PE plate 40, and the other leg 50 of the pack slider 26. It is rotatably attached to the top surface.

Further, the tip of the leg 48 of the reversing spring 46 connects one end of a regulation link 52 as a regulation means to the tip of the PE plate 40, and the tip of the other leg 50 is a guide slot of the regulation link 52. It is hooked on the pack slider 26 through 54. Guide slot 5
4 extends along the longitudinal direction of the restriction link 52.
An eject lever 56 is arranged on the side of the cassette holder 4, and the eject lever 56 is supported movably along the side wall of the cassette holder 4 with respect to the main chassis. The center of the upper edge of the eject lever 56 and the center of the PE plate 40 are connected to each other via a connecting rod 58.

A return spring 60 is arranged along the eject lever 56 near the eject lever 56. The return spring 60 is composed of a tension coil spring stronger than the reversing spring 46, and connects the rear end of the eject lever 56 and the main chassis. Although not shown, the rear end of the eject lever 56 can be engaged with one side plate portion 10 of the case lifter 6 so as to cooperate with a pushing-down mechanism described later, and its front end is bent. ing.

Loading of Cassette: Next, the loading operation of the cassette C will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. Now, each part of the loading device is in the state shown in FIG. In this state, the eject lever 56 is not pushed in, and the eject lever 56 is connected to the PE plate 4 via the connecting rod 58.
0 is rotated clockwise and held. The reversing spring 46 connecting the tip of the PE plate 40 and the pack slider 26 is located on the left side of the lifter plate 8 as viewed in FIG.
The pressure is biased toward the side, that is, the eject direction. Therefore, the pack slider 26 is moved to the cassette holder 4 side portion in the guide hole 22, and the step 27 of the pack slider 26 is brought into contact with the stopper portion 28 of the guide hole 22 as shown in FIG. Is in a state. At this time, the tip of the leg 50 of the reversing spring 46 is at the end of the guide slot 54 in the restriction link 52, and the reversing spring 46 is
The angle formed by the two legs 48, 50 of the above is smaller than the spread angle of both legs in the free state. That is, the space between the legs 48 and 50 of the reversing spring 46 is in a state of being reduced from its free state.

From the state of FIG. 1, the cassette C is inserted into the cassette holder 4 of the cassette case 2, and the front end surface of the cassette C is the slider rider pack 2, that is,
When it comes into contact with the pack claw 32 of the pack arm 30, this abutment causes the pack arm 30 to elastically rotate upward, and the pack claw 32 rides on the upper surface of the cassette C.

When the cassette C is further inserted, 2 in FIG.
As shown by the dotted chain line, the front end surface of the cassette C abuts on the pack finger 28 of the pack slider 26, and at the same time, the pack claw 32 of the pack arm 30 falls into one reel hole H of the cassette C, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the pack slider 26 holds the cassette C between the pack finger 28 and the pack claw 32.

After that, when the cassette C is further inserted,
While resisting the biasing force of the reversing spring 46, the pack slider 26, together with the cassette C, has its guide hole 22.
The inside is moved toward the rear end edge of the lifter arm 8. As the pack slider 26 moves, the legs 5 of the reversing spring 46
In 0, the tip moves along the guide hole 22, while the tip of the leg 48 of the reversing spring 46, that is, the PE plate 40 is in the immovable state, the reversing spring 46 turns counterclockwise while The distance between the two legs 48, 50 is reduced, whereby repulsive energy is accumulated in the coil portion of the repulsion spring 46. At this time, the tip end of the leg 50 of the reversing spring 46 moves away from the terminal end in the guide slot 54 of the regulation link 52 and moves toward the leg 48, and the movement of the regulation link 52 causes the PE plate 40 to move. Is rotated counterclockwise around the tip of the.

When the pack slider 26 moves beyond the tip of the PE plate 40 with the insertion of the cassette C, that is, the relative distance between the pack slider 26 and the tip of the PE plate 40 is the reference of the reversing spring 46. From the time when the pack slider 26 changes.
Receives the repulsive energy stored in the reversing spring 46, and is moved in the guide hole 22 toward the rear edge of the lift plate 8. Therefore, when the cassette C is inserted over a predetermined length, the urging force of the reversing spring 46 is reversed, that is, the urging force of the leg 50 acts in the opposite direction, so that the cassette C is moved by pressing the pack slider 26. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5, the cassette case 2 is automatically inserted to a predetermined position.

At this time, the reversing spring 46 further turns counterclockwise, and the regulating link 52 also moves in the guide hole 2.
Since the leg 50 is further rotated counterclockwise beyond the state orthogonal to 2 (the state of FIG. 4), the leg 50 moves relatively in the guide slot 54 of the restriction spring 52, and the legs 48, 5
The interval between 0s is expanded again. Even when the cassette C is completely loaded in the cassette case 2, the pack slider 26 is urged by the repulsion spring 46 toward the rear end side of the lifter plate 8. Also,
At this time, as apparent from FIG. 5, the pack slider 2
6 is located on the rear end side of the lifter plate 8 with respect to the rotation pin 42 of the PE plate 40.

When the cassette C is completely loaded, the case lifter 6 rotates downward about the fixed shaft 12 as shown in FIG. 6 by the function of a known pressing mechanism (not shown), and the case lifter 6 is rotated. Lowers the cassette holder 4 together with the loaded cassette C. That is, the cassette case 2 is bent downward from the center thereof, and the cassette C is lowered to the reproduction position. At the playback position of the cassette C, the pair of capstan shafts on the main chassis side are inserted into the capstan holes of the cassette C, and
The head access opening is positioned at the same level as the reproducing / recording head on the main chassis side.

Cassette Ejection: Next, regarding the ejecting operation of the cassette C from the cassette case 2, FIG.
9 to 9 will be additionally described. When the user applies an operating force to the front end of the eject lever 56 from the cassette loading state shown in FIG. 5 and the eject lever 56 is pushed against the urging force of the return spring 60, the eject lever 56 moves. First, the function of the push-down mechanism is released, and the case lifter 6 is rotated upward, whereby the cassette holder 4 returns to the raised position shown in FIG.

While the cassette holder 4 is lowered, the engagement between the reel hole H of the cassette C and the pack claw 32 of the pack arm 30 of the pack slider 26 is once released, but the cassette holder 4 is raised. Their engagement returns to the original state. On the other hand, when the eject lever 56 is pushed in, PE is connected through the connecting rod 58.
Since the plate 40 is rotated counterclockwise, the distance between the tip of the PE plate 40 and the pack slider 26 is reduced. Therefore, in this case, the reversing spring 46 turns clockwise from the state of FIG. 5, one leg 48 thereof approaches the other leg 50, and the PE
Since the regulation link 52 rotates in the clockwise direction as the plate 40 rotates, the leg 50 of the reversing spring 46 moves the PE plate 4 into the guide slot 54 of the regulation link 52.
It moves relatively toward the tip of 0. Therefore, the legs 48 and 50 of the reversing spring 46 approach each other while gradually storing repulsive energy in the coil portion of the reversing spring 46.

When the eject lever 56 continues to be pushed in, the PE plate 40 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction so that the tip of the PE plate 40 passes the pack slider 26, and the PE plate 40 is rotated.
When the distance between the tip of the PE plate 40 and the pack slider 26 reaches the shortest distance (state of FIG. 7), the distance starts to increase again as shown in FIG. 8, that is, the tip of the PE plate 40 and the pack slider 26. When the relative distance between the reversing spring and the reversing spring changes beyond the reversing reference of the reversing spring 46, the direction of the urging force of the reversing spring 46 reverses from this point, and its leg 50 causes the pack slider 26 to move to the cassette holder 4 by the repulsive energy. Press toward. Therefore, the pack slider 26 is moved in the guide hole 22, and with this movement,
The cassette C is pushed out from the cassette holder 4 in the eject direction.

At this time, the tip of the leg 50 of the reversing spring 46 is accompanied by the clockwise rotation of the restriction link 52,
Although it moves in the guide slot 54 of the regulation link 52,
When the tip of the leg 50 reaches the end of the guide slot 54 as shown in FIG.
Spreading motion of 0 is blocked. Therefore, at this point, the movement of the pack slider 26 is also stopped, and the ejecting operation of the cassette C is temporarily interrupted, and as a result, the ejection of the cassette C at the time of ejecting is reliably prevented.

The interruption of the ejecting operation of the cassette C described above is caused by the fact that the operation force of the eject lever 56 by the user has not been released yet and the PE plate 40 is maintained in the clockwise rotated state. . Thereafter, when the user gradually releases the operating force of the eject lever 56, the eject lever 56 is pushed back by receiving the urging force of the return spring 60, and along with this pushing back, the PE is connected via the connecting rod 58.
The plate 40 rotates clockwise.

With the rotation of the PE plate 40 as described above, the pack slider 26 is pushed back to the cassette holder 4 side through the reversing spring 46, so that the inside of the guide hole 22 is gently moved to the stopper portion 29. As a result, a soft eject of the cassette C from the interruption position of the eject operation shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 9 to the eject completion position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 is realized, and the cassette C is partially ejected. It projects from the cassette holder 4.

When the cassette C is ejected, if the expansion movement of the leg 50 of the reversing spring 46 is restricted, fatigue of the reversing spring 46 is reduced even if the cassette C is repeatedly ejected. The durability can be greatly improved. When the cassette C is pulled out from the cassette holder 4 by the user from the eject state of FIG. 1, the reel hole H of the cassette C and the pack slider 26 are
The engagement with the pack claw 32 is automatically released by elastically rotating the pack arm 30 of the pack claw 32.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the torsion coil type reversing spring is used as the reversing spring, but the present invention is not limited to this.
Various modifications are possible in carrying out the present invention, such as the use of a compression coil spring.

[0035]

As described above, according to the cassette loading apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, when the cassette is ejected, the movement of the slider member is restricted by the restricting means, and the ejecting operation is temporarily interrupted. By doing so, it is possible to reliably prevent the cassette from popping out. Further, after the ejection operation is interrupted, the cassette is gently ejected from the interruption position in accordance with the returning operation of the ejection operation member, so that the cassette can be ejected softly. According to the cassette loading device of claim 2, since the reversing spring is a torsion coil type reversing spring,
The function of the reversing spring can be easily realized, and in this case, the restricting means can also be realized by a simple structure including only the restricting link having the guide slot.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a cassette loading device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing a cassette case of the cassette loading device.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a pack slider.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a cassette is inserted into a cassette case until it is gripped by a pack slider.

5 is a diagram showing a state where the cassette is completely loaded in the cassette case from the state of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state in which the cassette case is bent from the center after loading the cassette.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the PE plate is rotated clockwise from the state of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which the PE plate is further rotated clockwise from the state of FIG. 7 in accordance with the operation of the eject lever, and the urging direction of the reversing spring is reversed.

9 is a diagram showing a state in which an ejecting operation of the cassette is started by receiving the biasing force of a reversing spring from the state of FIG. 8 and the ejecting operation is interrupted by a restriction link.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 cassette case 4 cassette holder 6 case lifter 22 guide hole 26 pack slider (slider member) 28 pack finger 32 pack claw 40 PE plate (eject member) 46 reversing spring 48, 50 leg 52 restriction link (control means) 54 guide slot 56 Ejector lever 58 Connecting rod 60 Return spring

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cassette case (2) into which a cassette can be inserted, and a slider that is provided in the cassette case and holds the cassette as the cassette is inserted, and then can move together with the cassette while holding the cassette. Material (26)
And an eject member (40) rotatably provided on the cassette case, a tip of the eject member and the slider member are connected to each other, and when the cassette is inserted by a predetermined distance, a tip of the eject member. And an inversion spring (46) for reversing the biasing direction of the slider member according to the relative position of the slider member and pulling the cassette into the cassette case via the slider member, and an external operating force. By actuating and rotating the eject member against the biasing force of the return spring, the relative position between the eject member and the slider member is changed to bias the reversing spring with respect to the slider member. An eject lever (56) which reverses the direction and ejects the cassette via the slider member.
And a restricting means (52) for temporarily interrupting the ejecting operation of the cassette by limiting the distance of the slide member from the tip of the ejecting member against the biasing force of the reversing spring when the cassette is ejected. A cassette loading device for a tape recorder, comprising: 2. The reversing spring comprises a torsion coil type reversing spring (46) in which a pair of legs are led out, and one leg of the reversing spring is hooked at the tip of the eject member, and The tip ends of the legs of the lever are hooked on the slide member, and the restricting means includes a restricting link (52) rotatably attached to the distal end of the eject member, and the restricting link is formed on the restricting link, and the other end of the reversing spring is formed. The cassette filling device for the tape recorder according to claim 1, further comprising a guide slot (54) for slidably guiding the tips of the legs of the tape recorder.