JPH0743822Y2 - Tape cassette - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a tape cassette, and more specifically, an opening / closing operation of a slider attached to a lower half forming a cassette body so as to be movable back and forth. The present invention relates to a tape cassette that can be stabilized for a long period of time.

[Conventional technology]

The conventional tape cassette is shown in FIGS. 7 to 10 (a),
Describing with reference to (b) and (c), the conventional tape cassette forms a cassette body that rotatably accommodates a hub (not shown) on which a tape is wound, as shown in FIG. A half 1 and a lower half 2, and a slider 3 which is arranged so as to be able to move forward and backward with respect to the lower half 2 in a state of covering the lower half 2, and always urges the slider 3 forward. And a spring (not shown) arranged at the front edge of the lower half 2 and a front lid 4 which can be opened and closed at the front edge of the upper half 1 and the lower half 2. The cassette tape is arranged to open and close the front edge depending on whether the cassette tape is used or not.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 8 (a), (b) and FIGS. 10 (a), (b), (c), the lower half 2 is formed in front of and behind the slider 3. Protrusions that fit into the pair of first holes 32, 32 or the pair of second holes 33, 33 (see FIG. 9)
An engaging piece 22 having 22A at its tip is connected to the lower half 2 at one end and is integrally formed with the lower half 2 to form a pair on the left and right. Then, the locking piece 22 is formed by the slider 3
The projection 22A moves up and down with respect to the surface of the lower half 2 in accordance with the forward / backward movement of the slider 3 and the projection 22A is fitted into the first hole 32 or the second hole 33 to move the slider 3
The pair of apertures 21, 21 formed in the lower half 2 are respectively locked through the pair of apertures 31, 31 formed in the above.

As shown in FIG. 8 (a), the locking piece 22 is extended as a long and slender rectangular piece in the front-rear direction from the connecting portion with the lower half 2, and has three sides other than the connecting portion and the lower half 2. A gap 23 is formed between them.

Thus, when using the conventional tape cassette, when the tape cassette is loaded in the recording / reproducing apparatus, the front lid 4 of the tape cassette is opened, and the slider 3 moves backward against the biasing force of the spring, and the slider 3 The hole portions 31, 31 of the lower half 2 are overlapped with the hole portions 21, 21 of the lower half 2 so that the drive portion of the recording / reproducing apparatus is engaged with the hub, and the hub can rotate.
At this time, the engaging piece 22 of the lower half 2 has its protrusion 22A
As shown in FIG. 3A, the slider 3 is fitted into the first hole 32 to lock the slider 3 and maintain the open state.

On the other hand, when recording on or reproducing from the tape is completed and the tape cassette is removed from the recording / reproducing device, when the slider 3 advances due to the urging force of the spring, the locking piece 22 of the lower half 2 moves the connecting portion. Swing to the center,
The protrusion 22A has a slider 3 as shown in FIG. 10 (b).
Of the slider 3 is pushed into the inside of the lower half 2 to get over the surface between the first hole 32 and the second hole 33 and fit into the second device 33, and the slider 3 is opened. The portion 31 is displaced from the opening portion 21 of the lower half 2 so that there is no overlap between the two and the opening portion 21 of the lower half 2 is closed.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

However, since the upper half 1, the lower half 2 and the slider 3 of the tape cassette are generally formed by injection molding of synthetic resin, they are easily deformed in a high temperature atmosphere, and the conventional tape cassette can record data. During repeated use during reproduction, the connecting portion of the locking piece 22 becomes fatigued and loses elasticity due to the high temperature atmosphere of the recording / reproducing apparatus, resulting in the permanent strain shown in FIG. 10 (c). As a result, the locking piece 22 may warp inward. When the locking piece 22 is permanently deformed and the locking piece 22 warps inward as described above, the engagement between the protrusion 22A and the first hole 32 and the second hole 33 of the slider 3 becomes insufficient. ,
There is a problem that the slider 3 cannot be reliably locked at a predetermined position by the locking piece 22.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent permanent deformation of the lower half locking piece over a long period of time, and to reliably position the slider at a position where the lower half opening is opened and closed by the locking piece. It is to provide a tape cassette that can be locked.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

The present invention provides an upper half 1 and a lower half 2 that form a cassette body that rotatably houses a tape-wound hub.
And a slider 3 which covers the lower half 2 and is movable in the front-back direction with respect to the lower half 2, and the locking piece 22 having a projection 22A formed on the outside The lower half 2 is connected to and integrated with the half 2, and the protrusion 22A is fitted into the first hole 32 or the second hole 33 formed in the front and rear of the slider 3 to lock the slider 3 and In the tape cassette in which the opening 21 formed in the slider 3 is opened and closed by the opening 31 formed in the slider 3, the locking piece 22 includes a first locking piece 221 and a second locking piece 2.
22 and are connected to each other at one end, support the protrusion 22A at one end, and are connected to the lower half 2 at the other end, respectively, the first locking piece 221 and the second locking piece 221.
The locking piece 222 is continuously provided in the sliding direction of the slider 3, and the first locking piece 221 and the second locking piece 222 are generally formed except for the portion where the protrusion 22A is formed. The present invention achieves the above object by providing a tape cassette characterized by being formed thinner than the thickness of the lower half 2.

[Action]

According to the present invention, the plurality of locking pieces for supporting one protrusion oscillate with the plurality of connecting portions with the lower half as a base point to move the protrusion up and down to move the first hole or the second hole of the slider. The slider can be locked at a position where the projection is fitted into the hole to open and close the opening of the lower half.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described below based on the embodiments shown in FIGS.

1 (a), (b) and (c) are views showing the lower half used in an embodiment of the tape cassette of the present invention, and FIG. 1 (a) shows the lower half. The perspective view which shows an inner surface, the figure (b) is a top view which shows the inner surface of a lower half, the figure (c) is the II sectional view taken on the line of the figure (b), the figure 2 (a),
(B) is a diagram showing a lower half used in another embodiment of the tape cassette of the present invention, (a) is a plan view showing half of the inner surface of the lower half, and (b) is the same. Figure (a)
II-II sectional views, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 respectively show the essential parts of the lower half used in another embodiment of the tape cassette of the present invention. ) Corresponding figure, as shown in Fig. 7, the tape cassette of the present embodiment is such that the upper half 1 and the lower half 2 forming the cassette body, and the lower half 2 are covered with the upper half 1 and the lower half 2 in the front and rear direction. The slider 3 is provided so as to be movable back and forth in the direction, and the front lid 4 is provided at the front end edges of the upper half 1 and the lower half 2, and in this respect, it is constructed in accordance with a conventional tape cassette. There is.

Thus, the locking piece 22 in this embodiment is as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b) and (c), it extends as a long and narrow rectangular piece up to the vicinity of a pair of guide portions 23, 23 formed on both sides of the front edge of the lower half 2 so as to guide the tape to travel. The first locking piece 221 and the second locking piece 222 are formed, one end of each of which supports the projection 22A, and the other end of each is connected to the lower half 2. Then, gaps 24, 24 are formed on both sides of the locking piece 22, and the protrusion 22A of the locking piece 22 relatively moves between the first hole 32 and the second hole 33 of the slider 3. It is configured to be able to move up and down when moving forward and backward. Further, as shown in FIG. 1 (c), the locking piece 22 is formed to be thinner than the lower half 2 as a whole so that it can be oscillated when the slider 3 moves back and forth.
It is formed so that A can move up and down easily. Therefore, when the slider 3 moves back and forth in the lower half 2 in the front-rear direction, the projection 24A moves up and down with the connection portions at both ends of the locking piece 22 as base points. That is, when the protrusion 22A of the locking piece 22 is fitted in the first hole 32 or the second hole 33 of the slider 3, the locking piece 22 is in the initial state of FIG. When the projection 22A is located between the first hole 32 and the second hole 33 when the back and forth move,
22A moves inward and the entire locking piece 22 swells inward,
When fitted in the first hole 32 or the second hole 33, the initial state shown in FIG. 2 (c) is restored again.

As described above, since both connecting portions of the locking piece 22 are connected to the lower half 2 and are restrained in the same plane as the lower half 2, the slider 3 opens and closes the opening 21 of the lower half 2. Even if the above procedure is repeated, permanent distortion does not occur, and the slider 3 does not warp inward, so that the slider 3 can be reliably locked at a predetermined position.

Further, the locking piece 22 in another embodiment of the tape cassette of the present invention is the first one as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b).
The connecting portion of the locking piece 221 is biased forward so that the first locking piece 221
And the lengths of the second locking pieces 222 are made substantially equal to each other so that the entire length is shorter than that shown in FIGS. 1 (a), (b) and (c).
The protrusion 22A is located substantially at the center in the longitudinal direction of the locking piece 22, and in this embodiment as well, the same operation as in the above embodiment,
The effect can be expected.

Still another embodiment of the tape cassette of the present invention is, as shown in FIG. 3, a locking piece 22 shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b).
All are configured similarly to FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) except that the cross-sectional shape in the front-back direction is different. That is, in the locking piece 22 shown in FIG. 3, the thickness of the first locking piece 221 is the same as that of the second locking piece 2.
The locking piece 22 is formed to be thicker than the thickness of the locking piece 22 to make the amplitude of the locking piece 22 smoother, and the locking piece 22 shown in FIG.
Contrary to the one shown in FIG. 3, the thickness of the second locking piece 222 is
It is formed to be thicker than the thickness of the locking piece 221.

Further, the locking piece 22 shown in FIG. 5 is the same as that shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b).
The locking piece 22 shown in FIG. 6 is formed to be thinner than the locking piece 22 shown in FIG. 2B, and a curved portion 221A that is curved inward is formed on the first locking piece 221. First locking piece 22
The curved portions 221A and 222A are formed on both the first and second locking pieces 222. In these embodiments as well, the same actions and effects as in the above-described respective embodiments can be expected, and further, the amplitude of the locking piece 22 can be made smoother and the functionality of the locking piece 22 can be enhanced.

The locking piece of the lower half of the tape cassette of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and if the end portion is connected to the lower half, its planar shape and sectional shape are obtained. Can be set arbitrarily.

[Effect of device]

The tape cassette of the present invention prevents permanent deformation of the locking piece of the lower half for a long period of time, and securely engages the slider at the position where the opening piece of the lower half is opened and closed by the locking piece. It is to provide a tape cassette that can be stopped.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 (a), (b), and (c) are views showing a lower half used in an embodiment of the tape cassette of the present invention, and FIG. 1 (a) is a perspective view showing an inner surface of the lower half, 2B is a plan view showing the inner surface of the lower half, FIG. 2C is a sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. 2B, and FIGS. 2A and 2B are tape cassettes of the present invention. The figure which shows the lower half used for the other Example, The figure (a) is a top view which shows half of the inner surface of a lower half, The figure (b) is the II-II line of the figure (a). Sectional views, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6 are views corresponding to FIG. 2 (b), each showing the essential part of the lower half used in another embodiment of the tape cassette of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional tape cassette, FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b) are views showing the lower half of the conventional tape cassette, and FIG. 7 (a) is a plan view thereof. (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of (a) of the same figure, and FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the inner surface of the slider shown in FIG. 7 taken out, and FIGS. 8] are sectional views showing the relationship between the lower half shown in FIG. 7 and the slider shown in FIG. 9, respectively. 1; Upper half, 2; Lower half 3; Slider, 21, 31; Opening portion 22; Locking piece, 22A; Protrusion 32; First hole, 33; Second hole 221; First locking piece, 222; Second locking piece

Front page continuation (72) Hidetoshi Watanabe Inventor Hidetoshi Watanabe 2606 Akabane, Kai-cho, Haga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture Kao Co., Ltd. Information Technology Research Institute (56) References: 62-110770 (JP, U)

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An upper half 1 and a lower half 2 which form a cassette body for rotatably accommodating a tape-wound hub.
And a slider 3 which covers the lower half 2 and is movable in the front-back direction with respect to the lower half 2, and the locking piece 22 having a projection 22A formed on the outside The lower half 2 is connected to and integrated with the half 2, and the protrusion 22A is fitted into the first hole 32 or the second hole 33 formed in the front and rear of the slider 3 to lock the slider 3 and In the tape cassette in which the opening 21 formed in the slider 3 is opened and closed by the opening 31 formed in the slider 3, the locking piece 22 includes a first locking piece 221 and a second locking piece 222. And one end of each of them is connected to the lower half 2 and the other end is connected to the lower half 2. The stopper 222 is continuously provided in the sliding direction of the slider 3, and includes the first locking piece 221 and the first locking piece 221. The engaging piece 222, the protrusion
A tape cassette characterized by being formed thinner than the thickness of the lower half 2 as a whole except for the portion where 22A is formed. 2. The first locking piece 221 or the second locking piece 222.
The tape cassette according to claim 1, wherein the tape is formed thicker than the second locking piece 222 or the first locking piece 221. 3. The first locking piece 221 or the second locking piece 222.
The tape cassette according to claim (1) or (2), wherein a curved portion 221A or 222A that is curved inward of the cassette body is formed on at least one of the above.