JPH0822686A - Low-rigidity spring for inducing of reaction and for holdingof component in data cartridge for computer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain a multiple arm type pressure spring which holds unfixed parts to the predetermined positions during the assembling by giving a tension to the tape in the cartridge and controls axial movement by clamping a tape hub to the base portion of housing of the cartridge. CONSTITUTION: A spring 5 is provided with five arms extended from a center fitting region 10. A first arm 21 and a second arm 22 are extending in the substantially opposite directions toward the corner rollers 41, 42 from the center region 10. A third arm 23 is extending to a drive roller 43 for belt in the vertical direction from the center region 10 for the alignment of the first arm 21 and second arm 22. A fourth arm 24 is extending to a tape hub 44 from the center region 10 in the direction of the intermediate angle of the right angle formed by the first arm 21 and the third arm 23. A fifth arm 25 is extending to the other tape hub 45 from the center region 10 in the direction of the intermediate angle of the right angle formed by the second arm 22 and the third arm 23.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spring for a data cartridge. More specifically,
Multi-arms used to exert tension on the cartridge tape, hold parts that are not fixed during assembly in place, and hold the tape hub toward the base of the cartridge housing to control axial movement It concerns a mold pressure spring.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Video tape cassettes for VHS (registered trademark) or beta-recorded video programs are generally manufactured with a spring for holding two reels on the same plane of the cassette toward the base of the housing. Has been done. Therefore, the reel becomes difficult to float, and the tape on the reel moves smoothly in the reproducing device. The spring is stamped from a sheet of spring material (eg, stainless steel) and is bent or curved to apply pressure to the reel when the spring is in a flat position. Prior art springs typically have two arms in a cassette that extend to two reels.
There is a book. The spring is attached to either the base or the cover of the housing of the tape cassette. The size and shape of the springs can vary slightly depending on the size of the cassette, the size of the reel, and the spacing between the two coplanar surfaces and others.

[0003]

The tape tension of a data tape cartridge requires another consideration than that of a video cassette. Data cartridges are typically provided with five rotating elements including two corner rollers, two tape hubs, and drive rollers. Therefore, a spring with five arms is desirable to address the data cartridge configuration due to its integral construction and low component count. Unlike video cassettes, which typically wind in one direction (such as play, fast-forward, or rewind) for long periods of time, the tape in a data cartridge changes direction quickly as it moves to the required data position on the tape. Or Rapid changes in normal speed and direction of tape rotation include controlled drag on the corner rollers and tape hub to hold the taut magnetic tape against the read / write head and to hold the tape hub stationary in the axial direction. It is necessary to operate. As a result, the change in direction of rotation will not introduce slack that would adversely affect the data recording and retrieval of the tape in the cartridge.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The multi-armed spring of a data cartridge in accordance with the present invention tensions the tape within the cartridge to hold the unfixed components in place during assembly and to secure the cartridge housing. Rotating parts are pressed toward the base to control the friction of friction and the floating of the shaft.

The spring is formed of a flat sheet of elastic material and has five arms extending from the central region.
The first arm and the second arm extend in opposite directions from the central region and communicate with the corner rollers. The third arm extends vertically from the central region and is in communication with the drive roller relative to the alignment of the first arm and the second arm. For each of the fourth and fifth arms extending to the tape hub of the data tape cartridge, the fourth arm extends from the central region in a right-angled intermediate direction formed by the first and third arms, and Of arms extends from the central region in a right-angled intermediate direction formed by the second and third arms.

Each arm is bent or curved away from the planar center mounting position toward the mount of the cartridge housing to provide an elastic force on the associated rotating component, which force is translated into tape tension. Each arm also holds rotating parts in place during assembly and operation.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, there are shown plan and side views of a conventional spring for exerting an elastic force on a tape hub or reel of a video tape cassette. Such springs are commonly known to be mounted within videotape cassettes to provide elastic force on the winding tape unwind and winding tape hubs or reels to control drag friction. Has become. The spring also holds the hub or reel in the axial position during assembly and operation.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a plan view of a multi-armed spring 5 of a data tape cartridge 30 formed from a flat sheet of elastic material such as stainless steel. The spring 5 is provided with five arms extending from a central mounting area 10 which can be mounted on the mount or cover of the cartridge. The first arm 21 and the second arm 22 extend in opposite directions from the central region 10. The third arm 23 extends from the central region 10 in a direction perpendicular to the alignment of the first arm 21 and the second arm 22. The fourth arm 24 extends from the central region 10 in the direction of the right-angled intermediate angle formed by the first arm 21 and the third arm 23. The fifth arm 25 extends from the central region 10 in the direction of the right-angled intermediate angle formed by the second arm 22 and the third arm 23.

The first arm 21 extends a distance from the central region 10 and is in contact with substantially the center of the corner roller 41. Similarly, arms 22-25 extend a distance from central region 10 to contact the associated rollers 42 and 43 and approximately the centers of tape hubs 44 and 45.

The springs 5 are mounted in their central area 10 above the rotating parts 41 to 45, for example on the base or cover of a data tape cartridge. The arms 21 to 25 are bent downward toward the base of the data tape cartridge 32 and exert a drag force on the related rotary components 41 to 45 in the stored position. As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 3, one or more arms may be laterally scored or bent to form a warp line at first position 430 and second position 440. In this manner, arm base section 450, center section 460, and end section 470 are defined. In one embodiment, the second lateral bow line 440 is approximately one third of the length of the arm from the central region 10 to the end of the arm.
Are formed in the distance. The angle of the second warp line 440 is determined by the central section 460 as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG.
To the plane of the end section 470 approximately 20 degrees.
The first deflection line 430 is approximately 6.35 mm (0.25 mm) in the direction from the second deflection line 440 toward the central region 10.
Inch) and is formed at an angle of approximately 10 degrees when measured from the plane of the platform section 450. The angle of the first deflector line is consequently less than the angle with respect to the second deflector line 440. In another embodiment, the angle between the first deflection line 430 and the second deflection line 440 of each arm can be made larger to provide a stronger elastic force to the associated rotating parts 41-45 and to accommodate it. Tension is provided to the tape 15 by providing stronger drag friction on the corner rollers 41, 42. Similarly, the increased resilience provided by arms 23, 24, and 25 in contact with hubs 44 and 45 and drive roller 43 controls axial movement to eliminate shaft wobbling and shaft lift. .

In another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the camber of the arm is at a position 53 approximately half the length of the arm from the central region 10 to the end of the arm 521.
Starting at 0, a curve is formed towards the base of the cartridge housing 32. In this way, the base section 540 and the curved section 550 of the arm 521 are defined. The curve radius r can be approximately one-half the length of the arm 521 measured from the central region 10 to the end of the arm 521 to provide a substantially linear spring characteristic. Forming each of the arms, or only selected ones of the arms, in this manner provides a stronger elastic force on the associated rotating component, eg, a corner roller, to tension the tape 15 between the tape hubs 44 and 45. Can be increased.

In another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a reinforcing bent portion 631 is formed so that the arm 6 can be formed.
It extends longitudinally along most of the length of 21.
In this way, the vertical edge (end) of the arm 621
Is defined. Therefore, the rigidity of the arm 621 is enhanced by the bent edge 631. According to this embodiment, the spring 5 is made of a thin plate made of an elastic material (for example, stainless steel), and the related rotating parts 41 to 45 are used.
It becomes possible to provide a corresponding elastic force to the selected one. The increased resilience provides tension to the tape 15 by providing stronger drag friction on the corresponding corner rollers 41 and 42 for the drive belt. Similarly, the reinforced folds of arms 23, 24, and 25 provide increased resilience on hubs 44 and 45 and drive roller 43 to control shaft lift. In this embodiment, the spring 5 has a thickness of about 0.1524 mm (0.
006 inches). Stiffening portion 631 in this embodiment
Can also be a thin strip of discrete elastic material attached to the spring 5 by adhesive, welding, or other suitable means. It is also possible to change the number of stiffening parts, for example, one stiffening member running below the center of the arm 621. The increased elastic force on the rotating parts 41 to 45 can also be realized by increasing the overall thickness of the elastic material of the spring 5. As an alternative,
The thickness of one or more of the arms 21-25 can also be increased to increase the elastic force on the associated rotating components 41-45.

Referring to FIG. 9, the use of the pair of mounting holes 11 and 12 in the central region 10 facilitates mounting the spring 5 to the mount of the cartridge 32, for example. Holes 11 and 12, in one embodiment, are approximately 3.175 mm (0.125 inches) in diameter. In FIG. 10, a single mounting hole 13 in the center of the central area 10
This facilitates attachment of the spring 5 to the mount of the cartridge 32 and may include a key surface to ensure proper positional attachment of the spring 5 in one orientation. By attaching the spring 5 to the base of the cartridge, the rotating parts 41 to 45
Are held in place during assembly prior to attaching the cartridge cover to the cartridge mount.
Alternatively, the spring 5 can be similarly attached to the cartridge cover, and only after the cartridge cover has been attached to the mount of the cartridge 32,
It is in the loading position described above for exerting elastic force.

In one embodiment of the invention, the arm 121 is point contacted with its associated tape hub or drive roller 141, as shown in plan and side views in FIGS. 11A and 11B, respectively. 131 is formed. In another preferred embodiment for the arms in communication with the corner rollers 41 and 42, the range of contact between the rollers and the spring can be increased, resulting in stronger drag friction on the rollers, In this way, a strong tension can be generated by the tape 15 moving between the tape hubs. The ends of the arms 121 are round, square, or any other suitable shape to provide the corresponding drag friction against the corner rollers 41 or 42.

Specifically, in the alternate embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12, the associated corner roller shaft protrusion or mandrel 241.
To receive it, the arm 221 is V-shaped 231 at its end. In another embodiment illustrated in FIG. 13, the slotted holes 331 have associated corner rollers 41, 42.
Is formed at the end of the arm 321 for receiving the mandrel 341. The associated corner roller has a mandrel 341 in diameter.
Alternatively, a shaft protrusion 343 larger than the slot hole 331 may be included. The resulting drag friction contributed by the corner rollers 41, 42 is thus determined by the spring force acting on the corner rollers and also by the radius of the enlarged projection 343 in contact with the spring. .

[0016]

As described above, the present invention applies tension to the tape in the cartridge by the multi-armed spring of the data cartridge to hold the unfixed parts in place during assembly, and the cartridge housing. Rotating parts are pressed toward the base of the to control the friction of friction and the shaft floating.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are a plan view and a side view, respectively, showing a conventional spring for exerting an elastic force on a tape hub of a tape cassette.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a spring according to one embodiment of the present invention in a data tape cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a spring according to the present invention illustrating a designated bending position.

4 is a partial side view of the spring of FIG. 3 illustrating the angular elevation of the arm relative to the planar center mount.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a spring according to another embodiment of the present invention, which illustrates one bending position for each arm.

6 is a partial side view of the spring of FIG. 5 illustrating the angular elevation of the arm relative to the planar center mount.

FIG. 7 is a partial plan view of an arm of a spring in an embodiment of the present invention including a reinforcing edge folded along a portion of its length.

8 is a cross-sectional view of the spring of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the spring of FIG. 2 showing mounting details in the central mounting area.

10 is a plan view of another embodiment of the spring of FIG. 2 showing details of a single mounting element keyed in the central region portion.

11A and 11B are plan and side views, respectively, of a partial arm of the spring of FIG. 2 illustrating an embodiment of a spring end.

12 is a plan view illustrating an alternative embodiment of the ends of the arms of the spring of FIG.

13 is a plan view illustrating an alternative embodiment of the ends of the arms of the spring of FIG.

14 is a cross-sectional view of a corner roller for a drive belt in the data tape cartridge according to FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 Multi-Arm Spring 10 Center Attachment Area 11, 12, 13 Attachment Hole 15 Tape 17 Belt 21 First Arm 22 Second Arm 23 Third Arm 24 Fourth Arm 25 Fifth Arm 30 Data Tape Cartridge 32 Cartridge housing 41, 42 Corner roller 43 Drive roller 44, 45 Tape hub

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor Reif Skahr 12596, Ragweed Street, San Diego, CA, USA

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A tensioning device in a data tape cartridge having a number of rotating components operatively connected to the tape in the data tape cartridge or to a drive belt for the tape in the cartridge, comprising: A first pair of arms mounted elastic elements in communication with spaced apart pairs of associated rotating components for drive belts, the first pair of arms being disposed in substantially opposite directions; An element having a number of projecting arms including a second pair of arms projecting from that element in an oblique relationship to alignment and in communication with a spaced pair of associated rotating components for the tape, The arm of the element exerts an elastic force on the rotating part for the drive belt, which is in communication with the arm, so as to change the tension of the tape so as to change the drag force of the related rotating part. Controls,
A tensioning device for exerting an elastic force on a rotating part for a tape in communication with the arm to control the axial position of the related rotating part. 2. A drive roller projecting from the element in a direction substantially perpendicular to the alignment of the first pair of arms and disposed in the cartridge at a position remote from the pair of spaced apart rotating components. Further including an additional arm to contact,
The tensioning device according to claim 1, wherein the additional arm of the element exerts an elastic force on the drive roller to control its axial position. 3. The rotating component rotates about axes arranged substantially parallel to each other in the cartridge at a position substantially disposed at an intersection of protruding arms of the element and displaced in a direction along the axis. A tensioning device according to claim 1 including means for holding the element to exert an axial elastic force on the associated rotating part. 4. A tensioning device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the projecting arms includes a warp along it, from a substantially plane orientation of orientation, whereby the elastic force exerted thereby on the associated rotary part is altered. 5. A tensioning device according to claim 4, wherein at least one of said projecting arms comprises a plurality of spaced warps to alter the elastic force exerted thereby on the associated rotary component. 6. A housing mounted axially within the housing, the housing having a plurality of rotating components operatively connected to the tape within the cartridge and a drive belt for the tape within the cartridge, and mounted on the cartridge. A first of the arms of elastic material, the arms being in substantially opposite directions and in communication with a spaced pair of said associated rotating components for the drive belt.
And a second pair of arms projecting from its elements in an oblique relationship to the alignment of the first pair and in communication with the spaced-apart pair of the associated rotating component for tape. It consists of an element with a number of protruding arms, the arm of said element exerting an elastic force on the rotating part for the drive belt in communication with said arm so as to change the drag of the associated rotating part in order to change the tension of the tape. Control friction,
A data tape cartridge for controlling an axial position of a related rotary component by exerting an elastic force on a rotary component for a tape communicating with the arm. 7. A belt for projecting from said element in a direction substantially perpendicular to the alignment of the first pair of arms and disposed in the cartridge at a position remote from said pair of spaced apart rotating components. 7. An additional arm coupled to the drive roller, the additional arm of the element exerting an elastic force on the drive roller to control its axial position.
Data tape cartridge by. 8. A tape cartridge within a tape cartridge at a position in which the rotating components rotate about axes arranged substantially parallel and are disposed substantially at the intersections of the protruding arms of the elements and displaced axially. 7. A data tape cartridge according to claim 6, including means for retaining said element in a housing to exert an axial elastic force on an associated rotating part. 9. A data tape cartridge according to claim 6, wherein at least one of said protruding arms includes a warp along it from a substantially planar orientation, whereby the elastic force exerted on the associated rotating component is altered. 10. A data tape cartridge according to claim 6, wherein at least one of said protruding arms includes a plurality of spaced warps to alter the elastic force exerted thereby on the associated rotating component.