JPH08263904A - Recording medium loading and unloading device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To facilitate loading and unloading operation of a tape cassette by providing a releasing means for releasing engagement of an engaging means for engaging a tray in a holder in a process of opening a lid. CONSTITUTION: When a lock pawl is released from the completely closed state of the opening and closing lid, a link 43 is turned clockwise around a pin 47 by spring force of a tension spring 50 to lift the holder 17. Subsequently, when the link 43 is further turned by the spring force of the spring 50, a link 33 is further clockwise turned to advance an operating arm 28. Then, in this lid opening process, a tray driving pin 40 is pushed out to a guide part 38 from a restraining part 39 of a guide groove 37. When the driving pin 40 is pushed out, the driving pin 40 is guided by the guide part 38 by the spring force of the spring 50 to advance until the tip of the guide part 38, and the opening and closing lid is brought into the fully opened state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording medium loading / unloading device for facilitating a loading / unloading operation of a recording medium with respect to a storage position of an apparatus body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is provided a cassette tape recorder (some of which can record and reproduce and some of which is dedicated to reproduction) which can be listened to by a small headphone whose size is one size larger than that of an audio tape cassette by a name such as headphone stereo. Has been done. Such a small cassette tape recorder has a main body having an empty space where the tape cassette is stored, and an opening / closing lid attached to the main body so that the empty space can be opened and closed. It's done with the lid open.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the insertion / removal of the conventional tape cassette with respect to the storage position. As shown in FIG. 5, the small cassette tape recorder 101 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has a main body 102 and an opening / closing lid 103 attached to the main body 102 so as to be openable and closable.

When the tape cassette CT is put in or taken out, the opening / closing lid 103 is opened to the state shown in FIG. 5, and a person holds the both end surfaces (positions indicated by arrows A and B) of the tape cassette CT with fingers to open and close the opening / closing lid. It was inserted / removed straight in the direction of the white arrow C substantially parallel to the plane of 103.

[0005]

As described above, conventionally, when the tape cassette CT is taken in and out, the surface of the tape cassette CT is substantially covered with the opening / closing lid 103 so as to be hidden, so that the tape cassette CT is gripped. As described above, the part is limited to a part of both end surfaces of the tape cassette CT. However, this portion is the narrowest surface of the tape cassette CT and, at the same time, is the most distant position from each other, so that it is a portion that is difficult to grasp with a fingertip. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to perform the operation of taking in and out the tape cassette CT with respect to the storage position.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a loading / unloading device which allows a recording medium such as a tape cassette to be easily loaded / unloaded into / from the storage position.

In the present specification, the "recording medium" means
Normally, what is contained in a casing and handled includes the casing.

[0008]

The structure of a recording medium loading / unloading device according to the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows:
A main body in which a recording medium storage position is formed, an opening / closing lid that can be opened / closed with respect to the main body, and a holder that is located between the main body and the opening / closing lid and faces the main body and the opening / closing lid when the lid is opened. A retracted position on the supporting shaft side for holding the recording medium and positioning the recording medium at the storage position when the lid is closed, and an exposed position on the open side for exposing the recording medium between the main body and the opening / closing lid when the lid is opened. A tray supported by the holder so as to be movable between them, an urging means for urging the tray toward the open side, a locking means for locking the tray to the holder at the retracted position, and an opening And a releasing means for releasing the locking in the lid process.

For example, one of the holder and the tray is provided with a pin guide groove, and the other is provided with a pin slidably fitted in the pin guide groove, and the pin is engaged with the pin guide groove at the retracted position. The locking means is formed by forming a locking portion for locking the locking means, and the releasing means has an operating arm for releasing the pin from the locking portion in conjunction with the opening operation of the opening / closing lid.

[0010]

In the opening process of the open / close lid, the releasing means releases the lock of the tray with respect to the holder, and the biasing means moves the tray to the exposed position. At the exposure position, the tray exposes the recording medium between the main body and the opening / closing lid to facilitate loading / unloading of the recording medium.

When the tray is moved to the retracted position against the biasing force of the biasing means, the locking means locks the tray, and if the lid is closed in that state, the tray positions the recording medium at the storage position of the main body. .

[0012]

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

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a recording medium loading / unloading device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the opening / closing lid is omitted, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the essential parts, and FIG. 3 is this embodiment. 3 is an external perspective view of a tape recorder having the recording medium loading / unloading device of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the tape recorder 11 according to the present embodiment is a cassette tape in the shape of a small rectangular parallelepiped which is about the size of an audio tape cassette having a substantially rectangular planar shape. It is a recorder and generally has a main body 12 and an opening / closing lid 13 attached to the main body 12 so as to be openable and closable. Body 12
When a pair of lock claws 14 are exposed on the upper surface of the front wall of the device, and the lock claws 14 are closed by engaging with notches (not shown) provided on the lower surface of the front edge of the opening / closing lid 13, The opening / closing lid 13 is locked to the main body 12. An unlocking knob 15 is provided on the front wall of the main body 12, and when the unlocking knob 15 is slid laterally, the lock claw 14 is rotated to unlock the opening / closing lid 13. .
Incidentally, as this lock mechanism, a known one used in this type of tape recorder can be used.

Inside the main body 12, a cavity for accommodating the tape cassette is provided as a recess, and a pair of drive shafts 16 for engaging with the reels of the tape cassette are arranged therein.
Various parts such as a magnetic head, a capstan, a pinch roller, and a tape guide are arranged on an inner portion (not shown) of the front wall of the main body 12.

Inside the main body 12, a holder 17 interlocking with the opening / closing of the opening / closing lid 13 and a tray 18 for holding a tape cassette CT as a recording medium are arranged.

As shown in FIG. 1, the holder 17 is rotatably supported by the main body 12 by the pivot pins 20 at the side wall portions 19 formed on both sides. Side wall 1 of holder 17
Further, an opening / closing lid 13 (the opening / closing lid 13 is not shown in FIG. 1) is rotatably attached to the shaft 9 via a pivot pin 21, and the holder 17 is interposed like a hinge to form the main body 1
An opening / closing lid 13 is attached to the unit 2 so as to be freely opened and closed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the holder 17 is located between the main body 12 and the opening / closing lid 13, and when the lid is opened, the main body 12 and the opening / closing lid 1 are opened.
It will be faced during 3.

A spring member (not shown) for exerting a spring force is interposed between the opening / closing lid 13 and the holder 17 to separate them from each other. When the opening / closing lid 13 is closed, the opening / closing lid 13 is closed. And the holder 17 approach each other against the spring force of the spring member, and when the opening / closing lid 13 is opened, the opening / closing lid 13 and the holder 17
And are opened by a predetermined angle by the spring force.

As shown in FIG. 1, a tray 18 is attached to the holder 17. The tray 18 has a flat box shape slightly larger than the outer shape of the tape cassette CT so that the tape cassette CT as a recording medium can be accommodated and held therein, and one side thereof is open for taking in and out the tape cassette CT. ing. Further, an opening window 22 is formed on the wall surface of the tray 18 on the main body 12 side so as not to interfere with the drive shaft 16 and the like.
(See FIG. 3) is formed.

As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of guide grooves 23 extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis of the holder 17 with respect to the main body 12 are formed at both ends of the holder 17, respectively. A hole 24 is formed in the tray 18 so as to correspond to the guide groove 23, and the support pin 25 penetrates through the guide groove 23 and the hole 24.
The tray 18 is supported by the holder 17 so as to be able to reciprocate along the guide groove 23 by being attached.

When the support pin 25 is positioned on the support shaft side of the guide groove 23 (the side closer to the rotation center support shaft of the holder 17 with respect to the main body 12), the tray 18 enters below the holder 17 to open / close the opening / closing lid 13. It is located at the retracted position on the spindle side.
In this state, when the lid is closed, the holder 17 is rotated toward the main body 12 side to hold the tape cassette C on the tray 18.
T is located in the storage position in the main body 12.

On the other hand, when the support pin 25 is positioned on the open side of the guide groove 23 (the side away from the rotation center support shaft of the holder 17 with respect to the main body 12), the tray 18 moves to the exposed position on the open side of the holder 17. At the time of opening the lid, the tape cassette CT held on the tray 18 is projected outward from between the main body 12 and the opening / closing lid 13 (see FIG. 1).

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an arm guide groove 26 is formed in the side wall portion 19 of the holder 17 along the moving direction of the tray 18, and an arm support hole 27 is provided on the front side of the arm guide groove 26. Has been drilled. The actuating arm 28 is positioned corresponding to the arm guide groove 26 and the arm supporting hole 27, and the support pin 30 is fitted into the hole 29 formed in the actuating arm 28 and the arm guide groove 26 of the side wall portion 19. Guide groove 31 formed in the operating arm 28
By inserting the support pin 32 into the arm support hole 27 of the side wall portion 19 and the support arm 32, the operation arm 28 is attached to the holder 17 in the tray 1.
It is attached so that it can move along the moving direction of 8. Further, one end of a link 33 is pivotally attached to the support pin 30, and the other end of the link 33 is pivotally attached to the main body 12 by a pin 34.

An abutting portion 35 having a curved edge and an inclined portion 36 inclined outward are formed at the tip of the operating arm 28.

A pin guide groove 37 is formed in the side wall portion 19 of the holder 17 corresponding to the position of the tip of the operating arm 28. The pin guide groove 37 has a guide portion 38 along the moving direction of the tray 18 and a locking portion 39 provided by bending at the base end side of the guide portion 38, and the tray drive pin 40 is provided in the pin guide groove 37. Is slidably fitted.

When the tray 18 is in the retracted position on the support shaft side, the tray drive pin 40 engages with the engaging portion 3 of the pin guide groove 37.
9, the tray drive pin 40 is locked by the locking portion 39 to prevent the tray 18 from moving to the open side.

Here, as shown in FIG.
Is on the left side (front side) of the tray drive pin 40 and the operating arm 28 moves to the right side, the contact portion 3
5 comes into contact with the tray drive pin 40 and the tray drive pin 40
Push in. When the tray drive pin 40 is in the locking portion 39 of the pin guide groove 37, the operation arm 28 pushes the tray driving pin 40 toward the guide portion 38 side, whereby the locking of the tray driving pin 40 is released.

On the contrary, when the operating arm 28 is on the right side (the other side) of the tray drive pin 40, when the operating arm 28 moves to the left side, the inclined portion 36 engages with the tray drive pin 40, and the operating arm 28. The tray drive pin 40 moves along the inclination of the inclined portion 36 while being elastically deformed, so that the operating arm 28 can pass over the tray drive pin 40 and pass therethrough.

As shown in FIG. 2, the side wall portion 1 of the holder 17
9 and the side wall 41 of the tray 18 between the links 42, 4
3 is located. The tray drive pin 40 described above is fitted into a hole 44 formed in one end of the link 42 and a hole 45 formed in the side wall portion 41 of the tray 18, and the tray drive pin 40 is inserted.
Is guided by the pin guide groove 37 and moves, so that the tray 18 moves with respect to the holder 17.

Another link 43 is pivotally attached to the other end of the link 42 by a pin 46, and the other end side of the link 43 is pivotally attached to the main body 12 by a pin 47. A hook portion 48 is formed at the end of the link 43, and the holder 17
A tension spring 50 is stretched between the pin 49 and the pin 49, and the tension spring 50 constitutes a biasing means for biasing the tray 18 toward the open side.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of this embodiment. FIG.
(A) shows a state in which the opening / closing lid 13 is fully closed with respect to the main body 12 and the opening / closing lid 13 (not shown in FIG. 4) is locked by the lock claw 14 (see FIG. 1). In this state,
The link 43 is at the position most rotated counterclockwise around the pin 47, and the link 42 pivotally attached to the link 43 moves to the most support shaft side (left side in FIG. 4) to move the tray drive pin 40. Is positioned at the locking portion 39 of the pin guide groove 37. Therefore, the tray 18 (not shown in FIG. 4) connected to the tray drive pin 40 is in the retracted position on the most support shaft side of the holder 17, and the tape cassette CT held by the tray 18 (not shown in FIG. 4). Will be located at a predetermined storage position in the main body 12. Further, the link 33 is located at the position most pivoted in the counterclockwise direction about the pin 34, and the operating arm 28 pivotally attached to the link 33 moves to the most fulcrum side to contact the contact portion 35 of the operating arm 28. Are spaced from the tray drive pin 40.

FIG. 4B shows a half-open state in which the opening / closing lid 13 is being opened. When the lock claw 14 is released from the fully closed state of FIG. 4A, the link 43 is rotated clockwise around the pin 47 by the spring force of the tension spring 50, pushing up the link 42 and lifting the holder 17. Along with that, the link 33 also rotates clockwise around the pin 34, and moves the operating arm 28 to the tip side. FIG.
(B) shows a state in which the operating arm 28 moves and the contact portion 35 contacts the tray drive pin 40.

When the link 43 is further rotated by the spring force of the tension spring 50, the link 33 is further rotated in the clockwise direction to move the operating arm 28 forward. Then, in the opening process, the contact portion 35 of the operating arm 28 pushes the tray drive pin 40 from the locking portion 39 of the pin guide groove 37 to the guide portion 38.

When the tray drive pin 40 is pushed out to the guide portion 38 of the pin guide groove 37, the tray drive pin 40 is guided by the guide portion 38 by the spring force of the tension spring 50 and advances to the tip of the guide portion 38 to open and close. The lid 13 is fully opened. FIG. 4C shows this fully opened state. In this state, the tray 18 moves to the exposed position on the open side of the holder 17 as the tray drive pin 40 moves to the tip side of the pin guide groove 37, and as shown in FIG.
The tape cassette CT held in the main body 12 and the opening / closing lid 1
It is made to project outward from between 3 and.

On the other hand, when the tape cassette CT is stored and the opening / closing lid 13 is closed, the reverse operation to the above is performed. That is, first, the tray 18 is moved to the retracted position on the fulcrum side by pushing in the exposed tape cassette CT from the state of FIG. 4C. Then, the tray drive pin 40 is moved by the movement of the tray 18 so that the tray drive pin 40 engages with the engaging portion 39 of the pin guide groove 37.
The tray drive pin 40 is locked by the locking portion 39 (FIG. 4B).

Then, by closing the holder 17 (opening / closing lid 13) against the spring force of the tension spring 50, the opening / closing lid 13 is locked in the closed state as shown in FIG. 4 (a).

In the process of closing the holder 17, the link 33
The actuating arm 28 returns to the fulcrum side due to this, but when returning, the inclined portion 36 at the tip of the actuating arm 28 causes the tray drive pin 4
By engaging with 0, the operating arm 28 gets over the tray drive pin 40 and returns to the fulcrum side.

As described above, in the present tape recorder 11, when the tape cassette CT is loaded in the tape recorder 11, the opening / closing lid 13 opens when the lock is released, and the tray 18 moves to the front side to move the main body 12 and the opening / closing lid 13 together. The tape cassette CT can be put in the tray 18 because it is exposed between and. Then, by holding the tape cassette CT, the tray 18 is pushed to the retracted position, the tray drive pin is locked to the locking portion 39 of the pin guide groove 37, and the opening / closing lid 13 is closed to complete the loading of the tape cassette CT.

When the tape cassette CT is taken out, when the lock is released, the opening / closing lid 13 is opened, the tray 18 moves to the exposed position, and the tape cassette CT is projected from between the main body 12 and the opening / closing lid 13. Take the tape cassette CT and take it out from the tray 18.

When the tape cassette CT is taken in and out, a wide flat portion (front and back) of the tape cassette CT
Since it can be grasped and operated, it is possible to perform the taking-in / out operation extremely easily.

In the illustrated example described above, the pin guide groove 37 is formed in the holder 17 and the pin guide groove 3 is formed in the tray 18.
7 is provided with a pin 40 slidably fitted therein to constitute a locking means for the tray 18. Conversely, a pin guide groove 37 is provided on the tray 18 side, and a pin 40 fitted therein is provided on the holder 17 side. You may do it.

Further, in the above-mentioned example, the tape cassette is shown as an example of the recording medium, but the loading / unloading device of the present invention is not limited to this, and in addition to this, a disk-shaped recording medium such as an optical recording medium (a floppy disk or Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a loading / unloading device (for example, a mini disk), and the device / equipment in which the recording medium is loaded is not limited to the tape recorder. Further, the storage position of the recording medium of the present invention is not limited to the position for recording and reproducing on the recording medium,
The present invention can also be applied to the case where the recording medium is stored in the storage position for storage or the like.

[0043]

As described above in detail with reference to the embodiments, according to the present invention, the tray supported by the holder moves to the exposed position when the lid is opened, and the tray holds the recording medium such as the tape cassette as the main body. Since it is projected outward from between the opening and closing lid,
When the recording medium is taken in and out, since it is possible to operate by grasping a wide flat portion of the recording medium, it is possible to perform the taking-out operation very easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a recording medium loading / unloading device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in which an opening / closing lid is omitted.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a tape recorder having a recording medium loading / unloading device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of inserting / removing a conventional tape cassette with respect to a storage position.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Tape Recorder 12 Main Body 13 Open / Close Lid 17 Holder 18 Tray 20, 21 Pivot Pin 23 Guide Groove 25 Support Pin 28 Actuating Arm 37 Pin Guide Groove 38 Guide Part 39 Locking Part 40 Tray Drive Pin 42, 43 Link 50 Tension Spring

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A main body in which a storage position of a recording medium is formed, an opening / closing lid that can be opened and closed with respect to the main body, and the main body and the opening / closing lid that are located between the main body and the opening / closing lid when the lid is opened. A holder facing the space between the main body and the opening / closing lid, which holds the recording medium and positions the recording medium in the storage position when the lid is closed and the retracted position on the spindle side when the lid is opened. Side exposed position, the tray supported by the holder so as to be movable, a biasing means for biasing the tray toward the open side, and a member for locking the tray to the holder at the retracted position. A recording medium loading / unloading device comprising: a stopping means and a releasing means for releasing the locking in the process of opening the lid. 2. A pin guide groove is provided in either one of the holder and the tray, and a pin that is slidably fitted in the pin guide groove is provided in the other, and the pin is locked in the pin guide groove at the retracted position. The locking means is formed by forming a locking portion for locking, and the releasing means has an operating arm that disengages the pin from the locking portion in conjunction with the opening operation of the opening / closing lid. The recording / removing device for a recording medium according to claim 1.