JPH09106651A - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a stable tape tension and driving force suitable for recording and reproduction by providing minute irregularity on the inner surface of a guide roller and/or the outer surface of a guide-roller shaft, and reducing frictional force. SOLUTION: A guide roller 40 of a tape driving mechanism is constituted of an inner ring body 41 in a tubular shape having a shaft hole 42 of a guide roller shaft and an outer ring body 45, which is formed as a unitary body through a linking rib 44 at the outer surface part of the inner ring. A driving belt is engaged on an outer surface 46 of the outer ring body 45, and the tape reel is rotated and operated. Minute irregularities 48 are provided on the inner surface of the inner ring body 41, and the contact area with the outer surface of the guide shaft is made small. Sliding friction is reduced and the guide roller is rotated and driven in a stable state. Thus, tape tension and driving force can be set in a state suitable for recording and reproduction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cartridge provided with a guide roller which is rotatably mounted on a support shaft erected in a cartridge body and which has a guide belt on which a drive belt wound around the outer periphery runs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A tape cartridge is used by being loaded in a recording and / or reproducing apparatus connected to a personal computer, an office computer or the like. For example, a data cartridge sucks up a data signal stored in a memory of a computer body and records it on a tape-shaped recording medium such as a magnetic tape, or supplies the data signal recorded on these recording medium to a memory of the computer body. By doing so, the data is backed up. And
When the data cartridge is loaded in the recording and / or reproducing apparatus, an endless drive belt wound on the belt driving roller is driven by the belt driving means on the recording and / or reproducing apparatus side and hits the drive belt. The contacted magnetic tape is fed from the tape reel and run.

In a conventional data cartridge provided with a magnetic tape, a cartridge main body is constructed by combining a cover formed of a synthetic resin material in a substantially shallow dish shape and a base plate formed of an aluminum plate or the like. And on the front part of the cartridge body,
A recording and / or reproducing opening into which a magnetic head on the recording and / or reproducing apparatus side enters and a drive opening into which a tape driving means on the recording and / or reproducing apparatus side enters are provided.

A magnetic tape is wound inside the cartridge body constructed as described above, and a pair of rotatably mounted tape reels are provided, and a recording and / or reproducing opening provided on the front surface. A pair of tape guides for extending the magnetic tape, a guide roller with which a drive belt for rotating and driving the tape reel is hung, and a belt drive roller for driving the drive belt in the substantially center of the front surface portion. It is equipped.

The pair of tape reels is composed of a tape supply reel and a tape take-up reel, and is rotatably mounted on a pair of reel shafts which are erected so as to be spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the central region of the base plate. There is. A magnetic tape is wound around these tape reels.

The magnetic tape is unwound from the tape supply reel, is hung on one of the tape guides, and is extended to the recording and / or reproducing opening. And
From the recording and / or reproducing opening, the magnetic tape is hung on the other tape guide and wound on the tape take-up reel. Therefore, the magnetic tape runs along the recording and / or reproducing opening on the front surface of the cartridge body.

A belt drive roller is rotatably supported on the cartridge main body by a belt drive roller support shaft which is erected in the center of the front surface of the base plate. This belt drive roller is formed in a cylindrical shape having a support hole at the center, and a drive flange portion is formed so as to project around the circumference of the upper surface portion. Further, the belt drive roller is formed with a drive belt engaging portion with which the drive belt is engaged in the central region of the outer peripheral surface thereof. The belt drive roller is
When the driving roller driven to rotate on the recording and / or reproducing device side comes into contact with the driving flange portion, the driving belt engaged with the driving belt engaging portion is driven.

A pair of guide rollers are provided on both sides of the rear portion of the cartridge body. These guide rollers are rotatably mounted on a pair of guide roller support shafts provided upright on both sides of the rear portion of the base plate. The guide roller is formed in a cylindrical shape, and has a shaft hole for mounting the guide roller support shaft. Then, the drive belt is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the guide roller to run.

The drive belt is engaged with the guide roller of the cartridge body, and is engaged with the drive belt engaging portion of the belt drive roller via the central space of the pair of tape reels. Therefore, the drive belt comes into contact with the magnetic tape wound around the tape reel with a predetermined tension, and travels inside the cartridge body along a travel path having a substantially convex shape.

When the data cartridge having the above-described structure is loaded in the recording and / or reproducing apparatus, the drive roller on the recording and / or reproducing apparatus side is driven from the drive opening provided on the front surface of the cartridge body. It enters and contacts the drive flange of the belt drive roller. The belt drive roller is rotationally driven by receiving a rotational force from the drive roller on the recording and / or reproducing apparatus side via the drive flange portion. Then, the belt drive roller rotates the tape reel via the drive belt that is engaged with the drive belt engaging portion. The magnetic tape is run by rotating the tape reel. On the other hand, the magnetic head on the recording and / or reproducing device side enters the recording and / or reproducing opening. Then, the data cartridge reads the data signal recorded on the magnetic tape or writes the data signal on the magnetic tape.

[0011]

By the way, the guide roller is formed in a cylindrical shape having a shaft hole through which the guide roller support shaft penetrates as described above, and a molding die made of a synthetic resin having wear resistance as a material. Molded by. In this molding die, the molding surface forming the inner surface of the shaft hole is formed with highly accurate surface characteristics with the center line average roughness (Ra) of about 0.1 μm. Therefore, in the guide roller, the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole through which the guide roller support shaft penetrates and the outer peripheral surface slides has a center line average roughness (Ra) of about 0.1 μm to 0.3 μm. Formed as a precision polished surface.

In the guide roller thus constructed, the surface characteristics of the inner peripheral surface of the guide roller are formed with high precision, so that the contact area with the outer peripheral surface of the guide roller support shaft becomes too large and the frictional force is increased. Is large. For this reason, the guide roller increases the tension generated by the rotational load of the drive belt wound around the outer peripheral portion. The data cartridge is
Since the magnetic tape is driven to travel via the drive belt, there arises a problem that the tape tension of the magnetic tape is increased.

Further, as described above, in the data cartridge, since the contact area between the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole of the guide roller and the outer peripheral surface of the guide roller support shaft is large, the rotational load of each guide roller and the drive belt are The drive force, which is the torque for running the magnetic tape in contact with the magnetic tape, is significantly increased. Such a phenomenon causes a problem such as defective running of the magnetic tape when recording and / or reproducing the data cartridge.

Therefore, the present invention provides a tape cartridge in which the guide roller rotatably mounted on the guide roller support shaft is rotated in a stable state to stabilize the tape tension and drive force. It was proposed for the purpose.

[0015]

A tape cartridge according to the present invention that achieves this object is constructed by combining a cover and a base plate, and recording and / or recording is performed on the front surface.
Alternatively, a tape-shaped recording medium is wound around a cartridge main body provided with a drive opening into which the belt driving means on the reproducing apparatus side is inserted and a recording and / or reproducing opening into which the recording and / or reproducing means is inserted. And a pair of tape reels around which a tape-shaped recording medium is wound, which is rotatably housed in the cartridge body and runs along the front face corresponding to the recording and / or reproducing opening, and a drive opening provided in the cartridge body. A belt that is rotatably mounted on a belt drive roller support shaft that is erected on a base plate that constitutes the cartridge main body with a part of the outer peripheral surface facing the cartridge portion, and that is rotationally driven by belt drive means that enters from the drive opening. The drive roller and a guide roller support shaft that is positioned on both sides of the rear portion of the cartridge body and is erected rotatably on the base plate. Of the tape reel and the belt drive roller and the guide roller, and the tape reel is rotationally driven and wound by being brought into contact with the tape-shaped recording medium wound on the pair of tape reels. And a drive belt for running the tape-shaped recording medium. For the guide roller and the guide roller support shaft, one of the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole through which the guide roller support shaft of the guide roller penetrates or the outer peripheral surface of the guide roller support shaft that slides with the inner peripheral surface of the guide roller is minute. It is formed with a rough surface.

According to the tape cartridge configured as described above, at least one of the inner peripheral surface of the guide roller and / or the outer peripheral surface of the guide roller support shaft is formed as a minute uneven surface to reduce frictional force. The guide roller is driven to rotate in a stable state. Therefore, the drive belt, which is wound around the guide roller, causes the tape reel to rotate while a constant tension is applied, and runs the magnetic tape. That is, the tape cartridge is recorded and / or reproduced in a state in which the tape tension and the drive force are suitable for recording and / or reproduction.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The tape cartridge according to the present invention is loaded in a recording and / or reproducing apparatus which is connected to a computer device or the like and sucks up or feeds back a data signal stored in a memory device on the main body side. The data cartridge 1 shown in the drawings will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 1, the data cartridge 1 includes a cover 2 formed of a synthetic resin material such as a polycarbonate resin and a metal such as an aluminum plate or an aluminum alloy combined with the open bottom surface of the cover 2. The cartridge body 4 is configured by integrally combining and coupling the base plate 3 formed by a plate. Then, the cover 2 and the base plate 3 forming the cartridge body 4 are integrally combined by a set screw 5 or a mounting stud (not shown) provided on the inner surface of the cover 2 so as to project.

The cartridge body 4 is provided with a recording and / or reproducing opening 6 which is formed by cutting out the front edge of the cover 2 and the base plate 3 on the front surface thereof. The recording and / or reproducing opening 6 has an opening size sufficient for the magnetic head on the recording and / or reproducing apparatus side into which the data cartridge 1 is loaded to enter. The recording and / or reproducing opening 6 is normally closed by a lid 7 that constitutes a part of the front surface of the cartridge body 4.

The lid 7 is rotatably mounted on a lid pin 8 provided upright at one of the front corners of the base plate 3 so that the recording and / or reproducing opening 6 is closed by a torsion spring. , Cantilevered and supported. As a result, the lid 7 protects the magnetic tape 15 extending to the recording and / or reproducing opening 6 to be described later from stains and damages when the data cartridge 1 is not used.

A rectangular drive opening 9 is formed on the front surface of the cover 2 so as to partially expose the peripheral surface of the drive flange portion 26 of the belt drive roller 25 to the outside. When the data cartridge 1 is loaded in the recording and / or reproducing apparatus, the drive roller of the recording and / or reproducing apparatus enters through the drive opening 9 and the drive roller projects to the peripheral surface of the belt drive roller 25. The belt driving roller 25 is rotated and driven by coming into contact with the provided driving flange portion 26.

On the base plate 3, a pair of reel shafts 10 are erected in the central region so as to be spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction. A tape reel 11 composed of a tape supply reel 11A and a tape take-up reel 11B is rotatably mounted on the pair of reel shafts 10, respectively.

These tape reels 11 are magnetic tapes 1.
5 is wound around a pair of reel hubs 12 (12A, 12
B), a lower flange plate 13 integrally formed to project from the lower side of the reel hub 12, and an upper flange plate 14 attached to the upper side of the reel hub 12.

The pair of reel hubs 12 includes a magnetic tape 15
It is formed in a cylindrical shape having a height dimension that is substantially equal to the width dimension of. The reel hub 12 is provided with a reel hole (not shown) in which the reel shaft 10 on the base plate 3 side is mounted. Then, the tape reel 11
The reel pin provided in the reel hole provided in the reel hub 12 is the reel pin 10.
It is rotatably supported by being inserted into.

The lower flange plate 13 formed integrally with the lower side of the reel hub 12 prevents the wound magnetic tape 15 from falling downward from the reel hub 12. The upper flange plate 14 attached to the upper side of the reel hub 12 prevents the wound magnetic tape 15 from shifting upward.

The tape reel 11 configured as described above
When loaded in the recording and / or reproducing device, the tape is driven to rotate via a drive belt 28 as described later, and the wound magnetic tape 15 is sent from the tape supply reel 11A to the tape take-up reel 11B.

The magnetic tape 15 wound around the tape reel 11 has a width of 1/4 inch. At the start and end of the magnetic tape 15, a tape start end detection hole and a tape end detection hole (not shown) are formed. The magnetic tape 15 is detected at the start or end by detecting the tape start end detection hole or the tape end detection hole by the tape start and end detection mechanism on the recording and / or reproducing device side, which will be described later.

On the front side of the base plate 3, a reflection member mounting hole (not shown) is formed at a position close to one of the flanged guide pins 17 (17A, 17B). The reflecting member 16 formed as a block body having a substantially right triangle shape is attached to the reflecting member mounting hole. Then, the magnetic tape 15 is provided on the reflecting member 16.
A reflecting plate is joined to the slope portion facing the traveling path of the.
Therefore, when the data cartridge 1 is loaded in the recording and / or reproducing apparatus, the detection light emitted from the light emitting section on the recording and / or reproducing apparatus side is reflected by the reflecting plate and is received by the other light receiving section. It As a result, in the data cartridge 1, the start end detection hole or the end detection hole formed at the start end and the end end of the magnetic tape 15 is detected.

Guide pins 17 (17A, 17B) with flanges are provided upright on both ends of the front side of the base plate 3. These flanged guide pins 17 have
The magnetic tape 15 fed from the tape reel 11 is laid so as to cross the recording and / or reproducing opening 6.

Further, the guide pin 17 with flange has
The flange portion 18 (18A, 18
B) is projected. Therefore, the magnetic tape 15
When traveling, the flange portion 18 of the flanged guide pin 17 and the root portion 19 of the flanged guide pin 17
The cartridge travels along the front surface of the cartridge body 4 while being regulated by and maintained at a constant height.

A tape guide pin 20 is provided upright in the recording and / or reproducing opening 6 of the cartridge body 4. The tape guide pin 20 extends the magnetic tape 15 over the recording and / or reproducing opening 6.

The cover 2 is provided with an erroneous recording prevention mechanism on the front surface side of the upper surface portion thereof for preventing the data signal recorded on the magnetic tape 15 from being accidentally erased. This erroneous recording prevention mechanism includes an operation guide hole 24 formed as a substantially rectangular elongated hole along the front surface of the cover 2 and a slide groove 2 formed as a substantially rectangular groove on the front surface of the cover 2.
4B, an erroneous recording prevention hole (not shown) of a substantially rectangular shape provided inside the operation guide hole 24 in the vicinity of the slide groove 24B, and an erroneous recording prevention member 21 that closes these holes.

The erroneous recording prevention member 21 is made of a synthetic resin material and has a substantially rectangular plate-shaped operating portion 22, and a closing plate 23 integrally provided in a state orthogonal to one side of the operating portion 22. It consists of The erroneous recording prevention member 21 is
The operation portion 22 is positioned in the operation guide hole 24, and the closing plate 23 is slidably mounted so as to be positioned in the slide groove 24B. The operation unit 22 has a length dimension that allows the operation unit 22 to slide into a first position where the erroneous recording prevention hole is opened and a second position where the erroneous recording prevention hole is closed. Further, the closing plate 23 has an outer dimension sufficient to close the erroneous recording prevention hole when the operating portion 22 is slid to the second position.

The tape supply reel 11A and the tape take-up reel 11B described above are rotationally driven by the tape drive mechanism to drive the magnetic tape 15 to run. The tape drive mechanism includes a drive belt 28, a belt drive roller 25, and a pair of guide rollers 40.

The belt driving roller 25 is made of an elastic material having excellent wear resistance. This belt drive roller 2
5, a drive flange portion 26 is formed at the upper edge portion so as to circumferentially project and contact with the drive roller on the recording and / or reproducing device side while being in contact with the drive roller while receiving rotation transmission. The belt drive roller 25 is rotatably mounted on a belt drive roller support shaft that is erected at the center of the front side of the base plate 3. Further, a drive belt engaging portion 27 with which a drive belt 28 is engaged is provided in the central region of the belt drive roller 25.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cartridge body 4 is provided with a pair of guide roller support shafts 60 (60A, 60B) at the corners on the rear side of the base plate 3, and these guide roller support shafts are supported. A guide roller 40 (40A, 40B) is rotatably mounted on the shaft 60.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, these guide rollers 40 have a cylindrical inner race 41 having a shaft hole 42 through which the guide roller support shaft 60 penetrates, and a connecting rib 44 on the outer peripheral portion of the inner race 41. The outer ring body 45 is formed integrally with the outer ring body 45.

The inner race 41 has a height slightly smaller than the height of the data cartridge, and the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole 42 in which the penetrating guide roller support shaft 60 slides is
The center line average roughness (Ra) is 0.5 μm to 1.5 μm and is formed with fine irregularities 48. In detail, the irregularities 48 are formed such that the tips of the convex portions have a substantially sharp shape. The inner ring body 41 is thus the shaft hole 4
By providing the fine irregularities 48 on the inner peripheral surface of 2, the contact area with the outer peripheral surface 63 of the guide roller support shaft 60 is made small.

Further, the unevenness 48 has an upper limit value of the center line average roughness (Ra) of 1.5 μm, but this is impossible when the guide roller 40 is formed by the molding die 51. By being told. The guide roller 40 has an upper limit of 1.5 when it is forcibly removed from the molding die 51.
If it is more than μm, it will be difficult to force this and the shaft hole 4
This is because it is difficult to form the unevenness 48 on the inner peripheral surface of 2.

On the other hand, the lower limit of the unevenness 48 is that the center line average roughness (Ra) is 0.5 μm. In the guide roller 40, the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole 42 has a center line average roughness (Ra).
Is less than 0.5 μm, the contact area with the outer peripheral surface 63 of the guide roller support shaft 60 becomes too large, and the desired purpose described later cannot be achieved.

The center line average roughness (Ra) on the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole 42 of the guide roller 40 is 0.5 μm to 1.
The effect of forming the fine irregularities 48 having a thickness of 5 μm is proved by the experimental results described later.

Further, the guide roller 40 is formed so that the opening portions 43 on the upper surface and the lower surface of the shaft hole 42 have a hole diameter dimension slightly larger than the hole diameter dimension of the shaft hole 42. When the guide roller 40 is mounted on the guide roller support shaft 60, the openings 43 are provided in the guide roller support shaft 6 which will be described later.
It is formed so as to abut the stepped portion 61 provided at 0.

Further, the connecting ribs 44 are the inner ring bodies 4 described above.
The outer circumferential surface of the outer ring body 1 is integrally formed over the entire circumference at a substantially central portion in the axial direction thereof, and is integrally connected to a substantially central portion of an inner peripheral surface of an outer ring body 45 described later.

The outer ring body 45 is formed in a cylindrical shape having an inner diameter dimension larger than the outer diameter dimension of the inner ring body 41. The outer ring body 45 is integrally connected by the connecting ribs 44 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring body 41 described above. Further, the drive belt 28 is engaged with the outer race 45 by the drive belt engaging portion 46 formed in the central region 46 of the outer peripheral surface.

The guide roller 40 having the above structure
Is molded using the molding die 51 shown in FIG. The molding die 51 includes a fixed die 52, a movable die 53 and a core pin 55 that are moved toward and away from the fixed die 52,
A cavity 54 is formed in which the guide rollers 40 are molded in a state where they are clamped together. The core pin 55 is attached to the center of the movable die 53. The fixed die 52 forms a cavity 54 between the upper outer peripheral portion of the inner race 41, the upper inner peripheral portion of the outer race 45, and the upper surface portions of the inner race 41 and the outer race 45. On the other hand, the movable die 53 has a cavity 54 formed between the outer peripheral portion of the outer ring member 45 of the guide roller 40, the lower outer peripheral portion of the inner ring member 41, and the lower inner peripheral portion of the outer ring member 45.
And the core pin 55 that forms the shaft hole 42 of the inner race 41 forms the cavity 54.

The molding die 51 includes a fixed die 52 and a movable die 53.
In the state where the and molds are clamped, the molten material resin is injected and filled into the cavity 54, and the guide resin 40 is molded by solidifying the material resin, and then the fixed mold 5 is formed.
The movable mold 53 is separated from the second mold to perform mold opening. The formed guide roller 40 is ejected by being ejected from the molding die 51 by a protrusion mechanism (not shown).

As described above, in the molding die 51, the core pin 55 for molding the shaft hole 42 of the inner ring body 41 of the guide roller 40 is arranged at the center of the movable die 53.
On the core pin 55, as described above, the guide roller 40 is formed with the unevenness 48 having the center line average roughness (Ra) of 0.5 μm to 1.5 μm transferred and formed on the inner peripheral surface 47 of the shaft hole 42 of the inner race 41. Therefore, fine irregularities 56 are provided. For this reason, the core pin 55 has its outer shape cut, and then has its surface subjected to sand blasting, barrel polishing, etching treatment, electric discharge machining, or the like to form fine irregularities 56.

The core pin 55 has fine irregularities 56 having a center line average roughness (Ra) of 0.5 μm to 1.5 μm on the inner peripheral surface 47 of the shaft hole 42 of the inner ring body 41 of the guide roller 40 which is a molded product. In the case of forming the unevenness 48 having the above-mentioned, assuming that the transfer rate is 100%, at least the center line average roughness (Ra) is 0.5 μm. The core pin 5
The transferability of the recessed recessed portion 56 of No. 5 differs depending on the gate position of the molding die 51, the molding conditions, the shape of the guide roller 40 that is a molded product, and the like, and therefore, it is needless to say that it is determined in consideration of these factors. is there.

The guide roller support shaft 60 on which the above-mentioned guide roller 40 is mounted is formed of a metal material such as an aluminum alloy. As shown in FIG. 5, the guide roller support shaft 60 has a center line average roughness (Ra) of 0.5 μ on the outer peripheral surface 63 that rubs the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole 42 of the guide roller 40.
Fine irregularities 62 having a thickness of m to 1.5 μm are provided. That is, the guide roller support shaft 60 has a small contact area between the outer peripheral surface 63 and the inner peripheral surface 47 of the shaft hole 42 of the guide roller 40 axially mounted by the fine irregularities 62.

The guide roller support shaft 60 has fine irregularities 62 on the outer peripheral surface 63 as described above, and thus the guide roller 4 is provided.
By making the contact area with the inner peripheral surface 47 of the shaft hole 42 of 0 small, sliding friction is reduced, and the torque cross at the time of rotation of the guide roller 40 is reduced. Data cartridge 1
When the outer peripheral surface 63 of the guide roller support shaft 60 has a center line average roughness (Ra) of less than 0.5 μm, the inner peripheral surface of the guide roller support shaft 60 and the shaft hole 42 of the guide roller 40 are The contact area of the peripheral surface 47 becomes too large. Therefore, the data cartridge 1 comes into contact with the rotation load of the guide roller 40 and the magnetic tape 15, and the magnetic tape 1
The drive force, which is the torque generated to drive the vehicle No. 5, becomes too large, an appropriate drive force is obtained, and an appropriate data signal recording and / or reproduction cannot be performed.

Further, the guide roller support shaft 60 is provided with a step portion 61 with which the opening 43 of the inner ring body 41 is butted.

The guide roller 40 is mounted on the guide roller support shaft 60 as described above.
3 is coated with a lubricant such as a rubber / plastic lubricant. The lubricant is filled in the recesses formed by the fine unevenness 62 formed on the outer peripheral surface 63 and the recesses formed by the fine unevenness 48 formed on the inner peripheral surface 47 of the shaft hole 42 of the guide roller 40, and therefore the lubricant is filled. The amount is secured more effectively. As a result, the action of the lubricant on the guide roller 40 is maintained and the running durability is secured.

The drive belt 28 is wound on the inside of the cartridge body 4 by the above-mentioned pair of guide rollers 40 and passes through the central space of the tape supply reel 11A and the tape take-up reel 11B.
5 is engaged with the drive belt engaging portion 27. Therefore, the drive belt 28 is connected to the tape supply reel 11A.
And the magnetic tape 15 wound around the tape take-up reel 11B
The outer peripheral portions of the cartridge are brought into contact with each other so as to give a predetermined tension, and the inside of the cartridge main body 4 travels along a traveling path having a substantially convex shape.

In the data cartridge 1 constructed as described above, the erroneous recording detection hole is formed by moving the erroneous recording prevention member 21 from the first position to the second position along the operation guide hole 24. Is blocked. When the erroneous recording prevention member 21 is loaded in the recording and / or reproducing apparatus with the erroneous recording preventing hole 21 closed, the data cartridge 1 is inserted into the erroneous recording preventing hole by the erroneous recording detecting member on the recording and / or reproducing apparatus side. Is blocked, the recording of the data signal on the magnetic tape 15 by the magnetic head on the recording and / or reproducing apparatus side is permitted.

In the data cartridge 1, the lid 7 is rotated by the lid opening means (not shown) on the recording and / or reproducing apparatus side with the lid pin 8 serving as a fulcrum against the elastic force of the torsion spring. Alternatively, the reproduction opening 6 is opened. In the data cartridge 1, the magnetic head on the recording and / or reproducing device side enters through the opened recording and / or reproducing opening 6 and contacts the magnetic tape 15.
On the other hand, in the data cartridge 1, the drive roller on the recording and / or reproducing device side enters from the drive opening portion 9 and the drive flange portion 26 of the belt drive roller 25 so that the magnetic tape 15 and the drive belt 28 are interposed. Contact.

In the data cartridge 1, the belt driving roller 25 is rotated in the clockwise direction by rotating the driving roller on the recording and / or reproducing apparatus side in the counterclockwise direction. Due to the rotation operation, the drive belt 28 also travels clockwise as a whole.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the guide roller 40 is rotated in the direction A by the drive belt 28 sliding on the outer peripheral portion. As described above, the guide roller 40 and the guide roller support shaft 60 have the center line average roughness (Ra) of 0.5 μm to 1.5 μm on the inner peripheral surface 47 and the outer peripheral surface 63 of the shaft hole 42, respectively. Unevenness 48
Also, since the unevenness 62 is provided, the contact area is maintained at an appropriate level. Therefore, the frictional force between the guide roller 40 and the guide roller support shaft 60 does not become too large, and the tension generated by the rotational load of the drive belt 28 that is run by being engaged with the drive belt engaging portion 27 on the guide roller 40 side is also suitable for traveling. It will be in an appropriate state.

Further, the magnetic tape 15 receives the running driving force when the driving belt 28 is in contact with the outer periphery of the magnetic tape 15, but the tension of the driving belt 28 running in a stable state is transmitted. It does not significantly increase the tape tension. Further, the guide roller 40 and the guide roller support shaft 60 have an inner peripheral surface 47 of the shaft hole 42 on the guide roller 40 side and an outer peripheral surface 63 of the guide roller support shaft 60.
Since the contact area with the drive belt 28 is maintained in an appropriate state, the drive force, which is the torque for contacting the magnetic tape 15 with the rotational load of each guide roller 40 itself of the drive belt 28 and running the magnetic tape 15, is remarkably increased. There is no such thing.
Therefore, when the data cartridge 1 is loaded in the recording and / or reproducing apparatus, the magnetic tape 1 is kept stable.
5 is driven to travel, and recording and / or reproduction of the data signal is accurately performed.

In the data cartridge 1, as described above, the center line average roughness (Ra) of the inner peripheral surface 47 of the shaft hole 42 of the inner race 41 of the guide roller 40 and the outer peripheral surface 63 of the guide roller support shaft 60 is 0. The fine irregularities 48 and the irregularities 63 having a size of 5 μm to 1.5 μm were provided, and the effect of adopting these is proved by the following experiments.

First, the first experiment is carried out by the following experimental apparatus. That is, the experimental device 70 has
As shown in FIG. 3, the DC motor 71, the drive capstan 72, the idle roller 73, the test roller 74 that is the guide roller 40, the test roller substrate 75 that supports the test roller 74, and the support substrate 76 on which these are disposed. There is.

The DC motor 71 is disposed below the support substrate 76 and is connected to the drive capstan 72 disposed above the support substrate 76. This DC motor 71
Is connected to a driver 77, which is a current-voltage source, and an ammeter 78 for measuring current. still,
The DC motor 71 is rotationally driven at 3000 rpm in this experiment.

The drive capstan 72 is formed in a cylindrical shape and is rotatably mounted on the upper side of the support substrate 76.
One drive transmission shaft is rotatably mounted. The drive capstan 72 is formed with a flange portion 79 for circumferentially protruding the drive for transmitting drive.

The idle roller 73 is in contact with the flange portion 79 of the drive capstan 72, and is rotatably attached to a support shaft erected on the support substrate 76.

The test roller 74 is rotatably mounted on a support shaft 74C erected on a test roller substrate 75 provided on a support substrate 76. The test roller 74 corresponds to the guide roller 40 of the data cartridge 1 described above. And, since the lubricant is applied to the guide roller support shaft 60 of the data cartridge 1 on the support shaft 74C that axially mounts the test roller 74, the present experimental device 7
Also for the support shaft 74C that axially mounts the test roller 74 of 0,
Lubricant is applied. The test roller 74 is 5
The idle roller 73 is pressed against the idle roller 73 by a heavy load of 00 gr.

The experimental apparatus 70 configured as described above is
When the DC motor 71 is rotationally driven, the drive capstan 72 is rotationally driven, the drive is transmitted from the flange portion 79 of the abutted drive capstan 72 to the idle roller 73, and the abutted test roller 74 is rotated. It works like you do.

In the first experiment using such an experimental apparatus 70, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the unevenness 74B of the inner peripheral surface 74A of the test roller 74 corresponding to the guide roller 40 of the data cartridge 1 is shown. , The inner peripheral surface 74 of the test roller 74
The roughness center line average roughness (Ra) of the unevenness 74C of A is 0.1.
The rotation load was examined from the relationship between the motor current and the unevenness 74B of the inner peripheral surface 74A of the test roller 74 with the center line average roughness (Ra), with the values of μm, 0.3 μm, 0.7 μm, and 1.3 μm. The motor current of the DC motor 71 is set to 300 mA under no load.

The results of the first experiment are as shown in FIG.
When the unevenness 74C has a center line average roughness (Ra) of 0.1 μm, 317 mA, when the center line average roughness (Ra) is 0.3 μm, 316 mA, and when the center line average roughness (Ra) is 0.7 μm, 314 mA. When the center line average roughness (Ra) was 1.0 μm, it was 310 mA, and when the center line average roughness (Ra) was 1.3 μm, it was 309 mA. From this, it can be confirmed that the motor current becomes smaller as the center line average roughness (Ra) of the unevenness 74B of the inner peripheral surface 74A of the test roller 74 becomes larger.

That is, the test roller 74 has an inner peripheral surface 74.
When the center line average roughness (Ra) of the unevenness 74B of the inner peripheral surface 74A is set to be large as compared with the case where the center line average roughness (Ra) of the unevenness 74B of A is set to be small, The convex portion of the peripheral surface 74A is reduced, and the support shaft 74C and the test roller 7
The contact area with the inner peripheral surface 74A of No. 4 is small. Therefore, in the test roller 74, when the center line average roughness (Ra), which is the roughness of the irregularities 74B of the inner peripheral surface 74A, is set to be large, it can be confirmed that the motor current becomes small and the rotational load is reduced. .

Next, according to a second experiment, the center line average roughness (Ra) of the inner peripheral surface 47 of the guide roller 40 was 0.3 μm.
The relationship between the rotational load of each guide roller and the drive force, which is the torque for running the magnetic tape when the drive belt contacts the magnetic tape in the range of m to 1.3 μm, was examined. As shown in FIG. 10, this drive force has a standard value of 12.0 mN · m or less according to the standard.

As shown in FIG. 10, the results of this experiment show that the drive force is measured when the center line average roughness (Ra), which is the roughness of the irregularities 48 on the inner peripheral surface 47 of the guide roller 40, is 0.5 μm. It was confirmed to be 12.0 mN · m or less. Also, this drive force is applied to the guide roller 4
The center line average roughness (Ra) of the inner peripheral surface 47 of 0 is 0.7 μm.
At a level of about 10.0 mN · m, a stable state can be obtained.

Therefore, from this fact, the guide roller 4
Center line average roughness (Ra) of the unevenness 48 of the inner peripheral surface 47 of 0
Can be confirmed to be the best when the drive force is 0.5 μm or more, which is 12.0 mN · m or less.

In the data cartridge 1, the guide roller 40 has the center line of the unevenness 48 of the inner peripheral surface 47 of the shaft hole 42 of the inner ring body 41 so that the effect is clear from the above-mentioned first and second experiments. The unevenness 48 having an average roughness (Ra) of 0.5 μm to 1.5 μm is provided.
The unevenness 48 is large to reduce the rotating load, and the drive force is based on the standard of 12.0 mN · m.
It is defined as the following and satisfies this requirement. The center line average roughness (Ra) is set to 1.5 μm because when the guide roller 40 is die-molded, the center line average roughness (Ra) is set to 1.5 μm. This is because it becomes difficult to force the removal.

The data cartridge 1 in which the inner peripheral surface 47 of the guide roller 40 and the guide roller support shaft 60 are provided with the concavities and convexities 48 and 62 has been described above, but the inner peripheral surface 47 of the guide roller 40 or the guide roller support shaft is described. It goes without saying that either one of the 60 may be provided with irregularities.

[0073]

According to the tape cartridge of the present invention, in the tape cartridge, at least one of the inner peripheral surface of the guide roller and / or the outer peripheral surface of the guide roller support shaft is formed into a minute uneven surface, so that the friction force is increased. Is reduced and the guide roller is rotationally driven in a stable state. Therefore, the drive belt, which is wound around the guide roller, causes the tape reel to rotate while a constant tension is applied, and runs the magnetic tape. That is, the tape cartridge is recorded and / or reproduced in a state in which the tape tension and the drive force are suitable for recording and / or reproduction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a data cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a guide roller of the data cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a guide roller of the data cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a molding die that molds a guide roller of the data cartridge.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a guide roller support shaft around which a guide roller of the same data cartridge is mounted.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a main part of an experimental device for examining the rotation load of the guide roller of the data cartridge.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a guide roller of the data cartridge is mounted on a guide roller support shaft.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a guide roller of the data cartridge is mounted on a guide roller support shaft.

FIG. 9 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the DC motor current of the experimental apparatus and the inner peripheral surface of the test roller.

FIG. 10 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the drive force of the guide roller and the roughness of the inner peripheral surface of the guide roller of the same data cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 data cartridge 2 cover 3 base plate 4 cartridge body 6 recording and / or reproducing opening 9 drive opening 11A tape supply reel 11B tape take-up reel 15 magnetic tape 25 belt drive roller 26 drive flange 28 drive belt 40 guide roller 47 Circumferential surface 48 Unevenness 51 Molding die 60 Guide roller support shaft 62 Unevenness 63 Outer peripheral portion

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cover and a base plate are combined with each other, and a drive opening portion into which a belt driving means of a recording and / or reproducing apparatus is inserted and a recording portion into which a recording and / or reproducing means is inserted into a front surface portion. And / or a cartridge main body provided with a reproduction opening, and a tape-shaped recording medium is wound around the cartridge main body and rotatably accommodated in the cartridge main body, and along a front portion corresponding to the recording and / or reproduction opening. A pair of tape reels around which a tape-shaped recording medium running around is wound, and a belt erected on the base plate that constitutes the cartridge main body with a part of the outer peripheral surface facing the drive opening provided in the cartridge main body. A belt drive which is rotatably mounted on a drive roller support shaft and is rotationally driven by the belt drive means entering from the drive opening. Rollers, a pair of guide rollers positioned on both sides of the rear portion of the cartridge body, and rotatably mounted on guide shafts erected on the base plate, the belt drive roller and the guide roller. Drive belt for driving the tape-shaped recording medium wound around by rotating the tape-shaped recording medium by being driven between the tape-shaped recording medium wound around the pair of tape reels and abutting against the tape-shaped recording medium wound around the pair of tape reels. The guide roller and the guide roller support shaft are the inner peripheral surface of a shaft hole through which the guide roller support shaft of the guide roller penetrates or the outer peripheral surface of the guide roller support shaft on which the guide roller is mounted. A tape cartridge, characterized in that either one of them is formed to have a minute uneven surface. 2. The guide roller according to claim 1, wherein an inner peripheral surface of a shaft hole through which the guide roller support shaft penetrates has a center line average roughness of approximately 0.5 μm to 1.5 μm. 1. The tape cartridge according to 1. 3. The tape cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the guide roller support shaft has an outer peripheral surface having a center line average roughness of approximately 0.5 μm to 1.5 μm.