JPH0917145A - Tape cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent a tape from slackening, simplify the structure of a mold for forming of a lock member of reel brake mechanism, and improve quick operability of a reel brake member, by fixing the reel brake mechanism which stops the rotation of a pair of tape reels accommodated rotatably inside a case when the tape reels are not used. CONSTITUTION: An inclined face confronting an opening of case of a brake release operation part 72 of the reel brake member 7 butts against a brake release means of a recording/reproducing apparatus. A lock release operation part of a lock member 8 is provided at the inclined face to freely come into contact with and separated from the inclined face. An edge on the side of a supporting shaft of the lock release operation part 83 is formed on the same plane as an edge of an engaging part of the lock member on the side of the lock release operation part. Moreover, a bottom face of the lock release operation part 83 of the lock member is made smaller in width than an insertion opening for the brake release means of a lower case, and within the thickness of a bottom plate of the lower case when the lock member is engaged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cassette for use in a magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus, for example, a recording / reproducing apparatus such as a video tape recorder (VTR), in particular, a tape medium is accommodated in a case via a tape reel. The present invention relates to a video tape cassette equipped with a reel brake for restricting rotation of the tape reel when not in use, for example, a tape cassette such as an 8 mm video cassette or a digital video cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a tape cassette in which a pair of tape reels in which a tape-shaped medium is wound inside a case are rotatably incorporated, a brake mechanism for stopping rotation of the tape reel when not in use is a torsion coil which is an elastic member. A structure in which a brake member is urged by a spring or a leaf spring to a tooth-shaped uneven portion provided on an outer periphery of a flange surface of a tape reel.When this tape cassette is mounted on a recording / reproducing apparatus,
2. Description of the Related Art In many cases, a brake release member of a recording / reproducing apparatus comes into contact with a brake member to move the brake member against an elastic force, remove the brake member from the tape reel, and rotate the tape reel. Further, as in JP-A-6-103725, a hub brake that interlocks with a rotating lid is provided and the hub brake is locked by the lid, and a pair of reel brake members as in JP-A-6-89528. A reel brake structure that withstands a drop impact by independently biasing the spring with a spring has been attempted.

[0003]

However, when a strong impact such as a drop impact is applied to the tape cassette, in the conventional brake mechanism, the brake member is simply urged by the elastic force toward the tape reel. However, if a force larger than the elastic force is applied, the brake member will move, the brake mechanism will come off, the tape reel will rotate, and the tape will loosen. In particular, recently, as the recording / reproducing apparatus has been downsized, if the tape cassette as described above is directly attached to the recording / reproducing apparatus, the tape may not hit the rotating head of the recording / reproducing apparatus because the tape position is not normal. The tape may be bent, scratched or cut.
Also, there is a problem that the tape is not normally pulled out by the tape pull-out member and the tape is entangled in the recording / reproducing device, so that the tape cannot be run, or in the worst case, the tape cassette cannot be ejected from the recording / reproducing device. was there.

Further, in the prior art, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-103725 has been published.
In the case where a hub brake that interlocks with the rotating lid is provided, the hub brake is locked by the lid.Therefore, it is necessary to form a gap between the lock portion of the hub brake and the lid. Not only will you be uncertain,
This is difficult to apply in a form in which the lower flange of the tape reel has an engaging portion like a normal video cassette, and even in the method of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-89528, a pair of reel brake members are independently biased by springs. Therefore, a reel brake structure that withstands a drop impact has been attempted, but in this form, unless the spring force is increased, the locking effect is not obtained, and when the spring force is increased, the release force of the brake is increased, which is an obstacle to handling. There was a flaw. The present invention is intended to easily eliminate various drawbacks of the related art. A reel brake mechanism for stopping rotation of a pair of tape reels rotatably housed in a case of a tape cassette when not in use is strong against drop impact. A lock member is configured to prevent the brake from being disengaged even when an impact is applied, and the tape cassette is used safely by preventing the tape from slackening. A highly reliable and high-quality tape cassette is provided. It is an object of the present invention to greatly improve the structure of the mold for molding the lock member, and greatly improve the operability of the reel brake member.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a pair of tape reels around which a tape is wound are rotatably accommodated in a case, and the tape is stretched from one tape reel to the front surface of the case and the other tape reel. And a flange for the tape reel, which comprises an opening for exposing the tape stretched over the front surface of the case, a lid for opening and closing the opening, and a recess for pulling out the tape. A reel brake member having a brake claw that is locked to an uneven portion provided on the outer periphery to prevent rotation and a brake release actuating portion exposed from an opening formed in the case is provided on the tape reel so as to be detachable. In the tape cassette, a lock member that restricts the movement of the reel brake member in the brake releasing direction is rotatably provided on a support portion of the reel brake member by a support shaft. Rutotomoni, the brake release operation portion of said lock member is provided to form the engagement portion to engage detachably engaged portion provided in the case, further reel brake member,
The slope facing the opening of the case is provided so as to abut on the brake releasing means of the recording / reproducing apparatus, and the lock releasing operation portion of the lock member is provided on the inclined surface so as to be contactable and separable, and the support shaft of the lock releasing operation portion is provided. The side edge and the edge of the locking portion of the lock member on the side of the unlocking operation portion are formed on the same plane. Further, in the present invention, the width of the lock release operating portion bottom surface of the lock member, which serves as a lock member for restricting the movement of the reel brake member in the brake release direction, is the width of the brake release means insertion opening provided in the lower case. The bottom surface of the lock release operating portion is located within the wall thickness of the lower case bottom plate in the locked state of the lock member, and the lock release operating portion is formed in a taper shape. Another feature is that the dimensions of the inner wall are approximately the same.

[0006]

In the case, the reel brake member urged by the elastic force to engage with the tape reel has its movement range limited by the reel brake lock member when not in use, that is, the lock member is the reel. Since the movement range of the brake member is limited to the position where the brake claw and the tape reel cannot be released, even if a strong impact such as a drop impact is applied, the locking part of the lock member is the locked part of the case. The reel brake is prevented from being disengaged, the tape is prevented from being loosened, and various problems at the time of mounting and using the cassette in the recording / reproducing apparatus do not occur.

Further, the position of the end of the lock member engaging portion of the lock member on the side of the lock release operating portion is formed on the same plane with respect to the end of the lock releasing member of the lock member on the side of the rotating shaft. By doing so, the undercut portion when manufacturing the mold of the lock member is reduced, and the member for molding the undercut portion called the slide core can be slid in only one direction. The structure of the mold can be simplified. Further, the width of the bottom surface of the lock release operating portion of the lock member is smaller than the width of the opening for inserting the brake release means provided in the lower case, and the bottom surface of the lock release operating portion is locked by the lock member. By positioning the lock member within the thickness of the bottom case bottom plate in this state, the rotation angle of the lock member can be increased before the movement of the brake member is started because the brake release means of the recording / reproducing device is quickly contacted. The amount of displacement of the member is large, and it is possible to accurately provide the locked state and the unlocked state. Further, since the lock releasing operation portion is formed in a taper shape and substantially matches the inner wall dimension of the reel brake member, a safe operation capable of smooth sliding with the inner wall of the reel brake member is guaranteed. .

[0008]

1 to 8, a pair of tape reels 2 around which a tape 1 is wound are rotatably housed in a case 3 composed of upper and lower cases. The tape 1 is stretched from one tape reel 2 to the front surface of the case and wound up on the other tape reel 2, and an opening 4 for exposing the tape 1 stretched to the front surface of the case and the opening portion. A tape cassette provided with a lid 5 for opening and closing 4 and a tape inlet / outlet 6 for drawing out the tape 1, and a reel brake member 7 for restraining the rotation of the tape reel 2 detachably provided on the tape reel 2. And a brake claw 7 ₁ that locks on the uneven portion 2 ₁ provided on the outer circumference of the flange of the tape reel to prevent rotation,
The reel brake member 7 and a brake release operation portion 7 ₂ exposed from the opening 14 formed in the casing 3, provided disengageably to said tape reel 2, is moved to the brake releasing direction of the reel brake member 7 A lock member 8 having a lock portion 9 for restricting the lock member 8 is rotatably provided on a support portion 26 of the reel brake member 7 by a support shaft 8 ₂ and the lock portion 9 formed on the lock member 8 is attached to the case 3 It is detachably attached to the locked portion 10 provided in the.

Furthermore, in the brake release operation portion 7 ₂ of the reel brake member 7, arranged to abut the inclined surface 7 ₃ that faces the opening 14 of the case 3 to the brake release means 13 of the recording and reproducing apparatus, the swash surface 7 ₃ wherein the lock release operating portion 8 ₃ of the lock member 8 with separable freely provided, and the support shaft side of the edge 20 of the lock release operating portion 8 _3, the locking of the locking portion 9 of the locking member 8 to The position with the end edge 21 on the release actuating portion side is formed on the same plane p so that the molding die can be simplified, which is useful for mass production. (FIG. 5) That is, as shown in FIGS. 5 (a), (b), and (c), the lock is applied to the end 20 on the rotation shaft side of the unlocking actuating portion 8 ₃ of the lock member 8. By forming the position of the end edge 21 of the lock portion 9 of the member 8 on the side of the unlocking operation portion on the same plane p, the undercut portion when manufacturing the mold of the lock member is reduced, and the slide core 22 Since the member for molding the undercut portion, which is referred to as "," only needs to slide in one direction, the structure of the lock member molding die can be simplified.

To provide the reel brake member 7 with the lock member 8 for restricting the movement of the reel brake member 7 in the brake releasing direction, the pair of brackets 8 ₁ formed on the lock member 8 are provided with the support shafts 8 ₂ respectively. Projected, each support shaft 8
₂ is rotatably supported around a shaft hole of a rotation support portion 26 provided in the reel brake member 7, and a torsion coil spring 18 is provided so as to urge the lock member 8 in a locked state. Has been. The torsion coil spring 18
Has a coil portion fitted on one support shaft 8 ₂ of the lock member 8 and one end of the torsion coil spring locked in a spring receiving recess 8 ₄ of the lock member 8 while the other end thereof is the reel brake. A state in which it is locked in a spring receiving concave portion formed between a protrusion protruding from the connecting portion between the brake release operating portion 7 ₂ and the brake claw portion 7 ₁ of the member 7 and the side wall of the brake release operating portion 7 _2. It is equipped with.

The unlocking actuating portion 8 _{3 of the} lock member 8 has a bottom surface width t of its bottom surface 24 smaller than the opening width t _{1 of} the brake releasing means insertion opening 14 formed in the lower case 3. By positioning the lock member 8 within the thickness of the bottom case bottom plate with the lock member 8 in the locked state, the rotation angle of the lock member can be adjusted before the brake member starts to move so that the brake release means of the recording / reproducing apparatus can be quickly contacted. Since it can be increased, the displacement amount of the lock member can be increased, and the locked state and the unlocked state can be accurately provided.

Further, the unlocking actuating portion 8 ₃ of the lock member 8 has a beveled surface 2 in which both edges of the bottom surface 24 are chamfered.
5, for example, it is formed in a taper shape and substantially matches the inner wall dimension t ₂ which can be rotated in the reel brake member 7, so that the sliding on the inner wall of the reel brake member can be made smooth.

Further, the reel brake member 7 is arranged between the pair of tape reels 2 and 2 at a position near a side wall opposite to the opening 4 for exposing the tape 1, and A pair of brake pawls 7 ₁ that engage with the concave and convex portions 2 ₁ provided on the outer periphery of the flange of the tape reel 2,
And a recording and reproducing apparatus brake release operation portion 7 ₂ the brake releasing means 13 is provided with a slope 7 ₃ that faces the opening 14 for insertion of the 11, the unlock operation portion 8 ₃ so as to cover the swash surface 7 ₃ By interposing the provided lock member 8 so that it can come in and out freely,
When the brake releasing means 13 is fitted into the opening 14,
After the lock member 8 is moved, the reel brake member 7 can be smoothly slid and moved in the brake releasing direction between the pair of guide pieces 17 and 17 and the guide ribs 16 and 16 protruding from the upper case. It is provided.

The brake claw 7 ₁ of the reel brake member 7 is elastically deformable by an elastic hinge portion 7 ₄ which is thinly formed by a recessed line 7 ₅ and is provided on the outer periphery of the tape reel 2. and it is biased by a spring 15 in a direction to lock the parts 2 _1. There are impact absorbing effect by the thin hinge portion 7 ₄ in elastic deformation. That is, when a drop impact is applied to the tape cassette, even if a force to move the reel brake in the releasing direction is exerted by the pair of heavy tape reels, the impact force of the tape reel causes the brake claw 7 of the reel brake member 7 to move. relaxes the force acting on the reel brake member 7 absorbs _one of the thin hinge portion 7 _4, it has helped to prevent with eating into uneven portion 2 ₁ of the tape reels 2 of the brake claws 7 _1. Further, when the reel brake member 7 moves due to the impact force, the brake claw 7 ₁ spreads outward due to the elastic restoring force, and the uneven portion 2 _{1 of the} tape reel 2 moves.
While the engagement with the locked portion 10 of the case and the locking portion 9 of the lock member 8 are engaged in the hooked state to limit the movement of the reel brake member 7, the brake claw 7 is normally held. ₁ and becomes the engagement state between the concave-convex portion 2 ₁ of the tape reel 2, the engaging portion 9 of the locking member 8 is adapted to not engage the hooking state engaged portion 10.

The lock member 8 for restricting the movement of the reel brake member 7 is engaged with the brake releasing means 13 of the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 and releases the movement of the reel brake member 7 against the spring 18. The locking portion 9 of the lock member is separated from the locked portion 10 of the case 3, for example, the hook-shaped projection, to release the locking with the case 3. In this example, the lock member 8
Is provided on the reel brake member 7, but the case 3,
For example, it may be provided on a support member (not shown) provided so as to project from the case 3, and the lock member 8 is not limited to the rotating type shown in the drawing, but may be a sliding type.

Considering the drop impact of the tape cassette in this embodiment, the moving direction of the lock member 8 and the biasing direction of the elastic member are different from the moving direction of the reel brake member 7. If possible, when the reel brake member 7 moves in the horizontal direction, it is desirable that the lock member 8 be perpendicular to the thickness direction (vertical direction) of the case. Further, in order to further increase the certainty of preventing the slack of the tape 1, if the brake claw 7 ₁ is biased in the tape winding tightening direction, the reel brake member 7 engages with the uneven portion 2 ₁ of the tape reel 2. It is also effective to rotate the tape reel 2 in the tightening direction when the tape cassette 2 is closed so that the tape cassette 2 does not loosen even if the tape cassette is erroneously mounted in the recording / reproducing apparatus or is repeatedly mounted and removed.

The lock member 8 has a coil portion of a torsion coil spring 18 fitted and inserted into a support shaft 8 _{2 so} that one end of the spring is retained by being retained by a spring receiving recess 8 ₄ of the lock member 8. Under the condition in which the spring is rotated about 90 degrees with respect to the locked state, and the other end of the spring is lifted and raised, and a protrusion protruding from the connecting portion of the brake release operating portion 7 _{2 of the} reel brake member 7 and the claw portion 7 _1. The support shaft 8 is inserted while being inserted into a spring receiving recess formed between the brake release operation portion side wall.
The narrow part of ₂ is fitted along the opening in the rotation support part 26 of the reel brake member 7 to rotate the lock member 8 90 degrees, and the shaft diameter part of the support shaft 8 ₂ is supported by the rotation support. It is preferable to face the opening of the portion 26 and assemble it.

[0018]

According to the present invention, in a tape cassette in which a reel brake member for restraining rotation of a pair of tape reels around which a tape housed inside a case is wound is detachably attached to the tape reel, the reel brake member is provided. A lock member for restricting the movement of the lock release direction in the brake release direction is rotatably provided on the support portion of the reel brake member by a support shaft, and the locking portion formed on the lock member is used as a locked portion provided on the case. The reel release member of the reel brake member is provided with a slope facing the opening of the case so as to abut the brake release means of the recording / reproducing device, and the lock release operation of the lock member is performed on the slope. The lock release actuating portion has an end edge on the support shaft side and an end portion of the locking portion of the lock member on the lock release actuating portion side. By forming a location on the same surface,
Even if a strong impact such as a drop impact is applied to the tape cassette, the reel brake does not come off due to the lock member, and it is possible to reliably prevent the tape from slackening. Since the number of the members for molding the undercut portion, which is called a slide core, is slid in only one direction, it is possible to simplify the structure of the mold for molding the lock member. Further, in the present invention, the lock member is unlocked. The width of the bottom surface of the operating portion is smaller than the width of the opening for inserting the brake releasing means provided in the lower case, and the bottom surface of the lock releasing operating portion is the meat of the bottom case bottom plate when the lock member is in the locked state. By positioning the brake member within the thickness, the brake releasing means of the recording / reproducing apparatus is quickly contacted so that the rotation angle of the lock member can be increased before starting the movement of the brake member. Since it is, made large displacement of the locking member, it is possible to accurately provide the state of the lock state and unlock. Moreover, since the unlocking operation portion is formed in a taper shape and substantially matches the dimensions of the inner wall of the reel brake member, sliding with the inner wall of the reel brake member can be made smooth and the occurrence of tape slack is prevented. There is no inconvenience when mounting and using the cassette in the recording / reproducing device, and the handling of the tape cassette is facilitated, reliability and commercial value are greatly increased, and it is useful for quality improvement and safe tape cassette. There is an effect that can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a separated state showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a lower case of the example of FIG. 1, showing a state where a lock member is assembled.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a main part of FIG. 2;

4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 5 shows a lock member of the present invention, (a) is a plan view,
5B is a bottom view, and FIG. 5C is a vertical cross-sectional view of the die in the molding state taken along the line BB in FIG. 5B.

6 is a perspective view of the lock member of FIG. 5a from the bottom surface direction.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an assembled state of the reel brake member and the lock member of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of an assembled state at a position of line C-C in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Tape 2 Tape reel 3 Case 4 Opening 5 Lid 6 Tape entrance / exit 7 Reel brake member 7 ₁ Brake claw 7 ₂ Brake release operation part 7 ₃ Slope 7 ₄ Hinge part 7 ₅ Recess 8 Lock member 8 ₁ Bracket 8 ₂ support Shaft 8 ₃ Lock release actuating part 8 ₄ Spring receiving concave part 9 Locking part 10 Locked part 11 Recording / reproducing device 12 Strut 13 Brake releasing means 14 Opening 15 Reel brake member biasing spring 16, 17 Guide piece 18 Torsional coil spring 20 , 21 Edge 22 Slide core 24 Bottom 25 Slope 26 Rotation support

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A case in which a pair of tape reels around which a tape is wound are rotatably accommodated in a case, and the tape is stretched from one tape reel to a front surface of the case and wound around the other tape reel. An opening for exposing the tape stretched on the front surface, and a lid for opening and closing the opening,
A brake claw that has a recess for pulling out the tape, locks a protrusion and recess on the outer periphery of the flange of the tape reel to prevent rotation, and a brake release operation unit that is exposed from an opening formed in the case. In a tape cassette in which a reel brake member having a reel is detachably attached to the tape reel, a lock member that restricts the movement of the reel brake member in the brake releasing direction is pivoted to a support portion of the reel brake member by a support shaft. In addition to being freely provided, the locking portion formed on the lock member is detachably provided on the locked portion provided on the case, and the slope of the reel release member facing the opening of the case is provided on the brake release operation portion. It is provided so as to come into contact with the brake releasing means of the recording / reproducing apparatus, and the lock releasing operation portion of the lock member is provided on the inclined surface so as to be freely contactable and separable. , The tape cassette, characterized in that formed with the supporting shaft side end edge of the unlocking operation unit, the positions of the edge of the unlocking operation portion side of the engaging portion of the locking member in the same plane. 2. A pair of tape reels around which a tape is wound are rotatably housed in a case, and the tape is stretched from one tape reel to the front of the case and wound on the other tape reel. An opening for exposing the tape stretched on the front surface, and a lid for opening and closing the opening,
A brake claw that has a recess for pulling out the tape, locks a protrusion and recess on the outer periphery of the flange of the tape reel to prevent rotation, and a brake release operation unit that is exposed from an opening formed in the case. In a tape cassette in which a reel brake member having the above is detachably provided on the tape reel, the brake release operation portion of the reel brake member contacts the brake release means of the recording / reproducing apparatus with the slope facing the opening of the case. In addition, a lock release operation portion of the lock member for restricting the movement of the reel brake member corresponding to the slope is provided so as to be freely contactable and separable, and the lock release operation portion of the lock member has a bottom width of the lower case. The opening width for inserting the brake releasing means formed in the lower case is smaller than that of the lower case bottom in the locked state of the lock member. Tape cassette, characterized in that located within the wall thickness of the plate. 3. The lock release operating portion of the lock member,
3. The tape cassette according to claim 2, wherein both side edges of the bottom surface are chamfered to have a chamfered surface, and the width of the tape is substantially the same as the inner wall dimension of the lock releasing operation portion of the reel brake member.