JPH10188520A - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tape cartridge that makes sure guiding of a reel rotation support body, and to ensure stable rotating condition of a tape reel, while achieving higher assembling performance of the tape cartridge. SOLUTION: In the tape cartridge, which houses a single tape reel having an upper flange and a lower flange and wound with a magnetic tape into a cartridge body comprising an upper half 1 and a lower half 2 and rotatably supports the tape reel freely on a reel rotation support body 90, a guide surrounding wall 22 is provided on the internal surface 1a of the upper half to hold the reel rotation support 9 while housing an elastic body 8 on the bottom part in the guide surrounding wall 22 to press the reel rotation support boy 9 onto the tape reel. The base end part of the reel rotation support 9 is housed into the guide surrounding wall 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cartridge for data storage used as a backup for a computer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as a tape cartridge for data storage used as a backup for a computer or the like, a cartridge main body 103 composed of an upper half 101 and a lower half 102 as shown in FIG.
A single tape reel 107 on which a magnetic tape 106 having a disk-shaped upper flange 104 and a lower flange 105 is wound and stored by being constantly urged toward the lower half 102 by a reel spring 108. Proposed.

[0003] The tape reel 107 has an upper flange 1
The magnetic tape 106 to which the leader tape 109 is connected is wound around a hub provided in the hub 04.
The tape reel 107 has a ring-shaped disk (not shown) which is press-fitted and fixed in a circular recess formed in the center of the upper flange 104, and a reel rotating support (not shown) is attached to the disk. As a result, the reel rotates around the reel rotating support.

The tape reel 107 has one end facing the inner surface 101a of the upper half 101 and the other end constantly biased toward the lower half 102 by a reel spring 108 contacting the reel rotating support. ing. The reel spring 108 is a compression coil spring having a cylindrical shape.

In this tape cartridge, a recording and / or reproducing apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as a drive apparatus)
When not in use, the torsion coil spring 11
A pair of brake members 11 urged by 0,111
2 and 113, the tape reel 107 cannot be rotated. That is, the tape reel 107
Are gear portions 11 formed around the outer periphery of the upper flange 104.
In FIG. 4, the meshing portions 115 and 116 provided on the brake members 112 and 113 mesh with each other, so that rotation is impossible.

In the non-use state, the magnetic tape 106 is completely wound around the tape reel 107, and the leader tape 109 is
The hook 3 is engaged with a hook 117 provided on the side of the third side. Further, an opening for pulling out the magnetic tape 106 to the outside of the cartridge main body 103 is closed by an opening / closing lid 118 rotatably attached to the cartridge main body 103.

On the other hand, when the tape cartridge is mounted on the drive device, the tape reel 107 is lifted to the center position of the cartridge body 103 against the urging force of the reel spring 108 and the brake members 112 and 113 are used. Is released, and the tape reel 107 can be rotated. Further, the opening / closing lid 118 is opened by lid opening / closing means provided on the drive device side. Further, the magnetic tape 106 is pulled out from the cartridge body 103 to the outside by a tape pulling means provided on the drive device side.

By the way, a reel spring 108 for urging the tape reel 107 toward the lower half 102 is
As shown in FIG. 6, it is mounted on the outer periphery of a spring mounting member 120 provided on the inner surface 101a of the upper half 101. The spring mounting member 120 is for positioning the reel spring 108 mounted around its outer periphery, and is formed as a cylindrical body having a hole 121 at the center. In addition, on the periphery of the opening of the spring mounting member 120,
It is desirable that an inclined portion 122 inclined outward is provided.

A reel rotation support 123 for supporting the rotation of the tape reel 107 is mounted on the reel spring 108. As shown in FIG. 7, a disc 125 having a disc shape fitted on the tape reel 107 is provided at the tip of the reel rotating support 123.
A ball 124 made of a metal material, which comes into contact with the ball, is fitted.

By the way, as shown in FIG.
01 and the lower half 102
In the completed state of the tape cartridge in which the is screwed, the base end 123a of the reel rotation support 123 is inserted into the hole 121 of the spring mounting member 120. In other words, the reel rotating support 123 has its base end 123a
Is inserted into the hole 121 of the spring mounting member 123 and guided to ensure stable rotation of the tape reel 107.

[0011]

However, when the tape cartridge assembled as described above is mounted on a drive device to perform recording / reproduction, the tape reel 107 is required.
Sometimes did not rotate smoothly. The cause is not apparent from the appearance of the tape cartridge, but when the tape cartridge was disassembled, it was found that the cause was as follows.

The tape reel 107 is moved to the upper half 101.
In the state before being assembled to the, as shown in FIG.
The reel rotating support 123 is in a state of being lifted upward by the reel spring 108, and its base end 1
The reference numeral 23a is located at a position which has come out of the hole 121 of the spring mounting member 123.

For this reason, after assembling the tape reel 107 to the upper half 101 against the urging force of the reel spring 108 and attaching the lower half 102, as shown by a dotted line in FIG. Proximal end 123
a may jump out without entering the hole 121. This causes problems such as difficulty in rotating the tape reel 107 smoothly and a failure to obtain a sufficient stroke of the reel spring 108.

As described above, since these problems cannot be known until after the tape cartridge is assembled, it is necessary to disassemble and reassemble the tape cartridge again.
This results in a decrease in assembly efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a tape cartridge capable of reliably guiding a reel rotating support, ensuring a stable rotation state of a tape reel, and improving the assemblability of a tape cartridge. It is in.

[0016]

As a result of intensive studies, the present inventors have provided a guide peripheral wall for accommodating and holding a reel rotating support in the upper half, and accommodating the reel rotating support together with an elastic body in the guide peripheral wall. By doing so, it has been found that the above object can be achieved.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cartridge body comprising an upper half and a lower half, in which a single magnetic tape having an upper flange and a lower flange is wound. In a tape cartridge accommodating a tape reel and rotatably supporting the tape reel by a reel rotating support, a guide peripheral wall for holding the reel rotating support is provided on an inner surface of the upper half; An elastic body for pressing the reel rotating support against the tape reel is accommodated in a bottom portion in the guide peripheral wall, and a base end of the reel rotating support is accommodated in the guide peripheral wall. By doing so, the above object has been achieved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the above object is achieved by providing a tape cartridge according to the first aspect, wherein a polymer-based elastic body is used as the elastic body. .

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a specific tape cartridge to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a tape cartridge such as a DLT cartridge used for data storage used as a backup of a computer.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a tape cartridge.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a main part of a portion where a reel rotating support is provided. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state where the reel rotating support is accommodated and held in a guide peripheral wall provided on an inner surface of an upper half. FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a portion where the reel rotation support is provided in a state where the reel rotation support is provided in the cartridge main body.

FIG. 1 shows a tape cartridge according to this embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 2, a single tape reel 7 on which a magnetic tape 6 having an upper flange 4 and a lower flange 5 is wound in a cartridge body 3 composed of an upper half 1 and a lower half 2.
, And the tape reel 7 is rotatably supported by a reel rotating support 9.

In the tape cartridge of the present embodiment,
The part related to the present invention will be described in more detail. Upper half 1
As shown in FIG. 1, a first brake member 10 and a second brake member 11 are provided to prevent the tape reel 7 from rotating when not used in a drive device.

The first brake member 10 includes an upper flange 4
And has a comb-shaped meshing portion 13 meshing with a gear portion 12 formed on the outer periphery of the upper half 1, and is rotatably attached to a brake support shaft (not shown) provided on the inner surface of the upper half 1. . Then, the first brake member 10
Is constantly urged by a first reel lock spring 14 composed of a torsion coil spring in a direction in which the meshing portion 13 meshes with the gear portion 12.

The second brake member 11 has a comb-shaped meshing portion 15 which meshes with a gear portion 12 also formed on the outer periphery of the upper flange 4, and is provided on the inner surface of the upper half 1. It is rotatably attached to a brake support shaft that does not. The second brake member 11 is urged by a second reel lock spring 16 also composed of a torsion coil spring in a direction in which the mesh portion 15 meshes with the gear portion 12.

A circular recess 17 is formed at the center of the upper flange 4. And this recess 17
A disk-shaped disk 18 that functions as a bearing when the tape reel 7 rotates is fitted in the center of the disk. A ball 19 made of a metal material rotatably held by a reel rotation support 9 that supports the rotation of the tape reel 7 comes into contact with the disk 18.

On the other hand, the lower flange 5 is formed as a disk having a circular fitting hole 20 at the center thereof facing the tip of the hub, and the fitting hole 20 is fitted to the tip of the hub. By doing so, it is fixed to the hub. The tape reel 7 is housed between the upper half 1 and the lower half 2 fixed by screws 21.

In the tape cartridge constructed as described above, the tape reel 7 is urged toward the lower half 2 by the elastic member 8 described later when the tape cartridge is not used in the drive device and is not used.

On the other hand, when the tape reel 7 is used in the drive device, the tape reel 7 is lifted to the center position of the cartridge body 3 against the urging force of the elastic member 8, and the brake members 10, 11 The lock is released, and the tape reel 7 can be rotated.

Thus, in the tape cartridge of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a guide peripheral wall 22 for holding the reel rotating support 9 is provided on the inner surface 1a of the upper half 1. The elastic body 8 for pressing the reel rotating support 9 against the tape reel 7 is accommodated in the bottom of the guide peripheral wall 22, and the base end 26 a of the reel rotating support 9 is accommodated in the guide peripheral wall 22. ing.

As shown in FIG. 2, the guide peripheral wall 22 is formed at a central portion of a reel positioning projection 23 which is formed as a ring-shaped projection that fits in a recessed state formed in the tape reel 7 in a loosely fitted state. Is provided. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the guide peripheral wall 22 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and has an accommodation hole 24 for accommodating and holding the reel rotating support 8 therein.

As shown in FIG. 3, the accommodation hole 24 is preferably a so-called stepped hole having a wide opening side and a narrower bottom side. The diameter of the hole on the opening side is a diameter that can hold the introduction portion 26 of the reel rotating support 9 in a loosely fitted state, and the diameter of the hole on the bottom side also allows the base end portion 26a of the introduction portion 26 to loosen. The diameter is such that it can be held in a fitted state.

The reel rotating support 9 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, the distal end is formed as a cylindrical body having a disk-shaped flange portion 25, and the ball 19 is rotatably held at the center of the flange portion 25.
The proximal end 26a of the introduction section 26 has a tapered shape,
It is desirable that the diameter of the introduction portion 26 be smaller than the outer dimensions of the introduction portion 26, and that the introduction portion be formed in a low column shape.

The introduction portion 26 of the reel rotating support 9 is guided by the inner peripheral wall surface 22a on the opening side of the guide peripheral wall 22, and the introduction portion 2
6 is guided by an inner peripheral wall surface 22b on the bottom side of the guide peripheral wall 22. Therefore, the reel rotating support 9 is accommodated and held in the guide peripheral wall 22 to be guided.
It can be moved up and down only in the axial direction indicated by the arrow Y in FIG. 3 and does not rattle in other directions.

On the other hand, the elastic member 8 serves to press the reel rotating support 9 against the tape reel 7 and is accommodated in the bottom of the accommodation hole 24 of the guide peripheral wall 22. The elastic member 8 is not particularly limited. For example, polyurethane or synthetic rubber (for example, N
(BR) and the like. The elastic member 8 is desirably formed in such a size that it can be accommodated in the bottom of the accommodation hole 24 of the guide peripheral wall 22.

As shown in FIG. 4, the reel rotating support 9 assembled as described above is in a state where its base end is housed and held in the housing hole 24 of the guide peripheral wall 22 and guided. The tape reel 7 is always moved to the lower half 2 by the elastic member 8 accommodated in the bottom of the accommodation hole 24.
Side, and the tape reel 7 is rotatably supported.

As described above, the reel rotating support 9 has its base end received and held in the receiving hole 24 of the guide peripheral wall 22, so that the inner peripheral wall surfaces 22 a, 2 of the guide peripheral wall 22 are provided.
It moves up and down only in the axial direction using 2b as a guide, and does not rattle in other directions. Therefore, the tape reel 7 rotatably supported by the reel rotating support 9 guided as described above rotates in a stable state.

Next, the procedure for assembling the tape cartridge having the above configuration will be described. Here, only the portion according to the present invention will be described, and therefore, the description of the other portions will be omitted.

In order to assemble the tape cartridge having the above configuration, first, as shown in FIG. 2, the elastic member 8 is housed in the bottom of the housing hole 24 of the guide peripheral wall 22. Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the base end of the reel rotating support 9 is accommodated in the accommodation hole 24. Then, the reel rotation support 9 is placed on the elastic member 8. Next, after assembling the tape reel 7 into the upper half 1, the lower half 2 is screwed to the upper half 1.

When assembling the tape reel 7 into the upper half 1, the base end of the reel rotation support 9 is guided by being housed and held in the housing hole 24 of the guide peripheral wall 22. The support 9 moves up and down only in the axial direction, and does not rattle in other directions. Therefore, if the tape reel 7 is assembled into the upper half 1 from this state, the reel rotating support 9 does not tilt,
The tape reel 7 can be reliably incorporated into the upper half 1. As a result, the tape reel 7 is rotatably supported by the reel rotating support 9 urged by the elastic member 8 and can rotate smoothly.

The tape cartridge of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a polymer elastic body is used as the elastic member 8,
It is not limited to this. For example, if a similar effect can be obtained even if a coil spring is used for the elastic member 8, it can be appropriately changed.

In the above embodiment, the guide peripheral wall 2
Although 2 has a cylindrical shape, it may have a divided shape. For example, it is conceivable to provide a slit in the cylindrical guide peripheral wall 22 along the axial direction.

Although the ball 19 is rotatably held at the end of the reel rotating support 9, the ball 19 may be formed of resin integrally with the reel rotating support 9.

[0043]

As is clear from the above description, according to the tape cartridge of the present invention, it is possible to reliably guide the reel rotating support, and it is possible to secure a stable rotation state of the tape reel. Further, according to the tape cartridge of the present invention, the assemblability of the tape cartridge can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a tape cartridge according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a main part of a portion of the tape cartridge according to the embodiment where a reel rotating support is provided.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state in which the reel rotating support is accommodated and held in a guide peripheral wall provided on the inner surface of the upper half in the tape cartridge of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a part of the tape cartridge according to the embodiment, in which a reel rotation support is provided, in a state where the reel rotation support is provided.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional tape cartridge.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a state in which a reel spring is mounted around the outer periphery of a spring mounting member in a conventional tape cartridge.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a reel rotating support part of an assembled tape cartridge in a conventional tape cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Upper half 2 Lower half 3 Cartridge main body 4 Upper flange 5 Lower flange 6 Magnetic tape 7 Tape reel 8 Elastic member 9 Reel rotation support 22 Guide peripheral wall 24 Housing hole 26 Introducing section

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A single tape reel on which a magnetic tape having an upper flange and a lower flange is wound is housed in a cartridge body composed of an upper half and a lower half. A tape peripheral wall for holding the reel rotary support on the inner surface of the upper half, and the reel rotary support on the bottom of the guide peripheral wall. A tape cartridge containing an elastic body pressed against a reel, and a base end of the reel rotating support housed in the guide peripheral wall. 2. The tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body is made of a polymer elastic body.