JPS60127582A - Tape cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent an opening/closing cover form being held in the half-opening state with simple constitution by controlling backward moving of an opening/colsing cover which is freely turnable and freely movable in the back and forth directions. CONSTITUTION:An opening/closing cover 14 is freely turnable, using a shaft 18 as a cener, freely movable in back and forth directios by a slot 17 fitting to the shaft 18 in respect of a cassette 11, and pushed backward by elasticity of a spring 19. A recessed part 23 is fitted in a protruded part 25 of the cassetted case 11; therefore it will not turn and is in the closed condition. When the case 11 is mounted on a PCM recording and reproducing device etc., and moved backward, the cover 14 in which the engagement between the recessed part 23 and the protruded part 25 is released is turned by a rotation control pin 32, and the backward movement is controlled by a sliding face 24 of the cover 14 and the protruded part 25. This simple constitution can prevent the opening/closing cover from being held in the half-opening state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a tape cassette, and more particularly, to a tape cassette for high-density recording and reproduction that can record and reproduce Q91C, PCM digital audio signals, and the like.

[Background technology and its problems]

In recent years, high-density technology for signal recording and reproduction has progressed.
It has become possible to record and reproduce PCM digital audio signals using so-called compact cassettes for general audio use or smaller cassettes. With tape cassettes for high-density recording like this, dirt and scratches on the tape surface are more likely to have a negative impact than on general compact tape cassettes, so the opening where the tape is exposed on the front of the cassette is usually It is necessary to provide a lid to cover the device when not in use.

That is, FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example of the prior art of the tape cassette for high-density recording described above. is now exposed. Then, the opening/closing lid 4 covers the opening 2 when the tape is not used to keep it in a closed state,
It is rotatably supported near the front position on both sides of the cassette housing 1 so that the opening 2 is opened only when the tape is used.

By the way, if the rotatable opening/closing lid 4 as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. If the tape 3 rotates and fingers or the like touch the tape 3 exposed in the opening 2, moisture, oil, etc. may adhere to the tape surface.

For this reason, the tape cassette is designed so that the opening/closing lid 4 is not only rotatable with respect to the cassette housing 1, but also movable in the front-back direction, so that the opening/closing operation can only be performed when the opening/closing lid is moved forward. is proposed. However, such rotatable and slidable tape cassettes generally have a complicated structure, and if the structure is simplified, the opening/closing lid will move backward during the opening/closing operation, resulting in a half-open state. Problems such as being held in place are likely to occur. If the lid is left half-open, the tape cassette will not be connected to the PC.
When loading or ejecting the tape into the M recording/playback device, the automatic lid opening/closing mechanism may malfunction, making it impossible to record and play normally, or the tape cassette may become stuck inside the device and cannot be removed. , which may cause equipment failure.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to make the opening/closing lid rotatable and slidable in the front and rear directions without complicating the structure of the tape cassette, and moreover, the lid can be opened/closed easily. To provide a tape cassette in which backward movement of a lid is reliably regulated during operation, and the drawback of being held in a half-open state can be overcome.

[Summary of the invention]

That is, the tape cassette according to the present invention has a support shaft on either side of a cassette housing having an opening formed on the front surface, or on both end arms of an opening/closing lid that opens and closes the opening.
The other side is provided with a shaft hole through which the support shaft is inserted, and the opening/closing lid is attached to be rotatable and movable in the front-rear direction of the housing, and the opening/closing lid is always biased in the closing direction and the rearward direction. A spring force is applied to the opening/closing lid, and a protrusion is provided on either one of the arm end face of the opening/closing lid and the opposing part of the cassette casing that faces this end face, and the protrusion is guided on the other side. a recess and a sliding surface with which the protrusion slides and contacts, and when the opening/closing lid moves rearward to close the opening, the protrusion is guided to the recess, and the opening/closing lid When the lid is moved forward and rotated to open the opening, the protrusion comes into contact with the sliding surface to restrict the rearward movement of the opening/closing lid.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the tape cassette according to the present invention will be described with reference to the u side.

Figure 3 shows the first embodiment of the present invention when using a tape]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the casing and the opening/closing lid are separated. In FIG. 3, a rectangular opening 12 is formed in the front surface of the cassette casing 1Y, into which, for example, a magnetic/radical is inserted. The recording magnetic tape 13 is exposed. To open and close the front opening 12 of this cassette housing 11)
The opening/closing lid 14 can be opened by a pair of arms 16, 16 provided at both ends of the lid main body 15, or by a pair of arms 16, 16 provided at both ends of the lid body 15, or by a
It is rotatably supported on a shaft and is attached to the cassette housing 11 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction (arrow F, rt direction) with respect to the cassette housing 11.

Various structures can be considered for this mounting, but in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. The cassette housing 11 The opening/closing lid 14 is attached so as to be rotatable and movable in the front and rear directions.

Furthermore, torsion coil springs 19 and 19 respectively inserted into the rotation shafts 18 and 18 apply a biasing force to the opening/closing lid 14 in the normally closing direction and in the rearward direction (in the direction of arrow R). As is clear from FIG. 6, which shows the opening/closing lid 14 attached to the cassette housing 11,
Both ends of the torsion fill spring 19 inserted into the spring locking portions 21a formed at the upper and lower ends of the side surface of the cassette housing 11
.

21b, and the portion slightly inside the ends of the torsion coil 7<19 is engaged with the spring locking claws 22a, 221) formed on the inner surface of the arm portion 16 of the opening/closing lid 14.
The opening/closing lid 14 is closed and moved backward with one no.Z.19. A cross section taken along the line Vll--Vll in FIG. 6 is shown in FIG. Note that since the arms on both sides of the casing and the arms on both ends of the lid are symmetrical to each other, only one of them will be described.

Furthermore, as a feature of the present invention, a protrusion is provided on either one of the end face of the arm part 16 of the opening/closing lid 14 and the opposing part of the cassette housing 11 that faces this end face, and the other part is provided with a protrusion. A concave portion guides the protrusion when the lid is closed, and a sliding surface is provided with which the tip of the protrusion slides into contact during the lid opening/closing operation.

That is, in the case of this embodiment, as is clear from FIGS. 3 to 7, a so-called cam surface consisting of four parts 23 and a sliding surface 24 is provided on the rear end surface of the arm part 16 of the opening/closing lid 1-4. The cassette housing 11 is provided with a protrusion 25 that can fit into the recess 23. A flange portion 26 that slightly protrudes rearward (in the direction of arrow R) is formed on the outside of the cam surface of the arm portion 16 of the opening/closing lid 14.

In addition, as a specific structure of this embodiment, the cassette housing 1
Curved surfaces 27a and 27b are formed at the corners of the upper and lower ends of the front surface of the lid 1 (so-called rounded edges), and the opening/closing lid 1 is
A cylindrical curved recess 28 is formed on the inner surface of the lid main body 15 of No. 4, so that the recess 28 goes over the curved surface 27a or 27b when the opening/closing lid 14 is rotated.

In the tape cassette having the above configuration, FIGS. 6 and 7 show that when the opening/closing lid 14 is closed, the tip of the protrusion 25 of the cassette housing 11 is connected to the recess 23 on the rear end surface of the arm 16 of the opening/closing lid 14. This shows a so-called lid-locked state in which rotation of the opening/closing lid 14 is prevented by being fitted into the opening/closing lid 14.

When this tape cassette is installed in a PCM signal recording/reproducing device, etc., the slide operation piece 31 of the automatic lid opening/closing mechanism in the device is moved from the rear end surface of the arm 16 of the opening/closing lid 14, for example, to the flange 26. By pressing the end face, the opening/closing lid 14 moves forward (in the direction of arrow F) as shown in FIG. At this time, both ends of the torsion coil spring 19 are connected to the cassette housing 1.
Since only the shaft 18 of the opening/closing lid 14 moves in the direction of arrow F in the shaft hole 17, the return force of this spring 19 is transmitted through the shaft 18. A pulling action is performed to return the opening/closing lid 14 to the rear (in the direction of arrow R).

Next, in this state, the rotary operation pin 32 of the automatic lid opening/closing mechanism presses the front lower end surface of the arm 16 of the opening/closing lid 14, so that the opening/closing lid 14 is rotated clockwise as shown in FIG. Rotate to. At this time, the tip of the protrusion 25 of the cassette housing 11 touches the sliding surface 2 of the rear end of the arm 16 of the opening/closing lid 14.
4, the opening/closing lid 14 is restricted from moving rearward (in the direction of arrow R). Further, as the opening/closing lid 14 rotates clockwise, the upper spring locking pawl 22a provided on the arm portion 16 hooks the torsion coil spring 19 slightly lower than the upper end, so that the spring 19 allows the opening/closing lid to be opened and closed. 14
A counterclockwise spring force will act on it. Furthermore, during this rotation, the four curved portions 28 on the inner surface of the lid body 15 of the opening/closing lid 14 go over the curved portion 2721 on the upper front edge of the cassette housing 11, so that the lid can be rotated smoothly without any hindrance. I'm tired.

In FIG. 10, the opening/closing lid 14 has been rotated approximately 90° clockwise around the shaft 18 to be completely opened, and at this time, the front opening 12 of the cassette housing 11 is opened. , the magnetic tape 13 is exposed, and a recording/reproducing head or the like is inserted into the opening 12 to enable recording/reproducing operations.

When closing the lid, the lid goes through the states shown in FIGS. 10, 9, and 8, and then reaches the closed state shown in FIG. 6.

According to the first embodiment of the present invention, the protrusion 25 is provided on the cassette housing 11, and the recesses 23 are provided on the arm portions 16 at both ends of the lid.
The extremely simple structure of only providing the sliding contact surface 24 restricts the backward movement of the lid (movement in the direction of arrow R) during lid rotation, thereby eliminating the drawback that the opening/closing lid 14 is held half-open. As long as it can be completely prevented, if the lid is closed,
By fitting the protrusion 25 into the recess 23, rotation of the lid is restricted, so-called lid locking, and a separate structure for locking the lid is not required.

In the first embodiment described above, the protrusion 25 of the cassette housing 11, the recess 23 and the sliding surface 24 of the arm 16 of the opening/closing lid 14 are located at the rear of the opening/closing lid 14 (arrow R It not only prevents movement (direction), but also performs a so-called lid locking action.
It is also possible to have the process performed in other parts of the tape cassette I.

That is, FIGS. 11 to 14 show the main parts of the second embodiment of the present invention, including moving parts 41a and 4 that slightly protrude toward the front vehicle (in the direction of arrow F) from the upper and lower edges of the front surface of the cassette housing 11.
1b, and curved surface portions 42a, 421 with radiused outer corners of these moving portions 41a, 411).
), and furthermore, by forming the width of the lid main body 43 of the opening/closing lid 14 to be approximately the same as or slightly shorter than the distance between the moving parts 41a and 411), this lid main body 43 and the moving parts 41a and 411) ) so that they are guided and fitted together. The other parts have a 4114 structure similar to that of the first embodiment of the present invention described above, but there is good deviation from the arm part 16 of the opening/closing lid 14.
The recess 23 formed on the rear end surface has a shape that is slightly different from the shape that allows the opening/closing lid 14 to retreat by simply guiding the protrusion 25 when the lid is closed, and has a shape that fits into the protrusion 25. It is no longer necessary to do so.

Similar to the first embodiment described above, this second embodiment is caused by the lid retraction operation (movement in the direction of arrow 1) during the lid opening/closing operation, or by the protrusion 25 and the sliding surface 24. Of course, when the lid is closed, the upper and lower ends of the lid main body 43 fit into the edges 41a and 4Ib of the cassette housing 11, and rotation of the lid is completely prevented. therefore,
Even if force is inadvertently applied to the opening/closing lid 14 when a user or the like handles the tape cassette, the opening/closing lid 14 will not rotate because the lid locking function is complete.

Next, FIGS. 15 to 18 show main parts of a third embodiment of the present invention, in which a shaft hole 51 formed in the cassette housing 11
If it is formed into a substantially triangular shape, a claw portion 52 is preferably provided on the side of the cassette housing 11 as a portion for locking the torsion coil spring 19.
a, 521) and a claw portion 53 provided on the inner surface of the arm portion 16 of the opening/closing lid 14. U, 531) are arranged outside the claw portions 52a, 521) of the cassette housing 11. In addition, the opening/closing lid 14 and the cassette housing 11
As in the second embodiment, the width of the lid main body 43 is narrowed to reduce the width of the moving part 41 provided in the cassette housing 11.
a.

41b.

In such a third embodiment, when the lid is in the middle of rotation, the locking relationship of one straight portion of the torsion coil spring 19 is not shown in FIG. From the stopped state, open/close lid 14 shown in FIG.
An operation is performed to shift to a locked state by the claw portion 53a on the arm portion 16 side. In this case as well, during the lid opening/closing operation, the torsion coil spring 19 applies a rotation biasing force in the lid closing direction and a biasing force in the direction of arrow 1 (direction) for retracting the lid to the opening/closing lid 14. The effects of this third embodiment are similar to those of the second embodiment described above, so the explanation will be omitted.

By the way, various modifications of the present invention are provided with various grooves, for example, support shafts are provided protruding outward from both sides of the cassette I/casing,
A shaft hole may be formed in both end arm portions of the opening/closing lid to guide the support shaft and to allow movement of the lid in the front-back direction. In this case, 4. Since the coil part of the torsion coil spring is supported and fixed by the above-mentioned spindle, the spring can return the opening/closing lid backward through the claws provided on the arms of the opening/closing lid that lock the vicinity of both ends of the spring. Force will come into play. moreover,
A protrusion may be formed on the end face side of both end arms of the opening/closing lid, and a recess and a sliding surface may be formed on the side surface of the cassette housing cylinder at a portion facing the protrusion.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the tape cassette according to the present invention, during the lid opening/closing operation of the cassette tape having the lid which is rotatable and movable in the front and back directions, the protrusion makes extensive contact with the M contact surface, thereby preventing the lid from moving backward. ■Since the lid is stopped, the lid can be rotated without any hindrance, and problems such as the lid being held half-open are completely prevented. Also, when the lid is closed,
Since the protrusion is guided into the recess formed on the sliding surface side, the lid can be reliably closed without hindering the lid from retreating. Furthermore, the extremely simple structure of providing a protrusion on one of the cassette casing and the arm of the opening/closing lid, and four parts and a sliding surface on the other, prevents the lid from retreating during the opening/closing operation described above. You can definitely do it.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 and 2 show a conventional example of a tape force set 1- having a rotatable opening/closing lid. Figure 1 is a perspective view with the lid closed, and Figure 2 is a perspective view with the lid open. FIG. 3 to 10 are for explaining the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cassette case and the opening/closing lid are separated, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the opening/closing lid. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing the inner surface of the arm part of the lid, FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing the front part of the side surface of the cassette housing, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of the main part showing the lid in a closed state. Figure 7 is the Vll of Figure 6.
-Vll line sectional view, Figure 8 is an enlarged side view of the main part showing the state in which the lid is moved forward, Figure 9 is an enlarged side view of the main part showing the state in which the lid is rotating, and Figure 10 is an enlarged side view of the main part showing the state in which the lid is rotating. FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of main parts showing the opened state. 11 to 14 show a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view of the inner surface of the arm of the opening/closing lid;
Fig. 12 is an enlarged perspective view of the front part of the side surface of the cassette case, Fig. 13 is an enlarged side view of the main part showing the lid in the closed state, and Fig. 14 shows one state in which the lid is rotating. FIG. FIGS. 15 and 15 show a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 15 is an enlarged perspective view of the inner surface of the arm of the opening/closing lid;
FIG. 16 is an enlarged perspective view of the front portion of the side surface of the cassette housing, and FIGS. 17 and 18 are enlarged side views of the main parts at different rotation angles during lid rotation. 11...Cassette housing 12...Opening 13...Magnetic tape 14...Opening/closing lid 16... ...Arm portion 17...Shaft hole 18...Shaft 19...Torsion coil spring 23...
...Concavity 24 ...Sliding surface 25 ...Protrusion Patent applicant Sony Corporation representative, patent attorney Kodo Koike 1) Sakae Mura −

Claims (1)

[Claims] A rotating shaft is inserted into one of both sides of a cassette case with an opening formed on the front side and both end arms of an opening/closing lid that opens and closes the opening, and a shaft through which the rotating shaft is inserted into the other side. holes are respectively provided, the opening/closing lid is rotatably attached to the housing so as to be freely movable in the front-rear direction of the housing, and a spring force is applied to the opening/closing lid to always bias the opening/closing lid in the closing direction and rearward; A protrusion is provided on either one of the arm end face of the opening/closing lid and the opposing part of the cassette casing that faces this end face, and a recess for guiding the protrusion and the protrusion slide on the other side. When the opening/closing lid moves rearward to close the opening, the protrusion is guided by the recess, and the opening/closing lid moves forward and rotates. A tape cassette characterized in that when the opening is opened, the protrusion comes into contact with the sliding surface to restrict the backward movement of the opening/closing lid.