JPS6128299Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a small tape cartridge adapter that allows a small tape cartridge to be used by being loaded into a recording/reproducing apparatus for large tape cartridges.

This type of adapter has already been proposed, in which a small tape cartridge is stored in an adapter body that has substantially the same external shape as a large tape cartridge, and the tape is pulled out from the small tape cartridge to the front side of the adapter body. It is then loaded into a recording/playback device. The tape inside the adapter body is pulled out by swinging or linearly sliding an operating lever led out from the adapter body. Then, notches are provided at two positions on the outer wall of the adapter body, and the knob of the operating lever is placed in each notch at the limit of movement of the operating lever, so that the knob of the operating lever is inserted into the notch when the adapter is not in use or when loaded into a recording/playback device. Although it protrudes outside the adapter body so that it does not get in the way, it is quite troublesome to put your finger on the knob of the operating lever inside the notch and operate it.

Focusing on the fact related to this invention, one of the notches for storing the knob of the operating lever is formed at one rear left and right corner of the adapter body so as to open across the rear side wall and the side wall. From the outside, you can easily hook your finger onto the knob of the operating lever housed inside.

Hereinafter, embodiments of this invention will be described based on the drawings. The illustrated adapter 1 is designed to allow a small-sized video tape cartridge 2 to be loaded into a video deck for a normal large-sized tape cartridge.

(1) Structure of a small tape cartridge In Figs. 1 and 2, the small tape cartridge 2 functions independently, and the upper and lower plastic cases 3a and 3b are tapped together to form lids. Tape reels 5 and 6 with flanges on both sides, on which the tape 4 is wound, are rotatably mounted on the left and right sides of the main body case 3, which is connected with screws, etc.
There are tape guide members 7 on the front left and right sides of the main body case 3,
7 is arranged, and when viewed from the rear side, the tape 4 is led out from the left delivery reel 5 to the front of the case and wound onto the right take-up roll 6. however,
The tape reel 5 on the output side is installed on a transparent drive shaft insertion hole in the bottom wall of the case to allow a certain amount of free movement in the radial direction, and the tape reel 6 on the take-up side is fixed in position around a vertical fixed shaft 9. It is supported in a shape and rotates,
A gear portion 11 formed on the outer periphery of the lower flange 10
is exposed laterally outwardly through a notch 13 formed across the bottom wall and right side wall 12 of the main body case 3. A transparent window 15 is formed on the left side of the upper case 3a for visually checking the amount of tape wound on the output tape reel 5 from the outside.

The main body case 3 is provided with a front cover 16 for closing the front side of the main body case 3 and protecting the tape 4 when not in use. In the front lid 16, connecting pieces 18, 18 are extended rearward from both left and right ends of the front plate 17, and both connecting pieces 18, 18 are connected to the left and right side walls 12, 1 of the main body case 3.
A U-shaped spring member 19 is mounted on the right side wall 12, and the front cover 16 is placed in a closed position with the opening angle of about 45° as the dead center. When it is in the position, it is held in the closed position, and when it is in the upward open position at 90 degrees forward, it is held in the open position.

(2) Basic structure of the adapter In Figures 1 and 2, the proposed adapter 1
At least, the external shape of the adapter body 20 is formed to substantially the same specifications as a large tape cartridge, so-called VHS type tape cartridge, and there is no problem when loading it into a recording/playback device for VHS type tape cartridges. The recording and reproducing device is now operational.

That is, the adapter main body 20 is formed by connecting upper and lower plastic cases 20a and 20b with their lids together using tapping screws, etc., and has insertion holes 22 and 2 on the left and right sides of the bottom wall 21 into which the drive shaft of the recording/reproducing device is inserted.
3 is transparently provided, and a front cover 24 that closes the front surface of the adapter body 20 is pivotally attached to the adapter body 20 so as to be rotatable to open and close, and is always urged to rotate in the closed position by a spring member (not shown) and is maintained in the closed position. It is equipped with a locking mechanism.
These configurations have the same specifications as standard VHS tape cartridges, so we will omit the details. However, the internal structure of the adapter body 20 is different from that of a standard large tape cartridge; there is no tape reel, and the front surface of the adapter body 20 is open.

(3) Adapter storage chamber A storage chamber 2 with an open top is defined at the left side of the adapter body 20 in the figure, and a small tape cartridge 2 is stored in this storage chamber 25 so as to be freely inserted and removed from above.

In FIGS. 3 to 5, the inner wall surface of the left and right side walls 26 of the storage chamber 25 has a stepped surface 27 with a wide left and right width at the upper part, and an inclined guide surface 28 that slopes downward from the stepped surface 27. It is formed in a cross-sectional shape having a vertical surface 29 that continues to the inclined guide surface 28 and reaches the bottom wall 21, and the height of the stepped surface 27 is set to be higher than the upper end of the small tape cartridge 2 when stored in the storage chamber 25. A gap g is formed between the small tape cartridge 2 and the vertical down-down surface 31 extending from the top surface 30 of the adapter body 20 to the stepped surface 27 and the gap g sufficient for a fingertip to enter. Guide ribs 32 extending from the bottom wall 21 to the height of the stepped surface 27 are provided at rearward positions on the inner wall surfaces of the left and right side walls 26, respectively.

In such a case, insert the small tape cartridge 2 from above into the storage chamber 25 with its front and back orientation aligned with that of the adapter main body 20, and insert the vertical grooves recessed into the rearward outer surface of the left and right lateral walls 12 of the small tape cartridge 2. 33 are guided and fitted into the guide ribs 32, respectively. When the small tape cartridge 2 is stored in the storage chamber 25, the left and right horizontal side walls 12 of the small tape cartridge 2 are received and supported by the vertical surface 29 to position the small tape cartridge 2 in the left and right direction. By fitting with 32, positioning in the front-back direction is performed. Therefore, the tape reel 5 on the output side of the small tape cartridge 2 stored in the storage chamber 25 is inserted into the drive shaft insertion hole 2 of the adapter body 20.
2 concentrically. In addition, the inner wall surface of the left and right side walls 26 of the storage chamber 25 has a stepped surface 27 and an inclined guide surface 28 at the upper end to form a finger insertion gap g, so that a small tape cartridge can be stored as shown in FIG. 2 can be smoothly stored in the storage chamber 25 while being guided by the inclined guide surface 28. In particular, the small tape cartridge 2 is stored with its top surface one step lower than the top surface 30 of the adapter body 20, but the small tape cartridge 2 can be easily picked out from the storage chamber 25 by inserting a fingertip into the gap g. It turns out.

(4) Opening/closing lid of the storage chamber The opening top surface of the storage chamber 25 is opened and closed with an opening/closing lid 35.

When the opening/closing lid 35 is in the closed state, the left and right protruding side pieces 36, 36 of the front end are pivotally connected to each other so as to be able to swing open and close around pivots 37, 37, and are held in the open position by a helical spring 38 fitted to one of the pivots 37. As shown in FIG. 8, the left and right projecting side pieces 3
The maximum opening angle (approximately 115 degrees) is regulated by bringing the openings 6 and 36 into contact with the upper edge of the opening at the front end of the storage chamber 25.

The inner surface of the opening/closing lid 35 is provided with reinforcing ribs 39, 39 extending in the front-rear direction at the left and right ends, and these reinforcing ribs 39, 39 reinforce the opening/closing lid 35 made of thin, flat plastic. 35 to storage room 25
When the reinforcing ribs 39, 39 are closed together on the upper surface of
The lower end surface of is received and supported by the stepped surfaces 27, 27. Further, leaf springs 40, 40 are fixed near the left and right ends of the inner surface of the opening/closing lid 35, and the small tape cartridge 2 is stored in the storage chamber 25, and the opening/closing lid 35 is
When closed, the leaf springs 40, 40 elastically press and support the upper surface of the small tape cartridge 2. This pressing point is located on a line connecting the centers of both tape reels 5, 6 of the small tape cartridge 2, and prevents rattling of each tape reel 5, 6 during rotation.

The top surface of the opening/closing lid 35 is flush with the top surface 30 of the adapter body 20 in the closed state. In such a case, when the adapter 1 is pushed into the recording/playback device in a horizontal position and loaded, the reference plane (usually four corners) on the bottom of the adapter body 20 will be received and supported by the recording/playback device, and the adapter will open/close accordingly. Several locations on the top surface 30 of the adapter body 20, including the top surface of the lid 35, are pressed by the recording/reproducing device to prevent the adapter body 20 from becoming loose. A transparent window 41 for visually checking the amount of tape winding is formed in a portion near the left end of the opening/closing lid 35 in correspondence with the transparent window 15. The opening/closing lid 35 itself may be transparent.

(5) Opening/closing mechanism for the front lid of the small tape cartridge When using the present adapter 1, the small tape cartridge 2 must be stored in the storage chamber 25, and then the front lid 16 must be opened so that the tape 4 can be pulled out. .

Therefore, in the illustrated example, an engager 42 made of a leaf spring is inserted into the opening/closing lid 35 from the vicinity of one of the pivot joints of the opening/closing lid 35.
When the small tape cartridge 2 is inserted into the storage chamber 25 with the opening/closing lid 35 open, the eighth
As shown in the figure, the engaging claw 42a of the extending end of the engaging element 42 is inserted into the vertical gap 43 formed between the stepped surface of the right side wall 12 of the small tape cartridge 2 and the front lid 16. shall intervene. In this case, when the opening/closing lid 35 is closed against the upper surface of the storage chamber 25 against the helical spring 38, the front lid 16 is automatically moved against the spring member 19 by the engaging claw 42a of the engaging element 42. When the opening angle of about 45° is exceeded, the front lid 16 automatically assumes an open position due to the spring member 19, and when the opening/closing lid 35 is closed, the engaging pawl 42a serves as a support for the front lid 16 to open. The external force applied to the lid 16 by a finger or the like is absorbed to maintain the front lid 16 in an open position.

Next, when removing the small tape cartridge 2 from the storage chamber 25, the front edge 35a of the opening/closing lid 35 is removed.
is in contact with the front lid 16 as shown in FIG.
is pressed downward, and the front cover 16 is automatically closed.

(6) Closing lid locking mechanism for the opening/closing lid The opening/closing lid 35, which is biased to the open position by the helical spring 38, must be locked so that it does not open in the closed state.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, L-shaped locking protrusions 44, 44 are provided protruding from the left and right front ends of the inner surface of the opening/closing lid 35, and the upper case 20a of the adapter body 20 has a sliding knob extending from the upper surface 30. 45, and as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, lock pieces 47, 47 provided on a lock plate 46 that slides from side to side integrally with the knob 45 engage the aforementioned locking protrusions 44. , 44, thereby locking the opening/closing lid 35 in the closed position.
If the knob 45 is slid in the left and right opposite directions, the opening/closing lid 35 will be unlocked and automatically opened. In addition,
The engagement surfaces of each locking protrusion 44 and each locking piece 47 are formed into tapered surfaces in order to maintain the opening/closing lid 35 close easily without rattling against the pressing force of the leaf spring 40, and are also tapered to maintain the opening/closing lid 35 close easily without wobbling against the pressing force of the leaf spring 40. The plate 46 is connected to a pair of elastically deformable locking arms 48, 4 which will be connected to each other.
8 and a stopper 4 provided on the inner surface of the upper case 20a.
It is held in the locked position and the unlocked position by the abutting and riding engagement with 9.

(7) Mechanism for preventing accidental erasure of the tape built into the small tape cartridge In order to prevent the tape 4 built into the small tape cartridge 2 from being erased accidentally, the small tape cartridge 2 has a mechanism that is folded off at a position near the left end of the rear wall 51 in the figure. Possible accidental erasure prevention piece 5
2. Therefore, even when the small tape cartridge 2 is stored in the storage chamber 25, it is desirable that the outer shape of the adapter body 20 indicate whether or not the erroneous erasure prevention piece 52 is broken off.

Therefore, on the rear wall 53 of the adapter main body 20, a window 54 is provided through the inside and outside at the location where the accidental erasure prevention piece in a standard large (VHS type) tape cartridge should normally be located, that is, at a position near the left end in the figure.
A detection member 55 detects the presence or absence of the erroneous erasure prevention piece 52 of the small tape cartridge 2 and displays it on the window 54
is incorporated into the adapter body 20.

In FIGS. 10 to 14, the detection member 5
5 consists of a slide member 56 and a swing member 57. The slide member 56 is guided by left and right rib-shaped guides 59, 59 protruding from the inner surface of the lower case 20b of the adapter main body 20, and is configured to be slidable in the front-back direction on the inner surface of the lower case 20b. The guides 59, 5 are biased in the direction of retraction into the adapter body 20 by a spring member 60 made of a helical spring supported on the side of the case 20b.
The retraction limit is regulated by contacting stoppers 61, 61 connected from 9. The stopper 61 also serves as a receiver for the spring member 60, and the spring member 60 restricts the slide member 56 from lifting up. The slide member 56 has protrusions 62, 62 extending from side to side on the lower surface and running back and forth in contact with the inner surface of the lower case 20b to reduce sliding resistance. This protrusion 62 may be provided on the lower case 20b side.

The swinging member 57 has an upper end suspended and supported on the inner surface of the upper case 20a of the adapter main body 20 via a support shaft 63, is swingable in the front and back direction about the support shaft 63, and is provided protruding from the front side of the lower part. The contact terminal 64 faces the position of the erroneous erasure prevention piece 52 of the small tape cartridge 2 in the storage chamber 25 from the rear. An operating arm 65 is cantilevered in the lateral direction from the swinging member 57 and comes into contact with the rear end of the slide member 56 . Note that the support shaft 63 of the swinging member 57 is connected to a plate member 58 erected from the case bottom wall 21.
It is supported by

Assume now that the erroneous erasure prevention piece 52 of the small tape cartridge 2 has been broken off. That time,
Since the contact terminal 64 of the swinging member 57 engages in the recess 66 for breaking off the accidental erasure prevention piece of the small tape cartridge 2, the slide member 56, which is interlocked with the swinging member 57 via the operating arm 65, is completely retracted. Enter,
The window 54 of the adapter main body 20 is in a folded-off state without the erroneous erasure prevention piece.

Erase prevention piece 52 on small tape cartridge 2
exists, the contact terminal 64 comes into contact with the accidental erasure prevention piece 52 and is pushed back, so that the slide member 56 is forcibly moved rearward against the spring member 60, and the slide member 56 rear end surface 5
6a is substantially flush with the outer surface of the rear wall 53 of the adapter body 20 that looks into the window 54.

In other words, the slide member 56 is the adapter body 20,
In other words, it functions as a piece to prevent accidental erasure of a large tape cartridge. Therefore, when the adapter 1 is loaded into the recording/reproducing apparatus, if the rear end surface 56a of the slide member 56 extends into the window 54 and the detector on the recording/reproducing apparatus side contacts the rear end surface 56a, the small tape car It is detected that the tape 4 built into the storage unit 2 is correctly in a state where it can be erased by mistake. In addition, if the rear end surface 56a of the slide member 56 is mixed into the adapter body 20 and the detector on the recording/reproducing device side hits the slide member 56, the tape 4 of the small tape cartridge 2 will be correctly erased. Detect the state.

Note that the front end upper surface 64a of the contact terminal 64 is
The small tape cartridge 2 enters the storage chamber 25 from above.
The swinging member 57 is formed into a concave arcuate surface so that it can be pushed back without prying when it comes into contact with the lower edge of the rear end of the small tape cartridge 2 when the small tape cartridge 2 is inserted. , storage room 25
The swinging member 64 is formed into a convex arcuate surface having a smaller curvature than the curvature of the upper surface 64a so that the swinging member 64 can be smoothly pushed back when the small tape cartridge 2 is removed from the tape cartridge.

(8) Mechanism for drawing out the tape from the small tape cartridge to the front of the adapter body As already mentioned, the storage chamber 2 of the adapter 1 of the present invention
When the small tape cartridge 2 is stored in the storage compartment 5 and the opening/closing lid 35 is closed, the front lid 16 of the small tape cartridge 2 is set in the open state.
Before loading the adapter 1 into a recording/reproducing apparatus, the tape 4 must be pulled out from the small tape cartridge 2 to the front of the adapter body 20 to be in the same tape set state as in a standard large tape cartridge.

The tape drawer mechanism will be explained below.
FIG. 15 shows the state immediately after the small tape cartridge 2 is stored in the adapter body 20, and at this stage, the tape 4 built into the small tape cartridge 2 is spread between the front left and right tape guide members 7, 7. It is stretched out.

Inside the adapter body 20, round pin-shaped tape pull-out members 70 and 71 are waiting in a vertical position on the front left and right sides of the storage chamber 25, and when the small tape cartridge 2 is inserted into the storage chamber 25 from above, The tape pull-out members 70 and 71 relatively enter the recesses 72 and 73 at the front end of the small tape cartridge 2 from below and enter the inside of the tape 4 stretched between the tape guide members 7 and 7.

The left tape drawer member 70 is erected and fixed at the tip of a tape drawer arm 76 that swings horizontally about a fixed fulcrum 75 at the base end. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the small tape cartridge 2 has a lower surface of the bottom wall of the case that is recessed in the left and right width direction at the front part, and the tip of the tape pull-out arm 76 is Adapter body 20
and the case bottom wall of the small tape cartridge 2. This tape drawer arm 76 is connected to a slide link 7 that slides in the left and right direction via a link 77 and a relay link 78.
Connect to 9. A bell crank 81 that can be horizontally swung around a fulcrum 80 is supported on the inner surface of the upper case 20a in the right lateral space in the adapter body 20, and the base end of the slide link 79 is attached to the short side of the bell crank 81 through a long hole. are connected by engagement with the pin.

Further, a horizontal cam plate 82 along the inner surface of the upper case 20a is fixed in the right side space of the adapter body 20. The cam plate 82 has two rows of curved elongated holes 84 and 85 that run approximately in the front and rear directions, and the cam plate 82 is inserted through pins 86 and 87 that pass through each of the elongated holes 84 and 85, as shown in FIG. Slide link 88 up and down,
89 are arranged in an integrally connected state, and the upper slide link 88 and the tip of the long side of the bell crank 81 are connected by a link 90. On the other hand, another tape pull-out arm 9 is connected to a pin 91 provided on the lower slide link 89 through a dogleg-shaped long hole 92.
3 are connected to each other, and a tape drawer member 71 on the right side is vertically provided at the lower end of the arm 93. And arm 93 and lower slide link 89
A tension spring 94 is installed over the entire length of the tape pull-out arm 93 to draw it toward the lower slide link 89 and bias it. Further, on the side edge of the tape pull-out arm 93, there is a notch 95 that engages from the side with one pin 86 that connects the upper and lower slide links 88 and 89.
is provided.

The tip of a manual operating lever 96 is pivotally connected to the fulcrum 80 of the bell crank 81, and the lever 96 and the bell crank 81 are flexible enough to allow relative rotation within a certain small angle by engagement with an elongated hole 97 and a pin 98. Hold and connect. A tension spring 99 is installed between both 81 and 96 to urge them toward each other. The tip of the operating lever 96 protrudes outward from the rear wall 53 of the adapter body 20 through a left and right horizontally elongated slit 100 formed on the joint surface of the upper and lower cases 20a, 20b constituting the adapter body 20. Knob 101 is fixed.

On the outer surface of the rear wall 53 of the adapter main body 20, there is a notch 102 for storing a knob at approximately the center in the left-right direction.
A knob accommodating notch 104 is formed at the rear right corner of the adapter body 20 and straddles the virtual ridge line L between the rear wall 53 and the right lateral wall 103. are accommodated in the notches 102 and 104, respectively. On the other hand, the notch 104 is open across the rear wall 53 and the right side wall 103 at the corner, so when the operating lever 96 is swung from right to left in the figure, it is difficult to touch the knob 101 with your fingertip from the right side. Can be applied easily. In other words, Figures 20 and 23
In the figure, each notch 102, 104 is connected to the upper and lower eaves portions 10 from the upper and lower walls of the adapter body 20.
5, 105, and these notches 102, 104
When the knob 101 is stored in the housing, the top and bottom of the knob 101 are covered by the eaves portions 105, 105.
The knob 101 has two side surfaces 101a and 101b that are substantially orthogonal to the tip, and a notch 104 at the corner.
When the knob 101 is stored, as shown in FIG. 15, one side wall 101a faces backward, and the other side wall 101b faces right sideways, so that the knob 101 itself is connected to the adapter body 20. In addition, one side surface 101a and the other side surface 101b are displayed in different colors or in different shapes. In such a case, when pulling out the tape, put your fingertip on the knob 101 in the notch 104 at the corner and swing the operation lever 96 to the other notch 102, put your fingertip on the other side surface 101b to the right side. All that is required is to simply swing the operating lever 96 to the left.
Since the knob 101 is of a different color from the adapter main body 20, the knob 101 is conspicuous and draws attention to the user, thereby reminding the user of the necessity of the tape drawer operation. Also, when the adapter body 20 is viewed from the rear side, both lateral sides 101a and 101b of the knob 101
are displayed in different colors or with different shapes, so the display of the tip of the knob changes depending on whether the knob 101 is in one notch 102 or the other notch 104, and you can tell whether it is before or after the tape is pulled out. Teach users about the difference in display. Moreover, such a warning display may not only be provided on the knob side, but may also be provided on the case side and covered and hidden by the knob 101. In addition, as shown by the broken line in FIG.
If a through hole 105a is made in 5, this through hole 105
It can be seen at a glance from above which side of the notch 102, 104 the lever knob 101 is housed in through the a. In addition, after the tape has been drawn out, the knob 101 of the operation lever 96 is inserted into the notch 1 at the corner.
04, or both notches 10
2, 104 may be located at the left corner of the rear end, and the other may be provided on the lateral wall 103 of the adapter body 20. Further, in the above embodiment, the operating lever 96 has a swinging operation structure, but it may be one that slides linearly between the notches 102 and 104.

Next, to explain its operation, the adapter body 2
15, the connection pins 86 and 87 of the upper and lower slide links 88 and 89 are connected to the curved elongated holes 84 and 89, respectively, before the tape is pulled out from the small tape cartridge 2 stored in the small tape cartridge 2.
It is located at the front end of 85. When the operating lever 96 is rotated clockwise from this state, the bell crank 81 rotates in the same direction, and the slide link 79 moves to the left, as shown in FIG. Natsute tape drawer arm 7
6 horizontally swings counterclockwise around the fulcrum 75,
First, the tape 4 is pulled out forward by the left tape drawer member 70.

Further, as the bell crank 81 rotates clockwise, the upper and lower slide links 88 and 89 are guided by the long holes 84 and 85 and slide rearward thereof, and the tape pull-out arm 93 also horizontally swings. As the tape 4 moves, the tape 4 is drawn out forward by the right tape drawing member 71.

At this time, the two elongated holes 84 and 85 have different centers of curvature, and the slide link 8
8 and 89 change their posture two-dimensionally within the sliding plane. Therefore, the trajectory P of the tape guide member 81 at the tip of the tape pull-out arm 93, as shown in FIG. 17, draws an intermediate curved curve with a large curvature at the beginning and a small curvature at the latter half. That is, at the beginning of the tape drawing movement, the forward movement component is large, and in the latter half, the movement component in the right lateral direction is large. Therefore, while the front lid 24 of the adapter main body 20 remains in the closed position, the tape 4 can be pulled out to a large extent laterally and outwardly even if the front and rear spaces inside the front lid 24 are small. Being able to pull out the tape with the front cover 24 closed is extremely advantageous in preventing the tape 4 from coming into contact with other objects and being damaged before the adapter 1 is loaded into the recording/reproducing device. That's true.

Next, when one connecting pin 86 of the slide links 88 and 89 reaches the rear end of the long hole 84 and the other connecting pin 87 reaches the bending point of the long hole 85, the small diameter upper and lower ends of the right tape pull-out member 71 is received and supported by an L-shaped engagement portion 106a of a receiving member 106 fixed at a position near the right corner of the front end of the adapter body 20. As the operating lever 96 is further swung, the vertical slide link 88, as shown in FIG.
The tip of the pin 89 rotates clockwise around the pin 86, and the other pin 87 moves to the rear end of the elongated hole 85. Then, as this link rotates, pin 9
1 to move to the rear end side of the dogleg-shaped long hole 92,
The tape pull-out arm 93 is forcibly rotated counterclockwise about the engagement point between the tape guide member 81 and the engaging portion 106a. An engaging recess 107 is formed on the outer edge of the distal end of the arm 93.
is fitted into the locking protrusion 108 protruding from the receiving member 106, whereby the tape pull-out arm 93 is connected to the pin 91, the receiving member 106 and the locking protrusion 108.
The tape drawer member 71 is fixed by a three-point support device according to the present invention, and the accumulated looseness of the link mechanism is absorbed, and the tape drawer member 71 is reliably positioned and supported by the receiving member 106.

Note that the upper and lower ends of the left tape drawer member 70 touch the adapter main body 2 at the tape drawer limit.
L of the receiving member 109 placed at the front left corner of the
The upper and lower ends are received and supported by the letter-shaped engaging portion 109a. Both ends of a click spring 115 having a loop portion in the middle are lockingly connected to the upper wall of the adapter main body 20 and the tape pull-out arm 76, respectively.
This spring 115 urges the tape pull-out arm 76 to move toward the front pull-out position and the rear retraction position, with the intermediate movement position being the dead center. Therefore, the tape drawer member 70 absorbs the accumulated backlash of the link mechanism, and the tape drawer member 70 is able to absorb the accumulated backlash of the link mechanism, and
It is pressed and biased by 9a to be reliably positioned and held at the drawn out position, and well held at the retracted position.

As described above, the left and right tape drawer members 70,
When 71 is moved diagonally to the front movement limit and fixed, the position corresponds to the original position of the front left and right tape guide members in a standard large tape cartridge, and tape 4 is moved to the left and right tape drawers. It is stretched across members 70 and 71. When the adapter 1 is loaded into the recording/reproducing apparatus in this state, the front cover 24 of the adapter body 1 is opened and the tape 4 is pulled out toward the front rotary head by the tape loading pin on the recording/reproducing apparatus side.

(9) Fixing mechanism for the small tape cartridge in the adapter storage chamber When the small tape cartridge 2 is stored and the adapter 1 is loaded into the recording/playback device, one drive shaft on the recording/playback device side is attached to the bottom of the adapter body 20. wall 2
The tape reel 5 is fitted into the hub hole of the tape reel 5 on the feeding side of the small tape cartridge 2 through the drive shaft insertion hole 22 provided transparently in the tape cartridge 1, and the tape reel 5 is pushed up.
At that time, the small tape cartridge 2 is
It is necessary to prevent it from rising within 5.

To this end, a pin 110 is set up on the slide link 79 for moving the left tape drawer arm 76, and the base end of the lock arm 111 is rotatably supported on the inner surface of the upper case 20a of the adapter body 20, and the tip of the lock arm 111 is The two prongs are connected to the pin 110, and a lock piece 112 is connected to the base end of the lock arm 111. In the state before the operation lever 96 operates to draw out the tape, the 15th
As shown in the figure, the lock piece 112 does not face the storage chamber 25, but when the link 79 slides to the left as the tape is pulled out, the lock piece 112 is removed.
12 enters and rotates into the storage chamber 25 as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, and the small tape cartridge 2
A semicircular recess 11 formed on the outer surface of the rear wall 51
A lock piece 112 is engaged with the small tape cartridge 3 to fix the small tape cartridge 2.

(10) Mechanism to prevent forgetting to pull out the tape If you forget to pull out the tape using the operation lever 96 and load the adapter 1 into the recording/reproducing device, the tape 4 cannot be pulled out from the front of the adapter 1, so the recording/playing device will not operate. Therefore, the user may miss out on a long-awaited opportunity to record.
It is necessary to promptly inform the user that the tape drawing operation is being performed. Furthermore, it is necessary to clearly identify the cause of the inoperation of the recording/reproducing device. Furthermore, in the illustrated example adapter 1, a lamp insertion hole 116 into which a tape end detection lamp is inserted is provided in the front right and left center portion of the bottom wall 21, and the tape 4 is inserted into the lamp before the tape draw operation. Since the adapter 1 runs above the hole 116, if the adapter 1 is loaded into the recording/reproducing apparatus as it is, the lamp inserted into the lamp insertion hole 116 will hit the tape 4 and damage the tape 4. Therefore, in this respect as well, it is desirable to prevent the adapter 1 from being loaded into the recording/reproducing apparatus when the tape ejecting operation is forgotten.

Therefore, in this proposal, the bottom wall 21 of the adapter body 20
A misloading prevention groove 117 is formed in a straight line from the front edge 21a of the bottom wall 21 to the lamp insertion hole 116, and a recessed part 118 is formed at the lower end of the front cover 24 on the extension line of the groove 117. do. Originally, when the adapter 1 is correctly loaded into the recording and reproducing device, the detector on the recording and reproducing device side slides into the groove 117 to prevent the adapter 1 from being inserted incorrectly.
This is to prevent the adapter 1 from being completely loaded into the recording/reproducing apparatus when the adapter 1 is loaded with the front-to-back or up-down orientation reversed.

In addition, a spring member 121 is installed on the inner surface of the bottom wall 21 at a position in front of the storage chamber 25 in the adapter body 20 to guide the movable member 119 with a guide 120 and bias the movable member 119 to slide in the left-right direction.
The upright piece 122 erected at the left end of the movable member 119 is positioned so as to interfere with the swing locus of the tip of the left tape pull-out arm 76 . In the state shown in FIG. 15 before the tape drawing operation, the movable member 119 is shifted to the right against the spring member 121 due to the contact between the arm 76 and the upright piece 122, and the right end 119a of the movable member 119 is erroneously moved. Loading prevention groove 117
It's blocking the top. Therefore, under this condition, even if the adapter 1 is loaded into the recording/reproducing apparatus in the correct orientation, the detector of the recording/reproducing apparatus will not be aligned with the movable member 11.
Since it interferes with the right end 119a of the adapter 9, the adapter 1 cannot be completely pushed into the recording/reproducing apparatus and cannot be loaded in the same manner as when the adapter 1 is loaded backwards or upside down. However, when the tape pull-out operation is performed as shown in FIG. 17, the movable member 119 is shifted to the left by the spring member 121 and
7 is opened, so in this case, the adapter 1 can be pushed into the recording/reproducing device.

(11) Mechanism for driving the tape reel of the small tape cartridge by the recording/playback device When the adapter 1 is loaded into the recording/playback device, the drive shaft of the recording/playback device enters into the left and right drive shaft insertion holes 22, 23 formed in the bottom wall 21 of the adapter body 20, and the drive shaft entering the left drive shaft insertion hole 22 engages with the hub hole of the pay-out tape reel 5 of the small tape cartridge 2. However, the take-up tape reel 6 of the small tape cartridge 2 does not engage with the hub hole of the pay-out tape reel 5 of the small tape cartridge 2.
and the right drive shaft insertion hole 23 are spaced apart, and a mechanism for driving the take-up tape reel 6 to rotate is required.

For this purpose, a drive gear which has a hub hole 123 which is substantially the same as the hub hole of the tape reel in a large tape cartridge, as shown in FIG. 124 is attached so as to be freely movable in the radial direction, and two upper and lower gears are provided between the drive gear 124 and the gear portion 11 formed on the outer periphery of the lower flange 10 of the tape reel 6 on the take-up side of the small tape cartridge 2. An idle gear 125 having portions 125a and 125b is arranged, and the upper gear portion 125a of the idle gear 125 is slidably connected to the drive gear 124.
Then, the lower gear portions 125b are meshed with the gear portions 11 of the take-up tape reel 6, respectively.

The idle gear 125 is suspended from the lower side of a movable bracket 126 attached to the inner surface of the upper case of the adapter body 20 via a support shaft 127 so as to be able to move up and down within a certain range, and is biased upward by a compression coil spring 128. There is. Therefore, when the small tape cartridge 2 is inserted into the storage chamber 25 of the adapter main body 20 from above, even if the reel gear part 11 does not mesh well with the lower gear part 125b of the idle gear 125, the idle gear 125 Once spring 1
28, and when the meshing phase matches when the idle gear 125 starts driving, the idle gear 125 is automatically pulled up and becomes in a normal meshing state.

As shown in FIG. 15, the bracket 126 is supported on the upper case 20a by engaging a pin 129 and a long hole 130 so as to be rotatable within a certain angle range around the axis W' of the take-up tape reel 6. and is urged to move by a tension spring 132 so as to wedge between the drive gear 124 and the reel gear section 11. Therefore, the idle gear 125 is always in mesh with the reel gear section 11 and is connected to the drive gear 12.
The gear 124 closely follows the free movement of the gear 124, and meshes with the gear 124 while always absorbing the play.

(12) Mechanism for winding up the tape pulled out onto the tape reel of the small tape cartridge by operating the lever. The tape 4 pulled out from the small tape cartridge 2 is moved to the tape pulling members 70, 71 by operating the lever.
When returning the tape from the front position to the original position, the tape must be wound onto the tape reel of the small tape cartridge 2. For this purpose, the operating lever 96
A mechanism is provided to take up and rotate the take-up tape reel 6 only when the tape reel 6 is returned to the counterclockwise direction.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, on the tip side of the operating lever 96, there is a fan-shaped gear 13 that rotates around the lever fulcrum 80 together with the lever 96.
4 is fixed, and a rotating shaft 135 is erected at a predetermined position within the adapter body 20, and the upper end of the rotating shaft 135 is rotatably attached to a bracket 136 fixed to the upper case 20a, and the lower end is rotatably attached to a bearing 137 of the lower case 20b. A fan-shaped gear 134 is mounted on the upper part of the rotating shaft 135.
A large-diameter gear 139 is fixed to the lower end of the rotating shaft 135, and a swing arm 140 is loosely fitted and supported at the upper and lower middle of the rotating shaft 135, and a support shaft is attached to the tip of the arm 140. 141 is fixed downward, and large and small gears 14 are attached to the support shaft 141.
2,143 are loosely fitted and supported on the upper and lower sides. The upper large gear 142 engages with the drive gear 124 in a detachable manner, and the lower small gear 143 engages with the large diameter gear 13.
The arrangement is such that it always meshes with 9.

A friction plate 145 made of synthetic resin is placed between the upper and lower large and small gears 142, 143, and a compression spring 146 attached to the lower end of the support shaft 141 causes the large and small gears 142,
A friction plate 145 is elastically sandwiched between the friction plates 143, thereby forming a friction clutch 147 that transmits power only at a torque below a certain level.

On the lower surface of the sector-shaped gear 134, small diameter circular concave cam surfaces 149, 150 are formed at both ends, and a circular arc cam surface 151 concentric with the gear center is formed in the middle, and a cam follower 152 is in contact with these cam surfaces.
is supported loosely on the rotating shaft 135, a helical spring 153 is interposed between the cam follower 152 and the arm 140, and a weak spring 155 that pulls the arm 140 outward is installed.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 24, when the operation lever 96 is in the position before the tape drawer operation, the cam follower 152 faces the recessed cam surface 149 at one end of the sector gear 134, and the cam follower 152 is allowed to move freely. Therefore, the swing arm 140 is pulled by the tension spring 155 and the gear 142 is disengaged from the drive gear 124.

Next, to operate the tape drawer, swing the operating lever 96 clockwise as shown in FIG.
Since the sector gear 134 also rotates in the same direction, the cam follower 152 rides on the arcuate cam surface 151 and rotates counterclockwise. At that time, the swing arm 140
is prevented from swinging outward any further by a stopper (not shown).

When the operating lever 96 is swung to the tape draw-out end position, the cam follower 1 is moved as shown in FIG.
52 is removed from the arcuate cam surface 151 and rotated back clockwise along the other concave cam surface 150. Even in this state, the swing arm 140 does not move and the gear 14
2 is removed from the drive gear 124. Therefore, even if the adapter 1 is loaded into the recording/reproducing apparatus and the drive gear 124 is rotationally driven by the drive shaft on the recording/reproducing apparatus side, no power is transmitted to the gear 142.

However, when the adapter 1 is removed from the recording/reproducing apparatus after use and the control lever 96 is swung counterclockwise, the cam follower 1 is removed as shown in FIG.
52 is forcibly rotated clockwise and rides on the arcuate cam surface 151 in the opposite direction, so that the helical spring 153
The swinging arm 140 swings against the spring 155 due to the tensile force of the gear 142 at the tip of the swinging arm 140.
meshes with the drive gear 124.

When the operation lever 96 is returned to its original position, the pinion gear 138 meshes with the fan-shaped gear 134.
rotation is transmitted to the drive gear 124 through each gear group, and the take-up side tape reel 6
5 in the tape winding direction. In reality, the tape reel 6 rotates approximately five times due to the combination of large and small gears. As a result, as the left and right tape drawer members 70 and 71 move in and out, the adapter body 20
The tape 4 pulled out to the front of the tape reel 6
It can be wound without slack.

However, for example, if the tape 4 is on the take-up tape reel 6,
When the tape is fully wound, the amount of tape taken up is greater than the amount of tape pulled out. In such a case, the aforementioned friction clutch 147 is activated to prevent undue tension from being applied to the tape 4.

In addition, the tape pull-out link mechanism reaches its operating limit a little before the operating lever 96 reaches the return end (approximately 7 degrees), but the bell crank 81 and the operating lever 96 engage with the elongated hole 97 and the pin 98. Since the operating lever 96 can be further swung against the spring 99, the tape drawer members 70, 7 are provided with flexibility.
The winding operation is also performed after the tape reel 1 is set in and out, and the winding side tape reel 6 is rotated approximately half a turn.
Therefore, the final winding of the tape 4 is performed with tension according to the set torque of the friction clutch 147, and the tape 4 is wound tightly.

According to the present invention as described above, the notch 10 in which the knob 101 of the operating lever 96 is accommodated within the movement limit.
2, 104 is located at one rear left and right corner of the adapter body 20, and the notch 104 straddles the imaginary ridge line L of the corner and extends between the rear side wall 53 and the side wall 103 of the adapter body 20. Since the knob 10 is opened, the knob 10 accommodated in the notch 104
You can easily place your finger on 1 and then press the operating lever 9.
6 to the other notch 102.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the present adapter and the small tape cartridge as seen from the rear side, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of them as seen from the front side. 3 is a plan view mainly showing the storage chamber of the adapter, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in FIG. 3, and FIG. A sectional view taken along the line C-C in the figure, and Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line D-D in Fig. 3.
8 is a partially cutaway side view of the storage chamber with the opening/closing lid open, and FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing how to extract the small tape cartridge from the storage chamber. Figures 10 to 14 illustrate the tape erase prevention mechanism built into the small tape cartridge. Figure 10 is a perspective view, Figure 11 is a plan view, and Figure 12 is the same as in Figure 11. E-E
13 is a sectional view taken along the line FF in FIG. 11, and FIG. 14 is a vertical sectional side view corresponding to FIG. 13 in a state where the small tape cartridge has an erroneous erasure prevention piece. 15 to 20 show the tape drawer mechanism, FIG. 15 is a plan view showing the state before the tape drawer operation, FIG. 16 is a plan view showing the state in the middle of the tape drawer operation, and FIG. 17 is a plan view showing the state before the tape drawer operation. Plan view showing the state after the tape drawer operation, 1st
Figure 8 is a sectional view taken along the line G-G in Figure 17, and Figure 19.
The figures are a sectional view taken along the line H-H in Fig. 17, Fig. 20 is a schematic perspective view of the tape drawer link mechanism, and Fig. 21 is a schematic perspective view of the tape drawer link mechanism.
The figure is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the tape drawer link mechanism. 22 to 27 show the tape winding mechanism, FIG. 22 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main part, FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the main part, and FIGS. 24 to 27 show the operating lever. FIG. 24 is a plan view showing the relationship between the movement of the tape winding mechanism and the tape winding mechanism over time, FIG.
1 and 2 respectively show the state in which the operating lever is operated to return and the tape is being wound. 1...Adapter, 2...Small tape cartridge, 4...Tape, 20...Adapter body, 25
... Storage chamber, 53 ... Rear wall of adapter body, 7
0, 71...Tape drawer member, 96...Operation lever, 101...Operation lever knob, 101a...
...one side surface of the knob, 101b...the other side surface of the knob, 102, 104...a notch in which the knob fits, 103...the side wall of the adapter body.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The adapter body 20 is formed to have substantially the same external shape as the large tape cartridge;
The adapter body 20 has a storage chamber 25 in which the small tape cartridge 2 is stored in a detachable manner, and the tape 4 is transferred from the small tape cartridge 2 in the storage chamber 25 to the front of the adapter body 20 by moving the operation lever 96. The knob 101 of the operating lever 96 protrudes to the outside of the adapter body 20, and the adapter body 20 is provided with cutouts 102 and 104 in the outer wall of the adapter body 20, respectively, in which the knob 101 is stored at the limit of movement. The one notch 104 is located at one left and right corner of the rear end of the adapter body 20,
The adapter main body 20 straddles the virtual ridge line L at the corner.
An adapter for a small tape cartridge characterized by having an opening extending across a rear wall 53 and a side wall 103.