JPS6312461Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention relates to a tape cartridge in which a front cover for protecting the tape is attached to the front of the main case, and the pivot structure of the front cover with respect to the main case has been improved.
The purpose is to facilitate the assembly of the front cover.

In a small tape cartridge for video as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a front cover 2 which can be opened and closed at the front of the main body case 1 is rotatably supported, and when not in use, the front cover 2 is rotatably supported. The tape 3 is designed to cover and protect the front surface of the tape 3 led out to the front of the case.

Generally, the front cover 2 has a front cover pivot hole 4 at the front end of the left and right side walls 6, 6 of the main body case 1.
4, and long and short pivot shafts 5, 5 are provided protruding from the inner surfaces of the left and right side pieces 2b, 2b of the front lid 2. After inserting the longer pivot shaft 5 into one of the front lid pivot holes 4, the shorter pivot shaft 5 is inserted into the other front lid pivot hole 4 by utilizing the deflection deformation of the front lid 2. As a result, the front cover 2 is pivotally supported on the main body case 1. This pivoting state can be reliably maintained by ensuring that the axial lengths of the pivot shafts 5, 5 and the depth of the front lid pivot hole 4 are sufficient. However, problems arise when trying to downsize the tape cartridge. That is, when the tape cartridge is made smaller, the wall thickness of the left and right side walls 6, 6 of the main body case 1 becomes thinner, the depth of the front cover pivot hole 4 becomes shallower, and the depth of the pivot shaft 5 becomes smaller. If the shaft length is increased, the shaft ends protrude into the main body case 1 from the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls 6, 6 and abut against and interfere with the tape 3, so that the shaft length of the pivot shaft 5 also tends to become short. Therefore, with the same pivot structure as the conventional one, there is a risk that the pivot shaft 5 may slip out of the front lid pivot hole 4 due to impact force or the like, and the front lid 2 may come off.

Therefore, when downsizing, the pivot shaft 5 of the front cover 2
It is necessary to take measures to prevent it from falling out. As one means for this, for example, as shown in FIG. The front cover pivot hole 4 is formed by the provided semicircular notch 4a and the semicircular notch 4a provided in the side wall 6 on the lower case 1b side which abuts against the provided semicircular notch 4a. And before butting the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b together,
It is conceivable to put the pivot shaft 5 of the front lid 2 between the semicircular notches 4a and 4a so that the pivot shaft 5 is prevented from coming off at the same time as the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b are butted together. In addition, as shown in FIG. 13, the pivot shaft 5
is formed into a tapered shape, a circular retaining collar 8 is provided, and a groove 9 is inserted at the tip of the pivot shaft 5,
It is conceivable to force this into the front cover pivot hole 4 of the main body case 1.

However, in the former case, the front lid pivot hole 4 is connected to the upper and lower cases 1.
It is necessary to form it on the abutting surfaces of a and 1b,
The work of assembling the front cover 2 becomes complicated. The latter also poses a problem in terms of assembly workability, and there is a great possibility that smooth rotation of the pivot shaft 5 will be impaired.

Focusing on this fact, this invention further develops and improves the means for preventing the pivot shaft of the front cover from slipping out, and allows the pivot shaft to be easily inserted and pivoted into the front cover pivot hole of the main body case in a manner that prevents it from slipping out. It has been made possible.

The details will be explained below based on the drawings.

Figures 1 to 3 show an example of a small video tape cartridge, and its main body case 1
is made up of upper and lower plastic cases 1a and 1b joined together with lids, and reels 11 and 11 on which tape 3 is wound on the left and right sides of the main case 1 are connected to left and right openings in the bottom wall 12 of the lower case 1b. It is rotatably mounted on the drive shaft insertion hole 13, and the main body case 1
Tape outlet ports 14, 14 are formed in the shape of a front opening on the left and right sides of the front surface, and these tape outlet ports 14, 1
4, the tape 3 is led out from one reel 11 to the front of the case and wound onto the other reel 11. A pocket 15 into which a video deck tape pull-out pin and a tape guide pin are inserted is formed in the center of the front surface of the main body case 1 between the left and right tape draw-out ports 14 and 14 so as to extend toward the inside of the case. A lower flange 1 of the reel 11 is located at the rear left-right center portion of the main body case 1.
A reel brake 18 is incorporated, which includes a brake piece 17 that abuts and engages with the engaging teeth 16 on the outer periphery of the reel 1a.

A front cover 2 for tape protection that closes the front surface of the main body case 1 is pivotably supported to be openable and closable, and the present invention is characterized by this pivot structure.

The front lid 2 includes a front plate 2a that closes the front surface of the main body case 1 between the left and right sides, left and right side pieces 2b, 2b extending rearward from both left and right ends of the front plate 2a, and inner surfaces of the left and right side pieces 2b, 2b. It is a plastic molded product having long and short pivot shafts 5, 5 which are protruded in opposite directions from each other. The support shafts 5, 5 are inserted and pivoted into front cover pivot holes 4, 4 opened in the left and right side walls 6, 6 on the upper case 1a side, respectively.

In FIGS. 4 to 6, a circumferential groove 5a is formed on the peripheral surface of the tip of the pivot shaft 5, and on the right side wall 6 of the lower case 1b which is aligned with the right side wall 6 of the upper case 1a.
As shown in FIG. 9, shaft retaining portions 10, 10 having an L-shaped cross section and facing each other in the front and back across the vertical groove 10a are provided to protrude upward. shall be entered from below, and the sixth
It is assumed that even if an external force is applied in the X direction in the figure, the pivot shaft 5 does not come off and rotates smoothly. The engagement of the shaft retaining portion 10 into the circumferential groove 5a is performed by fitting the lower case 1b having the shaft retaining portion 10 to the upper case 1a. Insertion of the pivot shaft 5 into the front lid pivot hole 4 is performed prior to fitting the lower case 1b, which has the shaft retaining portion 10, to the upper case 1a.

In addition, shaft removal prevention parts 10, 10 on the lower case 1b side
is housed in a recess 6b formed in the inner surface of the right side wall 6 of the upper case 1a, and the tip end surface of the pivot shaft 5 is flush with the inner surface of the right side wall 6 of the case or is sunk from the inner surface. This prevents the holding tape 3 from contacting and interfering with the tip of the pivot shaft 5.

The front cover 2 is rotatable around the pivot shaft 5 between a posture in which the front surface of the main body case 1 is closed and a posture in which it is opened upward.The front cover 2 can be turned to the closed posture by a torsion coil spring 21 attached to the pivot shaft 5 on the right side in the figure. It is rotationally biased. The front cover 2 is closed when the tape cartridge is not in use, and covers and protects the front outside of the tape 3, and when the tape cartridge is loaded into a magnetic recording device,
When the front cover 2 is opened, a tape loading pin on the magnetic recording device side enters a pocket 15 formed on the front surface of the main case 1, and the tape 3 is pulled out to the front of the case.

In FIG. 4, the aforementioned torsion coil spring 21 is installed in the gap 22 between the front end 6a of the right side wall 6 of the main body case 1 and the right side piece 2b of the front cover 2, and the front cover 2 is placed in the closed position when the tape cartridge is not in use. A means for locking the lid is assembled. The torsion coil spring 2
1, as shown in FIG. 7, an intermediate coil portion 21a is fitted onto the pivot shaft 5, and one end 21b is a vertical groove 23 provided on the outer surface of the front end 6a of the case right wall 6.
The other end 21c is inserted into and supported by the right side piece 6 of the front lid 2.
It is received and supported by a spring holder 24 provided on the inner surface of the holder.

7 to 9 illustrate the closing locking means of the front lid 2, and the gap 22 is wider in front of the stepped slope 25 of the front end 6a than in the rear when viewed from above. A locking member 26 is installed in this gap 22. Locking tool 26
has horizontal shafts 28, 28 protruding from the left and right side surfaces of the head 27, and front and rear legs 29, 30 extending downward from the head 27.
It is a plastic molded product that is integrally connected, and an engagement surface 31 is formed at the lower end of the front leg portion 29.
The front surface of the lower end of the rear leg portion 30 is formed as a receiving surface 32 of a lock release member, which will be described later.

The locking tool 26 includes bearing portions 33, 33 formed between the upper end of the case right side wall 6 and the lower end of the upper case 1a.
Horizontal shafts 28, 28 are suspended and supported so as to be swingable in the front and rear directions, and are pressed forward by a leaf spring 34 disposed at the rear of the locking member 26.

As shown in FIG. 9, an engaged projection 37 having an engaged surface 35, a rounded guide surface 36, and a groove 44 is protruded from the inner surface of the right side piece 2b of the front lid 2. When the lower end engaging surface 31 of the front leg portion 29 is in the closed position when the mating projection 37 is located on the rear side of the pivot shaft 5 of the front lid 2 and the locking tool 26 is oscillated forward. The protrusion 37 of the front lid 2 is arranged so as to come around from below and come into contact with the engaged surface 35 of the engaged protrusion 37 of the front lid 2 .

That is, when the tape cartridge is not in use, the plate spring 3 is attached to the engaged surface 35 on the front lid 2 side that is in the closed position.
The engaging surface 31 of the locking tool 26, which is pressed forward at 4, comes around from below and comes into elastic contact. However, the engaging surface 31 of the locking tool 26 is set so as to come into surface contact with the engaged surface 35 in a state substantially perpendicular to the rotation locus P of the engaged surface 35 when the front cover 2 is opened and rotated. Therefore, the front cover 2 is surely locked from rotating upwardly around the pivot shaft 5 when not in use. When the tape cartridge is loaded into the magnetic recording device, as shown in FIG. Part 39
enters the gap 22 through the locking member 26 and presses the lower end receiving surface 32 of the leg 30 on the rear side of the locking member 26. As a result, the locking tool 26 swings backward against the leaf spring 34, and the engaging surface 31 of the locking tool 26 comes off below the rotation trajectory P of the engaged surface 35 on the front lid 2 side. The closing lock of the front lid 2 is released. Next, a fixing lever (not shown) on the magnetic recording device side comes into contact with the notch 39 of the front lid 2, and the front lid 2 is rotated to open upward. When the operation in the magnetic recording device is completed, the lock release member 38 and the fixed lever move back to the position when not in use, and the locking tool 26 is pushed forward and swung by the spring pressure of the leaf spring 34, and is twisted. The engaging surface 31 of the locking tool 26 is brought into contact with and guided by the rounded guide surface 36 on the front lid 2 side which is returning to the closed position by the coil spring 21, and at the same time as the closing of the lid is completed, the engaging surface 31 is It engages with the engaged surface 35 of the engaged protrusion 37, and the front lid 2
lock.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 and 8, the cover support pieces 50 and 5 on the inside of the front lid 2
0 between the left and right pivots 41 and 4 of the dust cover 40.
1 is pivotably supported, and this dust cover 40 seals the inside including the underside of the tape 3 and the upper surface of the opening of the pocket 15 when not in use, thereby preventing dust from adhering to the tape 3. . This dust cover 40 has cam pins 42, 42 at its left and right ends,
These cam pins 42, 42 are engaged with cam grooves 43, 43 provided on the left and right sides of the pocket 15, and when the front lid 2 is opened, the dust cover 40 is inserted into the tape 3.
It moves upward together with the front cover 2 along the cam grooves 43, 43 without interfering with the front cover 2 at all.

Next, the front lid 2, the upper case 1a and the lower case 1
A series of assembly procedures for b. will be explained. The outline of the assembly procedure is as follows: First, attach the dust cover 40 to the front lid 2, temporarily assemble the torsion coil spring 21,
Next, the front cover 2 is assembled to the upper case 1a, and finally the upper case 1a and the lower case 1b are fitted together.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the left and right pivots 41, 41 of the dust cover 40 are pivotally supported between the cover support pieces 50, 50 of the front cover 2 so as to be swingable back and forth, and the inner surface of the right side piece 2b of the front cover 2 is The intermediate coil portion 21a of the torsion coil spring 21 is fitted onto the pivot shaft 5 of the torsion spring 21, and one end 21b of the torsion spring 21 is temporarily engaged with the groove 44 formed at the upper end of the engaged protrusion 37. edge 21
c to the spring receiver 24. That is, the spring 21 is pre-assembled to the front cover 2. Next, the front lid 2
When the torsion coil spring 21 is inserted from the front of the upper case 1a and the pivot shaft 5 is moved rearward along the guide groove 45 formed on the outer surface of the front end of the right side wall 6 of the upper case 1a, as shown in FIG. One end 21b fits into the groove 23 on the upper case 1a side. When the front lid 2 is further moved rearward, the one end 21b of the spring 21 comes out of the groove 44 of the engaged protrusion 37 on the front lid 2 side, and the pivot shaft 5 is inserted into the front lid pivot hole 4. , an assembled state is obtained in which the spring 21 closes the front cover 2 and urges it to rotate freely. The locking tool 26 is connected to the horizontal shaft 28 of the bearing portion 33, 33 at the upper end of the right side wall 6 of the lower case 1b.
28 is dropped from above and is hung and supported, and a leaf spring 34 is attached behind the locking device 26.
will be deployed. Finally, the lids of the upper case 1a and the lower case 1b are fitted together, and at the same time, the lower case 1
The shaft retaining portions 10 , 10 erected from the b side are the pivot shaft 5
The pivot shaft 5 engages in the circumferential groove 5a of the front cover pivot hole 4.
It is pivotally supported in a manner that allows it to rotate freely and prevent it from coming off.

Although the illustrated example is as described above, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a shaft retaining portion 10 that engages in a circumferential groove 5a of a pivot shaft 5 of the front lid 2,
If 10 are provided as a pair at the front and rear, a stable state of preventing the pivot shaft 5 from slipping out can be obtained, but instead of this, it is also possible to prevent the pivot shaft 5 from slipping out using only the shaft slipping preventing portions 10 on either the front or the rear. good. The front lid pivot hole 4 is located in the lower case 1.
The shaft retaining portions 10 that engage the circumferential groove 5a of the pivot shaft 5 may be provided on the side wall 6 on the side of the upper case 1a. Further, the slip-off prevention means by the circumferential groove 5a and the shaft slip-off prevention portion 10 may be provided not only on the right-hand pivot shaft 5 but also on the left-hand pivot shaft 5 in the same way.

As explained above, in this invention, the circumferential groove 5a is formed on the circumferential surface of the pivot shaft 5 protruding from the inner surface of the side piece 2b of the front cover 2, and the side walls 6 of the upper and lower cases 1a, 1b that are fitted together, 6 on either side of the pivot shaft 5
A front cover pivot hole 4 is provided which can be freely inserted and removed in the axial direction, and a shaft retaining portion 10 is provided on the other side wall 6 to engage in the circumferential groove 5a by aligning the side walls 6, 6 with each other. Therefore, the pivot shaft 5 can be easily inserted from the outside into the front lid pivot hole 4 of the upper case 1a or the lower case 1b before the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b are put together, and the When the lids of 1a and 1b are brought together, the locking state can be achieved at the same time. Also, according to this idea,
The front cover pivot hole 4 does not need to be formed with mating semicircular notches 4a, 4a as shown in FIG. 12, and there is no need to forcibly insert the pivot shaft 5 as shown in FIG. Before fitting the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b together, the pivot shaft 5 can be inserted into the front cover pivot hole 4 without difficulty, which improves the ease of assembly, and allows smooth rotation of the front cover 2. . Moreover, as the tape cartridge becomes smaller, the left and right side walls 6, 6 of the main body case 1 become thinner, and the front cover pivot hole 4 becomes thinner.
Even if the depth of the front cover 2 becomes shallow and the shaft length of the pivot shaft 5 is short, the front cover 2
Due to the impact force applied to the front cover pivot hole 4, the pivot shaft 5
Since the front cover 2 does not come off, the attached state of the front cover 2 is reliably maintained and quality can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the tape cartridge according to the present invention with the front cover closed, Fig. 2 is a perspective view with the front cover open, Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the inside, and Fig. 4. is an enlarged plan view of the pivot structure of the front lid;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional plan view further enlarging the pivot structure of the front lid, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 4.
Fig. 8 is a sectional view showing the front cover in the open state corresponding to Fig. 7, Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the assembly procedure of the front cover, upper case, and lower case, and Fig. 10 is a sectional view of the front cover and the upper case. Side view showing the order of assembly of the case and lower case,
FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a state in which the front cover pivot shaft is inserted into the front cover pivot hole on the upper case side. Fig. 12 shows a pivot shaft taken as a comparative example, Fig. 12 is a sectional view showing the state after inserting the pivot shaft into the front lid pivot hole, and Fig. 12 shows the pivot shaft. It is a perspective view showing the state in the middle of inserting a shaft.
Fig. 13 shows a pivot shaft taken as a comparative example, Fig. 13 is a sectional view showing the state after inserting the pivot shaft into the front lid pivot hole, and Fig. 13 shows the pivot shaft. It is a perspective view showing the state in the middle of inserting a shaft. 1...Main case, 1a...Upper case, 1b...
...Lower case, 2...Front cover, 2b...Left and right side pieces of front cover, 3...Tape, 4...Front cover pivot hole, 5...Pivot shaft, 5a...Surrounding groove, 6... Left and right side walls of the main body case, 10...shaft removal prevention part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The main body case 1 consists of an upper case 1a and a lower case 1b that are joined together with lids.
It has a front lid 2 that can be opened and closed on the front side of the front lid 2, a pivot shaft 5 is provided protruding from the inner surface of the side piece 2b of the front lid 2, and a circumferential groove 5a is formed on the circumferential surface of the pivot shaft 5. A front cover pivot hole 4 into which the pivot shaft 5 engages is provided in one of the side walls 6, 6 of the upper and lower cases 1a, 1b that are aligned with each other, and a circumferential groove is formed in the other side wall 6 by aligning the side walls 6, 6 with each other. A tape cartridge characterized in that it is provided with a shaft removal prevention part 10 that engages with the shaft 5a.