JPS6316821B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tape cassette that is most suitable for application to recording and reproducing devices such as video tape recorders and other various information processing devices.

As is well known, a tape cassette for a video tape recorder has an opening on one side thereof, and a notch on the bottom surface communicating with the opening. By attaching this tape cassette to the video tape recorder body, the tape loading guide is inserted into the tape inside the cassette through the notch, and then the tape loading guide is moved from the opening to the outside of the cassette. This allows the tape loading guide to pull the tape out of the cassette and load it onto a predetermined tape running path.

Conventionally, a rotatable lid is provided on the front surface of the opening to prevent the tape from accidentally flying out of the cassette and being damaged. It was configured so that the rotating lid could be rotated and opened when attached to the main body.

However, in the past, no consideration was given to preventing dust from entering the inside of the cassette through the notch, so that dust could accidentally enter the inside of the cassette and attach to the magnetic surface of the tape, causing recording or recording. There was a defect that easily caused dropouts during playback.

The present invention was invented in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and includes, in addition to the rotary lid that closes the opening,
A sliding lid is provided to close the notch to improve the sealing performance of the cassette, and to prevent rotation due to vibration of the tape reel when the cassette is not in use.
This prevents the tape from loosening unexpectedly within the cassette.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tape cassette in which the tape reel can be rotated when the sliding lid is opened when the cassette is attached to the main body of a recording/reproducing apparatus or the like.

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a tape cassette for a video tape recorder will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the tape cassette 1 is composed of an upper half 2 and a lower half 3 made of synthetic resin, which are fitted into each other from above and below and secured with a plurality of setscrews 4 to form an integrated housing. There is. A pair of tape reels 5 and 6 are rotatably housed in the tape cassette 1, and a magnetic tape (hereinafter simply referred to as tape) 7 is wound around both tape reels 5 and 6 and housed therein. . Note that both tape reels 5 and 6 are attached to the bottom wall 3 of the lower half 3.
a, and its lower end is placed on its bottom wall 3a.
It is fitted into a pair of reel fitting holes 8 and 9 provided in and positioned. There is an opening 1 on the front surface of the tape cassette 1 that extends over almost the entire width of the cassette.
2 is provided. Further, a notch 13 is provided in the bottom wall 3a so as to communicate with the opening 12. The tape 7 is guided by a pair of tape guide pins 14 and 15 formed integrally with the upper half 2 at both left and right ends of the opening 12 and passed along the opening 12.

By the way, a rotating lid 17 is provided on the front surface of the opening 12, and a sliding lid 18 is provided on the notch 13. Note that these lids 17 and 18 are both molded from synthetic resin. The rotating lid 17 has a substantially U-shape, and a pair of fulcrum pins 19 are integrally provided at both left and right ends 17a, and the lower ends provided at both left and right side walls 2a of the upper half 2 are opened. The support hole 20 is fitted into the support hole 20, and the support hole 20 is rotatably supported in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 6, this rotating lid 17 is biased to rotate downward (counterclockwise in FIG. 2) by a torsion spring 21 fitted to one of the fulcrum pins 19, so that the lid 17 is opened. The portion 12 is always closed.

On the other hand, the sliding lid 18 has a flat plate shape, is placed on the bottom wall 3a of the lower half 3, and is configured to be slidable horizontally in the front-rear direction. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a pair of small protrusions (or protrusions) 22 are integrally formed on the lower surface of both left and right ends of the sliding lid 18, and a pair of small protrusions (or protrusions) 22 are provided on the left and right ends of the bottom wall 3a. By engaging and sliding in the pair of guide grooves 23, the sliding lid 18 is configured to slide in a state in which it floats very slightly above the bottom wall 3a. Further, a long hole 28 provided approximately at the center in the left-right direction of the sliding lid 18 is inserted into a cylindrical boss portion 29 for screwing, which is provided integrally with the lower half 3.
This cylindrical boss portion 29 serves both as a sliding guide for the sliding lid 18 and as a stopper for sliding the sliding lid 18 forward by the compression spring 26.

Incidentally, a plurality of ribs 31 projecting downward are integrally provided on the inside portions of both left and right side walls 2a of the upper half 2. When the upper half 2 is fitted into the lower half 3, the lower end surfaces of these ribs 31 are brought close to the left and right edges 18a of the sliding lid 18 as shown in FIGS. The lower end surface and the bottom wall 3a of the lower half 3
A pair of left and right grooves 32 are formed between the lower half 3 and the left and right side walls 3c of the lower half 3. Therefore, the sliding lid 18
is configured such that both end edges 18a thereof are guided by both grooves 32 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction on the bottom wall 3a of the lower half 3.

A pair of left and right slits 33 are formed at the lower edge of both left and right ends of the front wall 17b of the rotary lid 17, and the front edge of the bottom wall 3a of the lower half 3 is opposite to these slits 33. A pair of left and right slits 34 are also formed at both left and right end portions. Note that 35 is a partition wall provided integrally with the upper half 2.

However, as shown in Figures 3, 4, and 7,
Both tape reels 5 and 6 are both molded from synthetic resin, and each has a cylindrical hub 41 and a flange portion 42 integrally provided on the outer periphery of the lower end 41a side of the hub 41. , and an annular lock portion 43 integrally provided on the outer periphery of the flange portion 42. The annular lock portion 43 has a shape similar to, for example, a gear, and a large number of protrusions 44 are provided at regular intervals in the circumferential direction of the flange portion 42. Both tape reels 5 and 6 are configured such that their hub lower ends 41a are fitted into both reel fitting holes 8 and 9 of the lower half 3 so as to be rotatable.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 5, the rear end 18b of the substantially central portion of the sliding lid 18 in the left-right direction
and the rear wall 3b of the lower half 3 and between the flanges 42 of the tape reels 5 and 6. A locking member 4 that prevents rotation of
7 is provided. Note that this locking member 47 also serves as a spring for returning the sliding lid 18 to the front side (lid closing direction). The locking member 47 is made of, for example, a leaf spring or a synthetic resin and has elasticity, and extends along the outer periphery of both flanges 42 of both tape reels 5 and 6, as shown in the figure. A pair of left and right curved pieces 47a, 47 curved in an arc shape
b are integrally connected to each other at a central portion 47c. Both ends of the curved pieces 47a, 47b are inserted into and supported in a pair of left and right support grooves 48 integrally provided in the lower half 3 with a space between them and the rear wall 3b. The curved pieces 47a, 47b are held down from above by a pair of left and right holding plates 49 integrally provided on the upper half 2. A pair of left and right locking portions 50 having a triangular shape, for example, which are integrally provided on both left and right side surfaces of the center portion 47c of both the curved pieces 47a and 47b, are attached to each of the annular lock portions 43 of both tape reels 5 and 6. It is configured to be selectively engaged between the protrusions 44.

The center portion 47c of the locking member 47 is in contact with the rear end 18b of the center portion of the sliding lid 18, and both curved pieces 47a, 47b of the locking member 47
In FIG. 4, the sliding lid 18 is pushed in the same direction by the elastic restoring force in the direction of the arrow a, thereby closing the notch 13. When the sliding lid 18 closes the notch 13, the locking portions 50 of the locking member 47 selectively engage between the protrusions 44 of the annular lock portions 43 of the tape reels 5, 6. do,
Both tape reels 5 and 6 are configured to be prevented from rotating.

The tape cassette 1 is constructed as described above, and normally both the opening 12 and the notch 13 are closed by the rotating lid 17 and the sliding lid 18, forming a so-called closed type housing. It consists of Therefore, in this sealed state, dust and the like are prevented from entering into the tape cassette 1.

Further, in the sealed state, both tape reels 5 and 6 are prevented from rotating by both locking portions 50 of the locking member 47.

Next, as shown in FIG.
When the tape 7 is attached to the video tape recorder body, the sliding lid 18 and the rotating lid 17 are opened, and the tape 7 can be pulled out of the tape cassette 1 through the opening 12.

That is, for example, when the tape cassette 1 is inserted into a cassette holder of a video tape recorder main body from the direction of arrow b in FIG.
4, the sliding lid 18 is first slid rearward, and the notch 13 is opened. Next, when the tape cassette 1 is moved in the direction of arrow c in FIG. When inserted, the rotating lid 17 is pushed up, and this rotating lid 1
7 is rotated in the direction of arrow d in FIG. 8 against the torsion spring 21, and the opening 12 is opened. At this time, a tape loading guide (not shown) is inserted into the inside of the tape 7 in the tape cassette 1 through the notch 13.

Therefore, the sliding lid 18 due to the projection 36 as described above
By sliding rearward, the rear end 18b of the central part
The center portion 47c of the locking member 47 is indicated by the arrow a in FIG.
Push in the direction of arrow e in FIG. 4 against the elastic restoring force in the direction. As a result, both the curved pieces 47a and 47b are bent as shown in the imaginary lines in FIG. As a result, both tape reels 5 and 6 are unlocked. Therefore, the sliding lid 18 is slid rearward to open the notch 13, and both tape reels 5,
6 is released, and both tape reels 5 and 6 become rotatable.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is applicable to tape cassettes for various recording and reproducing devices other than video tape recorders and various other information processing devices.

Furthermore, as in the embodiment, if the locking member 47 that prevents the rotation of both tape reels 5 and 6 is configured to double as the spring for double movement of the sliding lid 18, the spring for double movement of the sliding lid 18 can be There is no need to provide a separate
The number of parts and assembly man-hours can be reduced. However, the shape and structure of the locking member 47 at this time can be changed to various effective shapes and structures other than those shown in the drawings. Further, the shape and structure of the annular lock portion 43 on the tape reel 5, 6 side can be changed in various ways.

As described above, the present invention includes an opening in one side of a tape cassette containing a tape reel, and a notch in the lower surface of the cassette that communicates with the opening, and a rotatable opening in the front surface of the opening. A rotating lid is provided, and a sliding lid is provided that can freely slide to cover the notch, and a locking member that engages with the tape reel and prevents rotation of the tape reel is provided. Since the tape cassette is configured such that the engagement of the locking member with the tape reel is released by movement in the lid opening direction, the opening and the notch can be connected by the rotating lid and the sliding lid. Each cassette is sealed, and the sealing performance of the cassette is extremely high.
However, when the cassette is not in use, the locking member prevents the tape reel from rotating, preventing the tape reel from rotating unexpectedly due to vibrations, etc., and causing the tape to loosen unexpectedly within the cassette. When the cassette is attached to the main body of a playback device or the like, the tape reel can be made rotatable when the sliding lid is opened, which is very convenient.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a tape cassette for a video tape recorder, in which Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view, Fig. 2 is a side view, and Fig. 3 is a line taken from Fig. 2. 4 is a sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken in the direction shown in FIG.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow line in FIG. 4, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts for explaining the opening operation of the rotating lid and the sliding lid. Further, in the symbols used in the drawings, 1...tape cassette, 3...lower half, 3a...bottom wall, 5, 6...tape reel, 12...opening,
13... Notch portion, 17... Rotating lid, 18... Sliding lid, 21... Torsion spring, 43... Annular lock portion,
44...Protrusion, 47...Locking member, 47a, 47
b... Curved piece, 50... Locking part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 An opening is formed on one side of a tape cassette containing a built-in tape reel, and a notch is formed on the bottom surface of the cassette in communication with the opening, and a rotatable lid is provided on the front surface of the opening. , a sliding lid that can freely slide to cover the notch is provided, and a locking member that engages with the tape reel and prevents rotation of the tape reel is provided, and the sliding lid is moved in the opening direction. The tape cassette is configured such that the engagement of the locking member with the tape reel is released by the locking member.