JPS63234479A - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a compact design on a lock means for a front lid by constituting an operating part of a lock implement to be capable of being pressed from the outside of a windthwise side wall of a main body case to release the engagement of an engaging part provided on an inner surface of a side wall of a front lid with a lock claw. CONSTITUTION:The lock implement 15 is formed in a plate fashion with a spring function, having the operating part 17 which is bent into an approximately opposite state via a bending part 16 and also a backing part 18, whereas the operating part 17 is provided with the lock claw 19 for engaging with the engaging part 21 provided on the inner surface of the side wall 12 of the front lid 10. Then, the operating part 17 is constituted to be pressed from the outside of the widthwise wall 23 of the main body case 1 to operate for releasing the engagement of the lock claw 19 with the engaging part 21. By this method, an extent of the space occupation of the lock implement 15 is minimized in proportion to the main body 1, thus enabling the lock means to be compact.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is a tape cartridge equipped with a front cover for protecting the tape, in which a locking means for holding the front cover in a closed position is improved. .

[Conventional technology]

Some types of tape cartridges, such as small video (
V) Is-C type), the above-mentioned front M10 is pivoted to the main body case 1 so as to be rotatable in opening and closing around a shaft 13, as shown in FIG. It is known from Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 59-20489. For details, please refer to the main body case 1 as shown in Figure 8.
A slider 31 that is biased by a U-shaped leaf spring 30 is provided on the side wall of the front lid 10, and by pressing the tip of the slider 31 against the perpendicular side wall edge 32 of the front lid 10, the front lid 10 can be opened and closed in each room. Maintains posture.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

The above-mentioned conventional configuration only maintains the front lid 10 in the opened and closed position in each chamber, but does not actively lock and maintain the front lid 10 in the closed position. Therefore.

The user can open and close the front cover 10, and in some cases, the front cover 10 may open unexpectedly during handling and damage the tape.

In addition, it is known that a locking device is provided inside the side wall of the main body case 1 in a ground type tape cartridge, and the front M10 is locked and held in the closed position by this locking device. However, when the tape cartridge is particularly small, as seen in the VH3-C type tape cartridge mentioned above, it is difficult to secure enough space to accommodate the locking device, making it difficult to design a highly functional locking device using conventionally known locking means. .

The present invention was proposed in order to eliminate such conventional problems.

An object of the present invention is to provide a tape cartridge whose front cover locking means can be designed compactly.

An object of the present invention is to further provide a tape cartridge equipped with a locking means that ensures that the locking function of the front cover works even when the tape cartridge is not in use.

An object of the present invention is to provide a tape cartridge equipped with a locking means that can be manufactured at low cost and has excellent assembly workability.

[Means for solving problems]

In the present invention, basically, a front cover 10 is pivotally attached to a main body case 1 so that it can be opened and closed, and a locking tool 15 is provided on the inner surface of a side wall 23 of the main body case 1 to hold the front cover 10 in a closed position. assumes a tape cartridge that has been installed.

Thus, in one aspect of the present invention, the locking tool 15 is formed into a plate shape, and at the same time has a spring function.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the locking tool 1
5 is formed into a plate shape having an acting part 17 and a receiving part 18 which are bent substantially oppositely through a bending part 16, and has a spring function. A locking pawl 19 is provided which engages with an engaging portion 21 provided on the inner surface of the main body case 1. It is characterized by being configured so that it can be pressed to release the button.

[First Embodiment] FIGS. 1 to 6 show a first embodiment of a tape cartridge according to the present invention.

First, in FIGS. 2 and 3, 1 is the upper case 1a.
This is a main case formed by combining a lower case 1b and a lower case 1b with their lids together. A pair of tape reels 2 and 3 are disposed inside the main body case 1 on the left and right sides. The tape 4 is led out from the feeding side reel 2 across the tape loading pocket 7 provided on the front side of the case via the guide rollers 6, 6 of the tape outlet ports 5, 5 on the left and right sides of the front end of the case. It is wound up in 3. A front cover 10 is pivotally attached to the main body case 1 so as to be rotatable in opening and closing, and covers and protects the outer front surface of the tape 4 when not in use.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, the front cover 10 is the main body case 1.
A main wall 11 that completely covers the front surface of the main wall 11 and side walls 12 extending from the upper halves of both left and right ends of the main wall 11 toward the rear of the case are integrally molded from plastic. Left and right side walls 1
The upper end of the front cover 1'0 is pivotally supported by the upper case 1a via a shaft 13 made of a roll bottle, and the front cover 1'0 is rotated around the shaft 13. A spring member 14 made of a torsion coil spring is wound around one shaft 13, and one end of the spring member 14 is fixed to the front M2O side and the other end is fixed to the upper case 1a side.

With this, the front lid 10 is always urged to rotate in the closed position.

Locking tool 1 for locking and holding the front lid 10 in the closed position
5.

In FIG. 6, this locking tool 15 has a bent portion 16 at the lower end.
It has an outer acting part 17 and an inner receiving part 18 which are bent to face each other via the outer side, and the whole has the function of a leaf spring. Specifically, it is made of a plastic material such as POM (polyoxymethylene) resin and is integrally molded in a state in which it is unfolded on the same plane as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. It can then be assembled.

A locking pawl 19 is integrally formed to extend forward from the upper end of the operating portion 17, and a release portion 20 is integrally provided on the outer surface of the operating portion 17 at approximately the center thereof.

In the locking device 15, the bending portion 16 is formed into a partially arcuate shape so that the action portion 17 and the receiving portion 18 can be easily bent into a two-fold state and the creep characteristics can be improved.

At the tip of the locking claw 19, an engaging protrusion 19a protruding toward the outside of the case is provided, and a retaining part 21 is formed in a concave shape on the inner surface of the side wall 12 of the front lid 10 in correspondence with this. .

The locking tool 15 is arranged on the inner surface of the horizontal side wall 23 of the upper case 1a. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a spring receiving wall 24 is provided downwardly protruding from the inner surface of the earthen wall of the upper case 1a in parallel with the horizontal side wall 23.
Grasp the acting part 17 and the receiving part 18 so that they are close to each other, align the acting part 17 along the inner surface of the horizontal side wall 23, and touch the upper end of the receiving part 18 to the spring receiving wall 24.・
At 24, the locking tool 15 is held in a pinched state by its own elastic restoring force. Further, a support wall 25 is raised from the lower case 1b, and a support surface 26 recessed in the upper end of the support wall 25 is used to support the locking tool 15.
It receives and supports the bent portion 16 of. In this assembled state, the release portion 20 is loosely fitted into the window 27 opened in the side wall 23 of the case, and the release portion 20 faces outside of the case.

In this way, after the front M10 and the locking tool 15 are assembled to the upper case 1a, the upper case 1a is put on the lower case 1b and connected.

At this time, due to the engagement between the release part 20 and the window 27 and the engagement between the engagement protrusion 19a and the engagement part 21.

The entire locking tool 15 is positioned and held on the upper case 1a in a temporarily assembled state, so that the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b, the locking tool 15, and the front cover 10 can be assembled easily and reliably.

The locking tool 15 is switched between the locking position and the unlocking position by tilting the two acting parts 17 and the locking claw 19 integrated therewith in the inward and outward directions using the bent part 16 as a fulcrum. FIG. 5 shows the locked state, and when the operating member P on the deck side pushes the operating part 17 inward from the lateral outer side of the case through the release part 20, the locking claw 19 moves into the front cover 1.
0 in the thickness direction of the side wall 12, the retaining protrusion 19a is removed from the retaining portion 21 and switched to the unlocked position. In this state, as shown in FIG. 4, the front cover 10 is pushed upward by the operating member Q on the deck side against the spring member 14 and rotated to open upward. When the operating force of each operating member P-Q is released, the front cover 10 is automatically closed by the spring member 14, and at the same time, the lock claw 19 is operated by the elastic restoring force of the operating portion 17.
The front lid 10 has fallen into the retaining portion 21 and is in a closed position.
automatically locks in the closed position.

[Second example] FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. This is it.

A spring receiving wall 24 is integrally formed so as to extend from the horizontal side wall 23 of the upper case la toward the front of the case.
The bent part 16 of the locking tool 15 is abutted and supported by the rear support wall 25 connecting the parts 3 and 24. Further, an extension part of the second acting part 17 is designed to serve as the lock pawl 19 as it is.

That is, in the first embodiment, the lock claw 19 engages and disengages from the engaging portion 21 of the front M10 while tilting around the horizontal axis, whereas in the second embodiment, the lock claw 19 swings around the vertical axis. It is designed to be connected and disconnected while doing so.

[Another embodiment example]

Although the illustrated example is as described above, the present invention is not limited thereto.

For example, the retaining portion 21 formed on the side wall 12 of the front lid 10
The retaining portion 21 may be formed in a penetrating shape, or the retaining portion 21 may be formed in a protruding shape.

In addition, the guide grooves connected to the window 27 are connected to the upper and lower cases 1a.
1b or the front cover 10 so that the operating member P is guided by the guide groove and comes into contact with the release part 20. In this case, the direction in which the guide groove is formed may be either forward or backward, or up or down, and its opening start end may be located at either the side end of the front lid 10, the lower case lb side, or the upper case la side.

Further, the locking member 15 may be formed of a metal plate spring material instead of a plastic material. In any case, the acting part 17 and the receiving part 18 may be bent through the bending part 16 before being assembled together.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the locking tool 15 of the present invention has a bending portion 1.
Since the acting part 17 and the receiving part 18 are bent to be substantially opposite to each other through the two-body case 1, the space occupied by the locking member 15 with respect to the two-body case 1 can be reduced. Furthermore, the locking tool 15 is displaced in the inner and outer directions, that is, in the thickness direction of the side wall 12 of the front lid 10, and engages and disengages with the engaging portion 21 on the front lid 10 side. The amount of operation of the action section 17 can also be kept small. Therefore, it is extremely effective in small tape cartridges where the space for installing the locking means is limited.

Furthermore, the front cover 10 can be reliably locked in the closed position when not in use, and can be reliably unlocked, providing excellent functionality.

Further, since the locking tool 15 itself is composed of a single member having a spring function, there is no need for a separate spring member that acts on the locking tool 15, and the number of members can be kept to a minimum. Since the locking tool 15 can be easily assembled to the device, it is suitable for mass production at low cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 is a cross-sectional plan view of the main parts. FIG. 2 is an internal plan view of the tape cartridge. FIG. 3 is a perspective view thereof. FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view of the main part. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the locking tool. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional plan view of main parts showing a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a side view of the main parts of the conventional example. 1... Main body case. 4...Tape. 10... Front lid. 12... Side wall of the front lid. 14... Spring member. 15...Lock device. 16...Bent part of the locking tool. 17...Action part of the locking tool. 18...Receptacle for locking tool. 19...Lock claw. 20...Release part. 21...Holding part. 23...Horizontal side wall of main body case. 27...Counter. Inventor Mizutani Sakizutsu
3 Figure N Figure 7 Figure 8

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) The front cover 10 is pivotally attached to the main body case 1 so that it can be opened and closed, and the front cover 10 is arranged on the inner surface of the side wall 23 of the main body case 1.
0 in a closed position, and the locking tool 15 is formed into a plate shape having an acting part 17 and a receiving part 18 that are bent substantially oppositely through a bent part 16, and has a spring function. The acting portion 17 is provided with a lock claw 19 that engages with an engaging portion 21 provided on the inner surface of the side wall 12 of the front lid 10, and the acting portion 17 is provided with a lock claw 19 that engages with an engaging portion 21 provided on the inner surface of the side wall 12 of the front lid 10. A tape cartridge characterized in that the tape cartridge is configured to be press-operable so as to release the engagement between the lock pawl 19 and the engaging portion 21 from the outside.