JPS6336056B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a tape cassette used in audio, video, data recorders, etc., and particularly relates to a tape cassette stretched along an opening provided in the front of a cassette housing. The present invention relates to a tape cassette having a front lid for covering and a lid lock piece for preventing the front lid from being opened when the tape cassette is not in use.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, tape cassettes of this type include, for example, tape cassettes used in well-known VHS and β-type VTRs. In any of these tape cassettes, a front lid spring is provided to rotate the front lid in a direction to cover the tape stretched along the front opening, and when the tape cassette is not in use, the front lid can be rotated to cover the tape stretched along the front opening. A lid lock piece is provided which rotates in the width direction of the tape cassette and a lock spring which engages the lid lock piece with the front lid and biases it in a direction to prevent the front lid from opening. .

Problems to be Solved by the Invention When attempting to use these front lids, lid lock pieces, and their respective biasing functions in a miniaturized tape cassette, there are problems with the space for installing the biasing springs and the need for the lid. The rotation direction of the locking piece when it is unlocked is taken in the width direction of the tape cassette, which poses problems such as requiring a large width dimension.

On the other hand, for example, as used in VHS VTRs, transparent tape is provided at the beginning and end of the tape, and one of the light-receiving and light-receiving detection means is inserted into the cassette from the bottom of the cassette.
When employing a start/end detection method for a light-transmissive tape in which one tape is placed inside the tape cassette and the other is placed outside the tape cassette, it is necessary to provide an optical path hole in the side surface of the tape cassette.

This optical path hole is normally placed on the side plate of the case of the tape cassette, and can be covered by the side plate of the front cover, which is pivotally supported by the side plate of the case. A front cover spring that biases the front cover in the direction of closing the front cover, or a cover lock that prevents the front cover from opening is provided in the space with a predetermined distance between the tape cassette and the case side plate. It is also necessary to make the width direction dimension as small as possible, and in that case, the optical path hole is covered at a predetermined distance even when the front cover is closed.

This optical path hole, like other tape cassette openings, allows dust to enter through this opening and adhere to the tape in the tape cassette, causing dropouts. This becomes more and more of a problem, especially in the case of small tape cassettes that use short-wavelength high-density recording, since there is a possibility that they may be carried in, for example, clothes pockets.

In view of these disadvantages, the present invention aims to cover the optical path hole to prevent dust from entering even in a tape cassette which is miniaturized when the tape cassette is not in use.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides an optical path hole in a case side plate at the front of a cassette housing, and a light path hole is provided on a side plate of a front cover that faces the case side plate with a predetermined space in between. A lid lock piece is provided with a first protrusion that covers the optical path hole when the front lid is closed, and is further provided in the space between the case side plate portion and the side plate portion of the front lid to prevent the front lid from rotating to open. It is characterized by having the following.

Effects With the above configuration, the present invention can cover the optical path hole of the case when the front cover is closed and is not in use, and can prevent dust from entering the case.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway schematic plan view showing an embodiment of the tape cassette according to the present invention. Tape 4 stretched along
Rotating shafts 5, 6 are attached to the sides of the tape cassette housing 1, which consists of the upper and lower halves 1a, 1b (see Fig. 2).
When the tape cassette is not in use, it is covered by a front cover 7 which is pivotally supported by the tape cassette. A space 11 is provided at a predetermined distance between one side plate 8 of the front cover 7 and the case side plate 9 of the tape cassette housing, and between the case outer plate 10.
In this space 11, as will be explained below, a front lid spring 12 and a lid lock piece 1 are used to bias the rotation of the front lid 7.
3, and further provided with a lock spring 14 and first and second protrusions 23 and 22. In addition, a light emitting element or a light receiving detection means (not shown) is installed inside the tape cassette 1 at approximately the center of the tape cassette housing 1.
An opening 36 is provided in the case side plate 9 shown in a perspective view in FIG. 2 to form an optical path shown by a dashed line through the tape 4 inside the tape cassette. Optical path hole 33
is provided. Then, passage of the transparent tape (not shown) provided at the beginning and end of the tape 4 is detected by light emitting and light receiving detection means (not shown) located inside the opening 36 and outside the tape cassette housing 1. and controls the running mode of the tape 4.

In FIG. 3, the main parts are shown in an exploded perspective view, and the upper half 1a and lower half 1b of the tape cassette 1 (FIG. 1) have lid lock pieces 13 in the thickness direction of the tape cassette. Recesses 15 are provided on the case side plate 9 and case outer plate 10 to support the rotation axis, and recesses 16 are provided on the side plate 9 of the upper half 1a to support the front cover 7 in rotation. It is provided. The concave and convex portions are arranged to be held in correspondence with each other at mutually corresponding positions, and each is pivotally supported.

The front lid 7 is provided with a lid opening member 17 (seventh
The notch 19 allows the entry of the tape cassette 13 into the space 11 shown in FIG. 1 from the outside of the front surface of the tape cassette 1. forgive in position,
In addition, in order to attach the tape cassette 1 to the main unit (not shown), a notch 21 is provided that exposes a contact part 20 for positioning the insertion direction into a cassette holder (not shown) into which the tape cassette 1 is inserted. . Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the inner surface of the side plate portion 8 of the front lid 7,
That is, the first protrusion 23 and the second protrusion 23 are located at positions facing the space 11 shown in FIG. 1 and facing the case side plate 9.
A protrusion 22 is provided, and before the front cover 7 is assembled to the cassette case, the center part of the front cover spring 12 is inserted into the rotation shaft 5 of the front cover 7, and both ends thereof are locked. First protrusion 2 having a shape
3. It is locked to the second protrusion 22. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the case side plate portion 9 of the upper half 1a
There are guide walls 24, 2 between the
5 is provided, and the lock spring 14 is locked by inserting and storing the lock spring 14 therein in the direction of arrow 24 against the spring force. Then, when assembling the upper and lower halves 1a, 1b and the front cover 7 (FIG. 3), the steps are as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the lower half 1b
The lid lock piece 13 is provisionally supported in the recess 15 (Fig. 3) and placed on the stand 27, and then the lock spring 14 is placed on the stand 27.
is inserted into the recess 26 and lowered in the direction of arrow 28 to join the upper and lower halves 1a and 1b. At this time, there is a bent portion 14a at one end of the lock spring 14, and the lid lock piece 1 is bent further than the state in which it is inserted into the recess 26 and is smoothly lowered.
3 in the thickness direction of cassette 1 (direction of arrow 29)
The upper half 1a is rotated and urged to come into contact with the protrusion 30 provided on the case side plate 9 of the upper half 1a. After that, as shown in FIG. 7, the side plate part 8 of the front cover 7 with the front cover spring 12 is bent and expanded in the width direction of the tape cassette, and in this state, the upper and lower halves 1a, 1b are moved in the direction of the arrow 31. The rotating shaft portion 5 is inserted into the recess 16 (FIG. 3) so that it is held between the two. At that time, one end of the front lid spring 12 is attached to a second protrusion 22 which is a part of the front lid 7.
However, the other end is not locked to the first protrusion 23 and engages with a protrusion 30 provided on the case side plate 9 of the upper half 1a, causing the front cover 7 to move in the direction indicated by the arrow 32. It rotates and energizes in the direction.

Here, the height of the first projection 23 is set to be slightly smaller than the distance between the side plate 8 of the front lid 7 and the case side plate 9. As is clear from FIG. 7, the first projection 23 not only locks the front lid spring 12 to the front lid 7, but also serves as an engaging portion for the lid lock piece 13, and also serves as an engaging portion for the tape 4 (see FIG. 1). ) to allow light to pass inside and outside the tape cassette and to detect the beginning and end of the tape 4 by passing the transparent tape provided at the beginning and end of the tape 4.
(Fig.) to prevent dust from entering the inside of the tape cassette through the optical path hole 33 when the tape cassette is not in use. Further, a hole 34 is provided in the side plate 8 of the front lid 7 to allow light to pass through when the front lid 7 is opened.

Next, the release operation of the lid lock piece 13 and the opening operation of the front lid 7 will be explained with reference to FIG. (not shown), the space 11 is inserted into the cassette holder by cutting and bending a sheet metal material, etc.
(FIG. 1) The lock release member 18 that enters the inside reaches the position shown by the one-dot chain line, and the lid lock piece 13 is moved in the opposite direction to the arrow 29 against the lock spring 14, that is, at the first protrusion of the front lid 7. 23 and in the direction that allows the front lid 7 to open.
3 (the position after the rotation is shown by a chain line).

Thereafter, by pushing down the tape cassette 1 together with a cassette holder (not shown) toward the main unit, that is, in the direction of arrow 35, it can be fixed to the main unit or moved to the cassette holder, as shown in FIG. The front lid opening member 17 relatively enters the space 11 and the thickness of the side plate 8 of the front lid 7 into the notch 19.
The tape cassette has a shape corresponding to the shape shown in FIG.

Although not shown in the drawings, there is a force inside the cassette holder that urges the tape cassette in the direction of the arrow 34 with a force that is sufficient to overcome the forces of these front cover springs 12, lock springs 14, etc., so as not to impede their movements. It is obvious that it is structured like this. In addition, upper half 1a
The lock spring 14 inserted and housed in the recess 26 (FIGS. 5, 6, and 7) is not limited to the torsion coil spring shown in the example, but may be a plate spring or the like, for example.

Further, the other end of the front cover spring 12 after the front cover 7 has been assembled may be engaged with the cover lock 13 instead of the protrusion 30 to indirectly engage with the cassette case. In this case, lock spring 14 can be removed.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, even in a downsized tape cassette, the optical path hole can be covered when the tape cassette is not in use, thereby preventing dust from entering through the optical path hole.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic partially cutaway plan view showing an embodiment of the tape cassette of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the main parts, Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the main parts, and Fig. 4. 5 is a perspective view of a part related to the same main part, FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing the assembly process, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the main part. FIG. 1... Tape cassette, 1a... Upper half, 1
b...Lower half, 4...Tape, 7...Front lid, 1
2... Front lid spring, 13... Lid lock, 22... Second protrusion, 23... First protrusion.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cassette housing consisting of an upper and lower half,
A front cover is pivotally supported on a case side plate at the front of the cassette housing and rotates to cover a tape that is stretched along an opening provided on the front of the cassette housing, and a front cover is provided on the case side plate. on a side plate part surface of the front cover that faces the case side plate part with a predetermined space between the optical path hole and the case side plate part, and is in a position that covers the optical path hole only when the front cover is in a rotational position that covers the tape. By being pivotally supported by the cassette housing in the space between the provided first protrusion, the case side plate part, and the side plate part of the front cover, and rotating in the thickness direction of the cassette housing. A tape cassette comprising: a lid lock piece that engages with the front lid and prevents rotation of the front lid.