JPS6338790B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is a tape cassette that is most suitable for application to a recording/reproducing device such as a video tape recorder, and in particular, a The reel stopper is made of synthetic resin and has a locking pawl integrally molded therein. By sliding the par toward the intermediate portion, the locking pawls are engaged with a pair of teeth formed on the outer periphery of the reels, thereby regulating the rotation of the reels in the tape feeding direction. The present invention relates to a constructed tape cassette.

[Background technology and its problems]

1-3 show conventional tape cassettes for video tape recorders.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, a cassette housing 1 of a tape cassette is made up of upper and lower halves 2 and 3 made of synthetic resin fitted together, and a magnetic tape (hereinafter simply referred to as tape) is placed inside the cassette housing 1. )4
A pair of left and right reels 5 and 6 wound with are rotatably housed. The tape 4 is passed along the front opening 7 of the cassette housing 1, and the tape cassette is inserted into a video tape recorder (not shown).
When the cassette is mounted at the cassette mounting position, a loading means is inserted inside the tape 4 within the bottom opening 8 of the cassette housing 1, and the tape 4 is subsequently loaded by the loading means. Note that 9 is a front lid that covers the front opening 7;
and 11 are reel hubs of the reels 5 and 6, and 12 and 13 are a pair of left and right reel fitting holes provided in the bottom wall 3a of the lower half 3. The lower end portions of 11 are rotatably fitted to each other.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, tooth portions 15 and 16 are formed on the outer peripheries of the lower flanges 5a and 6a of the reels 5 and 6, respectively. On the other hand, a reel stopper 17 is provided on the bottom wall 3a of the lower half 3 of the cassette housing 1. This reel stopper 17 includes a sliding body 18 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, a pair of left and right locking claws 19 provided at the tip of the sliding body 18;
20 are integrally molded from synthetic resin. Both the locking claws 19 and 20 are thinly formed to have appropriate elasticity, and the tips 19a,
It is inclined in such a way that the distance between these becomes wider as it reaches 20a.

Next, the reel stopper 17 moves both reels 5 and 6.
A pair of parallel guide walls 22 and 23, which are integral with the bottom wall 3a of the lower half 3, are provided on both left and right sides of the intermediate portion 21 of the lower half 3. The reel stopper 17 is guided by the guide walls 22 and 23 while the reel stopper 17 is guided by the intermediate portion 21
The front and rear direction (second
It is slidable in the directions of arrows a and b in the figure). Note that arcuate ribs 24 and 25 are integrally provided on the outside of both guide walls 22 and 23, and the tips 22a and 23a of both guide walls 22 and 23 extend inwardly along these ribs 24 and 25. It is bent. In addition, a compression spring 2 is provided between both guide walls 22 and 23.
6 is the rear end of the reel stopper 17 and the lower half 3
It is stored in a compressed state between the rear wall 3b and the rear wall 3b.

The conventional tape cassette is constructed as described above, and normally the reel stopper 17 is slid in the direction of arrow a by the spring force of the compression spring 26, as shown by the solid line in FIG. Locking claws 19, 2
The tips 19a, 20a of the reels 5, 6 are engaged with the teeth 15, 16 of the reels 5, 6. Rotation of the reel 5 in the direction of arrow c in FIG. 2 is prevented by a locking pawl 19, and rotation of the reel 6 in the direction of arrow d in FIG. 2 is prevented by a locking pawl 20.

Next, when the tape cassette is installed in the cassette mounting position of the video tape recorder and a tape running operation push button such as a record button or a play button (none of which is shown) is operated, both reels 5 and 6 are unlocked. . That is, when the tape cassette is installed in the cassette mounting position, as shown in FIG.
It is inserted into a pin insertion hole 30 provided in the reel stopper 17 through a pin insertion hole 29 provided in the bottom wall 3a of the reel stopper 17. When the tape running operation push button is operated, the lock release pin 28 automatically moves to the position shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 3 and is locked. Therefore, the reel stopper 17 is compressed by the compression spring 2.
6 in the direction of the arrow b in FIG.
Out of 16.

Next, when a stop button (not shown) is operated, the lock release pin 28 is released from the forward position shown by the phantom line in FIG. Then, the reel stopper 17 is moved back by the compression spring 26 in the direction of arrow a in FIG. It is engaged with both teeth 15, 16 to lock both reels 5, 6 again.

However, in the conventional tape cassette constructed as described above, the following defects occurred when the two reels 5 and 6 were locked by the two locking claws 19 and 20 of the reel stopper 17.

That is, when both reels 5 and 6 are locked by both locking claws 19 and 20, for example, if one reel 5 or 6 is forcibly rotated in the direction of arrow c or d. Since the locking pawl 19 or 20 is formed to be thin, it will bend significantly as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. and, depending on the case, the locking pawl 19 or 20
In some cases, the reel was damaged, making it impossible to lock reel 5 or 6.

Next, when unlocking both reels 5 and 6, move the reel stopper 17 in a limited stroke (second
l) in the figure, the tips 19a, 20a of both the locking claws 19, 20 are connected to the teeth 15, 15 of both reels 5, 6,
It is necessary to remove it from 16. Therefore, when the lock is released, the locking claws 19, 20 are moved by the tips 22a, 23a bent inwardly of the guide walls 22, 23.
It is configured to forcibly contract inward against elasticity. However, both the locking pawls 19 and 20, which are formed into thin walls, are easily deformed, and if they are left in the unlocked state for a long period of time, they will plastically deform while remaining in the narrowed state as shown in the imaginary line. As a result, when the reels were locked, they did not return to the original spread-out shape, making it impossible to lock both reels 5 and 6.

Furthermore, both reels 5 and 6 are locked by both locking claws 1.
9 and 20, the opening angle of both locking claws 19 and 20 (θ in Fig. 2) and the sliding body 1
It is necessary to strictly control the thickness of the connection part with 8. However, both locking claws 1 are formed thinly.
9 and 20 tend to be distorted during molding, and when they are stacked when being transported in large quantities after molding, pressure is applied to both of the locking claws 19 and 20, causing deformation. Therefore, in the initial state (before use), the dimensional accuracy of both the locking claws 19 and 20 already varied greatly, and there was also a defect that the locking of both the reels 5 and 6 could not be performed reliably.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention seeks to provide a tape cassette capable of correcting the above-mentioned drawbacks.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention provides the tape cassette described above.
The connecting portions of both of the locking pawls with the sliding body are constituted by thin-walled hinge portions, and biasing means is arranged inside both of the locking pawls of the reel stopper, and the biasing means causes both of the above-mentioned locking pawls to be connected to each other. This tape cassette is constructed so that the locking claws are forcibly opened outward, and both reels can be surely locked and unlocked by the reel stopper, and the tape cassette has extremely high durability and reliability. Moreover, the urging means at this time only needs to be weak. In addition, precision control during molding of the reel stopper becomes easier, and both locking claws can then be folded and transported compactly, allowing for significant cost reductions.

〔Example〕

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 FIGS. 4 to 10. Note that the same structural parts as those of the conventional example shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

First, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 5B, the reel stopper 32 includes a sliding body 33 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a pair of left and right locking claws 34 provided at the tip of the sliding body 33.
35 are integrally molded from synthetic resin. Thin-walled hinge portions 36 and 37 are formed at the connecting portions of both the locking pawls 34 and 35 with the sliding body 33, and these two locking pawls 34 and 35 are connected to the hinge portion 36 and
37 is a fulcrum and is configured to be freely bendable. Both locking claws 34 and 35 are connected to both hinge parts 36 and 37.
The locking pawls 34, 35 themselves have sufficient strength. Further, a recess 38 is provided above the tip of the sliding body 33 of the reel stopper 32, and a pin-shaped locking portion 3 is provided in the recess 38.
9 are integrally molded. Furthermore, both locking claws 3
Locking protrusions 40 and 41 are integrally molded inside the tips of 4 and 35. And reel stopper 3
A torsion coil spring 42 serving as a biasing means is disposed inside the two locking claws 34, 35. In other words, the torsion coil spring 42 has its coil portion at the locking portion 39.
It is fitted into the recess 38, and both ends thereof are positioned along the inner sides of the locking claws 34, 35 and locked by the locking protrusions 40, 41. Note that the reel stopper 32 has both guide walls 22,
23, but in the embodiment of the present invention, the tips 22a, 23 of both guide walls 22, 23
a is formed into a straight line. Further, the reel stopper 32 is restricted from sliding toward the intermediate portion 21 by a stopper 45 provided integrally with the bottom wall 3a of the lower half 3.

The tape cassette of the present invention is constructed as described above, and as shown in FIG. 5A, the reel stopper 32 is normally slid in the direction of the arrow e by the spring force of the compression spring 26. Both locking claws 3
The tips 34a, 35a of 4, 35 are connected to both reels 5, 6.
It engages with both toothed portions 15 and 16 of. Both reels 5 and 6 are prevented from rotating in the tape feeding direction, which is the direction of arrows f and g. At this time, both the locking pawls 34 and 35 are forcibly opened outward by the torsion coil spring 42, so the tips 34a and 35a of both the locking pawls 34 and 35 are connected to the teeth of both the reels 5 and 6.
5, 16 are very securely engaged. Since both the locking claws 34 and 35 are thick-walled and have sufficient strength, for example, a forced rotational force in the direction of arrow f or g may be applied to one of the reels 5 or 6. However, the locking pawl 34 or 35 does not bend significantly. Therefore, reel 5 or 6 can no longer rotate in the direction of arrow f or g,
Further, the locking pawl 34 or 35 will not be damaged.

Next, when the tape cassette is attached to the cassette mounting position of the video tape recorder and the push button for tape running operation is operated, the reel stopper 32 is moved against the compression spring 26 as in the conventional case, as shown in FIG. 5B. When slid in the direction of arrow h, both locking claws 34,
The tips 34a, 35a of the reels 5, 6 come off from the teeth 15, 16 of the reels 5, 6. At this time, both locking claws 3
4 and 35 are the tips 22 of both guide walls 22 and 23.
a, 23a, but since it is easily bent inward using the thin-walled hinge parts 36, 37 as fulcrums, both the locking claws 34, 3
The tips 34a, 35a of 5 are securely attached to both reels 5, 6.
It is removed from both toothed parts 15, 16 and pulled back inward. Even if this unlocked state lasts for a long time, the thick locking pawls 34 and 35 will never be plastically deformed.

Next, when the stop button is operated, the reel stopper 32 is moved back in the direction of arrow e by the compression spring 26, as in the conventional case, as shown in FIG. 34a, 35a are engaged with both teeth 15, 16 of both reels 5, 6 to lock both reels 5, 6 again. At this time, both the locking claws 34 and 35 are forcibly opened outward by the spring force of the torsion coil spring 42, so that the tips 34a and 35a of both the locking claws 34 and 35 and the reels 5 and 6 The engagement force between the two toothed portions 15 and 16 is strong, and both reels 5 and 6 are always reliably locked. Note that both the locking claws 34 and 35 are made easier to open outward due to the hinge portions 36 and 37.
Tips 34a and 35a of both locking claws 34 and 35 are reliably engaged with both toothed portions 15 and 16 of both reels 5 and 6 as the reel stopper 32 slides. Since the locking pawls 34 and 35 are easily bent at the hinge portions 36 and 37, the torsion coil spring 42 serving as the biasing means can be weak.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when the reel stopper 32 is placed inside the cassette housing 1 and the tape cassette is assembled, the upward lifting of the reel stopper 32 causes the upper half 2 It is regulated by a pair of guide walls 43 and 44 that are integrally provided in the. As shown in FIG. 7, the torsion coil spring 42 located within the recess 38 of the reel stopper 32 is restricted from above by both guide walls 43, 44. Therefore, when the reel stopper 32 slides, the torsion coil spring 4
2 does not shift upward, and the locking operation of both the locking pawls 34 and 35 by the torsion coil spring 42 is extremely stable.

By the way, the connecting portions of both the locking pawls 34 and 35 with the sliding body 33 are formed into thin-walled hinge portions 36 and 37, and both the locking pawls 34 and 35 are forced outward by a torsion coil spring 42. By allowing the locking claws 34 and 35 to open, precision in the opening angle and the like is not required, and variations in dimensional precision can be tolerated.
That is, as shown in FIG.
The locking claws 34, 35 can be molded in the state shown by the solid line, and the forming angle θ' of the locking claws 34, 35 at this time does not require precision. and both locking claws 3
4 and 35 can be bent freely at both hinge parts 36 and 37, so that they can be folded as shown by the dashed line, and after the reel stopper 32 is formed, it can be transported in a compact shape. Therefore, there is no need for strict precision control when molding the reel stopper 32, and after molding, both the locking claws 34 and 35 can be folded at the hinge parts 36 and 37, so that they can be stacked and transported in large quantities. reel stopper 32
It is possible to reduce the cost of molding and subsequent transportation.

Note that the reel stopper referred to in the present invention is not limited to the shape shown in the embodiments, and various other shapes can be applied. Furthermore, the biasing means referred to in the present invention is not limited to the torsion coil spring shown in the embodiments, and various types of biasing means can be applied. For example, FIGS. 9 and 10 show modified examples of this biasing means. In FIG. 9, a compression coil spring 46 is applied, and in this case, both locking pawls 34, 35
A small protrusion 47 is provided on the inside of the compression coil spring 46.
is arranged inside both of the locking claws 34, 35, and is configured such that both of the locking claws 34, 35 are forcibly opened to the outside. In addition, in FIG. 10, a plate spring 48 is applied, and the reel stopper 32 is
A substantially U-shaped locking groove 49 is provided on the upper side of the distal end surface of the
The center portion of the leaf spring 48 is engaged with the locking groove 49, and both ends are positioned along the inner sides of the locking claws 34, 35 and locked with the locking protrusion 50. Then, due to the spring force of the plate spring 48, both locking claws 3
4 and 35 are forcibly opened outward.

[Application example]

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.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the present invention configures the connecting portion of both locking pawls with the sliding body as a thin-walled hinge, and disposes a biasing means inside both locking pawls. The retaining claw is configured to be forced to open outward.

According to the present invention, both locking pawls are forcibly opened outward by the urging means, so that the reel can be locked extremely reliably. Both locking pawls can have sufficient strength, and a highly durable locking pawl that will not be deformed or damaged can be obtained.
Furthermore, by making both locking pawls bendable at the hinge, both locking pawls can be easily bent when locking and unlocking.
It is easy to open outward and narrow inward, and the reel can be reliably locked and unlocked, improving reliability. In this case, only a weak biasing means is required. In addition, both bendable locking claws can tolerate variations in dimensional accuracy, making it easier to control accuracy during molding of the reel stopper.Afterwards, both locking claws can be folded and transported compactly, resulting in significant improvements. Cost reduction is possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show conventional examples of tape cassettes for video tape recorders.
The figure is a partially cutaway plan view of the upper half of the tape cassette, Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of the main part, and Figure 3 is a partially cutaway plan view of the upper half of the tape cassette.
The figure is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 2. 4 to 10 show an embodiment of a tape cassette for a video tape recorder to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the main parts, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are main parts. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 5A, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view taken along the - line in FIG. 5B.
8 is a plan view of the reel stopper, and FIGS. 9 and 10 are perspective views of the reel stopper in modified examples, respectively. In addition, in the symbols used in the drawings, 1...cassette housing, 5, 6... reel, 15, 16... tooth part, 21... intermediate part, 22, 23... guide wall,
26...Compression spring, 32...Reel stopper,
33...Sliding body, 34, 35...Latching claw, 36,
37... Hinge portion, 42... Torsion coil spring serving as biasing means, 46... Compression coil spring serving as biasing means, and 48... Leaf spring serving as biasing means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A reel stopper made of synthetic resin with a pair of locking claws integrally molded at the tip of the sliding body, and the reel stopper can be freely moved in and out of the middle part of the pair of reels. It is arranged so that it can slide freely so that
By sliding this reel stopper toward the intermediate portion, both of the locking pawls are engaged with a pair of teeth formed on the outer periphery of both of the reels, thereby regulating the rotation of these two reels in the tape feeding direction. In the tape cassette configured to do so, the connecting portion of both of the locking pawls with the sliding body is configured as a thin-walled hinge portion, and a biasing means is arranged inside both of the locking pawls of the reel stopper. A tape cassette characterized in that the urging means is configured to forcibly open both of the locking claws outward.