JPS6352388A - Small-sized tape cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make sure locking or unlocking and to eliminate fear of damaging a magnetic tape by a locking piece by providing a locking piece that can make elastic displacement and a projection for releasing locking. CONSTITUTION:A projected part 21e for releasing locking is set to a locking piece 21 at a place a little closer to a coupling part 21c for locking than the middle position of the coupling part for locking 21c and a fulcrum 21f. Accordingly, at the time of releasing, from the relation of distance ratio between the coupling part 21c for locking and fulcrum 21f and between the projected part for releasing locking and fulcrum 21f, the coupling part 21c of the locking piece 21 displaces by a required amount, and accordingly, locking can be released surely. Further, required length can be obtained for the distance between the projection 21e for releasing locking and the fulcrum 21f. As the locking piece 21 has required elastic force, relatively weak pressure is sufficient for pressing force required for releasing locking, and loading of a small-sized tape cassette 1 to the device can be made smoothly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a small tape cassette that is smaller than a standard tape cassette, and in particular, locks a guard panel that opens and closes a front opening of a cassette case in a closed state. Alternatively, the present invention relates to a tape cassette equipped with a locking mechanism for releasing the tape cassette.

(Prior Art) With the spread of video tape recorders, so-called camera-integrated video tape recorders, in which a video camera and a video tape recorder are integrated, have recently been manufactured. In such a camera-integrated video tape recorder, a small tape cassette, which is smaller than a standard tape cassette, is used to reduce the size of the device so that it is suitable for portable devices.

On the other hand, in standard tape cassettes and small tape cassettes used in video tape recorders, the magnetic tape built into the cassette housing is pulled out from the front opening of the cassette housing during recording and reproducing. A guard panel is provided on the front opening of the video tape recorder to protect the magnetic tape stretched on the front when the tape cassette is not loaded into the video tape recorder. There is.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, the conventional 12-capacity tape cassette is not equipped with a locking mechanism for locking the guard panel in the closed state like the standard tape cassette, so the guard panel can be easily removed. When the lid is opened, the magnetic tape stretched across the front opening of the cassette case is exposed, and when a small tape cassette is placed in a pocket, the guard panel may be pulled up and removed. It was easy to open.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention stores a pair of tape reels wound with magnetic tape in a cassette housing, and a front opening of the cassette housing is spaced apart. Both sides of the guard panel are rotatably supported on both sides of the force setting unit (this includes a locking part that engages with an engaging part formed on one side of the guard panel and the cassette). A small tape that locks or releases the guard panel in a closed state by elastically displacing the locking piece inward of the cassette casing, the locking piece consisting of an unlocking protrusion protruding outward from one side of the casing. In the cassette, an elastically displaceable lock is disposed near an extension line connecting center points of the pair of tape reels and has an inner surface on one side of the cassette housing as a fulcrum, and the lock The present invention provides a small tape cassette in which the lock release protrusion is formed at a position approximately midway between the locking portion and the fulcrum portion of the piece, and is closer to the locking portion of the piece. be.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the small tape cassette according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the small tape cassette according to the present invention, with the top plate of the upper half removed, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the small tape cassette seen from the bottom. , FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the locking mechanism section of the guard panel.

As shown in FIG. 4, the small tape cassette 1 includes a cassette housing 2 with lids of a top half 2X and a bottom half 2Y.
A supply reel 49 and a take-up reel 5 on which the magnetic tape 3 is wound are housed inside. Furthermore, the guard panel 7 that opens the front opening 6 of the cassette housing 2 is provided with one pin.
8, the spring 10 (
(see FIG. 5), this guard panel 7 is always urged in the direction of closing the lid. In addition, the tooth width 5a formed on the outer peripheral surface of the take-up reel 5 is attached to the cassette housing 2 in
A notch 2Z is formed to face the outside from the side surface 2A. , Incidentally, this notch 2Z is the upper half 2X,
The sections are formed when the V-half 2Y is assembled.

The magnetic tee 73 is stretched across the front opening 6 while being guided by the right guide rollers 9-1 and 9-2, and is protected from the outside by closing the guard panel 7. is configured to be Furthermore, a locking mechanism is provided on one side 2A of the cassette housing 2 to lock or release the guard panel 7 in the closed state.

Next, the configuration of the lock mechanism will be explained. Figure 5 shows
In the small tape cassette 1 shown in Fig. 4, the lower half 2
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the locking mechanism with Y and Q handles 5 removed. As shown in the figure, a temporary lock 21 that can be elastically displaced to prevent rotation of the guard panel 7 is arranged in the upper half 2X in the vicinity of the notch 2Z of the side surface 2A. .

This lock piece 21 is molded, for example, from synthetic resin, and includes a body part 21a corresponding to the position of the notch 2Z of the cassette housing 2, and an elastically displaceable body part 21a connected to the body part 21a. Movable part 21b and later-1 part 21
It is roughly composed of d. The lock piece 21 has a hook-shaped locking part 2 formed at the tip of the movable part 21b.
1c is an engaging portion 7 formed protruding from the inner surface of the guard panel 7.
The rear end portion 21d of the main body portion 21a is formed in the upper half 2X near the rear portion of the cassette housing 2 (near the 12th mark for preventing incorrect insertion) so as to engage with the support portion 22 and the support portion 21a. It is fitted into the bottle 22- and detachably attached to the upper half 2X.

Furthermore, a lock release protrusion 21e is formed on the movable portion 21b of the lock piece 21, and this lock release protrusion 21e is formed on the upper half 2X which is bored at a position close to the guard panel 7 side. Cassette housing 2 through through hole 23
It protrudes from the side surface 2A at a predetermined angle.

The support bins 22- are located at each center point 4-. of the supply reel 42 and take-up reel 5, as shown in FIG. 5', and the lock piece 21 is
It is configured to be elastically displaced inside the cassette housing 2 using the fulcrum portion 21f that abuts the support bin 22' as a fulcrum. Therefore, the movable part 2 of the lock piece 21 is elastically displaced.
1b comes into contact with the magnetic arm 13 wound around the winding wheel 5, and there is no risk of damaging the magnetic tape 3, and the distance between the engaging portion 21c of the locking piece 21 and the fulcrum portion 21f is set as required. Because of this distance, the lock piece 21 can be elastically displaced with sufficient elastic force to ensure reliable locking or unlocking.

Further, the fulcrum position of the lock piece 21 is the fulcrum 21f.
Although the ideal position is, it may also be located near the fulcrum 21' or at the rear of the cassette casing (below 63 in FIG. 1) from the fulcrum 21f.

In this way, the engaging portion 7a of the guard panel 7 and the lock piece 2
When the small tape cassette 1 with the guard panel 7 locked in an open state by engagement with the locking portion 21c of the tape cassette 1 is loaded into a video tape recorder or an adapter, this lock is released.

Next, the formation position of the lock release protrusion 21e of the lock piece 21 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. Second
The figure is a plan view showing the locking part that constitutes the locking structure of the small tape cassette, and Figure 3 (A> and (B) is for explaining the optimal positional relationship of the lock release protrusions provided on the locking piece. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a locking mechanism section of FIG.

In the small tape cassette 1 equipped with the above-mentioned lock structure, where is the lock release protrusion 21e formed on the lock piece 21 in order to ensure the locking and unlocking is performed smoothly? There are a thousand important points to decide whether to set or not, as will be explained below.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3 <A>, when the lock release protrusion 21e is formed at the tip of the lock piece 21 at a position close to the locking stopper 21c, the lock piece 21 is displaced.
becomes smaller, so the locking part 21 of the locking piece 21
c becomes difficult to disengage from the engaging portion 7a of the guard panel 7, and there is a risk that it will not be possible to reliably release the [J-tsuku]. The mechanism (openable bottle 14) collides with the unlocking protrusion 21e of the lock piece 21 and cannot be removed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3(B), a lock release protrusion 2 is located at a position close to the fulcrum 21f at the rear end of the lock piece 21.
1e, the amount of displacement of the lock piece 21 becomes large, so that the lock can be reliably released, but on the other hand, the distance between the lock protrusion 21e and the fulcrum part 21f becomes narrower, and the lock piece 2
The elasticity of the tape cassette 1 decreases, and the pressing force required by the side wall 25 of the cassette holder to release the lock increases, making it impossible to smoothly load the small tape cassette 1 into the 5A position.

In the small tape force jet 1 according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. It is formed on the lock piece 21 at a position slightly close to 21c (J!+<J2), and protrudes from the surface of the side surface 2A of the cassette housing 2 by about 1.5 (tl', l).

Next, the operation of the locking structure of the small tape cassette 1, particularly the operation of the lock piece 21, will be explained with reference to FIG. 2.

When loading the small tape cassette 1 into a video tape recorder or adapter, when the small tape cassette 1 is inserted into the cassette holder (not shown) of these devices, a lock release button protrudes from the side surface 2A of the cassette housing 2. The protrusion 21e is pressed by the inner surface of the side wall 25 of the cassette holder.
The engaging portion 7a of the guard panel 7
Then, the locked state of the locking portion 21C of the lock piece 21 is released, that is, the lock is released, and the guard panel 7 is closed by the lid closing mechanism (not shown) of the device.

The lock releasing protrusion 21e is connected to the locking portion 21.
Since the lock piece 21 is set slightly closer to the locking part 21c than approximately halfway between the locking part 21c and the fulcrum part 21, when the lock is released, the locking part 21C and the fulcrum part 21f are , from the relationship of the distance ratio between the lock release protrusion 21e and the fulcrum 21f, the locking engagement part 2 of the lock piece 21
Since 1C is displaced by the required amount, reliable unlocking can be achieved. Furthermore, the distance between the lock release protrusion 21e and the fulcrum part 21 can also be reduced in length,
Since the lock piece 214 has the required elastic force, a relatively weak pressing force is sufficient to release the lock.
The small tape cassette 1 can be loaded smoothly into the device.

Furthermore, there is no fear that the opening gate structure (closing pin 14) of the device will collide with the unlocking protrusion 21e of the lock piece 21, making it impossible to open the device.

Furthermore, when the loaded small tape cassette 1 is taken out from a video tape recorder or an adapter, the pressure on the lock piece 21 by the side wall 25 of the cassette holder of these devices is released, and the lock piece 2 locks into the cassette housing by its own elastic force. At the same time, the guard panel 7 is rotated about the shaft 8 in the direction of closing the lid by the biasing force of the torsion spring 10, and the guard panel 7 is again moved between the engaging portion 7a and the hook piece 21. The locking engaging portion 21C is engaged with the guard panel 7, and the guard panel 7 is locked in the closed state.

(Effects of the Invention) The small tape cassette according to the present invention has a pair of tape reels wound with magnetic tape stored in a cassette housing,
Both sides of a guard panel that opens and closes a front opening of the cassette housing are rotatably supported on both sides of the cassette housing, and are engaged with an engaging portion formed on one side of the guard panel. The lock piece, which is made up of a locking part and a lock release protrusion protruding outward from one side of the cassette case, elastically deforms inward of the cassette case.
ff to lock or release the guard panel in a closed state, in the vicinity of an extension line connecting the center points of the pair of tape reels, and on one inner surface of the cassette housing. An elastically displaceable locking piece with a side as a fulcrum is provided, and the lock piece is slightly closer to the locking part than the 1179-piece locking part approximately halfway between the locking part and the fulcrum part. Since the lock release protrusion is formed at the 6γ position, by setting the fulcrum at the above position, the distance between the elastically displacing locking part and the fulcrum is long, and the lock piece is Since it is elastically displaced with sufficient elastic force, it has the effect of reliably locking or unlocking, and it also prevents the lock piece from coming into contact with the electrical tape wound on the take-up reel and damaging the magnetic tape! tl! There's no risk of it happening.

In addition, by setting the lock release protrusion in the above position,
Since the locking part of the locking piece changes as required due to the distance ratio between the locking part and the fulcrum part and the distance between the unlocking protrusion part and the fulcrum part, the lock can be released reliably. and the distance circle 1 between the lock release protrusion and the fulcrum part.
Since the required length can be obtained, and the lock has the necessary bow force, a relatively weak pressing force is sufficient to release the lock, making it suitable for small tape cassette devices. It also has the effect of allowing smooth loading.

Furthermore, the opening lid 1 of the device is attached to the unlocking protrusion of the lock piece.
There is also a point where there is no risk of the oak (lid opening pin) colliding with each other and making it impossible to close the lid.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an upper half of an embodiment of a small tape cassette according to the present invention with the top plate removed; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a locking mechanism of the small tape cassette; Figures 3 (A) and (B) are plan views of the locking mechanism for explaining the proper positional relationship of the lock release protrusions provided on the lock piece, and Figure 4 shows a small tape cassette at the bottom. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the locking mechanism of the guard panel. 1... Small tape cassette, 7... Guard panel,
7a--Engaging portion, 21...Lock piece, 21a...
- Main body part, 21b... Movable part, 21c... Locking part, 21d... Rear end part, 21e... Lock release protrusion, 21f... Fulcrum part, 22... Support part, 2
2-...Support pin. Patent Applicant: Victor Japan Co., Ltd. Representative: Kunio Shiomizu 1rEJ Figure 2 (A) CB) Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A pair of tape reels wound with magnetic tape are housed in a cassette housing, and both sides of a guard panel that opens and closes a front opening of the cassette housing are rotated on both sides of the cassette housing. a locking part that is rotatably supported and that engages with an engaging part formed on one side of the guard panel; and a lock release protrusion that projects outward from one side of the cassette casing. A small tape cassette in which a lock piece is elastically displaced inward of the cassette casing to lock or release the guard panel in a closed state, the extension connecting the center points of the pair of tape reels. An elastically displaceable locking piece is disposed near the line and having one inner surface of the cassette housing as a fulcrum, and approximately midway between the locking part and the fulcrum of the locking piece. A small tape cassette characterized in that the lock release protrusion is formed at a position slightly closer to the locking engagement part than the locking engagement part.