JPH0332149B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a cassette-type tape player,
This invention relates to an eject mechanism for ejecting a cassette installed at the playback position.

[Technical Background of the Invention] A cassette-type tape player is brought into play mode for playback, recording, etc. by inserting two reel shafts that stand upright on its base plate into the shaft holes of the cassette. As a means of installing the cassette,
Various types are known depending on the direction in which the cassette is inserted into the tape player. One of these is a so-called horizontal roll, in which the cassette is inserted horizontally into the pack guide through the insertion opening on the front of the tape player, the entire pack guide is then lowered onto the reel base, and the reel shaft is inserted into the cassette. There is a deing type of thing.

In this type of tape player, the pack guide cannot be lowered until the cassette is completely inserted into the pack guide. The reason for this is that the reel shaft does not fit into the shaft hole of the cassette and comes into contact with the lower surface of the cassette, which prevents the cassette and pack guide from descending. However, since the insertion slot formed on the front surface of the tape player is matched to the cross-sectional dimensions of the cassette, it is difficult to insert a finger through the slot and push the cassette into the pack guide.
Furthermore, even if a finger is inserted into the pack guide, there is a risk that the finger will be caught when the pack guide with the cassette attached descends.

For this reason, conventional means have been developed in which, when the cassette is pushed halfway into the pack guide, the tape player's loading/eject mechanism automatically pulls the cassette to the back of the pack guide. There are some loading mechanisms that use the driving force of a motor, others that use the traction force of a spring, etc., but one of them is one that uses a single reversing spring to perform both the retraction and ejection mechanisms of the cassette. be.

As shown in FIG. 1, this reversal spring type loading/eject mechanism is provided with a guide groove 3 extending in the front and back direction on the top plate of a guide arm 2 that supports a pack guide 1, and a cassette and a cassette are inserted into the guide groove 3. A matching pack stopper 4 is slidably provided, and a shaft 4a on the pack stopper 4 and the tip of a link 5 provided on the pack guide 1 are connected by a torsion type reversing spring 6. The tip of the reversing spring 6 is connected to the shaft 4a.
It has an annular shape so that it can be rotated around the link 5, and the base is also rotatably inserted into the hole at the tip of the link 5. The link 5 is attached to a support shaft 7 at its base, and an operating rod 9 is provided between the center of the link 5 and the eject lever 8 to connect the two. Further, a return spring 11 is provided between the eject lever 8 and a protrusion 10 provided on the frame.

In this mechanism, when a cassette is inserted into the pack guide 1, the pack stopper 4 moves to the rear side due to its pushing force, and is pressed by it, so that the reversing spring 6 is tightened so that the distance between both arms is narrowed. As shown in FIG.
When the link goes deeper than the tip of the link 5, the expanding force of the reversing spring 6 acts from the stationary tip of the link 5 toward the back of the tape player, thereby causing the pack stopper 4 to move toward the back of the pack guide 1. The cassette that has been pushed to the back and is engaged with the pack stopper 4 is also automatically drawn into the back of the pack guide 1.

On the other hand, during the eject operation, when the eject lever 8 is pushed as shown in Fig. 3, the link 5, which is pressed through the operating rod 9, rotates to the back while compressing the reversing spring 6. It will be located further back than the axis 4a. As a result, the pack stopper 4 is moved forward by the repulsive force of the reversing spring 6 compressed by the eject lever 8, and the cassette is thereby pushed in front of the pack guide 1. Then, due to the action of the return spring 11, the eject lever 8 moves toward the front, and the link 5 and the pack stopper 4, which is connected to the tip of the link 5 via the reversing spring 6, move toward the front, and the cassette is removed. is pulled out from inside the pack guide 1.

In this way, the inverted spring type loading
In the eject mechanism, the force of the initially compressed reversing spring 6 moves the tip of the link 5 and the pack stopper 4.
By changing the positional relationship with the shaft 4a, a repulsive force acts in the same direction as the compression direction, which can be used to retract a cassette that has been pushed halfway into the pack guide, or to pull a cassette halfway into the pack guide. It is something that can be withdrawn.

[Problems with the Background Art] By the way, in this type of loading/eject lever mechanism, when the cassette is pulled out to the middle of the pack guide by the reversing spring 6,
Thereafter, it is pulled out to the front by the independent action of the return spring 11 of the eject lever 8. However, when pulling out a cassette, there is sliding resistance between the cassette and the inner surface of the pack guide 1, and resistance from the dust-proof door provided at the cassette insertion opening of the escutcheon, and the resistance is greater toward the entrance of the pack guide. In order to move the cassette only by the force of the return spring of the eject lever, the force of the spring must be increased, which has the drawback of increasing the operating force when ejecting. Moreover, when the eject lever starts to be pushed in, the force of the reversal spring is applied in addition to the return spring, so the operating force is quite large.

In addition, in the conventional mechanism, the eject lever 8 and the pack stopper 4 are interlocked, so it is not possible to simply push the eject lever 8 into the pack guide 1.
When the cassette does not come out from inside, the cassette is pulled out together with the eject lever 8 only when the return spring 11 is activated when the user releases the eject lever 8, so the cassette cannot be removed quickly and the user There was also the problem that the operating feel was poor.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention was proposed in order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above.The purpose of the present invention is to reduce the push-in force of the eject lever, and also to allow the eject lever to return after being pushed in. To provide an eject mechanism for a tape player with excellent operability, which allows a cassette to be ejected from the inside of a pack guide without waiting.

[Summary of the Invention] The eject mechanism of the present invention includes an eject lever that is provided with an operation member that is interlocked with the eject lever during its pushing operation and that is decoupled when the reversal of the reversal spring is completed. After the eject lever reaches the back, the operating member is immediately returned to the front, and the tip of the link, which serves as the fulcrum of the reversal spring, is moved to the front, allowing the cassette to be removed from the middle of the pack guide. By ejecting the ejection lever using both the repulsive force of the reversing spring and the return spring of the operating member, the load on the return spring is reduced, and the push-in operation force of the eject lever is lightened.

Furthermore, the eject mechanism of the present invention is such that the cassette is ejected by an operating member that returns to the front independently of the eject lever, so that the cassette is ejected immediately after the eject lever is fully pushed. be.

[Embodiment of the Invention] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described based on the drawings from FIG. 4 onwards. Incidentally, individual members in this embodiment are shown in FIGS. 7 to 9.

The frame 20 includes a guide pin 21 and a long hole 2.
2, an eject lever 23 is attached so as to be movable back and forth. This eject lever is connected to a return spring 11 provided between it and the frame.
is biased toward the front. On the distal end side of the eject lever, an L-shaped link 24 is rotatably provided on the frame by a support shaft 24a, and the distal end of the eject lever is engaged with the lower end of this L-shaped link. That is, the locking portion 27 can be engaged with the pressing portion 26 provided at a constant interval at the tip of the eject lever 23 before and after the pin-shaped contact portion 25 provided at the lower end of the L-shaped link 24. positioned. On the other hand, the guide arm 2 that supports the pack guide 1 in a vertically movable manner has a tip that rotates up and down about a support shaft 2a at the rear thereof.
The pin 2b provided on the front side of a is the L-shaped link 2
It is connected to the upper end of 4. Note that a coil spring 24b is stretched between the contact portion 25 of this L-shaped link 24 and the upper part of the frame.

A support shaft 28 is provided approximately in the center of the eject lever 23, and a link 29 extending toward the front side is rotatably attached to the support shaft 28, and a link 29 that protrudes toward the frame is attached to the tip of the link 29. A cam follower 30 is provided. A cam hole 31 into which the cam follower 30 is inserted is opened in the frame, and in the inner part of this cam hole 31,
A tapered cam 32 is formed with a higher inner part. The position of the cam hole 31 corresponds to the position of the cam follower when the eject lever is closest to the front end thereof, and the position of the tapered cam corresponds to the position of the cam follower when the eject lever is pushed in. The link 29 is urged downward by a spring 33 so that its cam follower moves over the lower edge of the cam hole and the tapered cam.

On the other hand, in the center of the frame, an eject lever is placed between the reversing spring operating members 34.
is attached so as to be movable back and forth via the guide pin 21 and the elongated hole 35 of the operating member. This operating member 34 is biased toward the front side like the eject lever by a return spring 36 provided between the operating member 34 and the frame. Further, an operating rod 9 is provided between the upper part of the operating member 34 and the link 5 of the reversing spring to connect the two. This operating member 34 has an engagement hole 38 having a stepped portion 37 at its front end, into which an engagement pin 39 provided on the link 29 of the eject lever is inserted. For example, the engagement pin 39 protrudes from the opposite side of the link 29 coaxially with the cam follower, and is inserted into the engagement hole 38 of the operating member 34 through an arcuate insertion hole 40 opened in the eject lever. It has been inserted.

The eject mechanism of this embodiment having such a configuration operates as follows.

Cassette installation state...Fig. 4 Pack guide 1 descends onto the reel base,
When in a play state such as playback or recording, the eject lever 23 is located at the frontmost position, and the cam follower 30 of the link 29 provided thereon is located at the front end of the cam hole 31 formed in the frame 20. and the engagement pin 39 of the link 29 is
It is located within a stepped portion 37 on the front side of an engagement hole 38 formed on the operating member 34. At this time, the abutment part 25 of the L-shaped link 24 is pulled by the return spring of the eject lever 24 and is located on the front side of the support shaft of the L-shaped link 24, so that the abutment part 25 and the frame The L-shaped link 24 is biased clockwise by the force of the coil spring 24b disposed between the L-shaped link 24, and the guide arm 2 and pack guide 1 connected thereto are also pressed downward.

During the eject operation...Fig. 5 During the eject operation, when the eject lever is pushed, the eject lever 23 advances to the rear side, and the pressing part 26 formed at its tip comes into contact with the L-shaped link 24. As the part 25 is pushed to the back, the L-shaped link 24 at the tip of the eject lever rotates around the support shaft 24a, and the guide arm 2 and pack guide 1 connected to the upper end thereof are also pulled upward. .

At this time, the cam follower 30 attached to the eject lever 23 via a link moves forward on the cam hole 31 formed in the frame. At the same time, the engagement pin 39 on the opposite side of the link of the eject lever 23 advances to the back while pressing the operating member 34 via the step 37 of the engagement hole 35 formed in the operating member 34.

On the other hand, if you push in the eject lever 23,
The operating member 34 that interlocks with this presses the link 5 via the operating rod 9, and the link 5 rotates to the back while compressing the reversing spring 6, so that its tip is connected to the pack stopper 4, as shown in FIG. 5B. axis 4
Proceed to the position lined up with a.

Return of the operating member and completion of eject...Fig. 6 As the eject lever is pushed in, the guide roller 30 reaches the tapered cam 32 provided on the frame and moves up, link 29
rotates upward, and the engagement pin 39 provided thereon comes out of the step 37 of the engagement hole formed in the operating member 34. Then, the operating member that has been engaged with the eject lever until now is pushed back toward you by the force of the return spring 36, so that the operating rod 9 connected to the operating member 34 moves the link 5. At the same time, the pack stopper 4 is pushed back forward by the repulsive force of the compressed reversing spring 6, and the cassette in the pack guide 1 is used for returning the reversing spring 6 and the operating member 34. It is ejected forward by the force of both the spring and the spring.

Even if the operating member returns to the front in this way and the cassette is ejected, the pushing force of the operator is still applied to the eject lever 23, so the eject lever 23 moves as shown in FIG. 6A. As shown by the dashed line in and B, the tape player is pushed all the way to the back. and,
Pressed by this, the contact portion 2 of the L-shaped link 24
5 is also located at the farthest end, and the force of the coil spring 24b acts counterclockwise here, so L
Shape link and guide arm 2 interlocking with it
The pack guide 1 is also pushed up to the highest position where the cassette can be ejected, and is locked at the raised position by a locking mechanism (not shown). after that,
When the pushing force on the eject lever is released, the eject lever 23 is moved to the abutting part of the L-shaped link with the locking part 27 at its tip locked by the force of the return spring 11, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 6B. It will be pulled out to the front until it hits 25.

[Effects of the Invention] As shown in the above embodiments, according to the present invention, the ejection of the cassette from the pack guide is performed by the force of both the reversing spring and the return spring of the operating member. The force required to push the lever is reduced accordingly. Furthermore, since the cassette is ejected immediately after the ejection lever is pushed in, it is possible to provide a tape player with excellent operability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the state before the cassette is inserted in a conventional reversing spring type loading/eject mechanism, Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the state when the cassette is inserted, and Fig. 3 is the same when the eject operation is performed. 4 shows the state when the cassette is installed in the eject mechanism of the present invention, FIG. 5 shows the same when the eject operation is performed, and FIG. 6 shows the state when the eject is completed. B is a side view from the frame side, and B is a plan view. 7 is a side view of the frame 20 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 8 is a side view of the eject lever 23, and FIG. 9 is a side view of the operating member 34. 1...Pack guide, 2...Guide arm, 3
...Guide groove, 4...Pack stop, 4a...
Axis, 5... Link, 6... Reversing spring, 7...
... Support shaft, 8 ... Eject lever, 9 ... Operation rod, 10 ... Protrusion, 11 ... Return spring, 20 ... Frame of tape player, 21 ...
... Guide pin, 22 ... Long hole, 23 ... Eject lever, 24 ... L-shaped link, 25 ... Contact part, 26 ... Pressing part, 27 ... Locking part, 28 ...
Support shaft, 29...link, 30...cam follower, 3
1...Cam hole, 32...Taper cam, 33...
Spring, 34... Operating member, 35... Long hole,
36...Returning spring, 37...Step part, 38
...Engagement hole, 39...Engagement pin, 40...Insertion hole.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pack stopper 4 is provided on a guide arm 2 that supports the pack guide 1 so as to be able to move up and down freely, and a reversing spring 6 is provided between the pack stopper 4 and a link 5 provided on the guide arm 2. ,
In a tape player in which a reversing spring 6 is used to draw in and eject a cassette, an eject lever 23 is provided with a rotatable link 29 on a side surface of a frame 20 of the tape player.
and via this link 29
3 and an operating member 34 that interlock with each other are arranged so as to be able to move back and forth independently with respect to the frame 20. Return springs 11 and 36 for urging are provided, respectively, and the operating member 34 is connected to a link 9 of a reversing spring 6 for retracting and discharging the cassette provided on the guide arm 2. A cam hole 31 is provided in the frame 20. is formed,
This cam hole 31 is provided with the eject lever 23.
A tapered cam 32 is provided that guides a cam follower 30 provided on the link 29 and rotates the link 29 as the eject lever 23 moves back and forth, and an engagement hole 38 is formed in the operating member 34.
This engagement hole 38 is provided with a stepped portion 37 that engages with an engagement pin 39 provided on the link 29 to interlock the eject lever 23 and the operating member 34 via the link 29, and further includes: , the positional relationship between the taper cam 32 and the stepped portion 37 is such that at the beginning of ejecting the cassette by pushing in the eject lever 23, the engagement pin 39 engages with the stepped portion 37, and the eject lever 23 and the operating member 34 On the other hand, as the eject lever 23 is pushed in, the link 29 is rotated by the cam follower 30 guided by the taper cam 32, and when the cassette is completely raised, the eject lever 23 and the operating member are 34. An eject mechanism for a tape player, characterized in that the eject mechanism is set to be separated from 34.