JPH0447822Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a tape cassette suitable for use in recording and reproducing digital signals, such as PCM signals.

[Summary of the idea]

The present invention provides an elastic lock piece formed in the shape of a notch on the cassette case side to lock the slider provided in the cassette case for opening and closing the guide insertion part and the reel shaft insertion hole at least in the closed state. A cut-out portion is formed at the base, and the free end portion of the locking piece having the engaging head is biased outward to ensure reliable engagement and locking with the slider. It is.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, PCM recording and reproducing apparatuses have been proposed that convert analog signals such as acoustic signals into digital signals, such as PCM signals, and record (or reproduce) the converted signals on magnetic tape. Some PCM recording and reproducing apparatuses use a rotating head to achieve a relatively high recording density. Using this rotating head
In a PCM recording/playback device, playback (or recording)
Sometimes, reproduction (or recording) is performed while a magnetic tape is loaded onto a rotating drum equipped with a rotating head.

By the way, in the tape cassette into which this magnetic tape is loaded, if a finger touches the magnetic tape and oil or fat or dust gets on it, a dropout occurs in the playback signal, so it is important to avoid touching the magnetic tape with fingers or getting dust. It is necessary to seal the magnetic tape as tightly as possible to prevent this from happening, but the tape cassette should have an insertion hole for the reel shaft, and a guide system should be inserted so that the magnetic tape can be loaded from the tape cassette during playback (or recording). You need space to do so.

For this reason, it is arranged on the outer side of the lower half of the cassette case and slides in the front and back direction with respect to the front surface of the cassette.
A tape cassette has been proposed that has a slider that opens and closes a reel shaft insertion hole and a guide insertion portion, and a front cover that is rotatably provided and covers the front opening of the cassette. When such a tape cassette is loaded into a recording/reproducing device, the front cover is rotated from the front of the cassette, exposing the magnetic tape at the front opening of the cassette, and the slider is slid rearward to remove the exposed magnetic tape. A space for inserting guides is provided on the back side of the magnetic tape, and an insertion hole for the reel shaft is opened. Furthermore, during storage, the magnetic tape is sealed by the slider, front cover, and cassette case.

As such a tape cassette, a structure as shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 has been proposed (Japanese Patent Application No. 71462/1983).

That is, in FIGS. 4 to 7, 1 indicates a cassette case, and this cassette case 1 is composed of a pair of upper half 2 and lower half 3 that are joined together by screws. 2a is a transparent window plate provided on the upper surface of the upper half 2. 4a and 4b are housed in the cassette case 1, and a pair of reel shaft insertion holes 5a and 5 are provided at predetermined positions in the lower half 3.
The magnetic tape 6 is wound around the pair of reel hubs 4a and 4b. Reference numerals 7a and 7b are tape guide columns provided near the left and right side walls facing the front surface of the husband, and the magnetic tape 6 is stretched between these tape guide columns 7a and 7b, so that the tape guide columns 7a and 7b are placed in a predetermined position on the front surface. Made to be able to navigate the location. 3
Reference character a denotes a recess formed in a substantially rectangular shape over a predetermined width in the lower half 3 on the back side of the magnetic tape 6 stretched between the tape guide pillars 7a and 7b. A loading guide system is inserted from the recording/reproducing device.

8 indicates arm portions 8a and 8b provided on both left and right sides.
The front cover 8 is pivotally supported so as to be rotatable toward the front side of the cassette case 1, and the front opening of the cassette case 1 is opened and closed by the front cover 8.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a substantially U-shaped slider that is slidably engaged with the left and right side walls of the lower half 3 in the front-rear direction and faces the lower surface thereof. Further, 9a and 9b are respectively inserted into the reel shaft insertion hole 5 when the slider 9 is slid backward to open the recess 3a.
This is a reel shaft insertion hole bored in the slider 9 corresponding to holes a and 5b. And this slider 9
is constantly slid and biased forward by the torsion spring 10.

When this tape cassette is stored, the front opening of the cassette case 1 is closed by the front lid 8 as shown in FIGS.
a, 5b are closed by the slider 9, and the magnetic tape 6 is sealed inside the cassette case 1. A locking mechanism L is provided between the slider 9 and the lower half 3 to prevent the slider 9 from opening accidentally when storing the tape cassette, and from closing during use. That is, slider 9
There is a long shallow groove 11 on the bottom surface of the
This shallow groove 11 is formed to widen toward the front end so that a push-up pin P (described later) can easily enter therein, and is connected to a corresponding groove 12 formed at the lower end of the front cover 8. Further, through holes 13 and 14 are bored in the front and rear ends of the shallow groove 11 for locking with a locking member on the lower half side, which will be described later. On the other hand, a U-shaped notch-like long groove 15 is bored in the bottom of the lower half 3 in correspondence with the shallow groove 11 of the slider to form an elastic locking piece 16. A locking mechanism L is constructed by providing an engaging head 17 that projects outward.

When the slider 9 slides forward, that is, in the closed state, the engaging head 17 of the elastic locking piece 16 on the lower half side is engaged with the rear end through hole 14 (see FIG. 5).
Also, when sliding backward, that is, in the open state, the front through hole 13
(see FIG. 6), the slider 9 is held locked in its respective state.

The engagement between the lock piece 16 of the lower half 3 and the engagement holes 13 and 14 of the slider 9 is released, that is, the slider 9 is released by a push-up pin P provided in the tape cassette loading section of the PCM recording and reproducing apparatus. This is done by pushing up the engaging head 17 of the lock piece 16 through the shallow groove 11 of the slider 9 from the through holes 13 and 14 side.

In addition, during use, the slider 9 slides backward against the biasing force of the torsion spring 10, as shown in FIG.
a, 5b are opened, the front cover 8 is rotated upward, and the magnetic tape 6 is placed on the front surface of the cassette case 1.
are exposed, and the recess 3a and the reel shaft insertion hole 5a,
A guide system and a reel shaft are respectively inserted into 5b,
The magnetic tape 6 is loaded from the front side of the cassette case 1 onto the rotating drum by the guide system, and predetermined reproduction (or recording) is performed.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

In the tape cassette constructed in this manner, that is, in the locking mechanism L disposed between the lower half 3 and the slider 9, the elastic lock piece 16 formed on the lower half 3 is attached to the lower half by the cut-shaped long groove 15. 3 is formed at the same time as resin molding, so it is deformed due to heat shrinkage or temperature preservation during solidification of the molding, and this deformation causes the lower half 3 to bend toward the inner surface (see Fig. 7B). Lock piece 16
The engagement head 17 at the free end of the slider 9 does not fully engage with the engagement holes 13 and 14 of the slider 9, and does not function as a lock.
6 is bent toward the outer surface of the lower half 3, and the engagement head 17 is engaged with the engagement through holes 13 and 14 more strongly than necessary, resulting in the lock being too strong and the slider 9 sliding. There was a problem that made it impossible.

In view of this, the present invention provides a tape cassette in which the lock piece formed on the lower half is deformed during molding in a directional manner, that is, biased toward the outer surface of the lower half with a required elasticity. It is something.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is provided in the cassette cassette so as to be slidable in the front and back direction, and an engagement through hole is bored in the slider that opens and closes the guide insertion part and the reel shaft insertion hole. An elastic locking piece having an engaging head that is inserted into and engaged with the engaging hole when the slider is closed is cut in a position corresponding to the engaging hole on the slider sliding surface of the body. A tape cassette formed by forming a tape cassette in which a cut-out portion is formed at the root portion of the outer surface of the elastic locking piece, and the free end portion of the elastic locking piece having the engaging head is biased outward. It is.

[Effect]

As mentioned above, the elastic lock piece that is integrally formed in the shape of a notch on the cassette casing body, that is, the lower half side, has a cut-out part at the root on the outer surface side, so that it can be heat-shrinked or stored at high temperatures during molding of the lower half. The free end is biased outward, and the engagement head provided on the free end is securely engaged with the engagement through hole of the slider, and the elastic lock piece has a root portion. Due to the thinning of the thickness due to the thinned portion, an excessive biasing force is not generated and does not interfere with the sliding movement of the slider.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to Figs. 1 to 3. Members corresponding to those explained in Figs. Explanation will be omitted.

In this example, the lower half 3 has a notched long groove 15.
A cut-out portion 20 is formed at the root portion of the outer surface of the elastic lock piece 16 formed by the above method. That is, in this example, the root part on the outer surface side of the elastic lock piece 16 is formed to be thin, and the lower half 3 is made of synthetic resin, for example, ABS resin, so that the root part of the lock piece 16 is made thin. When molded, when deformed due to heat shrinkage during solidification or temperature storage in this molding process, the lock piece 16 will be formed into a thin part, that is, a thinned part 2.
0 to the outside (in the direction of arrow a) (see Fig. 3).

Therefore, the engagement head 17 of the lock piece 16 is reliably inserted into and engaged with the locking engagement through holes 13 and 14 of the slider 9, which is slidably engaged with the lower half 3 in the front-rear direction. Furthermore, since the root portion of the locking piece 16 is thin, no excessive biasing force is generated, and even if the amount of bending deformation increases somewhat, the sliding movement of the slider 9 will not be hindered. The inner surface of the elastic locking piece 16 is shaved off by a predetermined amount to make it thinner than other parts of the elastic locking piece 16, thereby making it easier to bend.

In addition, in this example, the lower half 3 and the slider 9
The locking mechanism L is arranged on both sides of the slider 9.
The device is designed to more reliably lock the device in the open and closed states. In the PCM recording and reproducing apparatus using the tape cassette of this embodiment having the locking mechanisms L at two locations as described above, the aforementioned push-up pins are attached to the engaging heads 17 of the locking pieces 16 of the lower half 3 of the respective locking mechanisms L. It will be arranged accordingly.

Note that the engaging through hole 1 of the slider 9 in this example
3, 14, the lock piece 16 of the lower half 3, and the shape of the engaging head 17 formed protruding from the lock piece 16 are not limited to those shown in the drawings, and other members may also be used outside the gist of the present invention. Of course, various other configurations can be adopted without doing so.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, according to the present invention, the locking piece, which is provided in the form of a notch on the cassette case side and whose engaging head at the free end engages and locks the slider at least in its closed state, has a groove at its outer root. By forming the tapped portion, the free end is formed in a state biased outward during molding of the cassette case, so that the engaging head of the free end is securely engaged with the slider and the slider Moreover, since the locking piece has a thin base, no excessive biasing force is generated, and even when the slider slides in the unlocked state, the slider slides smoothly without unnecessary pressure. This has the effect of improving opening/closing operability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the lower half side of an example of the tape cassette according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the lower half and slider, Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the lower half and slider in the locked state, and Fig. 4. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional tape cassette, FIG. 5 is an enlarged bottom view of the tape cassette, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the lower half of the tape cassette in use, and FIGS. 7 A and B are views of the lower half and slider. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view in a locked state and a cross-sectional view for explanation. In the figure, 1 is a cassette case, 3 is a lower half, 9 is a slider, 13 and 14 are engagement through holes, 15 is a long groove, 1
6 is a locking piece, 17 is an engaging head, and 20 is a meat stealing portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] An engagement hole is formed in a slider which is provided in the cassette case so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction and which opens and closes the guide insertion part and the reel shaft insertion hole, and the engagement hole is formed in the slider sliding contact surface of the cassette case. A tape cassette comprising a cut-shaped elastic locking piece having an engaging head that is inserted into and engaged with the engaging through hole and locked at a position corresponding to the hole when at least the slider is closed, A tape cassette, characterized in that a cut-out portion is formed at the root portion of the outer surface of the elastic locking piece, and a free end portion of the elastic locking piece having the engaging head is biased outward.