JPH0480475B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a disk cassette such as a floppy disk.

BACKGROUND ART AND PROBLEMS There are conventional disk cassettes such as magnetic disk cassettes as shown in FIGS. 1 to 10, for example.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this magnetic disk cassette consists of an upper shell 1 and a lower shell 2, between which a magnetic disk 3 is rotatably housed. The magnetic disk 3 includes a metal center core 4, and this sensor core 4 is chucked to a spindle of a disk drive device through a center hole 5 formed in the lower shell 2. Further, a rectangular head insertion hole 6 is formed in the lower shell 2 along the radial direction of the disk, while a presser pad insertion hole 7 is formed in a corresponding position in the upper shell 1.

In order to close the head insertion hole 6 and pad insertion hole 7, the shutter 8 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B is inserted into the recess 17 formed in each of the upper shell 1 and the lower shell 2 so as to straddle the cassette case. It is installed so that it can freely move back and forth. Window holes 10 are formed on both sides of the shutter 8 to match the insertion holes 6 and 7, and when the shutter 8 is in the open position as shown in FIG. 8, and the head and presser pad can be inserted. Further, when the shutter 8 is in the closed position as shown in FIG. 1, the pad insertion hole 7 and the head insertion hole 6 are closed by the shutter. When the disk cassette is not in use, close the shutter 8 so that it is always in the closed position as shown in Figure 1.
The shutter 8 is biased in the direction of arrow a in FIG. 1 by a shutter spring 11, which is a torsion coil spring, compressed between the shutter 8 and the cassette housing.

4A and 4B show a top view and a side view of the shutter spring 11. FIG. This shutter spring 11 is made by winding a stainless steel wire several times, and both ends of a coil portion 12 are connected to arm portions 13 and 14 extending linearly. The ends of each arm portion 13, 14 are approximately 90° bent portion 15,
16. The bending directions of the respective bent portions 15 and 16 are opposite to each other, and are directed in the height direction of the coil portion 12. This shutter spring 1
The lengths b and c of each of the arm portions 13 and 14 of 1 are equal, and the lengths d and e of each bent portion 15 and 16 are also equal. Therefore, the shutter spring 11 has a point-symmetrical structure, and either of the bent portions 15 and 16 may be the fixed end to the shutter 8 or the disk housing.

That is, since the shutter spring 11 has no directionality in attachment, assembly work by an automatic machine or by hand becomes extremely easy. Further, the shape of the shutter spring 11 is simple and manufacturing is easy, and the shutter springs 11 are not entangled with each other, so that assembly efficiency can be improved. Furthermore, since the bent portions 15 and 16 of the shutter spring 11 are oriented in the height direction of the main coil portion 12, the height of the shutter spring 11 in the thickness direction of the disk cassette can be made lower. Suitable for thinner cassette structures.

Next, a structure for attaching the shutter spring 11 to the cassette housing and the shutter 8 will be explained. Figure 5 is a top side view of the main parts of the disk cassette showing the mounting structure of the shutter spring 11;
The figure is a plan view of the main part. Further, FIGS. 7 and 8 show partial cross sections taken along the - line and - line in FIG. 6, respectively.

A bent portion 15 (or 16) at one end of the shutter spring 11 shown in FIG. 4 is inserted and locked into a recess 17 formed in the cassette shell. The bent portion 15 (or 16) at the other end is engaged with a hook portion 18 formed on the upper surface of the shutter 8 by cutting and bending. As shown in FIG.
and 2a and an overhang portion 19 formed in the upper shell 1. Therefore, this recess 17
The shutter spring 11 inserted into the shutter spring 11 will not fall off in the vertical and horizontal directions in FIG. Also, in the insertion direction, there is a shutter spring 1.
It is fixed by the return force of 1 itself.

On the other hand, the bent portion 1 of the shutter spring 11
6 (or 15) is shutter 8 as shown in Figure 8.
When it is hung on the hook part 18 of , it is prevented from coming off by the shutter 8 in the upward and rightward directions in FIG. 8, by the upper shell 1 in the leftward direction, and by the lower shell 2 in the downward direction. Fixed.

In order to facilitate the installation work of the shutter spring 11, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the upper shell 1 near the entrance of the recess 17 has a stepped portion 21 lower than the upper surface 20 of the shell. is formed. This stepped portion 21 is connected to an overhang portion 19 forming a spring locking recess 17. Further, a corresponding portion of the lower shell 2 is formed with a step portion 23 that protrudes from the upper side surface 20 of the shell.

Figures 9 and 10 show the shutter spring 1.
FIG. 1 is a top side view of a main part and a perspective view of a main part explaining the installation work of FIG. As shown in these figures, the arm portion 13 of the shutter spring 11 is pressed against the side wall of the protruding step portion 23 of the lower shell 2, and the bent portion 15
is pressed against the upper surface of the lowered step 21 of the upper shell 1, and the shutter spring 11 is slid in the direction of arrow E while being guided by the steps 21 and 23.
can be inserted into the recess 9. Note that since the lower step portion 21 is provided, the insertion angle θ (FIG. 10) of the shutter spring 11 may be small.

Therefore, the insertion line of the shutter spring 11 is straight. Therefore, it is also possible to install using an automatic machine. However, it is not as easy for automatic machines to handle springy parts as it is for rigid parts, and requires special ingenuity and delicate adjustments to the part supply means and insertion means (attachment means). This has become a major problem in assembly work using automatic machines.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new disk cassette that is configured so that the shutter spring installation work can be performed reliably and easily using an automatic machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The disk cassette of the present invention includes a cassette housing consisting of an upper and lower shell for rotatably storing a disc-shaped recording medium, and a cassette housing that is slidably mounted parallel to the front side of the cassette housing. a shutter for opening and closing the head insertion hole; and a shutter for energizing the shutter in the direction of closing the head insertion hole, engaging one end to the shutter and the other end to the cassette casing to open and close the cassette casing. In a disk cassette having a torsion coil spring installed through an insertion hole provided on the front side, by having a stepped protrusion in the insertion hole to prevent the torsion coil spring from falling off, the shutter can be attached to the stepped protrusion. The coil part of the spring can be reliably temporarily fastened, and the shutter spring installation work can be performed reliably and easily using an automatic machine.

Embodiment An embodiment of the disk cassette according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.
In this Figure 11 and Figure 12, Figures 1 to 1
The same reference numerals are given to the parts corresponding to those in FIG.

In this example, the shutter spring 11 is installed in the following two steps.

That is, the shutter spring 11 is connected to the upper shell 1.
The assembly work is carried out using an automatic machine, with the work divided into a first step in which the temporarily fastened shutter spring 11 is temporarily fastened between the shutter spring 11 and the lower shell 2, and a second step in which the temporarily fastened shutter spring 11 is inserted deeper and installed in a predetermined position. This is what we do.

In this first step, the shutter spring 11
is picked up from the supply section, deformed into a V-shape, and inserted between the upper shell 1 and the lower shell 2 as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

The coil portion 1 of the shutter spring 11 is inserted into the space 26 between the upper shell 1 and the lower shell 2 for mounting the magnetic disk 3.
2 is temporarily fixed to a stepped protrusion 25 provided on the inner surface facing the slide groove 24 on the inner surface facing the space 26 of the lower shell 2.

Next, in a second step, the temporarily fastened shutter spring 11 is inserted deeper, the bent part 16 of one spring is hung on the hook part 18 of the shutter 8, and the bent part of the other spring is 1
5 into the recess 17, and then remove the shutter spring 1.
Complete the installation work in step 1.

Further, another embodiment of the disk cassette according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In addition, in this FIG. 13, FIGS.
Portions corresponding to those in FIG. 2 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a portion corresponding to line XII-XII in FIG. 11.

That is, in the portions of the upper shell 1 and lower shell 2 of the magnetic disk cassette where the shutter 8 is mounted, a stepped protrusion 25 for forming the slide groove 24 on the inner surface facing the space 26 of the lower shell 2 is provided.
It is formed to further protrude into the space 26 in order to anchor the coil portion 12 of the shutter spring 11. This stepped protrusion 25 has an upper slope 25a in the figure.
It is formed as a trapezoidal protrusion having a lower plane 25b in the figure. In this example, the thickness g of the coil portion 12 of the shutter spring 11 is 1.1 mm.
Therefore, in order to be less than this, the distance h between the tip surface of the stepped protrusion 25 and the inner surface facing the space 26 of the upper shell 1 is formed to be 1.0 mm, and g>h
The structure is configured to satisfy the following relationship.

Further, in correspondence with the stepped protrusion 25 of the lower shell 2, a through portion 27, which is a cutout having a trapezoidal cross section, is provided on the inner surface of the upper shell 1 facing the space 26.

This through portion 27 is connected to the shutter spring 11.
The coil portion 12 is provided so that it can pass through the stepped protrusion 25 of the lower shell 2. Therefore, the depth of this through portion 27 is determined by the distance between the tip end surface of the stepped protrusion 25 and the bottom surface of the through portion 27, which is the thickness g of the coil portion 12.
It is made to be sufficiently larger than .

Since the magnetic disk cassette of this example is constructed as described above, when the shutter spring 11 is inserted into the space 26 between the upper shell 1 and the lower shell 2 in the first step of an automatic machine (not shown), the coil The portion 12 extends along the oblique side 25a of the stepped protrusion 25 in the direction of the through portion 27, and extends through the arm portion 1 of the shutter spring 11.
It is guided while bending 3 and 14.

When the coil portion 12 passes through the stepped protrusion 25, the torsion coil spring 11 elastically returns to its original straight state. In this state, since the thickness g of the coil portion 12 is greater than the distance h between the step protrusion 25 and the upper shell 1, the coil portion 12 is necessarily locked to the lower surface 25b of the step protrusion 25. That will happen.

That is, in the first step of the automatic machine, the shutter spring 11 is reliably and easily temporarily fixed in a predetermined state.

Therefore, the shutter spring 11 can be installed in a predetermined position without any problem in the second step of the automatic machine.

Further, according to this example, when a strong impact such as a drop of the disk cassette is applied, even if the shutter spring 11 starts to come off, the stepped protrusion 25 can prevent the shutter spring 11 from completely falling off.
never lose.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and that various other configurations can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the disk cassette of the present invention, it is possible to reliably temporarily fasten the coil portion of the shutter spring to the stepped protrusion between the upper shell and the lower shell. This has the effect that the installation work can be performed reliably and easily using an automatic machine. Furthermore, according to the present invention, when a strong impact such as a drop of a disk cassette is applied, even if the shutter spring starts to come off, the stepped protrusion 25 can prevent it from completely falling off, and the shutter spring will not be lost. There is profit.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of a magnetic disk cassette, FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of the shutter in an open state, and FIGS. 3A and B are a plan view and side view of the shutter shown in FIG. 4A and 4B are a plan view and a side view of the shutter spring of a conventional magnetic disk cassette, and FIG. 5 is a top side view of the essential parts of the disk cassette shown in FIG. 1, showing the mounting structure of the shutter spring. Figure 6 is a plan view of the main part, Figures 7 and 8 are partial cross-sectional views taken along lines - and - in Figure 6, respectively, and Figures 9 and 10 explain the installation work of the shutter spring. A top side view and a perspective view of essential parts; FIG. 11 is a plan view of an example of the essential parts showing the process of attaching a shutter spring to a disk cassette according to the present invention; FIG. 12 is taken along the line XII-XII in FIG. FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a main part showing another embodiment of the disk cassette of the present invention. 1 is an upper shell, 2 is a lower shell, 3 is a magnetic disk, 8 is a shutter, 11 is a shutter spring, 12 is a coil portion, 13 and 14 are arm portions, 1
5 and 16 are bent portions, 25 is a stepped protrusion, and 27 is a through portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A cassette housing consisting of upper and lower shells that rotatably stores a disc-shaped recording medium, and a head that is slidably mounted parallel to the front side of the cassette housing and provided on the cassette housing. A shutter that opens and closes the insertion hole;
The shutter is energized in a direction to close the head insertion hole, and one end is engaged with the shutter and the other end is engaged with the cassette housing, and the head is inserted through the insertion hole provided on the front side of the cassette housing. What is claimed is: 1. A disk cassette having a torsion coil spring attached thereto, characterized in that the insertion hole has a stepped protrusion for preventing the torsion coil spring from falling off.