JPH11144430A - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a tape cartridge in which a reel spring is securely mounted without riding on a spring mounting member, enables stable running of a tape reel, and has a high assembling efficiency. SOLUTION: A single tape reel wound with a magnetic tape is housed in a cartridge body composed of an upper half and a lower half, and a spring plug biased by a reel spring 8 is constantly pressed against the tape reel. In a tape cartridge in which the tape reel is rotatably supported by the spring plug, a spring mounting member 19 for mounting and holding the reel spring 8 is provided on the inner surface 1a of the upper half 1. The distal end portion 19a of the spring mounting member 19 has a convex curved shape.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cartridge for data storage used as a backup for a computer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as a tape cartridge for data storage used as a backup of a computer or the like, as shown in FIG. 10, a disk-shaped tape cartridge is formed in a cartridge main body 103 composed of an upper half 101 and a lower half 102. Upper flange 104 and lower flange 10
A single tape reel 107 on which a magnetic tape 106 having a tape 5 is wound is always urged toward the lower half 102 side by a reel spring 108 and stored.

[0003] The tape reel 107 has an upper flange 1
The magnetic tape 106 to which the tape reader 109 is connected is wound around a hub provided in the hub 04.
The tape reel 107 has a ring-shaped disk (not shown) which is press-fitted and fixed in a circular recess formed at the center of the upper flange 104, and a spring plug (not shown) is attached to the disk. Thereby, the spring plug rotates around the spring plug.

In the tape reel 107, the upper flange 104 faces the inner surface 101a of the upper half 101, and the lower flange 105 is constantly urged toward the lower half 102 by a reel spring 108.
The reel spring 108 is a compression coil spring having a cylindrical shape.

In this tape cartridge, a recording and / or reproducing apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as a drive apparatus)
When not in use, the torsion coil spring 11
A pair of brake members 11 urged by 0,111
2 and 113, the tape reel 107 cannot be rotated. That is, the tape reel 107
Are gear portions 11 formed around the outer periphery of the upper flange 104.
In FIG. 4, the meshing portions 115 and 116 provided on the brake members 112 and 113 mesh with each other, so that rotation is impossible.

When not in use, the magnetic tape 106 is completely wound around the tape reel 107, and the tape reader 109 is
The hook 3 is engaged with a hook 117 provided on the side of the third side. Further, an opening for pulling out the magnetic tape 106 to the outside of the cartridge main body 103 is closed by an opening / closing lid 118 rotatably attached to the cartridge main body 103.

On the other hand, when the tape cartridge is mounted on the drive device, the tape reel 107 is lifted to the center position of the cartridge body 103 against the urging force of the reel spring 108 and the brake members 112 and 113 are used. Is released, and the tape reel 107 can be rotated. Further, the opening / closing lid 118 is opened by lid opening / closing means provided on the drive device side. Further, the magnetic tape 106 is pulled out from the cartridge body 103 to the outside by a tape pulling means provided on the drive device side.

By the way, a reel spring 108 for urging the tape reel 107 toward the lower half 102 is
As shown in FIG. 11, the upper half 101 is mounted and held around the outer periphery of a spring mounting member 120 provided on the inner surface 101a of the upper half 101. Such a spring mounting member 120 is
It is for positioning the reel spring 108 mounted on the outer periphery thereof, and is formed as a cylindrical body having a circular hole 121 at the center. In order to facilitate mounting of the reel spring 108, an inclined portion 122 that is inclined outward is provided on the periphery of the opening of the spring mounting member 120.

[0009]

However, when the running variation of the magnetic tape 106 is inspected (LTM inspection) after assembling the tape cartridge having the above structure, an unusual noise may be generated. Although the cause is not apparent from the appearance of the tape cartridge, when the tape cartridge was disassembled, it was found that the cause was as follows.

At the tip of the spring mounting member 120, there is a horizontal flat surface 123 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the reel spring 108 is connected to the spring mounting member 120.
In some cases, the reel spring 108 is mounted with the bottom of the reel spring 108 riding on the flat surface 123. Due to this, the upper and lower flanges 104, 1
05 and the upper half 101 or the lower half 102 come into contact with each other to generate abnormal noise.

As described above, since these problems are not known until after the tape cartridge is assembled, it is necessary to disassemble the tape cartridge again and reassemble it.
This results in a decrease in assembly efficiency. Further, if the reel spring 108 is mounted on the flat surface 123 of the spring mounting member 120, there arises a problem that the tape reel 107 cannot rotate normally.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a tape cartridge in which a reel spring is securely mounted without riding on a spring mounting member, enables stable running of a tape reel, and has a high assembling efficiency. .

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In the cartridge body consisting of upper half and lower half,
A single tape reel wound with a magnetic tape having an upper flange and a lower flange is housed therein, and a spring plug biased by a reel spring is constantly pressed against the tape reel. In the tape cartridge that is rotatably supported by the above, a spring mounting member for mounting and holding the reel spring is provided on the inner surface of the upper half, and a tip end of the spring mounting member has a convex curved shape. The above object has been achieved by providing a tape cartridge characterized by the following.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the tape cartridge according to the first aspect, the spring mounting member has a substantially cylindrical shape and has at least three or more ribs at a tip end. The above object has been achieved by providing a tape cartridge having the following configuration.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the tape cartridge according to the first aspect, wherein the spring mounting member has a substantially frustoconical shape having a circular hole at the center. Thereby, the above object has been achieved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the tape cartridge according to the first aspect, wherein the spring mounting member has a substantially cylindrical shape having a circular hole at the center. The above object has been achieved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the tape cartridge according to the second or third aspect, wherein the reel spring is mounted around an outer periphery of the spring mounting member. ,
The above object has been achieved.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tape cartridge according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, wherein the reel spring is fitted in the circular hole. It was done.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a specific embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a tape cartridge (DLT cartridge) used for data storage used as a backup of a computer.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a tape cartridge.
2 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a portion where the spring mounting member is provided, FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a main portion of a portion where the spring mounting member is provided, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a state in which a reel spring is mounted and held on a spring mounting member.

FIG. 1 shows a tape cartridge according to this embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 2, a single tape reel 7 on which a magnetic tape 6 having an upper flange 4 and a lower flange 5 is wound in a cartridge body 3 composed of an upper half 1 and a lower half 2.
The tape cartridge is configured such that a spring plug 9 urged by a reel spring 8 is constantly pressed against the tape reel 7, and the tape reel 7 is rotatably supported by the spring plug 9.

In the upper half 1, as shown in FIG.
A first brake member 10 and a second brake member 11 are provided for preventing the tape reel 7 from rotating when not used in the drive device.

The first brake member 10 has a comb-shaped meshing portion 13 that meshes with a gear portion 12 formed around the outer periphery of the upper flange 4, and is provided on the inner surface of the upper half 1. It is rotatably attached to a brake support shaft that does not. The first brake member 10 is constantly urged by a first reel lock spring 14 composed of a torsion coil spring in a direction in which the meshing portion 13 meshes with the gear portion 12.

The second brake member 11 has a comb-shaped engaging portion 15 which also engages with a gear portion 12 formed around the outer periphery of the upper flange 4, and is provided on the inner surface of the upper half 1. It is rotatably attached to a brake support shaft (not shown). The second brake member 11 is urged by a second reel lock spring 16 also composed of a torsion coil spring in a direction in which the mesh portion 15 meshes with the gear portion 12.

At the center of the upper flange 4, a cylindrical hub 22 is formed integrally with the upper flange 4. The recess 17 formed in the center of the hub 22
A disk-shaped bearing 18 functioning as a bearing when the tape reel 7 rotates is press-fitted and fixed to the center of the tape reel 7. A tip 9a of the spring plug 9 is press-fitted and fixed in a hole formed in the center of the bearing 18.

On the other hand, the lower flange 5 is formed as a disk having a circular fitting hole 20 facing a circular projection (not shown) formed on the top surface of the hub 22. The fitting hole 20 is fitted to the circular projecting portion and is fixed to the hub 22 by ultrasonic welding. The tape reel 7 is housed between the upper half 1 and the lower half 2 fixed by screws 21.

In the tape cartridge constructed as described above, the tape reel 7 is biased toward the lower half 2 by the reel spring 8 when the tape cartridge is not used in the drive device and is not used.

On the other hand, when the tape reel 7 is used in the drive device, the tape reel 7 is lifted to the center position of the cartridge body 3 against the urging force of the reel spring 8, and the brake members 10, 11 The lock is released, and the tape reel 7 can be rotated.

In the tape cartridge of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a spring mounting member 19 for mounting and holding the reel spring 8 protrudes from the inner surface 1a of the upper half 1. The distal end portion 19a of the spring mounting member 19 has a convex curved surface shape.

The spring mounting member 19 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG.
7 is provided at the center of the reel positioning projection 23 which is formed as a ring-shaped projection that fits in a loosely fitted state. The spring mounting member 19 has a substantially columnar shape, and has at least three or more ribs 25 at a distal end portion 19a. In the present embodiment, four ribs 25 are provided.

The tip portion 19a of the spring mounting member 19 is
As shown in FIG. 3, the four ribs 25 form a substantially cross shape in a plan view, and have a convex curved surface shape whose tip portion 19a draws a slightly pointed arc. On the other hand, the base end portion 9b of the spring mounting member 19 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the reel spring 8 is mounted and held around its outer periphery.

Although the thickness of the rib 25 depends on the type of resin used, the thickness of the upper half 1 is set to d × 0.7 or less in order to prevent sinks from occurring on the surface of the upper half 1. Is desirable.

As described above, at least three or more ribs 25 are formed on the distal end 19a of the spring mounting member 19, and the distal end 19a formed by the rib 25 has a convex curved shape. So that the reel spring 8
When the reel spring 8 is mounted on the spring mounting member 19, the reel spring 8 is mounted and held at a normal position without climbing on the distal end portion 19a of the spring mounting member 19. That is, since the distal end portion 19a of the spring mounting member 19 has a convex curved shape, even if the reel spring 8 is incorporated to some extent rough, the bottom portion of the reel spring 8 is not
a of the spring mounting member 19 along the convex curved surface of FIG.
To the reel spring 8
Is always mounted and held at the normal position of the spring mounting member 19.

As described above, according to the tape cartridge of the present embodiment, since the reel spring 8 is always mounted and held at the normal position of the spring mounting member 19, the tape reel 7 can be rotated normally. In addition, it is possible to prevent the tape reel 7 from contacting the upper half 1 or the lower half 2 and generating abnormal noise.

The tape cartridge of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, if the reel spring 8 is mounted and held at a normal position, the base end portion 19b of the spring mounting member 19 may not be cylindrical.
In the present invention, the spring mounting member 1 according to the above-described embodiment is used.
Various changes are possible irrespective of the shape of 9. For example,
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the spring mounting member 26 may have a substantially truncated conical shape having a circular hole 27 at the center. Of course, the tip portion 26a of the spring mounting member 26 has a convex curved surface shape (a so-called R shape) that draws a slightly sharp arc.
And

If the spring mounting member 26 has the shape shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the reel spring 8 can be brought to a normal position without climbing on the tip 26a of the spring mounting member 26 as in the above-described embodiment. It can be attached and held.
A circular hole 27 formed in the center of the spring mounting member 26
Are formed to prevent the occurrence of sink marks on the upper half 1 surface. In order to prevent the occurrence of sink marks on the surface of the upper half 1, it is preferable that the thickness T1 of the spring mounting member 26 be equal to or less than the thickness d × 0.7 of the upper half 1.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the spring mounting member 28 has a substantially cylindrical shape having a circular hole 29 at the center for fitting and holding the reel spring 8, and the tip end portion 28a is slightly shaped. A convex curved surface shape that draws a sharp arc may be used. With such a shape, similarly to the above-described embodiment, the reel spring 8 can be mounted and held at a normal position without riding on the distal end portion 28a of the spring mounting member 28. The thickness T2 of the spring mounting member 28 in this example is set to be equal to the thickness d of the upper half 1 from the viewpoint of preventing sink marks on the surface of the upper half 1.
× 0.7 or less is preferable.

[0038]

As is clear from the above description, according to the tape cartridge of the present invention, the reel spring is securely mounted without climbing on the spring mounting member, and the tape reel can run stably. And a tape cartridge with high assembly efficiency can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a tape cartridge according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a portion of the tape cartridge according to the embodiment where a spring mounting member is provided.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a main part of a portion of the tape cartridge according to the embodiment where a spring mounting member is provided.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a portion of the tape cartridge according to the embodiment where a spring mounting member is provided.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the tape cartridge according to the embodiment, showing a state in which a reel spring is mounted and held on a spring mounting member.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a portion where the spring mounting member is provided, which shows another shape of the spring mounting member.

7 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a state in which a reel spring is mounted and held on the spring mounting member shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 shows still another shape of the spring mounting member.
It is a principal part expansion perspective view of the part in which this spring mounting member is provided.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a state where a reel spring is mounted and held on the spring mounting member shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional tape cartridge.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional tape cartridge in which a spring mounting member is provided.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a conventional tape cartridge in which a spring mounting member is provided.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper half 2 Lower half 3 Cartridge main body 7 Tape reel 8 Reel spring 9 Spring plug 19,26,28 Spring mounting member

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A single tape reel wound with a magnetic tape having an upper flange and a lower flange is housed in a cartridge body composed of an upper half and a lower half, and a spring plug biased by a reel spring is accommodated. In a tape cartridge which is always pressed against the tape reel and rotatably supports the tape reel by the spring plug, a spring mounting member for mounting and holding the reel spring projects from an inner surface of the upper half. A tape cartridge, wherein the tip of the spring mounting member has a convex curved shape. 2. The tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the spring mounting member has a substantially cylindrical shape and has at least three or more ribs at a tip end. 3. The tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the spring mounting member has a substantially frusto-conical shape having a circular hole at the center. 4. The tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the spring mounting member has a substantially cylindrical shape having a circular hole at the center. 5. The reel spring is mounted around an outer periphery of the spring mounting member.
Or the tape cartridge according to 3. 6. The tape cartridge according to claim 4, wherein said reel spring is fitted in said circular hole.