JPH11297031A - Magnetic tape cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate and secure the assembly of an elastic lock piece energization means and to slide a slider stably by forming the elastic lock piece energization means and a braking member energization member in one piece. SOLUTION: Two members 26 are installed at positions where each compression coil spring 26a corresponds to the free end head part of each elastic lock piece. The members 26 are welded and fixed to a bottom surface 10a of an upper half 10 at a straight line part 26c for connecting two springs 26a and 26b. A boss is provided at the free end head part of the elastic lock piece, and the compression coil spring 26a of the members 26 is engaged to the boss when a cassette is assembled, thus preventing the compression coil spring 26a from falling obliquely or being disengaged during operation and securely gear- locking a slider. Also, by dividing the brake spring into two portions, the energization force of each brake spring can be changed as needed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetic tape cassette, and more particularly, to an elastic lock piece urging means for urging an elastic lock piece for locking a slider and a brake member urging means for urging a brake member. The present invention relates to an improved magnetic tape cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a magnetic tape cassette such as a DDS or a DAT has a pair of take-up hubs or a pair of winding hubs each having a long magnetic tape fixed at each end and wound around the magnetic tape. The take-up reel is housed in a cassette case formed by an upper half and a lower half which are coupled in a lid-like manner so as to expose only a portion of the magnetic tape stretched between the two hubs. Since high-density recording is performed on this magnetic tape, it is necessary to seal the magnetic tape as much as possible in the cassette case when storing the cassette or the like in order to prevent fingers from touching the magnetic tape or attaching dust. . On the other hand, when a cassette is used, an insertion hole for a reel shaft and a space for inserting guides during recording / reproduction are required in the cassette case.

Therefore, a slider that slides freely along the bottom surface of the lower half so as to open and close the guide insertion portion on the front side of the cassette case and the reel shaft insertion hole on the bottom surface of the lower half is mounted on the outer lower surface of the lower half. ing. When the cassette is stored, the slider is urged to a closed position for closing the guide insertion portion and the reel shaft insertion hole by urging means such as a torsion coil spring or a plate spring.
Further, an elastic lock piece is provided on the bottom surface of the lower half to lock the slider at an open position for opening the guide insertion portion and the like and a closed position for closing the slider.

Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional magnetic tape cassette. The magnetic tape cassette mainly includes an upper half 90 and a lower half 91, between which a magnetic tape 93 wound around a winding hub 92 is accommodated. On the front side of the upper half 90, a front lid 94 that covers and protects the magnetic tape 93 when the cassette is not used is rotatably mounted around a support shaft 94a. A slider 95 is mounted on the outer lower surface of the lower half 91 so as to be able to slide in the front-rear direction (closed position and open position) in order to close the open portion on the lower side of the case and improve the sealing performance.

When the cassette is not used, a brake member 97 is attached to the upper half 90 to prevent the magnetic tape 93 wound around the winding hub 92 from being loosened. The brake member 97 prevents the rotation of the winding hub 92 and prevents the magnetic tape 93 from loosening by engaging the braking piece 97a with a gear 92a provided on the upper portion of the winding hub 92. The brake member 97 is urged by a brake spring (brake member urging means) 98 to a position where the brake piece 97a is engaged with the gear 92a when the cassette is not used. The brake spring 98 is locked on a projection 90 a provided on the upper half 90.

The lower half 91 is provided with a wall-shaped member 91a curved in a U-shape along a magnetic tape 93 wound around a winding hub 92, and a triangular plate member 9 is provided on an upper portion thereof.
1b is attached. This triangular plate 91b
Increases the rigidity of the wall-shaped member 91a and the case,
Together with the ribs of the upper half 90 (not shown), the inside of the case is sealed, the dustproof effect is improved, and the brake spring 98 is supported from below to prevent it from coming off. . The space on the front side of the wall-shaped member 91a is a guide insertion portion into which a so-called tape loading device in a recording / reproducing device to which the magnetic tape cassette is attached is inserted. Further, on the bottom surface of the lower half 91, there are provided reel shaft insertion holes 91f, 91f for inserting the reel shaft into the cassette case when the cassette is used. A projection 91c is provided on the lower half 91, and a torsion coil spring 96 as urging means for urging the slider 95 to the front closed position is locked. Further, the slider 95 is provided with a rib 95a for receiving the urging force of the torsion coil spring 96 and for inserting the torsion coil spring 96 therein.

The slider 95 is provided with two locking holes 95b on each of the left and right sides, and the free end head of an elastic locking piece 91d provided on the lower half 91 to support one side fits into the locking hole 95b. To move the slider 95 between the open position and the closed position.
It locks in one position. In the closed position, the slider 95 closes the guide insertion portion and the reel shaft insertion holes 91f, 91f on the front side of the wall-shaped member 91a of the lower half 91 for dust protection with the bottom surface of the slider 95, and in the open position. The guide insertion portion is opened, and two holes 95c, 95c formed on the bottom surface of the slider 95 are inserted into the reel shaft insertion hole 91.
f, 91f. A boss 91e is provided upright on the free end of the elastic lock piece 91d.
In order to urge the elastic lock piece 91d toward the locking hole 95b and securely lock (lock) the slider 95, a compression coil spring 99 is attached as elastic lock piece urging means.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state in which the elastic locking piece 91d and the compression coil spring 99 are incorporated.
As shown in the figure, the free end portion 91 of the elastic lock piece 91d
A compression coil spring 99 is attached to a boss 91e standing upright. The compression coil spring 99 has an upper half 90
, And urges the free end head 91f to securely fit into the locking hole 95b of the slider 95.

[0009]

However, when the above-mentioned conventional elastic lock piece urging means is used, there is a problem that the assembly is difficult. That is,
The assembling is performed by an automatic machine, and the compression coil spring is fitted into the boss provided on the free end of the elastic lock piece from above and transported to the next station. At this time, since the compression coil spring is fitted into the boss simply by dropping the spring onto the boss, there is a problem that the compression coil spring comes off when vibration is applied. Further, even after the assembly, there is a possibility that the compression coil spring may fall obliquely or come off when operated. In such a case, the slider cannot slide smoothly, the slider does not open,
Fatal defects such as returning immediately after opening.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides a magnetic tape cassette which can easily and surely incorporate an elastic lock piece urging means and assure stable sliding of a slider. As an issue.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to an upper half which accommodates a pair of winding hubs wound with a magnetic tape and forms a cassette case connected in a lid-like manner. Slidable along the outer lower surface of the lower half between the open position for opening the guide insertion portion on the front side of the cassette case and the reel shaft insertion hole on the bottom surface of the lower half, and the closed position for closing the lower half. A slider mounted on the lower half bottom surface in one-sided support along the bottom surface of the lower half, and a free end of the head is fitted into an engagement hole provided in the bottom surface of the slider, and the slider is An elastic lock piece that locks in the open position and the closed position, provided between a free end head of the elastic lock piece and the inner surface of the upper half,
An elastic locking piece urging means for urging the head toward the engagement hole of the slider; a braking position for engaging the winding hub to inhibit rotation of the winding hub in a loosening direction; A magnetic tape cassette comprising: a brake member movable between a release position allowing rotation of a take-up hub; and brake member urging means for urging the brake member to the braking position. A magnetic tape cassette wherein an elastic lock piece urging means and the brake member urging means are integrally formed and fixed to the upper half.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a magnetic tape cassette of the present invention will be described in detail based on a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a magnetic tape cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention. The magnetic tape cassette comprises an upper half 10 and a lower half 12 which constitute a casing which is a case of a cassette which is coupled in a lid-like manner.
And a slider 14 mounted on the lower outside of the lower half 12 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction (closed position and open position).

In the cassette case, winding hubs 16 and 1 are provided.
The magnetic tape 18 wound around 6 is accommodated. On the front side of the upper half 10, a front lid 20 for covering and protecting the magnetic tape 18 when the cassette is not used is rotatably mounted around a support shaft 20a. The slider 14 is moved forward and backward (closed position and open position) on the outer lower surface of the lower half 12 to close the open portion on the lower side of the case to enhance the sealing performance.
It is mounted so that it can slide in the direction.

The lower half 12 is provided with a wall-shaped member 12a curved in a C shape along a magnetic tape 18 wound on a winding hub 16, and a triangular plate 1
2b is attached. This triangular plate 12b
Increases the rigidity of the wall-shaped member 12b and the case,
Together with ribs of the upper half 10 (not shown), the hermeticity inside the case is improved to improve the dustproof effect. A projection 12c is provided on the lower half 12, and a torsion coil spring 22, which is urging means for urging the slider 14 forward, is locked. Further, the slider 14 is provided with a rib 14a that receives the torsion coil spring 22 and receives the urging force thereof.

The lower half 12 has an elastic lock piece 1.
2d and 12d are provided on one side, and their free ends are
Engagement with the locking holes 14b, 14b provided in the slider 14 locks the slider 14 at the open position and the closed position. In order to prevent the magnetic tape 18 wound around the winding hubs 16 and 16 from being loosened when the cassette is not used, a brake member 24 is attached to the upper half 10. The brake member 24 has two braking pieces 24a, 24a. By engaging the braking pieces 24a, 24a with gears 16a, 16a provided on the upper portions of the winding hubs 16, 16,
The rotation of the take-up hub 16 is prohibited and the slack of the magnetic tape 18 is prevented.

Conventionally, when the cassette is not used, the brake member 2 is located at a position where the braking piece 24a is engaged with the gear 16a.
A brake spring is used as urging means for urging the elastic lock piece 4 and the elastic lock piece 12d is securely engaged with the slider 14 so that the elastic lock piece 12d locks the slider 14.
Slider lock springs have been provided as urging means for urging toward the 4b side. In the present embodiment, these two
One urging means (a brake spring and a slider lock spring) is integrated into one member 26.

A member 26 integrating these two biasing means.
Is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
Compression coil spring 26 functioning as slider lock spring
and a torsion coil spring 26 functioning as a brake spring
b is made from one wire. As described above, it is easiest to make a single wire, but the shape of the urging means is not limited to this.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the member 26 is attached to the upper half 10. As shown in the figure, two members 26 are installed at positions where each compression coil spring 26a corresponds to the free end of each elastic lock piece 12d. Then, the upper half 1 is formed at the straight portion 26c connecting the two springs 26a and 26b.
0 and is fixed to the bottom surface 10a. As described above, in the present embodiment, since the member 26 is fixed by welding, it does not come off due to vibration even during assembly.

Conventionally, two stations for assembling the lock spring and assembling the brake spring were required for assembling the cassette case. However, in this embodiment, the welding step is performed, but only one station is required. , Making assembly easier. Also, as shown in FIG.
A boss 1 similar to the conventional one is attached to the free end of the elastic lock piece
If the compression coil spring 26a of the member 26 is fitted into the boss 12e at the time of assembling the cassette, the compression coil spring 26a does not fall down or come off during operation.
Can be reliably locked, and stable sliding of the slider 14 can be ensured. Also, if the brake spring is 2
(The torsion coil springs 26b, 26b)
b) It is possible to easily change the urging force of each brake spring as needed, for example, to always increase the urging force on the side where the magnetic tape 18 is wound.

Although the magnetic tape cassette of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various improvements and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course you can do it.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, the elastic locking piece can be easily and reliably assembled, and stable sliding of the slider can be ensured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a magnetic tape cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a member obtained by integrating an elastic lock piece urging means and a brake member urging means according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the integrated member of FIG. 2 is incorporated in an upper half.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional magnetic tape cassette.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a conventional elastic lock piece and its urging means.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Upper half 10a Bottom surface (of upper half) 12 Lower half 12d Elastic lock piece 12e Boss 14 (Accepts compression coil spring) 14 Slider 14a Rib 14b Locking hole 16 Take-up hub 16a Gear 18 Magnetic tape 20 Front cover 22 Torsion coil spring (Slider spring) 24 Brake member 24a Engagement piece 26 (Integrated elastic lock piece urging means and brake member urging means) Member 26a Compression coil spring 26b Torsion coil spring

Claims (1)

[Claims] An upper half and a lower half for accommodating a pair of take-up hubs wound with a magnetic tape and forming a cassette case joined in a lid-like manner, a guide insertion portion and a lower half on a front side of the cassette case. A slider slidably mounted along an outer lower surface of the lower half between an open position for opening the reel shaft insertion hole on the bottom surface and a closed position for closing the lower shaft; An elastic locking piece formed on the bottom surface of the lower half, the head of the free end of which fits into an engagement hole provided on the bottom surface of the slider, and locks the slider at the open position and the closed position; An elastic lock piece urging means provided between the free end head of the elastic lock piece and the inner surface of the upper half for urging the head toward the engagement hole of the slider; To rotate the take-up hub in the winding loosening direction. A magnetic member comprising: a brake member movable between a prohibited braking position and a release position allowing rotation of the winding hub; and a brake member urging means for urging the brake member to the braking position. A magnetic tape cassette, wherein the elastic lock piece urging means and the brake member urging means are integrally formed and fixed to the upper half.