JPH06139529A - Cassette type head cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To clean a head for DCCs without damaging this head and to enhance the effect of cleaning the tape guide slope of an FATG mechanism as well. CONSTITUTION:A cleaning tape 2 is segmented to plural cleaning effect surfaces 13, 14 having a difference in polishing capacity in a transverse direction. The polishing capacity of the cleaning effect surface 14 corresponding to the tape guide slope 22 of the FATG mechanism 20 is set larger than the polishing capacity of the other cleaning effect surface 13. As a result, the cleaning effect of the tape guide slope 22 is enhanced by the cleaning effect surface 14 having the higher polishing capacity. The head 16 is cleaned while the acceleration of the wear of the head is prevented by the cleaning effect surface 13 having the polishing capacity lower than the polishing capacity thereof.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaner for cleaning a cassette head such as an audio cassette or a digital storage cassette, and more particularly to a fixed azimuth tape guide (F) installed around the head.
It is also possible to clean the tape guide slope of the ATG mechanism).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a digital compact cassette (DCC) has attracted attention as a cassette of this type.
Various forms have been proposed for this DCC head, and as typical examples thereof, FIGS.
As shown in, the digital / analog combination head 16 plays the digital recording / playback head 17 so that both the digital and analog cassettes can be played, and the conventional analog cassette tape is played at the bottom. To arrange the head 18 to
18 are symmetrically arranged in the upper and lower stages. Then, in order to accurately apply the magnetic tape to the head 16, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, an azimuth locking pin (ALP) 19 is provided on the magnetic tape side in the half of the DCC.
A FATG mechanism 20 is provided around the head 16 on the recorder side. The FATG mechanism 20 is a die-cast product of aluminum or zinc, and has a horizontal reference surface 21 that regulates the height of the upper edge of the magnetic tape, and a tape guide slope 22 that receives the lower edge of the magnetic tape and pushes it up. I put it on. The ALP 19 and the FATG mechanism 20 are for maintaining a constant angle (azimuth) formed by the magnetic tape running direction and the gap between the magnetic heads and for stabilizing the contact pressure between the magnetic tapes and the head 16.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned FAT
I noticed that the tape guide slope 22 of the G mechanism 20 is often dirty because dust adhering to the magnetic tape or magnetic powder or binder scraped off from the magnetic substance applied to the magnetic tape gradually sticks to it. . As the tape guide slope 22 becomes more dirty, the friction with the magnetic tape increases, causing the magnetic tape to stick and dance, making the head touch worse.

Therefore, not only the head 16 but also the FA
Therefore, it becomes necessary to surely remove the dirt on the tape guide slope 22 of the TG mechanism 20. However, in this case, the surface of the head 16 is coated smoothly and relatively easy to remove dirt, but since the surface of the tape guide slope 22 of the FATG mechanism 20 is not so smooth, the dirt sticking to this surface is It is hard to drop.

Therefore, for example, when using a dry type cleaning tape, if the dirt is stuck to the tape guide slope 22 and the dirt is surely scraped off, it is necessary to make the eyes wide across the width of the cleaning tape. Since the head 16 is a thin film head, its wear will be accelerated. But head 1
If a cleaning tape with very fine eyes is used so that it can be cleaned without damaging 6, the dirt on the tape guide slope 22 cannot be sufficiently removed. The same thing can be said that the head 16 is not limited to the thin-film type and is applicable to a normal magnetic head.

Further, when a wet cleaning tape, that is, a cleaning liquid method in which a cleaning liquid is applied to the cleaning tape and has a large cleaning effect of wiping the head 16 is adopted, the cleaning liquid is applied to sufficiently remove dirt on the tape guide slope 22. Head 1
The cleaning tape 2 sticks to the tape 6 due to the excessive cleaning liquid, and the tape cannot be run.
6 may cause damage.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is as follows.
A FATG mechanism 20 in which a reference surface 21 for tape positioning with respect to the head 16 and a tape guide slope 22 are vertically opposed to each other on the side of the recorder 16 on the tape running direction.
In a cassette type head cleaner for cleaning the head 16 and the tape guide slope 22, a head cleaner capable of cleaning the head 16 without damaging the head 16 and further improving the cleaning effect of the tape guide slope 22 of the FATG mechanism 20 is provided. Is what you are trying to do.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a plurality of cleaning action surfaces 13 having different polishing abilities in the width direction of the cleaning tape 2 housed in the main body case 1 as shown in the drawings.
The cleaning ability of the cleaning action surface 14 corresponding to the tape guide slope 22 of the FATG mechanism 20 among the plurality of cleaning action surfaces 13 and 14 is set higher than that of the other cleaning action surfaces 13. It is characterized by being. Here, the polishing ability means a cleaning effect within a predetermined cleaning time, and as a means for making the difference in performance, for example, the surface roughness or material of the cleaning tape 2 is changed, or the presence or absence of permeation of the cleaning liquid is determined. It is done by putting on.

[0009]

[Function] The head 1 is supported by the cleaning surface 14 having the higher polishing ability.
6, the cleaning effect of the tape guide slope 22 of the FATG mechanism 20 can be improved at the same time, and the head 16 is not excessively polished by the cleaning action surface 13 having a lower polishing capability, that is, the head 16 Can be cleaned without hastening wear.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The head cleaner according to the present invention has a basic form substantially the same as that of an analog type or digital type compact cassette. 2 and 3, the head cleaner includes upper and lower cases 1a and 1b.
A pair of hubs 3 and 3 around which the cleaning tape 2 is wound are rotatably arranged on the left and right sides of the main body case 1 formed by butting and being integrally joined. The cleaning tape 2 is led out from one hub 3 to the front side of the main body case 1 via a tape guide 4 in front of it, and is wound around the other hub 3 positioned behind it via the other tape guide 5. To be The cleaning tape 2 is not limited to the one wound around such a hub 3, and the cleaning tape 2 may be an endless tape and housed in the main body case 1.

In FIG. 1, the hub hole 6 opened on the back surface of the body case 1 and the head insertion window 7 opened on the front surface of the body case 1 are normally closed by a slide shutter 9. A shield plate 10 is provided inside the head insertion window 7.
And the pressure bonding pad 11 for improving the adhesion of the cleaning tape 2 to the head 16 are arranged in front and rear. The cleaning tape 2 is provided on both sides of the pressure-bonding pad 11.
The same ALP 19 as described above for stabilizing the contact pressure of the head 16 is arranged.

In FIG. 1, the cleaning tape 2
Has a full width (3.78 mm) divided into upper and lower two stages, and the cleaning action surface 13 on the upper stage side has a finer surface roughness and the cleaning action surface 14 on the lower stage side has a rougher surface roughness. In this case, their surface roughness (R _a ) is 0.1 to 0.6 μ.
Selected between mRa. This is because if it is less than 0.1 μmRa, there is almost no cleaning effect, and if it is 0.6 μmRa or more, the cleaning effect becomes excessive. For example, the surface roughness of the lower cleaning the working surface 14 (R _a) to 0.6MyumRa, the surface roughness of the upper side of the cleaning action face 13 a (R _a) to 0.4MyumRa, or lower cleaning the working surface 14 Surface roughness (R _a ) of 0.3μ
mRa is the surface roughness ( _Ra ) of the cleaning action surface 13 on the upper side.
To 0.1 μm Ra. Most preferably, the surface roughness of the lower cleaning the working surface 14 (R _a) to 0.45MyumRa, the surface roughness of the upper cleaning working face 13 (Ra) 0.16μmRa
To As a method of roughening the surfaces of the cleaning action surfaces 13 and 14 (i.e., finely roughening), for example, chrome-based or GC-based abrasive grains are applied to the surface of the cleaning tape 2, or
Alternatively, the surface roughness of the cleaning action surface 13 can be made finer and the surface roughness of the cleaning action surface 14 can be made smaller by sandblasting, electrical discharge treatment, etching, or coating with a matting agent to form a mat. Also roughen.

When the head cleaner having the above-described structure is loaded into the recorder during cleaning, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the cleaning of the head 16 having a rough surface is guided by the guide of the FATG mechanism 20 similar to that described above. Working surface 14
Is located on the tape guide slope 22 of the FATG mechanism 20, and therefore the cleaning action surface 1 having a rough surface is used.
With 4, you can scrape off the dirt on the tape guide slope 22.
The head 1 has a cleaning surface 13 having a surface roughness smaller than that.
6. In particular, the surface of the thin film type digital recording / reproducing head 17 can be cleaned without scraping it unnecessarily.

Instead of allocating the upper cleaning action surface 13 and the lower cleaning action surface 14 to each half of the tape width, FIG.
As shown in, the upper cleaning action surface 13 has a tape width of about 3
/ 4, the lower cleaning action surface 14 is set to approximately 1/4 or less, so that the lower cleaning action surface 14 reliably avoids contact with the digital recording / playback head 17 and the FATG mechanism 20. Only the tape guide slope 22 of can be cleaned.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cleaning tape 2
If the cleaning action surface 14 having the higher polishing ability is provided on the upper and lower sides of the cleaning action surface 13 having the lower polishing ability, even if the thin film head 16 is turned upside down together with the FATG mechanism 20, the tape guide slope is reduced. 22 can be cleaned.
At this time, in order to suppress excessive cleaning, the difference in polishing ability should not be too large.

As shown in FIG. 6, the cleaning tape 2
Is a cleaning action surface 13 for lowering the polishing ability of the upper half of one surface of the film base 2a such as a polyester film. For example, the film 2 having a surface roughness of 0.3 to 0.1 μmRa.
b is a cleaning action surface 14 for enhancing the polishing ability of the lower half thereof.
The surface roughness is rougher than that, for example, 0.6 to 0.3.
Alternatively, the films 2c of μmRa may be attached to each other.

Instead of forming the cleaning action surface 14 having a higher polishing ability to have a constant width over the entire length in the tape longitudinal direction, as shown in FIG. 7, a meandering shape is formed along the tape longitudinal direction.
Alternatively, it may be formed intermittently as shown in FIG. According to this, dirt on the tape guide slope 22 can be shaved off depending on the strength.

In the case of the wet type cleaning tape 2, as shown in FIG. 9, a tape 2d (cleaning action surface 14 for enhancing polishing ability) made of a woven fabric having an appropriate hygroscopic property is attached to both ends or one end in the width direction thereof. On the other hand, the tape guides 4 and 5 shown in FIG. 3 may be configured as coating rollers, or the coating roller may be arranged along the tape running line separately from the tape guides 4 and 5, and the coating roller may absorb the cleaning liquid to absorb the moisture. It is also possible to permeate only the tape 2d having the property to wipe off the dirt on the tape guide slope 22 and to clean the surface of the head 16 with the cleaning action surface 13 to which the cleaning liquid other than the tape 2d is not applied. Of course, the liquid supply may be performed over the entire width of the cleaning tape 2, and a portion not provided with a fabric has a small amount of liquid retention, resulting in a difference in cleaning ability. ), The cleaning effect will be different if partially supplied. According to this
It is possible to improve the cleaning effect of the tape guide slope 22 and solve the problem that the cleaning tape 2 sticks to the head 16 and the tape cannot run.

As shown in FIG. 10A, the cleaning action surface 13 (digital recording / reproducing head 17) of the cleaning tape 2 is used.
Signal part (magnetic material) during cleaning of music etc.
It is also possible to apply 23. According to this, during cleaning, the magnetic force lines emitted from the magnetic body 23 enter the digital recording / reproducing head 17, and the audio signal is reproduced.
In this case, the "AUX" of the digital reproducing head 17 allows the tape progress state to be digitally displayed (display such as liquid crystal).

Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, if the analog recording magnetic material 23a and the digital recording magnetic material 23b are alternately provided every 4.76 cm in the longitudinal direction of the tape, a sound can be produced every one second. If, for example, switching recording is performed every 0.5 seconds, a beeping sound or the like can be obtained (recording length is every 2.38 cm). Furthermore, if the analog and digital times are shortened as in time-division recording, conversation and music can be continuously used without feeling discomfort even if the head 16 is switched between the upper and lower stages during auto-reverse. It goes without saying that the length can be increased to 5 seconds (4.76 cm × 5).

Further, as shown in (C) and (D) of the same figure, the digital recording magnetic material 23b and the cleaning action surface 13 are alternately arranged in the upper half of the cleaning tape 2 in the lower half thereof. The analog recording magnetic body 23a and the cleaning action surface 14 may be alternately provided in the tape longitudinal direction.

Further, as shown in (E) of the same figure, on the half length region of the entire tape length (excluding the leader tape length L in the case of a cleaning tape having leader tapes at both ends) of the cleaning tape 2. A digital recording magnetic body 23b is provided in one half and a cleaning action surface 14 is provided in the lower half thereof. The cleaning action surface 13 is provided in the upper half of the remaining half length region of the tape length and the analog recording magnetic substance 23a is provided in the lower half thereof. Each can be provided.

Further, as shown in (F) of the same figure, the width of the cleaning tape 2 is divided into quarters, and a digital recording magnetic body 23b and an analog recording magnetic body 23a are provided above and below the central region thereof, respectively. You can also leave it. Furthermore,
Similarly, as shown in (G) of FIG.
It is also possible to divide the width of each into 1/4 and to respectively provide the analog recording magnetic material 23a and the digital recording magnetic material 23b in the upper and lower end regions thereof.

In the above embodiment, the fixed azimuth tape guide mechanism 20 has a reference surface 21 and a tape guide slope 22 which are opposed to each other in the vertical direction and are arranged on both sides of the head 16 in the tape running direction. However, it goes without saying that the present invention can be similarly applied to a device in which the reference surface 21 and the tape guide slope 22 are provided only on one side of the head 16 in the tape traveling direction instead of this.

[0025]

According to the present invention, the cleaning tape 2
Multiple cleaning surfaces 13.1 with different polishing ability in the width direction
Since the cleaning action surface 14 corresponding to the tape guide slope 22 is set to have a higher polishing ability than that of the other cleaning action surfaces 13, the cleaning action surface 14 having the higher polishing ability is classified into four.
It is advantageous that the cleaning effect of the tape guide slope 22 of the FATG mechanism 20 can be improved and the head 16 can be cleaned by the cleaning action surface 13 having a lower polishing ability without accelerating wear.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a cleaning tape and a DCC head.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a head cleaner.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a head cleaner with a part thereof cut away.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a cleaning tape showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a cleaning tape showing a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cleaning tape showing a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a cleaning tape showing a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a cleaning tape showing a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a cleaning tape showing a seventh embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a cleaning tape showing eighth to fourteenth embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a DCC head.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the DCC head.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an ALP and FATG mechanism.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of an ALP and FATG mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Body Case 2 Cleaning Tape 13/14 Cleaning Surface 16 Head 20 FATG Mechanism 21 Reference Surface 22 Tape Guide Slope

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A fixed azimuth tape guide mechanism 20 in which a tape positioning reference surface 21 and a tape guide slope 22 for the head 16 are vertically opposed to each other on the side of the recorder 16 in the tape running direction. In a cassette type head cleaner for cleaning the head 16 and the tape guide slope 22, a plurality of cleaning action surfaces 13 and 14 having different polishing abilities for polishing the cleaning tape 2 housed in the main body case 1 in the width direction.
Of the plurality of cleaning action surfaces 13 and 14, the cleaning ability of the cleaning action surface 14 corresponding to the tape guide slope 22 is set to be higher than that of the other cleaning action surface 13. A cassette type head cleaner. 2. The cassette type head cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning surface 14 having a higher polishing ability has a surface roughness rougher than that of the other cleaning surface 13. 3. The cassette type head cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning action surface 14 having a higher polishing ability is made of a material having a hygroscopic property that allows a cleaning liquid to penetrate therethrough.