JPH0636507A - Tape cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a locking mechanism for slide frame capable of lock- engaging more surely and firmly in a tape cartridge provided with the slide frame to open/close an opening on the lower surface of a pocket for tape loading, by improving the locking mechanism which holds the slide frame with lock at the closing position on the front of a case, and cleaning out the defective engagement due to a creep deformation, etc. CONSTITUTION:An engaging pin 27 is projectingly provided in the upward direction on a main surface wall 15 of the slide frame 10. The engaged pin 27 is fronted in the case of a tape drawing out part 4 through a groove 26 opened on the bottom wall of the case. A locking plate 28 sliding in the left/ right direction crossing with the groove 26 is arranged inside the bottom wall of the tape drawing out port 4. An engaging wall 30 engaged with the engaging pin 27 and a cam part 31 subjected to release operation are provided on the locking plate 28. The locking plate 28 is energized to move toward the left/right one side direction by a spring 35 so that the engaging wall 30 is always engaged with the engaging pin 27.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cartridge having a main body case with a slide frame for opening and closing the lower surface of a tape loading pocket, and an improved lock mechanism for locking and holding the slide frame at a closed position in front of the case. Is added.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A tape cartridge equipped with a lock mechanism of this type is known in the DAT system (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-67030). There, a main surface wall of a slide frame is slidably mounted on the outer bottom surface of a bottom wall of a main body case, and a cantilevered lock piece is integrally formed with the bottom wall to form a lock piece. By engaging the engaging claw provided at the swing end with the engaging hole provided in the slide frame from above, the slide frame is locked and held in the closed posture.
When the engaging claw is pushed inward of the case against the elasticity of the lock piece, the slide frame opens and moves rearward of the case.

It is to be noted that there is a configuration in which the upper and lower surfaces of the pocket are opened and closed by a box frame-shaped slide frame, and the front opening of the pocket is opened and closed by a front lid which swings up and down in conjunction with the slide frame. It is well known from the publication.

[0004]

In the above embodiment in which the lock piece is provided integrally with the bottom wall of the case, the number of members is small, but there is a problem in durability during long-term use. Since the lock piece is urged to oscillate in the lock posture by its own elasticity, the lock piece is likely to undergo creep deformation. Although it is possible to form the lower case by using a material that is unlikely to undergo creep deformation, in such a case, the rigidity required for the lower case cannot be obtained sufficiently, which poses a problem in improving the basic characteristics of the tape cartridge. In many cases, in order to ensure the lock engagement by the lock piece, a separate coil spring is provided to push the lock piece downward toward the slide frame.

Further, in the DAT type tape cartridge, a torsion coil spring is arranged at one corner of the rear end of the pocket, and one spring arm of the torsion coil spring is hooked on a receiving claw protruding from the upper surface of the slide frame, and the entire slide frame is moved forward. It is urged to slide to the closed position. Therefore, when the slide frame is opened rearward, the space inside the pocket is occupied by the spring arms and the receiving claws, and there is a problem in that the open space of the pocket is reduced accordingly. This means that the degree of freedom in designing the mechanical arrangement facing the pocket of the tape deck is low with respect to the arrangement of parts and the operating area of the operating parts.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to obtain a tape cartridge provided with a lock mechanism for a slide frame, which is durable and durable even during long-term use. Another object of the present invention is to improve the mounting method of the spring acting on the slide frame and improve the opening degree of the pocket when the slide frame is opened and operated.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a main body case 1 is provided.
A tape loading pocket 6 and a pair of left and right tape outlets 4, 4 are provided in the front part of the, and a slide frame 10 for opening and closing the pocket 6 is attached to the main body case 1 so as to be slidable back and forth. In the tape cartridge that is urged to move toward the closed position in the front of the case by the spring 16, a front-back groove 26 is opened in the inner surface of the bottom wall of at least one tape outlet 4, An engaging pin 27 is provided on the main surface wall 15 of the slide frame 10 which slides back and forth on the outer lower surface of the bottom wall of the above, and the engaging pin 27 is provided in the main body case 1 through the groove 26. The lock plate 2 that prevents the slide frame 10 from opening and moving on the inner surface of the bottom wall of the tape outlet 4
8 is supported so as to be reciprocally slidable in the left-right direction, and the lock plate 28 has the engagement wall 3 that engages with the engagement pin 27.
0 and a cam portion 31 that is released by a release pin P on the tape deck side, and the lock plate 28 as a whole is
The engagement wall 30 is urged by a spring 35 in such a direction as to always engage with the engagement pin 27, and the release pin P is provided on the bottom wall and the main surface wall 15 of the main body case 1. It is required that the release grooves 37 and 38 are provided to allow the contacting action to the contact hole 31.

Specifically, a torsion coil type spring 16 for the slide frame 10 is arranged inside the tape outlet 4, and one spring arm 16b of this spring 16 is hooked on the engaging pin 27. At the front end of the bottom wall of the tape outlet 4, a projecting wall 7 that receives the lower edge of the tape 3 and defines the tape height is provided, and between the projecting wall 7 and the guide wall 34 projecting inside thereof, The lock plate 28 is slidably guided and supported, and the protruding wall 7 and the guide wall 3 are supported.
4 is provided with a receiving wall 36 that restricts the lock plate 28 from being pulled out upward.

[0009]

In the unused state, the main surface wall 15 of the slide frame 10 is in the front closed position and closes the lower surface opening of the pocket 6, and the lock plate 28 is urged by the spring 35 to the right in FIG. And the engaging wall 30 provided on the plate surface
Is always engaged with the engagement pin 27. In this state, the slide frame 10 cannot be moved to the rear of the case. When you load the tape cartridge into the tape deck,
The release pin P contacts the cam portion 31 via the release grooves 37 and 38, and moves the entire lock plate 28 laterally (leftward in FIG. 1) against the spring 35. This lateral movement causes the engagement wall 30 of the lock plate 28 to move to the engagement pin 2
The slide frame 10 can be retracted to the rear of the case by retracting from the forward and backward movement loci of 7.

As described above, if the slide frame 10 is locked and held by the lock pin 28 that reciprocates in the left-right direction along the inner surface of the bottom wall of the tape pull-out port 4, the lock frame 28 is particularly locked. Since the plate 28 and the engagement pin 27 can be reliably engaged with each other and there is no room for creep deformation, the locking performance of the slide frame 10 can be guaranteed for a long period of time. Since the spring 16 for urging the slide frame 10 to move to the closed position is arranged in the tape outlet 4, it is not necessary to secure a space for accommodating the spring arm or the receiving claw inside the pocket 6 in the opened state. .

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The drawing shows a digital video tape cartridge. In FIG. 2, a pair of reels 2 are provided on the left and right sides of the main body case 1. The tape 3 pulled out from one reel 2 is fed to the left and right front tape outlets 4 and 4.
Is guided by the tape guides 5 provided on the other side and wound on the other reel 2. A tape loading pocket 6 is provided between the left and right tape outlets 4. The upper and lower surfaces and front surface of the pocket 6 are open. At each tape outlet 4, a projecting wall 7 that defines the tape height is provided at the front end of the bottom wall of the main body case 1 across the left and right.

In order to protect the tape and prevent dust when not in use, a slide frame 10 for opening and closing the upper and lower opening surfaces of the pocket 6 is fitted on the outer surface of the front portion of the main body case 1, and the front surface of the opening of the pocket 6 is opened and closed. The front lid 11 is provided. On the outer surface of the front half of the main body case 1, a paragraph surface 12 for guiding the slide frame 10 in the front-rear direction is provided in a circular shape.

In FIG. 3, the slide frame 10 has left and right frame side walls 13, an upper wall 14 and a main surface wall 15 constituting a bottom wall, and is formed in a horizontally long rectangular box shape fitted on the paragraph surface 12. Has been done. The slide frame 10 slides back and forth within the range of the paragraph surface 12, and the upper wall 14 and the main surface wall 15 open and close the upper and lower surfaces of the pocket 6. The front lid 11 includes a front wall 20 that closes the opening front surface of the slide frame 10 from the outer surface, and a front wall 2
It is composed of a rectangular lid arm 21 that extends continuously from the left and right ends of 0 toward the rear of the case, and is incorporated in the main body case 1 in a state where the lid arm 21 enters between the outer side wall of the tape outlet 4 and the frame side wall 13. Be done. Then, when the slide frame 10 is opened, the front lid 11 is operated to open upward in conjunction with this.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, springs 16 and 16 are arranged in the left and right tape outlets 4 and 4, respectively, and these springs 16 move and urge the slide frame 10 toward the front closed position. To this end, a groove 26 is formed in the bottom wall of the main body case 1 at each tape outlet 4 in the front-rear direction, and an engagement pin 27 projecting upward from the main surface wall 15 of the slide frame 10 passes through the groove 26. Is rushing inwardly of the case.
This spring 16 is formed of a torsion coil type spring, and a spring arm 16a extending from the upper end of the coil portion is hooked on the inner surface of the pocket peripheral side wall located behind each tape guide 5 in the main body case 1, and from the lower end of the coil portion. Long spring arm 16b
Is hooked on the upper portion of the engagement pin 27.

The spring 16 uses the tape guide 5 to maintain the mounting posture. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the boss 18 is integrally provided so as to project upward from the inner surface of the lower case 1b,
A tubular tape guide 5 is integrally hung from the upper case 1a. Then, the coil portion of the spring 16 is fitted onto the boss 18 from above, and the spring arm 16 is fitted at the lower end of the tape guide 5.
Hold the base end of b so that it does not rise. As described above, when the slide frame 10 is moved and biased toward the front closed position by the spring 16 arranged in the tape outlet 4, as shown in FIG.
As shown by the imaginary line, the slide frame 1 in the open state
By setting the front edge of the main surface wall of 0 to the rear of the case from the inner ends of both corners of the pocket 6, the open space amount of the pocket 6 can be increased.

In order to lock and hold the slide frame 10 in the front closed position, a lock plate 28 that engages with the pin 27 is provided on the inner surface of the bottom wall of each of the left and right tape outlets 4 by using the engaging pin 27. Deploy. In FIG. 1, the lock plate 28
Has an engagement wall 30 surrounded by an L-shaped engagement groove 29 at the rear edge of the center of the plate surface, and a cam portion 31 including an inclined surface on one side (right side) of the plate surface. A spring receiving piece 32 and a spring mounting pin 33 are provided on the left side of the cam portion 31 opposite to the left end.

The lock plate 28 is guided and supported by a projecting wall 7 at the front end of the tape pull-out port 4 and an inner guide wall 34 standing upright in parallel with the projecting wall 7, and left and right orthogonal to the groove 26. The lock plate 28 can be reciprocally slid in any direction, and is further attached to the pin 33 by a torsion coil type spring 35.
0 is urged to move in the direction (rightward direction) in which 0 engages with the engagement pin 27. A receiving wall 36 that prevents the lock plate 28 from rising is integrally formed on the upper edge part of the projecting wall 7 and the guide wall 34 (see FIG. 5).

In order to move the lock plate 28 laterally leftward against the spring 35, a tape deck is provided on each of the bottom wall and the main surface wall 15 of the main body case 1 corresponding to the cam portion 31, as shown in FIG. Release grooves 37 and 38 are provided to allow the release pin P on the side to enter and make contact with each other. Front lid 1
An entrance 39 is provided at the lower edge of the front wall 20 of No. 1 (see FIG. 5). As described above, the lock plate 28 that slides left and right
When the slide frame 10 is locked and held via the engagement pin 27, the engagement wall 30 and the engagement pin 27 can be engaged more reliably and firmly.

The lock plate 28 may be arranged only on one tape outlet 4. It is possible to take a form in which the engagement with the engagement pin 27 is released by sliding in the opposite direction to the above-mentioned embodiment. For pressing and holding the spring 16,
It is not always necessary to use the tape guide 5. For example, a multi-stepped shaft-shaped projection may be provided integrally with the upper case 1a, and this may be fitted into the coil portion of the spring 16 and held by the stepped portion. The spring 16 may be arranged in the pocket 6. The slide frame 10 is not necessarily limited to the rectangular frame shape, and includes a so-called DAT type tape cartridge.

[0020]

According to the present invention, the main surface wall 1 of the slide frame 10 is
5 is provided with an engagement pin 27, which is exposed in the case of the tape outlet 4 through a groove 26 formed in the bottom wall of the main body case 1 in the front-rear direction. Then, an engaging wall 30 is provided on the lock plate 28 that is slidably displaced in the left-right direction intersecting with the groove 26, and the engaging wall 30 is engaged with the engaging pin 27 so that the slide frame 10 is closed. Enabled to hold lock. That is, the engagement wall 30 is the engagement pin 2
It is ensured that a firm and strong lock engagement state is obtained across the slide trajectory of No. 7. This eliminates the problem of engagement failure due to creep deformation of the lock piece, which has been a problem in the conventional DAT tape cartridge, and ensures reliable lock engagement for the slide frame 10 with high reliability. The lock mechanism can be assembled, and it has excellent durability that does not cause malfunction even during long-term use.

Further, the spring 16 acting on the slide frame 10
Is arranged in the tape outlet 4, and the slide frame 10 is urged to move to the front closed position via the engagement pin 27 in the tape outlet 4. As a result, the amount of open space in the pocket 6 when the slide frame 10 is opened can be increased as compared with the conventional example in which the spring is arranged in the pocket 6. Therefore, with respect to the arrangement of parts on the tape deck side, the setting of the operation area of the operating parts, and the like, the degree of freedom in design can be improved corresponding to the increase in the amount of open space.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an internal plan view of a main part.

FIG. 2 is an overall internal plan view.

FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the inside of the tape outlet when the slide frame is opened partway.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view showing a spring mounting structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Body Case 4 Tape Outlet 6 Pocket 7 Projection Wall 10 Slide Frame 11 Front Lid 15 Main Surface Wall 16 Spring 26 Groove 27 Engagement Pin 28 Lock Plate 30 Engagement Wall 31 Cam Part 34 Guide Wall 35 Spring

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Nobuyuki Kaku, 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Inside Video Media Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Hidekazu Takeda 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Hitachi, Ltd. Visual Media Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Kenji Ojiji, 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A main body case (1) is provided with a tape loading pocket (6) and a pair of left and right tape outlets (4, 4) at a front portion thereof, and a slide frame (10) for opening and closing the pocket (6) is a main body case (1).
In the tape cartridge that is slidably mounted in the front and rear direction and is biased by the spring 16 toward the closed position in the front of the case, the front and rear grooves 26 are formed on the inner surface of the bottom wall of at least one tape outlet 4. And an engaging pin 27 is provided on the main surface wall 15 of the slide frame 10 that slides back and forth on the outer lower surface of the bottom wall of the main body case 1 so as to project upward. A lock plate 28, which protrudes into the main body case 1 through 26, and which prevents the slide frame 10 from opening and moving, is supported on the inner surface of the bottom wall of the tape outlet 4 so as to be reciprocally slidable in the left-right direction. The plate 28 has an engagement wall 30 that engages with the engagement pin 27.
And a cam portion 31 which is operated to be released by the release pin P on the tape deck side, and the engagement wall 30 of the lock plate 28 as a whole has the engagement pin 27.
A spring 35 is urged to move so as to always engage with the bottom wall of the main body case 1 and the main surface wall 15, and a release groove for allowing the release pin P to abut on the cam portion 31. Three
Tape cartridge with 7 and 38 respectively. 2. The slide frame 1 is provided inside the tape outlet 4.
2. The tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a torsion coil type spring 16 acting on 0 is arranged, and one spring arm 16b of the spring 16 is hooked on an engagement pin 27. 3. The tape 3 is attached to the front end of the bottom wall of the tape outlet 4.
A projecting wall 7 that receives the lower edge of the tape and defines the height of the tape is provided, and a lock plate 28 is slidably guided and supported between the projecting wall 7 and a guide wall 34 that projects inside the projecting wall 7. The receiving wall 36 is provided on the projecting wall 7 and the guide wall 34 to prevent the lock plate 28 from coming off upward.
The described tape cartridge.