JP3239465B2 - Guide block for tape cassette - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a guide block incorporated as a tape guide member inside a tape cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, tape cassettes in which a separate guide block made of ceramic is incorporated in a tape cassette as a tape guide member have been put to practical use for the purpose of improving sound quality by reducing modulation noise.

Conventionally, the structure of a tape cassette having such a guide block will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. In the figure, 1 is an upper half, 2 is a lower half, and the upper half 1 and the lower half 2 are united and fixed with screws 3 to form a cassette housing. The upper half 1 and the lower half 2 have a pair of left and right hub drive shaft insertion holes 4a, 4b and 5a, 5 respectively.
The hub drive shaft insertion holes 4a, 4b and 5
Hubs 6 and 7 for winding a tape (magnetic tape) T are rotatably accommodated in the cassette housing corresponding to a and 5b. Slip sheets 8 and 9 for smooth rotation of the hub are interposed between the hubs 6 and 7 and the inner surface of the upper half 1 and between the hubs 6 and 7 and the inner surface of the lower half 2 respectively. Has been inserted. Tape T wound on hubs 6 and 7
Are the left and right guide pins 10, 11 and the guide roller 1.
The magnetic head and the pinch roller are inserted through the front opening 14 through the front opening 14 and come into contact with the tape T during recording and reproduction.

[0004] A guide block 15 is provided as a guide member for the tape T running on the front opening 14. The guide block 15 is an independent part separate from the upper and lower halves 1 and 2, and is preferably made of ceramic. In the guide block 15, a plurality of guide protrusions 16, 17, 18 for slidingly contacting and guiding the tape T running on the front opening 14 are provided on the front side of the guide block body 15a constituting the base body. It is formed symmetrically and integrally. A recess 19 is formed between the guide projections 16 at the center of the guide block body 15a, and a shield plate 22 is incorporated so as to fit into the recess 19, and furthermore, a front portion of the shield plate 22 is provided. And a leaf spring 24 having a pad 23 at the center is disposed.

The guide block 15 has reference hole ring portions 20 and 21 for forming reference holes of a tape cassette on the upper surface and the lower surface of the guide block main body 15a.
Are symmetrically protruded on the left and right, respectively. Here, the interval A between the upper and lower reference hole ring portions 20 and 21 is formed substantially equal to the height dimension of the guide block main body 15a. The reference hole ring portions 20 and 21 are engaged with the holes 25 and 26 of the upper half 1 and the lower half 2, respectively, and are exposed on the surface of the cassette with the guide block 15 incorporated in the cassette housing. When the cassette is mounted on the cassette tape recorder, the positioning of the tape cassette is performed by inserting the reference pin of the cassette tape recorder into the hole 20a or 21a of the reference hole ring portion.

The tape cassette having the guide block 15 provided separately from the cassette housing and having the positioning reference hole for the tape cassette provided in the guide block 15 is mounted on the cassette tape recorder. Since the cassette 15 is directly supported on the cassette tape recorder side, it is less susceptible to the vibration of the cassette casing accompanying the tape running, so that the modulation noise is reduced and the sound quality is improved.

[0007]

The guide block 15 of the tape cassette is automatically incorporated into the cassette casing by an automatic assembling machine in the tape cassette manufacturing process. As a device for supplying the guide blocks to the automatic assembling machine, a parts feeder for sending the guide blocks by vibrating is used. The guide block is sent to the automatic assembly machine. However, at this time, the guide blocks may partially overlap in the parts feeder and may not be separated.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the conventional guide block 15 has a dimension A between the upper and lower reference hole ring portions 20 and 21, and a vertical height dimension B of the guide projections 16 and 17 in the vicinity thereof. Since C is equal to (A = B = C), when the guide blocks 15 face each other in the parts feeder as shown in FIG. Guide protrusion 1 of guide block
6 and 17 are stuck together and cannot be separated. If the guide blocks overlap each other as described above, the guide blocks cannot be stably supplied to the automatic assembling machine, which hinders the operation of assembling the tape cassette by the automatic assembling machine. The present invention has been made to solve such a problem.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a hub for winding a tape is rotatably housed inside a cassette housing, and the tape is inserted into a front opening of the cassette housing. In a tape cassette that is exposed and run, a guide block that is incorporated as a guide member for a tape that runs through a front opening,
On the upper and lower surfaces of the guide block main body, reference hole rings forming reference holes of the tape cassette are integrally protruded at upper and lower intervals substantially equal to the height dimension of the guide block main body. A guide projection for guiding the tape in sliding contact with the reference hole ring portion is integrally formed on the front side of the projection, and slightly projecting projections are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the guide projection. The height dimension of the guide projections is larger than the vertical interval between the upper and lower reference hole ring portions.

[0010]

With the above construction, when a large number of guide blocks are inserted into the parts feeder, the guide projections of other guide blocks do not fit between the upper and lower reference hole ring portions. There is no trouble that the guide blocks overlap and cannot be separated.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG.

In the guide block 15 of this embodiment, the guide protrusions 16 and 1 near the reference hole ring portions 20 and 21 are provided.
The projections 16a, 16a, which slightly protrude,
16b, 17a, and 17b, whereby the vertical heights B and C of the guide projections 16 and 17 are larger than the dimension A between the upper and lower reference hole ring portions 20 and 21 (A <B,
C).

With this configuration, when a large number of the guide blocks 15 are put into the parts feeder and subjected to vibration, even if the guide blocks 15 face each other as shown in FIG. Guide protrusion 1 of another guide block between reference hole ring portions 20 and 21
There is no possibility that the guide blocks 6 and 17 are fitted into each other, so that there is no trouble that the guide blocks overlap and cannot be separated. Therefore, the guide blocks can be reliably supplied one by one from the parts feeder to the automatic assembling machine, and the operation rate of the automatic assembling machine is improved as compared with the conventional case.

[0014]

[0015]

As described above, the guide block of the tape cassette according to the present invention is formed such that the dimension between the upper and lower reference hole ring portions 20 and 21 is different from the vertical dimension of the guide projection in the vicinity thereof. As a result, when a large number of the guide blocks are put into the parts feeder, there is no trouble that the guide blocks overlap and cannot be separated, so that the guide blocks are reliably supplied one by one from the parts feeder to the automatic assembling machine. As a result, the guide block can be smoothly assembled by the automatic assembling machine.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a guide block according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a guide block according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the tape cassette.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part of the tape cassette.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional guide block.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a conventional guide block.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of overlapping guide blocks.

[Explanation of symbols]

 T tape 14 Front opening 15 Guide block 16, 17 Guide projection 20, 21 Reference hole ring

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A tape cassette in which a hub for winding a tape is rotatably housed inside a cassette housing, and the tape is exposed at a front opening of the cassette housing and runs. A guide block incorporated as a guide member for the tape running on the front opening, wherein a reference hole ring portion for forming a reference hole of the tape cassette is provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the guide block main body. A guide protrusion is formed integrally with the guide block body in the vicinity of the reference hole ring to guide the tape in sliding contact therewith. Slightly projecting projections are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the guide projections, and the height dimension of the guide projections including the projections is adjusted to the upper and lower reference holes. A guide block for a tape cassette, wherein the guide block is formed so as to be larger than a vertical interval of the tapering portion.