JP3435893B2 - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cartridge in which a pair of tape reels around which a tape-shaped recording medium is wound are rotatably accommodated in a cartridge body, and more specifically, it is formed on the front surface of the cartridge body. The present invention relates to a tape cartridge having a lid that opens and closes a loading space.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a tape cartridge, a pair of tape reels, around which a tape-shaped recording medium such as a magnetic tape is wound, are rotatably housed in a cartridge body formed by combining a pair of halves. For example, in a tape cartridge for a video tape recorder, a tape cartridge for recording data, a tape cartridge for DAT, or the like, when loaded in a recording / reproducing device such as a video tape recorder, the magnetic tape is pulled out from the cartridge body to the recording / reproducing unit. The tape loading operation is performed.

These conventional tape cartridges are shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 17, a cartridge main body 100 is configured by combining a lower half 101 and an upper half 102, each of which is in the shape of a rectangular shallow plate having an open front surface. Although not shown, a pair of tape reels around which a magnetic tape is wound are rotatably accommodated in the cartridge body 100, and a loading space 103 is formed in the open front surface portion. When a tape cartridge is loaded into the recording / reproducing apparatus, the tape loading means of the recording / reproducing apparatus enters the loading space 103. The loading space 103 is opened and closed by a lid 104 rotatably supported by the cartridge body 100.

Lower half 10 constituting the cartridge body
Although not shown in the figure, a pair of tape guides is provided on both sides of the loading space 103. The magnetic tape is unreeled from one tape reel and guided to the front surface of the cartridge body 100, and is wound between the tape guides so as to cross the loading space 103 and wound on the other tape reel. When the tape cartridge is loaded into the recording / reproducing apparatus, the magnetic tape is loaded into the cartridge body 1 as described above by the tape loading means that enters the loading space 103.
00 is pulled out to the recording / reproducing unit and the loading operation is performed.

The lid 104 includes a loading space 10
In order to protect the magnetic tape that is guided to the front surface of the cartridge main body 100 across the area 3, the loading space 103 is normally closed and rotatably supported by the cartridge main body 100. The lid 104 has a main surface portion 104 having a shape sufficient to close the front portion of the loading space 103.
Side portions are integrally formed on both sides of A, and support shafts 104B are integrally projected on the inner surfaces of these side portions with their axes aligned. Further, a cam portion 104C is integrally provided on the front end of the side surface of the lid 104 so as to project.

The side surface of the lid 104 faces the lid opening guide groove 106 formed in front of the side surface of the cartridge body 100, and the support shaft 104B is attached to the lower half 10.
It is rotatably supported by the cartridge body 100 by being fitted into a bearing portion formed on the side surface portion on the first side. The lid 104 is urged in the direction of closing the loading space 103 by the elastic force of an elastic means (not shown) attached to the support shaft portion 104B. Lid 1
When the tape cartridge is loaded in the recording / reproducing apparatus, the disc 04 is rotated by the lid driving means on the recording / reproducing apparatus side to open the loading space 103.

The tape cartridge is provided with a lid lock mechanism for locking the loading space 103 in the lid 104 in a closed state. When the tape cartridge is loaded into the recording / reproducing apparatus, this lid lock mechanism is operated by the lid lock releasing member 110 (see FIG. 15) on the recording / reproducing apparatus side to operate the lid 10.
Release the lock state of 4. The lid lock mechanism includes a lid lock lever 105 and a lid lock spring 10.
7, and is attached to a lid lock lever mounting portion 108 and a lid lock spring mounting portion 109 provided on the cartridge main body 100 so as to face the lid opening guide groove 106, respectively.

The lid lock lever 105 has a side surface formed in a substantially V shape, a support shaft 105A is integrally formed in an upper portion thereof, and is engaged with a lid lock release member on the recording / reproducing apparatus side in a lower portion thereof. A mating engagement portion 105B is formed. Further, the lid lock lever 105 is provided with a cam convex portion 105C on its inner side surface, and is located on the rear side of the support shaft 105A and has a spring receiving portion 105C.
D is formed. The lid lock lever 105 is rotatably attached by fitting the support shaft 105A to the lid lock lever attachment portion 108 so that the engagement portion 105B is located in the lid opening guide groove 106.

The lid lock spring 107 has a substantially V-shaped fitting convex portion 107A formed on one end side by press-bending a rectangular elastic plate as a material and the other end portion. It is configured as an elastic locking portion 107B. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, in the lid lock spring 107, the elastic locking portion 107B is located on the front side, and the fitting convex portion 107A is inserted into the fitting concave portion 109A of the lid lock spring attaching portion 109. It is attached to the cartridge body 100.

In the lid lock spring 107, the elastic locking portion 107B is attached to the spring receiving portion 105D of the lid lock lever 105 in a state where the elastic locking portion 107B is inserted into the fitting recess 109A and attached to the lid lock spring mounting portion 109. It abuts in a slightly elastically deformed state. Therefore, the lid lock lever 105 is
The support shaft portion 105A is used as a fulcrum to urge the entire counterclockwise direction in FIG. In the lid lock lever 105, the cam convex portion 105C relatively engages with the cam portion 104C of the lid 104 due to the elastic force of the lid lock spring 107. In the lid 104, the cam portion 104C has the cam convex portion 1
By engaging with 05C, it is locked in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 13, that is, in the direction in which the loading space 103 is opened.

When the tape cartridge is loaded in the recording / reproducing apparatus, the lid lock release member 110 that enters the lid opening guide groove 106 operates the lid lock mechanism, and the lid drive member drives the lid cartridge 10.
4 is rotated to open the loading space 103. The lid lock release member is the lid opening guide groove 1
06 into the engaging portion 10 of the lid lock lever 105.
5B, the lid lock lever 105 is rotated clockwise against the elastic force of the lid lock spring 107 as shown in FIG.

Therefore, in the lid 104, the engagement state between the cam convex portion 105C of the lid lock lever 105 and the cam portion 104C is released. After that, the lid 104
The lid driving member (not shown) is rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIG.
Open 3. As described above, the tape loading means on the recording / reproducing apparatus side enters the opened loading space 103 to perform the magnetic tape loading operation.

[0013]

By the way, in the conventional tape cartridge, as described above, the lid lock spring 107 constituting the lid lock mechanism has the fitting convex portion 107A on the lower half 101 side lid lock spring mounting portion. The upper half 102 is combined with the lower half 101 in a state of being inserted into the fitting recess 109 </ b> A of the 109 and temporarily held, and is sandwiched between the lower half 101 and the upper half 102 to prevent them from coming off. That is, the lid lock spring 107 has the fitting convex portion 107.
A is slightly converged and is inserted into the fitting recess 109A of the lid lock spring mounting portion 109.

In the lid lock spring 107, the fitting convex portion 107A is formed in a substantially V-shape with the opening dimension slightly larger than the opening dimension W of the fitting concave portion 109A of the lid lock spring mounting portion 109. . Therefore, the lid lock spring 107 is held in the inserted state by the elastic force of the fitting convex portion 107A acting on the inner wall of the fitting concave portion 109A.

However, the lid lock spring 1
In No. 07, the fitting convex portion 107A has the bending radius r of the tip end portion set to 2r ≦ W with respect to the opening dimension W of the fitting concave portion 109A, and therefore is inserted into the fitting concave portion 109A as shown in FIG. In this state, an opening angle θ is generated in the fitting convex portion 107A. This opening angle θ causes the elastic force of the fitting convex portion 107A to generate an upward component force in FIG. Therefore, in the lid lock spring 107, when the component force exceeds the frictional force between the fitting convex portion 107A and the inner wall of the fitting concave portion 109A, the lid lock spring attaching portion 10
Sometimes I jumped out of 9 and came off.

Further, the lid lock spring 107 is
As described above, the lid lock spring mounting portion 10
When the upper half 102 is assembled to the lower half 101 while temporarily held in No. 9, if a shock or the like is applied, it may easily pop out from the lid lock spring mounting portion 109 and come off. In a conventional tape cartridge, after the lid lock spring 107, which is a relatively small component, is not noticed in the disengaged state and the lower half 101 and the upper half 102 are combined, the state is discovered in a later process. It was sometimes reassembled. In the conventional tape cartridge assembling process, the protruding lid lock spring 107 has to be found and reassembled.
There was a problem that workability was significantly impaired.

Therefore, the present invention has been proposed for the purpose of providing a tape cartridge in which the ease of assembling the lid lock spring is improved.

[0018]

A tape cartridge according to the present invention which achieves this object is mounted on a lid mounting portion provided on one of the first half and the second half of the cartridge body. A lid that is movably supported to open and close the front part of the loading space formed in the cartridge body, and a lid that is rotatably supported by a lid lock attachment part provided on one of the halves to load the lid. Lid lock member for holding the portion in a closed state, and a substantially U shape bent at one end side
By fitting the V-shaped fitting convex portion into the fitting concave portion of the spring mounting portion, it is assembled to one half, and the elastic locking portion on the other end side abuts the lid lock member, and the lid locking member is attached to the lid lock member. And a lid lock spring that imparts a habit of engaging with. On the lid lock spring, the fitting projection is bent and formed so that the maximum opening having an opening size slightly larger than the opening size of the fitting recess of the spring mounting part is located slightly on the tip side. It

[0019]

According to the tape cartridge of the present invention having the above-described structure, the lid lock spring fits the fitting convex portion into the fitting concave portion of the spring mounting portion with the maximum opening portion converged. By doing so, the stored elastic force of the maximum opening portion acts on the inner wall of the fitting concave portion and is assembled to one half side. Since the maximum opening of the lid lock spring is located slightly on the tip side, the elastic force in the direction orthogonal to the inner wall acts on the inner side of the fitting recess to firmly secure the spring mounting part. The problem of being attached and falling off due to a shock or the like is reliably prevented, and the assembling efficiency of the tape cartridge is improved.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The embodiment tape cartridge 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 10 is a tape cartridge for a digital video tape recorder, in which a lower half 3 and an upper half 4 formed in a horizontally-long rectangular approximately shallow dish shape are butted against each other. The thin box-shaped cartridge main body 2 is formed by coupling. The tape cartridge 1 includes a cartridge body 2, a front lid 5, a back lid 6, and an upper lid 7 for opening and closing the loading space 10.
A pair of tape reels 9A and 9B having a magnetic tape 8 wound therein are rotatably housed in combination with a lid structure composed of and.

In the present specification, in the state of the tape cartridge 1 shown in FIG. 1, the front side on which the front lid 5 is disposed is defined as "front", and "front" and "left" and "right" respectively with reference to this. ”And“ up and down ”. In addition, the tape reels 9A and 9 described above
For the sake of convenience of description, a member constituted by a pair such as B is first referred to as a tape reel 9 (9A, 9B), and is simply referred to as the tape reel 9 unless one side is described below. It should be written.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the lower half 3 has an outer peripheral wall 11 integrally formed on the outer peripheral portion excluding the front surface portion 15 and has a bottom surface portion 3A which is formed from the center to the left and right. It is divided into areas. Bottom part 3
In A, a tape reel storage portion 13 in which the tape reels 9 are rotatably stored in the divided right and left area portions, respectively.
The arc-shaped tape reel storage walls 12 (12A, 12B) forming (13A, 13B) are located on the same circumference and are erected integrally. The bottom portion 3A has a circular reel hole 14 (14) located at the center of the tape reel storage portion 13.
A and 14B) have been opened respectively.

The lower half 3 is provided with a notch 16 in the central region of the open front face portion 15 and having a substantially rectangular notch with the central portion positioned slightly inside the bottom face portion 3A.
In the lower half 3, a pair of side surface guide ribs 17 (17
A, 17B) face each other, and are integrally provided upright on the bottom surface portion 3A. The side guide ribs 17 have a height dimension slightly smaller than the height dimension of the internal space of the cartridge body 2, and the tape guides 18 (18A, 18B) are formed on the outer surfaces of the tip end portions, respectively. ing.

The tape guide 18 has a smooth arcuate outer peripheral surface and is integrally formed on the outer surface of the tip of the side guide rib 17 so as to bulge out. Also, these tape guides 1
The outer peripheral surface of the outer peripheral portion 8 is located slightly inside the thickness dimension of the front lid 5 described later with respect to the front surface portion 15.

In the tape cartridge 1 of the embodiment, as described above, the tape guide 18 is integrally formed on the outer surface of the tip end of the side guide rib 17 so as to have an arcuate cross section. However, the structure is not limited to this. Not something.
The tape guide may be configured by, for example, a pair of shaft-shaped convex portions that are integrally provided on the bottom surface portion 3A of the lower half 3 and located on both sides of the cutout portion 16. The tape guide is composed of, for example, a pair of support shafts that are integrally provided on both sides of the notch 16 and project on the bottom surface 3A of the lower half 3, and sleeves that are respectively combined with the support shafts. You may.

Lid guide grooves 19 (19A, 19B) having the same shape are provided in the inner surfaces of the side guide ribs 17 facing each other. These lid guide grooves 19 are
A cam groove is formed as a front-down cam groove over almost the entire area in the height direction and the front-rear direction from the inner end of the side guide rib 17 to the outer end. In addition, the lid guide grooves 19 are substantially S-shaped as a whole in which convex arcuate grooves and concave arcuate grooves are combined.

An outer peripheral rib 20 is formed on the lower half 3 so as to form a rising peripheral wall inside the cutout portion 16 and a bottom surface portion 3.
It stands upright at A. The outer peripheral rib 20 has a height dimension that is approximately ½ of the height dimension of the side guide rib 17, and both ends thereof are integrally connected to the inner edge of the side guide rib 17, as shown in FIG. Has been done. The outer peripheral rib 20 is integrally formed with a light source entrance portion 21 for detecting the tape end, which is located inside the central portion.

The light source entrance portion 21 for detecting the tape end is
It is composed of an inward U-shaped standing wall projectingly provided in the center of the outer peripheral rib 20, an arc-shaped standing wall facing the standing wall, and a light source entrance hole penetrating the bottom surface 3A of the lower half 3. ing. In the tape end detection light source entrance portion 21, an opening serving as an emission opening of detection light of a tape end detection light source 69 (see FIG. 3) described later is provided between the U-shaped standing wall and the arc-shaped standing wall. It is located laterally. Further, an arcuate tape reel storage wall 22 (22A, 22B), which is located on the inner surface side, is integrally formed with the outer peripheral rib 20 with its one end connected. Therefore, the tape end detection light source entrance portion 21 is provided in a substantially equilateral triangular space surrounded by the outer peripheral rib 20 and the tape reel housing wall 22.

The reel accommodating wall 22 is located on the same circumference as the tape reel accommodating wall 12 and is integrally projectingly provided on the bottom surface 3A of the lower half 3 and cooperates with each other to form the lower half 3 side. The tape reel storage section 13 of FIG. At the other end of the tape reel storage wall 22, the fitting cylinder 3 is attached.
One of 0 is integrally formed.

The lower half 3 is provided with tape end detection holes 23 (23A, 23B) located on the front sides of both side surfaces. These tape end detection holes 23 are
A light source 6 for detecting the tape end along the inner surface of the outer peripheral rib 20
The outer peripheral walls 11 are located on the extension lines of the optical paths 9 respectively.

As described above, the tape end detection light source entry portion 21 is formed in a tubular shape as a whole, and the light source cover 70 having a U-shaped cross section is attached to the upper end open portion thereof. As will be described later, the light source cover 70 is provided on the recording / reproducing apparatus side when the tape cartridge 1 is loaded in the recording / reproducing apparatus, and is used for detecting the tape end of the tape which has entered the tape end detecting light source entry section 21. The detection light emitted from the light source 69 is prevented from being diffused and dust and the like are prevented from entering the tape cartridge 1.

The lower half 3 has outer peripheral walls 11 on both side surfaces.
Part of the inner wall is folded back into a U shape, and as shown in FIG.
Lid opening guide grooves 24 (24A, 24B) in the front-rear direction that open to the front surface portion 15 side are formed between 1A and the outer wall 11B. This lid opening guide groove 24
When the tape cartridge 1 is loaded in the recording / reproducing apparatus, a lid driving member on the recording / reproducing apparatus side enters and drives a lid structure described later. Further, the rear portion of the lid opening guide groove 24 is configured as a lid lock releasing guide groove 82 into which a lid lock releasing member on the recording / reproducing apparatus side enters. This lid lock release guide groove 82
When the tape cartridge 1 is loaded into the recording / reproducing apparatus, the lid lock releasing member 93 on the recording / reproducing apparatus side enters to drive a lid lock mechanism that holds a lid structure described later in a locked state.

The lid lock mechanism, as shown in FIG.
A pair of left and right lid lock levers 71 (71A, 71B)
And a lid lock spring 72 (72A, 72B), and is arranged on the lower half 3 side along the lid opening guide groove 24. That is, the lid lock lever mounting portions 25 (25A, 25B) are integrally formed at the upper edges of the outer peripheral wall 11 forming the lid opening guide grooves 24. Further, on the outer peripheral wall 11, the lid lock spring attachment portions 26 (26A, 26A) are located on the rear side of the lid lock lever attachment portions 25.
B) is formed.

More specifically, the lid lock lever mounting portion 25 faces the inner side wall 11A of the outer peripheral wall 11 forming the lid opening guide groove 24 and the upper side edge of the outer side wall 11B in parallel with each other and integrally projects. The bearing unit 80 (80A,
80B) and U-shaped bearing holes 81 (81A, 81) formed in the bearing portions 80 so that their axes coincide with each other.
B) and. Further, the lid lock spring mounting portion 26 is configured by a fitting recess 83 in the height direction that is configured between a pair of connecting walls 11C and 11D that connects the inner side wall 11A and the outer side wall 11B of the outer peripheral wall 11. ing. In the lid lock spring mounting portion 26,
The upper surfaces of the connecting walls 11C and 11D are provided with an inner wall 11A and an outer wall 1
The spring receiving seat 8 is formed by lowering the plate thickness of the lid lock spring 72 with respect to the upper surface of 1B.
4 are configured.

The connecting walls 11C and 11D which form the lid lock spring mounting portion 26 connect the inner side wall 11A and the outer side wall 11B with a space of W, in other words, the fitting concave portion 83. The width dimension in the front-rear direction is set to W. The lid lock spring 72 attached to the lid lock spring attachment portion 26 is formed by press-bending a rectangular elastic thin plate material whose width dimension is substantially equal to the width dimension of the fitting recess 83 in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 5, the fitting protrusion 8 is bent in a U shape at one end side.
5 and a rectangular elastic engaging portion 86 which is connected to the front side of the fitting convex portion 85 while being inclined slightly upward.

In the natural state, the fitting convex portion 85 has a slightly large opening size at the tip end portion which is curved with respect to the base end portion. In other words, the fitting convex portion 85 is configured such that the maximum opening portion 99 having the largest opening dimension is formed on the tip side. The radius dimension R of the curved distal end portion forming the maximum opening portion 99 is set to 2R> W with respect to the width dimension W of the fitting recess 83 of the lid lock spring mounting portion 26.

The lid lock spring 72 is configured such that the fitting convex portion 85 is converged and is inserted into the fitting concave portion 83 of the lid lock spring mounting portion 26 with the elastic engaging portion 86 positioned on the front side, so that the lower half Temporarily held at 3. In the state where the lid lock spring 72 is inserted into the fitting recess 83, as shown in FIG. 10, the curved tip end that forms the maximum opening 99 on the bottom surface side of the fitting recess 83 has an inner wall of the fitting recess 83. It makes elastic contact with and applies the stored elastic force.

The elastic force of the fitting recess 85 acts in a direction substantially orthogonal to the inner wall of the fitting recess 83 to firmly hold the lid lock spring 72 in the fitting recess 83. In this way, the lid lock spring 72 is
As described above, the radius dimension R of the maximum opening portion 99 is set to 2R> W with respect to the width dimension W of the fitting concave portion 83, and the bottom surface side of the fitting concave portion 83 is elastically contacted to fit. It is attached to the lid lock spring attachment portion 26 without forming an opening angle θ at the opening of the recess 83. Therefore, the lid lock spring 72 is
Even if a shock or the like is applied before the upper half 4 is assembled, the lid lock spring mounting portion 26
There is no chance of jumping out of and coming off.

As shown in FIG. 5, the lid lock lever 71 has a base portion 87 having a substantially V-shaped side surface, and a support portion integrally formed on the upper end portion of the base portion 87 with both ends protruding in the left-right direction. A shaft portion 88, an engagement portion 89 formed at a lower end portion of the base portion 87, and a substantially wedge-shaped cam integrally formed on a front-side inner surface portion of the base portion 87 at a bent portion at a substantially center in the height direction. The convex portion 90, a shaft-shaped stopper portion 91 integrally formed on the rear side surface portion of the base portion 87 corresponding to a bent portion at the center in the height direction, and the rear upper end portion of the base portion 87. The spring receiving portion 92 is integrally formed. The base portion 87 is the inner wall 1 that constitutes the lid opening guide groove 24.
The thickness is made slightly smaller than the distance between 1A and the outer wall 11B.

The lid lock lever 71 has a cam projection 90.
By fitting both ends of the support shaft portion 88 into the bearing holes 81, respectively, with the inner side surface where the ridge is formed facing forward, the rotatably attached to the bearing portion 80 of the lid lock lever attachment portion 25. . In addition, the lid lock lever 71, when attached to the bearing 80,
The engaging portion 89 faces the inside of the lid lock release guide groove 82 formed in the rear portion of the lid opening guide groove 24.
Further, as described above, the lid lock lever 71 is imparted with a turning tendency in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 6 by the elastic engagement portion 86 of the lid lock spring 72 elastically contacting the spring receiving portion 92.

The lid lock lever 71 has a stopper portion 9
As shown in FIG. 6, by engaging with the step portion of the bottom surface portion of the lower half 3, 1 is held in a substantially upright state. In this state, the lid lock lever 71 is configured such that the cam convex portion 90 constitutes a lid structure to be described later.
The front lid 5 is engaged with the lower end surface of the cam portion 52 of
6 is locked in the counterclockwise direction, in other words, in the direction in which the loading space 10 is opened.

The lid lock lever 71 and the lid lock spring 72 are mounted on the lid lock lever mounting portion 25 and the lid lock spring mounting portion 26, respectively, as described above, and then on the lower half 3 and the upper half 4.
Are combined and integrated by a set screw, so that they are prevented from coming off by the lid lock guide recess 45 of the upper half 4.

The lower half 3 is provided with a reel lock mounting portion 27 which is located in a space portion of a substantially equilateral triangle formed between the rear tape reel accommodating portion 13 facing the outer peripheral rib 20. The reel lock attachment portion 27 is composed of a pair of guide walls that are provided upright on the bottom surface portion 3A so as to face each other in parallel with each other in the front-rear direction, and a reel lock mechanism described later is arranged therein. Reel lock mounting part 2
A lock release guide groove 28, into which a reel lock release member on the recording / reproducing apparatus side that drives the reel lock mechanism enters, is provided between the guide walls forming part 7.

The reel lock mechanism includes a reel lock member 7
3 and a pair of reel lock levers 74 (74A, 74A
B) and members such as the lock spring 75 and the lock lever spring 76. The reel lock member 73 is slidably incorporated between the guide walls of the reel lock mounting portion 27, and has an engaging recess facing the lock release guide groove 28 on the bottom surface. The reel lock member 73 is biased to the front side by the elastic force of the lock spring 75 inserted between the reel lock member 73 and the rising peripheral wall 11. The reel lock lever 74 has one end rotatably supported on the side surface of the reel lock member 73. These reel lock levers 74 are integrally formed with engaging claws at the tips thereof, and the lock lever springs 7
It is urged in the left-right direction by the elastic force of 6.

The reel lock mechanism includes a reel lock member 7
When 3 is moved to the front side by the elastic force of the lock spring 75, the engaging claw of the reel lock lever 74 is moved by the elastic force of the lock lever spring 76, and the lower flange portion 64 (64A, 64A, 64A, 64A) of the tape reel 9 described later.
The outer peripheral teeth 65 (65A, 65B) of FIG. Therefore, in the normal state, the reel lock mechanism holds one tape reel 9A in the clockwise locked state and holds the other tape reel 9B in the counterclockwise locked state in FIG. .

The reel lock mechanism is driven by the reel lock releasing member on the recording / reproducing apparatus side which enters the lock releasing guide groove 28 when the tape cartridge 1 is loaded in the recording / reproducing apparatus. The reel lock mechanism includes a reel lock member 73 and a reel lock member 73.
Is moved to the rear side against the elastic force of the lock spring 75, and the locked state of the tape reel 9 by the reel lock lever 74 described above is released.

The lower half 3 is provided with a storage element mounting portion 29 located at one corner on the rear side. Although not described in detail, the memory element mounting portion 29 is a space portion that is formed with a plurality of terminal slits on the rear outer peripheral wall 11 and is closed by the outer peripheral wall 11 and a part of the tape reel storage wall 12B. It is configured. An external storage mechanism including a printed circuit board 78 on which the storage element 77 is mounted and a shutter member 79 that opens and closes the terminal slit is incorporated in the storage element mounting portion 29.

The external storage mechanism stores various information signals or control signals such as the specification information of the tape cartridge 1 and the contents of the information signals recorded on the magnetic tape 8 in the storage element 7.
It is recorded in 7. In the external storage mechanism, when the tape cartridge 1 is loaded in the recording / reproducing apparatus, the shutter driving mechanism on the recording / reproducing apparatus side drives the shutter member 79 to open the terminal slit. In this state, the external storage mechanism is operated from the terminal slit to the storage element mounting portion 2
Various information recorded in the storage element 77 is read by the reproducing means on the side of the recording / reproducing device which enters the inside 9 to control the recording / reproducing device.

In the lower half 3, tubular fitting portions 30 are integrally formed at appropriate positions on the bottom surface portion 3A. In the state where the lower half 3 and the upper half 4 are combined, these fitting portions 30 are relatively engaged with the fitting portions 47 integrally provided on the bottom surface 4A side of the upper half 4 so as to integrally project. The lower half 3 and the upper half 4 are integrally coupled to each other by a set screw screwed into the fitting portion 30 and the fitting portion 47 which are engaged with each other to form the cartridge body 2.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, in the upper half 4, an outer peripheral wall 31 is integrally formed upright on the outer peripheral portion other than the front surface portion 36, and a bottom surface portion 4A has two portions from the center to the left and right. It is divided into areas. Bottom part 4
On the inner surface of A, in the divided left and right areas, in cooperation with the tape reel storage portion 13 of the lower half 3 described above, the reel storage portion 33 ( A plurality of arc-shaped tape reel storage walls 32 (32A, 32B) forming 33A, 33B) are located on the same circumference and are integrally erected. The bottom portion 4A is provided with a substantially horizontally elongated rectangular window 34 that allows a partial area of the tape reel storage portion 33 to be seen through.

The upper half 4 has a substantially rectangular notch 3 at the central region of the open front face 36 and a central portion at the bottom face 4A.
7 is provided, and the front end portions 35 (35A, 35B) of both side portions of the cutout portion 37 are configured to project like eaves. A pair of side ribs 38 is formed on the lower half 4 so as to form the rising side walls of the cutout portion 37.
(38A, 38B) face each other, and are integrally provided on the bottom surface portion 4A. These side ribs 38 are
The lower half 3 side side ribs 17 are respectively positioned so as to stand upright on the bottom surface portion 4A.

The side ribs 38 include the lower half 3 and the upper half 4.
In combination with the above, the height dimension of the internal space of the cartridge body 2 is regulated in cooperation with the side guide rib 17 on the lower half 3 side, and the upper end portion of the lid guide groove 19 is closed. Further, the side ribs 38 are provided with engaging grooves 38a (38a, 38a) that open to the notches 37, respectively. These engagement grooves 38a positionally hold the upper lid 7 by engaging engagement protrusions formed on the inner surface of the upper lid 7 described later relative to each other.

An outer peripheral rib 39 is formed on the upper half 4 so as to form a rising peripheral wall inside the cutout portion 37.
It stands upright at A. The outer peripheral rib 39 has a height dimension substantially equal to that of the outer peripheral wall 31, but the center portion thereof has a slightly lower height corresponding to the tape end detection light source entrance portion 21 formed on the lower half 3 side. . Outer rib 3
9, the engaging protrusions 40 (40) that protrude toward the front side so as to wrap around the side faces of the side ribs 38 at both ends.
A, 40B) are integrally formed.

The outer peripheral ribs 39 are located inside the side guide ribs 18 on the lower half 3 side when the upper half 4 is combined with the lower half 3 as described later. As described above, the side surface guide ribs 18 are integrally formed with the bottom surface 3A of the lower half 3 having the largest height dimension. Therefore, when the lower half 3 and the upper half 4 are combined, the side guide ribs 18 and the both ends of the outer peripheral rib 39 are first abutted against each other.

When the lower half 3 and the upper half 4 are assembled in a state of being displaced from each other, the side guide ribs 18 are formed.
Since both ends of the outer peripheral rib 39 abut against each other, it becomes difficult to smoothly combine them. Therefore, the outer peripheral rib 39 is
An upper half 4 is formed by forming a gap between both end portions and the side guide rib 18 for ensuring a "combining margin".
Is provided on the inner surface portion 4A. Then, the outer peripheral rib 39
The engaging projections 40 formed at both ends thereof are positioned in proximity to the inner edge and the outer surface of the side guide rib 18 in a state where the lower half 3 and the upper half 4 are combined.

The outer peripheral rib 39 is integrally formed with a light source cover pressing portion 41 located inside the central portion and corresponding to the tape end detecting light source entrance portion 21 on the lower half 3 side. The light source cover pressing portion 41 locks the light source cover 70 combined with the tape end detection light source entrance portion 21 in a state where the upper half 4 is combined with the lower half 3.

An arcuate tape reel storage wall 42 (42A, 42B), which is located on the inner surface side and has one end connected to the outer peripheral rib 39, is integrally formed. These tape reel storage walls 42 are the tape reel storage walls 32 described above.
Are located on the same circumference as and integrally project from the bottom surface 4A of the upper half 4 and cooperate with each other to form the tape reel storage portion 33 on the upper half 4 side. One of the fitting cylinders 47 is integrally formed at the other end of the tape reel storage wall 42.

The upper half 4 has a front portion of the outer peripheral wall 31,
The upper guide grooves 43 (43A, 43B) are recessed. These upper guide grooves 43
Is formed as an inclined groove that is gradually inclined rearward from the lower end on the front side of the outer peripheral wall 31. Upper half 4
The front lid engaging recesses 44 (4) having U-shaped cross-sections with their axes aligned with the front portions of the outer peripheral walls 31 on both sides.
4A, 44B) are respectively provided.

Further, the upper half 4 is provided with a lid lock guide recess 45 (45A, 45B) in the front-rear direction, which is located inside the upper guide groove 43. These lid lock guide recesses 45 are respectively positioned corresponding to the above-mentioned lid lock lever mounting portions 25 on the side of the lower half 3 when the upper half 4 is combined with the lower half 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the upper half 4 has a reel pressing spring mounting portion 46 (46) on the inner surface of the bottom surface portion 4A.
A, 46B) are provided. These reel pressing spring attachment portions 46 are formed on the front side of the window 34 and on the center line of the reel housing portion 33. A reel pressing spring 68 (68) is fixed to the reel pressing spring mounting portion 46 by fixing one end thereof by heat welding or the like.
A, 68B) are attached respectively. The tip ends of the reel pressing springs 68 come into contact with the tape reel 9 and press them toward the lower reel 3 side,
The tape reel 9 is prevented from moving in the height direction inside the cartridge body 2.

In the upper half 4, tubular fitting portions 47 are integrally formed at appropriate positions on the bottom surface 4A. The upper half 4 and the lower half 3 respectively include an outer peripheral wall 11, an outer peripheral wall 31, and a tape reel storage wall 12 which are opposed to each other.
And reel storage wall 32, side guide rib 17 and side rib 3
8, the outer peripheral rib 20 and the outer peripheral rib 39, and the fitting portion 30 and the fitting portion 47 are abutted and combined, respectively, and are integrally coupled by a set screw screwed into the fitting portion 30 and the fitting portion 47. Thus, the thin box-shaped cartridge body 2 described above is configured.

As shown in FIG. 1, the outer periphery of the cartridge body 2 is closed by the outer peripheral wall 11 and the outer peripheral wall 31, the side guide ribs 17, the side ribs 38, and the outer peripheral ribs 20 and the outer peripheral ribs 39 except the front surface. Inside, the tape reel storage sections 13A and 13B on the lower half 3 side and the upper half 4
Side tape reel storage parts 33A and 33B cooperate,
A tape reel storage portion, which is two circular spaces adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction, is configured.

The cartridge body 2 includes the side guide rib 1
By abutting the side ribs 38 with the side ribs 7, the upper ends of the lid guide grooves 19 formed in the side guide ribs 17 are closed by the side ribs 38. As described above, in the cartridge body 2, the gap due to the “combination margin” set between the side guide rib 17 on the lower half 3 side and the outer peripheral rib 39 on the upper half 4 side goes around the outer surface of the side guide rib 17. The projection 40 is closed.

The cartridge main body 2 constructed as described above is combined with a lid structure including a front lid 5, a back lid 6 and an upper lid 7 on the open front surface portion. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front lid 5 has a rectangular plate-shaped main surface portion 48 having a length and height sufficient to close the front surface portion of the cartridge body 2, and both end portions of the main surface portion 48. Each of them is composed of a side surface portion 49 (49A, 49B) integrally projected toward the rear side,
It has a substantially U-shaped cross section. On the main surface portion 48 of the front lid 5, connecting portions 50 (50A, 50B) are integrally formed on both sides of the upper edge portion so as to project laterally to connect with an upper lid 7, which will be described later. .

The front lid 5 has a support shaft portion 51 (51A, 51B) whose axial lines coincide with the inner surface of the side surface portion 49.
Are integrally projected. Further, these side surface portions 49 are provided with a shaft-shaped cam convex portion 52 (52
A and 52B) are integrally projected. A front lid spring 53, which is a torsion spring, is attached to one side 50B of the connecting portion.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the back lid 6 has a rectangular plate-shaped main surface portion 54 having a length and height sufficient to close the loading space 10 of the cartridge body 2, and the main surface portion. Shaft-shaped fulcrum portions 55 (55A, 55B) integrally formed on both upper edge portions of both sides of the shaft 54 and shaft-shaped cam projections 56 (each formed integrally on both lower edge portions of the main surface portion 54). 56A, 56B). The main surface portion 54 is configured as an inclined surface whose lower portion gradually inclines toward the front surface side.

The upper lid 7 is a front end portion 3 of the upper half 4.
5, a rectangular plate-shaped main surface portion 5 having a length and width substantially equal to 5
7, and front lid support portions 58 (58A, 58B) recessed inward from both front edge portions, respectively,
Guide cams 59 (59A, 59B) formed inward on both rear edge portions and a back lid support portion 60 (60A, 60) recessed in the inner surface of the main surface portion 57.
B) and.

The front lid 5 is rotatably assembled to the front portion of the upper lid 7 as shown in FIG. 1 by the relative engagement of the connecting portions 50 with the front lid supporting portions 58. Further, the back lid 6 is rotatably combined with the inner surface of the main surface portion 57 of the upper lid 7 by the fulcrum portion 55 being relatively engaged with the back lid support portion 60. In this way, the front lid 5, the back lid 6, and the upper lid 7 are combined with each other to form a lid structure. The front lid 5 and the front lid 5 that face each other in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval when assembled in the cartridge body 2.
The magnetic tape 8 is extended between the back lid 6 and the back lid 6.

The lid structure is constructed such that the guide cams 59 are engaged with the upper guide grooves 43, respectively.
The upper lid 7 is combined with the upper half 4 of the cartridge body 2. The upper lid 7 is slidably combined with the upper half 4 in the front-rear direction within the range of the upper guide groove. In the lid structure, the support shaft portion 51 is engaged with the front lid engagement concave portion 44 on the upper half 4 side, so that the front lid 5 is combined with the cartridge body 2.

The front lid 5 is the cartridge body 2
In the state of being combined with, the opened front surface portion is closed over the entire area. The support shaft portion 51 of the front lid 5 is rotatably locked in the front lid engagement recess 44 by the outer peripheral walls 11 on the lower half 3 side that are butted against the outer peripheral wall 31 of the upper half 4. Retained. The front lid 5 is biased in a direction to close the front surface portion of the cartridge body 2 by the elastic force of the front lid spring 53 attached to the one side 51B of the support shaft portion.

The front lid 5 is the cartridge body 2
In the combined state, the lock cam portions 52 face the lid opening guide grooves 24 on the lower half 3 side, respectively. As described above, the lock cam portion 52 faces the lid opening guide groove 24 so as to face the lower half 3
The front surface portion of the cartridge body 2 is held in a closed state by being engaged with the cam convex portions 90 of the lid lock lever 71 that constitutes the lid lock mechanism assembled to the side.

In the lid structure, the back lid 6 is assembled with the cartridge body 2 by the guide cams 56 engaging with the lid guide grooves 19 formed in the side guide ribs 17 on the lower half 3 side. The back lid 6 is located inside the front lid 5 and closes the front portion of the loading space 10. The upper lid 7 is positioned and held by the engaging portion (not shown) integrally formed on the inner surface of the main surface portion 57 being engaged with the engaging recess 38a formed on the inner surface of the side rib 38 on the upper half 4 side. To be done.

The magnetic tape 8 has a transparent leading tape 61 connected to the front end thereof via a sensing tape. The magnetic tape 8 is wound with the leading tapes 61 at both ends fixed to the tape reel 9. The tape reels 9 have the same right and left,
The configuration of one tape reel 9A will be described below as a representative.

The tape reel 9 has a magnetic tape 8 on its outer peripheral portion.
And a cylindrical core portion 62 provided with a reel drive shaft hole 63 into which the reel drive shaft of the recording / reproducing apparatus is fitted and which is integrally formed on the outer peripheral portion of the lower side surface of the core portion 62. And a lower flange portion 63 formed on the upper portion, an upper flange member 66 coupled to the core portion 62, and a clamper 67 for fixing the magnetic tape 8. Core part 6
Although not described in detail, the reference numeral 2 is composed of a central core and an outer peripheral core which is concentrically connected via a plurality of radial ribs and around which the magnetic tape 8 is wound. The reel drive shaft hole 63 is composed of the central core and the outer peripheral core, and is also composed of an annular space portion divided by radial ribs.

The core portion 62 is provided with a positioning dowel when the upper flange member 66 is assembled on the upper end surface of the central core. In the core portion 62, a part of the outer peripheral core is axially cut out in order to fit the clamper 67. The radial ribs engage with the rotation stopping ribs formed on the outer peripheral portion of the reel drive shaft on the recording / reproducing apparatus side, which are fitted in the reel drive shaft holes 63, so that the tape reel 9 is integrated in the rotation direction. It acts as if it were.

The lower flange portion 64 formed integrally with the above-mentioned core portion 62 has a diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the reel accommodating portion of the cartridge body 2, and the reel lock mechanism described above is provided over the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface. The outer peripheral teeth 65 with which the reel lock lever 74 is relatively engaged are integrally formed. The outer peripheral teeth 65 are constituted by, for example, unidirectional ratchet teeth or the like, and are engaged with the reel lock lever 74.
Thus, the tape reel 9 is locked in the feeding direction of the magnetic tape 8.

The upper flange member 66 is assembled on the upper surface side of the core portion 62 in a state where the positioning hole formed in the center is relatively engaged with the positioning dowel and aligned. The core portion 62 and the upper flange member 66 are integrated with each other by ultrasonic welding or the like in a state of being combined with each other. The upper flange member 66 is made of, for example, a transparent synthetic resin material so that the state of the magnetic tape 8 wound around the core portion 62 can be seen through the window 34 of the upper half 4.

The tape reel 9 configured as described above
Are rotatably housed in the tape reel housing portion of the cartridge body 2 with the reel drive shaft hole 63 facing the reel hole 14 of the lower half 3. Tape reel 9
As described above, the magnetic tape 8 is formed by the reel lock mechanism.
The rotation in the feeding direction of is restricted. As described above, the tape reel 9 is restricted from moving in the height direction by the reel pressing spring 68.

As shown in FIG. 3, the magnetic tape 8 is fed from the outer peripheral wall 11 side of the right tape reel 9A and is hung on the right tape guide 18A. Magnetic tape 8
Is guided along the front surface of the cartridge body 2 and traverses the loading space 10 to the left tape guide 18B.
And the left tape reel 1 from the outer peripheral wall 11 side.
It is wound up on 8B. The magnetic tape 8 is protected by extending a portion that crosses the loading space 10 between the front lid 5 and the back lid 6.

The tape cartridge 1 of the embodiment constructed as described above is loaded into the recording / reproducing apparatus, and the reel drive shafts on the recording / reproducing apparatus side enter from the reel holes 14 of the cartridge main body 2 respectively. 9
Of the reel drive shaft holes 63. In the tape cartridge 1, the lid structure is operated by the lid lock releasing member on the recording / reproducing apparatus side, and the cartridge main body 2
The front part and the loading space 10 are opened.

In the tape cartridge 1, the reel lock release member on the recording / reproducing apparatus operates the reel lock mechanism to release the locked state of the tape reel 9.
Then, the tape cartridge 1 is subjected to a loading operation in which the magnetic tape 8 is pulled out to the recording / reproducing unit by the loading unit on the recording / reproducing apparatus side which enters the loading space 10.

In the tape cartridge 1, as shown in FIG. 8, the lid lock release member 93 on the recording / reproducing apparatus side enters into the lid lock release guide groove 82 formed at the rear portion of the lid release guide groove 24, The drive operation of the lid lock mechanism described above is performed. The lid lock lever 71 that constitutes the lid lock mechanism is rotated by the lid lock release member 93 against the elastic force of the lid lock spring 72, and the front lid 5 that constitutes the lid structure.
Release the locked state of.

In the lid structure, in a state where the front lid 5 is unlocked by the above-described lid lock mechanism, the lid driving member that enters the lid opening guide groove 24 resists the elastic force of the front lid spring 53. It is rotated. The front lid 5 has a support shaft portion 51.
With this as a fulcrum, it rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 2 and drives the upper lid 7 via the connecting portion 50.

The one end of the upper lid 7 is rotatably supported by the connecting portion 50 of the front lid 5, and is moved from the front portion to the rear portion of the upper guide groove 43 with which the guide cam 59 is engaged. , While sliding slightly to the rear side of the upper half 4 while sliding,
The back lid 6 is driven. The back lid 6 operates from the lower portion to the upper portion of the lid guide groove 19 of the side guide rib 17 with which the guide cam 56 engages, while the fulcrum portion 55 is rotatably supported by the back lid support portion 60.

The back lid 6 is rotated so as to be superposed on the upper lid 7 from the state of facing the front lid 5. In the front lid 5, the tape end detection holes 49a provided in the side surface portions 49 are located opposite to the tape end detection holes 23 of the cartridge body 2 when the front surface of the cartridge body 2 is opened.

In the tape cartridge 1, the front lid 5 closes the front surface of the cartridge main body 2 and the back lid 6 closes the loading space 10 by the operation of the lid structure described above. . Opened loading space 10
The magnetic tape 8 is exposed to the outside.

In the tape cartridge 1, the reel lock release member on the recording / reproducing apparatus side enters the lock release guide groove 28 to drive the reel lock mechanism. The reel lock releasing member moves the reel lock member 73 to the rear side against the elastic force of the lock lever spring 76.
The reel lock lever 74 has the reel lock member 73.
By this operation, the engagement state with the outer peripheral teeth 65 of the tape reel 9 is released and the tape reel 9 is made rotatable.

The loading means on the recording / reproducing apparatus side enters the opened loading space 10 and pulls out the magnetic tape 8 from the tape reel 9 to load it on the recording / reproducing section. A light source 69 for detecting the tape end of the recording / reproducing apparatus enters the tape cartridge 1 into the light source entrance portion 21 for detecting the tape end.

In the tape cartridge 1, when a recording operation, a reproducing operation, a fast-forward operation, a rewinding operation, or the like is performed, the reel drive shaft is driven and the tape reel 9 is rotationally driven. The light source 69 for detecting the tape end is supplied with power by the driving operation of the magnetic tape 8 and emits detection light. The detection light is guided along the outer peripheral rib 20 of the lower half 3 and the outer peripheral rib 39 of the upper half 4 across the tape running path to the tape end detection hole 23 provided in the outer peripheral wall 11.

When the magnetic tape 8 exists in the tape traveling path, the detection light is reflected by the magnetic tape 8 and is not exposed to the outside of the cartridge body 2 through the tape end detection hole 23. On the other hand, when the transparent leader tape 61 exists in the tape running path, the detection light passes through the leader tape 61 and is exposed to the outside of the cartridge main body 2 through the tape end detection hole 23, and the recording / reproducing apparatus is performed. It is detected by the tape end detection sensor on the side. The recording / reproducing apparatus stops the reel drive shaft by the output of the tape end detection sensor to stop the feeding operation of the magnetic tape 8.

When the tape cartridge 1 is ejected, the magnetic tape 8 pulled out to the recording / reproducing unit is unloaded, the lid structure is returned, and the reel lock mechanism is in the initial state. The recording medium is ejected from the recording / reproducing apparatus in the state of the return operation. In the tape cartridge 1, the reel lock releasing member on the recording / reproducing apparatus side is retracted from the lock releasing guide groove 28, so that the reel lock member 73 is moved forward by the elastic force of the lock lever spring 76. The reel lock lever 74 moves the outer peripheral teeth 6 of the tape reel 9 by the operation of the reel lock member 73.
5 is engaged again to lock the tape reel 9 in the feeding direction of the magnetic tape 8.

In the tape cartridge 1, the lid drive member on the recording / reproducing apparatus side withdraws from the lid opening guide groove 24 and the lid lock releasing member withdraws from the lid lock releasing guide groove 82, whereby the lid structure is returned to the initial state. Recovery operation. Due to the elastic force of the front lid spring 53, the lid structure returns to the direction in which the front lid 5 pivots in the clockwise direction in FIG. Move. The front lid 5 restores the upper lid 7 via the connecting portion 50.

The upper lid 7 slides forward along the upper half 4 by moving from the rear portion to the front portion of the upper lid guide groove 43 with which the guide cam 59 is engaged, and at the same time, the back lid 6 is moved. To drive.
The back lid 6 moves from the upper portion to the lower portion of the lid guide groove 19 of the side surface guide rib 17 with which the guide cam 56 is engaged, thereby returning to the initial position where the loading space portion 10 is closed.

The lid lock mechanism holds the lid structure in a locked state by the cam projection 90 of the lid lock lever 71 engaging with the lock cam portion 52 of the front lid 5 which has returned to the initial position by the above-mentioned operation. To do. The tape cartridge 1 includes a front surface portion of the cartridge body 2 and a loading space portion 10 depending on a lid structure.
The reel drive shaft exits from the reel hole 14 in the state where the reel drive shaft is closed.

In the above-described tape cartridge 1 of the embodiment, the outer peripheral portions of the cartridge body 2 except the front surface are closed by the outer peripheral wall 11 of the lower half 3 and the outer peripheral wall 31 of the upper half 4 which are butted against each other. . Further, the tape cartridge 1 is closed by the side guide ribs 17, the side ribs 38, the outer peripheral ribs 20 and the outer peripheral ribs 39 in which the loading spaces 10 are butted against each other.

The tape cartridge 1 has a side surface guide rib 17 on the lower half 3 side and an outer peripheral rib 3 on the upper half 4 side in order to smoothly combine the lower half 3 and the upper half 4.
The gaps due to the “combination margin” set between the both ends of the outer peripheral rib 9 are closed by the engaging protrusions 40 protruding from both ends of the outer peripheral rib 39 and wrapping around the outer surface of the side guide rib 17. Therefore, the tape cartridge 1
Dust and the like are prevented from entering the inside of the cartridge body 2 through the loading space 10. Therefore, in the tape cartridge 1, dust or the like that has entered the inside of the cartridge body 2 adheres to the surface of the magnetic tape 8,
It is possible to avoid occurrence of inconvenience such as deterioration of the recording characteristic of the information signal due to dropout or the like.

In the tape cartridge 1, the optical path of the detection light emitted from the light source 69 for detecting the tape end of the tape end detection mechanism is formed along the inside of the loading space portion 10. The detection light leaks from the gap or the external light enters due to the "combining margin" set between the side guide rib 17 and the both ends of the outer peripheral rib 39 on the upper half 4 side, and the tape end detection mechanism is affected. The occurrence of inconvenience is prevented, and the accuracy of detecting the end of the magnetic tape is improved.

FIG. 11 shows a second embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention, which is a lid lock spring 95.
The fitting convex portion 85 of the lid lock spring mounting portion 2
It is characterized in that it is configured to be securely fitted and held by the fitting concave portion 83 of 6. In the following description, the same members and components as those in the above-described first embodiment tape cartridge 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

That is, the lid lock spring 95
Is formed by press bending or the like on a rectangular elastic thin plate material having a width dimension substantially equal to the width dimension of the fitting concave portion 83 in the acting direction, and includes a fitting convex portion 85 and an elastic locking portion 86. ing. The fitting convex portion 85 is formed by bending so that the shape of the tip end portion is a regular isosceles triangle in cross section, and the tip end portion is configured as the maximum opening portion 99 with the maximum opening angle. In other words, the lid lock spring 9
5, the maximum opening portion 99 having the maximum opening dimension is formed at the tip portion.

In the lid lock spring 95, when the facing interval of the bent portions 96A and 96B forming the maximum opening 99 is S and the facing interval of the base end portions is T, the lid lock spring 95 is in a natural state. For the width dimension W of the fitting recess 83 of the lid lock spring mounting portion 26, S>W>
It is set to T. Therefore, the fitting convex portion 85 forms a pentagon with a slightly deformed side surface in the natural state.

The lid lock spring 95 converges the fitting convex portion 85 with the elastic locking portion 86 positioned on the front side, and the fitting convex portion 85 is fitted into the fitting concave portion 83 of the lid lock spring mounting portion 26. It is temporarily held by the lower half 3 by being inserted into. Lid lock spring 95
11 in the state of being inserted into the fitting recess 83.
As shown in FIG. 5, the bent portion 96 (96A, 96B) elastically contacts the inner wall of the fitting recess 83 to exert the stored elastic force.

In the lid lock spring 95, since the fitting convex portion 85 has the maximum opening portion 99 formed at the tip portion,
The elastic force acts on the inner wall of the fitting recess 83 through the bent portion 96 in a direction substantially orthogonal to the inner wall of the fitting recess 83, and an opening angle θ is generated at the base end portion slightly smaller than the opening size of the fitting recess 83. Without attaching the lid lock spring mounting portion 26
Firmly held in. Therefore, even if a shock or the like is applied to the lid lock spring 95 before the upper half 4 is combined with the lower half 3, there is no inconvenience that the lid lock spring 95 jumps out of the lid lock spring attachment portion 26 and comes off. Further, in the lid lock spring 95, since the fitting recess 83 elastically contacts the inner wall of the fitting recess 83 at the apex of the bent portion 96, the component force of the elastic force is generated toward the bottom surface side, and the lid lock is more reliably performed. It is retained within the spring mount 26.

FIG. 12 shows a third embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention, which is characterized in that the lid lock spring mounting portion 26 is formed in such a shape that the lid lock spring 72 can be mounted more easily. ing. That is, the lid lock spring mounting portion 26
In the spring receiving seat 84 formed on the upper surfaces of the connecting walls 11C and 11D, the opening edge of the fitting recess 83 is chamfered 97.

That is, the chamfer 97 is the fitting convex portion 8 of the lid lock spring 72 inserted into the fitting concave portion 83.
5 is formed at the opening edge of the fitting recess 83 facing the No. 5 connector.
The chamfer 97 is provided at the opening of the fitting concave portion 83 to fit the fitting convex portion 8
5, the lid lock spring 72 is strongly pressed from above, so that the fitting convex portion 85 converges and fits into the fitting concave portion 83, thereby providing a guiding action.

The chamfering 97 is similar to the conventional lid lock spring 107 when the fitting convex portion 107A is substantially V-shaped and the base end portion is the maximum open portion. The opening angle θ at the opening of the fitting concave portion 83 of the fitting convex portion 107A is promoted. However, in the lid lock spring 72, the maximum opening portion 99 is formed on the tip side, so that the fitting concave portion 8 is formed.
The chamfer 97 formed in the opening of No. 3 does not affect the operation, and the attachment work to the lid lock spring attachment portion 26 is further simplified.

In the above-described tape cartridge 1 of the embodiment, the lid structure is constituted by the three lids of the front lid 5, the back lid 6 and the upper lid 7. However, the present invention is, for example, the back lid 6 and the upper lid 7. It is needless to say that the present invention is also applicable to a tape cartridge integrally formed with the side guide rib 17 and configured to operate by being restricted by the lid guide groove 19 formed in the side guide rib 17.

[0107]

As described in detail above, according to the tape cartridge of the present invention, the lid lock spring for holding the lid in the closed state of the loading space is formed at the lid lock spring mounting portion on the half side. The fitting convex part to be inserted into the fitting concave part is formed by locating the maximum opening part having an opening dimension slightly larger than the opening size of the fitting concave part at the tip end side. When the part is inserted into the fitting recess, the opening angle of the opening of the fitting recess does not occur, and the elastic force acts on the inner wall at a position inside the fitting recess in a direction orthogonal to the inner wall, and the lid lock is performed. The spring is securely attached to the lid lock spring attachment part. As a result, the lid lock spring is
Inconveniences such as popping out of the lid lock spring mounting portion and coming off can be prevented, and the assemblability can be greatly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tape cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the tape cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the lower half side showing a state in which a tape reel is accommodated in a tape reel accommodating portion in the same tape cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of a main portion of an upper half side which constitutes a cartridge body of the tape cartridge.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a main part for explaining each component and each member of the lid lock mechanism included in the tape cartridge.

FIG. 6 is a see-through side view of essential parts for explaining a lid mechanism part in a state where a lid structure for opening and closing a loading space part is closed in the tape cartridge.

FIG. 7 is a perspective plan view of an essential part showing the lid mechanism part with the upper half removed.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a main part of the tape cartridge, illustrating a lid mechanism part in a state where a lid structure for opening and closing a loading space is opened.

FIG. 9 is a perspective plan view of an essential part showing the lid mechanism part with the upper half removed.

FIG. 10 is a partial cutaway side view illustrating a state in which a lid lock spring is attached to a lid lock spring attachment portion of a cartridge body in the lid mechanism portion.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part for explaining a state in which a lid lock spring according to another embodiment of the present invention is attached to a lid lock spring attachment portion.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part for explaining a state in which a lid lock spring is attached to a lid lock spring attachment portion of another embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a main part of a conventional tape cartridge for explaining a lid mechanism part in a state where a lid structure for opening and closing a loading space is closed.

FIG. 14 is a perspective plan view of an essential part of the same tape cartridge showing the lid mechanism part with the upper half removed.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a main part for explaining the lid mechanism part in a state where a lid structure for opening and closing the loading space part is opened in the tape cartridge.

FIG. 16 is a perspective plan view of an essential part of the same tape cartridge showing the lid mechanism part with the upper half removed.

FIG. 17 is a partial cutaway side view for explaining a state where the lid lock spring is attached to the lid lock spring attachment portion of the cartridge body in the lid mechanism portion of the tape cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Tape Cartridge 2 Cartridge Body 3 Lower Half (First Half) 4 Upper Half (Second Half) 5 Front Lid Constituting the Lid Structure 6 Back Lid Constituting the Lid Structure 7 Upper Lid 8 Constituting the Lid Structure 8 Magnetic Tape (Tape-shaped recording medium) 9 Tape reel 10 Loading space 13 Reel storage part 24 formed in the lower half 24 Lid opening guide groove 25 Lid lock lever attachment part 26 formed in the lower half side Lid formed in the lower half side Lock spring mounting portion 45 Lid lock guide concave portion formed on the upper half side 52 Cam portion 71 formed on the front lid 71 Lid lock lever 72 Lid lock spring 80 Bearing portion 81 constituting the lid lock lever mounting portion 81 Lid lock lever mounting portion The axes that make up Recessed hole 83 Fitting concave portion constituting the lid lock spring mounting portion 85 Fitting convex portion of the lid lock spring 86 Elastic engaging portion of the lid lock spring 88 Spindle portion of the lid lock lever 89 Engaging portion of the lid lock lever 90 Lid Lock lever cam protrusion 91 Lid lock lever stopper 92 Spring receiving 99 Maximum opening

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first half and a second half, which are combined with each other to form a cartridge main body, and which form a loading space portion into which a loading means on the recording / reproducing apparatus side enters, and an inside of the cartridge main body. A pair of tape reels rotatably accommodated in the tape reel, and a tape-shaped recording medium that is unwound from one tape reel, guided to the front surface of the cartridge body, traverses the loading space, and wound on the other tape reel. , The lid that is rotatably supported by the lid mounting part provided on one of the halves opens and closes the front part of the loading space, and the lid lock mounting part that is provided on one of the halves rotates. It is supported freely and holds the lid in a state where the loading space is closed, and at the same time the recording / reproducing device side is locked. By engaging the lid lock member that is operated by the unlocking means to release the locked state of the lid and the fitting U-shaped fitting projection that is bent and formed on one end side with the fitting recess of the spring mounting portion. A lid lock spring, which is assembled to one half and has an elastic locking portion on the other end side that abuts against the lid lock member to give the lid lock member a tendency to engage with the lid, The spring is characterized in that the fitting protrusion is bent so that the maximum opening with an opening size slightly larger than the opening size of the fitting recess of the spring mounting part is located slightly on the tip side. And a tape cartridge. 2. The lid lock spring is assembled to one half by fitting the fitting convex portion into the fitting concave portion of the spring mounting portion, and the first half and the second half are combined. 2. The tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the tape cartridge is clamped by the first half and the second half in the opened state to prevent the tape from coming off. 3. The spring mounting portion is chamfered at an opening of a fitting concave portion facing the fitting convex portion of the lid lock spring.
The tape cartridge described in.