JPH0534750B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a tape cassette applied to a recording/reproducing device such as a video tape recorder and various other information processing devices, and particularly to a tape cassette that is applied to a tape reel housed in a housing. This invention relates to a tape cassette with functions.

Conventional technology Conventionally, this type of tape cassette is shown in Figs. 7 to 9.
The structure is as shown in the figure. In FIGS. 7 to 9, the tape cassette consists of an upper case 1 and a lower case 2, and a pair of tape reels 3 _S and 3 _T wound with magnetic tape 4 are housed therein. both reels 3
Teeth 3c are provided on the outer periphery of the lower flange 3b of _S , _3T . Both reels 3 _S and 3 _T and lower case 2
A brake mechanism is located in a substantially triangular space between the side walls 2a and 2d. This brake mechanism includes a lock release lever 6 and a reel lock lever 7.
One end 6c of the lock release lever 6, which is rotatably attached to the rib 2e and includes a biasing spring 8, closes a hole 9 provided in the bottom surface of the lower case 2, and the rib provided in the lock release lever 6 6b faces the other end 7b of a pair of reel lock levers 7 rotatably fitted to the support shaft 11 standing upright on the lower case 2. The reel lock lever 7
A biasing force is applied to the other end by a rotation prevention biasing spring 8 so that the other end is engaged with the teeth 3c and 3d.

When this tape cassette is installed in a recording/reproducing apparatus, the lock release lever 6 is rotated by the lock release pin 16 as shown in FIG. The other end 7a is rotated against the elastic force.
are released from the teeth 3c and 3d, respectively, and the reel 3
_S and 3 _T can be rotated.

Although there are some design changes, this configuration is still compatible with VHS.
This method is widely used in video tape cassettes.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in such a conventional tape cassette, the reel lock lever 7 is located on the side far from the opening, and when the other end 7f engages with the teeth of the reel, the upper case The tape 4, which is stretched and pressed against the front opening of the tape cassette consisting of the tape cassette 1 and the lower case 2, becomes slack, and when shock or vibration is applied to the main body, the tape 4 gets caught in the inner wall 2f of the half, etc. However, this method has the disadvantage of causing serious defects such as rare tape damage.

As a measure against this cause, it is known to install a reel lock structure on the opening side of the tape cassette, but the position of the reel lock lever 7 and the positions of the lock release member 6 and the lock release pin 16 of the recording device are far apart. As a brake structure,
It is difficult to increase its size and strength, and it cannot be expected to be made smaller. In addition, the fitting hole of the rotation fulcrum shaft of the lock release member 6 is composed of ribs 1a, 2d, and 2e that stand upright from the upper case 1 and the lower case 2, and the mold structure is complicated. However, there was a problem in that the brake component occupied a large portion of the cassette, and miniaturization was not possible. Furthermore, the insertion hole for a light source protruding from the recording device for detecting the end of the tape and the insertion hole for the lock pin for preventing rotation of the reel tape are separate, resulting in a complicated configuration from the recording device side.

The present invention aims to solve this problem, and aims to provide a tape cassette which can have a compact brake structure and a simplified recording device even if it is a small cassette.

Means for Solving the Problem In order to solve this problem, the present invention shares the light source for detecting the end of the reel tape with the lock release pin of the recording device that faces the lock release lever, and has a hole 9 for the insertion pin. is provided in a roughly triangular space near the opening of the tape cassette, and in order to prevent interference between the light passing trajectory caused by the optical system and the reel lock brake, a transparent window is provided in the reel lock lever. This is a characteristic feature.

According to the present invention, the lock release means on the recording device side and the light source generation means for detecting the end of the tape can be configured with one pin, and the pin is provided on the reel lock lever at a predetermined position where the reel lock is released. This eliminates the possibility of interfering with the trajectory of reaching the half-structured hole through the window, which simplifies the shape of each part of the cassette and simplifies the structural design of the recording device. It is possible to realize miniaturization and downsizing.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The tape cassette of this embodiment has opening 2.
A brake mechanism is provided in the approximately triangular space near a'. 4 is a recording medium that can record, reproduce, and erase sound or video information, document information, etc., and a front cover 1 is used to sandwich and cover the recording medium to protect it from external disturbances.
7. The rear cover 18 is rotatably held in a tape cassette consisting of an upper case 1 and a lower case 2.

The brake mechanism consists of a pair of tape reels 3 _S ′, 3
_T ', a reel lock lever 7, a lock release lever 6, and a biasing spring 8 for preventing rotation.

There is a small rib 2e' standing upright from the lower case 2 near the hole 9' into which the light source pin for unlocking and detecting the end of the tape is inserted, and within this rib 2e' is the rotation fulcrum receiving part 2f of the lock release lever 6. ', and the lock release lever 6 is supported by this receiving part 2f'. As a measure to prevent the lock release lever from popping out, the rib 2
From the lower case 2 to the rib 2 so that it is almost flush with e'.
c′ is provided. This rib 2c' is located at a location covered by the cylindrical end face of the reel lock lever, and a rotation support shaft 11 of the reel lock lever is provided near the rib 2c'. A reel lock lever 7 is installed between the rib 1a protruding from the upper case 1 and the rib 2c' from the lower case.
A biasing spring 8 for preventing rotation is inserted between the two. or,
When the tape end detection/lock release pin is inserted into the hole 9 from the recording device and reaches a certain position, the end 7b of the reel lock lever 7 that faces and contacts the other end 6b of the lock release lever 6 moves. The other end 7a of the reel lock lever 7 moves to lock the reel _3S ,
3 It comes off from the teeth 3c provided on the lower flange of _T.
The other end plate of this reel lock lever 7 has a through hole 7f larger than the light passage hole 20 configured in a half.
It is designed to form a light trajectory for detecting the end of the tape.

In other words, the tape end light detection and
The lock release pin mechanism can be integrated, resulting in a rational design, and at the same time, the brake structure of the tape cassette can be simplified and downsized.

In Fig. 1, there is a small rib 2e standing upright from the lower case 2 near the insertion hole 9, and the lock release lever 6 is received by a rotation support part 2f provided on this small rib 2e, and further rotation support is provided. Insert the reel lock lever 7 into the rotation support shaft 11 provided near the reel lock lever 7, press the cylindrical end surface (not shown) of the reel lock lever 7 against displacement of the lock release lever 6, and then press the other end of the reel lock lever 7. A rotation prevention biasing spring 8 is inserted into the support shaft 11 so as to be positioned on the cylindrical end surface 7e of the upper case 1, and the displacement of the spring 8 and the reel lock lever 7 is held by the ribs 1a protruding from the upper case 1. . Therefore, as the light source pin for lock release and tape end detection is inserted, the other end 6b of the lock release lever 6 moves toward the opposing reel brake 7b.
When the reel lock is released by pressing and the insertion amount reaches a certain position, the hole 7f provided in the reel lock lever 7 is located at a position opposite to the light trajectory generated from the light source for optical detection of the reel lock lever 7.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention allows the brake mechanism to be configured even in a limited space, that is, in a small-sized tape cassette, and at the same time allows optical tape end detection to be used as a lock release means on the recording device side. It is an epoch-making product that can be configured to be simple and compact, and can be applied to other video/music/information collecting tape cassettes and their recording/playback devices.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a tape cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a brake mechanism inside the tape cassette, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the brake mechanism, and FIG. 5 and 6 are a plan view and a sectional view for explaining the operation of the tape cassette, FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway plan view showing the inside of the conventional tape cassette, FIG. 9 and 10 are an enlarged perspective view and a plan view showing the brake mechanism of the tape cassette, and FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway plan view showing the inside of the conventional tape cassette. 1... Upper case, 2... Lower case, 3 _S , 3 _T ...
...Tape reel, 3c, 3d...Teeth, 6...Lock release lever, 7...Reel lock lever, 8
...Biasing spring, 2c, 2e, 1a...Rib, 16
...Tape end detection light source pin and lock release pin,
20,7f... Passing hole.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Acting on the outer periphery of a pair of freely rotatable tape reels to prevent them from rotating in the tape feeding direction, and at the same time to move the tape on the tape reels stretched toward the opening in the front of the cassette in the direction of stretching. A reel lock lever is rotatably supported by the reel lock lever, and a lock release lever is rotatably supported in conjunction with the reel lock lever to release the rotation inhibited state, and the lock release lever includes:
One end of the lock release lever is pushed and rotated by a light source and lock release means for discriminating and detecting the end of the tape reel provided in the recording/reproducing apparatus, and the other end of the lock release lever locks the pair of reels. 1. A tape cassette in which levers are rotated at the same time, characterized in that the reel lock lever is provided with a transmission window through which light from the light source for detecting the end of the tape reel passes through.