JPH061624B2 - Tape cassette - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cassette containing a pair of reels wound with a magnetic tape.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of tape cassette has a structure as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 52-147420. In FIG. 7, tooth portions 4 and 5 are provided on the lower flanges of the pair of reels 2 and 3 on which the magnetic tape 1 is wound. A brake mechanism is housed in a substantially triangular space between the reels 2 and 3 and one side wall 7 of the case 6. An enlarged state of this portion is shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, a release lever 10 is rotatably attached to the ribs 8 and 9, and one end 1 of the release lever 10 is attached.
0a closes a hole 11 provided on the bottom surface of the case 6, and the lips 10b and 10c provided on the shaft portion of the case 6 have an engaging piece 1 pivotally supported by pins 12 and 13 planted in the case 6.
Opposite ends 14a, 15a of 4, 15 respectively. The other ends 14b, 15b of the engagement pieces 14, 15 respectively
Are elastically engaged with the teeth 4, 5 by springs 16, 17.

When this tape cassette is attached to a recording / reproducing device, as shown in FIG.
The release lever 10 is rotated by 8 and the release lever 1
Ribs 10b and 10c of 0 engage the engaging pieces 14 and 15 with the spring 1
6, 17 is rotated against the elastic force of the other end 14b,
The reels 2 and 3 can rotate while being separated from the tooth portions 4 and 5 which are 15b.

This configuration is widely adopted for a video tape cassette called VHS system, although there are design changes.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In such a conventional configuration, when a small cassette having a small diameter reel for performing signal recording for a short time can be mounted in the same recording / reproducing apparatus, Since the brake mechanism is relatively large, it is difficult to miniaturize the entire cassette, and thus it is difficult to miniaturize it even when making a recording / reproducing device exclusively using this small cassette.
There was a problem.

In order to solve such a problem of the present invention, a small-sized tape cassette for recording / reproducing signals in a shorter time than a normal tape cassette mounted in the same recording / reproducing apparatus can be constructed. An object of the present invention is to provide a tape cassette equipped with a brake mechanism.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a release lever for rotating an engagement piece that locks the rotation of a reel with respect to one side wall of a cassette near the release lever. It is configured to rotate in parallel planes.

Operation With this configuration, the through hole on the bottom face of the cassette that receives the pin provided in the recording / reproducing device that rotates the release lever and the side wall of the cassette that is close to the brake mechanism can be close to each other.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the inside of a tape cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the same parts as those in the configuration of the conventional device shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 1, the release lever 10 pivotally supported by the rib 19 and the one side wall 7 so as to rotate in a plane parallel to the one side wall 7 of the case 6 is, as shown in the side view of FIG. One end 1
0a closes the hole 11 provided in the bottom surface of the case 6, and the other ends 10b and 10c face one ends 14a and 15a of the engaging pieces 14 and 15, respectively.

Now, when this tape cassette is installed in a recording / playback device,
As shown in FIG. 3, the release lever 10 is rotated by the pin 18 of the recording / reproducing apparatus, and the engaging pieces 14 and 15 are rotated against the elastic force of the spring 16, and as shown in FIG. The other ends 14b and 15b of the engagement pieces 14 and 15 are separated from the tooth portions 4 and 5 of the reels 2 and 3, respectively, so that the reels 2 and 3 can rotate.

Here, since the one side wall 7 of the case 6 can be brought close to the hole 11 on the bottom surface of the case 6 as shown in FIG. 1 by such a configuration, one recording / reproducing operation as shown in FIG. The apparatus is provided with reference pins 20 and 21 and a pin 18, and the reference pins 20 and 21 are used to form a large tape cassette 22.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the small tape cassette 23 is positioned by the reference pin 20 and the pin 18 and the brakes of both cassettes are released by the pin 18, the small cassette 23 is removed. It can be designed to a minimum size.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, 24 and 25 are reels 2,
3 is a reel stand on which the reel 3 is rotated, and 26 is a reel stand on which the reel 3 is projected to rotate when a small tape cassette is mounted.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the tape cassette 23 is positioned by the pin 18 for releasing the brake, it is not necessary to provide a positioning pin in addition to the pins 20, 21 and 18. It is rational.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to design the tape cassette in a smaller size, particularly in a small cassette in which one recording / reproducing apparatus can be equipped with two or more types of tape cassettes. Therefore, another recording / reproducing device dedicated to this small tape cassette can be downsized, and the pin can be commonly used for two or more types of tape cassettes, so that the structure of the device is simplified. It is effective.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the inside of a tape cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state of being adhered to a recording / reproducing apparatus, and FIG. Plan views, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are plan views showing a case where tape cassettes of different sizes are mounted in the recording / reproducing apparatus.
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the inside of a conventional tape cassette, FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged view thereof, and FIG. 9 is a side view thereof. 2, 3 ... Reel, 4,5 ... Tooth, 6 ... Case, 7
…… One side, 10 …… Release lever, 11 …… Hole, 14,
15 ... engaging piece, 18 ... pin.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Akihiro Nishimura 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Hideki Sakumoto, 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-62-162290 (JP, A)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A substantially triangular space formed between a pair of reels and one side surface of the case in which a pair of reels around which tapes are wound are housed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped case arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction of the case. The brake mechanism is housed in a pair of engaging pieces that engage with tooth portions provided on the outer circumferences of the flanges of the pair of reels, and the rotation fulcrum is an intermediate portion of the pair of engaging pieces. And a release lever which is provided in a portion and which rotates in a plane parallel to the one side surface close to the one side surface of the case, the release lever being rotated by being pressed by a pin penetrating through a hole in the bottom surface of the case. The tape cassette is characterized in that the engagement between the pair of engagement pieces and the pair of reels is released. 2. The tape cassette according to claim 1, wherein the case is positioned with respect to the device having the pin by a hole and a pin on the bottom surface of the case.