JPH0778980B2 - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial application] The present invention relates to a tape cartridge provided with a tape guide lock between upper and lower plates of a main body case, and is characterized by a support structure of a pad device.

[Conventional technology]

In this type of tape cartridge, a conventional general pad device performs front-back positioning by using tape guide pins located on the left and right of the head insertion window and the bent end walls of the magnetic shield plate facing the pins. Yes (actual exploitation 63-58387
Issue).

On the other hand, sandwiching and fixing a separate tape guide block between the upper and lower surfaces of the main body case is known, for example, from Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-13668 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-33679. There, guide ribs corresponding to the above-mentioned tape guide pins are integrally provided so as to project from the block body toward the front surface of the case.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

In such a type in which the guide ribs are integrally provided on the tape guide block, the guide ribs cannot be used for positioning the pad device in the front-rear direction. Therefore, for example, a pair of front and rear support projections are provided on the opposing walls of the guide ribs, and the front and rear positioning of the spring arm of the pad device is performed by both projections.

In this case, the tape guide block has to be vertically die-cut during molding. It is necessary to form a space in the up-down direction for fitting the spring arm between the front and rear of the pair of support projections, and this space becomes an undercut, and die cutting in the front-back direction along the protruding direction of the guide rib cannot be performed. Because.

However, when the tape guide block is die-cut up and down, the guide ribs need to have a draft,
The tape guide surface at the front end of the rib cannot be formed vertically,
This causes the problem that the recording / reproducing characteristics of the signal are deteriorated because the close contact posture of the tape with respect to the magnetic head is tilted back and forth. If the draft is not provided, the guide surface will be scratched during the die cutting, and the surface accuracy will be poor.

Further, in the type in which the support protrusion is provided on the opposing wall of the guide rib, the distance between the fulcrums of the spring arms becomes short, which makes it difficult to obtain a suitable head touch of the pad device. Although the head touch is improved by reducing the width and thickness of the spring arm, there is a disadvantage that the mechanical strength is lowered, for example.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above, and by changing the support structure of the pad device, the tape guide block can be punched out in the front-back direction without any problem, and a tape cartridge in which the vertical accuracy of the guide rib can be ensured is obtained. It is in.

Another object of the present invention is to obtain a tape cartridge in which the distance between the fulcrums of the spring arms is sufficiently secured and the head touch of the pad is suitable.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

The present invention focuses on the fact that the vertical length of the guide rib 22 is sufficiently long, and utilizes the upper and lower end portions of the guide rib 22 to support the head pad 8.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, a pair of upper and lower mounting portions 29 are provided near the left and right ends of the spring arm 25. The upper and lower ends of each of the guide ribs 22 positioned on the left and right of the inner surface of the head insertion window 7 are cut out to form a pair of upper and lower support step portions 31 for supporting the mounting portion 29. Support step 31
The upper and lower fulcrum portions 32 provided on the side of each guide rib 22 and the restriction projections 34 provided on the upper and lower face plates 11 and 12 are used to position the spring arm 25 in the front-rear direction. It is a thing.

[Action]

Since the protrusions that obstruct the die cutting in the front-rear direction, that is, the regulation protrusions 34 that prevent the spring arms 25 from falling forward, are provided on the upper and lower face plates 11 and 12, the tape guide block 14 is divided into the front and the rear. With the mold, it becomes possible to mold in the front-back direction.

Since the pad device 8 is assembled in such a manner that the support steps 31 at the upper and lower ends of the guide rib 22 are traversed by the attachment portions 29 of the spring arms 25, the fulcrum portion 32 can be provided on the left and right outside of the head insertion space, and the distance between the fulcrums It is necessary and sufficient.

[First Embodiment] FIGS. 1 to 6 show a first embodiment of a tape cartridge according to the present invention.

In FIG. 2, the illustrated tape cartridge is of the so-called Phillips type, and has a pair of haps 3, 3 around which the tape 2 is wound on the left and right of the main body case 1, and the tape 2 fed from one hub 3 is After being led out to the front surface of the case via the guide rollers 4 on the left and right of the case, it is wound on the other hub 3. Facing the tape running path on the front surface of the main body case 1, it has insertion windows 5 and 6 for an erasing head or a pinch roller, and a head insertion window 7 for a recording head. A pad device 8 is provided inside the head insertion window 7.
And a magnetic shield 9 are arranged.

Referring to FIG. 6, a main body case 1 includes an upper surface plate 11 and a lower surface plate 12, each of which is a die-cast molding product or a plastic molding product of an aluminum alloy, and three side walls substantially rearward and left and right sides of the main body case 1. It is composed of a plastic inner frame 13 and a tape guide lock 14 constituting the frame.

The upper and lower plates 11, 12 are a middle frame 13 and a tape guide block 14.
It is connected with a screw etc.

Similar to the conventional upper and lower halves made of all plastic, the upper and lower plates 11 and 12 have a drive shaft insertion hole 15, a window 16 for observing the amount of tape winding, a capstan hole 17, and the like. Also, on the left and right in front of each facing surface, tape guide blocks
14 engaging recesses 18 are formed.

In FIG. 2, a tape guide block 14 is an injection-molded product made of a plastic material, and is arranged in the main body case 1 along the front tape running path, and a main face plate 20 for partitioning the front part in the case back and forth, The six guide ribs 21 and 22 projecting from the front surface of the main face plate 20 corresponding to the insertion windows 5 and 6 and the head insertion window 7 are integrally formed.

The pad device 8 arranged inside the head insertion window 7 has a third
As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 4, it comprises a pad 24 formed by forming a felt into a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a spring arm 25 made of a leaf spring for supporting the pad 24.

The spring arm 25 in the figure is formed into a long rectangular frame left and right by a pair of upper and lower arm plates 26 and side plates 27 connecting the upper and lower arm plates 26 at the left and right ends, and a holder portion 28 for the pad 24 is provided at the center. Is provided. The left and right ends of the arm plate 26 also serve as the mounting portions 29.

In FIG. 1, the pad device 8 is positioned and supported by using the guide ribs 22 located on the left and right of the inner surface of the head insertion window 7. Specifically, the front end portions of the upper and lower ends of each guide rib 22 are cut out to form a horizontal support step portion 31 corresponding to the mounting portion 29. Further, a fulcrum portion 32 for preventing a rearward inclination of the spring arm 25 and providing a flexible fulcrum is formed at the rear end of the support step portion 31. The vertical interval between the support steps 31 is set to be slightly larger than the width of the tape 2. The fulcrum portion 32 has a vertical length that is slightly larger than the vertical width of the arm plate 26, and its plan view shape is formed into a triangular shape that is pointed toward the front of the case, so that the contact interference with the arm plate 26 is inside the flexible fulcrum. Provide an inclined flank to avoid.

With the pad device 8 assembled to the tape guide block 14 from the front side thereof, the upper and lower mounting portions 29 (arm plates 26)
Sandwiches the guide rib 22 up and down via the support step portion 31. In other words, the support step 31 performs vertical positioning, and the fulcrum 32
Is trying to position it backwards.

In order to restrict the forward tilting of the spring arm 25, each of the upper and lower face plates 11 and 12 has a restriction protrusion 34. In FIG. 5, the restricting projections 34 are formed so as to project from the supporting step portions 31 of the left and right guide ribs 22, and a restricting wall 35 facing the mounting portion 29 is formed at the inner end of the case of each projection 34. It is formed in a downward slope. By connecting to the protruding base end of the restriction wall 35,
The holding projection 36 for the magnetic shield 9 is formed in a stepped shape.

In the state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in which the tape guide block 14 is assembled between the upper and lower face plates 11 and 12, the vertical height of the tape 2 is regulated by the projecting end face of the regulating projection 34, and the support step 31 is It is in a state of overlapping and contacting the front side of the projecting end face in a vertical positional relationship. The holding projection 36 for the magnetic shield 9 is a fulcrum
It adheres to the upper and lower end faces of 32. In this state, the arm plate 26 is sandwiched by the regulation projection 34 and the support step portion 31 on the lower surface plate 12 side with a slight up and down play, and the fulcrum portion 32 and the regulation wall 35 move slightly back and forth. The pad device 8 is positioned and supported in the up-down direction and the front-rear direction. Positioning support is similarly performed on the upper surface plate 11 side.

In the illustrated example, similar regulating projections 34 are also arranged in parallel on the inner surface sides of the left and right regulating projections 34 facing each other.

According to the pad support structure as described above, the upper and lower face plates 11 and 12
Since the regulation protrusion 34 is provided on the side, the support step portion 31 and the fulcrum portion 32 can be formed by die cutting back and forth without causing an undercut, and the guide rib 22 as well as the other four guide ribs 21 can be formed.
Can also be formed on precise vertical planes.

Further, with respect to the spring arm 25 of the pad device 8, the distance between the left and right bending fulcrums can be set larger than the distance between the facing surfaces of the left and right guide ribs 22, so that the spring characteristic of the spring arm 25 can be made suitable, and the tape guide pin It is possible to obtain an appropriate head touch equivalent to or higher than that of the conventional tape cartridge that utilizes the spring arm 25 for the forward tilt regulation.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention, in which the shape of the spring arm 25 is different from that of the first embodiment.

That is, the spring arms 25 are juxtaposed left and right from the center of the back surface of the pad 24, and the rectangular frame-shaped mounting portions 29 are integrally punched and formed at the left and right ends thereof. In this case, the punching width b of the mounting portion 29 is set to be larger than the lateral thickness of the guide rib 22.

In a state where the pad device 8 is inserted into the guide rib 22 from the front side and mounted, one of the inner edges 29a and 29a of the mounting portion 29 contacts one of the facing surface walls of the guide rib 22, and the spring arm 25 moves in the left-right direction. Position. Therefore, the pad 24
And the contact center of the magnetic head can be made more accurate.

[Third Embodiment] FIG. 8 shows a third embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention, in which the arm plate 26 extends from the rear center of the pad 24.
Is extended in an X shape, and horizontal mounting portions 29 are continuously provided at the left and right ends thereof, and the upper and lower mounting portions 29 are connected to each other by the side plate 27 so that the entire shape of the spring arm 25 is laid sideways.
So that it has a "character shape."

[Fourth Embodiment] FIG. 9 shows a fourth embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention. The mounting portion 29 of the spring arm 25 in the second embodiment is shown in FIG.
Therefore, the side plate 27 is omitted and the mounting portion 29 is formed in a U-shape.

Thus, the side plate 27 is not always necessary, and the side plate 27 can be omitted in the third embodiment as well.

[Fifth Embodiment] FIG. 10 shows a fifth embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention, in which a fulcrum portion 32 is provided on the lateral outer side of the supporting step portion 31 to further increase the distance between the fulcrums. As described above, the fulcrum portion 32 does not necessarily have to be provided at the back end of the support step portion 31.

[Another embodiment example]

In addition, the middle frame 13 can be omitted in the first embodiment, and in this case, the conventional half case system in which the peripheral side wall corresponding to the middle frame is integrally plastic-molded with the upper and lower face plates 11 and 12 can be used.

〔The invention's effect〕

In the present invention, the spring arm 25 of the pad device 8 is replaced by the guide rib 22.
The supporting step portion 31 and the fulcrum portion 32 provided at the upper and lower ends are used for positioning and supporting, and the forward tilting regulation is performed by the regulating projection 34 provided on the upper and lower face plates 11 and 12. Therefore, when forming the tape guide block 14 provided with the positioning structure for the pad device 8, it is possible to perform die cutting in the front-rear direction without any trouble.
The vertical accuracy of the front end guide surface of the guide rib 22 can be ensured, the running posture of the tape 2 before and after the magnetic head can be optimized, and the signal recording / reproducing characteristics can be improved.

Since the mounting portion 29 of the spring arm 25 is supported by the guide rib 22 in a state where the mounting portion 29 crosses the support step portion 31, it is possible to easily set the position of the bending fulcrum of the spring arm 25 to the left and right outer sides of the opposing wall surfaces of the left and right guide ribs 22, The distance between the fulcrums of the spring arms 25 can be made sufficiently large. As a result, the spring characteristics of the spring arm 25 can be optimized, and the head touch of the pad 24 can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 6 show a first embodiment of a tape cartridge according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part, FIG. 2 is an overall plan view of the inside, and FIG. 3 is a main part. 4 is an enlarged plan view of FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view. FIG. 7 is a front view of a pad device showing a second embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is a front view of a pad device showing a third embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a front view of a pad device showing a fourth embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention. FIG. 10 is a plan view of an essential part showing a fifth embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention. 1 ... Main body case, 2 ... Tape, 7 ... Head insertion window, 8 ... Pad device, 11 ... Top plate, 12 ... Bottom plate, 14 ... Tape guide block, 21 ... Guide rib, 22 ... … Guide ribs, 24 …… pads, 25 …… spring arms, 26 …… arm plates, 29 …… mounting parts, 31 …… supporting steps, 32 …… fulcrum parts, 34 …… regulating protrusions.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A tape guide block 14 made of plastic and a pad device 8 between the upper and lower plates 11 and 12 of the main body case 1.
In the tape cartridge having guide ribs 22 for integrally guiding the tape 2 on the left and right sides of the front surface of the tape guide block 14, the pad device 8 includes the pad 24 and the pad 24. Each of the guide ribs 22 includes a supporting spring arm 25 and a pair of upper and lower mounting portions 29 provided near the left and right ends of the spring arm 25, and is located on the left and right inner surfaces of the head insertion window 7.
In addition, a pair of upper and lower support step portions 31 for supporting the attachment portion 29 are formed by notching both upper and lower ends thereof, and in the pad device 8, the attachment portion 29 has a support step portion 31 with respect to the guide ribs 22. And a pair of upper and lower fulcrum portions 32 provided on the side of each guide rib 22 and restriction protrusions 34 provided on the upper and lower face plates 11 and 12, respectively.
A tape cartridge characterized by being positioned in the front-back direction.