JPH079748B2 - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cartridge provided with a front lid for protecting a tape, and more particularly, to an improvement in a lock mechanism for holding the front lid in a closed posture when not in use. It was added.

[Conventional technology]

The present applicant has previously proposed a tape cartridge of the form shown in FIG. 6 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-281290). The front lid 6 for protecting the tape is pivotally attached to the front side of the main body case 1 so as to be freely opened and closed, and the front lid 6 is closed between the side piece 6b of the front lid 6 and the side wall 9 of the main body case 1. It has a locking mechanism.

The lock mechanism arranges the lock member 10 substantially parallel to the inner surface of the side wall 9 and engages the lock claw 13 at the tip of the lock member 10 with the recess 21 provided on the inner surface of the side piece 6b of the front lid 6. Together,
The release protrusion 14 at the rear end is formed in the opening of the side wall 9 of the main body case 1.
Projected outward from 16 A spring member 22 is interposed between the lock member 10 and the boss 19 on the inner surface of the main body case 1, and the lock member 10 is constantly locked by the spring force along the inner surface of the side wall 9 (see solid line in FIG. 6). State)).

Further, a positioning means for the lock member 10 is provided between the main body case 1 and the lock member 10. The positioning means is such that positioning ribs 18 are provided on the inner surface of the upper wall 17 of the main body case 1 in the left and right lateral directions parallel to the thickness direction of the side wall 9, while the locking member is provided.
A groove 15 is provided on the upper edge of the groove 10, and the groove 15 is slidably fitted to the positioning rib 18.

Now, for example, when it is loaded in a device such as a video tape recorder, and the release projection 14 is completely pushed straight into the case from the front in the projecting direction by the release operation member on the device side,
The locking member 10 as a whole translates under the guidance of the positioning rib 18 to an unlocking position (indicated by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 6) away from the inner surface of the side wall 9, and the locking claw 13 is recessed in the front lid 6.
Off 21. When the pressing operation force of the release operation member is released, the lock member 10 is pushed back to the original lock position along the inner surface of the side wall 9 by the spring member 22, and the lock claw 13 engages with the recess 21 of the front lid 6. Then, the release projection 14 projects from the opening 16.

However, depending on the loading mode of the device, the release projection 14 may not be pushed straight from the front in the protruding direction by the release operation member on the device side, and the release protrusion 14 may be released from the oblique direction as indicated by arrow F in FIG. It may be pushed in by the operating member Q. In such a case, the locking member 10 is likely to be twisted at the positioning rib 18 and the concave groove 15 with a slight inclination. In order to eliminate the twisting phenomenon of the lock member 10 and to reduce the sliding resistance between the positioning rib 18 and the groove 15, the shape of the groove 15 is formed as shown in FIG. That is, the inner and outer ends j · k in the left-right direction of the front sliding portion 15a of the concave groove 15 slidingly contacting the front surface of the positioning rib 18 and the positioning rib 1
8 is provided with slanted portions 23a, 23b, 24a, 24b for escaping from contact with the positioning ribs 18 at inner and outer ends k ', j'of the rear sliding portion 15b of the concave groove 15 slidingly contacting the rear surface side. The inner and outer open ends of the groove 15 are widened to the front and back, and
The lengths of a and 15b in the left-right direction were equal and were very short. According to the groove 15 having such a shape, the locking member 10 can be tilted to a large angle, so that the positioning rib 18 and the groove 15 are not twisted, and the contact area between the positioning rib 18 can be reduced.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, according to the findings of the inventor of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 7, the lock member 10 is unnecessarily excessive as shown in FIG. 9 (b) depending on the external force from the arrow F to the release projection 14. I noticed that there was a problem in that the lock claw 13 of the lock member 10 did not come off the recess 21 of the front lid 6 and remained unlocked despite the fact that the lock projection 13 was tilted greatly and the release projection 14 was pushed all the way. That is, the left and right lateral lengths between the inner and outer ends j and k of the front sliding portion 15a and the left and right lateral lengths between the inner and outer ends k ′ and j ′ of the rear sliding portion 15b are made equal to each other and made extremely short. In this case, the slidability of the positioning rib 18 and the lock member 10 is good and there is no twisting, but as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 (a) and (b), the width a of the positioning rib 18 is a.
In the clearance d (d = ba) between the groove b and the width b of the concave groove 15, the tilt angle θ ₁ = tan ⁻¹ d / l (l is
The length determined by the contact point between the inner and outer ends j and k with the positioning rib 18 and the contact point between the inner and outer ends k ′ and j ′ with the positioning rib 18 is as shown in FIG. The unlocking direction is the same as the locking direction of the lock claw 13 as shown in FIG. 9 (b). That is, θ ₁ = θ ₂ = tan
^-1 d / l relationship. When the inclination angle θ ₂ of the locking claw 13 in the locking direction is as large as the inclination angle θ ₁ of the unlocking direction as described above, the locking claw 13 moves in the unlocking direction even if the locking member 10 is moved in the unlocking direction. Will remain engaged.

Therefore, the present invention makes it easier to move the lock member 10 in the unlocking direction without being twisted regardless of the external force receiving direction of the release projection 14 by further improving the shape of the above-described conventional groove 15. The purpose is to improve the reliability of the unlocking function by ensuring that the lock can be secured without causing unnecessary tilt in the locking direction.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the main body case 1
The lock member 10 is arranged on the inner surface side of the side wall 9 of the lock member 10 or the main body case 1 so as to be movable in the left-right direction between a lock position along the inner surface of the side wall 9 and an unlock position separated from the inner surface of the side wall 9. It is premised on a tape cartridge in which a positioning rib 18 provided on one side in the lateral direction is slidably fitted in a groove 15 provided on the other side.

After that, the lateral length X ₁ of the front sliding portion 15a of the concave groove 15 slidingly contacting the front side of the positioning rib 18 is set to the positioning rib 18
It is formed to be shorter than the left-right lateral direction length X ₂ of the rear sliding portion 15b of the concave groove 15 slidingly contacting the rear surface side. Further, the positions of the inner end j and the outer end k of the front sliding contact portion 15a in the left-right direction are determined by the rear sliding portion 15b.
Side wall 9 rather than inner end k'and outer end j'of the left and right direction of
It has been moved to a closer position.

[Action]

When the concave groove 15 having the above-described shape is used, the lock member 10 is unlocked in the unlocking direction as shown in FIG. 2 (a).
Tilt angle θ ₁ = tan ⁻¹ d / l ₁ (d is the width a of the positioning rib 18
A recessed groove 15 clearance between width b of, l ₁ positioning ribs of the outer end j 'of the inner end j and rear sliding portion 15b of the front sliding portion 15a 18
(The length determined by the contact point between the contact point) and the lock direction, as shown in Fig. 2 (b), the tilt angle θ ₂ = tan ^-1 d / l ₂ (l ₂
Is the outer end k of the front sliding portion 15a and the inner end k'of the rear sliding portion 15b.
The length is determined by the contact point with the positioning rib 18), but since l ₂ > l ₁ , θ ₁ > θ ₂ can always be satisfied.
In other words, the lock member 10 is always easy to tilt in the unlock direction,
It enables movement that is difficult to tilt in the locking direction.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the tape cartridge of the present invention, the left-right lateral length X ₁ of the front sliding portion 15a in the groove 15 is
Is set shorter than the length X ₂ of the rear sliding portion 15b, and the positions of the inner end j and the outer end k of the front sliding portion 15a in the left-right direction are
Since the rear sliding portion 15b is displaced to the position closer to the side wall 9 than the inner end k'and the outer end j'in the left-right direction, the lock member 10 is easy to move in the unlocking direction and smoothly without twisting. It can be moved in that direction. Moreover, since it is difficult to tilt in the locking direction, there is no problem that the locking claw 13 remains engaged with the recess 21 when the locking member 10 moves in the unlocking direction.
14 Excellent in the reliability of the lock release function depending on the external force receiving direction.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the main body case 1 is made up of an upper case 1a and a lower case 1b that are abutted against each other and integrally connected to each other.
Is rotatably arranged. Tape 2 is one reel 3
Is reeled out into the tape loading pocket 5 on the front side of the case and wound on the other reel 4.

A front lid 6 is pivotally mounted on the front side of the main body case 1 so as to cover and protect the front side of the tape 2 drawn out to the pocket 5 when not in use, so that the front lid 6 can be opened and closed.

The front lid 6 is a plastic molded product having a main wall 6a that covers the front surface of the main body case 1 in the left-right direction, and side pieces 6b and 6b that are connected from the left and right ends of the main wall 6a toward the rear of the case. . The left and right side pieces 6b, 6b are pivotally attached to the upper case 1a via a horizontal shaft 7.7, and the front lid 6 is opened and closed around the shaft 7. A torsion coil spring 8 is attached to one of the horizontal shafts 7, one end of which is engaged with the front lid 6 side and the other end of which is engaged with the upper case 1a side, so that the front lid 6 always rotates in the closing direction. Being energized. On the inner surface side of the side piece 6b of the front lid 6, there is provided a recess 21 for engaging and disengaging a lock claw 13 of a lock member 10 described later.

A lock member 10 for holding the front lid 6 in a closed posture is housed on the inner surface side of one side wall 9 of the main body case 1 in a narrow space in front of the central portion of the side wall 9 in the front-rear direction.

In FIG. 4, the lock member 10 is a plastic molded product, and includes a base 11 made of a flat rectangular plate having a relatively wide width in the up-down direction and the front-rear direction, and a substantially central part in the up-down direction of the front end of the base 11. It is composed of a flexible arm 12 extending forward, a lock claw 13 is projected outward at the tip of the arm 12, and a pyramidal release projection 14 is projected downward on the outer surface side of the base 11. However, a groove 15 is formed in a part of the upper edge of the base 11 so as to be located directly above the release projection 14.

In FIG. 1, sliding parts 15a and 15b are formed parallel to the left and right lateral directions (inward and outward directions) at the front and rear in the concave groove 15, and at the inner end j side of the front sliding part 15a and at the rear sliding part. By forming the inclined portions 25 and 26 on the outer end j ′ side of the moving portion 15b, the left and right lateral length X ₁ of the front sliding portion 15a is set to the rear sliding portion 15b.
Is formed shorter than the horizontal length X _{2 in} the left-right direction, and the positions of the inner end j and the outer end k of the front sliding portion 15a in the left-right direction are set to the inner end k'of the rear sliding portion 15b and the outer side. It is formed so as to be shifted toward the side wall 9 from the end j '.

1 and 3, the lock member of the upper case 1a
An opening 16 is provided in a part of the side wall 9 at a position where the side wall 10 is accommodated, and a positioning rib 18 is formed on an inner surface of an upper wall 17 of the side wall 9 in the thickness direction of the side wall 9, that is, in the lateral direction. The boss 19 is provided so as to be located right above the portion 16, and the boss 19 is provided so as to project downward from the inner surface of the upper wall 17.
The side wall 9 and the side wall 9 are connected by a rib 20. The boss 19 is provided for abutting and screwing the upper case 1a and the lower case 1b together, and the positioning rib 18 exists between the base of the boss 19 and the side wall 9.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the lock member 10 is installed so as to follow the inner surface of the side wall 9 of the upper case 1a,
The release projection 14 is projected from the opening 16, the concave groove 15 is slidably fitted in the positioning rib 18, and the lock claw is also provided.
13 can be freely engaged with and disengaged from the recess 21 of the front lid 6. Lock member
A V-shaped spring member 22 is interposed between the base portion 11 and the rib 20 of 10 and the spring force constantly moves and urges the lock member 10 to the lock position along the inner surface of the side wall 9 to cause the release projection 14 to move. Opening 16
And the state in which the lock claw 13 is engaged with the recess 21 is maintained.

Now, when the tape cartridge is loaded into the device and the release protrusion 14 is pushed inward by the release operation member on the device side, the entire lock member 10 moves parallel to the unlock position away from the lock position and the side wall 9. Then, the lock claw 13 is disengaged from the recess 21 of the front lid 6. At this time, the lock member 10 has a concave groove.
Since 15 is engaged with the positioning rib 18, even if the front lid 6 is forcibly opened on the device side, the lock member 10 may move toward the front of the case and be displaced or fall off. Absent.

Further, even when the release projection 14 is pushed straight from the front side in the projecting direction by the release operation member on the device side and the release projection 14 is pushed obliquely, the lock member 10 is twisted in the unlock direction as described above. The lock claw 13 is recessed because it is easy to move without tilting in the locking direction.
The problem of not being able to release the lock as it remains engaged with 21 has disappeared.

When the pressing force applied to the release projection 14 by the release operation member is released, the lock member 10 is pushed back to the original lock position along the inner surface of the side wall 9 by the spring member 22, and the lock claw 13 is recessed in the front lid 6. The release projection 14 projects from the opening 16 by engaging with 21.

[Another embodiment]

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the length X ₁ of the front sliding portion 15a is not provided in the concave groove 15 as in the above embodiment without providing the inclined portions 25 and 26. It should be shorter than the length X ₂ of the rear sliding portion 15b, and the left and right inner and outer ends j · k of the front sliding portion 15a should be shorter than the left and right inner and outer ends k ′ · j ′ of the rear sliding portion 15b. Is also set so as to be biased to a position near the side wall 9, and other configurations are similar to those of the above-described embodiment.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of a tape cartridge according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view of the inside of the tape cartridge, FIG. 2 (a).
3B is an operation view of the lock member, FIG. 3 is a side view of a main portion, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the lock member and the spring member. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional plan view of essential parts showing another embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention. FIGS. 6 to 9 (a) and (b) show a conventional tape cartridge, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of a main part, FIG.
The figure is a plan view of the main part for explaining the malfunction of the lock member, FIG. 8 is a plan view of the main part, and FIGS. 9A and 9B are plan views of the main part for explaining the operation of the lock member. It is a figure. 1 ... Main body case, 6 ... Front lid, 9 ... Side wall, 10 ... Lock member, 15 ... Recessed groove, 15a ... Front sliding part, 15b ... Rear sliding part, 18 ... Positioning Rib, X ₁ ... left and right lateral length of front sliding part, X ₂ ... left and right lateral length of rear sliding part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A front lid 6 is provided on an inner surface of a side wall 9 of a main body case 1.
The lock member 10 that closes and locks the door when not in use is arranged so as to be translatable in the lateral direction between the lock position along the inner surface of the side wall 9 and the unlock position away from the inner surface of the side wall 9. Positioning rib on one side
18 is provided in the lateral direction, and the other side is provided with a recessed groove 15 slidably fitted to the positioning rib 18, and the front sliding portion 15a of the recessed groove 15 slidingly contacting the front side of the positioning rib 18 is provided. The horizontal length X ₁ in the left-right direction is the horizontal length X ₁ in the left-right lateral direction of the rear sliding portion 15b of the groove 15 that is in sliding contact with the rear surface of the positioning rib 18.
It is set shorter than ₂ , and the left and right lateral inner ends j and outer ends k of the front sliding portion 15a are set.
The tape cartridge is set so as to be shifted toward the side wall 9 from the inner end k'and the outer end j'of the rear sliding portion 15b in the lateral direction.