JP2003242744A - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To improve the rotation accuracy of a reel in a tape cartridge having a reel in which a tape is wound inside a main body case. SOLUTION: The reel 3 has a central core part 11 and an upper flange 12 integrally formed at an upper end thereof. A fixed lower flange 15 for receiving the lower end edge of the tape winding body 26 is integrally formed of plastic on the body case 1 side.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cartridge having a reel in which a tape is wound in a main body case.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a tape cartridge having one reel in a main body case, there is one for backing up computer data. The reel there has a winding core portion for winding the tape in a roll shape, and upper and lower flanges formed to project from the upper and lower ends of the winding core portion to the outer periphery.

[0003]

In recent years, there has been a demand for speeding up recording / reproducing operations by tape drives. As one form of increasing the speed of such a tape drive, it is considered to increase the rotation speed of the tape reel so that the tape runs at high speed. However, in the conventional type reel in which the upper and lower flanges are integrated with the core part, due to poor molding accuracy of the flange (thickness difference, etc.) or accuracy of assembling the flange to the core part, there is a weight imbalance and the reel rotation center However, there was a problem that the reel caused a Dutch roll motion at high speed rotation, and in the worst case, the flange came into contact with the inner wall surface of the main body case and was damaged, resulting in malfunction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to further improve the rotation performance of the reel and thereby improve the reliability of the tape cartridge.

[0005]

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention is a tape cartridge having a reel 3 around which a tape 2 is wound in a main body case 1, and a winding core portion 11 of the reel 3 is provided. It is characterized in that at least one of the upper and lower edges of the tape winding body 26 wound around is received by a fixed flange provided on the main body case 1 side.

Specifically, the winding flange 11 of the reel 3 receives the upper flange 12 of the upper end of the tape winding body 26.
The lower flange 15 that receives the lower end edge of the tape winding body 26 is fixed to the main body case 1 side. There, the upper flange 12 can be integrally plastic-molded with the winding core 11, and the lower flange 15 can be integrally plastic-molded with the main body case 1 side.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, on the reel 3, a small diameter auxiliary flange 13 is formed in a disk shape so as to project on the outer periphery of the lower end of the winding core 11, and a drive shaft 17 on the tape drive side is wound around the winding core. When the reel 3 is driven to rotate by being engaged with the portion 11, the upper surface of the auxiliary flange 13 is placed on the lower flange 15.
It is designed to be flush with the upper surface of the. Here, it is predicted that the reel 3 can move up and down in the main body case 1, and the upper surface of the auxiliary flange 13 is located below the upper surface of the lower flange 15 when the reel 3 is lowered and is not in use.

[0008]

According to the present invention, at least one of the upper and lower flanges is fixed to the body case side so that it does not rotate together with the winding core. Therefore, the reel of the present invention is
As compared with the conventional type in which the winding core portion is provided with upper and lower flanges, the rotational load of the reel due to the drive shaft of the tape drive can be reduced, and the rotational accuracy of the reel can be improved. In particular, since the probability of occurrence of molding strain in the flange portion can be suppressed to a low level, the center of rotation of the reel does not shift, and in this respect also, the rotation accuracy can be improved. Therefore, the rotation stability of the reel is improved, and the reliability of the tape cartridge is improved.

The reel has only an upper flange on the winding core,
When the lower flange is fixed to the main body case, the tape winding body that is wound around the winding core is placed on the upper surface of this lower flange, and there is no vertical movement or shake on the lower flange. The winding property of the revolving body is improved.

Further, when the drive shaft on the tape drive side engages with the core portion to rotate and drive the reel, the upper surface of the auxiliary flange on the outer periphery of the lower end of the core portion and the lower flange fixed to the main body case side. When the upper surface and the upper surface are flush with each other, it is possible to prevent the tape winding body from being in a step winding state due to a step on both upper surfaces.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (First Embodiment) FIGS.
Shows a single-reel type used for backing up computer data as a first embodiment of the tape cartridge according to the present invention, and is a corner formed by joining upper and lower plastic cases 1a and 1b in a lid-like manner. Inside the box-shaped main body case 1, one reel 3 around which the tape 2 is wound is rotatably provided. This reel 3 is the main case 1
Located on the drive shaft insertion hole 6 provided at the center of the bottom wall 5 of
It can be moved up and down slightly within the body case 1.

In FIG. 2, the main body case 1 has a tape outlet 7 on the front surface. A lid 9 that opens and closes the tape outlet 7 is slidably provided on the main body case 1. The lid 9 is closed and biased by a spring (not shown). Reference numeral 10 is connected to the feeding end of the tape 2,
It is a leading conductor that is captured and connected by a connecting tool on the tape drive side. When loaded in the tape drive, the tape 2 is pulled out to the outside of the front surface of the main body case 1 via the front conductor 10.

In FIG. 1, the reel 3 has a core portion 11 to which the tape ends are connected and the tape 2 is wound around the outer circumference.
An upper flange 12 integrally formed on the outer circumference of the upper end of the winding core 11 and a small-diameter disk-shaped auxiliary flange 13 formed on the outer circumference of the lower end of the winding core 11 are integrally formed. It is a plastic molded product.

Lower flange 15 to be provided on the reel 3
Is integrally plastic-molded on the body case 1 side. That is, the lower case 1b is integrally formed with the lower flange 15 inside the bottom wall 5 of the lower case 1b, which is connected to the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral side surface 16 of the lower case 1b. This lower flange 1
The upper surface of 5 is finished horizontally.

When the tape cartridge is loaded in the tape drive, the drive shaft 17 on the tape drive side is moved through the drive shaft insertion hole 6 as shown in FIG.
, So that the reel 3 is rotationally driven in a slightly lifted state. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 19 is a winding core portion 11.
Passive teeth provided on the lower surface of the bottom wall 20 of the drive shaft 21
Drive teeth are provided on the 7 side, and the drive teeth 21 mesh with the passive teeth 19 to drive the reel 3 to rotate.

The lower flange 15 has an opening 22 at the center, and a receiving surface 23 is formed in a stepped shape at the peripheral edge of the central opening 22. Auxiliary flange 13 on reel 3 side
The lower surface 25 of the outer peripheral edge portion 24 having a reduced thickness is the lower flange 1
5, the lower surface 25 is received by the receiving surface 23 when the reel 3 descends.

That is, the reel 3 when not in use has the tape 2 fully wound around it and descends by its own weight. Reference numeral 26 is a tape winding body wound around the reel 3. When the reel 3 is allowed to move up and down slightly, the lower surface 25 of the outer peripheral edge portion 24 of the auxiliary flange 13 is received by the receiving surface 23 of the lower flange 15, thereby restricting the lowering limit of the reel 3. ing.

Next, when the drive shaft 17 on the tape drive side slightly lifts and engages with the reel 3, the upper surface of the auxiliary flange 13 and the upper surface of the lower flange 15 become surfaces as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. The tape 2 is formed into a single shape, and in this state, the tape 2 is unwound and wound from the reel 3. The lower end of the tape winding body 26 is received by the upper surface of the auxiliary flange 13 and then the upper surface of the lower flange 15, and the upper end of the tape 2 is appropriately brought into contact with the upper flange 12 to restrict upward projection.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the reel 3 is formed by integrally molding a lower flange 15 on the outer periphery of the lower end of the winding core 11 to form a main body. A fixed upper flange 12 is integrally plastic-molded on the case 1 side, that is, on the upper case 1a side. According to this, the center of gravity of the reel 3 is located below because the upper flange 12 is not present on the reel 3 side, and the rotation performance of the reel 3 is improved. The other structure is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the reel 3 has only a core portion 11 integrally formed with an auxiliary flange 13 at the lower end of the outer periphery. However, the upper and lower flanges 12 and 15 are both body case 1
It is integrally molded with plastic on the side. According to this, in the reel 3, the part rotated by the drive shaft 17 is the core part 1.
Since only one is used, the rotational load on the drive shaft 17 can be further reduced and the rotational performance of the reel 3 can be improved as compared with the first and second embodiments. Since other configurations are substantially the same as those of the first and second embodiments, the same members are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

The lower flange 15 of the first and third embodiments is formed separately from the bottom wall 5 of the main body case 1 for convenience of description, but the upper surface of the bottom wall 5 is the same. May be directly on the upper surface of the lower flange 15. The upper flange 12 of the second embodiment is also the main body case 1, that is, the upper case 1.
It can be formed on the inner surface of the upper wall of a. A slippery sheet is attached to the fixed upper flange 12 in the second embodiment, and particularly to the fixed lower flange 15 in the first and third embodiments in order to reduce the sliding contact resistance with the tape winding body 26. A lubricity imparting means can be provided. The tape cartridge to which the present invention is directed also includes a form in which the reels 3 on which the tape 2 is wound are accommodated on the left and right sides of the inside of the main body case 1.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional front view of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional front view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view of the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 body case 2 tapes 3 reel 11 winding core 12 Upper flange 13 Auxiliary flange 15 Lower flange 17 Drive shaft 26 Tape winding body

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A tape cartridge including a reel in which a tape is wound in a main body case, wherein at least one of upper and lower edges of a tape winding body wound around a reel core is provided on the main body case side. A tape cartridge characterized by being able to be received by a fixed flange. 2. The reel is provided with an upper flange for receiving the upper edge of the tape winding body on the winding core portion, and for receiving the lower edge of the tape winding body on the main body case side. The tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the lower flange is fixed. 3. A small-diameter auxiliary flange is formed on the outer periphery of the lower end of the core of the reel so as to project in a disk shape, and a drive shaft on the tape drive side is engaged with the core to form the reel. 3. The tape cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the upper surface of the auxiliary flange is flush with the upper surface of the lower flange when the tape is rotationally driven.