JPH06150611A - Tape cassette and its tape reel energization method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce the whole manufacturing cost of a tape cassette by providing a pair of reel springs formed in one body with a cassette cover. CONSTITUTION: The video tape cassette includes an external member namely a base 12 and the other external frame namely the cover 14. The assembled base 12 and cover 14 house a pair of tape reels 16 and 18. There is a flat part 24 at the central part of the cover 14 and reel springs 26 and 28 arranged here are formed of the same material and by the same mold as those of the cassette cover 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cassette, and more particularly to a tape cassette in a tape cassette.
Video for supporting the reel hub in a rotatable form
The present invention relates to a reel leaf spring of a tape cassette cover and a removable dust door cooperating therewith.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Prior art video tape cassettes include a base and cover, each made of plastic. The assembled base and cover each have a pair of tape reels that include a hub for winding magnetic recording tape thereon.

Cassettes also typically include independent reel leaf springs, that is, stamped springs from metal or alloy leaf pieces, thereby "casting reel leaf for video tape cassettes." As described in Applicant's US Pat. No. 4,662,579 entitled "Spring", the arms are bent to extend from either side of the mid-plane portion of the spring. The central plane portion of the reel leaf spring includes a hole for receiving a protrusion formed on the central flat portion on the back surface of the cover. The free ends of the protruding portions extend around the holes and are swaged or otherwise formed to permanently retain the leaf spring against the cover.

With the above arrangement, when the cover, including the reel leaf spring, is incorporated into the base, both free ends of the spring arms contact the respective tape reel hubs and urge the tape reels downward. Thus, the tape reel is held rotatable in the correct position with the appropriate pressure to interface the tape player / recorder. That is, when the cassette is placed in the tape player / recorder, the tape player / recorder spindle is inserted into the hub,
Lift the reel against the force of the spring. When the cassette is not in the tape player / recorder, the spring urges the reel against the base and reel rotation is well known to those skilled in the art to prevent rotation of the reel. Also, the teeth on the cassette base can cooperate with the teeth on the reel to lock the reel (the applicant's co-pending U.S. patent application number "Static Tape Cassette Reel Lock"). No. 07 / 471,648).

The assembly of this spring is relatively labor intensive. That is, the spring must be stamped and folded, the hole must be accurately formed, the corresponding protrusion must be molded on the cassette cover, and the spring must have the hole. Must be mounted so that it properly receives and the protrusions must be secondary formed. Of course, all of these steps are raising the price of the entire cassette.

Furthermore, after the spring is placed on the cover and before the permanent connection, the spring may be displaced relative to the protrusion during the assembly process.

Further, with respect to cassettes, as with all consumer products made of plastic, it is necessary to devise some way of recycling rather than simply disposing of the product in a landfill. Of course, the more difficult and costly it is to separate different materials such as metal and plastic, such as separating the spring from the cassette cover in the case of the present invention, and the more costly it is to recycle. The incentive is low.

Applicant's co-pending US patent application Ser. No. 458,428, entitled "Reel Leaf Spring / Cassette Cover Combination and Assembly Method," discloses a protrusion or ramp formed on a cassette cover. A reel leaf spring is described that removably cam fits or fits between. This structure facilitates assembly and recycling by making it easier to install and remove the metal reel leaf springs from the cassette cover. Further, the applicant's co-pending patent application, entitled "Wire Reel Leaf Spring / Cassette Cover Combination and Assembly Method," describes a metal wire reel leaf spring that also shares these characteristics. is doing.

However, the reel leaf springs described above are not yet the most cost-effective and the easiest to assemble and recycle.

Further, prior art cassettes include a spring biased pivotable dust door which protects the tape from dust, contact, etc. when closed. An example of such a dust door is described in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,093, entitled "Tape Cassette Dust Door Spring Assembly and Assembly Method Thereof". The magnetic head of the player / recorder allows access to the tape when the door is normally opened automatically by the tape player / recorder when the cassette is placed.

Incorporating such a dust door into a cassette includes molding the door, forming the spring, mounting the spring on the dust door, loading the spring on the cassette, and manufacturing and mounting the dust door latch and associated spring. And loading, and biasing attachment of the dust door between the base and cover is required so that the base and cover engage during assembly. This many steps are not very cost effective. Further, there is a possibility that parts such as dust and door springs may be improperly adjusted during manufacture, shipping, handling or use and may not operate properly.

Finally, none of the prior art dust doors cooperate with reel springs to improve elastic life.

Applicant's US copending patent application no. 610,585, entitled "Removable Dust Door Incorporating Tape Reel Lock", describes a removable dust door. However, this also does not cooperate with the reel spring.

Therefore, the dust doors described above are not yet the most cost effective, they are not the easiest to assemble and recycle, and they are not combined with reel springs in any way.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a reel spring and dust door that contributes to reducing the overall manufacturing cost of tape cassettes.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide reel springs and dust doors that are more ecological than their counterparts in the prior art by promoting material and energy conservation.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a tape cassette which requires fewer parts than prior art tape cassettes.

It is also an object of the present invention to integrate the two separate members conventionally used in a cassette into one integrally molded member which can fulfill the functions of the two independent members. is there.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a dust door which does not require the assembly of multiple parts into a video cassette or the attachment of independent biasing means.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a reel spring that does not require assembly of parts into a video cassette.

It is also an object of the present invention to integrate the function of the reel spring into the dust door.

To increase reliability, a reel spring / removable dust door combination for a video tape cassette with no moving or moving parts is provided, except for the cooperation of the dust door and reel spring. It is also an object of the invention.

[0023]

To achieve these and other objects of the invention, and in accordance with the objects of the invention, there is provided a pair of reel springs integrally molded to the cassette cover. ing. The reel spring is molded inside at a constant angle to the plane of the cover. When the cover is mated with the base with the tape reel in between, a spring pushes the tape reel against the cassette base, where it is locked against rotation by other means. It Also provided is a removable dust door forming an extension having a pair of spaced apart protrusions. When the dust door is placed on the cassette, the extension contacts the cassette cover, the protrusion extends into a corresponding opening formed around the reel spring, contacts the spring, and Hold the tape reel against the base. Therefore,
No spring fatigue until the door is removed. When the dust door is manually removed from the cassette, the protrusions disengage from the reel spring, exposing the tape to make contact with the tape player / recorder.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows a video tape cassette according to the invention, which cassette is generally designated by the reference numeral 10. The cassette 10 includes an outer frame member or base 12 made of plastic resin and another outer frame or cover 14, respectively. Assembled base 12 and cover 1
4 is a pair of tape reels 16 and 18 in a known manner.
Is stored. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, tape reels 16 and 18, respectively, include hubs 20 and 22, respectively, around which magnetic recording tape is wound. The tape reels 16 and 18 respectively include a hub 2 to protect the upper and lower edges of the tape 23.
It includes a pair of flanges 21 coaxially secured to the top and bottom of 0 and 22.

At the center of the cassette cover 14, there is a flat portion 24 where spaced apart reel springs 26 and 28 are formed of the same material and of the same mold as the cassette cover 14. ing. Springs 26 and 28
Is an elongated spring integrally molded with the cassette cover 14 in the preferred embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each spring 26, 28 preferably includes a base 30 which connects to the central flat portion 24 of the cover 14. Each spring 26, 28 is
A dust door 13 that is flat and in front of the cassette 10.
Away from and downward toward the cassette base 12 about 20 degrees to 25 degrees relative to the plane of the flat portion 24.
Extend at an angle of degrees. This angle may be modified by the resin selected and the thickness of the springs 26, 28. Each spring 2
6, 28 include two converging sides 32 and 34 which terminate in a straight free end 36. Of course, the sides 32, 34
May be parallel. Each spring 26, 28 extends from the cover 12 to the side 3 as indicated by reference numeral 38.
Spaced adjacent to 2, 34 and end 36 allows springs 26, 28 to flex freely with respect to cassette cover 14. This spacing also defines the openings 42,44 into which the protrusions 72,74 of the removable dust door 50 will be described, as described below.
Is extended.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cover 14
And the springs 26, 28 when the base 12 is engaged.
Is extruded by the tape reel hubs 20, 22 to bend upwards toward the portion 24, as indicated by the arrow "A". As a result, the portion 40 of the springs 26, 28 exerts pressure on the upper surface 41 of the hubs 20, 22 to bias the hubs 20, 22 as indicated by the arrow "B".

According to the present invention, for example, if the base 12 is found to be defective after the base 12 and cover 14 are assembled, then the cassette 10 need only be disassembled and the cover 14 including the reel springs 26, 28 is It can be reused and the base 12 can be melted and reformed if desired.

An advantage of this reel spring invention is that it is not necessary to stamp the spring from a flat plate of stainless steel. The reel springs 26 and 28 are made of the same material as the cassette cover 14. Therefore, there is no prior art process of manufacturing stamped springs, as the prior art processes of spring stamping, hole formation, assembly, etc. can be omitted.

With the present invention, no modification of the mold to form the cassette base 12 need be made, only modification of the mold for the cover 14.

Furthermore, the cost of manufacturing a stamped leaf spring is no longer present, since no metal is used. Cheaper plastics can be used to make reel springs. The plastic material that once occupied a portion of the cassette cover was simply transformed into springs 26, 28. There is also no risk of the spring moving during assembly.
Of course, these features also lead to a reduction in the overall cost of the cassette.

In addition, if the cover needs to be recycled (for example, a tape cassette return policy will be initiated in the future to protect energy and resources, as is currently done with plastic bottles), There is no need to separate the metal spring from the plastic cover. This advantage reduces recycling costs, facilitates remelting of the cassette cover for plastic reuse, and makes recycling more attractive overall.

In the above first embodiment, the conventional dust
The door 13 was used, but instead of this, in particular FIGS.
The tape cassette 10 according to the present invention also includes a removable dust door 50, as shown in FIG.
The front portion 52 of the dust door 50 includes an extension wall 54, a vertical wall 56, left and right corner portions 58 and 60, and lower retainers 59 and 6.
Including 1. The wall 54 has a dust door 50 for the cassette 10.
Substantially helps protect the tape 23 from foreign matter, contact, etc. when coupled to the. Front wall 5 of dust door 50
Advertising or labeling can also be attached to 4.

The rear portion 62 of the dust door 50 includes an extension 64 with two arms 66, 68 extending substantially at a right angle from the wall 56, which arm is a third arm parallel to the wall 56. Connect with 70. The third arm 70 includes a curved relief 71 that can receive a user's thumb nail to facilitate removal of the dust door 50.

The dust door 50 also includes a pair of protrusions 72 and 74. The protrusions 72, 74 are preferably integrally formed with the dust door 50 during molding thereof. As can be seen in FIGS. 4-6 and 9, the protrusions 72, 74 include a flat base member 76 and an elongated flat, vertical member 78. Vertical member 78
Includes a hook member 80. Each member 76, 7
8 and 80 are formed at the intersections of the arms 66 and 68 and the arm 70.

The openings 42,44 formed in the cassette cover 14 receive the projections 72,74 respectively when the dust door 50 is moved to the closed position on the tape cassette 10. In this way, foreign matter, dust, etc. are prevented from entering the openings 42, 44 when the cassette 10 is not in use.

Further, FIG. 5 illustrates that the dust door 50 according to the present invention is separated from the cassette 10 or
It is a perspective view when it is being connected to. When connecting, the extension 64 of the dust door 50
Move at a slightly upward angle towards. The dust door corners 58, 60 are typically the retracted front corners 90 of the cassette.
The shape of its front corners, which are shaped to be received by a conventional dust door, is usually dominated by the shape of conventional dust doors. The retainers 59, 61 are received by the lower front edge of the cassette base 12. The extension 64 is pushed down against the cassette cover 14 so that the projections 72,74 penetrate the openings 42,44 and the hooks 80 snap under the outer edges 92 of the openings 42,44. Makes a sound and closes.

The protrusions 72 and 74 are formed by the molded spring 2.
It functions to contact and push down 6, 28. this is,
Helps maintain the resilience of the plastic springs 26, 28 for the expected life of the cassette 10. By way of example, the protrusions 72, 74 ensure that the springs 26, 28 are unloaded during storage or shipping (which may involve a hot environment). Plastic springs can lose their properties over time under load and heat conditions.

When leaving, the reverse procedure is followed. That is, by disposing the thumb nail in the curved relief 71, the extension portion 64 is lifted slightly upward and is bent slightly, so that the protrusions 72 and 74 are opened.
Protruding underneath edge 44 of 2,44, and dust door 50 is also removed, exposing tape 23 to the tape player / recorder.

The operation of disconnecting / connecting is the cassette base 1
It can be seen that it can be done with 2 above or below. In either position, the cassette 10 can be held, for example, with the left hand, the dust door 50 with the right hand, and the dust door 50 can be pulled out for removal and pushed out for connection.

The closed position of the dust door 50 is the state when the tape cassette 10 is not operating in the tape player / recorder, for example, for transportation, handling, and storage. Dust door 5 in this position
0 protects the tape from dust, contact, etc. Cassettes with these dust doors are not accidentally inserted into the tape player / recorder because the thickness added by the dust doors prevents the tape player / recorder from accepting cassettes. The user must remove the dust door 50 from the closed position in the above manner before loading the cassette into the tape player / recorder. Thus, the dust door 50 will not be used until the use of the tape cassette 10 in the tape player / recorder is complete.

In the first embodiment described above, a prior art dust door is used. In this first embodiment, the opening 4 is made as the extension 64 described above does.
It is desirable to incorporate a separate member that has both the function of closing 2,44 and contacting the springs 26,28. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, tape cassette 10 may include a substantially rectangular removable member 100. Front part 102
Includes a curved relief 104 that can receive a user's thumb nail for ease of removal.

Member 100 also includes a pair of similar protrusions 106 and 108 (not shown). The protrusions 106, 108 are preferably integrally formed with the member 100 during molding thereof, and also the protrusions 72, 7 described above.
4 includes a hook member 110.

When mounting the member 100, the member 100 is moved toward the cassette 10 and the cassette cover 1
4 downward, so that the protrusions 106, 10
8 is inserted into the openings 42,44 and the hook 110 snaps under the outer edges of the openings 42,44. This method prevents foreign matter, dust, etc. from entering through the openings 42, 44 when the cassette 10 is not in use.

The protrusions 106 and 108 have a function of contacting and pushing down the molded springs 26 and 28. Again, this helps to maintain the elasticity of the plastic springs 26, 28. That is, the protrusions 106 and 108 are
Ensure that 6, 28 are not under load during storage, shipping, etc.

The user must remove the member 100 from the above closed position before loading the cassette 10 into the tape player / recorder. Thus, the member 100 will not be used until the use of the tape cassette 10 in the tape player / recorder is complete.

【effect】

Thus, the present invention makes good use of the space defined by the spring's flexible tolerances, so that the hub is held firmly against the base during shipping or storage, but the spring does not It doesn't work. This space is
The removable dust door 50 or removable member 100 described above fills this. In either case, the protrusions 72, 74 and 106, 108 are
Abut the springs 26, 28 and thus tape to the base.
The reel is pressed, where the tape reel is locked against rotation by other means. The removable dust door 50 or member 100 covers the openings 42,44 formed around the springs 26,28 to prevent foreign objects from entering the cassette 10.

As can be seen from the above description, one aspect of the present invention is
One embodiment integrates a conventional, separate, multi-part, spring-biased dust door and dust door latch into a single piece. Furthermore, this 1
Since each member uses plastic molding, 1
It can be efficiently manufactured as individual parts and is much easier to assemble than its conventional counterparts. The downtime of the assembly station, which is a characteristic of the assembly, which the conventional counterparts have, can be eliminated.

This relatively simple design allows for automatic assembly of the removable dust door on the tape cassette during manufacture. The design also allows consumers to easily remove the dust door, insert the tape into a tape player / recorder for use, remove the tape after use, and reinstall the dust door. .

In addition, a cassette or tape player /
There is no need to make significant changes to established standards for recorder design or operation.

Furthermore, since it is common practice to make a cassette and load tape into it, the present invention allows the dust door to be added after loading the tape and assembling the cassette. . this is,
It facilitates tape loading.

Further, the assembly of the entire cassette is easy. This is due in particular to the elimination of spring loading on the dust door and dust door latch. It also eliminates the conventional practice of having to install a dust door between the cassette base and the cover during the assembly process. Lastly, the dust door / reel leaf spring combination has no moving parts, so operation is more reliable.

The above should be considered as exemplifying only the principles of the invention. Moreover, since many modifications and variations can be made by those skilled in the art,
It is not desirable to limit the precise construction and operation shown and described. For example, while the tape cassettes described above are intended for use in video tape players / recorders, the invention is equally applicable to tape cassettes used in audio and other playback / recording devices. it can. Furthermore, although the reel spring is characterized in that it is formed on the cover, the spring can also be formed on the cassette base if desired. Finally, as long as one part biases against the tape reel hub, it will have different spring shapes (
Curved, triangular, etc.) are possible. Also, the spring is
It can have an arcuate rectangular shape and connect at both ends of the cassette and have a center parallel to the axis of the cassette. Accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents are considered to be within the scope of the invention and the appended claims.

[Brief description of drawings]

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

1 is a plan view of a tape cassette according to the invention, showing an integral reel spring formed in particular in a cover, but with a dust door according to the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a reel spring formed in a cover.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of one reel spring integrally formed by urging the upper surface of the tape reel hub.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a tape cassette cover according to the present invention, showing in particular a removable dust door integrated with an integral reel spring.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the dust door disassembled / assembled in relation to the cover.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a hook formed on a dust door extension that mates with an opening formed in the tape cassette cover.

FIG. 7: Removable dust assembled on the cover
It is a side view of a door.

FIG. 8 is a top view of a removable dust door.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a removable dust door.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a removable member used in the first embodiment described above.

[Explanation of reference symbols] 10 cassette 12 base 14 cover 16,18 tape reel 26,28 reel spring 50 dust door 72,74 protrusion 100 removable member

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ————————————————————————————————————————————————— Inventor Craig Labecky, Maine, USA 04064 Old Orchard Beach Washington Avenue 62

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A first cassette outer frame member, (b) a second cassette outer frame member connected to the first cassette outer frame member, and (c) arranged in both outer frame members, And at least one tape reel movable between the first and second positions, the first reel being in contact with the second cassette outer frame member and the second position being spaced from the second cassette outer frame member. A tape reel having the tape reel; and (d) spring means formed integrally with the first cassette outer frame member and biasing the at least one tape reel from the second position to the first position. ·cassette. 2. A removable dust door that contacts spring means, holds said at least one tape reel in a first position, and removes the load on the spring means.
The tape cassette according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. A pair of flat reel springs, wherein the spring means are separated from each other and extend from the first cassette outer frame member while being connected to the first cassette outer frame member, and each spring is a tape reel. The tape cassette of claim 1, wherein the tape cassette is configured to bias against. 4. The tape cassette of claim 3, wherein each spring further comprises a first end connecting to the first cassette outer frame member, an opposite free end, and two opposite sides. 5. A cover for covering the opening formed at the position of the spring in the first cassette outer frame member and in contact with the spring for holding the tape reel in the first position and removing the load on the spring. 5. The tape cassette according to claim 4, further comprising a removable member including contact means. 6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising a dust door.
The listed tape cassette. 7. The tape cassette of claim 5, wherein the removable member includes a portion that is a dust door. 8. The abutment means includes a protrusion formed on the removable member, the end of which includes a hook, the spring contacting the protrusion and the hook in the first cassette outer frame member. 6. The tape cassette of claim 5, which engages an opening in the. 9. (a) a first cassette outer frame member, (b) a second cassette outer frame member connected to the first cassette outer frame member, and (c) arranged in both outer frame members, And two tape reels that are movable between the first position and the second position, contacting the second cassette outer frame member at the first position, and the second cassette outer frame member at the second position. Tape reel with spacing, (d)
A pair of spaced apart flat reels integrally molded with the first cassette outer frame member and extending from the first cassette outer frame member to bias the tape reel from the second position to the first position. A spring, (e) a removable dust door, and (f) a protrusion formed on the removable dust door and terminating in a hook, wherein the spring has the protrusion in the first position. Configured to contact the tape reel to retain the tape reel and remove a load on the spring, and wherein the hook engages an opening formed in the first cassette frame member at the position of the spring.
Tape cassette. 10. (a) (1) A first outer frame member including integrally formed spring means, (2) a second outer frame member, (3) a second outer frame member, and A pair of tape reels movable between a first position and a second position, the tape reel being in contact with the second outer frame member at the first position and having a space from the second outer frame member at the second position. And (b) connecting the first and second outer frame members so that the spring means contacts the tape reel and moves it to the second position. Urging the tape reel of the tape cassette. 11. A removable dust door having a protrusion is assembled on the first outer frame member so that the protrusion contacts the spring means to hold the tape reel in the second position, and 11. The method of claim 10, comprising removing the load on the spring means.