Magnetic tape cassette

Abstract: A magnetic tape cassette has a slidable braking member (16) to control the rotation of reel hubs around which a magnetic tape is wound. In order to facilitate the process of assembling the magnetic tape cassette, the braking member (16) is temporarily secured to an upper part (2) of the cassette housing with a light pressure, by the engagement of engaging recesses (2) around pins (15), at a position outside its normal slidable range. After the completion of the assembly, the braking member (16) is disengaged from the upper part (2) of the cassette housing, and thereafter it moves only within its normal slidable range in order to lock or release the reel hubs.

Description: The invention relates to magnetic tape cassettes. Such magnetic tape cassettes can, for example, be suitable for use in recording a digital signal such as a PCM (pulse code modulated) signal. PCM recording and/or reproducing apparatus has been previously proposed to record an analog audio signal on a magnetic tape or to reproduce the same therefrom in the form of a digital signal such as a PCM signal. Previously proposed PCM recording and/or reproducing apparatus employs a rotary head to provide a recording in which the PCM signal is recorded with relatively high density. In the PCM recording and/or reproducing apparatus using such a rotary head, upon recording and/or reproduction, the magnetic tape is withdrawn from a magnetic tape cassette and wrapped around a rotary drum on which the rotary head is mounted. The recording and/or reproducing is performed under this state. In a magnetic tape cassette in which a magnetic tape of the kind described above is incorporated, if the magnetic tape is smudged with fingerprints, oily compounds or dust, drop-out occurs in the reproduced signal. Therefore, the magnetic tape has to be sealed as tightly as possible so that it can be protected from fingerprints, dust and smudges. A magnetic tape cassette shown in Figs. 1 to 5 has previously been proposed for such a purpose. Fig. 1, which is a perspective view of a magnetic tape cassette of conventional kind, shows a cassette housing 1 comprising an upper part 2 and a lower part 3 secured together by suitable conventional means such as screws (now shown). A transparent window 2 a is provided integrally in the top surface of the upper part 2 so that the amounts of tape wound on each reel can be visually confirmed. Within the cassette housing 1, a pair of reel hubs 4 are rotatably inserted into a pair of reel shaft insertion apertures 5 (Fig. 2) that are formed in the lower part 3 at respectively predetermined positions. A magnetic tape 6 is wound around the pair of reel hubs 4. Fig. 2, which is a perspective, exploded view of the tape cassette of Fig. 1, shows upper and lower inserts 6 a , 6 b made of a material having a low coefficient of sliding friction with the magnetic tape 6 and respectively having guide ribs 6 c , 6 d to ensure that the magnetic tape 6 is wound smoothly and evenly on the reel hubs 4. The ribs 6 c of the upper insert 6 a are convex downwards (towards the magnetic tape), and the ribs 6 d of the lower insert 6 b are convex upwards (also towards the magnetic tape 6). Fig. 2 also shows tape guide posts 7 that are formed on the lower part 3 at a front portion thereof, one of the guide posts 7 being at a position near the right side wall of the lower part 3 and the other of the guide posts 7 being at a position near the left side wall of the lower part 3. The magnetic tape 6 is guided by the tape guide posts 7 so that it can be transported along a predetermined path at the front portion of the cassette housing. A cut-away recess portion 3 a of a substantially rectangular configuration having a predetermined width is formed on the lower part 3 and a wall 3 b is provided on the lower part 3 in such a manner as to oppose the rear side of the magnetic tape 6 guided between the tape guide posts 7. Upon recording or reproduction, a magnetic tape withdrawing guide system of a recording and/or reproducing apparatus (not shown) is inserted into this cut-away recess portion 3 a in order to withdraw the magnetic tape 6 so that it can be wrapped around the rotary drum as explained above. A front lid 8 is rotatably supported on the front portion of the cassette housing 1 by right and left arm portions 8 a of the lid 8 so as to open and/or close the front of the cassette housing 1 in which the magnetic tape 6 is contained. When the tape cassette is not in use, the front lid 8 closes the front portion of the cassette housing 1 so that the cassette housing 1 completely encloses and protects the magnetic tape 6. A slidable plate member or slider 9 is mounted on the lower face of the lower part 3 of the cassette housing 1 so as to be slidable in the front to rear direction (from left to right as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4). As Fig. 2 shows, apertures 10 corresponding to the reel shaft insertion apertures 5 are formed in the bottom portion of the slider 9 so that the apertures 10 communicate with the apertures 5 when the slider 9 is slidably moved backward so as to open the recess portion 3 a of the lower part 3. Two pairs of apertures 12 a , 12 b are formed in the bottom portion of the slider 9 at its front right and left sides with a predetermined spacing therebetween. These apertures 12 a , 12 b are elastically engageable with a pair of right and left slide plate locking members 11 provided on the bottom portion of the lower part 3 when the slider 9 is slidably moved to its forwardmost position or its rearmost position. A pin 13 is centrally implanted on the bottom portion of the slider 9 at its front end. This pin 13 is engaged with the coil portion of a torsion spring 14. One leg of the torsion spring 14 is engaged with the front wall 3 b of the lower part 3 and the other leg thereof is engaged with the front edge of the slider 9 so that the slider 9 is spring-biased by the torsion spring 14 in such a manner that it is always urged to slide forward. When the tape cassette is being stored and in general when it is not being used, the slider 9 will be in its forwardmost position to close the recess portion 3 a and the reel shaft insertion apertures 5 of the cassette housing 1 as shown in Fig. 3. Under this condition, the slider locking members 11 are engaged in the rear engaging apertures 12 a to keep the slider 9 in the position in which it closes the recess portion 3 a and the apertures 5 of the cassette housing 1. When the tape cassette is loaded into magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus (not shown), a mechanism of the magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus releases the slider locking members 11 from the rear engaging apertures 12 a , and the slider 9 is slidably moved backward (towards the right as viewed in Fig. 3) against the spring force of the torsion spring 14 to expose the recess portion 3 a and the reel shaft insertion apertures 5 of the cassette housing 1. Under this condition, the slider locking members 11 are engaged in the front engaging apertures 12 b to keep the slider 9 in its opened state (Fig. 4). Figs. 2 to 4 show a pair of limiter pins 15 formed on the inner surface of the upper part 2 at positions that respectively correspond to the positions of the left and right slide plate locking members 11 of the lower part 3. The lower ends of the limiter pins 15 are respectively opposed to the top surfaces of the slider locking members 11 with a predetermined spacing as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, thereby to prevent the slider locking members 11 from being warped inwardly too much, since the lower ends of the limiter pins 15 come into contact with the slider locking members 11 to prevent the slider locking members 11 from being broken or excessively deformed. On the inside of the upper and lower parts 2 and 3 of the cassette housing 1, there is provided a reel braking member 16 (Fig. 2) that prevents the tape reels 4 from being inadvertently or unintentionally rotated by shocks or vibration and therefore prevents the magnetic tape 6 from becoming slack. As Fig. 2 shows, the reel braking member 16 is mainly formed of an upper surface supporting plate portion 16 a extending along the inner surface of the upper part 2 and left and right leg plate portions 16 b elongate downwardly from both end portions of the upper surface supporting plate portion 16 a so that the reel braking member 16 has a cross section substantially in the shape of an inverted U. The upper surface supporting plate 16 a has formed on its rear edge a pair of braking protrusions 16 c to cooperate with ratchet wheel portions 4 a formed around each of the reel hubs 4. The lower ends of the leg portions 16 b are extended forward to form operation members 16 d at their ends. A spring 17 is attached to the upper surface supporting portion 16 a of the braking member 16 at its mid-portion. The spring 17 has its ends extended so that it is substantially V-shaped and the ends of the spring 17 are brought into contact with and bear against the rear surface of the front wall of the upper part 2. When the tape cassette is not in use, and in general whenever the front lid 8 is closed, the braking member 16 is slid rearwardly by the force of the spring 17 so that the protrusions 16 c engage the ratchet wheels 4 a of the reel hubs 4 as shown in Fig. 3 and the reel hubs 4 are prevented from rotating. When the front lid 8 is opened by clockwise rotation (clockwise rotation is moving from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 4), the ends of the arm portions 8 a of the front lid 8 press the operation members 16 d of the reel braking member 16 so that the reel braking member 16 is slidably moved forward against the spring-biasing force of the spring 17 to release the protrusions 16 c from the ratchet wheels 4 a of the reel hubs 4, thus allowing the reel hubs 4 to rotate as shown in Fig. 4. When a magnetic tape cassette having the braking member 16 is assembled in the conventional manner, the magnetic tape 6 wrapped around the reel hubs 4 is first assembled on the lower part 3 and then the braking member 16 is assembled. In this assembly process, however, the presence of the spring 17 is so disturbing that the braking member 16 cannot be assembled at the predetermined position without difficulty. Also, while the lower part 3 on which the magnetic tape 6 and the braking member 16 are temporarily assembled is being conveyed on the assembly line, the braking member 16 frequently comes out of the lower part 3. To avoid this problem, it has been recently proposed to modify this kind of magnetic tape cassette so that, during the assembly, a braking member is temporarily assembled on the upper part beforehand in the manner disclosed in Japanese laid-open utility model Gazette No. 62-39283. This previously proposed tape cassette is illustrated in Fig. 5, which is a fragmentary, cut-away side view of the upper part 2 in an inverted position. As Fig. 5 shows, openings 18 of rectangular configuration are formed in left and right portions of the upper supporting plate portion 16 a of the braking member 16 and are elongate in the direction in which the braking member 16 is slidably movable. The length of each of the rectangular openings 18 is equal to the length of the stroke made by the braking member 16 when it is engaged with or disengaged from the reel hubs 4. In correspondence with the rectangular openings 18, caulking pins 19 are formed integrally with the upper part 2, project from the lower surface of the upper part 2 and are respectively inserted in the rectangular openings 18 of the braking member 16. In this assembled condition, the top portions (as viewed in Fig. 5) of the caulking pins 9 are melted by ultrasonic welding or otherwise to form head portions 19 a whereby the braking member 16 is slidably supported on the upper part 2. In the temporary assembly of the braking member in this prior art magnetic tape cassette, a somewhat complicated process is required to caulk the caulking pins 19. Also, depending upon the caulking conditions and so on, a so-called sagging sometimes occurs below the neck portions of the head portions 19 a of the caulking pins 19, and this sagging frequently modifies the rectangular openings 18 of the braking member 16 in a manner that is deleterious to the operation of the braking member 16. In particular, after the magnetic tape cassette is fully assembled, upon use, the braking member 16 cannot be operated smoothly and cannot follow the opening and/or closing operation of the front lid 8 so that the reel hubs 4 cannot be locked positively, thereby allowing slackening of the magnetic tape 6. Moreover, when such a magnetic tape cassette is loaded into the recording and/or reproducing apparatus, jamming or mis-loading sometimes occurs. Patent Specification EP-A-144 802 discloses a magnetic tape cassette wherein a braking member is slidable within a cassette housing in a front to rear direction to lock reel hubs against rotation when a front lid of the cassette is in a closed position and to release the reel hubs for rotation when the front lid is opened. According to the invention there is provided a magnetic tape cassette comprising a cassette housing formed of an upper part and a lower part combined during assembly to form a unit, a front lid that can be moved between an open position in which it opens the cassette housing and a closed position in which it closes the cassette housing, a pair of reel hubs rotatably mounted within the cassette housing so that a tape can be wound thereon, a braking member mounted within the cassette housing in such a manner as to be slidable in a front to rear direction, and means to move the braking member slidably over a given range rearwards to lock the reel hubs from being rotated when the front lid is moved to the closed position and forward to release the reel hubs from a locked state when the front lid is moved to the open position; characterised in that: a fixing portion is provided on the upper part; and an engaging portion is provided on the braking member, the engaging portion being engageable with the fixing portion with a small pressure when the braking member is located at a position outside said given range, whereby the braking member can be temporarily secured to the upper part by engaging the engaging portion with the fixing portion with a small pressure during assembly and released after the upper part and the lower part are combined to form the unit, the braking member then becoming slidable only within said given range. The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a magnetic tape cassette of previously proposed kind; Fig. 2 is a perspective, exploded view of the magnetic tape cassette of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, cut-away side view of the magnetic tape cassette of Fig. 1 when it is being stored (i.e., not being used); Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, cut-away side view of the magnetic tape cassette of Fig. 1 when it is being used; Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a braking member supporting structure of the magnetic tape cassette of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of an upper part of one embodiment of a magnetic tape cassette according to the invention illustrating a temporary fastening of a braking member during assembly; Fig. 7 is a perspective view corresponding to Fig. 7; Fig. 8 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view of a part of the braking member of Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is a fragmentary, cut-away side view illustrating the braking member of Fig. 6 temporarily fastened to an upper part of the tape cassette; Fig. 10 is a fragmentary, cut-away side view illustrating the braking member of Fig. 6, which was previously temporarily fastened, in a released condition; Fig. 11 is a fragmentary, cut-away side view of the magnetic tape cassette of Fig. 6 with its front lid opened; and Fig. 12 is a plan view of another embodiment of a magnetic tape cassette according to the invention. Figs. 6 to 12 illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and in these figures, parts corresponding to those of Figs. 1 to 5 are marked with the same reference numerals and therefore need not be again described in detail. Figs. 6 to 11 illustrate a first embodiment of the invention in which, instead of the rectangular elongate openings 18 formed in the upper surface supporting plate portion 16 a of the braking member 16 and the caulking pins 19 formed on the upper part 2, as shown in Fig. 5, both at the left and at the right a pair of projections 20A protrude from the front edge of the upper surface supporting plate portion 16 a of the braking member 16 to define a respective engaging recess 20. The recesses 20 are engageable with fixing portions formed on the upper part 2. In this embodiment, the fixing portions are the limiter pins 15 which are used to prevent the slider locking members 11 from being unduly distorted as described above. As Fig. 6 shows, each of the recesses 20 is provided with a narrow mouth 20 a . Also, the inner diameter a of each recess 20 is selected to be slightly smaller than the outer diameter b of the limiter pin 15 provided as the fixing portion so that when one of the recesses 20 a is engaged with one of the limiter pins 15, the mouth 20 a is stretched so as to cause the recess 20 to be engaged with the limiter pin 15 with a small pressure. With this structure, a positional relationship between the recess 20 and the limiter pin 15 as the fixing portion is predetermined such that when the reel braking member 16 is placed at its forwardmost position where the front lid 8 is opened at maximum, or at the position where the reel braking member 16 is disengaged from the reel hub 4, the recess 20 is engaged with the limiter pin 15 provided as the fixing portion and the position at which the recess 20 is formed in the braking member 16 are chosen so that the recess 20 can be engaged with the limiter pin 15 with a small pressure at a position that lies ahead (i.e., forward) of the forwardmost sliding position of the braking member 16. Ribs 21 (Figs. 6 and 7) are formed at predetermined left and right portions of the upper surface supporting plate portion 16 a of the braking member 16. Each rib 21 extends in the direction in which the braking member 16 is slidably moveable. In association with the ribs 21, guide grooves 22 of predetermined length are formed on the rear surface of the upper part 2. The grooves 22 are elongate in the direction in which the braking member 16 is slidably moveable. The rest of the structure shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is the same as that of the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 5. When the magnetic tape cassette of the invention is assembled, the braking member 16 is temporarily secured to the upper part 2 by engaging the limiting pins 15 in the recesses 20 with a small pressure as described above. The recesses 20 can be easily guided for engagement with the limiter pins 15 with a small pressure by first engaging the ribs 21 formed on the braking member 16 with the guide grooves 22 formed on the upper part 2, as shown in Figs. 6 to 8. Then, the upper part 2 to which the braking member 16 is temporarily secured and the lower part 3 on which the magnetic tape 6 is partly assembled are combined to form a single unit. In this manner a magnetic tape cassette is assembled with ease. Upon completion of the process of assembly described above, the braking member 16 is temporarily secured to the upper part 2 as shown in Fig. 9. In that condition, the operation members 16 d of the braking member 16 can be moved backward (in the direction shown by an arrow c in Fig. 9), so that the engagement between the recesses 20 and the limiter pins 15 is released to allow the braking member 16 to be moved slidably. When the front lid 8 is closed during non-use of the magnetic tape cassette, the braking member 16 locks the reel hub 4 by engaging the protrusions 16 c of the brake member 16 with the ratchet wheel portions 4 a of the reel hub 4 as shown in Fig. 10. However, when the magnetic tape cassette is in use and the front lid 8 is rotated upward to open the magnetic tape cassette, the braking member 16 is slidably moved forward (to the left in Fig. 10) in unison with the rotation of the front lid 8 to withdraw its protrusions 16 c from the ratchet wheel portion 4 a of the reel hubs 4. This releases the hubs 4 from the locked state as shown in Fig. 11. When the braking member 16 is slidably moved upon the front lid being closed and/or opened, the braking member 16 is prevented from being temporarily secured to the upper part 2 again. In other words, since the recess 20 is initially engaged with the limiter pin 15 at a position that is forward of the forwardmost sliding position of the braking member 16 as described above, the recess 20 and the limiter pin 15 are maintained in spaced-apart relation when the braking member 16 is slidably moved in association with the normal opening and/or closing operation of the front lid 8. Fig. 12 illustrates another embodiment of a magnetic tape cassette according to the invention wherein the braking member 16 has circular protruding portions 20 b , 20 c formed thereon instead of recesses 20 and the upper part 32 has on its inner surface two pairs of ribs 15 a , 15 b and 15 c , 15 d instead of limiter pins 15. The ribs 15 a , 15 b and 15 c , 15 d are engaged with the circular protruding portions 20 b , 20 c in the same manner as the recesses 20 engage the limiter pins 15 in the first embodiment. There is a difference between the full slidable stroke of which the braking member 16 is capable and the more limited lock-releasing stroke made by the braking member 16 in association with the opening operation of the front lid 8. This difference is utilised temporarily to secure the braking member 16 to the upper part 2 with a small pressure, and the braking member 16 is released from being temporarily secured to the upper part 2 only after the upper part 2 and the lower part 3 are assembled to form a single unit. The braking member 16 can therefore be smoothly slid in connection with the opening and/or closing operation of the front lid 8 without trouble. Thus, as compared to the conventional case where the braking member 16 is temporarily secured to the upper part 2 by caulking, the front lid 8 can be more positively locked, thus avoiding the risk of the misloading. Further, since the ribs 21 (Figs. 6 to 8) are formed on the braking member 16 and the guide grooves 22 are formed on the upper part 2 in a corresponding relation thereto, when the braking member 16 is temporarily secured to the upper part 2, the braking member 16 can be accurately positioned with ease by engaging the ribs 21 and the guide grooves 22. Also, after the assembly, the ribs 21 and the guide grooves 22 serve as a sliding guide for the braking member 16, thus making it possible to slide the braking member 16 smoothly. Furthermore, in a magnetic tape cassette of the invention, since the braking member 16 is temporarily secured to the upper part 2 by engaging the recesses 20 with the limiter pins 15 provided as the fixing portions with a small pressure, the caulking process of the prior art is not required. Accordingly, a melting machine for such a caulking process is not needed whereby the manufacturing process can be simplified and reduced in cost. When the limiter pins 15 of the existing slider locking members are employed as the fixing portions with which the recesses 20 of the braking member 16 are engaged, it is not necessary to form new fixing portions on the upper part 2. In addition, since in contrast to the prior art a caulking pin is not needed to support the braking member 16 provided on the upper part 2, the inside of the magnetic tape cassette is less crowded. This is particularly advantageous in a magnetic tape cassette for PCM recording and/or reproducing, since in such magnetic tape cassettes the interior space is quite limited. The fixing portion with which the braking member 16 can be engaged with a small pressure is not limited to the limiter pin 15, but other fixing portions may be employed that protrude from the upper part 2. Further, while, as described, the recess 20 is formed on the braking member 16 and the fixing portion to be engaged with the recess 20 is formed on the upper part 2, an opposite relationship therebetween can be made. In other words, it is possible, for example, to form the recess 20 on the upper part 2 and to add fixing pins to the braking member 16 to form fixing portions.

Claims: A magnetic tape cassette comprising a cassette housing (1) formed of an upper part (2) and a lower part (3) combined during assembly to form a unit, a front lid (8) that can be moved between an open position in which it opens the cassette housing (1) and a closed position in which it closes the cassette housing (1), a pair of reel hubs (4) rotatably mounted within the cassette housing (1) so that a tape (6) can be wound thereon, a braking member (16) mounted within the cassette housing (1) in such a manner as to be slidable in a front to rear direction, and means (17, 8 a , 16 d ) to move the braking member slidably over a given range rearwards to lock the reel hubs (4) from being rotated when the front lid (8) is moved to the closed position and forward to release the reel hubs (4) from a locked state when the front lid (8) is moved to the open position; characterised in that: a fixing portion (15, 15 a , 15 b , 15 c , 15 d ) is provided on the upper part (2); and an engaging portion (20, 20 b , 20 c ) is provided on the braking member (16), the engaging portion being engageable with the fixing portion with a small pressure when the braking member (16) is located at a position outside said given range, whereby the braking member (16) can be temporarily secured to the upper part (2) by engaging the engaging portion (20, 20 b , 20 c ) with the fixing portion (15, 15 a , 15 b , 15 c , 15 d ) with a small pressure during assembly and released after the upper part (2) and the lower part (3) are combined to form the unit, the braking member (16) then becoming slidable only within said given range. A magnetic tape cassette according to claim 1, in which the fixing portion on the upper part (2) comprises at least one cylindrical pin (15) and the engaging portion provided on the braking member is formed by at least one protrusion defining a substantially circular engaging recess (20). A magnetic tape cassette according to claim 1, in which the fixing portion on the upper part (2) is formed by a pair of protrusions (15 a , 15 b , 15 c , 15 d ) and the engaging portion on the braking member is a circular protrusion (20 b ). A magnetic tape cassette according to claim 1, wherein the cassette housing (1) is formed with a cut-away recess portion (3 a ) into which a magnetic tape withdrawing guide system is insertable to withdraw the magnetic tape (6) from the cassette housing (1) when the front lid (8) is in the open position, further comprising a slide plate (9) provided on the lower part (3) and slidable between a rearward position wherein it opens the recess portion (3 a ) and a forward position wherein it closes the recess portion (3 a ), and a slide plate locking lever (11) also provided on the lower part (3) and movable to lock the slide plate (9) in a selected one of the rearward and forward positions, the fixing portion being formed as a pin (15) provided in an opposing relation to the slide plate locking lever (11), the pin (15) serving to limit movement of the slide plate locking lever (11) to prevent breaking and excessive deformation thereof.

Inventors: KURASHINA SATORU C O SONY MAGN, MEGURO HIROSHI C O SONY MAGNET, KURASHINA, SATORU C/O SONY MAGNETIC PRODUCTS INC., MEGURO, HIROSHI C/O SONY MAGNETIC PRODUCTS INC.
Applicants: SONY CORP, SONY CORPORATION
Application year: 1988
Main classification: G11B23
IPC codes: G11B23