Recording medium cartridge with spring-biased shutter

Abstract: A cartridge includes a housing having a medium chamber defined therein for accommodating the recording medium and also having at least one access opening defined therein, a slide shutter slidably mounted on the housing for movement between an opened position in which the access opening is opened and a closed position in which the access opening is closed, and a biasing member for biasing the slide shutter towards the closed position. The biasing member is in the form of a twin-coiled torsional spring including first and second coils connected together by means of a bridge and first and second spring arms extending outwardly from the first and second coils, respectively. The first spring arm has a free end engaged to the slide shutter and the second spring arm has a free end engaged to a portion of the housing.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (Field of the Invention) The present invention relates to a cartridge accommodating therein an information carrier medium which may be a length of magnetic recording tape. (Description of the Prior Art) The cartridge for accommodating the information carrier medium is currently available in various types. Of those types, the present invention pertains to a single-reel tape cartridge generally used in association with a computer for data back-up purpose, a compact two-reel tape cartridge generally known as a DAT (digital audio tape) cartridge, and a disc cartridge. In any event, the present invention is applicable to any type of cartridge having a spring-biased slide shutter. As is well known to those skilled in the art, the single-reel tape cartridge comprises a generally rectangular box-like housing having top and bottom panels and a peripheral wall Including front, rear and side walls and joining the top and bottom panels together with a tape chamber defined therein. The front wall has an access opening defined therein, through which a length of magnetic recording tape wound around a single reel within the tape chamber is selectively drawn outwardly and retracted into the housing. The access opening is normally closed by a shutter carried by the housing. In this single-reel tape cartridge, the Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 8-63940 discloses the shutter that is pivotally supported and is normally biased by a single-coiled torsional spring towards a closed position in which the access opening is closed. Although any possible ingress of dusts into the tape chamber is effectively and advantageously avoided, the pivotally supported shutter poses a problem in that when the shutter is opened against the biasing force of the torsional spring, the shutter protrudes a considerable distance outwardly of the housing, particularly outwardly from the front wall of the housing. Considering that opening of the shutter is mainly required when the tape cartridge is loaded in a tape drive, the freedom of disposition of a tape loading mechanism and a tape transport mechanism in the tape drive is limited and a relatively large space has to be secured within the tape drive to accommodate the shutter then in the opened position. This not only restricts the freedom of design, but also hampers downsizing and simplification of the tape drive and increase of the tape transport speed. In an attempt to simplify the structure of and improve the function of the tape drive, the inventors of the present invention have examined the possible use of a slide shutter supported for sliding motion between opened and closed positions along the front wall of the cartridge housing. In principle, the slide shutter can make use of a support structure similar to that used in connection with a protect notch that is used in the standard tape cartridge for avoiding an inadvertent erasure of information recorded on the length of magnetic tape. However, in the case of the single-reel tape cartridge, a free end of the length of magnetic tape wound around the single reel has to be retained at a predetermined location inwardly of the housing and adjacent the access opening together with a retainer pin around which the free end of the magnetic tape is secured. Accordingly, when the slide shutter is applied to the single-reel tape cartridge, the access opening must have a substantial width as measured in a direction along the front wall of the housing so that a tape loading element in the tape drive which serves to draw the magnetic tape outwardly or allow the magnetic tape to be withdrawn into the housing can move without being interfered by any other obstruction. This correspondingly results in necessity of the slide shutter to travel an increased stroke between the closed and opened positions. When it comes to the slide shutter required to travel a substantial distance between the closed and opened positions, difficult would be often encountered in choosing the biasing member for biasing the slide shutter normally towards the closed position and, also, optimizing the biasing force of such biasing member regardless of the position thereof between the closed and opened positions. Specifically, if the stroke of movement of the slide shutter between the closed and opened positions is of a small distance, the use of the standard single-coiled torsional spring would work sufficiently, provided that the wire forming the torsional spring and/or the number of turns of the single coil in the torsional spring are properly chosen and adjusted. However, if such torsional spring is used in association with the increased stroke of movement of the slide shutter, the single-coiled torsional spring of a given size would exerts an insufficient biasing force with the spring arms expanding in respective directions away from each other. In other words, for a given size and design of the single-coiled torsional spring, the use thereof in association with the slide shutter is limited where a substantially equal quantity of the biasing force is desired or required regardless of the position of the slide shutter. In addition, where the single-coiled torsional spring is used in the single-reel tape cartridge in an erected fashion with the spring arms extending in a plane parallel to the plane of the access opening or the front wall of the cartridge housing of a size so standardized that the cartridge can be compatible with any of the existing tape drives of different makes, the spring arms must have a limited length that is smaller than, for example, the thickness of the cartridge. Accordingly, the use of the slide shutter in the single-reel tape cartridge would pose a problem in that the distance of expansion of the spring arms in the respective opposite direction would be unable to cover the entire stroke of movement of the slide shutter. Another problem associated with the increased stroke of movement of the slide shutter lies in that since the spring arms must be of a type capable of resiliently displacing or expanding a correspondingly increased distance relative to each other in the respective directions opposite to each other, the single-reel tape cartridge would exert the considerably varying biasing force. For this reason, even though the single-coiled torsional spring could successfully used in the single-reel tape cartridge, it is apparent that the biasing force exerted on the slide shutter in the closed position and that on the slide shutter in the opened position give rise to a considerable difference, and therefore the single-coiled torsional spring tends to be deteriorated when used for a prolonged period of time. The extent of change of the biasing force exerted by the single-coiled torsional spring may be reduced if the number of turns forming the single coil in the torsional spring is increased. However, the increased number of the turns of the coil results in a corresponding increase of the axial length of the coil, requiring a relatively large space for installation in the cartridge housing, which in turn results in increase of the size of the cartridge housing. In any event, the use of either the compression spring or the tension spring even though having a small diameter does not contribute to reduction in space required for installation thereof and, hence, the size of the cartridge housing. A cartridge housing having an access opening, corresponding to the introductory part of claim 1 is disclosed in EP 0 271 997 A2. The access opening is closed by a slide shutter which is biased to the closed position by a twin-coiled torsional spring including first and second coils connected together by means of a bridge. Each of the coils comprises a spring arm that extends outwardly from the respective coils for engagement with the slide shutter, or a portion of the housing, respectively. The slide shutter is a bar or rod guided in a channel of the housing. This bar has an undercut for receiving one spring arm of the twin-coiled torsional spring so that a part of the arm length extends through the undercut of the slide shutter in the opened position of the slide shutter. In US 5,257,153, a disc case is disclosed having a slide shutter biased by a twin-coiled torsional spring. The slide shutter has the shape of a rectangular rod or bar with a lateral extension for receiving the end of one of the spring arms. This extension is directed toward the interior of the housing. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide a cartridge for accommodating a recording medium wherein the slide shutter is adapted for providing space so that the twin-coiled torsional spring may be accommodated within the housing so that it needs a minimum of space. The cartridge of the present invention is defined by claim 1. The present invention provides a cartridge including a housing having a medium chamber defined therein for accommodating the recording medium and also having at least one access opening defined therein, a slide shutter slidably mounted on the housing for movement between an opened position in which the access opening is opened and a closed position in which the access opening is closed, and a biasing member for biasing the slide shutter towards the closed position. The biasing member is in the form of a twin-coiled torsional spring including first and second coils connected together by means of a bridge and first and second spring arms extending outwardly from the first and second coils, respectively. The first spring arm has a free end engaged to the slide shutter and the second spring arm has a free end engaged to a portion of the housing. The slide shutter is in the form of a generally rectangular plate including a rectangular shutter body for selectively opening and closing the access opening and an lateral extension formed integrally with the rectangular shutter body so as to extend from one of opposite ends of the shutter body that is adjacent the opened position of the slide shutter. The rectangular plate may have one corner area depleted to define a cutout at a location above the lateral extension for accommodating the twin coils of the torsional spring when the slide shutter is moved to the opened position to thereby avoid interference with the coils of the torsional spring. The cartridge referred to above may be a single-reel tape cartridge comprising a single reel rotatably housed therein and around which a length of magnetic recording tape is wound. In the case of the single-reel tape cartridge, a generally elongated retainer member to which a free end of the magnetic recording tape is anchored. The retainer member is held at a retracted position inside the housing adjacent the access opening when the slide shutter is in the closed position, so that when the single-reel cartridge is loaded in a tape drive, the slide shutter is opened to allow a tape loading element of the tape drive to make access to the retainer member. Preferably, the single-reel tape cartridge comprises the housing including a front wall and a guide wall confronting to and spaced a distance from the front wall inwardly of the housing. The front wall and the guide wall cooperate with each other to define a guide groove in which the slide shutter is slidably received for movement between the opened and closed positions. The twin-coiled torsional spring is preferably accommodated within a portion of the guide grooves on one side of the opened position of the slide shutter opposite to the closed position thereof, with the first and second spring arms extending in a plane substantially parallel to any one of the front and guide walls. That portion of the housing may have a first slot defined therein for receiving the free end of the second spring arm and the slide shutter has a second slot defined therein for receiving the free end of the first spring arm, at least one of the first and second slots extending in a direction generally perpendicular to a direction of movement of the slide shutter. Thus, according to the present invention, the twin-coiled torsional spring can advantageously be accommodated within a relatively small space, for example, a space delimited by the thickness of and between the front and guide walls of the single-reel tape cartridge housing, or a space delimited by the thickness of the disc cartridge housing, without incurring increase in size of the cartridge housing. Considering that the twin-coiled torsional spring makes it possible to secure a required number of turns of each of the coils, the torsional spring can be effectively utilized in association with the increased stroke of movement of the slide shutter with the extent of change of the exerted biasing force reduced advantageously. Accordingly, the torsional spring employed in the present invention can be used and work for a prolonged period of time. The presence of the two coils in the twin-coiled torsional spring is effective to reduce the length of each coil as compared with the single coil in the single-coiled torsional spring for a given quantity of the biasing force exerted, and this in turn makes it possible to install the twin-coiled torsional spring within a limited available space such as described above. When the twin-coiled torsional spring is used in the single-reel tape cartridge and is accommodated within the space between the front and guide walls of the cartridge housing as hereinbefore described, the torsional spring behaves in the following manner. When the slide shutter is held in the closed position, the spring arms of this torsional spring expand a maximum distance away from each other, but as the slide shutter is moved towards the opened position, the spring arms are brought close towards each other. At this time, if the respective free ends of the spring arms are fixed, the twin coils of the torsional spring moves up and down in a plane parallel to the plane of the movement of the slide shutter as the latter is moved between the closed and opened positions. Accordingly, although the twin-coiled torsional spring may be effectively utilized if the space for installation of this torsional spring is of a size sufficient to accommodate the movement of the twin coils that takes place in the manner described above, the use of the anchor slots, one defined in the slide shutter and the other defined in the guide wall for slidable anchorage of the respective free ends of the spring wires, is particularly advantageous in that an unnecessary movement of the twin coils within the limited space can be avoided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will become readily understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are designated by like reference numeral and in which: Fig. 1 is a front sectional view, with a portion cut away, of a single-reel tape cartridge according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, with a slide shutter opened; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the single-reel tape cartridge shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top sectional view of one corner of the single-reel tape cartridge of Fig. 1, showing the details of a retainer pin secured to a free end of the length of magnetic tape; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front sectional view substantially similar to Fig. 1, showing the slide shutter opened; Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken along the line A-A in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is an exploded view of a portion of the single-reel tape cartridge, showing the manner in which a twin-coiled torsional spring and the slide shutter are mounted. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT Referring to Figs. 1 to 6, there is shown a first preferred embodiment of the present invention which is directed to a single-reel magnetic tape cartridge. As best shown in Fig. 2, the single-reel magnetic tape cartridge comprises a generally rectangular box-like housing 1 made up of upper and lower casings 1a and 1b joined together in any known manner to define a tape chamber. The housing 1 so formed includes top and bottom panels, a peripheral front wall 6, a peripheral rear wall opposite to the front wall 6 and first and second peripheral side walls opposite to each other and accommodates therein a single reel 2 around which a length of magnetic tape 3 is wound. When in use with a tape drive such as, for example, used in association with a computer, the single-reel magnetic tape cartridge is loaded into the tape drive in a direction shown by the arrow P with one of the side walls, for example, the first side wall of the housing 1 oriented towards the tape drive. The front wall 6 has one end portion adjacent the first side wall formed with a rectangular opening 4 through which the magnetic tape 3 is drawn into or out of the tape chamber in the housing 1. The housing 1 also includes a slide shutter 5 movable between opened and closed positions in a direction lengthwise of the front wall 6 for selectively opening and dosing the rectangular opening 4, respectively. The slide shutter 5 is in the form of a generally rectangular flat plate with its longitudinal sense aligned with the longitudinal sense of the front wall 6 and has a tab 13 formed integrally therewith so as to lie perpendicular to the remaining body of the slide shutter 5. As clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a substantially right-angled joint between the front wall 6 and the first side wall of the housing 1. For example, one end of the first side wall adjacent the front wall 6 as clearly shown in Fig. 6, is formed with a cutout 18 which, when the slide shutter 5 is held in the closed position as shown therein, receives the tap 13 of the slide shutter 5 to keep the tape chamber dust-proof. A free end of the magnetic tape 3 remote from the reel 2 is anchored to a retainer pin 7 that can be caught at a predetermined position within the tape chamber and inwardly adjacent the rectangular opening 4 when the length of magnetic tape 3 is drawn into the tape chamber and completely wound around the reel 2, in a manner which will now be described. The retainer pin 7 has a length greater than the width of the length of magnetic tape 3 and has its opposite ends protruding outwardly of the opposite side edges of the magnetic tape 3 when the latter is anchored thereto. More specifically, as shown in Fig. 3, the free end of the magnetic tape 3 is anchored to the retainer pin 7 by turning it around the pin 7 and then mounting a C-clip 8 externally around the pin 7 with that free end of the tape 3 retained firmly in position around the pin 7. Generally U-shaped stays 9 each having a pair of elastically deformable fingers 9a and 9b connected at one end together through a transverse body are fitted to respective inner surfaces of the top and bottom panels of the housing 1 with their transverse bodies fixed thereto. These stays 9 are so positioned adjacent the rectangular opening 4 with the opening of the U-shape oriented towards the rectangular opening 4 that, when the length of magnetic tape 3 is drawn into the tape chamber and completely wound around the reel 2, the opposite ends of the retainer pin 7 are caught in respective U-shaped spaces and retained in position by the elasticity of the fingers 9a and 9b as clearly shown in Fig. 3. Thus, it will readily be seen that when the length of magnetic tape 3 is drawn into the tape chamber and completely wound around the reel 2 and the slide shutter 5 is held in the closed position, the retainer pin 7 is retained in position inwardly adjacent the slide shutter 5 with its opposite ends caught by the respective stays 9. Although not shown, when the tape cartridge is inserted into the tape drive, a loading member provided in the tape drive grips, while the slide shutter 5 is in the opened position, the opposite ends of the retainer pin 7 clear of the C-clip 8 and pulls or pushes the retainer pin 7 out of or into the tape chamber, respectively. As a matter of course, when the retainer pin 7 is pushed into the tape chamber by the loading member, the reel 2 is suitably driven to wind up the length of magnetic tape 3 and, at this time, the opposite ends of the retainer pin 7 are forced into the respective U-shaped spaces while pushing the elastically deformable fingers 9a and 9b away from each other against the respective elasticity thereof. The manner of use of the tape cartridge described above is well known to those skilled in the art and, therefore, no further detail will be reiterated for the sake of brevity. In any event, as is well known to those skilled in the art, the rectangular opening 4 has a substantial width as measured in a direction lengthwise of the front wall 6 to allow the loading member to selectively project into or withdraw from the tape chamber. Referring to Fig. 6, the slide shutter 5 is of one-piece construction made of plastics and including a rectangular body 11 for selectively opening and closing the rectangular opening 4 and an lateral extension 12 positioned inwardly of the front wall 6. The tab 13 referred to above and adapted to be engaged with an operating member (not shown) in the tape drive is integrally formed with that end of the slide shutter 5 opposite to the lateral extension 12. The lateral extension 12 is of a size and shape having a lower edge flush with a lower edge of the rectangular body 11 and also having an upper edge stepped downwardly from an upper edge of the rectangular body 11 so as to define a generally L-shaped cutout 14. In addition, the lateral extension 12 has an outer surface adjacent the front wall 6 and in flush with a corresponding outer surface of the rectangular body 11 and also having an inner surface remote from the front wall 6 and confronting the tape chamber, said inner surface being set back from the corresponding inner surface of the rectangular body 11 a predetermined distance sufficient to accommodate one (24) of opposite spring arms 23 and 24 of a biasing member 20 which would become clear from the subsequent description. For the reason which will become clear from the subsequent description, the lateral extension 12 having a thickness smaller than that of the rectangular body 11 is formed with a slot 15 defined therein so as to extend in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the slide shutter 5. The L-shaped cutout 14 referred to above is necessitated to avoid any possible interference between the slide shutter 5 and the biasing member 20, particularly coiled portions 21 of the biasing member 20 when the shutter is moved towards the opened position. As shown in Fig. 5, the slide shutter 5 is slidably supported in between the front wall 6 and a guide wall 16 positioned inwardly of the front wall 6 and spaced therefrom a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the rectangular body 11 of the slide shutter 5. As is the case with the front wall 6, the guide wall 16 may be made up of upper and lower guide wall portions integral with the upper and lower casings 1a and 1b, respectively, and gains its shape when the upper and lower casings 1a and 1b are joined together. Even this guide wall 16 has a rectangular opening defined therein at a location aligned with the rectangular opening 4. Alternatively, although not show, a guideway for guiding the sliding motion of the slide shutter 5 may comprise upper and lower grooves one defined in the top panel of the housing 1 by an upper rail in cooperation with the upper edge of the front wall 6 and the other defined in the bottom panel of the housing 1 by a lower rail in cooperation with the lower edge of the front wall 6. By the reason which will become clear from the subsequent description, a catch 17 in the form of a slot or clevis is formed in the guide wall 16, particularly, the lower guide wall portion integral with the lower casing 1b, as shown in Fig .6, which catch 17 is positioned spaced a distance from the slot 15 in the slide shutter 5 towards the second side wall of the housing 1 as can be seen from Fig. 4. As a matter of design, this catch 17 is invisible from outside since it is defined in the guide wall 16 that is positioned inwardly of the front wall 6 with respect to the tape chamber. The biasing member 20 for normally urging the slide shutter 5 towards the closed position comprises a twin-coiled torsional spring including, in addition to the spring arms 23 and 24 referred hereinbefore, two coils 21 with a bridge 22 connecting them together, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. This twin-coiled torsional spring 20 is prepared from a single length of wire with the spring arms 23 and 24 extending generally in the same direction outwardly from the respective coils 21 and with the coils 21 having been set to allow the spring arms 23 and 24 to resiliently expand in respective directions away from each other. Each of the spring arms 23 and 24 has a free end remote from the respective coil 21 which is bent transverse to define an engagement pawl 25 or 26 that is adapted to loosely engage in the associated slot 17 or 15. Specifically, the engagement pawls 25 and 26 integral with the spring arms 23 and 24, respectively, are oriented in respective directions opposite to each other. In an assembled condition of the tape cartridge according to the present invention, this twin-coiled torsional spring 20 is accommodated in between the front wall 6 and the guide wall 16 with the engagement pawls 25 and 26 slidingly received within the slots 17 and 15 as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 4. Accordingly, in this condition, the twin-coiled torsional spring 20 normally biases the slide shutter 5 towards the closed position as shown in Fig. 4, in which condition the twin coils 21 are held in contact with the top panel of the housing 1 and substantially cleat of the L-shaped cutout 14 in the slide shutter 5, but when the slide shutter 5 is moved to the opened position against the resilient force exerted by the torsional spring 20, the twin coils 21 are positioned within the L-shaped cutout 14 as shown in Fig. 1. Movement of the slide shutter 5 towards the opened position is effected by the operating member (not shown) in the tape drive which, as the tape cartridge is inserted into the tape drive, engages the tab 13 integral with the slide shutter 5 and then drive the slide shutter 5 towards the opened position against the resiliency of the torsional spring 20. It is to be noted that each of the twin coils 21 has a thickness slightly smaller than the internal spacing between the front wall 6 and the guide wall 16. As the slide shutter 5 is moved towards the closed position, the spring arms 23 and 24 are drawn close towards each other with the coils 21 deformed or compressed circumferentially inwardly to accumulate respective restoring forces that will act to bias the slide shutter 5 towards the closed position. At this time, since the twin coils 21 are held substantially immovable in contact with the top panel of the housing 1, the engagement pawls 25 and 26 slide downwardly within the respective slots 17 and 15 to thereby accommodate change in size of the torsional spring 20. From the foregoing, it has now become clear that the L-shaped cutout 14 in the slide shutter 5 is necessitated to allow the lateral extension 12 to move underneath the twin coils 21 as the slide shutter 5 is moved towards the opened position. After the slide shutter 5 has completely been moved to the opened position, the loading member in the tape drive will pull the retainer pin 7 out of the tape chamber to draw the length of magnetic tape 3 outwardly of the tape cartridge. Considering that the housing 1 is made up of the upper and lower casings 1a and 1b, mounting of the slide shutter 5 and its associated component parts including the torsional spring 20 can readily and easily be accomplished. More specifically, before the upper and lower casings 1a and 1b are joined together, the slide shutter 5 and the torsional spring 20 having the engagement pawl 26 received in the slot 15 in the slide shutter are inserted in between the front wall 6 and the guide wall 16, followed by insertion of the engagement pawl 25 into the slot 17 in the guide wall 16. After the slide shutter 5 and the torsional spring 20 have been mounted in this manner, the spring arms 23 and 24 expands outwardly to bring the slide shutter 5 to the closed position and, therefore, there is little possibility that the torsional spring 20 may jump out of the position when the upper casing 1a is to be mounted onto the lower casing 1b to complete the housing 1. Although the preferred embodiment of the tape cartridge has been described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6, it is to be noted that in place of the slot 15 in the slide shutter 5, an elongated groove may be employed that open downwardly from the lower side edge of the lateral extension 12. Also, in place of the slots 15 and 17, round perforations sufficient to receive therein the engagement pawls 26 and 25 may be employed, in which case a sufficient space should be provided between the top panel of the housing 1 and the twin coils 21 so that during the movement of the slide shutter 5 between the opened and closed positions the twin coils 21 can move up and down. Also, the guide wall 16, although described as made up of the guide wall portions integral respectively with the upper and lower casings 1a and 1b, may be integrally formed with either one of the upper and lower casings 1a and 1b. The present invention is equally applicable to a DAT (digital audio tape) cartridge of a structure wherein a slide shutter is supported for movement between projected and retracted position along a bottom wall of the rectangular box-like casing for selectively opening and closing a bottom opening that is communicated with a front opening through which a length of tape is loaded or unloaded. In this case, the twin-coiled torsional spring shown by 20 in the foregoing embodiment can be employed in association with the bottom slide shutter. Although the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications are apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, although the twin-coiled torsional spring 20 has been shown of a design in which the bridge 22 connecting the coils 21 together extends in a plane parallel to and spaced from the plane in which both of the spring arms 23 and 23 lie as best shown in Fig. 6, the bridge 22 may extend from one end of one of the coils 22 to one end of the other of the coils 22 which is offset relative to such one end of one of the coils 22. Also, the bridge 22 may not be positioned on one side of the associated coils 21 remote from the spring arms 23 and 24 and may be positioned on the other side of the associated coils 21 adjacent the spring arms 23 and 24. In any event, any twin-coiled torsional spring made of a single wire suffices. Accordingly, such changes and modifications are to be understood as included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims: A cartridge for accommodating a recording medium (3), which cartridge comprises: a housing (1) having a medium chamber defined therein for accommodating the recording medium, said housing having at least one access opening (4) defined therein; a slide shutter (5) slidably mounted on the housing for movement between an opened position in which the access opening (4) is opened and a closed position in which the access opening is closed; a biasing member (20) for biasing the slide shutter (5) towards the closed position, said biasing member comprising a twin-coiled torsional spring including first and second coils (21) connected together by means of a bridge (22) and first and second spring arms (24,23) extending outwardly from the first and second coils, respectively, said first spring arm (24) having a free end (26) engaged to the slide shutter and said second spring arm (23) having a free end (25) engaged to a portion of the housing (1), characterized in that the slide shutter (5) is in the form of a generally rectangular plate including a rectangular shutter body (11) for selectively opening and closing the access opening (4) and a lateral extension (12) formed integrally with the rectangular shutter body so as to extend from that one of opposite ends of the shutter body that is adjacent the opened position of the slide shutter, said generally rectangular plate having one corner area depleted to define a cutout (14) at a location above the lateral extension (12) for accommodating the twin coils (21) of the torsional spring when the slide shutter is moved to the opened position to thereby avoid interference with the coils of the torsional spring. The cartridge as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the recording medium is a length of magnetic recording tape (3), and further comprising a single reel (2) around which the length of magnetic recording tape is wound with one of opposite ends thereof anchored to the reel, said reel (2) being housed rotatably within the medium chamber; a generally elongated retainer member (7) to which the other of the opposite ends of the magnetic recording tape is anchored; and means (7) for holding the retainer member at a retracted position inside the housing adjacent the access opening (4) when the slide shutter (5) is in the closed position. The cartridge as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the housing (1) includes a front wall (6) and a guide wall (16) confronting to and spaced a distance from the front wall inwardly of the housing, said front wall and said guide wall cooperating with each other to define a guide groove, said slide shutter being slidably received in said guide groove for movement between the opened and closed positions, and wherein said twin-coiled torsional spring is accommodated within a portion of the guide grooves on one side of the opened position of the slide shutter (5) opposite to the closed position thereof, with the first and second spring arms (21) extending in a plane substantially parallel to any one of the front and guide walls (6,16). The cartridge as claimed in Claim 3, wherein said portion of the housing has a first slot (17) defined therein for receiving the free end (25) of the second spring arm (23) and said slide shutter (5) has a second slot (15) defined therein for receiving the free end of the first spring arm (24), at least one of said first and second slots extending in a direction generally perpendicular to a direction of movement of the slide shutter.

Inventors: MIYAZAKI NOBUTAKA, SUMIDA TAKASHI, MIYAZAKI, NOBUTAKA, SUMIDA, TAKASHI
Applicants: HITACHI MAXELL, HITACHI MAXELL LTD.
Application year: 1999
Main classification: G11B23
IPC codes: G11B23