JP4375655B2 - Single reel type tape cartridge - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a single reel type tape cartridge in which a leading piece for pulling out a tape is provided at a tape feeding end. The leading piece is connected to a leader tape provided at the feeding end of the magnetic tape.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a conventional structure for connecting the leading piece to the leader tape, it is known that the connecting portion of the leader tape is wound around a pin of the leading piece and inverted, and the inverted portion is thermally welded to the tape surface (see Patent Document 1). . There, a groove was formed in the center in the width direction of the connecting portion of the leader tape, and the upper and lower winding pieces divided by the groove were wound around the pin of the leading piece and reversed, and the entire surface of the reversed portion was thermally welded. In such a connection structure, at the time of heat welding, the molten resin oozes out from the periphery of the inverted portion and solidifies, and this solidified portion may drop out inside the tape drive and cause dropout.
[0003]
In order to avoid such a situation, in Patent Document 1, the molten resin erodes from the periphery of the inverted portion by defining the weld shape so that the peripheral shape of the welded portion is slightly smaller than the outer shape of the inverted portion. I was prevented from getting out. Incidentally, the width dimension of the non-welded portion formed along the periphery of the inversion portion should be at least 0.1 mm.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-357658 (paragraph number 0022, FIG. 1)
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
According to the above tape cartridge, the molten resin can be prevented from protruding from the periphery of the inverted portion. However, it is inevitable that the welding area is reduced by the amount that the peripheral shape of the welded portion is made slightly smaller than the outer shape of the inverted portion, and the weld strength of the inverted portion is reduced. Furthermore, since the width dimension of the non-welded part is as small as about 0.1 mm, it is necessary to precisely position the welding horn and the reversing part, and the welding work is time-consuming accordingly. Furthermore, there is a possibility that the molten resin may erode out from the periphery of the inverted portion due to slight variations in the pressing force of the welding horn, the welding time, and the like. Increasing the width dimension of the non-welded portion can surely prevent the molten resin from protruding, but doing so further reduces the weld area and lowers the weld strength of the reversal portion.
[0006]
An object of the present invention is to provide a single reel type tape cartridge capable of increasing the welding area by increasing the welding area while reliably preventing molten resin from protruding from the tape surface in the welding area. There is to do.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the single reel type tape cartridge of the present invention, the connecting portion 20 provided at the feeding end of the leader tape 11 is wound around the pin 12 of the leading piece 10 and reversed and thermally welded to the tape surface. The connecting portion 20 is constituted by a pair of upper and lower wound pieces 22 that are divided by a horizontally long groove 21 formed in the leader tape 11 as shown in FIG. The wound piece 22 includes a base portion 22a having a constant vertical width provided on the base end side, an intermediate portion 22b formed in a tapered shape continuously to the base portion 22a, and a narrow portion of the intermediate portion 22b. And a tip portion 22c having a constant vertical width . The vertical width of the tip 22c is set to be smaller than the vertical width of the base 22a. In a state in which the entire surface of the tip 22c wound around the pin 12 of the leading piece 10 is heat-welded to the base 22a, the peripheral weld W1 is formed by the resin protruding from the periphery of the tip 22c. The vertical width of the base portion 22a is slightly larger than the vertical width of the welded portion W including the peripheral welded portion W1 (Claim 1).
[0008]
In the state where the wound piece 20 is wound around the pin 12 of the leading piece 10 and reversed and the tip 22c is thermally welded to the base 22a, the boundary position between the base 22a and the intermediate portion 22b is as shown in FIG. It is located in the front-end | tip part 22c side rather than the virtual plane which passes along the welding surface of the base 22a (Claim 2).
[0009]
The adjacent edge between the base portion 22a and the intermediate portion 22b and the adjacent edge between the intermediate portion 22b and the distal end portion 22c are each formed smoothly and continuously with a curve (Claim 3).
[0010]
[Effects of the invention]
In the present invention, a pair of upper and lower winding pieces 22 wound and connected to the pin 12 of the leading piece 10 is composed of a base portion 22a having a constant width, a conical intermediate portion 22b, and a tip portion continuous to the intermediate portion 22b. The leading piece 10 is connected to the leader tape 11 by heat-welding the tip 22c formed with the pin 22c and wound around the pin 12 to the base 22a. In addition, the vertical width of the base portion 22a is slightly larger than the vertical width of the weld portion W including the peripheral weld portion W1, so that the peripheral weld portion W1 protruding from the peripheral edge of the tip portion 22c is It was made sure to prevent it from protruding from the edge. Therefore, according to the present invention, the area of the welded portion W is enlarged by the amount of the peripheral welded portion W1 while reliably preventing the molten resin in the welded portion from protruding from the tape surface of the base portion 22a. (Claim 1).
[0011]
In a state where the tip 22c of the wound piece 22 is thermally welded to the base 22a, the boundary position between the base 22a and the intermediate portion 22b of the wound piece 22 is from a virtual plane passing through the welding surface between the tip 22c and the base 22a. If it is also positioned on the distal end portion 22c side, the tensile external force acting on the connecting portion 20 is received by the base portion 22a having a large width dimension, and the connecting strength between the leader tape 11 and the leading piece 10 is improved. .
[0012]
When the adjacent edge between the base portion 22a and the intermediate portion 22b and the adjacent edge between the intermediate portion 22b and the front end portion 22c are formed smoothly and continuously in a curved line, when the tensile external force acts on the connecting portion 20, each adjacent portion It is possible to eliminate the concentration of stress on the edge and minimize a decrease in the welding strength of the welded portion W. Since the adjacent edge of the intermediate part 22b and the tip part 22c welded to the base part 22a is smoothly curved, the protrusion width of the peripheral weld part W1 varies at the adjacent edge of the intermediate part 22b and the tip part 22c. (Claim 3).
[0013]
【Example】
1 to 5 show an embodiment of a single reel type tape cartridge according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, the tape cartridge has a rectangular box-shaped main body case 1 formed by joining upper and lower cases 1a and 1b in a cover-like manner, and a tape 3 for recording a magnetic signal on a single reel 2 disposed therein. Is involved. A tape outlet 4 is opened on the front surface of the main body case 1. The outlet 4 can be opened and closed by a door 5 pivotally supported. The door 5 is closed and urged by a spring and is locked and held by a lock mechanism (not shown) at the closed position. Reel locks 6 and 7 are provided at two opposite inner corners of the main body case 1 to engage with gear teeth provided on the flange of the reel 2 so as to lock the reel 2 when it is not in use so that it cannot rotate. It is. A switching piece 8 for preventing accidental erasure is provided on one side of the case back wall.
[0014]
A leading piece 10 for automatically capturing and connecting the tape 3 wound around the reel 2 with a capturing body on the tape drive side is provided. The leading piece 10 is connected to a leader tape 11 provided at the feeding end of the tape 3. In FIG. 1, the leading piece 10 is formed in a U-shaped frame shape with a stainless steel pin 12 to which a leader tape 11 is connected and a pair of latching arms 13 provided at both upper and lower ends of the pin 12.
[0015]
The pin 12 is formed of a round shaft that is long in the vertical direction. The pin 12 has a lock shaft 12a at the center in the vertical direction. A winding shaft 12b having a slightly smaller diameter than the lock shaft 12a is provided above and below the lock shaft 12a. An anchor portion 12c is formed at each shaft end. By providing the winding shaft 12b having a smaller diameter above and below the lock shaft 12a, a stepped portion 14 for positioning the leader tape 11 in the vertical direction is formed therebetween. The step size in the radial direction of the stepped portion 14 is set to one half or more of the thickness size of the leader tape 11. The anchor portion 12c is formed by crushing the end of the winding shaft 12b in a divergent shape so that the latch arm 13 and the pin 12 after molding rotate relative to each other or are separated in the vertical direction. Stop.
[0016]
The latching arm 13 is made of a horizontally molded plastic product, and the pin 12 is insert-fixed at the time of molding. The upper and lower latching arms 13 are curved in a projecting manner toward the outer surface of the case. The latching groove 16 is connected to the front side of the arm by the catching body of the tape drive, and is directed to the latching groove 16. And an introductory guide surface 17 for the capturing body that is inclined downward. The latching grooves 16 of the upper and lower latching arms 13 are opened in a state of facing vertically, and the groove starting ends 18 are opened toward the introduction guide surface 17 side.
[0017]
The leader tape 11 is formed of a hard plastic sheet rich in elasticity, such as polyethylene terephthalate or polybutylene terephthalate, and the connecting portion 20 provided at the feeding end thereof is wound around the pin 12 and reversed to be on the tape surface. It integrates with the pin 12 by heat welding. The connecting portion 20 is composed of a pair of upper and lower wound pieces 22 that are divided vertically by a horizontally elongated groove 21 formed at the center in the width direction of the leader tape 11. The vertical width of the groove 21 is set to be slightly larger than the vertical dimension of the lock shaft 12a.
[0018]
In FIG. 5, the wound piece 22 in the unfolded state includes a base portion 22a having a constant width provided on the base end side, an intermediate portion 22b formed in a tapered shape continuously with the base portion 22a, and an intermediate portion 22b. It forms with the front-end | tip part 22c formed in a fixed width continuously with a narrow part. The adjacent edges of the base portion 22a and the intermediate portion 22b and the adjacent edges of the intermediate portion 22b and the distal end portion 22c are smoothly continuous with partial arcuate curves, respectively. The intermediate portion 22b includes a region from the start end of the adjacent curve on the base portion 22a side to the end of the adjacent curve on the distal end portion 22c side.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 1, the upper and lower winding pieces 22 are wound around the winding shaft 12b of the pin 12 and reversed, and a slight floating gap remains between the winding piece 22 and the winding shaft 12b. The connecting portion 20 is connected to the pin 12 by welding the distal end portion 22c to the base portion 22a in a surface shape by ultrasonic welding. This welded portion W is represented by crossed diagonal lines.
[0020]
When the distal end portion 22c is thermally welded to the base portion 22a as described above, the peripheral weld portion W1 is formed by the molten resin protruding from the peripheral edge of the distal end portion 22c. The amount by which the peripheral weld portion W1 protrudes from the peripheral edge of the tip 22c varies depending on the thickness dimension of the leader tape 11 and the forming material, but when the same material is welded under the same welding conditions, the amount of the peripheral weld portion W1 is reduced. The amount of protrusion can be made almost constant. Therefore, if the vertical width of the base portion 22a is slightly larger than the vertical width of the welded portion W including the peripheral weld portion W1, the peripheral weld portion W1 is reliably prevented from protruding from the upper and lower edges of the base portion 22a. However, the welding area of the welded portion W can be increased as much as possible to improve the strength of the welded portion.
[0021]
In the state where the connecting portion 20 is connected to the pin 12 as described above, as shown in FIG. 4, the boundary position between the base portion 22a and the intermediate portion 22b is a virtual plane passing through the welding surface between the tip portion 22c and the base portion 22a. If the relational dimension is set so as to be positioned in the region on the distal end 22c side than this, the tensile external force acting on the connecting part 20 is received by the base 22a having a large width dimension, and the width dimension gradually decreases. It is possible to avoid stress concentration on the portion 22b. 4 and 5, the winding region between the welding surfaces of the tip 22c and the base 22a from the boundary position between the base 22a and the intermediate 22b is indicated by the symbol E. As described above, in addition to specifying the boundary position between the base portion 22a and the intermediate portion 22b, the adjacent edges of the base portion 22a and the intermediate portion 22b and the intermediate portion 22b and the tip portion 22c are partially arcuate curves. Smooth and continuous also helps to eliminate stress concentration on adjacent edges.
[0022]
In the state where the connecting portion 20 is connected to the pin 12, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower edge and the upper edge of the wound piece 22 are positioned in the vertical direction by the step portion 31, so the connecting portion 20 and the pin 12 can be controlled to move up and down. In this connected state, as shown in FIG. 4, a slight gap is formed between the pin 12 and the leader tape 11, so that the leading piece 10 can rotate relative to the leader tape 11.
[0023]
In order to hold and fix the leading piece 10 when not in use in a predetermined standby posture, a lock piece 25 is disposed inside the case facing the tape pull-out port 4, and an arm receiving portion 26 for receiving the inner surface side of the latching arm 13 is provided. The upper and lower cases 1a and 1b are provided. By receiving the upper and lower latch arms 13 with the arm receiving portion 26 and engaging and capturing the lock shaft 12a with the lock piece 25, the leading piece 10 can be fixed and held in an appropriate standby posture, and tape slack has occurred. However, it can withstand the drop impact and maintain the above positioning posture. The lock piece 25 is unlocked by a release pin inserted from the outer surface of the case.
[0024]
In the above-described embodiment, the adjacent edge between the base portion 22a and the intermediate portion 22b and the adjacent edge between the intermediate portion 22b and the tip portion 22c are smoothly continued with partial arc-shaped curves, but it is not necessary. As shown in FIG. 6, the base portion 22a, the intermediate portion 22b, and the tip portion 22c may be formed only by continuous straight lines. The winding region E in this case includes the boundary position between the base 22a and the intermediate portion 22b in the middle of the region.
[0025]
Other than the above-described embodiment, the intermediate portion 22b does not need to have a tapered shape, and may have at least a tapered shape. For example, the inclination angles of the upper and lower inclined surfaces may be different. The tip 22c preferably has a constant width in order to increase the weld area of the weld W, but can be formed in a tapered shape as necessary. The pin 12 can be formed with a square axis or an ellipse axis. The latch arm 13 may be provided above and below the pin 12, and the structure thereof may be other than the structure described in the embodiment.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a leading piece.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of the tape cartridge.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the tape cartridge with a leading piece pulled out.
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a front view of a connecting portion of a leader tape.
FIG. 6 is a front view of an essential part showing another embodiment of a connecting part.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body case 10 Leading piece 11 Leader tape 12 Pin 13 Latching arm 20 Connection part 21 Groove 22 Winding piece 22a Winding piece base 22b Winding piece intermediate part 22c Winding piece front end W Welding part W1 Perimeter welding Part

Claims (3)

A single reel type magnetic tape cartridge in which the connecting portion provided at the lead-out end of the leader tape is wound around the pin of the leading piece and reversed and thermally welded to the tape surface,
The connecting portion is composed of a pair of upper and lower winding pieces that are divided by a horizontally long groove formed in the leader tape,
The wound piece is continuous with a base portion having a constant vertical width provided on the base end side, an intermediate portion formed in a conical shape continuously to the base portion, and a narrow portion of the intermediate portion. The top and bottom width formed by the
The vertical width of the tip is set smaller than the vertical width of the base,
In a state where the entire surface of the tip portion wound around the pin of the leading piece and reversed is thermally welded to the base portion, a peripheral weld portion is formed by the resin protruding from the peripheral edge of the tip portion,
A single reel type tape cartridge, wherein a vertical width of the base portion is formed slightly larger than a vertical width of a welded portion including the peripheral weld portion. In a state where the wound piece is wound around a pin of a leading piece and reversed, and the tip portion is thermally welded to the base portion.
2. The single reel type tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a boundary position between the base portion and the intermediate portion is located on the tip portion side of a virtual plane passing through a welding surface between the tip portion and the base portion. 2. The single reel type tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein each of an adjacent edge between the base portion and the intermediate portion and an adjacent edge between the intermediate portion and the tip end portion are smoothly and continuously formed with a curve.

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