Magnetic Tape Cassette

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a magnetic tape cassette in which a front lid is pivotably mounted on the cassette housing so as to selectively open or close a front opening portion for a tape path of the cassette housing in order to protect a magnetic tape from being damaged. More particularly, this invention relates to a magnetic tape cassette of the sort as described above which is suitable for accommodating therein a magnetic tape on and/or from which a PCM (pulse-code-modulated) signal is recorded and/or reproduced.

2. Description of the Prior Art

FIGS. 1 and 2 are illustrations, respectively, of a conventional magnetic tape cassette in which a magnetic tape for a PCM signal is accommodated.

As FIG. 1 shows, a cassette housing 1 is comprised of an upper section or half 11a and a lower section or half 1b, which are secured together by suitable conventional means such as screws. A pair of reel hubs 2a and 2b are mounted rotatably in the cassette housing 1, and a magnetic tape 3 is wound on the pair of reel hubs 2a and 2b. A front lid 4 is pivotably mounted on the cassette housing 1 so as to selectively open or close the front opening portion of the cassette housing 1.

Now, FIG. 1 shows the state in which the front opening portion of the cassette housing 1 is closed by the front lid 4. The front lid 4 comprises a lid main section 4a and a pair of side supporting sections 4b. The lid main section 4a has a rectangular configuration having a length and width sufficient so that it can close the entire front opening portion of the tape cassette. The pair of side supporting sections 4b are elongated from both side ends of the lid main section 4a and bent backwards at a right angle. The side supporting sections 4b respectively each have a shaft aperture which is rotatably supported by a shaft 6 formed at a predetermined position on each side wall of the cassette housing. The front lid 4 is made of a plastic material having sufficient flexibility or elasticity so that when it is warped toward the cassette housing side, it can be engaged with the front opening portion of the cassette housing 1 due to its elastic deformation, thus being halted at a predetermined position to close the front opening portion of the cassette housing 1.

FIG. 2 illustrates the conventional magnetic tape cassette of this example which is ready for recording or reproduction. As FIG. 2 shows under this condition, the front lid 4 is opened manually or automatically by an automatic lid opening and/or closing mechanisms (not shown) of a tape recorder or the like and the magnetic tape 3 is exposed in the front opening portion of the cassette housing 1.

As described above, the magnetic tape cassette of this example is provided with the front lid 4 so that without a specially-prepared cassette case, upon non-use, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the front opening portion of the cassette housing 1 is closed by the front lid 4 so as to protect the magnetic tape 3 in the front opening portion from being touched by fingers or the like. Also, by the front lid 4, dust, smudges and the like can be prevented from entering the main body of the magnetic tape cassette.

In the thus arranged magnetic tape cassette, when the front lid 4 is in its opened state, the lid main section 4a is released from being engaged with the front opening portion of the tape cassette and restored to the former state with the result that the side supporting sections 4b of the front lid 4 would both be detached from the side walls of the cassette housing 1. Thus, the front lid 4 is allowed to freely move in the direction perpendicular to its rotation direction, i.e., in the axial direction of the shafts 6. If this movement of the front lid 4 is increased, the front lid 4 may be detached away from the cassette housing 1.

Further, upon use, the front lid 4 is opened under the condition that the tape cassette is loaded onto a recording and/or reproducing apparatus. Thus, when the front lid 4 is moved in the axial direction of the shafts 6 and protruded from both side walls of the cassette housing 1, the protruded portions of the front lid can be accidentally caught somewhere within the recording and/or reproducing apparatus. There is then a risk that the tape cassette may not be ejected from the recording and/or reproducing apparatus.

Furthermore, since in the conventional magnetic tape cassette the front lid 4 is pivotably secured to the cassette housing 1 at its side supporting portions 4b by the shafts 6 and both the shafts 6 have the same diameter, the front lid 4 can be pivotably secured to the cassette housing 1 even in a reversed condition. In such a case when the front lid 4 is constructed such that it is asymmetrical with respect to the up and down direction or right and left direction, if the front lid 4 is pivotably secured to the cassette housing in its reversed condition, this results in an inferior magnetic tape cassette.

In addition, since stopper edge surfaces, with which the side supporting portions 4b and 4c of the front lid 4 are brought in contact when the front lid 4 of the cassette housing 1 is opened are formed perpendicularly to the upper and lower surfaces of the cassette housing when the front lid 4 is closed, relatively large spacings are respectively brought about between the stopper edge surfaces and the side supporting portions 4b and 4c as shown in FIG. 1. Accordingly, lid-opening-pins provided in the recording and/or reproducing apparatus for opening the front lid 4 tend to accidentally drop into the spacing between the stopper edge surfaces of the cassette housing 1 and the end edges of the side supporting portions 4b, 4b of the front lid 4. Thus, the tape cassette is prevented from moving back and forth so that the ejection as well as the recording and/or reproduction will not be made.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved magnetic tape cassette of very small size.

It is another object of this invention to provide a very small magnetic tape cassette of which the front lid can be prevented from being moved in the direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of the front lid, i.e., the axial direction of the support shafts when the front lid of the tape cassette is opened.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a magnetic tape cassette of simplified arrangement the front lid of which can be prevented from being erroneously secured to the cassette housing in the manufacturing process of the tape cassette.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a magnetic tape cassette in which a spacing between a stopper edge surface of a cassette housing and an end edge of a side supporting portion of a front lid can be decreased as much as possible thereby preventing a lid-opening pin from being dropped into the above-mentioned spacing.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic tape cassette comprising: (a) a cassette housing having a front opening portion; (b) a front lid formed of a lid main section and supporting arm portions attached perpendicularly to said lid main section at both its end portions, said front lid being pivotably mounted on the front portion of said cassette housing at said supporting arm portions so as to selectively open and/or close said front opening portion of said cassette housing; and (c) protruded edge portions formed on said cassette housing on its supporting portions where said front lid is pivotably secured, said protruded edge portions being climbed by said supporting arm portions of said front lid when said front lid is in its opened state.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic tape cassette comprising: (a) a cassette housing having a front opening portion; (b) a front lid formed of a lid main section and supporting arm portions attached perpendicularly to said lid main section at both its end portions, said front lid being pivotably mounted on the front portion of said cassette housing at said supporting arm portions so as to selectively open and/or close said front opening portion of said cassette housing; and (c) right and left shafts respectively provided on supporting surfaces of said cassette housing for said support arm portions of said front lid which have different diameters, respectively.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic tape cassette comprising: (a) a cassette housing having a front opening portion; (b) a front lid formed of a lid main section and supporting arm portions attached perpendicularly to said lid main section at both its end portions, said front lid being pivotably mounted on the front portion of said cassette housing at said supporting arm portions so as to selectively open and/or close said front opening portion of said cassette housing, said supporting arm portions each having a fan-like configuration spreading from its bearing portion toward said lid main section; and (c) engaging portions being engaged with said supporting arm portions when said front lid is in its opened state, said engaging portions each being arranged to have a configuration similar to that of each of said supporting arm portions.

According to yet a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic tape cassette comprising: (a) a cassette housing having a front opening portion; (b) a front lid formed of a lid main section and supporting arm portions attached perpendicularly to said lid main section at both its end portions, said front lid being pivotably mounted on the front portion of said cassette housing at said supporting arm portions so as to selectively open and/or close said front opening portion of said cassette housing; (c) stepped portions respectively formed on both side portions of said front opening portion, said stepped portions being retreated backward as compared with the central portion of said front opening portion; (d) tape guide rollers respectively provided in said cassette housing at its both side end portions of said front opening portion of said cassette housing such that they can be fragmentally viewed through said stepped portions; (e) guide members formed at inner positions of said stepped portions so as to bridge upper and lower edges of said front opening portion; and (f) tapered surface portions formed on said upper and lower edges of said front opening portion, said tapered surface portions being decreased in height from the insides of said guide members toward said stepped portions.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment to be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference numerals identify like elements and parts.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of a conventional magnetic tape cassette with its front lid closed;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same conventional magnetic tape cassette with its front lid opened;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a magnetic tape cassette according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a similar perspective view of the embodiment of the magnetic tape cassette shown in FIG. 3 illustrating the state in which its rotatable front lid is opened;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the magnetic tape cassette shown in FIG. 3 with its parts being shown in cross-section;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the magnetic tape cassette of the invention illustrating the state in which its front lid is opened;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken through the line A--A of FIG. 6 looking in the direction shown by the arrows;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken through the line B--B of FIG. 5 looking in the direction shown by the arrows; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the magnetic tape cassette of the invention upon use.

An embodiment of a magnetic tape cassette according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 9. In this embodiment, a magnetic tape cassette to which the present invention is applied is very small, for example 25.times.20.times.5 mm, in size.

As FIGS. 3 and 4 show, there is provided a cassette housing 11 in which a magnetic tape T is accommodated. Similarly as described above, a PCM signal, for example, is recorded on the magnetic tape T. The cassette housing 11 comprises an upper section or half 11a and a lower section or half 11b which are secured together by a suitable coupling means such as four screws 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d (see FIG. 5). Within the cassette housing 11, the magnetic tape T is wound on a pair of tape reels 13a and 13b.

As FIG. 4 shows, at the front side of the cassette housing 11, there is formed a front opening portion 14 which occupies substantially the whole surface of the front surface portion of the cassette housing 11. A pair of guide rollers 15a and 15b are rotatably provided within the cassette housing 11 at both side end portions of this front opening portion 14. Thus, a tape path for the magnetic tape T is formed between the guide rollers 15a and 15b in the front opening portion 14 along which the magnetic tape T is transported. The magnetic tape T passes around the guide rollers 15a and 15b and then is wound onto the tape reels 13a and 13b. Through the upper and lower walls or on the upper half 11a and the lower half 11b of the cassette housing 11, there are symmetrically formed reel shaft receiving apertures 16a and 16b which are arranged at the tape reels 13a and 13b, respectively.

At the front surface side of the cassette housing 11, a front lid 17 is pivotably mounted so as to selectively open or close the front opening portion 14 of the cassette housing 11. Similarly as described hereinabove, the front lid 17 is made of a plastic material having sufficient flexibility and comprises a lid main section 17a opposing the front opening portion 14 of the cassette housing 11 and support arm portions 17b and 17c which are respectively elongated at a right angle from both side ends of the lid main section 17a toward the rear of the cassette housing. The lid main section 17a is biased backwards, or toward the inside of the cassette housing 11.

In the thus constructed magnetic tape cassette, as shown in FIG. 4, step portions 14a and 14b are respectively formed on both side end portions of the front opening portion 14 which forms a part of the tape path portion of the cassette housing 11. The step portions 14a and 14b are respectively retreated backward as compared with the central portion of the front opening portion 14. On the upper and lower edges of both the step portions 14a and 14b, there are formed cut-away concave portions 14a1, 14b1, 14a2 and 14b2 in such a manner that a part of each of the guide rollers 15a and 15b can be viewed from the upper and lower sides. Guide members 18a and 18b are respectively secured to the front opening 14 at positions inside the step portions 14a and 15b so as to bridge the upper and lower edges of the front opening portion 14. The upper and lower edges of the front opening portion 14 are tapered to provide tapered surfaces 19a1, 19b1, 19a2 and 19b2 which are extended and inclined gradually to the rear side from the inside of the guide members 18a and 18b to the step portions 14a and 14b, respectively.

On the front end portions of both side walls of the cassette housing 11, stepped surface portions 20a and 20b are formed so as to oppose the arm portions 17b and 17c of the front lid 17 over the upper half 11a and the lower half 11b. The depth of each of the stepped surface portions 20a and 20b is substantially equal to the thickness of each of the arm portions 17b and 17c. As shown in, for example, FIG. 5, shafts or pins 21a and 21b are respectively implanted on the stepped surface portions 20a and 20b, while shaft apertures 22a and 22b are respectively formed through the arm portions 17b and 17c of the front lid 17. Then, the apertures 22a and 22b of the arm portions 17b and 17c of the front lid 17 are rotatably engaged with the pins 21a and 21b respectively so that the front lid 17 is rotatable upwardly or downwardly with respect to the cassette housing 11 so as to selectively open or close the front opening portion 14 of the cassette housing 11.

In the condition where the front lid 17 closes the front opening portion 14, the lid main section 17a is elastically deformed due to its elasticity and is brought in contact with the upper and lower edges of the front opening portion 14, i.e., the front end edges of the upper half 11a and the lower half 11b thereby supported by itself. Also, under the condition that the front lid 17 closes the front opening portion 14, as the lid main section 17a is elastically deformed, the arm portions 17b and 17c of the front lid 17 are inwardly biased and brought in contact with the stepped surface portions 20a and 20b of the cassette housing 11, respectively, thus the outer surfaces of both the arm portions 17b and 17c are substantially flush with the outer surfaces of both side walls of the cassette housing 11, as shown in FIG. 5.

In the state where the lid main section 17a is brought in contact with the upper or lower edge of the front opening portion 14 of the cassette housing 11 while the lid 17 is being rotated to open the front opening portion 14, the lid main section 17a is elastically deformed with the largest deformation amount and is thereby placed in the engaged state, or placed at the dead point position. When the lid main section 17a passes this dead point position, it is recovered from the deformed state and the front lid 17 is rotated upwardly or downwardly to open the front opening portion 14 of the cassette housing 11, which is a so-called click operation. Under this condition, the arm portions 17b and 17c are free from the biasing force of the lid main section 17a and they are released from contacting with the stepped surface portions 20a and 20b of the cassette housing 11. Then, clearances could be respectively produced between the arm portions 17b, 17c and the stepped surface portions 20a, 20b and the front lid 17 could slide in the lateral direction.

To solve this problem, in this embodiment, as for example, shown in FIG. 5, outwardly-protruded edge surfaces 20a1 and 20b1 are respectively formed on the stepped surface portions 20a and 20b of the cassette housing 11 at positions so as to come in contact with the inner surfaces of the arm portions 17b and 17c when the front lid 17 is opened (refer to FIG. 7). These protruded edge surfaces 20a1 and 20b1 are formed at such positions that both the side arm portions 17b and 17c may climb the protruded edge surfaces 20a1 and 20b1 when the front lid 17 is in its opened state. Thus, the opened state of the front lid 17 can be maintained in a stable manner.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rear half portion of each of the arm portions 17b and 17c of the front lid 17 is formed to have a substantially fan-like configuration which is spread in the forward direction from each of the peripheries of the shaft apertures 22a and 22b. Meanwhile, stopper edge surfaces 23a and 23b, which are respectively engaged with the arm portions 17b and 17c when the arm portions 17b and 17c are in their opened positions, are respectively formed on the stepped surface portions 20a and 20b of the cassette housing 11. These stopper edge surfaces 23a and 23b are each so shaped that they are along the inclined sides of the rear half portions of the arm portions 17b and 17c, or inclined rearward from the centers symmetrical with respect to the up and down direction (see, for example, FIGS. 3 and 6). The upper and lower end portions of the edge surfaces 23a and 23b are formed as vertical surfaces 23a1 and 23b1, respectively, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Accordingly, the central portions of these stopper edge surfaces 23a and 23b are located in the vicinity of the end edges of the supporting portions of the arm portions 17b and 17c as shown in FIG. 3 or 5 when the front lid 17 is in its closed state.

As shown in FIG. 5, shafts or pins 21a and 21b respectively implanted on the stepped surface portions 20a and 20b of the cassette housing 11 to rotatably support both the arm portions 17b and 17c of the front lid 17 respectively have different diameters and tapered surfaces 21a1 and 21b1 each being inclined forward at the end portions thereof. The shaft receiving apertures 22a and 22b formed through the arm portions 17b and 17c of the front lid 17 to receive the pins 21a and 21b respectively have different inner diameters so that the lid 17 can be prevented from being pivotably mounted to the cassette housing 11 in a reverse or wrong condition.

As will be clear from, for example, FIGS. 3 and 4, on the front surface of the lid main section 17a of the front lid 17, there is formed a guide groove 24 in the longitudinal direction of the lid main section 17a and at a location asymmetrical with respect to the up and down direction. When a plurality of magnetic tape cassettes of the invention are respectively accommodated into a plurality of compartments partitioned in a single cassette magazine (not shown), the guide grooves 24 are respectively engaged with engaging portions provided in the compartments of the cassette magazine, thus making it possible to insert and keep the respective magnetic tape cassettes in the cassette magazine in such a manner that the tracks A and B of the respective magnetic tape cassettes are aligned in the same direction. Since the guide groove 24 is formed on the front lid 17, the mechanical strength of the cassette housing 11 is not weakened at all. Particularly with very small magnetic tape cassettes, various detecting portions such as a tape end sensor or the like and a label area for indication provided on the surface of the cassette housing are not restricted.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the surface of the lid main section 17a of the front lid 17 at its both sides, there are formed engaging groove portions 25 in the up and down direction of the lid main section 17a. When the tape cassette is inserted into the compartment of the cassette magazine as mentioned hereinabove, one of the groove portions 25 is engaged with a latch mechanisms provided within each compartment of the cassette magazine so as to maintain the accommodated state of the tape cassette within the compartment of the cassette magazine. Since the latch engagement groove portions 25 are each formed on the front lid 17, the mechanical strength of the cassette housing 11 is not weakened at all. Particularly, in the case of a very small magnetic tape cassette, various detecting sections and the label area for indication or the like provided on the surface of the cassette housing 11 are also not restricted.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the magnetic tape cassette of the present invention upon use. As FIG. 9 shows, on both side surfaces of the front lid 17, i.e., on both end surfaces of the lid main section 17a, there are respectively formed engaging concave portions 26a and 26b. These concave portions 26a and 26b are respectively engaged with engaging pins 42 of a lid opening and/or closing mechanisms 41 provided at a tape cassette loading section of a reproducing apparatus (not shown). When the tape cassette with its front lid 17 closed is loaded onto the tape cassette loading section, the engaging pins 42 are engaged with the concave portions 26a and 26b respectively. In this state, the lid opening and/or closing mechanisms 41 are rotated to allow the engaging pins 42 to rotate the front lid 17 in the opening direction, thus opening the front opening portion 14 of the cassette housing 11.

Under the condition wherein the front lid 17 is rotated and the front opening portion 14 of the cassette housing 11 is opened, a capstan 43 is urged against the roller 15a or 15b through the upper or lower edge cut-away concave portions 14a1, 14a2 or 14b1, 14b2 of the front opening portion 14 (refer to FIG. 4). In this case, in order to prevent the tip end of a capstan arm 44 from abutting against the front lid 17, in this embodiment, cut-away concave portions 27a1, 27a2 and 27a1, 27b2 are formed on the corner portions of the upper and lower end edge portions of the lid main section 17a of the front lid 17 in correspondence with the rollers 15a and 15b, respectively, whereby the front lid 17 can be spaced apart from the tip end of the capstan arm 44. Thus, the capstan 43 can positively come in contact with the roller 15a or 15b so that the magnetic tape T can be transported at a constant speed.

Apertures 28a and 28b for the rear screws 12a and 12b which couple the upper half 11a and the lower half 11b of the cassette housing 11 together are formed so as to produce cavity portions 28a1 and 28b1 above the screw heads 12a1 and 12b1, or the upper half 11a side (refer to FIG. 8). These cavity portions 28a1 and 28b1 can be used as various kinds of detecting portions, for example, portions used for detecting the tracks A and B.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the top surface portions adjacent to the apertures 28a and 28b and on substantially the central surface portion near the rear edge surface portion of the cassette housing 11, there are respectively formed various kinds of detecting portions such as a tape thickness detecting hole 29, an auxiliary detecting hole 30 and a tape type select and/or cassette existence detecting hole 31 and an accidental erasure protection hole 32. Further, on each of the rear portions of both the side walls of the cassette housing 11, an eject grip 33 and a changer grip 34 are formed across the upper half 11a and the lower half 11b, respectively.

As set forth above, according to this embodiment, since the protruded edge surfaces 20a1 and 20b1 are respectively formed on the stepped surface portions 20a and 20b of the cassette housing 11 at such positions that they are brought in contact with the inner surfaces of the arm portions 17b and 17c when the front lid 17 is opened, the front lid 17 is prevented from being moved in the lateral direction in its opened state. Thus, the magnetic tape cassette of the invention can be accurately loaded onto the predetermined loading section of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus under the state that the front lid 17 of the magnetic tape cassette is opened, and also the magnetic tape cassette of the invention can be smoothly ejected from the recording and/or reproducing apparatus.

Since the front lid 17 is opened or closed relative to the cassette housing 11 in the state where the supporting arm portions 17b and 17c are spaced apart from the protruded edge surfaces 20a1 and 20b1, the supporting arm portions 17b and 17c are deformed each time the lid main section 17a is brought in contact with the front edges of the cassette housing 11 with elastic deformation. Thus, the front lid 17 can be rotated without trouble and opened and/or closed in a clicking manner.

Further, the positions at which the protruded edge surfaces 20a1 and 20b1 contacting with both of the supporting arm portions 17b and 17c of the front lid 17 are formed are not limited to those as illustrated and described about but may be such ones that the supporting arm portions 17b and 17c are both brought in contact with the protruded edge surfaces 2a1 and 20bl under the condition that the lid main section 17a is retreated from the front opening portion 14 of the cassette housing 11.

According to the present invention, as set forth above, since the front lid pivotably mounted on the cassette housing opens or closes the front opening portion of the magnetic tape cassette by utilizing elastic deformation of the front lid, the front lid can be prevented from being moved in the lateral direction, or in the axial direction of the shafts under the condition that the front lid is in its opened state, the front lid can be prevented from being detached from the cassette housing and, also the front lid can be positively halted by itself at the predetermined position in an opened state. Thus, the magnetic tape cassette of the invention can be smoothly ejected from the recording and/or reproducing apparatus without trouble.

The above description is presented by way of example on a single preferred embodiment of the invention and it will be apparent that many modifications and variations thereof could be effected by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the invention so that the scope of the invention should be determined only by the appended claims.