Tdk Corporation

Akio Momoi

Takateru Satoh

Masatoshi Okamura

Hiroshi Kaneda

Kenji Hashizume

Motohiko Shima

Masaru Ikebe

Yukio Miyazaki

Hiroki Suzuki

Morimasa Sasaki

Chotaro Kouzu

Shinichi Sato

A tape reel includes a hub in the shape of a bottomed-cylinder with a disc-like lower flange integrally formed at a lower end thereof and an opening formed at an upper end thereof; and an upper flange that is disc-like, has a center hole formed therein, and has a ring-shaped protrusion formed so as to protrude at a rim of the center hole, the protrusion being fitted into and fixed at the opening of the hub. The upper flange is constructed by forming the rim of the center hole thicker than other parts aside from the rim.

Tape reel and information recording apparatus

A tape reel includes: a hub in the shape of a bottomed-cylinder with a disc-like lower flange integrally formed at a lower end thereof and an opening formed at an upper end thereof; and an upper flange that is disc-like, has a center hole formed therein, and has a ring-shaped protrusion formed so as to protrude at a rim of the center hole, the protrusion being fitted into and fixed at the opening of the hub. The hub includes a plurality of reinforcing ribs that are respectively formed in an up-down direction on an inner circumferential surface of the hub.

Tape reel and information recording medium

A disc cartridge which is capable of positively closing a disc access opening by shutter members. In the disc cartridge, a lower shell is formed with urging protuberances for urging shutter members in a manner causing the shutter members to pivotally move toward respective closing positions, and the shutter members are each formed with a protruding portion protruded from a side end face thereof such that a force for pressing the protruding portion against the urging protuberance is progressively increased after the protruding portion is brought into abutment with the urging protuberance before completion of a pivotal motion of a disc tray until the completion of the pivotal motion of the disc tray.

Disc cartridge

A molding mold and a molding method are disclosed, for molding a flange configuration in which a flange of a reel hub portion can be maintained in a predetermined configuration. Also a tape cartridge is disclosed, which can securely prevent a tape-shaped recording medium from touching at the flange while the tape cartridge is being used. In the molding mold for molding, a flange configuration is produced, which is provided with a reel hub portion having a flange and a hub arranged at a substantially center of the flange and an insert portion disposed at a substantially center of the reel hub portion at an opposite side of the hub, and which includes: an insert attaching portion; a flange forming portion for forming the flange; and a hub forming portion for forming the hub; wherein in a forming surface of at a side of the hub forming portion of the flange forming portion, a dimension of a circular area over from a root end of the hub forming portion to a substantially intermediate portion between the root end and a circumferential end of the flange forming portion, is corrected in view of deformation upon molding.

Molding mold, molding method and tape cartridge

This tape cartridge is provided with a tape reel being rotatable and having a reel teeth portion; and a brake-locking member having a brake teeth portion in which mating operation and mate-releasing operation can be performed with respect to the reel teeth portion. The reel teeth portion and the brake teeth portion, each has plural teeth. Each of the teeth has a taper portion being inclined toward both sides from a tip part of the taper portion and a vertical portion extending in a substantially vertical manner from both end terminals of the taper portion to a base portion. At the time of the mating, the tip part is contacted with a bottom surface of the base portion at the side of the opposite teeth, and the vertical portion is opposed to the vertical portion at the side of the opposite teeth. At the time of mating, the vertical portions of the teeth are mutually contacted and the mating state is hard to become unfitted. Additionally, height of the teeth can be low and a gap between the teeth can be wide when the cartridge is used, so that contact between the teeth can be prevented.

Tape cartridge

In a region more on the back surface side than on the front surface of the circumferential side surface of a magnetic plate, a circumferential projection having an outer diameter larger than that on the front surface side is formed, and the magnetic plate is fitted to a circular reel portion so as to be embedded in the circular reel portion at the circumferential projection thereof.

A tape cartridge comprising: a housing; a single tape reel carrying a length of tape having an outer end fixed to a leader pin, which can be taken out of the cartridge through an outlet formed in the housing by a tape draw-out member of a recording-reproducing apparatus; a door member covering the outlet; and a spring member pushing the door member towards the closed position. The spring member is a torsion coil spring comprising: two coil portions; a connecting portion linking the two coil portions; a first arm portion that extends from one coil portion, forms a first angle with the connecting portion, and has an end abutting the housing; and a second arm portion that extends from the other coil portion, forms a second angle with the connecting portion pointing in opposite direction to the first angle, and has an end fixed to the door member.

There is provided a tape cartridge which is capable of reliably preventing dropout of a magnetic tape without lowering durability. A tape cartridge includes a cartridge body formed by a pair of cartridge halves, one of the cartridge halves being formed with an insertion hole permitting insertion of a driving shaft of a record/playback apparatus, and a tape reel formed by a hollow cylindrical hub and a pair of flanges, the tape reel being accommodated within the cartridge body, with a tape wound around the hub. A center line average height Ra of a surface of the hub is defined to be not smaller than 0.005 &mgr;m and not larger than 0.04 &mgr;m.

In a tape cassette, a reel brake member has an opening hole portion for insertion of a brake release member on a device side, and a guide recessed portion for guiding the brake release member is formed in a central portion of an abutment side wall portion of the brake release member in the opening hole portion. This guide recessed portion is formed in the abutment side wall portion of the brake release member in a vertical direction in a central portion of the opening hole portion, and an internal surface of the guide recessed portion is formed into a U-shaped groove having a curved surface. Arms are provided on sides of a main body of a reel brake member via hinge portions, and a brake pawl is provided at a distal end of the respective brake pawls. An opening hole is formed for insertion of a brake release operation member provided on a device side. In addition, upper surface portion and lower surface portion are provided which are adapted to abut with and slide over internal surfaces of upper and lower cases. Recessed portions are provided on the upper surface portion on both sides of a front side at positions corresponding to outer circumferential edges of the tape reels, and a butt recessed portion is provided on a front side of the lower surface portion so as to correspond to holding ribs provided along tape reel receiving areas on a front side of a reel brake sliding area.

Tape cassette

A cartridge including a housing which holds a tape medium or disk medium and which is composed of upper and lower casings. The two casings are joined with screws in bosses formed at their four corners. The cartridge is characterized in that the bosses in at least one of the upper and lower casings have ends with partially different heights each so that, when the upper and lower casings are joined, their bosses come in contact with one another before the sidewalls of the in casings are mated.

Cartridge

The tape cassette comprises a case body for containing a pair of tape reels wound with a tape-shaped medium and an openable lid member provided in front of the cassette where the tape-shaped medium is exposed to an exterior. In an area adjacent to a joint portion P,between a front plate,and a side plate,of a front lid constituting the lidmember, at least either one of the plates, for example, the side plate,is made thinner in thickness in a form of a slanted face,, etc. Also in an area adjacent to a joint portion P,between a top plate,and a side plate,of an upper lid,, at least either one of the plates, for example, the top plate,is made thinner in thickness in a form of a concave,. With this structure, the areas adjacent to the joint portions P,, P,are hardened earlier than the other areas when the resin is set at the injection molding and the side plates,and,will not be inclined inwardly.

A disc cartridge capable of improving an appearance of a casing and quality thereof and a molding die capable of providing such an improved disc cartridge. A casing is provided at a peripheral portion thereof other than a disc receiving section opposite to a disc-like medium with a two-layer section constructed of a non-transparent resin layer and a transparent resin layer laminated on each other in a direction of thickness of the casing. A molding die including a fixed part and a movable part is so constructed that a slide mold for molding a transparent resin section and the transparent resin layer of the two-layer section is arranged in the fixed part.

Disc cartridge integrally formed of transparent and non-transparent resin, and molding die therefor

When a guide wall formed in the lower casing of a tape cassette housing for guiding a brake release member is extended upward into the upper casing, the corresponding part of the upper casing must be cut off to provide a recess. The recess, located in the central part of the upper casing, reduces the structural strength of the upper casing. Also there are problems of deformation of the cassette wall parts subject to the urging of the spring member and development of a gap between the mating edges of the upper and lower casings during storage at elevated temperature. The present invention is directed to the solution of the problems. In a tape cassette which includes a housing comprised of upper and lower casings, a pair of tape reels turnably held in the housing, and a brake mechanism comprising reel brake members and a brake release member all of which are located in the front part of the housing and between the pair of tape reels, in an arrangement such that, when the cassette is not in use, the brake members are urged by a spring member in directions where they are in mesh with serrated flange peripheries of the reels and, when the cassette is used, the release member is forced upward against the spring force by a brake release pin and the brake members cooperatively swing out of mesh with the serrated flange peripheries of the reels, setting the tape reels free to turn; a guide wall for guiding the release member for upward and downward movement is formed in one piece with the lower casing, with the upper part of the guide wall being overlapped with a corresponding part of the upper casing. A solid joint part for securing the upper and lower casings together is provided in the vicinity of the region where the release lever moves upward and downward along the front wall.

Release mechanism for a reel brake member for a tape cassette

A disc cartridge of a three-piece structure capable of enhancing moldability and rigidity of a center frame. The center frame having a square-like shape is interposedly arranged between an upper plate and a lower plate and has a receiving space defined therein for receiving a disc-like medium. The upper and lower plates are provided on four corners thereof with fixing bosses respectively. The center frame is formed on opposite surfaces thereof with fitting recesses in which the bosses are fitted, respectively. The center frame is formed on each corner thereof with a thin-wall portion having a reduced thickness of 50 to 80% based on a whole thickness of the center frame.

A storage case includes a main body and a cover member so supported by rotary spindles as to be rotatable with respect to the main body and rotatable between an opening position and a closing position. The cover member includes cartridge holding members, formed on right and left sides thereof, for holding and integrally rotating a cartridge inserted into between the main body and the cover member when the cover member rotates to the opening position. When the cover member is closed, an opening, which permits an insertion of a mini disk from outside, is formed between the main body and the cover member. The cover member is opened, whereby the mini disk encased in the storage case also rotates, and hence, even when an index card is disposed between, e.g., the mini disk and the main body, the index card can be taken out without pulling out the mini disk.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Akio Momoi