Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval – Record transport with head stationary during transducing – Tape record
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-23
2002-05-07
Cao, Allen T. (Department: 2754)
Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval
Record transport with head stationary during transducing
Tape record
C360S132000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06385004
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording and/or reproduction system for recording in and reproducing from a recording medium such as a tape cassette or the like used with a digital audio tape recorder (DAT) and a digital data storage (DDS).
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with the progress of multiplication and reduction in size and weight of the recording and reproduction equipment such as AV equipment, a computer equipment and the like, a tape cassette for a magnetic tape constituting a compact magnetic recording medium of high recording density such as a digital audio tape cassette (DAT cassette) or the like has been developed. The magnetic tape cassette constituting a cassette for accommodating such a magnetic recording medium has been developed as a magnetic recording medium for the AV equipment. Taking advantage of the high recording density thereof, however, it has come to be used also as an external recording medium for a digital data storage for the computer equipment.
This conventional tape cassette for the digital audio tape (DAT) includes a cassette body for accommodating a magnetic tape and having an enclosing member for opening and closing a required opening. Specifically, the conventional tape cassette is configured as shown in
FIGS. 1
to
3
A,
3
B.
FIG. 1
is an exploded view of a tape cassette,
FIG. 2
shows the appearance of the tape cassette, and
FIGS. 3A
,
3
B the manner in which the tape cassette is in use and not in use.
In
FIGS. 1
to
3
A,
3
B, reference numeral
1
designates the whole of the tape cassette. A cassette body
2
of this tape cassette
1
is formed in a box shape combining an upper half portion
3
and a lower half portion
4
with screws or by melt-welding. A magnetic tape T is accommodated in this cassette body
2
. A bottom portion
4
a
of the lower half portion
4
constituting this cassette body
2
is formed with a pair of right and left reel shaft insertion holes
5
,
5
. A pair of reel hubs
6
,
6
wound with the magnetic tape T are rotatably accommodated above the reel shaft insertion holes
5
,
5
. The magnetic tape T wound on the reel hubs
6
,
6
is held by upper and lower smooth or sliding sheets
7
,
7
, disposed on the bottom portion
4
a
of the lower half portion
4
and led and exposed to the front side of the cassette body
2
through right and left tape guides
8
,
8
arranged on both sides of the right and left front sides of the lower half portion
4
.
Also, the front portion of the lower half portion
4
is formed with a recessed loading pocket
9
at a portion corresponding to the reverse side of the magnetic tape T exposed to the front side of the cassette body
2
, i.e. between the tape guides
8
,
8
. When the tape cassette
1
is loaded in a magnetic recording and/or reproduction system, a tape loading guide member of the system advances into the pocket
9
and thereby pulls out the magnetic tape T forward of the cassette body
2
(for tape loading).
On the other hand, the upper half portion
3
is formed with a transparent window portion
10
, through which the amount of the magnetic tape T wound on the reel hubs
6
,
6
can be checked. The forward end portion of the upper half portion
3
has mounted thereon a front lid
11
vertically rotable about side plates
11
b
,
11
b
formed at the ends of a main plate
11
a
for opening or closing the magnetic tape exposure portion on the front side of the cassette body
2
. While the tape cassette
1
is out of use, the magnetic tape exposure portion is enclosed between the tape guides
8
,
8
on the front side of the cassette body
2
by the front lid
11
. Also, when the tape cassette
1
is loaded in the magnetic recording and/or reproduction system, the mechanism in the system rotates and opens upward the front lid
11
thereby to expose the magnetic tape T. With the opening motion of the front lid
11
, a lock member
12
for stopping the rotation of the reel hubs
6
,
6
is released.
In this tape cassette
1
, a slider
13
constituting a member for closing the opening is longitudinally slidably mounted on the lower surface of the bottom surface portion
4
a
of the lower half portion
4
of the cassette body
2
. This slider
13
is formed with reel shaft insertion holes
14
,
14
corresponding to the reel shaft insertion holes
5
,
5
of the lower half portion
4
. The slider
13
is always biased forward by a spring
15
. When the tape cassette
1
is not used, the slider
13
is located at the forward closing position thereby to close the reel shaft insertion holes
5
,
5
and the pocket
9
on the lower half portion
4
constituting a required opening of the cassette body
2
. Also, when the tape cassette
1
is loaded in the magnetic recording and/or reproduction system, the mechanism in the system slides the slider
13
to the rear opening position, whereby the reel shaft insertion holes
14
,
14
are matched with the reel shaft insertion holes
5
,
5
of the lower half portion
4
thereby to reveal the reel shaft insertion holes
5
,
5
and the pocket
9
.
In this way, the tape cassette
1
is such that, when not used, the front lid
11
and the slider
13
are in a closing position for the cassette body
2
as shown in FIG.
2
and
FIG. 3A
, so that the front opening of the cassette body
2
, the reel shaft insertion holes
5
,
5
and the pocket
9
are closed. Thus the interior of the cassette body
2
is hermetically sealed, so that the magnetic tape T accommodated therein is protected without any dust or the like attached thereto.
Also, the recording and reproduction tape cassette is reduced in size, while at the same time having the functions including anti-erasure means for preventing the erasure of the recorded information and determining the length of the magnetic tape, in addition to the recording/reproduction in and from a recording/reproduction tape such as the magnetic tape. In a recording and reproduction tape cassette such as a digital video tape cassette or the like, for example, an integrated circuit board (hereinafter referred to as the IC board) constituting a storage unit with the connection terminal portion thereof facing a predetermined position of the upper and lower half portions of the cassette is built in the recording and reproduction tape cassette. The contact terminal of this IC board is connected to the external terminal of the information detecting unit included in the magnetic recording and/or reproduction system so that the recorded information of the accommodation tape stored in the IC memory of the IC board can be searched for.
The recording and reproduction tape cassette having an IC board built therein as a storage unit in this way and the IC board are shown in
FIGS. 4
to
7
A,
7
B.
FIG. 4
shows the lower half portion of the recording and reproduction tape cassette,
FIG. 5
shows the IC board and
FIG. 6
is a sectional view of the IC board.
This recording and reproduction tape cassette
20
, as shown in
FIG. 4
, comprises a board mounting unit
22
including a thin, long area, i.e. a gap portion of a predetermined width parallel to the rear surface at a predetermined position such as a corner of the rear side of the rectangular lower half portion of the cassette body. The rear surface of this board mounting unit
22
is formed with a plurality of connection windows
23
so that the connection terminal of the IC board described later faces the rear portion of the tape cassette
20
.
Also, a bottom portion
21
a
of the lower half portion
21
is formed with reel shaft insertion holes
24
,
24
, and formed with tape guides
25
,
25
on the two sides of the front thereof. A recessed loading pocket portion
26
is formed between the tape guides
25
,
25
.
An IC board
27
configured as shown in
FIGS. 5 and 6
is built in the board mounting portion
22
of the lower half portion
21
. A board portion
27
a
of the IC board
27
is made of epoxy resin or other engineering plastics (POM, etc.) equivalent to
Sakurai Mitsue
Sanpei Takaaki
Cao Allen T.
Maioli Jay H.
Sony Corporation
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