Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval – Record medium – In container
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-15
2001-02-20
Heinz, A. J. (Department: 2754)
Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval
Record medium
In container
C242S346000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06191920
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a tape cassette and, more particularly to a tape cassette having tape guides not formed in one piece with the housing of the cassette such as the VHS video cassette.
Conventional tape cassettes, such as for VHS video tapes, comprise an upper casing and a lower casing molded separately and joined together to form a cassette housing, a pair of tape reels contained in the housing, with a length of tape wound around one of the reels so as to be supplied to and taken up by the other reel. To guide the tape, there are usually provided a pair of tape guides, right and left, inside the housing.
For the purpose of proper guiding, the tape guides must be fixed rather than being turnable so that the vertical straightness of the guides can be secured and the wear of the posts supporting the guides be avoided.
To keep the tape guides unmovable, various proposals have been made. Japanese Utility Model Application Publn Kokai No. 54-70513 achieves the end by fitting a cylindrical metallic tape guide to each of tape guide posts molded in one piece with the cassette housing and having three or more axially extending projections formed on the post body.
Utility Model Application Publn Kokai No. 55-132783 discloses bosses on which cylindrical metallic tape guides are press-fitted. Each boss is formed with portions larger or smaller in diameter than the inside diameter or outside diameter of each tape guide in such manner that the guide fits immovably to the boss.
Patent Application Publn Kokai No. 3-187081 provides bosses on which cylindrical resin tape guides are fitted. The part of each boss that does not contact the tape is tapered and a rib is formed in the lower portion of the taper. A tape guide is then press-fitted to the boss.
It has been in practice to provide tape guide posts with ribs and then press-fit cylindrical tape guides, one for each, to the posts to keep them from turning. When the tape guides are made of metal, there is no possibility of the tape guides being deformed upon press fitting. However, they can wear off or deform ribs of plastic casings, or the need of polishing can add to the manufacture cost. In recent years tape guides made of resins have come into use. Resin tape guides have the danger of being deformed upon press fitting to their guide posts. Attempts to avoid this have been made as proposed by Patent Application Publn Kokai No. 3-187081 in which ribs are provided in locations where they are kept out of contact with the tape.
However, when resin tape guides are used, the height of the tape guide posts and that of the ribs along which the tape guides are to be press-fitted can sometimes deteriorate the (vertical) straightness of the tape guides, resulting in irregular sliding contact with the tape, unstable running of the tape, or partial elongation of the tape that makes recording or reproduction impossible.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a tape cassette using resin tape guides characterized in that tape guide posts that support the guides have a height greater than the width of the tape and that press-fit ribs of a height greater than half that of the tape guides are formed, one for each, on the side of the tape guide posts opposite to the side where the tape comes in sliding contact with the tape guide to be fitted thereon.
More specifically, the invention provides a tape cassette comprising a housing made up of upper and lower casings, a pair of reels around which a tape is wound and contained altogether in the housing, and a pair of cylindrical resin tape guides having a height greater than the width of the tape, said tape guides being securely fitted to corresponding tape guide posts also having a height greater than the width of the tape and provided in the lower casing, characterized in that each said tape guide post has a press-fit rib formed in one piece therewith on the side where the tape does not come in contact with the tape guide thereon, said rib having a vertical height greater than half that of the tape guide and serving to make the dimensions of the tape guide post surface on the tape-contacting side greater than the inside diameter of the tape guide before being press-fitted.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 5034839 (1991-07-01), Okamura et al.
patent: 5074451 (1991-12-01), Tollefson
patent: 5234178 (1993-08-01), Schoettle
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patent: 5522562 (1996-06-01), Stanley
patent: 5542593 (1996-08-01), Skaar
patent: 5777831 (1998-07-01), Konno
patent: 9017066 (1991-04-01), None
patent: 0187319 A1 (1985-12-01), None
patent: 0430433A2 (1991-06-01), None
patent: 0502483 A2 (1992-09-01), None
patent: 0853316 A2 (1998-07-01), None
patent: 2211817 (1989-07-01), None
patent: 2255966 (1992-11-01), None
patent: 2314087 (1997-12-01), None
patent: 3-187081 (1991-08-01), None
Hashizume Kenji
Okamura Masatoshi
Sato Shin'ichi
Heinz A. J.
TDK Corporation
Wood Phillips VanSanten Clark & Mortimer
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