INFORMATION RECORDING MEDIUM

Abstract

An information recording medium which is capable of holding a front cover in its closed state even if a large external force is applied. The information recording medium includes a casing body which has tape reels mounted for winding the magnetic tape, a front wall and a lower wall having an outlet formed for pulling out a magnetic tape, and a cover and a sliding section which open and close the outlet. The front cover is pivotally mounted to the casing body by a pair of support sections, for opening and closing a part of the outlet formed in the front wall of the casing body. The sliding section is slidably mounted to the lower wall of the casing body, for opening and closing a part of the outlet formed in the lower wall of the casing body.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects and features of the present invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an information recording medium;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of essential parts of a connecting portion and its vicinity on a side wall of an upper casing;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a front cover;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 3 front cover, taken on line X1-X1 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the information recording medium in a state in which the front cover and a sliding section are in a closed position;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the information recording medium in a state in which the front cover and the sliding section are in an open position;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the side wall and its vicinity of the FIG. 5 information recording medium, taken on line Y1-Y1 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional front cover and a conventional sliding section;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 8 front cover, taken on line X2-X2 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of essential parts of the front cover and the sliding section, which is useful in explaining the positional relationship between the front cover and the sliding section in a state in which the front cover is closed;

FIG. 11 is a side view of a tape cartridge in a state in which the front cover and the sliding section are in the closed position;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a side wall toward the viewer and its vicinity of the FIG. 11 tape cartridge, taken on line Y2-Y2 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a side view of the tape cartridge in a state in which the front cover is half open;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the side wall toward the viewer and its vicinity of the FIG. 13 tape cartridge, taken on line Y3-Y3 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a side view of the tape cartridge in a state in which the front cover is half open; and

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the side wall toward the viewer and its vicinity of the FIG. 15 tape cartridge, taken on line Y4-Y4 of FIG. 15.

Claims

1. An information recording medium comprising: a casing body that has a tape reel mounted thereon for winding a magnetic tape therearound, and includes a front wall, a lower wall, and an outlet formed in the front wall and the lower wall, for pulling out the magnetic tape therefrom;a front cover including a cover body, and a pair of support sections erected on opposite ends of the cover body, the support sections being fitted on respective portions of a pair of side walls of the casing body in contact with the front wall thereof, the portions being at respective locations toward the front wall, whereby the front cover is pivotally mounted on the casing body, for opening and closing the outlet formed in the front wall, using the cover body;a reel brake that is disposed in the casing body and is configured to slide in a direction toward or away from the tape reel in a manner interlocked with opening and closing operations of the front cover; anda sliding section that is slidably mounted on the lower wall, for opening and closing the outlet formed in the lower wall, the sliding section having a pair of side walls formed thereon in a manner covering lower portions of the pair of side walls of the casing body,wherein in a state in which the outlet is closed by the front cover and the sliding section, a pivotal motion of the front cover can be inhibited by abutment of respective upper end faces of the side walls of the sliding section with associated lower end faces of the respective support sections of the front cover, andwherein respective inner surfaces of the support sections have engaging portions formed thereon at respective locations spaced from the lower end faces of the support sections, for being engaged with the reel brake in a manner interlocked with the opening operation of the front cover to thereby cause the reel brake to slide in a direction away from the tape reel, and protrusions formed thereon in the vicinity of the lower end faces of the support sections.

2. An information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions are formed such that lower end faces thereof are flush with the lower end faces of the support sections.

3. An information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions are each formed in the vicinity of a side end face farthest from the cover body of all side end faces of each support section.