Tapered reel pressure spring
AssigneeMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
InventorDale T. Tollefson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A reel spring for use in a magnetic tape reel cassette, having a longer longitudinal axis and a shorter transverse axis is disclosed. The reel spring includes two arms joined at the central transverse axis which has the smallest transverse width of the reel spring. The arms extend longitudinally from the central transverse axis to respective ends, and increase uniformly in transverse width toward the ends to form a bow-tie shape. The reel spring also includes transverse crimps which define a central base portion and two end portions extending at an angle from the central base portion to provide a biasing force. Two openings are formed in the central base portion to mount the reel spring in the cassette. The openings are spaced from the transverse axis on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis.
Claims10
A reel spring for use in a tape cassette, the reel spring having a longitudinal central axis and a transverse central axis wherein the longitudinal central axis is longer than the transverse central axis, the reel spring comprising first and second arms extending longitudinally from the transverse central axis and culminating in first and second ends, wherein the reel spring has the smallest transverse dimension at the transverse central axis and the first and second arms increase uniformly in transverse dimension from the transverse central axis toward the first and second ends to form a bow-tie shape, and wherein at a first location on the first and second arms the transverse dimension is less than that at a second location on the first and second arms closer to the respective ends than the first location.
A reel spring for use in a tape cassette, the reel spring having a longer longitudinal central axis and a shorter transverse central axis and comprising:
- first and second arms extending longitudinally from the transverse central axis and culminating in first and second ends;
- and
- first and second transverse crimps formed in the respective first and second arms which define a central base portion therebetween and first and second end portions extending at an angle from the central base portion to provide a biasing force, wherein the first and second transverse crimps are equidistantly spaced from the transverse central axis of the reel spring, and the first arm includes the first end portion and half of the central base portion and the second arm includes the second end portion and the other half of the central base portion;
- wherein the reel spring has the smallest transverse dimension at the transverse central axis and the first and second arms increase in transverse dimension from the transverse central axis toward the first and second ends to form a bow-tie shape.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.