A tape cartridge player includes a plurality of receptacles adapted to receive a plurality of cartridges of the endless loop variety wherein magnetic tape within the cartridge is passed around a pressure roller and across a plurality of openings at its forward end. The cartridges are of the type eaching having a detent notch intermediate their front and rear ends. A spring biased member is provided adjacent each of the receptacles and is engageable with its associated cartridge detent notch to displace the cartridge from a first position within the receptacle-- with the tape within the cartridges out of engagement with the player transducer assembly and capstan--to a second position where the tape is sandwiched between the cartridge pressure roller and the player capstan. In this second position, the tape contacts, and is propelled across, the transducer assembly. Each of the plurality of tape cartridges may be manipulated by a plurality of pawl mechanisms which cooperate with the detent notch of a different one of the plurality of tape cartridges. The pawl mechanisms are operated by a plurality of cooperating cams mounted on a rotatable shaft. The angular position of the shaft controls the position of each of the cams to position its corresponding pawl mechanism in one of at least three positions. In the first position, the pawl mechanism is disengaged from the cartridge detent notch. In the second and third positions, the pawl mechanism engages the detent notches, the second position maintaining the cartridge spaced apart from the player transducer assembly and capstan, and the third position maintaining the cartridge in engagement with the player transducer assembly and capstan.
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 306,397, filed 11-14-72, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 103,552, filed Jan. 4, 1971, now abandoned, and entitled, "TAPE CARTRIDGE PLAYER WITH CARTRIDGE PULL-IN MECHANISM." The present invention pertains to tape cartridge players, and more particularly to tape cartridge players of the type which include a cartridge pull-in mechanism.
This invention relates to a cassette tape player comprising a fixed frame and a movable frame which is slidable with respect to said fixed frame in such a manner as that of a drawer. The fixed frame is provided with such electric systems as a motor and magnetic head; said movable frame is provided with a capstan, pinch roller, reel shafts and a driving system for driving and connecting these members. When the tape is stuck around the capstan and the pinch roller, the movable frame is drawn to remove the tape easily from the fixed frame and, at the same time, a burn-out of lead wire may be prevented.
A tape recorder mode selector device equipped with a set of mode selecting members for operations such as record, play, fast-forward and rewind, a tape selector member and a capstan for selectively driving one of a plurality of cassette tapes loaded parallel to one another thereon. A tape selecting slide member interlocking with the tape selector member includes a projection or engaging element. A rotator selector is provided. The engaging element blocks the pinch rollers for the cassette tapes other than the cassette tape selected by the tape selector member from being pressed against the capstan, and the rotator selector causes a fast rotator to be selectively engaged with a fast-forwarding or rewinding reel rest of the selected cassette tape, thereby driving the selected cassette tape in response to the selection of these operating modes.
As an alternate to two separate video tape recorders are operated to perform dubbing or the like, the present invention provides a double video cassette tape recorder for dubbing, wherein one of two video tapes is inserted at an upper position and another tape at a lower position in the same or separate cassette by front loading, and the two tapes can be separately or simultaneously driven to record and play back using a common capstan and cylinder heads for each tape in the limited space of housing. The double video cassette tape recorder for dubbing according to the present invention does not take up space for installation, and the inside mechanism can be used commonly to conventional VCR to save cost.
A tape recorder includes: a cassette tape compartment in which a plurality of cassette tapes are detachably mounted; a capstan for coaxially mounting the plurality of cassette tapes housed in the cassette tape compartment; a roller provided for each of the cassette tapes and which can be pressed against the capstan; a playback and/or recording head provided for each of the cassette tapes; a selector for selecting the cassette tape to be driven and a separate selector for selecting one of a plurality of cassette tape drive modes; a mode position selector to be retained in the position corresponding to the mode selected by the mode selector; a controller for controlling the position of the roller provided for each of the cassette tapes according to the position of the mode position selector; and a device for electrically enabling the playback and/or recording head to operate for playback of at least one of the cassette tapes or for recording on at least one of the cassette tapes.
A housing for an information storage medium where at least one surface of that housing includes a plurality of grooves. A locomotion apparatus to move Applicants' housing within an information storage and retrieval system, where that apparatus includes at least one rotatable shaft and at least one drive member disposed on that shaft, where each such drive member has the shape of a truncated cone, and where each such drive member includes a drive surface which includes a plurality of ribs. Applicants' drive member contacts the grooved surface of Applicants' housing such that one or more of the ribs disposed on the drive surface intermeshes with one or more of the grooves in the housing. Rotation of the rotatable shaft in a first direction causes the housing the move in a second direction. Rotation of the rotatable shaft in a third direction causes the housing to move in a fourth direction.
