An apparatus for recording and/or reproducing information on and/or from a tape drawn from a cassette includes first and second tape guide members for guiding the tape drawn from the cassette, the first tape guide member bringing the tape into abutment with the head, and a control mechanism for, during tape loading, causing the first tape guide member to travel in a direction in which the tape is brought into abutment with the head, and also causing the second tape guide member to travel toward the cassette.

A cassette ejecting mechanism of a tape player includes a cassette holder having a portion to be locked and a head drum withdrawal lever having a lock portion. When the cassette holder is moved to a loading position, the lock portion of the head drum withdrawal lever prevents the cassette holder from moving toward an ejecting position and locks it at a loading position. When the head drum withdrawal lever is retracted, the lock is released to permit the cassette holder to move to the ejecting position. At the same time, the portion to be locked of the cassette holder is located in front of the lock portion of the head drum withdrawal lever and prevents the head drum withdrawal lever from returning to a forward position, that is, the head drum is locked at the retracted position. Accordingly, locking and unlocking of the cassette holder in and from the loading position as well as locking of the head drum in the retracted position can be reliably carried out in a predetermined order by means of the cassette holder and the intermediate lever alone.

A magnetic tape loading device for a tape recorder comprising a pole base assembly which moves along a deck chassis and takes a magnetic tape from a tape cassette during a loading of the magnetic tape, a guide rail which is mounted on the deck chassis to guide a movement of the pole base assembly during loading/unloading of the magnetic tape, and a movement prevention unit which prevents a movement of the pole base assembly during loading/unloading of the magnetic tape, and when the loading of the magnetic tape is completed.

A head drum protector for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus, such as a slide type camera recorder. The head drum protector is preferably integrated and comprises a head drum protecting wall for protecting a rotary head drum, an opening provided at the lower section of the head drum protecting wall to receive a head base of the rotary head drum and to bring the rotary head protector into engagement with the head base. A pair of support blades extend outwardly from opposite sides of the protecting wall to enlarge the head drum protecting area of the head drum protecting wall and to support an opened tape cassette door. A sensor holder is provided at the lower front of the protecting wall to hold a LED sensor used as a tape end sensor. At a lower section between the protecting wall and the support blade, a fixing part is provided in order to mount the head drum protector on the slide base of the deck mechanism.

In a recording/reproducing apparatus, a first support frame (22) supports a tape cassette (1), a second support frame (23) supports a tape guide drum (9) and loading rings (29), (30), (16), (17), and a third support frame (24) slidably supports the first support frame (22) and the second support frame (23). In a cassette loading operation, when the first support means (22) approaches the second support means (23) for a predetermined interval, a predetermined tape path is established by various loading posts, the tape guide drum (9) and the like. Then, the first support means (22) and the second support means (23) are slid together on the third support means (24) to be received compactly in the apparatus.