US 4,057,839 AGranted

Tape cassette drive

AssigneeMFE Corporation

InventorFrank H. Banks

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A drive for a magnetic tape cassette. Edge and corner blocks mounted on a planar frame receive the leading edge of a magnetic tape cassette adjacent the corners thereof and position the cassette with respect to drive spindles which engage tape reels in the cassette and to a transducer located with respect to the blocks. The cassette has a notch offset from the center in the railing edge thereof. In one of two operating positions of the cassette, the notch registers with a switch, so the switch is not actuated. In the other position, the bottom surface of the cassette actuates the switch. A second switch registers with a selectively plugged recess in the trailing edge of the cassette thereby to enable or disable writing operations. A light source, disposed in the frame, transmits light along a first axis toward a detector housing. A prism in the housing intercepts and redirects the light toward a photosensitive detector. The tape interrupts the light beam except when an aperture in the tape passes the detector.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A tape drive for a tape cassette wherein the cassette includes a substantially rectangular cassette housing containing first and second reels of tape and means for guiding the tape past a series of openings formed along a leading edge of the cassette and formed in surfaces normal to the leading edge adjacent thereto, the tape having an aperture formed therein, said tape drive comprising:

A. a frame member,
B. first and second motor drive spindles mounted to said frame member for driving the tape cassette reels,
C. transducer means mounted to said frame member to contact the tape through a first of the tape cassette openings,
D. a radiant energy source for directing radiant energy into the tape cassette through a second of the tape cassette openings along a radiant energy axis which intersects the plane of the tape and which passes through a third of the tape cassette openings, and
E. means for sensing the radiant energy including
i. a sensor housing having a longitudinal cavity formed therein along a cavity axis which intersects the radiant energy axis,
ii. a radiant energy detector mounted in said cavity on the cavity axis and displaced from the radiant energy axis,
iii. means in said cavity for redirecting the radiant energy received along the radiant energy axis to parallel the cavity axis, and
iv. first and second spaced fingers extending from said sensor housing and interfitting the third cassette opening thereby to accommodate the tape, said fingers guiding the tape and blocking ambient light from reaching said detector.

6 more elements

A tape drive for a magnetic tape cassette including a cassette housing with leading, side and trailing edges and means for guiding the tape past a plurality of openings in the leading edge, said tape drive comprising:

A. a frame member,
B. first and second spaced motor driven spindles protruding from said frame member,
C. edge and corner blocks on said frame member at first and second spaced reference positions on said frame, said blocks receiving the leading edge of the tape cassette adjacent the respective side edges thereof, and
D. a transducer assembly mounted between said edge and corner blocks for engaging the tape through a first of the openings in the leading edge, said transducer assembly including:
i. a transducer, and
ii. a mounting plate including means for locating said plate at a third reference point on said frame member, said plate supporting said transducer at a known position thereon thereby to locate accurately said transducer with respect to said edge and corner blocks.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 05/643,324Filed 22 Dec 1975
Granted: 8 Nov 1977
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

G11B 15/16
Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing: by sensing presence, absence or position of record carrier or container
G11B 15/08
By sensing auxiliary features on record carriers or containers, e.g. to stop machine near the end of a tape: by photoelectric sensing
G11B 15/675
Driving, starting or stopping record carriers of filamentary or web form; Driving both such record carriers and heads; Guiding such record…:…
G11B
Information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer