Video cassette rapid rewinding/fast forwarding device

Abstract

A video tape cassette rapid rewinding/fast forwarding is characterized by a housing on a surface of which are drive and idler sprockets. To rapidly advance or rewind a cassette, the cassette is placed on the surface to extend the sprockets into its tape reels, with winding or rewinding being determined by the orientation of the cassette and therefore the particular one of its reels engaged with the drive sprocket. A selected one of a pair of microswitches is actuated by the cassette in accordance with its orientation, and controls energization of an electric motor to rotate the drive sprocket in the appropriate direction. Releasable clips hold the cassette on the sprockets and the drive sprocket has tapered teeth, so that upon completion of forwarding or rewinding and termination of rotation of the reels, the cassette is forced off of the drive sprocket and away from the clips to deactuate the microswitch and deenergize the motor. The device may be operated by either self-contained batteries or external power.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.