Cassette tape recorder

In an auto-reverse type cassette tape recorder comprising a base, a pair of side walls attached to the base, a capstan rotatably mounted on the base, a flywheel coaxially attached to the capstan to rotate together therewith, supporting means for bearing a magnetic head and a pinch roller and arranged on the base to be movable between an operating position and a non-operating position, a generally rectangular prism shaped cassette holder for containing a correspondingly shaped cassette therein and movable between a first position to allow the cassette to be inserted thereinto and removed therefrom and a second position for playback operation, a solenoid device having a plunger coupled with the supporting means for controlling the movement of the supporting means, a motor for driving the capstan and the flywheel to rotate, and a shifting device for controlling the movement of the cassette holder, the improvement in which:

• said base is in the shape of a rectangle having a transverse length substantially equal to the longitudinal length of the cassette to be contained in the cassette holder;
• said pair of side walls are attached to opposite side edges of the base, extending along the longitudinal direction of the base to face each other;
• said capstan is located substantially in the transverse center of the base;
• said flywheel has a diameter substantially equal to the transverse length of the base;
• said supporting means is elongate and is pivotally arranged on the base along the transverse direction thereof, near the capstan and above the flywheel, said magnetic heads being located at both sides of the capstan;
• said cassette holder is located between said pair of side walls, on the capstan side of the supporting means and near the capstan, wherein a substantial portion of the area of said cassette holder is located above the flywheel;
• said solenoid device is mounted on the base on the opposite side of the supporting means to the capstan and near the supporting means, so that the plunger may move along the longitudinal direction of the base;
• said motor is arranged on the base, side by side with the solenoid device along the transverse direction of the base, part of the solenoid device and part of the motor being located above the flywheel;
• and
• said shifting device is attached to one of the side walls along the longitudinal direction of the base.