Brake mechanism for tape player

A recording and reproducing apparatus for use with a tape cassette including a generally rectangular casing having a mouth opening along a side of the casing, first and second rotatable reels spaced apart within the casing, a magnetic tape wound on said reels, and fixed tape guides in said casing for directing the tape between said reels in a run extending across said mouth, said apparatus comprising:

• a fixed chassis;
• a head drum rotatably mounted on said fixed chassis and carrying a plurality of heads for recording or reproducing a signal on a magnetic tape when the magnetic tape is wrapped about at least a portion of the circumference of said head drum;
• a movable chassis having means thereon defining a cassette chamber dimensioned to receive said casing of the tape cassette and including rotatable first and second spool tables for engagement with said first and second reels of the tape cassette received in said cassette chamber;
• means mounting said movable chassis for rectilinear sliding movements relative to said fixed chassis between a first position, in which said cassette chamber is relatively remote from said head drum for receiving or discharging said tape cassette, and a second position, in which said head drum extends into said mouth of the cassette casing in said chamber and deflectingly bears against said run of the tape extending thereacross for wrapping said tape about at least said portion of the circumference of the head drum;
• a rotary member mounted rotatably on said movable chassis and being coupled with one of said spool tables so as to prevent relative rotation of said rotary member and said one spool table in respect to each other, said rotary member having a brake drum surface thereon;
• a brake member including a resilient brake arm having one end fixed to said fixed chassis and another free end secured to a brake shoe, said brake arm being dimensioned and disposed so that, with said movable chassis in said first position, said brake shoe is spaced from said brake drum surface and, upon said sliding movement of the movable chassis toward said second position, said brake drum surface is urged against said brake shoe in opposition to a resisting force exerted by said resilient brake arm;
• and
• tape drive means including a rotatably driven capstan mounted on said fixed chassis, and a pinch roller rotatably mounted on said movable chassis for pressing said tape against said rotatably driven capstan when said movable chassis is in said second position so that said tape is then driven by said capstan against a soft braking action resulting from the urging of said brake drum surface against said brake shoe.