Drive arrangement for both a cassette loading mechanism and a tape loading mechanism of a recording and reproducing apparatus

A recording/reproducing apparatus for a tape cassette having a case containing a magnetic tape wound on a pair of tape reels, said cassette having an outer front side of the case with a tape opening through which the magnetic tape is extracted, said cassette having a rotatable lid covering at least a front side of the magnetic tape positioned over said tape opening, said cassette having a pair of tape reel openings on a lower surface of the case and a slider movable from a first slider position closing the reel openings and a bottom opening adjacent the tape opening to a second slider position opening the bottom opening and reel openings;

• said apparatus comprising an apparatus housing having a cassette insertion opening;
• a pair of reel shaft means being disposed in the apparatus housing for engaging the tape reels of the tape cassette;
• driving means having a single electric motor being rotatable in both a forward and a reverse direction;
• cassette transfer means having frame means for holding the tape cassette therein, said frame means being movable in a first direction extending normal to said reel shaft means from a first position registering with the cassette insertion opening to an intermediate position, and being movable in a second direction parallel to the reel shaft means from the intermediate position to a second position in which the pair of reel shaft means of the apparatus engage the pair of tape reels, said frame means having a bottom plate surface with means for engaging the slider and moving the slider from the first slider position to the second slider position as the cassette is inserted into the frame means in said first direction, said cassette transfer means including means for opening/closing said lid when said frame means moves along the first direction;
• first drive power transmitting means for transmitting a drive power from said driving means to said cassette transfer means to move the frame means between said first and second positions position, said first drive power transmitting means including first selection means for selectively transmitting the drive power through said first drive power transmitting means to said cassette transfer means;
• movable tape loading control means being disposed in the apparatus for driving and controlling tape loading means and at least extracting the magnetic tape in said tape cassette and guiding an extracted portion of the tape along a predetermined tape path in said apparatus;
• and second drive power transmitting means for transmitting the drive power from said driving means to said tape loading control means to activate said tape loading control means, said second drive power transmitting means including second selection means for selectively transmitting the drive power through said second drive power transmitting means to said tape loading control means, said second selection means having a rotatable second interrupted gear means having a first step having teeth at least along an entire periphery thereof and a second step having a second toothless section over a predetermined angular extent and a second toothed section and being integral with said first step, said first step and the second drive power transmitting means meshing with each other to drive said second interrupted gear means into rotating and said tape loading control means being intermittently engaged with and driven by said second step.