Increased capacity VCR tape cassette

An increased capacity VCR tape cassette (10) for use with a front loading VHS VCR recorder (44) comprising;

• a forward housing section (12) which conforms to a standard VCR tape cassette in which the tape spools are replaced by drive wheels (18, 20 and 48, 50) which are adapted for releasable engagement with tape drive spindles (52) of the recorder,
• a rear tape section (14) which includes a pair of rotatable tape reels (32, 34 and 54, 56), and which, in use, is located on the outside of a cassette opening (46) to the recorder,
• a bridge section (16) which defines a passage which extends from an upper level of a rear wall of the forward housing section (12) to the rear tape section (14) with the passage including a throat which has a dimension, normal to the plane of the tape reels (32, 34 and 54, 56), which is less than the width of the recording tape (36) with the tape in its passage through the bridge section (16) of the cassette (10) being partially twisted from the orientation in which it is situated on the drive wheels (18, 20 and 54, 56) and reels (32, 34 and 54, 56) of the cassette (10) to permit its passage through the bridge (16),
• a significantly longer than standard recording tape (36) which is wound on the two tape reels (32, 34 and 54, 56) and passes from a first tape reel (32, 54) through the bridge (16) passage into the forward cassette section (12) to be recorded on and from the cassette section (12) back through the bridge (16) passage and onto the second tape reel (34, 56), and
• drive means (40 and 64, 66) which extend from the forward cassette section (12) drive wheels (18, 20 and 54, 56) through the bridge (16) passage and to the tape reels (32, 34 and 54, 56) in the rear tape section (14) of the cassette (10) housing.