Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Unwinding and rewinding a machine convertible information... – Including threading
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-12
2001-11-27
Nguyen, John Q. (Department: 3653)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Unwinding and rewinding a machine convertible information...
Including threading
C360S137000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06322014
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a recording and/or reproducing device, into which a cassette can be loaded, which cassette comprises a housing and a rotationally drivable supply reel accommodated in the housing and a record carrier in the form of a tape wound onto the reel hub of the supply reel and a coupling element connected to the record carrier in the area of the free end of the record carrier and held in a coupling position, and which comprises a rotationally drivable take-up reel having a reel hub, and which comprises a pull-out element constructed to be coupled to the coupling element, and which comprises retaining means constructed to retain the pull-out element and enabling the pull-out element to be retained in an area in which a coupling to the coupling element can be effected, and which comprises actuating means by which the pull-out element together with the coupling element coupled thereto, can be moved away from the retaining means and up to the reel hub of the take-up reel, in order to bring into engagement with one another, on the one hand, the reel hub and, on the other hand, the pull-out element and the coupling element coupled thereto.
DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
Such a recording and/or reproducing device of the type defined in the opening paragraph is known, for example from the patent document WO 98/44499 A1. A cassette which contains a record carrier in the form of a magnetic tape can be loaded into movable holder means of this known recording and/or reproducing device, which holder means are movable along a substantially L-shaped path of movement from a loading position, in which the cassette can be loaded into the holder means, into an operating position, in which the inserted cassette occupies an operating position. During such a movement of the holder means from their loading position into their operating position a cassette loaded into the holder means is first moved in a direction parallel to its main walls and is subsequently moved into its operating position in a direction perpendicular to its main walls. In the known recording and/or reproducing device the locking means for the pull-out element have been mounted stationarily in the recording and/or reproducing device, namely so as to hold the pull-out element in a position in which the coupling element of a cassette present in the holder means can be coupled automatically to the pull-out element during the movement of the holder means from their loading position into their operating position, in that the coupling element is moved to the pull-out element to which it is to be coupled in a coupling direction which is perpendicular to the main walls of the inserted cassette, during which the coupling element and the pull-out element are interlocked. This interlock can be established or released by moving the coupling element and the pull-out element with respect to each other in the coupling direction which is oriented perpendicularly to the main walls or in the opposite direction, while it cannot be released in the tape transport direction of the record carrier tape formed by a magnetic tape, which tape transport direction is oriented perpendicularly to the afore-mentioned coupling direction. As during a so-called thread-in or thread-out operation in the known recording and/or reproducing device the pull-out element and the coupling element coupled thereto are always moved in the tape transport direction and the reverse direction, an absolutely reliable coupling is obtained between these two elements as a result of the interlock between the pull-out element and the coupling element. This is absolutely necessary for a high reliability of the known recording and/or reproducing device.
Owing to the construction described above, where the coupling element is coupled automatically to the pull-out element during the movement of the holder means together with the cassette present in the holder means, it is important for the known recording and/or reproducing device that a cassette already occupies a well-defined position in the holder means during the movement of the holder means into their operating position in order to guarantee a correct engagement of the coupling element and the pull-out element to which it is to be coupled. In order to meet this requirement, relatively much effort is put in the construction and accuracy, which appears not be justified, at least partly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to preclude the aforementioned problems and to provide an improved recording and/or reproducing device of the type defined in the opening paragraph, in which the problems outlined hereinbefore are solved by simple means and in a simple manner but which also guarantees that the pull-out element and the coupling element coupled thereto are held together and remain together in a highly reliable manner during a joint movement of these two elements between the cassette and the take-up reel.
According to the invention, in order to achieve the aforesaid object in a recording and/or reproducing device of the type defined in the opening paragraph, the retaining means are movable between a standby position and an operating position, a movement of the retaining means into the operating position resulting in a movement of the pull-out element in a coupling direction and in the pull-out element and the coupling element being coupled, and a movement of the retaining means out of the operating position resulting in a movement of the pull-out element in a direction opposite to the coupling direction and in a disengagement of the pull-out element and the coupling element, and of the pull-out element and the coupling element one of these elements has been provided with a locking element which is movable with respect to said one element, and the locking element is mounted on said one element so as to be movable transversely to the coupling direction, and with the coupling element coupled to the pull-out element the locking element, which is movable with respect to said one element cooperates with a portion of the other element in order to hold the two elements together.
By taking the measures in accordance with the invention it is achieved that a cassette loaded into the recording and/or reproducing device in accordance with the invention should occupy an accurately defined position in its operating position only in order to keep the coupling element in the cassette in an accurately defined coupling position because the pull-out element is coupled to the coupling element by the movement of the retaining means not until after the cassette has reached the operating position. Moreover, the additional advantage is obtained that with the aid of the locking element, which is movable transversely to the coupling direction, the pull-out element and the coupling element coupled thereto engage with one another in an absolutely reliable manner and, as a consequence, remain reliably coupled to one another during a joint movement of the pull-out element and the coupling element coupled thereto between their one operating position in the area of the cassette and their second operating position in the area of the reel hub, as a result of which a very high reliability is guaranteed.
In a recording and/or reproducing device in accordance with the invention the locking element may be provided on the coupling element. However, it has proved to be advantageous if the locking element is arranged on the pull-out element. The pull-out element may then be formed by a pivotably mounted lever. However, in order to minimize the required space, it has proved to be advantageous if the locking element is formed by a movably guided slide.
The locking element constructed as a slide can be movable between a release position and a locking position, for example by means of a separate actuating mechanism of a recording and/or reproducing device in accordance with the invention, in which case the locking element can be latched in its two positions via separate interlocks. Such a construction is advantageous for a parti
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