Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
  • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
  • G11B27/00—Editing; Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Monitoring; Measuring tape travel
  • G11B27/10—Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
  • G11B27/34—Indicating arrangements 
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
  • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
  • G11B23/00—Record carriers not specific to the method of recording or reproducing; Accessories, e.g. containers, specially adapted for co-operation with the recording or reproducing apparatus ; Intermediate mediums; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for their manufacture
  • G11B23/02—Containers; Storing means both adapted to cooperate with the recording or reproducing means
  • G11B23/04—Magazines; Cassettes for webs or filaments
  • G11B23/08—Magazines; Cassettes for webs or filaments for housing webs or filaments having two distinct ends
  • G11B23/087—Magazines; Cassettes for webs or filaments for housing webs or filaments having two distinct ends using two different reels or cores
  • G11B23/08707—Details
  • G11B23/0875—Indicating means, e.g. quantity of tape

Definitions

• the playback machine controls rotation of the supply and take-up reels in a manner to advance the magnetic tape from the supply reel past the playback head and to wind the tape about the take-up reel.
• the direction of reel rotation can be reversed to rewind the tape back onto the supply reel in readiness for subsequent plays of the recorded program.
• video playback machines have been developed for the domestic market, whereby there exists a substantial demand for so-called video cassettes having prerecorded thereon a prescribed video program such as a movie, sporting event, or the like. These so-called video cassettes, however, are relatively expensive to purchase, particularly when considering the fact that many consumers are interested in viewing the recorded program only a small number of times.
• the tape cassette may carry a specific movie and the consumer is interested in viewing that movie only once or twice.
• a substan ⁇ tial market has arisen for short-term rentals of prerecorded video cassettes wherein the consumer pays a relatively small fee for the right to play a particular recorded program on his home playback machine.
• the present invention overcomes the problems and disadvantages of the prior art by providing a relative ⁇ ly simple and inexpensive counter assembly for a cassette wherein the counter assembly indexes only in response to a substantially complete playing of the recorded program, while permitting an unlimited number of tape reversals and replays of relatively short duration without indexing.
• a counter assembly for accurately indicating the number of times the program recorded on magnetic tape of an information cassette, such as a video cassette, has been played substantially in its entirety.
• the counter assembly is incorporated directly into the housing of the cassette and includes a spring-biased position indicator arm for mechanically following the effective diameter of one of the cassette supply and take-up reels as the magnetic tape is wound and unwound therefrom during playing and rewinding of the magnetic tape.
• the position indicator arm controls the position of an oscillatory crank arm which is relatively loosely coupled to a counter unit for indexing the counter unit once as the crank arm is moved between a first position at the beginning of the program and a second position at the end of the program.
• the mechanical connection between the crank arm and the counter unit has sufficient lost motion to permit an unlimited number of tape reversals and replays of relatively short duration without additionally indexing the counter unit.
• the position indicator arm comprises a relatively lightweight follower arm having one end pivotally supported by the cassette housing and a distal end urged by a spring into bearing engagement with the effective outer diameter of the cassette take-up reel. The distal end of the follower arm thus displaces generally radially outwardly with respect to the rotational axis of the take-up reel as the magnetic tape is wound about the take-up reel during playing of the program and returns generally radially inwardly as the magnetic tape is unwound from the take-up reel during rewinding of the tape.
• the follower arm passes through an angularly oriented slot in the crank arm which is mounted for pivoting movement with respect to the cassette housing. Accordingly, movement of the follower arm between the first and second positions corresponding with the beginning and end of the program causes the crank arm to oscillate back and forth about its pivot axis.
• the crank arm is coupled by a escapement mechanism to the counter unit for indexing the counter unit once each time the program is played substantially in its entirety.
• the present invention provides a relatively simple and economical mechanical counter assembly which can be incorporated readily into the housing of an information cassette, such as a video cassette, for providing an indication of the number of times the recorded program has been played.
• the counter assembly is responsive to playing of the program substantially in its entirety, but the counter assembly does not index additionally in response to tape reversals and replays of relatively short duration.
• a consumer renting the video cassette may play a short beginning portion of the recorded program to permit adjustment of the controls on his playback machine and then rewind the tape to the program beginning without indexing the counter unit.
• the consumer may at his option selectively replay certain scenes of the program an unlimited number of times without additionally indexing the counter unit.
• playing of the program substantially in its entirety indexes the counter unit in a manner which is not readily defeat- able by the consumer.
• FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an information cassette, such as a video cassette, including a counter assembly embodying the novel features of this inven ⁇ tion;
• FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmented horizontal section of a portion of the video cassette illustrating construction details of the counter assembly
• FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmented vertical section taken generally on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;
• FIGURE 5 is an enlarged vertical section taken generally on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3; and FIGURE 6 is an enlarged vertical section taken generally on the line 6-6 of FIG. 3.
• An information cassette is referred to generally in the exemplary drawings by the reference numeral 10.
• This information cassette 10 includes a cassette housing 12 of standardized size and shape which carried a rotatable supply reel 14 and a rotatable take-up reel 16.
• a supply of magnetic tape 18 has its opposite ends appropriately connected to the supply and take-up reels and is wound about these reels for transport back and forth from one reel to another, all in a well-known manner.
• a counter assembly 20 of this invention is incorporated into the cassette housing 12 for indexing once each time the magnetic tape 18 is advanced substantially in its entirety from the supply reel 14 to the take-up reel 16.
• the counter assembly 20 may be used with any type of information cassette including a supply of magnetic tape 18, the invention is primarily directed toward the video tape rental industry, whereby the description herein will describe the invention in conjunction with a video cassette.
• the counter assembly 20 is installed directly into the cassette housing 12 such as by use of a pair of mounting brackets 24 upstanding from a mounting plate 26 which can be secured to a lower half of the housing 12 in any suitable manner.
• the brackets 24 can be molded integrally with the housing during injection molding of the housing. In any event, the brackets 24 are positioned in slightly spaced relation to each other, as viewed in FIGS.
• the slot 42 in the crank arm 38 comprises, in the preferred embodiment, an elongated linear slot which angles downwardly in a direction toward the distal end of the crank arm.
• the position indicator arm 28 causes the crank arm 38 to pivot upwardly about the shaft 40 in a gradual manner as the position indicator arm 28 moves from the dotted line to the solid line position as the program on the tape 18 is played.
• the position indicator arm 28 causes the crank arm to pivot downwardly, or in a reverse
• the crank arm 38 includes a relatively enlarged opening 58 for receiving a relatively small spur gear 60 having ten teeth and being formed integrally at one side of the adjacent counter dial 50.
• This opening 58 in the crank arm 38 is substantially larger than the outer diameter of the spur gear 60, whereby substantial clearance exists between the crank arm and the spur gear 64.
• the opening 58 in the crank arm 38 is bounded by a pair of generally opposed and radially inwardly projecting ratchet teeth 62 and 64 positioned for movement upwardly toward the horizontal plane of the shaft 30 into engagement with the teeth of the spur gear 60 as the crank arm 38 is oscillated back and forth.
• the above-described counter dial 50 is mechanical ⁇ ly coupled in a conventional manner to the two adjacent counter dials to provide the counter unit 48 with a "ones" digit and a "tens” digit and a “hundreds” digit.
• This conventional coupling is achieved by means such as tabs (not shown) on the various dials for cooperating with indexing gears 74 and 76 carried on the lower pivot shaft 40.
• the general construction and design of counter units of this type is convention ⁇ al in the art, such as a counter unit of the type sold by Veeder-Root, Inc. of West Hartford, Connecticut, under the designation number 1779, whereby the construction and operation of the counter unit 48 is not described herein in further detail.
• any number of rotary dials can be provided in accordance with available space to allow any number of program plays to be counted.
• the counter assembly of this invention thus provides a relatively compact and inexpensive mechani ⁇ cal counter arrangement for incorporation directly into the housing 12 of a video cassette 10.
• the counter assembly advantageously indexes once each time the tape program is played substantially in its entirety, while at the same time permitting virtually an unlimited number of tape reversals of relatively short duration and replays without additional indexing of the counter.
• the counter assembly is therefore ideally suited for use with video cassettes which are rented to consumers wherein it is desired to charge a rental fee based upon the number of times the consumer has viewed the record- ed program.
• the invention gives the consumer substantial latitude in replaying selected scenes and in initially adjusting his video playback machine with ⁇ out additionally indexing to indicate plural plays.

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• Indexing, Searching, Synchronizing, And The Amount Of Synchronization Travel Of Record Carriers (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=23291649

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Families Citing this family (7)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 1982
  • 1982-12-14 EP EP19830900372 patent/EP0096068A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1982-12-14 WO PCT/US1982/001735 patent/WO1983002105A1/en not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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