JPH0127505B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a video cassette recorder, particularly a video cassette recorder having a rotating head drum, a reel stand, and cassette storage means for accommodating a video tape cassette and placing it on the reel stand. It is related to the device.

Unlike audio cassette recorders, this type of device, whether using U loading or M loading, has a loading mechanism that pulls out the tape from the cassette, brings it into contact with a rotating head drum, and winds it after the cassette is set at a predetermined loading position. I need. Therefore, in the past, it was necessary to detect that the cassette was set at a predetermined loading position, and to operate an automatic drive mechanism specially provided for tape loading based on this detection signal. Such automatic drive mechanisms require very high mechanical precision and require heavy and large mechanisms. This problem is particularly severe in small video cassette recorders, so-called home videos.

The present invention solves the problems of the prior art and provides a cassette loading system for a video cassette recorder that can mechanically load the cassette in conjunction with the mechanical operation of setting the cassette at a predetermined loading position. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cassette loading device which also allows cassette unloading using essentially the same mechanism.

This purpose does not require the use of a motor or other power source for loading cassettes, but instead involves manually pushing down the cassette container containing the cassettes.
Alternatively, the problem can be solved by the following cassette loading device according to the present invention, which utilizes the force of pushing up by a spring. That is, this device includes a first supporting means that supports the cassette accommodating means and moves the cassette accommodating means between a first position for loading and unloading a videotape cassette and a second position for placing the cassette on a reel stand. a tape drawer for drawing out the tape from the cassette and bringing it into contact with the periphery of the rotating head drum; second support means for moving the drawer means; and the first support means lower the cassette storage means from the first position to a third position between the first and second positions. The second support means is held stationary until the tape pull-out means hooks the tape of the cassette, and then as the cassette storage means further descends, the tape pull-out means is moved away from the cassette storage means via the second support means. and a first connecting means for connecting the first and second supporting means such that the tape withdrawing means brings the tape into contact with the periphery of the rotating head drum when the cassette receiving means reaches the second position. It is. Further, in addition to the above-described configuration, this device has the advantage that when the cassette receiving means is in the second position, the tape ejecting means is freed from the second supporting means in response to the cassette ejecting operation, and the cassette receiving means is in the second position. 1
When the position is reached, the tape pulling means is fixed to the second supporting means by the fixing means, and the cassette accommodating means is in the second position, and the fixing means makes the tape drawing means free; When the tape is wound into the cassette and the tape withdrawal means returns to the initial position, the first support means moves the cassette storage means to a fourth position between the third and second positions. The second supporting means is held stationary until the tape withdrawing means is released from the tape by rising from the second position, and then as the cassette receiving means is further raised, the tape withdrawing means is removed from the cassette via the second supporting means. and second connecting means for returning the cassette accommodating means and the tape pulling means to their initial states by moving them in a direction approaching the accommodating means.

According to one aspect of the invention, the first support means includes biasing means for biasing the cassette receiving means normally in the first position.

According to another aspect of the invention, the cassette receiving means includes means for preventing the tape from catching on the rotating head drum between the first and second positions.

Next, an embodiment of a cassette loading device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a cassette loading device according to the present invention. In the figure, this device includes a supply reel stand 100 and a take-up reel stand 102.
and a rotating head drum 104 as shown in the figure. Both sides of the frame 106 have support parts 108 and 110 bent into an L shape as shown in the figure, and two sets of arms 112A and 112B and 114A and 114B are supported on each support part.
These arms are connected to a tightening means 1 such as a screw via a spring member 116, which constitutes a damper.
18, it is rotatably supported by the support portion 108. Therefore, these arms are adapted to rotate about the tightening means 118 only when a certain amount of force is applied thereto. Arm 11
Attached to the free ends of 2A and 112B is a rod 120 having an L-shaped arm 122 as shown. Two protrusions 124 are provided at the free end of this arm 122. This protrusion 124 extends through a central slit 130 of a loading arm 128 which has a guide pole 126 at one end as best seen in FIG. 2A.
is fitted. The protrusion 124 slides freely within the slit 130, but a locking mechanism (not shown)
, which is linked to a cassette eject button (not shown). This will be explained later.

At the free ends of arms 114A and 114B,
A cassette receptacle 136 is supported into which a videotape cassette 132 is inserted in the direction of arrow 134, and has circular holes 138 and 140, which receive the supply reel base 100 and take-up reel base 102, as shown in its bottom surface 137. The bottom surface 137 is provided with a notch 142 for accommodating the guide pole 126 as shown in the figure. As shown in the figure, at the innermost part of this notch 142, there is a claw 144 that protrudes downward and comes into contact with the guide pole 126 side of the loading arm 128 when the cassette container 136 is lifted up to its highest position. . As can be clearly seen in FIG. 2A, a modified L-shaped tape presser 146 is provided at the center of the bottom surface 137 of the cassette container 136 on the side opposite to the cassette insertion opening. The bottom surface 1 of the cassette container 136 is rotated about the fulcrum.
It is supported by 37. Also, this tape presser 14
6 is normally biased clockwise in FIG. They are made to touch each other. A protruding pin 152 is provided at the center of the frame 106 as shown in the figure, and this pin 152 is designed to come into contact with the tip of the leg 148 of the tape presser 146 when the cassette container 136 is down, as will be explained later. being done. Arm 114
A has two claws 154 and 1 as shown in FIG.
56, which is configured so that when the arm 114A rotates about the screw 118, it comes into contact with the side surface of the arm 112A with some delay time and moves the arm 112A, as will be explained later. As shown in FIG. 1, the arm 114B is biased counterclockwise about the screw 118 by a column 158 fixed to the support portion 108 and a coil spring 160. Therefore, under normal conditions, the cassette container 136 is raised to the highest position.

In order to avoid complicating the drawing, elements that are not directly necessary for the cassette loading device according to the present invention are not shown in FIG. In practice, the elements necessary for normal videotape recording and reproducing operations, such as pinch rollers, capstans, audio heads, control heads, impedance rollers, erase heads and tension poles, are provided and are well known to those skilled in the art. Also the second
9 to 9, only the parts necessary for explaining the operation of the present invention are illustrated in a simplified manner.

Next, the cassette loading and unloading operations of this apparatus will be explained.

First, the loading operation, cassette 13
2 is inserted into the cassette container 136 in its proper position, the state is as shown in FIG. 2B.
To avoid complication, cassette 132 is not shown in FIG. 2, and only the side of tape 200 is visible. In this state, the central tape portions of the two reels, that is, the supply reel and the take-up reel, are lightly in contact with the tape presser 146.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, the cassette container 13
6 lightly with your hand, the arm 114
A and 114B rotate clockwise and their claws 1
54 comes into contact with the side surface of the arm 112A. Until this time, arms 112A and 112B are held by a damper mechanism such as spring washer 116, so arms 112A and 112B are
and their associated rods 120 and loading arms 128 are stationary. Therefore, the guide pole 126 is relatively close to the tape 200.
, that is, to the supply reel 300 and take-up reel 302 side.

If you continue to push the cassette container 136 downward, the arm 114A will open as shown in FIG.
The claw 154 slides on the side surface of the arm 112A and pushes the arm 112A downward, so the arm 1
12A and 112B rotate counterclockwise about the screw 118 as a fulcrum. Therefore, the cassette container 136 and the rod 120 descend in arcs in relatively opposite directions, and the two move away from each other. As mentioned above, in the normal state when the eject button is not pressed, the locking mechanism of the protrusion 124 is locked and engages the slit 130, so as the rod 120 moves in an arc counterclockwise, the loading arm 128 is moved toward the guide pole 126. Then, hook the tape 200 as shown in FIG. 4 and pull it out to the left. At this time, the tape presser 146, which is biased clockwise by a spring, continues to hook the center portion of the tape 200, as shown in FIG. 5A, and the tape 200 is caught on the drum 104. It prevents

When pushed in further, the tip of the pin 152 fixed at the center of the frame 106 comes into contact with the foot 148 of the tape presser 146, as shown in FIG. 5B.
Then, when the cassette container 136 is further pushed down, the tape presser 146 falls down due to the pin 152, and the tape 200 is moved to the drum 1 as shown in FIG.
Touch around 04. Reel 300 in this condition
and 302 are mounted on the reel stands 100 and 102, respectively, and the cassette container 136 is locked to complete loading.

Next, the unloading operation will be explained. 6th
The tape stops running in the state shown in the figure. Next, when the eject button (not shown) is pressed, the protrusion 1 in the slit 130 of the loading arm 128
24 is unlocked, loading arm 12
8 is in a state where it can move freely. Then, when the supply reel 300 and take-up reel 302 are driven by a reel motor (not shown) to wind the tape 200 into a cassette, the loading arm 128 is attached to the guide pole 120 as shown in FIG.
The tape 200 is pulled toward the right in the figure by the tape 200, and drawn into the cassette together with the tape 200. tape 2
00 is completely wound up into the cassette, the cassette container 136 is unlocked and the arm 11
4B is the screw 11 due to the force of the contracting spring 160.
8 as a fulcrum and rotates counterclockwise. Arm 1
When the cassette container 136 is lifted until the claw 156 of the arm 112A comes into contact with the side surface of the arm 112A,
Until then, the arms 112A and 112B remain in the same state by the dumping mechanism of the spring washer 116, so the guide pole 126 relatively comes out below the tape 200, as shown in FIG. 8B. . That is, the cassette container 136 moves slightly upward, and at that time, the cassette container 136
As shown in the figure, the smoothly curved legs 148 of the tape presser 146 serve to smoothly remove the tape 200 from the guide pole 126. Then, the pin 152 moves relatively downward and separates from the foot 148 of the tape presser 146, and the tape presser 146 is rotated clockwise by the force of a spring (not shown), as shown in FIG. 8B. The situation will be as shown below.

When the claw 156 of the arm 114A comes into contact with the side surface of the arm 112A, the force of the spring 160 causes the arm 11 to
As the arm 112A rotates counterclockwise about the screw 118 and the cassette container 136 rises, the arm 112A also rotates clockwise and the rod 120 and the cassette container 136 approach each other relatively. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9B, the claw 144 attached to the lower surface 137 of the cassette container 136 comes into contact with one end of the loading arm 128, and as the cassette container 136 rises, the loading arm 1
Push 28 to the left. Cassette container 136
When fully raised, load arm 1.
28 is pushed to the leftmost position as shown in FIG. 2B, and the protrusion 124 is clicked at the right end of the slit 130, moving from the free state to the fixed state. This state is the initial state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2B. The unloading operation is thus completed.

As can be seen from the above description, in the cassette loading device according to the present invention, the cassette container 136 and the loading arm 128 move in circular arcs in relatively opposite directions, and this movement is controlled by the arm 1.
12A, 112B, 114A and 114B, and a certain amount of delay time is provided between the claws 154 and 156 of the arm 114A and the side surface of the arm 112A for inserting and pulling out the guide pole 126 inside the tape 200. It is important to keep moving forward.

Although the invention has been described with respect to the illustrated embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention to this and that various modifications may be made. For example, arm 112
A, 112B, 114A and 114B movement damping mechanisms are important to the present invention;
It is clear that this is not necessarily achieved only by the tightening means 118 using the spring washers 116 shown in FIG. 1, but other means such as oil dampers or air dampers may also be used. .

The cassette loading device according to the present invention, configured as described above, does not require a drive mechanism such as a motor for loading and unloading cassettes, and can perform accurate loading operations with a simple device configuration. .
Therefore, the cassette loading device according to the present invention is particularly suitable for small cassette tape recorders,
Suitable for home videos, etc.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a cassette loading device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially sectional side view showing only necessary parts of the device shown in FIG. 1 for explanation of the present invention, and FIG. Figures 3 to 10
The figure is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the apparatus of the present invention. Explanation of symbols of main parts, 100... Supply reel stand, 102... Take-up reel stand, 104... Rotating head drum, 132... Video tape cassette, 13
6...Cassette container, 112A, 112B, 11
4A, 114B... Arm, 116... Spring washer, 118... Screw, 120... Rod, 124
...Protrusion, 126...Guide pole, 128...Loading arm, 130...Slit, 144...Claw,
146... Tape presser, 148... Foot, 152... Pin, 154, 156... Nail, 158... Support, 160
...Coil spring, 200...Tape.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A cassette loading device for a video cassette recorder including a rotating head drum, a reel stand, and cassette storage means for accommodating a video tape cassette and placing it on the reel stand, comprising:
The device supports the cassette accommodating means and moves the cassette accommodating means between a first position for loading and unloading a videotape cassette and a second position for placing the videotape cassette on a reel stand. a tape drawer for drawing out the tape from the videotape cassette and bringing it into contact with the periphery of the rotary head drum; a second support means for moving the tape drawer means in a direction relatively opposite to the first support means; lowering from the first position to a third position and holding the second support means stationary until the tape extracting means hooks the tape of the videotape cassette; The tape pull-out means is moved in a direction away from the cassette storage means via the second support means, and when the cassette pull-out means reaches the second position, the tape pull-out means brings the tape into contact with the periphery of the rotating head drum. and a first connecting means for connecting the first and second supporting means such that the first and second supporting means are connected to each other. 2. In the device according to claim 1,
A cassette loading device characterized in that said first support means includes biasing means for biasing said cassette receiving means to normally be in a first position. 3. In the device according to claim 1,
The cassette accommodating means is characterized in that it has an abutting member that comes into contact with the tape withdrawing means and returns the tape withdrawing means to its initial state when the cassette accommodating means rises from the second position to the first position. Cassette in-loading device. 4. A cassette loading device for a video cassette recorder including a rotating head drum, a reel stand, and cassette storage means for accommodating a video tape cassette and placing it on the reel stand,
The device supports the cassette accommodating means and moves the cassette accommodating means between a first position for loading and unloading a videotape cassette and a second position for placing the videotape cassette on a reel stand. a tape drawer for drawing out the tape from the videotape cassette and bringing it into contact with the periphery of the rotary head drum; a second support means for moving the tape drawer means in a direction relatively opposite to the first support means; lowering from the first position to a third position and holding the second support means stationary until the tape extracting means hooks the tape of the videotape cassette; The tape pull-out means is moved in a direction away from the cassette storage means via the second support means, and when the cassette storage means reaches a second position, the tape pull-out means brings the tape into contact with the periphery of the rotating head drum. a first connecting means for connecting the first and second supporting means so that the first and second supporting means are connected to each other; fixing means for freeing the tape pulling means from the supporting means and fixing the tape pulling means to the second supporting means when the cassette accommodating means reaches the first position; When the tape pull-out means is freed by the fixing means, the tape is wound into the video cassette, and the tape pull-out means returns to its initial position;
The first support means lifts the cassette receiving means from the second position to a fourth position between the first and second positions until the tape withdrawing means is disengaged from the tape. The second support means is held stationary, and then, as the cassette storage means further rises, the tape pull-out means is moved in a direction closer to the cassette storage means via the second support means. and second connecting means for returning the tape withdrawing means to an initial state. 5. In the device according to claim 4,
The first support means includes two parallel arms that support the cassette storage means at one end and rotate about the other end, and the second support means includes two parallel arms that support the cassette storage means at one end and rotate about the other end. The first and second connecting means include parallel arms that support the tape pulling means and pivot about the other end, and the first and second connecting means are connected to the top of any one of the four arms. A cassette loading device comprising two claws arranged at a distance wider than the width of the other arm. 6. In the device according to claim 5,
A cassette loading device characterized in that the first and second supporting means have damper means at each fulcrum for keeping the respective arms stationary. 7. A cassette loading device for a video cassette recorder including a rotating head drum, a reel stand, and cassette storage means for accommodating a video tape cassette and placing it on the reel stand,
The device supports the cassette accommodating means and moves the cassette accommodating means between a first position for loading and unloading a videotape cassette and a second position for placing the videotape cassette on a reel stand. a tape drawer for drawing out the tape from the videotape cassette and bringing it into contact with the periphery of the rotary head drum; a second support means for moving the tape drawer means in a direction relatively opposite to the first support means; lowering from the first position to a third position and holding the second support means stationary until the tape extracting means hooks the tape of the videotape cassette; The tape pull-out means is moved in a direction away from the cassette storage means via the second support means, and when the cassette pull-out means reaches the second position, the tape pull-out means brings the tape into contact with the periphery of the rotating head drum. a first connecting means for connecting the first and second supporting means such that the tape is connected to the rotating head drum when the tape is between the first and second positions; A cassette in-loading device characterized by including a tape holder for preventing the tape from being caught on the tape. 8. In the device according to claim 7,
The device includes means for abutting the tape retainer to disable it when the cassette accommodating means is located between a fourth position between the third and second positions and the second position. A cassette inloading device characterized by: