CA1058749A - Container for magnetic tape - Google Patents

Abstract

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

Container For Magnetic Tape ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A cassette for accommodating a magnetic tape designed for use in a magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus is comprised of a protective covering provided at an access opening of the cassette into which access opening a transducer head assembly is adapted to project to contact a portion of the magnetic tape. The protective covering is movable between projected and retracted positions and, when held in the projected position, shields that portion of the magnetic tape. When the protective covering is moved to the retracted position, that portion of the magnetic tape is bared outside the cassette fox permitting the transducer head assembly to contact that portion of the magnetic tape. The cassette is further provided with a braking lever which applies a braking force to both reels to prevent the magnetic tape from being loosened.

Description

;.~ .
The present invention relates to a container for magnetic tape designed for use in a magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus. ^`
It is well known that, depending upon the t~pe of magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus which is herelnafter referred to as a magnetic tape player, a container in which magnetic tape is housed is generally ~;
referred to as either "cartridge" or "cassette". The mag~
netic tape stored in the cartridge is a substantially endless loop while that in the cassette is unlooped and .; . . .
has both ends secured to respective reels~ A recent deve-lopment is a miniature container or 'micro-cassette' which is similar in structure to, but smaller in size than, the cassette and which is used in a magnetic tape player 15 specifically designed for use with such miniature container~ ~;
In any event, khe conventional container for ' `
magnetic tape i9 formed at the front thereof with at least i ;
two access openings; one for a magnetic recording and/or reproducing transducer head to project thereinto for slid-. . :
ing engagement with the magnetic tape and the other for ~, .
either of a capstan and a pinch roller to project thereinto for driving the magnetic tape in cooperation with the other of said capstan and said pinch roller with said magnetic tape sandwiched therebetween.
In the conventional tape container of the type ,~
:, .. . .
referred to above, consecutive portions oE the magnetic `
tape housed therein a~re so bared to the outside through the access openings that the magnetic tape tends ~o be broken, or otherwise deteriorated. For example, when the magnetic ,.
i,~

-2- ~ `
''-' .! ':

l~S~3749~

- tape within the container is slackened, a poxtion of the magnetic tape tends to be loosened out of the container -`
particularly through the access opening for the transducer head and would result in formation of one or more traces of breakage and/or bend. This has bee~ often experienced -~
because of the fact that a portion of the maynetic tape ;
located within the access opening for the transducer head is outwardly biased by an elastic back-up element which is necessitated to facilitate a tight sliding contact between ;
the transducer head and the maynetlc tape during recording or reproduction of audio information on ~e magnetic tape.
Moreover, those portions of the magnetic tape located within the access openin~s tend to be easily touched by the finger of, for example, an operator of a magnetic ~;
15 tape player in an attempt to load the tape container in the r'.
magnetic tape player.
Once the magnetic tape is impaired in any of these ways r the performance characteristic of the maynetic tape tends to be adversely affected as is well understood by those s~illed in the art.
On the other hand, slacke~ cJ of the maynetic tape within the container obviously results from the fact that reels to which the respective ends of the nac~netic tape are secured and which are housed within the tape container are allowed to rotate freely. In order to avoid this, there i.s ]cnown,a tape container whexein frictional ~ ;
elements,each supported on a leaf spr:iny or like elastic member,are constantly en~ayed to the respective reels to ;~
impart a frictional force to these xeels.
'~

-3-,. ,' 8~

Since the frictional elements are constantly ;~."
, engaged to the respective reels within the tape container even during the use in a magnetic tape player, there is a ~' possibility that rotation of one of the reels which is ,.-.'' .
coupled to a motor-driven shaft in the magnetic tape . ,, player to wind the magnetic tape from the other of the _^,` . '., reels onto said one of the reels wil]. be hampered to an extent that fluctuation may occur in the sp,eed of trans- , ference of the magnetic tape. Moreover, a consecutive 10 portion of the magnetic tape running from one reel to ,.~
the other reel is held under tension so constantly that ';:.
the magnetic tape tends to be easily physically fatigued.
Accordingly, an essential object of the present ,", invention is to provide an improved container for'magnetic ~'' tape desigrled for use in a magnetic ~.ape play~r, l~herein a retrac- i .
table covering i.s provided at the access opening for the , ,' transducer head,for substantially avoiding a possibility of the magnetic tape being touched hy hand, with substan- ,, tial elimination of the disadvantages and drawbacks inherent '~
20 in the conventional tape container. '`'' Another important object of the present inven~
tion is to provide an improved container o~ ~h~ construction ",.
referred to above, wherein the protective covering is ,`
retracted within the body of the container to expose a por- !' 25 tion of the magnetic tape in readiness for contact with .;
the magnetic transdu~cer head when the tape container is loaded in the magnetic tape player i.n readiness for pex- ,~
formance.
A further object of the pxese)lt invention is to .' ''~ ',." .

~05~7~9 provide an improved container of the construction referred to above, wherein there is further provided braking means for applying a braking force to both of the reels within ~`
the tape container so long as the tape container is not loaded in the magnetic ~ape player. :-A still further object of the present invention is to provid~i an improved container of the constr~ction referred to above, wherein the braking means is brouyht into inoperative position with no braking force applied to ~ -.` . ., .: .
the reels in response to loading of the tape container in the magnetic tape player.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved container of the construction referred to above, which can be manufactu~ed in a commer-~;
cial]y standardized size and without substantially rreiquiring any complicated manufacturiny procedure.
These and other ob jects and features of the ~ -present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction ~1ith preferred embor3iments ~
20 thereof with reference to the accompanyinc3 drawlngs, in ~ ;
which:
Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a tape container according to the present invention; '-;
Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the tape container of Fig. l;
FicJ. 3 is' a top plan view of the tape container of Fig. 1, with the top casiny removed away;
Fig. 4 is a side sectiona1 view of the tape container of Fig. 1, shown in relation to a magnetic trans- --5- ';

j;:

~OS87~9 ducer head;
Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the tape container loaded in the magnetic tape playex with the transducer head held in an operative position;
Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the tape container loaded in the magnetic tape player with the transducer head held in an inoperative position;
Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing the tape container according to another embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 5, sihowing the tape container according to a further embocliment of the pxesent invention;
Fig. 9 is a partial`side sectional view of the l~
15 tape contain~r and a portion of the maynetic tape player, ~ ~`
illustrating another method o~ opening a protective ,';
covering at the access opening in the tape container; and `
Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 10, showing , .
a further method of opening the protective covering.
Before the description of the present invention proceeds, it is to be noted thait like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the accompanyin~
drawings. It is further to be noted that, for the sake oi ,~
description of the present invention, the tape container to which the present invention is directed will be described by way of a cassette'having a pair of spaced reels to which respective ends of a magnetic tape are secured, it being understood that the concept of the present invention can equally be applicable not only to the cassette, but also to . ~ ~

_ ._ . . .. .... . . .

1058749 ``~ ~ ~

the micro cassette and the cartridge.
Referring first to Figs. 1 to 6, the tape con- ,~
tainer is shown in the form of a cassette, yenerally indicated by 10, of commercially standardized size. The cassette 10 accommodates therein a pair of spaced reels :-11 and 12 to which respective ends of a magnetic tape T
are secured in any known manner.
Each of the reels 11 and 12 is of double flanged con~iguration and comprises a cylindrical body lla or 12a having both ends ormed with radially outwardly e~tending flanges Ilb or 12b, and a hub llc or 12c ~ormed on and ~`i outwardly projecting from each end of the cylindrical body ;
lla or 12a. These reels 11 and 12 are accommodated within ~; `
the cassette 10 with the hubs llc or 12c of each of said reels 11 or 12 journalled, respectively, to beariny open-inys formed in top and bottom plate members lOa and lOb of the cassette 10, as best shown in Flg. 4.
The top and bottom plate members lOa and lDb are connected to each other in an~ known manner by means of i` ~;~
~a~palr of opposed~side wa1ls 13 and 1~ and a pair of opposed front and rear walls, the rear wall being indicated by 16 fi while the front wall is to be understood as composed of ;;
separate wall portions l5a, 15b, 15e and l5d. A portion of the front edge of each of the plate members lOa and lOb is, as indicated by 17a or 17b, inwardly recessed to provide ,: --, an access openiny into which a transduccr head assembly can be ~en~trated as wiJl be described later.
Access openinys 18a and 18b adapted to eY~tend cap~tan~ l9a and 19b there~hrouyll when the tape container '.,''; ' '~, "
~7~ ~ ~

:.
~s~

10 is loaded in the magnetic tape player tnot shown), that .
is, placed within a cassette receiviny chamber of the .
magnetic tape player, are formed on the front edges of the top and bottom plate members lOa and lOb on respective sides of and adjacent to the access opening defined by the inward recesses 17a and 17b in the plate members lOa and ,~
lOb. It is to be noted that each of the access openings 18a and 18b may be in the form of a hole or in the form of ~:
a recess such as shown.- ' In the construction so far described, the mag- `. ,;
netic tape T extends from one reel 12 to the other reel 11 ~.
first deflected by a roll element 19 and then deflected by .
another roll element 20, a portion of said magnetlc tape T
between said roll elements 19 and 20 extending through the access opening for the transducer head assembly by way of slits 21 and 22 which are respective].y formed in the wall portions 15c and 15b. ' ~ Slidably extending within the cassette 10 and : between the reels 11 and 12 is a brakinc3 lever 23, the plane of which lever 23 lies intermed.iately be~ween the flanges llb or 12b of each of the reels 11 and 12 as best shown in Fig. 4. `
As best shown in Fig. ~, the braking lever 23 has both ends rigiclly secured to, or otherwise integrally formed wlth, respective upright supports 24a and 24b each extending between the top and bottom plate members lOa and .
lOb so that the brakinc3 lever 23 is supported in position with its plane lying substantially intermediate].y of the height of each of the reels 11 and 12. This braking lever ~8-,~.

, - 1~5~37~9 `
. ~
- 23 is movahle ~etween operative and inoperative positions and is normally biased by a wire spring 25 to the operative ~:
position.
For avoidiny a displaced movement of the hrak~
ing lever 23 between the operative and inoperative positions, ....
two sets of pairs of guides 26a, 26b and 27a and 27b are utilized, which guides of each pair are located on ].ateral :.
sides of the bra~ing lever 23 and concurrently serve as spacers between the top and bottom plate men~ers lOa and lOb. ~; ..
The braking lever 23 carrles thereon a pair of ..
spaced braking pins 28a and 28b each having hoth ends ter~
minating adjacent the outer peripheries of the respective flanges of a correspondinc3 one of the reels 11 and 12.. More ; .
specifically, so long as the.bra~ing ].ever 23 is held in the operative position, the opposite ends of the pin 28a are ~.
engac3ed to the respective flanges llh of the reel 11 on one hand and the opposite ends of the pin 28b are engaged to the respective flanges 12h of the reel 12 as shown in Fig. .`.`:
3, thereby applying respective brakillg forces to the reels 11 and 12. However, when the brakiny lever 23 is moved from the operative position towards the inoperative position ~:~
against the wire spriny 25 in a mallner as will be described later, the pins 28a and 28b separates from the flanges llb :
and 12b of the respective reels 11 and 12, tllereby allowing ~;
25 the reels 11 and 12 to rotate freely. ~`. .. :
It is to,be noted that, instead of the wire '`
sprlng 25, any spring elemel1t, ~or c~xanlple, a comprcs.sion . ~
or tension spring or a leaf sprinc~, may be employed for the same purpose as achieved h~ the wi~e sprinc~ 25.

_g ' ' ' ., .
:
.
.. . ~: , ~sl5 74~

The braking lever 23 is formed there.in Wit}l a '~
pair o~ spaced slots 23a and 23b which are, when the braking lever 23 is held in the inoperative position, ,',,' ;' aligned with respective slo~s lOc and lOd formed on eacI~ ' '' of th~ top and bottom plate members lOa and lOb, the func- .,; -tion of said slots 23a and 23b cooperative with said slots , lOc and lOd being described later. However, it is to be ' noted that, when the braking lever 23 is held in the ope~
rative position as shown in Figs. 1 to 4, one end of each 10 of the slots 23a and 23b, which is situated on the leading ;.i~
side with respect to the direction of movement of the ,.
brakin~ lever 23 from the operative position towaxds the ,',`~
inoperative position is partially overlapped by one end of ', the corresponding slot lOc or lOd which is situated on the ~, 15 trailing side with respect to the direction of movement of -' ~. , the braking lever 23 from the operative position towaxds ', the inopexative position. "~' Withln the access open.tng fox the transducer head assembly which is defined by the inward recesses 17a 20 and 17b, a protective covering generally indicated ~y 30 ,, is retractably supported in position by the cassette 10. `' More specif1cally, the protective coveriny 30 comprises a pair o~ spaced, substantially rec~angular plate members ,' 31 and 32 connecte~ with each oth~r by means of a wall "
member 33 wIIich extends in paxallel rela~,ion to and rear-wardly of that portion of the magrIetic tape T betwe~en the ' roll elements 19 and 20. Th~ height of the wall me~mber 33 ,i' i.s so selected that the plate meI~ers 31 and 32 can be ~.
substantia].ly telescopically retractahle into the interiox -10- ' .

' '"

~)5~7~g ;~
,.
of the cassette 10 in a manner as will be described later ' in connection with the operation of the cassette according to the present invention. ';,.' Th~ protective covering 30 of the construction .~, -as hereinbefore described is supported in pOSitiOII for ',.
movement between projected and retracted pos.itions ~nd is ,'' .~ . . . .
normally biased to the projected position by a pair of ,~
spaced wire springs 34 and 35. It is to be noted that the .`
spacing bet~e~n respective ends of the front wall port.lons ~ .. ,' 15b and 15c adjacent the sl.its 22 and 21 is selected to be :
so sma~ler than the width of any of the plate members 31 .
and 32 that the projected position of the proteckive cover- ,~' ' .
ing 30 can be defined by said ends of said front wall ;,,;' portions 15b and 15c to which front edges of said plate 15 membeirs 31 and 32 abut. ',.
The protective covering 30 ma~ be of one-piece ~, constructio~
~ In the foregoing embodirnent, the bralcing lever 23 ` ~' and the protective covering 30 have been described as ,,,. ,,' 20 formed separately. ~owever, as shown in 8, th~ bra~in~ ;
lever and the p,rotectiv~ co~ering may be connected to, or ,. .. .
otherwise integrally formed with, each othex. Speci.~i.cally, this can be attained, for example, by connecting the upright i,. .
support 24a of Figs. 1 to 6 to the rear e~dges of the plate ', memb~rs 31 and 32 of Figs. 1 to 6. In the embodiMenk shown ': ' in Fig. 8 wherein the bralcing lever 23 and the p.rotective ',:
i~, .. . ..
covering 30 are integral with cach ot.he.r, such e].ements as j',:,' the guides 27a and 27b, the slots 23b and 10d and either of ,.: . .
the wi.re spriDg 25 and the wire spr~n~s 34 and 35/ wllich are -~

'~., .: .

,::
! , r ~L~5~
-described as employed in the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 6 may be omitted. (Even in the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 6, ', either of the slots 23a and 23b may not be always necessary.) Reference numeral 40 employed in Figs. 1, 3, 5 ~,~
to 8 and 10 represents a pair of holes formed in the cassette 10 which are adapted to receive correspondlng ,' positionincJ pins (not shown) provided in the cassette re-ceiving chamber of the magnetic tape player for holding ' the cassette in position within said cassette receiving ' ,-10 chamher with the tape T exactly aligned with the transducer ,, head assembly as is well known to those skilled in the art. ,~
So far as the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 6 is concerned, for moving the braking lever 23 from the opera- , tive position towards the inoperative position, at least ~, one actuating pin member is necessary. Although thi.s actuating pin member is not shown in the accompanying draw-ing, it is to be undexstood that the actuating pin rnember "
has one end situated within the cassette receiving chamber of the magnetic tape player and the other end operatively ~, coupled to a manipulating mechanism accessible to theoperator o~ the magnetic tape player.
With the ~bove in mind, when the cassette. 10 o ~, the construction according to the present invention is placed i,nto the cassette receiving cl~amber of the magnetic 25 tape player, the actuating pin member is inserted throuyh ', one o the slots lOc and lOd in the cassettc 10 and then througll the corresponding one of thc slots 23a ancl 23b whicll is aligned with said one of the slots lOc and lOd.
At this time, the positionincJ pins are al50 received in the holes 40 for exactly positioning the cassette within `.-~
the cassette receiving chamber of the magnetic tape player. .~, When the manipulating mechanism is subsequently operated in readiness for perfo~mnnce of the magnetic tape player, the actuating pin menber is moved a~ong the slot lOc ;~
or lOd accompanyi.ng a corresponding movement of the braking lever 23 whereby the latter can be moved from the operative position, as shown in Figs. 3 and ~, to the inoperative ~'.
position as shown in Fig. 6 ~ith the braking pins 28a and 28b on the braking lever 23 separat~d from the flanges,of the reels ll and 12. The condition of the braking lever 23 as shown in Fi.g. 6 is maintained so long as the cassette .. ~;.
10 is accommodated within the cassette receiving chan~er ; .
of the mangetic tape player. ..
The actuating pin membex, which has been moved to move the braking lever 23 from thc operative posi.tion to the inoperative position may be dei.gned so as to return to the oxiginal position in response to either re~oval of the cassette 10 out of the cassette receiving chamber of ; .
the magnetic tape player or return.of the mani.pulatillg mecha~
nism. .`:`.
. ~lternatively, instead o~ tl)e use of th~ mani.
pulating mechanism including the above descri.bed actuating ii .
pin men~ler, at least one st:ationary p.in may be em~loyecl, '~ :
in which case the stationary pin m~lst project from the bottom of the cassette receiving chamber o~ the magnetic tape -,,'.
pl~yer w.ithin said cassette receiving chamber. Spec.iEi.cally, the stationary pin is designed to have one end rigi.dly ~;
secured to the bottom of the casse~tte receiving ch~n'i)er of ',.
. :' -13- : :

, .! ;
~ ~, .. , .. ..... . . . . __.. _ . .. .. . . .. .... __.. __ . _ __. ____ ... _ ... _ V ...

~L~5~749 :
"~
the magnetic tape player and the other end substantially outwardly tapered so that, when the cassette 10 is placed within the cassette receiving char~er, the braking lever 23 can be moved ~rom the opexative position towards the inoperative position as the tapered end of the stationary pin penetrating through the slot 10c or 10d of the cassette 10 is inserted through the slot 23a or 23b on the braking lever 23.
With respect to the movement of the protective covering 30 between the projected position and the retrac-ted po,sition, it can be effected in many methods. One of these methods so far illustrated in Figs. 3 to 6 is the use of a pair o~ pushers generally indicated by 41 and carried by a movable carrier plate 42. The mova~le carrier plate 42 i9 a support for the transducer assembly, which in the instance as shown is composed of a pair o trans~
ducer heads 43 rigidly mounted thereon side-b~-side relation to each other. The movable caxrier plate 42 is movable between inoperative and operat:ive positions in any known mannex By way of example, when a kno~n "PL~Y" hutton is depressed to bring the maynetic tape playcr in pcsition to reproduce the information which has been recorded on the magnetic tape or when a }cno~n "RECORV" button is d~presse~
together with the "PLAY" button to br.ing the maglletic tape player in position to-record in~ormation on the ma~netic tape, the movable carrier plate 42 is moved from t:he in-`
operative pos:ition, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6, to the , .
operative position as shown in ~ig. 5.

The pushers 41 are ri~idly mountecl on the movable 105~7~ -carrier plate 42 on respective sldes of the transducer assembly and are of the same construction as will subsequ~
ently be described with particular reerence to Fig. 4. ~. . :.
As best shown in Fig. 4, each of the pushers 41 comprises a substantially cylindrical pin having both ends enlarged in diametex to provi.de an abutment 41a and 41b, .
a substantially intermediate portion 41c having a length ..
slightly greater than the width of the magnetic tape T.
With the above in mind, when the carrier plate 42 is moved fxom the inoperatlve position towards the operative position, the abutments 41A and ~lb of the pushers 41 engage the respective front edges of the plate member 31 and 32 forming the protective covering 30, thereby push~
ing the protective covering 30 from.the projected position towards the retracted position against the wire springs 34 and 35. ThereEore, it i.s clear th~t, whell the protective ~ .:
covering 30 is moved to the retracted position as shown in ~:
;.... ..
Fig. 5, that portion of the magnetic tape T which has been .

protected by the protective covering 30 in the manner as ~ :
~ .
20 shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 6, is bared out of the protective ".
covering 30 and held in contact wi.th the transduc~r heads ~ :
43 in readiness for recording ox reproduct:ion of informatioll .`
on the magnetic tape T.
In Fig. 5, the braki.ng lever 23 is depicted as moved further beyond the inoperative position in the direc-tion oppos~.te to the operative position. This is because when the protective covering 30 is moved to the retracted position, the rear edg~s o the plate members 31 and 32 forming said protective covering 30 engage the upright sup~

$
! -15-. _ . .. ... .
. .. _ _ _ .. _.. . .. .

- 10587~L9 port 24a, thereby pushing the braking lever 23 beyond the inoperative position. However, i the length of the brak- ..
ing lever 23 is sufficiently sn~aller, no contact between the protective covering 30 and the braking lever 23 which will otherwise occur, such as described above, as the ~
protective covering 30 is moved toward~ the retracted posi- `
tion will occur and, therefore, there will be no possibility that the braking lever 23 is moved further beyond the inoperative position. In such case, the slots 23a and 23b may be substituted by circular openings.
In the embodiment shown in Fig. 7, the heads ;
43 engage the front edges of the plate members 31 and 32 to push the protective covering from the projected pOSiti towards the retracted position as the carrier plate 42 is moved from the inoperative pOsitiOtl t:owards the operatlve position.a~ainst the wire springs 34 and 35.
In the embodiment shown in E'ig. ~, the protec-tive covering 30 may be moved from the projected position towards the retracted positi.on independently of the move-ment of the carrier plate ~2 from th~ inoperati.ve posi.ti.ontowards the operati.ve positiion. This is ~ecause the brakiny lever 23 is connected with t.he prot~ctive coverin~ 30 al~d, '~
therefore, the movement. of the hraking lever 23 from the ..
operative position towards the inoperative position by the operation of the mani.pulating mechanism or tlle stationar~7 pin results in the mavement of the protective coverlng 30 from th~ proj.ected pos;tion towards the retracted positi.on.
~lternatively, without the manipulating mechani.sm .:
or the stationary pin being eMployed, the movement of hoth -16~
.

.:, . . .
.. _ ,.. .. . . ....... . _ . :

~OSl379~9 ~ . .
~ of the bralcing lever ~3 and the protective covering 30 . . ~ .
from the operative position towards the inoperative position and from the inoperative position towards the operative position, respectively, may be effected in response to the movement of the carrier plate 42 from the inoperative posi- ~, tion towards the operative position in a substantially similar manner as hereinbefore described in connection with the movement of~ the protective covering 30 in the embodiment of ~ -::. .: .
~igs. 1 to 6. `
It is to be noted that, when the carrier plate 42 is returned from the operative position towards the inopera-tive position, the protective covering 30 in the c~se of the embodiments of Figs. 1 to 6 and Fig. 7, or the protec- !: '`
tive covering 30 and the bra~ing lever 23 in the case of the embo~iment of Fig. 8, can return to the original position biased by the wire springs 34 and 35. It is also to be noted that, pinch rollers 45a and ~5b respectively cooperative with the capstans l9a and l9b are also moved towards the associated capstans 19a and 19b to drive the tape T when the carrier plate plate 42 is moved from the inoperative position towards the operative position as is well known to those skilled in the art.
Irrespective of whether the protective coveriny 30 is connected with the braking lever 23 such as shown in Fig. 8 or whether the protective covering 30 is separate of the braking lever 23, such as shown in Eigs. 1 to 7, a further method of movillg the protective covering 30 from the projected positiorl t.owards the retractcd position can be employed which will now be described with particular reference to E`ig. 9.

' ' ' ~.
,.:

,.:

Referring now to Fig. 9, a pivotable lever 50having one end pivotally connected to a fixed portion of the framework of the magneti.c tape player and the other end .,. ,:
formed with an enyagement recess 50a is u~ilized a substan-tially intermediate portion of said pivotable lever 50 loosely extending into the i.nterior of the cassette receiv-ing chamber of the magnetic tape player through one of side walls of said cassette receiving chamber which is adjacent the front of the cassette lO. This pivotable lever 50 is pivotable between lifted and lowered positions and is normally biased to the lifted position, as indicated ~y `~
the chain line, by the action of a sprin~J element 51, for example a tension spring. The pivotable lever 50 has s~lch a length that, when the cassette 10 is completely placed within the cassette receiving chamber of the magnetic tape player as shown by the solid line, the protecti.ve covering ~ ;
30 constituted substantiall~ by the plate members 31 and 32 is moved to the retracted posi.tion.
The pivotable lever 50 of the construction as hereinbefore described can be operable .iII the follow.in~
manner. .
When the aacisette 10 is placecq in the casset:te ``
receiving chamber with the rear thereof inserted first as :~
shown by the chain line, the front ec~ge of the plate member 32 fo~ming a part oE ~he protective covering ~0 rests on the en~agement recess 50a. As the cassette 10 is pushed from the top thereof b~ the application o a fin~er pressure, the pivotable lever 50 held in the lifted pos;.tion starts i :
to pivot towards the lowered posit.i.on while appl~ing a "''.,.','' '''' ....... ... .... _........... .. .__ ....... _~: . . :

~OS !3749 pushing force to the plate member 32 and thereforel th~
protective covering 30 through the enqagement recess 50a.
At the time of completion o~ the pivotal movement of the :.
lever 50 to the lowered positlon as showll by the solld line 5 the protective covering 30 completes its movement from the projected position to the retracted position as shown also ... . .
by the solid line.
Fig. 10 illustrates an example wherein the move-ment of the protective covering 30 from the projected position towards the retracted position is ef~ected by the movement of the pushers 41' whicll is in turn e~ected hy a manipulating knob 47 independently of the movement o~ the carrier plate 42' and, there~ore, the transducer head ~;
assembly, it being understood that the movement of the carrier plate 42' is effected .in any known manner and as hereinbe~ore described in connection with the carrier plate 42 in the embodiment of Fiys. 1 to 6.
The manipulatiny kno~ 47 so far illustrated has three stops clesignated respectively by "STOP , FWD" and "FAST WIND .. When the manipulati.ng ];nob 47 is set to the "STOP" position while the carxier p].ate ~2' is held in th~
i.noperative posi.tion, the pushers ~1' are separat~d ~rom the protective cov~ri.ng 30 which i9 then held i.n the pro-jected ~ositiGn. When the manipulating knob 47 is turned to the FWD" position in.whic~i condition the carrier plate ~ 2 1 i5 moved to the operative positiorl with the transducer he.ads 43 held in contact wl.th the maynetic tape T, the ~ :
pu.shers 41' are moved to move the protect:ive coverincJ 30 ~: :
towards the r~?tracted position. -When the manipulating knob , .

_~9- ~ -, .,, ' ' " .

~ . ....... .. .. . ... .. .. ... . _.. _ _ .. _ ._ _.. ....... _ _ .. __ ~

105879L~ ``
47 is further turned to the "FAST WIND" position, the pushers 41' are separated from the protective covering 30 irrespec-tive of the positioning of the carrier plate 42 to allow the fast winding of the magnetic tape T from one reel to the other reel. During the fast winding, the heads 43 may be either enga~ed to the tape T or separated from the tape T.
However, it is to be noted that, while rotation of the knob 47 between the "STOP" and "FWD" positions require a manual operating procedure each time the knob 47 is desired to rotate from the "STOP" position to the "FWD" position and vice versa, the manipulating knob 47 which has been rotated to the "FAST WIND" position will automatically be returned to the 'IFWD'' position once a manually applied rotating force is removed.

., From the foregoing clescription of the presellt invention, it is clear tha~, because of the protective covering 30 of the particular constructio~ as hereinbefore ~ ~-described, the access opening for the transducer head assembly can be available in a relatively large width. This means ;
~ that the arrangement makes it possible to employ two or more magnetic transducer heads located ~ide-hy-side relation to each other. The result is such that the recording and/or ;~.....
reproducing characteristics of the macJnet.ic tape player can be improved. In addition, since the reels 11 and 12 are 25 braked when not in use and out of the cassette receiving ;~
chamber of the ma~netic tape player, no slac}~ening of the `~
magnetic tape will not occur. ~ ;
~lthough the present invention has Eully heen `~
described in conjunction with the E~reerred embodimcnts ,: .

-20- ~
' ' ,' ~ , V ...........

~513~gl9 - ` ~

thereof ~ith ref erence to the accompanying drawings, it :~
is to be noted that various changes and modifications are apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, in ;~
order to bias the protective covering 30 ~o the projected '-position in the embodiments except for that of Fig. 8, a single spring element, such as a wire spring or a lea spring, may be employed. In addition, unlike the embodi-ment of Fig. 8 wherein the upright support 42a is integrally formed with the protective covering 30, the braking lever 23 may have such a length that the upright support 42a is constantly engaged to the rear edges of the plate members 31 and 32 forming the protective covering 30.
Therefore, such changes and modlfications are to be understood as included ~ithin the true scope of th~
present invention unless they depart therefrom.
"~ ' '.

~ .' ' ' ", , : .

'' ' ' .~'" .

,.', '..
,: ' '

Claims (6)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A box-like container for accommodating therein a magnetic tape designed for use in a magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus, which comprises:
first and second reels to which respective ends of said magnetic tape are secured, each of said first and second reels having at least one radially outwardly extend-ing flange, said first and second reels being rotatably supported in position within said container in spaced rela-tion to each other;
a first access opening formed at one side of said container for receiving a transducer head assembly of the magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus, said transducer head assembly being rigidly carried by a carrier plate means supported in the magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus for movement between inoperative and operative position, said transducer head assembly when said carrier plate means is moved from said inoperative position to said operative position contacting a portion of said magnetic tape which is situated within said first access opening and, when said carrier plate means is in said in-operative position, being separated from said portion of said magnetic tape;
second and third access openings formed on said container at respective sides of said first access opening, at least one driving element provided in the apparatus for driving the magnetic tape from either one of said first and second reels towards the other of said first and second reels being adapted to extend through and of said second and third access openings when said container is placed within a tape container receiving chamber of the apparatus;
protective covering means supported at said first access opening for movement between projected and retracted positions, said protective covering means when in said projected position covering said portion of said magnetic tape; and means for biasing said protective covering means to said projected position;
said protective covering means when moved to said retracted positions against said biasing means permit-ting said portion of said magnetic tape to be bared to the outside of said container, whereby said transducer head assembly with said carrier plate held in said operative position is brought to contact said portion of said magnetic tape.

2. A container as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said protective covering means is moved to said retracted position from said projected position in response to the movement of said transducer head assembly with said plate being moved from said inoperative position to said operative position.

3. A container as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said protective covering means is moved to said retracted position from said projected position in response to operation of a manipulating mechanism provided in the apparatus such that, only during recording or reproduction of information on the magnetic tape, said protective covering means is held in said retracted position.

4. A container as claimed in Claim 1, further com-prising braking means supported within said container for movement between first and second positions and means for biasing said breaking means to said first position, said braking means when held in said first position applying a braking force to both of said reels to halt idle rotation of said reels within said container, said braking means being moved to said second position against said biasing means when held within said tape container receiving chamber.

5. A container as claimed in Claim 4, wherein said braking means is integrally formed with said protective covering means whereby, when said protective covering means is moved to said retracted position, said braking means is moved to said second position.

6. A container as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the apparatus is provided with means for moving said protective covering means from said projected position towards said retracted position in response to placement of said container into said tape container receiving chamber of the apparatus.