GB2072920A

GB2072920A - Cleaner for a tape cassette player

Info

Publication number: GB2072920A
Application number: GB8038755A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: CAMBRASOUND Ltd
Current assignee: CAMBRASOUND Ltd
Priority date: 1980-03-27
Filing date: 1980-12-03
Publication date: 1981-10-07

Abstract

A cleaner for the capstan 51 and pinch roller 53 of a tape cassette player has a housing shaped outwardly like a cassette and, mounted in the housing, a two-armed lever 37 which is freely pivotal about axis 41. Felt pads 47, 49 are secured to the ends of the lever arms to clean the capstan and pinch roller respectively. The lever 37 rotates so that the ratio of the pad pressures remains constant during cleaning, and pins 57, 59 limit the extent of rotation. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Cleaner for a tape cassette player The present invention relates to cleaners for tape cassette players and in particular to such cleaners for the capstan and pinch roller of a player.

Hand tools for cleaning the two elements, capstan and pinch roller, are available on the market but in some circumstances the use of a hand tool is inconvenient, for example if it is desired to clean a cassette player in an automobile during a journey.

It has been proposed to provide a cleaner in the form of a felt pad held against both the capstan and pinch roller by a spring. Such an arrangement has the disadvantage that in some machines the pad may be biassed to exert high cleaning pressure on one element and low pressure on the other, whilst in other machines, where the sizes and relative positions of capstan and roller are slightly different, the situation may be reversed and in either case poor cleaning of one element can result.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cleaner for the capstan and pinch roller of a tape cassette player, comprising a housing adapted to be located in a cleaning position on drive and rewind spindles of the player and a member supported within the housing on a pivot having a rotational axis parallel to the spindles and carrying two cleaning pad means spaced from one another and from the pivot, whereby with the housing in said cleaning position and on driving the capstan to rotate the pinch roller, the pad means are held in cleaning engagement with the capstan and roller respectively, the ratio of the engaging pressures of the two cleaning pad means being substantially constant.

Suitably, abutment means are provided to limit the arc of rotation of said member, and with the housing in the cleaning position, said member is engaged by the pinch roller on bringing of the latter into driving engagement with the capstan.

Preferably, the pivoted member comprises two arms extending from the pivot and each carrying one of said cleaning pad means on the free end thereof.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a plan view of one embodiment of a cleaner according to the invention with the top half of the housing of the cleaner removed.

In the drawing the cleaner is generally indicated by the numeral 1 1, and it comprises a housing formed by identical halves of which the half 1 3 is shown, the housing being of the standard cassette type. The half 1 3 of the housing includes a base 15, three complete upstanding sidewalls 1 7, 19 and 21 and a front wall 23 formed with apertures.

The housing is shown with its top half removed, although the latter would normally be attached to the half 13 by screws in four corner holes 25.

There are two hollow sleeves 27 and 29 extending upwardly from base 15 and these fit over the drive and rewind spindles, respectively (not shown) of the cassette player, enabling the cleaner to be located in a cleaning position.

The cleaner shown in the figure includes means, indicated by the numeral 31, for cleaning the erase and playback heads 33 and 35 of the player. Cleaning means 31 need not, however, be included in cleaners according to the present invention, which is concerned with providing a cleaner for the capstan and pinch roller of the player. The cleaning means 31 is the subject of a separate patent application where it is fully described and claimed.

A member 37 is supported at an end boss 39 thereof on a pivot on the base 1 5 of the housing for rotation about an axis (point 41 of which is indicated in the figure) parallel to the drive and rewind spindles of the player.

Member 37 has two straight arms 43 and 45 extending from boss 39 in a radial direction with respect to the axis of rotation about the pivot, with an angle between the arms of approximately 550.

At their free ends the arms are inwardly cranked and provide respective sockets 52 and 54 in which are retained, by internal beads 55, cleaning pads 47 and 49. In the drawing, the two pads are shown in cleaning engagement with capstan 51 and pinch roller 53, respectively, of the player.

Arm 45 is longer than arm 43 and the cranked socket portions of the two arms are so inclined relative to the remainder of the arms as to extend in the cleaning position as shown in the drawing, substantially radially with respect to the axes of rotation of the capstan 51 and roller 53. The pads are short rectangular sections of compressed feltlike material, and are resiliently retained in the sockets by bead 55 on the internal surface of each socket.

Two upstanding abutment pins 57 and 59 are fixed to the base of the housing on opposite sides of the longer arm 45, and these limit the arc of rotation of member 37 about the pivot. With the pinch roller 53 in the retracted position (shown in broken lines in the figure) member 37 can swing about the pivot. The pins 57 and 59 afford a means for locating the arms relatively to the elements to be cleaned so that on bringing the pinch roller into driving engagement with the capstan, the roller engages the pad 49 on longer arm 45. The pins, however, limit rotation and ensure that member 37 is brought to the cleaning position shown in the drawing on driving the capstan and roller. The pins allow a certain amount of play in the position of the pads, to permit easy loading of the cleaner in the machine without causing damage.

To commence cleaning, on insertion of the housing into the cleaning position, the pinch roller is brought towards the capstan, thereby engaging the pad 49. Member 37 is swung in the anticlockwise direction until pad 47 engages the capstan. During the cleaning operation, capstan 51 rotates in the anti-clockwise direction, thereby turning pinch roller 53 in the clockwise direction.

On consequence, opposing moments are transmitted by pad 47 and arm 43 and by pad 49 and arm 45, holding member 37 in equilibrium in the cleaning position shown in the drawing. Thus, the ratio of the engaging pressures of the two cleaning pads is substantially constant throughout the cleaning operation and appropriate cleaning pressures will be achieved irrespective of minor changes in the size or position of the capstan or roller in different cassette players. Accordingly, regular and adequate cleaning pressure is applied to the two elements to clean the surfaces thereof.

For improved cleaning efficiency, a cleaning fluid can be applied to the pads.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many changes can be made to the cleaner shown in the drawing without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, member 37 could be crescent-shaped, with felt over the concave side thereof forming two cleaning pad means at respective ends. Means other than the two abutment pins 57 and 59 could be provided to ensure that member 37 is brought into cleaning engagement with the capstan and roller.

Claims

1. Cleaner for the capstan and pinch roller of a tape cassette player, comprising a housing adapted to be located in a cleaning position on drive and rewind spindles of the player and a member supported within the housing on a pivot having a rotational axis parallel to the spindles and carrying two cleaning pad means spaced from one another and from the pivot, whereby with the housing in said cleaning position and on driving the capstan to rotate the pinch roller, the pad means are held in cleaning engagement with the capstan and roller respectively, the ratio of the engaging pressures of the two cleaning pad means being substantially constant.

2. Cleaner as claimed in Claim 1, wherein abutment means are provided to limit the arc of rotation of said member, and with the housing in the cleaning position, said member is engaged by the pinch roller on bringing of the latter into driving engagement with the capstan. i

3. Cleaner as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the abutment means are adapted so that the pinch roller is brought into engagement with one of said cleaning pad means.

4. Cleaner as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the pivoted member comprises two arms extending from the pivot and each carrying one of said cleaning pad means on the free end thereof.

5. Cleaner as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the arms are each cranked at the free ends thereof and in the cleaning position the free end of each arm extends substantially radially with respect to the axis of rotation of the capstan or roller, respectively, engaged during cleaning thereof.

6. Cleaner as claimed in Claim 4 or Claim 5, wherein the cleaning pad means are received in sockets on the free ends of the arm.

7. A cleaner as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the cleaning pad means are composed of felt-like material.

8. A cleaner, constructed and adapted to claim the capstan and pinch roller of a tape cassette player, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawing.