GB2208746A - Tape recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

A tape recorder comprises a cassette holder 13 operatively connected to a pivotal member 20 having first and second engaging fingers 20a, 20b formed thereon for cooperating with first and second engaging projections 14e, 14f formed on an eject lever 14. When eject lever 14 is pressed forwardly, cassette holder 13 is pivoted away from the chassis 1, and the eject lever 14 is thereafter arrested at the moved position. When the eject lever 14 is moved back to its home position by a spring 15, cassette holder 13 is pivoted to and held against the chassis 1 (as in Fig 5) by biasing forces of the spring 15 and another spring 21 for the cassette holder 13. Latching piece (17) (Fig 6) of latching member 16 engages cassette holder 13 at the reset position and the table cassette is pushed outwardly by ejecting piece (18) (Fig 6) of the member 16. Eject lever 14 also effects movement of head plate (9) (eg Fig. 1). <IMAGE>

Description

TAPE RECORDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1) Field of the Invention This invention relates to a tape recorder, and more particularly to improvements in or relating to a tape recorder wherein a cassette holder is pivoted from a position toward a chassis by a spring force in response to insertion of a tape cassette into the cassette holder and thereafter held on the chassis by the spring force, and the cassette holder is pivoted back to the position to eject the tape cassette in response to operation of an eject lever.

2) Description#of the Prior Art A tape recorder is already known wherein a cassette holder is mounted on a chassis for pivotal motion between a first position in which a tape cassette can be inserted into or removed from the cassette holder and a second position in which a reel fitting hole of a tape cassette received in the cassette holder is fitted on a rotatable reel shaft mounted for rotation on the chassis, and is moved from the second to the first position by way of an interconnecting pivotal member when an eject lever mounted on the chassis and spring biased from a moved position to a home position is moved from the home to the moved position but is moved from the first to the second position when a tape cassette is inserted to a predetermined position into the cassette holder.

In such a conventional tape recorder, a single spring is provided for two different functions including a first function to bias a cassette holder to pivot in a direction opposite to an ejecting direction, that is, toward a chassis when the tape recorder is in its operative mode, and a second function to push a tape cassette out of the cassette holder when it is intended to eject the tape cassette.

Accordingly, if the spring force of a dual function spring is increased in order that a tape cassette may be held adjacent the chassis in a more stabilized condition when the tape recorder is in its operative mode, the danger will increase that the tape cassette may possibly be jumped out of the cassette holder with great force when a manual operation is made to eject the tape cassette. Therefore, a resisting element is mounted for sliding contact with the tape cassette in order to prevent such jumping out of the tape cassette. However, such sliding contact of the resisting element with the tape cassette increases the resistance against insertion of a tape cassette into the cassette holder. Accordingly, there are problems that a tape cassette cannot be loaded in position with a small force and that the tape cassette may be damaged.

To the contrary, if the spring force of the dual function spring is decreased in order to eliminate the problems described just above, the biasing force to pivot the cassette holder in a direction opposite to the ejecting direction decreases accordingly and also the biasing force to press a tape cassette against the chassis decreases. This gives rise to a problem that a tape cassette may not be held stably against the chassis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tape recorder wherein a tape cassette is held stably against a chassis when the tape recorder is in its operative mode and then when the tape cassette is to be ejected, it does not jump out but is slowly pushed out of a cassette holder, and besides an operation for inserting a tape cassette into the cassette holder can be performed with a relatively small operating force.

In order to attain the object, according to the present invention, there is provided a tape recorder which comprises a chassis on which a reel shaft is mounted for rotation, an eject lever mounted for movement between a home position and a moved position on the chassis, a spring for biasing the eject lever toward the home position, a pivotal member mounted for pivotal motion on the chassis, a cassette holder mounted on the chassis for pivotal motion between a first position in which a tape cassette can be inserted into or removed from the cassette holder and a second position in which a reel fitting hole of a tape cassette received in position in the cassette holder is fitted on the reel shaft and connected to the eject lever via the pivotal member such that movement of the eject lever from the home to the moved position or from the moved to the home position will cause pivotal motion of the cassette holder from the first to the second position or from the second to the first position, respectively, a latching member mounted on the chassis for movement from and to a latching position in which the latching member latches the cassette holder at the first position, the latching member being moved away from the latching position when a tape cassette is inserted to a predetermined position into the cassette holder, and a spring element for resiliently pressing the cassette holder against the chassis when the cassette holder is at the second position and for biasing the latching member to move from the unlatching to the latching position to eject a tape cassette when the cassette holder is moved from the second to the first position, whereby the eject lever has first and second engaging projections provided thereon while the pivotal member has first and second engaging fingers provided thereon, and the eject lever and the pivotal member are associated with each other such that when the eject lever is moved from the home to the moved position, the first engaging projection thereon is engaged first with the second engaging finger of the pivotal member to pivot the cassette holder from the second to the first position via the pivotal member and then with the first engaging finger to thereafter arrest the eject lever at the moved position, and when the latching member is moved away from the latching position to cancel the arrested condition of the eject lever, the eject lever is moved from the moved to the home position by the biasing force of the spring while the cassette holder is pivoted by the biasing force of the spring element from the first position to the second position in which the cassette holder is biased toward the chassis by the biasing force of the spring element and also by the biasing force of the spring which is transmitted thereto from the eject lever via the pivotal member through engagement between the second engaging finger of the pivotal member and the second engagement projection of the eject lever.

When the eject lever is moved forwardly from the home position to the moved position by an external force, the first engaging projection thereon pushes the second engaging finger of the pivotal member to pivot the cassette holder away from the second position on the chassis to the first position via the pivotal member.

Then when the external force is removed, the first engaging projection of the eject lever is engaged with the first engaging finger of the pivotal member and thus arrested at the moved position by the pivotal member.

To the contrary, when the arrested condition of the eject lever is canceled, the eject lever is moved back to the home position by the biasing force of the spring while the cassette holder is pivoted from the first to the second position by the biasing force of the spring element. In the second position of the cassette holder, the second engaging finger of the pivotal member is engaged by the second engaging projection of the eject lever so that the cassette holder is resiliently pressed against the chassis by the biasing force of the spring for the eject lever in addition to the biasing force of the spring element.

Accordingly, with the tape recorder of the present invention, various effects can be anticipated.

Namely, a tape cassette is held stably against the chassis when the tape recorder is in the operative mode, and when the tape cassette is to be ejected, it does not jump out but is slowly pushed out of the cassette holder. Besides, a tape cassette can be inserted into the cassette holder with a relatively small operating force.

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a mechanism of a tape recorder according to the present invention in its rest mode condition; FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the tape recorder mechanism of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the tape recorder mechanism of FIG. 1 as viewed in a direction of an arrow mark III of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the tape recorder mechanism of FIG. 1 as viewed in a direction of an arrow mark IV of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a similar view but showing the tape recorder mechanism in an operation mode condition; and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of part of the tape recorder mechanism of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 4, there is shown a mechanism of a tape recorder according to the present invention in its rest mode condition. The tape recorder mechanism shown includes a capstan shaft 2, a reel shaft 3, a motor 4 for driving the capstan shaft 2 and the reel shaft 3 to rotate, and a switch 5 for interrupting energization of the motor 4, all located on a chassis 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, the capstan shaft 2 is fitted from the lower face side of the chassis 1 into and supported for relative rotation on a hub member 6 secured to a predetermined location of the chassis 1 and extends upwardly above an upper face of the chassis 1.

A snap ring 7 such as an E-snap ring is snapped into an annular groove not shown formed around an outer periphery of the capstan shaft 2 and is located for engagement with an upper end face of the hub member 6 to prevent the capstan shaft 2 from being inadvertently pulled downwardly off the hub member 6.

The reel shaft 3 is supported for rotation on the upper face of the chassis 1.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the motor 4 is electrically connected to a suitable power source not shown via the switch 5. Turning power of the motor 4 is transmitted to the capstan shaft 2 by way of a power transmitting mechanism 8.

The power transmitting mechanism 8 includes a first pulley 8a securely mounted on an output power shaft 4a of the motor 4, a second pulley 8b of a greater diameter securely mounted at a lower end of the capstan shaft 2, and an endless belt 8c made of a rubber material or the like and extending between and around the first and second pulleys 8a, 8b.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a head mounting plate 9 is mounted for movement within a predetermined range on the lower face of the chassis 1. A reproducing magnetic head 10 and a pinch roller 11 are mounted on an upper face adjacent an end edge of the head mounting plate 9.

The magnetic head 10 is designed such that a front face thereof is contacted with a tape not shown within a tape cassette 12 (FIG. 5).

The head mounting plate 9 is normally biased by a spring 9a in a leftward direction in FIG. 2 to engage the pinch roller 11 thereon with the capstan shaft 2.

The tape cassette 12 is removably held on a cassette holder 13.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the cassette holder 13 has a pair of side walls 13b, 13c extending vertically upwardly from opposite side edges of a bottom wall 13a thereof. The side walls 13b, 13c are mounted at one end portions thereof for pivotal motion within a predetermined angular range around a horizontal axis on inner faces of one end portions of a pair of opposite side walls la, lb of the chassis 1. The cassette holder 13 is supported for pivotal motion between an ejecting or reset position in which it is inclined obliquely upwardly and spaced-at its free end thereof away from the chassis 1 and another reproduction mode or set position in which it lies on the chassis 1.

As a stopping operating member or eject lever 14 which is used both for stopping operation and for ejecting operation is moved from its operation mode position to its rest mode position, the head mounting plate 9 is pushed to move in the rightward direction in FIG. 2 toward its rest mode position against the biasing force of the coil spring 9a.

The stopping operating member 14 has a main body portion 14a, a side wall portion 14b extending vertically upwardly from a side edge of the main body portion 14a, and a front wall portion 14c extending perpendicularly outwardly from a forward end of the side wall portion 14b. The stopping operating member 14 is mounted for movement within a predetermined range with the main body portion 14a thereof located on the lower face of the chassis 1 and with the side wall portion 14b thereof located on an outer face of the side wall la of the chassis 1. The main body portion 14a of the stopping operating member 14 has a guide face 14d in the form of an inclined curved face formed on the other edge thereof for -sliding contact with a bent engaging lug 9b formed the head mounting plate 9. Thus, if the stopping operating member 14 is manually pushed to move from its operation mode position to its first actuated position or fast feeding mode position, the head mounting plate 9 is moved, through sliding engagement between the guide face 14d of the stopping operating member 14 and the bent engaging lug 9b of the head mounting plate 9, from its reproduction mode position against the biasing force of the coil spring 9a to its fast feeding mode position in which the pinch roller 11 is spaced by a little distance from the capstan shaft 2.If the stopping operating member 14 is further pushed to move from the first actuated position to a second actuated position or ejection/rest mode position, the head mounting plate 9 is further moved, through sliding contact between the guide face 14d and the bent engaging lug 9b, against the biasing force of the coil spring 9a to a rest mode position or ejecting position in which the pinch roller 11 is spaced by a maximum distance from the capstan shaft 2. The stopping operating member 14 is normally biased toward the reproduction mode position in an upward direction in FIG. 2 by a coil spring 15. The coil spring 15 is secured at one end thereof to the lower face of the chassis 1 and at the other end thereof to a lower face of the main body portion 14a of the stopping operating member 14.

If the stopping operating member 14 in its reproduction mode position is pushed in by a relatively small distance to its first actuated or fast feeding mode position, it is thereafter arrested at the first actuated position, that is, the fast feeding mode position. Then, if the stopping operating member 14 in the fast feeding mode position is pushed in by a little distance toward the ejecting position and then the pushing in force to the stopping operating member 14 is removed, it is returned to its reproduction mode position. To the contrary, if the stopping operating member 14 in the fast feeding mode position is pushed in by a long distance toward the ejecting position, it is thereafter arrested at the ejecting position.On the other hand, if the stopping operating member 14 in the reproduction mode position is pushed in to the second actuated position or ejecting position farther than the first actuated position, it is thereafter arrested at the ejecting position.

By moving the stopping operating member 14 to its ejecting position, the cassette holder 13 is pivoted from the set position to the reset position. To the contrary, by putting a tape cassette 12 into the cassette holder 13 and pushing the tape cassette 12 in to a predetermined position, the cassette holder 13 is pivoted from the reset position to the set position.

As the cassette holder 13 is pivoted from the reset position to the set position, one of a pair of capstan shaft fitting holes not shown and one of a pair of reel shaft fitting holes not shown of the tape cassette 12 inserted in the cassette holder 13 are fitted on the capstan shaft 2 and the reel shaft 3, respectively, while the magnetic head 10 and the pinch roller 11 are moved into the tape cassette 12 through openings formed in the tape cassette 12 until they are contacted with a tape not shown within the tape cassette 12. In order to allow the magnetic head 10 and the pinch roller 11 to move into and out of the tape cassette 12, the side wall 13c of the cassette holder 13 is divided into three sections as shown in FIG. 1 which define therebetween a pair of openings opposing to the openings of the tape cassette 12.

Then, as the cassette holder 13 is pivoted from the set position to the reset position, the capstan shaft 2 and the reel shaft 3 are removed from the capstan shaft fitting hole and the reel shaft fitting hole of the tape cassette 12, respectively, while the magnetic head 10 and the pinch roller 11 are also removed from within the tape cassette 12 and from the tape.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4 to 6, the cassette holder 13 can be arrested at its reset position by a latching member 16. The latching member 16 has a short latching piece 17 and a tall cassette ejecting piece 18 formed in a juxtaposed relationship at left and right locations thereof as particularly seen in FIG. 6. The cassette ejecting piece 18 has a bent spring anchor 19 formed at an upper end thereof and extending in a horizontally leftward direction in FIG. 3.

The latching member 16 has a pair of horizontally extending tabs formed on opposite sides of a lower end thereof and received in round holes perforated in a pair of bent lugs lc, 1d of the chassis 1 so as to allow pivotal motion of the latching member 16. When the latching member 16 is pivoted in a cassette removing direction, that is, in a clockwise direction in FIG. 5, the latching piece 17 thereof is engaged with a lower face of the cassette holder 13 to prevent pivotal motion of the cassette holder 13 toward its set position while the cassette ejecting piece 18 thereof pushes be the tape cassette 12 within the cassette holder 13 in the removing direction.To the contrary, if the tape cassette 12 is inserted into the cassette holder 13 to a predetermined position, the cassette ejecting piece 18 of the latching member 16 is pushed by the tape cassette 12 to pivot the latching member 16 in an inserting direction, that is, in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 4 to disengage the latching piece 1 thereof from the lower face of the cassette holder t3 thereby to cancel the arresting condition of the latching member 16. It is to be not that the cassette holder 13 has a recess 13d formed therein as shown in FIGS. 1 Pnc 3 for allowing the cassette ejecting piece 18 of the latching member 16 to make such a pivotal motion therein.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 to 6, the cassette holder 13 is operatively connected to the stopping operating member 14 by an interlocking or pivotal member 20. The interlocking member 20 is mounted at an intermediate portion thereof for pivotal motion on the side wall la (left-hand side wall in FIG. 1) of the chassis 1 and is pivotally connected at one end thereof to a bent connecting tab 13e formed at a corner of the cassette holder 13. The interlocking member 20 is bifurcated at the other end thereof to provide first and second engaging fingers 20a, 20b which extend downwardly from the center of pivotal motion of the interlocking member 20. The first engaging finger 20a of the interlocking member 20 is located for engagement by a first engaging projection or tab 14e formed on a side edge of the stopping operating member 14 while the second engaging finger 20b is located for engagement by the first engaging tab 14e and a second engaging projection or tab 14f formed on the side edge of the stopping operating member 14 in a spaced relationship by a predetermined distance in the direction of movement of the stopping operating member 14 from the first engaging tab 14e.Thus, when the stopping operating member 14 is moved forwardly from the reproduction mode position to the ejecting position, the first engaging tab 14e thereon presses against the second engaging finger 20b of the interlocking member 20 to pivot the interlocking member 20 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 5 to pivot the cassette holder 13 away from the chassis 1 to the reset position. After pivotal motion of the cassette holder 13 to the reset position, the first engaging tab 14e of the stopping operating member 14 is engaged with the first engaging finger 20a of the interlocking member 20 to arrest the stopping operating member 14 at its ejecting position against the biasing force of the coil spring 15.To the contrary, when the stopping operating member 14 is moved reversely from the ejecting position to the reproduction mode position, the first engaging tab 14e thereof first presses against the first engaging finger 20a of the interlocking member 20 and then the second engaging tab 14f thereof presses against the second engaging finger 20b under the biasing force of the coil spring 15 to pivot the interlocking member 20 in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 4 whereupon the cassette holder 13 is pivoted toward the chassis 1 to its set position.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, a torsion coil spring 21 is anchored at opposite ends 21a, 21b thereof to the spring anchor 19 of the latching member 16 and a spring anchor 20c at the one end of the interlocking member 20, respectively.

The torsion coil spring 21 acts, when the cassette holder 13 is in its set position, to press the cassette holder 13 against the chassis 1. However, in this position of the torsion coil spring 21, the force thereof to bias the latching member 16 in the cassette removing direction is very weak or substantially zero.

Accordingly, in this position, the contacting force between the latching piece 17 of the latching member 16 and a forward end edge of the cassette holder 13 is so weak that it may little serve as a resistance against the movement of the cassette holder 13 to the set position. To the contrary, as the cassette holder 13 is pivoted from the set position toward the reset position, a spring force is gradually accumulated in the torsion coil spring 21 so that the force of the torsion coil spring 21 to bias the latching member 16 to pivot in the cassette removing direction is gradually increased.

Finally, when the cassette holder 13 is lifted to the reset position until the forward end edge of the cassette holder 13 is disengaged from the latching piece 17 of the latching member 16, the latching member 16 is pivoted strongly in the cassette removing direction by the accumulated spring force of the torsion coil spring 21 until the cassette ejecting piece 18 thereof is engaged with and stopped by an inner end edge of the recess 13d of the cassette holder 13.In this position of the latching member 16, the latching piece 17 thereof is located just below the cassette holder 13 so that, when the force to pivot the cassette holder 13 from the set position to reset position is removed subsequently, the latching piece 17 of the latching member 16 is engaged with the lower face of the cassette holder 13 to arrest the cassette holder 13 from pivoting toward the set position.

On the contrary, when the cassette holder 13 is arrested at the reset position as shown in FIG. 4, the force of the torsion coil spring 21 to bias the cassette holder 13 toward the set position is very weak.

Accordingly, in this condition, the contacting force between the upper end of the latching piece 17 of the latching member 16 and the lower face of the cassette holder 13 is so weak that it will little serve as a resistance against a tape cassette 12 when the tape cassette 12 is inserted into the cassette holder 13.

Thus, if the tape cassette 12 is inserted into the cassette holder 13 and pivots the latching member 16 in the cassette inserting direction, a spring force is gradually accumulated in the torsion coil spring 21 so that the force to bias the cassette holder 13 toward the set position is gradually increased. Accordingly, when the tape cassette 12 is fully inserted to a position at which it contacts with and is stopped by a stopping wall 13f of the cassette holder 13, the upper end of the latching piece 17 of the latching member 16 is disengaged from the lower face of the cassette holder 13 so that the cassette holder 13 is pivoted strongly toward the set position by the accumulated spring force of the torsion coil spring 21 until the tape cassette 12 is brought into its loaded position as shown in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, a cassette holding member 22 is located on the cassette holder 13. The cassette holding member 22 is formed from an elongated plate and has a pair of laterally extending tabs formed on opposite ends thereof and received in a pair of sectoral openings formed in the opposite side walls 13b, 13c of the cassette holder 13 so as to allow pivotal motion of the cassette holding member 22 within a predetermined angular range. A cassette holding leaf spring 23 is secured at one end thereof to a location between a substantially central portion and one end or right-hand side end in FIG. 1 of the cassette holding member 22 and extends at the other end thereof in the cassette removing direction.The cassette holding leaf spring 23 is bent into a substantially V-shape in side elevation at a portion adjacent the other end thereof, and a lower face of a bent corner 23a of the cassette holding leaf spring 23 is located for engagement with an upper face of a tape cassette 12. A torsion coil spring 24 is located adjacent the other end or left-hand side end in FIG. 1 of the cassette holding member 22. The torsion coil spring 24 normally biases the cassette holding member 22 in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 4 to move the cassette holding leaf spring 23 away from the upper face of the tape cassette 12 and has another function to bias the cassette holding member 22 toward the one end of the latter to absorb a play of the latter in its axial direction. A coiled portion 24a of the torsion coil spring 24 is fitted around one of the tabs adjacent the other end of the cassette holding member 22 and opposite ends 24b, 24c of the torsion coil spring 24 are anchored respectively at the cassette holding member 22 and an upper end of the side wall 13b of the cassette holder 13.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, a pair of guide ribs 25a, 25b are formed in parallel relationship to a direction of the cassette inserting axial line on an upper face of the bottom wall 13a of the cassette holder 13 for controlling the position of the tape cassette 12 in leftward and rightward directions. A cassette holding bent lug 26 of a V-shaped side elevation is formed at an upper end of the side wall 13b of the cassette holder 13.

Now, operation of the automatic stopping device for a tape feeding apparatus according to the present invention having such a construction as described above will be described. In FIGS. 1 to 4, the tape recorder is shown in its rest mode condition. In this condition, the cassette holder 13 is in its reset position, the stopping operating member 14 is in its rest mode position, and the head mounting plate 9 is held at its rest mode position in which the pinch roller 11 thereon is spaced farthest away from the capstan shaft 2 against the biasing force of the coil spring 9a. Further, the switch 5 is held at its off or motor deenergizing position.

In this condition, if a tape cassette 12 is inserted into the cassette holder 13 and then further pushed in strongly, the latching piece 1, of the latching member 16 is-disengaged from the lower face of the cassette holder 13 to allow the cassette holder 13 to be pivoted to the set position in which the capstan shaft 2 and the reel shaft 3 are fitted in corresponding ones of the capstan shaft fitting holes and the reel shaft fitting holes of the tape cassette 12, respectively.Meanwhile, as the cassette holder 13 is pivoted to the set position, the interlocking member 20 is pivoted in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 4 whereupon the engagement between the first engaging finger 20a thereof and the first engaging tab 14e of the stopping operating member 14 is canceled to allow the stopping operating member 14 to be moved to the operation mode position by the biasing force of the coil spring 15. Upon such movement of the stopping operating member 14, the second engaging tab 14f thereof is pressed against the second engaging finger 20b of the interlocking member 20 by the restoring force of the coil spring 15 to bias the cassette holder 13 to pivot toward the chassis 1 via the interlocking member 20.

Further, upon the movement of the stopping operating member 14 to the operative mode position, the switch 5 is turned on. Consequently, the motor 4 is energized and thus driven to rotate in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2.

Further, as the stopping operating member 14 is moved to its operative mode position, the head mounting plate 9 is released from its arrested condition at the rest mode position by the stopping operating member 14 so that it is moved in the leftward direction in FIG. 2 by the biasing force of the coil spring 9a to its operative mode position, that is, its reproduction mode position in which the magnetic head 10 contacts with a tape not shown within the tape cassette 12 and the pinch roller 11 is pressed against the capstan shaft 2 via the tape. Since the turning power of the motor 4 is transmitted to the capstan shaft 2 via the power transmitting mechanism 8, the capstan shaft 2 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2. The turning power of the motor 4 is also transmitted to the reel shaft 3 to rotate the reel shaft 3 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2.Accordingly, the tape of the tape cassette 12 is fed from one of a pair of reels not shown within the tape cassette 12 which is not fitted on the reel shaft 3 to the other reel fitted on the reel shaft 3 in order to effect operation for the reproduction mode.

Operation of the reproduction mode is effected in this manner. Then, if the tape is completely wound up from the one to the other reel, rotation of the reel shaft 3 is stopped by the tape. As a result of stopping of rotation of the reel shaft 3, transmission of the power between the reel shaft 3 and the motor 4 is interrupted while energization of the motor 4 is stopped to stop rotation of the capstan shaft 2.

In this condition, if the stopping operating member 14 is pushed in in the downward direction in FIG. 2 to its rest mode position against the biasing force of the coil spring 15 in order to remove the tape cassette 12 from the cassette holder 13, the engaging lug 9b of the head mounting plate 9 is pressed by the guide face 14d of the stopping operating member 14 so that the head mounting plate 9 is moved in the rightward direction in FIG. 2 against the biasing force of the coil spring 9a until the pinch roller 11 comes to its rest mode position in which it is spaced farthest away from the capstan shaft 2 and the pinch roller 11 and the magnetic head 10 are spaced away from the tape and the tape cassette 12.Meanwhile, as the stopping operating member 14 is moved to its rest mode position, the first engaging tab 14e thereof presses against the second engaging finger 20b of the interlocking member 20 to pivot the interlocking member 20 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 5 whereupcn the cassette holder 13 is also pivoted to its reset position. Upon such pivotal motion of the cassette holder 13, the tape cassette 12 is pushed outwardly of the cassette holder 13 by the cassette ejecting piece 18 of the latching member 16 while the latching piece 17 of the latching member 16 is engaged with the lower face of the cassette holder 13 to thereafter arrest the cassette holder 13 at its reset position. Further, in this condition, the first engaging tab 14e of the stopping operating member 14 is engaged with the first engaging finger 20a of the interlocking member 20 so that the stopping operating member 14 is held at the ejecting position against the biasing force of the coil spring 15 as shown in FIG. 4.

Claims (6)

CLAIMS:

1. A tape recorder, comprising a chassis on which a reel shaft is mounted for rotation, an eject lever mounted for movement between a home position and a moved position on said chassis, a spring for biasing said eject lever toward the home position, a pivotal member mounted for pivotal motion on said chassis, a cassette holder mounted on said chassis for pivotal motion between a first position in which a tape cassette can be inserted into or removed from said cassette holder and a second position in which a reel fitting hole of a tape cassette received in position in said cassette holder is fitted on said reel shaft and connected to said eject lever via said pivotal member such that movement of said eject lever from the home to the moved position or from the moved to the home position will cause pivotal motion of said cassette holder from the first to the second position or from the second to the first position, respectively, a latching member mounted on said chassis for movement from and to a latching position in which said latching member latches said cassette holder at the first position, said latching member being moved away from the latching position when a tape cassette is inserted to a predetermined position into said cassette holder, and a spring element for resiliently pressing said cassette holder against said chassis when said cassette holder is at the second position and for biasing said latching member to move from the unlatching to the latching position to eject a tape cassette when said cassette holder is moved from the second to the first position, whereby said eject lever has first and second engaging projections provided thereon while said pivotal member has first and second engaging fingers provided thereon, and said eject lever and said pivotal member are associated with each other such that when said eject lever is moved from the home to the moved position, said first engaging projection thereon is engaged first with said second engaging finger of said pivotal member to pivot said cassette holder from the second to the first position via said pivotal member and then with said first engaging finger to thereafter arrest said eject lever at the moved position, and when said latching member is moved away from the latching position to cancel the arrested condition of said eject lever, said eject lever is moved from the moved to the home position by the biasing force of said spring while said cassette holder is pivoted by the biasing force of said spring element from the first position to the second position in which said cassette holder is biased toward said chassis by the biasing force of said spring element and also by the biasing force of said spring which is transmitted thereto from said eject lever via said pivotal member through engagement between said second engaging finger of said pivotal member and said second engagement projection of said eject lever.

2. A tape recorder as set forth in claim 1, wherein said pivotal lever is supported at a,mid portion thereof for pivotal motion on said chassis and connected at one end thereof to said cassette holder, and said first and second engaging fingers are formed at the other end of said pivotal lever and extend in radial directions with respect to the center of pivotal motion of said pivotal member.

3. A tape recorder as set forth in claim 1 or 2, wherein said first and second engaging projections are formed in a predetermined spaced relationship on a side edge of said eject lever.

4. A tape recorder as set forth in claim 3, wherein said first engaging finger of said pivotal member is a little shorter than said second engaging finger.

5. A tape recorder as set forth in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said spring member is a torsion coil spring which connects said latching member and said pivotal member to each other.

6. A tape recorder substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.