JPH02143938A - Cassette automatic exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the occurrence of a part which cannot be recorded because of the exchange of a cassette by making the composition of the title exchanger into the one to decide whether all the programs can be recorded with the cassette under a using mode or not and exchange the cassette before recording when it is impossible to record the programs. CONSTITUTION:The exchanger is composed of input means 28-32 to input time for recording the programs to be recorded and a tape running speed, measuring means 21-27 to measure the tape remainder of a cassette 11 under the using mode, a deciding means 33 to decide whether all the programs can be recorded with the cassette 11 under the using mode or not, and cassette exchanging means 15-17 to set a cassette 12 under a standby mode to the using mode when a decided result to indicate the recording of all the programs is impossible is obtained. Further, before picture recording of each program, tape remainder TR of the cassette 11 under the using mode and tape consumption TU for the program to be picture recorded next are calculated, and when the tape consumption TU is larger than the tape remainder TR, the cassette is exchanged. Thus, the interruption of the picture recording accompanying the exchange of the cassette can be prevented.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) This invention is applicable to, for example, a video tape recorder (hereinafter referred to as V
The present invention relates to an automatic cassette exchange device installed in a cassette (hereinafter referred to as TR).

(Prior Art) Generally, in a VTR, it is possible to schedule recording of a plurality of programs using a timer.

However, as the reservation recording function has improved in recent years, the number of programs that can be reserved has increased, and as a result, it has become impossible to record all of the reserved programs on one cassette.

In order to deal with such problems, VTRs
In recent years, cassette auto-change devices that can automatically exchange a plurality of cassettes are often provided.

The conventional structure of this automatic cassette exchange device is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, 11 is a cassette placed in the cassette mounting section, and 12 is a cassette placed in the cassette special section. Below, like cassette 11, recording,
A mode where playback is possible is referred to as a use mode, and a mode where the cassette 12 is in a standby state for recording and playback is referred to as a standby mode.

A tape end sensor 13 detects the tape end of the cassette 11 in use mode. When the tape end sensor 13 detects the tape end of the cassette 11, the mode control circuit 14 operates the cassette ejection/loading control circuit 15. As a result, the cassette ejection mechanism 16 ejects the cassette 11 from the cassette mounting section, and the cassette mounting mechanism 17 mounts the cassette 12 into the cassette mounting section. As a result, even if the cassette 11 has reserved so many programs that the cassette 11 cannot record them all, all the programs can be recorded.

However, with this configuration in which the tape end of the cassette 11 is detected and the cassettes 11 and 12 are replaced, there is a problem that if the tape end occurs during recording, images during the cassette replacement period cannot be recorded.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As mentioned above, in the conventional automatic cassette changing device of a VTR, the cassette is changed by detecting the end of the tape, so when recording multiple programs by reservation, However, there was a problem in that if the tape came to an end during recording, the image at the time of changing the cassette could not be recorded.

Therefore, the present invention provides a method for recording a plurality of programs in advance, even if the total recording time is longer than the recordable time of one cassette. To provide an automatic cassette changing device capable of recording completely without interruption.

C Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problem di> In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, prior to recording a program, determines the recording time and tape speed of the program and the remaining tape amount of the cassette in the usage mode. From,
It is determined whether the entire program can be recorded using the cassette in this usage mode, and if recording is not possible, the cassette is replaced before recording.

(Function) According to the above configuration, it is determined whether or not recording is possible before recording a program, and the cassette is replaced as necessary. Therefore, the cassette is not replaced during recording, and the recording is performed because the cassette is replaced. There will never be anything that cannot be done.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the case where the present invention is applied to an automatic cassette changing device for a VTR will be described as a representative example.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the same parts as in FIG. 3 are given the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 21 denotes a pulse generator that generates pulses indicating the number of rotations of a supply reel (not shown). 22 is a pulse generator that generates pulses indicating the number of rotations of a pick-up reel (not shown). A pulse generator 23 generates an FG pulse indicating the rotation frequency of a capstan (not shown). 24, 25, and 26 are counters that count the pulses output from the corresponding pulse generators 21, 22, and 23, respectively.

27 is an arithmetic circuit that calculates the remaining tape amount TR of the tape 11 in use mode from the count outputs of the counters 24, 25, and 26.

Reference numeral 28 denotes a reservation program input section for inputting a program for reservation recording. 29 is the recording start time t of the program input by this reserved program input section 28
This is a memory that stores s for each program. 30.
Reference numerals 31 denote memories for storing the recording end time 1= and the tape speed V, respectively. 32 is memory 29.30
．． Recording start time tSs of each program stored in 31
This is an arithmetic circuit that calculates the tape consumption (it Tu ) for each program according to the following equation (1) from the end time tE and the tape speed ■.

Tu=(tE ts )V −(1)33
By comparing the magnitude of the remaining tape amount TR calculated by the calculation circuit 27 with the tape consumption amount TU calculated by the calculation circuit 32, it is determined whether it is possible to record all the programs with this tape consumption iTυ on the cassette 11. This is a judgment circuit that judges.

The above determination process is performed under the control of the mode control circuit 34.
This is done prior to recording each program.

That is, the mode control circuit 34 operates after the program reservation ends until the recording start time ts of the first program is reached, or after the recording of a certain program ends until the recording start time ts of the next program is reached. During this time, the arithmetic circuit 32, determination circuit 33, and tape running control circuit 35 are operated. As a result, the arithmetic circuit 32 calculates the tape consumption flTυ of the next program that has been recorded. Further, the tape running control circuit 35 temporarily sets the mode of the VTR to tape fast forward mode, then switches to rewind mode, and rewinds the tape by the amount of tape running in the fast forward mode.

By controlling the tape running in this way, the arithmetic circuit 27 controls the tape base ffi T during the fast forward mode.
n can be calculated.

The determination output of the determination circuit 33 is supplied to the cassette ejection/installation control circuit 15. This cassette ejection/loading control circuit 1
5 does not drive the cassette ejection mechanism 16 and the cassette loading mechanism 17 when the determination circuit 33 determines that the tape consumption amount TU is less than the remaining tape amount TR. Therefore, in this case, the cassette is not replaced. Conversely, when a determination result is obtained that the tape consumption amount Tυ is greater than the remaining tape amount TR, the cassette ejection mechanism 16 and the cassette loading mechanism 17 are driven. Therefore, in this case,
The cassette is replaced.

As described above, in this embodiment, the remaining tape amount T of the cassette 11 in the use mode is set before each program is recorded.
Tape consumption of R and the next program to be recorded ff1TU
is calculated, and if the tape consumption ff1Tυ is greater than the tape base mTR, the cassette is replaced.

According to such a configuration, it is not necessary to change the cassette during recording, so there is no need to change the cassette, so that there are no parts that cannot be recorded due to the change of the cassette, and each program can be completely recorded. Can be done.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a second embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 2, the same parts as in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals.

This embodiment is provided with a cassette sensor 36 that detects the presence or absence of a cassette 12 in standby mode, and when there is no cassette 12, the mode control circuit 34 is controlled to
, the determination circuit 33, and the tape running control circuit 35 are not operated.

According to such a configuration, even if the tape consumption mTυ of a certain program is greater than the tape base mTn,
If there is no cassette 12 in standby mode, the cassette cannot be replaced, so even a part of the program can be recorded. This makes it possible to meet the user's expectations even slightly, compared to the case where the entire program cannot be recorded due to cassette replacement.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

For example, measurement configurations for tape-based ff1TR include a configuration that measures from the relationship between the winding diameter of the supply reel and tape thickness, a configuration that measures from the winding diameter of the supply reel and pick-up reel and the total length of the tape, and a configuration that measures the relationship between the winding diameter of the supply reel and the tape thickness, and a configuration that measures the relationship between the winding diameter of the supply reel and the tape thickness. Any configuration may be used, such as a configuration in which measurements are made from the ratio, tape thickness, and tape total length.

Further, in the previous embodiment, the cassette 11 in the use mode
In order to judge whether all the programs to be recorded next can be recorded, it is necessary to use the remaining tape remaining fullTR and the tape consumption 1il.
Although we have explained the case where the determination is made by comparing the size with T u,
The determination may be made by comparing the recordable time t of the cassette 11 with the program recording time (t[nee ts)]. Here, the recordable time 1P can be determined by the following equation (2).

In short, the configuration for determining whether recording is possible in this invention is based on the remaining tape (2t T Rs recording time (tE -1s
), any configuration may be used as long as the determination is made according to the tape speed V.

Further, in the previous embodiment, the case where the present invention is used to deal with scheduled recording has been explained, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when recording a certain program, the cassette 11 in the use mode It may be used to determine whether or not all can be recorded. That is, in recording other than such scheduled recording, the user usually looks at a tape counter or the like to determine whether or not recording is possible.

However, in this case, unless the tape counter has a time display format, only an intuitive judgment can be made. This is because the user must take the tape running speed V into consideration when making the determination. On the other hand, in the present invention, since the apparatus itself is configured in consideration of the tape running speed (2), accurate determination can be made even in such a case, and therefore, the present invention has great utility value.

Furthermore, the present invention is also applicable to automatic cassette changing devices other than VTRs, such as audio cassette tape recorders.

It goes without saying that the present invention can be modified in various other ways without departing from the spirit thereof.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, if the entire program cannot be recorded, the cassette is replaced before recording2, so that the cassette is replaced during recording. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unrecorded portions from occurring due to cassette exchange.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a conventional automatic cassette exchange device. 11.12...Cassette, 15...Cassette ejection/
Mounting control circuit, 16...Cassette ejection mechanism, 17...
・Cassette mounting mechanism, 21, 22. 23... Pulse generator, 24, 25. 26... Counter, 27° 32.
...Calculation concave path, 28...Program input section, 29゜3
0.31...Memory, 33...Judgment circuit, 34...
・Mode control circuit, 35... Tape running control circuit, 3
6...Cassette sensor. Figure 1 Applicant's agent Patent attorney Suzue, Takehiko

Claims (1)

[Claims] One of the plurality of cassettes is set to a use mode in which recording is possible, and the remaining cassettes are set to a standby mode in which the remaining cassettes are on standby for recording, and each time recording of the cassette in the use mode is completed. In the cassette automatic change device that sequentially sets the cassettes in the standby mode to the use mode one by one, an input means for inputting the recording time and tape running speed of the program to be recorded; A measuring means for measuring the remaining amount of tape in the cassette that is previously in the use mode, and the use according to the remaining amount of tape measured by the measuring means, the recording time and the tape running speed input by the input means. A determination means for determining whether or not all of the above programs can be recorded on the cassette in the standby mode; and if the determination means determines that recording is not possible, the cassette in the standby mode is and cassette changing means for setting the cassette to the above usage mode.