JPH03283133A - Cassette loader device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately position a tape cassette in its front-rear direction and to insert the cassette into a holder smoothly by pressing out the tape cassette which is fallen on the front side by a positioning piece by a tapered projection, making its lid side abut on a positioning piece, and then falling the back surface side of the cassette. CONSTITUTION:The tape cassette C shifts to the left by l, and consequently the lid side C1 shifts slightly from the positioning piece 13 and the back surface side C2 is mounted on the tapered projection 11. The lid side C1 of the tape cassette C, therefore, is fallen in the cassette holder 10 earlier than the lid side C1 and the tip of the lid side C1 is fallen in front of the positioning piece 13. Then the tape cassette C is to fall by inertia, so the tape cassette advances to the right while guided by the tapered projection 11, so that the back surface side C2 falls from the tapered projection 11 while the lid side C1 is made to abut on the positioning piece 13. Consequently, the tape cassette C while accurately positioned in the front-rear direction is sent in the cassette holder 10 smoothly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a cassette loader device used in a magnetic recording/reproducing device such as a VTR (video tape recorder), and in particular, a cassette loader device that automatically exchanges a tape cassette containing a magnetic tape. Regarding.

(Prior Art) There is a special device that automatically inserts and ejects a cassette containing a magnetic tape into a magnetic recording/reproducing device such as a VTR or DAT, thereby enabling dubbing, etc. to be performed efficiently in a short time. It has been proposed as No. 58-153264.

This device has a cassette loader device (cassette auto changer) attached to the front of the VTR deck unit, and this cassette loader device automatically inserts tape cassettes one roll at a time into the cassette holder inside the deck unit, and ejects used tape cassettes. It was designed to do so.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the device of JP-A-58-153264, when the tape cassette is dropped onto the passage floor 28 of the insertion/ejection passage 27, the tape cassette tilts and shifts in the front-back direction, causing the deck There is a risk that the insertion operation toward the tape cassette may become unstable, and a means for more stably mounting the tape cassette into the cassette holder on the deck side is desired.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a cassette loader device that includes a cassette holder and a cassette dropping mechanism, and a positioning piece that positions the lid side of the tape cassette on the cassette holder. Further, the cassette holder is provided with a tapered protrusion for pushing out the tape cassette toward the positioning piece.

(Function) In the cassette dropping mechanism, the tape cassette dropped in front of the positioning piece is pushed out by the tapered protrusion, the lid side of the tape cassette is brought into contact with the positioning piece, and then the back side of the tape cassette is dropped.

Therefore, the tape cassette is accurately positioned in the front and back direction.
The cassette is inserted into the cassette holder smoothly.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cassette holder according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cassette dropping mechanism. In order to ensure that the mounting positions of these cassette holders and cassette dropping mechanisms are known, the overall structure of the magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus with a cassette loader device will first be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and subsequent figures.

FIG. 3 is an overall side view of a VTR device as a magnetic recording/reproducing device in which a cassette loader device according to the present invention is assembled;
The figure is a plan view of the VTR device, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the VTR device.
Cassette loader device 1 detachably attached to the front of the
00.

The device body 1 has a signal processing section 3 in which a recording signal processing board and a playback signal processing board for video/audio signals, etc. are selectively replaced and used to control each part, in a part near one side of a box-shaped cabinet 2. A control unit 4 is arranged to
Three VTR deck units 5 are vertically stacked on the sides of the signal processing section 3 and the control section 4. Further, on the front surface of each deck unit 5, three cassette loader devices 100 corresponding to each deck unit 5 are provided in the same vertical direction.

This cassette loader device 100 (see FIG. 4) has a right arm 100a and a left arm 100b that bulge out toward the front, and left and right flaps 101a and 101b are provided in the space between these arms 100a and 100b. Place the right arm part 1
A lamp 102 is attached to the front of the deck unit 00a to indicate that the deck unit 5 is in operation, and a discharge tray 130 is attached facing outward from the left arm 100b. A guide plate 103 (see FIG. 3) that rises diagonally toward the side is provided, and a guide portion 104 is formed on the front back side of the left and right arm portions 100a, 100b as shown in FIG. 100
There are notches 1 on the inner upper and lower edges of the front surface of a and 100b.
05 (see FIG. 5), and the cassette loader device 10
When 0 is stacked, the cutout 105 of the upper and lower cassette loader devices, that is, the first cassette loader device and the second cassette loader device, or the second cassette loader device and the third cassette loader device, 105 to guide the sides of the cassette when inserting the tape cassette C. and notches 105, 105
When the tape cassette C is inserted along the guide plate 103 and the guide portion 104 as shown in FIG.
(Flaps are detailed in Figure 2.) Slide on.

In this way, the tape cassette C has the flap 101a,
Whether or not it has entered a predetermined position on the cassette loader device 101 is detected by a sensor IH (see WSQ diagram) provided in the cassette loader device 100. Incidentally, the cassette loader device 100 and the control section 4 of the device main body 1 are connected by a cord 107 (see FIG. 5).

In FIG. 3, the tape cassette C is owned by the government on the lid side C1 and is owned on the back side C2.

In FIG. 1, a cassette holder 1o forms part of a tray 20. As shown in FIG. This tray 20 has a frame shape with a front plate 22 across the front ends of left and right side plates 21 and 21 extending in the front-rear direction, a rack 23 is fixed to the outer surface of the side plates 21, and positioning holes are provided in the front plate 22. 24, and when the tray 20 is in the forward protruding position, as shown in FIG.
, 100b to position the tray 20 by engaging with a protrusion 25 formed on the inside of the front surface.

The cassette holder 10 is shaped like a plate, and its three sides are bent upward, and the left and right side walls and the front wall are connected to the right rising part 12.
a, a left rising portion 12b, and a front wall rising portion 12c, and the upper edges of these portions are provided with guide portions 12d, 1, which extend outward to ensure the receipt of the tape cassette C, as described above.
2e and 12f, and a tapered projection 11 is provided inside the front wall rising portion 12c to push the falling tape cassette C forward, and on both sides of the end of the cassette holder 10 on the deck unit 5 side. is a positioning piece 1 that positions the tape cassette C in the front-rear direction by coming into contact with the front end of the tape cassette C that has been pushed forward.
3 is formed.

In this case, the tape cassette C is pushed out by the tapered protrusion 11 after the tip of the lid side c1 falls to the front side of the positioning piece 13, so there is no fear that the tape cassette C rides on the positioning piece 13.

Furthermore, a detection piece 14 is provided at the center of the end of the cassette holder 10 on the deck unit 5 side to prevent the tape cassette C from being mounted in the forward or backward direction or upside down. That is, since the tape cassette C has a recess on the lower front surface into which the tape loading member fits, when the tape cassette C is correctly dropped onto the cassette holder 10, the detection piece 14
enters the recess formed on the lower front surface of the tape cassette C, but in other cases the tape cassette C rides on the detection piece 14, preventing further operation.

In the cassette dropping mechanism 140 shown in FIG. 2, the left and right flaps 101a and 101b are brackets 140a.

The brackets 140a and 140b are rotatably supported by shafts 141a and 141b provided in the cassette loader device 100 via brackets 140b, and the brackets 140a and 140b have arm portions 1ota and 10.
Rods 142a, 142 extending rearward through inside 0b
Fix b. These rods 142a, 142b are
Shaft 144, joint 145a.

145b and a crank mechanism 143 consisting of bins 146a and 146b. That is, one arm 1
A shaft 144 installed in the left-right direction is rotated by a motor (not shown) provided in the 00a, and bins 146a and 146b are mounted eccentrically to the shaft 144 via joints 145a and 145b. , these bins 146a, 146b are attached to the rod 14.
2a.

142b, and as the shaft 144 rotates, the left and right flaps 101a, 101b swing up and down about the shafts 141a, 141b. As can be seen from FIG. 2, by making the phases of the bins 146a and 146b different, the flap 101b is swung downward before the flap O1g, and one side of the tape cassette C is First drop the tape cassette C into the holder 1o, shift the tape cassette C laterally, and apply one side of the tape cassette C to the rising portion 12a or 12b formed on the side edge of the cassette holder 10 to position the tape cassette C in the left-right direction with respect to the cassette holder 10. can be easily done.

In addition, place one side of the tape cassette C into the cassette holder 10 first.
A bottle 148a is used as a means for dropping it into the container.

In addition to shifting the phase of flaps 146b, flaps 101a, 1
It is conceivable to change the length of the left and right flaps 101b or to make the initial states of rotation of the left and right flaps 101a and 101b different in advance.

When the tape cassette C is placed in the correct posture on the left and right flaps Iota, 101b, the sensor 106 (see FIG. 9) detects this, and the tape cassette C can be dropped. When it is confirmed by another sensor that the cassette holder 10 is empty and in a predetermined position, the left and right flaps 101a and 101b are swung downward by the drive of a motor (not shown), and the tape cassette C is placed on the cassette holder 10. drop it, then swing upward until it reaches the closed state (the tape cassette holder can be removed!).
The position at which the reciprocating swing of the flaps 01a and 101b is stopped is preferably such that the left and right flaps 101a and 1olb form a slight V-shape when viewed from the front. This is because when stopping the reciprocating swing of the left and right flaps, there is an error in the detection time due to assembly errors of each member, and a time lag occurs between detection and when the flaps are actually stopped, causing the left and right flaps to be in a downward position. This is because it is conceivable that it will stop at . The stopping positions of the left and right flaps 101a, 101b are detected by detecting a hole 148 in a rotary disk 147 fixed to a shaft 144 using a sensor (not shown), as shown in FIG.

As described above, the left and right flaps 101a, 101b
Tape cassette C waiting above is in cassette holder 1
It falls within 0.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned cassette loader device will be explained in FIGS. 6 to 8.
This will be explained based on the diagram. Here, FIGS. 6(A) to (E) are schematic front views showing the process until the waiting tape cassette fits into the cassette holder, and FIGS. 7(A) to (E) are the waiting tape cassettes. Figures 8 (A) to (E) are schematic front views showing the process in which the tape cassette returned to the cassette loader device moves to the ejection tray. It is.

First, as shown in FIGS. 6(A) and 7(A), the starting point is when the tape cassette C is set on the left and right flaps 101a, 101b of the cassette loader device 100 and is in a standby state. From this state, one flap 101b rotates downward first as shown in FIG. 6(B), then the other flap 101a rotates later as shown in FIG. 6(C), As a result, Figure 6 (D)
, (E) and FIGS. 7(B) and (C), one side of the tape cassette C is inserted into the cassette holder 10 before the other side.
Fall inside.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 7(A), the tape cassette C
As a result, as shown in FIG. 7(B), the lid side C1 is slightly closer to the national standard than the positioning piece 13, and the back side C2 rests on the tapered protrusion 11. As a result, the lid side C1 of the tape cassette C falls into the cassette holder 10 before the back side C2, and the tip of the lid side C1 falls to the front side (fixed side) of the positioning piece 13. Then, since the tape cassette C tends to fall due to inertia, it moves to the right guided by the tapered protrusion 11, and while the lid side C1 contacts the positioning piece 13, the back side C2 falls from the tapered protrusion 11. Figure 7 (C
)).

By doing this, the tape cassette C can be accurately positioned in the front and back direction.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7(D), the cassette holder 10 is pulled into the deck unit 5 together with the tray 20 supporting it, and the tape cassette C is further held as shown in FIG. 7(E). The cassette holder 10 is lowered to the recording/reproducing position to perform recording or reproduction.

When recording or playback is completed, the tape cassette C is placed in the cassette holder 10 and transferred to the cassette loader device 10 through the reverse process as shown in FIG. 8(A).
Return to within 00. After that, as shown in FIG. 8(B), one side of the tape cassette C is lifted from the cassette holder 10 by the arm 110, and then the traveling body 120 is moved as shown in FIG.
) to (F), by moving it laterally,
The recorded or played tape cassette C is ejected from the output tray 13.
A series of extrusion operations is completed.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, the present invention has the tape cassette dropped in front of the positioning piece by the cassette dropping mechanism, while pushing out the tape cassette with the tapered protrusion, and applying the lid side to the positioning piece. Since the back side of the cassette is made to hang down, the tape cassette is accurately positioned in the front-back direction and is smoothly inserted into the cassette holder.

Therefore, although the present invention has a simple configuration, it is possible to reliably fit the tape cassette into the cassette holder.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cassette holder according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the cassette dropping mechanism, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a VTR device as a magnetic recording/reproducing device incorporating a cassette loader device according to the present invention. An overall side view, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same VTR device, FIG. 5 is a front view of the same VTR device, and FIGS. 6 (A) to
(E) is a schematic front view showing the process by which a waiting tape cassette of the same magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus fits into the cassette holder, and FIGS. 7(A) to (E) show the waiting process of the magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus. 8(A) to 8(F) are schematic side views showing the process in which the tape cassette is moved to the recording/playback position, and FIGS. 8(A) to 8(F) are schematic front views showing the process in which the tape cassette returned to the cassette loader device is moved to the ejection tray. 9 are side views of the cassette loader device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus main body, 10... Cassette holder, 11... Tapered projection, 13... Positioning piece, 100... Cassette loader device, 140... Cassette dropping mechanism, C. ...Tape cassette, C1...Lid side, C2...Back side.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A cassette loader device mounted on the front surface of a magnetic recording/reproducing device main body to automatically feed and eject tape cassettes to and from the main body, the cassette loader device being mounted in front of the front surface of the main body. A cassette dropping mechanism is provided for directly inserting a tape cassette into an empty cassette holder that has been pulled out, a positioning piece for positioning the lid side of the tape cassette is erected in the cassette holder, and a positioning piece for positioning the tape cassette in the cassette holder is provided. A tapered protrusion is provided to push out the tape cassette, and while the tape cassette dropped in front of the positioning piece is pushed out by the tapered protrusion in the cassette dropping mechanism, the lid side of the tape cassette is pressed against the positioning piece, and then the tape cassette is pushed out onto the back side of the tape cassette. A cassette loader device characterized in that the side is allowed to fall.