JPH0421270B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to video equipment, and more particularly to magnetic tape video cassettes for recording and playing back video programs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Most video recorders/players on the market today use large standard video cassettes with a recording capacity of several hours (four to eight hours).

Some portable television cameras perform video recording using a recorder that is integral to the camera and uses a small video cassette. However, small video cassettes cannot be used in most video recorder/player devices, and recordings made on these cassettes cannot be used in standard video recorder/player devices. It must be rerecorded onto tape in a video cassette (standard tape cassette).

The magnetic tape in a standard video cassette follows a well-defined path because it must cooperate with the drive, playback, and/or recording portions. Generally, this portion of the path is straight and long to allow the loading device to remove the tape from the cassette and to hold the tape in close contact with the recording and playback member when the cassette is in the operative position. The tape path extends adjacent one long edge of the video cassette to ensure that substantially the entire length of the cassette is exposed.

Small video cassette (small tape cassette)
Because by their very nature they are much smaller than standard video cassettes, the magnetic tape these cassettes carry does not have the same path configuration as in standard video cassettes, and as a result these small cassettes It cannot be used in most video recorder/player devices.

Therefore, portable recorders using miniature video cassettes are not widely used because of the incompatibility of said miniature video cassettes with video equipment intended for use with standard video cassettes.

By the way, if a small video cassette as described above has the same dimensions and shape as a large standard video cassette, and the small video cassette is inserted inside it, it can be made into a large standard video cassette. By forming nearly identical tape paths,
Adapters that can be played using conventional video recorder/player equipment are contemplated. And a small video inside this adapter.・When pulling out a magnetic tape from a cassette, do not apply excessive load to the magnetic tape, which may damage the tape.
Furthermore, when taking out a small video cassette from the adapter, it is necessary to stably wind and store the pulled out magnetic tape on a spool inside the small video cassette.

(Means for Solving the Problems) Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a tape storage system that can be used when pulling out the magnetic tape from the small-sized video cassette in an adapter to form the same tape path as a standard cassette. By cutting off the drive system of the tape storage mechanism that is sometimes used, it is possible to form a stable tape path without imposing an excessive load on the magnetic tape, and to avoid damage to the magnetic tape.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a video cassette adapter used for attaching a tape cassette smaller than a standard tape cassette to a standard recording/reproducing device, a tape drawer mechanism for drawing out a magnetic tape by the small tape cassette drive mechanism housed in the storage part to form a tape path identical to the tape path of the standard tape cassette; a tape storage mechanism that winds and stores the magnetic tape stored on a spool in the small tape cassette so as to rotate the spool in the small tape cassette by the driving force of the drive mechanism; and a tape draw-out mechanism that is driven by the drive mechanism. a clutch mechanism that transmits and interrupts driving force to the tape storage mechanism, and a clutch mechanism that controls the drive of the tape storage mechanism when the tape drawer mechanism forms a tape path identical to that of a standard tape cassette. The present invention provides a video cassette adapter characterized in that the clutch means is used to shut off rotation of the spool.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1, a large standard video cassette 10 is shown with a magnetic tape 12 inside
A path 14 is shown which is the tape path of .

A compact video cassette 16 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 2A, which accommodates a smaller amount of tape than a larger standard video cassette, eg, a half-hour recording video cassette. The miniature video cassette 16 is described in further detail in commonly assigned US patent applications. The miniature video cassette 16 has a housing 18 and a pair of spools 20A, 20B holding tape 24, typically extending between the spools in a small loop 25.
OB has a hub as known in the art for being driven by a drive shaft.

In FIG. 3, an adapter 26 incorporating the present invention is shown including a housing 28 having external dimensions approximately the same as the dimensions of a standard large video cassette such as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A. has been done. In order to accommodate a miniature video cassette 16 of the type shown in FIG.
As a result, a small video cassette can be stored in this storage compartment 30.
It can be slid inside and held in place. To facilitate insertion and removal, the surface of the housing 28 has a pair of opposing positions into which a user can insert his or her thumb and forefinger to hold the miniature video cassette 16 and remove it from the adapter 26. A certain shallow finger-sized recess 32A,
32B is provided.

In order to accurately position the small video cassette 16 within the housing 30, positioning studs 34 are used.
A, 34B, and 34C are attached to a bottom wall surface 36 (FIG. 6) of the housing 28 that defines the bottom of the storage section 30. This small video cassette 16
are provided with openings 36A, 36B, and 36C for receiving positioning studs to secure the position of the miniature video cassette when it is inserted into the recess 30 of the adapter housing 28. Positioning studs 34A, 34B, and 34C are asymmetrically arranged and sized to ensure that the miniature video cassette can be inserted in only one direction, and the openings 36A, 36B, and 36C provide one orientation for the miniature video cassette. The studs are similarly arranged and dimensioned to receive said studs only at the .

Placing the small video cassette in the working position The small video cassette 16 is first placed in the storage compartment 3.
0 by the user. In the present invention, adapter 26 includes drive spindles 38A, 3 that enter openings in spools 20A, 20B.
8B is provided, and this drive spindle 38A, 3
8B includes a flexible claw 40A for locking the small video cassette 16 to the housing 28;
40B is provided. The spools 20A, 2 with the magnetic tape 24 cooperate with this flexible pawl 40 (40A, 40B) on the drive spindles 38A, 38B of the adapter.
The central opening in 0B has a rim 42 (sixth
6A) and a notch 44 is provided in the axial direction along the inner diameter thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 6, and 6A to 6C, each spool of the small video cassette 16 is provided with four axial notches 44 in its central opening. Adapter drive shaft 38
Three claws 40 are provided on A and 38B.
When a small video cassette is placed in the storage compartment 30, the three pawls 40 on each of the drive shafts thus engage the inner edges 42 of the spools 20A, 20B to hold them in a fixed position. . The small video cassette 16 has three studs 34A, 34B, 34C which act as reference position securing devices.
pressed against.

As soon as the spools 20A, 20B are rotated by the video equipment in which the adapter holding the small cassette is placed, one of the three pawls 40 on each of the drive shafts 38A, 38B
It is moved to one position of the four notches 44 to drive 0B.

A device responsive to the placement of the small video cassette 16 in the recess 30 of the adapter housing 28 moves the guiding device 46A, 46B to pull the magnetic tape 24 out of the small video cassette 16 and remove the recorded tape. The small loop 25 shown in FIG. 2 is replaced by a large loop 47, which is equivalent to the tape path of a standard tape cassette, as shown in FIG.
It is possible to act to expand the Such devices may be operated manually (e.g., by pushbutton 48 in FIG.
When placed at the bottom of the storage unit 30,
3 and 7) which is actuated by the casing of the miniature video cassette 16.

According to FIG. 4, guide devices 46A, 46B, shown as cylindrical rollers, are supported by a pair of pivotally mounted arms 52A, 52B, which arms and guide devices are movable by a motor 54 (see FIG. (See Figure 5).

The motor 54 is connected to a circuit (control circuit) 5 including a manual switch 48 or an automatic switch 50 and a power source.
8 (FIG. 7). The user operates the switch to cause the control circuit 58 to connect power to the motor 54 . For example, when manual switch 48 is actuated, it causes plate 61 to pivot about axis 62 so that its end 64 is connected to cam 66.
Rotate the upper stud 65 clockwise to release it. The plate portion 61 is connected to the shaft 62 and the notch portion 6 at this time.
3 while being guided by the spring 6
It is under the influence of 7. At the end of its movement, plate 61 closes switch 68 of power supply circuit 58 of motor 54. The motor constituting the drive mechanism rotates to drive the cam 66 in a counterclockwise direction (in FIGS. 4 and 5), and this rotational movement is transmitted through the coupling rods 70 and 72 to the arm 52.
A, 52B are rotated around their axes 74A, 74B, respectively. The coupling rods 70, 72, arms 52A, 52B, guide devices 46A, 46B, etc. constitute a tape drawing mechanism.
During this movement, the cylindrical rollers 46A, 46B
unwinds the magnetic tape 24 in the small video cassette 16 from a path occupied by the large loop 47 that the tape must occupy in a normal cassette. The half-rotation movement of cam 66 causes a change in the path of the tape, moving stud 65A to plate 61.
The operating cycle of the motor 54 is terminated by engaging the end 64 of the plate, longitudinally moving the plate, and rotating the switch 68 to cut off the power supply to the motor 54.

When the tape is in the large loop 47, the drive shaft of the video device in which the adapter is placed is now operable to drive the spools 20A, 20B of the miniature video cassette 16. Video equipment shaft and small video cassette spool 20A, 20
The driving relationship between B includes hubs 80A and 80B (FIG. 3) of the adapter into which the shaft of the video device is inserted, and these hubs 80A and 80B hold a ring gear 76 that meshes with an intermediate gear 78. However, the intermediate gear further includes a spool 20 of a small video cassette.
It meshes with a gear 82 fixed to the drive shafts 38A, 38B of A, 20B. Thus, the rotational movement of hubs 80A, 80B rotates gears 76, 78 and 82, which rotate the drive shafts for the spools of the small cassette. A similar gear train is provided for both spools of the small cassette.

Removing the Miniature Video Cassette from the Adapter The miniature videocassette 16 is removed from the adapter 26 after the adapter 26 is removed from the video device. To remove a small video cassette from the adapter, manual switch 48 is operated which causes plate 61 to pivot out of stud 65 and spring 6 into engagement with contacts 68.
Pressed by 7. This action closes control circuit 58 and connects power to motor 54. The actuation of motor 54 causes cam 66 to rotate half a revolution, and at the end of this movement its working cycle is stopped by the engagement of another stud 65 by plate 61, opening the contacts of switch 68.

Since the retraction of the magnetic tape 24 into the inside of the small cassette 16 occurs during retraction into the inside of the arms 52A, 52B, the arms 52A, 5 that can retract the tape
A device is provided that takes advantage of the inward movement of 2B. For this purpose, one arm 52B is provided with a sector gear 88 and the other arm 58
A is also provided with a similar sector gear (not shown). These sector gears 88 are connected to the arm 52.
It is connected to rotate the spools 20A, 20B of the small video cassette 16 during the inward movement of the arms 52A, 52B, and disconnected to prevent rotation of the spools 20A, 20B during the outward movement of the arms 52A, 52B. There is. According to the present invention, the drive system of the tape winding mechanism used when forming the same tape path as in a standard cassette and when storing the tape is shut off, thereby stabilizing the magnetic tape without putting an unreasonable load on it. A tape pass can be formed and damage to the magnetic tape can be avoided.

The spools 20A, 20B are rotated in opposite directions to allow the tape to be retracted into the miniature video cassette 16.

To this end, as shown in FIG. 4, an intermediate gear 90 is movable into a disengaged position into engagement with a sector gear 88 mounted on a pivotable lever 92 about the axis 94 of a small pinion 96 in engagement. An intermediate gear 90 is provided. The pinion 96 is further frictionally coupled to a gear 78 which meshes with a gear 82 coupled to the spool 20A of the small cassette 16. Arm 52B and associated sector gear and spool 20B
A similar gear train is provided between the two.

This gear 90 and similar gears associated with other sectors are both urged into meshing or disengaging relationship with respect to sector gear 88 by springs (not shown). In order to release gear 90 from sector gear 88, large diameter portion 66B of cam 66 moves lever 9 through cam follower 98 and link 100.
2 in a direction away from sector gear 88.

Lever 92 has a pin 102 that is engaged by a curved end 104 of link 106.

While the arms 52A, 52B are moved outward and the cam 66 makes another half turn, the cam 6
The large diameter portion 66B of 6 is contacted by a roller 98 as shown in FIG. Pivot counterclockwise around. This counterclockwise movement of link 106, through its curved end 104, engages pin 102 on link 92, displacing lever 92 to the left in FIG. The gear 90 is released from the sector gear 88.
These sector gear 88, intermediate gear 90, links 100, 106, lever 92, etc. constitute a clutch means. Link 106 also exhibits a similar curvature at opposite end 104A and cooperates with a link similar to link 92 associated with the gear train coupling arm 52A to spool 20A. Each element of the gear train, such as the pinion 96 and the gears 78, 82, which mesh with the intermediate gear 90, constitutes a tape storage mechanism.

The gear ratio through a gear train including gears 90, 96, 78 between sector gear 88 and gear 82 on spool 20A is reversed through a gear train driven from spool 20A (and likewise the other arm 52B). direction 20B) to absorb all the tape in the large loop with sufficient play so that any slack is absorbed and the tape is fully retracted in its original small loop 25 into the small cassette 16 from which it extends. It's like rotating it just enough to make it work. Therefore, the tape can be reliably wound into the small video cassette 16 without leaving any slack in the tape, and when the small cassette is taken out from the adapter 26 after winding, the slack in the tape causes the tape to slip into the guide device. 46A,
Inconveniences such as damage to the tape due to the tape getting caught on the roller 46B can be prevented.

Safety Devices Arms 52A, 52B of adapter 26 and the magnetic tape of small video cassette 16 must be placed in the large loop 47 of a conventional cassette (FIG. 1) when the adapter is inserted into a video device. is necessary. Otherwise, if the adapter 26 were to be placed in the working position of the device, the arms 52A, 52B would damage the video device (e.g., tape loading or automatic stop device). It will be placed opposite the elements.

Therefore, the tape of the miniature video cassette 16 occupies a large loop path before the adapter can be inserted into the video equipment, and when in operation;
It is particularly necessary to ensure that the manual switch 48 that starts the motor 54 for displacing the arm from one position to another is deactivated once the adapter 26 has been inserted into the video equipment. Become.

To accomplish these two requirements, two safety devices are provided, as shown in FIG.

As with conventional cassettes, adapter 26 includes a device that facilitates insertion into and removal from a video device. In the illustrated embodiment,
This device consists of slidable blocks 200A, 200 which are operated by springs 201A, 201B placed on either side of the adapter and supported by a housing 28.
It starts from B. These blocks 200A,
200B, when inserted into a video device, the block has spring 2 to allow insertion of the adapter.
It cooperates with a fixing element attached to the video device so that it can be moved backwards against the action of 01A, 201B.

These blocks 200A, 200B, along with springs 201A, 201B, also act to push the adapter 26 out of the video device housing during removal.

To ensure that the adapter 26 cannot be inserted into the video device unless the arms 52A, 52B are placed in their extended position, a locking device 210 is pivotally mounted about the shaft 211. Under the action of spring 212, this spring tends to place it in the path of block 200B so as to prevent its displacement. Arm 52A has a protrusion 213 that engages a member 214 projecting from locking device 210 when arm 52A reaches its extended position, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3 and solid lines in FIG. In such an engaged state, the locking device 210 locks the block 200B.
is pivoted from its path against its return spring 212.

As arm 52A moves inwardly, it is acted upon by return spring 212 and blocks 200
Disengaging locking device 210, which is pivoted in block 200B, prevents insertion of the adapter into the housing of the video device by blocking rearward movement of block 200B.

The rearward movement of block 200B in conjunction with the components of the video device is also used to disable the circuitry including switch 48 when the adapter is inserted, thereby causing adapter 2
6 ensures that the motor 54 cannot be operated when attached to a video device. To this end, when adapter 26 is inserted into the video device, block 200B opens a switch 250 located in control circuit 58 (FIG. 7).

A safety device is also provided to prevent any movement of the arms 52A, 52B unless the miniature video cassette 16 is properly placed within the recess 30 provided in the adapter. This safety device is located at the bottom of the compartment 30 and operates a switch 50 which is preferably actuated by the casing of the small video cassette 16 when it is fully loaded into the compartment and placed in its proper position. Contains. A switch 50 (FIG. 7) located in the power circuit of motor 54 causes motor 54 to be turned on only when a small video cassette is properly placed in the adapter. This switch also extends the arms 52A, 52B in response to insertion actuation of the small cassette 16 in the adapter by starting the motor 54 and cam 66 during their active cycle and extending the large loop 4.
It has the advantage that it can also act as an automatic device for forming 7.

A further safety device is included to ensure that the tape is not subject to excessive tension when arms 52A, 52B are retracted to take up slack in the tape. For this purpose, a pinion 96 is frictionally coupled to a gear 78 of a gear train which rotates the spool of the cassette to take up slack in the tape.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, in the video cassette adapter of the present invention, since the tape pull-out mechanism and tape storage mechanism are operated by a motor, operability when forming a tape path is good, and the adapter is standard. When forming the same tape path as the cassette, the drive system of the tape winding mechanism used when storing the tape is shut off, making it possible to form a stable tape path without applying excessive load to the magnetic tape, and also to It has the advantage of being able to avoid damage.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 1A illustrate a large standard video cassette configured for a conventional video recorder/player device; FIGS.
Figure A shows a miniature video cassette for the adapter of the invention; Figure 3 is a simplified plan view of the adapter of the invention with the miniature video cassette housed within the adapter housing; Figure 4; Figure 5 is a detail view of a portion of the adapter mechanism with the arm and guide in the retracted position, seen from the opposite side of the adapter; Figure 5 is a detail similar to Figure 4 showing the arm and guide in the extended position; Figure, 6th
6A, 6B and 6C are diagrams showing the driving coupling relationship between the small video cassette spool and the adapter hub, and FIG. 7 is a simplified circuit diagram showing the adapter control circuit. It is. 10... Video cassette, 12... Magnetic tape, 16... Small video cassette, 18... Housing, 24... Magnetic tape, 25... Small loop, 26... Adapter, 28... Housing, 3
0...Storage section, 36...Bottom wall surface, 40...Claw,
42...Rim, 44...Notch, 47...Large loop, 48...Manual switch, 50...Automatic switch, 54...Motor, 58...Circuit, 61...
Plate part, 62...shaft, 63...notch part, 65...
Stud, 66...Cam, 67...Spring, 68...
...Switch, 70...Connection rod, 76...Ring gear, 78, 90...Intermediate gear, 82...Gear, 88...Sector gear, 92...Lever, 9
6... Pinion, 98... Cam follower, 10
0,106...Link, 102...Pin, 104
...Curved end portion, 108...Support portion, 110...Instruction portion, 200...Block, 201...Spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A video cassette adapter used to attach a tape cassette smaller than a standard tape cassette to a standard recording/playback device, which is provided with a storage section for storing the small tape cassette, and has a storage section inside the storage section. a tape pull-out mechanism that pulls out a magnetic tape from the stored small tape cassette to form a tape path identical to the tape path of the standard tape cassette; The tape storage mechanism has a tape storage mechanism that winds and stores the tape onto the same spool, a clutch means that transmits and interrupts the driving force of the tape draw-out mechanism to the tape storage mechanism, and a motor that drives the tape draw-out mechanism and the tape storage mechanism. When the tape drawer mechanism forms a tape path that is the same as that of a standard tape cassette, the drive of the tape storage mechanism is cut off by the clutch means to cut off rotation of the spool. A video cassette adapter characterized by the following configurations.