JPH0477975B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a recording and reproducing apparatus in which signals are recorded or reproduced by winding a tape at a predetermined angle and running it around a tape guide drum having a built-in transducer, such as a video tape recorder. It is related to the device.

Conventional configuration and its problems Video tape recorder (hereinafter referred to as VTR)
Although the popularity of portable VTRs has been remarkable, the weight and size of the device have become an issue for enjoying projection outdoors as a portable VTR. Video cameras and electrical circuits are becoming smaller year by year due to smaller components and the extensive adoption of semiconductor components, and will continue to become smaller in the future. On the other hand, the size limit of the VTR mechanism is determined by the size of the tape cassette and the diameter of the tape guide drum.
That is, the size is determined by the design, such as by arranging both tapes at a predetermined distance apart on a plane, and then pulling out the tape from the tape cassette and winding it around the tape guide drum. Therefore, in order to reduce the size of this mechanism, VHS
In this system, they proposed a short-term recording cassette called ``VHS-C,'' and tried to downsize the mechanism by making the cassette smaller. Furthermore, by focusing on the tape guide drum exclusively for recording,
Try to downsize using the so-called 15-head method, or
It has been proposed to make it more compact with four heads. In this way, the mechanism is being made smaller by making both the tape guide drum and tape cassette smaller.

Hereinafter, the miniaturization of the mechanism by miniaturizing the conventional tape cassette, which is the background of the tape cassette system which is effective when applied to the recording/reproducing apparatus of the present invention, will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 31, the VHS-C system cassette 102 (hereinafter referred to as the C cassette) has a different reel center distance and , the tape stretching position is also different. However, in order to make the two compatible,
By inserting the C cassette into the adapter cassette 101 whose maximum external dimension is the same as that of the standard cassette, the same distance between the reel axes and the same tape tensioning position as the standard cassette can be obtained. In this manner, the C cassette 102 can be inserted into a VTR capable of recording and reproducing standard cassettes, and recording and reproducing can be performed in the same manner.
Of course, the standard cassette is used for recording and reproducing the C cassette 102.
It is impossible to insert it into a VCR. The advantage of the adapter cassette system, typified by the VHS-C system, is the miniaturization of the mechanism mentioned above, but the following disadvantages arise due to this.

To insert the C cassette 102 into a standard cassette VTR, an expensive adapter cassette 10 is required.
1 is required, and the user is forced to purchase this adapter cassette 101 and perform a complicated process of loading and unloading the adapter into and out of the adapter cassette 101.

C cassette 102 is adapter cassette 1
In order to insert the tape into the adapter cassette 101 and pull out the tape to the same tape stretching position as in the standard cassette, the front lid of the C cassette 102 must be opened in the adapter cassette 101. Therefore, the adapter cassette 101 is inserted with the lid open.
It is not allowed to stand out any further. This places significant restrictions on the front lid structure of the C cassette 102,
In reality, the C cassette 102 does not have a completely sealed tape structure and does not have a lid locking mechanism.

The C cassette 102 has the supply reel 103 at the same position as the standard cassette in order to give priority to the tension characteristics, so the take-up reel 104
A method is selected in which a shaft is installed in the C cassette 102 and is connected to and driven by the relay gears 105 and 106 of the adapter cassette 101. In this method, this gear 105,1
Due to the influence of the uneven engagement of 0.06, adverse effects such as lateral wobbling of reproduced images and wow/flutter occur in the tape running system, resulting in deterioration of performance.

There is a system that achieves a compatible small tape cassette (hereinafter referred to as a small cassette) without using the adapter cassette 101, which is the basis of these problems. It is a 3/4-inch cassette used for broadcasting, etc., as shown in Figure 32. In this case, the small cassette 107 has the same distance between reel axes and the same tape stretching position as the standard cassette 108. However, since the diameter of the reel flange 109 is reduced by reducing the recording time, the width W of the cassette and the length D from the reel axis to the rear surface of the cassette are shortened to reduce the size of the cassette.

Although this method does not have the above-mentioned drawbacks compared to the former adapter cassette method, it does have the following drawbacks.

A third guide is provided on the bottom of the cassette to serve as a guide when inserting two cassettes with different external dimensions into a VTR.
Although a concave guide groove 110 is formed as indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2, this causes the cassette to be thicker than necessary.

It is necessary to provide a convex projection on the VTR cassette holder corresponding to the guide groove 110. Furthermore, when inserting the small cassette 107 into a standard cassette VCR, since the length D from the reel axis to the rear surface of the cassette is short, it is necessary to insert the small cassette further than the standard cassette 108, resulting in poor operability.

Conversely, when trying to take out the small cassette 107 from the cassette holder under the above conditions, it is more difficult to take it out than when it is inserted. Therefore, the small cassette 107 is provided with a recess 111 in the center of the rear surface of the cassette, and the user is supposed to insert his/her finger into the cassette 107 to take it out.Although the operability is not very good, it is possible to insert the finger into the cassette holder and pull out the small cassette 107. There is a natural limit to the size of the small cassette 107 that can be hung, and it can be said that this was made possible because the cassette had a thickness and width of 3/4 inch tape.

Since the distance between the reel axes and the tape stretching position are also the same, there is a limit to the miniaturization of the small cassette 107 compared to the standard cassette, and it does not contribute to the miniaturization of the mechanism as much as the VHS-C system.

Above, two approaches to miniaturizing cassettes have been described, but both methods have advantages and disadvantages, and should never be satisfied.

On the other hand, in both types, in order to detect the beginning and end of the tape and stop the tape from running, both ends of the tape are locked to the reel in the tape cassette through detection tapes with different light transmittances. ing. In a 3/4 inch VTR, a light emitting/receiving element is provided outside the tape cassette in order to form an optical path through the tape after the tape cassette is pulled out from the tape. In this case, it is necessary to insert one of the light receiving and emitting elements into the drawn-out tape loop, which requires a relatively complicated mechanism in which the tape loop escapes during formation and is inserted after formation. There is also a method that simplifies this process by installing the light receiving and emitting elements through the tape and fixing them at an angle with respect to the width direction of the tape. However, in this case as well, it is necessary to dispose the tape pull-out member outside the moving path during the process of forming the tape loop, so an extremely large arrangement size is required. These problems place significant limitations on devices using tape cassettes for short-term recording, which are aimed at miniaturization. On the other hand, VHS type VTR
As shown in Public Utility Model Publication No. 1988-30889, a sensor hole is provided in the bottom of the tape cassette for optical communication with the inside.
By inserting a light-emitting element into the sensor hole and providing a pair of light-receiving elements at predetermined positions outside the tape cassette, a pair of light-receiving elements can be detected at the beginning and end of the tape through the tape stretched inside the tape cassette. The light path is configured to form an optical path.

In this case, only when an adapter cassette for a tape cassette for long-term recording and a tape cassette for short-term recording (C-cassette) is used, the light receiving/emitting element, which is the means for detecting the beginning and end of the tape cassette, can function. - The cassette is not equipped with a sensor hole, and after the tape is pulled out of the tape cassette, the beginning and end of the tape are detected through the tape inside and outside the tape loop, which causes the same problem as a 3/4-inch VTR. have. especially,
When the tape cassette and tape guide drum are placed close to each other in order to achieve ultra-miniaturization of the C-cassette, the start and end ends are detected outside the tape cassette, so the system shifts to stop mode rather than fast forward or fast reverse. In some cases, tape overrun causes the tape and detection tape junction to reach onto the tape guide drum, causing video head clogging.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention, in view of these conventional drawbacks, greatly contributes to the miniaturization of the mechanism and provides two types of tape cassettes, one for long-time recording and one for short-time recording, without using a complicated adapter cassette. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording and reproducing apparatus which enables detection of the beginning and end of the tapes contained in both tape cassettes using the same light emitting/receiving element.

Structure of the Invention The present invention is a tape detection means that detects the starting and ending ends of a tape by facing a light emitting element and a light receiving element through the tape, the light emitting element or the light receiving element being relatively parallel to the bottom surface of a tape cassette. This is a recording/reproducing device configured to be moved in a horizontal plane.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3, 5, and 6 show a standard cassette capable of long-term recording and playback, which is particularly effective to apply the present invention together with the short-term recording tape cassette described later. The figure is a perspective view seen from the top, and shows a pair of built-in reels 2 and 3 when the standard cassette 1 is not in use (see Figure 2).
The tape 4' (indicated by the dashed line in FIG.
It is covered by a front cover 5 and a back cover 6, which are respectively rotatable. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the standard cassette 1 shown in Fig. 1 when it is reversed by 180 degrees.The lower surface 1' of the standard cassette 1 has posts etc. inside the tape 4' stretched on the front surface. In order to insert the tape 4' and pull out the tape 4', the opening 7 is open within the range covered by the opening 39 (FIGS. 4 and 17) of the short-time recording tape cassette described later, and is relatively open. ) is provided. FIG. 3 shows the standard cassette 1 in a state in which the front cover 5 and the back cover 6 are opened by a cover opening/closing means provided in the apparatus. FIG. 5 is a plan view schematically showing the internal structure of the standard cassette 1, which engages with claws formed on the outer peripheries of the flanges 2' and 3' of the reels 2 and 3 around which the tape 4 is wound. A reel lock 8 is provided to prevent the tape 4 from sagging, and information such as the thickness, type, length, etc. of the tape 4 is expressed by an information window 9 formed on the bottom surface 1' of the standard cassette by whether or not the hole is open or closed. . 10 is a positioning hole for positioning the standard cassette 1 in the main unit; 11 is a positioning hole provided at the beginning and end of the tape 4;
This is a sensor hole into which a light emitting element is inserted for detecting detection tapes with different light transmittances and transmitting information on the beginning and end of the tape. This light emitting element is indicated by the arrow 12,
It forms an optical path in the direction of 13, and has a light receiving element on the opposing surface corresponding to the light emitting element.

7 to 9 are cross-sectional views showing the details of the opening and closing operations of the front cover 5 and back cover 6.
A-A cross section in the figure, Figures 8 and 9 are B- in Figure 5.
This is the B cross section. The front lid 5 is rotatably supported at both front ends of the side surfaces of the standard cassette 1. Reference numeral 5 designates a support shaft around which the front cover 5 rotates, and 5' represents an arm that rotatably supports a support shaft 6' of the back cover 6. This back cover 6 has a projection 6'' which engages in a guide groove 14 formed in the side wall 7' of the opening 7 of the standard cassette 1. The lid mechanism configured as described above is biased by the elastic member to the state shown in FIG. 7, but the lid opens and closes in the state shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 due to an external intention. At this time, the back cover 6 is guided by a guide groove 14 for the purpose of opening and closing smoothly without coming into contact with the tape 4' contained therein.

FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view of FIG. 10 and a side view of the left side 5'' of the front lid 5 of FIG.
This is a close-up view showing the locking mechanism of the front cover 5 and back cover 6 described above in detail. The front cover 5 can be rotated around the support shaft 5 to the position shown by the two-dot chain line.
A projection piece 15 formed on the inside of the left side surface 5'' of the front lid 5 near the front lid 5 engages with one end of a lid locking pawl 17 that can rotate about the center 16, and rotation of the front lid 5 is prevented. When a protrusion (not shown) serving as a release member for the lid lock claw 17 enters the hatching portion in FIG. 11 and in the direction of the arrow 18 in FIG.
It comes into contact with the release piece 17' of the lid lock pawl 17 which is biased clockwise by an elastic member (not shown), causing the lid lock pawl 17 to rotate counterclockwise. As a result, the front cover 5 is unlocked and can be opened and closed freely. The square hole 19 provided on the left side 5'' of the front lid 5 forms the optical path 12 of the light emitting element shown in FIG. 5 when the front lid 5 is open, and when the front lid 5 is closed, The optical path is slightly closed by the left side surface 5'' of the front cover 5. Of course, this standard cassette is almost symmetrical, so it has the same functions on the left and right sides, including opening and closing the optical path. However, the lid locking mechanism is only on one side.

12 and 13 are perspective views of the lid opening/closing operation. In FIG. 12, the release piece 1 of the lid lock claw 17 is
7' is rotated counterclockwise by a slide plate 20 and a slide pin 21, which are provided on the main unit side and move relative to the standard cassette 1, to unlock the lid.

Further, FIG. 13 shows a state in which the front cover 5 and the back cover 6 are opened by a cover opening pin 22 provided on the main unit side.

The operation of the reel lock 8 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 14 to 16. When the standard cassette 1 is not in use, the reel lock 8 slides forward by the lock spring 22, and the lock piece 8' at the tip of the reel lock 8 touches the flanges 2', 3' of the reels 2, 3.
It is engaged with the claw part of. The reels 2 and 3 constitute claw portions of the flanges 2' and 3' so that they rotate only in the direction in which the tape 4 is wound up in this state. 2
As shown in Fig. 14, the protrusion 3 is the reel lock 8.
is biased forward by the lock spring 22, and functions as a stopper. 2
4 is a lock guide, and its tip 24' is connected to the 15th reel lock 8 by a lock spring 22.
When the reel lock 8 is moved backward as shown in the figure, the lock piece 8' at the tip of the reel lock 8 is attached to the flange 2' of the reel 2, 3.
It is forcibly separated from the claw portion 3'.
Further, the left and right side walls of the lock guide 24 are lock guides that form sliding guides for the reel lock 8. Although not shown, reel lock 8
is guided by the front lock guide 24 on its left and right sides, its lower surface is guided by the bottom surface of the lower half of the standard cassette 1, and its upper surface is guided by the upper half. A cross-sectional view is shown in FIG. 16, and the reel lock release pin 25 is provided in the main unit, and by moving from the position shown by the imaginary line to the position shown by the solid line,
In the state shown in FIG. 5, the reels 2 and 3 are released from the reel lock 8 and can freely rotate.

What has been described above is an outline of a standard cassette that is particularly effective to which the present invention is applied. This cassette is completely airtight even when the cassette is not in use by providing a back cover compared to the existing cassettes for VHS and Beta systems. Without sacrificing the excellence of the standard cassette, which is represented by its complete airtightness, it is possible to miniaturize the mechanism, which cannot be achieved with current standard cassettes.
Compatibility with this standard cassette is guaranteed, a cassette for short-time recording is used, and the beginning and end of the tape built in each tape cassette can be detected using the beginning and end detection means made of the same light-receiving and emitting elements. It is something.

FIG. 17 is a plan view schematically showing the internal structure of this short-time recording only cassette (hereinafter referred to as short-time cassette), and FIG. 4 is a perspective view from the back side. Cassette 30 for a shorter time than standard cassette 1
The external shapes are almost the same. Only the different parts of the configuration will be explained below. First reel 3
1 and 32 are flanges 31' and 32 because the recording time is short.
The diameter of 32' can be small. Flange 31', 3
2' is functionally the same except that the diameter of the reel lock 33 is smaller.
(see Figure 1). The structure and operation of the reel lock 33 are shown in FIGS. 18 to 21. FIG. 21 shows the state of the reel lock 33 when the cassette is not used for a short period of time, and the lock pawl 33' is engaged with the pawl portions of the flanges 31' and 32', similar to the standard cassette 1. As the diameters of the reel flanges 31' and 32' have become smaller, the reel lock 33, lock spring 34, protrusion 35, and lock guide 36 have undergone changes in shape and position, but their functions are exactly the same.

As shown in FIG. 20, the lock pawl presser 37 locks the lock pawl 3 when the reels 31 and 32 are unlocked by a reel lock release pin 38 provided on the device side.
3' is forcibly bent so as to reliably separate from the reel flanges 31' and 32'.

FIG. 18 shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 21, and FIG. 19 shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 21. The reel lock 33 is guided by a lock guide 36 on its side, an upper half of the cassette on its upper surface, and a bottom surface of the lower half of the cassette on its lower surface to slide back and forth.

Returning to FIG. 17 again, as mentioned above, the diameters of the flanges 31' and 32' of the reels 31 and 32 have become smaller, so a post or the like is inserted inside the tape 4' stretched on the front side. The opening 39 is significantly enlarged compared to the standard cassette 1 in order to pull out the cassette 4'. The expanded range is called the large opening because it covers the opening 7 (small opening) of the standard cassette 1 shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. Furthermore, the previously described sensor hole 11 (FIGS. 2 and 5) opened at the bottom of the standard cassette 1
Continuous to the opening 39 (large opening) at the corresponding position approximately perpendicular to the rear of the tape 4, 4' which is stretched at a predetermined position in front of the position where the tape 4, 4' is provided. A recess 39' which is open at the bottom is provided. The hatching part of 41 is
Since the diameters of the flanges 31' and 32' have become smaller, it may be possible to use the space for the opening 39, but since it overlaps with the cassette support area 40 of the standard cassette 1 shown by dots in Fig. 40, compatibility is not possible. From the viewpoint of guarantee, it is configured as shown in FIG. 17.

FIG. 22 is a right side perspective view of the front lid 42,
In contrast to the standard cassette 1, the front cover 42 of the short-time cassette 30 has a dot 42' cut out on its right side. This is used when it is necessary to detect the standard cassette 1 and the short-time cassette 30, which will be described later. For example, a system in which a switch is placed in a position opposite to this notch 42' in the garage holder of the main unit, the switch operates when the standard cassette 1 is used, but does not operate when the short-time cassette 30 is used. If you think about it, you can use it effectively. In the case of this embodiment, although this switch mechanism is not shown, this detection is used to switch the operation of the mechanism. Details will be described later.

Now, what has been described above is the short-time cassette 30, and this tape cassette has all the same specifications as the standard cassette 1, including the necessary functions, configuration, distance between reel axes, tape tension position, and cassette external dimensions. Therefore, in terms of compatibility, it is perfect, but on the other hand, the tape cassette itself is a cassette that cannot be miniaturized at all. However, the purpose of the present invention is not to miniaturize the tape cassette, but to miniaturize the entire mechanism using the tape cassette, and to detect the beginning and end of the tape when using a tape cassette for long-term recording and for a short time. This is possible by using the same start/end detecting means when using a tape cassette, and a specific example thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. 23 to 29. Note that this embodiment employs a new system that cannot be realized by the conventional concept of miniaturizing the mechanism by miniaturizing the cassette. This system uses a single VTR, uses a standard cassette for long-term recording, and uses a completely standard cassette for long-term recording.
It requires the same size mechanism as a VTR, but for short-term recording, by using a short-time cassette, the size of the mechanism can be significantly reduced.

Figure 23 shows that when attempting to record for a long time using standard cassette 1, standard cassette 1 is connected to VTR 4.
It is set to 3. 44 and 45 are light receiving elements corresponding to the light emitting element 46 inserted into the sensor hole 11, forming optical paths 12 and 13, and connecting the tape 4
This is to detect the beginning and end of . Therefore, 11' of the side wall of the cassette in this optical path is transparent and 1
A notch is formed in 1″. 47, 48,
49, 50, 51, and 52 are rotating posts forming tape paths, 53 is a fixed post, and 54 is a pinch roller. 55 is a fixed post, 56 and 57 are rotating posts, 58 is an erase head, 59 is a capstan, and 60 is a tape guide drum.
With the standard cassette attached to the VTR43,
Loading motor (not shown) is switched on
, the post 4 in the opening 7 of the standard cassette 1
7 to 53, the pinch roller 54 pulls out the stretched tape 4' and continues the loading operation until it reaches a predetermined position. The loading completion state is the second
The situation is shown in Figure 4. The tape 4 is wound around a tape guide drum 60 at a predetermined angle, and is sandwiched between a capstan 59 and a pinch roller 54, so that it can be driven. Now, this VTR 43 is equipped with the short-time cassette 30 of the present invention.
When installed, the state will be as shown in Fig. 25. The opening 39 of the short-time cassette 30 is similar to that of the standard cassette 1.
Since the range of the opening 7 is covered, the posts 47 to 53 and the pinch roller 54 can of course be sufficiently accommodated. The optical path connecting the light emitting element 46 and the light receiving elements 44 and 45 is also the same as that of the standard cassette 1, and the side wall 11' of the cassette on the optical path is a transparent body and 11'' is a notch, so that it can pass through. As in the case, if each post is loaded to the predetermined position, the mechanism will be exactly the same as in Fig. 24, and there is no problem between the two.
This means that the short-time cassette 30 is compatible with the standard cassette 1.

In the case of this embodiment, when this short-time cassette 30 is used, a tape path is formed as shown in FIG. 26. The tape path centered around the tape guide drum 60 is no different from that of the standard cassette 1, but each post between the post 47 and the post 51, the capstan, and the tape guide drum are relatively close to the cassette 30 for a short time. The entire tape path, including the tape guide drum 60, is briefly contained within the opening 39 of the cassette 30. At this time, the light emitting element 46, which was located at the center of the cassette before loading, enters the opening 39 of the tape cassette of the tape guide drum 60, and when the standard tape cassette 1 shown in FIGS. 23 to 24 is loaded. from the position corresponding to the sensor hole 11, that is, the position of the light emitting element 46 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 26, following the opening 39, it briefly moves into a recess 39' opened at the bottom of the cassette 30. Therefore, the optical path also changes to 12' and 13', but for a short time the square hole 19 of the front cover 42 of the cassette 30
The position and shape of the tape cassette are the same as that of the standard cassette 1, and the new optical paths 12' and 13' also use the square hole 19 and the light receiving elements 44 and 45 set at the same position with respect to the tape cassette. The side wall 1 of the opening 39 of the short-time cassette 30 is located on this optical path.
1 is designed to be transparent so that it can be transmitted through, and 11'' is provided with a notch similar to the standard cassette 1.As described above, the cassette 30 is used for a short time, and the tape guide drum 60 without an exterior is used for a short time. Cassette 3
0, and the size of the VTR 43 is reduced by downsizing the mechanism, it is possible to construct the VTR 43 without any deterioration in the necessary functions when the standard cassette 1 is adopted.

Next, FIGS. 27 to 29 show examples of the VTR mechanism for completing the tape paths shown in FIGS. 24 to 26. The VTR includes a drive board 61,
loading board 62 and loading board 62
It is composed of a loading guide 63 that is attached on top of the loading guide 63.

The drive board 61 is connected to the reels 2, 3, 3 of the cassette.
1, 32 to drive the tape 4; element holders 66, 67 to fix the light receiving elements 44, 45; positioning pins 68, 69 to engage the cassette positioning holes 10; FIG. cassette support pins 70, 71 that support the cassette support area 40 (FIG. 30); cassette information switches 72, 73 that detect whether the six holes are open or closed corresponding to the information window 9 of the tape cassette;
A reel lock lever 75 that is rotatable around a support shaft 74 and equipped with a reel lock release pin 25 for the reel locks 8 and 33 of the cassette, and an element lever 7 that supports the light emitting element 46 so as to be rotatable around the support shaft 76.
7. Attach the posts 48, 52 to one end of the support shaft 78,
The post arm A80 and the post arm B81 are respectively rotatable at 79.

The loading board 62 includes a tape guide drum 60, a capstan 59, posts 55, 56, 5
7. V for positioning the erase head 58 and the posts 49, 50 which are the main tape pulling means
Stopper A82, post 51, pinch roller 54
It is provided with a V stopper B83 for positioning the pinch roller boat made up of the following, and a V stopper C84 for positioning the post 47. The pinch roller 54 is rotatable around the shaft 85.

FIG. 29 shows a side view of this VTR mechanism.
6, 87, and this substrate guide 86, 87
It is possible to slide back and forth along the

In a VTR having this configuration, the loading board 62 and the driving board 61 are normally locked in the positional relationship shown in FIG. 27, although not shown.

When the standard cassette 1 is installed in this VTR, the loading motor (not shown) operates and the post arm A80 and post arm B81 rotate counterclockwise and clockwise about the support shafts 78 and 79. , the post 47 moves along the guide groove 92 of the loading guide board 63. other post 4
Similarly, the pinch rollers 9, 50, 53, 51 and the pinch rollers 54 move along the guide grooves 89, 90, 91.
As a result, the tape path shown in FIG. 24 is completed.

Now, when the cassette 30 is attached to this VTR for a short time, this cassette has a notch in the front cover 42 compared to the standard cassette 1, as shown in FIG. The installed cassette can be determined to be the cassette 30 for a short time by a micro switch or the like.

This switch (not shown) allows you to open the cassette 3 for a short time.
If it is determined to be 0, the aforementioned loading board 6
2 and the drive board 61 are unlocked and can be slid. Next, when the loading motor is activated, the loading substrate 62 moves toward the driving substrate side 61 along the substrate guides 86 and 87 of the driving substrate 61 along with the movement of each post described above. When the loading board 62 is moved to a predetermined position, the loading board 62 is locked again with respect to the drive board 61, and the loading motor is stopped. At this time, each post also reaches and is positioned at each V stopper.

The light emitting element 46 supported by the element lever 77 is
Normally, it is elastically biased and positioned in the state shown in FIG. is pressed against the end 88' of the support shaft 76.
Rotate clockwise around the center. When the loading is completed, the light emitting element 46 is positioned by the V groove 61' formed in a part of the drive board 61.
At the same time, the position of the light emitting element 46 relative to the short time cassette 30 is such that it is accommodated in the recessed portion described above, as shown in FIG. Through the above operations, the mechanism is locked in the positional relationship as shown in Figure 28.
The tape path shown in FIG. 26 is completed.

When it is desired to take out the cassette 30, the operation described above can be reversed to return to the relationship shown in FIG. 25, and the cassette 30 can be easily removed.

Effects of the Invention The tape cassette system which is particularly effective when applied to the present invention has the following effects compared to the 1/2 inch VHS-C system and the 3/4 inch system shown in the prior art. First of all, there is no need for an adapter cassette for 1/2 inch VHS-C. This not only puts a financial burden on the user, but also avoids the troublesome operation of attaching and removing the adapter. If you look closely at the cassette for a short time, the fact that no adapter is required means that the cassette design has no restrictions regarding adapters, and the fully sealed tape structure, front lid locking mechanism, and reel configuration eliminate the need for gears, making it possible to create an optimal design. Since the thickness of the cassette is the same, there is no need for an unreasonably thin design. There is a difference in tape tension between the short-time cassette set in the adapter cassette and the standard cassette, which affects image quality. This tension difference is determined by the position and number of guide posts in the adapter cassette.
This occurs because the wrapping angles are different, but according to the present invention, there is no need to worry about this. Furthermore, since the take-up reel is driven via a relay gear in the adapter cassette, it is possible to avoid effects on the tape running system such as lateral wobbling of the reproduced image and wow and flutter.

As shown in this example in VTR design,
Mutual compatibility is created between the two cassettes.
In the VHS-C system, the cassette dimensions are different for the standard cassette and the short-time cassette, so it is possible to use both with a standard cassette VCR by using an adapter cassette, but for the short-time cassette it is possible to use both with an adapter cassette.
You can only use a cassette for a short time with a VCR. However, in the present invention, both types of cassettes can be used in the VTR, and the original purpose of miniaturizing the mechanism can be sufficiently achieved by using the cassette for a short time.
This is because when using the VHS-C system, in order to effectively use both cassettes, a dedicated VTR was required for each, which placed a heavy financial burden on the user, but with the present invention, one VTR You can get that effect with. Furthermore, users can use the standard cassette and short-time cassette of the present invention without being conscious of the distinction between them.

Next, compared to the 3/4-inch method, the 3/4-inch method has the same distance between the reel axes as the standard cassette, simply reduces the reel flange diameter, and the external dimensions are slightly reduced accordingly, but other things are the same. Therefore, it is difficult to significantly reduce the size of the cassette itself, and the effect is small because the method expects to reduce the size of the mechanism simply by reducing the size of the cassette itself. However, as mentioned above, this method has a great effect because it allows the mechanism to be housed within the cassette opening, thereby reducing the overall size.

The 3/4 inch cassette is compatible without the use of an adapter cassette, but due to the size difference between the two cassettes, it is not possible to determine the position within the cassette holder based on the cassette external shape. Therefore, a guide groove is provided on the bottom surface of the cassette, but in this system, since the dimensions of the cassette are exactly the same, there is no need for this, and the entire cassette can be made thinner by eliminating the need for the groove. Further, there is no need for a projection corresponding to the guide groove on the cassette holder side. Positioning accuracy is good because the cassette is positioned within the cassette holder based on the outside shape of the cassette.
The cassette can be easily attached to the VTR body.

The 3/4-inch method has a short cassette width and short cassette depth, so when inserting a cassette into the cassette holder of a standard cassette VCR for a short time, it must be inserted deep into the cassette holder, making it difficult to operate. Removing the cassette is even more difficult than inserting it, so attempts have been made to make a notch in the cassette and use your fingers to pull it out, but it is unavoidable that the cassette has poor operability. However, with this method, these measures are not required and there is no difference in operability between the two cassettes.

As shown in this example in VTR design,
This creates mutual compatibility between the two cassettes. 3/
Like the VHS-C system, the 4-inch system also aims to reduce the size of the cassette, so it is suitable for short-time cassettes.
VTRs can only be used for short periods of time, but with this method, it is possible to easily and effectively design a VTR that can be used with both types, which has great economic benefits for users.

The present invention, which is particularly effective by applying the tape cassette system having the above-mentioned effects, basically has the following effects. In other words, even if multiple types of tape cassettes are installed, it is possible to detect the start and end ends of the tapes contained in each tape cassette using the same start and end detection means.
This has great industrial value, such as reducing the number of mechanism component parts. For example, if a dedicated start/end detecting means is provided that penetrates in the thickness direction of a tape cassette for short-term recording, it will interfere with the start/end detecting means when a tape cassette for long-term recording is installed. It is necessary to move the start/end detecting means downward in the thickness direction of the tape cassette or to avoid interference, but this requires extra mechanism space in the thickness direction or horizontal direction. On the other hand, the present invention does not require these, and as a result, it greatly contributes to miniaturization and thinning of the mechanism.
Furthermore, even when using a tape cassette for short-term recording, in which each tape cassette is installed, there is no need to pull out the tape from the tape cassette and detect the beginning and end of the tape, saving space related to tape loading. Can be configured compactly. Furthermore, the beginning and end of the tape can be detected for a long time.
In any short-term recording tape cassette, head clogging occurs when the joint between the tape and the detection tape reaches the tape guide drum due to an overrun when the tape stops, which can be detected early inside the tape cassette. can also be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a top perspective view of a standard cassette, Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of a standard cassette, Figure 3 is a sectional view of a standard cassette, Figure 4 is a rear perspective view of a short-time recording tape cassette, and Figure 5 is a rear perspective view of a short-time recording tape cassette. Top view of standard cassette,
Figure 6 is a side view of the standard cassette, Figures 7 to 9
The figures are front cover, back cover opening/closing illustration, figures 10 to 13.
The illustrations are for the lid lock, lid opening explanatory diagram, and Figures 14 to 1.
6 is an explanatory diagram of reel locking operation in the case of a standard cassette, FIG. 17 is a plan view of a tape cassette for short-term recording, FIGS. 18 to 21 are explanatory diagrams of reel locking operation in the case of a tape cassette for short-term recording, and FIG. Figure 23 is a perspective view of the front cover of a short-time recording tape cassette, Figure 23 is a plan view of a standard cassette installed in a VTR according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 24 is a diagram of the same tape loading completed with the standard cassette. ,
Fig. 25 is a plan view of the short-term recording tape cassette installed in the VTR of the same embodiment, Fig. 26 is a diagram of the short-term recording tape cassette showing the completion of tape loading, and Fig. 27 is the same VTR. Figure 28 is a plan view of the same VTR before loading, Figure 29 is a side view of the same VTR,
FIG. 30 is a back view of a standard cassette, and FIGS. 31 and 32 are plan views showing a tape cassette for the conventional VHS-C system and a tape cassette for the 3/4 inch system, respectively. 1... Standard cassette (tape cassette for long-term recording), 2, 3... Standard cassette reel, 8...
...Standard cassette reel lock, 30...Short time cassette (tape cassette for short time recording), 31,
32... Reel of short time cassette, 33... Reel lock, 44, 45... Light receiving element, 46... Light emitting element, 59... Capstan, 60... Tape guide drum, 61... Drive board, 62... Loading Board, 86, 87... Board guide.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Tape detection means for detecting the starting and ending ends of a tape by facing a light emitting element and a light receiving element through a tape, the light emitting element or the light receiving element being relatively parallel to the bottom surface of a tape cassette. A recording/reproducing device configured to be moved on a surface. 2. A light-emitting element and a light-receiving element facing each other with a tape interposed therebetween, a driving board having a means for driving the tape, a loading board having a tape pulling means for pulling out the tape from a tape tasset attached to the driving board, and the driving board. and tape start/end detection means configured to form a plurality of optical paths by relatively moving the light emitting element and the light receiving element in accordance with the relative movement between the loading substrates. Recording and playback device. 3 A tape stretched at a predetermined position is exposed to the front, a small opening is opened at the bottom, a pair of large reels are respectively locked at the beginning and the end of the tape, and the pair of large reels are placed between the predetermined reels. A tape cassette for long-term recording has a built-in casing for long-term recording so as to be positionable at a predetermined position separated by a distance; A large opening that covers the open area of the small opening on the bottom surface and opens over a large area on the bottom surface, and a large opening that covers the opening area of the small opening on the bottom surface and locks the starting and ending ends of the tape, respectively. a pair of small reels having a flange diameter smaller than the flange diameter of the reels; and a pair of small reels built in so as to be positionable at the same predetermined position separated by the same distance as the predetermined distance between the reels, and the large opening. short-term recording tape cassettes having short-term recording casings having substantially the same maximum external dimensions except for tape start/end detection means configured to form an optical path through each tape stretched in the long-term recording tape cassette and the short-time recording tape cassette by moving the tape cassette to the tape cassette; A recording/playback device with special features.