NO820013L - DEVICE AND PROCEDURE FOR CLEANING A VIDEO RECORDER RECORDER - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method and device for cleaning active components in a video player/recorder.

Typical of video players/recorders is that they have a video head that either records or plays back the video part of a tape, an audio head, an eraser head and possibly other components that are in contact with the tape. In order for the player/recorder to function correctly, it is desirable that the surface parts of these components are periodically cleaned.

The prior art includes various cartridge-like devices that have cleaning elements for engagement with the active components of the devices. Some of these use reciprocating or rotating cleaning parts. Someone moves a tape past the sound head in an audio player/recorder.

In some of the video players/recorders, some of the active components are placed in such a way that the tape must be guided by the control elements a relatively long distance in. in the active area of the unit to come into contact with the active components. Because these components are relatively inaccessible, it is particularly difficult to clean them effectively, and to clean them in such a way that you do not damage the more delicate components.

Also, in some VCRs that have the same arrangement of active components, the drive mechanisms that rotate the spools in the cassette that hold the tape work in slightly different ways. It is therefore, if the drive mechanism in the unit is somehow to be used to perform a cleaning function on the active components of the unit, it is difficult to arrange a cleaning device that takes these differences into account.

In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a method and device which can effectively and reliably clean the active components of a video player/recorder, especially where the active components are relatively inaccessible and prone to damage and where the player/recorder has drive units of different character.

According to the invention, a cleaning device specially adapted for use with a playback/recording device is provided where there is a head element which has a head surface which is exposed to contamination and also control means which are movable between a first retracted position and (subsequently) a second operating position for to move a band into working engagement with the head element. The device according to the present invention is designed to clean at least the head surface, and comprises a housing designed to be mounted in a working position in relation to the device. A cleaning belt is placed in the housing in such a way. that it has a retracted pre-cleaning position in the housing and a cleaning position where the belt is led out from the housing.

The housing has first opening means in the front part of the housing to reveal a first, control-contacting part of the cleaning belt, for when engaging with the control means to pull out the cleaning belt from the housing to its cleaning position in such a way that a cleaning second part of the belt is moved into engagement with the the smallest head element.

The housing has other access opening means through which the other part of the belt is exposed when the belt is in its retracted position in such a way that a cleaning material can be supplied to the other part of the belt when the belt is in its retracted position.

Preferably, a rotatable spool is mounted in the housing, in engagement with the cleaning belt. The spool is so arranged in relation to the cleaning tapes that it can be rotated to a pre-cleaning position where the tape is wound onto the spool in its pre-cleaning position. The device also consists of positioning means for positioning the tape and the spool in their pre-cleaning positions.

In one form, the positioning means comprise an indicating element operatively connected to the spool in such a way that rotation of the spool moves the indicating element which shows the position of the cleaning tape in relation to the spool.

In another form, the positioning means comprise markings on the cleaning belt which indicate the position of the belt in relation to the belt's pre-cleaning position.

In a third form, the positioning means comprise co-operating stopping means which come into operation when the spool is rotated to its pre-cleaning position.

In one form, the access opening means comprise a number of distributed access openings located along an edge part of the house.

In another form, the coil has a number of peripherally distributed

holes that reveal the tape when it is wound on the spool. The access opening means comprise at least one housing opening located close to the coil

the openings, whereby a cleaning material can be inserted through the housing opening for application to at least part of the coil openings at said cleaning band location on the coil.

In another form of the invention, two rotatable coils are mounted in the housing, the cleaning tape being arranged to be wound on each of the coils. Each coil has opening means for uncovering the cleaning tape. The housing has openings located close to the coil opening means whereby a cleaning material can be applied to the housing opening and through the coil openings to cause cleaning material to be applied to the belt portions near the housing openings.

The device further comprises clutch means adapted to operatively engage a coil in such a way as to rotate the coil in a first direction and allow at least limited relative rotation of the coil in another direction. In the preferred form, the clutch means comprise a first clutch element connected to the coil and a second clutch element adapted to engage the drive element in the apparatus. The two clutch elements have first and second tooth means arranged for operational engagement and also arranged for at least limited free relative rotation.

In the method according to the present invention, the cleaning belt in the housing is moved to a predetermined pre-cleaning position and a cleaning material is applied to the belt at separate locations through the opening means in the housing. The device is then inserted into the recording/playback device and the device is started so that the control means in the device move the tape outwards to the cleaning position, where the cleaning parts of the tape, which have been applied with cleaning material, engage with at least the head element of the device.

Other features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description. Figure 1 is a semi-schematic ground plan of the main active components in a video player/recorder seen from above and for which the present invention is particularly intended.; Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing a tape cassette being inserted into the unit shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing the control elements in the unit which move the tape outwards from the cassette towards the final operative position; Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing the control elements after they have moved the tape to its operative position; Figure 5 is an isometric view looking down towards the right rear corner of the cleaning device according to the present invention. neise; Figure 5A is a section along the line 5A-5A in Figure 5; Figure 6 is an isometric view looking down on the right front corner of the device according to the present invention and showing the cartridge part of the present invention removed from the cartridge main body; Figure 7 is a plan view of the underside of the device shown in Figure 5; Figure 7a is an exploded view of the winding coil in the device according to the invention and shows the drive clutch assembly in a first end position; Figure 7b is a drawing similar to Figure 7a, which shows the bottom de- , len of the spool where the clutch mechanism has been moved to a first intermediate position as a result of the spool hub being turned a small distance in the anti-clockwise direction; Figure 7c is a view similar to Figure 7b showing another intermediate position of the clutch mechanism where the spool hub is turned further anti-clockwise; Figure 7d is a view similar to Figures 7b and 7c, but shows the clutch mechanism in a second end position; Figure 7e is a view on a larger scale looking down towards the device according to the present invention, which shows an operating button therein in a first operating position; Figure 7f is a view similar to Figure 7e showing the sheath in a second working position; Figure 7g is a section along the line 7g-7g in Figure 7a; Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 2, but showing the device according to the invention inserted into the video player/recorder unit in Figure 1 and with the top cover removed for the sake of illustration; Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 8, showing the control elements in the unit which move the cleaning belt in the present invention outwards and into cleaning position with the components in the unit; Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 9 showing the cleaning belt moved to its full cleaning position; Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 10 showing the cleaning belt at the completion of its movement along the cleaning path. Figures 12 to 15 are views similar to 8 to 11 respectively, but show the device according to the invention inserted in a second and third type of the video player/recorder unit in figure 1 and with the top cover removed for the sake of illustration. Figure 16 is a plan view of another design of a cleaning device according to the present invention seen from above with part of the cover on the housing removed for the sake of illustration. Figure 17 is a plan of the device shown in Figure 1 seen from the underside; Figure 18 is a section along the line 18-18 in figure 16; Figure 19 is a view similar to Figures 10 and 14 showing the cleaning belt in the unit in its fully extended cleaning position; Figure 20 is a view similar to Figure 19 showing the cleaning belt passed through the apparatus in its cleaning cycle; Figure 21 is a front view of the cleaning belt in its retracted position and shows the markings on the belt for locating the belt in its pre-cleaning position.

The first form that the present invention can assume is specifically designed to clean the active components of a video recorder/player unit which is adapted to receive cassette-like playing tapes and which has the active components which engage the tape in relatively inaccessible places in the active area in the unit. One such device is the one currently marketed under the trademark "BETAMAX", which is manufactured by the Sony Company of Japan. Accordingly, it is believed that a better understanding of the present invention will be achieved by first describing the active components of the "BETAMAX" video player/

the recorder unit.

In the following description, the video player/recorder unit 10 will be referred to as the "video unit" or simply as the "unit". With reference to figure 1, the terms "front" and "rear" will denote proximity to the parts of the unit 10 shown respectively in the upper and lower parts of figure 1. In a similar way, the terms

"right" and "left" denote proximity to the parts of the unit 10 shown on the right and left parts of the drawing in figure 1.

Before continuing, it must it is emphasized that the components shown in figures 1 to 4 (which will now be described) are previously known, and the present invention is intended for use in connection with such known devices.

The unit 10 has a main housing 12 which forms a recess 14 which can receive a tape cassette 16 (shown in figures 2 to 4). Figure 1 further shows a first, right-hand rewind spindle 18 and a second, left-hand rewind spindle 20 located within the recess 14. Each of the spindles 18 and 20 has a number of guide teeth 22 which engage an associated spool in a tape cassette and a

intermediate ring 24 to support an associated coil. Also attached to each spindle 18 and 20 is an associated drive ring 26 which is adapted to engage an associated drive roller 28. At the left spindle 20 there is also a brake element 30 which is adapted to engage the west drive ring 26 and stop rotation of the left spindle 20.

Placed in front of the recess 14, there is an active area where there are three magnetic active components which either react to the magnetic signals on a tape, influence the magnetic signals on a tape, or do both. These operative magnetic components are: a video head 32, an audio head 34 and an erase head 36. The video head 32 can act as either a playback head or a recording head. The video head 32 generally has the shape of a circular disc (that is, a shallow cylinder) and has a peripheral cylindrically shaped active surface 38. On the peripheral surface 38 there are one or more scanning elements 40 and the head 32 rotates about the central axis 42 for the cylindrical surface 38.

The audio head 34 acts on the audio portion of a tape either to play the audio signals on the tape (in playback node) or to record the audio signals on the tape when the device 10 is in its recording mode. The eraser head 36, as the name suggests, is used to erase the magnetic signals on the tape.

Positioned peripherally around the heads 32, 34 and 36 is a relatively large circular guide ring 44. At selected locations on the guide ring 44 there are five guide elements numbered 46, 48, 50, 52 and 54 respectively. When in operation, this guide ring 44 rotates about its axis so that the various control elements 46 to 54 come into engagement with the band to move it outwards and into engagement with the heads 32 to .35.

In addition to the movable control elements 46 to 54', there are four stationary control elements denoted respectively 56, 58, 60 and 62. A capstan 64 is placed at a fixed position on the left side of the effective area, and a pinch roller 66 is mounted on the rear part of the ring 44 so that it is movable with the ring 44. As will be seen from the following, the ring 44 rotates the pinch roller 66 to a position where it can come into engagement with the capstan 64, so that it is able to move the playback or recording tape through the device 10.

An attachment arm 68 is pivotably stored in the stationary structure at 70. At the outer or swing end of the arm 68, there is a movable control element 72. Finally, there is a stop mechanism consisting of a sensing element 74. This sensing element 74 is stationary because it is placed a reasonable distance above the ring 44, so that the ring 44 can rotate without the control elements 50, 52 and 54 coming into contact with the sensing element 74.

The normal operation of the above-described, known unit 10 will be explained in the following with reference to Figures 2 to 4. In Figure 2, a tape cassette 16 is placed in the recess 14. This cassette 16 consists of a housing 76 from whose top cover 77 a part is removed to show the main components of the cartridge 16. A right rewind spool 78 fits the right spindle 18 and a left rewind spool 80 fits the left spindle 20. The housing 76 has right and left guide holes to receive right and left guide pins 82 and 84 respectively .

The cassette housing 76 carries a playback/recording tape 86 which is wound on the two reels 78 and 8.0. The tape 86 extends from the left side of the left coil, around the. two left front guides 88 and 90 in the housing 76, and then across the front of the cassette housing at 92. The tape 86 on the right side of the housing 76 engages the two right front guides 94 and 96 to be wound onto it right side of the right coil 78. On the middle front part of the housing 76 there is a stationary guide pin 98 which ensures a correct positioning of the front band part 92 at the housing 76 front end. The pin 98 is positioned a suitable distance above the upper edge of the front band portion 92 and has a downward pulling member (not visible in Figures 2 to 4) which abuts the rear of the front band portion 92 therein. The guide ring 44 is mounted in the assembly 10 on a in such a way that it slopes downwards to the left as shown in figures 1 to 4. The left part of the ring 44 is thus at the bottom, the front and. the rear parts of the ring 44 are at an intermediate height and the right part of the ring 44 is the highest. Moreover, the axis of rotation of the ring 44 is tilted so that it is perpendicular to the plane through the ring 44. When the unit 10 is in its pre-action position, the various components are in the position shown in figure 1. When the cassette 16 is placed in the recess 14 is the front band part 92 is directly in front of the two control elements 46 and 44, the pinch roller .66 and the control element 72.

There are at least three types of video player/recorder units having substantially the same physical arrangement as the unit shown in Figures 1 to 4. The operation of a first such unit will first be described below. Next, the modes of operation for a second and a third type of the devices will be described.

The operation of the first type is as follows. As soon as the cassette 16 is placed in the recess 14, a mechanism in the unit 10 will automatically be triggered and cause the guide ring '44 to rotate anti-clockwise. At the same time, the applicator arm 68 is also caused to swing forward and the brake 30 engages with the drive ring 26 on the left spindle 20 and prevents rotation of the left spindle 20.

When the ring 44 begins to rotate, the conductive guide element 46 will engage the rear surface of the front band portion 92 to pull the band 86 outwards. Since the brake 30 holds the spindle 20 at rest, the tape 86 will be unwound from the right spool 78, which in this mode can rotate freely anti-clockwise.

In Figure 3, the ring 44 has rotated slightly more than 90° so that the band 86 engages a portion of the peripheral surface 38 of the video head 32. The ring 44 continues to rotate from the position of Figure 3 until it reaches its fully extended position shown in Figure 4. It appears that the ring 44 has rotated almost three-quarters of a full revolution (ie approximately 270°) to reach the position in Figure 4. As indicated above, the unit 10 is arranged in such a way that it automatically brings the tape 86 to the position shown in Figure 4 when the cassette 16 is placed in the recess 14. When it is desired that the device 10 be started, either the playback or recording button is operated and this causes the pinch roller 66 to move a a short distance to the right to press the band 86 against the capstan 58. At the same time, the head 42 begins to rotate and very quickly reaches a high rotational speed. When the pinch roller 66 engages with the capstan 64, the brake 30 is released so that it allows the left spool 80 to rotate. K the apstan 64 rotates counterclockwise and causes the ribbon 86 to move along its path in a direction which unwinds it from the spool 80 and winds it onto the right spool 78.

At the same time, the right spindle 18 rotates clockwise and rotates the take-up spool 78 to wind the tape 86 onto it and thus take up the slack in the tape 86. The video head 32 rotates at a relatively high speed (e.g. 1000 to 2000 revolutions per minute) as that the element or elements 40 on the head 32 is able to scan the tape 86 as it passes by.

Near the end of the tape wound on the left spool 80 is a piece of metal foil to which the sensing shut-off element 74 responds. When this piece of foil on the tape 86 passes the element 74, this element 74 reacts and causes the drive system in the unit 10' to be activated in such a way that the pinch roller 66 moves away from the capstan 64, the take-up spool 78 stops rotating and the tape 86 remains stationary. To rewind the tape, the rewind button on the unit 10 is operated so that the left spindle 20 starts to rotate anticlockwise and this in turn rotates the rewind spool 80 anticlockwise at a relatively high speed and rewinds the tape 86 onto the left spool 80 The right end of the tape 86 is firmly clamped onto the right spool 78 so that when the tape 86 is completely unwound from the spool 78 it will prevent further rotation of the rewind spool 80 and this triggers a mechanism in the unit 10 which causes the rewind spool 80 to stop to rotate. Alternatively, a second shutdown mechanism, such as that at 74, may be provided.

Then, when an eject button is operated, the ring 44 rotates clockwise back to the position in Figure 2, and the attachment arm 68 retracts back to the position in Figure 2. At the same time, the take-up spool 78 rotates clockwise to wind the remaining portion of the tape 86 onto the right spool 78. With the tape 86 in this position, the cassette 16 is ready for the next playback or recording in the same way as indicated above.

There is another type of video player/recorder unit which has substantially the same operative components as shown in Figures 1 to 4. The operation of the second unit differs from the first unit described above in that the play head 32 in the second unit immediately begins to rotate when the tape cassette is inserted into the recess 14. When thus the guide ring 44 engages with the tape 92 to move it outwards towards its playing position is

the head 32 already in rotation. Another feature of this type of device is that while the ring 44 rotates to guide the band 92 to its

.playing position, the braking effect on the left coil 80 is either zero or so small that it exerts a minimal braking force on the left coil 80. In other respects, the operation of the

■ second type of unit essentially the same as for the first type of unit insofar as it directly relates to the present invention.

The third type of device also has substantially the same arrangement of physical components as shown in Figures 1 through 4. However, when the tape cassette is initially placed in the machine and the ring 44 rotates to pull the tape 86 outward to the playing position, the right spindle which is engaged with the take-up coil remaining stationary while the left hand spindle engaging the supply coil is allowed to rotate. The tape 86 is thus drawn out to the play position in such a way that the tape 86 is wound by the left supply spindle 80. When the retract button is depressed so that the ring 44 rotates back to the retracted position, the excess tape is moved from the play position to be wound onto the right take-up spool.

One of the problems with all such devices is the accumulation of oxides or other foreign particles on the active components, especially the video and sound heads 32 and 34. Such contamination can, for example, come from tape particles that are deposited on the playing surface. (This can especially occur when the image is "frozen" where an image is held still against the rapidly rotating video head 32). Dust and other air pollutants can also cause an accumulation on the effective surfaces of the two heads 32 and 34. It is also desirable that the capstan 64 and the pinch roller 66 are cleaned periodically.

As previously mentioned, all the components described so far in connection with Figures 1 to 4 are previously known. The present invention is particularly designed to perform an effective cleaning operation on special active components in the unit 10, and this will now be described with reference to figures 5 to 11.

The apparatus according to the present invention has the form of a cassette-like cleaner, shown at 100, and shown in an isometric view in figure 5. It appears that the cleaner 100 comprises a housing structure 102, which has the same general design as the housing 76 of the above-described, known the tape cassette 16. The housing 102 can therefore be easily inserted into the recess 14 of the unit 10.

The housing 102 is made up of a main part 104 and a cartridge 106 which is mounted in the main part 104 and which can be removed. The other main components of the cartridge cleaner 100 are a cleaning belt 108, a right winding coil 110, a left control coil 112 and a locking joint mechanism 114. The main reason for the removable cartridge 106 is that it enables easy replacement of the cleaning belt 108, and this will be described further completely later.

To further describe the cartridge cleaner 100, reference is made to figure 8, where the cartridge cleaner 100 is shown having just been placed in the recess 14 in the unit 10 so that no rotation of the ring 44 or movement of the attachment arm 68 has occurred. The right the coil 110- is mounted in the cartridge 106 and is adapted to receive the right spindle 18. The coil 110 has a relatively large diameter, and in the position in Figure 8 the cleaning tape 108 is wound approximately three times around the circumference of the coil 110. The left control coil 112 also has a relatively large diameter, and the cleaning belt 108 is wound slightly more than halfway around the left spool 112. The cleaning belt 108 exits from the left side of the spool 112 and forwards as at 116 to a left front guide roller 118, from there at 120 across over the front part of the housing structure 102 to a right front guide roller 122, thence backwards at 124 to the right side of the spool 110 to then be wound onto this. At the center forward portion of the housing structure 102 is a guide pin 126 which is quite similar in construction and operation to the pin 98 on the conventional tape cassette housing 76. A protective cover 128 extends across the entire front portion of the housing structure 102. This cover 128 is pivotally mounted at the end positions 130 and 132 on the right and left front parts of the housing structure 102. The cover 128 is shown in its closed position in figure 5, where it covers the front band part 120, and in its left ted open position in Figure 6.

The previously mentioned locking joint mechanism 114 is best seen in figures 9 and 10, but for the sake of simplicity is not shown in figure 6. The joint mechanism 114 comprises a first joint 134 pivotally mounted at 136 to the housing main part 104. The outer end of the joint 134 has a second pin connection 138 to a second link 140. The second link 140 has an elongated slot 142 which accommodates the projecting guide element 72 which is located on the pivoting end of the attachment arm 68 of the unit 10. The reason for the elongated design of the slot 142 is that the attachment arm 68, in different units 10, have different locations so that the retracted position of the control element 72 (whose position is shown in Figure 8) varies from unit to unit. Accordingly, the slot 142 is adapted to accommodate the movable control element 72's different positions.

The locking link mechanism 114 has a retracted position, shown in Figure 8, and a spring element 144 is arranged which presses against the first link 134 to move it towards the retracted position. More specifically, this spring element 144 has a. middle part wrapped around a pin 14 6, with two arms extending outwards, one of which is connected to a second pin 148 and the other presses the joint 134 backwards.

The housing structure 102 is provided with a number of access openings, which are called wetting windows, and in the present design there are five windows 150, 152, 154, 156 and 158. The reason for these windows 150 to 158 is that the cleaning belt is made of an absorbent material suitable for cleaning, such as a synthetic polishing leather material .• It is important to add a cleaning solution (usually a liquid cleaning solution) to the parts of the cleaning belt 108 that come into contact with the components of the unit 10 to be cleaned. However, it is not desirable to add an excessive amount of cleaning solution to the band 108. Thus, the wetting windows 150 to 158 are not only present to provide access for wetting the band 108, but also to indicate the optimal position for the wetted portions of the band 108.

In the particular design shown here, four of the windows 150 to 156 are located on the periphery of the cartridge 106. Specifically, the two windows 150 and 152 are on the rear portion of the cartridge 106 and the two windows 154 and 156 are on the right side portion of the cartridge 106. The fifth window 158 is formed in the front right part of the cover 128. Thus, all five windows 150 to 158 are formed in the right side of the housing structure 102. It should be understood that the number, size and location of these windows 150 to '158 can be varied for adaptation to other video units.

Figure 7 shows the lower surface of the cassette cleaner 100.

It should be noted that the control coil 112 has four pins 160 which protrude downwardly from the underside of the coil 112. One of these pins, designated 160a, protrudes radially further than the other three pins 160 so that the pin 160a is able to engage with the stop element:162. The purpose of this stop element 162 is to enable a turning of the coil 112 to a predetermined starting position before the cassette cleaner 100 is placed in the recess 14 to perform its cleaning operation.

It can be seen from Figure 8 that a stop element 164 is mounted on the outer end of the first link 134 of the locking link mechanism 114. This stop element 164, in the position of Figure 8, engages with a suitable stop element 166 to prevent rotation of the coil 112 clockwise. However, when the locking link mechanism 114 moves outwards, as in Figure 9, the stop element 164 will be released and thus allow clockwise rotation of the coil 112.

A piece of foil 169 is. permanently attached to the belt 108 at a location a short distance from the end portion of the belt which is close to the spool 112. This foil piece 169 is arranged to activate the sensing element 74 of the shut-off mechanism to stop further movement of. the belt 108 upon completion of the cleaning cycle.

As previously mentioned, the housing structure 102 consists of a main part 104 and a removable cartridge 106. These components can be seen better in fig. 6, where the cartridge 106 is shown removed from the main part 104.

As previously mentioned, the cleaning tape 108 remains permanently attached to the right coil 110 in the cartridge 106. The opposite end of the tape 108 is provided with an attachment slot 167 which can be attached to an attachment strip 168 which is permanently attached to the left coil 112. To mount cartridge 106 in the structure 104, the tape 108 is first wound by the right spool 110 in the cartridge 106, passed through the right front feed-through opening 170 in the housing structure 104 and then attached to the strip

168 as shown in figure 6.

For mounting the cartridge 106 in the main part 104, a small pin 172 is arranged which protrudes downwards from the lower right front wall part of the cartridge 106 (see Figure 5a), and this fits into a hole 174 in the right front part of the the lower wall of the part 104. The cartridge 106 is then rotated clockwise, as shown in Figure 6, and into the position shown in Figure 5. The middle, rear part of the main part 104 is provided with upper and lower recesses (the lower one is shown at 176 in Figure 6), and these fit together with upper and lower protrusions or depressions 178 to hold the cartridge 106 in place. The front and left upper edge portions 180 of the cartridge 106 are slightly recessed to fit under the matching edge portions 182* of the portion 104 as follows. that the cartridge 106 is held securely in place.

For removing the cartridge 106 from the main part 104, upper and lower thumb grips 184 are provided which are located close to the depressions 178 in the cartridge 106. These are pressed against each other to release the depressions 178 from the recesses 176. The cartridge 106 can then be swung out from the part 104 and moved to the position

in Figure 6. The tape 108 is then detached from the strip. 168, and another cartridge can be inserted instead. As mentioned earlier, this replacement cartridge will be used when the band 108 on the other cartridge has become so dirty or worn that it has lost its ability to clean properly.

The right take-up coil 110 is shown in detail in Figures 7a to 7d. This coil 10 comprises a top and a bottom half, respectively. 190 and 192, where each half 190 and 192 has a circular disc-like design. The top half 190 is formed with a partially cylindrical side wall 194 on its lower surface, and this wall 194 fits around guide ribs 196 which are attached to the bottom half 192. A suitable removable closure cover 198 having the same circular design as the side wall 194 is attached to the two halves 190 and 192. When the two halves 190 and 192 are assembled, the cylindrical side wall 194 fits above and on the outside of the guide ribs 196 so that a unified coil 110 is formed. The closure cover 198 fits between the upper and therein lower halves 190 and 192 so that this, together with the cylindrical side wall 194, forms a complete 360° cylindrical surface.

A hub element 200 is mounted centrally, in the lower half 192 of the coil 110 so that it can be rotated. The hub 200 has a circular lower part 202 which has internal recesses which fit the guide teeth 22 of the assembly 10. A column 204 which projects from and is permanently attached to the lower part 202 fits into an opening in the top half 190. The lower part 202 has on its circumference a first clutch tooth 206.

Three clutch rings 208 are rotatably supported on the column 204

in such a way that the rings 208 are stacked on top of each other.

Each clutch ring 208 has on its circumference a single clutch tooth 210 which protrudes somewhat below the lower surface of the associated ring 208. The lower ring 208 and the associated tooth 210 are appropriately designated 208a and 210a; the intermediate ring and the associated tooth are designated 208b and' 210b; and the top ring and its associated tooth are designated 208c and 210c. When the rings 208 are stacked as shown in figures 7a to 7d, the tooth 210a can engage with the tooth 206; tooth 210b may engage tooth 210a; and the tooth 210c can engage with the tooth 210b. It appears from this that each of the rings 208a - c can complete almost a full revolution from a position where it engages with the tooth just below to another position where it engages with the same tooth on the opposite side of it.

From the lower surface of the top half portion 190 of the spool 110 projects a fifth clutch tooth 212 which is positioned to engage the top tooth 210c. The tooth 206 on the hub 200, the tooth 212 and the three rings 208a - c with their teeth 210a - c together constitute a drive clutch generally designated 214, characterized in that it will allow a limited free rotation. This is evident from figure 7a where all the teeth 206, 210a - c and 212 are in engagement position, so that a clockwise rotation of the hub 200 leads to fixed engagement with the coil 110 so that the coil 110 will also rotate clockwise. As indicated below, this clockwise rotation will occur when the cleaning tape 108 is wound back onto the right take-up spool 110. However, if the hub 200 is rotated in the opposite direction (i.e., counter-clockwise), the hub 200 can freely rotate nearly four revolutions before the clutch assembly 214 again comes into firm engagement.

This can be seen by studying Figures 7a to 7d in sequence. When the hub 200 completes one revolution, it will reach the position in 7b so that the bottom tooth 206 engages with the first overlying tooth 210a. A second revolution of the hub 200 causes the lower ring 208 to rotate almost a full revolution so that the tooth 210a engages with the next tooth 210b above. (This position is shown in Figure 7c.) A further revolution of hub 200 brings both rings 208a and 208b almost a full revolution around so that tooth 210b engages tooth 210c. A further revolution of the hub 200 would bring the tooth 210c into engagement with the tooth 212.

It appears that in this position, the coil 110 will be intact

to rotate counterclockwise almost four full revolutions before the clutch mechanism 214 returns to drive engagement in the position shown in Figure 7a. As will be explained more fully later, this free rotation of the coil in the clockwise direction, with. the previously described third type of unit 10, occur when the cleaning tape is unwound from the right spool 110 to be pulled outwards to its working position.

Figures 7e and 7f show a detent spring assembly located within the left side of the cartridge housing 102 and located near the left side of the left control spool 112. This spring assembly 216 has an engaged position, shown in Figure 7e, and a disengaged position, shown in figure 7f.

The spring assembly 216 includes an elongated leaf spring 218 having a front end 220 which is retained by three guide pins 222, 224 and 226. The three pins 222, 224 and 226 are positioned to anchor the front end 220 and prevent movement of the center part of the leaf spring 218 to the left. The lower end 228 of the spring 218 is placed in a slot in an operating knob 230 which is rotatably supported in the rear left corner of the housing 102. To the knobs 230 is permanently attached a positioning element 232 which has two hooks 234 and 236 which are arranged to to engage with a control stick 238.

When the hook 236 is engaged with the pin 238, as shown in the figure

7e, the leaf spring 218 abuts the left side of the coil'112. The coil 112 has a peripheral projecting part 240 which, when the coil 112 rotates, engages with the leaf spring 218 so that it is pushed outwards to the left. It appears from this that the leaf spring 218 compensatingly counteracts a

clockwise rotation of coil 112 when spring 218 is in a position as shown in Figure 7e.

When knob 230 is moved to its second position,

so that the hook 234 comes into contact with the pin 238, the leaf spring 218 is bent outwards to the left, as shown in figure 7f. When the spring 218 is in this position, the left coil 112 is able to rotate without encountering any resistance from the spring 218.

To describe the operation of the cartridge cleaner 100, let it be assumed that it is used in conjunction with the first type of unit 10 described earlier. For that type of unit, the knob 230 is turned to a position as shown in Figure 7f so that the spring assembly 216 is in the released position. Let it be assumed that the cartridge 106 is properly in place, as shown in Figure 5. The first step is to place the cleaning tape 108 correctly in the housing structure 102.

To properly position the belt 108 for its cleaning function, the cassette cleaner 100 is first turned to bring the bottom side up, as shown in Figure 7. Next, the right spool 110 (which is on the left in Figure 7) is rotated to take up all the slack in the belt 108 so that the front part 120 of the belt 108 extends in a straight line across the front part of the cleaner 100, as shown in Figures 7 and 8. Next, the left control spool 112 (shown in the right side in figure 7) turned in a direction which in figure 7 is clockwise to wind a part of the tape 108 on the spool 112. The turning continues until the pin 160a comes into contact with the stop element 162. In this position the cleaning tape 108 is on its correct space to apply the cleaning solution.

For application of the cleaning solution, the front cover 128 is placed in its down position (as shown in Figure 5) so that the front window 158 is placed in front of the belt 108. A typical cleaning solution would be, e.g. a resolution of. alcohol and a liquid fluorocarbon. The cleaning solution is applied, in a conventional manner, through the five windows 150 to 158 to those portions of the tape 108 which are exposed through these windows 150 to

158. This can e.g. is done with an elongated applicator which has a sponge-like element at its outer end which can absorb the cleaning liquid in a bottle and which can apply this cleaning liquid to the band 108.

When the cleaning solution is thus applied through the windows 150 to 158, the front cover 128 is raised and the cartridge cleaner is placed in the recess 14 of the video unit 10.

The cassette cleaner 100, which has its housing construction shaped essentially in the same way as a conventional tape cassette 16, fits well into the recess 14. The cleaner 100 is provided with guide holes 185 that fit together with the guide pins in the recess 14 of the unit 10. Immediately after placement in the recess 14, the cassette cleaner 100 is in a position as shown in figure 8, with the cleaning belt 108 placed in front of and close to the two guide elements 46 and 48, and also in front of the pinch roller 66 and the guide pin 72.

, When the cassette cleaner 100 is placed in the recess 14, this immediately triggers the mechanism in the video unit 10 which causes the control ring 44 to turn anti-clockwise and the attachment arm 68 to swing forward about its axle pivot position 70. At the same time, the brake element 30 engages with the drive ring 26 to hold it left spindle 20 and its associated control coil 112 at rest. The stop element 164 secures against rotation of the coil 112 until the locking joint mechanism moves to its forward position. This stop element 164 can move slightly forward so that the adapted stop element 166 on the spool 112 can move past the element 164 as the spool 112 rotates counter-clockwise, as shown in Figure 8. With the two stop elements 164 and 166 in connection with each other (as shown in Figure 8), clockwise rotation of the spool 112 is stopped until the outward movement of the applicator arm 68 moves the locking link mechanism 114 outward (as shown in Figure 9) to move the element 164 out of its stop position.

While the guide ring 44 rotates anti-clockwise, the conductive guide element 46 pushes the cleaning tape 108 forward so that it is unwound by the right spool 110 while the left spool 112 remains at rest. In this first type of unit 10, the right guide wheel is freed from its drive mechanism in this part of the operation, so that the right spool 110 can rotate freely to unwind the tape 108. The guide ring 44 moves continuously through the position in Figure 9 and finally stopping in the position shown in Figure 10. This brings the five wetted parts of the cleaning belt 108 into position relative to the video head 32, audio head 34, capstan .64 and pinch roller 66 to begin the cleaning cycle. In Figure 1.0, the five wetted areas are shown as dark areas on band 108 and are given numerical references corresponding to their previous window position while in the retracted position with the addition of an "a" suffix designating these as wetted areas. Thus, the part of the band 108 which was exposed at the window 150 in the position of Figure 8 in Figure 10 is given the designation 150a. In a similar way is the part of. the band 108 which was exposed at the window 152 is designated in Figure 10 as 152a, and this pattern is repeated up to the position at 158a.

With the tape positioned as in Figure 10, the "play forward" button will be on. the video unit 10 is depressed to bring the pinch roller 66 into engagement with the capstan 64 which rotates counterclockwise, as shown in Figure 10. At the same time, the right take-up spool 110 begins to rotate clockwise and the brake element 30 disengages and allows rotation of the spool 112.

With reference to figure 10, where. the tape 108 is placed. At the beginning of its cleaning cycle, it can be seen that the three wetted portions 158a, 156a and 154a are in contact with the surface 38 of the video head 32. Also, the wetted tape portion 150a is about to engage the active surface of the audio head 34 As soon as the play button on the video unit 10 is pressed down, the video head begins to rotate at a relatively high speed and thus increases the cleaning effect of the wetted parts 158a, 156a and 154a. Also, the pinch roller 66 presses the tape 108 against the capstan 64 which causes linear movement of the tape through the unit 10.

The cleaning belt moves from the position in Figure 10 and approximately 75 - 125 mm along its length to the position in Figure 11. It can be seen that the wetted portions of the belt 108 have moved past the sound head 34 and through the capstan 64 and pinch roller 66 to clean these components. At this point, the foil part 169 passes close to the sensing element 74 which activates the shut-off mechanism so that the pinch roller 66 moves a short distance away from the capstan 64 to release the band 108.

Immediately after this, the steering ring rotates clockwise back

to its starting position in Figure 8, and the right take-up reel rotates clockwise to wind the tape 108

the coil 110. Also, the applicator arm 68 retracts to the position in Figure 8 together with the joint mechanism 114 which is also retracted due to the action of the spring element 144.

When the various components are back in position

in Figure 8, the cassette cleaner 100 is simply removed from the recess 1,4. To prepare the cleaner 100 for a subsequent operation, it is simply turned over and the spool 112' is rotated to a position as shown in Figure 7. After this, the belt 108 can again be moistened in the various places and a subsequent cleaning cycle can be carried out as described above .

Referring now to Figures 12 through 15, the operation of the present invention will now be described as used in the second type of video player/recorder unit described earlier." It will be remembered from this earlier description that the head 32 begins to rotate while the cleaning tape .is moved outwards towards the connection with the head 32. Moreover, as previously described, in this second type of video player/recorder unit, the braking element 30 is either missing or exerts a braking force which in some cases is not sufficient to provide the necessary braking for the drive element 20.

To use the cassette cleaner 100 with this second type of unit 10, the spring assembly 216 is moved to the engaged position, as shown in Figure 12, where the leaf spring 218 prevents the first clockwise rotary movement of the coil 112. In other respects, the operation of the cartridge cleaner 100, as shown in Figures 12 through 15, is quite similar to the operation of the unit as shown in Figures 8 through 11. While the ring 44 rotates to move the cleaning belt 108 outward, as shown in Figure 13, the arm remains 68 in its retracted position. Shortly thereafter, the arm 68 begins to move outward and moves the stop member 164 out of engagement with the matched stop member 166. As the cleaning tape 108 is continuously pulled out, there is tension in the tape 108 which tries to uncoil it from the spool 112 in addition to spooling that of the coil 110. This is prevented by the spring element 218 which abuts against the protruding element 240 on the coil 112. When the tape 108 is fully extended as shown in figure 14, the next operation consists of pressing down the playback button so that the cleaning tape comes into contact with, the capstan 64 and pinch roller 66 causing the tape to be moved through the unit 10. This leads to an increasing tensile load on the tape 108 which is at the spool 112 and this is sufficient to overcome the influence of the spring 218. Thus the cleaning tape is unwound the spool 112 while the spool 112 rotates and the tape continues through its cleaning cycle to the position in Figure 15. The cleaning tape is then pulled back in the same way as m described earlier with regard to the description of the operation of the cartridge cleaner 100 in the first type of unit 10.

The reason that the spring element 218 remains disengaged from the spool 112 in use with the first type of unit 10 (as shown in Figures 8 to 11) is that the rotation of the head 32 is delayed until the tape 108 is fully extended and the play button is depressed. . When the play button is depressed to start the rotation of the head 32 and which also causes the capstan 64 and the pinch roller 66 to engage each other to pull the tape 108, if there is a sufficient restraining force on the spool 112, this will increase the stretch in the band 108, which in turn causes it to be pressed with greater force against the head 32. If the head 3.2 feels that there is too much rotational resistance, this will trigger an automatic shutdown mechanism in the unit 10.

However, with the second type of unit 10, since the head 32 is already rotating at a relatively high speed when the capstan 64 and pinch roller 66 are engaged, the resulting force against the head 32 is not sufficiently great to trigger the shut-off mechanism in that particular unit. Therefore, the spring element 218 can remain engaged.

The operation of the cassette cleaner 100 in the third type of video player/recorder unit 10 described earlier will now be described with further reference to figures 12 to 15. As described earlier, the third type of unit 10 is arranged in such a way that reaches the playing tape from a normal. tape cassette is pulled from the tape cassette, the right drive spindle 18 remains

at rest, and the tape is unwound from the left spool 80. If

however, this should happen while the cassette cleaner 100 was placed in the working position in the unit 10, the moistened cleaning part of the belt 108 would remain in the cassette housing 102. In order to

to help this situation, the previously mentioned clutch assembly 214 is provided.

To prepare the cassette cleaner 100 for insertion into the recess 1 4 in the housing 12 of the unit.10, the cassette cleaner

the serer is turned around so that its lower surface is exposed as shown in Figure 7. The coil 112 is then rotated clockwise (as described earlier with respect to the operation of the first type of unit 10) until the pin 160a is able to come into contact with the stop member 162. The spool 110 is then, as shown in Figure 7, rotated anticlockwise to take up any slack in the cleaning belt 108. The hub 200 is then rotated clockwise until the clutch teeth 206, 210a - 210c and 212 engage. together. By doing this, the coil 110 is arranged. in such a way relative to the hub 200 that the spool 110 can rotate freely almost four full revolutions in an unwinding direction while the hub 200 remains at rest.

The cassette cleaner 100 is then placed in the recess 14 of the unit 10 in the same way as described earlier. The spring assembly 216 is placed in its restrained position,

as shown in Figures 12 to 15.- The play button on the unit 10 is then pressed down causing the ring 44 to rotate and pull the tape 108 outwards towards its working position. Since the spring element 218 is in connection with the protrusion 240 on the coil 112, the coil 112 will not initially rotate. However, since the clutch mechanism 214 allows several revolutions of free rotation for the right spool 110, the cleaning tape 108 will be unwound from the spool 110.

With the tape 108 in a position as shown in Figure 14, the play button on the unit 10 is depressed causing the capstan 64 and pinch roller 66 to engage the tape 108 and move it through its cleaning cycle. At the same time, the right idler wheel 18 begins to rotate, thus causing the clutch mechanism 214' to engage and rewind the tape 108 onto the right spool 110. At the completion of the cleaning cycle, the unit 1.0 is activated to cause the ring 44 to rotate and allow the tape 108

to be withdrawn, and at the same time the coil 110 is rotated off

the drive wheel to wind the tape 108 onto the spool 110.

Figures 16 to 21 illustrate a second embodiment of the present invention. This has a cassette

housing 300 which has the same general design as a tape cassette adapted to fit into the player/recorder. This housing 300 has a top wall 302, a bottom wall 304, a front wall 306, a back wall 308 and two side walls 310. The right part of the front wall 306 is cut away and the adjacent part of the bottom wall 304 has a recess at 312' to accommodate the control elements currently found in conventional players/recorders.

In house 300, it is essentially installed

identical right and left coils, respectively 314 and 316. A cleaning tape 318 is wound on each of the coils 314 and 316 so that they extend forward from each and through openings in the front wall 306 on opposite sides of the recess 312. That is, the front the portion of the band 318 extends at 324 across the front part of the housing 300 slightly in front of the recess 312. The band 313 has a sufficient length so that the opposite ends of the band can each be wrapped about four to six times around each of the coils 314 and 316.

It can be seen, with reference to Figure 18, that each spool 314 or 316 comprises a hub portion 326 having a lower tubular portion 328 of relatively small diameter and a disc portion 330 having three holes 332 formed therein to receive the drive elements from the player/recorder. Connected to the hub part 326 is an outer part of the coil 314 or 316, and this outer part comprises an inner cylindrical wall 334 and an outer cylindrical wall 336 which are fixedly connected to each other along their upper edges through an annular part 338. The upper and lower annular flanges 340 and 342 extend outwardly from outer wall 336 to form an annular recess in which the cleaning belt 318 can be coiled. Each of flanges 340 and 342 is formed with a plurality of evenly spaced arcuate access openings 344 separated from each other by slat members 346 having relatively short arc width. In addition, the top wall 302 and the bottom wall 304 are each formed with a pair of diametrically opposed and vertically aligned access openings, 348 and 350, respectively. These openings 348 and 350 are respectively positioned directly above and below the flanges 340 and 342 on the associated coils 314 or 316 as that they are vertically aligned with the spools' access openings 344, which are located at all times close to the openings 348 and 350. Therefore, when the cleaning liquid is poured through the access openings 348 and/or 350, the parts of the cleaning belt 318 that lie between a pair of access openings 348 and 350 become wet with the cleaning solution while the other parts of the tape 318 remain dry.

Also formed in the bottom wall 304 of the housing 300 are right and left circular openings, 352 and 354, respectively, in the same location as the hub parts 326 for the right and left coils 314 and 316. These openings 352 and 354 allow the drive elements in the playback and/or the recording apparatus to engage the hub portion 326. In the particular design shown here, the two pairs of diametrically opposed bottom access openings 350 are on opposite sides of the openings 352 and 354.

In order to indicate the position of the band 318 on the two spools 314 and 316, a dial element 356 is provided which can rotate and which is mounted in the central part of the housing 300. This

the dial 356 has a plurality of teeth 358 located along the periphery and arranged so that they can come into contact with one another. the tooth 360 located on the periphery of the left spool 316. The dial element 356 is held in any position by a resilient leaf spring 362 mounted in the housing with a pair of pins 364.

When the coil 316 completes a single revolution, it will come into contact with an adjacent tooth 358 and the displacement dial 356 a minimum displacement equal to the distance between two adjacent teeth 358. After such a minimum displacement, the spring

362 come into contact with the next adjacent tooth 358 and hold the dial 356 in the new position. Each of the teeth is numbered in sequence and there is an indicator opening 366 in the top wall 302. This opening 366 is positioned so as to show the number nearest therein the tooth 358 which is in the leading position. Therefore, as shown in Figure 1, the number "1" will appear in the window 366. When the number "1" appears in the window 366, this is an indication that the tape 318 has been wound on each of the spools 314 and 316 the correct number turns so that the belt 318 is in its correct pre-clean position.

To describe the operation of this second embodiment, first the two spools 314 and 316 are rotated so that the tape 318 is in its correct pre-cleaning position, which is indicated by the number "1" appearing in the window 366 (in the manner described immediately above ). In this . position, the tape is wound equally on the two spools 314 and 316.- The next step is to supply the cleaning solution to the appropriate set of access holes 348 and 350. This will depend on the particularities of the playback and/or recording equipment with which the unit is used together ■ with. In the unit 370 which is only partially shown in Figure 19, the normal operation therein is that the playing tape is unwound from the

right spool in the tape cassette. Thus, for the particular unit 370, the cleaning solution is first passed through the right set of top holes 348; the enclosure 300 is then turned over so that the bottom 304 comes up; and the cleaning solution is also poured through the two right bottom holes 350.

As a result of the two sets of holes 348 and 350 being diametrically opposed, the cleaning solution is applied to the tape at spaced positions on the circumference. Also, since the tape is wound approximately four to six times around the spool 314 in the pre-cleaning position, the cleaning solution is applied to at least eight locations on the tape 318.

The housing 300 is then placed in the player/recorder assembly 370, and the assembly is then actuated to bring the controls 371

in the unit 370 into engagement with the front band portion 324 and then carry this in a path around and into engagement with the playing head 372. The unit is then operated to bring the capstan 374 and pinch roller 376 into engagement with the band 318 and thus bring the band 318 to. move through the unit 370. At the same time, the drive units in the unit 370 will cause the spools 314 and 315 to rotate in accordance with the direction of movement of the belt 318. This causes the parts of the belt 318 which are wetted with the cleaning solution (these are indicated at 378) to move past the various components of the unit 370 and effect their cleaning. The alternating contact of first a moistened part of the tape and

then a dry part of the tape 318 against the various components of the unit' 370 causes a wetting and a drying operation which improves the cleaning of the head 37 2 and the other components'.

To complete the cleaning cycle, the tape 318 is provided with a playback portion (eg, either a transparent portion or a metallic portion) that causes the unit 370 to move the control elements 371 back to its retracted position. At the same time, one or both of these spools 314 and 316 are rotated by the drive elements in the unit 370 to spool the tape 318 into the housing 300.

One of the problems ■with obtaining a cleaning device for VCRs/recorders is that the various devices quite often differ from each other in the way in which

it is being wound by the coils on. Some wind off from the right coil and some from the left coil. This second embodiment solves this problem in a unique way by. allowing the tape 318 to be wetted with a cleaning solution at either one or the other or both of the right and left spools 314 and 316,

and by allowing the tape 318 to be wound by either of the spools 314 or 316.

A modification of the second embodiment is illustrated

in Figure 21. Instead of using the number dial element 356 to indicate the position on the band 318, it is possible to simply place marks (eg numbers) on the exposed portion of the band 318 itself at spaced positions along the length of the band. When a given numerical value appears on the tape 318 at the forward exposed portion 324, the user knows that the tape '318 is in its proper pre-cleaning position. For example, as shown in Figure 2.1, the number "4" appears at the opening 316. The user can then simply rotate the coils 314 and 316 in an appropriate manner until the correct numerical value (e.g., "0") appears at the position in the opening .316. The belt 318 is then in its correct pre-cleaning position.

Claims (15)

1. Cleaning device specially designed for use with a playback device. and/or recording apparatus comprising: a. a head element having a main surface which is exposed to contamination; b. control means which are movable between a first retracted position and a second working position and which move a belt forward into working engagement with said head element, which device is designed to clean at least the mentioned head surface, characterized in that it comprises: a. a housing adapted to be mounted in one working position in relation to said device, b. a cleaning belt which is mounted in the housing so that it has a retracted front cleaning position in the housing and a cleaning position where the belt is withdrawn from the housing, c. which housing has first opening means at a first front part of the housing to expose a control contact end part of the cleaning belt for engagement with the control device so that the cleaning belt can be brought into engagement with the control device and is pulled out from the housing to its cleaning position in such a way that a cleaning second part of the cleaning belt is moved forward into engagement with at least the head element, d. which housing has another access opening device through which the second part of the cleaning belt is uncovered when the belt is in its retracted position so that a cleaning material can be applied to the other belt portion when the belt is in its retracted position. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that a spool is rotatably stored in the housing in engagement with the cleaning tape, which spool is arranged in such a way in relation to the cleaning tape that it can be rotated to a pre-cleaning spool position where the cleaning tape is wound onto the spool in its pre-cleaning position, which device further comprises locating means for positioning the cleaning belt and the coil in their pre-cleaning positions. 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the locating device comprises an indicating element operationally connected to said coil in such a way that the rotating movement of the coil moves the indicating element to show the position of the tape in relation to the coil. 4. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the locating device comprises markings on the cleaning belt to indicate the position of the cleaning belt in relation to its pre-cleaning position. 5. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the locating device includes cooperating stop devices that engage when the coil has been turned to its pre-cleaning position. 6. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the access opening device comprises a number of distributed access openings located along an edge part of the house. 7. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the coil is provided with a number of distributed holes along the periphery which reveal the tape when it is wound on the coil, in that the access opening device comprises at least one housing opening near the coil openings, whereby a cleaning material can be introduced through the housing opening to be applied to at least a portion of the coil openings at a tape position on the coil. 8. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that two rotatable coils are mounted in the housing, the tape being arranged to be wound on each of the coils, each coil having opening devices to uncover the cleaning tape, the housing having the openings close to the coil's opening device, whereby a cleaning material can be applied to the housing openings and through the coil openings for . to cause cleaning material to be applied to the belt parts located near the housing openings. 9. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that two rotatable coils are mounted in the housing, the tape being arranged to be wound on both coils, at least one of the coils being arranged to be connected to a drive element in the device, which device further comprises clutch devices arranged to operatively engage one coil so that the coil is rotated in a first direction, and allow at least limited relative free rotation of the coil in a second direction. 10. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that the clutch device comprises at least a first clutch element connected to the coil and a second clutch element arranged to engage with the device's drive element, which two clutch elements have a first and second tooth device positioned for operating engagement, and also positioned for at least limited free relative rotation.- 11. Method for cleaning at least one head element in a playback and/or recording device, where the device has control devices that are movable between a first retracted position and a second working position to move a tape until it engages with the head element, characterized in that it comprises: a. providing a housing designed for installation in a working position in relation to the device, and a cleaning belt that is mounted in the housing, b. placing the cleaning belt in a. retracted pre-cleaning position so that cleaning parts of the belt are located near access openings in the housing, c. applying a cleaning material to the cleaning parts through the access openings, d. inserting the device into the apparatus and operating the apparatus to bring the control devices into engagement with. a front part of the cleaning belt to move the cleaning belt forward into engagement with the head element, so that the cleaning parts of the belt engage with the head element. 12. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that the cleaning tape is placed in its pre-cleaning position by rotating a spool arranged in the housing on which the tape is wound, to move an indicator element to a position indicating the pre-purge position. 13. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that the cleaning belt is placed in the pre-cleaning position by means of location marks on the belt at a suitable place in relation to the housing. 14. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that the cleaning tape is placed in its pre-cleaning position by rotating a spool on which the tape is wound in the housing to bring cooperating stopping devices into operation when the tape is in its pre-cleaning position. 15. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that the cleaning tape is wound on two spools in the housing, and that cleaning material is selectively introduced through the access opening device gene in the housing and in at least one of said coils to selectively supply cleaning material to the cleaning parts of the housing on at least one of the coils, after which the apparatus is operated to bring the belt parts which have had cleaning material applied to them in engagement with the head of the apparatus.