US3708135A

US3708135A - Power driven platen for tape cartridges

Info

Publication number: US3708135A
Application number: US00112718A
Authority: US
Inventors: M Lace
Original assignee: Motorola Inc
Current assignee: Motorola Solutions Inc
Priority date: 1971-02-04
Filing date: 1971-02-04
Publication date: 1973-01-02
Anticipated expiration: 1990-01-02
Also published as: JPS5145314Y2; JPS4855813U

Abstract

The platen of a continuous loop tape cartridge is driven by means of a drive belt from the pressure roller of the tape cartridge and is caused to rotate at a hub speed which is approximately 0.9 to 0.98 times the speed of the tape being pulled from the inner loop of the continuous tape loop. The pressure roller is pivotally mounted in a slat and spring-biased to engage an edge of the capstan receiving opening in the cartridge when the cartridge is removed from the tape recorder/reproducer to lock the tape and pressure roller against movement. A one-way clutch clutches the platen for drive by the pressure roller and permits free movement of the platen for temporary withdrawal of tape from the cartridge when the platen is overdriven.

Description

United States Patent 1 Lace [s4] POWER DRIVEN PLATEN FOR TAPE CARTRIDGES 15, Inventor: Melvin A. Lace, Prospect Heights,

a in.

[73] Assignee: Motorolmlnc Franklin Park, Ill.

[52] U.S. C1. ..242/55.19 A, 179/100.2 Z, 274/4 B [51] Int. Cl. .3651! 17/48 [58] Field of Search ..242/55.19 A, 55.19 R;

179/1002 Z; 274/4 B, 11 B [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1971 Ban ..242/55.l9A 1/1970 Linning ..242/55.19A

[ 1 Jan. 2, 1973 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 293,728 10/1953 Switzerland ..242/55.l9A 424,301 5/1967 Switzerland ....242/55.l9A

Primary Examiner-Billy S. Taylor AttorneyMueller and Aichele [57] ABSTRACT The platen of a continuous loop tape cartridge is driven by means of a drive belt from the pressure roller of the tape cartridge and is caused to rotate at a hub speed which is approximately 0.9 to 0.98 times the speed of the tape being pulled from the inner loop of the continuous tape loop. The pressure roller is pivotally mounted in a slat and spring-biased to engage an edge of the capstan receiving opening in the cartridge when the cartridge is removed from the tape recorder/reproducer to lock the: tape and pressure roller against movement. A one-way clutch clutches the platen for drive by the pressure roller and permits free movement of the platen for temporary withdrawal of tape from the cartridge when the platen is overdriven.

12 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAII 2m: 3.708.135

sum 1 BF 3 I la L I Q i INVENTOR' l MELVIN A;

i BY LACE J I W #M ATTYS.

PAIENTEBJAI 2m: 3.708.135

SHEET 2 BF 3 FIG. 3

FIG. 6 FIG. 7

POWER DRIVEN PLATEN FOR TAPE CARTRIDGES CROSS REFERENCE This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 881,690, filed Dec. 3, 1969 and now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In cartridge-type tape players currently being used extensively in automobiles and other recording/reproducing systems, the tape in the cartridge is in the form of a continuous loop, with the tape passing from the inside of the loop over a pressure roller located within the cartridge back to the outside of the loop. Movement of the tape through the cartridge is effected by engagement of the pressure roller with a driving capstan in the recorder/reproducer, the tape being positioned between the capstan and the pressure roller. The platen on which the tape is placed is mounted for free rotation within the cartridge and rotates at a hub velocity which is approximately 0.85 of the velocity at which the tape is pulled from the inside of the loop.

When movement of the tape through the cartridge is initiated, a free loop of tape generally is formed within the cartridge which is provided with an empty space therein in order to accommodate this free loop. The free loop is caused because of inertia in initiating rotation of the platen, and this condition may be aggravated if the surfaces between the cartridge and the platen are sticky or otherwise have increased friction. If the free loop becomes sufficiently large, tangling or twisting of the tape may result, causing a failure of operation of the cartridge. Since these cartridges are often used in automobiles, the formation of undesirable free loops of tape in the cartridge also is caused by rotation of the platen resulting from vibration of the cartridge when it is not in the recorder/reproducer but is being carried in the automobile. Y

The use of a freely rotating platen also results in a relatively high and variable tension on the tape being pulled from the inside of the continuous loop. This results in high frequency flutter due to the tape stretching as it is pulled past the transducer in the recorder/reproducer. Withdrawal of a relatively large free loop of tape through one of the holes used to accommodate'the transducer head or the contacts was desirable during the manufacturing process of tape cartridges. However, the take-up of a tape loop took a relatively long period of time.

SUMMARY OF THEINVENTION Accordingly it is an object of this invention to .provide an improved tape cartridge.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a tape cartridge having a positively driven platen.

It is another object of this invention to provide for rapid takeup of the tape by the platen when a free loop of tape is withdrawn from the cartridge.

It is a further object ofthis invention to provide a tape cartridge of reduced size without reducing the amount of tape in the cartridge.

It is yet another object of this invention to maintain a reduced, constant tension on the tape being pulled from the continuous loop of a continuous loop tape cartridge.

It is still another object of this invention to prevent loosening of the tape in the cartridge when the cartridge is removed from a recorder/reproducer device.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention the platen for supporting a continuous loop of tape in a continuous loop tape cartridge is provided with a drive means for driving a platen at a predetermined rate of speed with respect to the rate of speed at which the pressure roller is driven by the capstan of a recorder/reproducer device. This positive drive of the tape platen provides a uniform tension on the tape being pulled from the endless tape loop; and by properly adjusting the speed at. which the platen is rotated, the tension may be reduced over the tension presently found in standard tape cartridges. In addition, the driving of the platen insures that no free loop of tape is formed when the cartridge initially is driven by the capstan, thereby enabling the cartridge to be reduced in overall external dimensions, since the space formerly required to accommodate such a free loop no longer is necessary.

A gravitationally engaged one-way clutch couples the platen to the drive means in the play mode and uncouples the platen from the drive means when the platen is overdriven. Consequently, when a free loop of tape is withdrawn from the cartridge the uncoupled platen, which has relatively free movement in comparison to its coupled state, will rapidly take up the free loop.

In another embodiment of the invention, the pressure roller also is spring-biased in a slot to bear against the capstan receiving opening in the cartridge; so that when the cartridge is removed from the recorder/reproducer, the pressure roller over which the I tape passes is biased against the capstan receiving opening to lock the tape and pressure roller against movement. When the cartridge is inserted into a BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation view showing a tape player apparatus of the type with which the cartridge of a preferred embodiment of this invention may be util ized;

FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away top plan view of a cartridge, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention, inserted into a tape player of the type shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially cut-away :side view of the car tridge shown in FIG. 2',

FIGS. 4 and 5 show details ofa feature of a portion of the cartridge shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are directed to details of a gravitationally engaged one-way clutch used in conjunction with the cartridge shown in FIGS. .2 and 3;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are partially cut-away side views of a cartridge showing a double layer spring clutch and a simple spring clutch respectively;

FIG. 10 shows a cutaway view of a slot for securing a single spring clutch; and

FIGS. 11 and 12 are top plan and side elevation view respectively showing a molded projection'for securing a single spring clutch.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used throughout the several views to identify the same or similar parts, FIG. 1 shows a tape player apparatus which is adaptedto receive and play standard tape cartridges or tape cartridges in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention, such as the cartridge 13 shown in FIG. 2. These cartridges may have multi-track tapes therein, with the tape being positioned to cause the cartridge pressure roller to be engaged by a capstan shaft 14 to drive the tape through the cartridge 13. An electric motor 16 drives a pulley 17 which is connected through a belt 18 to the capstan flywheel 19 which in turn causes rotation of the capstan 14. A magnetic tape reproducing or transducer head 20 is positioned by a cam follower 22 which rides on a cam 24 having a plurality of cam surfaces thereon. Whenever one of the plurality of sets of tracks of the tape is completed, a conductive strip on the tape bridges a pair of contacts 27 to energize a solenoid 29, which in turn causes the cam 24 to be rotated to present a different cam surface to the cam follower 22. This repositions the head 20 to cause the player to reproduce a different set of tracks on the tape. This portion of the tape player shown in the drawing is conventional and is described so that the cooperation of the tape player with the cartridge of a preferred embodiment of this invention may be more easily understood.

The tape player shown in FIG. 1 may be mounted on an automobile dashboard, and referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a dashboard plate 30, having an opening therein for receiving cartridges, and to which a pair of

side plates

31 and 32 of the tape player housing 15 are fastened by any suitable fastening device, such as by welding, screws or the like.

The

side plates

31 and 32 of the tape player housing define side guiding channels for a tape cartridge 13 and a plate 33 (FIG. 1) forming the bottom of the tape player housing provides a lower guiding surface for a cartridge 13. Located in the side plate 31 are a pair of

rollers

36 and 37 for facilitating the entry and removal of a tape cartridge 13. On the side plate 32 of the tape player there is mounted a cantilever spring 39 carrying an extension 40 at its unsupported end with a roller 41 being rotatably mounted on the extension 40. When the spring 39 is in 'its relaxed position, the roller 41 extends inwardly into the cartridge receiving cavity of the tape player through an opening in the side plate 32.

When a tape cartridge is inserted into the player, a pair of camming surfaces 43 and 44 on the forward end of the cartridge 13 serve to guide the cartridge into the cartridge receiving opening ofthe player. The camming surface 44 further engages the roller 41, camming the roller out of the cartridge receiving cavity of the tape player against the action of the leaf spring 39. When the cartridge 104 is fully inserted into the player, the leaf spring 39 causes the roller 41 to engage a V-shaped notch 45 provided in the side of the cartridge 104. The roller 41, pressing into the notch 45 under the urging of the spring 39, causes the cartridge to be forced into registry with the

rollers

36 and 37 and further causes a pressure roller 47, located and rotatably mounted within the tape cartridge 13, to engage the capstan 14 through a slot or opening in the front surface of the cartridge 13.

Two other openings are provided in the front surface of the cartridge 13 for receiving the transducer head 20 and the contacts 27. The relative locations of these openings and of the portions of the tape player shown in FIG. 1 which cooperate with the corresponding portions of the cartridge are most clearly seen in FIG. 2. The portions of the cartridge which thus far have been described are standard and may be found in conventional cartridges as well as in cartridges made in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention.

In standard tape cartridges, and in the cartridge shown in FIG. 2, the tape which is to be recorded upon or reproduced by the transducer head 20 operating in conjunction with the remainder of the recording/reproducing mechanism is an endless roll or loop of tape which is placed on a platen 52 (most clearly seen in FIG. 3). The tape 50 is pulled from the innermost loop and is guided in the cartridge shown in FIG. 2 substantially horizontally over the top of the roll by an upper flange 53 which is attached to and rotates with the platen 52. The tape then passes over a 45 guide surface 54, around a guide post 55, past a tape guide 56 and the transducer head 20 to a further tape guide 57, with the tape between the

guides

56 and 57 being resiliently urged into contact with the transducer head 20 by a foam pad 58, which causes the tape to be placed in firm engagement with the transducer head 20. The foam pad 58 also urges the tape between the guide post and the guide 56 against the contacts 27, so that the contacts 27 may sense the conductive portions on the tape when they pass across the contacts. To enable pulling of the tape from the roll, the tape 50 then is wound over the pressure roller 47 between the pressure roller 47 and the capstan 14, with the capstan 14 rotating to impart lengthwise advancing motion of the tape 50 through the loop; and the tape is returned to the outermost diameter of the roll of tape on the platen 52, with the upper flange 53 again acting to guide the tape onto the roll. I

In conventional tape cartridges, the continuous tape roll is placed on a freely rotating platen which provides sufficient rotational friction with the lower surface of the cartridge 13 to maintain tension in the tape 50 being withdrawn from the roll, and the rotation of which aids in the winding up of the tape on the outside of the tape roll by imparting rotation to the tape roll. As stated previously, the inertia and friction of such a platen results in a condition wherein the platen may not commence rotating immediately when tape withdrawn from the innermost convolution or loop of the roll when the cartridge initially is placed in playing engagement with a rotating capstan 14. As a result, a free loop of tape is formed from the tape leaving the pressure roller 47; and conventional cartridges provide sufficient space to accommodate this free loop; so that entanglement of the tape does not result.

The relative size of a standard cartridge is indicated by the dotted line extension of the cartridge 13 at the bottom of FIG. 2. From a comparison of the solid line drawing of the cartridge 13 shown in FIG. 2, and the dotted line extension, it may be seen that the cartridge 13 made in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention is approximately one-half the size of the standard cartridge. This permits substantial savings in the space required for the storage of the cartridges, in addition to the other benefits which will become apparent in the ensuing description. Of course, these benefits also may be realized in a standard-size cartridge, if desired.

In order to improve the operation of the cartridge, a means for eliminating the possibility of forming this free loop upon start-up of the cartridge operation is required. In addition, it is desirable to provide a uniform minimum tension on the tape 50 being withdrawn from the inside of the tape roll, since conventional cartridges are subject to a. varying relatively high withdrawal tension which, as stated previously, causes distortion in the reproduced or recorded information. In addition, such high tension requires the use of relatively thick, strong tape, thereby limiting the length of tape which can be placed on a roll of given diameter.

To insure that the platen 52 commences rotating immediately upon the withdrawal of tape 50 from the inside of the tape roll, so that take-up of the tape commences immediately upon the initial movement of tape through the cartridge, a pulley 60 is mounted on the shaft of the pressure roller 47 for rotation with the pressure roller 47. The pulley 60 is connected through a drive belt 61 to the drive pulley 70 of a oneway clutch 62 which engages the platen 52 to cause rotation of the platen 52 along with the clutch drive pulley 70 about a platen support post 66 whenever the pressure roller 47 rotates.

The drive ratio imparted to the platen 52 is such that the inner hub 64 forming the inner diameter of the tape roll which supports the upper flange 53 is rotated at a speed which is 0.9 to 0.98 times the speed of the tape being pulled from the inside of the tape roll. This ratio insures that the tape platen 52 does not feed tape from the tape roll, which would cause an undesirable formation of a free loop at the left hand side of the guide post 54 (as viewed in FIG. 2). At the same time, by causing the platen hub 64 to rotate at a speed which is close to the speed at which the tape is withdrawn from the roll, the tape is always pulled under the same uniform, slight tension from the roll whenever the pressure roller 47 is being driven by the capstan 14. Thus, it is possible to use thin tapes, permitting an increase in the length or capacity of a roll of given diameter.

The exact speed at which the hub 64 of the platen 52 is rotated may be adjusted in accordance with the amount of tape on the tape roll to provide for proper take-up of the tape on the roll. The larger the roll, the slower the speed which may be used for rotating the inner hub 64 of the platen 52. By providing for immediate rotation of the platen 52 upon the commencement of pulling of the tape 50 from the roll, immediate take-up of the tape leaving the pressure roller 47 also is provided, so that no free loop is formed on the take-up side of the cartridge shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. As a consequence, there is no necessity for providing space for accommodating such a free loop, thereby permitting the reduction in the size of the cartridge housing.

Although the drive for the platen 52, as illustrated most clearly in FIG. 3, is shown as being located at the bottom of the cartridge, a drive at the top could also be utilized, if so desired. The bottom drive is preferable since it permits easier loading of the tape in the cartridge during the assembly process.

During the manufacturing process, it is desirable to pull a relatively large free loop of tape out of the tape cartridge through one of the openings which are used to accommodate the transducer head 20 or the contacts 27. It then is necessary to construct the cartridge in such a manner that continuous pulling of the tape from the inside of the tape roll will cause the take-up of the tape loop within a relatively short period of time. For this reason, the one-way clutch 62 is employed, so that when a free loop of tape is formed in this manner, continual pulling of the tape from the platen 52 causes the platen 52 to freely rotate in a manner which is similar to the rotation of the platen in a conventional tape cartridge. The clutch plates provide just sufficient friction between the rotating platen 52 and the stationary driving clutch plate of the clutch 62 to cause the desired speed of rotation of the platen for a rapid take-up of the tape loop. As a consequence, continued withdrawal of the tape 50 by hand or some other means from the inside of the tape roll causes free rotation of the platen 52 in a conventional manner to enable relatively rapid take-up of the tape loop.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 there are shown details of a type of gravitationally engaged one-way clutch which may be employed for the clutch 62. FIG. 6 shows a top view of the driven clutch plate pulley 70 of the clutch 62 and illustrates the manner in which the upward extension of the pulley 70 surrounds the post 66. On the upper surface of the pulley 70 there are provided a plurality of radially-extending sawtooth shaped grooves 71. On the mating portion of the clutch 62 formed on the lower surface of the platen 52 there is a corresponding mating plurality of teeth. This detail may be seen most clearly in FIG. 7, wherein the plate 70 is shown to have a series of sawtooth-shaped slots 71 each having a sloping surface on the left hand edge as viewed in FlG. 7 and having a vertical surface on the right hand edge. On the portion of the platen 52 overlying the upper surface of the pulley 70 are formed a plurality of teeth 73, of a mating or corresponding configuration of the slots 71.

As a consequence, when the clutch plate 70 is moved to the left as viewed in FIG. 7 (corresponding to a clockwise movement in FIGS. 2 and 6), the teeth 73 on the platen 52 drop into the slots 71 and the vertical surfaces of the teeth 73 are engaged by the vertical surfaces of the slots 71 to form a positive driving engagement between the clutch plate 70 and the platen 52. This is the relative motion which is utilized when the platen 52 is driven by the belt 61 from the pulley 60. When tape is withdrawn from the platen 52, not under the control of the rotation of the pressure roller 47, the relative movement is such that the clutch plate 70 remains stationary with the platen 52 moving the left as viewed in FIG. 7. When this occurs, the teeth 73 slide out of the slots 71 on the sloped surfaces, with the teeth and slots then providing the slight amount of rotational friction which is desired.

Both single 94 and double layer 93 spring clutches, FIGS. 9 and 8 respectively, are satisfactory for the operation of the tape cartridge.

To be operable the double layerspring clutch need not be secured to the platen 52 or to the pulley 70 and.

pulley-shaft 92 combination. In fact no securing means are necessary. The construction of the double layer spring enables one layer of the spring to be biased away from the other for self-biasing.

During operation the pulley shaft 93 engages the inner layer 96 of the double layer'spring 93. The spring is self-biased so that the outer layer 95 is forced away, or outwardly, from the axis of the coil of spring 93. The outermost diameter of the layer 95 engages the inner wall of the patent 52. As the positive drive is applied to the pulley shaft, the outer layer 95 as well as the inner layer 96 of spring 93 act jointly to clutch the pulley shaft and platen together. Friction, created between the inner layer 96 of the spring and the pulley shaft 92 and also between the outer layer 95 of the spring 93 and the inner wall of the platen 52, operates with the spring self-biasing to cause clutching. The platen and pulley shaft move as a unit because of the clutching.

When the speed of the platen relative to the pulley shaft changes, such as when a tape loop is continuously pulled from the inside of the tape roll during the manufacturing process, the outer layer of the spring starts to wind up and there is insufficient force to clutch the platen and pulley shaft together. The platen will then move relatively freely of the pulley and associated drive belt to provide rapid takeup of tape. The double layer spring may be designed so that the inside spring layer unwinds to become larger as the platen speed changes relative to the pulley shaft. In operation another double layer spring design permits the outer spring layerto continue engaging the inner-wall of the platen while the inner spring layer unwinds i.e., increases in diameter, and disengages from the pulley shaft.

In the single spring clutch 94 arrangement the characteristics are different. At least one end of the spring is provided with means for securing it to either the platen 52 or pulley and

pulley shaft combination

70 and 92 respectively. Two types of securing means that can be used, for instance, are a slot 98 in the pulley and pulley shaft combination as shown in FIG. 9 or a molded projection 97 on the pulley and pulley shaft combination as shown in FIG. 11. The slot or molded projection may, however, be located on the platen instead.

In one instance the slot 98 is recessed in the top of the pulley. However, it is readily apparent the slot may also be located on the pulley shaft 92 at either end. When the platen is driven one end of the spring engages the deepest portion of the slot and is prevented from moving freely in the direction of the abutment 103 of the slot 98 as shown in FIG. 10.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show a molded projection 97 which operates in much the same fashion as the slot of FIGS.

9 and operates when positive drive is applied. The projection 97 may be mounted on the pulley 70 or pulley shaft 9 2.In this embodiment it is on the shaft. During the play mode it engages the spring and pushes it around the platen support post 66. The projection has a helical face 99, the pitch of which is substantially equal to the pitch of the spring 94. The spring 94 engages the projection at the abutment 100. The final face 101 of the projection is arcuate as shown in FIG. 11.

Because of the friction generated between the outer surface ofthe spring and the inner wall 102 of the platen and the biasing away from the spring axis, the

platen is clutched to the pulley shaft. When overdriving,

occurs, the faster speed of the platen decreases the frictional force which operated during clutching and the spring starts to wind itself up. The diameter of the coil becomes smaller, and the friction consequently decreases to a minimum level, such that the platen is no longer driven by the pulley shaft, but begins to operate relatively freely therefrom.

When the slot, or projection, for securing the spring, is located on the platen, the single spring utilized must be designed differently from the one utilized in the above described embodiment. It must bias inwardly toward the axis of the pulley shaft rather than outwardly.

In order to positively lock the tape 50 against movement or withdrawal from the roll during periods of nonuse of the cartridge and to lock the platen 52 against rotation, the pressure roller 47 is pivotally mounted on a shaft at its lower end in a depression 81 formed in the lower wall 67 of the cartridge 12 (as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4). The upper end of the shaft 80 extends through a slot 82 in the upper wall 68 (best seen in FIG. 5), with the slot 82 extending at an angle approximately 45 with respect to the front surface of the cartridge 13. When the cartridge is in playing position, with the capstan 14 in engagement with the pressure roller 47, the capstan l4 pushes the pressure roller 47 into a position with the shaft 80 pressed against the rear portion of the slot 82 as viewed in FIG. 5. These relative configurations are shown in the dotted line showings in FIG. 5 and are shown in solid lines in FIG. 3.

When the cartridge is removed from the tape player the capstan 14 no longer bears against the pressure roller 47, and a leaf spring 84, cantilevered from a post 85 attached to the upper wall 68, urges the upper end of the shaft 80 toward the front end of the slot 82 as viewed in FIG. 5. This causes the pressure roller 47 to move into the opening in the front of the cartridge which is provided for receiving the capstan 14. The dimensions of this opening are chosen so that the diagonal movement of the pressure roller 47 causes the pressure roller to engage the surface of the portion of the front housing defining the right hand edge of the capstan receiving opening as viewed in FIG. 5. The urging of the spring 84 causes this to be a firm engagement and pinches the tape 50 between the pressure roller 47 and the surface 90, thereby locking the tape 50 against movement.

As seen in FIG. 4, the movement of the pressure roller 47 into this opening is not extensive. The surface 90 is not shown in FIG. 4, but the surface 91 forming the other edge of the capstan receiving opening is shown, and this surface 91 is in alignment with the surface 90 which is engaged by the pressure roller 47 as viewed in FIG. 5. Thus, the spring 84, operating in conjunction with the movable pressure roller 47, provides a simple and efficient way of locking the tape 50 and the platen 52 (through the belt 61) against movement when the cartridge is being transported or stored.

It should be noted that the drive belt 61 may be in any of several forms, such as a bead chain, notched belt, O-ring, etc., as well as a conventional smooth pulley belt. The particular form of belt used is unimportant.

Iclaim:

1. A tape cartridge having a continuous loop of tape for use in a recorder/reproducer having a capstan for driving the tape through the cartridge, the cartridge including in combination:

a cartridge housing substantially enclosing the continuous tape loop;

a platen rotatably mounted in the housing for supporting the tape loop;

a pressure roller rotatably mounted in the housing and adapted to be engaged and driven by the capstan in a recorder/reproducer;

a transducer receiving opening in the cartridge;

means for guiding the tape from the loop past the transducer receiving opening, over the pressure roller and back to the loop;

drive means including a mechanical drive linkage between the pressure roller and the platen for driving the platen at a predetermined rate of speed with respect to the speed at which the pressure roller is driven by said capstan;

a clutch connected between said drive means and platen, said clutch disconnecting said drive means from said platen with said platen being moved in a predetermined direction relative to said drive means.

2. The combination according to claim 1 further includingmeans for locking the pressure roller against rotation, said locking means being released when the pressure roller is driven by said capstan.

3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the mechanical drive linkage includes a belt drive between the pressure roller and the platen, and wherein the platen has an upwardly extending hub defining the innermost diameter of the continuous loop of tape, with the predetermined rate of speed at which the platen is driven causing the hub to rotate at between 0.9 and 0.98 times the speed at which the tape is pulled from the continuous loop.

4. The combination according to claim 3 including a post extending from the lower wall of the housing with the platen having a hub with an opening therein for receiving the post, permitting rotation of the platen and the drive pulley about the post.

5. The combination according to claim 1 further including a braking surface in the cartridge housing; means for movably mounting the pressure roller in the cartridge housing; and means for biasing the pressure roller against the braking surface when the tape cartridge is removed from the recorder/reproducer, engagement of the pressure roller by the capstan in the recorder/reproducer releasing the pressure roller from engagement with the braking surface.

6. The combination according to claim 5 wherein the cartridge housing has upper and lower walls, with a slot in the upper wall, -wherein. the pressure roller is mounted on a shaft which is pivotally mounted on the lower wall of the housing at one end, the other end of the shaft being placed in the slot in the upper wall of the housing, and wherein the biasing means is a spring means, engagement of the pressure roller by said capstan overcoming the spring means to move the shaft of the pressure roller within the slot to place the pressure roller in an operating position out of engagement with the braking surface.

7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein the 8. The cor'nbma ion according to claim 1 wherein the drive means includes a belt drive linkage between a first pulleydriven by said pressure roller and a second' pulley for driving said platen, and said clutch connecting said second pulley to said platen for moving the same as a unit.

9. The combination according to claim 8 wherein the clutch is a single spring clutch.

10. The combination according to claim 8 wherein the clutch is a double layer spring clutch.

11. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said clutch provides a positive drive between said pressure roller and the platen, with the platen being driven by the rotation of the pressure roller, and said clutch further providing for free rotation of said platen with the same being driven faster than said drive means.

12. A tape cartridge having a continuous loop of tape for use in a recorder/reproducer having a capstan for driving the tape through the cartridge, the cartridge including in combination:

a cartridge housing substantially enclosing the continuous tape loop;

a platen rotatably mounted in the housing for supporting a tape loop;

a pressure roller rotatably mounted in the housing and adapted to be engaged and driven by said'capstan in the recorder/reproducer;

a transducer receiving opening in the cartridge;

means for driving the platen at a predetermined rate of speed with respect to the speed at which the pressure roller is driven whenever the pressure roller is driven by said capstan;

a clutch;

said driving means including a belt drive linkage between a first pulley attached to said pressure roller and a second pulley connected by said clutch to rotatable mounting means for said platen;

said belt drive linkage, second pulley and clutch being attached to one of the top and bottom sides of said platen;

said belt drive linkage and first pulley being attached to the same one of said top and bottom sides of said pinch roller as said platen; and 7 said clutch comprising slots radiating from the axis of the rotatable mounting means and opening toward the platen, and teeth on the base of said platen to engage said slots, said slots and teeth engaging for clutching during positive drive of said driving means, and disengaging when said platen is driven faster than said driving means.

Claims

1. A tape cartridge having a continuous loop of tape for use in a recorder/reproducer having a capstan for driving the tape through the cartridge, the cartridge including in combination: a cartridge housing substantially enclosing the continuous tape loop; a platen rotatably mounted in the housing for supporting the tape loop; a pressure roller rotatably mounted in the housing and adapted to be engaged and driven by the capstan in a recorder/reproducer; a transducer receiving opening in the cartridge; means for guiding the tape from the loop past the transducer receiving opening, over the pressure roller and back to the loop; drive means including a mechanical drive linkage between the pressure roller and the platen for driving the platen at a predetermined rate of speed with respect to the speed at which the pressure roller is driven by said capstan; a clutch connected between said drive means and platen, said clutch disconnecting said drive means from said platen with said platen being moved in a predetermined direction relative to said drive means.

2. The combination according to claim 1 further including means for locking the pressure roller against rotation, said locking means being released when the pressure roller is driven by said capstan.

6. The combination according to claim 5 wherein the cartridge housing has upper and lower walls, with a slot in the upper wall, wherein the pressure roller is mounted on a shaft which is pivotally mounted on the lower wall of the housing at one end, the other end of the shaft being placed in the slot in the upper wall of the housing, and wherein the biasing means is a spring means, engagement of the pressure roller by said capstan overcoming the spring means to move the shaft of the pressure roller within the slot to place the pressure roller in an operating position out of engagement with the braking surface.

7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein the braking surface constitutes a portion of the cartridge housing adjacent an opening for receiving said capstan of the recorder/reproducer.

8. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the drive means includes a belt drive linkage between a first pulley driven by said pressure roller and a second pulley for driving said platen, and said clutch connecting said second pulley to said platen for moving the same as a unit.

12. A tape cartridge having a continuous loop of tape for use in a recorder/reproducer having a capstan for driving the tape through the cartridge, the cartridge including in combination: a cartridge housing substantially enclosing the continuous tape loop; a platen rotatably mounted in the housing for supporting a tape loop; a pressure roller rotatably mounted in the housing and adapted to be engaged and driven by said capstan in the recorder/reproducer; a transducer receiving opening in the cartridge; means for driving the platen at a predetermined rate of speed with respect to the speed at which the pressure roller is driven whenever the pressure roller is driven by said capstan; a clutch; said driving means including a belt drive linkage between a first pulley attached to said pressure roller and a second pulley connected by said clutch to rotatable mounting means for said platen; said belt drive linkage, second pulley and clutch being attached to one of the top and bottom sides of said platen; said belt drive linkage and first pulley being attached to the same one of said top and bottom sides of said pinch roller as said platen; and said clutch comprising slots radiating from the axis of the rotatable mounting means and opening toward the platen, and teeth on the base of said platen to engage said slots, said slots and teeth engaging for clutching during positive drive of said driving means, and disengaging when said platen is driven faster than said driving means.