Tape cartridge positioning apparatus

Claim 1

A tape cartridge positioning apparatus for an endless magnetic tape cartridge player, the player including a player housing with an opening through which an endless magnetic tape cartridge is laterally inserted, and a deck in the player housing on which the cartridge is deposited and to which are mounted a rotary capstan for driving the tape in the cartridge and at least one magnetic head adapted to transduce the tape comprising: a cartridge moving lever provided on said player deck reciprocally movable in the direction perpendicular to the insertable movement of said cartridge and engageable with inserted cartridges in the player housing and on the deck for moving the cartridge from a predetermined nonplay position away from the capstan and the magnetic head into a play position where the cartridge is played by the capstan and the magnetic head and back into the nonplay position: a tension spring coupled to the cartridge moving lever for biasing the cartridge moving lever in the direction that the cartridge is moved from the nonplay position into the play position; a latch means engageable with the cartridge moving lever when the cartridge moving lever is in a first position where the cartridge is to be inserted is held in the player housing for its play or in a second position where the cartridge is moved into the play position; a solenoid coupled to the latch means for moving the latch means into the position where the latch means is disengaged from the cartridge moving lever when the solenoid is energized: a control circuit for controlling operation of the solenoid, said control circuit including at least one switch closed in response to insertion of the cartridge into a position where it is held by the cartridge moving lever at the first position, a power source for energizing the solenoid, a circuit for applying the current from said power source to the solenoid in pulse fashion and operating the solenoid in pulse fashion when the switch is closed, and a manual operating switch manually operated and closed for ending the play and then operating the solenoid in aid of said power source, said cartridge moving lever being moved from the first position into the second position by the bias of the tension spring in response to closing of said switch and operation of the solenoid in pulse fashion at the sage time the cartridge is moved into the play position by the cartridge moving lever; a lever moving means for moving the cartridge moving lever from the second position into the first position against the bias of the tension spring, said lever moving mean including a swing lever swingably provided on the deck, a frictional idler wheel rotatably provided on said swing lever, a cam rotatably provided on said swing lever, and means for reducing rotation of said wheel and imparting said rotation to said cam, said swing lever being moved by the cartridge moving lever to a position where said wheel abuts against the capstan when the solenoid is energized by the control circuit and the latch means is moved into a position where it is disengaged from the cartridge moving lever in the second position, said wheel being rotatably driven by abutment with the capstan to rotate said cam, the cartridge moving lever being in contact with said cam under the influence of the tension spring and being moved by rotation of the cam against the bias of the tension spring to rotate the cam through about a turn and then bEing returned to the first position and engaged by the latch means, said cam being rotated through a turn and disengaged from the cartridge moving lever to extinguish abutment force between said wheel and the capstan to stop rotation of the wheel and the cam, the cartridge being moved from the play position into the nonplay position by the cartridge moving lever when the cartridge moving lever is returned to the first position.