Coaxial tape cartridge

Claim 2

A tape cartridge comprising a housing having a front wall with an opening therein, a shaft supported on said housing and traversing the interior thereof, a pair of coaxial reels and a single coaxial spirally wound spring rotatably mounted on said shaft and within said housing, said reels being adapted to carry magnetic tape, each reel comprising a disc and a circular rim depending from said disc, the reels being axially spaced with the rims projecting toward each other whereby said rims and discs define an annular cavity, an annular case disposed within said cavity, said spring having inner and outer ends and being disposed within said case with the inner end thereof nonrotatably connected to one of said reels, means for securing said case to the other of said reels, means for connecting the outer end of said spring to said case whereby said spring urges said reels to rotate in opposite directions, and means for guiding the portion of tape extending between said reels to present the same adjacent said opening.

Claim 3

The cartridge according to claim 1 in which said other reel has an integral hub sleeve extending into said cavity and within said spring, and means for interconnecting the inner end of said spring and said hub sleeve.

Claim 4

The cartridge according to claim 2 in which said last named means comprises a coupler to which said spring is secured, said coupler being coaxially disposed about and nonrotatably connected to said sleeve.

Claim 5

A tape cartridge comprising a rectangular housing having integral side, rear and front walls and covers permanently secured to opposite edges of said walls, a circular shaft supported on said covers transversely of the interior of said housing, first and second reels disposed within said housing coaxially of said shaft, each of said reels comprising a circular disc, an annular rim connected to said disc proximate to the outer edge thereof, and axially spaced flanges defining with said rim an annular groove for storing magnetic tape, said first reel having an integral multi-sided hub sleeve with a circular bore, said shaft extending through said bore, a spring case disposed coaxially of said shaft within said first and second reels, said case having an annular outer wall, a spirally wound spring contained within the wall of said spring case, a coupler permanently secured to the inner end of said spring and having a multi-sided opening therein, said sleeve of the first reel being inserted into said opening of the coupler whereby the first reel is directly mechanically interconnected to the inner end of said spring, means for connecting the outer end of said spring to said case, and means for connecting the disc of the second reel to the outer wall of said case whereby said second reel is mechanically interconnected to the outer end of the spring. 5 The cartridge according to claim 4 in which said wall of the spring case has a notch, the outer end of said spring being disposed in said notch.

Claim 6

The cartridge according to claim 4 in which said front wall has an opening therein, back-up roller means rotatably and yieldably mounted on said covers at said front wall opening, and means for urging said back-up roller means towards said front wall opening comprising a U-shaped spring extending generally parallel to the said front wall with the frEe ends thereof engaging said roller means on the opposite side from said front wall, and intermediate and remote post means secured to said covers at successively greater distances from said roller means, said spring being disposed on the rear side of the remote post means and on the front side of the intermediate post means whereby to bias said roller means toward said front wall.