Magnetic tape recording deck, drive system, and cassette

Claim 2

In a tape handling system a supply roll, a takeup roll, a capstan having a peripheral tape driving surface, a transducer, a capstan drive motor connected to rotate said capstan to move tape past said transducer, a takeup motor connected to rotate said takeup roll in a direction to pull tape from said capstan, a supply motor connected to rotate said supply roll in a direction to withhold tape from said capstan, means sensing the speed of said capstan, and speed control means responsive to said speed sensing means to maintain a predetermined speed of said capstan drive motor; the improvement comprising means forming a loop of tape passing said transducer and contacting a substantial extent of the capstan surface, and tension control means responsive to the drive power supplied to said capstan drive motor and connected to control the opposing power outputs of said takeup motor and said supply motor to maintain tension in the loop of tape.

Claim 3

A system as defined in claim 1, wherein said supply and takeup rolls are mounted on hubs in a cassette and include clutch members at the exterior of said cassette, a quantity of tape fixed at opposite ends to said rolls and transferrable therebetween, an access opening at one edge of said cassette to receive at least a part of said capstan surface into said cassette, guide means guiding the tape between said rolls and forming a free span of tape across said access opening, the span of tape between said guide means being spaced sufficiently from said rolls to allow the tape within said cassette to loop partially around said capstan under the influence of said loop forming means, and complementary clutch members driven from said supply and takeUp motors and mounted to engage said clutch members on said cassette when said cassette is operatively positioned relative to said capstan.

Claim 4

A system as defined in claim 2 wherein all of said clutch members have a driving face construction including circumferentially arranged radially extending tapered teeth.

Claim 5

A system as defined in claim 3, wherein there are clutch members on each end of each hub accessible from opposite sides of said cassette.

Claim 6

A tape handling system comprising wall means defining a cassette receiving cavity having opposed parallel surfaces forming a top and bottom for said cavity and side surfaces for guiding a rectangular relatively thin cassette along a single path into an operative position within said cavity, stop means defining the inner limit of movement of a cassette into said cavity and thus defining the operative position of the cassette, a pair of spaced apart power drive clutch members mounted flush in one of said surfaces and facing into said cavity allowing the cassette to slide over said clutch members in moving along said path, retainer means engageable with a cassette for holding it in said cavity against said stop means, and a capstan rotatably mounted in a fixed position with a peripheral surface of said capstan dimensioned to fit at least partly through an edge of the cassette whereby a portion of said capstan surface extends into a cassette properly located in said cavity.

Claim 7

A tape handling system comprising wall means defining a cassette receiving cavity having opposed parallel surfaces forming a top and bottom for said cavity and side surfaces for guiding a rectangular relatively thin cassette along a single path into an operative position within said cavity, stop means defining the inner limit of movement of a cassette into said cavity and thus defining the operative position of the cassette, a pair of spaced apart power drive clutch members mounted flush in one of said surfaces and facing into said cavity allowing the cassette to slide over said clutch members in moving along said path, retainer means engageable with a cassette for holding it in said cavity against said stop means, and a capstan rotatably mounted in a fixed position with a peripheral surface of said capstan dimensioned to fit at least partly through an edge of the cassette whereby a portion of said capstan surface extends into a cassette properly located in said cavity.

Claim 8

A system as defined in claim 5, including biasing means operable by said retainer means to urge the hub portions of a cassette toward said clutch members.

Claim 9

A tape handling system comprising a supply roll drive spindle, a takeup roll drive spindle spaced from said drive spindle, a capstan spaced from both said spindles, a transducer adjacent to said capstan, a capstan drive motor connected to rotate said capstan to move tape past said transducer, separate supply and takeup drives operative to rotate said spindles simultaneously in opposite directions to pull tape against said capstan, a cassette having an internal cavity and an access opening into said cavity through an edge of the cassette and dimensioned to fit around at least a portion of said capstan and said transducer, spaced apart hub members in said cassette, clutch members rotatably mounted flush with the exterior of said cassette connected to said hub members, a quantity of recording tape on said hub members for movement therebetween during rotation of said hub members, means defining a cassette receiving cavity including guiding walls operating to position the cassette with said capstan and transducer into said access opening, complementary drive clutch members on said spindles and located flush with said guiding walls and spaced to align with and to contact said clutch members of said cassette when the cassette is positioned in the receiving cavity, and means responsive to correct positioning of said cassette in said cassette receiving cavity to urge said clutch members into firm driving engagement.

Claim 10

A tape handling system comprising a supply roll drive spindle, a takeup roll drive spindle spaced from said drive spindle, a capstan spaced from both said spindles, a transducer adjacent to said capstan, a capstan drive motor connected to rotate said capstan to move tape past said transducer, separate supply and takeup drives operative to rotate said spindles simultaneously in opposite directions to pull tape against said capstan, a cassette having an internal cavity and an access opening into said cavity through an edge of the cassette and dimensioned to fit around at least a portion of said capstan and said transducer, spaced apart hub members in said cassette, clutch members rotatably mounted flush with the exterior of said cassette connected to said hub members, a quantity of recording tape on said hub members for movement therebetween during rotation of said hub members, means defining a cassette receiving cavity including guiding walls operating to position the cassette with said capstan and transducer into said access opening, complementary drive clutch members on said spindles and located flush with said guiding walls and spaced to align with and to contact said clutch members of said cassette when the cassette is positioned in the receiving cavity, and means responsive to correct positioning of said cassette in said cassette receiving cavity to urge said clutch members into firm driving engagement.

Claim 11

In a magnetic tape recorder utilizing recording tape contained in a tape cassette having driven hubs for supply and take-up of the tape, the improvement comprising: tape drive means including a deck having a tape drive capstan and a pair of spaced apart drive hubs in predetermined spaced relationship to accommodate said driven hubs of said cassette, a first motor connected to drive said capstan, second and third motors connected to drive respective ones of said drive hubs in opposition to each other, means for guiding said cassette and the recording tape therein into engagement with said capstan, said guiding means including means for forming a length of said recording tape into a loop and placing a portion of said loop into driving engagement with said capstan, means for sensing the power required to drive said first motor when said recording tape is in engagement with said tape drive capstan; means for providing a signal indicative of such power requirement; and automatically operable control means connected to said signal providing means and operative to control tape tension in response to said signal by controlling the outputs of said second and third motors.

Claim 12

In a magnetic tape recorder utilizing recording tape contained in a tape cassette having driven hubs for supply and take-up of the tape, the improvement comprising: tape drive means including a deck having a tape drive capstan and a pair of spaced apart drive hubs in predetermined spaced relationship to accommodate said driven hubs of said cassette, a first motor connected to drive said capstan, second and third motors connected to drive respective ones of said drive hubs in opposition to each other, means for guiding said cassette and the recording tape therein into engagement with said capstan, said guiding means including means for forming a length of said recording tape into a loop and placing a portion of said loop into driving engagement with said capstan, means for sensing the power required to drive said first motor when said recording tape is in engagement with said tape drive capstan; means for providing a signal indicative of such power requirement; and automatically operable control means connected to said signal providing means and operative to control tape tension in response to said signal by controlling the outputs of said second and third motors.

Claim 13

In apparatus utilizing an information recording tape wound into a coil on a hub, the improvement comprising: means for advancing said recording tape from said coil including a capstan for engaging and moving said recording tape and a takeup hub receiving the tape, means coupled to said tape for maintaining substantially constant tape tension during transfer of the tape onto the takeup hub, means defining a loop-like tape advance path, means for locating said capstan within the loop of said tape advance path, guide means for forming tape from said coil directly into a loop and for placing a portion of said loop around part of the periphery of said capstan; and a servo system responsive to the power required to maintain said capstan at a constant speed and connected to said tape tension means to maintain a constant tension in the loop of tape.

Claim 14

In apparatus utilizing an information recording tape wound into a coil on a hub, the improvement comprising: means for advancing said recording tape from said coil including a capstan for engaging and moving said recording tape and a takeup hub receiving the tape, means coupled to said tape for maintaining substantially constant tape tension during transfer of the tape onto the takeup hub, means defining a loop-like tape advance path, means for locating said capstan within the loop of said tape advance path, guide means for forming tape from said coil directly into a loop and for placing a portion of said loop around part of the periphery of said capstan; and a servo system responsive to the power required to maintain said capstan at a constant speed and connected to said tape tension means to maintain a constant tension in the loop of tape.

Claim 15

Tape recording apparatus including a recording tape extending between first and second hubs mounted in a cassette having flat sides and an opening in one of its edges, and guide means supporting a free span of tape across said opening; means for advancing said recording tape including a capstan having a tape driving peripheral surface dimensioned to fit at least partially into said cassette for moving said recording tape, means for moving said span of recording tape from its initial position adjacent said opening into engagement with said capstan, said moving means including means for forming a length of said recording tape into a loop within said cassette and placing a portion of said loop into driving engagement with said surface of said capstan, means coupled to said hubs for tensioning said loop into tight engagement with said capstan, said loop tensioning means including first drive means for rotating one of said hubs and second drive means for oppositely rotating the other said hub, means for driving said capstan including a servo control maintaining the capstan at a constant speed, control means sensing the power required to drive said capstan in moving said tape whereby a reduction in power requirement will indicate too little tension in the tape contacting said capstan, and said control means having outputs regulating said first and second drive means to control tape tension as a function of the power needed to maintain constant capstan speed.

Claim 16

Tape recording apparatus including a recording tape extending between first and second hubs mounted in a cassette having flat sides and an opening in one of its edges, and guide means supporting a free span of tape across said opening; means for advancing said recording tape including a capstan having a tape driving peripheral surface dimensioned to fit at least partially into said cassette for moving said recording tape, means for moving said span of recording tape from its initial position adjacent said opening into engagement with said capstan, said moving means including means for forming a length of said recording tape into a loop within said cassette and placing a portion of said loop into driving engagement with said surface of said capstan, means coupled to said hubs for tensioning said loop into tight engagement with said capstan, said loop tensioning means including first drive means for rotating one of said hubs and second drive means for oppositely rotating the other said hub, means for driving said capstan including a servo control maintaining the capstan at a constant speed, control means sensing the power required to drive said capstan in moving said tape whereby a reduction in power requirement will indicate too little tension in the tape contacting said capstan, and said control means having outputs regulating said first and second drive means to control tape tension as a function of the power needed to maintain constant capstan speed.