Automatic tape reel mount

Claim 2

An automatic reel mount assembly adapted for transferring a magnetic tape reel and the like having an outer peripheral edge and substantially flat surfaces on opposite sides thereof between an upright storage position and an upright tape drive position in spaced relation to the upright storage position, said automatic reel mount assembly comprising: a chuck assembly including circumferentially spaced, reel-engaging members, reel-engaging control means being activated to selectively advance said reel-engaging members between a reel-engaging position and a released position with respect to the reel, and chuck drive means mounting said chuck assembly for advancement between said upright storage and tape drive positions, said chuck drive means including first chuck drive means for advancement of said chuck assembly between said storage and tape drive positions, and second chuck drive means for advancing said chuck assembly in a direction substantially perpendicular to and toward the side surface of a reel disposed at one of said storage and tape drive positions whereby to position said reel-engaging members on one side of the reel for engagement with the reel in response to activation of said reel-engaging control means.

Claim 3

An automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 1, further including rotational support means associated with said chuck for imparting rotation to said reel-engaging members about a central axis through said chuck assembly.

Claim 4

An automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 1, said chuck drive means including third chuck drive means mounting said chuck assembly on said first chuck drive means and operative to selectively advance said chuck assembly in a direction perpendicular to the direction of advancement of said first and second chuck drive means.

Claim 5

An automatic reel mount assembly adapted for transferring a magnetic tape reel and the like having an outer peripheral edge and substantially flat surfaces on opposite sides thereof between a storage station and tape drive station spaced from the storage station, said automatic reel mount assembly comprising: a chuck assembly including circumferentially spaced, reel-engaging members arranged at substantially equally spaced circumferential intervals about the central axis of said chuck assembly, and reel-engaging control means operative to radially advance said reel-engaging members between a reel-engaging position and a released position with respect to the reel, first carriage drive means mounting said chuck assembly for advancement in a direction perpendicular to the axes of said storage and tape drive stations, and second carriage drive means associated with said first carriage drive means for advancing said chuck assembly in an axial direction toward and away from each of said storage and tape drive stations whereby to position said reel-engaging members on one side of the reel for engagement with the reel in response to activaTion of said reel-engaging control means.

Claim 6

An automatic reel mount assembly adapted for transferring a magnetic tape reel and the like having an outer peripheral edge and substantially flat surfaces on opposite sides thereof between a storage station and tape drive station spaced from the storage station, said automatic reel mount assembly comprising: a chuck assembly including circumferentially spaced, reel-engaging members arranged at substantially equally spaced circumferential intervals about the central axis of said chuck assembly, and reel-engaging control means operative to radially advance said reel-engaging members between a reel-engaging position and a released position with respect to the reel, first carriage drive means mounting said chuck assembly for advancement in a direction perpendicular to the axes of said storage and tape drive stations, and second carriage drive means associated with said first carriage drive means for advancing said chuck assembly in an axial direction toward and away from each of said storage and tape drive stations whereby to position said reel-engaging members on one side of the reel for engagement with the reel in response to activaTion of said reel-engaging control means.

Claim 7

An automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 4, said chuck assembly having reel-engaging members defined by radially extending arms at equally spaced circumferential intervals, cam means associated with each arm and selectively operable to radially extend and retract said arms in unison, each of said arms having reel-engaging slide members at their outer ends yieldingly engageable with the side surface of a tape reel, and reel sensing means to sense engagement of the slide members with the surface of a tape reel.

Claim 8

An automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 5 wherein the tape cartridge includes an outer peripheral rim in surrounding relation to the outer peripheral edge of a tape reel, said slide members being movable radially under the control of said cam means into engagement with the peripheral rim of the tape cartridge to positively engage the tape cartridge.

Claim 9

An automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 5, said cam means including an inner cam ring having cam tracks at spaced circumferential intervals and aligned with said reel arms, each of said reel arms having a cam follower bearing movable in said cam track, and drive means for selectively rotating said cam ring to impart inward and outward radial movement to said reel arms through said cam tracks.

Claim 10

An automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 7, each of said cam tracks being defined by inner and outer slotted portions in communication with one another to impart radial movement to said cam follower and attached reel arm in response to rotation of said each respective cam track.

Claim 11

An automatic reel mount assembly for transferring a magnetic tape cartridge having an outer peripheral rim in surrounding relation to a tape reel between first and second storage stations and a tape drive station wherein the tape cartridge is mounted in an upright position at each station and the first and second storage stations are spaced vertically with respect to one another and are spaced horizontally from and facing in the same direction as said tape drive station, said automatic reel mounting assembly comprising: a chuck including circumferentially spaced, reel-engaging arms and reel-engaging arm control means operative to selectively extend and retract said reel-engaging arm members between a reel-engaging position engaging the peripheral rim of the tape reel cartridge and a retracted, release position away from the rim of the tape reel cartridge, first chuck drive means mounting said chuck for advancement in a vertical direction over a distance corresponding to the vertical spacing between said first and second storage stations, said first chuck drive means including a stationary guide frame mounted between said tape drive station and said first and second storage stations to guide vertical movement of said first chuck drive means, second chuck drive means associated with said first chuck drive means and operative to selectively advance said chuck assembly horizontally in a direction toward and away from each of said storage and tape drive stations, and third chuck drive means associated with said first and second chuck drive means and operative to horizontally advance said chuck in a direction perpendicular to the movement of said first and second chuck drive means.

Claim 12

An automatic reel mount assembly for transferring a magnetic tape cartridge having an outer peripheral rim in surrounding relation to a tape reel between first and second storage stations and a tape drive station wherein the tape cartridge is mounted in an upright position at each station and the first and second storage stations are spaced vertically with respect to one another and are spaced horizontally from and facing in the same direction as said tape drive station, said automatic reel mounting assembly comprising: a chuck including circumferentially spaced, reel-engaging arms and reel-engaging arm control means operative to selectively extend and retract said reel-engaging arm members between a reel-engaging position engaging the peripheral rim of the tape reel cartridge and a retracted, release position away from the rim of the tape reel cartridge, first chuck drive means mounting said chuck for advancement in a vertical direction over a distance corresponding to the vertical spacing between said first and second storage stations, said first chuck drive means including a stationary guide frame mounted between said tape drive station and said first and second storage stations to guide vertical movement of said first chuck drive means, second chuck drive means associated with said first chuck drive means and operative to selectively advance said chuck assembly horizontally in a direction toward and away from each of said storage and tape drive stations, and third chuck drive means associated with said first and second chuck drive means and operative to horizontally advance said chuck in a direction perpendicular to the movement of said first and second chuck drive means.

Claim 13

An automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 9, said vertical guide frame being of open rectangular configuration, a vertical guideway on the front of said vertical guide frame, and a vertically movable carriage bed mounted for vertical travel along said guide way.

Claim 14

An automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 10, said vertical guide frame including a counterweight assembly counterbalancing the weight of said carriage bed in its vertical travel along the front guideway and power transmission means including a drive motor operative to cause vertical advancement of said carriage bed along said guide way.

Claim 15

An automatic reel mount asSembly according to claim 11, said second chuck drive means having an upright frame mounted for horizontal advancement along the upper surface of said vertically movable carriage bed, and power transmission means on said vertically movable carriage bed for reversibly driving said upright frame in a horizontal direction.

Claim 16

An automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 12, said third chuck drive means including a horizontally extending carriage bed mounted on said upright frame for lengthwise movement in a direction transversely of the movement of said vertical frame, and power transmission means for imparting movement to said horizontally extending carriage bed with respect to said upright frame.

Claim 17

An automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 9, said third chuck drive means having an elongated horizontal carriage bed mounted for lengthwise movement with respect to said second chuck drive means, and said chuck mounted for movement lengthwise of said horizontal carriage bed in response to longitudinal movement of, and in the same direction as, said carriage bed.

Claim 18

An automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 14, said elongated horizontal carriage bed having transducers adjacent to opposite ends thereof, and transducer sensing means on said second chuck drive means operative to transmit a signal in response to movement of a leading edge of one of said transducers across said transducer sensing means.

Claim 19

An automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 14, said third chuck drive means including a reversible drive motor, power transmission belt means traversing the substantial length of said carriage bed and reversibly driven by said drive motor, means operatively connecting said power transmission belt means to said second chuck drive means on one side of said carriage bed, and connecting means operatively connecting said chuck to said power transmission belt means on the opposite side of said horizontal carriage bed, the point of connection of said chuck to said power transmission belt means being adjacent to one end of said carriage bed when said second chuck drive means is located at the opposite end of said carriage bed on the opposite side thereof whereby the effective distance of travel of said chuck is substantially twice the distance of travel of said horizontal carriage bed when said carriage bed is moved lengthwise by said power transmission belt means.

Claim 20

An automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 14, said chuck being journaled for rotation with respect to said horizontal carriage bed, a detent on said horizontal carriage bed, and a control arm on said chuck engageable with said detent when said chuck is advanced longitudinally with respect to said carriage bed to impart limited rotation to said chuck.

Claim 21

In an automatic reel mount assembly wherein a tape reel is mounted in a tape cartridge having an outer peripheral rim in surrounding relation to the tape reel including an inwardly directed peripheral edge portion extending along one face of the tape reel, said tape reel being disposable at one of a plurality of stations with the one face of the tape reel and peripheral edge of the tape cartridge exposed, a chuck for selectively engaging and disengaging said tape reel comprising: a plurality of radially extending arms disposed at equally spaced circumferential intervals, each arm including a yieldable slide member at the outer end of each arm, and means biasing each slide member in a direction transversely of and forwardly away from its respective arm, cam means associated with the inner end of each arm including drive means selectively energizable to drive said cam means in one direction to cause outward radial movement of said arms and to drive said cam means in the opposite direction causing inward radial retraction of said arms, chuck control means for aligning said chuck in facing relation to a tape reel disposed at a station and for driving said chuck in a direction axially of the tape reeL to force said slide members into engagement with the face of the reel inwardly of the peripheral edge of the tape cartridge whereby to overcome the biasing means and cause said slide members to be shifted rearwardly with respect to said arms, and said chuck control means being further operative to reverse movement of said chuck in a direction away from the face of the tape reel, and reel sensing means responsive to retraction of said slide members against the face of said reel to energize said cam drive means in a direction causing outward radial extension of said arms to a position forcing said slide members into engagement with the peripheral edge of said tape cartridge whereby the tape reel is removable from one station by said chuck for transverse to another station.

Claim 22

In an automatic reel mount assembly wherein a tape reel is mounted in a tape cartridge having an outer peripheral rim in surrounding relation to the tape reel including an inwardly directed peripheral edge portion extending along one face of the tape reel, said tape reel being disposable at one of a plurality of stations with the one face of the tape reel and peripheral edge of the tape cartridge exposed, a chuck for selectively engaging and disengaging said tape reel comprising: a plurality of radially extending arms disposed at equally spaced circumferential intervals, each arm including a yieldable slide member at the outer end of each arm, and means biasing each slide member in a direction transversely of and forwardly away from its respective arm, cam means associated with the inner end of each arm including drive means selectively energizable to drive said cam means in one direction to cause outward radial movement of said arms and to drive said cam means in the opposite direction causing inward radial retraction of said arms, chuck control means for aligning said chuck in facing relation to a tape reel disposed at a station and for driving said chuck in a direction axially of the tape reeL to force said slide members into engagement with the face of the reel inwardly of the peripheral edge of the tape cartridge whereby to overcome the biasing means and cause said slide members to be shifted rearwardly with respect to said arms, and said chuck control means being further operative to reverse movement of said chuck in a direction away from the face of the tape reel, and reel sensing means responsive to retraction of said slide members against the face of said reel to energize said cam drive means in a direction causing outward radial extension of said arms to a position forcing said slide members into engagement with the peripheral edge of said tape cartridge whereby the tape reel is removable from one station by said chuck for transverse to another station.

Claim 23

In an automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 18, said chuck journaled on said chuck control means, and rotating means for imparting limited rotation of said chuck with respect to said chuck control means.

Claim 24

In an automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 18, said cam means including a cam ring, cam tracks positioned on said cam ring at spaced circumferential intervals aligned with the inner ends of said radially extending arms, cam followers disposed at the inner ends of each of said arms and movable in said cam tracks to impart radial movement to said arms in response to rotation of said cam ring.

Claim 25

In an automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 18, each of said slide members including a housing at the outer end of each arm, said biasing means disposed in each of said housings behind said slide members to normally displace said slide members in a direction transversely of and projecting away from each respective arm and each slide member including a radially outwardly extending lip dimensioned to be wedged between the inner peripheral edge of the tape cartridge and the face of the tape reel to effect positive engagement therewith.

Claim 26

In an automatic reel mount assembly according to claim 21, said chuck further including a cushion on its front surface engagement with the face of the tape reel as said slide members move into engagement with the face of the tape reel.