Tape transport apparatus

Claim 2

A tape transport apparatus comprising a pair of reels of recording tape forming supply and take-up reels, an annular rotating member for simultaneously driving both said reels by surface engagement with the outermost layer of tape on each reel, said annular rotating member and said reels being mounted for rotational movement, said reels being movably mounted relatively to said annular rotAting member so as to allow for a variation in the spacing between the axis of said annular rotating member and the axes of said reels, means for providing a bias between said reels and said annular rotating member so as to produce a compressive force of substantially the same magnitude at the two locations of surface engagement between said annular rotating member and said two reels, respectively, and cause the spacing between the axis of said annular rotating member and the axes of said take-up and supply reels to increase and decrease, respectively, during the tape transporting operation, and brake means for said supply reel, said brake means having a reel-size dependent braking characteristic such that a decreasing braking torque is exerted on said supply reel as the spacing between the axis of said annular rotating member and the axis of said supply reel decreases during said operation and, hence, substantially constant tape tension maintained in the section of tape between said two locations of tape engagement regardless of the variation in reel sizes.

Claim 3

A tape transport apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said annular rotating member has a tape engaging peripheral portion of resilient material of a thickness large enough to enable said reels to be smoothly driven by said capstan and small enough to allow for sufficient slippage between said peripheral portion and said tape at said two locations of tape engagement to permit said section of tape between said two locations to be so tensioned by the action of said brake means.

Claim 4

A tape transport comprising a pair of reels of recording tape forming supply and take-up reels, an annular rotating member for simultaneously driving both said reels by surface engagement with the outermost layer of tape on each reel while permitting a predetermined amount of slippage therebetween, said annular rotating member and said reels being mounted for rotational movement, said reels being movably mounted relatively to said annular rotating member so as to allow for a variation in the spacing between the axis of said annular rotating member and the axes of said reels, means for providing a bias between said reels and said annular rotating member so as to produce a compressive force of substantially the same magnitude at the two locations of surface engagement between said annular rotating member and said two reels, the magnitude of said compressive force being low enough to permit said required slippage but high enought to insure the reliable and smooth drive of said two reels by said capstan, said bias causing the spacing between the axis of said annular rotating member and the axes of said take-up and supply reels to increase and decrease, respectively, during the tape transporting operation, and brake means for said supply reel, said brake means having a reel-size dependent braking characteristic such that the braking torque exerted on said supply reel changes substantially in direct proportion to the spacing between the axis of said annular rotating member and the axis of said supply reel, whereby the tape tension in the section of tape between said two locations of surface engagement is maintained substantially constant.

Claim 5

A tape transport comprising a pair of reels of recording tape forming supply and take-up reels, an annular rotating member for simultaneously driving both said reels by surface engagement with the outermost layer of tape on each reel while permitting a predetermined amount of slippage therebetween, said annular rotating member and said reels being mounted for rotational movement, said reels being movably mounted relatively to said annular rotating member so as to allow for a variation in the spacing between the axis of said annular rotating member and the axes of said reels, means for providing a bias between said reels and said annular rotating member so as to produce a compressive force of substantially the same magnitude at the two locations of surface engagement between said annular rotating member and said two reels, the magnitude of said compressive force being low enough to permit said required slippage but high enought to insure the reliable and smooth drive of said two reels by said capstan, said bias causing the spacing between the axis of said annular rotating member and the axes of said take-up and supply reels to increase and decrease, respectively, during the tape transporting operation, and brake means for said supply reel, said brake means having a reel-size dependent braking characteristic such that the braking torque exerted on said supply reel changes substantially in direct proportion to the spacing between the axis of said annular rotating member and the axis of said supply reel, whereby the tape tension in the section of tape between said two locations of surface engagement is maintained substantially constant.

Claim 6

A tape transport apparatus comprising a pair of axles each for carrying a reel of recording tape, the corresponding tape reels forming supply and take-up reels, a capstan, two carriages each rotatably supporting a corresponding one of said axles and each mounted to allow movement of said axles towards or away from the axis of said capstan, means for yieldingly biasing both of said carriages toward said capstan to produce compressive forces between said tape and said capstan of substantially the same magnitude at the two locations of engagement between said capstan and said two reels, respectively, and cause both said reels to be simultaneously driven by surface engagement between said capstan and the outermost layer of tape on each reel, so that the carriage of the supply reel and that oF the take-up reel are bodily moved towards and away from said capstan, respectively, during the tape transporting operation and said transport apparatus also comprising, as a part thereof, brake means having a reel-size dependent braking characteristic, for each of said two axles to restrict the rotational movement thereof and means operatively and physically interposed between each of said brake means and the corresponding axle for making only the brake means for the axle of said supply reel effective.

Claim 7

A tape transport apparatus comprising a pair of axles each for carrying a reel of recording tape, the corresponding tape reels forming supply and take-up reels, a capstan, two carriages each rotatably supporting a corresponding one of said axles and each mounted to allow movement of said axles towards or away from the axis of said capstan, means for yieldingly biasing both of said carriages toward said capstan to produce compressive forces between said tape and said capstan of substantially the same magnitude at the two locations of engagement between said capstan and said two reels, respectively, and cause both said reels to be simultaneously driven by surface engagement between said capstan and the outermost layer of tape on each reel, so that the carriage of the supply reel and that oF the take-up reel are bodily moved towards and away from said capstan, respectively, during the tape transporting operation and said transport apparatus also comprising, as a part thereof, brake means having a reel-size dependent braking characteristic, for each of said two axles to restrict the rotational movement thereof and means operatively and physically interposed between each of said brake means and the corresponding axle for making only the brake means for the axle of said supply reel effective.

Claim 8

A tape transport apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said brake means is mounted on the frame of said transport apparatus.

Claim 9

A tape transport apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said interposed means comprises unidirectional clutches.

Claim 10

A tape transport apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said brake means include automatically acting braking torque control means, the last-mentioned means causing the braking torque exerted on said supply reel to decrease as the spacing between said capstan and the axis of said supply reel decreases during said operation.

Claim 11

A tape transport apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein each said operatively interposed means comprises a clutch designed to unidirectionally grip the corresponding axle and wherein each said brake means comprises a brake arm pivoted on the frame of said apparatus and urged against the outer cylindrical surface of the corresponding clutch to frictionally engage said cylindrical surface.

Claim 12

A tape transport apparatus comprising a pair of axles each for carrying a reel of recording tape, the corresponding tape reels forming supply and take-up reels, a capstan, two carriages each rotatably supporting a corresponding one of said axles and each mounted to allow movement of said axles towards or away from the axis of said capstan, means for yieldingly biasing both of said carriages toward said capstan to produce compressive forces between said tape and said capstan of substantially the same magnitude at the two locations of engagement between said capstan and said two reels, respectively, and cause both said reels to be simultaneously driven by surface engagement between said capstan and the outermost layer of tape on each reel, so that the carriage of the supply reel and that of the take-up reel are bodily moved towards and away from said capstan, respectively, during the tape transporting operation and said transport apparatus also comprising, as a part thereof, brake means for each of said two axles to restrict the rotational movement thereof and means operatively interposed between each of said brake means and the corresponding axle for making only the brake means for the axle of said supply reel effective; each said interposed means comprising a unidirectional clutch designed to unidirectionally grip the corresponding axle and each said brake means comprising a brake arm pivoted on the frame of said apparatus and resiliently urged against the outer cylindrical surface of the corresponding clutch to frictionally engage said cylindrical surface, said brake arm being pivoted at a point outside of the range of movement of the axis of the corresponding carriage so that the braking torque exerted on said supply reel is indirectly proportional to the difference between the distance of said point and the axis of said carriage from the periphery of said capstan.

Claim 13

A tape transport apparatus comprising a pair of axles each for carrying a reel of recording tape, the corresponding tape reels forming supply and take-up reels, a capstan, two carriages each rotatably supporting a corresponding one of said axles and each mounted to allow movement of said axles towards or away from the axis of said capstan, means for yieldingly biasing both of said carriages toward said capstan to produce compressive forces between said tape and said capstan of substantially the same magnitude at the two locations of engagement between said capstan and said two reels, respectively, and cause both said reels to be simultaneously driven by surface engagement between said capstan and the outermost layer of tape on each reel, so that the carriage of the supply reel and that of the take-up reel are bodily moved towards and away from said capstan, respectively, during the tape transporting operation and said transport apparatus also comprising, as a part thereof, brake means for each of said two axles to restrict the rotational movement thereof and means operatively interposed between each of said brake means and the corresponding axle for making only the brake means for the axle of said supply reel effective; each said interposed means comprising a unidirectional clutch designed to unidirectionally grip the corresponding axle and each said brake means comprising a brake arm pivoted on the frame of said apparatus and resiliently urged against the outer cylindrical surface of the corresponding clutch to frictionally engage said cylindrical surface, said brake arm being pivoted at a point outside of the range of movement of the axis of the corresponding carriage so that the braking torque exerted on said supply reel is indirectly proportional to the difference between the distance of said point and the axis of said carriage from the periphery of said capstan.

Claim 14

A tape transport apparatus comprising a pair of axles each for carrying a reel of recording tape, the corresponding tape reels forming supply and take-up reels, a capstan, two carriages each rotatably supporting a corresponding one of said axles and each mounted to allow movement of said axles towards or away from the axis of said capstan, means for yieldingly biasing both of said carriages toward said capstan to produce compressive forces between said tape and said capstan of substantially the same magnitude at the two locations of engagement between said capstan and said two reels, respectively, and cause both Said reels to be simultaneously driven by surface engagement between said capstan and the outermost layer of tape on each reel, so that the carriage of the supply reel and that of the take-up reel are bodily moved towards and away from said capstan, respectively, during the tape transporting operation and said transport apparatus also comprising, as a part thereof, brake means for each of said two axles to restrict the rotational movement thereof and means operatively interposed between each of said brake means and the corresponding axle for making only the brake means for the axle of said supply reel effective; each said interposed means comprising a unidirectional clutch designed to unidirectionally grip the corresponding axle and each said brake means comprising a brake arm pivoted on the frame of said apparatus and resiliently urged against the outer cylindrical surface of the corresponding clutch to frictionally engage said cylindrical surface, each said clutch being fixedly mounted for rotation in a boss of the corresponding carriage and the brake arm of the corresponding brake means extending through a window in said boss.

Claim 15

A tape transport apparatus comprising a pair of axles each for carrying a reel of recording tape, the corresponding tape reels forming supply and take-up reels, a capstan, two carriages each rotatably supporting a corresponding one of said axles and each mounted to allow movement of said axles towards or away from the axis of said capstan, means for yieldingly biasing both of said carriages toward said capstan to produce compressive forces between said tape and said capstan of substantially the same magnitude at the two locations of engagement between said capstan and said two reels, respectively, and cause both Said reels to be simultaneously driven by surface engagement between said capstan and the outermost layer of tape on each reel, so that the carriage of the supply reel and that of the take-up reel are bodily moved towards and away from said capstan, respectively, during the tape transporting operation and said transport apparatus also comprising, as a part thereof, brake means for each of said two axles to restrict the rotational movement thereof and means operatively interposed between each of said brake means and the corresponding axle for making only the brake means for the axle of said supply reel effective; each said interposed means comprising a unidirectional clutch designed to unidirectionally grip the corresponding axle and each said brake means comprising a brake arm pivoted on the frame of said apparatus and resiliently urged against the outer cylindrical surface of the corresponding clutch to frictionally engage said cylindrical surface, each said clutch being fixedly mounted for rotation in a boss of the corresponding carriage and the brake arm of the corresponding brake means extending through a window in said boss.

Claim 16

A tape transport as claimed in claim 10 wherein the distance of said pivot point from the periphery of said capstan is chosen so that said braking torque changes substantially in direct proportion to the distance of the axis of said carriage from said periphery.

Claim 17

A tape transport as claimed in claim 11 wherein the midpoint of the distance of said pivot point from the periphery of said capstan is chosen so as to substantially coincide with the midpoint of said range of movement.

Claim 18

A tape transport apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein there are provided means for adjusting the resilient force by which said brake arm is urged against said cylindrical surface.

Claim 19

A tape transport apparatus comprising a pair of axles each for carrying a reel of recording tape, the corresponding tape reels forming supply and take-up reels, a capstan, two carriages each rotatably supporting a corresponding one of said axles and each mounted to allow movement of said axles towards or away from the axis of said capstan, means for yieldingly biasing both of said carriages toward said capstan to produce compressive forces between said tape and said capstan of substantially the same magnitude at the two locations of engagement between said capstan and said two reels, respectively, and cause both said reels to be simultaneously driven by surface engagement between said capstan and the outermost layer of tape on each reel, so that the carriage of the supply reel and that of the take-up reel are bodily moved towards and away from said capstan, respectively, during the tape transporting operation and said transport apparatus also comprising, as a part thereof, brake means for each of said two axles to restrict the rotational movement thereof and means operatively interposed between each of said brake means and the corresponding axle for making only the brake means for the axle of said supply reel effective; and for ensuring low-friction movement of each said carriage towards or away from said capstan, there being mounted on opposite sides of the frame of said apparatus two guideways, and each said carriage carrying a pair of rollers journaled at spaced and relatively fixed points on one side of said carriage for engagement with one of said guideways and additionally carrying, journaled on the opposite side of said carriage, a third roller resiliently urged towards the other guideway for engagement therewith.

Claim 20

A tape transport apparatus comprising a pair of axles each for carrying a reel of recording tape, the corresponding tape reels forming supply and take-up reels, a capstan, two carriages each rotatably supporting a corresponding one of said axles and each mounted to allow movement of said axles towards or away from the axis of said capstan, means for yieldingly biasing both of said carriages toward said capstan to produce compressive forces between said tape and said capstan of substantially the same magnitude at the two locations of engagement between said capstan and said two reels, respectively, and cause both said reels to be simultaneously driven by surface engagement between said capstan and the outermost layer of tape on each reel, so that the carriage of the supply reel and that of the take-up reel are bodily moved towards and away from said capstan, respectively, during the tape transporting operation and said transport apparatus also comprising, as a part thereof, brake means for each of said two axles to restrict the rotational movement thereof and means operatively interposed between each of said brake means and the corresponding axle for making only the brake means for the axle of said supply reel effective; and for ensuring low-friction movement of each said carriage towards or away from said capstan, there being mounted on opposite sides of the frame of said apparatus two guideways, and each said carriage carrying a pair of rollers journaled at spaced and relatively fixed points on one side of said carriage for engagement with one of said guideways and additionally carrying, journaled on the opposite side of said carriage, a third roller resiliently urged towards the other guideway for engagement therewith.

Claim 21

A tape transport apparatus as claimed in claim 14 wherein said guideways comprise cylindrical rods mounted on said frame for engagement by said pair of rollers and said third roller, respectively.

Claim 22

A tape transport apparatus as claimed in claim 14 wherein, for providing low-friction movement of each said carriage towards or away from said capstan, there are mounted on opposite sides of the frame of said apparatus two guIdeways having V-shaped guide faces and wherein two corresponding V-shaped guide faces are formed on opposite sides of each said carriage, a nest of bearing balls being interposed in parallel relationship between each cooperating pair of said V-shaped guide faces.

Claim 23

A tape transport apparatus comprising a pair of axles each for carrying a reel of recording tape, the corresponding tape reels forming supply and take-up reels, a capstan, two carriages each rotatably supporting a corresponding one of said axles and each mounted to allow movement of said axles towards or away from the axis of said capstan, means for yieldingly biasing both of said carriages toward said capstan to cause both said reels to be simultaneously driven by surface engagement between said capstan and the outermost layer of tape on each reel, so that the carriage of the supply reel and that of the take-up reel are bodily moved towards and away from said capstan, respectively, during the tape transporting operation and said transport apparatus also comprising, as a part thereof, brake means having a reel-size dependent braking characteristic, for each of said two axles to restrict the rotational movement thereof and means operatively and physically interposed between each of said brake means and the corresponding axle for making only the brake means for the axle of said supply reel effective, each said interposed means comprising a unidirectional clutch gripping the corresponding axle in only one direction of rotation of the clutch, the clutch being freewheeling in the opposite direction, and each said brake means comprising means resiliently urged against the outer cylindrical surface of the corresponding clutch to frictionally engage said cylindrical surface.

Claim 24

A tape transport apparatus comprising a pair of axles each for carrying a reel of recording tape, the corresponding tape reels forming supply and take-up reels, a capstan, two carriages each rotatably supporting a corresponding one of said axles and each mounted to allow movement of said axles towards or away from the axis of said capstan, means for yieldingly biasing both of said carriages toward said capstan to cause both said reels to be simultaneously driven by surface engagement between said capstan and the outermost layer of tape on each reel, so that the carriage of the supply reel and that of the take-up reel are bodily moved towards and away from said capstan, respectively, during the tape transporting operation and said transport apparatus also comprising, as a part thereof, brake means having a reel-size dependent braking characteristic, for each of said two axles to restrict the rotational movement thereof and means operatively and physically interposed between each of said brake means and the corresponding axle for making only the brake means for the axle of said supply reel effective, each said interposed means comprising a unidirectional clutch gripping the corresponding axle in only one direction of rotation of the clutch, the clutch being freewheeling in the opposite direction, and each said brake means comprising means resiliently urged against the outer cylindrical surface of the corresponding clutch to frictionally engage said cylindrical surface.

Claim 25

A tape transport apparatus comprising a pair of axles, each for carrying a reel of recording tape, the corresponding two reels forming supply and take-up reels, an annular rotating member rotatably mounted to the frame of said tape transport apparatus for simultaneously driving both said reels by surface engagement with the outermost layer of tape on each reel, two carriages each rotatably supporting the corresponding one of said axles, low-friction means between said carriages and said frame for enabling each said carriage to be bodily moved towards or away from said annular rotating member, means for yieldingly and substantially equally biasing both of said carriages toward said annular rotating member so that both said reels are simultaneously driven by surface engagement between said annular rotating member and the outermost layer of tape on each reel and that the carriage of the supply reel and that of the take-up reel are bodily moved towards and away from said annular rotating member, respectively, during the tape transporting operation, and selectively operable brake means for said reels, said lowfriction means including two guidways mounted on opposite sides of the frame of said apparatus and three rollers carried by each said carriage, two of said rollers being journaled at spaced and relatively fixed points on one side of said carriage for engagement with one of said guideways and the third roller being journaled on the opposite side of said carriage and resiliently urged toward the other guideway for engagement therewith.

Claim 26

A tape transport apparatus comprising a pair of axles, each for carrying a reel of recording tape, the corresponding two reels forming supply and take-up reels, an annular rotating member rotatably mounted to the frame of said tape transport apparatus for simultaneously driving both said reels by surface engagement with the outermost layer of tape on each reel, two carriages each rotatably supporting the corresponding one of said axles, low-friction means between said carriages and said frame for enabling each said carriage to be bodily moved towards or away from said annular rotating member, means for yieldingly and substantially equally biasing both of said carriages toward said annular rotating member so that both said reels are simultaneously driven by surface engagement between said annular rotating member and the outermost layer of tape on each reel and that the carriage of the supply reel and that of the take-up reel are bodily moved towards and away from said annular rotating member, respectively, during the tape transporting operation, and selectively operable brake means for said reels, said lowfriction means including two guidways mounted on opposite sides of the frame of said apparatus and three rollers carried by each said carriage, two of said rollers being journaled at spaced and relatively fixed points on one side of said carriage for engagement with one of said guideways and the third roller being journaled on the opposite side of said carriage and resiliently urged toward the other guideway for engagement therewith.