Equipment for preventing gaps between previously recorded and newly recorded information on an information carrier

Claim 1

In television equipment operable in a recording and in a reproducing mode, and comprising information carrier means (12), read/write means (16) for recording signals on and reading signals from said information carrier means, means (2) for furnishing information signals to said read/write means when said equipment is operative in said recording mode, synchronization signal generator means (3) for furnishing horizontal and vertical synchronization signals to said information signal furnishing means, means (14, 20, 21, 32, 33) connected to said synchronization signal generator means for driving said record carrier means past said read/write means at a speed controlled by selected ones of said synchronization signals, and means (6) operative under external control for initiating reproduction of a brief section of last-recorded information on said information carrier means prior to recording of next subsequent information thereon, whereby said read/write means furnishes reproduced horizontal and vertical synchronization signals during said reproduction of said brief section of last-recorded information, the improvement comprising means (18, 24) interconnected between said read/write means and said synchronization signal generator means for synchronizing said synchronization signal generator means to predetermined ones of said reproduced synchronization signals; further comprising means (9,30) for automatically switching said equipment to said recording mode when said synchronization signals furnished by said synchronization signal generator means are in synchronism with said reproduced synchronization signals; mode selector means (31) for switching said equipment to said recording mode or to said reproducing mode in response to, respectively, a first or a second mode selector signal; and wherein said automatic switching means comprises an AND gate (9) having a first input connected to said synchronization signal generator means, a second input connected to said read/write means, and an output connected to said mode selector means for furnishing said first mode selector signal thereto.