A housing with one side open to form an entrance for a tape cassette, a slider within the housing and movable toward and away from the entrance, a spring pressing the slider toward the entrance, a latch retaining the spring cassette in the housing against the pressure of said spring, reel-retaining inserts for insertion into the hub of the tape spools, the inward and outward movement relative to the spool hubs being controlled by movement of the slider in the housing, in certain instances the insert being mounted on the slider and in other instances the insert being mounted on the housing.

Holders for tape cassettes

Apparatus for handling test-sample carriers in the form of elongate rectangular containers, each of which can accommodate a number of test-sample holders to be brought to a treatment station one after the other, comprises a rectangular table having two adjacently situated longitudinally extending zones each provided with a pair of parallel longitudinally extending conveyor belts respectively movable in opposite directions. The containers loosely rest in a transverse position on such belts by means of protrusions provided on their undersides. At the end of each zone, a stop is provided for arresting the containers. For the transverse displacement of the containers, on each end of the table there is provided a pin or roller which is eccentrically connected to a rotatable shaft such that the pin or roller can perform a rotary movement in the plane of the sidewall of a container bearing against the stop and which cooperates with slot-shaped recesses provided in the relevant sidewall of each container.

Transport device for test sample carriers

A plurality of modules are removeably mounted in a rack. At least one of the modules is a drive module including a tape drive and at least one of the modules is a storage module including a carrousel for removeably receiving a plurality of magnetic tape cartridges. The storage module includes mechanisms for rotating the carrousel to present a selected cartridge to a withdrawal and replacement position. The drive and storage modules have track segments which are aligned in end-to-relation. A robot carries the selected cartridge between the carrousel and the tape drive. The robot includes a carriage mounted for traveling along the track segments and a gripper for gripping and releasing the selected cartridge. The system further comprises a control and sequencing circuit for rotating the carrousel, moving the carriage and operating the gripper.

Mass storage and retrieval system for magnetic tape cartridges

Playback, recording, and stop button plates are slidably mounted in parallel on a base plate When pressed, the recording button plate engages the playback button plate so as to be locked to a recording position A seesaw lever, which has a lock strip capable of engaging the playback button plate, is located in a plane across the sliding direction of the playback button plate and attached to the front wall of the base plate An ejecting plate capable of engaging the stop button plate detects the difference between the displacement of the seesaw lever in the playback or recording mode and that in the stop mode The stop button plate performs a stopping function without engaging the ejecting plate in the playback and recording modes, and engages the ejecting plate to perform cassette ejection in the stop mode

Cassette tape recorder

A data transfer system using cassettes with a tape drive is configured with a number of removable cassettes stored in front to rear alignment adjacent one side (e.g. the bottom) of the tape drive. Cassettes in a removable cassette tray in a magazine are disposed in two levels, and shifted between entry and exit regions of the cassette tray after each successive cassette is derived from the tape drive and a new one is supplied. A transporter moves the individual cassette between the cassette tray and the tape drive. Advantageously, this system is configured to fit into the form factor of a standard height enclosure, with a high density DAT format tape drive occupying the upper half and the cassette tray and magazine occupying the lower half.

Loader mechanism for tape cartridge systems

A tape recorder for detecting a pause portion between signal bands on a tape while the tape is being moved at a higher speed than a tape-playing speed and for playing back a signal band from its beginning. The tape recorder has a tape-moving drive for moving a tape at a tape-playing speed, winding drive for moving the tape at a higher speed than the tape-playing speed, operating linkage for bringing the winding drive into its operative state, holding linkage for holding the operating means linkage at an operative position, a transducing head for reproducing signals recorded on the tape according to movement of the tape, an electric amplifier connected to the head, a detecting circuit coupled to the amplifier to detect a pause portion between signal bands on the tape, an electromagnet responsive to the pause portion detected by the detecting circuit while the tape is being moved by the winding drive, a driving device driven by a motor, and releasing linkage for releasing the operating linkage from the holding linkage upon engagement of the driving device with the releasing linkage so that the winding drive is brought into its inoperative state when the releasing linkage is actuated by the electromagnet upon detection of the pause portion on the tape.

Tape recorder with automatic release from fast speed by sensing pauses between recorded material

A tape cartridge changer is provided which comprises in combination a tray for receiving a plurality of cartridges each of which has a magnetic tape therein, a tape deck which includes tape moving means and magnetic heads to record and playback the tape, cartridge exchanging means for successively translating the cartridges from the tray into the tape deck so as to engage the cartridges with the tape deck, and means for intermittently driving the tray to successively convey the cartridges to a position corresponding to an insertion opening of the tape deck in every cycle of said cartridge exchanging means. If desired, operating means may be provided with which an operator can manually exchange the cartridge being played for the next cartridge and can manually stop the exchanging cycle.

Tape cartridge changer

A TRAY FOR A TAPE CARTRIDGE CHANGER. THE TRAY IS PROVIDED WITH A FRAME WHICH IS CAPABLE OF RECEIVING A PLURALITY OF TAPE CARTRIDGES ARRANGED SIDE BY SIDE IN A LINE, AND HAS SUPPORTING MEANS WHICH ARE MOUNTED ON THE FRAME FOR ENGAGING THE SIDE FACES OF THE CARTRIDGES TO HOLD THEM IN THE FRAME. THE SUPPORTING MEANS ARE MOVABLE SO THAT AT LEAST ONE OF THE CARTRIDGES CAN FREELY MOVE THROUGH THE TRAY WHEN THE TRAY IS LOADED ON A TAPE CARTRIDGE CHANGER.

Tray for tape cartridge changer

A device to detect the arrival of a tape end when movement of the tape is terminated includes a capstan driven by a motor. A pressure roller is rotatably mounted on an arm to move a tape by means of cooperation with the capstan. A rotating member is rotatably mounted on the arm coaxially with the pressure roller and is driven by the capstan. An actuating element is mounted fixedly on the rotating member, and a driven means is engageable with the actuating element upon the termination of the movement of the tape.

Device for detecting a tape end in a tape recorder

A tape end detecting device for a tape recorder comprising a follower member biased by a tape reel roller member against a cam formed integrally with a motor driven fly wheel so that when transport of the tape is completed the follower is engaged by an activating member also integral with the fly wheel so as to unlatch an associated control member and restore the tape transport to its original stop condition.

Kozu Isao

Papers

Tape recorder with automatic release from fast speed by sensing pauses between recorded material

Tape cartridge changer

Tray for tape cartridge changer

Device for detecting a tape end in a tape recorder

Tape end detecting device for tape recorder