Patent ID: 6215611
Filing Date: 2001-04-10
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
A video cassette loading device comprising, in combination:a base situated on a top face of a video cassette playback mechanism;a rotating track assembly including a rotatable track including a plurality of sleeves hingably coupled at inboard ends thereof and having a top slot and an open outboard end, and a plurality of holding brackets each including a vertically oriented upper housing with an open top and outboard face for containing a video cassette therein, a bottom guide fixedly mounted on the upper housing for being releasably received within one of the sleeves and an inverted L-shaped tab mounted on an inboard face of the upper housing, wherein the holding brackets may be rotated about the rotating track assembly;a holding bracket removal assembly including an inverted L-shaped mount with a vertical portion mounted on the base interior of the rotating track assembly and a horizontal portion extending over a front extent of the rotating track assembly, the holding bracket removal assembly further including a remover arm having a top end slidably coupled to the horizontal portion of the mount and a bottom end with a U-shaped configuration for slidably engaging each of the inverted L-shaped tabs of the holding brackets when the holding brackets of the rotatable track are rotated, wherein upon the holding bracket containing a desired video is situated in front of the holding bracket removal assembly, the remover arm engages the holding bracket and slides along the horizontal portion of the mount for removing the same from the associated sleeve of the rotating track assembly;a dust cover mounted on the base and covering the rotating track assembly, the dust cover having a pair of doors which are adapted to be pivoted outwardly upon the removal of one of the holding brackets and video cassette from the rotating track assembly;a pivoting assembly including a post having a lower end pivotally coupled to the base in front of the holding bracket removal assembly with a sleeve portion mounted thereon for slidably engaging the bottom guide of the holding bracket which is removed from the rotating track assembly, the pivoting assembly further including an auxiliary arm having a first end pivotally coupled to the post and a second end pivotally coupled to a horizontal ball screw on the base for effecting the pivoting of the holding bracket and the video cassette from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation upon the sleeve portion being engaged with the holding bracket;an elevator assembly including a pair of motors each mounted on a top of the base in front of the pivoting assembly with a worm gear situated thereon, a pair of vertically oriented threaded rods each having an upper end with a disk-shaped gear in engagement with one of the worm gears for rotating the threaded rods, a pair of threaded tubes screwably engaged with the threaded rods, a platform pivotally coupled to the threaded tubes, wherein the platform is adapted for being transferred between a raised orientation level with the base and a lowered orientation level with the video cassette playback mechanism by way of the worm gears and further adapted for pivoting between a vertical orientation situated within the cover when the platform is in the raised orientation and a horizontal orientation;said elevator assembly further including a retracting mechanism including an inboard arm pivotally mounted to the base, an outboard arm pivotally coupled between the inboard arm and the platform, and a gear mechanism for pivoting the inboard arm which in turn pivots the platform between the vertical orientation and the horizontal orientation thereof, wherein the platform is pivoted to the horizontal orientation upon the opening of the doors of the cover; andan injection unit including a holding means slidably mounted on the platform for sliding between an inboard and outboard edge of the platform for removing the video cassette from the holding bracket upon the pivoting of the ejected holding bracket to the horizontal orientation;wherein the platform is transferred to the lowered orientation upon the video cassette being situated thereon in the horizontal orientation, thereby allowing the injector unit to insert the video cassette within the video cassette playback mechanism.