Tape loading apparatus for a tape recorder

A loading apparatus for a video tape recorder includes a loading arm, a chassis formed with a pair of guide holes and, a pair of loading set members for setting a tape to a loading position which are guided by the pair of guide holes. In the loading apparatus, a single loading arm is provided. The pair of loading set members are reciprocatingly moved through a pair of connection plates.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to an improvement in a loading apparatus for 
a video tape recorder. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
A video tape recorder is provided with a loading apparatus which draws a 
video tape from a cassette to wind it over a rotary head. This 
conventional loading apparatus has a pair of loading arms rotated by means 
of a drive source. A pair of loading set members are supported on the 
loading arms to set the video tape to both loading positions. Power 
transmission means are interposed between the drive source and the pair of 
loading arms to rotate the latter through the power transmission means. 
Each loading set member is reciprocated between a loading position and an 
unloading position so that when loading takes place. the video tape is 
drawn from the cassette to wind it over the rotary head whereas when 
unloading takes place, the video tape is pulled into the cassette. 
In the conventional loading apparatus for a video tape recorder, the 
loading arms and power transmission means are provided on the pair of 
loading set members, and therefore, the number of parts for the loading 
apparatus increases to make the structure complicated. In addition, 
assembling becomes cumbersome and the entire video tape recorder is 
dfficult to make it compact. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a loading 
apparatus which can minimize the number of parts to simplify the structure 
and facilitate assembling, thus providing a compact video tape recorder. 
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a loading 
apparatus for a video tape recorder comprising a loading arm rotated by a 
drive source, a chassis formed with a pair of guide holes which extend 
from an unloading position to loading positions on both sides of a rotary 
head, a pair of loading set members for setting a video tape to the 
loading position, said members being guided by the pair of guide holes, 
respectively, the pair of loading set members and the loading arm being 
connected through a pair of swinging connection plates so that as the 
loading arm rotates, the pair of loading set members may be reciprocated 
between the loading position and the unloading position. 
According to the above-described arrangement, when the loading arm is 
rotated by the drive source, the pair of connection plates are swung 
accordingly, and the pair of loading set members are reciprocated between 
the loading position and the unloading position along the guide holes 
formed in the chassis to perform loading and unloading of the video tape.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 5, a chassis 1 for a video cassette tape 
recorder has side plates 2, 3 secured to both ends threreof. Slide plates 
4, 5 are provided externally of the side plates 2, 3. The slide plates 4, 
5 are slidable in a lateral direction (in a direction as indicated at 
arrow A--A in FIG. 1) and can be moved together through connection plates 
6, 7. Reference numerals 8, 9, 10 denote holder lifting gears for moving 
the slide plates 4, 5 forward and backward. A rack 11 is secured to the 
slide plate 4 as shown in FIG. 6 and engages the lifting gear 10. A 
cassette holder 12 is disposed between the side plates 2 and 3. Guide pins 
13, 13' are provided on both sides of the cassette holder 12. The side 
plates 2, 3 are formed with L-shaped guide holes 2a, 3a, and the slide 
plates 4, 5 are formed with inclined cam holes 4a (one of which is not 
shown). The guide pins 13, 13' are inserted into the L-shaped guide holes 
2a, 3a and inserted into the inclined cam holes 4a (the other of which is 
not shown). When the slide plates 4, 5 are moved forward and backward, the 
cassette holder 12 is moved upward and downward by cooperation of the 
L-shaped guide holes 2a, 3a, the inclined cam holes 4a (the other of which 
is not shown) and the guide pins 13, 13'. In FIG. 6, the cassette holder 
12 is shown at a waiting position before the cassette is set. 
In FIG. 7, a cam gear 14 is mounted on the chassis 1. Secured to the 
chassis 1 is a loading motor 15 which is a drive source for the loading 
apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5. Provided on an output shaft of 
the loading motor 15 is a worm 16 with which meshes a worm wheel 17 
mounted on the chassis 1. A swinging lever 18 is provided coaxially on the 
worm wheel 17, a gear 19 is mounted on the swinging lever 18 as shown in 
FIG. 4, the gear 19 being meshed with a pinion 17a integral with the worm 
wheel 17. A switching gear 19a is provided integral with the gear 19. This 
switching gear 19a is disposed between the gear 8 and the cam gear 14 so 
that the gear 19a may be selectively meshed with the gear 8 and the cam 
gear 14. 
The cam gear is formed with a spiral cam groove 20. This cam groove 20 is 
composed of an internal small-diameter concentric circular cam portion 
20a, an external large-diameter concentric circular cam portion 20b and a 
cam portion 20c fixed therto. Inserted into the cam groove 20 are an 
engaging pin 23 of a sector gear 22 pivoted at 21 to the chassis 1 as 
shown in FIG. 8 and an engaging pin 26 of a control plate driving lever 25 
pivoted at 24 to the chassis 1. 
A pinion 27 is meshed with the sector gear 22, the pinion 27 being mounted 
on the underside of the chassis 1. A loading arm 28 is provided integral 
with the pinion 27. The cam gear 14, the sector gear 22 and the pinion 27 
approximately constitute power transmission means for transitting power of 
the loading motor 15 to the loading arm 28. Loading set members 31, 32 are 
provided on the loading arm 28 through connection plates 29, 30, and guide 
rollers 33, 34 and inclined guide posts 35, 36 are provided on the loading 
set members 31, 32 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The loading set members 31, 
32 are guided along guide holes 37, 38 as shown in FIG. 1. Reference 
numeral 39 denotes a rotary head. 
The loading arm 28, the connection plates 29, 30, the loading set members 
31, 32 and the guide holes 37, 38 approximately constitute the loading 
apparatus for the video tape recorder, the detail of which will be 
described later. Next, a pinch roller support plate 40 will be described. 
The pinch roller support plate 40 is disposed in the proximity of the 
loading arm 28 (see FIG. 7). The pinch roller support plate 40 has its 
intermediate portion pivoted at 41 to the chassis 1 as shown in FIG. 9. A 
pinch roller 42 is mounted on one end of the pinch roller support plate 
40. A circular guide slot 43 is formed in a pinch roller support plate 
portion between the pinch roller support plate 40 and the first pivot 41, 
and a circular guide slot 44 is formed in the vicinity of the pinch roller 
support plate 40 on the chassis 1. 
One end of a connection link 45 is pivoted to the loading arm 28 as shown 
in FIG. 7, and a connection shaft 46 is pivoted to the other end of the 
connection link 45. The connection shaft 46 is inserted into the guide 
slot 44 and inserted into a slot 40a formed in the pinch roller support 
plate 40. When the pinch roller support plate 40 is rotated clockwise 
around the first pivot 41, the pinch roller 41 comes closer to a capstan 
shaft 47. 
The capstan shaft 47 is provided integral with a flywheel 48 as shown in 
FIG. 1. The flywheel 48 is operatively connected through a pulley 50 and a 
belt 51 to a drive motor 49 secured to the chassis 1. Reference numeral 52 
denotes a supply reel shaft mounted on the chassis 1, 53 a winding reel 
shaft mounted on the chassis 1, 54 a drive pulley mounted on the chassis 1 
between the supply reel shaft 52 and the winding reel shaft 53, and 55 a 
drive gear integral with the drive pulley 54. An intermediate portion of 
an L-shaped swinging arm 56 is provided coaxial with the drive gear 55, 
and an idle gear 57 meshed with the drive gear 55 is mounted on one end of 
the swinging arm 56. Further, reference numeral 56 denotes an arm pivoted 
at 58a to the chassis 1 in the proximity of the winding reel shaft 53, 59 
a pulley mounted on one end of the arm 58, and 60 an idle gear integral 
with the pulley 59. The pulley 59 and pulley 54 are operatively connected 
to a pulley 62 integral with the flywheel 48 through a belt 61. An 
engaging pin 63 projected on the other end of the arm 58 is projected on 
the chassis 1 from a slot 64 of the chassis 1. 
An intermediate portion of an approximately T-shaped control lever 63 is 
pivoted at a second pivot 66 to one leading edge end of the chassis 1. A 
control plate 67 is mounted movably forward and backward relative to the 
second pivot in the vicinity of the leading edge of the chassis 1. The 
control plate is formed at one end thereof with a laterally extending slot 
68, and is formed at an intermediate portion thereof with an idler 
controlling cam hole 69. The control plate 67 is formed at the other end 
thereof with an upwardly bent pinch roller controlling cam hole 70 as 
shown in FIG. 1. The control plate 67 is formed at one side in the central 
portion thereof with brake lever control cams 71, 72, and formed at one 
side on the other side thereof with a clutch pawl 67a projected. 
An engaging pin 73 of the control plate driving lever 225 is inserted into 
the slot 68 through a slot 74 of the chassis 1. A follower pin 75 
projected on the swinging arm 56 is inserted into the idler controlling 
cam hole 69. A follower pin 76 projected on one end of the control lever 
65 is inserted into the pinch roller controlling cam hole 70, and arm 
portions 77a, 78a of T-shaped brake levers 77, 78 pivoted to the chassis 1 
are brought into contact with the brake lever control cams 71, 72, 
respectively. A spring 79 is stretched between distal ends of the brake 
levers 77, 78, and free ends of the brake levers 77, 78 are placed face to 
a reel base 52a of the supply reel shaft 52 and a reel base 53a of the 
winding reel shaft 53, respectively. 
One end of a connection plate 80 is pivoted at 81 to a portion between one 
end of the control lever 63 and the second pivot 66. An engaging pin 82 is 
projected on the other end of the connection plate 80, the engaging pin 82 
being inserted into the slot 43 of the pinch roller support plate 40. A 
roller pressing spring 83 is stretched between the other end of the pinch 
roller supplort plate and the other end of the control lever 65. The 
intermediate arm portion 65a of the control lever 65 is in contact with 
the engaging pin 63. 
Next, the detailed construction of the loading apparatus for the cassette 
tape recorder constructed as described above will be explained. 
The guide holes 37, 38 are formed in the chassis 1 as shown in FIG. 1. The 
terminal end of the guide hole near the rotary head 39 is the loading 
position, and the beginning end of the guide hole on the opposite side is 
the unloading position. Locating loading blocks 84, 85 for controlling the 
position of the loading set members 33, 34 are provided at the loading 
position, the blocks 84, 85 are secured to the chassis 1. Projected from 
one end of each of the connection plates 29, 30 are connection shafts 86, 
87. The loading arm 28 is formed with loose-fit holes 88, 89, and the 
connection shafts 86, 87 are inserted into the holes 88, 89. A winding 
shaft 90 is projected in the center of the loading arm 28 with the holes 
88, 80 sandwiched therebetween. A torsional coil spring 91 is wound around 
the winding shaft 90. The torsional coil spring 91 has one end 91a placed 
in contact with the connection shaft 87 and the other end 91b placed in 
contact with the connection shaft 86. The loading set members 31, 32 are 
rotatably supported by a shaft 92 on the other ends of the connection 
plates 29, 30. The inclined posts 35, 36 are inclined corresponding to an 
inclined angle of the rotary head 39. The torsional coil spring 91 has a 
function to bias the connection plates 29, 30 in the unloading direction 
as shown in FIG. 14 when the video tape is unloaded, whereas biasing the 
connection plates 29, 30 in the loading direction as shown in FIG. 15 when 
the tape is loaded. 
In the following, the operation of the loading apparatus for the cassette 
tape recorder will be described along with other structures and setting 
conditions. 
In FIG. 1, the swinging lever 18 is rotated toward the cam gear 14 to cause 
the switching gear 19a to mesh with the cam gear 14. Then, this rotation 
is transmitted to the cam gear 14 through the worm 16, the worm wheel 17, 
the gear 19 and the switching gear 19a. Thereby, the cam gear 14 is 
rotated clockwise or counterclockwise. At this time, the sector gear 22 is 
rotated about the axis 21 counterclockwise or clockwise by the action of 
the cam groove 20 and engaging pin 23. On the other hand, the control 
plate driving lever 25 is rotated counterclockwise or clockwise by the 
action of the cam groove 20 and engaging pin 26. The rotational operations 
of the sector gear 22 and control plate driving lever 25 may be performed 
alternately by the action of the cam groove 20. 
The semiclockwise rotation of the sector gear 22 (rotation in the direction 
indicated at B of FIG. 11) is transmitted to the loading arm 28 through 
the pinion 27 to rotate the loading arm 28 clockwise. Thereby, the loading 
set members 31, 32 are reciprocated toward the loading positions on both 
sides of the rotary head 39 along the guide holes 37, 38. At that time, 
the pinch roller support plate 49 is also rotated clockwise by the 
connection link 45 as shown by the arrow C in FIG 12. 
On the other hand, the rotation of the control plate driving lever 25 is 
transmitted to the control plate 67 through the slot 68 and engaging pin 
73 whereby the control plate 67 is slidably displaced rightward or 
leftward in FIG. 1. 
As this sliding displacement occurs, when the follower pin 76 is at the 
right end of the pinch roller controlling cam hole 70, the follower pin 75 
is positioned at the right end of the idler controlling cam hole 69. At 
this position, the follower pin 75 is restricted in upward displacement 
but not restricted in downward displacement. Thus, the swinging arm 56 can 
be turned leftward but cannot be turned rightward. Therefore, the idle 
gear 57 can mesh with the reel gear 52b of the supply reel shaft 52 but 
cannot mesh with the reel gear 53b of the winding reel shaft 53. Also, at 
this position, since the intermediate arm portion 65a of the control lever 
65 presses the engaging pin 63 of the arm 58 against the resiliency of the 
belt 61 as shown in FIG. 12, the idle gear 60 of the arm 58 is parted from 
the clutch 53c of the winding reel shaft 53. 
When the control plate 57 moves rightward from said position to move the 
follower pin 76 to the top of the central bent portion of the pinch roller 
controlling cam hole 70 as shown in FIG. 13, the control lever 65 is 
rotated clockwise around the second pivot 66 against the resiliency of the 
roller pressing spring 83. Thereby, the pressing of the engaging pin 63 by 
the intermediate arm portion 65a of the control lever 65 is released, and 
the arm 58 is rotated toward the clutch gear 53c by the resiliency of the 
belt 61 with the result that the idle gear 60 is brought into engagement 
with the clutch gear 53c. At that time, the connection plate 80 is 
displaced upwardly, and the pinch roller support plate 40 is rotated 
clockwise around the first pivot 41 from the pressible position toward the 
pressing position by the force of the roller pressing spring 83 with the 
result that the pinch roller 42 brings the tape TP into pressure contact 
with the capstan shaft 47. At that time, the slot 42a rotates the pinch 
roller support plate 40 without being restricted by the connection link 
45. At this position, the upward and downward movements of the follower 
pin 76 are restricted by the action of the narrow portion of the idler 
controlling cam hole 70, the idle gear 57 is at the neutral position 
relative to the reel gears 52b, 53b. 
When the control plate 67 is displaced rightward and the follower pin 76 is 
moved to the left end of the pinch roller controlling cam hole 70, the 
control lever 65 is rotated counterclockwise around the second pivot 66 by 
means of the force of the roller pressing spring 83. Thereby, the 
connection plate 80 is displaced downwardly in FIG. 1, and the pinch 
roller support plate 40 is rotated counterclockwise around the first pivot 
41 toward the pressible position with the result that the pinch roller 42 
is parted from the capstan shaft 47. Since at this position, the follower 
pin 75 is displaced within the narrow portion of the idler controlling cam 
hole 69, the follower pin 75 may be displaced upward and downward. 
Thereby, the swinging arm 56 is rotated rightward or leftward according to 
the rotating direction of the drive gear 55 so that the idle ger 57 is 
meshed with the reel gear 52b or 53b to rewind and quickly feed the tape 
TP. 
In the loading apparatus for the video tape recorder in accordance with the 
present invention, a single loading arm is used and a pair of loading set 
members for setting a video tape to a loading position are reciprocated 
through a pair of connection plates. With this arrangement, the loading 
apparatus can be constituted by the decreased number of parts as compared 
with the conventional loading apparatus to simplify the structure and 
facilitate assembling, and in addition, the entire video tape recorder may 
be made compact. The present invention has various advantages as just 
mentioned.