Magnetic-tape cassette with pivotal, nesting cover

A magnetic-tape cassette comprises a housing containing a magnetic tape, part of which extends across an opening in the front side of the housing which opening can be covered by a front cover of channel section which is pivotable on the housing at or near a corner thereof. In addition to being pivotable the front cover is also slidable on the housing when in the open position into a retracted position in which it extends along a side wall of the housing. In the retracted position the flanges of the channel-section front cover are received in, and substantially completely fill, recesses which are formed in the outer surfaces of the major walls of the cassette housing adjacent said side wall thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to a magnetic-tape cassette having a pivotal cover 
for the opening through which tape is pulled out or scanned; and 
particularly to such a cassette comprising a housing having first and 
second major walls, lying substantially in parallel planes, two side 
walls, a rear wall and a front side with a front opening between the major 
walls; two rotatable reels arranged adjacent each other between the major 
walls; a magnetic-tape which is attached to the reels and part which 
extends across said front opening of the housing for cooperation with 
parts of a magnetic-tape apparatus; and at least one front cover of 
channel section which is pivotable between an open position and a closed 
position about an axis which is disposed perpendicularly to the major 
walls at or near a front corner of the housing, which front cover is 
constructed to cover at least partly the front opening of the housing in 
the closed position and is connected to the housing in such a way as to be 
slidable relative to the housing between an extended position and a 
retracted position in which the front cover extends along one of the side 
walls of the housing. 
Such a magnetic-tape cassette is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,150. This 
known magnetic-tape cassette comprises a front cover which is movable 
between a closed position, in which it covers the front of the cassette 
housing, and a fully retracted position, in which the cover is positioned 
against the near wall of the housing. In a partly retracted position the 
cover is disposed adjacent a side wall of the housing. The shape of the 
housing and the front cover is such that the cover, when it is in the 
last-mentioned position, is situated almost completely beside the side 
wall of the housing, so that in this position the overall width of the 
cassette is substantial. If in this position the magnetic-tape cassette is 
slid over a frame plate of a magnetic-tape apparatus towards the magnetic 
heads of the apparatus in the customary manner, the front cover 
consequently projects from the side of the cassette for some distance. 
This means that the magnetic-tape apparatus must have sufficient room to 
accommodate the front cover, with the result that the magnetic-tape 
apparatus becomes unnecessarily large. 
From U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,619 it is known to provide at least a part of the 
front cover with portions situated in the planes of the major walls. The 
cover of this invention is automatically pivoted to a position extending 
in front of the cassette, upon insertion into a cassette compartment. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the invention to provide a magnetic-tape cassette of the 
type mentioned in the opening paragraph which can be inserted into a 
magnetic-tape apparatus with a sliding movement and whose front cover when 
open requires minimal space in the magnetic-tape apparatus. 
To this end the invention is characterized in that the flanges of the 
channel-section front cover lie substantially in the planes of the major 
walls of the cassette housing both in the closed position and in the 
retracted position of the front cover, and in that recesses are formed in 
the outer surfaces of said major walls adjacent said one of the side walls 
of the housing to receive the flanges of the front cover in the retracted 
position. 
Thus, when its front cover is in the retracted position, the cassette 
according to the invention has overall dimensions, both in a direction 
perpendicular to the major walls of the housing and in the lateral 
direction of the cassette, which do not differ significantly from the 
overall dimensions in the closed position of the front cover. This makes 
the cassette very suitable for use in compact equipment. 
In this way it is also possible to obtain a magnetic-tape cassette in which 
the front cover two does not project from the front of the cassette 
housing in the retracted position. 
For mounting the front cover on the housing of the magnetic-tape cassette 
the invention utilizes the flanges of the cover, which are eminently 
suitable for arranging the front cover in such a way that it is both 
pivotable and slidable. 
An embodiment of the invention is characterized in that each of the flanges 
of the front cover is formed with a slot, projections extend 
perpendicularly from the outer surfaces of the major walls of the cassette 
housing at or near their front corners, and the flanges cooperate 
pivotally and slidably with the cassette housing by means of these 
projections, which pivotally and slidably engage in the slots in the 
flanges. This embodiment has the advantage that the front cover itself can 
be of simple shape, owing to the fact that it has no projecting pivot 
portions. These portions are formed on the housing of the magnetic-tape 
cassette, which housing is generally manufactured by means of an 
injection-molding process, which process is eminently suitable for the 
formation of the desired projecting pivot portions. The front cover may, 
for example, be manufactured from a metal sheet by means of simple 
stamping and bending operations, the desired slots being formed during 
stamping. 
In order to minimize the risk of damage to or contamination of the magnetic 
tape when handling the magnetic-tape cassette outside a magnetic-tape 
apparatus, an embodiment of the invention is of interest which comprises 
latching means for latching the front cover in the closed position, and 
which is characterized in that the latching means comprise relieved 
surfaces or steps which are formed in the outer surfaces of the major 
walls of the cassette housing along the front edges thereof to receive 
portions of the flanges of the front cover when the cover is in the closed 
position, the arrangement being such that the front edges of the major 
walls are thereby gripped between the flanges of the cover. 
An embodiment of the invention in which the front cover can be opened 
easily by a magnetic-tape apparatus is characterized in that the front 
cover comprises uneven portions which are cooperable with opening means on 
a magnetic-tape apparatus for swinging open the front cover and moving it 
to the retracted position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The housing 1 of the magnetic-tape cassette shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is 
rectangular and comprises two substantially identical housing sections 1A 
and 1B which are manufactured from a plastic by means of a suitable 
process. The housing sections 1A and 1B comprise two similar major walls 
2A and 2B respectively which lie substantially in parallel planes. 
The two major walls are interconnected by side walls 3 and 4 and a rear 
wall 5. Opposite the rear wall 5 the housing 1 has an open front side. 
Rotatable winding reels 6 and 7 with reel hubs 8 and 9 through which the 
reels can be driven by a magnetic tape apparatus, are arranged adjacent 
one another between the major walls. As shown at 10 and 11, a magnetic 
tape 12 is wound on the reels. A part 13 of the magnetic tape 12 extends 
across the opening at the front of the housing 1 and can thus cooperate 
with parts of a magnetic-tape apparatus, such as magnetic heads, capstans 
and pressure rollers and means which can be positioned behind the part 13 
of magnetic tape in order to withdraw it slightly from the housing. At the 
front of the cassette housing two front covers 14 and 15 are arranged, 
which covers are pivotable about axes which are disposed perpendicularly 
to the major walls 2A and 2B of the cassette housing or near the two front 
corners thereof. In the closed position (see front cover 15 in FIG. 1 or 
in FIG. 2) each front cover covers one half of the front opening of the 
cassette housing. Each front cover, as is indicated by the curved arrow P 
for the cover 15, can be pivoted from the closed position into an open 
position, represented by dash-dot lines for the cover 15. 
In the open position, each front cover, as is indicated by the arrow Q, for 
the cover 15, is also slidable along the adjacent side wall 3 or 4 of the 
cassette housing. In the position represented by the dash-dot lines in 
FIG. 1 the front cover 15 is in an extended open position, from which it 
can be slid along the side wall 4 into a retracted open position, not 
shown. The front cover 14 is shown in its retracted position. In the 
retracted position the front covers extend along the side walls of the 
cassette housing, so that the total space occupied by the cassette on a 
magnetic-tape apparatus when the front covers are in this retracted open 
position is substantially no different from the total space occupied by 
the cassette when the front covers are in the closed position. 
The front cover 14 is of channel section with flanges which lie 
substantially in the planes of the major walls 2A and 2B and form 
shielding portions 16 and 17 for shielding the edges of the part 13 of the 
magnetic tape 12 which extends across the front opening of the cassette 
housing. The front cover 15 also is of channel section with flanges which 
form shielding portions 18 and 19 in an identical manner. Shallow recesses 
2C and 2D are formed in the outer surfaces of the major walls 2A and 2B 
respectively adjacent the side walls 3 and 4 to receive the flanges of the 
front covers 14 and 15 when the covers are in the retracted position. In 
this position the flanges substantially completely fill the recesses 2C 
and 2D, with the web portions 14A and 15A of the covers which extend 
between the flanges lying against the side walls 3 and 4 respectively. The 
two pairs of shielding portions 16, 17 and 18, 19 cooperate pivotally and 
slidably with the housing 1 at or near the front corners 20 and 21 
respectively of the housing. At or near each corner 20 and 21, two 
projections which are integral one with each of the major walls 2A and 2B 
of the housing 1 form a pair of coaxial pivot pins 22 and respectively 23. 
Guide rollers 24 and 25 for guiding the magnetic tape 12 are arranged 
between the major walls 2A and 2B at or near the corners 20 and 21. 
Alternatively, the pins 22 and 23 may be integral with the guide rollers 
24 and 25, which then project from the housing 1 through openings in the 
major walls 2A and 2B. The front covers 14 and 15 are adapted to cooperate 
pivotally with the pivot pins 22 and 23. The front covers are also adapted 
to cooperate slidably with the pivot pins. For this purpose the covers are 
formed with longitudinal slots 26 and 27 in their flanges. The embodiment 
shown has the advantage that owing to the fixed arrangement of the pivot 
pins the pivotal opening movement of the front covers is better defined 
and the front covers have a simple shape. They may for example be stamped 
and bent from a sheet of a suitable metal. 
For latching the front covers in the closed position there are provided 
latching means. These means comprise shallow steps or relieved areas 28 
which are formed in the outer surfaces of the major walls 2A and 2B of the 
cassette housing along the front edges thereof to receive edge portions of 
the flanges of the front covers when the covers are in the closed 
position, the arrangement being such that the front edges of the major 
walls are thereby gripped moderately tightly between the flanges of the 
covers. In this way the front covers are latched in the closed position by 
means of frictional forces. It is alternatively possible to employ 
latching means which comprise inter engaging portions. FIG. 3 shows an 
example of these in detail. Each flange of a channel-section front cover 
115 has a projecting portion 29 with an opening 30. On the major walls 
102A and 102B of the cassette housing projections 31 are provided having a 
diameter which is slightly smaller than that of the openings 30. Further 
projections 32 are adapted to cooperate with openings in the flanges of a 
second front cover. 
FIG. 4 shows that it is alternatively possible to arrange the latching 
means on the front covers only. Two front covers 214 and 215 are shown in 
detail in the closed position in FIG. 4. The front cover 215 has a 
projecting portion 32 which cooperates with an extruded projection 33 on 
the front cover 214. In a similar way the front cover 214 has a projecting 
portion 34 which cooperates with an extruded projection 35 on the front 
cover 215. 
Although one specific embodiment of the embodiment has been described in 
detail many further embodiments are possible within the scope of the 
invention. Instead of two front covers it is possible to employ only one 
front cover. In the embodiment shown, for pivoting the front covers from 
the closed to the open position and for sliding the front covers back from 
the extended to the retracted position, means can be provided on a 
magnetic-tape apparatus which will cooperate frictionally with uneven 
portions of the front covers, for example, on peripheral edge portions of 
the flanges of the covers which are situated concentrically around the 
pivot pins 22 and 23 and the adjoining surface of the web portions 14A and 
15A of the covers. However, it is alternatively possible to provide the 
front covers with different uneven portions such as projecting portions or 
local serrations for cooperation with suitable opening means provided on a 
magnetic-tape apparatus. For latching the front covers it is possible to 
employ resilient means which are situated near the front corners of the 
cassette housing and, when the front covers are in the closed position, 
urge the front covers towards the closed position. Each front cover may, 
for example, be provided with a resilient lug in the part of the front 
cover which extends between the two shielding portions, the lug being 
situated near the respective front corner of the cassette, housing and 
cooperating with a cam-shaped projection on the cassette housing.