Patent ID: 8045288

Claim:
A tape drive applicable to either of a thin-type and a thick-type tape cartridges having different case thicknesses respectively in common therewith, wherein said tape drive comprises a loading frame for receiving and supporting said tape cartridge loaded through a loading mouth and a holder for pressing and holding said tape cartridge in cooperation with said loading frame, said loading frame comprises a bottom wall for supporting a lower surface of said tape cartridge and side walls projected from left and right ends of said bottom wall to restrain swinging of said tape cartridge in the left and right directions, said holder is vertically movable between an upper position in contact with an upper surface of said thick-type cartridge so as to press and hold said thick-type tape cartridge and a lower position in contact with an upper surface of said thin-type tape cartridge so as to press and hold said thin-type tape cartridge and is normally positioned at said upper position, a pair of upper and lower sensors provided at said side wall of the loading frame for identifying the thin-type and the thick-type tape cartridges, an effective point of the lower sensor being located below a reference height defined by the upper surface of said thin-type tape cartridge, and an effective point of the upper sensor being located above said reference height, whereby when only said lower sensor is turned ON by the tape cartridges loaded through said loading mouth, said holder is displaced from the upper position to the lower position so as to press and hold said thin-type tape cartridge for making the cartridge vertically immovable.