Patent ID: 7158341

Claim:
A basic unit, comprising: a housing; recording and playback means provided in said housing for one of recording data to a recording medium and playing data from said recording medium; accommodation means provided in said housing for accommodating said recording medium; feeding means provided in said housing for feeding said recording medium between said accommodation means and said recording and playback means; guide means provided in said housing for guiding a movement of said feeding means, wherein said accommodation means includes a rotatable member mounted for rotation around an axis, and a plurality of accommodation sections disposed on an outer periphery of said rotatable member for accommodating said recording medium; said housing has an opening in an opposing relationship to at least one of said plurality of accommodation sections for allowing said recording medium to be one of inserted into and taken out from said one of said plurality of accommodation sections; a control circuit section connected to said accommodation means, said recording and playback means, and said feeding means for controlling said accommodation means, said recording and playback means, and said feeding means; an indicator member having slits formed therein and arranged in said expansion unit, wherein the slits are detected by said feeding means to form a position reference point; at least one expansion unit connected to said basic unit, wherein when said feeding means is positioned within said basic unit said control circuit section controls a position and an operation of said feeding means with reference to a position reference point provided in said basic unit, and when said feeding means is within said expansion unit said control circuit section controls said position and said operation of said feeding means with reference to the position reference point provided in said expansion unit; and a flat cable for interconnecting said control circuit section and said feeding means of said basic unit, wherein said flat cable includes a plurality of conductors extending in parallel and joined with an insulating material to form an elongated belt; said flat cable being folded at a substantially central portion in a longitudinal direction of said flat cable; and said flat cable being held at a portion in proximity to said folded portion by a fold-holding member such that an angle of opposite end portions of said flat cable with respect to said folded portion is variable corresponding to a distance between said control circuit section and said feeding means of said basic unit.