WO1988008194A1

WO1988008194A1 - Cassette recorder/player

Info

Publication number: WO1988008194A1
Application number: PCT/AU1987/000157
Authority: WO
Inventors: Maurice Morehu Matthews
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1987-04-14
Filing date: 1987-05-26
Publication date: 1988-10-20
Anticipated expiration: 1989-10-14
Also published as: AU7151287A

Abstract

A cassette tape recording/playing device which includes an annular base (1) comprising a plurality of positions (2) spaced in an arrangement along the perimeter thereof for receiving a cassette tape and a cassette recorder/player (4) provided at the center portion of said annular base (1) characterized in that said recording/playing device is provided with a delivery apparatus (7), (8) for delivering the cassette tape from a preselected position to the center portion of said annular base for fitting into said cassette recorder (4).

Description

CASSETTE RECORDER/ PLAYER

This invention relates to a carroussel for cassette recording and playing appliances, which consists of a revolving base, a transporter, a recordin and playing appliance located at the center of the base, cassettes located inside the base, and an electronically controlled device which inserts r.he cassettes into or removes them from the recording and playing appliance in accordance with a preselected order, allowing for selection and exchange at will.

As is well known a cassette recording and playing appliance is an appliance into which cassettes are normally inserted by hand. Following this the tape inside the cassette unwinds during operation of the device from one of the reels and onto the other. In many situations however it- is not convenient tb insert or remove the cassette by hand. For example if more than one tape is to be played continuously it would be an advantage not to have to stop the player manually between tapes.

Another reason why it is a disadvantage to have to insert and remove the cassettes by hand occurs during driving because driving may be affected by the driver having to search for and then insert the desired cassette. Another reason is that as a rule the cassette playing and recording appliance (hereinafter referred to as the recorder-) is used in a public place where members of the public choose which cassette is to be played next.

In order to eliminate these disadvantages, this invention offers a carroussel for recorders. The carroussel has at least one base with a number of places to hold cassettes. The selected cassette(s) will be transported from the base to the recorder. Each base is in effect a turntable; the recorder being located in the centre of the turntable, the turntable and the recorder can rotate separately in respect of each other. When the recorder or the turntable reaches the appropriate position, the selected cassette is transported from the base to the recorder. As the playing of the cassette comes to an end, the cassette will return to the base and the recorder or the turntable will move to a new position and accept another cassette.

This invention is provided with a control mechanism which governs the relative movement of the recorder and^' the base, thereby governing the selection of the cassette. The control mechanism may contain a memory that will record in which orde the cassettes have to be played, and the cassettes will be played by the recorder in that order.

The size of the appliance is such that it can be fitted into the motor vehicle and it can be operated by means of push buttons located on the console of the appliance which is mounted on the instrument panel of the vehicle.

The operation of this invention is explained in detail by means of the following example with reference to the enclosed drawing-s :

Fig. 1 shows the sectional view through line A-A of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 shows the vertical view of the revolving casing of the recorder. The round base of the recorder has been omitted from the drawing. The recorder as well as the other parts of the appliance are mounted_ on the casing.

Fig. 3 is the vertical schematic diagram of the invention. It shows the round base of the recorder and the revolving casing in the centre of the base as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 shows the sectional view of the revolving casing through line B-B of Fig. 2. It shows the slots through which the cassettes and the connecting arm go.

Fig. 5 is the sectional view through C-C of Fig. 1, showing the gear, the ring and the guard of the casing. The casing and the base are omitted.

Fig. 6 snows the pusher, the chord for the pusher, the pulley of the pusher, the spring roller for the pusher and the grooved slide as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 shows the connecting arm for triggering the actuator which controls the removal of the cassette, the connecting arm slide, the knob, the connecting chord, the drive shaft for the connecting chord, the spring pulley and the remove actuator.

Fig. 8 shows the contact cam, the contact, and the hole at the bottom of the casing through which the chords are passed.

The numbers in the drawings represent the following

1. base 19. grooved slide

2. groove 20. connecting chord for pusher

3. casing • 21. pusher pulley

4. recorder 22, spring roller for pusher

5. driving motor for casing 23. ball bearing

6. driving motor for recorder 24. embedded strip of slide

7. connecting arm 25. ring

8. connecting arm slide 26. gear

9. bracket 27. guard for casing

10. bracket slide 28. cam

11. cassette 29. contactor

12. starting motor for connecting arm 30. stop

13. knob 31. reverse prevention switch

14. connecting chord _ 32. two-way limit switch

15. drive shaft for the connecting chord -33. closer

16. spring pulley 34. closer

17. remove actuator 35. cover

18. pusher

The example is best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, showing one of the recorders of this invention with its base. There are are grooves (2) on the base for the insertion of the casset es. Base (1) as shown in Fig. 3, is a round turntable and its centre is a revolving casing (3), also shown in Figs. 2 anr 4. The standard car recorder is installed on the casin_f; and the recorder can revolve automatically in both directions. Both recorder (4) and casing (3) have a slot on one side (the slots are close to each other and in alignment) in order to insert the cassette to be played. The revolving of casing (3) relative to base (1) enables these two slots to move close to groove (2) which holds the cassette to be played.

As shown in Fig. 3 (also see Figs. 2 and 7), this appliance has a connecting arm (7) which enables bracket (9) to move around groove (2) of base (1) so that the slots of casing (30) and recorder (4) as well as bracket (9) are in alignment with the same groove (2). These two slots and bracket (9) are at opposite ends of groove (2). Connecting arm (7) is supported by the slide of the connecting arm and is moveable in it . If cassette (11) has been selected to be played, motor (5) rotates casing (3) until the slot of casing (3), the slot of recorder (4) and the bracket are in alignment at opposite ends of the selected cassette (11). Then motor (12) will drive connecting arm (7) so that bracket (9) is moved towards recorder (4). When the cassette is finished, connecting arm (7) is again driven by motor (12) to move bracket (9) from recorder (4) and return to bracket slide (10). Motor (12) has a reduction gear in order to move connecting arm (7) at any desired speed.

The apparatus for moving cassette (11) are shown in Figs. 7 and 2. A connecting chord (14) is mounted on knob (13) of connecting arm (7). Connecting chord (14) extends to and goes round drive shaft (15) for the connecting chord and is fixed to spring pulley (16). Spring pulley (16) is connected to remove actuator (17). When bracket (9) is moving away from recorder (4) and moving towards bracket slide (10), connecting chord (14) is of sufficient length to pull actuator (17) at the appropriate time, before bracket (9) reaches bracket slide (10). The function of spring pulley (16) is to prevent connecting chord (14) from becoming loose while bracket (9) is moving toward recorder (4).

When remove actuator (17) has been triggered by connecting chord (14) and the cassette has been removed from recorder (4), cassette pusher (18), located behind cassette (11) as shown in Fig. 6, ensures that the cassette is replaced onto base (1). Pusher (18) is operated by grooved slide (19), pusher connecting chord (20), pusher pulley (21) and pusher spring roller (22). Pusher (18) slides in grooved slide (19) back and forth. While cassette (11) is being pushed from bas (1) to recorder (4), the end of cassette (11), which is near recorder (4), engages pusher (18). One end of pusher connecting chord (20) connects pusher (18) and extends and goes round pusher pulley (21). The other end of the pusher connecting chord (20) connects pusher spring roller (22). While cassette (11) is being pushed into recorder (4) by bracket (9), the pusher is also pushed and slides along grooved slide (19) in the reverse direction. This increases the tension on pusher spring roller (22). While cassette (11 is embedded and locked in recorder (4), the tension of the spring is maintained. Consequently, when remove actuator (17 is triggered, the tension on the spring of the roller (22) is released because at this time pusher (18) is allowed to move along grooved slide (19) and pushes cassette (11) all the way onto base (1). As shown in Fig. 6, the pusher is so designed that it cannot pass through the slot of the casing but it can push the cassette into base (1) all the way .

In the following the process of fixing and installing casing (3) on the base (1) is explained.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 5, casing (3) is supported by ball bearings (23) and revolves on them. The ball bearings slide on the embedded strip (24) of the slide. The lower embedded strip of slide (24) is placed on ring (25) and fixed in position, the upper embedded strip (24) is mounted on casing ( 3 ) . Ring (25), mounted on base (1), and gear (26) enable casing (3) and its load to revolve. The guard for the casing is attached to the bottom of casing (3). Casing guard (27 is wedge-shaped. This wedge fits the corresponding groove at the bottom of ring (25) and slides on it. This makes possible smooth rotation, accurate operation and positioning of the casing . Motor (5) is fitted with a reduction gear in order to rotate casing (3) at the required speed. Motor (5) is placed inside casing (3) and installed on a specially shaped motor base by means of bolts. This base is part of casing (3). The driving gear of motor (5) passes through the slot of casing (3) and engages gear (26) of ring (25) to rotate casing (3).

The process of selecting the cassette is explained in the following with references to Figs. 5 and 8.

Each groove (2) can be given a sequential number, starting from 1 and numbers increasing clockwise until the last groove- In Fig. 8 the shape of ring (25) is shown. In the lower part of ring (25) there are cams (28), each cam corresponding to a given groove (20) in base (1). Each cam (28) is in alignment with a groove. The center of each cam (28) is in the centre of groove (2) and all the cams are in the lower part of ring (25). A set of contacts (29) are fixed onto casing guard (27) » In each part of the casing, near each corresponding contact, thef^~e is a hole for the contact to pass through. After adjusting the positions of these contacts as soon as the casing is revolving, these contacts will touch cams (28) and will close. Every time these contacts (29) touch cams (28) and close, _a signal is sent to the counter in the circuit. A stop (30) is installed on casing (3), just at midpoint between the first groove (2) and the last groove (2) under the casing guard (27). A reverse prevention switch (31) is installed on the bottom part of casing guard (27) and is directly placed under the slots of recorder (4) and casing (3). When casing (3) rotates so that stop (30) closes the reverse prevention switch (31), a signal is sent to motor (5) through the electronic circuit to make the motor revolve in reverse. The slots of recorder (4) and casing (3) do not pass through the midpoint of the first groove (2) and the last groove (2). In other words, casing (3) cannot rotate beyond 360 degrees . As described above, these grooves are numbered. The electronic circuit functions as follows:

Casing (3) rotates clockwise until it reaches the next selected number if this number is bigger than the previous one. I will rotate counterclockwise until it reaches the next selected number if the latter s smaller than the previous one.

The recorder functions as follows:

The recorder on casing (3) rotates counterclockwise until the reverse-prevention switch (31) is activated by stop (30). At this time counting begins and the counterclockwise rotation of casing (3) changes to clockwise rotation. The slots of casing (3) and recorder (4) are still close to the reverse- prevention switch (31) until the first selection (by having pressed two numerals on the console) is finished. Then casing (3) rotates clockwise until the number of closings of contact (29) equals the number of the first selection. As soon as the recorder starts to revolve and/or begins to play, the numerals selected can be continuously added to the memory until the maximum of 20 has been reached. When casing (30) has rotated to the slots of recorder (4) and casing (3) and is near the first chosen number, the electronic circuit will send a signal to stop motor (5), Then starting motor (12) will move connecting arm (7) (bracket (9) moves towards recorder (4)} until cassette (11) has been inserted into recorder (4). As shown in Figs. 9 and 2, a two-way limit switch (32) is installed on the connecting arm slide (8). Two closers (33 and 34) are installed on the connecting arm ( 7 ) . These two closers control the movement of the connecting arm (7). The closer (34) stops the motor (12) when the cassette has been inserted into recorder (4), while closer (33) stops motor (12) when bracket (9) has been returned to bracket slide (10). The two closers (33 and 34) are used to engage the two-way limit switch. The control circuit will stop the recorder after it .. . has automatically rotated in reverse twice, will reverse motor (12), and will send bracket (9) back to bracket slide (10) thereby removing cassette (11) and sending it back to base (1). When closer (33) engages limit switch (32), -the motor is stopped again. Each time the limit switch (32) is closed by closer (33) a signal is sent to the control circuit and the circuit's memory engages the next number that has been selected previously. The process is continuing until all the choices in the memory have been played and the memory is empty.

When the memory is empty, bracket (9) stays in bracket slide (10) near the last cassette played until the machine stops -or some other number is chosen.

When a number has been chosen and there is no cassette in the groove, the electronic circuit will receive a signal indicating that motor (6) does not operate even though the bracket has moved, and a cassette has to be placed into recorder (4) with the electronic circuit causing the appliance to make the next selection.

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A cassette tape recording/playing device, which includes an annular base comprising a plurality of positions spac in an arrangement along the perimeter thereof" for receiving a cassette tape and a cassette recorder provid at the center portion of said annular base characterized in that:

said recording/playing device is provided with a delivery device for delivering the cassette tape from a pre¬ selected position to the center portion of said annular base for fitting into said cassette recorder.

2. A cassette recording/playing device according to claim 1, wherein sai-d delivery device includes:

a sliding plate of connecting arm correspondingly fixed to said recorder, a connecting arm driven by a motor, and supported by said sliding plate of connecting arm so as t carry out a reciprocating motion, one end of said connecting arm is provided with a bracket, said bracket pushes a cassette tape to said recorder when moving said connecting arm to said recorder, said connecting arm is connected to unloading button of recorder member by a connecting line, said line pulls said unloading button to eject the cassette tape from said recorder when said connecting arm returned so as to put said bracket back to said base; and a slidable tape actuating rod supported by a sliding track with groove, and connected to a spring roller by a connecting line, said tape actuating rod pushes said ejected cassette tape back into a position of said base after said cassette tape is ejected from said recorder .

3. A cassette recording/playing device according to claim 2, wherein the base can be rotated relative to said recorder so that a pre-selected position can correspond to said recorder .

4. A cassette recording/playing device according to claim 2, wherein said recorder can be rotated around the axis of said annular base so that said recorder can correspond to a pre-selected position.

5. A cassette recording/playing device substantially as described herein with reference to the attached drawings.