Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTTON
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pause device for a tape
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recorder. In particular it relates to a pause device that
first removes driving force from the tape and then stops
the motor, and returns to normal operation in reverse se-
quence.
Description of the Prior Art
Electrical devices have been known in which a motor power
supply circuit is opened by a switch during recording or re-
producing operations, and mechanical pause systems have been
known in which the pinch roller is separated from the capstan
and a take-up reel holder is stopped in response to actuation
of a control~
The electrical system is subject to inertia caused by the
-~ motor or the driving system at the initiation of both its pause
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and release operationsO Consequently, the tape is stopped
slowly and, upon starting again, does not quickly return to
normal speed. Such a system is not suitable for performing
operations in which the tape must be stopped precisely and re-
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started in such a way as to return to its correct speed very
quickly. Tape editing is one such operation.
In the mechanicaL systems, the pause and start of the tape
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movement are rapid, but the motor is kept in operation, which
wastes battery power even during the time the tape is momentarily
;;~ stopped.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide a novel
pause device for a tape recorder in which the pause and re-
start of the tape movement can be achieved promptly by
mechanical pause means and in which ~he motor power supply
circuit can be opened with a predetermined timing JUSt be-
fore the mechanical pause means stops the tape and can be
closed just before the pause means returns the apparatus to
its tape driving condition.
It is another object of this invention to provide a
pause device for a tape recorder in which the battery that
drives the motor is prevented from having its power wasted
during a pause.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a
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pause device of extremely simple construction for a tape re-
corder.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present
invention will be apparent from the following description
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, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.
In accordance with the objects of this invention a pause
device is provided in which a mechanical linkage connected to
a pause control pushbutton responds to pressure on the push-
~ button by moving the pinch roller away from the capstan so
; that it no longer exerts pressure against the tape. At the
same time the apparatus withdraws driving force from the take-
up reel so that there is no force to cause the tape to continue
,~ its orward motion. Continued pressure on the pause control
pushbutton moves it into an over-stroke position that engages
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a latch that controls the ~peration of a switch. Releasin~
press~r~ on the pause c~ntr~l pushbutton allows the push~
button to move back to an intermediate position, drawing the
latch with it and removing pressure from the switch. This
. 5 ~ allows the switch to open and, since the switch is connected
to the drive motor of the tape recorder, interrupts power to
the drive motor.
In order to resume normal operation, the pause control
pushbutton is again depressed to its over-stroke position,
thereby releasing t~e latch and closing the switch to restart
the motor. When the pause contr~l pushbutton is released the
second time 3 it returns all the way to its initial position,
and the linkage connected to it causes the take-up power to
be applied again to the take-up reel and causes the pînch roller
to be pressed against the tape to force the tape into driving
-elationship with the cap~tan.
More particularly, there is provided in a tape
recorder comprising a motor, a capstan driven by said motor,
.` a pinch roller, and resilient means pressing said pinch roller
toward said capstan to grip tape between said pinch roller and
said capstan and drive said tape in response to ro~ation of
said capstan, the invention comprising:
; A. swi~ch means ~onnected to ~aid motor to control
the supply of power to sa~d motor; and
B. pause means for stopping the movement of said tape
by separating said pinch roller from said ~apstan when said tape
is moving, said p~use means comprising~
~l) an actuator movable between a normal pos~tion
and an over-stroke po5i~ion ~nd hav~ng a paus~ p~sition b~tw~Qn
sa~d normal po~ition and said over-stroke p~sition,
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(2) separator means connected to said actuator
and to said pinch roller to separate said pinch roller from said
capstan when said actuator moves from said normal position
toward said over-stroke position but not as far as said pause
position; and ~,
(3) linlcage means connected to said actuator to he
moved thereby and engaging said switch means in said normal
posit~on and in all positions of said actuator as said actuator
moves from said normal position to sa~d over-stroke position
and from said~over-stroke position back to said normal position,~
said linkage being disengaged from said switch means by sald
actuator when said actuator moves through said over-stroke
position to said pause position and being returned to engagement
with said switch means when said actuator moves from said pause
position toward said over-stroke position, said actuator being
able to reach said pause position from said normal position only
by first moving to said over-stroke position and being able to
return from said pause position to said normal position only by
first moving back to said over-stroke position.
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Fig~ 1 is a plan view showing one example of a pause
device according to this invention;
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus in Fig. 1 show-
ing the pause device in its pause state;
Fig. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the
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respective movements in the pause and release operations and
the ON-OFF states of the motor power supply.
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'~ DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFER_ED EMBODIMENT
Fig. 1 shows a supply reel holder 1 and a take-up reel
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holder 2 and the respective wheels 3 and 4 to be driven by
the holdersO The apparatus shown also includes a motor 5,
a motor pulley 6, a capstan 7, and a flywheel 8. A rubber
belt 9 is stretched between the motor pulley 6 and the flywheel
8 and is indicated by a broken line.
A pulley 10, which is in contact with the return side of
the belt 9 to be driven in a clockwise direction, and a roller
11 are mounted on a common shaft. When the apparatus is being
played, either to record or to playback, the roller 11 is
brought into contact with the periphery of the wheel 4 to ro-
tate the take-up reel holder 2 counterclockwise. The pulley
10 is rotatably mounted on one portion of a bent arm 13 pivotally
mounted at one end on an acle 12 and resiliently biased clock-
wise to force the roller 11 against the periphery of the wheel
4. A pin 14 extends from the other end of the arm 13.
The apparatus in Fig. 1 is illus~rated in its operating
condition in which a pinch roller 15 is presses against the
capstan 7, which rotating at a constant speed. The roller 15
is rotatably mounted on a pinch lever 16 pivotally mounted on
a pivot pin 17 and resiliently biased counterclockwise to
press the roller 15 against the capstan. The pivot pin, in
turn, is supported by a head base plate (not shown)0 A pro-
jection 18 extends from the free end of the lever 16.
In accordance with this invention, the tape driving ap-
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paratus is provided with a pause control actuated by pressure
applied to a pushbutton 19 mounted on a handling slide 200
The pause control also includes a lock p~ate 21 and a pause
slide 22~ The handling slide 20 is slidable lengthwise and
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is guided by two pins 23 mounted on a chassis and extending
into two slots 24 in the slide 20. The handling slide 20
has a lock pin 25 at its other end and an extension 26 on its
right side to press against one end of the pause slide 22,
A spring 27 coupled to the extension 26 biases the slide 20
in the direction indicated by an arrow b.
The lock plate 21 includes an arcuate end 28, which is
engaged by the lock pin 25, and a lock portion 29, and a re-
lease member 30. The lock plate 21 is slightly movable ver-
tically with one point near the other end thereof being pivoted
; and biased counterclockwise by a spring 31 that is weaker than
the spring 27.
- In accordance with this invention, instead of pivoting
one point of the lock plate 21, that point is replaced by a
slot 22 of length a, and a pin 33, which may be mounted on the
chassis? extends into this slot to limit the lock plate 21 to
` - generally longitudinal movement. A leaf spring 34 is located
adjacent the lock plate 21 to be opened and closed by such
. longltudinal movement. The switch 34 is connected in a power
supply circuit for the motor 5 to turn the motor on and off
according to a predetermined timing which will be described
hereinafter.
The pause sLide 22 is also slidable longitudinally fol-
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lowing the movement of the handling slide 20~ and a projection
at one end has a pin 35 extending from it r Another projection
36, which is located near the other end of the slide 22 engages
the pin 14 o the arm 13. A centrally pivoted lever 37 has i~a slot 38 and a projection 39 at the other end to engage the
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projection 18 and rotate the pinch lever 16 clockwise during
the pause operation. The slop 38 engages the pin 35 by means
of which the lever 37 is coupled to the slide 22. A pin 40
serves as the fulcrum of the lever 37, and a spring 41 biases
the pause slide 22 in the direction indicated by the arrow b.
Two pins 42 extending into slots 43 in the pause slide 22
limit longitudinal movement of this slide in the same manner
as corresponding pins and slots in the handling slide 20.
Fig. 2 shows the apparatus of Fig. 1 in in its pause
state. Elements corresponding to those in Fig. 1 are indi-
cated by the same reference numerals, and their description
will not be repeated.
When the pause control pushbutton 19 is pushed to move
the handling slide 20 in the direction indicated by an arrow
c, the pause slide 22 is forced by the projection 26 to slide
in the same direction as the arrow. As a result, the pinch
; roller 15 is first separated from the capstan 7 by the lever
37, and then the rvller 11 of the bent arm 13 is separated
from the periphery of the wheel 4 by the counterclockwise
pivoting of the arm 13. The reason why the pinch roller 15
is first released is so that the magnetic tape will be in-
stantaneously stopped.
The lock pin 25 of the handling slide 20 is moved into
the lock portion 29 of the lock plate 21. Since the pin 33
engages the slot 32 of the lock plate 21 and the spring 31 is
weaker than the spring 27 of the handling slide 20, as described
above, the lock plate 21 is pulled in the direction indicated
by an arrow d for a distance a determined by the length of the
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slot 32O In other words, the movement of the lock plate in
- the direction d corresponds ~o the over-stroke of the handling
slide 20. Immediately before the handling slide reaches the
: position shown in Fig. 2, the leaf switch 34 is opened to stop
the motor S. This produces the pause state, which includes
: stopping of the tape and turning the motor power supply off.
When the pause control pushbutton 19 is again depressed
. to its over-stroke position while the apparatus is in the
pause state, the lock plate 21 is able to be pulled by the
spring 31 to close the leaf switch 34 and restart the motor
5. The pin 25 moves out of the lock portion 29 so that upon
release of the pushbutton 19, the spring 27 will pull the
slide 20 back up, releasing the slide 22 to be pulled up by
the spring 41, and thereby allowing the arm 13 to pivot clock-
wise so as to bring the roller 11 into engagement with the
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~ wheel 4. The upward movement of the slide 22 pivots the lever
7", 37 to allow the pinch lever 16 to be pivoted counterclockwise
. under the pressure of its spring to force the pinch roller 15
against the capstan 70 Magnetic tape captured between the pinch
, 20 roller and the capstan will thereby be driven by the capstan
and will be taken up by the take-up reel attached to the wheel
4. At this time the apparatus will have returned to the state
shown in Fig. 1.
. Fig. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the re-
Z5 spective movements of the pushbutton 19 and electric power to
the motor 5 as the pushbutton 19 moves through a complete cyclè
from normal operation through a pause and back to normal opera-
tion. At the beginning it is assumed that the apparatus is
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operating in its normal condition either to playback or to
record information on tape. At a certain,ti~e,~pres~ure~be ,~
gins to be applied to the pushbutton 19 to initiate a pause.
Such pressure must move the pushbutton all the way down to
the over-stroke position. Shortly after the pressure on the
pushbutton 19 is released, the spring 34 opens and the motor
turns off~ The apparatus remains locked in its pause condition
for an indeterminate period of time with the motor off until
pressure is again placed on the pushbutton 19 to force it into
its over-stroke positionO As it moves into the latter position,
the switch 34 is again closed causing the motor to be turned
on. The latching connection between the slide 20 and the plate
21 is released in the second ovex-stroke position so that re-
lease of pressure on the pushbutton 19 allows the button to
rise with the motor on and returns the mechanical linkage back
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; to i~s tape-driving condition.
r~" According to the invention described, the drawbacks of a
conventional pause system are almost completely eliminatedO In
the pause operation of the present apparatus, the tape is in-
stantaneously stopped and in addition, the hattery is pervented
from being run down because the motor power supply circuit is
also opened during the- pauseO Upon resumption of normal opera-
` tion, the motor is restarted and is back up to speed before the tape-driving mechanism is engaged.
While this invention has been described in terms of a
specific embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in-
the art that modifications may be made therein without depart-
ing from the true scope of the invention as defined by the
following claims. -
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