Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
1 334 1 1 3 S03246
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to video tape
playback systems in which a number of tapes are transported
from a magazine to various video tape playback machines and,
more particularly, to apparatus adapted to select a desired
tape cassette from a large number of such cassettes housed
in a housing block, to provide such selected cassette to a
video tape recorder, and to return a cassette back to the
housing block.
Description of the Background
There are now known automatic cassette loading
systems for providing a selection from a large number of
tape cassettes to ~a v-ideo tape recorder (VTR) based upon a
predetermined program. That is, a computer-type controller
is provided with a sequence of desired tapes and then this
controller operates to control the automatic cassette
loading apparatus to provide sequential video reproduction
of the information on the various cassette tapes. This
system is typically employed in television broadcast
stations to playback commercials and the like in a desired
sequence. Althou~h these systems are generally provided to
playback the material on the various cassettes such systems
may also be employed to record information, that is, the
video tape recorder is operated in the recording mode.
Typically the automatic tape transferring systems
have large magazines or housing blocks that contain a large
number of video cassettes and employ a delivery mechanism
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h i bl 1 i 1 3 3 4 1 1 3
select a video cassette and transport it to the video tape
recorder for playback. The typical automatic system such as
described above includes a number of video tape recorders in
order to permit the sequential operation of the program
material with no interruptions between the program segments.
In the typical broadcast station, the programs to
be broadcast for each day are sequentially broadcast using a
system as described, however, generally during the broadcast
of the programs it is desired to insert the prerecorded
commercial messages. secause there are a large number of
different commercials each day, it is necessary to provide
as many as several thousand individual cassettes, thus, the
requirement for high-speed action of the cassette transfer
system is important.
One system known heretofore has a cassette
transferring device that deals with separate arrays or
magazines of cassettes, which are arranged in side-by-side
relationship with the tape transferring device operating
between the two arrays of cassettes. Generally, the tape
transfer device has two mechanisms each of which operates in
the opposite direction but can only operate in its dedicated
direction. Thus, in the typical operation, a desired tape
is moved into the transferring device using the appropriate
direction drive element, is transported to the video tape
recorder for playback, and then using the other of the two
directional drive elements is picked up from the video tape
recorder after playback, thereby permitting it to be
reinserted back into its home slot. This presents a
problem, however, when it is desired to rearrange these
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cassettes in the housing such that it is necessary to remove-
a tape from the housing using the transferring device that
operates in one direction, place it in the other, opposite
housing, and then utilize the other element in the
transferring device to select it and reposition it back into
the original housing at another location. This, of course,
becomes very time consuming when there are a large number of
tape cassettes to be rearranged. Not only does the
procedure become time consuming, but the system needed to
control the tape transfer device becomes quite complex.
Therefore, in utilizing the known equipment when
decisions are being made concerning the reproducing order of
the cassettes and their housed positions, the controller
program must be arranged with a close watch on the frequency
of use of the cassettes as well as their reproducing times.
In addition, the ~atb for transferring the cassette within
each block must be controlled to cut down on transfer time.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE lNv~lION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present
invention to provide a cassette transferring system that can
eliminate the above-noted defects inherent in the prior art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a
tape transfer system in which the tape cassettes arranged in
one housing can be rearranged without utilizing an
intermediate step of transferring the cassettes to an
alternate opposing housing.
A further object of the present invention is to
provide a cassette transferring device in which délivery of
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the cassette in either direction relative to two opposing
banks of stored cassettes is possible and whereby the degree
of freedom of the cassette transfer operation is improved
and quicker selection of a cassette is made possible.
In accordance with an aspect of the present
invention, a cassette transferring system is provided
for automatically selecting, supplying, reproducing and
discharging a cassette, having a plurality of reproducing and/or
recording units, first and second housing blocks each of which
includes a plurality of bins for storing cassettes, and a
cassette transporting device movable between said first and
second housing blocks for transporting cassettes between said
cassette bins of said first and second housing blocks and
between said cassette bins and said reproducing and/or recording
units, said cassette transporting device comprising:
at least one cassette receiving portion having a first
inlet and a second inlet provided at opposing faces thereof,
such that said first inlet faces said first cassette housing
block and said second inlet faces said second cassette housing
block;
means for pushing a cassette into said cassette receiving
portion from a selected bin through a selected one of said first
or second inlet;
means for carrying a cassette in and out said cassette
receiving portion and between said first and said second inlets,
along a forward and a reverse directions;
means for pushing a cassette out of said ca~s2tte receiving
portion into a selected bin through one of said first or second
inlet, where the cassette was placed by said means for carrying;
means for electrically connecting said apparatus to receive
control signals for selecting one of said first and second
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inlets, driving said means for pushing a cassette into said
cassette receiving portion and driving said means for pushing a
cassette out of said cassette receiving portion.
The transport belts in the cassette transferring
device are driven such that the cassette can be transferred
in both forward and rearward directions in the cassette
receiving portions, which in one embodiment is formed having
two tiers.
In addition, the push-out mechanisms are also
enabled to push-out a cassette to a storage bin or to a tape
delivery mechanism located either forward or rearward of the
cassette receiving portion. Therefore, the cassette
transferring device according to the present invention is
capable of carrying-in and carrying-out a cassette from both
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1 334 1 1 3 S03246
the front and rear of the transfer device and, thus,
transfer of the cassettes to and from first and second
housing blocks as well as the reproducing unit is greatly
facilitated.
The above and other objects, features, and
advantages of the present invention will become apparent
from the following detailed description of illustrative
embodiments thereof to be read in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which like numerals represent the
same or similar elements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic
cassette loading apparatus having a cassette transferring
mechanism according to the present invention;
Figs. 2~-and 2B are diagrammatic representations
of a cassette loading apparatus known prior to the present
invention;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing positions of
cassette handling mechanisms within a cassette transferring
device according to the present invention;
Figs. 4A and 4B are side elevational views
representing the movement of a cassette as it is taken in
and out of bin in the system shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a
mechanism used for carrying a cassette into the cassette
transfer device according to the present invention;
Figs. 6A-6C are side elevational views showing the
operation of a cassette presser member useful in the
apparatus of Fig. l;
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Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a
cassette push-out mechanism according to the present
invention;
Fig. 8 is a side elevational vie~ of the cassette
push-out mechanism of Fig. 7; and
Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the kick
lever drive mechanism according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A complete automatic cassette loading or
transferring apparatus that can supply a large number of
tape cassettes to a video tape recorder system according to
a predetermined program is represented generally in Fig. l.
The operation of this unit is such that video reproduction
or playback is possible for an extended period of time based
upon sequential p~yback of the various cassettes stored in
the system. A similar kind of automatic loading apparatus
has been proposed in Japanese Laid Open Patent No.
62-146460.
In Fig. l a video tape recording and reproducing
block l includes four video tape recorders, lA, lB, lC, and
- lD. A cassette delivery mechanism 2 is provided to deliver
the cassettes to and from the video tape recorders 1. Two
separate cassette housing blocks 3 and 4 are provided with a
plurality of slots or bins. Thus, housing block 3 contains
bins 3A, 3B, 3C, ... 3n and housing bin 4 contains bins 4A,
4B, 4C, ... 4n for retaining a respective plurality of
cassettes C. Located in a space between the two respective
housing blocks 3 and 4 is a cassette transferring drive
apparatus 5 that includes upper and lower
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guide rails 5A and 5B, respectively, for transporting a
cassette transferring device 6, having cassette receiving
portions 6A and 6B, longitudinally in an X-axis direction,
as well as vertically in a Y-axis direction along vertical
guide rail 5C. More particularly, a drive mechanism (not
shown) is provided to move the vertical guide rail 5C
horizontally to a desired position along the X axis by means
of a timing belt (not shown) and also for moving the
cassette transferring device 6 that is suspended from the
vertical guide rail vertically in a direction along the Y
axis. These drive systems for moving the cassette
transferring device 6 are known and because they form no
portion of the present invention they need not be shown in
detail. The housing blocks in this system typically include
cassette input/output portions on the front face of the
respective housin~ b~ocks 3 and 4 to permit insertion and
removal of cassettes from the system, with such input/output
portions typically being in the form of hinged doors or the
like.
In an automatic cassette loading and transferring
system as represented in Fig. 1, the numbers or titles of
the individual cassettes housed in the first and second
cassette housing blocks 3, 4 and their addresses or
positions in the respective blocks are registered in a
computer or similar memory unit and the system is set up so
that by inputting orders of reproduction of the cassettes to
the computer the cassette transferring device 6, which
includes the carriage and drive mechanism, can take out the
cassettes from the bins 3, 4 that are located at the
predetermined addresses and then transfer the same to
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predetermined VTRs, lA through lD, and during the same
operation return a cassette that has already been reproduced
back to it original bin.
Television broadcast stations typically employ a
system such as represented in Fig. 1 to playback prerecorded
programs, as well as to insert the commercial messages into
the programming and, thus, it is seen that to optimize this
system, which employs two sets or banks of cassette housing
blocks 3, 4, with the cassette transferring device 6
disposed therebetween and facing each block, the number of
housed cassettes should be increased while at the same time
effectively reducing the transfer distance.
In the cassette transferring device 6 two separate
cassette receiving portions 6A and 6B are provided, and
turning to Figs. 2A and 2B a side elevational view is
presented, in whieh the operation of a cassette transferring
device 6 known prior to the present invention is depicted.
More particularly, in Fig. 2A housing blocks 3 and 4 are
shown consisting of the plurality of bins within which
cassettes may reside and the cassette transferring device 6
has the two cassette receiving portions 6A and 6B. In the
operation of this known system, a cassette is moved from
housing 3 into receiving portion 6A in the direction as
shown by arrow a then the cassette transferring device 6
moves downwardly, for example, as shown by arrow b. The
individual cassette may then be placed in a bin in housing
block 4 by transferring the cassette out of the cassette
receiving portion 6A in the direction shown by arrow c,
which is the same direction as arrow a. Thus, it is seen
that the cassette receiving portion 6A of the transferring
device 6
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1 334 1 1 3 503246
is suitable only for transferring a cassette in one
direction, for example, from block 3 to block 4. Of course,
in actual use a cassette is transferred to the video tape
recording system 1 by moving the transporting system along
the X axis to the cassette delivering system 2 and thence to
the video tape recorders 1. Cassette receiving portion 6B
operates to transfer cassettes only in the direction from
block 4 to block 3, and this is shown in Fig. 2B. More
particularly, a cassette residing in housing block 4 may be
transferred into the cassette receiving portion 6B of
cassette transferring device 6 in a direction a', the
transferring device is moved vertically in a direction of
arrow b', and then the cassette is transferred from cassette
receiving portion 6B into housing block 3 in the direction
of arrow c'. Again, it should be understood that this
operation merely ~epresents a transfer of a cassette from
one housing block to another in order to accomplish a
rearrangement of the cassettes and just as typically the
cassette is transported to the cassette delivering mechanism
for insertion into the appropriate video tape recorder.
Therefore, it may be seen that when it is desired
to change the housing position of a specific cassette that
is located, for example, in the first cassette housing block
3 to another position within that very same block, a number
of operations must be performed whereby the specific
cassette is first carried to the second cassette housing
block 4 and then subsequently relocated to the newly
specified position in first housing block 3. Thus, in the
case where the positions of the cassette are to be changed,
for one reason or another, or if some rearrangement is to be
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made such that the more frequently used cassettes are moved
to locations closer to the bank of VTRs 1, the problem is
encountered that control of the cassette transferring device
6 becomes complex and, in addition, a long time is required
to make the rearrangement because it must be noted that a
large number of cassettes are provided in each housing
blocks.
Therefore, the present invention provides a system
as shown in Fig. 3 in which a cassette transferring device
is provided that is divided generally into eight functional
blocks, with such blocks being indicated by two-dot chain
lines and denoted as A through H. More particularly, blocks
C, D form the cassette receiving portions similar to 6A and
6B as discussed hereinabove. It must be noted that there
need not actually be specific blocks formed in the cassette
transferring devi~ according to the present invention and
that such blocks are provided herein in order to make the
explanation of the present invention easier. Block A
contains the driving mechanism used to drive two transport
belts lOA and lOB that are arranged in Block C, and a
similar drive mechanism will be provided in Block G for
driving transport belts 20A and 20B that are arranged in
Block D. Push-out levers 30A and 30s are provided to push
out a cassette (not shown) located in Block C and each
push-out lever 30A and 30B is mounted for rotation on a
shaft 30a and 30b, respectively, to be rotated in the
direction as indicated by the arrow by means of a drive
mechanism, which will be explained hereinafter and which is
located within Block B. Thus, the push-out levers 30A and
30B are arranged to swing in the direction indicated by
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arrow 30c and 30d, respectively, in order to discharge a
cassette housed in Block C in either the forward or rearward
direction. This is a distinct departure from systems known
heretofore, because movement in only a single direction was
possible relative to each individual cassette receiving
portion 6A and 6B.
When a cassette c shown by the single-dot chain
lines in Fig. 3 housed in Block D is to be pushed-out, such
operation is performed by push-out levers 40A or 40B which
are arranged in the lower side of the cassette receiving
portion D and which are operated by a drive mechanism (not
shown) arranged mainly in Block E. The operation of the
push-out levers 40A or 40B when causing cassette C to move
either in the forward or rearward direction is the same as
explained hereinabove relative to push-out levers 30A or 30B
in the upper portPon of the cassette transferring device.
Also provided according to the present invention
and shown in Fig. 3 are cassette presser members attached to
the upper portions of Blocks C and D, wherein the individual
cassettes are received. More particularly, cassette presser
members 50Al, 50A2 and 50Bl, 50s2 are provided to press on
an upper surface of a cassette that is contained within
Block C and cassette presser members 60Al and 60Bl are
provided to press on an upper surface of a cassette
contained within Block D. Cassette presser members 60A2 and
60B2 are not shown in Fig. 3 in order to avoid making the
figure confusingly crowded. These cassette presser members
are provided to make sure that the respective cassette is in
good contact with transport belts lOA and lOB in Block C and
20A and 20B in Block D. Each of these cassette presser
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members may be formed of four individual mechanisms such as
50Al, 50A2, and 50B1, 50B2, relative to the presser members
in Block C, and the presser members for Block D are
similarly formed of four elements, however, only the
elements 60Al and 60Bl are shown, with the other two
elements being omitted in the interest of clarity.
Although not shown in Fig. 3, each of the cassette
presser members is uniformly and constantly urged downwardly
by means of springs (not shown) so that as the cassette
moves rollers R, which are rotatably mounted at the outer
ends of the cassette presser members, can abut the ends of
the housed cassette for preventing such cassette from coming
out of contact with the appropriate drive structure in the
cassette receiving portion. This operation is explained in
detail below.
So-calL~d kick levers 70A, 70B, are formed on the
cassette transferring device shown in Fig. 3 and are used in
the operation of pulling out a cassette from the first
cassette housing block 3 and the second cassette housing
block 4, respectively. More particularly, kick levers 70A
and 70B are shown disposed relative to Block D and, although
not shown, two similar levers are also provided relative to
Block C. Kick levers 70A and 70B are adapted to be
independently operated by a drive mechanism (not shown) that
is disposed on the top plate of Block H and located
essentially within Block F. Thus, kick lever 70A functions
when a cassette is to be taken into Block D from a bin in
housing block 3 and operates to actuate a presser piece
provided at the inlet of such bin so that the cassette is
caused to spring or be popped out of the bin opening. A
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suitable bin structure is described in detail in Japanese
Laid Open U,M. 62-124647.
entitled Cassette Retaining Device and assigned to the
assignee of the instant invention.
A cassette retaining system is
represented in Figs. 4A and 4B in which it is seen that a
cassette c is arranged within a bin 3A, for example, by
means of front and rear engagement pieces 101a and 101b that
tend to be drawn together by means of a spring 100, and
which include stoppers 102a and 102b, respectively, that are
pivotally attached by shafts 103a and 103b, respectively, to
the engagement pieces 101a and 101b. A presser element 104
is provided within bin 3A and is arranged to be
impacted or pressed by kick lever 70A, whereby stopper 102b
is pushed upwardly by means of a suitable mechanism (not
shown), as indica~ed in Fig. 4B. At the same time, this
releases the cassette from the fixed condition due to the
relea~ing of the stopper 102b. As a result, cassette C is
pushed outwardly in the direction indicated by arrow E under
the force of contraction of spring 100 drawing stopper piece
102a inwardly and, thus, cassette C is driven into the
receiving opening of a cassette transferring device 6
located in front of bin 3A.
Therefore, in the operation of the apparatus of
Fig 3 if transport belts 20A and 20b are driven in the
appropriate direction and cassette c is taken into a
cassette receiving portion formed within Block D in Fig. 3,
for example, bar-code reader assembly 80 in Block H will
read a bar code arranged on the side face of cassette c, as
it is carried into Block D. Bar-code reader assembly 80 may
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be formed of a bar-code sensor element 84 attached to a
movable belt 83 that is disposed between two pulleys 81 and
82. An opening 85 is formed in a side wall of Block D so
that the bar-code sensor element 84 can read the bar code on
the side of the cassette. The data that is read out in this
fashion is then fed to the computer that is used to control
the entire system. The reason for the belt arrangement for
the bar-code sensor element 84 and the elongated opening 85
will be discussed hereinbelow.
Turning now to Fig. 5, the carrying-in belt
mechanism for transporting a cassette c into the receiving
opening of the cassette transferring device 6 from one of
the bins A, B, C, ... n of housing block 3 is represented.
This structure may be referred to as a cassette delivery
mechanism. More specifically, cassette c is shown being
inserted in the dire-ction indicated by the arrow and is
first subjected to detection by a photoelectric sensor
device 17A and 17B, which is arranged in front of transport
belts lOA and lOB. A second set of photoelectric sensors
18A and 18B are provided for cassette entry in the opposite
direction. It is understood, of course, that a similar
arrangement is provided relative to the belts 20A and 20B
found in Block D of Fig. 3. In operation, as the output of
photosensor portion 17B becomes zero by means of the beam of
light emitted from light emitting portion 17A being
interrupted by cassette c, a reversible motor 11 rotates in
the forward direction such that a drive gear 15 that drives
the pulley of the transport belts lOA and lOB is rotated in
the appropriate direction. The rotary power is transferred
by motor 11 through worm-gear 12, worm-wheel 13, and
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intermediate gear 14 in order to obtain the appropriate
direction of rotation of gear 15, shown as F in this
example. The reversible motor 11 and gear train 12, 13, 14,
15 are mounted in Block A as seen in ~ig. 3.
Thus, cassette c is taken into the cassette
receiving portion C of the cassette transfer device 6 and,
once the rear end of the cassette has passed the position
defined by the light emitting portion 17A and light
receiving portion 17B, motor 11 will be stopped by means of
photosensor portion 17B providing an output, or not
providing an output, and the carrying-in operation of the
cassette will be stopped. Light sensors 18A and 18B operate
in a similar fashion such that if the front end of the
carried-in cassette breaks the beam of light emitted from
light emitting portion 18A, then the output of photosensor
portion 18B will go to zero and thereby cause motor 11 to
rotate in the reverse direction, such that the cassette is kept in
the normal position for being housed into a bin of housing 4.
The photoelectric detector device 17A, 17B and
18A, 18B can be spaced apart so that the devices can be
commonly used for the two cassette receiving portions C and
D, because only one of the two tiers is in an operating mode
at any one time.
Although not shown, further sensors are provided
in the receiving portion within the cassette transferring
device that sense the presence or absence of a cassette
therein and constantly provide information as to in which of
the two tier portions of the cassette receiving portions a
cassette is inserted.
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Figs. 6A-6C are diagrammatic representations
useful in explaining the operation of the cassette presser
elements that are used to press the cassette against the
movable drive belts. As seen in Fig. 3, there are generally
four such presser members available for each of the cassette
receiving portions, and each cassette presser member is
formed of a first arm 52 supporting a roller 51, which was
denoted R in Fig. 3. Arm 52 is pivotally supported about a
shaft 53 affixed to a plate of the overall frame (not shown)
and a second arm 55 supports a roller 54 and is also
pivotally supported about a shaft 56 that is mounted on the
first arm 52. First arm 52 is urged in a counterclockwise
direction about pin 53 by means of spring 57 and a second
spring 58 is stretched between first arm 52 and second arm
55. Therefore, as cassette c is inserted onto the
carrying-in belt ~OA-in the direction of the arrow in the
procedure described hereinabove relative to Fig. 5, roller
51 is first rotated against the tension of spring 57, as
shown in Fig. 6A, and the upper end of first arm 52 moves
away from stopper 59 by being forced to rotate in a
clockwise direction. Thereby, the protruding end 55A of
second arm 55, which is in engagement with first arm 52, is
caused to move slightly downward as first arm 52 rotates
about pin 53. As cassette c advances into the cassette
recelving portion, roller 54 also presses on the top face of
cassette c through the action of spring 58, as shown in Fig.
6B. Therefore, as cassette c is carried into the cassette
receiving portion it is fully pressed against the transport
belt lOA. When the cassette c has been completely carried
into the cassette receiving portion and the transport belt
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is caused to stop, as described above, roller 51 will fall
over the rear edge of cassette c, as represented in Fig. 6C.
This acts to keep cassette c from coming out of the cassette
receiving portion when the cassette transferring device 6 is
driven along the X or Y axis, as shown in Fig. l. Because
there are two cassette presser members for the front and
back of the cassette c, then the other presser member 50
will act to prevent the cassette from coming out of the
other end of the cassette receiving portion during movement
of the cassette transferring device.
The push-out lever mechanism and the drive
therefor are shown in detail in Fig. 7, in which the
push-out levers 30A and 30B that are used for discharging
the cassette housed in the cassette transferring device into
the appropriate bin A, B, C, ... n of housing blocks 3 or 4
are shown. A rev~rsible motor 31 is provided with a
worm-gear 32 that meshes with a worm-wheel 33a, which has a
gear 33b firmly affixed thereto, and a first drive gear 34A
meshes with gear 33b. A second drive gear 34B is coaxially
and rigidly connected to the first drive gear 34A and is
engaged with two reversing gears 35A and 37A. Coaxially
arranged with the first reversing gears 35A and 37A are
second reversing gears 35B and 37B, respectively, which are
coaxially arranged relative to the first reversing gears 35A
and 37A, but are loosely fit on the coaxial shafts and are
adapted such that pins 35b and 37b affixed to reversing
gears 35s and 37s, respectively, can fit into
circumferential slots and abut ribs 35a and 37a formed in
the first reversing gears 35A and 37A, respectively. The
second reversing gears 35B and 37B mesh with drive gears 36
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and 38, respectively, and the push-out levers 30A and 30B
are attached for mutual rotation with drive gears 36 and 38,
respectively.
The operation of the push-out lever system and the
driving mechanism according to the present invention is such
that the cassette can be pushed out of the cassette
transferring device into a bin or video tape recorder in
either direction. For example, when a cassette arranged in
the cassette transferring device is moved to be loaded into
a specified video tape recorder the cassette in the cassette
receiving portion is first discharged by the above-described
transport belt to a predetermined position and when a beam
of light from the light emitting portion 17A as received by
the photosensor portion 17B motor 31 is energized. As motor
31 rotates in the normal or forward direction, the power is
transmitted throu~h the worm-gear 32, worm-wheel 33a and
gear 33b, first drive gear 34A and second gear 34B, to gears
34A and 34B that are rotated in the direction indicated by
arrow F in Fig. 7. Then, first reversing gear 35A is
rotated in the direction indicated by arrow F and second
reversing gear 35B is rotated with first reversing gear
because pin 35B is abutting rib 35a formed on first
reversing gear 35A. As a result, the push-out lever 30A is
rotated in a clockwise direction by action of drive gear 36
and the rear-end portion of the cassette is thereby pushed
to cause the cassette to exit the cassette receiving
portion. Thus, a cassette having a rear-end portion barely
remaining in the receiving portion of the cassette
transferring device is pushed all of the way into the
cassette delivery mechanism
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or into the bin, so that the cassette is completely
discharged from the cassette receiving portion.
The elements according to the present invention
are shown in Fig. 7 in an exploded view and reference is
made to Fig. 8, which represents an actual assembly of these
elements into a prototype structure. Note that push-out
lever 30A is shown in two positions, that is, the retracted
position when the cassette is residing within the cassette
receiving portion and in the extended position, in which it
is rotated clockwise to push the cassette the last way out
of the cassette receiving portion. Both the upper and lower
tiers, corresponding respectively to 6A and 6B in Fig. 1, of
the cassette transferring device are shown in Fig. 8.
Turning back to Fig. 7, which although it is the
same structure as in Fig. 8 is an exploded view, it is seen
that at the time the push-out lever 30A is rotated
clockwise, first reversing gear 37A that drives the other
push-out lever 30B is also rotated in a counterclockwise
direction but because rib 37a rotates in the direction going
away from pin 37b, the second reversing gear 37B will
undergo no rotation and will remain in its at-rest position.
Thus, the other push-out lever 30s undergoes no rotary
motion.
The cassette push-out operation is performed by a
full rotation of the first drive gear 34A that is firmly
affixed to drive gear 35B, hence, a light sensor 39a senses
the light at the time of the start of rotation and senses
light again at the conclusion of a full rotation of gear
34B. Another light sensor 39b that senses the position of
push-out lever 30A will be off due to rotation of the drive
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gear 36, and motor 31 will be actuated to drive in a reverse
direction. Then after a full reverse rotation has been
made, sensor 39a will once again sense light and turn on and
at the same time sensor 39b will also be turned on. Thus,
the home position is detected and motor 31 is stopped.
When a cassette housed in the cassette
transferring device is to be discharged to the other side,
that is, to housinq block 4, for example, push-out lever 30B
is used. As in the explanation above, the cassette is first
pushed out in the other direction by means of the transport
belts and when the light from the light emitting portion 18A
is received by the photosensor portion 18s, motor 31 will be
driven to rotate in a reverse direction. In this mode,
first reversing gèar 37A and second reversing gear 37B will
be rotated and thereby push-out lever 30s is rotated into
the position indi~ated by the dotted line in Fig. 7, and
after the cassette has been completely discharged from the
cassette receiving portion the push-out lever 30B will be
returned to its home position, which can be detected by
sensors 39a and 39C. Because the rotational operation
during the movement of the second push-out lever 30B are the
same as the first push-out lever 30A, a further description
is not needed.
Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective of the kick
lever drive mechanism that is used to release cassettes from
the bins by means of the kick levers 70A and 70B that are
provided on the top face of Block H in Fig. 1. A reversible
motor 71A is provided to drive a drive gear 71B that is
engaged with a reversing gear 72. The rotation of drive
gear 71B is also transmitted through an intermediate gear 73
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to a lost-motion gear 74A and to a drive arm 74B provided
coaxially therewith. By means of drive arm 74B a slide
plate 75 that is pivotally attached to drive arm 74B is
moved in a longitudinal direction, as indicated by arrow A.
Kick lever 70A is pivotally supported on movable slide plate
75.
Rotation of reversing gear 72 is adapted through
intermediate gear 76, lost-motion gear 70A and drive arm 77B
to move another slide plate 78 in a direction indicated by
arrow A. Lost-motion gears 74A and 77A are provided with
circumferential slots and ribs 74a and 77a, respectively,
and drive arms 74s and 77B are provided with pins 74b and
77b, respectively, which are arranged to protrude into the
slots and to abut ribs 74a and 77a. Thus, when motor 71
rotates in a normal direction as represented by arrow F in
Fig. 9, lost-moti~n gear 74A rotates counterclockwise such
that rib 74a pushes pin 74b and, thus, drive arm 74B also
rotates counter clockwise against the action of a spring
S2 and slide plate 75 is moved in the direction indicated by
arrow A. Motion of slide plate 75 then causes kick lever
70A that is pivotally supported by slide plate 75 and which
has been abutting a stop pin P to be rotated in a clockwise
direction by action of spring S1, thereby causing the tip of
kick lever to be projected outwardly relative to slide plate
75, as represented in dashed lines at Fig. 9.
At this time, intermediate gear 76 that is engaged
with the reversing gear 72 is rotated and the lost-motion
gear 77A is also rotated. Nevertheless, because its
rotation is in a clockwise direction rib 77a moves in a
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direction away from pin 77b and drive arm 77b does not
rotate. Thus, drive arm 77B undergoes no rotational forces,
and the other kick lever 70B remains in a position as
indicated by the solid lines in Fig. 9. Nevertheless, if
motor 71A is caused to rotate in a reverse direction, the
lost-motion gear 77A is rotated counterclockwise and, thus,
pin 77a is rotated counterclockwise by means of rib 77a,
such that slide 78 is moved by action of drive arm 77B in
the direction indicated by arrow A. As a result, kick lever
70B that was at rest in abutment against a stop element P is
separated from stop element P and at the same time kick
lever 70B is rotated clockwise by action of spring S4 that
urges kick lever 70B outwardly in the clockwise direction.
Photoelectric sensors 79a, 79b, 79c sense the
rotational positions of the drive gear 71B and the drive
arms 74B and 77B ~respectively. Thus, when all sensors are
off it indicates that all of the above elements are in their
home positions. When kick lever 70a is driven, sensors 79b
and 79a are turned from off to on and at that point motor
71A is reversed so that the elements are restored to their
home positions. If kick lever 70b is driven, sensor 79c and
79a are turned from off to on and at this point motor 71A is
rotated in its normal direction so that the elements are
restored to their home positions.
Referring back to Fig. 3, attention is directed to
the provision of the elongated slot 85 in the side wall
housing of the assembly. This slot 85 is provided so that
the bar code indicating the number, title and the like of
the cassette housed inside can be read by means of the
bar-code reader assembly 80. The use of such bar-code
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readers in a system such as this is known, however, normally
the bar-code sensor 84 is firmlv affixed to the assembly and
reads the code as the cassette is moved through the cassette
receiving portion. One reader assembly is provided for each
cassette receiving portion. According to the present
invention, the position of bar-code sensor 84 is controlled
by means of belt 83 and pulleys 81 and 82 to take a home
position on the side of the cassette receiving portion at
which the cassette is carried in and is adapted to read the
bar code recorded on a side face of the cassette that is
taken onto the transport belt 20A and 20B as described
above. A problem has been found, however, in that when the
side face of the cassette is dirty or the carrying-in speed
varies, it becomes impossible to read the bar code correctly
at the time the cassette is being received into the cassette
transferring device. Therefore, according to the present
invention if the bar code cannot be read by the sensor when
it is in its home position and correct bar code data cannot
be fed to the computer, a drive motor (not shown) is driven
to move pulleys 81 and 82 back and forth so that the bar
code of the cassette housed in the cassette receiving
portion can be scanned by bar-code sensor 84 through slot
85. Bar-code sensor 84 can also be laterally transported to
an appropriate position which is close to the bin from which
the cassette is being transported. Thus, only a single
bar-code sensor need be supplied to accommodate the entry
and exit of the cassettes into the cassette receiving
portion from either side, that is, either from the bins of
block 3 or block 4.
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The above description is given on a single
preferred embodiment of the invention, but it will be
apparent that many modifications and variations could be
effected by one skilled in the art without departing from
the spirit or scope of the novel concepts of the invention,
which should be determined by the appended claims.
