Claims
- 1. An apparatus for loading and unloading a tape cartridge in a tape transport, said tape cartridge including a web of tape disposed on a supply reel and having a free end engaged by a leader block, said leader block having an engagement slot opening to a rear edge of said tape cartridge, and said apparatus comprising:
- a loading rack for receiving the rear edge of said tape cartridge along a lateral edge of said loading rack, so that said slot is transversely oriented in said loading rack; and
- means for engaging the transversely oriented slot of said leader block, for loading and unloading in said tape transport.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said loading rack is comprised of a pair of rails for receiving said tape cartridge.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said rails are movable between a standby position for receiving said tape cartridge, and an operative position for engaging operative features of said tape cartridge.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said apparatus is housed in an enclosure having an aperture for receiving said tape cartridge, and wherein said tape cartridge is locatable between the inside lip of said aperture and stop means associated with said transport apparatus in said standby position.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said tape cartridge has a bevelled front edge opposite said rear edge, and wherein said aperture includes a chamfer for receiving the bevelled edge of said tape cartridge.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said rails are movable between said standby position and said operative position responsive to a handle associated with one of said rails.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said loading rack includes an arm extending between the rails of said loading rack, and over the space which receives the tape cartridge in said standby position, for engaging said tape cartridge and for urging said tape cartridge to the operative position responsive to movement of said handle.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said arm is spaced from said tape cartridge in the standby position, and engages said tape cartridge responsive to said movement of the handle.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said tape cartridge is received upon a plurality of pedestals responsive to said movement of the handle, and wherein said pedestals are configured to vertically orient said tape cartridge in said operative position.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said tape cartridge is received between stop means associated with rear portions of said tape transport, and an enclosure associated with front portions of said tape transport, to longitudinally orient said tape cartridge in said operative position.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 10 which further comprises alignment means associated with said loading rack for transversely orienting said tape cartridge in said operative position.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said alignment means comprises a wedge extending from the one of said rails which receives the front edge of said tape cartridge, and along portions of said front edge, and a bevelled member fixedly associated with said tape transport and having an incline in operative association with said wedge.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said tape cartridge is aligned in said operative position so that supply reel drive means associated with said tape cartridge are aligned with supply reel drive means associated with said tape transport.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said slot engaging means includes guide pin means for engaging the slot of said leader block, and guide pin locating means for locating said guide pin in said slot when said tape cartridge is located in said standby position.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said guide pin locating means is a lever, one end of which has a shoulder for engaging a lateral edge of said tape cartridge, and the other end of which has a pin for receiving said guide pin means and for moving said guide pin means toward and away from said slot responsive to engagement of said shoulder.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein movement of the pin of said lever is regulated by a slot in said tape transport and engaging said pin.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said lever is mounted for vertical movement against the biasing forces of a spring, responsive to contact with said tape cartridge and said loading rack, so that said pin is withdrawn from said guide pin means when said tape cartridge is moved to said operative position.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said pin is normally biased away from the slot of said leader block, under the influence of a spring.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein an additional lever is engaged at a pivot so that a first end of said additional lever is pivotally connected to the pivot of said lever, and so that a second end of said additional lever includes a protrusion adapted for selective alignment with one of the rails of said loading rack.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the protrusion of said additional lever is moved away from the rail of said loading rack as the pin of said lever is moved toward the slot of said leader block.
- 21. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said tape cartridge further includes a write-protect tab in said rear edge, and said apparatus further comprises means for detecting the presence of said write-protect tab on said tape cartridge.
- 22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said detecting means is a pivotable lever, one end of which includes a protrusion for engaging said write-protect tab, and the other end of which is operatively associated with a sensor for monitoring the position of said protrusion.
- 23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein said sensor is an optical interrupter.
- 24. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the end of said lever having said protrusion also includes an inclined member extending outwardly and over one of the rails of said loading rack.
- 25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein the protrusion of said lever is normally biased toward said write-protect tab, and wherein said inclined member is configured so that said rail retains the protrusion away from said write-protect tab until the loading rack is lowered to said operative position.
- 26. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein a spring normally biases said loading rack to the standby position.
- 27. The apparatus of claim 6 which further comprises interlock means in operative association with one of the rails of said loading rack.
- 28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein said interlock means comprises:
- a gate-pivoted for rotation into and out of alignment with said rail;
- a solenoid operatively connected to said gate to pivot said gate responsive to an electrical signal; and
- control means for generating said electrical signal.
- 29. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein said gate is sized to fit between the bottom of said rail in the standby position and the top of said rail in the operative position.
- 30. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein said gate is normally biased between the positions of said rail.
- 31. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein said control means generates an electrical signal for retracting said gate when power is applied to said apparatus.
- 32. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein said control means generates an electrical signal for retracting said gate when said tape cartridge is to be unloaded.
- 33. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein said control means generates an electrical signal for releasing said gate responsive to a sensor for detecting when said tape cartridge is lowered to said operative position.
- 34. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein said sensor is an optical interrupter.
- 35. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein said sensor is operated responsive to a first lever, the end of which is located in alignment with one of the rails of said loading rack, so that said first lever is depressed when said rail is moved to said operative position.
- 36. The apparatus of claim 35 wherein said gate and said first lever include cooperating inclines so that said first lever is maintained in said depressed condition when the loading rack is in said operative position.
- 37. The apparatus of claim 35 wherein said sensor is operated responsive to a second lever, the end of which is located in alignment with said tape cartridge, so that said second lever is depressed when said tape cartridge is moved to said operative position.
- 38. The apparatus of claim 37 wherein said sensor is operated responsive to simultaneous depression of said first and second levers.
- 39. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the supply reel of said tape cartridge is engaged by a geared, magnetic coupling in said operative position, and wherein the rails of said loading rack include a bend for assisting in removal of the tape cartridge from said geared, magnetic coupling when said loading rack is moved from said operative position to said standby position.
- 40. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said apparatus is contained within a 51/4 inch form factor.
- 41. An apparatus for loading and unloading a tape cartridge in a tape transport, said tape cartridge including a web of tape disposed on a supply reel and having a free end engaged by a leader block, said leader block having an engagement slot opening to a rear edge of said tape cartridge, and said apparatus comprising:
- a loading rack for longitudinally receiving said tape cartridge with the rear edge of said tape cartridge positioned along a lateral edge of said loading rack, so that said slot is transversely oriented in said loading rack; and
- means for engaging the transversely oriented slot of said leader block, for loading and unloading in said tape transport.
- 42. The apparatus of claim 41 wherein said loading rack is movable between a standby position for longitudinally receiving said tape cartridge, and an operative position for engaging operative features of said tape cartridge which are positioned along the lateral edge of said loading rack.
- 43. The apparatus of claim 42 wherein said operative feature is the slot of said leader block, and wherein said slot engaging means includes guide pin means for engaging the slot of said leader block and guide pin locating means for locating said guide pin in said transversely oriented slot when said tape cartridge is longitudinally received in said standby position.
- 44. The apparatus of claim 42 wherein said operative feature is a write-protect tab on the rear edge of said tape cartridge, and said apparatus further comprises means for detecting the presence of said write-protect tab on said tape cartridge, said detecting means being positioned along the lateral edge of said loading rack.
- 45. An apparatus for loading and unloading a tape cartridge in a tape transport, said tape cartridge including a web of tape disposed on a supply reel and having a free end engaged by a leader block, said leader block having an engagement slot opening to a rear edge of said tape cartridge, and said apparatus comprising:
- a loading rack for receiving the rear edge of said tape cartridge along a lateral edge of said loading rack, so that said slot is transversely oriented in said loading rack;
- means for engaging the transversely oriented slot of said leader block, for loading and unloading in said tape transport;
- means for moving said loading rack between a standby position for receiving said tape cartridge, and an operative position for engaging operative features of said tape cartridge; and
- means for vertically orienting said tape cartridge in said operative position, and for longitudinally and transversely orienting said tape cartridge so that supply reel drive means associated with said tape cartridge are aligned with supply reel drive means associated with said tape transport.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 842,449, filed Mar. 21, 1986 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (49)
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
842449 |
Mar 1986 |
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