Claims
- 1. A magnetic-tape cassette comprising: a housing having first and second major walls which are parallel to one another, two side walls, a rear wall, an opening at the front which extends back into the first major wall, and a partition which separates this front opening from the interior of the housing; two reel hubs supported between the major walls so as to be rotatable about axes which extend perpendicularly to the major walls, the first major wall having two openings through which the drive spindles of a magnetic-tape-cassette apparatus can be coupled to the reel hubs, and a magnetic tape being wound around the reel hubs with a part of the tape extending across the front opening; a front cover movable between closed and open positions and comprising a main portion which in the closed position of the front cover covers the front opening and the part of the magnetic tape which extends across the front opening, and side flanges which are situated one adjacent each side wall of the housing and which are pivotally connected to said side walls; and a sliding plate which is situated on the outside of the housing and which comprises a main portion which is situated adjacent the first major wall of the housing, the sliding plate being slidably guided on the housing for movement parallel to the first major wall towards the rear wall from a closed position in which it latches the front cover in the closed position and in which the main portion of the sliding plate covers the front opening where this opening extends back into the first major wall to an open position to unlatch the front cover and to give access to the front opening for the passage thereinto of tape-withdrawal means of a magnetic-tape-cassette apparatus, characterized in that the second major wall is imperforate over its entire area and the main portion of the front cover is contiguous with this wall in the closed position of said cover and in that the main portion of the sliding plate extends rearwardly beyond the openings in the first major wall in the closed position of the sliding plate to cover said openings and has two apertures which expose said openings when the sliding plate is in the open position, the sliding plate being latched in the closed position by at least one latching member which comprises a latching portion and an actuating portion, the main portion of the sliding plate being provided with a slot or groove which extends rearwardly from the front edge of the main portion of the plate, and the actuating portion being arranged to project into the slot or groove near the rear end thereof in the closed position of the sliding plate.
- 2. A magnetic-tape cassette as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the latching portion and the actuating portion are situated near the free end of a resilient arm which is connected at the other end to the first major wall and whose free end is movable substantially perpendicularly to the plane of the first major wall.
- 3. A magnetic tape cassette as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the latching portion, the actuating portion and the resilient arm form an integral unit with the first major wall.
- 4. A magnetic tape cassette as claimed in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the resilient arm extends from its free end towards the rear wall.
- 5. A magnetic-tape cassette as claimed in claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the actuating portion has a rounded or pyramidal profile, the latching portion has a rectangular shape and the actuation position is situated adjacent the latching portion in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the sliding plate.
- 6. A magnetic-tape cassette as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the actuating portion is situated beside the latching portion on the resilient arm in a direction parallel to the sliding plate.
- 7. A magnetic-tape cassette as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the actuating portion is situated on the latching portion, said portions being formed as one integral projection on the resilient arm.
- 8. A magnetic-tape cassette as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that in the closed position of the sliding plate the latching portion is cooperable with a wall of a hole in the inner surface of the sliding plate to latch the sliding plate in the closed position.
- 9. A magnetic-tape cassette as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the hole is situated in the bottom-wall of the groove in the sliding plate; and said resilient arm includes an integral projection extending transversely to the direction of movement of the sliding plate, said actuating portion being situated on said latching portion, and said actuating and latching portions being portions of said integral projection.
- 10. A magnetic-tape cassette as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that in the open position of the sliding plate the latching portion is cooperable with the front edge of the sliding plate to latch the sliding plate in the open position.
- 11. A magnetic-tape cassette as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that in the open position of the sliding plate the latching portion is cooperable with a wall of another hole in the bottom-wall of the groove in the sliding plate to latch the sliding plate in the open position, said another hole being situated near the front edge of the sliding plate.
- 12. A magnetic-tape cassette as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the front cover has a recess in an edge of its main portion, which recess is disposed in line with the slot or groove in the main portion of the sliding plate when the front cover is in the closed position.
- 13. A magnetic-tape cassette as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the sliding plate comprises side portions which adjoin the main portion and are situated one adjacent each side wall of the housing and which are each guided in a groove in the adjacent side wall.
- 14. A magnetic-tape cassette as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that in the closed positon of the sliding plate the side portions thereof cooperate with the side flanges of the front cover to latch this cover in the closed position.
- 15. A magnetic-tape cassette as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that when the sliding plate is moved towards the open position its side portions are moved away from the side flanges, thereof the front cover to unlatch this cover so that it can be swung open.
- 16. A cassette adapted for cooperation between an article in the cassette and parts of an apparatus, comprising
- a cassette housing having first and second major walls on opposite sides of an interior space, said walls being arranged to define a front having an elongated opening extending in a first direction parallel at least to said first wall, and a further opening portion extending from said front opening back into said first major wall,
- at least one reel hub disposed in said interior space, rotatable about an axis perpendicular to said first major wall and aligned with said spindle opening so as to be engageable by a spindle of said apparatus,
- an elongated article wound around said hub, a portion of the elongated article extending along said front opening in a direction generally parallel to said first direction; said portion of the article being disposed and said further opening portion extending into said first major wall a distance sufficient to provide access for a part of said apparatus to pass between said portion of the article and said interior space,
- a front cover having a main portion, said cover being connected to said housing and movable between a closed and an open position, in the closed position said main portion covering said front opening,
- a sliding plate disposed on the outside of the housing, having a main portion adjacent to said first major wall, a spindle opening in said main portion, and a front edge,
- means, responsive to the sliding plate position, for latching the front cover in the closed position, and
- means for slidably guiding said plate parallel to said first major wall between an open position in which the respective spindle openings are aligned with each other to permit passage therethrough of a spindle on said apparatus for driving the reel hub; and a closed position in which said main portion covers at least part of said further opening portion in the first main wall, said front edge adjoins said front cover, and said sliding plate latches the front cover in the closed position,
- characterized in that said second major wall is entirely imperforate,
- in the closed position the main portion of the front cover is contiguous with said second major wall and said sliding plate main portion extends rearwardly beyond said at least one spindle opening in said first major wall,
- said sliding plate has a slot extending rearwardly from the front edge of the main portion; and at least one spindle aperture which, in the open position of the sliding plate, is aligned axially with said at least one spindle opening in said first major wall and with said at least one reel axis, and
- said cassette further comprises plate latching means for latching said sliding plate in the closed position, said plate latching means comprising at least one latching member having a latching portion and an actuating portion, the actuating portion being disposed so as to project into said slot near the rear end thereof when the sliding plate is in the closed position.
- 17. A cassette as claimed in claim 16, characterized in that said sliding plate main portion is substantially planar, and has a given thickness; said groove has a depth, extending from said outer surface toward the cassette interior, less than said given thickness; and said sliding plate has two latching openings therethrough communicating with said groove, and
- said latching member has a resilient arm extending rearwardly from a point of connection to said first major wall, to a free end; at said free end, said latching member has an outwardly extending projection having a latching portion and an actuating portion, arranged such that in the open and in the closed positions said projection is aligned with a respective one of said holes communicating with the groove, said latching portion lying within said hole in the main portion and said actuating portion projecting into said groove, said actuating portion having front and rearward inclined surfaces so arranged that, upon engagement of said actuating portion by an element on an apparatus and displacement of said actuating portion toward the interior space of the cassette, a respective inclined surface is aligned with edges of the latching hole through the main portion of the sliding plate, whereby upon urging of the sliding plate toward the other one of said open and closed positions the edge of the latching hole engages the oblique surface and unlatches said latching member by deforming the resilient arm to move the projection out of the latching hole.
- 18. A cassette as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized by comprising two said latching members each disposed in said first major wall near a respective side wall.
- 19. A cassette as claimed in claims 16 or 17, characterized by comprising two said latching members disposed in said first major wall, spaced from each other.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
8401028 |
Apr 1984 |
NLX |
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Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation-in-part application of my copending application Ser. No. 623,587 filed June 22, 1984 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
53-511 |
Apr 1979 |
JPX |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
623587 |
Jun 1984 |
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