JPH052804A - Cassette transport machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stably support plural different sized cassettes in a cassette transport machine changing its face in a horizontal position and a vertical position. CONSTITUTION:A transport machine main body 18 is freely rotatably provided so that it is capable of changing from a horizontal position to a vertical position, and vice versa. In a cassette storage room 19 within this transport machine main body 18, different sized cassettes are selectively provided so that they can be inserted and ejected. Then, a pair of arm parts 72 is arranged within the cassette storage room 19. The width spacing of this pair of arm parts 72 is adjustably provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cassette transfer system for transferring a cassette between a cassette storage shelf and a recording / reproducing device for continuous recording / reproduction over a long period of time. And a cassette transfer machine for transferring cassettes to and from the recording / reproducing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a cassette transfer system comprises a cassette storage rack, a recording / reproducing device and a cassette transfer means.
A large number of cassettes are horizontally and regularly stored in the cassette storage shelf, and a plurality of recording / reproducing devices are arranged in parallel. The cassette transfer means has a cassette transfer device, and the cassette transfer device is moved between the cassette storage rack and the recording / reproducing device.

FIG. 47 is a schematic perspective view of the conventional cassette transfer machine A. In FIG. 47, a cassette storage chamber 101 is formed in the transfer device main body 100, and the cassette port 10 is provided in front of and behind the cassette storage chamber 101.
2, 103 are provided respectively.

A transfer belt 104 is provided on the lower surface side of the cassette storage chamber 101, and the cassette 4 is inserted and ejected by the movement of the transfer belt 104. Further, a guide portion 105 for a large cassette and a guide portion 106 for a small cassette are provided in the cassette storage chamber 101 at bilaterally symmetrical positions, and the guide portions 105, 106 rotate during the insertion / ejection process of each cassette 4. Prevents displacement / lateral displacement. The guide portion 106 for the small cassette is rotationally displaced between the position shown in FIG. 48 and the position shown in FIG. 49 and is biased in the direction of arrow a. When handling a small cassette, the guide portion 106 is positioned at the position shown in FIG. 48 against the biasing force, and when handling a large cassette, the guide portion 106 is pushed by the biasing force as shown in FIG.
Position.

In the above structure, the cassette transfer device A is located at a position facing the cassette storage shelf or the recording / reproducing device,
When receiving the cassette 4, the cassette 4 in the cassette storage shelf or the recording / reproducing apparatus is inserted into the cassette port 102 or 103 by a cassette pushing mechanism (not shown). Then, the insertion side of the cassette 4 is placed on the transfer belt 104, and the transfer belt 104 moves in this state, so that the cassette 4 is inserted into the cassette storage chamber 101. When the cassette 4 is delivered, the operation is almost opposite to that described above (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-243265).

By the way, since the video tape recorder is constructed so that the cassette 4 is horizontally mounted and recorded and reproduced, the cassette storage shelf is also constructed so as to store the cassette 4 horizontally. However, when the cassette 4 is stored horizontally for a long period of time, the edge of the lower surface of the tape is likely to be damaged. See 144346 application documents).

In the cassette transfer machine of such a cassette transfer system, the transfer machine main body is rotatably provided, and is in a horizontal position when the cassette 4 is transferred to and from the video tape recorder, and the cassette 4 is transferred to the cassette storage shelf. When handing over, it is in the vertical position. Therefore, it is necessary for the cassette transfer machine to support the cassette 4 so that the cassette 4 will not be displaced even when it is in the vertical position.

[0008]

However, as shown in FIG.
The conventional cassette transfer machine A shown in FIG. 2 is not configured to stably support the cassette 4 when it is set in the vertical position. As shown by the phantom line in FIG. 48, if the guide portion 105 for the large cassette is raised, only the large cassette 4 can be stably supported, but the guide portion 106 for the small cassette is provided.
Similarly, the cassettes 4 having different sizes cannot be handled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a cassette transfer device which is capable of stably supporting a plurality of cassettes having different sizes in an apparatus for changing the orientation between a horizontal position and a vertical position.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a cassette transfer machine according to the present invention is rotatably provided to change a transfer machine main body between a horizontal position and a vertical position. A cassette storage chamber is configured in the cassette storage chamber, cassettes of different sizes can be selectively inserted into and discharged from the cassette storage chamber, and a cassette support mechanism for supporting the cassette is provided in the transfer device main body. It has a pair of arm portions arranged in the cassette storage chamber, and the width interval of the pair of arm portions can be adjusted.

[0011]

The pair of arms of the cassette support mechanism varies its width interval to grip both side surfaces of the cassette storage chamber regardless of the size of the cassette.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a video tape cassette is used as a cassette, and a video tape cassette (hereinafter, simply referred to as "cassette") is provided between a cassette storage shelf that stores a large number of video tape cassettes and a video tape recorder that is a recording / reproducing device. The present invention is applied to a cassette transfer system for selectively transferring.

(Outline of Cassette Transfer System) FIGS. 2 and 3 show the entire cassette transfer system. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view and FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view. ..

2 and 3, cassette storage shelves 3a and 3b are arranged on the front side and the rear side of the system main body 1 so as to sandwich the movement space 2 of the cassette transfer machine A. These two rows of cassette storage shelves 3a, 3b are provided with a large number of cassette openings 6 regularly arranged on the side of the moving space 2 facing each other.
(Shown in and after FIG. 19), and the cassette 4 is accommodated in the vertical direction through the respective cassette ports 6.

A cassette port 5a for inserting a cassette and a cassette port 5b for ejecting a cassette are provided in a part of the cassette storage shelves 3a, 3b, and the cassette storage shelves 3a, 3b are accessed through these cassette ports 5a, 5b. The cassette 4 is automatically inserted and automatically ejected.

The video tape recorders 7 are arranged in a vertical line on one end side of the system body 1. The cassette port 7a of each video tape recorder 7 is directed to the moving space 2 side, and the cassette 4 is inserted sideways.

The cassette transfer means B has a cassette transfer device A according to the present invention, and the cassette transfer device A is moved between the cassette storage shelves 3a and 3b and each video tape recorder 7.

That is, horizontal guide rails 8 are provided at the upper and lower ends of the moving space 2, and sliders 9 are arranged on the horizontal guide rails 8. A vertical guide rail 10 connects the upper and lower sliders 9, and a slider 11 is arranged on the vertical guide rail 10. A cassette transfer device A is attached to the slider 11 via a cassette transfer device rotating means C. Then, the driving force of the horizontal drive motor 12 is transmitted to the upper and lower sliders 9 via the timing belt 13 to horizontally move the cassette transporter A. Further, the driving force of the vertical drive motor 14 is transmitted to the slider 11 via the timing belt 15 to vertically move the cassette transfer machine A.

(Cassette Transfer Machine Rotating Means) FIGS. 4 to 7
In the figure, schematic perspective views of respective states in which the cassette transfer device A is rotated by the cassette transfer device rotating means C are shown. In FIG. 4, the cassette transfer device rotating means C has a base 16 fixed to the slider 11.
The frame 17 is configured to rotate around the A axis. This rotation changes the orientation of the cassette transporter A between the vertical position shown in FIG. 4 and the horizontal position shown in FIG.

Further, the frame 17 has a cassette transfer device A
It is configured to rotate about an axis, and this rotation changes the direction of the cassette transfer machine A at the center of the vertical position between the rightward direction shown in FIG. 6 and the leftward direction shown in FIG. 7.

(Outline of Cassette Transfer Machine) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cassette transfer machine A. In FIG. 1, a cassette storage chamber 19 for accommodating a large-sized cassette 4 is formed in the transfer device main body 18, and a cassette port 20 is provided on the front surface of the transfer device main body 18.
The cassette 4 is inserted into the cassette storage chamber 19 via
Is discharged.

A cassette retracting mechanism D and an auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism E are provided in the transfer device main body 18, respectively. The cassette retracting mechanism D and the auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism E allow the video tape recorder 7 and the cassette storage shelves 3a, 3b to pass through. The cassette 4 is drawn into the cassette storage chamber 19, and the opposite cassette 4 is discharged.

(Cassette retracting mechanism) The configuration of the cassette retracting mechanism D will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 is a perspective view thereof, FIG. 9 is a side view thereof, FIG. 10 is a front view thereof, and FIG. 11 is a plan view thereof.

8 to 11, the transfer machine main body 18 is shown.
Two guide rails 21 are provided below the center of the cassette storage chamber 19 along the cassette insertion / ejection direction, and a slider 22 is slidably supported on the guide rails 21. On the slider 22, the grip body 23
Is fixed, and the grip portion main body 23 is moved in the cassette storage chamber 19 by the grip portion driving means F. Supporting portions 24 are respectively provided on the upper and lower ends of the gripping portion main body 23 so as to project forward, and a pair of gripping portions 25 are supported at the respective tips.

The pair of grips 25 are pivotally supported near the center of the grips 25 to the upper and lower support parts 24 via the shaft 26. The link member 2 is provided at the rear end of each grip 25.
7 and 28 are supported via shafts 29 and 30, respectively, and the other ends of both link members 27 and 28 are further connected to the shaft 3
It is supported through 1. A tension coil spring 32 is hung between the shaft 31 and the grip portion main body 23, and the pair of grip portions 25 are urged by the spring force in a direction of widening the opening distance. Then, the pair of grips 25
The opening interval of is controlled by the cam means 33.

The cam means 33 has guide rollers 34 and 35 supported by the two shafts 29 and 30, respectively, and the upper guide roller 34 is vertically displaced by the guide plate 36 of the auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism E. .. The guide plate 36 is fixed below the frame 57, and front and rear ends thereof are provided with inclined portions 36a that are inclined downward.

The lower guide roller 35 is the main body 18 of the transfer machine.
The guide hole 37 is inserted into the guide hole 37 and is vertically displaced by the height of the upper end of the guide hole 37. The height of the upper end of the guide hole 37 is a low section l _{1 at} the center, a high section l ₂ that suddenly rises in front of the cassette mouth side, and an inclined section l _{3 that} gradually rises from the front side on the opposite cassette mouth side. Has become.

The pair of grips 25 are composed of a base 38 and the base 3
8 and a tip portion 40 supported by the tip of the shaft 39. A torsion coil spring 41 acts on each tip 40, and each tip 40 is independently rotatable in the direction of the arrow m in FIG. 9 against this spring force.

A locking piece 42 is provided upward on the tip portion 40 of the lower grip portion 25, and the locking piece 42 is configured to be insertable into a lateral groove 43 which is a kind of step portion of the cassette 4. There is.

On the other hand, the gripper drive means F is a motor 44.
The gear 45 is fixed to the rotation shaft of the motor 44. The rotational force of the gear 45 is applied to the first gear body 46 and the second gear body 46.
Gear body 47, third gear body 48, fourth gear body 49 and fifth gear body
It is transmitted in the order of the gear body 50. A belt gear 51 is fixed coaxially with the fifth gear body 50, and a drive belt 53 is hung between the belt gear 51 and the belt gears 52 at two other locations. Reference numeral 54 denotes a roller for preventing the drive belt 54 from slipping. The slider 22 is fixed to the drive belt 53, and the pair of grips 25
Moves between the rearmost position shown by the solid line in FIG. 9 and the most distal position shown by the phantom line in FIG.

(Auxiliary Cassette Retracting Mechanism, Cassette Supporting Mechanism) The structure of the auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism E will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 12 is a perspective view thereof, and FIG.
14 is a side view thereof, FIG. 14 is a front view thereof, and FIG. 15 is a plan view thereof.

12 to 15, the main body 1 of the transfer machine is shown.
Insert cassettes into the upper and left sides of the cassette storage chamber 19 of No. 8
Guide rails 55 are provided along the discharge direction, and sliders 56 are slidably supported on the respective guide rails 55.

The frame 57 is fixed to the left and right sliders 56, and is moved above the cassette storage chamber 19 by the frame driving means G.

The frame driving means G has a motor 58, and a gear 59 is fixed to the rotating shaft of the motor 58. The rotational force of the gear 59 causes the first gear body 60, the second gear body 61,
The third gear body 62, the fourth gear body 63, and the fifth gear body 64 are transmitted in this order. The left and right belt gears 65 are fixed to the shaft of the fifth gear body 64, and the left and right belt gears 65 and the belt gears 6 that face the left and right belt gears 65, respectively.
The drive belts 67 are hung between the belts 6 and 6, respectively.
Reference numeral 68 is a roller for preventing the drive belt 67 from slipping. The frame 57 is fixed to the pair of drive belts 67, and the frame 57 moves between the rearmost position shown by the solid line in FIG. 13 and the most distal position shown by the phantom line in FIG.

Two guide rails 69 are provided at the left and right positions on the lower surface of the frame 57 along the left and right direction, and sliders 70 are slidably supported on the left and right guide rails 69, respectively. An arm portion 72 is attached to the left and right sliders 70 via a shaft 71 as shown by the solid line position in FIG.
It is rotatably supported between four imaginary line positions. A torsion coil spring 73 is inserted into each shaft 71, and the spring force of each torsion coil spring 73 urges each arm portion 72 to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG.

The arm driving means H has a motor 74 fixed on the frame 57, and a worm gear 75 is fixed to the rotary shaft of the motor 74. This worm gear 75
A worm wheel 76 meshes with the rotary shaft of the spur gear 77 fixed to the rotary shaft of the worm wheel 76. This spur gear 77 has another spur gear 78 that becomes a twin.
Mesh with each other and both spur gears 77 and 78 rotate in opposite directions in synchronization with the rotation of the motor 74.

Belt gears 79 are fixed to the rotary shafts of both spur gears 77 and 78, respectively, and the belt gears 79 and the belt gears 80 paired with them are respectively provided.
Drive belts 81 are respectively hung between and.
Reference numeral 82 is a roller for preventing the drive belt 81 from slipping.

The left and right sliders 7 are attached to the respective drive belts 81.
0 is fixed, and the left and right arm portions 72 move between the widest position shown by the solid line in FIG. 14 and the narrowest position shown by the phantom line in FIG. Rubber members 83 are attached to the inner sides of the left and right arm portions 72, so that the adhesion to the cassette 4 is good and the cassette 4 is not damaged.

The auxiliary cassette pull-in mechanism E holds both side surfaces of the cassette 4 in the cassette storage chamber 19 by the left and right arm portions 72 at the time of transfer, and also serves as a cassette support mechanism.

(Cassette Ejecting Mechanism) Cassette Ejecting Mechanism I
Is a cassette storage shelf 19
a, 3b or a video tape recorder 7 and is composed of the cassette retracting mechanism D and the auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism E to which the following configuration is added.
That is, in this embodiment, the cassette retracting mechanism D also serves as a part of the cassette ejecting mechanism I, and the auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism E also serves as a cassette supporting mechanism and a part of the cassette ejecting mechanism I.

The above-mentioned additional configuration is the same as that shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG.
Are slidably provided between a projecting position shown by a solid line in FIG. 13 and an exit position shown by a virtual line in FIG. A coil spring 86 is hooked between each rod support member 84 and each pressing rod 85, and each pressing rod 85 is biased toward the protruding position by this spring force.

(Roller Guide Mechanism) Roller Guide Mechanism J
16 to 18, the cassette storage chamber 1
Guide mounting members 8 fixed to the left and right positions of the upper and lower surfaces of 9
7, and elongated holes 88 are formed on the left and right of the front and rear portions of each guide mounting member 87. A plurality of rollers 90 are rotatably supported on the roller support 89, and the tip of the plurality of rollers 90 is the cassette port 2.
It is located near 0. The guide pin 91 of the roller support 89 is inserted into the elongated hole 88, and each roller support 89 is displaced between the projecting position shown by the solid line in FIG. 17 and the retracted position shown by the phantom line in FIG. To do. At the protruding position, the distance between the upper and lower rollers 90 is set to be slightly smaller than the thickness of the cassette 4.

Further, the central portions of L-shaped link members 93 are respectively supported on the front and rear portions of the respective guide mounting members 87, and the guide pins 91 are respectively supported on one ends of the respective link members 94. There is. Each link member 9
A coil spring 95 is hooked between the other end of 3 and each guide mounting member 87, and each roller support 89 is urged toward the protruding position by this spring force.

(Guide member) In FIG. 16, a guide member 96 for a large cassette and a guide member 97 for a small cassette are provided on the lower surface side of the cassette housing chamber 19 of the transfer machine body 18 at symmetrical positions.

The widths of the left and right guide members 96 for the large cassette are set to be slightly larger than the width of the large cassette 4, and guide the large cassette 4 so that it moves without rotational displacement when the large cassette 4 is inserted or ejected.

The width of the left and right guide members 97 for the small cassette is set to be slightly larger than the width of the small cassette 4, and the same operation as described above is performed.

The guide member 96 for the large cassette is fixed to the main body 18 of the transfer machine, but the guide member 97 for the small cassette is shown in a solid line in FIG. 18 is rotatably supported between lower positions indicated by imaginary lines. Then, the spring force of the torsion coil spring 98 acts on the guide member 97 for the small cassette, and each guide member 97 is biased to the upper position side.

Further, the upper surface side and the inner side surface side of the cassette mouth side of the guide members 96 and 97 for the large cassettes and the small cassettes are respectively tapered so that the cassette 4 can be easily inserted. There is.

(Operation) The operation of this embodiment will be described below.

(Movement Operation of Cassette Transfer Machine) The cassette transfer machine A in the vertical position is moved in the horizontal and vertical directions by the drive of the cassette transfer means B, and in front of the desired cassette opening 6 of the cassette storage shelves 3a, 3b. Stop. And the transporter body 1
8 is rotated by the drive of the cassette transfer device rotating means C and turns to the right or left. Then, the cassette port 20 of the transfer device body 18 and the desired cassette port 6 of the cassette storage shelves 3a and 3b face each other in a close state.

(Cassette retracting operation) FIGS. 19 and 20.
Before the cassette is retracted, the pair of grips 25 of the cassette retracting mechanism D and the frame body 57 of the auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism E are both at the rearmost position before the cassette retracting, and the pair of arm portions 72 of the auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism E is at the maximum position. Standing in a wide position.

First, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, the pair of grip portions 25 of the cassette retracting mechanism E are moved in the direction of arrow a by the drive of the grip portion driving means F, and the guide roller 3 is moved.
When 5 enters the high section l ₂ of the guide hole 37, the pair of gripping portions 25 has a wide opening interval. The pair of grips 25 are shown in FIG.
Further, as shown in FIG. 24, it further moves in the direction of the arrow a and reaches the most distal position, and the pair of gripping portions 25 are positioned in the rear upper and lower spaces of the cassette 4, respectively.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26, the frame 57 of the auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism E also moves in the direction of arrow a by the drive of the frame driving means G and moves to the most distal position.

Contrary to the above, the cassette retraction mechanism D
The pair of gripping portions 25 are driven by the gripping portion driving means F to move in the direction of arrow b. Then, in this moving process, the cam means 3
The guide roller 34 above 3 moves up the inclined portion 36a of the guide plate 36, and the pair of gripping portions 25 form a narrow open space to grip the rear portion of the cassette 4.

Here, even if the relative position between the pair of gripping portions 25 and the cassette 4 is slightly shifted due to the stop position of the cassette transfer device being displaced from the normal position or the like, the pair of gripping portions 25 may be moved.
Since each tip end portion 40 can be displaced with respect to each base portion 38 against the spring force, the cassette 4 can be gripped.

When the rear part of the cassette 4 is grasped and further advanced in this state in the direction of the arrow b, the locking piece 42 of the lower grip 25 enters the lateral groove 43 of the cassette 4, as shown in FIGS. 27 and 28. .. When the pair of grips 25 further advances in the direction of the arrow b, the cassette 4 receives the pulling force from the locking piece 42 and moves in the direction of the arrow b together with the pair of grips 25.

During this movement, the upper guide roller 34
Is separated from the guide plate 36, but since the lower guide roller 35 enters the low section l ₁ of the guide hole 37, the pair of gripping portions 25 move for a while while maintaining a narrow opening distance. Then, as shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, when the lower guide roller 35 moves from the low section l ₁ of the guide hole 37 to the inclined section l ₃ , the opening interval of the pair of gripping portions 25 gradually increases and the locking piece. 42 is disengaged from the lateral groove 43 of the cassette 4.

At this position, the withdrawal of the cassette 4 is temporarily interrupted, and thereafter, only the pair of grips 25 move in the direction of the arrow b and retract to the rearmost position as shown in FIGS. 31 and 32.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 33 and 34, the pair of arm portions 72 of the auxiliary cassette pull-in mechanism E are moved in the direction of arrow c by the driving of the arm portion driving means H to move the both side surfaces of the cassette 4 together. Stop at the pressing position. In this movement process, the pair of arm portions 72 first come into contact with both side surfaces of the cassette 4, and when the arm portions 72 further move in the direction of arrow c from this contact state, they resist the spring force of the torsion coil spring 73 and move in the direction of arrow e shown in FIG. Rotate to. Therefore, the pair of arm portions 72
Is always gripping the cassette 4 with a constant gripping force by the spring force of the torsion coil spring 73. Here, as shown by a phantom line in FIG. 33, when the cassette 4 has a small size, the pair of arm portions 72 are c
The cassette 4 is gripped by moving in the direction of the arrow.

When the pair of arms 72 holds the cassette 4, the frame 57 is driven by the frame driving means G to move in the direction of the arrow b and retract to the rearmost position as shown in FIGS. To do. Along with the movement of the frame 57, the cassette 4 also moves and the cassette 4 is drawn into the cassette storage chamber 19,
The drawing operation of the cassette 4 is completed. Then, the pair of arm portions 72 hold both side surfaces of the cassette 4 even after being retracted.

(Cassette Transfer Operation) When the cassette 4 is completely drawn in, the transfer device main body 18 is turned to the center position by driving the cassette transfer device rotating means C, and then the cassette transfer device A is moved to the cassette transfer means B. It moves horizontally and vertically by driving and stops in front of the desired video tape recorder 7.

Next, the transfer device main body 18 is turned to the lateral position by driving the cassette transfer device rotating means C, and the transfer device main body 1 is moved.
The cassette port 20 of 8 and the cassette port 7a of the video tape recorder 7 face each other in a close state. During this transfer, the cassette 4 is held by the pair of arm portions 72 as shown in FIG.

(Cassette Ejecting Operation) First, the pair of arm portions 72 of the auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism E are shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 8, the arm driving means H drives to move in the direction of arrow d and stop at a position slightly separated from both side surfaces of the cassette 4.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 39 and 40, the pair of grips 25 is moved in the direction of arrow a by the driving of the gripper driving means F and displaced to the most distal position. Then, in this moving process, the front surface of the grip body 23 pushes the rear surface of the cassette 4, so that the cassette 4 moves in the direction of arrow a together with the pair of grip portions 25.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 41 and 42, the pair of arm portions 72 of the auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism E are moved in the direction of arrow c by the driving of the arm portion driving means H to the narrowest position. Displace. After that, as shown in FIGS. 43 and 44, the frame body 57 is moved in the direction of arrow a by the drive of the frame body drive means G and is displaced to the most distal position.

In this moving process, the pair of pressing rods 85 press the rear surface of the cassette 4 to move the cassette 4 in the direction of arrow a. By this movement, the cassette 4 is inserted from the cassette opening 7a of the video tape recorder 7 and reaches the insertion completion position in the cassette holder. When the insertion completion position is reached, the video tape recorder 7 starts cassette loading and the cassette 4 is positioned at the loading position.

Thereafter, the frame 57 of the auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism E moves in the direction of arrow b and retracts to the rearmost position as shown in FIGS. 45 and 46, and the pair of arms 72 moves in the direction of arrow d. And move to the widest position. Then, the pair of grips 25 of the cassette retracting mechanism D also move in the direction of arrow b and retract to the rearmost position.

On the other hand, when the cassette 4 is transferred from the video tape recorder 7 to the cassette storage shelves 3a, 3b, the operation is substantially the reverse of the above operation, and the continuous transfer for a long time is performed by repeating the transfer of the cassette 4. -Playback is performed.

In this embodiment, the cassette retraction mechanism D
In addition to this, the auxiliary cassette pull-in mechanism E is provided and the pull-in section of the cassette 4 is divided into two, but the cassette pull-in mechanism D may be used to pull in the cassette 4. However, if only the cassette retraction mechanism D is used,
There is a drawback that the cassette transfer machine A becomes large because the drawing stroke must be lengthened.

In this embodiment, the locking pieces 42 are provided only on the lower side of the pair of gripping parts 25. However, when the upper surface of the cassette 4 has a step such as a groove, the upper gripping part 25 is provided. Further, if a locking piece 42 is provided on each of the upper and lower surfaces of the cassette 4 and a step such as a groove is provided on both the upper and lower surfaces of the cassette 4, a more stable retracting force can be obtained by providing the locking pieces 42 on both grips 25. ..

In this embodiment, the system using the video tape cassette is shown, but it can be applied to the system of the cassette containing various recording media such as magnetic tape and optical disk.

[0072]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the cassette transfer machine having the transfer machine main body rotatably provided, the cassette support mechanism having the pair of arm portions whose width intervals can be adjusted is provided. Therefore, regardless of the size of the cassette, both side surfaces can be grasped, so that there is an effect that a plurality of cassettes having different sizes can be stably supported.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cassette transfer machine (embodiment).

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a cassette transfer system (embodiment).

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a cassette transfer system (embodiment).

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the cassette transfer machine in the vertical position center (example).

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the cassette transfer machine in a horizontal position (example).

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a cassette transfer device facing right (example).

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of the cassette transfer device facing left (example).

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a cassette retracting mechanism (example).

FIG. 9 is a side view of the cassette retracting mechanism (embodiment).

FIG. 10 is a front view of the cassette retracting mechanism (embodiment).

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the cassette retracting mechanism (example).

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism (example).

FIG. 13 is a side view of the auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism (embodiment).

FIG. 14 is a front view of an auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism (embodiment).

FIG. 15 is a plan view of an auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism (example).

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a roller guide mechanism and a guide member (embodiment).

FIG. 17 is a side view of a roller guide mechanism (embodiment).

FIG. 18 is a front view of a roller guide mechanism (embodiment).

FIG. 19 is a schematic side view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (embodiment).

FIG. 20 is a schematic plan view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (embodiment).

FIG. 21 is a schematic side view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (embodiment).

FIG. 22 is a schematic plan view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (example).

FIG. 23 is a schematic side view (embodiment) for explaining the cassette retracting operation.

FIG. 24 is a schematic plan view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (embodiment).

FIG. 25 is a schematic side view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (example).

FIG. 26 is a schematic plan view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (example).

FIG. 27 is a schematic side view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (example).

FIG. 28 is a schematic plan view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (example).

FIG. 29 is a schematic side view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (example).

FIG. 30 is a schematic plan view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (example).

FIG. 31 is a schematic side view (embodiment) for explaining the cassette retracting operation.

FIG. 32 is a schematic plan view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (example).

FIG. 33 is a schematic side view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (example).

FIG. 34 is a schematic plan view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (example).

FIG. 35 is a schematic side view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (example).

FIG. 36 is a schematic plan view for explaining the cassette retracting operation (example).

FIG. 37 is a schematic plan view for explaining the cassette discharging operation (embodiment).

FIG. 38 is a schematic side view for explaining the cassette discharging operation (embodiment).

FIG. 39 is a schematic plan view for explaining the cassette ejecting operation (embodiment).

FIG. 40 is a schematic side view for explaining the cassette discharging operation (example).

FIG. 41 is a schematic plan view for explaining the cassette discharging operation (example).

FIG. 42 is a schematic side view for explaining the cassette ejection operation (example).

FIG. 43 is a schematic plan view for explaining the cassette ejecting operation (embodiment).

FIG. 44 is a schematic side view for explaining the cassette discharging operation (example).

FIG. 45 is a schematic plan view for explaining the cassette discharging operation (embodiment).

FIG. 46 is a schematic side view for explaining the cassette discharging operation (embodiment).

FIG. 47 is a schematic perspective view of a cassette transfer machine (conventional example).

FIG. 48 is a schematic view showing positioning of a small cassette (conventional example).

FIG. 49 is a schematic view showing positioning of a large cassette (conventional example).

[Explanation of symbols]

A ... Cassette transfer machine, E ... Auxiliary cassette retracting mechanism (cassette support mechanism), 4 ... Cassette, 18 ... Transfer machine body,
19 ... Cassette storage chamber, 72 ... A pair of arm parts.

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A transfer machine main body is rotatably provided so as to be changed between a horizontal position and a vertical position, and a cassette storage chamber is formed in the transfer machine main body. A cassette support mechanism for supporting cassettes is provided in the transfer body, and the cassette support mechanism has a pair of arm portions arranged in the cassette storage chamber. The cassette transfer machine is characterized in that the width of the pair of arms is adjustable.