Star Seimitsu Kabushiki Kaisha

Kanzi Suzuki

A reversing mechanism for running a tape or ribbon in one direction or the other between a pair of spools. Each spool has a driven member, and an idler is disposed intermediate the driven members for selective engagement therewith. The idler is driven by a rotatable member which is coupled with a reversible electric motor. A support lever is rotatably mounted on the axis of the rotatable member, and an idle arm is pivotally mounted on one end of the support lever. The idler is rotatably mounted on the idle arm, and is maintained in pressure contact with the rotatable member by a spring extending between the free end of the idle arm and the support lever. As a consequence, the magnitude of torque required to rotate the idler is greater than the magnitude of torque required to rotate the support lever in its free condition. As the motor is reversed, the support lever moves from a first operative position in which the idler engages one of the driven members to a second operative position in which the idler engages the other driven member. Thus, the other driven member is driven in a direction different from the direction in which the one driven member is driven. In a modification, a pair of idlers are provided, each engageable with only associated one of the driven members. These idlers are rotatably mounted on one of idle arms, which are similar to that described above, and are maintained in pressure engagement with the rotatable member.

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Shizuoka, Japan

Kanzi Suzuki