Sensormatic Electronics Corporation

Olin S Giles

Hubert A Patterson

Richard Loyd Copeland

David Bruce Ferguson

Richard B Frederick

An apparatus and method for determining the position of magnetic tape within a magnetic tape cassette to ascertain whether the magnetic tape is in a rewound position within the cassette is provided. In a first aspect of the present invention, the magnetic tape cassette has two internal magnetic tape take-up reels. The magnetic tape stored on the tape-up reels is detected. The rewound status of the tape is determined by whether the magnetic tape is detected on only one reel or on both reels. In a second aspect of the present invention, a preselected amount of magnetic tape is detected within the magnetic tape cassette. The magnetic tape cassette is oriented and the position of the detected magnetic tape is determined relative to the orientation of the magnetic tape cassette. In a third aspect of the present invention, an electronically detectable member positioned in a known location of the cassette is detected. A preselected amount of magnetic tape within the cassette is detected. The time difference between the detection of the magnetic tape and the detection of the electronically detectable member is used to determine the position of the magnetic tape relative to the cassette. The electronically detectable member can be an electronic article surveillance marker.

Automatic rewind detection for magnetic tape cassettes

A multi-bit electronic article surveillance marker includes an antenna circuit and is powered by an interrogation field generated by EAS detection equipment and received by the marker's antenna circuit. The marker generates a multi-bit signal by selectively disturbing the interrogation field. The disturbances may be created by selectively short circuiting the marker's antenna circuit. All of the marker circuitry, including a coil that is part of the antenna circuit, may be provided as circuit elements formed on a semiconductor integrated circuit substrate.

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New London, NC, United States of America

Olin S Giles