King Instrument Corporation

William W Ross

George M Woodley

Richard A McGrail

Stephen J Powers

A splicing block assembly and a splicing tape dispenser applicator for a cassette-loading machine. The splicing block assembly comprises a first splicing block having a first tape guide located in a selected plane, a second splicing block having a second tape guide located in said selected plane in alignment with said first tape guide, said second block being mounted for reciprocal movement along a selected axis extending parallel to said first and second tape guides between a first position in which said second block is adjacent to said first block and a second position in which said second block is spaced from said first block, a third splicing block having a third tape guide that extends parallel to said selected axis, and said third splicing block being mounted for reciprocal movement between (1) a first position in which said third splicing block is spaced from said first and second splicing blocks and (2) a second position in which said third splicing block is located between said first and second splicing blocks and said third tape guide is located in said selected plane in alignment with at least one of said first and second tape guides. The dispenser-applicator is a transfer type device comprising a dispensing mechanism for dispensing and cutting a splicing tape into pieces of preselected lengths, and an applicator mechanism for transferring the pieces of splicing tape to a splicing block.

Tape loading machine

A new and improved splicing block assembly and a novel splicing tape dispenser applicator for a cassette-loading machine are disclosed. The improved splicing block assembly comprises a first splicing block having a first tape guide means located in a selected plane, a second splicing block having a second tape guide means located in said selected plane in alignment with said first tape guide means, means mounting said second block for reciprocal movement along a selected axis extending parallel to said first and second tape guide means between a first position in which said second block is adjacent to said first block and a second position in which said second block is spaced from said first block, a third splicing block having a third tape guide means that extends parallel to said selected axis, and means mounting said third splicing block for reciprocal movement between (1) a first position in which said third splicing block is spaced from said first and second splicing blocks and (2) a second position in which said third splicing block is located between said first and second splicing blocks and said third tape guide means is located in said selected plane in alignment with at least one of said first and second tape guide means. The new dispenser-applicator is a transfer type device comprising dispensing means for dispensing and cutting a splicing tape into pieces of preselected lengths, and applicator means for transferring the cut pieces of splicing tape to a splicing block assembly that is a substantial distance from the dispensing means.

Splicing head assembly for tape loading machines

The invention relates to an improved form of shift block assembly for a cassette tape loading machine. The shift block assembly is of the type that comprises first, second and third shift blocks mounted for sliding and rotating motion on a common axis. Each of the shift blocks has a guideway for aligning tape to be spliced and also is provided with means for applying suction to hold a tape in position in the guideway. The three blocks are disposed in tandem along the common axis, and the first and second shift blocks are used to hold the two leaders, while the third shift block is used to hold the tape to be loaded. Means are provided for shifting each block axially along and additional means are provided for rotating each block relative to the other on the axis.

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Framingham, MA, United States of America

William W Ross