Hitachi, Ltd.

Yasuyuki Niguchi

Atsushi Inoue

Nobuyuki Kaku

Yasuo Inagaki

A tape loading device is for a cassette type magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus in which a tape is drawn out of a cassette for record or reproduction, and includes movable tape guides for defining a path for running of the tape, a pair of reel driving motors which independently drive two reels of the cassette to apply a back tension to the tape, and a control unit. The reel driving motors are activated to apply the same torque to both the reels, before the tape loading operation. In this state, a tape wind diameter ratio and/or an inertia ratio between the reels is computed based on the speeds and directions of rotations of the reels. The control unit selects a control pattern which would effectively suppress rotations of the reels due to inertia, out of a plurality of control patterns, in accordance with the computed value. In tape loading or unloading operation, the control unit controls operation of the movable tape guides and/or the reel driving motors in accordance with the selected pattern. Thus, any undesirable effect of inertia of the cassette reels is avoided, so that tape is loaded or unloaded in a short time without suffering from damage.

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Katsuta, Japan

Yasuyuki Niguchi