Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Yosikazu Yamano

Shingo Kage

Yasunari Toyama

Tetsuji Yoshii

Takehisa Takamiya

A tape recorder includes a cassette holder for holding therein a tape cassette which is inserted in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of a slide shutter of the tape cassette, an arm-like shutter opening member for opening the slide shutter of the tape cassette, a slide member movable between a first position in which the tape cassette is latched on the slide member, and a second position in which the tape cassette is fully received in the cassette holder, and a control plate, connected with the slide member and engageable with the shutter opening member, for controlling the operation of an actuating pin of the shutter opening member such that when the slide member is disposed in the first position, the actuating pin is held on the outside of the cassette holder, and when the slide plate moves from the first position toward the second position, the actuating pin is able to move into the cassette holder and then engage and open the slide shutter of the tape cassette as the tape cassette is advanced by the slide member.

Tape recorder having a cassette-shutter opening mechanism

An apparatus for identifying the type of each of first and second types of tape cassettes which are inserted into the same cassette holder of a tape recorder in a longitudinal direction and mounted at a predetermined position in the tape recorder, the first tape cassette being provided with at least one recess at its side surface perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the second tape cassette being provided with a projection at a position of its side surface corresponding to the position of the recess of the first tape cassette. The apparatus comprises a rotatable lever arranged to be at a predetermined recessive position before mounting the first and second tape cassettes and rotatable toward the first and second tape cassette after mounting the first and second tape cassettes. The rotatable lever engages with the recess of the first tape cassette and the projection of the second tape cassette by the rotation so as to take first and second operating states in accordance with the recess and projection. The apparatus further comprises a switch responsive to the first and second operating states of the rotatable lever so as to identify the kinds of the tapes of the first and second mounted tape cassettes on the basis of the first and second operating states.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Yosikazu Yamano