JPS60251542A - Magnetic recorder and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect the life and quality of a magnetic tape, by recording the latest using condition of the tape on a magnetic card provided under freely removable conditions. CONSTITUTION:When a tape cassette is loaded onto a cassette deck, a magnetic head 17 moves above the magnetic material 12 of a magnetic card 11 and reads out the used number of times of the tape unitl this time and stores the number of times in a memory 18. When the tape is used thereafter, a BOT signal 19 and EOT signal 20 are detected at every use and the detected number of times is stored in the memory 18. When the use of the tape is terminated, an adder circuit 21 calculates the used number of times of the tape until now from the previous used number of times and the used frequency of this time and the signal is stored in the magnetic material 12 by means of the magnetic head 17. When the signal is recorded in the magnetic material 12, the previously recorded signal indicating the previous used number of times in the magnetic material 12 is erased by the superposed writing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus, and more particularly to a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus having a counter function such as the number of times a tape cassette is used.

[Prior art]

Conventionally, there has been a tape cassette shown in FIG. 1 that is loaded into this type of magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus.

The same figure (al is a front view of the tape cassette 50, the same figure (b)
represents the plan view. In the figure, 1 is a tape, 2 is a reel provided for winding up the tape, 3 is a lid that protects the tape from dust, fingerprints, etc.
4 is a recognition hole that indicates the material of the tape, 5 is a nail to prevent accidental erasure,
6 is a label on which the user can write information such as song title and recording time.

Further, FIG. 2 shows details of a method for detecting the beginning of a tape and the end of a tape. In the same figure (al shows the state at the beginning of winding the tape, and in the same figure (bl shows the state at the end of winding the tape).

In the figure, 1o is a leader tape provided at both ends of a tape 1 wound on a reel 2, and is made of a transparent or translucent material to allow light to pass through. 7 is a photodiode that emits a signal indicating the beginning of tape 1 (hereinafter referred to as BOT signal) and a signal indicating the end of tape 1 (hereinafter referred to as EOT signal); 8 is a phototransistor that detects the BOT signal; 9 is EOT signal. This is a phototransistor that detects

Next, the operation of detecting the beginning and end of this tape will be explained.

The photodiode 7 always emits light, but when there is a tape 1 between it and the phototransistor 9 or 1o, the light is blocked and the BOT signal or E is output.

Unable to detect T signal and leader tape 1
When 0 is between the two, light passes through and the BOT signal or EOT signal can be detected.

These signals are used, for example, to activate a sequence circuit that stops the rotation of the reel 2 when the tape reaches its end or when the tape has finished rewinding.

Although conventional magnetic recording and reproducing devices can detect BOT signals or EOT signals as described above, it is impossible to store the number of times they have been detected, and it is also impossible to record the number of times they have been detected on a tape cassette. It didn't have the functionality.

For this reason, for example, a person who rents out tapes has no choice but to set the fee based on the number of rental days, and even if some users damage the tape by using it too many times, this cannot be determined quantitatively. This was a disadvantage because it was impossible to make a judgment based on the situation.

In addition, there are cases where a tape that has reached the end of its lifespan is lent out without the user's knowledge, which may cause problems with the user, which is disadvantageous in terms of quality assurance of the tape.

[Summary of the invention]

This invention was made in order to eliminate the drawbacks of the conventional devices as described above, and it includes a tape cassette that is provided with a removably magnetic card that can record information on the usage status of the tape, and a magnetic recording/reproducing device main body (cassette). means for detecting the number of times the tape has been used (9 hours, etc.) by the device; means for calculating the latest usage status from this detection result and the usage status information read from the magnetic card; It is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus that can easily obtain information regarding the usage status of a tape by providing a means for recording on the tape.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Third
The figure shows a tape cassette used in an embodiment of the present invention, and the figure (al is a perspective view thereof, and figure fb is a front view thereof). In the figure, reference numeral II indicates a magnetic card that can be attached to and removed from the tape cassette 50, and reference numeral 12 indicates a magnetic material coated on the magnetic card 11, on which information such as the number of times of use can be recorded.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a plate supported by the housing of the cassette 50, and is formed to sandwich and hold the magnetic card 11. Reference numeral 14 denotes a notch provided in the plate 13, through which the user can easily insert or remove the magnetic card 11 by placing a finger on it when inserting or removing the magnetic card 11. 1
5 is an insertion slot for the magnetic card 11, and 16 is a pocket portion into which the magnetic card 11 is inserted.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the counter function, and in the figure, reference numeral 17 denotes a magnetic head for both reading signals recorded on the magnetic material 12 of the magnetic card II and writing signals to the magnetic material 12; is the memory of the signal recorded on the magnetic material 12 (the number of times the tape has been used so far), and
A rewritable memory 21 stores the number of detections of the 30T signal 19 and the EOT signal 20, and 21 is an adder circuit that adds together the signals stored in the memory 18. An arithmetic circuit is configured to calculate usage conditions and provide the calculation results to the magnetic head 17.

Next, the operation will be explained.

When the tape cassette 50 is loaded into the cassette deck,
First, the magnetic head 17 moves the magnetic material 12 on the magnetic card 11
The number of times the tape has been used so far is read out and stored in the memory 18. Next, when the tape is used, the BOT signal 19 and EOT signal 20 are detected each time the tape is used, and the number of detections is stored in the memory 18. Note that the number of uses is counted as one when the BOT signal 19 and the EOT signal 20 are each detected once. When the use of the tape ends, the adder circuit 21 calculates the current number of uses, and the magnetic head 17 records this signal on the magnetic material 12. At this time, the signal indicating the number of times of use, which has already been recorded on the magnetic material 12, is erased by overwriting.

Here, the signal indicating the end of use of the tape may be generated using, for example, a cassette eject switch. In this case, the tape cassette 50 is ejected after the current number of times of use is written.

Alternatively, the current number of times the tape has been used may be written each time the tape is used.

According to this embodiment, since it is possible to know the number of times a tape has been used, it is especially useful for those who rent out tapes, and it is possible to set fees according to the lifespan and quality of the tape at the time of rental. It is possible to charge a tape usage fee that the user can accept. Furthermore, the tape lender can automatically calculate the usage fee by simply reading the signals on the magnetic card before and after the tape is used, making collection of fees simple and error-free.

In the above embodiment, the number of times the tape is used is counted and recorded, but as shown in FIG. The same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained by counting and recording the number of times.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, a tape cassette is provided with a removably magnetic card that can record the usage status of the tape, and the cassette deck side detects the usage history of the tape by the deck, and the detection results are The latest usage status is calculated from the previous usage status information read from the magnetic card, and the calculation result is recorded on the magnetic card, making it easy to know the usage status of the tape. This has the effect of being very useful in knowing the lifespan and quality of the tape.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 fa)) fb) is a front view and plan view showing a conventional tape cassette, Figure 2+8) (bl is a perspective view showing a method of detecting the beginning and end of one roll of a conventional tape cassette, respectively, and Fig. 3 Figure (a) (bl is a perspective view and front view of a tape cassette used in a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram of the present invention) It is a schematic block diagram of other examples. 1... Tape, 7... Photodiode, 8.9...
・Phototransistor, 10...Leader tape, 11
...Magnetic card, 17...Magnetic head, 18...
Memory, 21...Addition circuit (arithmetic circuit), 22...
Timer, 50...tape cassette. Note that the same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or equivalent parts. Figure 1 Figure 2 (Q) (b) Figure 3 Figure 4 R Figure 5 8

Claims (1)

[Claims] (11) In a magnetic recording and reproducing device that records and reproduces data on a tape cassette that stores a magnetic tape, the tape cassette is removably provided with a magnetic card that can record information indicating the usage status of the tape. The main body of the magnetic recording/reproducing device into which the tape cassette with the magnetic card attached is set includes a magnetic head for reading and writing usage status information of the magnetic card, and a magnetic head for detecting the usage history of the tape by the device. It is characterized by being provided with a usage record detection means, and an arithmetic circuit that calculates the latest tape usage status from the usage status information read by the magnetic head and the usage record, and provides the calculation result to the magnetic head. (2) The magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the usage record detecting means calculates the number of times the tape has been used using a tape start end signal and a tape end signal. Recording and reproducing device. (3) Claim 1, wherein the usage record detecting means is a timer that measures tape running time.
The magnetic recording and reproducing device described in .