Magnetic tape cartridge removing apparatus

Claim 1

In a magnetic tape cartridge player utilizing a plurality of endless magnetic tape cartridges for playing a vertical stack of a plurality of tape cartridge from the lowermost to the uppermost in succession, a magnetic tape cartridge removing apparatus comprising a player cabinet; a horizontal platform which is provided in the player cabinet and on which the lowermost cartridge rests; a movable deck on the platform; a rotatable capstan on the deck, said capstan being adapted to forcedly abut against a pinch roller in the lowermost cartridge held in the play position; deck driving means for reciprocally moving the deck between a reproducing position where the capstan engages the cartridge in the play position and a retracted position where the capstan is disengaged from the cartridge in the play position; an idler wheel mounted on said deck in opposition to the capstan, means for abutting said idler wheel against the capstan to be rotated by the capstan during the period when the deck is moving between said reproducing and retracted positions; a drum operable to be rotatable in response to rotation of the idler wheel; a pushing lever slidably mounted on the platform for reciprocal movement toward and away from said cartridge in the play position, said pushing lever having a head member to oppose a cartridge in the play position; bias means for normally urging the pushing lever to an original position where the head member of the pushing lever is away from the cartridge in the play position; a belt connecting the drum to the pushing lever, said drum being operable to take-up the belt while being rotated in response to rotation of said idler wheel; and drum means for allowing the belt to be unwound when the rotation of said drum is arrested, the pushing lever being moved into engagement with said cartridge in the play position to thereby move said cartridge away from the play position a sufficient distance to enable another cartridge to replace it as the pushing lever is moved against the bias of the bias means in response to take-up of said belt on said drum, the pushing lever being returned to the original position by the bias of the bias means and said belt being thereby unwound in response to arrest of rotation of the drum.