Video Tape Recorder Having Two Video Decks on a Single Chassis for Transducing With a Single Tape

This invention relates to a video tape recorder; more specifically, it relates to a video tape recorder which enables viewers to reproduce pictures and sound while they are recording them.

So far there has been systems to check if pictures and/or sound to be recorded can be well recorded on a tape. Such systems tells how to record, but do not provide any means to record and check at the same time. Consequently, checking has to follow recording when the recording is finished. On account of that, fail to record was unavoidable.

However, according to the invention, one video tape deck is assigned to recording and another to reproducing a tape, so that viewers can check recorded pictures and sound offhand with the result that they never fail to record them.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are plan views of a VTR according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a control circuit diagram of the VTR;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the function of the VTR; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of another VTR according to the invention.

No references will be made in detail according to the drawing in order that the invention may be understood more clearly.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of plates 2, 3 are provided on the left side and the right side of VTR's chassis respectively. Provided outside the plates 2, 3 are gears 5, 6 for driving a motor 4 for loading or unloading a video cassette tape 8. The plates 2, 3 hold a cassette holder 7 between them which is designed to receive a video cassette tape 8.

A tape driving motor 9, a flywheel 10 driven by the motor 9, a capstan axis 11, a pinch roller 12 which presses on the capstan axis and a pair of reel axes 13, 14 which are coupled to a pair of reels 15, 16 of the cassette 8 respectively are provided on the chassis 1 in order to wind back and forth a video tape on the reels 15, 16. A pair of video decks 17, 18 are disposed side by side on the same plane of the chassis 1. A video read/write head 19, a loading pin 22 for taking video tape 21 out of the cassette 8 before guiding it on a guide rail 20, a tape loading motor 23 for driving the loading pin 22 and an audio read/write head 24 are provided as part of each of the video decks 17, 18. Moreover, an erasing head 25 is provided where a video tape enters the first video deck 17 and adjacent to the capstan axis 11 and the pinch roller 12 of the first video deck.

When the video tape cassette 8 is put on the cassette holder 7, the gears 5, 6 are driven by the cassette loading motor 4. The cassette holder comes close to the top of the chassis. The reels 15, 16 of the video cassette 8 engage with the reel axes 13, 14 respectively and when the position of the cassette 8 is properly settled by a pair of locating pins 26, 26, video tape is forwarded by the loading pins 22, 22 driven by the loading motors 23, 23 and guided on the guide rails 20, 20 from the first to the second video deck. The tape 21 passes through the video heads 19, 19, the audio heads 24, 24 and the erasing head 25 keeping contact with them. Finally, it passes between the capstan axis 11, driven by the motor 9, and the pinch roller 12 and is wound on the reel 15 at a constant rate.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first (left) video deck 17 is provided with a circuit 27 to which the video and the audio heads are connected and the second (right) video deck 18 is similarly provided with a circuit 28 to which the video and the audio heads are connected. These circuits 27, 28 are connected to a video circuit 29 comprising a micro-computer. The video circuit 29 is further connected to two television sets 30, 31 and to external input terminals 32, 33 to receive video signals. Thus, video signals can be recorded by either the first 17 or the second deck 18 and the recorded video signals can be displayed by either of the television 30, 31. In this example, the first video deck 17 is assigned to recording and the second video deck 18 is assigned to playing back recorded video signals.

Reference has been made to the structure and the mechanism of an embodiment of the invention. Now reference will be made to the function thereof. As shown in FIG. 4, when it is confirmed that a video cassette tape 8 is set to the proper position, the first video deck 17 begins recording video signals as soon as it is activated and the second video deck 18 simultaneously begins playing back the just recorded signals and displaying them on the television 31 in order that they may be checked if properly recorded on the tape.

As shown in FIG. 5, the deck chassis 1 can be divided into two 1a, 1b; left and right or upper and lower. The tape driving motor 9, the flywheel 10, the capstan axis 11, the pinch roller 12, the video head 19, the guide rails 20, 20, the loading pins 22, 22, the tape loading motor 23, the audio head 24 and the erasing head 25 are provided on each of the decks 1a, 1b.

In this case, a pair of arms 34, 34 for extending video tape 21 are made pivotable around their axes 35, 35, a motor 36 for driving the arms and a battery 37 for energizing the motor 36 are mounted on the cassette holder 7. By means of these devices, a video tape 21 can be thread through the decks 1a, 1b when the reel axes 13, 14 are engaged with the reels 15, 16 and the video tape is extended before the cassette 8 by the arms 35, 35. In this regard, the video decks 1a, 1b can be constructed free from the structure of the cassette 8. Moreover, one cassette 8 can be loaded in each of the video decks 1a, 1b when they are separated. In this embodiment, according to the invention, it is possible to have VTR structure capable of recording and playing back with one video tape or recording and playing back with two video cassette tapes.