AU2125683A - Device for a video tape cassette intended for rental purposes - Google Patents

Description

Device for a video tape cassette intended for rental purposes

This invention relates to a device for a video or audio tape cassette intended for rental purposes, where the tape which contains a pre¬ recorded programme of a certain length of playing time, is wound from one spool to the other while playing and is re-wound before being played again.

At newsagents, garages and special video stores there is now a great supply of video cassettes with pre-recorded programmes which can be hired for a specific price. The price is normally based on the length of the rental time, for example the number of days for which the cassette is hired.

To better understand the disadvantages that come with the present rental rules, the whole chain from manufacturer and distrubutor to rental and consumer will be explained briefly as follows.

From the beginning the producer has fuii rights to a produced programme, for example, a film. The distrubutor gets the right to produce a specific number of copies of recorded video cassettes from the producer at a non-recurring price. The distributor hires the cassettes to a rental firm for a specific time, normally one year for a specific price, and the rental firm in turn hires the cassettes to the consumer. When the cassette has been hired for a year, the distributor reclaims it and destroys it, to avoid worn out cassettes with bad picture and sound quality being hired.

As the rental firm has to pay a specific rent to the distributor during the decided time, it is in the rental firms interest to, in turn, hire each cassette to as many consumers as possible i.e. as many times as possible. This means that the rental firm prefers to choose easily sold programmes and is not so interested in so-called "narrow" programmes such as culturally orientated programmes. For the consumer this means that especially in the ocuntry side it is more difficult or at least more expensive to hire a cassette with, for example an opera programme than one with a violence programme. The rental firm naturally prefers if each consumer only plays a programme once and does not loan it or in turn hire the cassette to his/her friends as the number of consumers thereby is decreased without a corresponding income for the rental firm.

The present rental system has the disadvantage for the distributor, that he needs a big staff and possibly computers to keep a check on which rental firm has a certain cassette and at what time it is to be called back and destroyed.

The object of the present invention is to achieve a device of introduct¬ ory type with which above said disadvantages can be eliminated and this is facilitated in that the device comprises of a first means having two alternative conditions out of which one, the non-activated condition, implies that the tape is not effected by said means and of which, the second condition, the active condition, implies that the tape is effected by said means while being played or re-wound so that the next playing of the tape becomes impossible or indistinguishable, a second means arranged to achieve a mechanical switch of positions from a first to a second position by detecting the amount of video tape, that can be found on at least one of said spools and to there after return to the first position, a third means operatively connected to the second means and arranged to be moved one step at the mechanical switch of positions and after being moved a pre-decided number of steps to effect said first means to get into the activated position.

The invention secures that a recorded cassette is only played a pre- decided number of times. For the producer a device according to the invention means that he can sell the video cassettes on royality bases to the distributor. The distributor in turn, sells the cassettes to the rental firm and can decrease his staff and equipment, as he has not got any reason to keep check on which rental firm has which cassette in order to be able to call back the cassette at a right time; any playing of the cassette becomes impossible or indistinguishable after a certain number of plays. For the consumer a device according to the invention means a fairer basis of payment and thereby possibly lower rent and a bigger supply of specialized programmes - the rental firm can, without risk of financial losses, also supply these programmes as the rental is not primarily based on time but on the number of plays of a programme. In the following, the invention will be explained furthermore with reference to enclosed drawing on which figure 1 schematically shows an opened video cassette of conventional type with a device according to the invention. Figure 2 shows a cross-section along a line A-A in figure 1. Figure 3 shows a device according to the invention in its non- activated condition and figure 4 shows the device in its active condi¬ tion.

In figure 1 , numeral 1 generally shows a video cassette of conventional type in the frame 2 of which the tape spools 3_> 4 are rotatably mounted between which a tape 5 with a pre-recorded programme with a certain length of playing time is wound in one direction, for example from spool 3 to spool 4, while being played and re-wound in the opposite direction before being played again.

The embodiment of a device according to the invention shown on the drawing includes, two pivoted arms 6, 7 in the frame 2 where the free ends 8, 9 of the arms 6, 7 are arranged to slide on the tape 5 wound up on the spools 3_> 4 respectively. The arms are mutually operatively connected by means of an articulated rod 10 in such a fashion that when the end 8, moves away from the centre 11 of the spool 3 due to an increasing amount of tape 5 on spool 3, the end 9 moves towards the centre 12 of the spool 4 and vice versa.

The device also includes a disc 13 rotatably mounted co-axialiy with the spool 3_» which at least along a part of its periphery has toothing 14. The disc 13 contains a certain number of teeth which will be explained further as follow::;. The disc 13 is arranged to be turned in one direction, clockwise in the embodiment shown on the drawing, by a feeding arm 15 operatively connected to the arm 6 and engaging in the toothing 14 and is prevented from turning in the opposite direction by a blocking arm 16 also engaging in the toothing 15. Under the influence of above said movements, which arises on the arm 6 while playing and re¬ winding the tape, the feeding arm 15 is thus brought to make a movement going back and forth which makes the disc 13 gradually turn clockwise. Thus the possiblitity of counting the number of plays is achieved. The disc 13 is preferably equipped with a running series of numbers which are not shown on the drawing, where the numbers are arranged circularly

OMPI around the centre 11 of the disc 13 and are shown one by one through a hole in the case of the cassette.

To make it impossible or indistinguishable, according to the invention to play a cassette after a pre-decided number of plays the device according to the invention includes a destruction means which on the drawing is labelled with 17. The destruction means has two conditions of which one, the non-activated condition, the tape 5 is not effected by the destruction means, but in the other condition, the activated condition, the tape 5 is destroyed by the destruction means 17.

In the embodiment shown on the drawing, the destruction means 17 consists of a slidingly mounted body 18 with one or more edges 19 facing the tape 5. The body 18 is arranged to reach the activated condition under influence of a catch 20 arranged on the disc 13 at the end of the toothing. In the activated conditions the edges 19 are pushed onto the tape which is cut to pieces or split when playing or re-winding as shown in figure 2, whereby continued use of the cassette is made impossible.

It is obvious that the invention can be modified in many ways within the scope of the invention. The desctruction means 17 for example can instead of edges consist of a container with a substance which effects the tape 5 so that the tape is dissolved and/or stuck together. The container is opened and brought onto the tape in the activated condi- tion.

Furthermore instead of the arm 7 and the articulated rod 10 a return spring working on the arm 6 can be used to get the arm 6 to approach the centre of the spool 11 when the tape 5 is wound off the spool 3.

Claims

Claims

1. A device for a video or audio tape cassette (1 ) intended for rental purposes, where a tape (5) which contains a pre-recorded programme of a certain length of playing time and, when playing the programme is wound from one spool (3) to another (4) and is re-wound before being played again, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that a device comprises of first means (17; 18, 19) having two alternative conditions of which one, the non-activated, implies that the tape (5) is- not effected by said means (17; 18, 19) and of which the other condition, the active condition, implies that the tape (5) while being played or being re-wound is effected by said means (17; 18, 19) so that the next play is impossible or indistinguishable, a second means (6, 7, 10) arranged to achieve a mechanical switch of positions from a first to a second position by detecting the amount of videotape, which can be found in at least one of the said spools (3_> 4) and afterwards return to the first position, a third means operatively connected to the second means (6, 7, 10) and arranged to be moved one step at the mechanical switch of positions and after being moved a pre-decided number of steps effect said first means (17; 18, 19) to get into the active position.

2. A device according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by that said first means (17; 18, 19) includes one or more edges (19) which are not in contact with the tape (5) in the non-active condition, but is in contact with the tape (5) in the active condition where the tape (5) is shreaded while being played or re-wound.

3- A device according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by that said first means (17) includes a container with a substance effecting the tape (5), for example, a glue substance, where the container is arranged to be opened and brought onto the tape (5) in the active condition.

4. A device according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by that the second means (6, 7, 10) is arranged to return to the first position when re-winding the video tape.

5. A device according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by that the second means (6, 7, 10) is arranged to return to the first position under influence of a return spring.

6. A device according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by that said second means (6, 7, 10) includes a pivoted arm (7) one end (9) of which is arranged to slide onto the tape (5) on the periphery of the receiving spool (4) at least at the end of playing time to achieve the mechanical switch of positions.

7. A device according to claim 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by the second means (6, 7, 10) includes a second pivoted arm (6) which is operatively connected to the first arm (7) and arranged to slide onto the periphery of the receiving spool (3) at least at the end of the re-winding of the tape to achieve the return to the first position.

OMPI