EP3070685B1

EP3070685B1 - Coin collecting device

Info

Publication number: EP3070685B1
Application number: EP16160291.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Marco MERAVIGLIA; Alessandro ZATTA; Margherita Colleoni
Original assignee: Sisal Entertainment SpA
Current assignee: Sisal Entertainment SpA
Priority date: 2015-03-16
Filing date: 2016-03-15
Publication date: 2019-05-08
Anticipated expiration: 2036-03-15
Also published as: TR201909947T4; ES2738878T3; ITMO20150057A1; PL3070685T3; DK3070685T3; HRP20191332T1; EP3070685A1; RS59202B1; SI3070685T1; HUE044991T2; PT3070685T

Description

Background of the invention

The invention relates to a device for collecting objects of reduced dimensions, in particular coins. In particular, the present invention refers to a collecting device for collecting coins, which is usable in a machine that dispenses coins to be recovered, for example usable in a gaming machine.
The collecting device of the invention is advantageously but not exclusively usable for collecting the coins dispensed by a gaming machine.
The collecting device of the invention can be in fact advantageously used also to collect coins or objects of reduced dimensions dispensed by an automatic distributor of goods or services, as will be seen better below.
It is pointed out that the term 'coin' indicates both money and a medal or a token of any shape, for example of disc shape or the like.
Generally, a gaming machine is defined as an entertainment apparatus that can be for profit, such as so-called slot machines, or not for profit, such as for example the machines usually installed in games rooms. Such gaming machines, both for profit and not for profit, are designed to activate a gaming session when a user inserts a means of payment into the machine, which can be a bank note, a prepaid card or one or more coins, or any other means that is able to activate the game session.
Typically, gaming machines comprise a controller of the game session that can enable or not the game session as the consequence of the payment.
The wins from the game of a gaming machine are generally either stored in the machine as credits or are immediately dispensed as coins from the machine and received in a coin collecting device. If the wins are stored in the machine as credits, the machine dispenses a number of coins corresponding to the number of credits in the collecting device in response to the user pushing a "collect/change" button that releases coins present inside the machine in a coin hopper.
The collecting device is typically tray-shaped and has side walls, a front wall and a bottom wall on which the dispensed coins are received. The bottom is generally tilted downwards to the front wall to promote the collection of coins to the front wall.
To recover the coins, the user has to grasp the coins, a handful at a time if there are many, slide the coins from the bottom resting on the front wall, extract the coins from the tray and transfer the coins to a coin-collecting container, which is typically cup or beaker-shaped, so as to be able to recover the coins for a subsequent game session or for other purposes.
The user may in fact need to move to a different gaming machine, over time, and the coins to be played have to be able to be transported easily from one gaming position to another.
On the other hand, in the case of an automatic distributor, it is generally the coins dispensed as change that are collected in the bottom in the coin collecting device. Also in this case a user has to grasp the coins from the bottom of the coin collecting device, slide the coins resting on the front wall to extract the coins and be able to dispose of the coins.
Typically, the coin collecting device is very large, extending from one side of the machine to the other, and the flat bottom promotes a wide distribution of coins on the bottom. Further, the coins have a dimension that is much less than the total surface of the bottom of the coin collecting device.
One of the problems of coin collecting devices of known type is linked to the fact that, to avoid unexpectedly losing the coins, a user is forced to check frequently the bottom of the coin collecting device, by feeling and repeatedly passing a hand over the bottom.
It is thus necessary to use time and attention to collect the coins, which can force a user to take an undesired break from the game and which, both in the case of a gaming machine and in the case of an automatic distributor, may irritate the user.
Another problem is further due to the fact that, having to check the bottom of the coin collecting device several times, the dirt and metal left by the coins on the bottom of the collecting device can transfer accidentally to the hand of the user.
In order to make collecting the coins easier, coin-collecting devices have been proposed that are shaped in different modes, which are shown for example in patent US6817463 or in patent application US 2003/0124967 , that show coin collecting devices provided with coin guiding elements. Such guiding elements can be fixed directly to the dispensing outlet of a gaming machine or can be connected to the coin collecting device or obtained therefrom, for example by means of hinged portions of the external panel made like tilting doors.
The presence of a protruding guide element, whether fixed to the dispensing outlet coins or to the collecting device, involves a direct protruding element to a user that the user could involuntarily knock against, for example during a gaming session, receiving bruises.
Hinged portions of the coin collecting device require on the other hand greater constructional complexity, which is due to the plurality of additional components that a door requires. At the same time, when the door is open, the guide element nevertheless protrudes and could thus be involuntarily knocked against by the user.
US6715757 discloses a coin transferring device that is applicable to coin-collecting trays for slot-machines in which a bottom of the tray has a sliding door covering a through hole that, with the door closed, closes the opening, and, with the door open, enables the coins in the tray to be transferred easily to a connecting container arranged immediately below the opening.

Summary of the invention

One object of the invention is to overcome one or more of the aforesaid limits and drawbacks of the prior art.
Another object is to make a coin collecting device that facilitates coin collection from the bottom of the device, minimising the risk of loss of coins and reducing the time taken to collect the coins and which is simple from the constructional point of view.
Still another object is to make a coin collecting device that facilitates coin collection from the bottom of the device and which is contained in the overall dimensions of the coin collecting device.
Such objects, and yet others, are achieved by the coin collecting device according to one or more of the claims set out below.

Short description of the drawings

The invention can be better understood and implemented with reference to the attached drawings that illustrate some embodiments thereof by way of non-limiting example.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a gaming machine comprising a device for inserting coins according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the coin collecting device of figure 1.
Figure 3 is a bottom perspective view of a coin recovery conduit of the coin collecting device of figure 1.
Figure 4 is a top view of an insert of an inner tray of the coin collecting device of figure 1.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the insert of figure 4.
Figure 6 is another perspective view of the insert of figure 4.
Figure 7 is a partial frontal schematic view of the inner tray and of an external panel of the coin collecting device seen from inside the inner tray, some parts being removed for the sake of clarity.
Figure 8 is a top view of a different embodiment of the coin collecting device of the present invention.
Figure 9 is a perspective view of the coin collecting device of figure 8.
Figure 10 is a frontal schematic view of the inner tray of the coin collecting device of figure 8.

Detailed description

In this description, similar elements common to the various illustrated embodiments have been indicated by the same numbering.
As shown in Figure 1, with 1 overall a gaming machine is indicated, in particular a gaming machine with a vertical extent, which is usable by a user to engage in a gaming session, which is activatable by a coin 2, or, as said previously, by a medal or a token of any shape, for example with a disc or similar shape. The gaming machine 1 of figure 1 is a slot machine and reference will be made to this machine to illustrate the invention, without thereby limiting scope.
The gaming machine 1 comprises a body 3, which extends prevalently along a longitudinal axis A that is vertical. The body 3 defines an inner space (not shown) that is suitable for containing mechanisms for running the gaming machine (not shown) such as for example a game session controller, a coin hopper, and a coin receiving element, which is also commonly known as a coin box.
The gaming machine 1 comprises further comprises a main front door 4 that is able to rotate around a side hinge (not shown) between a closed gaming position and an open position that enables the inside of the gaming machine 1 to be accessed and thus the running mechanisms to be accessed.
The main front door 4 is provided with an upper screen 5 and with a lower screen 6 (one or both of which can be of the touchscreen type) intended for displaying the images of the game. According to an alternative embodiment of the gaming machine, just one display screen is present.
It is specified that, in the present description, "lower" refers to the fact that the lower screen 6 is lower than the upper screen 5, with respect to the vertical longitudinal axis A of the gaming machine, and i.e. at a lesser height from the ground.
A button panel 7, provided with buttons 8 for controlling the game, is also fixed to the main front door 4, lower than the screens 5 and 6. The button panel 7 protrudes from the body 3 to a user and is tilted with respect to the body 3 to the lower part of the gaming machine. The button panel 7 makes a supporting structure for a forearm of a user.
The main front door 4 further comprises a substantially horizontal resting panel 9, that extends from the lower end of the lower screen 6 to the button panel 7 and on which a user can rest the coins 2 that are still to be played.
The main front door 4 is further provided with a coin 2 collecting device 10, according to the invention, arranged for collecting the coins 2 dispensed from a coin outlet (not shown) of the gaming machine 1. For example the coin collecting device 10 can collect change in coins 2 to be returned to a user or a win upon completion of a gaming session. The coin collecting device 10 is arranged at a lower end of the main front door 4, below the button panel 7.
It is specified that the coin collecting device of the invention is advantageously but not exclusively usable for collecting the coins dispensed by a gaming machine, being also usable in a different machine, like for example an automatic distributor, if it is necessary to recover coins such as change or objects of reduced dimensions, as already illustrated previously.
The coin collecting device is thus suitable for being used advantageously in a machine from which coins to be recovered are dispensed, for example the gaming machine 1.
The gaming machine 1 further comprises a secondary front door 11, which is also openable to access the inner space, and a footrest 12 for the greater ease of a user sitting in front of the gaming machine, which are arranged below the coin collecting device 10.
The gaming machine further comprises a coin insertion block 13, which is fixed to the resting panel 9.
The coin collecting device 10 comprises an inner tray 14 arranged for receiving the coins dispensed by the machine 1, in particular from a coin dispensing outlet 2 (not illustrated) of the machine 1. The coin collecting device 10 further comprises an external panel 15 bounding the inner tray 14 externally towards a user.
It should be noted that the coin 2 collecting device 10 of figure 1 is integrated into the main front door 4, of which the external panel 15 is the lower end portion.
As shown in figures 2 to 7, the inner tray 14 has a bottom wall 14a, and a rear wall 14b, a front wall 14c and opposite side walls 14d. The walls 14a, 14b, 14c and 14d are shaped for directing the coins 2 received to a collecting zone 26 of the coins, which is in the bottom of the inner tray 14. An inner panel 55 is arranged partially superimposed on and spaced apart from, the rear wall 14b to cover frontally the coin dispensing outlet 2.
If an axis D is considered that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis A from one side wall 14d to the other side wall, it is noticed that the coin collecting device 10 has a prevalently horizontal extent direction, between the side walls 14d of the gaming machine. For example, the collecting zone 26 can be positioned between the bottom wall 14a and the front wall 14c, inasmuch as the bottom wall 14a is tilted downwards to the front wall 14c. The corner defined between the front wall 14c and the bottom wall 14a, on which the coins 2 collect, is in other words lower than the corner between the rear wall 14b and bottom wall 14a.
The coin collecting device 10 comprises a recovery conduit 16 (figure 3) of the coins 2 having an inlet opening 17 from which the coins 2 can fall to be recovered if they are moved by a user from the collecting zone 26. It should be noted that the inlet opening 17 of the recovery conduit 16 is positioned higher than the collecting zone 26. The recovery conduit 16 extends from the inlet opening 17 to an outlet opening 25, from which the coins 2 fall, for example, into a beaker-shaped coin 2 collecting container 50 as illustrated in Figure 1, to be recovered.
The inner tray 14 comprises a curved connecting wall 18 that continuously connects the collecting zone 26 to the inlet opening 17 to enable the user to guide the coins 2 from the bottom to the top from the collecting zone 26 to the inlet opening 17 of the recovery conduit 16, making the coins remain resting on the connecting wall 18.
In figures 4 to 6 it is noted that the inner tray 14 is not made as a single body but comprises an insert 19 comprising a portion of bottom wall 14a and the front wall 14c, which comprises the connecting wall 18, which is continuously connected to and is obtained on, both the front wall 14c and the bottom wall 14a.
The insert 19 further comprises an edge 19a for fitting the insert 19 to the side walls 14d and to the rear wall 14b to define the inner tray 14. According to an alternative embodiment of the inner tray 14, the inner tray 14 is made as a single body.
The connecting wall 18 has a respective top edge 20 that partially bounds the inlet opening 17.
As illustrated in detail in Figure 3, the connecting wall 18 extends, folding, beyond the top edge 20, and has a flap 21 extending downwards, an internal wall 22 of the external panel 15 and the folded flap 21 defining, at least partially, the recovery conduit 16 of the coins 2. The recovery conduit of the coins 16 in fact initially comprises the flap 21 and internal wall 22 of the external panel 15 but can be bounded, extending downwards as far as the outlet opening 25, by further components that are not shown.
The recovery conduit 16 is thus advantageously integrated into the coin collecting device 10, being obtained in the rear of the external panel 15, facing the inner space of the gaming machine. The external panel 15 in fact hides the coin recovery conduit 16 frontally from a user.
It should be noted that the front wall 14c of the inner tray and the external panel 15 each have a respective upper edge.
The top edge 20 of the connecting wall 18 corresponds to a first portion of the upper edge of the front wall 14c which is curved, which in particular curves inwards with respect to a second portion 23, and which is further spaced away from a first portion 15a of the upper edge of the external panel 15. The top edge 20 and the first portion 15a bound the inlet opening 17.
The second portion 23 of the upper edge of the front wall 14c is joined to a corresponding second portion 15b of the upper edge of the external panel 15, making an upper edge of the coin collecting device 10.
It should be noted that the top edge 20 of the connecting wall 18, as shown schematically in figure 7, is lower than the first portion 15a of the upper edge of the external panel 15. In this manner it is ensured that when the user moves the coins from the bottom to the top, from the collecting zone 26 to the inlet opening 17, the coins 2 do not risk being accidentally dragged outside the inner tray 14 by falling from the second portion 15b of the external panel 15.
The inlet opening 17 is positioned at a side end of the inner tray 14, near one of the side walls 14d. If in fact the dispensing outlet of the coins from the coin hopper of the gaming machine 1 is central or is positioned near a side wall, the collecting zone 26 of the coins 2 can be advantageously arranged laterally near the dispensing outlet of the coins 2 and on the other hand the inlet opening 17 can be positioned near the opposite side wall 14d.
According to an alternative embodiment of the inner tray 14, which is not shown, wherein the dispensing outlet of the coins is positioned near a side wall, the inlet opening 17 is positioned centrally in the inner tray 14 and the top edge 20 of the connecting wall 18 defines a central recess in the upper edge of the front wall 14c.
In use, the coins 2 dispensed as a win in the case of a gaming machine or the coins (or in general the objects of reduced dimensions) dispensed as change in the case of an automatic distributor, are received in the inner tray 14 of the coin collecting device 10.
To recover the coins, a user directs his or her hand inside the inner tray 14 to the collecting zone 26 and slides the coins 2 resting on the bottom of the inner tray 14, the user first guides the coins 2 from the collecting zone 26 to the connecting wall 18. Subsequently, the user guides the coins 2 from the bottom upwards as far as the inlet opening 17 of the recovery conduit 16, maintaining the coins resting on the connecting wall 18.
The coins 2 falling into the recovery conduit 16 are received in the collecting beaker 50, if one is present.
Owing to the invention, a user is able to receive without difficulty the coins 2 dispensed into the coin collecting device, dragging the coins from the collecting zone 26 to the inlet opening 17 of the recovery conduit 16. The inlet opening 17 in fact constitutes a bounded zone of the coin collecting device 10, which zone is easily identifiable by touch, being placed on the top 20 of a curved connecting wall 18. The user, after identifying by touch the coins present in the collecting zone 26, can then easily drag and guide the coins until they drop from the inlet opening 17 inasmuch as the curved connecting wall 18, which goes upwards, and the respective top edge 20, are easily recognisable to touch.
Owing to the invention, the user can in addition advantageously receive the coins 2 that are guided by the recovery conduit 16, for example as far as a collecting beaker 50, without the ergonomics of the gaming station being compromised. The recovery conduit 16 is in fact obtained or housed in the back of the external panel 15 of the coin collecting device 10 and thus the gaming machine 1, on which the coin collecting device 10 is arranged, is devoid of protruding elements facing a user. In addition, also the inner tray 14 is devoid of protruding elements and thus the user can safely drag the coins 2 inside the inner tray 14. The recovery conduit 16 of the coins 2 is obtained in the overall dimensions of the coin collecting device 10.
Figures 8 to 10 show one version 30 of the coin collecting device 10, which differs from the embodiment disclosed above in figures 1 to 7, inasmuch as in this version the coin collecting device 30 is separate from the main front door 4 of the gaming machine and is configured as a free-standing drawer. The coin collecting device 30 comprises a respective external panel 31, which has an upper edge, which envelops not only frontally but also laterally a respective inner tray 40.
The inner tray 40 comprises a curved connecting wall 32 that has a respective top edge 33 that bounds entirely the inlet opening 17. The inlet opening 17 is in other words entirely surrounded by the curved connecting wall 32. The inner tray 40 comprises a bottom wall 40a, a rear wall 40b, a front wall 40c and side walls 40d.
As shown in figures 8 and 9, the inlet opening 17 is near the upper edge of the front wall 40c and therefore a portion 33a of the top edge 33 coincides with a first portion of the upper edge of the front wall 40c and is joined to a first portion 31a of the upper edge of the external panel 31. The remaining portion 33b of the top edge 33 is on the other hand arranged inside in the inner tray 40. A second portion 34 of the upper edge of the front wall 40c is joined to a corresponding second portion 31b of the upper edge of the external panel 31, thus making an upper edge of the coin collecting device 30.
According to an alternative embodiment of the inner tray 40 that is not illustrated, the top edge 33 is central with respect to the horizontal direction D of the inner tray 40 and is thus arranged centrally between a side wall 40d and the other side wall 40d and is further spaced between the rear wall 40b and the front wall 40c. According to this embodiment, the top edge 33 is distant from the upper edge of the front wall 40c and the connecting wall 32 is shaped as a ridge continuously connected to the bottom wall 40a of the inner tray 40 and protruding therefrom.
The connecting wall 32 extends, folding, beyond the top edge 33, and forms a conduit element 35. This conduit element 35 is preferably funnel-shaped and has an inlet opening 17 with a maximum section that decreases to a tubular end portion.
In figures 8 and 9 and in the schematic embodiment of figure 10 it is specified that only the conduit element 35 joined to the connecting wall 32 is shown, which securely makes an initial portion of the recovery conduit 16 of the coins 2. Nevertheless, the latter is not illustrated fully because, in addition to the conduit element 35, the recovery conduit 16 of the coins 2 could also comprise components not shown in figures 8 to 10 to guide the coins as far as the outlet opening, which is also not shown.
Also in this embodiment, the recovery conduit 16 is advantageously integrated into the coin collecting device 10, being obtained in the rear of the external panel 31, towards the inner space of the gaming machine. The external panel 31 in fact hides from the user frontally the conduit element 35 and possible other components of the coin recovery channel 16 and thus the recovery conduit 16 of the coins 2 is obtained in the overall dimensions of the coin collecting device 10.
Also in this embodiment of the coin collecting device 30, the top edge 33 of the connecting wall 32 is positioned lower than the upper edge 31a and 31b of the external panel 31 and the inlet opening 17 is positioned near a side wall 40d of the inner tray 40, for the same reasons listed previously, which for the sake of brevity will not be repeated here.
It should also be noted, as is clear in figure 10, that the inner tray 40 comprises a collecting zone 36 arranged on a side opposite the side wall 40d near which the inlet opening 17 is located. The collecting zone 36 is in this case positioned between the other side wall 40d and the bottom wall 40a, inasmuch as the bottom wall 40a is tilted downwards to the side wall 40d opposite the inlet opening 17. The bottom wall 40a is also tilted downwards towards the front wall 40c, as is clear in figure 9, and so the shape and/or tilt of the walls of the inner tray 40 result in the coins received in the inner tray 40 being made to slide down and collect at a side end of the inner tray 40 in the collecting zone 36.
The bottom wall 40a and side wall 40c are continuously connected to the curved connecting wall 32.
In use, the same remarks apply to the illustrated coin collecting device 30 of Figures 8 to 10 that were made for the coin collecting device 10 of figures 1 to 7. From the collecting zone 36, the coins 2 are initially made to slide resting on the walls of the inner tray 40 as far as the connecting wall 32 near the side wall 40d and are subsequently guided from the bottom upwards as far as the inlet opening 17, from which they fall down, initially into the conduit element 35 and then exit the outlet opening of the recovery conduit 16 and are received in the collecting beaker 50, if one is present, or in the hand of the user.
The same advantages listed for the coin collecting device 10 shown in figures 1 to 7 remain valid also for the coin collecting device shown in figures 8 to 10. It is added that the inner tray 40 comprising the curved connecting wall 32 can be advantageously made as a single body inasmuch as the inlet opening 17 is entirely bounded by the top edge 33 of the curved connecting wall. For example, the inner tray 40 can be made of moulded plastics.

Claims

Collecting device (10; 30) for collecting objects of reduced dimensions, in particular coins (2), suitable for being used in a machine (1) from which coins (2) to be recovered are dispensable, wherein the coin collecting device (10; 30) comprises: an inner tray (14; 40) arranged for receiving the coins (2) dispensed by the machine (1) and an external panel (15; 31) bounding the inner tray (14; 40) externally to a user; in which the inner tray (14; 40) has a bottom wall (14a; 40a), opposite side walls (14d; 40d) and a front wall (14c; 40c) the walls (14a, 14c, 14d; 40a, 40c, 40d) of which are shaped for directing the received coins (2) to a collecting zone (26; 36) for collecting the coins (2) comprised in the inner tray, wherein the coin collecting device (10; 30) further comprises a recovery conduit (16) for recovering the coins (2) having an inlet opening (17) from which the coins (2) can fall to be recovered if they are moved by a user from the collecting zone (26; 36), wherein the inlet opening (17) of the recovery conduit (16) is positioned higher than the collecting zone (26; 36) and wherein moreover the inner tray (14; 40) comprises a curved connecting wall (18; 32) that continuously connects the collecting zone (26; 36) to the inlet opening (17) to enable the user to guide the coins (2) from the bottom to the top from the collecting zone (26; 36) to the inlet opening (17) of the recovery conduit (16) resting on the connecting wall (18; 32), in which the connecting wall (18; 32) has a top edge (20; 33) that at least partially bounds the inlet opening (17).
Coin collecting device according to claim 1, in which the connecting wall (18) extends, folding, beyond the top edge (20), and has a flap (21) extending downwards, an internal wall (22) of the external panel (15) and the folded flap (21) defining at least partially the recovery conduit (16) of the coins (2).
Coin collecting device according to claim 1, in which the connecting wall (32) has a top edge (33) that bounds the inlet opening (17) entirely.
Coin collecting device according to claim 3, in which the connecting wall (32) extends, folding, beyond the top edge (33), and forms a conduit element (35), in particular with a variable section, extending downwards, that defines, at least partially, the recovery conduit (16) of the coins (2).
Coin collecting device according to claim 4, wherein the conduit element (35) is tapered and has a maximum section at the inlet opening (17).
Coin collecting device according to any preceding claim, wherein the front wall (14c; 40c) of the inner tray (14; 40) and the external panel (15; 31) each have a respective upper edge.
Coin collecting device according to claim 6, as appended to claim 1, or 2, wherein a first portion (20) of the upper edge of the front wall (14c) curves inwards with respect to a second portion (23) of the upper edge of the front wall (14c), defines the top edge (20), and is further spaced away from a first portion (15a) of the upper edge of the external panel (15), and wherein moreover the first portion (20) of the upper edge of the front wall (14c) and the first portion (15a) of the upper edge of the external panel (15) bound said inlet opening (17), the second portion (23) of the upper edge of the front wall (14c) being joined to a corresponding second portion (15b) of the upper edge of the external panel (15).
Coin collecting device according to claim 6, as appended to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein a first portion of the upper edge of the front wall (40c) coincides with a first portion (33a) of the top edge (33) and is joined to a first portion (31a) of the upper edge of the external panel (31), a second portion (34) of the upper edge of the front wall (40c) being joined to a corresponding second portion (31b) of the upper edge of the external panel (31).
Coin collecting device according to any preceding claim, wherein the top edge (20; 33) of the connecting wall (18; 32) is positioned lower than the upper edge (15a, 15b; 31a, 31b) of the external panel (15; 31).
Coin collecting device according to any preceding claim, wherein the inlet opening (17) is positioned at a side end of the inner tray (14; 40), near a side wall (14d; 40d).
Gaming machine (1) comprising a coin collecting device (10; 30) according to any one of claims 1 to 10.