GB2144643A - Coinpusher amusement machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The machine comprises a jackpot mechanism 6 exhibiting an upright tube 10 fed with coins from a horizontal surface 1 by way of a platform 8 and a slideway 7, having rims 9. A block 2 reciprocates continuously in the direction 3 on the surface 1 and tends to urge coins fed on the surface 1 towards an upwardly inclined edge 4 of the surface 1, some coins, however, finding their way up the slideway 7 to be formed into a stack in the tube 10. When the tube 10 is almost full, the next coin will engage a finger 12 and will move that finger to trip a micro-switch 14 to operates solenoid which will open an outlet 11 at the lower end of the tube 10 to release all or part of the stack of coins accumulated in the tube 10. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Amusement machines This invention relates to amusement machines of the kind in which a substantially horizontal surface carries, when the machine is in use, a relatively large number of coins that are conveniently, but not essentially, all of the same monetary value, there being substantially continuously operated means which, in use, urges the coins intermittently towards at least one edge of said surface to fall either into a "loss" container where the money is accumulated for the benefit of the machine owner or lessee or into a "win" chute from which money is delivered to a user or player.The surface and said means are located inside a transparent-panelled cabinet and users/players can roll or slide coins into the cabinet, often in a direction controllable by the skill of the user/player, with a view to the coins falling onto the surface at such positions that they will cause other coins to be indirectly pushed into the "win" chute. If a player can use his/her skill in such a way as to cause more coins to be delivered than he/she has fed into the machine, then he/she will make a profit as well as being interested and amused by the playing of the game.

Such machines are well known and it is an object of the present invention to increase their popularity by providing them with a jackpot mechanism that will accumulate a considerably larger quantity of coins for delivery to a winning user/player than is possible by conventional operation.

According to the invention, there is provided an amusement machine comprising an at least partly transparent cabinet, a substantially horizontal surface within the cabinet destined for the accumulation of coins added by users/players, and substantially continuously operating means to urge coins intermittently over said surface towards at least one edge thereof, wherein the machine includes at least one jackpot mechanism comprising an upright tube whose upper end is positioned to receive some of the coins, in stacked relationship, that are urged towards said at least one edge of the coin-carrying surface, in the use of the machine, and said tube being provided with means which, when a predetermined quantity of coins has been accumulated in the tube, will open an outlet at the lower end of the tube to deliver to a user/player all or part of the stack of coins within the tube.

For a better understanding ofthe invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation illustrating a region of an amusement machine in accordance with the invention in which a jackpot mechanism is provided, the section being taken on a line Cm in Figure 2, Figure 2 is a part-sectional front elevation corresponding to Figure 1, the section being taken on a line 11-11 in Figure 3, and Figure 3 is a plan view corresponding to Figures 1 and 2.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, those drawings illustrate a region of an amusement machine constructed in accordance with the invention, the machine being intended for use in, purely for example, amusement parks, amusement arcades, clubs, public houses and so on. The greater part of the machine will be enclosed in a cabinet (not shown) comprising a plurality, such as two or four, of wholly or principally transparent panels, this being preferred if the machine is to be free-standing although it would be possible for a free-standing machine to have some shape other than square or oblong, such as hexagonal or even circular, as seen in plan view.The machine might, as an alternative, be built into a wall or row of amusement machines in which case its cabinet might comprise only a single wholly or principally transparent upright panel or, if positioned at the end of a row, two or even three such panels.

In any case, the machine comprises a flat and substantially horizontal surface 1 that is intended for the accumulation of coins, it being conventional to start a day's operation with a "float" of coins already positioned on the surface 1 in order not to discourage early visitors from becoming players.

The way in which the coins are supplied onto the surface 1 by a user/player does not form the subject of the present invention and is not illustrated in the drawings. However, conventionally, the or each wholly or principally transparent panel of the cabinet in which the greater part of the machine is located is provided with at least one feed chute that is pivotable, by the user/player, about an upright axis so that the user/player can employ his/her skill in delivering a coin or coins towards a location on the surface 1 that is believed will lead towards a win.

The or each such feed chute may comprise an inclined guideway defining a slot down which coins can be slid or, preferably, rolled, through a narrow opening in the panel or corresponding panel, the speed and direction of feed of the coins supplied by a user/playerthus being controllable to a significant extent by that user/player.

It is preferred, but is not absolutely essential, for the machine to be designed to use circular coins but the employment of non-circular coins is possible, particularly if some alternative to the simple feed chute that has just been briefly described is substituted. It is preferred that a machine in accordance with the invention should be designed to use British decimal currency 0.10 coins but it may be dimensioned to employ 0.01, 0.05 or even 1.00 coins as alternatives depending principally upon the particular site where the machine is likely to be positioned.

A block 2 is mechanically driven in a substantially continuous manner so as to reciprocate to and fro in a direction 3, the foot of the block 2 sliding on the surface 1 so that it will engage the edge of any coin which it may meet that is lying upon that surface and will urge any such coin or coins to the right as seen in Figure 1 of the drawings and towards an edge 4, which may be upwardly inclined to a small extent, of the surface 1. The distance through which each engaged coin is urged towards the edge 4 by the reciprocating block 2 will depend upon the initial position of that coin on the surface 1 and the amplitude of reciprocation of the block 2.It wili, of course, be realised that, when a large numberof coins are already lying on the surface las will usually be the case, any coin that is moved by the block 2 will more often than not bear against at least one other coin and will move that other coin, and similarly contacted further coins, towards the edge 4, it often being the case that there are small piles of more or less overlapping coins produced somewhat randomly by money fed onto the surface 1 but that did not reach the position actually intended by the user/player concerned, considerable skill and practice being required to deliver coins accurately to intended positions on the surface 1.Instead of using the reciprocating block 2, a cylindrical block that is continuously rotatable about an eccentric vertical axes could be employed as an alternative and, to make matters more difficult for a user/player, the "skill" factor may be substantially removed from the supply of coins to the surface 1 by arranging said coins to be fed by slots onto the top of the reciprocating block 2 or alternative rotary block from which block further means will push them over an upper edge of that block and onto the substantially horizontal surface 1, proper.

What has been described so far is substantially conventional but the machine which is illustrated in the drawings, instead of having a simple "loss" container and a simple "win" chute, retains only the "loss" container to which inclined surfaces 5 are directed, the container itself, which may be a simple lockable money drawer, not being shown in the drawings. The "win" chute is, however, in this embodiment completely replaced by a jackpot mechanism that is generally indicated by the reference 6, any coin not entering the jackpot mechanism 6 being lost to the user/player since it will fall over the edge 4 of the surface 1 and into the "loss" container after sliding over at least one of the inclined surfaces 5.

The jackpot mechanism 6 comprises a coinreceiving platform 8 fastened to the surface 1 art a location substantially mid-way between the block 2 and the edge 4 of that surface and a slideway 7 which is inclined upwardly away from the platform 8 to a location which is beyond the edge 4 of that surface 1 and at a level above that of the surface 1.

The slideway 7 has rims 9 at its opposite edges to prevent coins pushed up the slideway from falling off either edge thereof. The upper end of the inclined slideway 7 communicates with an open mouth atthetop of a substantially vertical, orat least upright, tube 10 which, when the machine is in use, will receive some of the coins, in stacked relationship, that are urged towards the edge 4 of the surface 1.

The jackpot mechanism 6 also includes means which, when a predetermined quantity of coins has been accumulated in the tube 10, will open a normally closed outlet 11 at the lower end of that tube to deliver to a user/player all or part of the stack of coins within the tube 10, the delivery being made into a coin tray or pocket which is accessible to the user/player but which is not illustrated in the drawings. The means in question comprises a finger 12 entered into an axial slot 13 in the side of the tube 10 that is remote from the surface 1, said finger 12 having its upper end bent-over to lie obliquely in, and above, the mouth at the upper end of the tube 10.The finger 12 is connected to a micro-switch 14 and that switch 14 is, in turn, electrically connected to the coil of solenoid unit 15 arranged, via a pivot pin 16, to open the normally closed coin outlet 11 at the foot of the tube 10. When the tube 10 is almost completely filled by a stack of coins, the next coin pushed up the slideway 7 will, instead of falling downwardly into the tube 10, cause the finger 12 to tilt through the slot 13 thus tripping the microswitch 14 so that the solenoid unit 15 will open the coin outlet 11. The micro-switch 14 and solenoid unit 15 may be arranged to release all of the coins stacked in the tube 10 or, if preferred, to release a predetermined quantity thereof, such as half the stack. The "jackpot" received by the user/player will be larger in the first case but, as a consequence, the intervals between jackpot payouts will be greater.

It is by no means essential that the or each jackpot mechanism 6 should be the only way in which a user/player can win. If desired, the or each mechanism 6 can be additional to at least one conventional "win" chute instead of, as in the example that is illustrated in the drawings, being entirely a replacement for the "win" chute. With such an arrangement, a user/player can win a relatively few coins by pushing them, in a conventional way, over the edge 4 and directly into the "win" tray or pocket or can win a much larger number of coins by using his/her skill progressively to fill the tube 10 until a "jackpot" payout is eventually made when the finger 12 trips the microswitch 14.

In embodiments in which the skill factor is retained, a user/player will attempt to position coins so that as many as possible of them will be received by the platform 8 and subsequently pushed up the slideway 7 by the block 2 when that block 2 is intermittently moving to the right, as seen in Figure 1 of the drawings, in the direction 3. If the skill factor is substantially completely missing, luck alone will govern the number of coins that are pushed from the piatform 8 up the slideway 7 to form a "jackpot" payout.

Claims (13)

1. An amusement machine comprising an at least partly transparent cabinet, a substantially horizontal surface within the cabinet destined for the accumulation of coins added by users/players, and substantially continuously operating means to urge coins intermittently over said surface towards at least one edge thereof, wherein the machine includes at least one jackpot mechanism comprising an upright tube whose upper end is positioned to receive some of the coins in stacked relationship, that are urged towards said at least one edge of the coin-carrying surface, in the use of the machine, and said tube being provided with means which, when a predetermined quantity of coins has been accumulated in the tube, will open an outlet at the lower end of the tube to deliver to a user/player all or part of the stack of coins within the tube.

2. An amusement machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper end of the upright tube of the or each jackpot mechanism is located at a horizontal level above that of said coin-carrying surface, and wherein an inclined slideway which is constructed and arranged to enable coins to be slid upwardly therealong interconnects a platform substantially co-planar with the coin-carrying surface and the upper end of the or each tube.

3. An amusement machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the or each platform is fastened to the coinreceiving surface at a location substantially mid-way between said substantially continuously operating -means and said edge, or one of said edges, of that surface.

4. An amusement machine as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the or each inclined slideway is provided with rims arranged to prevent coins from falling laterally off that slideway instead of correctly moving upwardly therealong.

5. An amusement machine as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the means which, when a predetermined quantity of coins has been accumulated in the or each tube, will open an outlet at the lower end of that tube, comprises a solenoid operable to open said outlet at the lower end of the or each tube, a micro-switch controlling the operation of the solenoid and a finger connected to the micro-switch in such a way that, when the upright tube or corresponding upright tube is substantially full of coins, a further coin added to the stack will displace the finger to trip the micro-switch and cause the solenoid to open the outlet or corresponding outlet.

6. An amusement machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein the or each micro-switch is disposed alongside the tube or corresponding tube, the latter being formed in its wall with an axially extending slot through which the finger or corresponding finger is tiltable, an upper end region of the or each finger being bent-over so as to extend obliquely above the upper end of the upright tube or corresponding upright tube in a position where a coin added to the substantially full tube will engage said obliquely bent-over portion.

7. An amusement machine as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the or each jackpot mechanism of the machine affords the only means by which a user/player can become a "winner" by retrieving coins from the machine by way of at least one coin tray or pocket with which said outlet at the lower end of the or each upright tube communicates.

8. An amusement machine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the machine comprises means, in addition to the or each jackpot mechanism, by which a user/player can become a "winner", said means comprising at least one chute registering with a region of said edge of the coincarrying surface, or with a region of each of a plurality of such edges, the chute or chutes communicating with at least one coin tray or pocket from which a user/player may retrieve coins.

9. An amusement machine as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein means by which users/ players may direct coins onto said coin-carrying surface are adjustable in position relative to that surface to provide a skill factor in the operation of the machine by any user/player.

10. An amusement machine as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the substantially continuously operating means to urge coins intermittently over the coin-carrying surface towards at least one edge thereof comprises a block reciprocably positioned immediately above said surface.

11. An amusement machine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the substantially continuously operating means tea urge coins intermittently over the coin-carrying surface towards at least one edge thereof comprises a substantially cylindrical block that is continuously rotatable about an upright axis disposed eccentrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the block.

12. An amusement machine as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said edge, or each of a plurality of said edges, of the coin-carrying surface has an upwardly and outwardly inclined extremity.

13. An amusement machine when provided with at least one jackpot mechanism that is constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.