GB2310071A - Payout apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Payout apparatus (10) comprises storage means (12) for receiving a stack of articles to be delivered, such as coins or tokens, the storage means (12) being provided with a delivery opening (24) opposite the intended location of the article at the bottom of the stack, and the delivery opening (24) being provided with retaining means (26) for use in at least helping to resist unauthorised removal of the article at the bottom of the stack. The retaining means is preferably physically displaced by the article at the bottom of the stack when the article at the bottom of the stack is itself physically displaced by authorised removal means. Displacement of the retaining means may actuate a micro switch 32 to confirm an authorised payout or warn of an unauthorised payout.

Description

Pavout Apparatus The present invention relates generally to payout apparatus and is more especially but not exclusively concerned with payout apparatus suitable for use with gaming machines sometimes referred to as fruit machines or amusement machines.

Typically, when the machine registers a win, a prize selected from a range of different prizes is awarded, the prizes often being different multiples of a particular coin or token.

The apparatus for controlling the payout of the prize has thus often included a pushing device located below a stack of similar coins or tokens and reciprocable to remove successive ones of the coins or tokens from the bottom of the stack.

The pushing device may be driven by a motor which is operated by one or more solenoids.

It has been found that, particularly if there is a large payout, the repeated removal of successive ones of the coins or tokens from the bottom of the stack by the pushing device is noisy, unreliable and slow.

Those problems have been tackled by the invention of our International patent application PCT/GB 95/00115 (published as WO 95/20201) to which the reader is instructed to refer for background information.

It discloses, inter alia, the provision of a payout apparatus with a plurality of supply means and a common delivery means, the delivery means including a ratchet mechanism which, with movement relatively to a supply means in one direction, does not cause a payout but, with movement relatively to the supply means in the opposite direction, does cause a payout.

A problem which has not hitherto been tackled, by either our above-noted payout apparatus or other currently available payout apparatus in which the coin or token at the bottom of a stack is stored opposite a delivery opening, is that coins or tokens are sometimes fraudulently obtained through the delivery opening as a result of the payout apparatus having been for example violently shaken or tilted by a user of the machine.

A similar problem arises in other vending machines where the articles to be delivered are not necessarily coins or tokens.

According to the present invention, however, payout apparatus comprises storage means for use in receiving a stack of articles to be delivered, the storage means being provided with a delivery opening opposite the intended location of the article at the bottom of the stack, and the delivery opening being provided with retaining means for use in at least helping to resist unauthorised removal of the article at the bottom of the stack.

Preferably, the retaining means is physically displaced by the article at the bottom of the stack when the article at the bottom of the stack is itself physically displaced by authorised removal means.

The removal means may be of any appropriate construction and may for example be in the form of an arm carried by a rotatable ratchet mechanism driven by a drive mechanism such as a DC or stepper motor controlled by a conventional microprocessor.

Preferably, a part of the retaining means opposite the delivery opening has a wedge-like shape to facilitate authorised displacement of the retaining means, and a part of the retaining means remote from the delivery opening has a resiliently deflectable arm to facilitate location of the retaining means.

The retaining means may be utilised to activate a microswitch and, therefore, record the event of the article at the bottom of the stack being removed.

Such a record can be utilised by appropriate computer software to provide either a confirmation of an authorised payout or a warning of an unauthorised payout and the warning may be in the form of a visible and/or audible alarm either on the machine or at a remote location.

Payout apparatus, in accordance with the present invention, will now be described in greater detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of the payout apparatus; Figure 2 is a bottom view of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the line III-III of Figure 1; and Figure 4a-e are, respectively, side, left end, right end, plan and underplan views of a retaining pin forming part of the payout apparatus shown in Figures 1-3.

The accompanying drawings show a payout apparatus 10 according to the present invention, the payout apparatus 10 comprising storage means 12 for use in receiving a stack of coins or tokens (not shown).

The storage means 12 may be integrally formed of a plastics material. More particularly, the storage means 12 may be of the type already known from our International patent application PCT/GB 95/00115 (published as WO 95/20201). The storage means 12 can thus be of a generally tube-like construction.

One end 14 of the storage means 12 has a sleeve to facilitate releasable attachment to a standard feeder tube.

A side of the storage means 12 has a conventional arm assembly 16 for supporting a coin level detector. The other end 18 of the storage means 12 is of reduced dimensions to facilitate releasable connection to an apertured support plate.

A stack of coins or tokens, of predetermined denomination, is stored in the storage means 12 on a transverse member 20 formed with an arcuate slot 22, through which an arm of removal means is to travel to remove the coin or token at the bottom of the stack through a delivery opening 24.

To resist unauthorised removal of any coins or tokens through the delivery opening 24, the payout apparatus 10 is provided with retaining means 26.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, the retaining means 26 may be in the form of an elongate pin provided with a wedge-shaped abutment 28 at one end and a resiliently deflectable arm 30 at its other end - the retaining means 26 may be formed of metal but is preferably formed of a plastics material.

In use, the abutment 28 of the retaining means 26 is located in the path of movement of any coin or token removed from the storage means 12 through the delivery opening 24.

During removal, the coin or token pushes against the abutment 28 thereby causing the retaining means 26 to be raised to actuate a microswitch 32. The retaining means 26 is guided by the storage means 12. After the coin or token has passed the abutment 28, the retaining means 26 falls back but is prevented from falling too far by engagement of the arm 30 with the storage means 12.

The retaining means 26 may be kept in its usual position, partly blocking the delivery opening 24, solely by gravity, but alternatively or additionally the retaining means 26 may be kept in its said usual position by the force of a spring 34, which may form part of the microswitch 32.

It will be clear that the retaining means 26 is assembled with the storage means 12 from below as shown in Figure 3.

It will also be appreciated that the resistance to removal presented by the retaining means 26 can be arranged to be less than the force experienced by a coin or token when acted upon by removal means during authorised removal but greater than the force experienced by a coin or token when shaken or tilted during an attempt at unauthorised removal.

Claims (8)

1. Layout apparatus comprising storage means for use in receiving a stack of articles to be delivered, the storage means being provided with a delivery opening opposite the intended location of the article at the bottom of the stack, and the delivery opening being provided with retaining means for use in at least helping to resist unauthorised removal of the article at the bottom of the stack.

2. Payout apparatus according to claim 1, in which the retaining means is physically displaced by the article at the bottom of the stack when the article at the bottom of the stack is itself physically displaced by authorised removal means.

3. Payout apparatus according to claim 2, in which a part of the retaining means opposite the delivery opening has a wedge-like shape to facilitate authorised displacement of the retaining means.

4. Payout apparatus according to claim 2 or claim 3, in which a part of the retaining means remote from the delivery opening has a resiliently deflectable arm to facilitate location of the retaining means.

5. Payout apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the retaining means is utilised to activate a microswitch when the article at the bottom of the stack is removed to provide either a confirmation of an authorised payout or a warning of an unauthorised payout.

6. Payout apparatus according to claim 5, in which the retaining means is kept in its usual position by the force of a spring forming part of the microswitch.

7. Payout apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the articles to be delivered are coins or tokens.

8. Payout apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.