JP2002248210A - Throw-in medal sorting device of game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an input medal sorting device of a game machine capable of efficiently sorting medals by sizes by inclining a passage to the direction of thickness of the medal and providing projections on the side of the passage to thereby promote tilting of the medal to be removed and discharge the same in sorting the medals by a proper size and an unsuitable small-diameter size. SOLUTION: This sorting device is provided with an inclined passage 23 for sorting a medal, which is adapted to incline the input medal put into a slot 12 in the direction of thickness of the medal to be rolled and passed. A discharge port 36 for discharging the inapplicable medals is opened in a side wall 22 on the lower side of inclination of the inclined passage 23, and the projections 38, 121, 131, 141, 151 for promoting tilting of the medal are projected on a side wall 21 on the upper side of inclination opposite to the discharge port, whereby the medal can be precisely laid down and discharged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medal selection device for a gaming machine such as a slot machine used as one of popular entertainment, and more particularly, to a small-diameter medal or a circulation coin which is not applicable. The present invention relates to an inserted medal selection device for a gaming machine that can be efficiently returned with a simple configuration in the event that the device is used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, this kind of medal (coin) selection device has a medal rolling passage inclined obliquely downward from a vertical direction inward of an insertion slot as shown in JP-A-8-24434. When the medals pass through the path, they are rolled under their own weight and conveyed, and the medals are sorted and sorted according to their appropriate size and unsuitable size, and the taking-in process and the returning process are performed.

In this case, a detection lever (protrusion member) for detecting the passage of medals, which can freely come and go from one side, is provided in the medal rolling passage.
Is projected, and when a medal of an appropriate size is inserted, the medal is taken in along the passage while pushing down the detection lever.

On the other hand, when an inappropriate medal with a small diameter is inserted, only the lower side of the medal standing in the rolling path is guided because of the small diameter, and the upper side is not guided in a free state. When a small-diameter medal corresponds to the detection lever that protrudes from one side, the medal is pushed out to the other side and laid down, and a small-diameter medal is dropped and ejected from the discharge opening that opens greatly to the other side. And returned to the return port below.

[0005]

The elimination mechanism for excluding such a small-diameter medal which is not applicable in the process of taking in a small-diameter medal is a detection lever which moves with high sensitivity and requires fine adjustment, and a spring and a lever for holding the lever. The need for a sensor device for detecting the hammering operation increases the number of parts and the number of assembling steps, resulting in an increase in cost.

Furthermore, since medals are frequently inserted one by one into the slot of the gaming machine, the detection lever is liable to deteriorate and the detection performance is apt to deteriorate. If the operation of the detection lever that moves with high sensitivity deteriorates, and the movement of this detection lever deteriorates, the resistance when passing the medals increases, which may cause clogging of the medals, or may take in small-diameter medals to be eliminated. there were.

[0007] This type of medal selection device includes mechanical selection means for performing selection processing according to the size of medals, and material detection means for electronically selecting the material of medals and having a mechanism for preventing the hanging of a thread of medals. Therefore, it takes time for the selected medals to pass through the medal selection device.

For this reason, when a plurality of medals are successively inserted into the slot machine, it takes time to count all the medals, and the player starts the game unexpectedly before all the medals are counted. In such a case, counting may be incorrectly performed. For example, even if two medals are placed and started, erroneous counting occurs due to the phenomenon that the medals are continuously captured and only one medal is counted (medal swallowing). Therefore, the player may be disadvantaged, and the apparatus itself becomes large due to the necessity of a complicated elimination mechanism, which necessitates an increase in the size of the apparatus. For this reason, it is conceivable to simplify the internal structure. However, at present, there is a limit in maintaining and simplifying the medal selection performance.

Therefore, according to the present invention, in selecting medals, in addition to tilting the passage downward in the rolling and conveying direction of medals, the passage is also inclined in the direction of the thickness of medals, and furthermore, a projection is provided on the side of the passage. It is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine insertion medal selection device capable of efficiently selecting medals by size by promoting tilting of medals to be eliminated.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, the size of a medal inserted into an insertion slot is selected, and a medal of an appropriate size is received and guided and taken into the inside, and medals of an inappropriate size are removed. A medal sorting device for a gaming machine having sorting guide means for ejecting guide and returning to an external return port,
An inclined passage for medal selection is provided in which the medals inserted into the insertion port are inclined in the direction of the thickness of the medals and rolled and passed.
A discharge port for discharging inapplicable medals is opened on the lower side wall of the inclined passage, and a protrusion for promoting medal tilting is provided on the upper side wall of the slope facing the discharge port. And

As a result, when a medal of an appropriate size is inserted, the medal rolls in the take-in direction along the inclined passage and is guided by its own weight. On the other hand, when an inappropriate medal with a small diameter is inserted, only the bottom side is guided because the medal rolling in the standing state is small in diameter, and the top side of the medal is not guided. In addition, the medals in the standing state that have reached this point are more steeply inclined than the medals in the standing state, since the protrusions for promoting the tilting of the medals protruding from the side walls on the upper side of the sloping protrusions protrude from the sides of the medals that roll and pass. At this point, the medals are surely fallen down from the inclined passage and discharged to the lower discharge port.

As described above, the inclined passage having the role of tilting the medal in the rolling conveyance process in the direction of the thickness of the medal by its own weight and naturally lying down, and the projection having the role of pushing the medal in the thickness direction are combined. As a result, a medal elimination function that precisely tilts small-diameter medals to be eliminated and discharges them is obtained. Can be reliably eliminated.

In particular, since the small projections and the inclined passages play a proper role of an exclusion function in combination, a simple and simple configuration can provide a high-performance sorting effect. As a result,
A complicated elimination mechanism can be omitted, the number of parts can be reduced, and a medal sorting device with reduced assembly man-hours and reduced cost can be realized.

In the case where the projection provided for promoting the tilting of the medals is formed, for example, as a sloping projection which gradually increases in projection amount along the direction of passing the medals in the inclined passage, the medals may be moved sideways during the rolling conveyance. When the circular flat portion comes into contact with the projection, the inclined projection is pressed from the side, and the inclination of the inclined surface of the projection is gradually increased to promote the tilting, so that the medal tilting performance can be enhanced.

In the case where the projection provided for promoting the medal tilting is formed to protrude upward in the height direction of the inclined passage,
The medal in the upright state can be efficiently tilted in such a manner that the upper side suitable for tilting is pushed from the side.

Further, when a plurality of projections provided for promoting the tilting of medals are provided on a streak-like projection projecting in a streak-like manner in the medal passing direction of the inclined passage, the outer surface of the inserted medals is not a surface contact but a surface contact. Since it is captured in a line contact state in contact with only some of the streak projections, the contact area with the medal is reduced, so that the medal passage resistance is reduced and smooth conveyance guide action is obtained. Uptake can be promoted.

The above-mentioned streaks are formed long in the direction of the passage along the inner surface of the passage communicating with the insertion port to form an uneven surface, and secure a space between the outer surface of the medal and the contact resistance of the medal. Can be avoided. For this reason,
The medals are frequently inserted into the slot, and the inside of the passage becomes dirty,
Even if the inner surface of the passage is shaved and resin dust is generated, the influence of dirt and resin dust can be suppressed to reduce medal clogging, and stable transport guide performance can be maintained.

If the protrusions provided to promote the tilting of the medals are formed so as to be shared between the upstream side and the downstream side of the inclined passage, the medals can be tilted in two stages on the inclined passage, and are eliminated. In addition to enhancing the function, a tilt region can be set in a wide area from the upstream side to the downstream side.

Here, the insertion slot has an opening for one insertion for accepting a medal of an appropriate size, and a larger-diameter medal and an extra-thick medal are formed in the portion of the insertion slot. It is regulated by input.

The above-mentioned medal of an appropriate size is a medal having a disk shape of a certain size provided exclusively for game use, and a medal of an improper size is a medal of a regular size. It means smaller-diameter circulation coins and counterfeit medals.

The inclination in the direction of the thickness of the medals is an inclination angle at which the tumbling action of the medals rolling on the passage naturally occurs under its own weight, and is set to an inclination angle in consideration of the combination with the projections. . At this time, if the inclination angle is too small, the overturning effect tends to be delayed, and if the inclination angle is too large, the rolling load for a proper medal increases.
° is preferable.

The sorting guide means forms a part of an inclined passage, and causes a medal receiving guide position for guiding a medal of an appropriate size to be conveyed, and discharges improperly-sized medals to the discharge port. It can be configured with a movable guide plate that is movably switched to the medal acceptance restricted position.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The drawing shows a slotted medal selection device of a slot machine installed in a game hall. In FIG. 1, the slot machine 11 opens an slot 12 for receiving medals M one by one on one side of a front game operation surface,
The regular-sized medals inserted into the insertion port 12 are taken in, and medals of an inappropriate size are returned to the external return port 1.
It has a built-in sorting function to return to 3. Also, input port 1
A return button 14 is provided next to 2 and the medal M is returned to the return port 13 even when the player presses the return button 14 to stop the game.

FIG. 2 shows the inner surface of the slot machine 11 in which the front door 15 of the slot machine 11 is opened in a one-sided manner. The opened slot machine body 11a has a reel 16 at an upper part and a medal take-in at a lower part. Hopper 17, a medal return passage (not shown), and a power supply device 18.

On the other hand, a reel cover 19, an inserted medal selection device (medal selector) 20, and a return slot 13 are arranged in this order on the inner surface of the front door 15 side.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the inserted medal selecting device 20.
In the inserted medal selection device 20, a U-shaped substrate 21 and an opening / closing plate 22 are integrally combined to form a medal passage 23 for inserted medal selection, and the outside thereof is covered with a U-shaped cover 24 and integrally formed. I have.

The above-mentioned medal passage 23 is provided in the upper slot 1
A vertical path 23a between the inlet 25 and the lower outlet 26, which correspond to the connection 2 and a sloping path 23b which is gently inclined from the vertical path 23a.
And are connected to each other.

A movable protrusion 27 for stably lowering the medals, which protrudes horizontally from the back side toward the passage side, protrudes from the U-shaped substrate 21 of the vertical path 23a.
As shown in FIG. 5, the spring is lightly urged by a spring 28 from the rear and is held in a protruding state.

The movable protruding piece 27 is pivotally supported by an upper pivot 29 at a pivot point.
Under the urging force of the spring 28, it is projected from the small window 30 of the U-shaped substrate 21 toward the vertical path 23a side, and when the inserted medal M vigorously passes downward from above,
It is pushed by the medal M and retreats substantially horizontally in the passage evacuation direction,
The inserted medal M is allowed to pass as it is.

In this case, the passage is preferably a wide passage in order to enhance the passage of the medals, but on the other hand, the medals tend to be easily clogged. In such a case as well, the projecting action of the movable protruding piece 27 allows the medals M guided and descended to move toward one side of the vertical path 23a in the medal thickness direction, thereby eliminating clogging. A stable passage can be formed. Particularly, it is suitable when applied to a curved passage.

Further, since the movable protruding piece 27 can be decelerated in contact with the medal M descending vigorously, the direction of the medal conveyed is changed from the vertical path 23a descending at a high speed to the inclined path 23b rolling at a low speed. The speed difference of M can be reduced, and a stable medal taking-in operation can be performed.

Further, the movable protruding piece 27 is also provided with a thread hanging medal prevention function. This thread-hanging medal prevention function protrudes at a lower position with reference to the position of the upper pivotal support 29 that supports the movable projection 27. For this reason, even if you try to pull back upwards using a thread hanging medal,
Since the movable protruding piece 27 is pivotally supported in a state where its position is regulated by the upper pivotal support 29, the movable protruding piece 27 moves in the horizontal direction but does not move in the vertical direction, so that the upward pullback operation using the thread hanging medal can be performed. It can be reliably prevented.

Next, a movable guide plate 31, which forms a part of the upper side of the passage, is provided on the side of the U-shaped substrate 21 of the slope 23b in parallel with the slope 23b. An inverted L-shaped movable guide plate 3 is provided at the top of the medal M which moves and passes.
The transport guide is performed in step 1. A pair of passage detection sensors S1 and S2 are provided immediately before the exit 26 of the ramp 23b, and the medals M passed by these sensors S1 and S2 are arranged.
Count the number of

Further, on the inner surface of the medal passage 23 of the U-shaped substrate 21, a plurality of parallel ribs 32 projecting from the vertical path 23a to the inclined path 23b are formed at equal intervals.
By providing these ribs 32,...
3, the medal M inserted with an uneven surface is taken in with the outer surface of the medal being in line contact with the top of the rib 32 in the space of the medal passage 23, and the contact area with the medal is reduced. Reduces the passing resistance of inserted medals and promotes high-speed and smooth transport. Further, the shape of the rib is set to a shape that reduces the passing resistance of the medal.

On one side of the above-mentioned medal passage 23, there is provided a guide structure in which an opening / closing plate 22, which will be described later, faces the U-shaped substrate 21 to form one side of the passage 23.

The above-mentioned opening / closing plate 22 is provided with a shaft 34 supported by a bearing 33 of the U-shaped substrate 21, and is mounted on the bearing 33 of the U-shaped substrate 21 so as to be rotatable about the shaft 34. The open / close plate 22 is urged and integrated by the spring 35 so that a part of the open / close plate 22 abuts on the U-shaped substrate 21, and the medal passage 23 is formed between the two.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the opening / closing plate 22 is provided with a large elliptical discharge port 36 which opens along the inclined path 23b of the medal passage 23 in the center. This opening / closing plate 22 is mounted on the U-shaped inner surface of the U-shaped substrate 21 to form a medal passage 23, where a medal M1 not applicable (small diameter)
Is discharged from the discharge port 36 when is guided.

As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of similar ribs in the same direction as the ribs 32 on the side of the U-shaped substrate 21 are provided on the inner surface of the opening / closing plate 22, as shown in FIG. The ribs 37 are formed.

Therefore, in the medal passage 23, the medals M are subjected to the line contact action of the ribs 32, 37 on both sides, thereby further reducing the passing resistance of the inserted medals and promoting smooth conveyance.

Next, the inclination of the medal passage 23 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the medal passage 23 has one passage space for taking in the medal M in an upright state.
In addition, the medals in the upright state are provided at an angle of about 15 ° with respect to the thickness direction.

This inclination angle is set so that the opening / closing plate 22 is inclined downward, and the medals M which are rolled and conveyed in the medal passage 23 are conveyed while being inclined to the opening / closing plate 22 on the inclined lower side. . As a result, when an inappropriate medal with a small diameter is inserted, only the bottom side is guided in the medal passage 23 due to the small diameter in the medal passage 23 at the time of rolling, and the movable guide plate 31 is moved to the top side.
Rolls without contacting the top and the top side is not guided. For this reason, the medals begin to tilt downward due to their own weight in the direction of the thickness of the medals.
It is discharged sideways to 6.

In discharging the above-mentioned medals not applicable,
In addition to tilting the medal passage 23 in the medal thickness direction, as shown in FIG. 8, the terminal end side of the rib 32 of the inclined path 23 b of the inclined upper U-shaped substrate 21 facing the discharge port 36 is
An inclined protrusion 38 is formed to gradually increase the amount of protrusion along the medal passing direction and to protrude the medal.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 9A, when the small-diameter improperly applied medal M1 reaches the position of the inclined projection 38, the inclined projection 38 rolls from the side of the medal to pass through. As shown in FIG. 9 (B), the protruding medals M1 in the standing state passing therethrough are greatly inclined, and at the time corresponding to the inclined projections 38, the medals M1 which are not applicable are moved from the ramp 23b. It can be surely turned over and discharged to the inclined lower discharge port 36.

As described above, the medals in the rolling conveyance process are inclined in the direction of the thickness of the medals by the weight of the medals themselves, and the medals passages 23 have the function of naturally lying down, and the inclined projections 38 having the function of pushing the medals in the thickness direction. By combining the above, a medal elimination function of properly tilting and ejecting the small-diameter non-applicable medals M1 to be eliminated is obtained.

Furthermore, if the discharge action cannot be sufficiently ensured only by the inclination angle of the passage, even if the rolling speed of the medals is increased and the inertia force of the medals is increased, the fetching speed should be eliminated. The medals can be reliably eliminated during the process.

In particular, the smallly projecting inclined projection 38 and the inclined medal passage 23 play a proper role of an elimination function, so that a medal sorting effect of good performance can be obtained with a simplified and simple configuration. . As a result, since a complicated elimination mechanism can be omitted, the number of parts can be reduced, and a medal selection device with reduced cost can be realized.

Further, since the above-mentioned inclined projections 38 are formed so as to protrude gradually in the direction in which the medals pass, the flat portions on the side of the medals are formed during the rolling conveyance.
When the contact is made, the medal responds so as to be pushed from the side by the inclined projection 38, and the inclination of the inclined surface of the inclined projection 38 gradually increases to promote the inclination, so that the medal tilting performance can be enhanced.

The position of the tilt projection 38 is set on the upper side in the height direction of the passage. Thus, the medal in the standing state can be efficiently tilted in such a manner that the upper side suitable for tilting is pushed from the side.

On the other hand, when a regular-sized medal M is inserted, the standing upper and lower portions of the medal M roll along the path while being guided, and are taken in the regular taking-in direction leading to the outlet 26. Be included.

The inclination ratio in the thickness direction of the above-mentioned medals is suitable for the inclination angle at which the tumbling action of the medals rolling on the passage is naturally performed by its own weight.
The inclination angle is set in consideration of the combination with the angle 8. At this time, if the inclination angle is too small, the overturning effect tends to be delayed, and if the inclination angle is too large, the rolling load on a proper medal increases, so that it is about 10 ° to 20 °, preferably 15 °.
° position is suitable.

Also, the player can operate the player to return the inserted medals or discharge the clogged foreign matter. As shown in FIG. 7, when the player presses the return button 14, this return operation rotates the rotatable cam 39 which is rotatably supported below the depressed return button 14. Then, the tip of the rotating cam 39 moves so as to push up the opening / closing plate 22, and in conjunction with this, the opening / closing plate 22 rotates about the shaft 34 and greatly opens between the opposing surfaces with the U-shaped substrate 21. In addition, clogged medals and foreign matter can be eliminated in the exclusion direction.

Further, when the preparation of the gaming hall is not completed or the slot machine is not in operation, even if the inserted medals are regular medals, acceptance is rejected and the return port 1 is not accepted.
3 has a built-in reception control mechanism 40.

As shown in FIG. 10, the reception restricting mechanism 40 is provided with a shaft support portion 41 for rotatably supporting the movable guide plate 31 described above at a rear wall surface on the back side of the U-shaped substrate 21.
An inverted L-shaped movable guide plate 31 is attached with the shaft support portion 41 as a common rotation fulcrum, and the tip of the movable guide plate 31 is connected to the open / close plate 22 side across the medal passage 23 from the back side of the U-shaped substrate 21. In a state facing the discharge port 36, it is interposed for a medal top guide.

When the solenoid 42 disposed on the back side of the U-shaped substrate 21 is turned on and off, the movable guide plate 3 connected to the solenoid 42 via the tilt lever 43 is turned on and off.
1 is moved up and down to switch between a medal acceptance restriction state at the upper movement position and a medal acceptance state at the lower movement position.

When the above-mentioned solenoid 42 is turned on,
Excitation works, and the tip of the movable guide plate 31 moves as shown in FIG.
As shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 5, the top of the medal moves along the medal passage 23 to the downward movement position for guiding the medal, and the medal is accepted. In the medal passage 23 in the receiving state, the lower portion is formed between the opposing surfaces of the opening / closing plate 22 and the U-shaped substrate 21 and the bottom plate 44 of a metal material excellent in abrasion resistance positioned between the opening / closing plate 22 and the U-shaped substrate 21. A groove is formed and the upper part is a movable guide plate 3.
A concave groove for passing the medals is formed between the opposing surfaces of the first substrate 1 and the U-shaped substrate 21.

On the other hand, when the solenoid 42 is turned off, the return action of the return spring 45 attached to the tilt lever 43 works, and the movable guide plate 31 is pulled in the groove opening direction via the tilt lever 43, and Pivot about the support 41,
At this time, one side of the concave groove on the upper side forming the medal passage 23 is opened and the medal passage 23 is opened for exclusion, so that a medal receiving restriction state is established. Be eliminated.

In addition, the above-described 2 for detecting the passage of a medal
The two pass detection sensors S1 and S2 have the same detection structure, and are arranged on the rear side of the U-shaped substrate 21 corresponding to one side of the medal passage 23 to reduce the size of the detection structure. In addition, the following configuration can be adopted.

FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of the passage detecting sensor. The passage detecting sensor is provided with an inverted L-shaped substrate 46 disposed at the upper surface of the ramp 23b for rolling and passing the medals M.
And a transmission type detection sensor composed of a light projecting device 47 and a light receiving device 48 using a photomicrosensor incorporated in the inverted L-shaped substrate 46.

The inverted L-shaped substrate 46 of this detection sensor is provided with a light projector 47 having a light projecting axis 51 for projecting light obliquely toward a horizontal wall 50 obliquely upward on the vertical wall 49 side. A reflection surface 52 that receives the light projecting axis 51 and reflects the light in the horizontal direction is formed in a notch on the side of the horizontal wall 50 that faces the axis 51, and faces a horizontal light receiving axis 53 that reflects the reflection surface 52. The light receiver 48 is provided at a position on the horizontal wall 50 side. In the figure, reference numeral 54 denotes a light-projecting axis passage, and 55 denotes a light-receiving axis passage.

According to such a detection structure, when the inserted medal M rolls on the ramp 23b in a standing state and interrupts the light projecting axis 51 in the detection area, light shielding is detected and the medal M is detected. Detect passage.

Incidentally, in this transmission type passage detection sensor, since the light projector 47 and the light receiver 48 can be collectively disposed on one side of the U-shaped substrate 21 or the open / close plate 22, the light is projected from one side of the medal passage 23. Light can be received to provide a compact arrangement.

For this reason, a transmission-type sensor can be provided without being restricted by a medal discharging mechanism for discharging medals from one side of the passage or by the possibility of clogging of medals.

For reference, in a normal transmission type sensor, since the light emitter and the light receiver are arranged so as to straddle the medal passage 23, these arranged members may induce a passage obstruction and cause a medal clogging. was there. In addition, in the case of a reflection type sensor, it is difficult to employ the medal selection device because the medal detection is easily affected by disturbance light, the detection performance is unstable and the reliability is low.

In the figure, L1 is an upper inclined line indicating the tilt start position in the medal thickness direction, L2 is a lower inclined line indicating the tilt end position in the medal thickness direction, P is a mounting pin of the U-shaped substrate 21, and 56 is a cover mounting. An engagement projection 57 indicates a cover attachment engagement recess.

The selection processing operation of the inserted medal selection device 20 configured as described above will be described below. When the player inserts a medal into the slot 12 while the slot machine 11 is in an operation state capable of accepting the medal M, the inserted medal is guided to the inner medal passage 23 by its own weight, and is used as an introduction passage. From the vertical path 23a to the inclined path 23b that rolls at a low speed while being rolled up while standing.

At this time, when a medal M of a regular size is inserted, the medal M is accepted as it is and is taken in one by one. In this case, when the regular medal M is rolled and guided in the taking-in direction, the medal outer surface is not in surface contact but is taken in a line contact state in which only the ribs 32 and 37 are in contact, so that the contact area with the medal M is obtained. And a smooth conveyance guide effect can be obtained by reducing the medal passing resistance.

The ribs 32 and 37 are formed to be long in the direction of the passage along the inner surface of the medal passage 23 communicating with the insertion slot to form an uneven surface, and to secure a space between the outer surface and the medal of the medal. In order to avoid contact resistance, even if medals are frequently inserted into the insertion slot and the inside of the passage is soiled, or if the inner surface of the passage is scraped and resin dust is generated, the influence of dirt and resin dust is suppressed. Medal clogging can be reduced, and stable transport guide performance can be maintained.

The number of sheets taken in is counted by the passage detection sensors S1 and S2 near the exit 26, and the counted value is transmitted to a control unit (not shown) for data management.
Further, the two passage detection sensors S1 and S2 are arranged in order along the ramp 23b near the exit 26 of the medal passage 23, and an abnormal operation is caused by the ON / OFF sequence and time change of each sensor S1 and S2. Can be accurately detected, so that a fraudulent act using a thread hanging medal or the like can be accurately detected.

On the other hand, when a non-applicable medal M1 such as a small-diameter circulation coin is intentionally or erroneously inserted, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 0, the inapplicable medals M standing up at the time of rolling passage
1 has a small diameter, so that the upper side of the non-applicable medal M1 is not guided by the movable guide plate 31.
In addition to the inclination of the medal in the transport direction, the inclination protrusion 38 is inclined by about 15 ° in the thickness direction of the medal, and is further provided on the wall surface of the U-shaped substrate 21 on the upper side of the medal to promote medal inclination.
Is projected from the side of the medal that passes through the rolling,
The non-applicable medals M1 in the standing state that has reached this point are more steeply inclined than this, and the non-applicable medals M1 having a small diameter to be eliminated at the time corresponding to the inclined protrusion 38 are surely fallen sideways from the inclined road 23b and inclined downward. Naturally falls to the discharge port 36 and is discharged.

FIG. 12 shows an inclined projection 121 according to another embodiment.
The inclined protrusion 121 gradually increases in the amount of protrusion along the medal passing direction of the inclined path 122 and is formed to be small and independent. When this inclined projection 121 is used,
When one side of the medal comes into contact with the inclined projection 121 during rolling and conveyance, the inclined projection 121 comes into contact with the inclined projection 121 so as to be suddenly pushed from the side, and the inclination of the inclined surface of the inclined projection 121 gradually increases. Therefore, the tilting is promoted, and the tilting performance of the medal can be enhanced in the same manner as the tilting projection 38 described above.

When the inclined projection 121 provided to promote the tilting of the medals is formed to protrude upward in the height direction of the inclined passage, the upper side suitable for tilting the standing medals is pushed from the side. It can be leaned efficiently.

FIG. 13 shows an inclined projection 131 according to another embodiment.
The inclined projections 131 are provided with a protruding amount in the shape of a cross in the middle bulging state along the medal passing direction of the inclined path 132. In this case, the inclined projections 121 of FIG.
Works almost the same as.

FIG. 14 shows an inclined projection 141 according to another embodiment.
The inclined projection 141 is the same as the cross-shaped inclined projection 131 described with reference to FIG. 13, and the inclined projection 141 is formed on the upstream side and the downstream side of the inclined path 142 by sharing. are doing. In this case, the medal can be tilted in two steps on the ramp 142. Therefore, in addition to enhancing the exclusion function, the tilt area can be set in a wide area from the upstream side to the downstream side.

FIG. 15 shows an inclined projection 151 according to another embodiment.
The inclined protrusion 151 has a plurality of ribs 153 projecting in parallel with the medal passing direction of the inclined path 152 at equal intervals, and is further provided between the ribs 153 on the upper side of the inclined path 152 in FIG. In this case, the inclined projections 121 are gradually increased along the same medal passing direction as the inclined projections 121, and are combined with inclined projections 151 which are formed independently and small.

In this case, since the inserted outer surface of the medal is taken in a line contact state in which only the rib 153 is in contact with not the surface contact, the contact area with the medal is reduced, and the passing resistance of the medal is reduced. In addition to obtaining a smooth conveyance guide action, the tilt projection 151 can promptly promote tilting to medals and perform an accurate tilting operation.

As described above, when a medal of an appropriate size is inserted, the medal rolls in the take-in direction along the medal path under its own weight and is guided, whereas an inappropriate medal having a small diameter is introduced. When inserted, the inapplicable medals that roll in the upright state are guided only on the bottom side because the diameter is small, and the top side is not guided, so it starts to incline along the medal path that inclines in the medal thickness direction when rolling, and At the time corresponding to this inclined projection, the medal is surely transferred from the medal passage to the discharge port facing the inclined lower side, because the inclined projection protruding upward on the inclined surface contacts the side surface of the medal that rolls and passes and tilts the medal greatly. It is discharged sideways.

As described above, a medal passage having a role of tilting the medals to be rolled and conveyed upright in the direction of the thickness of the medals by its own weight and naturally lying down, and a projection having a role of pushing the medals in the thickness direction. By combining with the above, a function of properly tilting and ejecting small-diameter non-applicable medals to be eliminated by the inclination of the passage and the projection itself can be obtained. For this reason, when an inappropriate medal with a small diameter is inserted into the insertion slot, it can be reliably eliminated in the taking process. In particular, the small inclined projections play a role of the exclusion function precisely in conjunction with the passage, so the complicated elimination mechanism can be omitted, the number of parts can be reduced, and the number of parts to be assembled can be reduced and the medal selection can be reduced. The device can be realized.

In the correspondence between the structure of the present invention and the structure of the above-described embodiment, the passage of the present invention corresponds to the medal passage 23 of the embodiment. The inclined passage corresponds to the plate 31, the inclined passage corresponds to the inclined passages 23 b, 122, 132, 142, 152, the inclined lower side wall corresponds to the opening / closing plate 22, and the inclined upper side wall corresponds to the U-shaped substrate 21. Correspondingly, projections for promoting medal tilting correspond to the inclined projections 38, 121, 131, 141, 151, and streak-shaped projections correspond to the ribs 32, 37, 153. The present invention can be applied based on a technical idea, and is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment.

For example, in the embodiment, the inclined projection is shown as an example of the projection. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an arbitrary-shaped projection suitable for the medal tilting operation can be adopted.

[0080]

According to the present invention, since the small projections play a precise role of an exclusion function in combination with the passage, a complicated exclusion mechanism can be omitted, the number of parts can be reduced, and the number of assembly steps is reduced and the cost is reduced. It is possible to realize an inserted medal selection device that has been developed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a slot machine.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an inner surface state of the inserted medal sorting device with a front door opened.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part showing the inserted medal selection device.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the inserted medal selection device.

FIG. 5 is a rear view showing the driving side of the U-shaped substrate.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state in which a rib of the opening / closing plate is formed.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a medal passage.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which ribs and inclined projections of a U-shaped substrate are formed.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a state in which medals are eliminated on the side of the ribs and the inclined projections of the U-shaped substrate.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing an open / closed state of a movable guide plate.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing an arrangement state of a passage detection sensor.

FIG. 12 is an essential part perspective view showing an inclined projection according to another embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an essential part perspective view showing a cross-shaped inclined projection of another embodiment.

FIG. 14 is an essential part perspective view showing a two-stage arrangement of inclined projections according to another embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an essential part perspective view showing a combined state of the inclined protrusion and the rib according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Slot machine 12 ... Input port 13 ... Return port 20 ... Input medal sorting apparatus 21 ... U-shaped board 22 ... Opening / closing plate 23 ... Medal passage 23b, 122, 132, 142, 152 ... Incline 31 ... Movable guide plate 32 37, 153: Rib 36: Discharge port 38, 121, 131, 141, 151: Inclined protrusion M: Medal M1: Medal not applicable

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takanori Oka 801 Minami-Fudo-cho, Higashi-iri, Shiokoji-dori, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto-shi Inside OMRON Corporation (72) Inventor Hiroki Okuda 6-51, Yurakucho, Handa-shi, Aichi ) Inventor Shunji Mori 46 Nogoshi Nogoshi, Okumachi, Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture Inside OMRON Ichinomiya Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A method for selecting the size of medals inserted into an insertion slot, receiving and guiding medals of an appropriate size to the inside, guiding ejection of medals of an inappropriate size to an external return port. A medal selection device for a gaming machine having a selection guide means for returning to the game machine, provided with an inclined passage for medal selection for rolling and passing a medal inserted into the insertion slot by tilting the medal in a thickness direction of the medal,
A gaming machine in which a discharge port for discharging inapplicable medals is opened on the lower side wall of the inclined passage and a protrusion for promoting tilting of medals is provided on an upper side wall of the slope opposite to the discharge port. Input medal sorting device. 2. The inserted medal selection device for a gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein said medal tilting promotion projection is formed as an inclined projection which is gradually increased in projection amount along said token passage direction of said inclined passage. . 3. The medal selection device for a game machine according to claim 1, wherein said projection for promoting medal tilting is formed so as to protrude upward in a height direction of said inclined passage. 4. The inserted medal selection device for a gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein said medal tilting promotion projection has a plurality of streak-like projections protruding in a medal passing direction of said inclined passage. 5. The medal selection device for a game machine according to claim 1, wherein the medal tilting promotion projection is formed so as to be shared between an upstream side and a downstream side of the inclined passage.