JP2003051051A - Method and device for discharging coin, and game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a device for discharging coin in which a space required for attachment is small, a plurality of simultaneously put-in coins can be discharged at high speed one by one and the coins are diffused and hardly clogged and to provide a game machine. SOLUTION: In the method and device for discharging coin, a coin put in from a slot provided at one end of a coin storage part made of a falling cylinder the other end of which is closed, is pushed up along with the inner side face of the coin storage part while being abutted with the edge of a coin falling on a push-up side provided on a rotator to be rotated along with the inner side face, the coin is locked by a lock side provided on the lateral side face of the cylinder three-dimensionally across an acute angle in counter to the push-up side, and the coin is held between the push-up side and the lock side and discharged to the discharge part of the cylinder confronted in the opening direction of the acute angle by the joint force thereof.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coin ejecting method and an apparatus for ejecting a plurality of coins (medals) inserted in a batch, one by one, and a gaming machine equipped with the coin ejecting apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of ejecting medals, which are game moving bodies, one by one, in a gaming machine, a rotating body that rotates along the circumference of the drum is provided at the bottom of a substantially vertically provided drum. The circumference of the rotating body is stepped down by the width and height of one sheet, and a plurality of pins having a height about the thickness of the medal are arranged along the circumference in the stepped down part. There is a method in which the lowest medal stored in the drum is sandwiched between the pins, the rotating body is rotated, and the medals are discharged one by one from a discharge port provided on the circumference thereof.

[0003]

In the above method, since a plurality of medals are arranged side by side on the circumference of the rotating body, a drum having a diameter of a size in which a plurality of medals are arranged is required, which results in a game. It was difficult to install in the limited space near the medal slot of the machine. Further, since the medal inserted from the top is ejected from the bottom, there is a problem that the medal is easily clogged.

According to the present invention, a space required for mounting is small, a plurality of medals (coins) inserted at a time can be discharged at a high speed one by one, and the medals are less likely to be spread and jammed, and a coin can be formed compactly and compactly. It is an object to propose a method, its device, and a game machine.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a coin inserted from an insertion opening provided at the other end of a coin storage unit in which one end of a collapsed tubular body is closed is provided on the inner surface of the coin storage unit. A push-up side provided on a rotating piece that rotates along the edge of the coin is brought into contact with and pushed up the coin along the inner side surface. The coin is locked with a locking side provided so as to intersect with the three-dimensional shape, and the cylindrical body that opposes in the opening direction of the acute angle by the resultant force sandwiching the coin with the pushing side and the locking side. It is characterized in that it is a coin discharging method for discharging the coins to the discharging section.

The above-mentioned coin means a coin-shaped body,
Including coins and medals. According to the above configuration, the coin is pushed up by the push-up side along the inner surface of the collapsed tubular body, so that the coin is ejected in a space much smaller than that when the collapsed coin is rotated on the bottom surface of the substantially vertical tubular body. The coin can be rotated. Further, by the method of ejecting coins in the substantially axial direction by the combined force of the push-up side and the engaging side, it is possible to eject a plurality of rotating coins one by one at a high speed without countering the inertia.

According to the present invention, one end of a collapsed tubular body is formed in a closed shape, an insertion port is formed at the other end, and a coin discharge portion is formed at a lateral side portion, and a coin storage portion of the coin storage portion. A rotating body that forms a rotating piece that rotates along the inner surface,
The rotating piece is formed with a push-up side that abuts against an edge of a coin that has fallen in the coin storage unit and pushes it up along the inner side surface of the coin storage unit. The engaging side for sending out substantially in the axial direction may be a coin discharging device formed so as to face the push-up side and to intersect with the pushing-up side at an acute angle when the rotating piece approaches.

The tilted cylindrical body may be horizontal or inclined. Closing one end of the coin storage,
It may be configured to be closed by a rotating body. The coin discharge portion may be formed directly on the side surface of the tilted tubular body, or may be formed on the upper or lower diagonal side portion of the side surface. The push-up side and the locking side may be linear or curved, and the side itself may be a corner side or a curved side. With the above configuration, a plurality of inserted coins can be actually used.
The coins can be discharged one by one at high speed, and the coin discharging device can be downsized and installed in a small space. Further, the push-up side pushes a coin up along the inner surface of the coin storage unit and agitates other coins to flatten the inside of the coin storage unit to form a standing shape in the radial direction of the coin storage unit. Prevent.

In a preferred embodiment, the cylindrical body of the coin storage section may be formed in a tapered shape having a larger diameter on the coin discharge side. That is, by forming the coin storage part in a tapered shape with a large diameter on the coin discharge side, the bottom part on the coin discharge side is lowered, and the coin pushed up by the push-up side is brought to the discharge side by gravity, and the coin is discharged. It becomes easier to get out of the room, and the discharge efficiency increases.
In addition, since the coin falls down due to the taper shape, the coin does not remain in the tubular body in a standing state.

As a preferred embodiment, a coin diffusing means for diffusing coins inserted from the insertion slot can be provided inside the coin storage unit. That is,
By diffusing the coins inserted by the coin diffusing means, even if a large number of coins are stacked at a time, they can be diffused and stored in the coin storage unit.

The present invention is a gaming machine which inserts coins to play a game, and is provided with the coin ejecting device for ejecting a plurality of coins that have been inserted collectively one by one. it can. As a result, a plurality of coins inserted at one time are ejected one by one by the coin ejector,
The gaming machine can be used as in the case where coins are inserted one by one.

[0012]

According to the present invention, for example, even if a user holds a plurality of coins at a time by hand, the coin discharging device can discharge the coins one by one. Eliminates the hassle of inserting coins.

Further, since the coin discharging device discharges the coins one by one at a high speed, if the game machine is equipped with the coin discharging machine, for the manager of the amusement facility where the game machine is installed, the coin It has the effect of shortening the input time and increasing the operating rate of the game machine, resulting in an increase in sales.

Further, the coin ejecting device has a structure in which coins are pushed up by the push-up side along the inner surface of the cylindrical body, so that the entire device can be downsized, and an empty space for mounting side equipment such as a game machine is small. Since it can be installed in a space, even if it is installed in a game machine in which coins are inserted one by one, the design is not burdened and the cost can be suppressed.

With the above effects, a game machine maker can provide a low-priced and highly convenient game machine, and an amusement facility introduces the game machine at a low price, and the operation rate and sales of the game machine are reduced. The user can be freed from the troublesome work of inserting coins one by one.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a slot machine installed in a game hall. Slot machine 1
Is the operation switch 5b to be operated during the game in the center of the front
Are arranged side by side, and a drive lever 5a is provided on the left side thereof.

On the right front center of the slot machine 1, there is provided a container-shaped insertion slot 2 for receiving about 30 coin-shaped medals M, which are game moving bodies, and a return button 3 on the right side thereof. Adjacent to each other. A return port 7 is provided at the center of the lower part of the slot machine 1. For example, when the player presses the return button 3, the medal M is returned from the return port 7.

FIG. 2 shows an inner surface state of the door in which the front door 1a of the slot machine 1 is opened in a one-sided manner, and a reel 16 for rotating and playing a game is provided on an upper portion of the opened slot machine body 1b. A hopper 17 for taking in medals, a medal return passage (not shown), and a power supply device 8 are provided in the lower portion.

On the other hand, on the inner surface side of the front door 1a, the reel cover 1 which visibly covers the reel 16 from above.
5. Select whether the medals are appropriate or not, and take in the medals of regular size inside, and return the medals of inappropriate size to the external return port 7
A medal selector 19 for returning the medals M and a return port 7 for returning the medals M are provided, and a medal ejecting device 31 for ejecting the medals M one by one is provided on the left side of the medal selector 19.
With the above configuration, a plurality of medals inserted at one time from the above-described insertion slot 2 are sent to the medal selector 19 one by one by the medal ejecting device 31 to recognize a regular size medal, and the drive lever 5a and the operation switch 5b are recognized. The game by the operation of is permitted.

FIG. 3 shows a circuit block diagram of the slot machine 1. The control unit 20 includes a CPU 21 that executes arithmetic processing and control processing, a non-rewritable non-volatile ROM 22 that stores a control program for performing each processing, a volatile RAM 23 that records data necessary for operation, a management A communication interface 24 that allows transmission / reception with a device (not shown) and a machine-to-machine (not shown) is configured.

A power supply device 8 is connected to the control unit 20.
A game drive device 4 that is a drive system of the reel 16 (FIG. 2), a game operation device 5 that is a game operation system, and a medal counting device 6 are provided. The operation of each device will be described. The power supply device 8 converts power supplied from the outside into operating power and supplies the power to each device. The game drive device 4 drives the reel 16 under the control of the control unit 20.

The game operating device 5 outputs a game signal such as rotation start or rotation stop of the reel 16 to the control section 20 when a player operates the drive lever 5a and the operation switch 5b. The medal counting device 6 counts the regular size medals selected by the medal selector 19 and outputs the counting signal to the control unit 20.

With the above-mentioned structure and each operation, the slot machine 1 counts the regular size medals M selected by the medal selector 19 among the medals M inserted into the insertion slot 2 by the medal counting device 6, and the counted value. According to the control unit 20
The reels are controlled by the game drive device 4 to drive the reels 16 and the game operation device 5 stops the reels 16 to allow the game.

Next, the details of the structure of the medal discharge device 31 will be described. FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the medal discharge device 31, showing a medal storage unit 4 for temporarily storing medals.
0, a rotating body 50 that rotates to push up a medal, a lid 60 that also serves as a lid of the medal storage unit 40 and a medal insertion opening and an ejection opening, a motor 70 that is a driving force for rotating the rotating body 50, and the motor A power transmission unit 80 that transmits the driving force of 70 to the rotating body 50.

The medal storage unit 40 is provided with a cylindrical body 41 in which a cylindrical member laid down in a substantially horizontal state is formed in a tapered shape with a long front diameter, and the rear surface thereof is formed into a vertically long substantially rectangular plate shape. The back cover 42 is closed at the top. A shaft hole 42a is provided in the upper center of the back cover 42, and a motor shaft hole 4 is provided in the lower center.
2b is provided. On the left lateral side of the medal storage unit 40,
A medal ejecting section 43 for ejecting medals substantially in the front direction is provided. The medal ejecting portion 43 has a sloped locking side 43a on the upper portion.
Is provided to lock the upper portion of the medal pushed up from below, the details of which will be described later.

The rotary body 50 includes a disk-shaped back body 51 formed on the back surface, and four plate-shaped rotary wings 52 having a thickness of about one medal M arranged substantially vertically on the circumference thereof. ,
The rotary vane 52 includes a substantially ring-shaped escape prevention ring 53 provided at the front end of the rotary vane 52 so as to face the back body 51, and a rotary shaft 54 provided perpendicularly to the center of the back body 51. The back body 51 serves as a member for closing the inner part of the medal holding section 40.

The rear projection of the rotary shaft 54 is inserted into the shaft hole 42a of the medal storage unit 40, and the rotary shaft 54
When it is rotated about, the outer periphery of the back body 51 and the escape prevention ring 53, and the rotary wing 52 are
1. Rotate along the inner surface of 1.

The lid portion 60 is a plate portion 61 having a square shape in a front view.
A medal insertion slot 62 having a triangular upper surface and a top surface is provided at the center of the upper part of the plate, and a medal discharge groove 63 is provided on the left side of the plate portion 61 by making a notch from near the center of the left side to the lower right in front view. The lid portion 60 is attached so as to close the front opening portion of the tubular body 41 provided in the medal storage portion 40,
The left side surface of the medal ejection groove 63 is made to substantially coincide with the right side surface of the medal ejection portion 43 described above.

The motor 70 has a rotary shaft 71 provided on the back side thereof and a motor shaft hole 42 provided in the medal storage section 40.
It is rotatably inserted into b and fixed to the back cover 42. The power transmission unit 80 includes a rotating body side roller 81a fitted to the rotating shaft 54 provided on the rotating body 50 and a motor side roller 81b fitted to the rotating shaft 71 provided on the motor 70.
A rubber belt 82 is formed so that the driving force can be transmitted.

The above components are combined to form a medal discharge device 31 as shown in the perspective view of FIG. The medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 62 are diffused by the rotating shaft 54 and temporarily stored in the medal storage unit 40. When the rotating body 50 rotates clockwise in a front view by the rotational force of the motor 70 transmitted by the power transmission unit 80, the medal M1 tilted by the rotary wings 52 is pushed up along the inner side surface of the tubular body 41, and the locking side. The coin M is sandwiched between 43a and the rotary vane 52, and the resultant force ejects the medals M one by one from the medal ejection groove 63. When a plurality of medals (M1 and M2) are to be ejected from the medal ejection groove 63 in an overlapping state, the escape prevention side 53a prevents the medal M2 inside the tubular body 41 from coming out. Then, only the outermost medal M1 in the tubular body 41 is ejected.

Next, the structure of the medal discharge device 31 will be described with reference to the circuit block diagram of FIG. Medal storage 4
The motor 70 attached to 0 receives power supply from the power supply device 8 via the switching device 33 and executes a rotary motion. The switching device 33 is a device that switches between positive and negative power supplied from the power supply device 8, and switches between positive and negative power supplied to the motor 70 in accordance with a control signal from the control unit 20.

The current detection device 34 monitors the current of the motor 70 and sends a detection signal to the control unit 20 when detecting an overcurrent. The operation of the power supply device 8 and the control unit 20 is the same as that described with reference to FIG.

With the above-described structure, the motor 70 receives power from the power supply device 8 and executes a rotary motion to rotate the rotor 50.
(FIG. 5) is rotated to set the medal M to the rotary wings 5 of the rotary body 50.
It is sandwiched between 2 and the engaging side 43a, and the resultant force is the medal discharge groove 63.
To be discharged from. When the coin M is jammed, the current detection device 34 detects an overcurrent, and the control unit 20 causes the switching device 33 to switch between positive and negative of the power source and reversely rotates the motor 70 to eliminate the jammed state.

Next, the medal is attached to the rotary wing 52 and the locking side 43a.
The operation of sandwiching between and and discharging with the resultant force will be described with reference to the explanatory view shown in FIG. 7. When the medal M, which has fallen along the inner surface of the cylindrical body 41 of the medal storage unit 40 (FIG. 5), is pushed up clockwise by the rotary wings 52 of the rotary body 50, as shown in FIG. The medal M is a medal ejecting section 43.
It hits the locking side 43a of.

When the rotary wing 52 is further rotated, the normal force M received from the engaging side 43a as shown in FIG.
The medal M is pushed forward (on the left side in the drawing) by the resultant force Mc of a and the vertical force Mb received from the rotary wings 52.

As shown in (C) and (D) of the figure, the medal M is pushed forward in accordance with the rotation of the rotary wing 52, and is ejected from the medal ejection groove 63 (FIG. 5). In addition,
The push-up side 52a of the rotary wing 52 that pushes up the medal M is formed to be slightly thinner than the thickness of the medal M, and the tapered surface 52b is formed on the side surface of the rotary wing 52 to form the rotary wing 52 to have a necessary strength. At the same time, only one coin M is pushed up.

With the above configuration, structure, and operation, the tens of medals inserted by the player into the insertion slot 2 (FIG. 1) by hand can be sent to the medal selector 19 by the medal ejecting device 31 one by one. The player does not need to insert medals one by one as in the conventional case. According to the experiment, by rotating the rotating body 50 one to two times in one second, about 30 medals can be ejected in 10 seconds (one grip with one hand), which can sufficiently correspond to the game speed of the player.

In the above embodiment, the medal discharging unit 43 may be formed as a separate member from the medal storing unit 40, or a part of the medal storing unit 40 may be formed as a groove having the same shape. . Further, the tubular body 41 may not be tapered, but may be formed in a normal tubular shape having the same diameter at both ends. In this case, by setting the ejection side of the medal low, it is possible to bring the medal toward the ejection side and destabilize the standing medal. Further, the medal ejecting device 31 can be provided as long as it is a device that uses medals (coins), such as a bingo game or a horse racing game in which medals are inserted to play a game.

In the correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the above-described embodiment, the gaming machine of the present invention corresponds to the slot machine 1 of the embodiment, and hereinafter, similarly, the coin ejecting device corresponds to the medal ejecting device 31. The coin storage unit corresponds to the medal storage unit 40, the rotary piece corresponds to the rotary wing 52, the coin diffusing unit corresponds to the rotary shaft 54, and the insertion slot corresponds to the medal insertion slot 62. The coin corresponds to the medal M, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and many embodiments can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a slot machine.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the slot machine with a front door opened.

FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram of a slot machine.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the medal discharge device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a medal discharge device.

FIG. 6 is a circuit block diagram of a medal discharge device.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view of the medal ejecting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Slot machine 31 ... Medal ejection device 40 ... Medal storage 41 ... Cylindrical body 43a ... Locking side 52 ... rotary feather 52a ... push-up side 54 ... Rotary axis 62 ... medal slot M ... Medal

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Fumiaki Abe             Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto-shi Shioji-dori Horikawa Higashiiri Minamifudo-cho             801 OMRON Corporation F-term (reference) 3E001 AB05 BA01 BA03 CA08 DA02                       FA01 FA38

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A coin inserted from an insertion opening provided at the other end of a coin storage unit in which one end of a collapsed cylindrical body is closed,
The push-up side provided on the rotating piece that rotates along the inner side surface of the coin storage section contacts the edge portion of the coin that has fallen down and pushes it up along the inner side surface, and The coin is locked by a locking side provided so as to intersect the push-up side at an acute angle and three-dimensionally intersects, and the push-up side and the locking side sandwich the coin, and the resultant force causes the opening direction of the acute angle. The coin discharging method in which the coins are discharged to the discharging portion of the cylindrical body facing each other. 2. A coin storage unit in which one end of a collapsed tubular body is formed in a closed shape, an insertion port is formed in the other end, and a coin discharge unit is formed in a lateral side portion; and an inner surface of the coin storage unit. And a rotating body that forms a rotating piece that rotates along with the rotating piece, and abuts against the edge of the coin that has fallen in the coin storage portion and pushes it up along the inner surface of the coin storage portion. A push-up side is formed, and a locking side for sending out a coin in a substantially axial direction of the cylindrical body is formed in the discharge portion so as to intersect with the push-up side at an acute angle when the rotating piece approaches. Coin ejector formed as described above. 3. The coin ejection device according to claim 2, wherein the cylindrical body of the coin storage portion is formed in a tapered shape having a larger diameter on the coin ejection side. 4. The coin ejecting device according to claim 2, wherein a coin diffusing means for diffusing coins inserted from the insertion slot is provided inside the coin storing section. 5. A game machine which inserts coins to play a game, and is provided with a coin ejecting device according to claim 2, which ejects a plurality of coins inserted one by one. Amusement machine.