JP2005174243A - Coin pay out device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coin pay out device capable of preventing coin clogging and excessive coin disbursement. <P>SOLUTION: The coin pay out device comprises a rotatable coin disk 28 raising coins in a coin bucket; a coin-detaching means 18 for detaching the coin raised by the coin disk 28 from the coin disk 28; a coin penetration section 16 passing through the coin detached from the coin disk 28 by the coin-detaching means 18. The coil penetration section 16 has an opening 19 for leading the coins into its path, and a control means 16a for controlling the number of coins to be led into the the path through the opening 19. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a coin payout device used in a gaming machine such as a slot machine that uses coins as a game medium.

  Generally, in various gaming machines including a slot machine, coins are often used as gaming media. Normally, when such a coin is inserted into the coin slot of the gaming machine, the gaming operation of the gaming machine can be started. In this case, the coins inserted into the coin insertion slot are stored in a bucket of a coin payout device provided in the game machine body. The coins stored in the bucket are paid out to the player in accordance with a winning state (game result) generated by the progress of the game.

  In addition, coins are generally paid out to the player by coins being sent out one by one from the bucket by the coin sending unit of the coin payout device, and the sent coins are sent to a predetermined coin payout path in the machine body. This is done by being discharged to a coin payout tray provided on the machine body (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

By the way, various coins are sent out by the coin sending unit of the coin payout device. Conventionally, one of them is a so-called pinwheel type coin disk. is there. This pin wheel type coin disk has a coin conveying surface in which pins for individually holding coins one by one protruded at predetermined intervals along the outer periphery thereof, and is adjacent to the side surface of the bucket. In the state, it stands upright so that rotation is possible along the height direction of a bucket. On the other hand, the bucket has a box shape having a predetermined height (depth), thereby forming a coin storage space in which coins are stored, and an opening for opening the coin storage space on the side surface. Have. Then, the coin disk is rotated while facing the opening of the coin storage space of the bucket with the coin transport surface, while stirring the coins in the coin storage space by the agitator protruding from the coin transport surface, The coins are picked up one by one by the pins and conveyed in the circumferential direction (raised).
JP-A-9-94319

  The coins raised by the coin disk in this way are sent out to the coin payout path as described above. Specifically, each coin held on the coin transport surface of the coin disk by the pin is, for example, a substantially knife-shaped guide member on the upper side of the coin disk (for example, at the most elevated position) as the coin disk rotates. By being picked up, it is separated from the coin transport surface and guided to the opening of the adjacent tunnel-shaped coin passage facing the guide member. Then, the coins introduced into the coin passage are discharged from the coin passage through a coin payout path to a coin payout tray provided in the machine body.

  However, in such a conventional configuration, there is a problem that a coin is clogged between the coin passage and the guide member. This is because there is a gap (step) between the tunnel-shaped opening of the coin passage and the guide member. If a coin bites into the gap during rotation of the coin disk, the coin disk rotates. There is a risk that a coin payout error will occur.

  In addition, as described above, in the conventional configuration, coins are basically introduced into the coin passage one by one, but sometimes two or more coins are introduced into the coin passage at a time. There is. The cause is the size of the opening of the coin passage. That is, the opening of the conventional coin passage is set to a size that is large enough to allow the introduction of two or more coins. In some cases, the coin passage is attached to the coin disk for some reason. Another coin enters the opening of the coin path, and in some cases, a coin not held by the coin disk suddenly jumps into the opening of the coin path as the coin disk rotates. There is.

  Further, the coin jumping into the coin path may be induced by the agitator protruding from the coin transport surface. That is, there may be a phenomenon in which the coin agitated by the agitator that rotates with the coin disk rides on the agitator, and the coin on the agitator that has climbed jumps into the coin path with the momentum of rotation. In any case, when two or more coins are introduced into the coin passage at a time, coins are excessively paid out, which causes a problem in coin payout accuracy.

  The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a coin payout device that can prevent clogging of coins and prevent excessive payout of coins.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a coin payout device according to claim 1 includes a coin bucket for storing coins, a rotatable coin disk for raising coins in the coin bucket, and the coin disk. A coin detaching means for detaching the elevated coin from the coin disk; and a coin insertion portion for allowing the coin removed from the coin disk by the coin detaching means to pass therethrough, wherein the coin insertion part has a coin in the passage. And a regulating means for regulating the number of coins introduced into the passage through the opening.

  According to the coin payout device described in claim 1, since the coin insertion part has the restriction means for restricting the number of coins introduced through the opening, the coin insertion part passes through the coin insertion part. Not only can the number be limited, but coins that are not held by the coin disk can also be prevented from suddenly jumping into the opening of the coin insertion section as the coin disk rotates ( Coins can be prevented from passing through the coin insertion part), and as a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which excessive coins are introduced into the coin insertion part and coins are paid out excessively (coin payout accuracy is improved). .

  For example, if the number of coins introduced into the coin insertion part is restricted to one by the restriction means, a situation where two or more coins are introduced into the coin insertion part at a time can be avoided. That is, of course, it is possible to prevent coins held on the coin disk and other coins adhering to the coin disk for any reason from entering the opening of the coin insertion part, and coins not held by the coin disk are coins. It is possible to reliably and effectively prevent sudden jumping into the opening of the coin insertion portion as the disk rotates.

  The restricting means may be formed by the coin insertion portion itself, or may be a member that is attached to the coin insertion portion separately from the coin insertion portion.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the number of coins regulated by the regulating means corresponds to the number of coins to be introduced into the coin insertion part by the coin disk. For example, when the coin disk holds coins one by one and introduces them one by one into the coin insertion part, the number of coins introduced into the coin insertion part may be restricted to one by the restriction means. When the coin disk holds x coins individually and introduces x coins into the coin passage, the number of coins introduced into the coin insertion portion may be restricted to x by the restricting means.

  The coin payout device according to claim 2 is the coin payout device according to claim 1, wherein a tip of the coin insertion portion is set lower than a surface of a member constituting the coin release means. It is characterized by being.

  According to the coin payout device described in claim 2, the same effect as the coin payout device described in claim 1 can be obtained, and the tip of the coin insertion portion constitutes the coin detaching means. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation where a coin fed from the coin detaching means is caught on the tip of the coin insertion part, and a gap between the coin insertion part and the coin detachment means is set. It is also possible to fill, and it is possible to avoid clogging coins between them. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the coin disk is prevented from rotating and a coin payout error occurs due to a coin catch or a coin jam.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the coin payout device according to the second aspect, wherein the restricting means bites the tip of the coin insertion portion into the coin release means. Features.

  According to the coin payout device described in claim 3, the same effect as that of the coin payout device described in claim 2 can be obtained, and both the jamming of coins and the excessive payout of coins can be achieved by the regulating means itself. Can be prevented at the same time, so the structure can be greatly simplified.

  According to the coin payout device of the present invention, coin jamming can be prevented and coins can be prevented from being excessively paid out.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows a coin payout device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The coin payout device 1 is installed in the body of a gaming machine such as a slot machine, can receive coins inserted into the body, and can pay out coins as needed. Specifically, the coin payout device 1 receives, for example, coins inserted into the machine body from a coin insertion slot of a gaming machine, a coin bucket 2 provided adjacent to the coin bucket 2, and the coin bucket 2 And a coin sending section 4 for sending out the coins.

  The coin bucket 2 has a box shape having a predetermined height (depth), thereby forming a coin storage space S in which coins are stored. Further, an opening 6 for opening the coin storage space S is provided on the side surface (back surface) 2 a of the coin bucket 2 facing the coin sending portion 4.

  As clearly shown in FIG. 2, the opening 6 of the coin bucket 2 is formed by a cylindrical body 8 provided to protrude from the side surface 2 a to the coin sending part 4 side. This cylindrical body 8 is attached and fixed by screws or the like to a base body 10 to be described later of the coin sending section 4. Further, the cylindrical body 8 has a stepped portion 8 a at an inner peripheral surface portion adjacent to the coin sending portion 4. The step portion 8 a forms a substantially annular space S ′ between the coin sending section 4 and a coin disk 28 (to be described later) of the coin sending section 4. Further, the stepped portion 8a is formed as an inclined surface inclined at a predetermined angle, and the coin C flowing into the cylindrical body 8 from the coin storage space S along the inclined surface in the substantially annular space S ′ is formed. The coin C is easily picked up by the coin disk 28 as will be described later.

  As clearly shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the coin delivery section 4 includes a plate-like base body 10 to which the cylindrical body 8 of the coin bucket 2 is attached and fixed, and is rotatably attached to the base body 10. A so-called pin wheel type coin disk 28 is provided for picking up and elevating coins in the coin bucket 2. In this case, the base | substrate 10 is provided so that it may stand along the height direction of the coin bucket 2 in the state adjacent to the side surface 2a of the coin bucket 2 (refer FIG. 1).

  The coin disk 28 is formed by a circular plate that rotates counterclockwise when viewed from the direction in FIG. 3, and is arranged so as to rise along the height direction of the coin bucket 2, as with the base body 10. (See FIG. 1). Further, the coin disk 28 has an annular coin transport surface 12 in which pins 14 for holding the coins C one by one project from the outer periphery of the coin disk 28 at predetermined intervals (equal intervals). . In this case, the pin 14 protrudes from the coin transport surface 12 with a length slightly shorter than the thickness of one coin so that only one coin C can be held.

  Further, the coin disk 28 is placed in the space S ′ so that the coin transport surface 12 faces the substantially annular space S ′ of the coin bucket 2 in a state where the cylindrical body 8 of the coin bucket 2 is attached to the base body 10. It is designed to partially enter the. Note that an agitator 20 for agitating the coin C flowing into the cylindrical body 8 from the coin storage space S is projected from the center of the coin disk 28.

  The base 10 is provided with coin detachment means that is located on the upper side of the coin disk 28 and that detaches the coin C raised by the coin disk 28 from the coin disk 28. In the present embodiment, the coin detachment means includes a substantially knife-shaped coin detachment member 18 extending from the base 10 side so as to cross the coin conveyance surface 12, and the tip support portion 18 a is conveyed on the upper side of the coin disk 28. By extending below the surface 12, the coin C on the coin transport surface 12 is picked up and removed from the coin transport surface 12 with the rotation of the coin disk 28, and the coin C that has been detached is described later. 16 openings 19 can be guided. It should be noted that the thickness of the tip support portion 18a is set to such a thickness that two coins C cannot be picked up, that is, about 1.5 coins.

  Further, the base 10 is provided with a coin swinging member 22 that swings down the coin C that overlaps the coin C elevated by the coin disk 28 on the upstream side of the coin detaching member 18 along the coin transport path of the coin disk 28. ing. In the present embodiment, the coin swing-off member 22 is a solid and rod-like rigid body or elastic member that protrudes toward the coin C to be elevated, and its tip acting portion is from the coin transport surface 12 of the coin disk 28. By separating the coins by a distance corresponding to less than the thickness of two coins, the coin C overlapping the upper side of the coin C held on the coin transport surface 12 is shaken off by the tip action portion.

  Further, the base 10 is provided with a coin insertion portion 16 located on the upper side of the coin disk 28. The coin insertion portion 16 forms a tunnel-shaped coin passage, and has an opening 19 for receiving the coin C picked up by the tip support portion 18a of the coin detachment member 18 at one end. The other end of the coin insertion portion 16 is connected to a coin payout tray provided on the machine body via a coin payout path (not shown) (for example, a rail extending upwardly connected to the coin insertion portion 16). Has been.

  Further, the coin insertion part 16 has a restricting means for restricting the number of coins C introduced into the passage through the opening 19. In the present embodiment, this restricting means is formed by a coin shield 16 a extending from the frame forming the coin passage of the coin insertion portion 16 to the front of the opening 19, and partially closing the opening 19. Thus, the number of coins C introduced into the coin insertion portion 16 through the opening 19 is restricted to one (see FIG. 4). That is, in the related art, the opening 19 of the coin insertion portion 16 is set to a sufficiently large size that allows introduction of two or more coins C as conceptually shown in FIG. 6 corresponding to the present embodiment. However, as shown in FIG. 4, the opening 19 of the coin insertion portion 16 in the present embodiment is set to a dimension that prevents two coins from passing through.

  Further, the coin insertion portion 16 is positioned so that the tip thereof bites into the coin detachment member 18. Specifically, the coin shield 16a extending from the coin insertion portion 16 bites into the notch groove 18b formed in the tip support portion 18a of the coin detaching member 18 (circular shape in FIG. 4A). The enlarged view of a frame part and (b) of FIG. 4). That is, conventionally, since the coin insertion portion 16 is formed with a gap (step) 50 between the coin insertion portion 16 and the coin detaching member 18 as conceptually shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the tip of the coin shield 16 a extending from the coin insertion portion 16 is detached from the coin. The front end of the coin shield 16a is below the coin support surface 18c of the front end support portion 18a of the coin release member 18 and the surface 18d of the front end support portion 18a so that the cutout groove 18b of the member 18 is bitten without any gap. (Ie, the tip of the coin insertion portion 16 is set lower than the surface of the coin detachment member 18). Therefore, a gap (step) is not formed between the coin insertion part 16 and the coin detachment member 18, so that the coin C is caught on the tip of the coin shield 16a or the coin insertion part 16 and the coin detachment member. It is possible to prevent a situation in which the coin C is jammed (pinched) between the two. The coin shield 16 a also has a function of preventing the coin C from falling from the tip support portion 18 a of the coin detachment member 18, and it is desirable that the coin shield 16 a does not protrude to the side of the coin detachment member 18.

  The coin payout device 1 configured as described above causes the coin transport surface 12 of the coin disk 28 to face the substantially annular space S ′ of the coin bucket 2 and rotates the coin disk 28, thereby rotating the coin transport surface 12. While the coins C in the space S ′ are stirred by the agitator 20 projecting from the pins, the coins C are picked up one by one by the pins 14 and conveyed (lifted) in the circumferential direction.

  In addition, each coin C held and raised on the coin transport surface 12 of the coin disk 28 by the pin 14 in this way is moved by the coin dropping member 22 when another coin C is superimposed on the coin C. In a state where the coin C is shaken down, the coin C is sequentially sent to the upper coin detachment member 18 and picked up by the coin detachment member 18 as the coin disk 28 rotates, so that the coin C is removed from above the coin transport surface 12. Detached and guided to the opening 19 of the tunnel-shaped coin insertion portion 16 facing the coin detaching member 18 and adjacent thereto.

  At this time, since the coin shield 16a of the coin insertion portion 16 has bitten into the notch groove 18b formed in the tip support portion 18a of the coin detachment member 18, there is almost no gap, so that the coin shield 16a is guided to the opening 19 of the coin insertion portion 16. Coins C are not caught between the coin insertion part 16 and the coin detachment member 18, and the number of coins C introduced into the coin insertion part 16 is restricted to one by the coin shield 16a. Therefore, two coins are not introduced into the coin insertion portion 16 at the same time.

  Note that the coin C introduced into the coin insertion portion 16 is discharged from the coin insertion portion 16 to, for example, a coin payout tray provided in the machine body of the gaming machine via the coin payout path or directly.

  As described above, in the coin payout device 1 of the present embodiment, the coin insertion part 16 has the coin shield 16a as a restricting means for restricting the number of coins C introduced through the opening 19 thereof. . Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which two or more coins C are introduced into the coin insertion portion 16 at a time. That is, it is of course possible to prevent the coin C held on the coin disk 28 and another coin C attached to the coin disk 28 for some reason from entering the opening 19 of the coin insertion part 16. It is possible to reliably and effectively prevent the uninitiated coin C from suddenly jumping into the opening 19 of the coin insertion portion 16 as the coin disk 28 rotates (coins from other than the coin detachment member 18). C can be prevented from passing through the coin insertion portion 16). As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which excessive coins C are introduced into the coin insertion portion 16 and coins C are paid out excessively (coin payout accuracy is increased).

  Further, in the coin payout device 1 of the present embodiment, since the tip of the coin insertion part 16 is set lower than the surface of the coin release member 18, the coin C fed from the coin release member 18 is the tip of the coin insertion part 16. Can be prevented, and the gap between the coin insertion portion 16 and the coin detachment member 18 can be filled, and the clogging of the coin C between them can be avoided. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the coin disk 28 is prevented from rotating and a coin payout error occurs due to the coin C being caught or clogged. In particular, in this embodiment, the coin shield 16a itself as a regulating means for regulating the number of coins C introduced into the coin insertion portion 16 is positioned so as to bite into the coin detachment member 18 (in other words, the coin insertion Since the coin shield 16a is formed by biting the tip of the portion 16 into the coin detaching member 18, the coin shield 16a itself can simultaneously prevent both coin clogging and excessive coin payout. Can be greatly simplified.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the number of coins C introduced into the coin insertion portion 16 is restricted to one by the coin shield 16a, but the number of coins C restricted by the coin shield 16a is equal to the coin disk 28. Corresponds to the number of coins C to be introduced into the coin insertion part 16. For example, the coin disk 28 holds the coins C individually x and introduces them into the coin passage 16 one by one. In this case, the number of coins introduced into the coin insertion part 16 may be restricted to x by the coin shield 16a. In the embodiment described above, the coin shield 16a is formed by the coin insertion portion 16 itself, but may be attached to the coin insertion portion 16 separately from the coin insertion portion 16. In the above-described embodiment, the coin shield 16a has both a function of preventing coin clogging and a function of restricting the number of coins to be introduced, while the number of coins introduced into the coin insertion portion 16 is restricted by the coin shield 16a. The function of preventing coin clogging may be realized by another member (including a part of the coin insertion portion 16 formed separately from the coin shield 16a). For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a coin insertion portion is provided by providing a protrusion 52 integrally or separately on the surface 18 d of the tip support portion 18 a of the coin detachment member 18 (which is formed integrally in FIG. 5). 16 (coin shield 16a) is made lower than the surface of the coin detachment member 18 (substantially surface of the coin detachment member 18 shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 5), and the coin insertion part 16 and the coin detachment member 18 A gap (step) 50 shown in FIG.

  The coin payout device of the present invention can be applied to various gaming machines that use coins as gaming media, such as slot machines and pachinko machines.

It is a perspective view of a coin payout device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is the fragmentary perspective view which looked at the coin bucket which comprises the coin payment apparatus of FIG. 1 from the opening part side. It is a front view of the coin disk which comprises the coin payout apparatus of FIG. (A) is a perspective view of the coin disk which comprises the coin payout apparatus of FIG. 1, (b) is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of (a). It is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG.4 (b) which shows the modification of the biting relationship of a coin insertion part and a coin detachment | leave member. It is a perspective view corresponding to Fig.4 (a) which shows the conventional structure notionally.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Coin dispensing apparatus 2 Coin bucket 16 Coin insertion part 16a Coin shield (regulation member)
18 Coin detachment member (coin detachment means)
19 Opening 28 Coin disc

Claims (3)

A coin bucket for storing coins;
A rotatable coin disc for raising coins in the coin bucket;
Coin detachment means for detaching the coin raised by the coin disk from the coin disk;
A coin insertion part for allowing the coins removed from the coin disk by the coin release means;
With
The coin insertion device has an opening for guiding a coin into the passage, and a restricting means for restricting the number of coins introduced into the passage through the opening.   2. The coin payout device according to claim 1, wherein a tip of the coin insertion portion is set lower than a surface of a member constituting the coin detaching means.   3. The coin payout device according to claim 2, wherein the restricting unit is configured to bite a tip of the coin insertion portion into the coin detaching unit.

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