JP2005332293A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine which is capable of processing large quantities of medals through a slot and makes is difficult to put foreign matters or the like into the slot. <P>SOLUTION: The game machine has a medal processing apparatus 10 built therein, which is provided with; a driving motor 17; a first rotating roller 18 and a second rotating roller 19 which are installed at a prescribed interval and separate medals thrown into a slot 11; a base member 15A which supports the driving motor 17 and supports the first and second rotating rollers 18 and 19 rotatably; a power transmission mechanism which transmits a rotational driving force of the driving motor 17 to the first and second rotating rollers 18 and 19; and a guide path 22 which is formed on the base member and guides medals thrown in from the slot 11 toward a discrimination part of a discriminator for discriminating the validity of medals. The guide path 22 is formed so as to bend against a going direction X of medals thrown in from the slot 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine that uses a game medium such as a medal or a coin to perform a game, and in particular, a game incorporating a game medium processing device that processes the game medium inserted by a player. Related to the machine.

Generally, a gaming machine (for example, a slot machine, a roulette game device, a pusher game device, etc.) in which a game is started by inserting a game medium (hereinafter referred to as “medal”) as described above includes, for example, As disclosed in Patent Document 1, an identification device (selector) for identifying the effectiveness of medals inserted through the insertion slot is incorporated. In the identification device disclosed in this document, a medal passage is formed so as to be continuous with the insertion slot, and an identification member or detector for identifying the effectiveness of the inserted medal in the middle of the medal passage Etc. are provided.
JP-A-8-24434

  The identification device described above forms a medal passage along the insertion slot, and the medals inserted from the insertion slot of the thickness of the medal are left as they are (in a state parallel to the medal entry direction). Guide to the medal passage and guide to the above-mentioned medal identification unit. For this reason, it has a configuration in which foreign matter or the like easily enters from the insertion slot toward the medal identification unit, and malfunctions such as external operation of the medal identification unit by inserting the foreign matter, or misconduct is likely to occur. It is a situation.

  Also, depending on the type of gaming machine or game situation, the player may want to insert a large amount of medals into the slot, but in the identification device configured as described above, a large number of medals are inserted and continuously There are limits to processing.

  The present invention has been made based on the above-described problems, and provides a gaming machine capable of processing a large amount of medals through the insertion slot and making it difficult for foreign matter or the like to enter the insertion slot. For the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the gaming machine according to claim 1 is installed with a predetermined clearance from the drive motor, and guides the game media thrown into the slot into the slot and the outlet, respectively. A first rotating roller and a second rotating roller that are rotationally driven by the driving motor, and a base member that supports the driving motor and rotatably supports the first rotating roller and the second rotating roller. , A power transmission mechanism for transmitting the rotational driving force of the drive motor to the first rotating roller and the second rotating roller, and a game medium formed on the base member and inserted from the insertion port. A game medium processing device including a guide path for guiding toward the identification unit of the identification device for identifying the sex, and the guide path corresponds to an approach direction of the game medium thrown from the slot. Characterized in that it is bent.

  According to the gaming machine having the above-described configuration, a large number of gaming media (medals) inserted from the insertion slot are subjected to separation action in the gap between the first rotating roller and the second rotating roller that rotate in the same direction, so that high speed It is processed. The medals separated one by one here move along the guide path, are guided to the transport path of the identification device, and their effectiveness is identified by the identification unit provided in the transport path. Since the guide path is bent with respect to the entry direction of the game medium inserted from the insertion slot, it is difficult for a foreign object or the like to enter the inside, and for example, a straight foreign object is inserted from the insertion slot. However, the insertion is hindered, and unauthorized operation of the identification unit is suppressed.

  In the guide path having the above-described configuration, “bend” is “bent” bent, “bent” bent by intersecting a plurality of straight lines, or a combination of both. Included.

  Further, in the gaming machine according to claim 2, the guide path is configured so that a traveling direction of the game medium along the guide path is different from a traveling direction of the game medium along the transport path of the identification device. It is formed in a base member.

  In such a configuration, the medal separated by the game medium processing device is changed in the traveling direction thereafter and guided to the identification unit of the identification device, so that the path from the insertion slot to the identification unit is In addition to the configuration of the bent guide path, since it further changes, it is possible to more reliably prevent fraud.

  Further, in the gaming machine according to claim 3, the power transmission mechanism includes a first pulley and a second pulley mounted on each drive shaft of the first rotating roller and the second rotating roller, and a rotational drive of the driving motor. A driving pulley mounted on the shaft and a driving belt wound around each pulley are provided.

  According to the gaming machine having such a configuration, the output from the drive motor is transmitted as it is to the first pulley and the second pulley via the drive pulley attached to the rotation drive shaft of the drive motor, and the first rotation roller. And since the 2nd rotation roller is driven, while the structure of a power transmission mechanism is simplified, it becomes possible to make the whole apparatus compact.

  According to the present invention, in a gaming machine capable of separating a large number of medals one by one by rotating the drive motor, it is difficult for foreign matter or the like to enter the identification unit of the identification device. It is possible to effectively prevent fraud and the like.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the gaming machine according to the present invention will be specifically described.
The gaming machine according to the present invention corresponds to various gaming machines that play games using medals and coins (hereinafter referred to as medals), such as slot machines, roulette game devices, pusher game devices, and the like. With a game medium processing device (hereinafter referred to as a medal processing device) incorporated therein, a large number of medals that are continuously or repeatedly inserted through the slot are processed at a high speed (a large number of medals are separated and 1 It is configured so that it can be guided to the identification unit of the identification device one by one. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, the gaming machine 1 incorporates a medal processing device 10 on the front side, and this medal processing device has a pedestal 2a (to execute a game) on the front panel 2 of the gaming machine 1. Are disposed below (inside) the front plate 12 in which the insertion port 11 is formed.

  The front plate 12 in which the insertion slot 11 is formed may be formed integrally with the medal processing device 10 or may be formed on the front panel of the gaming machine described above. In addition, the insertion slot 11 is formed wide enough to allow a plurality of medals to be inserted in piles. While the player inserts medals into the insertion slot 11 continuously or repeatedly, a game area 2b provided on the front panel 2 of the gaming machine (for example, an image display device is provided here, The game is played in a device where the game is played inside).

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the gaming machine in which the medal processing device 10 is incorporated.
As described above, the medal processing device 10 receives a large number of medals continuously or repeatedly inserted through the insertion slot 11, separates them one by one, and determines the separated medals as their effectiveness. Is guided to the identification device 100 for identifying the. That is, the medals separated one by one by the medal processing device 10 are guided as they are dropped and stand up on the conveyance path 101 of the identification device 100. In the identification unit 105 provided in the middle of the conveyance path 101, For example, predetermined parameters such as the weight, thickness, and diameter are measured. Then, the medal determined to be valid moves as it is with the conveying path 101 upright as indicated by an arrow, and is then guided to a predetermined accumulation unit via the shooter 102. Moreover, the medal determined not to be valid is returned to the return port 3 shown in FIG. 1 via another conveyance path, for example.

  In addition, the above-described medal processing device 10 may be configured as a separate unit with respect to the identification device 100, or may be configured integrally as one unit.

  As will be described later, a guide path for guiding medals is formed inside the medal processing device 10, and the traveling direction of the medals (the direction of the arrow D <b> 1) along the guide path is the transport path 101 of the identification device 100. It is formed so as to be in a different direction (a direction substantially orthogonal in the present embodiment) with respect to the advancing direction of the medal (arrow D2).

  Next, a specific configuration of the medal processing device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. In these drawings, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the entire medal processing device, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a guide path formed in the base member, and FIG. 5 is a schematic center portion of the medal processing device. FIG. 6A is a side view of the base member, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 6A.

  The medal processing device 10 is mounted on a housing of a gaming machine and includes a base member 15 made of, for example, PA resin. A drive motor 17 (DC motor) is mounted on one lower end side of the base member 15, and a medal that is inserted into the insertion port 11 and dropped is received as it is at the upper part, and the received medal is A first rotating roller 18 and a second rotating roller 19 that are rotationally driven by the drive motor 17 are rotatably supported so as to be guided to the input side and the discharge side, respectively. As shown in FIG. 6, the rotating rollers 18 and 19 are rotatably supported within the base member 15 so as to be spaced apart by a thickness of about one medal (nip portion N). 18 is rotated in the direction of arrow A so as to convey the inserted medal inside, and the second rotating roller 19 is rotated in the direction of arrow B so as to discharge the inserted medal (in side view). , And driven to rotate in the same direction). And, by such rotational driving of the rotating rollers 18 and 19, even if a plurality of medals continuously falling from the insertion slot 11 are overlapped, they are separated into one at the nip portion N and further conveyed downward. It has come to be.

  Each of the rotating rollers 18 and 19 is made of an inexpensive material, such as urethane rubber, and knurled eyes or the like are formed on the surface so as to increase the frictional force between the rotating rollers 18 and 19. It is preferable to keep it. Thus, by making the frictional force between the medals and the rotating roller surely greater than the frictional force between the overlapping medals, it is possible to reliably separate the overlapping medals.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the above-described base member 15 includes the first base 15A and the second base 15B that can be separated in the axial direction of the rotating roller by screws or the like, and the rotating roller 18, Both ends of the drive shafts 18a and 19a for rotationally driving the 19 are rotatably supported by the first base 15A and the second base 15B, respectively. That is, each rotary roller 18 and 19 is rotatably supported so as to be positioned between the first base 15A and the second base 15B.

  In the first base 15A, a notch 20 is formed so as to correspond to the insertion port 11 formed in the front plate 12, and in the notch 20, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. A guide path 22 for medal guidance that continuously extends downward is formed. The rotating rollers 18 and 19 are supported so as to face each other around the guide path 22, and the nip portion N is formed in the middle of the guide path 22.

  The first base 15A is formed with holes 23 and 24 through which the drive shafts 18a and 19a of the rotary rollers 18 and 19 are inserted, and a hole 25 through which the rotary drive shaft 17a of the drive motor 17 is inserted. . In this case, the second base 15B is similarly formed with holes through which the drive shafts 18a and 19a of the rotary rollers 18 and 19 are inserted.

  The drive shafts 18a and 19a may be supported on the bases 15A and 15B as long as the drive shafts are rotatably supported. The drive shafts 18a and 19a may be composed of rolling bearings, or as shown in FIG. It may be configured by. In the latter case, by using a material having excellent wear resistance, for example, POM (Duracon), an inexpensive configuration can be achieved and the cost can be reduced. In addition, it is preferable to arrange an E-ring 32 made of a member for holding the bush 30 so as not to come off, for example, SUS (stainless steel). As shown in FIG. By providing a slight gap, it is possible to effectively suppress the thrust backlash of the drive shaft. In addition, about a support part, the structure which does not provide a bearing member as mentioned above may be sufficient.

  A power transmission mechanism 40 that transmits the rotational driving force of the drive motor 17 to the first rotating roller 18 and the second rotating roller 19 is provided on the first base 15A side. The power transmission mechanism 40 drives the drive shafts 18a and 19a of the first rotating roller 18 and the second rotating roller 19 to the first base 15A so as to rotationally drive the first rotating roller 18 and the second rotating roller 19 in the same direction. The first pulley 41 and the second pulley 42 mounted on the pulley, the drive pulley 43 mounted on the rotational drive shaft 17a of the drive motor 17, and the drive wound around each pulley 41, 42, 43 The belt 45 is provided. That is, according to the structure of such a power transmission mechanism, when the drive motor 17 is rotationally driven, the above-described pulleys 41, 42, and 43, and the drive belt 45 wound around them, Each of the rotating rollers 18 and 19 is rotationally driven in the above-described direction.

  Further, on the second base 15B side, a detecting means 48 for detecting the insertion of a medal when the insertion slot is inserted and rotating the drive motor 17 is disposed. The detection means 48 can be constituted by a transmission type sensor in which, for example, a light emitting element 48 a and a light receiving element 48 b are arranged on the long side portion of the insertion slot 11 so as to face each other. Of course, the detection means may be constituted by a mechanical sensor that detects the abutment of medals in addition to such an optical sensor.

  And the guide path 22 formed in the inside of the above-mentioned base member 15 is formed so that it may bend with respect to the approach direction of the medal inserted from the insertion slot 11. Specifically, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5, the insertion port 11 is formed so that the opposing wall portion gradually approaches from the opening portion of the insertion port 11 toward the nip portion. When is put in, it inevitably shifts to the nip portion. Then, the medals that are overlapped in the upper region of the nip part are separated into one sheet by the roller action in the nip part and are guided to the guide path 22 as they are. At this time, the medals separated at the nip portion enter along the X direction, which is a common tangential direction of both the rotating rollers 18 and 19, but the guide path 22 is formed in parallel to the X direction. (The guide path of the present embodiment is curved in a circular arc shape, and the X direction intersects with a curved wall portion that defines the guide path 22. Is formed).

  According to the gaming machine configured as described above, when a large number of medals are inserted from the insertion slot 11, the detection means 48 detects the insertion of medals, and the drive motor 17 is rotationally driven. When the drive motor 17 is rotationally driven, the rotational driving force is transmitted to the rotational rollers 18 and 19 via the power transmission mechanism 40 described above, and the rotational rollers 18 are moved in the same direction, that is, the rotational roller 18 is moved in the medal insertion direction. The rotation roller 19 is rotationally driven in the medal discharging direction. As a result, even if a plurality of medals stacked on the insertion slot or continuously inserted are overlapped, they are separated into one piece at the nip portion, and then moved along the guide path 22. As shown in FIG. 2, it is sequentially transferred to the identification device 100, and its effectiveness is identified by the identification unit 105 provided in the conveyance path 101 of the identification device 100.

  Since the guide path 22 is bent with respect to the entry direction of the medal inserted from the insertion slot 11, it is difficult for a foreign object or the like to enter inside, and the foreign object or the like is intentionally inserted. Even if it inserts from 11, since the insertion is effectively inhibited by the bent wall surface, it is suppressed that the identification part 105 is manipulated illegally.

  Further, in the medal processing device configured as described above, the traveling direction of the game medium along the guide path 22 (the direction of arrow D1 in FIG. 2) is the traveling direction of the medal along the transport path 101 of the identification device 100 (the direction of arrow D2 in FIG. 2). Are formed in different directions. That is, the medal that has been separated and moved along the guide path 22 is guided to the conveying path 101 extending in the horizontal direction as it is standing up. In addition to the structure of the guide path 22 bent as described above, the route up to 105 is further greatly changed, so that it is possible to more reliably prevent an illegal act of inserting a foreign object or the like.

  In the medal processing device described above, the output from the drive motor 17 is directly transmitted to the first pulley 41 and the second pulley 42 via the drive pulley 43 attached to the rotation drive shaft of the drive motor. Since the configuration of driving the rotary roller 18 and the second rotary roller 19 is simplified, the configuration of the power transmission mechanism 40 is simplified, and the entire apparatus can be made compact and the installation space for the gaming machine can be made more efficient. Further, in the above-described configuration, the base member 15 is constituted by the first base 15A and the second base 15B that are separable from each other, and the first pulley 41, the second pulley 42, and the drive are provided on one base 15A side. Since the pulley 43 is disposed so as to be exposed, for example, even if a medal or a foreign object is clogged inside, it can be easily removed by simply separating the first base and the second base, and maintenance and the like are easy. To be able to go.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to above-described embodiment, It can change variously.

  For example, the guide path 22 formed in the base member described above is bent in a “linear shape” by intersecting a plurality of straight lines, in addition to being curved in an arc shape as shown in the figure. Further, it may be configured by combining both. Further, the bending direction, length, and the like can be changed as appropriate according to the type of gaming machine, the arrangement of the identification device, and the like.

Schematic which shows an example of the gaming machine in which a medal processing device is incorporated. The figure which shows the internal structure of the gaming machine in which the medal processing device is incorporated. The exploded perspective view of the whole medal processing device. The figure which shows the structure of the guide path formed in a base member. Sectional drawing along the approximate center part of the medal processing device. (A) is a side view of a base member, (b) is sectional drawing along the II line | wire of (a).

Explanation of symbols

1 gaming machine 10 medal processing device (game medium processing device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Input port 15 Base member 17 Drive motor 18 1st rotation roller 19 2nd rotation roller 22 Guide path 40 Power transmission mechanism 100 Identification apparatus 101 Conveyance path 105 Identification part

Claims (3)

A drive motor;
A first rotating roller and a second rotating roller which are installed with a predetermined gap and are rotated by the drive motor so as to guide the game media input to the input port to the input side and the discharge side, respectively;
A base member that supports the drive motor and rotatably supports the first rotating roller and the second rotating roller;
A power transmission mechanism for transmitting the rotational driving force of the drive motor to the first rotating roller and the second rotating roller;
A guide path that is formed on the base member and guides the game medium input from the insertion port toward the identification unit of the identification device that identifies the effectiveness of the game medium;
A game machine incorporating a game medium processing device comprising:
The gaming machine is characterized in that the guide path is bent with respect to an entry direction of a game medium inserted from the insertion port.   The guide path is formed on the base member so that a traveling direction of the game medium along the guide path is different from a traveling direction of the game medium along the transport path of the identification device. The gaming machine according to claim 1.   The power transmission mechanism includes a first pulley and a second pulley that are mounted on the drive shafts of the first rotating roller and the second rotating roller, a drive pulley that is mounted on the rotational drive shaft of the drive motor, The game machine according to claim 1, further comprising a drive belt wound around a pulley.

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