JP2006026334A - Medium putout device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problems that labor is needed for the work of moving tokens from a bucket to an auxiliary storage part and it is not efficient in a conventional slot machine. <P>SOLUTION: A hopper 1 is provided with the bucket 2 for storing the tokens C and an auxiliary storage container 5 for storing the tokens C separately from the bucket 2. A freely openable and closable door 27 composed of two movable plates 27a and 27b is provided near the upper end of the side face 22c of the bucket 2 and a motor 28 is provided near the door 27 on the outer peripheral surface of the bucket 2. When the storage amount of the tokens C increases, by pressing a door opening/closing button 42, the motor 28 is driven, the door 27 is opened and the tokens C are moved to the auxiliary storage container 5. Also, when the storage amount of the tokens C increases and the bucket 2 becomes full, the full state is detected by a token full sensor, the motor 28 is driven and the door 27 is automatically opened. As a result, the tokens C are automatically moved to the auxiliary storage container 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a medium payout device for paying out a medium having a predetermined value (including medals, coins, tokens, etc.) used in a gaming machine such as a slot machine or a change machine for various coins.

  Conventionally, this type of medium dispensing device used in gaming machines, so-called hoppers, is provided with a bucket that is a storage unit for storing medals and an auxiliary storage unit that stores medals separately from this bucket. ing. In a slot machine using such a hopper, when the bucket is full of medals, the game shop clerk opens the front door of the cabinet, scoops up the medals accumulated in the bucket and moves them to the auxiliary storage. The medal storage space in the bucket was secured.

  Further, Patent Document 1 below discloses a slot machine including two hoppers instead of the auxiliary storage unit described above. When a medal is inserted into the medal slot of this slot machine, the medal is stored in one of the hopper buckets. In this slot machine, when a winning is established, two hoppers are driven and medals are paid out to the tray.

Patent Document 2 below includes a medal collection mechanism that collects medals accumulated in a bucket (medal tank) and a medal replenishment mechanism that replenishes medals when the number of stored medals in the bucket decreases. A slot machine is disclosed. In this slot machine, medals inserted from the medal insertion slot and medals supplied from the medal supply slot fall toward the upper surface of the bucket opening and are stored in the bucket. In addition, a medal recovery hole connected to the recovery pipe is formed on the bottom surface of the bucket, and medals accumulated in the bucket fall and be received in the medal recovery hole, and flow down the recovery pipe and outside the machine Collected.
JP 2001-112925 A (paragraphs [0016], [0019], [0026] to [0033]) Registered Utility Model No. 3046594 (paragraphs [0027] to [0033])

  However, in the conventional slot machine having the auxiliary storage unit, when the bucket is full of medals, the work of grabbing the medal directly from the bucket and moving it to the auxiliary storage unit is not efficient and requires labor. It took time to move the medal.

  Further, in the slot machine of Patent Document 1, when one of the buckets becomes full of medals or becomes unusable, it is necessary to grab and move the medals from one bucket to the other usable bucket. However, this operation is not as efficient as the above.

  Further, in the slot machine of Patent Document 2, the above-described medal movement operation does not occur, but at the time of medal collection, the operation of removing the lid attached to the medal collection hole and the upper end portion of the collection pipe are connected to the medal. It was necessary to insert and connect to the recovery hole. In particular, when the bucket is full of medals, the lid removal work needs to be done while scraping so that the medals are not spilled from the bucket, which requires labor and is not efficient. Further, in the slot machine of Patent Document 2, a recovery belt for transporting medals recovered by a recovery pipe must be installed in the amusement store, and the apparatus becomes large.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and includes a storage unit that stores a medium having a predetermined value, and an auxiliary storage unit that stores the medium separately from the storage unit. In the medium dispensing device, an openable / closable door provided on a side surface of the storage unit for discharging the medium stored in the storage unit to the auxiliary storage unit, and an opening / closing drive means for driving the door to open / close are provided. It is characterized by that.

  According to this configuration, when the door is opened by the opening / closing drive means when the storage part is filled with the medium, the side surface of the storage part is opened, and the medium accumulated in the storage part is discharged from the opening of the door, Move to auxiliary storage. For this reason, it is possible to efficiently and easily move the medium from the door opening to the auxiliary storage unit without performing the operation of directly grabbing the medium by hand and moving it to the auxiliary storage unit as in the prior art. Further, the medium can be moved with a simple configuration in which a door is provided on the side surface of the storage unit without using a large-scale collection pipe and collection belt as in the prior art.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the storage portion is formed so as to be inclined in a direction in which the side surface narrows the bottom.

  According to this configuration, when the side surface of the inclined storage unit opens, the medium is discharged from the storage unit by its own weight. For this reason, compared with the case where the door is formed in the side of the storage part formed perpendicularly | vertically, a medium becomes easy to discharge | emit and the movement of the medium from a storage part to an auxiliary storage part is performed smoothly.

  In addition, the present invention is characterized in that an opening / closing instruction operating section for instructing opening / closing driving of the door by the opening / closing driving means is provided on the front of the apparatus.

  According to this configuration, when the opening / closing instruction operation unit is operated, the door is opened and the side surface of the storage unit is opened. Since the opening / closing instruction operation unit is located on the front of the apparatus, the door can be easily opened / closed, and the work efficiency of moving the medium to the auxiliary storage unit is further improved.

  According to the present invention, the storage amount detection means for detecting the storage amount of the medium stored in the storage unit, and the storage amount detection means detects that the storage amount of the medium has increased to reach the first predetermined amount. Then, an opening / closing automatic control means for driving the opening / closing driving means to open the door is provided.

  According to this configuration, when the storage amount in the storage unit increases and reaches the first predetermined amount, the door is automatically opened by the automatic opening / closing control means, and the medium automatically moves to the auxiliary storage unit. For this reason, it becomes unnecessary for a person to care about the storage amount of the medium in the storage unit, and the time and labor of a game hall clerk and the like are not required.

  According to the present invention, the storage amount detection means for detecting the storage amount of the medium stored in the storage unit, and the storage amount detection means detects that the storage amount of the medium has decreased to reach the second predetermined amount. Then, a medium replenishing means is provided for replenishing the medium stored in the auxiliary storage unit by moving it to the storage unit.

  According to this configuration, when the storage amount of the medium in the storage unit decreases and reaches the second predetermined amount, the medium stored in the auxiliary storage unit is sent to the storage unit by the medium replenishment means, and the medium is stored in the storage unit. To be replenished. For this reason, the medium can be automatically replenished to the storage unit within the range of the storage amount stored in the auxiliary storage unit, and the labor of the game hall clerk and the like is further reduced.

  According to the medium dispensing device of the present invention, as described above, when the door is opened by the opening / closing drive means when the storage unit is full of the medium, the side surface of the storage unit is opened and collected in the storage unit. The discharged medium is discharged from the opening of the door and moves to the auxiliary storage unit. As a result, it becomes possible to move the medium to the auxiliary storage unit efficiently and easily as compared with the prior art, and the labor of a game hall clerk and the like is reduced.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view from the front of the hopper 1 in the first embodiment of the present invention used in the slot machine, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view from the rear of the hopper 1, and FIG. 3 is III-III shown in FIG. It is arrow sectional drawing which fractured | ruptured the hopper 1 with the wire | line.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hopper 1 has a bucket 2 that is a storage unit for storing medals C inserted from an opening 21 formed at the upper end, and a medal C that has been inserted into the bucket 2. A medal payout unit 3 that discharges one by one from the payout port 36 and pays out, a base 4 on which the bucket 2 and the medal payout unit 3 are placed and mounted, and a bucket when the bucket 2 is full of medals C. 2 and an auxiliary storage 5 that is an auxiliary storage for storing medals C. As shown in FIG. 1, the auxiliary storage 5 is provided on the lower right side of the bucket 2.

  The bucket 2 has a substantially square cylindrical opening 21 into which the medal C is inserted, and side surfaces 22a to 22d that gradually incline from the lower edge of the opening 21 toward the inside. 22a-22d is exhibiting the shape which inclined in the direction which narrows a bottom. The medal payout unit 3 is provided at the lower end. As shown in FIG. 3, a mounting hole 23 into which a later-described medal disc 31 is fitted is formed in a circular shape at the lower end of the central portion in the width direction of one side surface 22 a of the bucket 2. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a medal collision portion 24 is provided on one end side in the width direction of the side surface 22a. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a first protrusion 25 that protrudes from the upper end to the lower end of the bucket 2 is formed on the side surface 22 b that faces the side surface 22 a. The first protrusion 25 extends in a straight line from the upper end to the lower end of the side surface 22 b at the center in the width direction of the side surface 22 b, and the lower end extends to the edge of the mounting hole 23.

  The medal collision unit 24 is for storing the medal C by dropping it on the inner lower part of the bucket 2. That is, the medal C placed in the medal slot of the slot machine collides with the medal collision unit 24 and is stored in the bucket 2 when being inserted into the bucket 2 via the medal selector. Near the medal collision portion 24, a discharge port 26 for discharging the medal C overflowing from the bucket 2 to the outside of the bucket 2 is formed. The discharge port 26 is formed above the auxiliary storage 5, and the medal C discharged from the discharge port 26 falls from the bucket 2 and is stored in the auxiliary storage 5. Further, an openable / closable door 27 composed of two movable plates 27a and 27b is provided near the upper end of the side surface 22c of the bucket 2. The door 27 is also located above the auxiliary storage 5 like the discharge port 26, and discharges the medal C stored in the bucket 2 to the auxiliary storage 5.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a motor 28 is provided near the door 27 on the outer peripheral surface of the bucket 2. A wire (not shown) is stretched between the rotation shaft of the motor 28 and the movable plates 27a and 27b. When the motor 28 is driven to rotate the rotating shaft, the wire is wound up, the movable plates 27a and 27b move to the left and right sides, the door 27 is opened, and the side surface 22c of the bucket 2 is opened. The motor 28 is driven and controlled by a motor driving circuit configured on a control board (not shown) that controls the game processing operation of the slot machine, and constitutes an opening / closing driving means for opening / closing the door 27.

  The bucket 2 is provided with a medal full sensor (not shown) which is a storage amount detection means for detecting the storage amount of the medal C stored in the bucket 2. The medal full sensor includes electrodes provided on any one of the side surfaces 22a to 22d of the bucket 2, and outputs a detection signal when the medal C stored in the bucket 2 comes into contact with the electrode. When the stored amount of the medal C increases to reach the first predetermined amount and the medal full sensor detects that the bucket 2 is full of the medal C, a detection signal is output to the control board, and the motor drive circuit As a result, the motor 28 is driven and the door 27 is opened. Here, the motor drive circuit constitutes automatic opening / closing control means for driving the motor 28 and automatically opening the door 27.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the medal payout unit 3 includes a medal disk 31 that sequentially conveys the medals C stored in the bucket 2, a cover 32 that covers the peripheral edge of the medal disk 31, and a unit main body 33. The medal disk 31 is attached to the bucket 2 so as to face the opening 21 of the bucket 2 from the lower end of the bucket 2.

  An enlarged perspective view of the medal disk 31 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the medal disk 31 has a bulging portion 31a bulging upward at the center of the upper surface of the disk, and a protruding edge 31b along the peripheral edge. In addition, four medal receiving holes 31c for receiving medals C are annularly formed around the bulging portion 31a and spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance around the bulging portion 31a. The medal receiving hole 31c has a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the medal C, as shown in FIG. The medal receiving hole 31c has a shape in which the peripheral portion thereof is gently inclined so that the medal C sliding down from the bulging portion 31a and the medal C falling between the adjacent medal receiving holes 31c slide down into the receiving hole. ing. Further, the medal disk 31 is formed with a second protrusion 31d that protrudes from the bulging portion 31a, which is the rotation center of the medal disc 31, over the protruding edge 31b of the peripheral portion. One second protrusion 31d is formed between two adjacent medal receiving holes 31c among the four medal receiving holes 31c, and extends from the protruding edge 31b to the upper edge of the bulging portion 31a. The medal disk 31 extends linearly along the radial direction. The second protrusion 31d is rotated at a predetermined speed in the rotation direction of the medal disk 31 around the rotation center of the medal disk 31 according to the rotation operation of the medal disk 31.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the unit body 33 has a mounting surface 34 on which the medal disk 31 is mounted on the top surface, and a connector 35 for receiving power and drive signals from the outside. It has been. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the unit main body 33 includes a disk rotation shaft 33a that is attached to the bulging portion 31a and serves as a rotation center of the medal disk 31, a motor 33b that rotates the disk rotation shaft 33a, and the medal disk 31. A medal payout mechanism (not shown) that discharges the medal C conveyed at the payout port 36 is accommodated.

  A gear 33e that meshes with the motor output shaft 33c is fitted to the disk rotation shaft 33a, and the medal disk 31 is fixed around the disk rotation shaft 33a by the driving force of the motor 33b transmitted through the gear 33e. It is rotated at a constant speed in the direction. By this rotation, the medal receiving hole 31c moves to the medal payout mechanism portion arranged on the rotation path, and the stored medal C is discharged from the medal payout opening 36.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the base 4 has an upper surface inclined downward from the front end side to the rear end side, and an attachment portion 41 to which the medal payout unit 3 is attached is formed at the center of the upper surface. The medal payout unit 3 is attached to the mounting portion 41 so that the upper surface of the medal payout unit 3 is inclined at substantially the same angle as the upper surface of the base 4 with respect to the ground surface of the hopper 1. 3 is configured to be detachable. As shown in FIG. 1, a door opening / closing button 42 for opening and closing the door 27 is provided on the right side of the outlet 36 on the front surface of the base 4. The door opening / closing button 42 constitutes an opening / closing instruction operation unit for instructing opening / closing driving of the door 27 by the motor 28, and when the door opening / closing button 42 is pressed, the motor is irrespective of the storage amount of the medal C in the bucket 2. 28 is driven and the door 27 is opened.

  In the above configuration, the medal C inserted into the bucket 2 from the opening 21 falls onto the upper surface of the medal disk 31 attached to the bottom of the bucket 2 and enters the medal receiving hole 31c from the peripheral edge of the medal receiving hole 31c. Into the medal receiving hole 31c. When the medal disk 31 is rotated in a certain direction at a constant speed by driving the motor 33 b, the medal C accommodated in the medal receiving hole 31 c moves at a constant speed as the medal disk 31 rotates. Then, it is transported to a medal payout mechanism portion (not shown), discharged one by one from the medal payout outlet 36, and the medal C is paid out to the player.

  At this time, the amount of medals C to be inserted into the bucket 2 at a time is large, and as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Even if it is held in a state where it floats from the upper surface of 31, this lump C1 is broken immediately. That is, the lump C1 that gradually descends in the bucket 2 due to the vibration of the motor 33b that rotates the medal disk 31 is held in the bucket 2 by the medal disk 31 and the side surface 22b, and the bucket 2 is rotated by the rotation of the medal disk 31. Is stirred in. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the first protrusion 25 formed on the side surface 22b of the bucket 2 and the second protrusion formed on the upper surface of the medal disk 31 are applied to the lump C1 stirred in the bucket 2. The strip 31d comes into contact, and an impact is applied to the lump C1. Due to this impact, the lump C1 of the medal C collapses, and the medal C falls on the upper surface of the medal disk 31.

  Further, when the number of games in which a medal C is not paid out to the player without winning a prize increases, the medals C inserted by the player gradually accumulate in the bucket 2. When the storage amount of the medal C in the bucket 2 increases in this way, the door 27 is opened by opening the front door of the slot machine cabinet and pressing the door opening / closing button 42 on the front surface of the hopper 1 to open the bucket 2. The side surface 22c of the bucket is opened, and the medals C stored in the bucket 2 are discharged from the opening of the door 27 and moved to the auxiliary storage 5.

  When the storage amount of the medal C in the bucket 2 increases and the bucket 2 becomes full, the full state of the bucket 2 is detected by the medal full sensor, and the door opening / closing button 42 is pushed as described above. Even if not, the motor 28 is automatically driven and the door 27 is automatically opened. As a result, the medals C accumulated in the bucket 2 are automatically discharged from the opening of the door 27 and moved to the auxiliary storage 5.

  According to the hopper 1 of the slot machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention, as described above, when the door 27 is opened by the motor 28 when the bucket 2 is full of medals C, the bucket 2 Are opened, and the medal C accumulated in the bucket 2 is discharged from the opening of the door 27 and moved to the auxiliary storage 5. For this reason, the medal C can be efficiently and easily moved from the opening of the door 27 to the auxiliary storage 5 without performing the work of directly grabbing the medal C by hand and moving it to the auxiliary storage 5 as in the prior art. Can do. Further, the medal C can be moved with a simple configuration in which the door 27 is provided on the side surface 22c of the bucket 2 without using a large-scale collection pipe and collection belt as in the prior art.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the bucket 2 is formed so that the side surfaces 22a to 22d are inclined in the direction of narrowing the bottom, when the door 27 formed on the side surface 22c of the bucket 2 opens, the medal C is caused by its own weight. It is discharged from the bucket 2. For this reason, the medal C is more easily discharged than when the door 27 is formed on the side surface of the bucket formed vertically, and the medal C moves from the bucket 2 to the auxiliary storage 5 smoothly. Is called.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the door opening / closing button 42 for instructing the opening / closing drive of the door 27 by the motor 28 is provided, the door 27 is opened by operating the door opening / closing button 42 and the side surface 22c of the bucket 2 is opened. . At this time, since the door opening / closing button 42 is on the front surface of the hopper 1, the door 27 can be easily opened and closed, and the work efficiency of the operation of moving the medal C to the auxiliary storage 5 is further improved.

  In this embodiment, the medal full sensor that detects the amount of medal C stored in the bucket 2 and the medal full sensor that the amount of medal C stored increases and the bucket 2 is full of medal C. Is detected by the motor drive circuit that drives the motor 28 and opens the door 27. Therefore, when the storage amount of medals C in the bucket 2 increases and the bucket 2 becomes full, the motor drive circuit causes the motor 28 to Is driven. As a result, the door 27 automatically opens, and medals C that cannot be stored in the bucket 2 automatically move to the auxiliary storage 5. For this reason, it becomes unnecessary for a person to care about the storage amount of medals C in the bucket 2, and the time and labor of a game shop clerk and the like are not required.

  Next, a hopper according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view from the front of the hopper 60 according to the present embodiment. In the figure, the same or corresponding parts as in FIGS. 1 to 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, in the bucket 2, in addition to the medal full sensor for detecting that the storage amount of the medal C has increased and has reached the first predetermined amount, the storage amount of the medal C has decreased. A medal empty sensor (not shown) that detects that the predetermined amount of 2 and the medal C stored in the bucket 2 is nearly empty is provided. In addition, in the auxiliary storage 5, as shown in FIG. 6, a medal replenishing device 51 for replenishing medals C from the auxiliary storage 5 to the bucket 2 is provided. The medal replenishing device 51 is generally used to lift and carry medals (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-107354), and sends a medal (not shown) that takes in the medal C in the auxiliary storage 5. And an escalator 51a for guiding the medal C sent out from the medal sending unit upward. The medal replenishing device 51 lifts the medal C stored in the auxiliary storage 5 into the bucket 2 when the medal empty sensor detects that the medal C storage amount has decreased and reached the second predetermined amount. It constitutes a medium replenishing means for feeding and replenishing.

  Except for the above differences, the hopper 60 in the present embodiment has the same configuration as the hopper 1 in the first embodiment.

  In the above configuration, when the storage amount of the medal C increases and the medal full sensor detects that the bucket 2 is full of the medal C, the motor 28 is driven as in the first embodiment. The door 27 automatically opens, and medals C that cannot be stored in the bucket 2 automatically move to the auxiliary storage 5. If the medal empty sensor detects that the storage amount of the medal C has decreased and the bucket 2 has become nearly empty, the medal C stored in the auxiliary storage 5 is transferred to the escalator of the medal replenishing device 51. It is carried to the bucket 2 via the part 51a, and the medal C is replenished to the bucket 2 as shown by an arrow in FIG.

  In such a hopper 60 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the same function and effect as those of the first embodiment are exhibited.

  Further, according to the hopper 60 according to the present embodiment, as described above, when the storage amount of the medals C in the bucket 2 decreases and the bucket 2 reaches a state of being nearly empty, the medals C stored in the auxiliary storage 5 are stored. It is sent to the bucket 2 by the medal replenishing device 51, and the medal C is replenished to the bucket 2. For this reason, the medal C can be automatically replenished to the bucket 2 within the range of the storage amount of the medal C stored in the auxiliary storage 5, and the labor of the game hall clerk and the like is further reduced.

  In each of the above embodiments, the hoppers 1 and 60 are provided with the door opening / closing button 42, and the motor drive circuit is driven when the medal full sensor detects that the bucket 2 is full. Although the case where the door 27 is opened has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. Even if the door opening / closing button 42 is not provided, and the motor drive circuit is driven and the door 27 is automatically opened only when the medal full sensor detects that the bucket 2 is full, Good. Further, the automatic opening / closing mechanism of the door 27 by the medal full sensor may not be provided, and the door 27 may be opened / closed only by the door opening / closing button 42. Further, the door opening / closing button 42 may be provided on the side surface of the hoppers 1, 60 or on the cabinet of the slot machine body.

  In each of the above embodiments, the case where the door 27 including the two movable plates 27a and 27b is formed near the upper end of the side surface 22c of the bucket 2 has been described. If it is the structure discharged | emitted and stored in the auxiliary storage 5, the structure and position of the door 27 can be changed arbitrarily.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the motor 28 is used as the opening / closing drive means, and the wire stretched between the rotation shaft of the motor 28 and the movable plates 27a and 27b is wound by the rotation drive of the motor 28. Although the case where the door 27 is opened and closed has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the rotational driving force of the motor 28 may be transmitted to the movable plates 27a and 27b by a plurality of gears to open and close the door 27. Further, a solenoid may be used instead of the motor 28, and the door 27 may be opened and closed by driving the solenoid and moving the movable plates 27a and 27b.

  In each of the above embodiments, the case where the motor 28 is driven and the door 27 automatically opens when the bucket 2 is full of medals C has been described. However, the storage amount is smaller than when full (for example, when full) (A storage amount of 80% or 90%), the door 27 automatically opens and the medal C automatically moves to the auxiliary storage 5. Alternatively, the door 27 may be automatically opened every time the number of games in the slot machine reaches a predetermined number or every time a predetermined time elapses.

  In the second embodiment, the medal C is replenished to the bucket 2 by the medal replenishing device 51 when the storage amount of the medal C decreases and the bucket 2 becomes nearly empty. Although described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the medal replenishment device 51 may be driven to replenish the bucket 2 with the medal C when the storage amount of the medal C has decreased to about half of the bucket 2.

  In each of the above embodiments, the case where the continuity sensor is used as the medal full sensor or the medal empty sensor for detecting the medal C storage amount has been described. However, the medal C storage amount in the bucket 2 can be detected. Any sensor may be used as long as it is. For example, a weight sensor that outputs a detection signal when the total weight of the stored medals C exceeds a predetermined amount or exceeds a predetermined amount can be used.

  In each of the above embodiments, the case where the bucket 2 is formed with the medal collision portion 24 and the discharge port 26 has been described. However, the medal collision portion 24 and the discharge port 26 are not necessarily provided. In each of the above embodiments, the case where the medal disk 31 has the four medal receiving holes 31c has been described. However, the number of the medal receiving holes 31c included in the medal disk 31 is not limited thereto. For example, the number of medal receiving holes 31c included in the medal disk 31 may be three or less, or may be five or more.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the medal disk 31 is disposed along the side surface 22a of the bucket 2 and the medal disk 31 is inclined with respect to the installation surface of the hopper 1. If the medal disk 31 is arrange | positioned at the lower end of this bucket 2 if 22a-22d is exhibiting the shape inclined in the direction which narrows a bottom, it will not be limited to the structure of said each embodiment. For example, the medal disk 31 may be arranged in parallel with the installation surface of the hopper 1.

  Moreover, although each said embodiment demonstrated the case where the bucket 2 was exhibiting the shape where the side surfaces 22a-22d inclined in the direction which narrows a bottom, the shape of the bucket 2 is not limited to this. For example, the bucket 2 may be formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape whose upper end is open, and the door 27 may be provided on a vertical side surface.

  In any of the above-described configurations, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiments are achieved.

  In each of the above embodiments, the case where the hopper according to the present invention is applied to a slot machine has been described. However, the hopper according to the present invention can also be applied to other gaming machines using medals, various coin change machines, and the like. It is. Also, the present invention can be applied to a hopper for paying out coins, tokens, etc. instead of medals. In either case, the same operational effects as the above-described embodiments are achieved.

It is a perspective view from the front of the hopper by the 1st Embodiment of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view from the back of the hopper shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III shown in FIG. It is an expansion perspective view which shows an example of the coin disk which comprises the hopper shown in FIG. It is a partially expanded sectional view explaining the state which a 1st protrusion and a 2nd protrusion contact | abut on the coin lump produced with the hopper by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view from the front of the hopper by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,60 ... Hopper 2 ... Bucket 3 ... Medal paying unit 4 ... Base 5 ... Auxiliary storage 22a-22b ... Side 27 ... Door 27a, 27b ... Movable plate 28 ... Motor 42 ... Door opening / closing button 51 ... Medal replenishing device C ... Medal

Claims (5)

In a medium dispensing apparatus configured to include a storage unit that stores a medium having a predetermined value and an auxiliary storage unit that stores the medium separately from the storage unit,
An openable / closable door provided on a side surface of the storage unit for discharging the medium stored in the storage unit to the auxiliary storage unit, and an opening / closing drive means for opening / closing the door. A medium dispensing device.   The medium dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein the storage portion is formed so that the side surface is inclined in a direction of narrowing a bottom.   The medium dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an opening / closing instruction operation unit that instructs opening / closing of the door by the opening / closing driving unit.   A storage amount detecting means for detecting a storage amount of the medium stored in the storage unit; and when the storage amount detecting means detects that the storage amount of the medium has increased to reach a first predetermined amount. The medium dispensing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an opening / closing automatic control unit that drives the opening / closing driving unit to open the door.   A storage amount detecting means for detecting a storage amount of the medium stored in the storage unit; and a storage amount detecting means detecting that the storage amount of the medium has decreased to reach a second predetermined amount. The medium according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a medium replenishing unit that lifts and replenishes the medium stored in the auxiliary storage unit to the storage unit. Dispensing device.

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