JP2006230541A - Paper money identification device and game medium dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper money identification device suitably used for a game medium dispenser or the like and to provide a game medium dispenser using the same. <P>SOLUTION: This paper money identification device is provided with a paper money slot 102 at the front end of a body, carrier mechanisms 103a, 103b and 109 carrying paper money sent from the paper money slot into the body inside, and a paper money identification part 120b disposed on the transfer passage on which the paper money is carried. This paper money identification device is further provided with a partition 33 extended from the paper money slot 101 to the direction of a paper carrying face and passing the paper money between itself and the inner face of the body, and an extension position of the partition 33 is set in a retracting position for identifying the paper money by the paper money identification part 120b for preventing overlapped positioning of the paper money and the partition 33 in the carrying face of the paper money, when the paper money is retracted by the carrier mechanism. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a banknote identification device and a game media lending machine.

In various gaming machines such as pachinko machines and slot machines, game media dedicated to the gaming machines (pachinko balls, medals, etc.) are used. There are two types of gaming media lending machines used when using these gaming machines: one is a lending machine for each gaming machine, and the other is a lending machine for each two gaming machines. .
In a lending machine with one lending machine installed in two gaming machines, whichever of the left and right gaming machines is used when a bill is inserted into the lending machine in order to lend (pay out) gaming media efficiently It is necessary to detect whether the user has inserted a bill and pay out the game medium to the gaming machine of the user who has inserted the bill based on the detection result.

As a conventional machine that detects a user who inserted a bill and pays out a game medium, a method of distinguishing the user by providing a sorting plate at the bill insertion slot of the lending machine, or two push buttons on the lending machine An apparatus (Patent Document 1) or a bill that disposes a game medium to a gaming machine used by a user from a payout nozzle based on the detection result by distinguishing the user by pressing a button separately provided A device that receives a game medium to be discharged into the lending machine at a receiving portion, and introduces the gaming medium from the receiving portion to the gaming machine used by the user through a guide duct by moving a lever ( There is a patent document 2).
JP-A-11-309239 JP 11-319297 A

  Each of the lending machines described above is formed so that the game media can be distributed and paid to each user who uses the lending machine, but the game media is paid to the game machine of the user who has inserted the banknote. To get out, the user has to move the sorting plate, push the push button, or move the lever, which is inconvenient when using the lending machine, and detects the user to play There is a problem that it is inefficient as a method of automating the method of automatically paying out the medium to the gaming machine.

  The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and in particular, it is possible to easily identify a user with a simple configuration, easily identify a banknote, and lend a gaming medium. It is an object of the present invention to provide a banknote discriminator that can be suitably used for a game machine and a game medium lending machine using the same.

The present invention has the following configuration in order to achieve the above object.
That is, a bill introduction port is provided at the front end of the main body, and includes a transfer mechanism that transfers a bill fed into the main body from the bill introduction port, and a bill identification unit arranged on a transfer path through which the bill is transferred. In the bill validator, a partition that extends from the bill introduction port in the direction of the bill transfer surface and allows the bill to pass between the inner surface of the main body is provided, and the bill discriminating unit is used to identify the bill. The extension position of the partition is set so that the banknote and the partition are overlapped and positioned on the transfer surface of the banknote when the banknote is drawn by the transfer mechanism.
The said partition is provided so that it may overlap with a banknote and a transfer surface (in plane arrangement | positioning), when a banknote is drawn in to a drawing-in position. The partition should just overlap with a banknote, and the shape of a partition, a dimension, etc. are not specifically limited. For example, the partition can be formed in a rectangular shape, a net shape, or a shape in which a plurality of strips are extended.

  Moreover, the said partition is formed in the shape which exposes the sensor for identification provided in the said banknote identification part in the transfer surface of a banknote, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. By adopting a form in which the partition does not shield the identification sensor, it is possible to reliably identify the banknote.

In addition, a banknote insertion port for inserting banknotes is provided separately from the banknote introduction port provided in the main body, the partition is supported by the banknote insertion port, and the banknote insertion port and the banknote introduction port. A guide for guiding and transferring bills is provided. By providing the bill insertion port separately from the bill introduction port, it is possible to incorporate the bill into a device such as a lending machine without changing the configuration of the conventional bill discriminator.
In addition, a partition guide that supports the partition is provided at the bill insertion slot, and an introduction guide having a shape in which an opening side into which a bill is inserted gradually opens is provided in a symmetrical arrangement across the partition guide. It is characterized by being.

  Moreover, the sensor which detects whether the banknote was thrown in from the one surface side or the other surface side of the said partition is provided in the one side and the other side which pinched | interposed the said partition of the said banknote introduction port. It is characterized by that. By arranging the sensor in this way, it can be detected whether the banknote is inserted from one side or the other side of the partition, and it is possible to distinguish and identify the input person.

In addition, at least two sensors for detecting the presence or absence of banknotes are disposed at the banknote introduction opening apart from each other in the banknote width direction, and the partition covers at least one of the sensors within the banknote transfer surface. , Provided in an arrangement to expose at least one of the remaining sensors, detecting an output from the sensor to detect whether a banknote is fed from one side or the other side of the partition A detection unit is provided.
The sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the banknote is a sensor for detecting the insertion of banknotes arranged in the banknote inlet of the banknote discriminator so as to be spaced apart in the width direction of the banknote. The bill validator usually has two sensors at the bill introduction port for bill insertion detection. By using these sensors, it is possible to easily detect whether the banknote is fed from one side or the other side of the partition. By arranging the two sensors on the same surface side on which bills are transferred, wiring in the apparatus of the discriminator becomes easy, and the wiring member can be simplified.

In addition, in the gaming machine lending machine, the banknote identification machine, a payout mechanism for paying out the gaming medium to the gaming machine, and a game result from the payout mechanism to the gaming machine based on the identification result of the banknote inserted into the banknote identification machine. And a control unit for paying out the medium.
The payout mechanism includes a sorting mechanism portion that sorts and pays out game media to gaming machines installed on both sides of the lending machine, and the banknote discriminator includes one side and the other side of the partition. The control unit selects a payout-side gaming machine based on the identification result by the bill discriminator and pays out the game medium by the sorting mechanism unit. It is characterized by that.

  According to the banknote discriminator according to the present invention, when the banknote is drawn to the pull-in position by the transfer mechanism, the banknote is provided so that the banknote and the middle divider are arranged in an overlapping manner. When the banknote is identified by and is a fake or unacceptable, the banknote can be returned to the side where the banknote is inserted by transferring the banknote in the return direction by the transfer mechanism. Accordingly, an operation of reliably returning the banknote to the person who inserted the banknote can be performed, and application use such as detecting the person who inserted the banknote and automating the payout of the game medium can be suitably performed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a bill validator according to the present invention and a game media lending machine using the bill validator will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
(Example of setting up a rental machine)
FIG. 1 shows an example in which a medal lending machine 20 with a built-in bill validator is installed adjacent to the slot machine 10 as an example of use of the bill validator according to the present invention.
The lending machine 20 is installed one by one between the two slot machines 10, and the trays of the slot machines 10 arranged on the left and right of the lending machine 20 are inserted by inserting the banknotes into the banknote insertion slot 30 of the lending machine 20. 12, medals are distributed and paid out from the lending machine 20 via the nozzles 22a and 22b.

  2A and 2B are a side view and a front view of the medal lending machine 20, respectively. The lending machine 20 is provided with a bill insertion slot 30 at the upper front portion of the main body 20a. The bill insertion slot 30 is provided with two insertion slots 30a and 30b that are adjacent to each other and open in a slit shape with the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) as a longitudinal direction. These insertion ports 30a and 30b are formed in accordance with the width of the banknote so that the banknotes can be inserted one by one in a standing state.

Nozzles 22 a and 22 b are provided on the lower side of the front surface of the main body 20 a of the lending machine 20 in a form of left and right sorting. The nozzles 22a and 22b are formed in a tubular shape having a flat cross-sectional shape through which medals can pass one by one. The nozzles 22a and 22b extending to the left and right are formed so as to be smoothly twisted from the front direction to the side at an intermediate position so that medals are paid out horizontally to the tray 12.
In addition, in the main body 20a of the lending machine 20, a mechanism for distributing and paying out medals as game media toward the left and right nozzles 22a and 22b is built in addition to the bill validator. The medal distribution and supply mechanism will be described later.

(Structure of bill validator)
First, the configuration of the bill validator built in the lending machine 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a state in which the banknote transfer surface of the banknote discriminator is viewed from the side direction, and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the bill insertion slot 30 of the bill validator is formed by a partition guide 31 provided slightly projecting from the main body front of the lending machine 20 and introduction guides 32 a and 32 b provided on both sides thereof. The introduction guides 32a and 32b are formed in a planar shape in which the opening side into which bills are inserted is gradually opened, and are provided in a symmetrical arrangement with the partition guide 31 in between. The partition guide 31 is provided so that the edge protrudes from the edge of the introduction guides 32a and 32b when viewed from the side surface direction (FIG. 3).

On the rear side (the bill insertion destination side) of the partition guide 31, an intermediate partition 33 is provided so as to extend toward the main body of the bill validator. A bill introduction port 101 that opens in a slit shape is provided at the front edge of the main body 100a of the bill validator 100. The middle partition 33 is arranged such that a gap between the side walls of the middle partition 33 and the inner side surface of the bill introduction port 101 is allowed to pass, and the leading edge enters the bill introduction port 101. The partition 33 is made of a flexible film and is normally located at the center of the left and right sides of the bill introduction port 101. When bills are fed from the right or left side of the partition 33, the partition 33 is on the left side. Alternatively, it is possible to secure a gap for shifting the bill by shifting to the right side.
Reference numerals 34 a and 34 b are guides provided in communication between the introduction guides 32 a and 32 b and the bill introduction port 101 with an interval for allowing the bills to pass between the partition 33. The guides 34a and 34b are provided so as to smoothly connect the introduction guides 32a and 32b and the bill introduction port 101.

Sensors 102a and 102b for detecting the presence or absence of banknotes are provided at positions on one side and the other side of the banknote discriminator 100 that are spaced apart vertically (in the width direction of the banknote) along the edge of the banknote introduction port 101. ing. The sensors 102a and 102b are reflective sensors that detect reflected light to detect the presence or absence of banknotes.
The middle partition 33 extending from the partition guide 31 toward the banknote introduction port 101 of the banknote discriminator 100 shields the upper sensor 102a in the state viewed from the side direction (banknote transfer surface) and The sensor 102b is exposed. In the present embodiment, the partition 33 has a shape in which the lower corner portion of the rectangular plate is cut away, and the sensor 102a is shielded in the banknote transfer surface to expose the sensor 102b.

As the partition 33, a material such as black or a material colored in black or the like is used so that the reflectivity is clearly different depending on the presence or absence of banknotes. Moreover, in order to make it easy to detect the presence or absence of a banknote with the sensor 102b, the inner surface of the banknote identification machine to which a banknote is transferred is made black, and the light reflectivity is lowered.
As a bill detection sensor, a transmission type sensor can be used instead of the reflection type sensor.

  The bill recognition mechanism and bill transfer mechanism provided in the main body 100a of the bill validator 100 are the same as the configuration of a conventionally used bill validator (for example, JP 2003-6705 A). That is, the bill validator 100 includes a transfer mechanism for transferring a bill sent from the bill introduction port 101 to the main body 100a to the back of the main body 100a, and a bill discriminating unit arranged on a transfer path through which the bill is transferred. And a banknote storage unit for storing banknotes fed by the banknote transfer mechanism.

The banknote transport mechanism includes a pair of endless feed belts 103a and 103b arranged in parallel to the banknote transport direction, a first pulley 104, a second pulley 105 provided to engage with the feed belts 103a and 103b, and A third pulley 106 and a feed member 107 provided to rotate integrally with the third pulley 106 are provided. The feed member 107 is provided with a feed claw on the outer peripheral surface, and is formed using an elastic material such as rubber. The third pulley 106 can freely rotate with respect to the shaft 108.
The first pulley 104 and the drive motor 109 are connected via a worm gear 110 and a drive shaft 111, and the drive shaft 111 rotates forward and reverse by rotating the output shaft of the drive motor 109 forward and reverse. The belts 103a and 103b move in the direction in which the banknotes are drawn and in the return direction.

On the shaft 108, gears 112 are provided at both ends so as to rotate integrally with the shaft 108, and a semi-cylindrical guide plate slightly larger in diameter than the outer diameter of the feeding member 107 is provided on the inner surface of each gear 112. 113 (see FIG. 4) is provided.
One gear 112 meshes with a gear provided on the output shaft of the drive motor 114, and the guide plate 113 is driven to rotate by driving the gear 112 to rotate by the drive motor 114.

  The banknote storage unit 115 includes an area formed between the rear of the feeding member 107 and the case 116 of the main body 100a of the banknote discriminator 100, and a push-in plate 117 and a push-up plate provided on the side of the feed belts 103a and 103b. 118 is formed as a communication region of a region sandwiched between the two. Reference numeral 119 denotes a rail provided so that one end is aligned with the outer peripheral position of the guide plate 113 and extends in the tangential direction of the guide plate 113 in parallel with the push-in plate 117.

  The banknote recognition unit includes identification sensors 120a and 120b arranged to face the banknote feeding surface. The identification sensor 120a and the identification sensor 120b are provided so as to sandwich the banknote transfer path, and the identification sensors 120a and 120b respectively detect one side and the other side of the banknote when the banknote is transferred. In this embodiment, optical reflection sensors are used as the identification sensors 120a and 120b. However, appropriate sensors such as a magnetic sensor can be used as the identification sensor. As shown in FIG. 3, the identification sensors 120a and 120b are arranged at three locations in the banknote width direction, and are set so as to identify the banknotes at three different locations in the banknote width direction when the banknotes are transferred. Yes.

(Operation of bill validator)
Next, a bill identifying method by the bill validator 100 shown in FIGS.
The banknote identification operation by the banknote identification machine 100 of the present embodiment, that is, the effect of detecting the type of banknote is basically the same as that of a conventional banknote identification machine.
A characteristic point in the bill validator 100 of this embodiment is that it can be detected from which of the two slot 30a, 30b provided in the banknote slot 30 the banknote has been inserted, and that the banknote is fake or accepted. If it is not possible, the bill is controlled so that it can be returned to the inserter.

When the user uses the lending machine, the user inserts a bill from either the insertion port 30a or the insertion port 30b of the bill insertion port 30. When a bill is inserted from either one of the insertion ports 30a and 30b, it is first detected from which side of the insertion ports 30a and 30b the bill is inserted by the sensors 102a and 102b.
This is because the outputs of the sensors 102a and 102b when the banknote is inserted from the right insertion slot 30a, the banknote is inserted from the left insertion slot 30b, and the banknote is not inserted are from the right side ( This is because it can be easily determined by detecting the outputs of the sensors 102a and 102b by the detection unit because it is from the left side (high, high), from the left side (low, high), and not input (low, low).
The sensor 102a detects the reflectivity of the partition 33 when there is no banknote, so the output is low. When a banknote is inserted, the reflectance of the banknote is higher than that of the partition 33 and the output is increased. The sensor 102b has a low reflectivity and a low output when there is no bill, and a high reflectivity and a high output when a bill is inserted.

  When it is detected by the sensors 102a and 102b that a bill has been inserted and the front end of the bill enters the position where it overlaps the feed belts 103a and 103b, the bills are sandwiched between the pressing rollers 104a and 105a and the feed belts 103a and 103b, and driven. The motor 109 rotationally drives the first pulley 104 in the forward direction, and the bills are transferred toward the retracted position together with the feed belts 103a and 103b. In the conventional banknote recognition device, the banknote is completely pulled to the retracted position to identify the banknote, whereas in the banknote identification device of the present embodiment, the banknote is pulled to a position where the rear end of the banknote overlaps with the partition 33. By the way, the pull-in operation is stopped. That is, the drive motor 109 is controlled so that the banknote is not drawn into the inside where the rear end of the banknote is separated from the partition 33.

  The identification of the banknote is performed based on data obtained by sweeping the banknote by the identification sensors 120a and 120b during the banknote retraction operation. In a normal banknote discriminator, the judgment is made based on the data swept up to the trailing edge of the banknote, whereas in this embodiment, the trailing edge of the banknote is pulled to a position overlapping the central partition plate 33 and stopped. Although the identification data is not data obtained by completely sweeping the banknote to the rear end, in practice, it does not hinder the identification of the banknote.

As a result of identifying the banknote, if it is an accepted banknote, the drive motor 109 is further rotated in the forward direction, the banknote is drawn into the guide plate 113 by the feeding member 107, and the banknote is further fed out to the rail 119 side. The bills fed to the rail 119 are pushed out from the rail 119 toward the push-up plate 118 by the push plate 117 being pushed toward the rail 119 by the cam 122.
The drive motor 114 is driven in conjunction with the pushing operation of the pushing plate 117, the gear 112 is rotated, and the guide plate 113 is rotated once in the direction opposite to the timepiece. Thereby, the banknote wound around the outer periphery of the feeding member 107 is discharged to the rear side of the case 116, and the rear end side of the banknote is pressed toward the case 116 by rotating the guide plate 113, so that the banknote is stored in the banknote storage unit 115. Stored.

  On the other hand, as a result of identifying the banknote, if it is a banknote that cannot be accepted as a fake or the like, the drive motor 109 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the banknote is returned in the return direction by the feed belts 103a and 103b and the pressing rollers 104a and 105a. Transport. Since the banknote is identified at a position where the rear end of the banknote overlaps the partition 33, when the banknote is moved in the return direction, the partition 33 and the partition guide 31 act as a guide when the banknote moves in the return direction. Then, the bill is transferred to the slot into which the bill is inserted.

  Thus, according to the banknote discriminator of this embodiment, it is easily detected from which of the two slot 30a, 30b provided in the banknote slot 30 the banknote has been inserted, and the banknote is identified by the banknote identification unit. Acceptable banknotes are stored in the banknote storage unit 115, and banknotes that are not accepted as fake or the like are returned to the insertion slot into which the user has inserted the banknotes.

The lending machine 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 incorporates the banknote identification machine 100 having the above-described configuration, so that a user who uses the slot machine 10 on the right side of the lending machine 20 can A user who inserts a bill from the insertion slot 30a and uses the slot machine 10 on the left side of the lending machine 20 inserts a bill from the insertion slot 30b on the left side of the bill insertion slot 30 so that the bill insertion person uses the right side. The user is surely identified on the lending machine side and the medal is paid out to the user who inserted the banknote together with the banknote identification result.
When a bill that cannot be used is inserted into the lending machine 20, there is no problem with the operation of returning the bill because the bill is returned to the insertion slot on the user side where the bill is inserted.

  The banknote insertion slot 30 is formed so that the edge of the partition guide 31 protrudes beyond the edges of the introduction guides 32a and 32b, and the opening side of the insertion slots 30a and 30b is wide. Operation which throws in a bill from 30b is made easy.

In the bill validator 100, the edge of the partition 33 is cut off linearly. However, in some cases, the edge of the partition 33 is narrowed so as not to interfere with the identification sensors 120a and 120b. You may make it possible to extend the width | variety partition part and to enlarge the range which a banknote and the middle partition 33 overlap, and to perform the return operation of a banknote more reliably.
Moreover, even if a banknote is conveyed to the position where the rear end of a banknote passes sensor 120a, 120b by extending a partition part so that it may not interfere with sensor 120a, 120b for identification from the edge of the middle partition 33, It is possible to make the middle partition 33 and the banknote overlap. In this case, it is possible to use data swept up to the rear end of the banknote as identification data.
Further, depending on the characteristics of the identification sensor, it is also possible to provide the partition 33 so as to shield the identification sensors 120a and 120b within the bill transfer surface.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, the banknote insertion port 30 is provided in the main body 20a of the lending machine 20 separately from the banknote identification machine 100, and between the banknote insertion port 30 and the banknote introduction port 101 via the partition guide 31 grade | etc.,. However, the structure of the banknote introduction port 101 of the banknote identification machine 100 is the same as the structure of the banknote insertion slot 30, and the banknote identification machine is mounted on the main body 20a of the lending machine 20 as it is. It is also possible to have a structure that
That is, the banknote discriminator according to the present invention can be configured as a main body having a banknote discriminating function provided with a banknote insertion slot that can identify a user, and is separate from the main body having a banknote discriminating function. It is also possible to provide a bill insertion slot for identifying the user, and to guide and transfer the bill between the main body and the bill insertion slot.
Moreover, the lending machine 20 for game media such as medals may be configured such that a bill recognition unit, a bill feeding mechanism, and the like are built in the main body 20a of the lending machine 20 in addition to the bill insertion slot 30. In this case, the banknote storage unit 115 may not be provided for each lending machine 20, but the lending machine 20 may be provided with only a banknote transfer mechanism and a banknote identification unit, and the banknote storage unit may be provided separately from the lending machine 20.

In addition, when it is set as the structure which installs the banknote identification machine 20 separately from the main body 20a of the lending machine 20 like this embodiment, the banknote identification machine 100 conventionally used independently can be utilized as it is. There is an advantage.
If it is set as the form which inserts the partition 33 in the banknote introduction port 101 of the banknote identification machine 100 as mentioned above, and provides the partition 33 in the shape which exposes the sensor part 120b, in a conventional banknote identification machine, it is a banknote introduction port. Since a pair of sensors for detecting the insertion of a bill similar to that shown in FIG. 3 are arranged at 101, a conventional bill validator including the sensor can be used as it is.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although it was detected using the two sensors 102a and 102b whether the banknote was thrown into the one surface side or the other surface side of the partition 33, depending on the shape of the partition 33, it is 3 It is also possible to detect using more than one sensor.

  Further, since the lending machine 20 of the above embodiment pays out medals to the slot machines 10 arranged on both sides thereof, the bill insertion slot 30 has two insertion slots, a right insertion slot 30a and a left insertion slot 30b. Even if there are three or more insertion slots, the banknote insertion slot is divided by arranging two or more partitions and devising the arrangement of sensors that detect the presence or absence of banknotes. It is possible to identify them separately.

(Game media payout mechanism)
The lending machine 20 described above determines which banknote has been inserted from the user of the slot machine 10 installed on the left and right of the lending machine 20 by the operation of inserting the banknote into the banknote insertion slot 30, and the result is as follows. Based on this, a medal is paid out to the user who inserted the banknote.
Hereinafter, a payout mechanism that distributes medals from the lending machine 20 to the slot machine 10 and pays it out will be described.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the medal storage unit 35, the medal delivery mechanism unit 40, and the medal distribution mechanism unit 50 constituting the medal payout mechanism incorporated in the main body 20 a of the medal lending machine 20.
The medal storage unit 35 is for storing a predetermined amount of medals for payout, and is formed with a wide opening at the top, and the bottom surface is an inclined surface (with respect to the horizontal plane) with the side facing the front of the lending machine 20 being high. And an angle of about 45 °. The storage unit 35 is supplemented with medals as needed, and the medals are stored so as to cover the upper surface of the rotor 42 provided on the bottom surface of the storage unit 35.

The rotor 42 is fixed to the drive shaft of the electric motor 44 so that the rotation surface thereof is parallel to the bottom surface of the storage unit 35 so as to be rotatable on a support plate 43 constituting the bottom of the storage unit 35.
FIG. 6 shows a state in which the medal delivery mechanism unit 40 and the sorting mechanism unit 50 are viewed from the plane direction (perpendicular to the transfer surface).
The rotor 42, which is a member of the delivery mechanism section 40, is formed in a disk shape in which a plurality of medal intake holes 42a are formed in the circumferential direction. The rotor 42 in the present embodiment is formed with five medal receiving holes 42a at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The medal intake hole 42a is formed as a circular through hole having a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the medal 100 so that the medal stored in the storage unit 35 is dropped.

  On the back surface of the rotor 42, projections 42b projecting from the back surface about the thickness of the medal 200 are formed along the front edge position of each medal receiving hole 42a. As shown in FIG. 4, these protrusions 42b have a planar shape formed in an arc shape along the circumference of the medal taking-in hole 42a. In this way, with the rotor 42 mounted on the support plate 43, the intermediate portion of the protrusions 42b adjacent to the back surface of the rotor 42 is between the support plate 43 and the thickness of the protrusions 42b. A gap into which the medal 200 is inserted is formed.

Within the rotation plane of the rotor 42, at a position facing the entrance of the medal 200 to the sorting mechanism unit 50, the moving direction of the medal 200 is regulated by contacting the side surface of the medal 200 that has moved along with the rotation of the rotor 42, Fixing pins 45a and 45b for changing the direction to the sorting mechanism unit 50 and sending them out are arranged.
The fixed pins 45a and 45b are separated from each other, and the medal 200 that has moved along with the rotation of the rotor 42 first comes into contact with the inner fixed pin 45a, and then comes into contact with the outer fixed pin 45b to enter the medal distribution mechanism unit 50. It is arranged to be pushed out.
The fixing pins 45 a and 45 b are both provided on the support plate 43 so as to protrude about the thickness of the medal 200. Therefore, the protrusion 42b provided on the back surface of the rotor 42 is provided with a relief groove through which the fixing pins 45a and 45b pass so that the fixing pins 45a and 45b do not interfere when the rotor 42 rotates.

In the moving direction of the medal 200 sent from the rotor 42 (the position where the medal 200 is sent to the sorting mechanism unit 50), a fixed roller 46 and a movable roller 47 are provided so as to straddle the moving path of the medal 200 in the width direction. . The movable roller 47 is guided and supported so as to be movable in a direction opposite to the fixed roller 46, and the distance between the fixed roller 46 and the outer diameter of the medal 200 is always slightly shorter than the outer diameter of the medal 200 by a spring 48 as a biasing means. In such a manner, it is biased toward the fixed roller 46.
The rotor 42, the support plate 43, the fixed pins 45 a and 45 b, the fixed roller 46, and the movable roller 47 described above constitute the feed-out mechanism unit 40 that sends out the medal 200 stored in the medal storage unit 35 to the sorting mechanism unit 50.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the medal distribution mechanism unit 50 provided following the medal delivery mechanism unit 40 includes a pair of swing levers 52 a and 52 b for distributing and sending the medal 200 to the right or left. , Lever control solenoids 54a and 54b as control means for controlling the operation of the swing levers 52a and 52b, and counting sensors 56a and 56b for counting the number of medals 200 sent out (the number of payouts).

7 and 8 are a plan view (a state seen from the direction perpendicular to the moving surface of the medal 200) and a side view showing the configuration of the sorting mechanism unit 50. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the sorting mechanism unit 50 includes a first guide plate 58 and a second guide plate 59 that are arranged in parallel with an interval through which the medals 200 are slid and passed. The distance between the first guide plate 58 and the second guide plate 59 is set to be slightly wider than the thickness of the medal 200 between the first guide plate 58 and the second guide plate 59. A spacer 60 is interposed (the spacer 60 is not shown in FIG. 8).

  The spacer 60 keeps the separation distance between the first guide plate 58 and the second guide plate 59 at a predetermined distance, and allows the medal 200 fed into the sorting mechanism section 50 to be moved from the base side of the swing levers 52a and 52b. The guide lever moves to the swing destination side of the swing levers 52a and 52b. As shown in FIG. 7, the spacer 60 is a separation set slightly wider than the outer diameter of the medal 200 so as to form a moving path of the medal 200 in accordance with the feeding direction of the medal 200 by the medal feeding mechanism unit 40. They are arranged in parallel at intervals.

The swing levers 52a and 52b are members formed using an elongated flat plate, and are arranged on the upper surface of the second guide plate 59 along the movement path of the medal 200 formed by the spacer 60 by the shaft 521. One end side (the side where the medal 200 is fed into the sorting mechanism unit 50) is pivotally attached.
On the other end side of the swing levers 52a and 52b, rollers 62 formed to have substantially the same thickness as the distance between the first guide plate 58 and the second guide plate 59 are attached to be freely rotatable. .

  FIG. 8 shows a state where the roller 62 is attached to the swing lever 52b. The roller 62 is attached to the other end side of the swing lever 52b so as to be able to roll on a shaft 64 provided vertically through the first guide plate 58 and the second guide plate 59. As for the swing lever 52a, a shaft 64 is provided on the other end side of the swing lever 52a, and a roller 62 is rotatably attached to the shaft 64.

  The first guide plate 58 and the second guide plate 59 are provided with guide holes that guide the moving direction of the shaft 64 and restrict the moving range of the shaft 64. FIG. 7 shows a state in which guide holes 59a and 59a are provided in the upper second guide plate 59 in accordance with the arrangement of the swing levers 52a and 52b. The guide hole 59a is formed as an arc-shaped elongated hole in accordance with the swinging direction of the swinging levers 52a and 52b that swing about the shaft 521 as a fulcrum. The lower first guide plate 58 is also provided with a guide hole similar to the guide hole 59a.

  The swing levers 52a and 52b are supported so as to be swingable in parallel with the second guide plate 59 with the shaft 521 as a fulcrum, but between the lower ends of the shafts 64 respectively attached to the other ends of the swing levers 52a and 52b. A contraction spring 80 is stretched over as a biasing means for biasing the other ends of the swing levers 52a and 52b toward each other. Although the contraction spring is not illustrated in FIG. 8, the contraction spring is attached to be engaged with a hook groove of the shaft 64 protruding downward from the first guide plate 58.

  The contraction spring 80 is pushed out when the swing levers 52a and 52b are returned to the original positions at the same time as the swing levers 52a are restored from the outwardly opened state by the pressing force when the medal 200 is moved. This is for making the medal 200 play forward using force. Therefore, the contraction spring 80 is easily opened by the pressing force of the medal 200 sent to the distribution mechanism unit 50 and has an elastic force capable of accurately ejecting the medal 200.

The lever control solenoids 54a and 54b are disposed above the other end sides of the swing levers 52a and 52b.
FIG. 8 shows a state in which the lever control solenoid 54b is disposed above the swing lever 52b supported by the support case 66. The lever control solenoid 54b is arranged so that the plunger 541 is perpendicular to the swing surface of the swing lever 52b, and in the OFF state, the lever 541 is in a protruding position where the plunger 541 contacts the outer surface of the swing lever 52b. In the ON state, the plunger 541 acts so as to be in the retracted position where it does not contact the outer surface of the swing lever 52b.
Note that the lever control solenoid 54a is provided in the same arrangement for the swing lever 52a.

  The counting sensors 56a and 56b are provided slightly above the upper surfaces of the swing levers 52a and 52b above the other ends of the swing levers 52a and 52b. The swing levers 52a and 52b are provided with detection units 68 and 68 so that the swing levers 52a and 52b are positioned directly above the counting sensors 56a and 56b in a state where the swing levers 52a and 52b are in the return positions (the state shown in FIG. 7). It is attached. In the present embodiment, a detection coil is used as the counting sensors 56a and 56b, a magnet is attached as the detection unit 68, and the coil electromotive force when the detection unit 68 moves is detected. Not only the coil but also a suitable sensor such as a magnetic sensor or an optical sensor can be used.

As shown in FIG. 8, the tip portions of the first guide plate 58 and the second guide plate 59 are provided in a shape that curves downward, and the tip portions of the first guide plate 58 and the second guide plate 59. The spacing between the guide plates is widened. The first guide plate 58 and the second guide plate 59 are attached to the main body 20a so as to communicate with the bases of the nozzles 22a and 22b at the distal ends.
Between the first guide plate 58 and the second guide plate 59, a medal separation bar 70 is provided at the center in the width direction. The medal separation bar 70 is provided for the purpose of preventing the medals discharged from the sorting mechanism 50 toward one side or the other side from rebounding in the direction opposite to the discharging direction.

As shown in FIG. 5, the distribution mechanism unit 50 and the medal delivery mechanism unit 40 are installed in the main body 20a of the lending machine 20 so that the movement direction of the medals is linear when viewed from the side. Connected to
A mounting plate 72 is provided on the lower surface of the first guide plate 58 of the distribution mechanism unit 50, and the distribution mechanism unit 50 receives the medals delivered from the delivery mechanism unit 40 as the first guide plate 58 and the second guide plate 59. The mounting plate 72 is fixed and attached to the cover portion 45 so as to be sent out between the two.

(Operation of payout mechanism)
In the following, an explanation will be given of the operation in which the medal 200 stored in the medal storage unit 35 is sent out to the distribution mechanism unit 50 by the medal delivery mechanism unit 40 and distributed to the left and right nozzles 22a and 22b by the distribution mechanism unit 50. To do.
The medal distribution operation is started from an operation of taking the medal 200 from the storage unit 35 into the medal delivery mechanism unit 40. The medal 200 is taken in by the medal 200 being taken into the empty medal taking hole 42 a of the rotor 42 by the operation of the electric motor 44 and the rotation of the rotor 42. As the rotor 42 rotates, the medal 200 falls and is taken into the vacant medal taking hole 42a. As shown in FIG. 6, the medal 200 taken into the medal taking-in hole 42a starts to move forward as the rotor 42 rotates (in the direction of the arrow).

The medal 100 taken into the medal take-in hole 42 a is dropped into a gap formed between the back surface of the rotor 42 and the support plate 43, and the medal 100 is sandwiched between the back surface of the rotor 42 and the support plate 43. Is sent to the front of the rotation with the side surface in contact with the protrusion 42b. The bottom side surface of the storage unit 35 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the medal 100 is forwarded by the movement to the outside being restricted by the bottom side surface of the storage unit 35.
When the medal 100 contacts the protrusion 42b and moves forward, the medal 100 first contacts the inner fixing pin 45a, and then contacts the outer fixing pin 45b to restrict the circumferential movement (forward feed) by the rotor 42. At the same time, it is pushed by the protrusion 42 b and pushed outward from the rotation region of the rotor 42. Note that the bottom side surface of the storage portion 35 opens at a portion facing the sorting mechanism portion 50, and the medal 100 is pushed outward through this opening portion.

The medal 200 pushed out from the rotation area of the rotor 42 moves between the fixed roller 46 and the movable roller 47, and pushes the movable roller 47 against the urging force of the spring 48 by the feeding force of the rotor 42. And move forward.
When the medal 200 pushes the movable roller 47 open and the large diameter portion of the medal 200 passes through the fixed roller 46 and the movable roller 47, the movable roller 47 moves toward the original position by the action of the spring 48. The movement of the movable roller 47 to the original position acts so that the movable roller 47 pushes the medal 200 forward and the medal 200 sent to the sorting mechanism unit 50 does not return to the sending mechanism unit 40.

As shown in FIG. 6, the medals 200 are arranged in such a manner that their outer peripheral surfaces are in contact with each other on the entrance side of the sorting mechanism unit 50, and are sequentially fed by the feeding force of the rotor 42.
When the medal 200 passes through the moving path sandwiched between the spacers 60, the swing levers 52 a and 52 b are kept in a parallel position by the action of the contraction spring 80.

The operation of distributing the medal 200 to the left and right by the distribution mechanism unit 50 is performed by controlling whether one of the plungers 541 of the lever control solenoids 54a and 54b is set to the protruding position (OFF state) or the retracted position (ON state). Made.
FIG. 7 shows a state in which the right lever control solenoid 54a is turned off and the left lever control solenoid 54b is turned on. That is, the right swing lever 52a regulates that the swing lever 52a swings in the opening direction by the plunger 541 coming into contact with the outer surface of the swing lever 52a because the lever control solenoid 54a is in the OFF state. Yes (locked). In the left swing lever 52b, the lever control solenoid 54b is in the ON state, and the plunger 541 moves to the retracted position so that the swing lever 52b can swing in the opening direction.

FIG. 9 shows the distribution operation of the medal 200 when the lever control solenoids 54a and 54b are in the above-described setting state.
That is, the medal 200 sent to the distribution mechanism unit 50 advances to the other end side of the swing levers 52a and 52b, and comes into contact with the rollers 62 and 62 stretched on both sides of the passage. When the medal 200 is further pushed out, the right swing lever 52a is locked by the plunger 541, so that the medal 200 pushes the left swing lever 52b outward against the elastic force of the contraction spring 80. And proceed. The medal 200 deviates to the left (as viewed from the side where the nozzle is disposed) while pushing the swing lever 52b outward.

  The arrangement of the swing levers 52a and 52b shown in FIG. 9 shows a state in which the left swing lever 52b is opened to the maximum with the medal 200 passing between the two rollers 62 and 62. When the medal 200 passes between the two rollers 62, 62, the left swing lever 52 b is instantaneously moved toward the original position by the contraction action of the contraction spring 80. When the swing lever 52b returns to the original position, the outer surface of the medal 200 is momentarily pressed by the roller 62 attached to the swing lever 52b, and the medal 200 is ejected toward the right nozzle side. It becomes an action.

  When the action of flipping out the medal 200 by the swing lever 52b is seen on the right swing lever 52a side, the right swing lever 52a is fixed. Therefore, when the medal 200 passes between the two rollers 62, The contact position between the medal 200 and the roller 62 is not displaced, and the roller 62 rotates together with the medal 200. In other words, the medal 200 rotates with the roller 62 at the right swing lever 52a, and the medal 200 is ejected to the right together with the action of pushing out the medal 200 by the left swing lever 52b. FIG. 9 shows a state in which the medals 200 are sorted and played on the right side.

  There is a possibility that the medal 100 ejected toward the right nozzle 22b collides with the inner surface of the pocket portion and rebounds. The medal separation bar 70 acts to prevent the medal 100 ejected in the right or left ejection direction from returning to the ejection direction opposite to the ejection direction and to reliably eject the medal 100 in the ejected direction. The medal separation bar 70 is disposed slightly forward from the position where the medal 100 is ejected by the swing levers 52a and 52b, so that the ejecting position of the medal 100 in the left-right direction is clearly separated to the left and right. This is because the medal 100 can be reliably separated by being placed at the position.

  FIG. 9 shows a case where the right nozzle 22b is distributed and paid out. However, when the medal 200 is paid out to the left nozzle 22a, the right rocking lever 52a can be swung, and the left rocking lever can be swung. The lever control solenoids 54a and 54b may be controlled so as to lock 52b. The actions of the left and right rocking levers 52a and 52b are completely equivalent, whereby the medal 200 can be paid out to the left nozzle 22a.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, the counting of the medals 200 paid out from the lending machine 20 is such that when the medals 200 are ejected, the left swing lever 52b swings, and the detection unit 68 moves to the upper position and side of the counting sensor 56b. This is done by detecting the number of swings that swing between the position deviated in the direction. Each time one medal 200 passes between the swing levers 52a and 52b, the swing lever 52b moves to the side and returns to the original position, so the swing number of the swing lever 52b is the number of payouts of the medal 200. Matches.
Also, when the right swing lever 52a swings, the number of medals 200 paid out can be counted by detecting the swing number of the right swing lever 52a.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the medal 200 taken from the medal storage unit 35 is transported obliquely upward by the feeding mechanism unit 40 and the sorting mechanism unit 50, and the sorting mechanism unit 50 selects the right or left nozzle. It is ejected to the pocket portion 23 provided at the base of the nozzles 22a and 22b. The medal 200 discharged to the pocket portion 23 passes through the nozzles 22a and 22b on the selection side and is paid out to the tray 12 of the slot machine 10.

  A medal separation bar 70 is provided at the front end of the sorting mechanism 50 to prevent the medal 200 from being ejected on the opposite side when the medal 200 is ejected, but the medal 200 is reliably attached to the left and right nozzles 22a and 22b. As shown in FIG. 10, a partition plate 24 is provided in the pocket portion 23 to partition the pocket portion 23 left and right in accordance with the nozzle arrangement. Thus, when the medal is played out from the distribution mechanism unit 50, the medal 200 can be paid out by separating the left and right more reliably.

  The distribution mechanism unit 50 counts the number of medals 200 ejected using the counting sensors 56a and 56b. As a method of counting the actual number ejected toward the left and right nozzles 22a and 22b, FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, sensors 74 a and 74 b that detect that the medal 200 has passed on the path through which the medal 200 is ejected at the tip of the sorting mechanism unit 50 can be arranged.

As described above, the lending machine 20 of the present embodiment uses the left and right slot machines 10 automatically when the lending machine 20 automatically inserts banknotes into the banknote insertion slot 30 provided in the lending machine 20. A predetermined number of medals 200 can be counted and automatically paid out to the slot machine 10 on the user side where the banknotes are inserted.
The operation of these lending machines 20 is performed by controlling the operation of identifying the user and the banknotes and sorting and supplying the medals 200 by the electrical control unit. A person can use the slot machine 10 by inserting a bill into the bill insertion slot 30 and paying out the required number of medals 200.

  As described above, since the lending machine according to the present invention is provided as a fully automated game medium lending device, the operation is simple, the game medium is efficiently supplied, and the device is provided as an extremely easy-to-handle device. . In addition, since the operation of sorting and paying out game media for each gaming machine is reliable and fully automated, it should be used very effectively as a lending machine in which one lending machine is installed in two gaming machines. Can do.

  Although the lending machine of the above embodiment has been described as a device that inserts banknotes and pays out medals used in the slot machine, the lending machine according to the present invention is a game medium used in various game machines other than the slot machine. It can be used as a payout device, and the gaming machine to which the lending machine is applied is not particularly limited.

Further, the bill discriminating machine according to the present invention can be used not only for a medal lending machine but also for a lending machine for various game media such as pachinko balls. Note that the payout mechanism provided in the game medium lending machine used in combination with the bill validator is not necessarily limited to the one having the configuration described in the above embodiment. As a mechanism for distributing and paying out game media such as medals to gaming machines, in addition to the above configuration, a distribution plate is installed at the base of the left and right ducts, the distribution plate is tilted left and right, and the left or right duct is selected. It is also possible to select a payout direction and sort out game media.
Moreover, the banknote discriminator according to the present invention can be used as a single banknote discriminator as well as being used in combination with a lending machine, and is not always used in combination with a lending machine for game media.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of installation of the lending machine incorporating the banknote identification machine which concerns on this invention. It is the front view and side view of a lending machine with a built-in bill validator. It is a side view of the state which received the banknote identification machine in the lending machine. It is a plane sectional view of a bill discriminator. It is a side view which shows the state which installed the delivery mechanism part, the distribution mechanism part, etc. in the main body of a lending machine. It is a top view of a sending-out mechanism part and a distribution mechanism part. It is a top view of a distribution mechanism part. It is a side view of a distribution mechanism part, It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of a distribution mechanism part. It is the front view and side view of a nozzle.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Slot machine 12 Sampling machine 20 Lending machine 22a, 22b Nozzle 23 Pocket part 24 Partition plate 30 Bill insertion slot 30a, 30b Insertion slot 31 Partition guide 32a, 32b Introduction guide 33 Middle partition 34a, 34b Guide 35 Storage part 40 Delivery mechanism part 42 Rotor 42a Medal intake hole 42b Slope 45a, 45b Fixed pin 46 Fixed roller 47 Movable roller 48 Spring 50 Distribution mechanism 52a, 52b Oscillating lever 54a, 54b Lever control solenoid 56a, 56b Count sensor 62 Roller 68 Detector 70 Medal Separation bar 80 Contraction spring 100 Bill discriminator 101 Bill introduction port 102a, 102b Sensor 103a, 103b Feed belt 107 Feed member 113 Guide plate 115 Bill storage part 20a, 120b identification sensor 200 medal 541 plunger

Claims (9)

A banknote identification provided with a banknote inlet at the front end of the main body, and having a transfer mechanism for transferring banknotes fed into the main body from the banknote inlet and a banknote recognition unit arranged on a transfer path through which the banknotes are transferred In the machine
Extending from the banknote introduction port in the direction of the banknote transfer surface, and providing a partition for passing banknotes between the inner surface of the main body,
When the banknote is drawn by the transfer mechanism into the pull-in position for identifying the banknote by the banknote identification unit, the banknote and the partition are positioned so as to overlap each other in the banknote transfer surface. The banknote identification machine characterized by the extension position being set.   The banknote discriminator according to claim 1, wherein the partition is formed in a shape that exposes an identification sensor provided in the banknote discriminating section within a bill transfer surface. A banknote insertion port for inserting banknotes is provided separately from the banknote introduction port provided in the main body, and the partition is supported by the banknote insertion port,
The bill discriminator according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a guide for guiding and transferring bills between the bill insertion port and the bill introduction port. A partition guide for supporting the partition is provided at the bill insertion slot,
The bill discriminator according to claim 3, wherein an introduction guide having a shape in which an opening side into which bills are inserted gradually opens is provided in a symmetrical arrangement with the partition guide interposed therebetween.   A sensor for detecting whether a bill is inserted from one side or the other side of the partition is provided on one side and the other side across the partition of the bill introduction port. The bill validator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that At least two sensors that detect the presence or absence of banknotes are spaced apart from each other in the banknote width direction at the banknote inlet,
The partition is provided in an arrangement that covers at least one of the sensors and exposes at least one of the remaining sensors in the transfer plane of the banknote,
The detection part which detects the output from the said sensor and detects whether the banknote was sent in from the one surface side or the other surface side of the said partition is provided. The bill discriminator according to any one of the above.   The banknote according to claim 6, wherein the sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the banknote is a sensor for detecting the insertion of banknotes arranged at a banknote inlet of the banknote discriminator so as to be spaced apart in the banknote width direction. Identification machine. The bill validator according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A payout mechanism for paying out game media to a gaming machine;
A game medium lending machine comprising: a control unit for paying out game media from the payout mechanism to the gaming machine based on a result of identifying a banknote inserted into the bill validator. The payout mechanism includes a distribution mechanism unit that distributes and distributes game media to game machines installed on both sides of the lending machine,
The bill validator includes a sensor that detects whether a bill is inserted from one side or the other side of the partition,
9. The game medium lending machine according to claim 8, wherein the control unit selects a payout-side game machine based on a result of identification by the bill validator and pays out a game medium by the distribution mechanism unit. .

Images