JP2007105382A - Hopper device for game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hopper device for game machines which achieves the easier token replenishing operation or others with a simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: The hopper device (100), which has a cup shaped hopper part(110) for storing tokens and a put-out drive part (150) for releasing tokens stored in the hopper part, is provided with a forward pullable drawer part (120) on the front wall (110b) of the hopper part. The drawer part is pulled out of a cabinet without loading the hopper device on or unloading it from the cabinet of the game machine, thereby facilitating the token replenishing operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is provided in a gaming machine such as a slot machine, stores game medals inserted into the gaming machine as a reserve in a hopper portion, and pays out game medals to a player at a prize payout or the like Relates to the device.

  A number of gaming machines installed in pachinko halls, for example, slot machines, a player can borrow a medal (hereinafter simply referred to as “medal”) borrowed from the hall or bet a medal. The game starts. In addition, the slot machine stores medals inserted by a player for playing a game as a spare medal in a hopper device (also referred to as a “medal payout device”) installed inside the housing, and award dividend or medal The hopper device is operated at the time of lending, and the required number of coins are paid out to the player from the stored medals.

  In this way, the hopper device has a medal storage function and circulates and uses medals within a single gaming machine, thereby reducing medal replenishment work even in halls that do not have automatic medal replenishment facilities. There is.

  The conventional hopper device is mainly composed of a bowl-shaped hopper part for storing medals and a payout driving part for discharging the medals stored in the hopper part one by one from the bottom part, and further, on the side wall of the hopper part, An overflow hole for discharging medals exceeding the storage capacity is formed. The excess amount of medals stacked more than a certain height due to an increase in the amount stored in the hopper overflows to the outside from the overflow hole and is collected by an auxiliary tank or the like provided adjacently (see, for example, Patent Document 1) ).

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-6842 (a hopper device for a gaming machine)

  By the way, the regular medals inserted into the gaming machine when playing the game are stored in the hopper device having a certain capacity as described above. On the other hand, when a winning is established, the payout driving unit is controlled to pay out the stored medals. A winning combination with payout of medals as a payout is established according to a set probability in the long run, but many medals are paid out in a short time in the case of a big win. For this reason, when there are not enough medals stored in the hopper device, a replenishment work of medals by an operator or the like is required.

  However, in the conventional hopper device, the replenishment work must be performed after the main body of the hopper device is detached from the gaming machine housing. In this work, the housing is turned off and the connector is connected to the hopper device. A complicated work such as removing the harness to be connected was required.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a hopper device for a gaming machine that makes it easy to replenish medals with a simple structure.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention described in claim 1 is located in a casing of a gaming machine, and is positioned at a bottom portion of the hopper portion that receives and stores gaming medals from an upper opening. A hopper device for a gaming machine comprising a payout drive unit that discharges a stored game medal to the outside in response to a command signal from a control unit, wherein at least one side wall of the hopper unit has a hopper unit body A drawer portion is provided that is movable between a first position accommodated in the first hopper and a second position that is drawn from the hopper portion main body and expands the opening.

  According to the hopper device for a gaming machine of the first aspect, the drawer portion can be pulled out from the first position where the drawer portion is accommodated in the hopper portion main body to the second position where the upper opening is enlarged. By pulling out the drawer part to the second position and expanding the opening part, the game medal replenishment work is facilitated.

  Invention of Claim 2 is the hopper apparatus for gaming machines of Claim 1, Comprising: The overflow hole for discharging | emitting the game medal exceeding storage allowance is formed in a part of side wall of the said hopper part. The bottom surface of the drawer portion formed and in the first position also serves as a guide road surface that guides a game medal to the overflow hole.

  According to the hopper device for a gaming machine of the second aspect, the bottom surface of the drawer portion at the first position also functions as a guide road surface that guides the game medal to the overflow hole. For this reason, a hopper part can be formed with the simplified structure.

  A third aspect of the present invention is the gaming machine hopper device according to the first or second aspect, wherein in the state where the drawer portion is in the second position, a part of the enlarged opening is the housing. It is characterized by extending outside the body.

  According to the hopper device for a gaming machine of the third aspect, when the drawer portion is pulled out to the second position, it extends to the outside of the housing, so that the game medal replenishment operation is further facilitated.

  Invention of Claim 4 is a hopper apparatus for game machines in any one of Claims 1-3, Comprising: The said drawer | drawing-out part is the said via the hinge provided in the one side end of it. It is attached to the side wall and can be moved by rotating.

  According to the hopper device for a gaming machine according to the fourth aspect, the opening portion is enlarged by rotating the drawer portion around the hinge, thereby facilitating the game medal replenishment operation. Moreover, the hopper part including a drawer part is simplified.

  As described above, according to the hopper device for a gaming machine according to the present invention, by pulling out the drawer portion from the hopper body, the opening for receiving game medals extends to the outside of the housing and expands. As a result, when the game medals are replenished, the game medals can be easily replenished without requiring a complicated operation such as detaching the hopper device from the housing as in the prior art. Further, the hopper portion can be formed with a simplified structure.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, an outline of a slot machine as an example of a gaming machine on which the hopper device for gaming machines according to the present invention is mounted will be described. Here, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external structure of a general slot machine 1, and FIG. 2 is a front view showing the internal structure of the slot machine 1 with the front door opened.

  First, the front structure of the slot machine 1 will be described with reference mainly to FIG. In the slot machine 1, a front door 3 that faces the player side and constitutes a so-called front mask is attached to an opening side of a housing 2 that is a substantially rectangular box body so as to be opened and closed by a hinge mechanism (not shown). The front door 3 is roughly divided into an upper panel portion and a lower panel portion, and these are integrally formed of a hard plastic designed to enhance the visual effect as a decorative board. In addition, a tray unit 4 that forms a tray part for storing medals is provided at the lower part of the front door 3.

  The upper panel 5 and the side lamps 6a and 6b with a built-in high-intensity light-emitting diode are arranged on the upper panel of the front door 3. Is going. In addition, the upper panel section is provided with left and right effect sound emitting sections 7a and 7b with built-in speakers, which provide effects such as sound effects and musical sounds selected according to the progress of the game. Furthermore, a liquid crystal display unit 8 is disposed between the sound emission units 7a and 7b for effects. The liquid crystal display unit 8 displays the selected moving image to give a story to the game, or to imply an expectation by implying the internal winning result to the player. Yes.

  At the center of the upper panel portion, there is attached a middle panel unit 9 in which a substantially rectangular transparent display window 9a and an information display portion for displaying a gaming state or the like with a lamp on the back side are formed on a plastic panel board. Yes.

  Note that the three cylindrical reels 10a, 10b, and 10c provided in the housing 2 are viewed through the display window 9a formed in the middle panel unit 9. That is, in the housing 2, as will be described later, a reel unit 10 in which reels 10a, 10b, and 10c are arranged in parallel in the direction of the rotation axis is arranged, and the outer circumferences of the reels 10a, 10b, and 10c are arranged. For example, 21 identification symbols including a plurality of different types are arranged on the surface at almost equal intervals. And it is comprised so that a player can visually recognize the pattern of 3 vertical and 3 horizontal rows which faces the display window 9a side through the said display window.

  In the middle of the front door 3, a medal insertion portion 11 having an insertion slot for inserting medals used for the game, a bet button 12 for instructing the operation of the game, a start lever 13, and three pieces Stop buttons 14a, 14b, and 14c are provided, respectively.

  The bet button 12 is a push-type button switch for presenting the number of medals bet on the game of the slot machine 1. The start lever 13 is a lever switch for instructing to rotate the reels 10a, 10b, and 10c all at once. The start lever 13 is turned on when a lever having a spherical operation knob at the tip is tilted in any of the vertical and horizontal directions. When the hand is released from the lever, the spring is automatically returned to the original position by the urging force of the spring and is turned off.

  The stop buttons 14a, 14b, and 14c are push-type button switches for individually instructing to stop the rotation of the reels 10a, 10b, and 10c, and are arranged in parallel corresponding to the arrangement of the reels.

  The lower panel formed on the front door 3 is provided with a panel 15 for displaying, for example, a picture of an appearing character so that the player can recognize the model type of the slot machine 1 and the like.

  The saucer unit 4 is provided with a medal payout opening 16 for paying out medals stored therein at the time of winning or the like, and an effect sound emitting unit 17 that incorporates a speaker and generates an effect sound effect as the game progresses. Has been.

  Next, the internal structure of the slot machine 1 will be described with reference to FIG. A main control board 21 that performs overall control of the overall operation of the slot machine 1 is attached to the upper portion of the housing 2. The main control board 21 is a control circuit board on which electronic components such as an interface circuit having a matching function when communicating with a CPU, ROM, RAM, and other peripheral devices are mounted, and is housed in a transparent board case. It is fixed in the body 2 so as not to be detached.

  Near the center of the housing 2, a reel unit 10 in which three reels 10a, 10b, and 10c are arranged in parallel in the axial direction is opposed to a display window 9a formed on the front door 3 side. is set up. The reels 10a, 10b, and 10c are rotationally driven by stepping motors that are fitted to the hub portions.

  Below the reel unit 10, there is provided a hopper device 100 according to the present invention that temporarily stores medals inserted from the medal insertion unit 11 and discharges and pays out medals from the medal discharge port 100a at the time of a prize payout. ing. The detailed structure, operation / function of the hopper device 100 will be described later.

  An auxiliary tank 23 made of a box having an opening on the upper side is provided adjacent to the hopper device 100 in order to store and collect the overflowed medal in the hopper device 100.

  Further, at the bottom of the housing 2, a main power supply device 24 composed of a constant voltage source and a power supply device substrate 25 that distributes necessary power to each device built in the slot machine 1 are accommodated in the same sheet metal case. Are arranged.

  Next, on the front door 3 side, speakers 31a and 31b facing the above-described sound emitting portions for production 7a and 7b are attached at the upper position. Further, a sub-control board 32 for controlling and driving the liquid crystal display unit, the speakers 31a, 31b, and the like is attached to the back surface of the liquid crystal display unit 8 (see FIG. 1) disposed between the speakers 31a, 31b. The sub-control board 32 controls the display of the effect image by the liquid crystal display unit 8, the illumination control using the upper lamp 5 and the side lamps 6a and 6b, and the effect using the sound emission parts 7a, 7b and 17 for the effect. It is a control circuit board for mainly performing control related to game effects such as sound control.

  Below the sub-control board 32, a middle panel unit 9 is attached which is formed as a unit by forming a transparent display window 9a for allowing the reels 10a, 10b, and 10c to be seen through the front panel plate. The middle panel unit 9 also receives signals from operation switches such as a cold cathode fluorescent tube 33 that irradiates the outer peripheral surfaces of the reels 10a, 10b, and 10c, and a start lever 13 and stop buttons 14a, 14b, and 14c. A central display board 34 or the like that relays to the main control board 21 on the side is assembled.

  A medal selector 35 is attached below the middle panel unit 9. The medal selector 35 is a device that determines whether or not a medal inserted into the medal insertion unit 11 on the front surface is appropriate. The medal selector 35 is provided with a medal sensor 35a (not shown) made of a photo interrupter. The medal sensor 35a detects a medal that the medal selector 35 determines to be appropriate, and the medal acceptance signal is sent to the main control board 21. Is output. The main control board 21 performs a process of internally storing medals by adding credits and storing them in the memory every time a medal acceptance signal is received.

  Below the medal selector 35, a medal guide unit 36 that guides the medals determined to be appropriate and distributed to the hopper device 100, and a medal (or foreign object) that has been excluded and dropped by the medal selector 35 as inappropriate is displayed on the front medal payout opening 16. And a medal payout passage 38 for guiding the medals discharged from the hopper device 100 to the medal payout port 16 on the front surface. Further, a speaker 39 is mounted adjacent to the medal payout opening 16 so as to face the above-described effect sound emitting unit 17.

  Next, a control system provided in the slot machine 1 will be described with reference to a functional block diagram shown in FIG. First, the main control board 21 is provided with a storage unit including a semiconductor memory such as a ROM 212 and a RAM 213 in addition to the CPU 211, and the CPU 211 executes arithmetic processing according to a system program for a slot machine game stored in the ROM 212 in advance. Thus, the overall operation of the slot machine 1 is controlled.

  The CPU 211 is connected to a clock interrupt signal generation unit 214 that generates a clock signal having a constant period (several milliseconds), and in synchronization with each clock interrupt, the start lever 13 and stop buttons 14a, 14b, 14c, Switch outputs and sensor outputs of the bet button 12 and the medal sensor 35a built in the medal selector 35 are read via the central display board 34.

  The main control board 21 includes a random number generator 215 having a memory counter element that counts a high-frequency pulse signal generated independently of the clock interrupt, and a count value of the random number generator 215. A hardware lottery circuit including a sampling unit 216 for acquiring the data is provided. The CPU 211 acquires a random number value from the random number generation unit 215 via the sampling unit 216 at a timing related to a predetermined game operation, and performs table lottery processing such as a winning combination and effect pattern based on the random value.

  In addition, the CPU 211 rotates the four-phase rotation control pulse data generated based on the above-described clock interrupt signal to the stepping motors 41a, 41b, and 41c that are the rotation driving sources of the reels 10a, 10b, and 10c. The reference position data is supplied every time the reel is rotated by receiving a detection signal indicating the reference position from the reference position sensors 42a, 42b and 42c provided on each reel. Accurate rotation control is performed during calibration (reset).

  Further, the main control board 21 is connected to the payout motor 151 and the payout sensor 152 provided in the medal payout driving unit of the hopper apparatus 100 through the main power supply board 24 via the power supply board 25. The CPU 211 rotates the payout motor 151 when a prize payout or medal lending operation is performed, and the payout is made when the actual payout number detected based on the operation of the payout sensor 152 matches the planned payout number. Medal payout control for stopping the motor drive is performed.

  A sub control board 32 is connected to the main control board 21 by wiring. That is, the sub-control board 32 operates in response to a command signal from the main control board 21 and controls lighting or blinking of light emitting diodes or incandescent lamps which are light sources such as the upper lamp 5 and the side lamps 6a and 6b. Unit 321, sound control unit 322 for driving the speakers 31 a, 31 b, 39 to sound based on sound signals selected from the sound source data memory 323 and decoded (reproduced), and stored in the image data memory 325. It mainly includes a control circuit such as an image data selection unit 324 that appropriately selects image data and outputs it to the image control board 81.

  The image control board 81 includes a VDP (Video Display Processor), a frame memory, a video RAM, and the like. Based on the image data supplied from the image data selection unit 324, a part of the image control board 81 is merged according to a moving image expression method. The video signal is generated after editing such as the above, and the liquid crystal display unit 8 performs control to display a moving image for production.

  The slot machine 1 configured as described above enters a standby state when a prize is won in the previous game and the medal payout is completed, or when a loss is confirmed in the previous game. In this state, when the bet button 12 is pressed, medals are bet on the game from medals (credits) stored therein, and the game starts.

  When the start lever 13 is tilted in the game start state, the main control board 21 starts to rotate the reels 10a, 10b, and 10c all at once. At the same time, a winning combination is drawn based on random numbers, and the result is stored in a flag (memory).

  Next, when the player presses the stop buttons 14a, 14b, and 14c in an arbitrary order, the main control board 21 sequentially stops the corresponding reels accordingly. Then, the main control board 21 determines whether or not the combination of symbols displayed on all the stopped reels 10a, 10b, and 10c matches the combination of symbols related to the winning combination stored in the flag. When they match, the winning is confirmed, and a medal with the number of payouts corresponding to the type of winning combination is added to the credit. When the credit exceeds the upper limit due to the payout of the winning prize, the main control board 21 operates the hopper device 100 to perform control for paying out the excess medal from the medal payout opening 16 to the tray unit 4.

  As described above, the player of the slot machine 1 performs a game operation for rotating and stopping the reels 10a, 10b, and 10c, and loses the bet medals if the symbols variably displayed on the display window 9a are not aligned with the active line. If a winning combination is achieved with a predetermined combination of symbols, it is possible to acquire more medals than the betted number, so that it is possible to enjoy a winning / losing game with an interest in increasing the number of medals depending on the skill and luck.

  Next, the detailed Example is demonstrated about the hopper apparatus based on this invention mounted in the slot machine 1 mentioned above. Here, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an external structure of the hopper device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5A is a plan view of the hopper device 100 in a state where the drawer portion 120 is housed in the main body, and FIG. 5B is a plan view of the hopper device 100 in a state where the drawer portion 120 is pulled out from the main body.

  Referring to these figures, the hopper device 100 receives a medal from the upper opening and stores a hopper 110 that can store a plurality of medals, and a medal that is located at the bottom of the hopper 110 and is stored in the hopper. It is configured to include a medal payout driving unit 150 that discharges one by one to the outside through the formed medal discharge port 100a.

  The hopper portion 110 has a substantially bowl shape in which a front wall 110b, side walls 110c and 110d, and a facing wall 110e are integrally formed of plastic so as to surround a bottom surface 110a having a certain inclination. In addition, by attaching the hopper part 110 to the upper surface part of the medal payout driving part 150, the upper surface part also becomes the bottom surface 110a of the hopper part 110.

  An overflow hole 111 is formed in the side wall 110c positioned on the lower side of the inclined bottom surface 110a of the hopper portion 110 so as to open at a predetermined height and closer to the front side. The overflow hole 111 is a hole for discharging medals exceeding the storage allowable amount to the outside.

  On the side facing the front wall 110b of the hopper portion 110, that is, the front door (3) of the slot machine (1) on which the hopper device 100 is mounted, one end is the end of the side wall 110d via the hinge mechanism 124. A drawer part 120 is provided that can be opened and closed with respect to the hopper part 110 main body by being attached to the part.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the lead-out portion 120 includes a substantially triangular bottom plate 121 having the hinge mechanism 124 as a rotation axis AP as a vertex, a front plate 123 erected on the front side of the bottom plate 121, The bottom plate 121 is integrally formed mainly with a side plate 122 erected on the side of the bottom plate 121 facing the rotation shaft.

  The bottom plate 121 has a slight downward slope from the rotation axis AP to the side plate 122. Further, the side plate 122 has a discharge port 122a that is aligned with the overflow hole 111 so as to be overlapped with the overflow hole 111 in a state where the drawer portion 120 is closed to the hopper portion 110 main body side, and is formed in a rectangular shape.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, in the state where the drawer 120 is turned and closed so as to be accommodated in the hopper 110 main body, the bottom plate 121 of the drawer 120 opens the overflow hole 111. Abuts or is close to the bottom. With this structure, the inclined bottom plate 121 of the drawer portion 120 also functions as a guide road surface that guides the overflowed medal to the overflow hole 111 of the side wall 110c and discharges it to the outside when the hopper portion 110 is full. And the main body of the hopper apparatus 100 is mounted in the housing | casing (2) of a slot machine in the state in which the drawer part 120 was accommodated in the hopper part 110. FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), when the drawer 120 is pulled out from the hopper 110 main body, the drawer 120 is provided with an opening in which the front door (3) of the gaming machine housing (2) is provided. It extends further to the outside and the upper opening of the hopper 110 is enlarged. For this reason, it is possible to replenish medals from the drawer 120 in a state where the hopper device 100 is mounted in the casing without performing the work of pulling out the hopper device 100 from the casing.

  Next, the structure and operation of the medal payout driving unit 150 will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the structure of the medal payout driving unit 150 when viewed from the position facing the inclined upper surface part. 7 and 8 are views showing the internal structure of the medal payout driving unit 150 with a part broken away when viewed from the same position as FIG.

  The medal payout driving unit 150 includes a rotation capturing plate 153 in which a plurality of capturing holes 153a for capturing medals stored in the hopper unit 110 described above are formed, and a conveyance plate 154 that contacts the lower surface of the rotation capturing plate 153. The hopper portion 110 is provided so as to rotate integrally along the bottom surface 110a.

  The rotation capture plate 153 has a substantially disk shape, and a plurality of capture holes 153a, which are circular holes that have a slightly larger diameter than the medal and pass therethrough, are equally distributed in the circumferential direction. In addition, a rotation shaft 151 a of a built-in payout motor 151 is fixed to the center position of the rotation capturing plate 153. By rotating the rotation capturing plate 153, the medal stored at the bottom of the hopper portion (110) is fitted into the capturing hole 153a and captured.

  The conveyance plate 154 abuts on the lower surface of the rotation capturing plate 153 and is fixed to the rotation shaft 151a of the dispensing motor 151 at the center position. That is, the rotation capturing plate 153 and the conveying plate 154 are attached so that the driving torque of the payout motor 151 is directly transmitted through a common rotating shaft 151a and rotates integrally.

  In the transport plate 154, a bay portion 154a slightly cut in from the respective positions where the catch holes 153a are formed and cut in a substantially central axis direction, and a radial direction from a position between the adjacent bay portions 154a. A pushing protrusion 154b is formed which extends radially and has a distal end portion that bends gently in a direction opposite to the rotation direction.

  The inclined upper surface portion of the medal payout driving portion 150 corresponds to the bottom surface (110a) of the hopper portion (110) described above, and a substantially circular conveyance including the rotation capture plate 153 and the rotation region of the conveyance plate 154 at the center. A road surface 155 is formed to be depressed.

  With this configuration, a medal captured through the capture hole 153 a is held in a gap space defined by the transport path 155, the bay portion 154 a of the transport plate 154, and the rotation capture plate 153. Then, by driving the payout motor 151 and rotating the transport plate 154, the held medal is pressed by the pushing projection 154b and transported in the circumferential direction along the step wall 155a of the transport road surface 155.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, a discharge path surface 156 that guides medals to the medal discharge port 100a is formed continuously at one end of the transport path surface 155. Further, a pin roller 157 whose axial position is fixed and a pin roller 162 whose axial position is movable are provided so as to protrude into the discharge path so as to intersect the discharge path surface 156.

  The shaft of the pin roller 162 is fixed to the discharge arm 160 that is swingably mounted about the support shaft 161 on the back surface side of the discharge path surface 156, and the discharge arm 160 swings so that the shaft is fixed. It reciprocates to a position close to 157 (close side) and a position away from 157 (open side).

  The discharge arm 160 is always urged by the spring 170 toward the side where the pin roller 162 is closed. Further, two photo interrupters 152 a and 152 b that constitute the above-described payout sensor 152 and detect the swing position of the discharge arm 160 are provided on the back surface side of the conveyance path surface 155. That is, when the movable pin roller 162 is at the closest position (closed side) to the pin-fixed pin roller 157, the light-shielding piece of the discharge arm 160 shields the photo interrupter 152a, and the pin roller 162 is turned off. The photo interrupter 152b is configured to be turned off when it is at the most distant position (open side).

  When paying out medals, the main control board 21 drives and controls the payout motor 151 to rotate the rotation capturing plate 153 and the conveying plate 154 in the clockwise direction shown in FIGS. When the medal M held on the transport plate 154 is transported and comes into contact with the pair of pin rollers 157 and 162 in the closed state, the pressing force of the pushing protrusion 154b acts on the pin rollers 157 and 162 via the medal M, and the pin roller 162 is pushed and widened against the biasing force of the spring 170 (see FIG. 7). At this time, elastic energy due to expansion is accumulated in the spring 170.

  When the transport plate 154 further rotates and the center of the medal exceeds the line connecting the axes of the pin rollers 157 and 162 (at this time, the pin rollers 157 and 162 are in the most separated positions, and the photo interrupter 152b is turned off. The elastic contraction force by the spring 170 acts in the direction of releasing the medal M. For this reason, the elastic energy accumulated in the spring 170 is released to one machine, and the medal M is pushed out to the discharge path by the pin roller 162 moving to the closing side and discharged to the outside through the medal discharge port 100a (FIG. 8).

  Note that the main control board 21 that controls the operation of the hopper device 100 logically determines the operation of the discharge arm 160 based on such a series of operations of the payout sensor 152 including the two photo interrupters 152a and 152b. One payout is detected.

  According to the hopper device 100 of the embodiment described above, the hopper device 100 is mounted in the casing 2 of the slot machine 1 by housing the drawer portion 120 in the hopper portion 110 main body at normal times. And when the medals stored in the hopper part 110 are insufficient and replenished, the drawer part 120 is pulled out from the hopper part 110 main body to be extended outside the housing. Thereby, the upper side opening part of the hopper part 110 expands, and the replenishment operation | work of a medal becomes easy.

  In addition, when the medals are replenished, the hopper device 100 is mounted in the housing without requiring a complicated operation such as detaching the hopper device from the housing or removing the harness unlike the conventional machine. The medal can be replenished.

  The structure of the hopper 110 can be simplified because the bottom plate 121 of the drawer 120 serves as a guide path for guiding medals stored exceeding the allowable amount of the hopper 110 to the overflow hole 111.

It is a perspective view showing the appearance structure of a general slot machine. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the internal structure of the slot machine shown in FIG. 1 with the front door opened. It is a functional block diagram of a general slot machine. It is a perspective view showing appearance structure of a hopper device by one example of the present invention. It is a top view of the hopper apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a structure of the medal payout driving unit constituting the hopper device shown in FIG. 4 when viewed from a position facing the inclined upper surface part. It is a figure showing the internal structure of the medal payout drive part shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram further illustrating the internal structure of the medal payout driving unit shown in FIG. 6.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Slot machine 2 ... Housing | casing 3 ... Front door 4 ... Receptacle unit 5 ... Upper lamp 6a, 6b ... Side lamp 7a, 7b ... Sound production part 8 ... Liquid crystal display unit 9 ... Middle panel unit 9a ... Display window 10 ... reel unit 10a, 10b, 10c ... reel 11 ... medal insertion part 12 ... bet button 13 ... start lever 14a, 14b, 14c ... stop button 15 ... panel 16 ... medal payout outlet 17 ... sound emission part 21 for production 21 ... main control Substrate 23 ... auxiliary tank 24 ... main power supply device 25 ... power supply device substrates 31a, 31b ... speaker 32 ... sub control substrate 33 ... cold cathode fluorescent tube 34 ... central display substrate 35 ... medal selector 36 ... medal guide unit 37 ... flow chute 38 ... Medal payout passage 39 ... Speaker 40 ... Rotating device board 41a ... Stepping motor 42a ... Reference position Sensor 100 ... Hopper device 100a ... Medal discharge port 110 ... Hopper portion 110a ... Bottom surface 110b ... Front wall 110c, 100d ... Side wall 110e ... Direction wall 111 ... Overflow hole 120 ... Drawer 121 ... Bottom plate 122 ... Side plate 122a ... Discharge port 123 ... Front plate 124 ... Hinge mechanism 150 ... Medal payout drive unit 151 ... Payout motor 151a ... Rotating shaft 152 ... Payout sensor 152a, 152b ... Photo interrupter 153 ... Rotation capture plate 153a ... Capture hole 154 ... Transport plate 154a ... Pushing projection 154b ... Bay entrance 155 ... Conveying road surface 155a ... Step wall 156 ... Discharge road surface 157 ... Pin roller 160 ... Discharge arm 161 ... Support shaft 162 ... Pin roller 170 ... Spring

Claims (4)

A hopper unit that is mounted in the casing of the gaming machine and receives and stores game medals from the upper opening, and the game medals located and stored at the bottom of the hopper unit are externally input according to a command signal from the control unit. A hopper device for a gaming machine comprising a payout drive unit that discharges to
On at least one side wall of the hopper part, there is a drawer part movable between a first position accommodated in the hopper part body and a second position drawn from the hopper part body and enlarging the opening. A hopper device for a gaming machine characterized by being provided.   An overflow hole for discharging game medals exceeding the allowable storage amount is formed in a part of the side wall of the hopper portion, and the bottom of the drawer portion at the first position guides the game medals to the overflow hole. The hopper device for a gaming machine according to claim 1, which also serves as a road surface.   3. The hopper device for a gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein, in a state where the drawer portion is in the second position, a part of the enlarged opening portion extends to the outside of the housing.   The said drawer | drawing-out part is attached to the said side wall via the hinge provided in any one side, The position movement is possible by rotating, The any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The hopper device for gaming machines described.

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