JP2007241551A - Twin hopper type medal pay-out device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve the smooth medal conveyance of a twin hopper type medal pay-out device by surely controlling a normally rotating/inversely rotating disc. <P>SOLUTION: This twin hopper type metal pay-out device is provided with: a disc 150 formed as an almost disc-shaped body arranged along the internal face of the bottom part of a medal sink where medals 100 are accumulated and stored, and equipped with a plurality of medal holding parts (151) around a central axis for guiding/holding the medals accumulated at the upper part to the metal holding part while rotating, and for rotationally conveying the medals clockwise and anti-clockwise in a circumferential direction; two guides butted to the rotationally conveyed medals from the opposite side of the rotating direction for guiding the medals to two exits arranged outside the dimensional direction of the disc; and an actuator (142) for rotating the disc clockwise and anti-clockwise. This twin hopper type medal pay-out device is configured to guide the medals rotationally conveyed clockwise by the first guide to the first exit, and to guide the medals rotationally conveyed anti-clockwise by the second guide to the second exit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a twin hopper type medal throwing apparatus capable of paying out medals to two places according to the rotation direction of a disk by an actuator. In particular, a twin hopper type medal throwing machine that can control a forward / reverse disk suitable for use in a gaming machine, a money change machine, a vending machine, etc., and can smoothly transport medals including coins. Relates to the dispensing device.

  The applicant proposed in Patent Document 1 a so-called twin hopper type coin-throwing device in which the coin-throwing direction can be selectively switched between two directions depending on circumstances such as the shape of the gaming machine and the installation location. Yes.

  FIG. 1 (front view), FIG. 2 (side view), FIG. 3 (plan view showing the enlarged view III of FIG. 2), FIG. 4 (side view showing the disk enlarged) and FIG. As shown in FIG. 5 (bottom view), the coin-throwing device 10 has a substantially disc shape disposed along a coin reservoir 36 in which coins 15 are accumulated and stored, and an inner side surface of the bottom of the coin reservoir 36. Thus, a plurality of (five in the figure) coin holding portions 38 each having an extrusion fin 12B and a notch 12D are provided around the central axis, and the coins 15 deposited on the upper side are guided to the coin holding portion 38 while rotating. A disk 12 that is held and rotated and conveyed clockwise and counterclockwise in the circumferential direction, and a coin 15 that is rotated and conveyed from the opposite side in the rotation direction, and is arranged on the outer side in the radial direction of the disk 12. The coin 15 is proposed in each of the two outlets 20 and 22 Two guides 16 and 18 and an actuator 14 made of, for example, a motor for selectively rotating the disk 12 clockwise and counterclockwise, and the first guide 16 is rotated and conveyed clockwise. The coin 15 is guided to the first outlet 20, and the second guide 18 is guided to the second outlet 22 so that the coin 15 is conveyed counterclockwise.

  In the figure, 12A is a plurality of (five in the figure) equally formed in the circumferential direction of the disk 12 and has a guide hole that penetrates the disk 12 in the thickness direction with an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the coin 15, 12C is , A substantially disk-like body having the same thickness as the extruded fin 12B, a central protrusion that protrudes coaxially with the central axis, 16A and 16B are pin members that constitute the first guide 16, and 18A and 18B are Pin member constituting the second guide 18, 24 is a first outlet, 26 is a first rail that communicates with the first outlet 24, 28 is a second outlet, and 30 is a second outlet The second rail communicated with the outlet 28 of the base plate, 32 is a base member, 32A forms the inner surface of the bottom of the coin reservoir 36, the upper surface of the base member 32, and 34 is a flange 34A and the upper surface 32A of the base member 32 The hopper attached to 42 A first outlet roller 44 that is rotatable and swingable, a second outlet roller 44 that is rotatable and swingable, and a first tension coil spring 46 that biases the first outlet roller 42. , 48 is a second tension coil spring for urging the second outlet roller 44, 50 is a first discharging roller that forms the upper end of the first outlet 24, and 52 is a first A first torsion coil spring 54 for urging the discharge roller 50 in the direction of narrowing the first discharge port 24 is a second discharge roller that forms the upper end of the second discharge port 28. is there.

  In the coin dispensing device 10 described in Patent Document 1, the disk 12 rotates, and the coin 15 is conveyed into the rail 26 or 30 by the pushing fin 12B. At that time, a stop command of the disk 12 is issued after the sensor (not shown) at the rail tip (upper end) finishes counting, and the disk 12 stops. At this time, the stop position of the disk 12 is stopped at various positions as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D showing examples of the payout to the right rail 30 at the timing of the stop command.

JP 2002-222446 A

  When the disk 12 stops at a halfway position as shown in FIG. 7 (A), the coin 15 is put out on the opposite rail 26 by this stop position. When the coin 15 is stopped at the halfway position, the coin 15 may be conveyed to the rail 30 on the opposite side after being pushed into the rail 26 by the pushing fin 12B. Depending on the amount of coins in the rail, the half-end portion is transported into the previous rail, so the coin 15 on the rail 30 side that should not come out rises, and the sensor at the end of the rail may be shielded from light. It was. If the limit is exceeded, one extra coin 15 may be paid out as shown in FIG. 7C. Further, if the coin is transported into the rail just before, the coin is stopped at a halfway position. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 34A), the coin 15 'may be sandwiched between them and the reverse rotation may be impossible.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it is an object of the present invention to realize a smooth medal conveyance by reliably controlling a disk that rotates forward and backward.

  The present invention is a medal pool in which medals are accumulated and stored, and a substantially disk-shaped body arranged along the inner surface of the bottom of the medal pool, and a plurality of medal holding portions are provided around the central axis, The medals accumulated on the disk are guided and held in the medal holding part while rotating, and are rotated and conveyed in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions in the circumferential direction, and the medals conveyed in rotation are brought into contact with each other from the opposite side of the rotation direction. Two guides for guiding the medals respectively to two outlets arranged radially outside the disk, and an actuator for selectively rotating the disk clockwise and counterclockwise, A twin hopper in which one guide guides a medal rotated and conveyed clockwise to the first outlet, and a second guide guides a medal rotated and conveyed counterclockwise to the second outlet. In the medal throwing device, a detecting means for detecting the position of the disk is provided in conjunction with the rotation of the disk, and the timing at which the disk stops is controlled by the position of the disk, thereby solving the above problem. It is a thing.

  Further, the means for detecting the position of the disk is a rotation detecting plate provided on the opposite side of the output shaft of the actuator.

  Further, the rotation detection plate is provided with the same number of detection holes as the number of medal catch holes of the disk.

  Further, the length of the detection hole of the rotation detection plate is lengthened to provide two stop positions so that the stop positions at the time of right rotation and left rotation can be set separately.

  Further, the detection holes of the rotation detection plate are provided separately for right rotation and left rotation.

  According to the present invention, even if the position of the count end state changes due to variations in rail length, medal size, etc., the disc stop position at the end of the medal payout is surely pushed into the rail. Therefore, even if the next payout is reverse rotation, it can be smoothly conveyed to the left and right rails without causing an incorrect count of medals or a clogged state.

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

  FIG. 8 (decomposed perspective view of the drive unit), FIG. 10 (decomposed perspective view of the drive unit viewed from another direction), FIG. (Disassembled perspective view of disk) and FIG. 12 (front view of rotation detection plate), and a medal formed by a base 112, a guide 114, a discharge plate 116, a center guide 118, and a base cover 120. A drive unit 140 including, for example, a DC geared motor 142 as an actuator is fixed to the hopper body 110 provided with a path by, for example, four countersunk screws 144.

  The output shaft 146 of the drive unit 140 is formed with a screw hole at the center and a flat portion 147 (see FIG. 10) having a D shape on the side surface. As shown in detail in FIG. 11, a disk bearing 152 is press-fitted into the main disk 150 rotated by the output shaft 146 in a shape (substantially triangular) so as not to idle with the main disk 150. The disk 154 is fastened by a countersunk screw 156 and a nut 158. In FIG. 10, 160 is a screw for holding the main disk 150 at the tip of the output shaft 146, and 162 is a compression coil spring for biasing the main disk 150.

  The disk bearing 152 has a D-shaped hole in the center, and is fitted to the D-shape of the output shaft 146 of the drive unit 140 so that the rotation of the output shaft 146 of the drive unit 140 can be transmitted without loss. It has become.

  A rotation detection plate 170 according to the present invention is fixed by a screw 172 on the opposite side (lower side in the figure) of the output shaft 146 of the drive unit 140. Also here, the shaft and the hole are D-shaped so that it can be reliably linked to the rotation of the output shaft 146.

  The rotation detection plate 170 is formed with three slits 171 as shown in detail in FIG. The slit 171 is formed so as to be interlocked with the position of the medal catch hole 151 of the main disk 150. The position of the slit 171 of the rotation detection plate 170 is detected by a photoelectric sensor 174 attached to the drive unit 140. The rotation position of the rotation detection plate 170 is specified by the signal of the photoelectric sensor 174, and the position of the medal catch hole 151 of the main disk 150 is specified.

  The operation will be described below.

  The medals 100 stored in a tray (not shown) are aligned in the medal catch holes 151 when the main disk 150 is rotated by the rotation of the motor 142 of the drive unit 140. On the lower surface of the main disk 150, a gap corresponding to approximately one medal is formed by the sub disk 154, and the medal 100 is separated for each sheet by this gap. The separated medal 100 is conveyed into a medal path formed by the base 112 and the guide 114, the discharge plate 116, the center guide 118, and the base cover 120. The medal 100 transported into the medal path is paid out through one of the left and right rail units 122 and 124 and the detection units 126 and 128.

  The detection units 126 and 128 are provided with a sensor that detects the passage of the medal 100, and outputs a signal every time one medal 100 passes. This signal is counted to measure the number of medals 100 to be paid out. After detecting the signal of the designated number, the operation of the drive unit 140 is stopped, and the payout of the medal 100 is finished. At this time, in order to stop the operation of the drive unit 140 after the passage signal of the medal 100, the stop position of the main disk 150 at the time of the stop changes at the timing of the medal count signal in the detection units 126 and 128. The medal 100 may stop before being ejected from the main disk 150 to the medal path. Therefore, in the present invention, the driving unit 140 is not stopped at the end of the medal counting, but is stopped in the signal state of the photoelectric sensor 174 provided in the driving unit 140.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, the motor 142 is stopped when the slit 171 of the rotation detection plate 170 disappears. In this embodiment, since the length of the slit is large, two stop positions (171ER and 171EL) can be created for right rotation and left rotation. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 14 (stop position during forward rotation) and FIG. 15 (stop position during reverse rotation), in either direction, the medals must be pushed out into the transport path with a little overshoot from the exact position. Can be stopped. Although it is possible to use a timer, the operation is unstable. Further, the stop position can be checked based on whether or not the stop position is in the slit 171, and an alarm can be issued if the stop position is not stopped in the slit 171.

  Further, as in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 16, the slit 171 is made independent for right rotation and left rotation, and the rotation detection plate 170 is provided with slits 171R and 171L for right rotation and left rotation, respectively. It is also possible to provide it.

  It is also possible to attach an encoder to the shaft of the motor 142, detect the position of the shaft by the encoder, and create a timing for stopping the disk 150.

  Alternatively, a stepping motor can be used as the motor 142 to control the angle of the motor output shaft.

  In the embodiment, the number of medal catch holes 151 of the main disk 150 is three, but the number of catch holes is not limited to this. The actuator is not limited to the DC geared motor.

Front view of coin dispensing device described in Patent Document 1 Same side view FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view showing part III of FIG. The side view which expands and shows the structure of the disk in the said coin throwing-out apparatus Bottom view Front view showing variation in stop position in the state of paying out to the right rail of the prior art Similarly, a front view for explaining a conventional problem when rotating backward from a stop The disassembled perspective view which shows the whole structure of 1st Embodiment of this invention. Similarly, exploded perspective view of the drive unit Similarly, an exploded perspective view of the drive unit seen from the other direction Similarly, an exploded perspective view of the disc Similarly, a plan view of the rotation detection plate Similarly, time charts showing examples of operation waveforms for each part Similarly, a front view showing an example of a stop position during forward rotation Similarly, a front view showing an example of a stop position during reverse rotation The top view which shows the rotation detection board used by 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Medal 110 ... Hopper body 140 ... Drive unit 142 ... Motor 146 ... Output shaft 150 ... Main disk 151 ... Medal capture hole 154 ... Sub disk 170 ... Rotation detection plate 171, 171R, 171L ... Slit 171ER, 171EL ... Stop position 174 ... Sensor

Claims (5)

A medal pool in which medals are accumulated and stored, and a substantially disc-like body arranged along the inner surface of the bottom of the medal pool, a plurality of medal holding portions are provided around the central axis, and the medals accumulated above A disc that is guided and held by the medal holding portion while rotating and rotates and conveys in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions in the circumferential direction, and the disc that comes into contact with the rotated and conveyed medal from the opposite side of the rotation direction, Two guides for guiding the medals respectively to two outlets arranged on the radially outer side of the disk, and an actuator for selectively rotating the disk clockwise and counterclockwise,
Twin hopper type in which the first guide guides medals rotated and conveyed clockwise to the first outlet, and the second guide guides medals rotated and conveyed counterclockwise to the second outlet. In the medal throwing device,
In conjunction with the rotation of the disk, a detecting means for detecting the position of the disk is provided,
The twin hopper type medal throwing apparatus, wherein the timing at which the disk stops is controlled by the position of the disk.   2. The twin hopper type medal throwing device according to claim 1, wherein the means for detecting the position of the disk is a rotation detecting plate provided on the opposite side of the output shaft of the actuator.   The twin hopper type medal ejection device according to claim 2, wherein the rotation detection plate is provided with detection holes equal in number to the medal catch holes of the disc.   The length of the detection hole of the rotation detection plate is lengthened to provide two stop positions, and the stop positions at the time of right rotation and left rotation can be set separately. Twin hopper type medal throwing device.   The twin hopper type medal throwing device according to claim 3, wherein detection holes of the rotation detection plate are provided separately for right rotation and left rotation.

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