JP2008006124A - Token collecting/replenishing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a token collecting/replenishing machine capable of discriminating tokens scattered inside a game machine casing or on the floor surface from unnecessary articles and easily and swiftly collecting the tokens, and easily replenishing tokens to a high place such as a token dispenser. <P>SOLUTION: The token collecting/replenishing machine includes: a movable casing 11; an air intake 11d disposed in the casing, to which an intake hose 21 can be connected; a collection container 13 for making dust sucked from the air intake pass and for storing objects of a prescribed size; a storage space 11c connected to the air intake for storing and retaining the collection container; a lid body 11e to be closely fitted to close the storage space and the outside of the casing; an electric fan 12 for sucking air inside the storage space; an exhaust path 14 for guiding the exhaust from the electric fan; a token hopper 15 with a token outlet 15a on the way of the exhaust path; a measurement control part 16 for measuring and controlling tokens discharged from the token hopper; and an exhaust port 11f which is connected to the exhaust path, to which an exhaust hose 22 can be connected and which is disposed in the casing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a medal collection and replenishment machine having a medal collection function and a replenishment function for use in a medal game machine, and in particular, in a medal game machine and peripheral devices, a work for collecting medals dropped on the floor or in the machine and a medal lending machine The present invention relates to a medal collection and replenishment machine that can easily perform a medal replenishment operation to the medals.

  As well-known, game machines using medals include various game machines such as a slot machine, a pusher game machine, and a competitive game machine that plays in anticipation of the arrival order of a model running on a truck. In this type of game machine, a player borrows a predetermined amount of medals from a medal lending machine, inserts the medals from the slot of the medal game machine, plays a game, and if successful, a predetermined number of medals are paid out. It is paid out from the hopper to the exit. The medals collected at the prize exchange or the like are supplied and supplied from a supply port of a medal rental machine or a medal game machine, for example.

  In such a medal game machine, medals may fall from the outlet and be scattered on the floor surface, or medals taken out from the outlet may fall on the floor surface. In addition, medals may jump out of the payout hopper for some reason and be scattered in the housing. In addition, a large number of medals may remain in a hopper such as a medal game machine or a medal counter.

  In that case, for example, a store clerk collects medals manually, but picking up medals that fall inside or around the housing is difficult and time-consuming, such as medals hanging in the middle or out of reach. Time consuming and cumbersome. Also, when recovering medals that have fallen on the floor, it has been a tough work, such as having to pick up the nails and removing the attached dust.

  On the other hand, when the collected medals are replenished to a medal lending machine or a medal game machine, conventionally, for example, a store clerk carries the collected medal storage box to the corresponding replenishment place, and the storage box to the supply port of the medal lending machine etc. It was lifted and refilled manually. Therefore, it was a laborious and time consuming work.

  As described above, the collection / replenishment work of medals has been a laborious work, requiring a lot of time and labor.

  In order to facilitate the collection work for such a troublesome work, for example, an apparatus such as a vacuum cleaner that collects medals by air suction is proposed (for example, a patent). References 1 and 2). For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a coin collector is disposed in the middle of a suction hose of an electric vacuum cleaner, and only hard balls or coins are selected and collected by a coin collector from objects that are sucked and mixed with unnecessary objects. Has been. In Patent Document 2, an electric fan for suction is provided above a collection container installed in the suction chamber, and a medal is sucked from a suction hose connected to the suction chamber from the outside and dropped into the collection container. In addition to the collection, there is disclosed a filter in which fine dust is filtered by a dust collecting filter.

  On the other hand, as a means for facilitating replenishment work of medals (coins), a supply device for slot machine units in which a plurality of sets of slot machines and coin lending machines are juxtaposed in a straight line is proposed. (See, for example, Patent Document 3). For example, in Patent Document 3, when a coin is discharged from a slot gaming machine or a coin lending machine and is insufficient, a coin is detected by a sensor and automatically supplied from the upper coin hopper via a coin rail. An apparatus is disclosed in which air from an electric fan is pumped up to a coin tank via a conduit and returned to a slot game machine or a coin lending machine.

JP-A-9-28917 JP 2001-353259 A Japanese Patent Publication No.8-1673

  In the conventional collector and collection machine described above, coins can be collected separately from unnecessary items, so that the collection operation of medals is facilitated, but the replenishment operation cannot be facilitated. On the other hand, if a supply device such as that described in Patent Document 3 is applied, it is possible to automatically replenish, so that there is an advantage that manual replenishment work becomes unnecessary. However, the system needs to be incorporated in the store island, and the system becomes very large.

  The present invention has been made under the circumstances as described above, and an object of the present invention is to easily and quickly collect medals scattered in a game machine casing or on a floor surface from unnecessary items and to collect medals. It is to provide a medal collection and replenishment machine that can easily replenish a machine or the like at a high place.

  The present invention relates to a medal recovery and replenishment machine having a medal recovery function and a replenishment function, and the object of the present invention is to provide a movable housing, an intake port to which an intake hose can be connected, and an intake port. A collection container that allows aspirated dust to pass through and holds an object of a predetermined size, a storage space that is connected to the intake port and stores and holds the recovery container, and a close fit that closes the storage space and the outside of the housing A provided lid, an electric fan for sucking air in the storage space, an exhaust path for guiding exhaust of the electric fan, a medal hopper provided with a medal discharge port in the middle of the exhaust path, and an exhaust from the medal hopper This is achieved by including a measurement control unit that measures and controls a medal to be performed, and an exhaust port that is connected to the exhaust path and is connectable to an exhaust hose and provided in the housing.

  Furthermore, the object of the present invention is to further provide a filter for collecting dust between the collection container and the electric fan in the storage space, and the collection container can be removed by opening the lid. The mesh hopper is electrically operated, the medal hopper is electrically operated, and has an operation means capable of setting the number of replenished medals, and the measurement control unit has the number of medals set by the operating means. This is achieved more effectively by controlling the amount of medals released to be released to the outside of the housing.

  According to the present invention, it becomes possible to easily and quickly suck and collect medals scattered in the game machine casing or on the floor surface from unnecessary items, carry a heavy collection container by hand, and rent medals. It is possible to easily replenish a medal lending machine or the like at a high place without lifting it to the height of the supply port of the machine. Therefore, compared to conventional manual medals collection / replenishment work, it is freed from replenishment work and laborious and time-consuming collection work that is labor intensive and time-consuming, thereby saving labor and shortening work time. It becomes possible. Moreover, since it is not necessary to introduce equipment like a conventional large-scale replenishment system, the introduction cost and the maintenance cost can be greatly reduced. Further, the medal collection and replenishment function is provided in one medal collection and replenishment machine, and it can be replenished using the medals collected in the housing, which is very convenient.

  The medal collecting and replenishing machine according to the present invention sucks medals that fall in or around the game machine housing (discs such as medals and coins: hereinafter referred to as “medals”) by the suction force of the electric fan, A means for collecting medals in a collection container that can be taken out of the housing by separating them from unnecessary items, etc., and discharging the medals received by the medal hopper to the exhaust passage, and from the exhaust hose by the exhaust force of the electric fan. And a means for discharging to the charging port. Furthermore, a means for counting the medals discharged from the medal hopper and controlling the number of medals discharged to the outside is provided so that a desired number of medals designated by the user can be supplied to a medal lending machine or the like.

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

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a main part of a medal collection and replenishing machine according to the present invention. The case 11 of the medal recovery and supply machine 10 is a movable case having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape or a cylindrical shape having a caster 11a that can run and turn on the floor surface. Inside the housing 11, there are an electric fan 12 for generating an air flow, a collection container 13 for storing the sucked medal, an exhaust passage 14 for guiding the exhaust of the electric fan 12, and exhaust in the middle of the exhaust passage. A medal hopper 15 provided with an outlet 15a and a measurement control unit 16 that performs measurement of medals discharged from the medal hopper 15 and operation control of an electric device are provided.

  In this example, the electric fan 12 is disposed at a substantially central position in the housing 11, and the intake side and the exhaust side of the electric fan 12 are partitioned by a partition plate 11b. The collection container 13 is installed in an intake side space 11c (hereinafter referred to as a storage space), and the medal hopper 15 is installed in an exhaust side space.

  An intake port 11d to which an intake hose 21 can be connected and an openable / closable lid 11e that closes the storage space 11c and the outside of the housing are provided on the housing wall forming the storage space 11c on the intake side. The collection container 13 can be taken in and out.

  On the other hand, an exhaust port 11f that is connected to the exhaust path 14 and to which the exhaust hose 22 can be connected is provided in the casing wall portion on the exhaust side. Each of the intake hose 21 and the exhaust hose 22 is a hose composed of a deformable bellows tube, a slide-type connecting tube whose length can be adjusted, and the like.

  The electric fan 12 functions as a means for sucking air in the storage space 11c partitioned by the partition plate 11b and collecting medals by the suction force, and exhausts air to the exhaust passage 14 and medals by the exhaust force. It also functions as a means for transporting and discharging to the outside.

  The collection container 13 is a container that holds dust of a predetermined size through the dust sucked from the intake port 11d and is installed in the storage space 11c that is connected to the intake port 11d and stores and holds the collection container 13. The In the present embodiment, the collection container 13 uses a mesh-like casing that can be removed by opening the lid 11e. For example, the housing 13 is placed on a concave unnecessary material storage body that opens a space below the housing 13 and supports the periphery of the bottom of the housing. For example, when a case is formed of a mesh having a size (a rectangular shape or a substantially circular shape having a diameter and a width) that allows a prize ball or coin of a pachinko machine smaller than a medal to pass therethrough, the mesh passes through the mesh of the case and moves downward. Objects such as prize balls and coins of the pachinko machine that fall into are stored in an unnecessary object storage body. In addition, a mesh-like deformable net may be detachably provided inside the housing, and the net may be used as the collection container 13.

  In the present embodiment, in addition to the collection container 13 that functions as a filter, a dust collection filter 17 is provided. The filter 17 is an additional component, and is detachably installed between the collection container 13 and the electric fan 12 in the storage space 11c, for example. In the example of FIG. 1, the filter 17 has substantially the same contour as the inner surface shape of the housing 11, and the end portion of the intake pipe 18 communicating with the electric fan 12 is close to or in close contact with the surface of the filter 17. Yes. Then, dust or small dust drifting in the air is collected by the filter 17 by the suction force of the electric fan 12.

  The medal hopper 15 includes, for example, a storage unit that temporarily stores medals inserted from the medal insertion port, and a feeding unit (for example, a motor, a rotating disk, and the like) that draws out medals one by one from the storage unit and discharges them to the discharge port 15a. The feeding mechanism). In this example, the medal in the collection container 13 is received by the medal hopper 15, temporarily stored in the storage unit, and discharged from the discharge port 15a to the exhaust path 14 in accordance with an external command.

  The measurement control unit 16 includes means for measuring medals discharged from the medal hopper 15 and controlling the number of medals discharged to the outside. The user can supply a desired number of medals to a medal lending machine, a medal game machine, or the like by setting the number of medals.

  Specifically, the measurement control unit 16 is, for example, a measuring unit for measuring the number of medals discharged from the discharge port 15a of the medal hopper 15 to the exhaust path 14 (for example, a light emitting element provided in the vicinity of the discharge port 15a). And a counting sensor 16a) composed of a light receiving element, an operation means for setting the number of medals to be released (replenishment number), an instruction for collecting medals, starting / stopping replenishment, and the like. Control means for controlling the amount of medals released so that the replenished number of medals are discharged to the outside of the housing, and each means is disposed at a predetermined position. The operation means includes, for example, an operation button and a liquid crystal display, and is provided on the outer wall portion of the housing 11 (or the intake hose 21 or the exhaust hose 22 or two or more of them). The control means is realized by, for example, a CPU and a computer program executed by the CPU, and the program is recorded on a predetermined recording medium.

  An example of the operation of the medal recovery and supply machine 10 in the configuration as described above will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG.

  When the start of recovery of the external medal 1a is instructed by operation of the operation means, the measurement control unit 16 sends an activation signal to activate the electric fan 12. As a result, the air in the storage space 11 c is sucked, and the external medal is sucked from the suction hose 21 to the suction port 11 d by the suction force and is collected in the collection container 13 in the housing 11.

  An object (unnecessary material) that has passed through the mesh at the bottom of the collection container 13 falls below the collection container 13 and is accommodated in the unnecessary object storage body. On the other hand, dust adhering to the medal 1b in the recovery container 13 and dust, dust, etc. above the medal are collected on the filter 17 side by the intake force from the intake pipe 18 provided on the side of the recovery container 13. Then, unnecessary substances are removed from the collection container 13. When the end of the recovery is instructed, the control unit of the measurement control unit 16 stops the electric fan 12.

  By such an operation, the medal 1 (1a) dropped in or around the case of the medal game machine is sucked by the suction force of the electric fan 12, and the medal 1 from which dust and the like are removed separately from unnecessary objects is collected in the collection container 13. Collected in. In addition, the magnitude | size of the wind force of the electric fan 12 can be adjusted with an operation means.

  On the other hand, when the recovered medal 1b is replenished to a medal lending machine or the like, the user opens the lid 11e of the housing 11 and takes out the recovery container 13, and the medal hopper 15 stores the medal 1b accumulated in the recovery container 13. Put in. Then, the number of medals is set by operating the operation means, the exhaust hose 22 is guided from the exhaust port 11f to the supply port such as a medal lending machine, and the start of the supply of medals is instructed by the operation of the operation means.

  When an instruction to start replenishment of medals is issued, the measurement control unit 16 reads setting information of the number of medals (number of replenishments) from the storage unit, and controls the operation of the electric fan 12 and the operation of the feeding unit of the medal hopper 15. Then, until the number measured by the measuring means matches the set number (specified number), the medals are fed out from the storage part of the medal hopper 15 and discharged from the discharge port 15a of the medal hopper 15 to the exhaust path 14. The medals discharged to the exhaust path 14 are conveyed to the exhaust port 11f by the exhaust force of the electric fan 12, and are discharged from the discharge port of the exhaust hose 22.

  The measurement control unit 16 stops the operation of the feeding means of the medal hopper 15 when it is determined that the designated number of medals have been discharged, and all the medals discharged to the exhaust path 14 are discharged to the outside. The operation of the electric fan 12 is stopped when a certain period of time elapses. Note that the number of medals released (supplemented) may be accumulated and recorded in, for example, storage means so that the total amount or individual number can be displayed again.

  As described above, when the medal collection and replenishment machine 10 according to the present invention is used, the user collects the medals separately from the unnecessary items, and then collects the medals in the collection container 13, and then the lid 11e of the housing 11 is removed. The collection container 13 is opened and the medal in the collection container 13 is put into the medal hopper 15, and the exhaust hose 22 is guided from the exhaust port 11f to the replenishment port of the medal lending machine or the like, so that a predetermined medal can be replenished.

  In the above-described embodiment, as shown in the example of FIG. 1, the lid body 11e integrated with the intake port 11d has been described as an example provided above the storage space 11c. Instead of being integrated with the intake port 11d, for example, a configuration may be employed in which the side wall (front side or depth side in FIG. 1) or front (left side in FIG. 1) of the storage space 11c is provided. Further, the intake port 11d is not limited to the upper side of the storage space 11c, and may be provided on the front wall.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a structure of the principal part of the medal collection supply machine based on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Medal 10 Medal collection supply machine 11 Case 11a Caster 11b Partition plate 11c Storage space 11d Intake port 11e Cover 11f Exhaust port 12 Electric fan 13 Collection container 14 Exhaust path 15 Medal hopper 15a Discharge port 16 Measurement control unit 16a Measurement means 17 Filter 18 Intake pipe 21 Intake hose 22 Exhaust hose

Claims (5)

  A movable housing, an intake port to which an intake hose can be connected, a recovery container for passing dust sucked from the intake port and retaining an object of a predetermined size, and a recovery container connected to the intake port A storage space for storing and holding the storage space, a lid provided so as to close the storage space and the outside of the housing, an electric fan for sucking air in the storage space, and an exhaust path for guiding the exhaust of the electric fan A medal hopper provided with a medal discharge port in the middle of the exhaust path, a measurement control unit for measuring and controlling the medal discharged from the medal hopper, and connected to the exhaust path, and an exhaust hose can be connected to the housing. A medal recovery and replenishing machine comprising an exhaust port provided.   The medal recovery and replenishing machine according to claim 1, further comprising a filter for collecting dust between the recovery container and the electric fan in the storage space.   The medal recovery and replenishing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the recovery container is a mesh-shaped casing that can be removed by opening the lid.   The medal recovery and replenishing machine according to claim 1, wherein the medal hopper is electrically operated.   An operation means capable of setting the number of medals to be supplied is provided, and the measurement control unit controls the amount of medals released so that the number of medals set by the operation means is released to the outside of the housing. The medal recovery and supply machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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