JP2008012166A - Token dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a token dispenser capable of eliminating clogging of game tokens inside a carrier and smoothly advancing token feed and a game accompanying the feed without interruption. <P>SOLUTION: When detecting that a rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state during normal forward rotation, a control part (420) executes abnormal reverse rotation for prescribed time, restores the normal forward rotation after the end of the abnormal reverse rotation when not detecting that during the abnormal reverse rotation, executes abnormal forward rotation when detecting that it is in the abnormal state during the normal forward rotation and detecting that it is in the abnormal state during the abnormal reverse rotation though the abnormal reverse rotation is executed for the prescribed time, and executes the normal forward rotation when detecting that it is not in the abnormal state during the abnormal forward rotation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a medal lending machine installed adjacent to a medal gaming machine such as a slot machine.

Conventionally, in a gaming machine that uses medals such as slot machines as game media, the front of the main unit is requested based on a request to play an efficient game or to play a game without touching the game medals as much as possible. A gaming machine pedestal machine (medal lending machine) has been devised in which a batch insertion mechanism including a batch insertion slot and a medal feeder is attached to a gaming machine so that a gaming medal can be directly supplied to the gaming machine (see Patent Document 1). . This medal lending machine has a medal storage part in which medals inserted from a batch entry slot or medals paid out from a medal lending machine are stored, and gradually from medals stored in a lower layer of the medal storage part. The medals are transported by a transport belt, and the transported medals are separated one by one by a separation roller, and sent to an adjacent gaming machine (slot machine).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-342433 (FIG. 1)

  In the medal lending machine having the medal feeding device as described above, foreign matter other than medals may be thrown into the batch insertion slot. In such a case, the medal storage unit inside the medal feeding device Thus, there is a problem in that the thrown foreign matter is clogged between the conveyor belt and the surrounding members, the rotation driving of the conveyor belt is stopped, and an abnormal load is applied to the conveyor motor. Even if foreign objects are not thrown in, when several other normal game medals are inserted, depending on how the game medals are stacked, a plurality of game medals are sandwiched between the conveyor belt and the surrounding members. As a result, the rotation of the conveyor belt is stopped and an abnormal load is applied to the conveyor motor.

In all such cases, if the rotation drive of the conveyor belt is stopped immediately, the conveyor belt will stop frequently, which will hinder the medal insertion and advancement of the game associated with the medal insertion.
On the other hand, when a game medal or the like is jammed, the jam can be easily eliminated by rotating the transport belt in the reverse direction.
Accordingly, each invention described in each claim has been made in view of the problems of the conventional techniques described above, and the object thereof is as follows.
(Claim 1) That is, the invention described in claim 1 has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to clog game medals inside the transport device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a medal lending machine that can be eliminated and can be smoothly advanced without interrupting the medal insertion and the game accompanying the insertion.

(Claim 2) The invention described in claim 2 has the following object in addition to the object of the invention described in claim 1. That is, the invention according to claim 2 avoids an increase in the load on the transport motor by stopping the rotation drive when the clogging of game medals within the transport device cannot be eliminated. The present invention intends to provide a medal lending machine capable of avoiding a failure of the transport motor.
(Claim 3) The invention described in claim 3 has the following object in addition to the object of the invention described in claim 1. That is, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the next new abnormal state can be prepared by resetting the number of abnormalities, and the next medal insertion can proceed smoothly without any special operation for resetting the number of abnormalities. It is intended to provide a medal lending machine that can.

  (Claim 4) In addition to the object of the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3, the invention described in claim 4 aims at the following point. That is, the invention according to claim 4 is to provide a medal lending machine capable of effectively kicking a game medal overlapped on a transport roller and suppressing occurrence of a game medal clogging. is there.

The features of the present invention will be described below using the embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawings.
In addition, the code | symbol in parenthesis shows the code | symbol used in embodiment of invention, and does not limit the technical scope of this invention.
(Claim 1)
(Feature point)
The invention described in claim 1 is characterized by the following points.
That is, a medal lending machine (2) installed adjacent to a gaming machine having a medal slot (10) having a side transfer passage (12) capable of receiving a game medal from the side, the medal The lending machine (2) includes a payout device (23) for paying out medals to be rented to a player, a batch loading opening (31) capable of receiving a plurality of gaming medals to be loaded at once, and this batch loading opening ( 31), a medal storage part (44) that is capable of storing game medals, and an introduction introduction path (60) for transferring game medals to a side transfer passage (12) of an adjacent gaming machine, A transport device (50) for sending game medals stored in the medal storage section (44) one by one to the insertion introduction path (60), and driving of the transport device (50) is started by a player's operation. A drive switch (200), a controller (420) for controlling the drive of the transport device (50), and the dispensing The game medal paid out from the device (23) is located in the payout passage (42) for directly guiding the game medal to the medal storage part (44) without going through the batch insertion opening (31), and the insertion introduction path (60). A medal detection sensor (64) capable of detecting the passage of game medals, and the transport device (50) is configured to rotate a transport belt (53) for transporting game medals and the transport belt (53). It is detected whether the rotation of the conveyance motor (55) and the conveyance belt (53) is in a normal state in which the rotation is normally performed or an abnormal state in which the rotation is not normally performed during a predetermined monitoring time. Therefore, a rotation monitoring device (810) capable of detecting the rotation of the conveyor belt (53) is provided.

  Then, as a rotation operation of the transport belt (53), the precursor control unit (420), in a normal state, the game medals on the transport belt (53) in the direction to send out the game medal to the insertion introduction path (60) Normal normal rotation for rotating (53), and normal normal rotation for rotating the conveyor belt (53) in a direction to send out game medals on the conveyor belt (53) to the insertion introduction path (60) during an abnormal state. A normal reverse rotation in which the conveyor belt (53) is rotated in a direction opposite to a direction in which game medals on the conveyor belt (53) are sent to the insertion introduction path (60) during a normal state, and An abnormal reverse rotation is provided that rotates the conveyor belt (53) in a direction opposite to the direction in which game medals on the conveyor belt (53) are sent out to the insertion introduction path (60).

Then, when the rotation monitoring device (810) does not detect that the rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state, the control unit (420) detects a game medal by the medal detection sensor (64) from a normal rotation for sending out the game medal. Normal reverse rotation is performed when there is no delivery for a predetermined time.
When the control unit (420) detects that the rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state during normal normal rotation, the control unit (420) performs abnormal reverse rotation for a predetermined time. When the rotation monitoring device (810) does not detect an abnormal state, the normal rotation is restored after the abnormal reverse rotation is completed.
Then, the control unit (420) detects that the rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state during normal normal rotation, and performs abnormal reverse rotation for a predetermined time. When the rotation monitoring device (810) detects that the rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state, an abnormal normal rotation is performed. Rotation is performed.

Here, the “gaming machine” is a gaming machine in which game medals are thrown in as a game medium, and is installed in parallel in the game hall with the medal lending machine (2) interposed therebetween. The medal insertion slot (10) is a portion for inserting a game medal into the gaming machine, and includes a passage and a recess for guiding the game medal to the opening in addition to an opening such as a hole for dropping the game medal. For example, the side transfer path (12) may be communicated with an upper insertion opening (11) that is a slit into which a game medal can be inserted from above.
Further, here, in addition to the above-described configuration, the “game machine platform machine” includes a payout device (23) capable of storing medals and discharging stored medals, and a bill insertion slot (21 Or a so-called medal lending machine (2) provided with a bill counter (22).

The batch loading unit (3) is a device attached to the main body box (20), which is the exterior of the gaming machine platform machine (2), and transports medals that are batch-loaded from the batch loading slot (31) ( 50), one by one can be inserted into the medal slot (10) of the gaming machine (1). The batch slot (31) is an opening provided in the batch slot unit (3), preferably open upward. Instead of throwing it in at a time, it refers to the case of randomly throwing game medals grabbed by the hand into the throwing opening at random.
The medal storage part (44) is a space capable of temporarily storing game medals inserted from the collective insertion opening (31). In the present invention, medals are paid out directly from the payout device (23) to the medal storage part (44) through the payout passage (42).

The insertion introduction path (60) may be a block member in which a medal transfer path (65) through which a game medal can pass is formed between the medal receiving port (67) and the medal discharging port (66). The medal receiving port (67) accepts the game medal sent out by the transfer device (50). Further, the medal discharge port (66) is arranged to be located on the side of the medal insertion port (10) of the adjacent gaming machine (1).
The transport device (50) can be a belt-type medal feeding device using a transport belt (53), a disk-type medal feeding device using a feed disk, or the like, and a medal storage unit (44) that is loaded all at once. Any device may be used as long as it can send out the game medals stored one by one to the insertion introduction path (60).

  In addition, here, “rotation monitoring capable of detecting whether the rotation of the conveyor belt (53) is in a normal state in which the rotation is normally performed or in an abnormal state in which the rotation is not normally performed during a predetermined monitoring time. The rotation monitoring device (810) may be any device as long as it can detect the rotation speed of the conveyor belt (53). Then, during the monitoring time when the steady rotational speed has been reached, the rotational speed of the conveyor belt (53) is detected by detecting the rotational speed of the conveyor belt (53) and maintaining a predetermined rotational speed or more. Detects that the belt is operating normally, and detects that the conveyor belt (53) is in an abnormal state where the rotation of the conveyor belt (53) is not operating normally when the rotation speed is lower than the predetermined rotation speed. Including things that can be.

  Specifically, for example, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the rotation monitoring device (810) is a so-called rotary encoder (820), and includes a light emitting diode (LED) and a light receiving element (optical sensor (822)). The phototransistor includes a rotating slit disk (821) attached to the rotating shaft of the roller (51) of the conveyor belt (53) and the like, and is attached so as to face each other. This is because when the rotating slit disk (821) rotates, the diode light repeatedly passes and blocks by the rotating slit (823), and this light is received by the light receiving element and converted into a signal (pulse). Can be detected by the pulse waveform (FIG. 18). Then, by measuring the switching time C (FIG. 18) between the high level and the low level of the pulse waveform, the rotational speed of the rotary slit disk (821) can be obtained.

(Function)
If the inter-machine machine for gaming machines (2) according to the present invention is installed next to the gaming machine (1), the gaming medals that have been batch-inserted from the batch-loading opening (31) are put into the medal slot (10) one by one. It is possible to insert the game medal into the gaming machine during the game. Further, if the rental medals are formed so as to be paid out directly to the medal storage section (44), it is possible to save the trouble of picking up the rental medals by hand and inserting them into the batch insertion opening (31).
When the rotation monitoring device (810) does not detect that the rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state, the control unit (420) returns from normal normal rotation when the game medal is not sent out by the medal detection sensor (64) for a predetermined time. Rotate. This is because the game medal is not clogged because the abnormal state is not detected, and the medal detection sensor (64) of the insertion introduction path (60) has not detected the delivery of the game medal for a predetermined time. All the game medals stored in the medal storage part (44) are sent out to the insertion introduction path (60), corresponding to the end of sending. Then, for the final confirmation, the conveyor belt (53) can be normally rotated forward to confirm the presence / absence of remaining game medals.

In the present invention, when the rotation monitoring device (810) detects an abnormal state due to a jammed game medal or the like, the rotation of the conveyor belt (53) is rotated in the opposite direction. It is possible to avoid continuously applying a load to (55). As a result, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of a failure due to an increase in the load on the transport motor (55).
In the present invention, when it is detected that the rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state during normal forward rotation, it is reversed once (normal forward rotation → abnormal reverse rotation) and the abnormal state is released. Return to normal forward rotation.
In addition, the present invention reverses twice (normal normal rotation → abnormal reverse rotation → abnormal normal rotation) when it detects that the rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state during normal normal rotation. When the state is released, normal rotation is restored.

In this way, even if it is detected that the rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state due to clogged game medals during normal normal rotation, it is reversed once (normal normal rotation → abnormal reverse rotation) or twice. In the case of a simple clogging in which the abnormal state is canceled by reversal (normal forward rotation → abnormal reverse rotation → abnormal forward rotation), the game can be continued by automatically returning to normal forward rotation. In this way, the player needs to interrupt the game, call the hall manager of the game hall, and stop the operation of the entire medal lending machine (2) in order to eliminate the clogging of game medals. No clogging can be eliminated automatically. As a result, the insertion of medals and interruption of the game can be avoided, and the games that can be executed from the insertion of the medals and the insertion of the medals can be smoothly advanced without any trouble.
(Claim 2)
(Features) The invention described in claim 2 is characterized by the following points in addition to the features of the invention described in claim 1 described above. That is, the control unit (420) detects that the rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state during normal normal rotation and performs abnormal reverse rotation for a predetermined time. When the rotation monitoring device (810) detects that the rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state, the rotation monitoring device (810) detects that the rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state. The rotational drive of the belt (53) is stopped.

  (Operation) When the rotation monitoring device (810) detects that the rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state during normal normal rotation, the present invention can be reversed twice (normal normal rotation → abnormal reverse rotation → abnormal normal rotation). When the abnormal state is not released, the rotation driving of the conveyor belt (53) is stopped. In this way, if the abnormal state is not canceled even if the conveyor belt (53) is reversed twice, if the game medals are jammed, it is quite severely jammed, and the batch loading opening (31) etc. It is necessary to observe and inspect from the outside. In such a case, if the state in which the conveyance belt (53) is rotationally driven is continued, the load on the conveyance motor (55) increases, which causes a failure of the conveyance motor (55). In order to avoid such a state, the rotation drive of the transport motor (55) is stopped. Thereby, it is possible to avoid an increase in the load of the transport motor (55) and to suppress the occurrence of a failure.

(Claim 3)
(Features) The invention described in claim 3 is characterized by the following points in addition to the features of the invention described in claim 1 described above. That is, the control unit (420) includes an abnormal number counting means for counting an abnormal number of times that the rotation of the conveyor belt (53) by the rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state, and the drive switch (200 ) Is continued so that the rotation of the conveyor belt (53) is continued, and the abnormal number counting means is configured to stop the operation of the drive switch (200). When the rotation driving of the conveyor belt (53) stops, or when the rotation monitoring device (810) detects a predetermined rotation of the conveyor belt (53), the number of abnormalities is reset to zero. To do.

Here, “the operation of the drive switch (200) is stopped” means that the player releases the drive switch (200) and the operation of the drive switch (200) is turned off. means.
Further, here, “when the rotation monitoring device (810) detects the predetermined rotation of the conveyor belt (53)” means that the rotation monitoring device (810) is less than the predetermined rotation speed during the predetermined monitoring time. Even after detecting the abnormal state, it seems that the predetermined rotation is detected when the normal rotation is detected after returning to the normal rotation when the rotation speed is higher than the predetermined rotation speed. Including cases.
(Operation) In the present invention, the controller (420) counts the number of abnormal times that the rotation of the conveyor belt (53) by the rotation monitoring device (810) is in an abnormal state.

Accordingly, it is possible to infer the level of abnormality in the abnormal state based on the numerical value of the abnormal number of abnormal states, and it is possible to make the countermeasure corresponding to the numerical value of the abnormal number. In other words, the abnormality count counting means (900) can count the number of abnormalities, thereby making it possible to determine the circumstances of the abnormality processing and to take countermeasures suitable for the circumstances of the abnormality processing. is there.
Even when the number of abnormalities is counted, when the player releases the drive switch (200) and the operation of the drive switch (200) is stopped, rotation monitoring When the apparatus (810) detects a predetermined rotation of the conveyor belt (53) and detects a predetermined rotation of the conveyor belt (53) in a normal state, the number of abnormalities is reset to zero.

That is, when the player releases his / her hand from the drive switch (200) and the operation of the drive switch (200) is stopped, the player himself / herself abandons the automatic release of the clogging due to the automatic reversal of the conveyor belt (53). Intent is inferred. Therefore, it can be inferred that it has been confirmed that the abnormal state has already been released, or that the hall manager or the like is called to leave resolution of abnormal states such as clogged gaming medals other than automatic cancellation. .
In addition, when the rotation monitoring device (810) detects a predetermined rotation of the transport belt (53) and an abnormal state such as a jammed game medal is released, it is necessary to reset the number of abnormalities to zero. is there.

As a result, by resetting the number of abnormalities, it is possible to prepare for the next new abnormal state, and in particular, it is possible to smoothly advance the next medal insertion without separately performing an operation for resetting the number of abnormalities.
(Claim 4)
(Features) The invention described in claim 4 is characterized by the following points in addition to the features of the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3. That is, the transport device (50) leaves one game medal on the transport belt (53), and reverses the reverse roller (52) for kicking the game medal stacked on the transport belt in the direction opposite to the transport direction. The reverse rotation roller (52) is disposed on the transport belt (53) with a thickness corresponding to one game medal, and the rotation direction of the transport belt (53) and the reverse rotation roller (52) The rotation direction is characterized by being formed so as to be in the same rotation direction regardless of whether it is forward rotation or reverse rotation.

That is, when the conveyor belt (53) rotates clockwise, the reverse rotation roller (52) is also set to rotate clockwise, and when the conveyor belt (53) rotates counterclockwise, the reverse rotation roller (52) Is also set to left rotation.
(Operation) The rotation direction of the conveyance belt (53) and the rotation direction of the reverse rotation roller (52) are formed so as to be the same rotation direction regardless of whether the rotation is forward or reverse.
That is, when the transport belt (53) is rotated so that the game medals on the transport belt (53) are transferred in the transport direction, the reverse rotation roller (52) causes the game medals 1 on the transport belt (53). The thickness of the sheet is opened, and the sheet rotates in the same rotation direction as the rotation direction. As a result, the part of the reverse rotation roller (52) facing the conveyor belt (53) side leaves one game medal on the conveyor belt (53), and the stacked game medal is opposite to the conveyance direction. You can kick in the direction.

Further, when the conveyor belt (53) rotates in the reverse direction so that the game medals on the conveyor belt (53) are transferred in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction, the reverse roller (52) faces the conveyor belt (53) side. The portion rotates so as to move in the conveyance direction side. As a result, the portion of the reverse rotation roller (52) facing the conveyor belt (53) side leaves one game medal on the conveyor belt (53) and kicks the game medal that overlaps it in the conveyance direction. Can do.
In this way, when the reverse rotation roller (52) opens in the thickness of one game medal and rotates in the same rotation direction as the rotation direction of the transport belt (53), either forward rotation or reverse rotation is performed. Even so, it is possible to prevent a game medal from being caught between the transport belt (53) and the reverse rotation roller (52), and to move only one game medal on the transport belt (53). it can. Thereby, the game medals overlapped on the transport roller can be effectively kicked off, and the occurrence of clogging of game medals can be suppressed.

Since this invention is comprised as mentioned above, there exists an effect as described below.
(Claim 1) According to the invention of claim 1, the following effects can be obtained. That is, it is possible to provide a medal lending machine that can eliminate the clogging of game medals inside the transport apparatus and can smoothly advance the medals without interruption.
(Claim 2) According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, the following effect can be obtained. That is, according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the clogging of game medals inside the transport apparatus cannot be eliminated, the rotation of the transport motor is prevented from increasing by stopping the rotation drive. Thus, it is possible to provide a medal lending machine that can avoid a failure of the transport motor.

(Claim 3) According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, the following effect can be obtained. That is, according to the third aspect of the invention, the next new abnormal state can be prepared by resetting the number of times of abnormality, and the next medal can be inserted smoothly without performing the operation of resetting the number of times of abnormality. A medal lending machine that can be advanced can be provided.
(Claim 4) According to the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3, the following effect is achieved. That is, according to the invention described in claim 4, it is possible to provide a medal lending machine capable of effectively kicking a game medal overlapped on a transport roller and suppressing occurrence of a game medal clogging. it can.

The best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a slot machine as a gaming machine and a medal lending machine as an inter-game machine for gaming machines.
(Explanation of drawings)
1 to 18 show an embodiment of the present invention.
1 is an external perspective view of the slot machine 1 and the medal lending machine 2, FIGS. 2 and 3 are views showing the medal lending machine 2, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the batch loading unit 3, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the medal feeding device 40, FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view of the medal feeding device 40, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state where the batch insertion unit 3 is removed. 9 to 12 are explanatory views showing attachment and detachment of the batch loading unit 3. 13 is an external front view of the rotation monitoring device, FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the rotation monitoring device, FIG. 15 is a flow of rotation processing when an abnormal state is not detected, and FIGS. 16 and 17 are rotations when an abnormal state is detected. FIG. 18 shows a conceptual diagram of the pulse waveform and switching time C of the rotary encoder.

The medal lending machine 2 in the present embodiment is installed adjacent to the slot machine 1 and is provided so as to correspond to each slot machine.
(Slot machine 1)
As shown in FIG. 1, the slot machine 1 has a front door 13 attached to the front side of the housing, and a symbol display window 14 through which a symbol of a rotating reel (not shown) can be visually recognized is located on the front side. Is formed. Further, below the symbol display window 14 and in the approximate center of the slot machine 1 is an operation unit 16 provided with operation means such as a start switch and a stop switch. A medal slot 10 for inserting game medals is provided at the right front end of the operation unit 16. Although not particularly shown, a medal selector for determining the authenticity of the game medal and counting the inserted medals is provided below the medal insertion slot 10. Further, a lower plate 15 capable of storing a payout medal is provided at the lower part of the slot machine 1.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the medal insertion slot 10 includes an upper insertion opening 11 through which game medals can be inserted one by one from above, and a side transfer passage 12 communicating with the side of the upper insertion opening 11. Have. This side transfer passage 12 is a bowl-shaped passage extending from the upper insertion opening 11 to the front right side (medal lending machine 2 side), and accepts game medals sent from a nozzle part 60A described later. It is for transferring to the input opening 11.
Then, a game medal is inserted from the medal slot 10, the rotating reel is rotated by operating the start switch, and the rotating reel is stopped by operating the stop switch. At this time, the symbols displayed on the plurality of rotating reels are predetermined. When the position mode is stopped, a prize is won, and a predetermined number of medals are paid out.

(Medal lending machine 2)
The medal lending machine 2 is a box-type device that is installed adjacent to the side of the slot machine 1 and rents game medals in exchange for money, and rents medals and medals to be inserted by the player. Is to be inserted into the medal slot 10 of That is, in the medal lending machine 2, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a bill counter 22 and a payout device 23 are built in a main body box 20, and a batch insertion unit 3 is detachably attached to the front side. It is what has been.
(Main box 20)
The main body box 20 is a rectangular parallelepiped box whose front side is open. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a bill counter 22 is installed in the lower space, and a partition plate provided above the bill counter 22. Above, a control unit 420 for controlling the operation of the medal lending machine 2 is provided. In addition, a placement member 27 and a partition frame 26 for placing the payout device 23 are provided on the upper side of the control unit 420, and the payout device 23 is stored between the placement member 27 and the partition frame 26. ing. An upper space 25 in which game medals can be stored is formed above the payout device 23, and an opening / closing lid 24 for closing the upper space 25 is provided on the front upper portion of the main body box 20 with a rotating shaft 240. It is attached so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction via

  The control unit 420 has a power supply device and a control board (not shown) inside the outer box, and engages with a unit connector 410 provided on the back of the batch loading unit 3 on the front side of the outer box. A main body connector 400 is provided. Here, the main body connector 400 is a female connector having a recess into which the terminal portion of the unit connector 410 can be inserted, and is connected to the control unit 420, the driving unit of the dispensing device 23, and various sensors, although not particularly illustrated. Harness is attached. By connecting with the unit connector 410, the interior device of the main body box 20 and the interior device of the batch loading unit 3 are electrically connected. The main body connector 400 is formed to be movable up and down by the movable member 28, which will be described later.

The control unit 420 is for controlling the operation of the medal lending machine 2 such as the rotational driving of the conveyor belt 53 and the opening / closing of the opening / closing plate 82 of the discharging device 80 based on the operation of the drive switch 200. The control unit 420 enables the rotation driving of the conveyor belt 53 by contact with a contact sensor as the drive switch 200 by the player.
The control unit 420 includes a drive switch invalidating unit 710 that invalidates the operation of the drive switch 200 for a predetermined time from the detection of mounting of the batch loading unit 3 on the main body box 20 by the mounting detection unit 600 described later. ing.
Further, a rising piece 29 is provided at the lower end on the front side of the control unit 420. The rising piece 29 is for fixing the batch loading unit 3 to the main body box 20 and supporting the batch loading unit 3 when the batch loading unit 3 is attached.

The placement member 27 is a guide rail on which the dispensing device 23 can be placed on the upper surface, and the partition frame 26 is a rectangular frame positioned above the upper end of the tank 23A of the dispensing device 23 when the dispensing device 23 is stored. It is. The partition frame 26 and the mounting member 27 are provided with engagement holes 26A and 27A for fixing the batch loading unit 3 to the main body box 20.
The opening / closing lid 24 is a plate-like lid supported on the rotating shaft 240 on the lower side, and is opened to the front side by inserting a predetermined key into a key hole provided at the upper front and unlocking it. It has become. A hanging piece 24A (FIG. 10) is formed on the bottom of the opening / closing lid 24 so that the batch loading unit 3 cannot be detached unless the opening / closing lid 24 is opened. This will be described later. .

(Bill counter 22)
The bill counter 22 is for reading a bill inserted from a bill insertion slot 21 provided in the lower front of the main body box 20 and causing the rented medal payout device 23 to pay out a predetermined number of game medals. The medal lending machine may have a coin insertion slot, a coin counter, a change dispensing slot, etc. in addition to the banknote insertion slot 21 and the banknote counter 22. Moreover, you may have a prepaid card slot and a card reader.
(Dispensing device 23)
The payout device 23 is a so-called hopper device for paying out game medals, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a tank 23A for storing game medals and a game medal stored in the tank 23A. Are fed one by one, and a hopper motor 23C for rotating the delivery disk 23B is provided. The delivery disk 23B is rotatably supported by the hopper motor 23C and has a hole into which a game medal can be inserted. The game medals that have entered the hole are discharged one by one from the medal discharge unit 230 to the front side (the batch insertion unit 3 side) as the rotation occurs. Although not particularly shown, the payout device 23 is provided with a payout sensor for counting the medals discharged from the medal discharge unit 230 so that the drive motor stops when a predetermined number of game medals are paid out. Is formed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the opening / closing lid 24 is opened so that medals can be replenished to the upper space 25 and the tank 23A located therebelow. Further, since the frame portion of the partition frame 26 blocks the left and right and front and rear gaps between the payout device 23 and the main body box 20 from above, medals can be stored in the upper space 25 above the tank 23A. Is.
(Batch input unit 3)
The batch insertion unit 3 is a unit having a mechanism for batch-inserting the game medals paid out from the lending medal payout device 23 and the game medals inserted by the player into the medal slot 10 of the slot machine 1.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the batch loading unit 3 is roughly divided into a main body cover 30 detachably attached to the front surface of the main body box 20 of the medal lending machine 2, and a main body cover 30. It is composed of a medal feeder 40 provided inside and a nozzle portion 60A attached to the front side of the main body cover 30. The batch loading unit 3 is detachably attached to the main body box 20.
(Main unit cover 30)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the main body cover 30 protrudes from the front center of the main body box 20 of the medal lending machine 2 toward the front side (front side when the slot machine 1 is viewed from the front, the same applies hereinafter). This is a box-shaped member having a top plate 32, a bottom plate 33, a front plate 34, a back plate 35, and two left and right side plates 36. In the main body cover 30, a medal feeding device 40 including a transport device 50 is accommodated.

The upper surface plate 32 is formed with a batch loading opening 31 that opens upward, and a counter-like overhanging portion is formed on the front side of the batch loading opening 31. The front plate 34 is provided with a drive switch 200 for operating and stopping the transport device 50. Then, by touching the drive switch 200, the transport motor 55 of the transport device 50 is driven, and by releasing the hand touching the drive switch 200, the transport motor 55 of the transport device 50 stops driving. It has become.
Further, even if the drive switch 200 is operated only during a predetermined time period from the detection of mounting of the batch loading unit 3 to the main body box 20 by the mounting detection means 600 described later, the operation becomes invalid. Is formed. Thereby, even when the drive switch 200 is accidentally touched when the batch loading unit 3 is attached, it is possible to prevent the transport device 50 from being driven.

As means for operating and stopping the transport device 50, a switch for starting driving of the transport motor 55 and a switch for stopping driving may be provided separately.
In addition, standing walls 37 that protrude upward from the upper surface plate 32 are formed on both sides of the collective charging opening 31. This is to prevent the medals from spilling when the game medals are inserted into the collective insertion slot 31.
On the back side of the bottom plate 33, a bottom opening 38 for dropping foreign matter discharged from the medal feeding device 40 or a cancel medal is formed, and below the bottom opening 38 is a tray 90 for receiving the fallen object. Is formed.

A cover member 61 for the nozzle portion 60A is provided below the front plate 34, and a back opening 39 is formed in the back plate 35. A rear portion of the medal feeder 40 protrudes from the rear opening 39 so that the medal feeder 40 can slide in the front-rear direction. In addition, above the back opening 39, a back receiving port 35A capable of receiving medals discharged from the medal discharging port 230 of the payout device 23 is formed.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, four hooks 300, a push-up piece 310, a hooking piece 320 and a unit connector 410 are provided on the back side of the main body cover 30. The hook 300, the push-up piece 310, and the hook piece 320 are for fixing the batch loading unit 3 to the main body box 20 and making it detachable, details of which will be described later.

Here, the unit connector 410 is a male connector having a protrusion that can be fitted into the concave portion of the main body connector 400, and although not particularly shown, it is connected to the drive unit of the transport device 50 incorporated in the main body cover 30 and various sensors. The harness to be attached is attached. By connecting with the main body connector 400, the components of the batch loading unit 3 and the control unit 420 of the main body box 20 are electrically connected. Note that the electrical connection between the components of the batch loading unit 3 and the components housed in the main body box 20 is performed only by the main body connector 400 and the unit connector 410. In addition to this, it is necessary to connect a harness or the like. There is no.
(Medal feeder 40)
The medal feeding device 40 is a device for feeding out medals. As shown in FIG. 4, the medal feeding device 40 is provided with a transport device 50 inside a box-shaped main body base 41 accommodated in the main body cover 30. It is the structure which provided the discharge apparatus 80 in the back | inner side lower side.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the main body base 41 has a receiving opening 48 that opens upward at a substantially central portion in the length direction. The receiving base 48 opens upward on the back side of the receiving opening 48 and inside the receiving opening 48. A payout passage 42 is provided in communication therewith. Further, a flat portion 46 is formed on the front side of the receiving opening 48, so that a capacity of a medal storage portion 45 described later is secured. A transport device 50 is built in the lower front part of the main body block 41, and the front side of the main body block 41 has a medal discharge portion 47 for discharging the medals sent out by the transport device 50 one by one to the nozzle portion 60A. It has become. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, a discharge device 80 is provided at the bottom of the inner wall forming the payout passage 42.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the receiving opening 48 is an opening for receiving game medals inserted from the collective inserting opening 31. The receiving opening 48 extends laterally slightly behind the center of the opening width. A partition bar 100 is provided. This is to align the inserted game medals in the same direction as much as possible. In other words, the presence of the partition rod 100 prevents the game medals from being inserted vertically in the receiving opening 48 (the orientation in which the front and back surfaces of the medals are in the horizontal direction). Is dropped sideways (the direction in which the front and back sides of the medal are in the front-rear direction). In this case, since the medals are aligned, the medal storage unit 44, which is a space located below the receiving opening 48, can store the game medals so that they can be stacked and transported. The device 50 makes it easier to carry.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, at the front side end portion of the receiving opening 48, an upper space of the transport device 50 is arranged in front of the medal storing portion 44 and a medal storage portion 44 positioned below the receiving opening 48. The movement adjusting valve 43 is attached to the medal return portion 45 located at the position. The movement adjustment valve 43 prevents the movement of medals from the medal storage unit 44 to the medal return unit 45, and allows the movement of medals from the medal return unit 45 to the medal storage unit 44 as appropriate, thereby allowing the transport device 50 to transfer medals. This is to make it smooth.
The payout passage 42 is for accepting a game medal lent out from the payout device 23 and guiding it to the medal storage unit 44. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the payout passage 42 is positioned below the rear receiving port 35 </ b> A when the main body base 40 is built in the main body cover 30. Further, the bottom surface of the payout passage 42 is inclined downward from the back side toward the front side, and the front end portion of the inclination is formed so as to be opened and closed by an opening / closing plate 82 of the discharge device 80 described later. When the opening / closing plate 82 is closed, game medals are stored in the medal storage unit 44, and when the opening / closing plate 82 is opened, such as dust on the medal storage unit 44 or the transport belt 53 of the transport device 50, etc. Foreign objects and game medals fall from the cancellation opening 49. Note that foreign matter and game medals that have dropped from the cancel opening 49 are stored in the tray 90 through the bottom opening 38 of the main body cover 30.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the tray 90 is a receiving member having a bowl-shaped recess 91 that is attached to the back plate 35 of the main body cover 30 via a hinge 92 so as to be pivotable back and forth. is there. Further, the tray 90 is normally held by a spring (not shown) provided on the hinge 92 so that the concave portion 91 of the tray covers the bottom opening 38 as indicated by a solid line in FIG. The medals and the like discharged from the bottom opening 38 are prevented from jumping out of the plate with the momentum of dropping. Then, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 7, the medals and the like stored in the recess 91 can be taken out by rotating to the near side.
(Transfer device 50)
The transfer device 50 is built in the lower front part of the main body block 41, and game medals inserted or paid out in the medal storage unit 44 are placed one by one in a horizontal state (a state where the front and back surfaces of the game medals are up and down). , For sending out to the nozzle part 60A. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the conveying device 50 includes a pair of rollers 51 (51A, 51B), a conveying belt 53 stretched over the rollers 51A, 51B, and a front upper side of the conveying belt 53. A reverse rotation roller 52 installed with a delivery gap 54, a conveyance motor 55 for rotating the rollers 51, 52, and a transmission means for transmitting the rotation of the motor shaft of the conveyance motor 55 to the rollers 51, 52 (see FIG. In order to detect whether the rotation of the conveyor belt 53 is in a normal state in which the rotation is normally performed or in an abnormal state in which the rotation is not normally performed during a predetermined monitoring time. And a rotation monitoring device 810 (FIGS. 4, 13, and 14) capable of detecting the rotation of the rotation.

The rollers 51 are provided in parallel in the front-rear direction as viewed from the front side. The conveyor belt 53 is a flat belt that is stretched between two rollers 51A and 51B, and the surface thereof is covered with rubber or the like so as to increase the frictional resistance with the game medal. As shown in FIG. 4, the front roller 51A is attached at a slightly higher position than the back roller 51B, so that the upper surface of the conveyor belt 53 is slightly inclined upward. By rotating the roller 51 in the direction of the black arrow shown in FIG. 4, the upper surface of the conveyor belt 53 is moved to the front side.
The reversing roller 52 is for leaving one game medal on the transport belt 53 and kicking the game medal overlapped thereon in the direction opposite to the transport direction. The reverse roller 52 is disposed on the transport belt 53 with a thickness corresponding to one game medal. The rotation direction of the conveyor belt 53 and the rotation direction of the reverse rotation roller 52 are formed so as to be the same rotation direction regardless of whether the rotation is normal or reverse.

The roller 51 and the reverse rotation roller 52 are rotated simultaneously by the transmission means. The transmission means is a drive shaft of the conveyance motor 55, a gear provided on each of the roller 51A and the reverse rotation roller 52, and a belt connecting these gears. The reverse rotation roller 52 rotates in the same direction as the roller 41. The traveling direction of the upper surface of the conveyor belt 53 and the moving direction of the lower surface of the reverse rotation roller 52 are reversed. Further, due to the difference in diameter between the roller 51 and the reverse roller 52, the linear speed of the reverse roller 52 (moving speed of the roller surface) is formed to be faster than the linear speed of the roller 51.
The rotation monitoring device 810 detects the presence / absence of rotation of the roller 51B, the rotation speed of the roller 51B, and the like, and as a result, detects the movement state of the conveyance belt 53. This is for detecting clogging described later. The rotation monitoring device 810 is a so-called rotary encoder 820, which is provided with a rotating slit disk 821 that rotates coaxially with the rotating shaft of the roller 51B and forms a plurality of rotating slits 823 in the flange portion. The optical sensor 822 disposed with the rotation slit 823 interposed therebetween can detect the rotation speed of the rotation shaft and the like. In addition, it is preferable that unevenness meshing with each other is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the conveyance belt 53 and at least the outer peripheral surface of the driving-side roller 51A so that the conveyance belt 53 is reliably rotated by the rotation of the roller 51A.

As shown in FIG. 4, a delivery gap 54 between the lower end of the reverse rotation roller 52 and the upper surface of the conveyor belt 53 is larger than the thickness of one game medal and smaller than the thickness of two game medals. Is formed. Thereby, the game medals on the upper surface of the transport belt 53 are sent one by one to the front side, and the game medals above the transport belt 53 and behind the reverse rotation roller 52 are kicked out to the medal return section 45. It is like that.
As shown in FIG. 7, the reverse rotation roller 52 is formed with an agitating groove having a substantially trapezoidal cross section along the axial direction. The stirring groove plays a role of effectively kicking up the game medals stacked above the conveyor belt 53 so that the game medals are hooked at the end of the groove.

The front side of the conveyor belt 53 is close to a medal receiving port 67 of a nozzle unit 60A, which will be described later, and game medals on the upper surface of the belt dive through the delivery gap 54 from the medal discharge unit 47 to the medal of the nozzle unit 60A. It is carried to the receiving port 67.
(Rotation monitoring device 810)
The rotation monitoring device 810 is configured to detect whether the rotation of the conveyor belt 53 is in a normal state in which the rotation is normally performed or an abnormal state in which the rotation is not normally performed during a predetermined monitoring time. The rotation of the conveyor belt 53 can be detected.
The rotation monitoring device 810 is capable of detecting the rotation of the conveyor belt 53, and detects the rotation speed of the conveyor belt 53 during a monitoring time such that the steady rotation speed is reached. When the rotation speed of the conveyor belt 53 is maintained, the rotation of the conveyor belt 53 is detected to be in a normal state, and the rotation of the conveyor belt 53 is detected when the rotation speed is lower than the predetermined rotation speed. It is possible to detect an abnormal state that is not operating normally.

  13 and 14, the rotation monitoring device 810 is a so-called rotary encoder 820, in which the light emitting diode (LED) and the light receiving element (phototransistor) of the optical sensor 822 are rotated by the roller 51 of the conveyance belt 53. The rotary slit disk 821 attached to the shaft is sandwiched and attached. In the flange portion of the rotary slit disk 821, rotary slits 823 penetrating the front and back are arranged at equal intervals around the periphery. This is because when the rotating slit disk 821 connected on the same axis as the roller 51B that rotates the conveyor belt 53 rotates, the light of the light emitting diode of the optical sensor 822 is repeatedly passed and blocked by the rotating slit 823, and this light is transmitted. When the light receiving element receives light and converts it into a signal (pulse), rotation can be detected by a pulse waveform. The pulse waveform detected by the rotary encoder 820 (rotation monitoring device 810) is output to the control unit 420. The control unit 420 is configured to make a determination between a normal state in which the rotation of the conveyor belt 53 is operating normally and an abnormal state in which the rotation is not normally performed.

FIG. 18 shows a conceptual diagram of a pulse waveform detected by the rotary encoder 820.
The control unit 420 detects the switching time C shown in FIG. 18 of the pulse waveform detected by the rotary encoder 820. The control unit 420 monitors the switching time C required for the change between the high level and the low level of the pulse waveform detected by the rotary encoder 820. In the case of the normal steady rotation speed of the conveyor belt 53, the time C is about 8 ms. Then, the control unit 420 is configured to determine an abnormal state when the time C is 22 ms (0.022 seconds) or more in a steady state, and to determine a normal state when the time is less than 22 ms. Of course, it is not limited to these numerical values, and various numerical values can be set.

  Note that the pulse waveform of the rotary encoder 820 of the carry motor 55 is set not to be monitored as described above during the acceleration state where the steady state has not been reached since the operation of the carry motor 55 has started. . After the transport motor 55 reaches the steady state and the operation of the transport motor 55 is stabilized, the pulse waveform level switching time C is set to a maximum time of 22 ms. If the level of the pulse waveform from the rotary encoder 820 does not change even after the maximum time (22 ms) has elapsed, that is, if the switching time C has reached the maximum time 22 ms or more, an abnormal state is assumed. It is set so as to shift to the rotation processing operation when it is determined and an abnormal state is detected.

(Nozzle part 60A)
The nozzle portion 60A is for transferring the game medals sent out from the transfer device 50 to the medal slot 10 of the slot machine 1. As shown in FIG. 4, the nozzle portion 60 </ b> A includes a base member 62 attached to the lower front portion of the main body cover 30 and a hinge 63 provided on the bottom plate 33 of the main body cover 30 on the front side of the main body cover 30. The cover member 61 is pivotably attached in the front-rear direction. The cover member 61 covers the base member 62 from the front side, that is, the cover member 61 is closed, and the lower side of the front plate 34 of the main body cover 30. The opening part formed in is closed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the base member 62 has a base formed with a curved portion 62A that curves in the back direction from the bottom to the top at the upper end, and a shaft support portion (not shown) located on the front side of the base. A pivot plate 71 is attached at the center so as to be pivotable in the front-rear direction. A medal receiving port 67 communicating with the medal discharging unit 47 of the medal feeder 40 is formed between the bending portion 62A and the rotating plate 71. The rotating plate 71 is formed of a transparent member and constitutes a clogging release mechanism 70 described later.
Further, a medal transfer path 65 having a thickness slightly larger than the thickness of one game medal and a width slightly larger than the diameter of the game medal is formed between the base of the base member 62 and the rotating plate 71. It has become so. The medal transfer path 65 is formed in a substantially L shape when viewed from the front, and is bent from the medal receiving portion 67 to the slot machine 1 side of the nozzle portion 60A, and the end portion thereof becomes a medal discharge port 66 ( (See FIG. 5). The base unit 62 receives the game medals discharged from the medal discharging unit 47 from the medal receiving port 67 and discharges them one by one from the medal discharging port 66 through the medal transfer path 65. Since the rotating plate 71 is formed of a transparent member, a medal that passes through the rotating plate 71 and passes through the medal transfer path 65 can be viewed from the front side.

The base member 62 is provided with a medal detection sensor 64 for detecting game medals passing through the medal transfer path 65. The medal detection sensor 64 is a proximity sensor provided on the base, and detects the passage of the game medal by detecting a change in the magnetic field. The medal detection sensor 64 detects the game medal while the medal feeding device 40 sends out the game medal. The medal detection sensor 64 is not limited to the proximity sensor, and may be a photo sensor.
The cover member 61 is a case-shaped lid that opens when a medal is jammed or during maintenance, etc., and is open on the back side and the left side (slot machine side) and can cover the base member 62. As shown in FIG. 5, a transparent window 61B is formed on the front side so that a game medal passing through the medal transfer path 65 can be seen from the front side in the closed state. A push button 72 as the mechanism 70 and a key hole 61A for inserting a predetermined key or the like when the cover member 61 is opened are provided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, an engagement piece 68 having a flange portion at the tip protrudes from the upper portion of the cover member 61 toward the back side. When the cover member 61 is closed, the engaging piece 68 engages with a locking claw 34A provided on the back surface side of the front plate 34 of the main body cover 30 at the front end.
Further, at the bottom portion of the cover member 61 and below the medal receiving port 67 of the base member 62, there is a medal dropping port 69 for dropping a medal that is canceled by the operation of a clog release mechanism 70 described later. Is formed.
When the cover member 61 is closed, as shown in FIG. 4, the hook portion of the engagement piece 68 is engaged with the locking claw 34 A and is locked to the main body cover 30. When opening the cover member 61, by inserting a key or the tip of a driver into the key hole 61A and elastically deforming the engagement piece 68, the engagement between the collar portion and the locking claw 34A is released, and the cover member When 61 is pulled toward the front side, the cover member 61 rotates forward about the hinge 63. When closing the open cover member 61, if the cover member 61 is pushed up and rotated backward, the hook portion of the engagement piece 68 engages with the locking claw 34A and is locked.

The clogging release mechanism 70 is a mechanism for discharging medals clogged in the middle of the medal transfer path 65 to the outside of the apparatus without opening the cover member 61, and a push button 72 provided on the cover member 61, The rotating plate 71 is provided on the base member 62.
The rotating plate 71 is a substantially L-shaped plate member when viewed from the front, and a pin (not shown) projecting laterally from both side ends of the vertical portion is provided with a shaft support (not shown) provided on the base member 62. ) Is supported on the front side of the base member 62 so as to be pivotable in the front-rear direction. Further, the rotating plate 71 is urged toward the base 62A by a spring (not shown) provided on the lower side of the shaft support 73. In other words, the rotating plate 71 is normally pulled in the direction of the base 62A by the spring 74, and the medal transferred through the medal transfer path 65 is sandwiched between the base 62A and the rotating plate 71 without falling. It can be passed.

On the other hand, the push button 72 penetrates from the front to the back of the cover member 61 and is slidably attached in the front-rear direction. The head is exposed from the surface of the cover member 61 by a spring (not shown). However, it is urged | biased in the direction which protrudes to the front side. Further, the push button 72 is provided at a position where the tip end portion can be brought into contact with the upper end portion of the rotating plate 71 when moving backward.
When the medal transport path 65 is jammed, when the head of the push button 72 is pressed, the rotating plate 71 pressed to the tip is centered on the shaft support 73 and the upper side of the shaft support 73 is rearward. In addition, the lower side of the shaft support part 73 rotates forward, and the lower side of the rotary plate 71 moves away from the base body 62A. For this reason, the medal inside the medal transfer path 65 loses the support of the rotating plate 71 and falls downward from the gap formed between the lower side of the rotating plate 71 and the base 62A. Since the dropped medal is discharged from the medal drop opening 69 to the outside of the apparatus, it may be received with a palm or the like.

(Discharge device 80)
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the discharge device 80 is a solenoid that moves the substantially cylindrical movable shaft 83 protruding upward in accordance with a predetermined operation command signal (open operation signal, block operation signal). 81, and an opening / closing plate 82 that is pivotally supported by the movable shaft 83 at one end and swings in the vertical direction with a fixed shaft 84 fixed to the main body block 41 as a fulcrum. When the movable shaft 83 is positioned below, the open / close plate 82 is closed (see FIG. 4). When the movable shaft 83 is positioned above, the open / close plate 82 is open (see FIG. 7). It is formed so that. Then, by opening the opening / closing plate 82 by the operation of the solenoid 81, medals, foreign objects, etc. inside the medal feeder 40 can be discharged from the cancel opening 49 formed on the bottom surface of the main body block 41. Yes.

(Transfer of game medals)
Next, the process of transferring game medals in the batch insertion unit 3 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, when game medals are inserted from the collective insertion opening 31, the game medals fall so as to be stacked on the upper surface of the rear portion of the transport belt 53 and the upper surface of the opening / closing plate 82, and are stored in the medal storage unit 44. Further, when a bill is inserted into the medal lending machine 2, the game medal is paid out from the lending medal payout device 23, and is stored in the medal storage unit 44 through the back receiving port 35A and the payout passage 42. Next, when the user touches the drive switch 200, the transfer device 50 starts operating. That is, the conveyance motor 55 is driven, the roller 51 rotates, and the conveyance belt 53 starts moving forward.

When the transport belt 53 starts moving, the game medals riding on the upper surface of the rear part of the transport belt 53 move forward, and the medals stored above the drag medals are also dragged, dive below the movement adjustment valve 43 and return to the medals. Move to section 45. Here, since the movement adjustment valve 43 does not rotate forward (toward the medal return part), it prevents the medal stored in the upper part of the medal storage part 44 from falling into the medal return part 45 at once. Can do.
Of the game medals transferred forward by the conveyor belt 53, the game medals riding on the upper surface of the conveyor belt 53 pass through the delivery gap 54 between the conveyor belt 53 and the lower surface of the reverse rotation roller 52 one by one. Then, it is transferred to the medal discharge unit 47. On the other hand, the game medals overlying the transport belt 53 come into contact with the reverse rotation roller 52 and are caught by the stirring groove provided in the reverse rotation roller 52 and kicked back by the medal return portion 45 at the upper rear part. Since the reverse rotation roller 52 rotates faster than the roller 51, the medal can be kicked out efficiently.

Here, if the amount of medals staying in the medal return portion 45 is large, it may hinder kicking backward by the reverse rotation roller 52, and the clogging of the medals may occur in the sending gap 54. However, since the movement adjustment valve 43 is pivotably attached to the rear (medal storage part side), the medals staying in the medal return part 45 flow backward to the medal storage part 44 and above the medal return part 45. A space is formed. As a result, the kicking-out of medals by the reverse rotation roller 52 is performed smoothly.
The game medals sent out from the transport device 50 are discharged from the medal discharge portion 47, enter the medal receiving port 67 while being guided by the curved portion 62A of the nozzle portion 60A, and discharged from the medal discharge port 66 through the medal transfer path 65. The Since the medal discharge port 66 is aligned with the side transfer passage 12 of the medal insertion port 10 of the slot machine 1, the game medal is inserted into the upper insertion opening 11 through the side transfer passage 12.

  By the way, when the operation of the medal feeding device 50 is stopped (when the hand is released from the drive switch 200) before all the game medals that have been batch-loaded are transferred to the slot machine 1, the upper surface of the transport belt 53 or The game medals remain in the medal storage unit 44. In this case, a predetermined reset switch (not shown) is operated when it is not desired to put the remaining game medals into the slot machine 1 by ending the game. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the solenoid 81 of the discharge device 80 is actuated to open the opening / closing plate 82, and the transport motor 55 is reversely driven for a certain time. As a result, the game medals on the upper surface of the transport belt 53 move rearward, and when the opening / closing plate 82 is opened, the game medals fall downward from the cancel opening 49 opened at the bottom of the medal storage section 44. The game medals stored in the medal storage unit 44 also fall from the cancel opening 49 in the same manner. Since the game medals discharged from the medal feeder 40 in this way are stored in the tray 90, the medals may be taken out by rotating the tray 90 forward. Needless to say, even when foreign matter such as dust is mixed in the batch loading unit 3, it can be taken out in the same manner as described above.

(Removal mechanism for batch loading unit 3)
The batch loading unit 3 described above can be removed from the front side of the main body box 20 to perform maintenance of the transfer device 50 or the like, or take out the dispensing device 23 and perform maintenance. That is, the batch loading unit 3 includes a hook 300 and a hooking piece 320 provided on the back outer side of the main body cover 30, and engagement holes 26A and 27A and a rising piece 29 provided on the front inner side of the main body box 20, respectively. By being engaged or disengaged, the main body box 20 can be attached or detached. At this time, the main body connector 400 and the unit connector 410 are connected and disconnected at the same time.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the hook 300 includes two upper hooks 301 provided opposite to the left and right end portions on the upper side of the main body cover 30, and the left and right sides at a substantially central portion in the height direction. It consists of two lower hooks 302 provided opposite to each other, and has a flange that bends downward. On the other hand, the engagement hole 26A is a hole formed in a hanging piece provided at the front side end of the partition frame 26, and the flange portion of the upper hook 301 is fitted into the engagement hole 26A from above. Thus, the upper hook 301 is engaged with the hanging piece. The engaging hole 27A is a hole formed at the front side end of the mounting member 27, and the lower hook 302 is mounted on the engaging hole 27A by fitting the flange portion of the lower hook 302 from above. The engaging member 27 is engaged.

The hooking piece 320 is two elongated protrusions provided at the lower end portion of the back plate 35 of the main body cover 30, and has a wedge-shaped claw portion at the lower end. The rising piece 29 is a plate member that protrudes slightly obliquely upward from the front center lower end of the control unit 420, and has a lateral width that is slightly longer than the distance between the two hooking pieces 320. ing. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the rising piece 29 is sandwiched in the gap between the lower end portion of the back plate 35 and the claw portion of the hooking piece 320, and the hooking piece 320 is hooked on the rising piece 29. The batch loading unit 3 can be swung back and forth using the piece 29 as a fulcrum (see FIG. 9).
Further, when the batch loading unit 3 is attached or detached, the main body connector 400 moves up and down so that the connection and disconnection with the unit connector 410 can be performed smoothly. Specifically, the main body connector 400 is fixed to a movable member 28 slidably attached to the front surface of the exterior box of the control unit 420, and the movable member 28 is pushed up in the vicinity of the unit connector 410. The piece 310 is formed to be movable upward. The unit connector 410 is provided with a guide piece 411 for assisting insertion of the terminal portion.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 11, the movable member 28 has a plate shape in which the rear surface side is arranged in parallel with the front surface (front surface) of the exterior box of the control unit 420 and the main body connector 400 is attached to the front surface side. Connector fixing part 28B, contact piece 28A projecting forward from the upper end of connector fixing part 28B, and bent from the side end of connector fixing part 28B to the rear side so that the outer box of control part 420 is sandwiched from the side It has the support piece 28C arrange | positioned.
As shown in FIG. 11, a hole through which a harness attached to the main body connector 400 is formed is formed in the center portion of the contact piece 28A, and this harness is provided on the front surface of the exterior box of the control unit 420. It is connected to the internal control board etc. through the open part. The support piece 28C is formed with a vertically long slot, and a headed fixed shaft (bolt or pin) penetrating the slot is fixed to the side surface of the outer box. By this long hole and the headed fixed shaft, the movable member 28 can be moved up and down without being detached from the outer box.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, the push-up piece 310 is a projecting piece provided opposite to each other across the terminal portion of the unit connector 410, bent upward and has an R chamfer (outer peripheral angle) And chamfered portions that are processed into a curved shape with a radius R). The push-up piece 310 functions to push up the movable member 28 when the collar portion comes into contact with the lower side of the contact piece 28A of the movable member 28 when the batch loading unit 3 is attached or detached.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the guide piece 411 is a protrusion provided at both left and right end portions of the terminal portion of the unit connector 410, and the upper and lower corner portions are chamfered. Then, as shown in FIG. 12B, when the unit connector 410 and the main body connector 400 are joined, the terminal portion is inserted into the concave portion before the terminal portion is inserted into the concave portion of the main body connector 400. . It is preferable to attach the main body connector 400 to the connector fixing portion 28B so that the main body connector 400 can be moved to some extent, because the displacement of the main body connector 400 and the unit connector 410 can be absorbed when the guide piece 411 is inserted.

The movable member 28 is not limited to the above configuration as long as it can move up and down. Further, the engaging portion with which the hook 300 can be engaged is not necessarily a hole (engaging hole 26A, 27A), and may be provided separately from the partition frame 26 and the mounting member 27. For example, it may be a rod or a protruding piece that protrudes toward the inside of the main body box 20. Further, the support portion and the receiving portion for swinging the batch loading unit 3 in the front-rear direction are not limited to the rising piece 29 and the hooking piece 320, and the lower back portion of the batch loading unit 3 can be rotatably supported. Any configuration may be used as long as it is a thing.
(Removal procedure for batch loading unit 3)
A procedure for attaching and detaching the batch loading unit 3 having the above configuration to the main body box 20 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Here, in the state where the batch loading unit 3 is attached to the main body box 20, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 9D, the upper hook 301 and the engagement hole 26A, and the lower hook 302 and the engagement hole 27A are respectively provided. The hooking piece 320 is engaged with the rising piece 29. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10 (A), the gap between the lower end portion of the hanging piece 24A provided on the opening / closing lid 24 and the upper surface 30A of the body cover 30 of the batch loading unit is as follows. The hook 302 does not have a distance in the height direction necessary for the hook portion to come out upward from the engagement holes 26A and 27A. That is, the drooping piece 24A prevents the collective charging unit 3 from moving upward. For this reason, when the open / close lid 24 is closed, the batch loading unit 3 cannot be moved upward to disengage the hook 300 from the engagement holes 26A and 27A.

Here, in the main body box 20 in a state where the batch loading unit 3 is removed, the movable member 28 is located at the height (hereinafter referred to as the lowest position) shown in FIGS. 8 and 9A. On the other hand, in a state where the batch loading unit 3 is attached to the main body box 20, as shown in FIG. 11 (A), the unit connector 410 is fitted in the concave portion of the main body connector 400 and both are electrically connected. The movable member 28 is pushed upward by the push-up piece 310 and is located slightly above the lowest position.
Hereinafter, a case where the batch loading unit 3 attached to the main body box 20 is removed will be described.

First, the opening / closing lid 24 is unlocked, and the opening / closing lid 24 is rotated forward as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3 to open the front side of the upper space 25. When the open / close lid 24 is rotated to the front side, the drooping piece 24A is rotated to the back side (inside the main body box 20), and above the main body cover 30, the batch loading unit 3 can be moved upward. A gap 245 (FIG. 10B) is generated. The opening gap 245 has a height distance sufficient for the hook portion of the hook 300 to come out of the engagement holes 26A and 27A.
Next, when the batch loading unit 3 is lifted upward, the upper hook 301 and the engagement hole 26A are disengaged from the lower hook 302 and the engagement hole 27A as shown in FIG. 320 also rises from the piece 29. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10B, the upper surface 30A of the main body cover 30 and the opening / closing lid 24 do not interfere with each other. At this time, as the push-up piece 320 rises, the movable member 28 moves to the highest position (see FIG. 11B) above the position shown in FIG. The connection is not broken.

Then, when the batch loading unit 3 in a state in which the hook 300 and the hooking piece 320 are disengaged is moved horizontally as it is as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The unit connector 410 is disconnected and the electrical connection between them is broken. When the unit connector 410 is detached from the main body connector 400 and the push-up piece 310 is separated from the movable member 28, the movable member 28 is lowered by its own weight and returned to the lowest position shown in FIGS. 8 and 9A.
Next, a case where the batch loading unit 3 is attached to the main body box 20 will be described.
First, when the hook piece 320 is hooked on the rising piece 29 and the upper part of the main body cover 30 is pushed in the back direction, the batch loading unit 3 as a whole rotates around the upper end of the rising piece 29 as shown in FIG. As shown, the push-up piece 310 contacts the front end portion of the contact piece 28A of the movable member 28.

  When the batch loading unit 3 is further rotated in the back direction, as shown in FIG. 12A, the R chamfered portion of the push-up piece 310 pushes up the lower front end of the contact piece 28A, so that the movable member 28 moves upward. Then, as shown in FIG. 9B, the push-up piece 310 is in a position to enter the lower side of the contact piece 28A. As the movable member 28 moves, the main body connector 400 also moves upward. At this time, since the lower hook 302 contacts the front side end of the mounting member 27, the batch loading unit 3 cannot be further rotated in the back direction. At this time, the terminal portions of the main body connector 400 and the unit connector 410 are not yet connected, but the tip of the guide piece 411 of the unit connector 410 is inserted into the concave portion of the main body connector 400 as shown in FIG.

  Then, next, when the batch throwing unit 3 is lifted slightly upward at a position where the hooking piece 320 remains engaged with the rising piece 29, the contact between the lower hook 302 and the mounting member 27 is eliminated. As shown in FIG. 9 (C), the back surface portion of the main body cover 30 can be rotated to a position where it is parallel to the front surface portion of the main body box 20. At this time, the movable member 28 is pushed up by the push-up piece 310 and moved up to the highest position. At the same time, the unit connector 410 is completely fitted into the recess of the main body connector 400 while being guided by the guide piece 411, and both are connected. The When the batch loading unit 3 is moved downward, as shown in FIG. 9D, the upper hook 301 and the engagement hole 26A, the lower hook 302 and the engagement hole 27A, the hook piece 320 and the rising piece 29 is engaged, and the batch loading unit 3 is fixed to the main body box 20.

If the batch loading unit 3 is attached to the main body box 20 in this way and then the lid 24 is closed and locked, the batch loading unit 3 cannot be lifted upward, and the batch loading unit 3 is locked.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the batch loading unit 3 is locked to the main body box 20 only by the locking of the opening / closing lid 24. Therefore, the locking device is attached to the batch loading unit 3 itself. There is no need to provide it. Then, it can be easily removed simply by opening the opening / closing lid 24, lifting it slightly upward, and pulling it to the front side. In addition, since the electrical connection between the batch loading unit 3 and the control unit 420 of the main body box 20 is completed only by the main body connector 400 and the unit connector 410, it is not necessary to perform the troublesome work of attaching and removing the harness.

Further, when the batch loading unit 3 is attached, the hook piece 320 and the rising piece 29 are first engaged, and then the whole is turned and lifted, so that it is engaged with the hook 300. The holes 26A and 27A and the connector portion can be easily positioned, and the mounting operation can be performed stably. Further, since the main body connector 400 is formed so as to be movable up and down, it is possible to prevent a trouble that the terminal portion is damaged due to the turning and vertical movement of the batch loading unit 3. In addition, since the unit connector 410 is provided with the guide piece 411, the terminal portion can be smoothly connected.
In the present embodiment, the main body box 20 is provided with the movable member 28, and the batch loading unit 3 is provided with the push-up piece 310 as a contact moving member, so that the main body connector 400 is movable. On the contrary, the main body box 20 may be provided with a contact moving member, and the batch loading unit 3 may be provided with a movable member so that the unit connector 410 can be moved up and down.

In this embodiment, the contact moving member pushes the movable member upward and moves to an appropriate position where the connector can be connected. However, the contact moving member pushes the movable member downward. Thus, the connector may be formed to move to an appropriate position where it can be connected. In this case, the movable member may be biased upward by a spring so that when the contact moving member and the movable member are not contacted, the movable member is pulled up by the force of the spring and returned to the original position. . However, as in the above-described embodiment, it is better in terms of reducing the number of parts that the movable member 28 is dropped by its own weight and returned to its original position.
(Mounting detection means 600)
The attachment detection means 600 can detect whether or not the batch loading unit 3 is attached to the main body box 20.

The mounting detection means 600 is located on the front side of the main body box 20 and is connected to the main body connector 400 electrically connected to the interior device of the main body box 20, and the rear side of the batch loading unit 3, and A unit connector 410 electrically connected to the interior device of the input unit and connectable to the main body connector 400 is provided, and the unit connector 410 is electrically connected to the main body connector 400, whereby the batch input unit 3 is connected to the main body box. It is formed so that it can be detected that it is attached to 20.
Note that, as described above, the attachment detection means 600 has the main body connector 400 and the unit connector 410, but is not particularly limited thereto, and the batch loading unit 3 is attached to the main body box 20. Can be detected as long as it can be detected in some form electrically or mechanically. Specifically, for example, apart from the power supply circuit to the batch loading unit 3, a convex portion and a concave portion are provided in the batch loading unit 3 and the body box 20, and the batch loading unit 3 is mounted on the body box 20. Thus, the convex portion may be fitted into the concave portion so that an electric signal can be output.

(Drive switch invalid means 710)
The drive switch invalidating means 710 is for invalidating the operation of the drive switch 200 for a predetermined time after the attachment detection means 600 detects the attachment of the batch loading unit 3 to the main body box 20. Specifically, the drive switch invalidating means 710 detects that the main body connector 400 and the unit connector 410 are in a connected state when the main body connector 400 and the unit connector 410 are in a disconnected state. A timer mechanism for counting a predetermined time T determined in advance from the time is provided. Then, the drive switch invalidating means 710 is set to the operation invalidation processing mode of the drive switch 200 until a predetermined time T elapses after the main body connector 400 and the unit connector 410 are connected. When the drive switch invalidating means 710 is set to the operation invalidation processing mode of the drive switch 200, even if the drive switch 200 is operated and an operation signal is output from the drive switch 200, the operation signal is canceled. Is formed. On the other hand, the drive switch invalidating means 710 is set to the operation valid processing mode of the drive switch 200 after a predetermined time T has elapsed after the main body connector 400 and the unit connector 410 are connected. When the drive switch invalidating unit 710 is set to the operation valid processing mode of the drive switch 200, when the drive switch 200 is operated and an operation signal is output from the drive switch 200, the operation signal is canceled. It is processed as an effective operation signal. Thereby, the rotational driving of the conveyor belt 53 is started.

By forming as described above, the drive switch 200 itself is effective. Therefore, when the drive switch 200 is operated, an operation signal of the drive switch 200 is appropriately output. However, from the detection of the attachment of the batch loading unit 3 by the attachment detection means 600, specifically, after the unit connector 410 is connected to the main body connector 400, it is output from the drive switch 200 for a predetermined time T. The operation signal is canceled. Thereby, the operation invalidity of the drive switch 200 can be achieved only for the predetermined time.
Here, the predetermined time T set in advance is specifically set to 60 seconds. Of course, the predetermined time T is not limited to 60 seconds, and may be set to another time.

  In this embodiment, the operation of the drive switch 200 becomes invalid for a predetermined time T determined in advance from the detection of the mounting of the batch loading unit 3 by the attachment detection means 600. For this reason, even if the operator touches the drive switch 200 accidentally when the batch loading unit 3 is continuously held by hand after the batch loading unit 3 is mounted on the main body box 20, the predetermined time is not exceeded. If it is within, it is possible to avoid driving the transfer device 50. As a result, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of a failure by driving the transport device 50 when the mounting is incomplete during the work, and the transport device 50 is driven during the maintenance work. By doing so, it is possible to avoid a situation where work efficiency is lowered.

(Control unit 420)
The controller 420 is for controlling the driving of the discharge device 80 and the like.
The control unit 420 includes the following four types of rotation operation as the rotation operation of the conveyor belt 53. That is, the control unit 420 performs normal normal rotation for rotating the conveyor belt 53 in a direction to send the game medals on the conveyor belt 53 to the insertion introduction path 60 during the normal state, and game medals on the conveyor belt 53 during the abnormal state. Normal forward rotation that rotates the conveyor belt 53 in the direction to send it out to the insertion introduction path 60, and normal that rotates the conveyor belt 53 in the opposite direction to the direction in which game medals on the conveyor belt 53 are sent out to the insertion introduction path 60 during normal operation A reverse rotation and an abnormal reverse rotation that rotates the conveyor belt 53 in a direction opposite to the direction in which game medals on the conveyor belt 53 are sent out to the insertion introduction path 60 during an abnormal state are provided.

When the rotation monitoring device 810 does not detect that the rotation monitoring device 810 is in an abnormal state, the control unit 420 performs normal reverse rotation when the game medal is not sent out by the medal detection sensor 64 from a normal normal rotation for sending out the game medal. It is formed to carry out.
When the control unit 420 detects that the rotation monitoring device 810 is in an abnormal state during normal forward rotation, the controller 420 is set to the number of abnormal times 1 and performs abnormal reverse rotation for a predetermined time (specifically, 300 ms). When the rotation monitoring device 810 is not detected to be in an abnormal state during the abnormal reverse rotation, the normal rotation is restored after the abnormal reverse rotation is completed.
The control unit 420 detects that the rotation monitoring device 810 is in an abnormal state during normal normal rotation, and is set to the number of abnormal times 1 described later to perform abnormal reverse rotation for a predetermined time (specifically, 300 ms). However, when the rotation monitoring device 810 detects an abnormal state during the abnormal reverse rotation, the abnormal number of rotations is set to 2 and the level of the pulse waveform from the rotary encoder 820 is The rotation monitoring device 810 is configured to perform normal forward rotation when it is detected that the rotation monitoring device 810 is not in an abnormal state during the abnormal forward rotation.

The control unit 420 detects that the rotation monitoring device 810 is in an abnormal state during normal forward rotation, and is set to 1 for the number of abnormal times to perform abnormal reverse rotation for a predetermined time (specifically, 300 ms). However, when it is detected that the rotation monitoring device 810 is in an abnormal state during this abnormal reverse rotation, the abnormal number of rotations is set to 2 until the level of the pulse waveform from the rotary encoder 820 changes. When the rotation monitoring device 810 detects an abnormal state even in this abnormal normal rotation, the abnormal frequency is set to 3 and the rotation driving of the conveyor belt 53 is stopped.
The abnormal reverse rotation of the number of abnormal times 1 is performed for a predetermined time, specifically, 300 ms, whereas the abnormal forward rotation of the abnormal number of times 2 switches the level of the pulse waveform from the rotary encoder 820. Until now. Thus, compared with 300 ms of abnormal reverse rotation of the number of abnormal times 1, the abnormal forward rotation of the abnormal number of 2 is set to a very short time. This is because, in the clogging of game medals in an abnormal state, the game medals are usually bitten by a plurality of game medals at the time of forward rotation, the peripheral members other than the transport belt 53 such as the transport belt 53 and the reverse rotation roller 52. Since there are many things that bite into the gap between them, reverse rotation in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction is unlikely to cause a new biting problem even if it is performed for a relatively long time. It is. The abnormal number of rotations of the number of abnormal times 2 is that the game medals are often biting in the normal rotation, so that the degree of biting is further increased by performing the forward rotation for a long time. For this reason, the forward rotation distance is set to be a short time in a very short time until the high level and the low level of the pulse waveform are switched.

The control unit 420 includes an abnormal number counting unit that counts an abnormal number of times that the rotation of the transport belt 53 by the rotation monitoring device 810 is in an abnormal state.
(Abnormal number counting means 900)
The abnormal frequency counting means 900 is for counting the abnormal frequency (1, 2 or 3) that the rotation of the conveyor belt 53 by the rotary encoder 820 (rotation monitoring device 810) is in an abnormal state.
When the operation of the drive switch 200 is continued (that is, while the player's hand is operating the drive switch 200), the conveyance belt 53 is rotated forward or backward unless the number of abnormal times is 3. It is formed so that any one of the rotational driving continues.

The abnormal frequency count means is configured so that the rotation monitoring device 810 returns a predetermined value of the conveyor belt 53 when the rotation drive of the conveyor belt 53 is stopped by the operation of the drive switch 200 being stopped, or when it returns to normal normal rotation. When rotation is detected, the number of abnormalities is reset to zero.
Specifically, the abnormal number counting means 900 is used when the rotation of the conveyor belt 53 is stopped by the player's hand moving away from the drive switch 200 and the operation of the drive switch 200 being stopped, After the belt 53 returns to normal forward rotation, the rotary encoder 820 (rotation monitoring device 810) resets the number of abnormalities to 0 when the pulse waveform is first switched between the high level and low level. It is formed to do.

That is, when the player releases his / her hand from the drive switch 200 and the operation of the drive switch 200 is stopped, it is assumed that the player himself intends to give up the automatic release of the clogging due to the automatic reversal of the conveyor belt 53. It is. Therefore, it is assumed that it has been confirmed that the abnormal state has already been released, or that it is entrusted to call the hall manager etc. to resolve the abnormal state such as clogging of game medals other than automatic release. is there.
On the other hand, resetting to normal normal rotation and resetting the number of abnormalities to zero when the pulse waveform first switches level is very easy to cope with the next abnormal condition by setting it to a very short time. It is something that can be done.

(Rotation procedure)
FIG. 15 shows a flow of rotation processing when no abnormal state is detected.
First, in step 51, it is determined whether or not the drive switch 200 has been operated by the player. When it is determined that the drive switch 200 has been operated by the player's operation, the process proceeds to the next step 52.
In step 52, the conveyor belt 53 is driven to rotate based on the operation of the drive switch 200. Then, the process proceeds to next Step 53.
In step 53, the control unit 420 determines whether or not there is no next medal passage detection even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous medal passage detection of the medal detection sensor 64. If the control unit 420 determines that there is no next medal passage detection even after a predetermined time has passed since the previous medal passage detection of the medal detection sensor 64, the process proceeds to the next step 54.

In step 54, normal reverse rotation of the conveyor belt 53 is performed for a predetermined time. Then, the process proceeds to next Step 55.
In step 55, the rotation driving of the conveyor belt 53 is stopped. Then, the process ends.
If it is determined in step 51 that the drive switch 200 has not been operated by the player's operation, the process returns to step 51.
If it is determined in step 53 that the control unit 420 determines that the next medal passage has been detected before a predetermined time has passed since the previous medal passage detection by the medal detection sensor 64, the process returns to step 53.

FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 show a flow of rotation processing when an abnormal state is detected.
First, in step 110, the control unit 420 determines whether or not an abnormal state is detected by the control unit 420 in the rotation of the conveyor belt 53 detected by the rotation monitoring device 810. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the switching time C is a maximum time of 22 ms or more. And when it determines with having detected the abnormal condition, it progresses to the following step 111.
In step 111, abnormal reverse rotation is performed for a predetermined time (specifically, 300 ms, that is, 0.3 seconds). Then, the process proceeds to the next step 112.
In step 112, during the abnormal reverse rotation of step 111, the control unit 420 determines whether or not an abnormal state is detected in the rotation of the conveyor belt 53 detected by the rotation monitoring device 810. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the switching time C is a maximum time of 22 ms or more. If it is determined that an abnormal state has not been detected, the process proceeds to the next step 113.

In step 113, normal forward rotation of the conveyor belt 53 is performed. Then, the process ends.
If it is determined in step 110 that an abnormal state has not been detected, specifically, if it is determined that the switching time C is less than the maximum time of 22 ms, the process returns to step 110.
If it is determined in step 112 that an abnormal state is detected during the abnormal reverse rotation in step 111, specifically, if it is determined that the switching time C is the maximum time of 22 ms or more, Proceed to step 130.

In step 130, abnormal forward rotation of the conveyor belt 53 is performed. This abnormal forward rotation is performed until the high level and the low level of the pulse waveform detected by the rotary encoder 820 are switched. Then, the process proceeds to the next step 131.
In step 131, the control unit 420 determines whether an abnormal state is detected during the abnormal forward rotation in step 130. If it is determined that an abnormal state is not detected, the process proceeds to the next step 132.
In step 132, the normal rotation of the conveyor belt 53 is performed. Then, the process ends.

If it is determined in step 131 that the control unit 420 has detected an abnormal state, the process proceeds to the next step 133.
In step 133, the rotational driving of the conveyor belt 53 is stopped. Then, the process proceeds to next Step 134.
In step 134, the player removes the cause of the abnormality and the process ends. To recover from this state, it is necessary to remove the cause of the abnormality and turn on the power again.
(Function)
If the gaming machine pedestal machine 2 according to the present embodiment is installed next to the gaming machine 1, the gaming medals that have been batch-inserted from the batch loading opening 31 can be thrown into the medal slot 10 one by one. It is possible to efficiently insert game medals into the gaming machines at. Further, if the rental medals are formed so as to be paid out directly to the medal storage section 44, it is possible to save the trouble of picking up the rental medals by hand and inserting them into the batch insertion opening 31.

  When the rotation monitoring device 810 does not detect that the rotation monitoring device 810 is in an abnormal state, the control unit 420 performs normal reverse rotation from normal normal rotation when the game medal is not sent out by the medal detection sensor 64 for a predetermined time. This is because an abnormal state is not detected, and the game medal is not clogged. Then, since the medal detection sensor 64 of the insertion introduction path 60 has not detected the delivery of game medals for a predetermined time, all the game medals stored in the medal storage section 44 are sent to the insertion introduction path 60. It is estimated that the transmission has been completed. For the final confirmation, the conveyor belt 53 can be normally rotated forward to confirm the presence / absence of remaining game medals.

In this embodiment, when the rotation monitoring device 810 detects an abnormal state due to a jammed game medal or the like, the rotation of the conveyor belt 53 is rotated in the opposite direction. It is possible to avoid continuing to apply. As a result, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of a failure due to an increase in the load on the transport motor 55.
In this mode, when the rotation monitoring device 810 detects that the rotation monitoring device 810 is in an abnormal state during normal forward rotation, it is normal when it is reversed once (normal forward rotation → abnormal reverse rotation) and the abnormal state is released. Returning to normal rotation.
Also, in this embodiment, when the rotation monitoring device 810 detects an abnormal state during normal forward rotation, it is reversed twice (normal forward rotation → abnormal reverse rotation → abnormal forward rotation), and the abnormal state is When released, it returns to normal forward rotation.

  In this way, even if it is detected that the rotary encoder 820 of the rotation monitoring device 810 is in an abnormal state due to a jammed game medal during normal normal rotation, the conveyance belt 53 is reversed once (normal normal rotation → abnormal) In the case of a simple clogging where the abnormal state is cleared by reverse rotation) or reverse twice (normal normal rotation → abnormal reverse rotation → abnormal normal rotation), the game automatically returns to normal normal rotation Can continue. Thereby, the player interrupts the medal insertion and the game accompanying the medal insertion, calls the hall manager of the game hall, and stops the operation of the entire medal lending machine 2 in order to eliminate the clogging of the game medal. There is no need to do this, and simple clogging can be resolved automatically. As a result, the insertion of medals and interruption of the game can be avoided, and the games that can be executed from the insertion of the medals and the insertion of the medals can be smoothly advanced without any trouble.

  In this mode, when the rotation monitoring device 810 detects an abnormal state during normal forward rotation, the abnormal state is canceled even if it is reversed twice (normal forward rotation → abnormal reverse rotation → abnormal forward rotation). If not, the rotation driving of the conveyor belt 53 is stopped. Thus, if the abnormal state is not canceled even if the conveyor belt 53 is reversed twice, the clogging of game medals etc. is a fairly strong clogging, and the observation from the outside such as the collective throwing opening 31 etc. And inspection are necessary. In such a case, if the state in which the conveyance belt 53 is rotationally driven is continued, the load on the conveyance motor 55 is increased, causing a failure of the conveyance motor 55. In order to avoid such a state, the rotation drive of the transport motor 55 is stopped. As a result, an increase in the load on the transport motor 55 can be avoided and the occurrence of a failure can be suppressed. In order to recover from this state, it is necessary to manually remove the cause of the abnormality and turn on the power of the medal lending machine 2 again.

  In this embodiment, the abnormal number counting means 900 of the control unit 420 counts the number of abnormal times that the rotation of the conveyor belt 53 by the rotation monitoring device 810 is in an abnormal state. That is, as described above, when the number of abnormalities is 1, reverse (abnormal reverse rotation), when the abnormality is resolved, return to normal normal rotation, and when the abnormality is not resolved, the number of abnormalities becomes 2 and further reverse (abnormal normal) When the abnormality is resolved, the normal rotation is restored. When the abnormality is not resolved, the number of times of abnormality is 3, and the rotation drive is stopped. Accordingly, it is possible to infer the level of abnormality in the abnormal state based on the numerical value of the abnormal number of abnormal states, and it is possible to make the countermeasure corresponding to the numerical value of the abnormal number. That is, by counting the number of abnormalities, it is possible to determine the circumstances of the abnormality processing, and it is possible to perform countermeasure processing that matches the circumstances of the abnormality processing.

Even when the number of abnormalities is counted, when the player releases his / her hand from the drive switch 200 and the operation of the drive switch 200 is stopped, or the normal normal rotation is restored. When the rotation monitoring device 810 detects a predetermined rotation of the transport belt 53 and detects a normal rotation of the transport belt 53, the number of abnormalities is reset to zero.
That is, when the player releases his / her hand from the drive switch 200 and the operation of the drive switch 200 is stopped, it is assumed that the player himself intends to give up the automatic release of the clogging due to the automatic reversal of the transport belt 53. Therefore, it can be inferred that it has been confirmed that the abnormal state has already been released, or that the hall manager or the like is called to leave resolution of abnormal states such as clogged gaming medals other than automatic cancellation. .

If the rotation monitoring device 810 detects the rotation of the conveyor belt 53 after returning to normal normal rotation, the abnormal state such as a game medal clogging has already been released, and the abnormal count is reset to zero. There is a need.
As a result, by resetting the number of abnormalities, it is possible to prepare for the next new abnormal state, and in particular, it is possible to smoothly advance the next medal insertion without separately performing an operation for resetting the number of abnormalities.
The rotation direction of the conveyor belt 53 and the rotation direction of the reverse rotation roller 52 are formed so as to be the same rotation direction regardless of whether the rotation is forward or reverse.

That is, when the transport belt 53 is rotated so that the game medals on the transport belt 53 are transferred in the transport direction, the reverse rotation roller 52 opens the thickness of one game medal on the transport belt 53, It rotates in the same rotation direction as the rotation direction. As a result, the portion of the reverse rotation roller 52 facing the conveyor belt 53 side can leave one game medal on the conveyor belt 53 and kick the game medal superimposed on it in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction. .
Further, when the transport belt 53 rotates in the reverse direction so that the game medals on the transport belt 53 are transferred in the direction opposite to the transport direction, the reverse rotation roller 52 rotates in the same direction as the transport direction. As a result, the portion of the reverse rotation roller 52 facing the conveyor belt 53 side can leave one game medal on the conveyor belt 53 and kick the game medal superimposed on it in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction. .

  In this way, the reverse rotation roller 52 increases the thickness of one game medal and rotates in the same rotation direction as the rotation direction of the conveyor belt 53, so that it can be in either forward rotation or reverse rotation. Further, it is possible to prevent a game medal from being caught between the transport belt 53 and the reverse rotation roller 52, and to move only one game medal on the transport belt 53. Thereby, the game medals overlapped on the transport roller can be effectively kicked off, and the occurrence of clogging of game medals can be suppressed.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the slot machine and the medal lending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a side view of a medal lending machine. It is embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is an expanded longitudinal cross-sectional view of a medal lending machine. It is embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is sectional drawing of a batch input unit. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a medal slot and a batch slot unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a medal feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a fragmentary sectional view of a medal feeder. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the embodiment of the present invention with the batch loading unit removed from the main body box. It is embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is explanatory drawing which shows the attachment procedure of a batch loading unit. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the opening / closing lid and the batch loading unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the connection part of a batch injection unit. It is embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the connection part of a batch injection unit. 1 is an external front view showing a rotation monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is sectional drawing which shows a rotation monitoring apparatus. It is embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a flow which shows the rotation process when not detecting an abnormal condition. It is embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a flow which shows the rotation process at the time of detecting an abnormal condition. It is embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a flow which shows the rotation process at the time of detecting an abnormal condition. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a pulse waveform and a switching time C of the rotary encoder according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 slot machine 2 medal lending machine
3 Batch loading unit 5 Sampling unit
10 Medal slot 11 Upper slot
12 Side transfer passage 13 Front door
14 Symbol display window 15 Lower plate
16 Operation unit 20 Main unit box
21 banknote slot 22 banknote counter
23 Dispensing device 23A Medal tank
23B Feeding disk 23C Hopper motor
230 Medal ejector 24 Open / close lid
24A Hanging piece 240 Rotating axis
245 Opening gap 25 Upper space
26 Partition frame 26A engagement hole
27 Mounting member 27A Engagement hole
28 Movable member 28A Contact piece
28B Connector fixing part 28C Support piece
29 Standing piece 30 Body cover
30A Upper end 31 Collective opening
32 Top plate 33 Bottom plate
34 Front plate 35 Back plate
35A Rear receptacle 36 Side plate
37 Standing wall 38 Bottom opening
39 Rear opening 40 Medal feeder
41 Main body base 42 Discharge passage
43 Movement adjustment valve 44 Medal storage part
45 Medals return part 46 Flat part
47 Medal discharge section 48 Receiving opening
49 Cancel opening 50 Transfer device
51 Roller 52 Reverse roller
53 Conveyor belt 54 Delivery gap
55 Transfer motor 60 Input introduction path
60A Nozzle part 61 Cover member
61A Key hole 61B Perspective window
62 Base member 63 Hinge
64 Medal detection sensor 65 Medal transfer path
66 Medals outlet 67 Medals receiver
68 Engagement piece 69 Medal drop opening
70 Clogging release mechanism 71 Rotating plate
72 Push button 80 Ejector
81 Solenoid 82 Open / close plate
83 Movable shaft 84 Fixed shaft
90 Pan 91 Recess
92 Hinge part 100 Divider
200 Drive switch 300 hook
301 Upper hook 302 Lower hook
310 Push-up piece 320 Hook-up piece
400 Main unit connector 410 Unit connector
411 Guide piece 420 Control unit
500 medal payout slot 510 tray
600 Mounting detection means 710 Drive switch invalid means
810 Rotation monitoring device 820 Rotary encoder
821 Rotating slit disk 822 Optical sensor
823 Rotating slit 900 Abnormal frequency count means

Claims (4)

A medal lending machine installed adjacent to a gaming machine having a medal slot having a side transfer passage capable of receiving game medals from the side,
The medal lending machine
A payout device for paying out medals to be rented to a player;
A collective slot opening that can accept multiple game medals that are batched,
A medal storage section provided below the collective opening and capable of storing game medals;
An introduction introduction path for transferring game medals to a side transfer passage of an adjacent gaming machine;
A transport device that sends out game medals stored in the medal storage part one by one to the insertion introduction path;
A drive switch that starts driving the transport device by a player's operation;
A control unit for controlling the driving of the transport device;
A payout passage for directly guiding game medals to be paid out from the payout device to the medal storage part without going through the collective opening;
A medal detection sensor located on the introduction introduction path and capable of detecting the passage of a game medal;
The transfer device
A transport belt for transporting game medals;
A transport motor for rotating the transport belt;
The rotation of the conveyor belt can be detected in order to detect whether the rotation of the conveyor belt is in a normal state where it is operating normally or in an abnormal state where it is not operating normally during a predetermined monitoring time. Rotation monitoring device,
The precursor control unit
As rotation operation of the conveyor belt,
Normal normal rotation of rotating the conveyor belt in a direction to send out the game medals on the conveyor belt to the insertion introduction path during a normal state;
An abnormal normal rotation that rotates the conveyor belt in a direction to send out game medals on the conveyor belt to the insertion introduction path during an abnormal state;
Normal reverse rotation of rotating the conveyor belt in a direction opposite to the direction of sending out game medals on the conveyor belt to the insertion introduction path during a normal state;
Providing an abnormal reverse rotation that rotates the conveyor belt in a direction opposite to the direction of sending out the game medals on the conveyor belt to the insertion introduction path during an abnormal state;
The controller is
When the rotation monitoring device does not detect that it is in an abnormal state, from normal normal rotation for sending out game medals, normal reverse rotation when there is no game medals sent out by the medal detection sensor for a predetermined time,
When it is detected that the rotation monitoring device is in an abnormal state during normal forward rotation, abnormal reverse rotation is performed for a predetermined time, and the rotation monitoring device is not detected to be in an abnormal state during this abnormal reverse rotation. Sometimes after this abnormal reverse rotation is finished, return to normal forward rotation,
Detects that the rotation monitoring device is in an abnormal state during normal forward rotation, and performs an abnormal reverse rotation for a predetermined time, but detects that the rotation monitoring device is in an abnormal state during the abnormal reverse rotation. The medal lending machine is characterized in that when the rotation monitoring device detects that the rotation monitoring device is not in an abnormal state during the abnormal normal rotation, the normal rotation is performed. The controller is
While detecting that the rotation monitoring device is in an abnormal state during normal forward rotation and performing an abnormal reverse rotation for a predetermined time, it was detected that the rotation monitoring device was in an abnormal state during the abnormal reverse rotation. 2. The medal lending according to claim 1, wherein an abnormal forward rotation is performed, and the rotation driving of the conveyor belt is stopped when it is detected that the rotation monitoring device is in an abnormal state even during the abnormal forward rotation. Machine. The controller is
An abnormal number counting means for counting the number of abnormal times that the rotation of the conveyor belt by the rotation monitoring device is in an abnormal state;
When the operation of the drive switch is continued, the rotation drive of the conveyor belt is formed to continue,
The abnormality number counting means includes
When rotation of the conveyor belt is stopped by the operation of the drive switch being stopped, or when the rotation monitoring device detects a predetermined rotation of the conveyor belt,
The medal lending machine according to claim 1, wherein the number of abnormalities is reset to zero. The transfer device
A reversing roller for leaving one game medal on the conveyor belt and kicking the game medal overlaid in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction;
The reverse roller is disposed on the transport belt with a thickness corresponding to one game medal,
The rotation direction of the conveyor belt and the rotation direction of the reverse rotation roller are:
The medal lending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the medal lending machine is formed so as to be in the same rotation direction regardless of whether the rotation is forward or reverse.

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