JP2008029451A - Game medium counting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a token counting device which can predict the occurrence of abnormalities on counting units 13. <P>SOLUTION: The token counting device includes two counting units 13 which count tokens of the same structure and same operation. Operation information when the individual counting units 13 are operated along with the counting treatment is obtained from the two counting units 13. The operation information of the two counting units 13 is compared with each other and whether the operation of the counting units 13 is normal or erratic is determined. Based on the comparison of the operation information of the two counting units 13, the occurrence of abnormalities of the counting units 13 is predicted and reported when any occurrence of abnormalities is predicted. Treatment prior to an occurrence of an abnormality can be done to prevent interruption of counting from occurring. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a game medium counting device for counting game media.

  In a game store where a pachislot machine or the like is installed, a medal counter that is a game medium counting device for counting medals that are game media obtained by a player with the pachislot machine is installed.

  In this medal counting machine, the medal obtained by the player is inserted into the hopper of the medal counting machine, so that the medal is received on the rotating disk on the lower side of the hopper, and the rotating disk is rotated. The medal is moved to the outer periphery of the rotating disk using the frictional force and centrifugal force, and the medal is used as the peripheral wall member while restricting the outward movement of the medal with the peripheral wall member arranged opposite to the periphery of the rotating disk. The medals on the rotating disk are passed one by one in the thickness direction at the gate part that forms part of the peripheral wall member and faces the upper surface of the rotating disk. The medals that pass one by one are counted by the counting unit.

In such medal counting machines, one medal counting machine is generally provided with one counting unit including a hopper, a rotating disk, a counting unit, and the like. Some medal counters have two counting units arranged side by side. In the medal counter in which the two counting units are arranged in parallel, when an abnormality occurs in one counting unit, the hopper of the one counting unit can be removed to cancel the abnormality, while the other normal unit The counting unit allows counting and prevents the counting from being stopped completely (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-6933 (page 1-2, Fig. 1-3)

  However, the specifications confirmed at the evaluation stage of the medal counter may differ depending on the actual use conditions in the market, medals, and the like. If there is one counting unit in one medal counter, even if there is a sign of abnormality, it cannot be determined whether it is in the normal range or near the abnormality, so the medal counter is stopped when an abnormality occurs I must do it.

  For example, this may cause a sensor down or the like that can be prevented if the medal counter is in operation at a low operating time, during a time when the medal counter is in high operation. It will give you inconvenience. Furthermore, extra maintenance is required due to problems caused by deterioration of consumables that could have been prevented if they were replaced by regular inspection.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and by predicting that an abnormality will occur in the counting unit, it is possible to cope with the abnormality before it occurs, and to prevent a counting stop from occurring. The purpose is to provide.

  The game medium counting device according to claim 1 has a plurality of counting units that count game media with the same structure and the same operation, and an operation when each of the counting units is operated along with a counting process from the plurality of counting units. Information acquisition means for acquiring information and comparison means for comparing operation information of a plurality of counting units acquired by the information acquisition means are provided.

  The gaming medium counting device according to claim 2 is the gaming medium counting device according to claim 1, wherein an abnormality occurrence predicting means for predicting the occurrence of an abnormality from the difference in the operation information of the plurality of counting units compared by the comparing means; And a notifying means for informing when the occurrence of an abnormality is predicted by the abnormality occurrence predicting means.

  The game medium counting device according to claim 3 is the game medium counting device according to claim 2, wherein the notification means satisfies a predetermined notification condition and the abnormality occurrence prediction means predicts the occurrence of a continuous abnormality. This is to notify only.

  The game medium counting device according to claim 4 is the game medium counting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an abnormality detecting means for detecting occurrence of an abnormality in the counting unit during counting and an abnormality has occurred during counting. When the abnormality detecting means for performing an abnormality releasing operation on the counter unit and a plurality of counting units are simultaneously counting, and the abnormality detecting means detects that an abnormality has occurred in any of the counting units, it is normal. Control means for repeatedly performing an abnormality canceling operation on the counting unit in which an abnormality has occurred in the abnormality canceling means while continuing counting by a simple counting unit.

  The game medium counting device according to claim 5 is the game medium counting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising storage means for storing operation information of the counting unit obtained by the information obtaining means, and the comparing means comprises: The latest operation information of the counting unit acquired by the information acquisition unit is compared with the previous operation information stored in the storage unit.

  According to the gaming medium counting apparatus according to claim 1, when a plurality of counting units that count gaming media with the same structure and the same operation are provided, and each counting unit operates along with the counting process from the plurality of counting units. By comparing the operation information of multiple counting units, the operation information of multiple counting units should be equivalent if normal, so whether the operation of the counting unit is normal or abnormal It is possible to determine whether it is close or the like, it is possible to predict the occurrence of an abnormality, and it is possible to cope before the occurrence of the abnormality.

  According to the game medium counting device according to claim 2, in addition to the effect of the game medium counting device according to claim 1, the occurrence of the abnormality is predicted from the difference in the operation information of the plurality of counting units, and the occurrence of the abnormality Therefore, it is possible to cope with an abnormality before it occurs and to prevent counting from being stopped.

  According to the game medium counting device according to claim 3, in addition to the effect of the game medium counting device according to claim 2, for example, a predetermined notification condition relating to an action item requiring urgency is satisfied, and a continuous abnormality is detected. By only letting you know when it is forecasted to occur, you only need to deal with it at the time of regular inspection, for example, and if you do not need to report immediately, you will not be notified. It is possible to distinguish and appropriately notify.

  According to the game medium counting device according to claim 4, in addition to the effect of the game medium counting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, a plurality of counting units are simultaneously counting, and any one of them If it is detected that an abnormality has occurred in the counting unit, it is possible to reduce the human intervention if the abnormality can be canceled automatically by repeatedly performing the abnormality canceling operation for the counting unit in which the abnormality has occurred while continuing the counting with a normal counting unit. it can.

  According to the game medium counting device according to claim 5, in addition to the effects of the game medium counting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the obtained operation information of the counting unit is stored in the storage means, The occurrence of an abnormality can be predicted by comparing the latest operation information with the previous operation information stored in the storage means.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the medal counting machine 11 as a game medium counting device has a medal counting device main body 12 as a counting device main body, and two places on the left and right with respect to the front surface of the medal counting device main body 12. Are arranged in parallel with two counting units 13 for counting medals as counting media by the same structure and the same operation.

  On the front face of the medal counter body 12, a key 14 held by an amusement store clerk or the like is inserted, and a changeover switch section 15 for switching the setting of the medal counter 11. A return box 16 that is excluded from the counting unit 13 is disposed so as to be removable.

  On the rear side of the top surface of the medal counter body 12, a display panel 17 that is configured with a touch panel and has functions of an operation unit and a display unit, and left and right lights that are emitted when an abnormality such as a clogged medal in each counting unit 13 occurs. A display unit 18 is provided.

  Next, each counting unit 13 is placed under the hopper 21 for receiving medals, a feeding mechanism 22 for separating and feeding medals one by one, and separating and feeding the medals one by one from the feeding mechanism 22. It has a passage portion 23 and the like for counting medals while transporting them toward the rear of the medal counter body 12.

  The hopper 21 receives and stores medals inserted from boxes and bags, and supplies the medals to the feeding mechanism 22 by an appropriate amount from an opening 25 provided at the bottom. The two hoppers 21 can be attached to and detached from the medal counter main body 12 independently without overlapping with each other and without being pressed. The hopper 21 is formed with a frame portion 27 constituting a single frame-shaped hopper frame 26 by combining the two hoppers 21 mounted on the medal counter main body 12, and an opening 25 is formed inside the frame portion 27. Is formed.

  In the center of the hopper frame 26, a partition portion 29 is formed in which edges of the hopper portions 28 of the two hoppers 21 are arranged. The partition portion 29 has a concave-convex engagement in which the edges of the hopper portions 28 of the two hoppers 21 are combined with each other so that the medal does not enter between the edges of the hopper portions 28 of the two hoppers 21. Part 30 is formed.

  Further, the feeding mechanism 22 has a rotating disk 32, and above this rotating disk 32, a cylindrical guide body 33 that guides medals thrown into the hopper 21 to a central area inside the periphery of the rotating disk 32. Is arranged. The guide body 33 is set so that the gap with the upper surface of the rotating disk 32 is smaller than the diameter of the medal, and the medal moves in parallel with the rotating disk 32 from the center side of the rotating disk 32 to the peripheral part by an appropriate amount. Yes. At the center of the rotating disk 32, a cap 34 for guiding medals to the peripheral part of the rotating disk 32 is disposed.

  A peripheral wall member (not shown) is arranged facing the periphery of the rotating disk 32, and a gate part (not shown) that constitutes a part of the peripheral wall member and passes medals on the rotating disk 32 through the passage portion 23 one by one in the thickness direction. It is arranged.

  Then, the medal on the rotating disk 32 is rotated by the frictional force and centrifugal force between the medal and the rotating disk 32 by rotating the rotating disk 32 with the medal on the upper surface of the rotating disk 32 in a plane direction at a high speed. It moves to the peripheral part of 32, passes under the gate part one by one, and feeds it to the passage part 23 one by one.

  The passage portion 23 is composed of a passage surface on which a medal is placed and guides on both sides for guiding both side edges of the medal placed on the passage surface, and the like from the side portion of the rotating disk 32 toward the rear of the medal counter main body 12. It is extended. Above the passage portion 23, a conveyor belt 36 that conveys medals against the passage surface is disposed. The passage surface of the passage portion 23 is formed with a not-shown exclusion port for removing foreign matters other than medals, coins, etc. and returning them to the return box 16, and a counting unit 37 for counting medals is arranged downstream from the exclusion port. It is installed. The medals that have passed through the passage 23 are sent out from the rear side of the medal counter body 12 to the outside and collected.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 41 that controls the medal counter 11 controls the two counting units 13, the display panel 17, and the like.

  The control unit 41 has the following functions regarding an abnormality prediction process that predicts an abnormality of the counting unit 13 and notifies it when necessary.

  The function of the information acquisition means 43 which acquires the operation information (operation information) of the same operation item when each of the counting units 13 operates along with the counting process from the two counting units 13. As the operation information to be acquired, for example, the rotational speed of the drive unit of the rotary disk 32 and the conveyor belt 36, the reverse rotation frequency of the rotary disk 32 for releasing clogged medals, the counting speed in the counting unit 37, various pulse information, Response speed, signals from various sensors, and the like are included.

  The function of the comparison means 44 for comparing the operation information of the two counting units 13 acquired by the information acquisition means 43.

  A function of an abnormality occurrence prediction unit 45 that predicts the occurrence of an abnormality from the difference in the operation information of the plurality of counting units 13 compared by the comparison unit 44. The two counting units 13 that count medals with the same structure and the same motion should be able to obtain substantially the same motion information, but otherwise predict the occurrence of an abnormality.

  A function of an informing means 46 for informing when an abnormality occurrence is predicted by the abnormality occurrence predicting means 45. This notification means 46 is notified only when, for example, a predetermined notification condition regarding an action item or the like that requires urgency is satisfied and the occurrence of a continuous abnormality is predicted by the abnormality occurrence prediction means 45. The notification by the notification means 46 includes display on the display panel 17, display on the display unit 18, generation of sound and sound by a speaker or a buzzer, and further, for example, an external indicator light, a game store You may make it output and notify to external apparatuses, such as the communication apparatus with which the attendant is equipped, the counter of a game shop, and the management apparatus of an office.

  A function of an abnormality detection means 47 for detecting occurrence of an abnormality such as a clogged medal of the counting unit 13 during counting. This abnormality detection means 47 detects, for example, that the rotating disk 32 stops because the medal is caught between the gate part and the rotating disk 32 when a clogged medal occurs at the gate part. Alternatively, the detection of the medal detection in the counting unit 37 may be used, or a clogged medal may be directly detected by a sensor.

  The function of the error canceling means 48 for performing the error canceling operation for the counting unit 13 in which an error has occurred during counting. In the abnormality canceling means 48, for example, the control of the reverse rotation and the normal rotation is repeated a plurality of times with respect to the rotating disk 32 that has been stopped due to the clogging of medals.

  When two counting units 13 are counting at the same time and the abnormality detecting means 47 detects that an abnormality has occurred in any one of them, while the normal counting unit 13 continues counting, A function of the control means 49 that repeatedly performs an abnormality canceling operation on the counting unit 13 in which an abnormality has occurred in the abnormality canceling means 48.

  In addition, the control unit 41 includes a storage unit 50 that stores the operation information of each counting unit 13 acquired by the information acquisition unit 43.

  The comparison means 44 has the function of comparing the locks of the plurality of counting units 13 together with the latest operation information of the counting unit 13 acquired by the information acquisition means 43 and previous operation information stored in the storage means 50. It also has a function to compare the two.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

  First, normal processing will be described. When a player inserts a medal into one or both hoppers 21 and instructs the display panel 17 to start counting, the medal counting operation is started. Note that the instruction to start counting may be such that a medal counting operation is automatically started upon detection by a sensor or the like that a medal has been inserted on the rotating disk 32 through the hopper 21.

  When the medal counting operation is started, the rotating disk 32 rotates forward, and the medals on the rotating disk 32 move to the periphery of the rotating disk 32 by the frictional force and centrifugal force between the medal and the rotating disk 32. At this time, the guide body 33 moves medals parallel to the rotating disk 32 to the peripheral part of the rotating disk 32 by an appropriate amount.

  The medals that have moved to the peripheral part of the rotating disk 32 are brought into contact with the peripheral wall member and are restricted from moving outward, and move along the peripheral wall member to be relatively aligned from a random state.

  When the medal moving along the peripheral wall member on the rotating disk 32 reaches the position of the gate part, one medal in the thickness direction placed in parallel on the rotating disk 32 enters the lower side of the gate part and enters the passage part 23. pass. The medals that overlap the upper side of the medals that enter the lower side of the gate part do not enter the lower side of the gate part by contacting the gate part, and pass on the rotary disk 32 through the position of the gate part. To do. In this way, the medals on the rotating disk 32 are passed through the passage portion 23 from the lower side of the gate portion one by one in the thickness direction in order.

  The medals that are fed out one by one in the passage section 23 are conveyed by the conveyor belt 36, counted by the counting section 37, and sent out to the outside of the medal counter main body 12 for collection.

  The player confirms the state of the medals in the hopper 21 and determines that the counting is finished. When the player instructs the display panel 17 to end the counting, the medal counting operation is stopped and the counting is performed on the display panel 17. Display the results. Note that the counting end instruction may automatically detect the end of counting by automatically detecting that the rotating disk 32 and the passage portion 23 have no medals, stop the medal counting operation, and display the counting result.

  Next, the abnormality prediction process by the control unit 41 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The control unit 41 uses the information acquisition unit 43 to acquire operation information (operation information) of the same operation item when each counting unit 13 is operated in accordance with the counting process from the left and right counting units 13 and store the storage unit 50. (Steps 1 and 2). As the operation information to be acquired, for example, the rotational speed of the drive unit of the rotary disk 32 and the conveyor belt 36, the reverse rotation frequency of the rotary disk 32 for releasing clogged medals, the counting speed in the counting unit 37, various pulse information, Response speed, signals from various sensors, and the like are included.

  The operation information of the two counting units 13 acquired by the information acquisition means 43 is compared by the comparison means 44. Two counting units 13 which count medals with the same structure and the same motion and are used in the same environment should obtain substantially the same motion information, and compare whether there is a difference in the motion information (step 3).

  Based on the comparison by the comparison means 44, when there is a difference in the operation information, the possibility of occurrence of abnormality in the counting unit 13 is predicted by the abnormality occurrence prediction means 45 (step 4).

  If the occurrence of abnormality in the counting unit 13 is not predicted by the abnormality occurrence predicting means 45, normal operation is continued (step 5).

  On the other hand, when an abnormality occurrence is predicted by the abnormality occurrence prediction means 45, the notification means 46 notifies the display panel 17 of the display, display on the display unit 18, sound or sound generated by a speaker or buzzer, etc. (Step 6). At this time, the notification means 46 notifies only when a predetermined notification condition regarding, for example, an action item requiring urgency is satisfied and the abnormality occurrence prediction means 45 predicts the occurrence of a continuous abnormality, for example, periodically What is necessary is to deal with at the time of inspection and the like, and when it is not necessary to notify immediately, it is not necessary to notify, and it is possible to appropriately notify the case where urgency is required and the case where it is not necessary.

  A specific example for comparing the operation information of the two right and left counting units 13 is shown below.

  As for the counting speed in the counting unit 37, if the difference of 20% (about 400 sheets / minute) continues in the two right and left counting units 13, it is predicted that there is a possibility of occurrence of an abnormality and is notified.

  Regarding the rotational speed of the drive unit of the rotary disk 32 and the conveyor belt 36, if the difference of 5% (15 rpm) continues in the two left and right counting units 13, it is predicted that there is a possibility of occurrence of an abnormality and is notified.

  Regarding the reversal frequency of the rotating disk 32, the two counting units 13 on the left and right sides predict that there is a possibility that an abnormality will occur if there is a difference of five times in the reversal frequency per 100,000 sheets. In this case, the reverse rotation frequency is usually close to zero, and the frequency increases when an abnormal medium is inserted. Assuming that the reversal frequency may be zero, it can be correctly judged that the comparison is based on the number of times instead of the ratio.

  As described above, the medal counter 11 includes the two counting units 13 that count the medals with the same structure and the same operation, so that each counting unit 13 operates in accordance with the counting process from the two counting units 13. It is possible to determine whether the operation of the counting unit 13 is normal or near abnormal by acquiring the operation information at the time and comparing the operation information of the two counting units 13.

  The occurrence of an abnormality in the counting unit 13 is predicted based on the comparison of the operation information of the two counting units 13, and a notification is given when the occurrence of this abnormality is predicted. Can be prevented.

  Further, the comparison unit 44 compares the latest operation information of the counting unit 13 acquired by the information acquisition unit 43 with the previous operation information stored in the storage unit 50. As a result of this comparison, if there is a difference in the operation information, the possibility of occurrence of an abnormality in the counting unit 13 can be predicted and notified.

  Next, processing when an abnormality occurs will be described.

  If the two counting units 13 are counting simultaneously, and the abnormality detecting means 47 detects that a medal clogging abnormality has occurred in one of them, the normal counting unit 13 counts. While the counting is continued with the normal counting unit 13, the abnormality canceling unit 48 repeatedly performs the abnormality canceling operation on the counting unit 13 in which the abnormality has occurred. For example, the control of the reverse rotation and the normal rotation is repeated a plurality of times for the rotating disk 32 stopped by the medal being caught between the gate portion and the rotating disk 32.

  If the abnormality can be automatically canceled by the abnormality canceling operation, the counting process can be continued and the human intervention can be reduced. If the abnormality is not canceled, the notification means 46 notifies the user.

  Although the case where two counting units 13 are arranged in parallel on one medal counter 11 has been described, the present invention can be similarly applied to the case where three or more counting units 13 are arranged in parallel.

  In addition, when a plurality of medal counters 11 are installed in an amusement store, the operation information from the counting unit 13 of the plurality of medal counters 11 is acquired by one management machine, Occurrence can also be predicted. In this case, the number of counting units 13 of each medal counter 11 may be one, two, or more.

  The game medium counting device can also be applied to a pachinko ball counter that counts pachinko balls as game media.

  Note that the notification method may be changed depending on the urgency of the abnormality that has occurred. For example, if the degree of urgency increases, the error lamp blinks faster.

It is a block diagram of a game medium counting device showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of a game media counting device same as the above. It is a top view of a game media counting device same as the above. It is a perspective view of the state which removed one hopper of the game media counting device same as the above. It is a top view of the state which removed both hoppers of the game media counting device same as the above. It is a flowchart from acquisition of the operation information of the counting unit in the game medium counting device same as the above to notification of abnormality prediction.

Explanation of symbols

11 Medal counting machine as a game media counting device
13 Counting unit
43 Information acquisition means
44 Means of comparison
45 Anomaly prediction methods
46 Notification means
47 Anomaly detection means
48 Error canceling means
49 Control means
50 Storage means

Claims (5)

A plurality of counting units that count gaming media with the same structure and the same operation;
Information acquisition means for acquiring operation information when each counting unit is operated in accordance with the counting process from the plurality of counting units;
A game medium counting device comprising: comparing means for comparing operation information of a plurality of counting units acquired by the information acquiring means. An abnormality occurrence prediction means for predicting the occurrence of an abnormality from the difference in the operation information of the plurality of counting units compared by the comparison means;
The game medium counting device according to claim 1, further comprising an informing means for informing when an abnormality occurrence is predicted by the abnormality occurrence predicting means. 3. The game medium counting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the notification means notifies only when a predetermined notification condition is satisfied and the occurrence of a continuous abnormality is predicted by the abnormality occurrence prediction means. An abnormality detection means for detecting the occurrence of an abnormality in the counting unit during counting;
An error canceling means for performing an error canceling operation on the counter unit in which an error has occurred during counting;
When the abnormality detecting means detects that an abnormality has occurred in any one of the counting units at the same time, the abnormality is canceled while the normal counting unit continues counting. 4. The game medium counting device according to claim 1, further comprising: a control unit that repeatedly performs an abnormality canceling operation on the counting unit in which an abnormality has occurred in the unit. Comprising storage means for storing operation information of the counting unit acquired by the information acquisition means;
The game according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the comparison means compares the latest operation information of the counting unit acquired by the information acquisition means with previous operation information stored in the storage means. Medium counting device.

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