JP2018175013A - Token game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a token game machine that allows a game to be enjoyed continuously without performing a troublesome operation.SOLUTION: There is provided a token game machine provided with a game field where tokens are fed and a game is played, in which a user can obtain tokens depending on a result of the game in the game field. The token game machine includes: a fall port 53 for recovering tokens falling from the game field from the game field as tokens obtained by the user; a counter for counting the number of obtained tokens recovered from the fall port 53; a token feeding mechanism having a hopper for storing a plurality of tokens, which feeds the tokens stored in the hopper to the game field according to an operation of the user; switching means for switching the destination of the obtained tokens recovered from the fall port and having passed through the counter between a token outlet and the hopper according to an operation of the user; and a storage part for storing the number of tokens stored in the hopper of the obtained tokens as the number of playable games.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a medal game machine that plays a game using medals that are game value owned by a user.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there have been medal game machines for playing a game using medals, which are game values owned by the user, and acquiring more medals. In this type of medal game machine, the user can play the game according to the number of medals inserted by inserting medals from the insertion slot, and the medals acquired according to the result of the game are paid out from the payout opening. The user can enjoy the game continuously by inserting the medal paid out from the payout opening into the insertion slot.

  Some medal game machines need to perform a bothersome operation such as getting angry or standing up when transporting the medals from the payout opening to the insertion slot. The medal game machine disclosed in Patent Document 1 is provided with a passage in which the medals can be slid from the storage section where the paid-out medals are stored to the insertion slot, and the troublesome when carrying the medals from the payout opening to the insertion slot I am trying to reduce the movement.

JP, 2009-18188, A

  In the medal game machine of the above aspect, it is necessary to slide the paid-out medals to the insertion slot, but such slide operation as in the case of a game machine played by inserting medals frequently or in large amounts, for example Even sometimes it can be annoying.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a medal game machine capable of continuously enjoying a game without performing troublesome operations.

  In order to solve the above problems, a medal game machine according to the present invention has a game field in which a medal is sent and a game is played, and a medal which allows a user to obtain a medal according to the result of the game in the game field. A game machine, comprising: a falling port for collecting medals dropped from the game field as the user's acquired medals from the game field; a counter for counting the number of acquired medals collected from the falling port; A medal sending mechanism that has a hopper to store and sends the medals stored in the hopper to the game field according to the user's operation, and is collected from the drop opening according to the user's operation and passes through the counter. Switching means for switching the destination of the acquired medal between the payout opening and the hopper; Chi, and a storage unit for storing the number of medals stored in the hopper as a playable number.

  According to the above configuration, when the user wants to play the game continuously, the user can switch the destination of the medal dropped from the drop opening from the payout opening to the hopper. As a result, the user does not have to carry the medals acquired by dropping from the drop opening to the insertion slot, so that the user can continuously enjoy the game without performing troublesome operations.

  The above-mentioned medal game machine is provided with an insertion slot through which a user inserts a medal, and when the destination of the acquired medal is the hopper, the medal inserted from the insertion slot is sent to the hopper through the counter. The counter may count the acquired medals collected from the drop opening and the number of medals inserted from the insertion slot. According to this configuration, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the counter for counting acquired medals collected from the drop opening and the counter for counting the number of medals inserted from the insertion slot are separately provided. .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a medal game machine capable of continuously enjoying a game without performing troublesome operations.

It is a figure showing the appearance of the medal game machine concerning one embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an entire configuration of a medal game machine. It is a figure which shows the game field and operating console of a medal game machine. It is a figure which shows the distribution channel of a medal.

  Hereinafter, a medal game machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Overall configuration of medal game machine]
FIG. 1 is a view showing an appearance of a medal game machine 1 according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an entire configuration of the medal game machine 1. The medal game machine 1 includes six satellite machines 2 arranged in a ring. The side of one satellite 2 of the two satellites 2 adjacent to each other is connected to the side of the other satellite 2. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, six satellite machines 2 and three ball feeders 3 are communicably connected to the control device 4 via the bus 5. In the following description, focusing on one satellite 2, the front side of the satellite 2 is referred to as the front. Then, the back side of the satellite 2 is taken as the rear, the right toward the front of the satellite 2 as the right, and the left as the left.

  The user can play the game of each satellite 2 using the medals. Each satellite machine 2 has a game field GF in which a medal is transmitted and a game is played. The user can obtain medals according to the result of the game in the game field GF. As shown in FIG. 1, the satellite device 2 includes a box-shaped case 10, and a game field GF is disposed inside the case 10. The game field GF is covered with a transparent cover (not shown) on the front side. Therefore, the user can view the movement of the medal in the game field GF. Further, on the front side of the transparent cover in the housing 10, an operation console 11 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the operation console 11 is provided to extend in the left-right direction. Further, at the central portion in the left-right direction of the operation console 11, the insertion slot 12 into which the medals are inserted, the payout opening 13 from which the medals are paid out, and the medal tray 14 for receiving the medals paid out from the payout opening 13 are arranged. ing. On the left side of the operation console 11, a sending operation unit 15 for receiving a user's operation for sending a medal to the game field GF is provided. Further, on the right side of the operation console 11, a switching operation unit 16 to be described later that receives a user's operation is provided. Although the delivery operation unit 15 and the switching operation unit 16 are buttons in the illustrated example, they are not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a pivotable operation lever or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the satellite 2 includes a delivery mechanism 21. The delivery mechanism 21 is for delivering medals to the game field GF. The delivery mechanism 21 is disposed inside the housing 10 and has a delivery hopper 21 a that stores the medals inserted from the insertion port 12. When the sending operation unit 15 of the operation console 11 is operated, the sending mechanism 21 is controlled by the control device 4 to send a medal to the game field GF.

  The satellite 2 also includes a counting hopper (counter) 22. The count hopper 22 counts the number of medals collected from the drop opening 53 (see FIG. 3) provided in the game field GF. As described later, in the medal game machine 1 according to the present embodiment, the medals collected from the drop opening 53 are set as those which the user has acquired by the game played in the game field GF.

  The satellite 2 also includes a switching mechanism (switching means) 23. The switching mechanism 23 is a mechanism for switching the destination of the acquired medals counted by the counting hopper 22 between the payout opening 13 and the sending hopper 21a based on the operation of the switching operation unit 16 by the user. In other words, the switching mechanism 23 is provided in the housing 10 of the satellite device 2 and includes a first path for guiding the medals from the drop opening 53 to the payout opening 13 and a medal for guiding the medals from the drop opening 53 to the delivery hopper 21a. Between the two routes, it is possible to change the distribution route of the medal. For example, such a switching mechanism 23 is realized by an opening / closing mechanism that opens one of the first and second paths and closes the other path based on the operation of the switching operation unit 16 by the user. Ru.

  The ball supply device 3 supplies a predetermined number of balls to the game field GF in accordance with the game result in the game field GF. In the present embodiment, one ball feeder 3 is provided for the adjacent two satellite machines 2. The ball feeder 3 is disposed between two adjacent satellites 2 and is connected to each of the satellites 2 via a ball passage 57 (see FIG. 3). Then, when signals are received from the satellite 2 or the control device 4 via the bus 5 shown in FIG. 2, the number of balls specified based on these signals is thrown into the game field GF at a predetermined timing. A plurality of lamps (five in the illustrated example) 17 are provided in the vicinity of the ball feeder 3 in the casing 10 of the satellite 2 and is turned on at a predetermined timing.

  The control device 4 includes calculation means such as a processor and storage means (storage part) such as ROM and RAM, and controls the operation of the medal game machine 1 and performs various data management and the like.

  For example, the control device 4 instructs the sending mechanism 21 to send the medal to the game field GF based on the operation of the sending operation unit 15 by the user. Further, the control device 4 stores the number of medals that can be sent out to the game field GF as the number of possible games, based on the operation of the sending operation unit 15 by the user. The number of possible games increases, for example, according to the number of medals inserted from the insertion slot 12 and the number of medals acquired in the game in the game field GF, while the medals in the game field GF based on the operation of the sending operation unit 15 by the user. It decreases each time it is delivered. As described later, the number of medals acquired in the game field GF may not be stored as the number of possible games.

  FIG. 3 is a view showing the game field GF and the operation console 11 in the medal game machine 1. The game field GF includes a first game field GF1 configured by the panel 30, and a second game field GF2 configured by the fixed table 51 and the pusher table 52 provided below the first game field GF1. In the medal game machine 1 of the present embodiment, the medal is sent to the first game field GF1 by operating the sending operation unit 15, and an event for giving a predetermined result to the user according to the destination or route of the medal. Is executed. Further, in the second game field GF2, a pusher game is played by the medals dropped from the first game field GF1.

  The panel 30 constituting the first game field GF1 is vertically arranged, and a plurality of pins 31 are provided. When the delivery operation unit 15 is operated, the delivery mechanism 21 releases the medal M from the medal delivery unit 32 in the upper part of the panel 30. The released medal is changed in the release direction by the swinging members 33a and 33b provided immediately below the medal release portion 32, and then collides with the pin 31 etc. and drops while changing the direction irregularly.

  A display device 34 is provided at the center in the vertical direction of the panel 30 and at the center in the horizontal direction. The display device 34 is, for example, a monitor such as a liquid crystal display device. The display device 34 displays, for example, information on the progress of the game and the lottery performed in the first game field GF1.

  Arm-shaped first opening / closing portions 36 and second opening / closing portions 37 are provided on both sides of the panel 30 in the vertical direction center. The control device 4 causes the first opening / closing portion 36 and the second opening / closing portion 37 to swing along the panel 30 between the open position and the closed position around the lower end. The open position is a position where the falling direction of the medal M which has fallen is regulated. Further, the closed position is a position where the falling direction of the medal M can not be regulated. Specifically, the medal M falling along the panel 30 abuts on the first opening / closing portion 36 or the second opening / closing portion 37 in the open state. Thereafter, the medal M rolls along the first opening / closing portion 36 or the second opening / closing portion 37, and the falling direction is regulated. A predetermined event is executed by the medals M rolled in contact with the first opening / closing portion 36 and the second opening / closing portion 37.

  For example, a ball insertion event is executed by the medal M rolling in contact with the first opening and closing portion 36. Specifically, the medal M which contacts and rolls while the first opening / closing portion 36 is in the open state is collected by the delivery hopper 21a from the collection port 35a and detected by a sensor (not shown). The control device 4 receives a detection signal from the sensor, counts the number of medals M collected from the collection port 35a, and counts a plurality of lamps 17 provided in the vicinity of the ball feeder 3 each time it counts (FIG. 1) light one by one (refer to the five lamps 17 arranged vertically). When the number of medals M collected by the first opening and closing unit 36 reaches a predetermined number (for example, when all the lamps 17 are turned on), the control device 4 controls the ball supply machine 3 to set the fixed table. One ball B is supplied on the top 51. As the ball B is turned on, all the lamps 17 are turned off.

  In addition, the physical lottery event is executed by the medal M which is rolled in contact with the second opening and closing portion 37. Specifically, near the lower side of the display device 34, a rotating body 40 which rotates at a predetermined speed and is used as a lottery machine is provided. The medal M, which is in contact with the second opening / closing portion 37 while in the open state, rolls toward a hole 37a provided in the vicinity of the right end of the second opening / closing portion 37 and then drops from the hole 37a. Below the second opening / closing portion 37, a guide portion 38 configured of a plurality of rails 38a, 38b, 38c on which the medal M rolls is provided. The medal M dropped from the hole 37 a abuts on the guide portion 38, and is then guided by the guide portion 38 to the rotating body 40. The rotating body 40 has a plurality of recesses 41 which are evenly arranged along the circumference and hold the medals M. The medal M guided by the guiding portion 38 is held in any of the concave portions 41 of the rotating body 40, and imparts a predetermined result according to the concave portion 41. In the center portion of the rotating body 40, a notation 45 such as a number or a mark indicating the result to be provided by the physical lottery is marked for each of the concave portions 41.

  In addition, around the rotating body 40, a holding frame 42 opened only in a predetermined direction is provided. The opening of the holding frame 42 constitutes a medal entrance 43 for the medal M to enter the recess 41. That is, the holding frame 42 enables the medal M to enter only one concave portion 41 which comes to a position opening in the same direction as the opening direction of the holding frame 42. In addition, the holding frame 42 closes the openings of the plurality of concave portions 41 at positions opened in a direction different from the opening direction of the holding frame 42. Thereby, the state in which the medals M are held in the concave portions 41 can be maintained. The medal M held by the rotating body 40 is discharged from the recovery port (for example, a hole formed in the panel 30 on the back side of the rotating body 40) 35b (see FIG. 4) before completing one round with the rotating body 40. And sent to the delivery hopper 21a.

  Further, below the first opening and closing portion 36 in the panel 30, a chucker 39 is provided. When the medal M passes through the chucker 39, the first opening / closing unit 36 is controlled by the control device 4 to move from the closed position to the open position, and after a predetermined time has passed with the open position, closes from the open position. It is returned to the position. This opening and closing operation may be performed once each time the medal M passes through the chucker 39 or may be performed multiple times.

  The second game field GF2 has a fixed table 51 and a pusher table 52 that reciprocates back and forth on the far side of the fixed table 51. A large number of medals M are placed on the fixed table 51 and the pusher table 52. A drop opening 53 is provided on the front side of the fixed table 51. Side walls 54 that rise from the edge of the fixed table 51 are provided on both sides of the fixed table 51 in the left-right direction. Each side wall portion 54 is provided with a recovery port 55 for recovering the medal M. Further, on one of the side wall portions 54, a ball insertion port 56 for inserting the ball B sent from the ball supply device 3 onto the fixed table 51 is provided.

  The pusher table 52 reciprocates back and forth along the upper surface of the fixed table 51 at a constant cycle below the panel 30. The medal M sent to the first game field GF1 is dropped and placed toward the pusher table 52. As the pusher table 52 reciprocates, the medal M placed on the pusher table 52 drops from the pusher table 52. Then, the medal M dropped from the pusher table 52 is placed on the fixed table 51. Furthermore, the medal M placed on the fixed table 51 is pushed by the front end portion of the pusher table 52 and moves forward. Thus, the medal M on the fixed table 51 is pushed forward and falls to the drop opening 53 or is collected from the collection opening 55.

  Further, the ball B inserted onto the fixed table 51 in the above-described ball insertion event is also pushed forward as the pusher table 52 reciprocates, as with the medal M placed on the fixed table 51. After a while, it falls from the drop opening 53. The drop opening 53 is provided with a sensor for detecting the ball B. When the ball B falls into the drop opening 53, a detection signal is sent from the sensor to the control device 4. The control device 4 receives the detection signal from the sensor, adds the playable number by a predetermined number (for example, "10"), and opens and closes the second opening and closing portion 37 a predetermined number of times. The opening and closing operation of the second opening and closing unit 37 may be executed by the medal M passing through the chucker 39, as in the first opening and closing unit 36.

[Distribution route of medals]
Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the distribution channel of the medal M of the medal game machine 1 will be described. As described above, when the user operates the sending operation unit 15, the medal M stored in the sending hopper 21a is sent to the first game field GF1.

  Among the medals M sent to the first game field GF1, the medals M collected without being sent to the second game field GF2 are sent to the sending hopper 21a. In the present embodiment, as described above, the medal M recovered from the recovery port 35a after contacting the first opening / closing portion 36 and the medal M recovered from the recovery port 35b after being held by the recess 41 of the rotating body 40 Are sent to the delivery hopper 21a.

  Among the medals M sent to the first game field GF1, the medals M not collected by the collection ports 35a and 35b are placed on the pusher table 52 of the second game field GF2. Then, as described above, after the pusher table 52 reciprocates, it falls onto the fixed table 51 and then falls into the drop opening 53 or enters into the recovery opening 55. Among these, the medal M which has entered the recovery port 55 is recovered by the delivery hopper 21a.

  The medal M dropped from the drop opening 53 is collected from the second game field GF2 as a user's acquired medal. The acquired medals M dropped from the drop opening 53 are sent to the count hopper 22 and counted. Then, the earned medals M discharged from the counting hopper 22 are sent to the delivery hopper 21 a or the delivery port 13 which is the destination set based on the operation of the switching operation unit 16 by the user through the switching mechanism 23.

  When the destination of the acquired medal set by the switching mechanism 23 is the payout exit 13, the acquired medal M discharged from the counting hopper 22 is paid out from the payout exit 13 through the first route and held by the user It becomes. Further, in this case, the number of acquired medals counted in the count hopper 22 (ie, the number of medals paid out from the payout opening 13 through the first route) is discharged from the medal game machine 1 to the storage unit of the control device 4 It is stored as the number of discharged tokens, which is the number of medals. The number of discharged medals stored in the storage unit is used, for example, to manage the number of medals present in the medal game machine 1.

  When the destination of the acquired medal set by the switching mechanism 23 is the delivery hopper 21a, the acquired medal M discharged from the count hopper 22 is sent to the delivery hopper 21a through the second path. Further, in this case, the number of acquired medals counted in the count hopper 22 (that is, the number of medals sent and stored in the sending hopper 21a through the second route) is stored in the storage unit of the control device 4 as the number of possible games. Be done. For example, when five medals are sent to the sending hopper 21a through the second route when the current playable number is "10", the current playable number is 5 for the current playable number. Is added, and the number of possible games is "15".

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the medal M inserted from the insertion slot 12 by the user is sent to the counting hopper 22. That is, in the present embodiment, the count hopper 22 counts not only the acquired medals collected from the drop port 53 but also the medals inserted from the slot 12. The counting hopper 22 does not distinguish between the acquired medals collected from the drop port 53 and the medals M inserted from the slot 12 and does not count them. Therefore, when the destination of the obtained medal M set by the switching mechanism 23 is the sending hopper 21a, the obtained medal M collected from the drop opening 53 and the medal M inserted from the insertion slot 12 are not distinguished from each other. Are stored in the storage unit as the number of possible games.

  As described above, in the medal game machine 1 according to the present embodiment, when the user wants to play the game continuously, the user sends out the destination of the medal M dropped from the drop opening 53 from the payout opening 13 It can be switched to the hopper 21a. As a result, the user does not have to carry the medal M acquired by dropping from the drop opening 53 to the insertion slot 12, and therefore, the user can enjoy the game continuously without performing troublesome operations.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the count counter 22 counts the number of acquired medals M collected from the drop opening 53 and the medals M inserted from the insertion slot 12. Compared with the case where a counter for counting acquired medals M collected from the drop opening 53 and a counter for counting the number of medals M inserted from the insertion slot 12 are separately provided, the manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, the number of satellite machines 2 provided in the token game machine 1, the number of ball feeders 3 and the number of control devices 4 are not limited to the number shown in the above embodiment. One ball feeder 3 may be connected to one satellite 2 or may be connected to three or more satellites 2. Further, the number, the arrangement, and the like of the elements provided on the panel 30 shown in the above embodiment are not limited to those described above. Further, the medal game machine 1 may not have the ball feeder 3.

  In the above embodiment, the counting hopper 22 counts the acquired medals collected from the drop port 53 and the medals M inserted from the insertion slot 12 without distinction. For example, the counting hopper 22 inserts the medals from the insertion slot 12 A counter may be provided to count the medals M separately. Such a counter is provided, for example, with a sensor for detecting medals on the insertion path which guides the medal M from the insertion slot 12 to the count hopper 22 and the number of medals detected by the sensor is counted by the control device 4 or the like. It is realized by doing. In this case, it is possible to separately manage the number of medals M inserted from the insertion slot 12 and the acquired medals M collected from the falling slot 53.

  In addition, the medal M inserted by the user from the insertion slot 12 may be directly sent to the delivery hopper 21a without passing through the counting hopper 22. In this case, for example, a counter for individually counting the medals M inserted from the insertion slot 12 is provided, and the number of playable numbers counted and stored in the counting hopper 22 is the number of medals counted by the counter. It may be added.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to a medal game machine capable of playing the pusher game, as long as the game machine is a medal game machine having a dropper to be collected from the game field GF as a user's acquired medal. That is, although the above-mentioned satellite machine 2 was provided with the 2nd game field GF2 which a user can play a pusher game, it is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to a medal game machine which is not provided with the second game field GF2 and which is provided with a winning opening corresponding to the falling opening of the present invention in the first game field GF1.

Reference Signs List 1 medal game machine 2 satellite machine 4 control device 12 input port 13 payout port 21 delivery mechanism 21a hopper for delivery
22 Count hopper (counter)
23 Switching mechanism (switching means)
53 Falling mouth GF game field

Claims (2)

A medal game machine having a game field in which medals are sent out and a game is played, and a user can obtain medals according to the result of the game in the game field,
A drop opening for collecting medals dropped from the game field from the game field as user's acquired medals;
A counter for counting the number of acquired medals collected from the drop opening;
A payout exit for paying out the acquired medals to the user;
A medal sending mechanism having a hopper for storing a plurality of medals, and sending the medals stored in the hopper to the game field according to a user's operation;
Switching means for switching between the payout port and the hopper the destination of the acquired medals collected from the drop opening and passed through the counter in accordance with the user's operation;
A storage unit that stores, among the acquired medals, the number of medals stored in the hopper as the number of possible games;
, A medal game machine. Equipped with an insertion slot where the user can insert medals,
When the destination of the acquired medal is the hopper, the medal inserted from the insertion port is sent to the hopper through the counter.
The counter counts the number of the acquired medals collected from the drop opening and the medals inserted from the insertion slot.
The medal game machine according to claim 1.

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