JP2592090Y2 - Medal / Pachinko ball supply system - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medal / pachinko ball replenishing system for replenishing gaming medals or pachinko balls to gaming machines and rental machines.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 18, medals are collected from a slot machine SM and transported to a first storage tank T1 on a gaming island in which slot machines and medal lending machines are arranged. Recovery system M11
Polishing system M12 for polishing the dirty medals in the storage tank T1 and transporting the polished medals in the second storage tank T2 to each of the slot machines SM and the medal lending machines CS. And a polishing system control means M14 for operating the polishing system M12 when the number of medals in the second storage tank T2 becomes smaller than a predetermined value, and a medal in each slot machine SM and each medal lending machine CS. A medal replenishment system including a distribution supply system control means M15 for activating the distribution supply system M13 when the number of medals is less than a predetermined value is provided. The medals inserted into the slot machine SM are circulated as indicated by solid line arrows in FIG. Each medal lending machine CS is replenished.

The collection system M11 includes a collection conveyor 201 for transferring medals from the slot machine SM.
And a first lifter 203 that lifts the medals received from the collection conveyor 201 upward and carries the medals into the first storage tank T1, and both of them are constantly operating to collect medals.

[0004] The polishing system M12 also includes a first transmitter 205 for sequentially transmitting medals in the first storage tank T1.
A polishing machine 207 for polishing medals sent from the first sending device 205, and a second lifter 209 for lifting the medals received from the polishing machine 207 upward and carrying the medals into the second storage tank T2, Controlled by the polishing system control means M14, the operation is performed when the number of medals in the second storage tank T2 becomes smaller than a predetermined value, so that the medals in the second storage tank T2 do not run short.

[0005] Further, the distribution and supply system M13 includes a second transmitter 2 for sequentially transmitting the medals in the second storage tank T2.
13, a supply conveyor 215 for transporting the medals sent from the second sending machine 213 above each slot machine SM and each medal lending machine CS, and each slot machine S
M and a plurality of distribution shutters 217 for distributing medals to each of the medal lending machines CS. The number of medals in each of the slot machines SM and each of the medal lending machines CS is controlled by the distribution and supply system control means M15. Then, it operates to prevent shortage of payout medals in each slot machine SM and each medal lending machine CS.

[0006]

Incidentally, the distribution and supply system M13 must supply medals to each slot machine SM etc. as soon as possible, even if the payout medals of a large number of slot machines SM are insufficient. For this reason, conventionally, a considerable amount of polished medals has been stored in the second storage tank T2.

However, in order to store a large amount of polished medals, the second storage tank T2 has become quite large. In addition, it is necessary to install a sending device 213 for sending medals from the second storage tank T2, and the like.
There is a problem that a considerable space is required to install all of them.

Further, such a problem is not limited to the medal supply system for the slot machine, but also applies to the pachinko ball supply system for the similarly configured pachinko machine. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a medal / pachinko ball supply system that is compact and requires less installation space than before.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a medal / slingshot ball replenishing system according to the present invention collects medals / slingshot balls from respective gaming machines on a gaming island as illustrated in FIG. The collecting means M1 and the collected medals
A polishing means M2 for polishing a pachinko ball, and distributing and supplying means M3 for distributing the polished Medal pachinko ball in a game island each gaming machine and each lending machine, depending on the request from each gaming machine or the lending machine , and a said polishing means and the operation control means actuate between both the predetermined distribution supply means M4, the actuation
The polishing means M2 and the distribution device are controlled by a control means M4.
When the supply means M3 is operated, the distribution supply means M3 is activated.
Dal pachinko ball received from the polishing means M2,
Directly, characterized by the this <br/> for replenishing the gaming machine or lending machine issued the request.

Here, the predetermined period is, for example, a period until a request signal from each gaming machine or each rental machine is stopped, or a predetermined number of medals and pachinko balls are counted on the supply path and passed. The time can be set by various methods, such as until a predetermined amount of medals or pachinko balls are supplied.

The reference numerals given to the components included in each means in FIG. 1 are the same as the reference numerals of the components described in the embodiments described later, and the configuration of each means is specifically limited. Of course not.

[0012]

According to the medal / pachinko ball replenishment system of the present invention, when the supply of medals / pachinko balls is requested from each gaming machine or each lending machine, the medals / pachinko balls are immediately polished by the polishing means M2. At the same time, the medals and pachinko balls are supplied to predetermined gaming machines or rental machines by the distribution supply means M3. Then, when the polishing means M2 and the distribution and supply means M3 are operated for a predetermined time and supply of a required amount is completed, the polishing means M2 and the distribution and supply means M3 are stopped.

As described above, according to the present invention, a required amount of polished medals is supplied from the polishing means each time the medals and pachinko balls are not stored exclusively for supply. By eliminating the tank and the delivery mechanism attached to the tank, the entire replenishment system can be made compact. Therefore, in installing this medal / pachinko ball replenishing system, the installation space is not required as compared with the related art, and the space of the game hall can be effectively utilized.

[0014]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the medal replenishment system of the embodiment is provided at an end of a gaming island 5 in which a number of slot machines 1 and a number of medal lending machines 3 are arranged. The collected medals are lifted upward by the first lifter 7 and carried into the storage tank 8, and the stored medals are sequentially sent to the medal polishing machine 9, and the medals polished by the medal polishing machine 9 are transferred to the second medal polishing machine 9. Of the slot machine 1 and the medal lending machine 3 by the supply conveyor 12 and conveyed above the slot machine 1 and the medal lending machine 3 by the distribution shutter 13. It is configured to supply to. The arrows in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 indicate the moving paths of the medals when the medals are collected and supplied. In addition, the medals thrown into the medal counter 15 are also carried into the storage tank 8.

Next, each of these components will be described in detail along the moving path of the medals shown in FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 2, medals collected by the collection conveyor 6 from the lower part of the slot machine 1 are sent to the first lifter 7.

As shown in FIG. 4, the lifter 7 includes a first conveyor belt 20, a second conveyor belt 30 disposed inside the first conveyor belt 20, and a third conveyor disposed from a hopper HP. And a belt 40. The hopper HP has an open bottom surface HP1 and a front surface HP2.

The first conveyor belt 20 includes a hopper HP
The medal introduction part 21 extending in the lateral direction so as to close the opening of the bottom surface HP1, the rising part 23 which rises the medal introduction part 21 upward from the middle, and the rising part 23 is again attached to the medal introduction part 21. An endless belt is formed from the continuous return portion 25. Note that the medal introduction unit 21
The transfer source side is inclined so as to be lower. This angle of inclination is about 10 degrees with respect to the horizontal as shown in FIG. Further, the first conveyor belt 20 is formed of a material having a large coefficient of friction.

The second conveyor belt 30 is an endless belt that rotates with the first conveyor belt 20 and a conveying surface in contact with each other over a predetermined range, and pinches the medal at the contact portion and conveys the medal upward. is there. The second conveyor belt 30 includes a contact portion 31 that contacts the medal introduction portion 21 and the rising portion 23, and a medal discharge portion that is separated from the first conveyor belt 20 and escapes laterally before reaching the return portion 25. 33, and a descending section 35 that connects the medal discharge section 33 to the contact section 31 again. The second conveyor belt 30 is formed of a material having a smaller coefficient of friction than the first conveyor belt 20. This is to smooth the medal conveyance in the curved portions B and C by sliding as needed.

The third conveyor belt 40 has a bottom portion 41 disposed above the medal introduction portion 21 of the first conveyor belt 20 at a predetermined distance from the medal introduction portion 21, and a substantially vertical portion on a further front side of the bottom portion 41. A front portion 43 extends upward by a predetermined distance in the direction, and a rear portion 45 connects the front portion 43 to the bottom portion 41 again. The distance h1 between the bottom 41 and the medal introduction portion 21 on the medal entry side is sufficiently smaller than the diameter of the medal M. On the other hand, the bottom part 41 and the medal introduction part 21
The distance h2 on the medal exit side is at least 1
The distance exceeds the thickness of the sheet (for example, the thickness of two to three sheets). The reason why the two or three sheets may be separated from each other is that the overlapping of the sheets does not hinder the conveyance of the first and second conveyor belts. Rather, keeping the distance of about two to three sheets contributes to smooth processing without difficulty in the medal alignment operation by the third endless belt. In this way, the bottom 41 as a whole
It is arranged so that the distance from the medal introduction part 21 becomes narrower as it goes to the back. Also, the third conveyor belt 4
No. 0 is formed of a material having a large coefficient of friction similarly to the first conveyor belt 20.

The first, second, and third conveyor belts 20, 30, and 40 are rotated as shown by arrows in FIGS. That is, the first conveyor belt 20 is rotated clockwise, the second conveyor belt 30 is rotated counterclockwise, and the third conveyor belt 40 is rotated clockwise. For this reason, the second conveyor belt 30 can convey the medals M in cooperation with the first conveyor belt 20, but the third conveyor belt 40 pushes the medals M back against the first conveyor belt 20. Acts in the direction. The transport speed of the third conveyor belt 40 is set faster than the transport speed of the first conveyor belt 20.

With the above configuration, a large number of medals M are supplied to the hopper HP as shown in FIG. 4, and a large number of medals are superimposed on the first conveyor belt 20 and the third medal M.
If it is supplied between the conveyor belts 40 of
The bottom 41 of the conveyor belt 40 pushes the upper medal backward by the frictional force of the belt surface, and breaks the medal block. As a result, the medal is prevented from being supplied to the entrance A to the portion where the first and second conveyor belts are in contact with the medal overlapping. Here, as shown in the figure, even if a large amount of medals accumulate on the entrance sides of the first and third conveyor belts, the medals in this portion are not indicated by arrows X in the third conveyor belt 40 as shown in the figure. It is lifted at the front part 43 and sent back far. Therefore, it is possible to break the medal pile on the entry side. In this embodiment, the front part 4 of the third conveyor belt 40 is used.
Since a portion that rises in the vertical direction by a predetermined distance is provided as No. 3, the mountain of medals is not broken and does not fall into such a state. Also, as a result of breaking the medal pile,
It is also possible to avoid a situation in which the supply of medals becomes impossible due to the medals on the mountain being disturbed.

In the present embodiment, the function of breaking the hill is favorably exhibited by the inclination provided at the medal introduction portion 21 of the first conveyor belt 20. In other words, the medal easily returns to the left side in the figure by this inclination,
When the medals stand near the entrance D to the bottom 41 of the third conveyor belt 40, the medals are likely to roll toward the transport source, and are difficult to close, so that the mountain is easily collapsed.

In this way, the lifter 7 can smoothly lift medals from the bottom up and send them to the storage tank 8 even if a large amount of medals are supplied at one time. As shown in FIG. 6, a belt conveyor 7 for sending medals in the storage tank 8 to the near side in the drawing is provided below the storage tank 8.
5, a motor 77 for driving the belt conveyor 75, and a medal polisher 9
And a chute 78 for guiding the medals in the storage tank 8 in order.
It can be supplied to.

As shown in FIG. 7, the medal polishing machine 9 has a first tank 53 for storing both pellets for polishing medals and medals, a second tank 55 for storing only pellets, and both tanks. A polishing cylinder 59 for conveying pellets and medals introduced from 53 and 55 upward while stirring and mixing with a conveyor screw 57, and introducing pellets and medals overflowing from the polishing cylinder 59 to sieve only the pellets into the tank 53. A separation cylinder 61 to be dropped and a discharge port 63 to the second lifter 11 are provided.

Of these, a medal supply port 71 is formed in the first tank 53, from which medals from the storage tank 8 are guided into the tank 53. When a medal is placed in the tank 53, the medal mixes with the pellets previously placed in the tank 53. On the other hand, the second tank 55 contains only pellets. This second tank 55
As shown in FIG. 7, a supply port 81 having an openable / closable chute / lid 80 is provided above, from which pellets can be newly supplied. Further, below the second tank 55, a collecting port 83 closed by an openable and closable shutter 82 is provided, from which the pellets in the tank 55 can be collected.

The polishing cylinder 59 is a cylindrical body erected between the first tank 53 and the second tank 55. Half of the outer peripheral surface of the polishing cylinder 59 is exposed in the tank 53 as shown in FIG. The other half is exposed in the tank 55. The first tank 53 and the second tank 55 are formed by a polishing cylinder 59 and a partition 8.
The pellets and medals do not directly enter and exit from each other between the two tanks 53 and 55. If the pellets and medals have a height sufficient to prevent direct entry and exit, both tanks 53,
There is no problem even if 55 is connected. As shown in FIG. 9A, the polishing cylinder 59 is provided on the tank 55 side of the polishing cylinder 59.
A pellet inlet 85 for introducing pellets into the inside,
A pellet discharge port 87 for discharging pellets in the polishing cylinder 59 is formed. The pellet introduction port 85 and the pellet discharge port 87 are sized so that only pellets can pass and medals cannot pass. On the other hand, on the tank 53 side of the polishing cylinder 59, as shown in FIG.
A medal introduction port 89 for introducing pellets and medals therein, and a medal discharge port 91 for discharging pellets and medals in the polishing cylinder 59 are formed. The medal introduction port 89 and the medal discharge port 91 are sized to pass both pellets and medals. Both introduction ports 85 and 89 are
Both are formed at the lowermost part of the polishing cylinder 59,
7 and 91 are formed at substantially the same height position above the polishing cylinder 59.

The bottom surface of the first tank 53 is inclined so as to descend toward the polishing cylinder 59 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the pellets and medals in the tank 53 are collected by their own weight at the medal introduction port 89 and enter the polishing cylinder 59. Also, since the bottom surface of the second tank 55 is similarly inclined, the pellets in the tank 55 also gather at the pellet inlet 85 by their own weight and enter the polishing cylinder 59.

The conveyor screw 57 disposed in the polishing cylinder 59 is connected at a lower end to a motor 95 via a chain 93, and is rotated by the driving force of the motor 95. When the conveyor screw 57 rotates, the pellets and medals that have entered from the above-described pellet introduction ports 85 and 89 are transported to above the polishing cylinder 59 and are fed to the pellet introduction port 8.
From 5,89, pellets and medals enter one after another. In the polishing cylinder 59, the pellets and the medals are conveyed while being stirred and mixed, and the dirt attached to the medals is scraped off by the contact between them at that time.

When the pellets and medals reach above the polishing cylinder 59, only the pellets overflow from the above-described pellet discharge port 87, and both the pellets and the medals overflow from the medal discharge port 91. Note that medals and pellets sufficiently overflow from the pellet discharge port 87 and the medal discharge port 91, so that they do not overflow from the opening at the upper end of the polishing cylinder 59.

The pellets overflowing from the pellet discharge port 87 spill into the second tank 55 as they are. The spilled pellets enter the polishing cylinder 59 again through the pellet inlet 85 and are used for polishing many times.
In the embodiment, about half of the pellets conveyed above the polishing cylinder 59 overflows from the pellet discharge port 87.

On the other hand, the pellets and medals overflowing from the medal discharge port 91 enter the separation cylinder 61. The separation cylinder 61 is a cylindrical body disposed laterally above the inside of the tank 53, one end of which faces the medal discharge port 91, and the other end is protruded outside the second tank 55. . Further, on the wall surface of the separation cylinder 61, a number of small holes 97 sized so that only the pellets pass and the medals do not pass are formed. The separation cylinder 61 is rotated by a motor (not shown),
The pellets and medals that have entered from one end of the separation cylinder 61 are stirred. At this time, only the pellet has many small holes 97.
Spills into the tank 53 and only medals remain in the separation cylinder 61. In addition, the separation cylinder 61 and the polishing cylinder 59 are disposed at an interval of about 5 mm, and the pellets spill out from this gap. The spilled pellets enter the polishing cylinder 59 again from the medal introduction port 89 and are used for polishing many times.

The medals left in the separation cylinder 61 after the pellets are separated are extruded from one end of the separation cylinder 61 into medals supplied one after another and spilled from the other end. The spilled medals are ejected on the chute 99 and guided to the second lifter 11 as shown in FIG.

Since the second lifter 11 has the same structure as the first lifter 7 described above, a detailed description of the structure is omitted here. The medals conveyed by the second lifter 11 are lifted to the top of the gaming island,
It is supplied to the supply conveyor 12.

The medals delivered to the supply conveyor 12 are conveyed above the slot machine 1 and the medal lending machine 3 as shown in FIG. Machine 3. The distribution shutters 13 are baffles that descend until they come into contact with the supply conveyor 12, respectively. As shown in FIG. 10B, when viewed from above, the distribution shutter 13 obstructs the transport path obliquely to the traveling direction of the supply conveyor 12. I do.
For this reason, when the medals M are conveyed by the supply conveyor 12, the medals M come into contact with the distribution shutter 13 and are pushed back toward the front of the gaming island, and pass through a not-shown chute or the like, and pass through a predetermined slot machine 1 or a medal lending machine. 3. Therefore, if the distribution shutter 13 corresponding to the slot machine 1 or the medal lending machine 3 which requires the supply of medals is operated, medals are supplied there.

As shown in FIG. 11, the distribution shutter 13 includes an arm 105 that rotates about a fulcrum 103,
An operating mechanism including a solenoid 109 that pulls one end of an arm 105 through a pull rod 107 when turned on to rotate the arm 105, and a spring 111 that urges the arm 105 pulled by the solenoid 109 to turn back. It is attached and is configured to descend with the rotation of the arm 105.

The above can be summarized and schematically shown in FIG.
The configuration shown in FIG. Among them, the collection conveyor 6 and the first lifter 7 are operated by turning on the power, and always send the medals from the slot machine 1 to the storage tank 8. On the other hand, the operations of the medal sending machine 79, the medal polishing machine 9, the second lifter 11, the supply conveyor 12, and each distribution shutter 13 are controlled by the sequencer 131.

Next, the operation control executed by the sequencer 131 will be described. As shown in FIG. 12, the sequencer 131 drives a motor of a medal sending device 79 and a remaining amount sensor 121 provided in each of the slot machine 1 and the medal lending device 3 for detecting the remaining amount of payout medals. A driving circuit 123, a driving circuit 124 for driving each motor of the medal polishing machine 9, a driving circuit 125 for driving each motor of the second lifter 11, a driving circuit 126 for driving a motor of the replenishment conveyor 12, and each distribution shutter 13
Is connected to a drive circuit 127 for driving. The sequencer 131 is a control device configured to receive a signal from each remaining amount sensor and output a drive signal to each drive circuit according to a preset control sequence. The above-described first lifter 7 and the like are also connected to the same sequencer 131 to be controlled, but this control is not a characteristic part of the present embodiment, and will not be described in detail.

The remaining amount sensor 121 is connected to each slot machine 1
13 and is provided in each of the medal lending machines 3 and, as shown in FIG. 13, two sensor wires 135 are hung in the hopper 137 of the payout medal. The remaining amount sensor 121 is turned on when the medals M come into contact with the two sensor lines 135, and is turned off when the medals M are separated from the sensor line 135 in the insufficient medals state. Is a continuity sensor for determining. In the embodiment, when the resistance value between the sensor lines 135 and 135 exceeds 80 kΩ, the remaining amount sensor 121 is turned off, and 8
It is turned on when it is 0 kΩ or less. In addition, as the remaining amount sensor, other than such a conduction sensor, an optical sensor arranged so that medals block the optical path, or a magnetic sensor for detecting the distance of medals can be used.

Next, a control sequence in the sequencer 131 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the sequencer 131 waits for a supply request from the slot machine and the medal lending machine (S1). In the embodiment, when the remaining amount sensor of each slot machine or the medal lending machine is turned off,
It is determined that there has been a supply request from the slot machine or the medal lending machine.

When there is a request from a certain slot machine, the distribution shutter 13 corresponding to the slot machine is lowered (S2), and the supply conveyor 12 and the second
Is operated (S3). After a short delay, the separation cylinder 61 and the polishing cylinder 59 are operated (S
4) Then, the medal sending device 79 is operated with a little delay (S5). The reason for slightly delaying the operation timings in S2 to S5 is to ensure that the downstream device in the medal conveyance direction operates at the time when the upstream device operates. For finer control, the operation of the second lifter 11 may be slightly delayed from the supply conveyor 12 in S3, or the operation of the polishing cylinder 59 may be slightly delayed from the separation cylinder 61 in S4.

When the devices are put into operation, the medals supplied one after another are polished by the polishing cylinder 59, only the pellets are sieved by the separation cylinder 61, lifted by the lifter 11, and placed on the supply conveyor 12. Can be The medals conveyed to the replenishment conveyor 12 are blocked by the activated distribution shutter 13 and supplied to the requested slot machine.

While supplying medals, the sequencer 13
1 waits for the supply request from the requested slot machine to disappear (S6). In the embodiment, when the medal reaches the slot machine and the remaining amount sensor is turned on, it is determined that there is no supply request. If there is no supply request from the slot machine, it is checked whether there is a supply request from another slot machine or a medal lending machine (S).
7).

Here, if there is no other supply request (S7: NO), the medal sending machine 79 is stopped (S8).
After a short delay, the separation cylinder 61 and the polishing cylinder 59 are stopped (S
9). Further, the lifter 11 is stopped a little later (S10), and the supply conveyor 12 is stopped a little later (S11). Finally, the distribution shutter 13 that has been lowered is raised (S12). The reason for slightly delaying each operation timing in S8 to S12 is to ensure that the supply of medals from the devices located on the upstream side is stopped without fail and that medals do not remain in the devices located on the downstream side. In this way, even after the supply request is eliminated, the medals that have already been carried into each device are sequentially sent downstream and supplied to the slot machine and the like, so that immediately after the remaining amount sensor is turned on, Even if the stop operation is started, a sufficient amount of medals will be supplied to the slot machine.

Here, in S11, the supply conveyor 12
The timing for stopping the operation is determined by the distribution shutter 13 which has been lowered.
Is set in accordance with the arrangement position of. When the position of the distribution shutter 13 is close to the lifter 11, the time until the medal reaches the distribution shutter 13 is short, and the supply conveyor 12 can be stopped earlier. Conversely, distribution shutter 1
When the position of No. 3 is far from the lifter 11, the time required for the medal to reach the distribution shutter 13 becomes longer,
The supply conveyor 12 is operated for a longer time and then stopped. In this way, medals do not remain on the supply conveyor 12 and are all supplied to the slot machine that has requested. After the supply of the medals is completed, the process returns to S1 and waits for the next supply request.

If there is another supply request in S7 (S7: YES), the supply of medals to other slot machines is repeated in order without stopping the polishing machine or the like (S13). Details of the processing in S13 are described in FIG.
As shown in FIG.

First, it is determined whether or not the requested position is downstream of the position where replenishment is currently completed (S20). If the requested position is on the downstream side (S20: YE
S), the corresponding distribution shutter is lowered (S21), and then the distribution shutter at the replenished position is raised (S22).
As a result, the medals are conveyed downstream from the replenished position and subsequently supplied to the required position.

On the other hand, when the requested position is on the upstream side (S20: NO), first, the distribution shutter one upstream from the requested position is lowered to block the flow of medals (S23). Then, it waits for a time t1 to elapse until all the medals located downstream of the stopped position are transported downstream of the requested position (S24). Then, the distribution shutter corresponding to the requested position is lowered (S25), and the distribution shutter lowered in S23 is raised (S26). By lowering the distribution shutter at the required position in steps S23 to S26, it is possible to prevent a medal from being caught between the distribution shutter at the required position and the supply conveyor. In the embodiment, the period from when the shutter is lowered in S23 to when the shutter is raised in S26 is set to 2 to 3 seconds. Next, a time t2 until all medals located downstream from the dammed position reach the supplied position.
(S27), and finally the distribution shutter at the replenished position is also raised (S28). Time t2
Is appropriately determined according to the transport distance from the damming position to the replenished position. By doing so, the medals that have already passed the required position are supplied to the replenished position that is the previous required position and do not remain on the belt.

By the above processing, the distribution shutter is moved to the position shown in FIG.
6, and operates as shown in FIG. For example, FIG.
As shown in (a) to (c), when the replenishment to the slot machine 1a is completed and a request is issued from the slot machine 1b located at a position further downstream than the replenishment ((a) in the figure), first, the request is made. The distribution shutter 13b at the position is lowered (FIG. 9B). After that, the distribution shutter 13a at the replenished position is raised. As a result, replenishment to the requested position starts ((c) in the figure).

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS.
When the supply to the slot machine 1e is completed, if a request is issued from the slot machine 1d located at a position upstream of the slot machine 1e (FIG. 10A), first, the distribution shutter 13 at the requested position is provided.
The distribution shutter 13c, which is one more upstream than d, descends and dams the medals (FIG. 9B). Next, at the timing when the medal finishes passing under the shutter 13d, the distribution shutter 13d at the requested position is lowered (FIG. 13C). Next, the distribution shutter 13c that has stopped the medals is raised and the medals are flown (FIG. 4D). Finally, when all the medals downstream of the requested position have reached the replenished position, the distribution shutter 13e is raised (FIG. 9 (e)). As shown in FIGS. 7B and 7C, when the distribution shutter 13c is lowered, there is a possibility that a medal may be bitten, but there is no problem because the distribution shutter 13c is raised after a few seconds.

By the way, in S7 shown in FIG.
When checking for other supply requirements,
Set the current supply position as the reference position, check in order downstream, move to the most downstream position, move to the most upstream position, and then check downstream again to the position just before the reference position. I do. Therefore, when the supply at a certain position is completed, the processes of S21 to S22 are executed next for the request of the closest position on the downstream side, and the supply is sequentially performed toward the downstream. If there is no downstream request as a result of this processing, or if there is no request originally on the downstream side, the processing of S23 to S26 is performed for the request at the most upstream position. When the replenishment is made to the most upstream position, there is a request only downstream from that position, so that the processes of S21 to S22 are executed again, and the replenishment is performed in order downstream. In this way, if the medal supply is advanced to the downstream side as much as possible,
Since the control for preventing jamming (S23, S25) can be reduced, the operation control of the shutter is simplified.

As described above, in the medal replenishment system of the embodiment, a required amount of medals is polished and supplied from the storage tank 8 each time, even if medals are not stored exclusively for supply. It is not necessary to provide a tank for supplying medals or a mechanism for sending medals from the tank. In particular, according to the medal polishing machine 9 and the second lifter 11 of the present embodiment, a large number of medals can be processed at one time, so that it is suitable to construct a replenishment system for supplying each time.

As described above, according to the present replenishment system, the entire replenishment system can be made compact, and in installing the replenishment system, the installation space is not required more than before, and the space of the game hall can be effectively utilized. Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modes can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the embodiment, the medal supply system has been described as an example. However, if the medal is replaced with a pachinko ball, the present supply system can be a pachinko ball supply system. Even in this case, the tank for storing the polished pachinko balls can be eliminated to provide a compact pachinko ball supply system.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating the configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a supply system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a lifter portion of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a detailed structural view of the lifter according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a detailed structural view of the lifter of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a structural view showing a storage tank according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a detailed structural view of the medal polishing machine of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a structural view showing a part of the medal polishing machine of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a structural view showing a part of the medal polishing machine of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a structural diagram of a supply conveyor and a distribution shutter of the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a detailed structural view of a distribution shutter according to the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control circuit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a remaining amount sensor according to the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a control operation by the sequencer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a control operation by the sequencer of the embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram for explaining a medal supply procedure in the embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram for explaining a medal supply procedure in the embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a configuration diagram of a conventional medal supply system.

[Explanation of symbols]

M1 ... recovery means, M2 ... polishing means, M3 ...
Distribution supply means, M4: operation control means, 1: slot machine, 3: medal lending machine, 5: gaming island,
6 ... collection conveyor, 7, 11 ... first and second lifters, 8 ... storage tank, 9 ... medal polishing machine,
12: supply conveyor, 13: distribution shutter, 1
5 ... Medal counting machine, 79 ... Medal sending machine, 12
1 ... remaining amount sensor, 131 ... sequencer.

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A collecting means for collecting medals and pachinko balls from each of the gaming machines on the gaming island, a polishing means for polishing the collected medals and pachinko balls, and a game for polishing the polished medals and pachinko balls on each of the gaming islands and dispensing means for distributing to the machine and the lending machine, in response to a request from each gaming machine or the lending machine, a hydraulic control unit for operating during both the predetermined said polishing means and the dispensing means, the Controlled by the operation control means
When the polishing means and the distribution supply means are operated, the distribution
Supplying means for receiving medals and pachinko balls from the polishing means;
To the gaming machine or the rental machine that issued the request directly
Supply system of medal-pachinko balls, characterized in that the supply.