JP4350099B2 - Medal supply device for machine rental machines - Google Patents

Description

The present invention is installed adjacent to a gaming machine, and a predetermined number of medals can be transferred to a lower plate of the gaming machine by inserting coins, banknotes, cards (storage media such as prepaid cards, membership cards, and IC coins). The present invention relates to a medal supply device for an inter-unit medal lending machine.

In pachinko halls, inter-medal renting machines are installed adjacent to slot machines, which are gaming machines that use medals as gaming media, and bills, coins and cards (prepaid cards, membership cards and IC coins) inserted by players. A predetermined number of medals are supplied to the player by a medal dispenser provided inside the inter-unit medal lending machine. However, some slot machines have different shapes and sizes of the lower plate depending on the model and manufacturer, and the projecting dimensions from the game island were not constant. In the case of a slot machine having a large protruding dimension, there may be a problem that the medal supply pipe does not reach the lower plate of the slot machine. In such a case, it was necessary to replace the medal supply pipe according to the projecting dimension of the slot machine, or to create a medal supply pipe again according to the projecting dimension. It was hanging. Therefore, there has been a demand for a retractable medal supply device that has a simple configuration and is compatible with slot machines having various projecting dimensions.

In recent years, pachinko halls have made it easy to carry drinking water such as beverage cans. Players who enter the pachinko hall with these beverage containers, or purchase drinking water after entering the store, The number of players who enjoy playing games while drinking water is increasing, and many players enjoy playing games while smoking cigarettes and even hanging mobile phones. In such a case, as places for placing various small items such as beverage containers containing drinking water, cigarettes, lighters, mobile phones, etc., empty space on the placement board for placing gaming machines and inter-medal renting machines, etc. It was to be put in.

However, in the case where the above-described placing plate is used as a place for placing a beverage container, there has often been a situation where the beverage container is accidentally overturned. In addition, beverage containers and other small items give the player a messy feeling because the places are different, and cause discomfort when entering the pachinko hall. In view of the above, there has been a particular demand for a place for placing a beverage container in the vicinity of a gaming machine in order to improve the image of a pachinko hall.

JP 2001-161899 A

JP 09-192339 A

However, in the inter-unit medal lending machine proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-161899 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1), the guide means described in Patent Document 1 is provided to be extendable in the depth direction of the slot machine. The proposed medal lending machine has been proposed. However, since the protrusion that determines the expansion / contraction position is a small protrusion, the guide means is pulled out when the expansion / contraction operation is performed, or the means for determining expansion / contraction including the protrusion is exposed to the outside. In addition, there has been a trouble in use such as movement of dust and dust which makes the movement worse, and the expansion / contraction position becomes unstable due to wear of the protrusion. Further, the telescopic structure of the inter-unit medal lending machine is complicated, has a large number of parts, and is expensive.

In addition, the daima ball lending machine proposed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-192339 is capable of providing a wide variety of services, so that the equipment itself is large and has as much space as possible on a limited amusement island. In pachinko halls where game machines must be placed, it is necessary to select whether to reduce the number of game machines and inter-medal renting machines or to provide a service for placing beverage containers. At the same time, the above-mentioned machine for lending balls was expensive. Therefore, the above-mentioned daima ball lending machine was not a product that could be fully accepted by pachinko halls.

The object of the present invention is made by paying attention to such problems, and various slots can be used without changing the medal supply pipe according to the projecting dimensions of the slot machine installed on the game island or by recreating it. It is to provide a medal supply device for inter-unit medal lending machines equipped with telescopic medal supply pipes corresponding to machines, and also reduce the number of gaming machines, etc., in a limited space on the game island Therefore, it is possible to provide a player with a space for placing a beverage container, small items, etc. that can be picked up and placed easily even during a game.

In order to achieve the above object, the medal supply device of the inter-unit medal lending machine according to the present invention is installed adjacent to the gaming machine, and pays out a predetermined number of medals to the lower plate of the gaming machine by inserting coins. In the medal supply device of the inter-unit medal lending machine, the medal supply device includes a main body portion that supplies the medal supplied from the medal payer to the medal supply tube, and a rotating portion that freely rotates the medal supply tube in the horizontal direction. And a medal supply pipe for supplying medals to a lower plate of the gaming machine, and the tip of the medal supply pipe is rotatable in the vertical direction with respect to the medal supply pipe, and the tip is inclined. A height adjusting portion having an inclined side formed, and when the medal supply pipe is horizontally rotated in the direction of the lower plate of the gaming machine, the tip of the height adjusting portion is in contact with the side wall of the lower plate of the gaming machine The height adjustment part is Pushed upward I, and wherein the facing into the lower tray overcame sidewalls.

According to the present invention, when the medal supplied from the medal dispenser is paid out from the medal supply tube to the lower tray of the gaming machine, the medal supply tube is rotated in the vertical direction when the medal supply tube is rotated. And a height adjustment portion having an inclined side at the tip, so that the height adjustment portion is inclined when the tip of the height adjustment portion comes into contact with the side wall of the lower plate of the gaming machine. The medal supply tube is pushed up along the side and over the side wall to face the lower plate, so that the medal supply tube can be prevented from being damaged by contact with the lower plate, and the medal supply to the lower plate of the gaming machine is ensured. It becomes possible.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an amusement machine island 1 in which an inter-unit medal lending machine 10 equipped with a medal supply device 20 of the present invention is installed. The gaming machine island 1 includes a placement board 2, a gaming machine 3 (hereinafter referred to as a slot machine 3), and an inter-unit medal lending machine 10.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the inter-unit medal lending machine 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The inter-unit medal lending machine 10 is disposed adjacent to the slot machine 3 on a one-to-one basis, and a bill insertion slot 12 is provided at the upper part of the front surface of the main body 11 of the inter-unit medal lending machine formed in a substantially rectangular shape. A medal supply device 20 is provided near the lower part of the front surface. Then, a predetermined number of medals are supplied into the lower plate 3a of the slot machine 3 from a medal dispenser (not shown) provided inside the main body 11 by inserting the bills.

In the inter-medal medal lending machine 10 described above, the case where a banknote is inserted as the inserted money has been described. The banknotes include banknotes, coins and cards (prepaid cards, membership cards, IC coins, etc. In the case of discriminating bills with the intermedial medal lending machine 10, a bill discriminator is provided. In the case of sorting coins, a coin sorter is provided. The card reader / writer or the like may be configured according to the inserted medium.

The configuration of the medal supply device 20 of the inter-unit medal lending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a left side view of the medal supply device 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a left side view showing an internal cross section of the medal supply device 20 when the medal supply pipe 50 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is fixed.
FIG. 5 is a side view showing an internal cross section of the medal supply device 20 when the rotation shaft 38 of the medal supply device 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is operated.
FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of the medal supply device 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The medal supply device 20 is formed by resin molding and includes a main body portion 30, a rotating portion 40, and a medal supply pipe 50.
The main body 30 includes an outer cylinder 31, a back plate 35 in which an inlet 34 for guiding a predetermined number of medals supplied from a medal payer (not shown) into the main body 30 is formed, and a medal payer A medal guiding portion 36 that reliably guides the medal guided to the take-in port 34 into the medal supply tube 50 regardless of the expansion / contraction position of the medal supply tube 50, and a main body base 37 are configured. Further, the medal guiding portion 36 has a flat plate shape provided at the lower end of the intake port 34 and forms a part of the bottom surface of the intake port 34, so that the medal payout can be made regardless of the expansion / contraction position of the medal supply pipe 50. The medals supplied from the machine to the take-in port 34 are installed so as to be supplied from the take-in port 34 onto the bottom plate 53 inside the medal supply pipe 50.

On the lower surface of the outer cylinder 31, there is a hollow cylindrical upper fitting part 31a for connecting the rotating part 40 to the main body part 30 and a rotational positioning part provided on the upper surface of the rotating part 40 for determining the horizontal rotational position. A plurality of recesses to be engaged with 43 are provided. Further, the main body base 37 is provided with a hollow cylindrical lower fitting portion 37a for fitting a bearing tube 44 provided on the lower surface of the rotating portion 40, and the lower fitting portion 37a is inserted therein. A rotating shaft 38 is provided, partly protruding from the lower surface of the main body base 37 in a state where the lower fitting portion 37a is inserted together with the urging member 37b and the urging force of the urging member 37b is not received. The urging member 37b is configured to act in a direction of pulling the rotary shaft 38 upward when the rotary shaft 38 is pulled downward. Here, the case where the urging member 37b is used for the vertical movement of the rotating shaft 38 has been described. However, a medal to be described later is used without using the urging member such as the urging member 37b. It is only necessary that the medal supply tube 50 can be fixed to the main body 30 by engaging with the boss 53a of the supply tube 50. For example, a locking piece is provided on the rotation shaft 38 and the rotation shaft 38 and the boss 53a are engaged. The medal supply pipe 50 may be fixed to the main body 30 by rotating the rotating shaft 38 later and fitting the locking piece of the rotating shaft 38 and a part of the boss 53a by the rotation. Further, in order to improve the operability of the rotating shaft 38, the rotating shaft 38 may be provided with a gripping member such as a ring in the vicinity of the end of the rotating shaft 38, or may have a shape that is easy to grip.

The rotating part 40 has a cylindrical shape with a smaller diameter than the outer cylinder 31 of the main body part 30, and a convex part 41 that fits in an upper fitting part 31 a provided on the lower surface of the outer cylinder 31 on the upper surface thereof. A through passage 42 is formed so that a part of the medal supply pipe 50 can be inserted through the inside of the rotating unit 40, and a part of the medal supply pipe 50 is slid in the through passage 42, whereby the medal supply pipe 50. The whole is configured to be extendable and contractable with respect to the main body 30. The rotating part 40 is rotatable about the upper fitting part 31 a provided vertically near the center of the outer cylinder 31 of the main body part 30 in a substantially horizontal direction stepwise with respect to the outer cylinder 31. It is provided and fixed at a predetermined position by a rotation positioning portion 43 provided on the lower surface of the outer cylinder 31 and the upper surface of the rotating portion 40.

Further, in the bearing tube 44 provided on the lower surface of the through passage 42, there is provided an axial passage in which a part of the rotary shaft 38 can be advanced and retracted in the vertical direction to the inside of the through passage 42. The shaft passage is located on a downward extension line of the convex portion 41 provided on the upper portion of the rotating portion 40, and the rotating portion 40 includes the rotating shaft 38 penetrating the shaft passage and the convex portion 41 provided on the upper portion of the rotating portion 40. This is the central axis of rotation in the substantially horizontal direction. The distal end of the rotary shaft 38 that penetrates the through passage 42 is engaged with a boss 53a provided on the lower surface of the medal supply pipe 50, so that the expansion / contraction position of the medal supply pipe 50 is determined.

In the medal supply pipe 50, two side plates 51a and 51b and a plurality of protrusions 52 extending in the medal supply direction in parallel with the two side plates 51a and 51b are provided at appropriate intervals. A substantially rectangular bowl shape curved in the direction of the lower plate of the gaming machine, with a bottom plate 53 continuously provided on the inner surface side of the tube 50 and an upper plate 54 covering the upper surface of the medal supply tube 50 inserted into the rotating unit 40. And a gentle downward slope toward the tip of the medal supply pipe 50, which are formed integrally. The height of the medal supply pipe 50 (the distance between the top plate 54 and the bottom plate 53) is smaller than the diameter of the medal supplied from the medal dispenser, so that the medal is laid down sideways. Since the inside of the medal supply pipe 50 slides down only in this state, the medal is not supplied into the lower plate 3a of the slot machine 3 while standing.

On the surface of the inner surface of the bottom plate 53, a plurality of protrusions 52 extending in the medal supply direction in parallel with the two side plates 51a and 51b are arranged on the inner surface side of the medal supply tube 50 at appropriate intervals. Since they are connected in series, the contact area with the medals supplied from the medal dispenser and flowing down is small, and the medal supply pipe 50 is inclined downward toward the tip. The medals supplied from the medal dispenser are smoothly supplied to the lower plate 3a of the slot machine 3.

Also, a plurality of bosses 53a extending downward from the center of the upper end of the bottom surface of the bottom plate 53 are provided, and the other end of the uppermost boss 53a constitutes a locking piece 53b. . The medal supply pipe 50 is locked in the rotating part 40 by the contact between the locking piece and the rotating shaft 38, so that the medal supply pipe 50 is not pulled out of the rotating part 40.

Here, with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the expansion and contraction operation of the medal supply pipe 50 will be described.
By pulling the rotary shaft 38 provided on the lower surface of the main body 30 downward and holding the state, a part of the rotary shaft 38 engaged with the boss 53a is detached from the boss 53a, and the medal supply tube 50 is expanded and contracted. It becomes a free state (see FIG. 4). Then, when the rotary shaft 38 that has been drawn downward again is pulled back upward by the biasing force of the biasing member 37b, a part of the rotary shaft 38 is engaged with the boss 53a, and the boss 53a and the rotary shaft 38 are supplied with medals. The expansion / contraction position of the tube 50 is firmly fixed (see FIG. 3). Since the medal supply tube 50 can be extended and contracted by the rotary shaft 38 that can move up and down, the medal supply tube 50 can be easily expanded and contracted.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the slot machine 3 and the inter-unit medal lending machine 10 showing the situation when the medal supply pipe 50 rotates and expands and contracts.
By providing the medal supply tube 50 so as to be extendable and retractable from the main body 30, it is possible to reliably supply medals even to the lower plate 3 a of the slot machine 3 having different sizes and projecting dimensions depending on models and manufacturers. Become. As a result, even when the slot machine 3 is replaced, the medal supply pipe 50 is exchanged in accordance with the projecting dimension of the lower plate 3a of the slot machine 3, the medal supply pipe 50 is reworked, or the medal supply pipe 50 is renewed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of man-hours and reduce the cost when the slot machine 3 is constructed. Furthermore, by extending and retracting the medal supply pipe 50 by the rotation shaft 38 of the rotating unit 40 that determines the expansion and contraction position, the expansion and contraction position can be reliably fixed, and at the same time, the number of parts can be reduced by sharing the parts. In addition, by providing the rotary shaft 38 in the direction of the lower surface of the main body 30, it is possible to avoid malfunctions due to dust and dust, and there is no hindrance to the game.

Further, since the medal supply pipe 50 is provided so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction with respect to the inter-unit medal lending machine 10, for example, when the door of the slot machine 3 is opened and closed for maintenance of the slot machine 3 or the like. The contact with the door of the slot machine 3 can be avoided. By providing the medal supply pipe 50 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction with respect to the main body 30, the medal supply pipe 50 does not become an obstacle when the door of the slot machine 3 is opened and closed. The damage of the medal supply pipe 50 due to the collision between the door of the slot machine 3 and the medal supply pipe 50 that occurs when the door is opened and closed is also eliminated.

The tip of the medal supply pipe 50 is fitted to a protrusion provided on the outer side surface of the side plates 51 a and 51 b of the medal supply pipe 50, and the side plates 51 a and 51 b are sandwiched from the outside. A height adjustment portion 55 is formed so as to be rotatable with respect to the height. The height adjustment portion 55 is the lowest point of the rotation range due to its own weight, and the upper side of the bottom surface 55a and the outer side surface of the bottom plate 53 of the medal supply pipe. Are held in contact with each other. A plurality of grooves 55b extending in parallel with the medal supply direction are connected to the inner surface of the bottom surface 55a at appropriate intervals. Since the height adjustment unit 55 compensates for the height difference between the medal supply pipe 50 and the lower plate 3a of the slot machine 3, the medals flowing down from the medal supply tube 50 are smoothly supplied to the lower plate 3a.

Further, an interference avoiding means 56 for avoiding interference with the side wall 3b of the lower plate 3a of the slot machine 3 is applied to the tip of the height adjusting portion 55. The interference avoiding means 56 is for eliminating damage to the medal supply pipe 50 due to interference with the lower plate 3a.
When the medal supply unit 50 is rotated from the outside to the inside of the lower plate 3a of the slot machine 3, the interference avoiding means 56 rotates the medal supply unit 50 in the direction of the lower plate 3a. The height adjustment portion 55 comes into contact with. Then, when the medal supply pipe 50 is rotated as it is, the height adjusting portion 55 is pushed upward by the side wall 3b along the inclined side 56a serving as the interference avoiding means 56 applied to the height adjusting portion 55. Interference with the side wall 3b is avoided by getting over. If the rotation of the medal supply pipe 50 is continued, the height adjustment portion 55 descends to the inside of the lower plate 3a by its own weight when it does not come into contact with the side wall 3b, and comes into contact with the bottom surface inside the lower plate 3a. Yes.

Further, when the medal supply unit 50 is rotated from the inside of the lower plate 3 a of the slot machine 3 toward the outside, the lower surface of the bottom surface 55 a of the height adjustment unit 55 is rotated as the medal supply tube 50 is rotated. The bottom plate 55a is pushed upward by the side wall 3b when it is rotated as it is, and is rotated upward to get over the side wall 3b. The height adjusting unit 55 is not prevented from rotating by interfering with the side wall 3b of the lower plate 3a by the interference avoiding means 56, and by interference with the side wall 3b in the rotating operation of the medal supply pipe 50, The height adjustment part 55 is not damaged. Further, when the medal supplied by sliding down from the medal supply pipe 50 toward the lower plate 3a reaches the height adjustment unit 55, the medal is discharged toward the interference avoiding means 56 (that is, the main unit side of the lower plate 3a). Therefore, the medal does not jump out from the lower plate 3a. Here, the case where the interference avoiding means 56 is provided with the inclined side 56 a in a part of the height adjusting portion 55 has been described, but a movable member such as a roller is provided as a part of the height adjusting portion 55 as the interference avoiding means 56. The interference with the lower plate 3 a of the slot machine 3 may be avoided, and the lower plate 3 a can be avoided without the operator touching the height adjustment unit 55.

Further, in the structure of the medal supply device 20 according to the first embodiment, the rotation shaft 38 is provided on the upper surface side of the main body 30 and the rotation shaft 38 is pulled upward so that the medal supply tube 50 can be expanded and contracted. Also good. In this case, the medal supply pipe 50 may be configured to be extendable and retractable by pushing down the rotating shaft 38.

Next, the medal supply device 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the medal supply device 20 of the inter-unit medal lending machine 10 according to the present invention. In the structure of the medal supply device 20 of the first embodiment, the outer cylinder 71 of the main body portion 70 is shown. A mounting space 73 formed by the peripheral wall 72 is provided at the upper end.
The installation space 73 is provided on a flat bottom surface 73a on which a beverage container such as a beverage can (for example, a bottle, a plastic bottle, or a paper cup) is placed, and on the upper edge of the outer cylinder 71, so that the beverage can etc. can slide down. It consists of a peripheral wall 72 to be prevented and an opening 73b in a part of the front surface of the peripheral wall 72 that is notched to the same surface as the bottom surface 73a and can be easily cleaned. By providing the mounting space 73 at the upper end of the main body 70 of the medal supply device 20, a mounting tool such as a cup holder is not required. Therefore, an inexpensive medal supply device having a mounting space can be provided. The peripheral wall 72 is slightly inclined toward the front to facilitate the placement and reception of beverage cans and the like.

The installation space 73 is formed integrally with the upper end of the outer cylinder 71, but may be formed separately from the outer cylinder 71 and detachable from the outer cylinder 71. And although what was mounted in the mounting space 73 was demonstrated about drink containers, such as a drink can, it can be utilized not only for these drink containers but for mounting various small articles, such as a cigarette, a lighter, and a mobile phone. is there.

Therefore, as described above, according to the configuration of the medal supply device for the inter-unit medal lending machine according to the present invention, the medals supplied from the medal dispensing machine of the main body 11 provided in the inter-unit medal lending machine 10 are adjacent slots. It is surely supplied into the lower plate 3a of the machine 3.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view showing a gaming machine island in which an inter-unit medal lending machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention is installed; It is a front view of the inter-unit medal lending machine concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a left view of the medal supply apparatus concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a left view which shows the internal cross section of the medal supply apparatus at the time of medal supply pipe fixation concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a left view which shows the internal cross section of the medal supply apparatus at the time of operation | movement of the rotating shaft concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is an external appearance perspective view of the medal supply apparatus concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is an external appearance perspective view of the medal supply apparatus concerning Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a top view showing at the time of rotation operation and expansion-contraction operation of the medal supply device concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

3 gaming machines (slot machines)
10 medal lending machine 20 medal supply pipes 30 and 70 main body sections 38 and 78 rotating shaft 40 rotating section 50 medal supply pipe 72 peripheral wall 73 mounting space

Claims (1)

In the medal supply device of the inter-unit medal lending machine, which is installed adjacent to the gaming machine and pays out a predetermined number of medals to the lower plate of the gaming machine by inserting moneys,
The medal supply device supplies a medal to a lower plate of a gaming machine, a main body that supplies a medal supplied from a medal dispensing machine to a medal supply pipe, a rotating part that allows the medal supply pipe to be horizontally rotatable. It consists of a medal supply pipe and
The tip of the medal supply tube is provided with a height adjustment portion having an inclined side that is rotatable in the vertical direction with respect to the medal supply tube and has an inclined tip.
When the medal supply pipe is horizontally rotated in the direction of the lower plate of the gaming machine, and the tip of the height adjusting unit comes into contact with the side wall of the lower plate of the gaming machine, the height adjusting unit is moved along the inclined side. A medal supply device for a machine for lending machines between machines, wherein the medal renting machine is pushed upwards, climbs over the side wall and faces the lower plate.

Images