JP4705801B2 - IC coin processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an IC coin processing device installed inside a game medium lending machine that lends a game medium such as a pachinko ball or a medal to the side of a game facility.

As a conventional game medium lending machine that lends pachinko balls, medals and the like, there is one disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-18109.
This uses IC coins in which electronic data can be written, and the game media lending machine has a function of accepting banknotes and IC coins, and pays out game media such as balls and medals according to the designated purchase price. On the other hand, IC coins in which the amount of money and other data subtracted from the amount of bills and IC coins inserted are deducted and returned are returned. The game medium lending machine also writes the data written on the IC coins paid out to the management computer.

The returned IC coin can be paid out by inserting it into the checkout machine, or the next time it is inserted into the gaming medium lending machine, You can borrow. The checkout machine and game medium lending machine collate the data written in the inserted IC coin with the data written in the management computer to confirm that it is a legitimate IC coin.
JP 2002-18109 A

In the above conventional game medium lending machine, only banknotes and IC coins can be accepted, and a plurality of coins that are in circulation are not accepted. It is desirable that many media such as IC coins, coins, and membership cards can be used in the game media lending machine.
However, it has been very difficult to realize a game medium lending machine that can use many media as described above. The game media lending machine is installed between pachinko machines in pachinko parlors, for example, so that the width of the front panel is set to the minimum, height and depth are limited, and the internal space is very small. Because, in addition to the banknote discriminator and the IC coin processing device, there was no room to arrange the coin discriminator and the membership card reader.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an IC coin processing device that can be formed compactly in view of such a conventional problem.

  For this reason, the present invention provides a receiving port, a return port, a holding channel for holding IC coins from the receiving port, a first reader for reading IC coin data at the inlet of the holding channel, and data from the first reader. An acceptance control unit having a first sorting disk for guiding the read IC coin to the holding passage, a second reader for reading the IC coin data at the exit of the holding passage, and the IC coin whose data has been read by the second reader are returned. A dispensing control unit having a second distribution disk for guiding to the mouth side. The first distribution disk and the second distribution disk are each driven by a motor through a gear train, and a motor for driving the first distribution disk and a first The motors that drive the two distribution disks are arranged adjacent to each other in parallel, and each gear train is located between the first distribution disk and the second distribution disk. It was assumed to extend in the direction of 180 ° from each other from the position.

  A motor and a gear train are required to drive the first and second sorting disks of the acceptance control unit for identifying IC coins and the payout control unit for paying out at the end of the game, but both the gear trains are extended substantially in a straight line. Since it is arranged, it is compactly accommodated in the narrow space of the game medium lending machine.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a pachinko parlor.
A ball lending machine 1 as a game medium lending machine is installed between pachinko machines (not shown). The ball lending machine 1 includes a bill insertion slot 3, a coin and IC coin common insertion slot 4, a card insertion slot 5, an IC coin return slot 6, and a ball dispensing slot 7.
The ball lending machine 1 also includes a control unit 60 inside, and each control unit 60 is communicably connected to the management server 70.
The management server 70 is further connected to a payment machine 75 installed at an appropriate location in the pachinko store so as to be communicable.
An ID for identifying each IC coin is written in the IC coin, and the management server 70 sets a management area 72 (72A, 72B,... 72N) corresponding to the ID of the IC coin, and the amount of each IC coin Data can be stored.

2 is a front view of the front panel 2 of the ball lending machine 1, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the ball lending machine 1. FIG. 2 shows a cross section of a part of the passage of coins and IC coins.
First, as shown in FIG. 2, a bowl-shaped ball dispensing port 7 is disposed at a substantially intermediate height position of the front panel 2. A bill insertion slot 3, a coin and IC coin insertion slot 4 are provided in order from the top in the upper half of the upper side of the ball payout slot 7, and a return switch 8, a return button 9, and a balance are further provided below. A storage ball frequency display unit 10, a remaining ball number display unit 11, a display changeover switch 12, a high-priced payout switch 13, a high-priced useable display unit 14, a puddle-pickup payout switch 15, and a stored-ball useable display unit 16 are provided.

A return port 6, a keyhole 17, and a card insertion port 5 are provided in the lower half part below the ball dispensing port 7.
The return switch 8 is a switch for requesting the return of IC coins and membership cards, and the return button 9 is a button for paying out coins and IC coins packed inside.
The balance / stored ball frequency display unit 10 displays the balance amount of the inserted bill, IC coin or member card or the corresponding number of balls. The display changeover switch 12 is used to select which balance of the IC coin or the membership card is displayed on the balance / storing degree display unit 10.
The remaining ball number display unit 11 subtracts and displays the number of balls to be paid out when paying out the balls.

The high-payout switch 13 is used for receiving a payout after a thousand-yen ball is first paid out from the ball payout basket when, for example, a high-price banknote of 2,000 yen or more is inserted. As long as the balance exists, every time this switch is pressed, balls of 1,000 yen are paid out.
The high-availability display unit 14 displays that the ball lending machine is in a state in which a high-priced bill can be received by turning on the LED. Moreover, the storage ball availability display unit 16 displays that the ball lending machine is ready to accept a member card by lighting the LED.

The storage ball payout switch 15 is for receiving payout when a member card is inserted. Each time this switch is pressed within a range where there is a stored ball, balls of predetermined units such as 100 are paid out.
The return port 6 pays out IC coins with a balance set and defective coins (fake coins).
The panel 2a including the return port 6 in the lower half can be opened by inserting a key into the key hole 17, and an IC coin in which a reading error has occurred can be collected from an error coin storage 62 described later.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the ball lending machine 1, a ball passage 66 connects the ball dispensing port 7 to a ball lending supply unit (not shown). A bill discriminator 18 connected to the bill insertion slot 3 (see FIG. 2) is provided at the top of the ball lending machine 1 to identify the authenticity and amount of the bill inserted from the bill insertion slot 3. When the inserted bill is a true bill, the bill is sent to a bill conveyance passage (not shown), whereas when it is a fake bill, it is returned from the bill insertion slot 3.
An insertion passage 21 is connected to the coin and IC coin common insertion slot 4 (see FIG. 2), and the coin or IC coin inserted from the common insertion slot 4 is guided to the coin selector 30.

The coin selector 30 has a receiving passage 31 for receiving coins or IC coins from the insertion passage 21, and includes first and second sensors 32 and 33 along the receiving passage 31.
Then, the coins are identified by the first and second sensors, and the sorting gate 34 is switched and operated.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the distribution gate portion. If the coins inserted from the coin and IC coin common slot 4 are genuine coins, the sorting gate 34 is opened, and the coins from the receiving passage 31 are guided to the first passage 35.
When the coin inserted from the common slot 4 is a fake coin or an IC coin, the sorting gate 34 is closed and guided to the second passage 36.
The first passage 35 of the coin selector 30 is connected to the true coin passage 22, and the true coin is sent out from the true coin passage 22 to a coin conveyance path (not shown). The 2nd channel | path 36 is connected to the non-original coin channel | path 23 of the IC coin processing apparatus 20 mentioned later.

The lower end of the non-genuine coin passage 23 is connected to the holding passage 24 and the fake coin return passage 25 that are branched to the left and right via the upper sorting unit 40.
The upper distribution unit 40 includes an upper reader that reads an ID of an IC coin and a distribution disk. The upper reader and the distribution disk will be described later.
The lower end of the fake coin return passage 25 is open to the return port 6.

The lower end of the holding passage 24 is connected to a collection passage 26 and an IC coin payout passage 27 that are branched to the left and right via a lower distribution section 50. The lower distribution unit 50 includes a lower reader that reads an ID of an IC coin, and a distribution disk. The lower leader and the distribution disk of the lower distribution unit 50 will be described later.
The holding passage 24 has a long passage length as a bent shape in order to hold a large number of IC coins inserted from the common insertion slot 4.
The collection passage 26 is connected to an error coin storage portion 62 disposed at the lower part of the ball lending machine 1, and the IC coin payout passage 27 is opened to the return port 6.
At the bottom of the ball lending machine 1, a card reader / writer 64 is installed in correspondence with the card insertion slot 5.

Next, the structure of the IC coin processing device 20 will be described. 5 is an external perspective view of the IC coin processing device 20, FIG. 6 is a side view thereof, FIG. 7 is a front view, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
Doors 49 and 59 are respectively provided on the passage walls of the upper distribution unit 40 and the lower distribution unit 50, the upper reader 42 is attached to the door 49, and the lower reader 52 is attached to the door 59.
Each of the doors 49 and 59 can be opened and closed. In particular, FIG. 5 shows a state in which each door is opened.

The upper distribution unit 40 is provided with a distribution disk 44. The distribution disk 44 has a notch recess 45 at the peripheral edge, holds the IC coin or the like that has moved in the non-genuine coin passage 23 in the notch recess 45, and rotates and holds it in one direction or in the opposite direction. The IC coins and the like that have been sent are distributed to the holding passage 24 or the fake coin return passage 25.
The IC coin held in the cutout recess 45 of the distribution disk 44 is referred to as an IC coin of the upper distribution unit as necessary. The upper reader 42 attached to the door 49 reads the ID of the IC coin held on the sorting disk 44 and outputs the ID to the control unit 60.

The lower distribution unit 50 is provided with a distribution disk 54. The sorting disk 54 has a notch recess 55 at the peripheral edge, and holds the IC coin that has moved through the holding passage 24 in the notch recess 55.
The IC coin held in the notch recess 55 of the distribution disk 54 is referred to as an IC coin of the lower distribution unit as necessary. The lower reader 52 attached to the door 59 reads the ID of the IC coin held on the sorting disk 54 and outputs the ID to the control unit 60.
The distribution disk 54 rotates in one direction or in the opposite direction, and distributes the IC coin held in the notch recess 55 to the IC coin payout passage 27 or the collection passage 26.

In the upper distribution unit 40, the distribution disk 44 is provided with a transmission hole 46 (see FIG. 5). A light source (not shown) is installed on the passage wall opposite to the door 49 with the distribution disk 44 in between, and a light receiving unit 47 that receives light from the light source through the transmission hole 46 is installed in the door 49. And the transmission sensor 90 is formed.
When an IC coin or the like enters the cutout recess 45 at the upward position of the sorting disk 44, the light that has reached the light receiving portion 47 from the light source through the transmission hole 46 is blocked, so that the IC coin or the like is held in the cutout recess 45. Is detected.
Similarly, in the lower distribution unit 50, a transmission hole 56 is provided in the distribution disk 54, and a light receiving unit 57 is installed in the door 59 to form a transmission sensor 92.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 10 to be described later, a plurality of protrusions 48 and 58 are provided in the notch recesses 45 and 55 of the sorting discs 44 and 54 to prevent the IC coins from entering and exiting the notch recesses. Reduces frictional resistance.

A drive unit 80 that drives the sorting disk 44 and the sorting disk 54 is provided so as to overlap the holding passage 24.
In the side view of FIG. 6, the false coin return passage 25 branched from the upper sorting unit 40 extends downward toward the return port 6 along the front side (front panel side) of the drive unit 80. As shown in FIG. 7, the counterfeit coin return passage 25 is offset by the thickness of the storage passage 24 at the lower portion in order to avoid interference with the storage passage 24 protruding from the drive unit 80 to the front side.

The non-genuine coin passage 23, the holding passage 24, the collection passage 26, and the IC coin payout passage 27 are formed by superimposing half members integrally formed by resin molding. The fake coin return passage 25 also has a superposed structure in the lower half including the offset portion.
As shown in FIG. 9, the coin return passage 25 and the coin payout passage 27 are provided with a notch 25a in the vicinity of the tip of the false coin return passage 25, and the coin payout formed in the other half member in the notch 25a. The front end of the passage 27 is faced, and the front end opening of the false coin return passage 25 is communicated with the return port 6 as a common opening.
As shown in FIG. 8, the case 81 of the drive unit 80 includes a main body 81a formed integrally with one of the half members such as the retaining passage 24 and a cover 81b.

Next, details of the drive unit 80 will be described.
10 is a view showing only the drive motor and gear train, FIG. 11 is a view of the arrangement of the gear train and drive motor inside the case when the cover is removed from the cover 81b side, and FIG. 12 is FIG. FIG.
A drive motor 82U is disposed in the center between the distribution disk 44 and the distribution disk 54, and the first gear 84, the second gear 85, and the third gear 86 are sequentially provided from the drive motor 82U along the longitudinal direction of the case 81. The third gear 86 is engaged with the sorting disk 44. Each gear has a large gear and a small gear, and decelerates sequentially.
The drive motor 82U is provided with a bevel gear 83 on a rotation shaft substantially directed toward the distribution disk 44, and the first gear large gear 84a is a bevel gear meshing with the bevel gear 83 of the drive motor 82U. The gears of the other gears are spur gears. The distribution disk 44 includes a large gear 87 (see FIG. 12) that meshes with the small gear 86b of the third gear 86 on the back side of the surface on which the notch recess 45 is formed.

The central axes of the first gear 84, the second gear 85, the third gear 86, and the distribution disc 44 are supported by both or one of the cover 81b of the case 81 and the bottom wall of the main body 81a facing the cover 81b. . The drive motor 82U is fitted and fixed to a fastener portion 88 that rises from the bottom wall of the main body portion 81a.
The rotation of the drive motor 82U is decelerated and transmitted by the gear train of the first gear 84 to the third gear 86, and the distribution disk 44 is rotated.

The same drive motor 82L and the gear train of the first gear 84 to the third gear 86 are moved from the central portion between the distribution disk 44 and the distribution disk 54 toward the distribution disk 54, that is, the drive motor and gear for the distribution disk 44. It is provided along the case 81 in the direction of 180 ° with respect to the row. Thus, both gear trains are point-symmetric with respect to the central portion between the sorting disk 44 and the sorting disk 54 as a reference point.
The rotation of the drive motor 82L is decelerated and transmitted by the gear train, and the distribution disk 54 is rotated.
The control unit 60 controls the rotation and the rotation position of the distribution disk 44 of the upper distribution unit or the distribution disk 54 of the lower distribution unit by controlling the drive motors 82U and 82L.

  The two drive motors 82U and 82L are arranged in parallel to each other, but are inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the case 81 so that the inclined gear 83 is positioned closer to the center in the width direction of the case 81. Thereby, even though the case 81 is narrow, the first gear 84 meshing with the inclined gear 83 is also closer to the center, and the first gear 84 is housed in the case 81 without interfering with the side wall of the case 81. Has been.

Returning to FIG. 3, the control unit 60 is disposed on the rear side of the drive unit 80 in the lower half of the ball lending machine 1 so as to overlap the holding passage 24 and the collection passage 26.
The control unit 60 is connected to the banknote discriminator 18, the upper sorting unit 40, the lower sorting unit 50, and the card reader / writer 64 through signal lines (not shown).
As a result, the bill validator 18 outputs the money amount data of the bill inserted from the bill insertion slot 3 to the control unit 60.

Referring also to FIG. 5 and the like, in the upper sorting unit 40, when coins (fake coins) or IC coins that have passed through the coin selector 30 without being identified as genuine coins enter the notch recess 45 of the sorting disk 44, transmission is performed. A detection signal from the sensor 90 is input to the control unit 60, and the control unit 60 causes the upper reader 42 to read the ID of the IC coin held in the notch recess 45 based on the signal.
The ID data of the IC coin read by the upper reader 42 is input to the control unit 60. When the ID of the IC coin can be read by the upper reader 42, the control unit 60 outputs a command to rotate the sorting disk 44 in the direction in which the IC coin is sent to the holding passage 24.

On the other hand, when the ID cannot be read by the upper reader 42, it is assumed that what is held in the notch recess 45 of the sorting disk 44 is not an IC coin but a fake coin, and the sorting disk 44 is sent in the direction to be sent to the fake coin return passage 25. A command to rotate is output.
The distribution disk 44 after rotating and distributing the IC coins, etc. is stopped at the position where the notch recess 45 is directed upward by a signal from a transmission sensor (not shown) provided in the upper distribution section 40 in the same manner as the transmission sensor 90. Is done.

Also in the lower sorting unit 50, the transmission sensor 92 detects the IC coin that has entered the notch recess 55 of the sorting disk 54, and the ID of the IC coin held in the notch recess 55 is determined based on the instruction from the control unit 60. The ID is read by the reader 52 and the ID is output to the control unit 60.
The control unit 60 keeps the IC coin held in the lower sorting unit 50 until the IC coin needs to be paid out separately, while outputting the ID of the IC coin received from the lower reader 52 to the management server 70. The management area 72 for the ID is set.
When an error occurs in which the ID of the IC coin cannot be read by the lower reader 52, the control unit 60 outputs a command to rotate the sorting disk 54 in the direction in which the IC coin is sent out to the collection passage 26.
Similarly to the case of the distribution disk 44, the distribution disk 54 returns to the position where the notch recess 55 faces upward again after the distribution disk 54 rotates.

  From the card reader / writer 64, the amount data recorded on the membership card inserted from the card insertion slot 5 is read and input to the control unit 60, and the balance obtained by subtracting the purchase amount of the paid-out ball from the control unit 60 Data is output and written to the membership card.

FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 are flowcharts showing the flow of the control operation in the embodiment configured as described above, particularly at the time of purchasing a rented ball using a banknote, a coin, and an IC coin.
First, in step 100, the bill validator 18, the coin selector 30, and the upper sorting unit 40 of the ball lending machine 1 are in a standby state.
When a bill is inserted from the bill insertion slot 3 and deposit amount data is input from the bill discriminator 18 to the control unit 60, the process proceeds to step 101.
When coins are inserted from the coin and IC coin common slot 4 and deposit amount data is input from the coin selector 30 to the control unit 60, the process proceeds to step 102.
When an IC coin is inserted from the common insertion slot 4 and the ID of the IC coin is input from the upper distribution unit 40 to the control unit 60, the process proceeds to step 301.

In step 101, the control unit 60 checks whether the deposit amount is 1,000 yen or less. If the deposit amount is 1000 yen or less, the control unit 60 proceeds to step 102, and if it is more than 1000 yen, the process proceeds to step 103.
In step 102, the control unit 60 outputs a command to the ball lending supply unit to execute the ball lending process so as to pay out the lending amount corresponding to the deposit amount, and returns to the standby state.
Even when coins are inserted from the common insertion slot 4, a ball lending process corresponding to the deposit amount is executed in this step 102.

On the other hand, in the case of high-payment, in step 103, the control unit 60 outputs the IC coin ID and the deposit amount data of the lower distribution unit 50 to the management server 70. Thereby, the management server 70 stores the deposit amount (for example, 5000 yen) in the management area 72A corresponding to the ID (ID: A) of the IC coin.
Thereafter, in step 104, the management server 70 first instructs the control unit 60 to lend the ball for 1,000 yen, and based on this, the control unit 60 outputs a command to the ball lending supply unit to execute the ball lending process. The management server 70 manages the new amount (4000 yen) obtained by subtracting the thousand yen for the ball lending from the amount stored in the management area 72A corresponding to the ID (ID: A) of the IC coin of the lower distribution unit 50. Store in the area.

Subsequently, in step 105, the management server 70 checks whether the amount stored in the management area 72A is not 0 (zero), that is, whether there is a balance. If there is a balance, the process proceeds to step 106, and if there is no balance, the process returns to the standby state.
In step 106, the management server 70 outputs the balance to the control unit 60, and the control unit 60 that has received the balance displays the balance on the balance / stored ball frequency display unit 11 as an available balance.

  In step 107, the control unit 60 checks whether or not the large payout switch 13 is turned on. When the large payout switch 13 is turned on, the control unit 60 outputs that fact to the management server 70 and returns to step 104. That is, the management server 70 instructs the control unit 60 to lend a thousand yen, and the control unit 60 executes a ball lending process based on this. The management server 70 manages the new amount (3,000 yen) obtained by subtracting 1,000 yen for the ball lending from the amount stored in the management area 72A corresponding to the ID (ID: A) of the IC coin of the lower distribution unit 50. Store in the area.

  If the high-payout switch 13 is not turned on, the process proceeds from step 107 to step 108 to check whether the return switch 8 is turned on. If the return switch 8 is not turned on, the process returns to step 107, and the check for turning on the high payout switch 13 or turning on the return switch 8 is repeated.

When the return switch 8 is turned on in the check of step 108, in step 109, the control unit 60 issues a command to the lower sorting unit 50, rotates the sorting disk 54, and holds the IC coin held in the notch recess 55. The IC coin payout passage 27 is paid out.
In step 110, the control unit 60 next receives the ID (ID: B) of the IC coin held on the distribution disk 54 of the lower distribution unit 50 from the lower reader 52 and outputs the ID to the management server 70. After setting a new management area 72B, the process returns to the standby state.

In step 301 when an IC coin is inserted, the control unit 60 outputs the IC coin ID (ID: C) of the upper sorting unit 40 read by the upper reader 42 to the management server 70.
In step 302, the management server 70 searches for a management area corresponding to the ID (ID: C) of the inserted IC coin, and the amount stored in the management area 72C is not 0 (zero), that is, the balance is Check if it exists. If there is a balance, the process proceeds to step 303, and if there is no balance, the process proceeds to step 305.

In step 303, the management server 70 moves the balance to the management area 72 </ b> D corresponding to the IC coin ID (ID: D) of the lower sorting unit 50.
That is, as shown in FIG. 15, when the amount stored in the management area 72C corresponding to the ID (ID: C) of the inserted IC coin is, for example, 3000 yen, it is originally stored as indicated by an arrow. The above-mentioned 3000 yen is stored in the management area 72D corresponding to the IC coin ID (ID: D) of the lower distribution unit 50 whose value is 0 yen, the stored value in the management area 72C is rewritten to 0 yen, and the balance Will be replaced.

In the next step 304, the control unit 60 rotates the distribution disk 44 and sends the IC coin whose balance of the upper distribution unit is zero to the holding path 24.
As a result, when the IC coins inserted from the common insertion slot 4 enter the holding passage 24 and are held, the balance is set to zero.
Thereafter, the process proceeds to a ball lending process in step 104, and thereafter, the process is the same as the process at the time of high deposit.
On the other hand, in step 305 in the case where there is no balance in the inserted IC coins, the control unit 60 sends the IC coins from the upper sorting unit 40 to the holding passage 24 and then returns to the standby state.

As described above, when a game is finished without consuming the entire amount of money for high-payment, IC coins are paid out, and the remaining amount is stored in the management server 70 in correspondence with the ID of the IC coin. If the IC coin is inserted next time, the balance is confirmed based on the ID, and the rental of the ball can be purchased.
Further, the balance of the inserted IC coin is made zero in the management server 70, and is instead replaced with a management area corresponding to the ID of another IC coin held in the lower distribution unit 50 for the next payout. Since the IC coin whose balance is set to zero is held in the holding passage 24, that is, in the ball lending machine 1, an IC coin having an ID different from the inserted IC coin is paid out.

If a coin or a bill of 1,000 yen or less is further inserted in a state where the balance is displayed on the balance / stored ball frequency display unit 11, a loan amount corresponding to the inserted amount is paid out in step 102.
Further, when a higher-priced banknote or IC coin is inserted in a state where the balance is displayed on the balance / stored ball frequency display unit 11, the fact is output from the control unit 60 to the management server 70. The ball lending for 1,000 yen is performed at 104 or less, and the difference is added to the balance of the management area corresponding to the ID of the IC coin held in the lower sorting unit 50.
However, when a predetermined large amount of money is displayed as a balance on the balance / stored ball frequency display unit 11, it is possible to set so as not to accept further insertion of banknotes.

As shown in FIG. 6, a transmission sensor 95 for detecting that the IC coin has accumulated up to the vicinity of the upper end of the holding passage 24 is installed immediately downstream of the upper sorting portion 40 in the vicinity of the upper end of the holding passage 24. ing. The transmission sensor 95 is connected to the control unit 60, and when the IC coin is accumulated up to the vicinity of the upper end of the holding passage 24, the distribution disk 54 of the lower distribution unit 50 is rotated based on the signal from the transmission sensor 95, and the distribution disk The IC coin at the lowermost end of the holding passage 24 held in the state is paid out to the collection passage 26 side and collected in the error coin storage portion 62. As a result, an extra space is secured in the upper portion of the holding passage 24. Therefore, even if the sorting disk 44 that receives the newly inserted IC coin from the common insertion slot 4 rotates, the IC coin can be removed from the notch recess 45. It is prevented from being clogged without being paid out.
In the case of the above operation, if there is a balance in the management area corresponding to the ID of the IC coin to be paid out to the collection passage 26 side, the balance is then held in the distribution disk 54 of the lower distribution unit 50. It is replaced with the management area corresponding to the coin ID.

  The settlement machine 75 also includes a reader unit (not shown) that reads the ID of the IC coin, and outputs the ID of the IC coin inserted into the settlement machine 75 to the management server 70. Since the management server 70 notifies the settlement machine 75 of the remaining amount stored in the management area 72 corresponding to the ID, the settlement machine 75 pays out the remaining amount as a settlement money. The management server 70 notifies the balance 75 of the balance, and then rewrites the balance of the management area corresponding to the ID to zero.

  In the present embodiment, the upper distribution unit 40 constitutes an acceptance control unit in the invention, the upper reader 42 is the first reader, the distribution disk 44 is the first distribution disk, the lower distribution unit 50 is the payout control unit, The reader 42 constitutes the second leader, the sorting disk 54 constitutes the second sorting disk, and the drive motors 82U and 82L constitute the motor.

  The embodiment is configured as described above, and the ball lending machine 1 has a common slot 4 for coins and IC coins, an IC coin processing device 20 is provided inside, and the IC coin processing device 20 has a common slot 4. A lower sorting unit 50 is provided at the exit of the holding passage 24 for holding the IC coins from the bills so that the IC coins can be paid out, and the purchase amount of the rented balls is deducted from the deposit amount from the bill insertion slot 3 or the common insertion slot 4. Since the management server 70 for storing the remaining amount corresponding to the IC coin held in the lower distribution unit 50 is provided, the lower distribution unit 50 pays out the IC coin whose remaining amount is set by the storage in the management server 70. Next time, the player can purchase a ball by inserting the paid-out IC coin from the common insertion slot 4.

  In particular, the IC coin processing device 20 includes an upper reader 42 that reads the ID of the IC coin, and a distribution disk 44 that guides the IC coin whose ID is read by the upper reader 42 to the holding passage 24 at the entrance of the holding passage 24. In addition to having an upper distribution unit 40, the lower distribution unit 50 at the exit of the holding passage 24 also has a lower reader 52 that reads the ID of the IC coin, and a distribution that guides the IC coin that has read the ID to the IC coin payout passage 27 connected to the return slot 6. Each of the distribution disks 44 and 54 is provided with a drive motor via a gear train of a first gear 84 to a third gear 86 extending symmetrically with respect to each other in the direction of 180 ° from an intermediate position between the distribution disks. Since it is driven by 82U and 82L, it is housed compactly in a narrow space of the ball lending machine 1.

  Further, the drive motors 82U and 82L and the gear train are disposed in a case 81 extending in a direction connecting the distribution disk 44 and the distribution disk 54. The drive motors 82U and 82L are adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction of the case 81. Since the first gears 84 meshing with the inclined gears 33 of the drive motors 82U and 82L are respectively located closer to the center of the case width, the width of the case 81 can be reduced. it can.

Further, since the passage wall where the distribution disk 44 in the upper distribution part 40 is located and the passage wall where the distribution disk 54 is located in the lower distribution part 50 are respectively provided as doors 49 and 59 which can be opened and closed, the distribution disk parts 44 and 54 respectively. It is possible to easily remove clogging of IC coins, etc., and to clean the light receiving portion 47 of the transmission sensor 90.
The IC coin return slot 6 paid out from the lower sorting unit 50 also serves as a return slot for coins that have not been identified by the coin selector 30 and IC coins whose data cannot be read by the upper reader 42 of the upper sorting unit 40. Therefore, the precious space of the narrow front panel 2 of the ball lending machine 1 is not taken up.

  Regarding the IC coin data, the balance is specified when the IC coin inserted from the common insertion slot 4 enters the holding passage 24, and the management server 70 holds the balance in the lower distribution unit 50 at the exit of the holding passage 24. Since the stored IC coin is stored in place, even if a plurality of IC coins are held in the holding passage 24, the balance of the inserted IC coins is reliably reflected in the next IC coin to be paid out.

  An ID for identifying each IC coin is written, and the balance setting is provided with a lower reader 52 for reading the ID of the IC coin held in the lower distribution unit 50, and the management server 70 corresponds to the read ID. A management area is set, and the balance is stored in this management area. Further, the balance is specified by reading the ID of the IC coin from the common insertion slot 4 into the upper distribution unit 40 at the entrance of the holding passage 24. The upper reader 42 is provided, and the storage value of the management area of the management server 70 corresponding to the read ID is set as the balance of the IC coin. Further, the balance transfer is performed in the management area corresponding to the ID read by the upper reader 42. Are stored in the management area corresponding to the ID of the IC coin held in the lower sorting unit 50 and read by the upper reader 42. Since the stored value in the management area corresponding to the ID and shall be zero, it is not necessary to store money data in the IC coin, there is no fear of bad money data rewriting.

The embodiment has been described by way of example as applied to a ball lending machine in a pachinko parlor, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to medals and other game medium lending machines in addition to pachinko balls.
In the embodiment, the ID is written in the IC coin and the money amount data is stored in the management server 70. However, if the writing of the collation data for preventing fraud is used together, the money amount is added to the IC coin itself. Data can also be written.

It is a figure which shows the structure of embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the front panel of a ball lending machine. It is a side view which shows the internal structure of a ball lending machine. It is sectional drawing of the distribution gate part in a coin selector. It is an external appearance perspective view of an IC coin processing device. It is a side view of the object part of FIG. It is a front view of the object part of FIG. It is an AA section sectional view in FIG. It is a BB section sectional view in Drawing 6. It is a figure which shows a drive motor and a gear train. It is the figure which looked at the gear train and drive motor inside a case from the back side. It is CC arrow line view in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of control operation at the time of a ball rental purchase. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of control operation at the time of a ball rental purchase. It is explanatory drawing which shows the replacement process of the remaining amount of IC coin.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ball lending machine 2 Front panel 3 Banknote insertion slot 4 Common insertion slot 5 Card insertion slot 6 Return slot 7 Ball dispensing slot 8 Return switch 9 Return button 10 Remaining ball number display part 11 Balance / accumulation degree display part 12 Display changeover switch 13 High-price payout switch 14 High-price useable display unit 15 Pile-pickup payout switch 16 Pile-pickup useable display unit 17 Keyhole 18 Banknote identification machine 20 IC coin processing device 21 Insertion passage 22 True coin passage 23 Non-true money passage 24 Reservation passage 25 25a notch 26 collection passage 27 IC coin payout passage 28 receiving port 30 coin selector 31 receiving passage 32 first sensor 33 second sensor 34 sorting gate 35 first passage 36 second passage 40 upper sorting portion 42 upper reader 44, 54 Distributing disc 45, 55 Notch recess 46, 56 Transmission hole 4 , 57 Light-receiving part 48, 58 Projection 49, 59 Door 50 Lower sorting part 52 Lower reader 60 Control part 62 Error coin storage part 64 Card reader / driver 66 Ball passage 70 Management server 72 Management area 75 Settling machine 80 Drive unit 81 Case 81a Body part 81b Cover 82U, 82L Drive motor 83 Inclined gear 84 First gear 84a Large gear 85 Second gear 86 Third gear 86b Small gear 87 Large gear 88 Fastener part 90, 92, 95 Transmission sensor K IC coin

Claims (1)

In an IC coin processing apparatus capable of accepting an IC coin storing data and processing the data,
The entrance,
Return port,
A holding passage for holding IC coins from the receiving port;
A first reader that reads IC coin data at the entrance of the holding passage, and an acceptance control unit that includes a first distribution disk that guides the IC coin that has been read by the first reader to the holding passage;
A second reader that reads IC coin data at the exit of the holding passage; and a payout control unit that includes a second sorting disk that guides the IC coin read by the second reader to the return port side. ,
The first distribution disk and the second distribution disk are each driven by a motor through a gear train,
The motor for driving the first distribution disk and the motor for driving the second distribution disk are arranged adjacent to each other in parallel,
Each of the gear trains extends from the intermediate position between the first sorting disk and the second sorting disk in a direction of 180 ° with respect to each other.

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