JP5123596B2 - Medal processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly perform a characteristic island-bridge processing (a token replenishment operation) just before the business close time of a game hall in a token replenishment system for a machine using the token. <P>SOLUTION: A control unit 70 detects a storage amount of a replenishment tank 36 for a token replenisher 2a and an upper tank 42 and a storage amount of a replenishment tank 36 for a token replenisher 2b and a storage tank 43, and can selectively perform equalization processing to control driving of a bridge conveyer 32 so that a difference between the storage amount of the replenishment tank 36 and the upper tank 42 and the storage amount of the replenishment tank 36 and the storage tank 43 becomes a prescribed value or smaller and differentiation processing for drive control the bridge conveyor 32 so that a difference between the storage amount of the replenishment tank 36 for the token replenisher 2a and the upper tank 42 and the storage amount of the replenishment tank 36 and the storage tank 43 becomes a prescribed value or smaller. When the differentiation processing is executable, an amount of tokens waiting to be processed that are collected in the replenisher 2a by a counter 10; when the amount of tokens waiting to be processed is a prescribed amount or larger, the tokens collected by the counter 10 are led to the replenishment tank 36 and the upper tank 42 bypassing a cleaning unit 22 by a conveyor 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a medal processing system that is used in a medal use machine such as a slot machine, collects and cleans discharged medals, and discharges them to replenish the medal use machines, and is provided particularly on a plurality of game islands. The present invention relates to an apparatus capable of allowing medals to be interchanged between the medal processing apparatuses by means of the inter-unit transport means.

  For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose such a medal processing system as described above. The technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 collects, cleans, and replenishes pachinko balls, but the amount of storage for adjusting the amount of storage of each game island by comparing the amount of storage of pachinko balls of a plurality of game islands A plurality of adjustment control patterns are prepared, and the control pattern is changed according to the time zone. For example, in the time zone just before the end of business hours, since the return work to the ball counting device is concentrated, the storage level of the game island where the ball counting device is installed is adjusted to be maintained at a level lower than normal.

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, each game island is provided with a medal supply device. Among these medal replenishing devices, some medal replenishing devices collect medals thrown into the counter in the lower tank, wash the medals with a washing unit, and then lift them with a main lift, and use a slot machine or Supply to a medal use machine such as a medal lending machine or store it in the upper tank. Another medal supply device is configured in the same manner as the above-described medal supply device except that it does not include a counter and a cleaning unit. Such two kinds of medal replenishing devices are connected by an island-carrying conveyor, and medals are conveyed between the medal replenishing devices.

JP 2004-337455 A JP 2006-136355 A

  Even in the medal replenishment device as shown in Patent Document 2, since the return work to the counter is concentrated in the time zone just before the end of business hours, the storage level of the medal replenishment device in which the counter is installed is usually set to the level. There is a desire to make adjustments to maintain a lower level. In order to respond to this demand, when the control of Patent Document 1 is applied as it is to the medal replenishing device of Patent Document 2, the following two problems occur.

  The first problem is against excessive input to the counter. In the pachinko island stand of Patent Document 1, when pachinko balls are put in a large amount from the counting device and the processing of the cleaning device cannot catch up, the pachinko balls before the cleaning processing can be stored in a large capacity lower tank. There is no need to stop the counting device. On the other hand, in the medal replenishment device of Patent Document 2, when the processing of the cleaning unit cannot catch up, the lower tank having a relatively small capacity becomes full, and the medal insertion into the counter 10 must be stopped. Sometimes.

  To solve this problem, the capacity of the lower tank can be increased. In the case of a pachinko island stand, the entire lower part of the island can be used as the lower tank, whereas in the medal replenishing device, the tank is The structure is usually stored in the medal supply device, and it is difficult to extend the lower tank to the lower part of the game island, and the capacity of the lower tank is naturally limited.

  Another solution is to increase the cleaning capability of the cleaning unit. However, the current cleaning method of the medal cleaning unit is mainly to perform a cleaning process with liquid such as water or cleaning liquid and a drying process in sequence. In addition, it takes time for the treatment, and it is difficult to dramatically improve the cleaning ability. Although it is possible to install a plurality of cleaning units, it is not easy from the viewpoint of installation space and apparatus cost.

  The second problem is for a medal replenishing device that does not include a cleaning unit. When a medal replenishing device having a cleaning unit and a medal replenishing device not having a cleaning unit are mixed as disclosed in Patent Document 2, a medal replenishing device having a cleaning unit is not included. It is considered that the medals are transported by an island conveyor, washed, and transported again to the medal replenishing device not equipped with a cleaning unit by the island conveyor. In such a system, since the medal storage amount of each replenishing device is not used as a basic condition for island transfer, the technique of Patent Document 1 cannot be applied as it is.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to make it possible to smoothly perform special island-passing processing just before the end of business hours in a medal replenishment system having a unique structure not found in pachinko islands.

The medal supply system according to one aspect of the present invention includes first and second medal processing devices, and an inter-device transport unit that connects the first and second medal processing devices and enables the medals to be transferred to each other. doing. As the inter-device transport means, a device capable of supporting and transporting medals, for example, a belt conveyor or a chain conveyor can be used. Control means controls the operation of the first and second medal processing devices and the inter-device transport means. In the first medal processing device, the medal collected from the first medal use machine can be temporarily stored by the temporary storage means. The counting means counts and collects the medals from the outside of the first medal use machine. The medal collected by the counting means is stored by the collecting and storing means. A cleaning unit is provided downstream of the temporary storage unit and the recovery storage unit, and the cleaning unit cleans the medals from the temporary storage unit and the recovery storage unit. A first storage means stores the cleaned medal. In order to replenish the stored medal to the first medal use machine, the first replenishing means discharges. The switching means guides the medal in the collection and storage means directly to the first storage means bypassing the cleaning means. Second medal processing apparatus includes a second storage means for storing the medal recovered from the second medal use machine, the medals stored in the second storage means to the second medal used machine Second supply means for discharging for replenishment. That is, the second medal processing device does not include a temporary storage unit, a counting unit, a collection storage unit, and a cleaning unit. The said control means acquires the information about the storage amount of the 1st and 2nd storage means. Based on this information, the control means can execute an equalization process that drives and controls the inter-device transport means so that the difference between the storage amounts of the first and second storage means becomes a predetermined value or less. Furthermore, a differentiating process for driving and controlling the inter-device transport unit so as to reduce the storage amount of the first storage unit as much as possible can also be executed. For example, when there are medals equal to or larger than a predetermined first amount in the first storage means and there are medals equal to or smaller than a predetermined second amount in the second storage means, When medals are transported to the medal processing device via the inter-unit transport means and the medals are smaller than the first amount in the first storage means, or the medals are larger than the second amount in the second storage means. The differentiating process is canceled. Alternatively, the differentiation process may be executed so that the storage amount of the first storage unit is smaller than the storage amount of the second storage unit by a predetermined amount or more. The equalization process and the differentiation process can be selectively executed. At least when the differentiating process is enabled, the control unit determines that the amount of medals awaiting processing in the cleaning unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, the temporary storage unit and the recovery storage unit The medal is restricted from being transported to the cleaning means, and at least the medal in the collection and storage means is driven and controlled by the switching means to bypass the cleaning means and lead to the first storage means.

The medal processing system according to another aspect of the present invention includes the first and second medal processing devices, the inter-device transport unit, and the control unit, similarly to the above-described mode . The control means transports the medals collected by the second medal processing device to the first medal processing device and is cleaned by the cleaning means, and the cleaning means of the first medal processing device. The inter-device transport and replenishment processing for transporting the medals cleaned by the above-mentioned to the second medal processing device and supplying them to the second replenishing means can be executed, and the inter-device transport cleaning processing and the inter-device transport The condition for executing the replenishment process can be selected from a plurality of patterns prepared in advance. As conditions for executing the inter-device transport cleaning process, for example, a plurality of different conditions are prepared depending on the time zone, and similarly, a plurality of conditions for executing the inter-device transport replenishment process are also prepared depending on the time zone. Then, the inter-device transport replenishment process and the inter-device transport replenishment process are executed using conditions according to the situation, for example, the time zone. Further, the control means may determine the amount of medals awaiting processing by the cleaning means during execution of the inter-apparatus transport cleaning process or the inter-apparatus transport replenishment process according to a predetermined condition pattern among the plurality of condition patterns. When it is determined that the amount is equal to or greater than a fixed amount, the medal of the temporary storage unit and the recovery storage unit is restricted from being transported to the cleaning unit, and at least the medal of the recovery storage unit is driven and controlled. By doing so, the cleaning means is bypassed and guided to the first storage means.

  As described above, according to the medal replenishment system according to the present invention, it is possible to smoothly perform a special island-passing process that is necessary just before the closing time of a game shop.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the medal replenishment system of one embodiment of the present invention has a first medal processing device, for example, a medal replenishment device 2a, and a second medal processing device, for example, a medal replenishment device 2b, 2c. doing.

  The medal supply device 2a is installed on the game island 4 as shown in FIG. The amusement island 4 includes a plurality of medal machines, for example, slot machines 6 arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. A medal use machine such as a medal lending machine 8 is provided so as to be sandwiched between these slot machines 6.

  In the slot machine 6 or the medal lending machine 8, in which the amount of medals stored inside is smaller than a predetermined amount, a sensor (not shown) provided in these units outputs an empty signal. Occur. This is supplied to the medal replenishing device 2a and replenished to the slot machine 6 or medal lending machine 8 that has generated the empty signal.

  The above-described medal supply device 2 a is provided at one end of the game island 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the medal replenishing device 2 a has a mounting table including a mounting table 12 for mounting a counting means, for example, a medal counter 10.

  Under the slot machine 6 and the medal lending machine 8, collection means such as a collection conveyor 14 is provided substantially horizontally along these arrangement directions. The recovery conveyor 14 is disposed from one end of the game island 4 to the other end. The medals overflowing from each slot machine 6 are discharged onto the collection conveyor 14 and conveyed to one end of the collection conveyor 14 where the medal replenishing device 2a is arranged. The medals transported to one end are temporarily stored in the bucket 16 provided inside the main body of the medal replenishing device 2a, and are appropriately put into the cleaning means in the main body, for example, the cleaning unit 22 by the intermediate conveyor 18. The intermediate conveyor 18 is, for example, a belt conveyor type transfer device. The medals cleaned by the cleaning unit 22 are transported above the medal replenishing device 2a by a lifting means standing up behind the cleaning unit 22, for example, the main lift 24.

  In addition, as a result of the player's game, medals that are prizes paid out from the slot machine 6 are put into the collection and storage means, for example, the lower tank 20 via the counter 10. A switching means, for example, a belt conveyor 21 is disposed below the lower tank 20. The belt conveyor 21 has a conveying surface arranged horizontally and can be driven in both directions, and the conveying surface is arranged to face a discharge port formed in the lower part of the lower tank 20. When the belt conveyor 21 is driven leftward in FIG. 1, the medals stored in the lower tank 20 are branched and discharged toward the cleaning unit 22. When the belt conveyor 21 is driven in the right direction in FIG. 1, the medals discharged from the lower tank 20 bypass the cleaning unit 22 and are directly supplied to the main lift 24 via a chute (not shown). Be lifted.

  The medals lifted by the main lift 24 are paid out by the branching device 26 to the inter-device transport means that is passed over to other game islands, such as the island transfer conveyor 32 or the supply tank 36 that forms part of the storage means, for example. It is. The branching device 26 receives the medals discharged from the main lift 24 and branches and discharges the medals in at least two directions, that is, in the direction of the island transfer conveyor 32 and the direction of the supply tank 36.

  In addition to the island transfer conveyor 32, an island transfer conveyor 34 is also provided as an inter-device transfer means. The island transfer conveyor 32 conveys the washed medals that have been lifted by the main lift 24 as described above. The island transfer conveyor 34 conveys unwashed medals collected by the other medal supply devices 2b and 2c to the medal supply device 2a.

  The medals collected from the game island 4 on which the medal replenishing device 2a is installed are always washed by the cleaning unit 22 and then transported by the main lift 24. Therefore, the medal replenishment of the other game islands from the medal replenishing device 2a is performed. When the medals are transferred to the devices 2b and 2c by island, the island transfer conveyor 32 is used.

  On the other hand, when transferring medals from other medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c not equipped with a cleaning unit to this medal replenishing device 2a, an island conveyor 34 is used. The medals transported to the medal supply device 2 a by the island transfer conveyor 34 are branched and discharged from the island transfer conveyor 34 to the lower tank 20 by the branch unit 30 provided on the island transfer conveyor 34, and washed by the cleaning unit 22. The cleaned medal is supplied to the supply tank 36 through the main lift 24 and the branching device 26a.

  The cleaned medals supplied to the supply tank 36 are supplied almost horizontally above the slot machine 6 and the medal lending machine 8 to supply supply means extending from the main body, for example, the supply conveyor 38, and an empty signal is received. The slot machine 6 and the medal lending machine 8 that have generated The medals that have not been replenished to the slot machine 6 or the medal lending machine 8 are transported to the other end of the replenishment conveyor 38 and then transferred to the collection conveyor 14 via a return chute indicated by an arrow as described above. And returned to the replenishment tank 36.

  When the replenishment tank 36 is full, the medals overflow and are stored in the remaining part of the storage means, for example, the upper tank 42. The medals stored in the upper tank 42 are paid out by an external discharge means provided below the discharge port below the upper tank 42, for example, a belt conveyor type discharge means 44. The medals paid out by the discharging means 44 are put into, for example, a mug 46 or put into a separately prepared mobile tank. The medals that have fallen down without being put into the mug 46 are put into the main lift 24 through the chute 48.

  When it is necessary to supply the medals stored in the upper tank 42 to the supply tank 36, or when it is necessary to supply the medals supply devices 2b and 2c on the other game islands by the island transfer conveyor 32, the discharge means 44 is driven. Then, the medals are supplied to the supply tank 36 or the island transfer conveyor 32 through the chute 48, the main lift 24, and the branching device 26.

  Further, in addition to the branch unit 30, the island transfer conveyor 34 is also provided with a branch unit 28 so that unwashed medals conveyed by the island transfer conveyor 34 can be supplied to the supply tank 36. .

  The medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c are configured as shown in FIG. 2, and do not include the counter 10, the lower tank 20, and the cleaning unit 22 as compared with the medal replenishing device 2a. Further, the medals collected by the collection conveyor 14 are directly put into the main lift 24 and are transported, and are put into the branching device 26a installed at the upper part of the medal supply devices 2b and 2c. The branching device 26a selectively branches the raised medals to either the island transfer conveyor 34 for transporting the unwashed medals or the supply tank 36 or the storage tank 43 of its own.

  Discharge means 44 is provided at the lower discharge port of the storage tank 43, and medals discharged from the storage tank 43 are put into the main lift 24, passed to the island transfer conveyor 34 through the branching device 26a, and the medal replenishing device 2a. It is conveyed to.

  Such medal replenishing devices 2a, 2b, and 2c are arranged in a line with the medal replenishing device 2a in between, as shown in FIG. The three medal supply devices 2a, 2b, and 2c are connected by the above-described island transfer conveyors 32 and 34 so that medals can be transferred to the islands. The island transfer conveyors 32 and 34 are each constituted by a single belt conveyor, and are installed through the medal replenishing device 2a with the medal replenishing device 2b or 2c as the start or end. Moreover, the island transfer conveyors 32 and 34 are belt conveyors that can be conveyed in both directions, whereby the three medal supply devices 2a, 2b, and 2c can send and receive medals to each other.

  In the medal replenishing device 2a, sensors for detecting an approximate storage amount (storage level) of medals stored inside are provided in the replenishment tank 36, the upper tank 42, and the storage tank 43. These sensors are, for example, continuity sensors using medal conductivity, and are fixed to the side wall of the tank.

  In order to detect the storage amount of the replenishing tank 36 in three stages, each sensor is arranged at two places having different heights. The storage level (intermediate state) that the lower sensor 361a has not detected a medal (the state where there are almost no medals) is detected by LV1, the sensor 361a has detected but the upper sensor 361b has not detected it, and the sensor Let LV3 be the state in which the 361b detects a medal (substantially full state). Sensors are similarly provided in the replenishment tanks 36 of the medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c.

  In the upper tank 42 of the medal replenishing device 2a, the sensors are arranged at three places having different heights in order to detect the storage amount in four stages. The lowest level sensor 421a detects a storage level where medals are not detected (a state where there are almost no medals), and LV2 indicates a storage level where sensor 421a detects but the sensor 421b does not detect (a near empty state). A storage level (intermediate state) detected by 421b but not detected by sensor 421c is LV3, and a storage level (mostly full state) at which the highest sensor 201c detects a medal is LV4. The storage tank 43 of the medal supply devices 2b and 2c is also provided with sensors 431a to 431c having the same configuration as that of the upper tank 42.

  FIG. 4 shows in detail the periphery of the cleaning unit 22 of the medal replenishing device 2a, and the lower tank 20 is a tank having an open top and an inclined bottom surface toward a discharge port provided on the bottom surface. Similarly to the upper tank 42, the lower tank 20 is provided with sensors 201a, 201b, and 201c that detect the storage level, and are recognized as the storage levels LV1 to LV4 in ascending order of the storage amount.

  The belt conveyor 21 is a belt conveyor capable of horizontal conveyance in both directions, and is disposed to face the discharge port of the lower tank 20. When the belt conveyor 21 is stopped, medals about to flow out from the discharge port of the lower tank 20 are blocked, and when driven to the left or right, the medals in the lower tank 20 are taken out and discharged in the transport direction. The left end of the belt conveyor 21 in the drawing is positioned above the medal slot of the cleaning unit 22, and the right end of the drawing is positioned above the inlet chute 241 of the lift 24.

  The medals recovered by the recovery conveyor 14 are stored in the recovery bucket 16 and put into the cleaning unit 22 by the intermediate conveyor 18. The collection conveyor 14 is always driven to collect medals that are irregularly discharged to the collection conveyor 14. The amount of medals to be collected may be several, or may be large by forcibly discharging medals from a hopper in the slot machine (so-called scraping). The recovered medals are delivered to the cleaning unit 22, but the recovery bucket 16 is disposed between the recovery conveyor 14 and the intermediate conveyor 18 in order to prevent the cleaning unit 22 from being idle and overloaded, and to efficiently operate a fixed number of sheets. doing. A medal detection sensor 161 is provided at an appropriate position on the side of the collection bucket 16, and when a predetermined number (for example, about 500) of medals are stored in the collection bucket 16, this is detected.

  The cleaning unit 22 includes a storage hopper 221 that opens at the top and serves as a medal slot. The medals dropped from the left end of the belt conveyor 21 and the medals discharged from the intermediate conveyor 18 are put into the storage hopper 221 and supplied to the cleaning process. The cleaned medal is discharged from the outlet 223 and is put into the inlet chute 241 of the main lift 24. Near the upper edge of the side wall of the storage hopper 221 is a sensor 222 that detects that the medals in the hopper are full.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a control unit 70 is provided in each medal supply device 2a to 2c. The control unit 70 collects and replenishes medals from the slot machine 6, the medal lending machine 8 and the medal counter 10 on the own island, and cleans medals by the washing unit 22 (in the case of the medal replenishing device 2a, the medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c In some cases, control medals supply to other islands. The control unit 70 includes a CPU, a memory, a timer, and the like. By this timer, the time for starting the differentiating process described later, for example, the pre-closing process is counted. A data input / output device 72 is connected to the control unit 70. The control unit 70 includes the collection conveyor 14, the intermediate conveyor 18, the cleaning unit 22, the main lift 24, the upper tank 42 (in the case of the medal replenishing device 2a), the storage tank 43 (in the case of the medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c), and the replenishing tank 36. The drive means group 74 composed of drive means such as the island-carrying conveyors 32 and 34 and the replenishment conveyor 38 is controlled by receiving signals from the sensor group 76 composed of sensors provided on these. A controller group 78 and a display device 80 are connected to the control unit 70, and various conditions are set and error messages are displayed.

  Further, the control unit 70 performs bi-directional communication with each relay control unit 82 (only one is shown in FIG. 5), and performs medal replenishment control to each slot machine 6 and medal lending machine 8. In addition, the control unit 70 of each island performs two-way communication with the control unit 70 of other islands, and shares data such as the amount of medal storage in the island. For example, a medal is transferred from any island to any island. Decide what to do.

  FIG. 6 is a state transition diagram showing the operation of the medal supply devices 2a, 2b and 2c. When the power is turned on for the first time for the medal supply devices 2a, 2b, and 2c, initial setting (step S2) is executed. In the initial setting, basic settings of the system configuration such as the address setting of the medal supply devices 2a, 2b, and 2c themselves and the presence / absence of the mounting table 12 are performed. This initial setting is not performed when the power is turned on for the second time and thereafter.

  Subsequent to the initial setting or when the power is turned on for the second time or later, an initial processing is performed (step S4). In this process, initialization of software and communication state, check of the position and operation of each drive unit, and the like are performed. In this process, the type and installation position of the connected game medium using machine are also determined.

  When the initial process is completed, an in-operation process (step S8) is executed. The in-operation process includes a normal standby process (step S6) and an abnormal standby process (step S12). The presence / absence of an abnormality is determined by a signal from the sensor group 76 and the state is changed to one of the states.

  The in-operation processing is performed when there is a request for collection or replenishment. For example, when an empty signal is received from a game medium using machine and it is determined that the replenishment request is a normal request and there is no other priority process, the control unit 70 outputs an empty signal. The branch unit 40, the supply conveyor 38, and the supply tank 36 related to the game medium using machine are controlled.

  The process during clerk operation is shifted by operating the operation switch in the process during driving, and various settings such as display of driving history and prohibition of replenishment of a specific game medium using machine are performed.

  If any abnormality is detected in the normal standby process, the abnormal standby process (step S12) is executed, and a warning is output by displaying a message or the like. If a canceling operation is performed during this process, the process for canceling the abnormality (step S14) is executed. If the abnormality is canceled, the process returns to the normal standby, and if the abnormality is not canceled, the process returns to the abnormal standby. Even during abnormal standby, operations such as replenishment and island transfer are performed as long as there is no problem.

  The maintenance operation process (step S16) is executed by the start operation at the time of the process during operation or when the power is turned on. In this processing, various settings, driving units, and sensors are checked. The settings made in the initial settings can also be corrected and changed during this maintenance operation process.

  Next, the operation of this medal supply system will be described. First, medal collection by the medal replenishing device 2a will be described. The recovery conveyor 14 is always driven as long as there is no failure or the like in each state of in-operation processing (step S8), clerk operation (step S10), and abnormality canceling (step S14). The medals recovered by the recovery conveyor 14 are temporarily stored in the recovery bucket 16. The control unit 70 monitors the output of the sensor 161 in the state of the process during operation (step S8), the result is that the medal more than a predetermined amount is stored in the bucket 16, the sensor 161 is turned on, and the medal can be lifted up. Is determined, the intermediate conveyor 18 and the cleaning unit 22 are driven, and the medals in the bucket 16 are cleaned.

  The state where the medals can be lifted up is a state in which there is an acceptance destination of medals lifted by the main lift 24, a state in which the replenishment tank 36 or the upper tank 42 is empty, another medal replenishing device 2b, The replenishment tank 36 and the storage tank 43 of 2c are in an empty state. In the case where there are a plurality of receiving destinations, the priority order is determined according to the storage amount (freeness) for each receiving destination.

  When the medal replenishing device 2a lifts the medal to its replenishing tank 36, the control unit 70 starts driving the branching device 26, the main lift 24, the cleaning unit 22, and the intermediate conveyor 18 in this order. At this time, the medal is inserted into the inlet of the cleaning unit 22 from the recovery bucket 16 via the intermediate conveyor 18, and after being cleaned by the cleaning unit 22, the medal is input into the inlet chute 241 of the main lift 24 from the outlet 223. 24, and is fed into the supply tank 36 via the branching device 26. When medals are excessively inserted into the replenishment tank 36, the medals overflow the replenishment tank 36, and are inserted into the upper tank 42 and stored. In this way, the replenishment tank 36 and the upper tank 42 constitute a storage means of the medal replenishing device 2a, and store only the washed medals during normal operation.

  Next, the collection by the medal counter 10 in the medal replenishing device 2a will be described. The medals collected by the medal counter 10 are temporarily stored in the lower tank 20. The control unit 70 monitors the storage amount of the lower tank 20 based on the outputs of the sensors 201a, 201b, and 201c in the processing state during operation, and a predetermined amount or more of medals are stored in the lower tank 20 and the medals are lifted up. When it is determined that it is possible, the belt conveyor 21 and the washing unit 22 are driven to wash the medals in the lower tank 20.

  Normally, it is desirable to immediately wash the medals collected by the counter 10 and prepare them as replenishment medals. Therefore, the state in which a predetermined amount or more of medals are stored in the lower tank 20 means that the sensor 201a It is assumed to be in an on state (storage level LV2). The state where the medals can be lifted up is a state where there is an acceptance destination of the medals lifted by the main lift 24 as in the case of collection by the collection conveyor 14. Further, the processing when there are a plurality of receiving destinations is the same as the collection by the collection conveyor 14.

  The operation when the medals recovered by the counter 10 and cleaned by the cleaning unit 22 are lifted up to the replenishment tank 36 is also an operation in which the intermediate conveyor 18 in the recovery operation by the recovery conveyor 14 is replaced with the belt conveyor 21. Detailed description will be omitted.

  Next, the priority of collection will be described. When the conditions for starting collection by the collection conveyor 14 and the conditions for starting collection by the medal counter 10 are satisfied at the same time, a priority is set in advance so that one of the collections is executed with priority. In this embodiment, since the capacity of the collection bucket 16 is considerably smaller than the capacity of the lower tank 20, collection by the collection conveyor 14 is prioritized.

  Next, medal collection by the medal supply devices 2b and 2c will be described. The medal supply devices 2 b and 2 c that do not have the medal counter 10 do not have the cleaning unit 22. Therefore, when performing complete cleaning, the medals recovered by the recovery conveyor 14 in the same manner as the medal replenishing device 2a are transported to the medal replenishing device 2a having the cleaning unit 22 and cleaned by the inter-device transport cleaning process. The operation of the inter-device transport cleaning process in the case of complete cleaning will be described later. On the other hand, when the complete cleaning is not performed, the collected medals are directly lifted by the main lift 24 and put into the supply tank 36.

  Next, automatic replenishment by each medal replenishing device 2a to 2c will be described. The control unit 70 of the medal replenishing device 2a, which is the parent machine, monitors the empty signal from the medal use machine (slot machine 6, medal counting machine 8) during the operation process, and places the medal use machine that has issued the empty signal. Automatically supply a fixed amount of medals. A discharge means (not shown) of the supply tank 36 is driven to discharge, for example, 500 medals onto the supply conveyor 38. The medals are conveyed to above the target medal use machine by the replenishment conveyor 38, branched off from the replenishment conveyor 38 by the action of the branch unit 40, and put into the medal use machine.

  Next, manual replenishment in which a staff member in the medal replenishing device 2a manually replenishes medals will be described. In this case, the discharging means 44 of the upper tank 42 is driven to insert a predetermined amount of medals into the mug 46. The clerk takes out the mug 46, carries it to a medal use machine that lacks medals, and replenishes medals manually. The discharge means 44 can be driven by operating a drive switch (not shown) provided in the vicinity of the storage portion of the mug 46.

  Next, island transfer processing in each of the medal supply devices 2a to 2c will be schematically described first. It is assumed that the medal replenishment device 2a functions as a parent device that controls island transfer processing, and that the medal replenishment devices 2b and 2c function as child devices. The control unit 70 of the medal replenishing device 2a, which is the parent machine, performs an island passing process for delivering medals between the medal replenishing devices when a predetermined condition is satisfied in the driving process.

  According to the medal replenishment system of the present embodiment, the medals replenished by the medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c that do not have the cleaning unit 22 are transported to the medal replenishing device 2a that has the cleaning unit 22 and washed, while the medal replenishing device. The medals washed with 2a can be transported to the medal supply devices 2b and 2c and used as a replenishment medal. Thereby, even in a medal replenishment system incorporating a replenishment device that does not have a cleaning unit, it is possible to use only cleaned medals as replenishment medals. In this way, medals collected by any medal replenishing device must be washed once by the medal replenishing device or another medal replenishing device constituting the medal replenishing system, and then replenished to the medal use machine. Processing used as a medal is called complete cleaning. However, even in the case of complete cleaning, when an emergency situation occurs, such as an extreme shortage of stored medals or a failure of the device, processing that is used as a replenishment medal without cleaning is included.

  On the other hand, when the cleaning is not performed, the system according to the present embodiment can be used to basically use the medals collected by the respective medal replenishing devices 2a to 2c as the replenishing medals for the replenishing device. is there. That is, the medals collected by the medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c not having the cleaning unit 22 are used as replenishing medals without being washed, and the island transfer conveyors 32 and 34 are exclusively used for the amount of medals between the replenishing devices 2a to 2c. It can also be used to maintain balance.

  The setting as to whether or not the island-passing operation of the medal supply system is to be completely cleaned is set by operating the operator group 78 in the initial setting (step S2). The setting can be changed even during the maintenance operation (step S16).

  Next, the basic idea of island passing when it is not completely washed will be described. Each medal supply device 2a to 2c basically uses a medal collected by itself as a replenishment medal. However, the amount of medals collected by each medal replenishing device 2a to 2c and the amount of medals to be replenished differ depending on the medal replenishing devices 2a to 2c. In particular, a large amount of medals are collected by the medal replenishing device 2a having the medal counting device 10. Often. Therefore, the medal reserving amount of the medal replenishing device 2a increases and the medal reserving amount of the medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c tends to decrease. If the amount of medals stored in the medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c decreases, there is a risk that there will be a shortage of replenishing medals and hinder automatic replenishment. Perform equalization processing to equalize. On the other hand, in the time zone just before the closing of the amusement store, in order to prepare for the concentration of collected medals on the medal counter 10, a differentiation process is performed in which the medal storage amount of the medal replenishing device 2a having the counter 10 is reduced. .

  Next, the equalization process when not completely cleaned will be described. The equalization processing is equal to focusing on only a part of the main storage means among the storage means of the medal processing apparatuses 2a to 2c in addition to the process of equalizing the total storage amount of each medal processing apparatus 2a to 2c. It also includes the process of converting. Further, the fact that the storage amount is equal includes not only the case where the medal storage amount is the same, but also the case where the difference in the storage amount is within a predetermined range and can be regarded as substantially equal. In addition to the number of medals, the storage level when storing medals in the tank may be used as the storage amount.

The condition for starting the equalization process is determined as follows. It is monitored in order for the combination of the two of the three medal supply devices 2a to 2c whether or not the conditions for starting the equalization process are satisfied. First, it is determined whether equalization processing should be started with the medal replenishing device 2a as the medal feeding side and the medal replenishing device 2b as the medal receiving side.
1) Time zone for performing equalization processing.
2) The storage level of the upper tank 42 of the medal supply device 2a is higher than the storage level of the storage tank 43 of the medal supply device 2b.
3) The island transfer conveyor 32 used for island transfer can be driven in the direction from the medal supply device 2a to the medal supply device 2b.
4) Neither the medal supply devices 2a and 2b are in a special processing state such as during maintenance.
5) There is no abnormality in each unit related to the island passing process.
When all of the above conditions are satisfied, it is determined that the equalization process from the medal supply devices 2a to 2b should be started. In addition, the medal replenishing device 2a which is the parent machine has its own medal reserving amount, abnormality of the main lift 24 and the distribution chute 26, and the medal reserving amount of the other medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c which are slave units. Since the abnormalities of the island transfer conveyors 32 and 34 and the branch units 28 and 30 of the medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c as slave units are also monitored, it is possible to determine the abnormality of each unit related to the island transfer process. .

  Next, the determination is similarly made with the medal supply device 2b as the medal feeding side and the medal supply device 2a as the medal receiving side. Further, the same determination is made for other combinations of medal supply devices.

  When the equalization processing start condition is established for a plurality of combinations, the priority order is determined based on conditions such as the amount of medals stored in the replenishment tank 36 of the receiving-side medal replenishing device and the number of connected medal use machines. For example, when the medal storage amount in the supply tank 36 that receives medals is small (storage level LV1), there is a high possibility that the supply medals will be insufficient. Perform processing. An equalization process is performed on the medal supply device extracted in this way, and the process ends when any of the above conditions is not satisfied.

  Next, the operation of the equalization processing will be described by taking as an example a case where the island-passing equalization processing is performed from the medal replenishment device 2a to the medal replenishment device 2b. The medal replenishing device 2a, which is the parent machine, instructs the medal replenishing device 2a and the medal replenishing device 2b to perform island transfer from the medal replenishing device 2a to 2b. As a result, the branch unit 28 of the medal supply device 2b is closed. The island transfer conveyor 32 is driven from the medal supply device 2a toward the medal supply device 2b. The branching device 26 of the medal replenishing device 2a is driven to rotate and adjusted to a position where the medal is inserted into the island transfer conveyor 32. The main lift 24 of the medal supply device 2a is driven. The discharging means 44 of the upper tank 42 of the medal supply device 2a is driven, and medals are inserted from the upper tank 42 into the main lift 24. At this time, if there are medals in the collection bucket 16 or if there are enough medals in the lower tank 20, the medals in the collection bucket 16 or the lower tank 20 are preferentially thrown into the main lift 24 via the cleaning unit 22. May be.

  Through the above drive control, medals in the medal replenishing device 2 a are thrown into the island transfer conveyor 32 via the main lift 24 and the branching device 26. The branch unit 28 of the medal replenishing device 2b branches off the medals from the island conveyor 32 and puts them in the replenishing tank 36 of the medal replenishing device 2b. Since the replenishment tank 36 overflows a predetermined amount of medals and throws it into the storage tank 43, as a result, the storage level of the storage tank 43 of the medal replenishing device 2b increases. Then, if the storage level of the upper tank 42 of the medal replenishing device 2a and the storage level of the storage tank 43 of the medal replenishing device 2b become equal, the equalization processing is stopped.

  The above equalization processing is sequentially performed according to the priority order for the combination of replenishing devices that satisfy the start condition.

  Normally, the above equalization process is performed. However, in order to prepare for the concentration of collected medals on the medal counter 10 during the time just before the closing of the game store, the medal storage amount of the medal replenishing device 2a is reduced. The differentiation process is performed even when the cleaning is not complete.

  The starting conditions for the differentiation process are as follows. The control unit 70 of the medal replenishing device 2a, which is the parent machine, performs the differentiation process from a time zone set in advance as a time zone for performing the differentiation process, for example, from one hour before the closing time of the amusement store to the closing time. The start condition for executing is determined. It should be noted that the time zone for executing the differentiation process is preferably set in advance by operating the operator group 78 while the clerk is operating (step S10), but the differentiation process is started. The operator group 78 may be operated and instructed each time when the user wants to finish the operation.

The control unit 70 of the medal replenishing device 2a, which is the parent machine, determines the conditions for starting the differentiation process from the storing amounts of the other medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c in order to reduce the medal reserving amount of the medal replenishing device 2a To do. First, it is determined whether the differentiation process can be executed with the medal replenishing device 2b as the medal receiving side.
1) It is a time zone when the differentiation process should be executed.
2) There are medals in the upper tank 42 or the lower tank 20 of the medal supply device 2a. (That is, the storage level is LV2 or higher.)
3) The storage level of the storage tank 43 of the medal supply device 2b is LV3 or less.
4) The island transfer conveyor 32 used for island transfer can be driven in the direction from the medal supply device 2a to the medal supply device 2b.
5) Neither the medal supply devices 2a and 2b are in a special processing state such as during maintenance.
6) There is no abnormality in each unit related to the island-passing process.
When all of the above conditions are satisfied, it is determined that the differentiation process by island transfer from the medal replenishing device 2a to 2b is possible.

  Next, the medal supply device 2c is determined similarly as the medal receiving side. When both of the medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c can be the medal receiving side of the differentiation process, the one with the lower storage level of the storage tank 43 or the storage level of the replenishing tank 36 is preferentially set as the medal receiving side.

  The differentiation process is executed for the receiving-side medal replenishing device determined in this way, and when either of the above conditions is not satisfied, that is, the upper tank 42 of the medal replenishing device 2a is set to the lower tank 20 as well. If the medal runs out or the storage level of the storage tank 43 of the medal replenishing device 2b becomes LV4 (full state), the process is terminated.

  As the processing inside the medal replenishing device 2a, as described above in the collection processing by the medal counting machine 10, if the replenishment tank 36 or the upper tank 42 is empty, the medal in the lower tank 20 is lifted to the replenishment tank 36 as much as possible. It is controlled to up. Therefore, when the amount of storage in the upper tank 42 of the medal replenishing device 2a is reduced by the differentiation process, the medal in the lower tank 20 is automatically lifted up and reduced, and a system for preparing a large number of medals from the counter 10 is prepared. It becomes. Since the operation of the differentiation process is the same as the operation of the equalization process described above, the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the necessity of the cleaning unit bypass process will be described. Even if the cleaning is not complete, the cleaning unit 22 may receive medals from the lower tank 20 or the recovery bucket 16 into the storage hopper 221, and the cleaning unit 22 may sequentially clean the medals and discharge them from the outlet 223. In this case, medals are stored in the storage hopper 221 when the cleaning process cannot catch up and the process waits. When the sensor 222 is turned on as a result of the storage hopper 221 becoming full of medals waiting to be processed, the control unit 70 restricts the insertion of medals into the cleaning unit 22 and prohibits the driving of the belt conveyor 21 and the intermediate conveyor 18. The medals waiting for the cleaning process are stored in the lower tank 20 or the bucket 16.

  On the other hand, the amount of storage in the upper tank 42 of the medal replenishing device 2a having the medal counter 10 is reduced by the above differentiation process, so that the medal can be lifted up from the lower tank 20 to the upper tank 42. Tries to maintain a state where almost no medals are stored. This prepares for the insertion of a large number of medals into the medal counting machine 10 just before the closing time, but when a large number of medals continue to be inserted more than expected or when a large number of medals continue to be collected from the collection conveyor 14 Then, medals waiting for the cleaning process are generated, and medals waiting for the cleaning process are stored in the lower tank 20 and the bucket 16 as described above. During this time, the cleaning unit 22 continues the cleaning process. However, if medals exceeding the processing capacity are continuously inserted, the medals waiting for the cleaning process increase, eventually the lower tank 20 becomes full and the medal counter 10 Since the counted medal discharge destinations are eliminated, the return of medals to the medal counter 10 must be stopped.

  As described above, when a collection process of a large number of medals continuously occurs, there is a possibility that the counter 10 has to be stopped even though the differentiation process is performed. In order to avoid such a situation, a cleaning unit detouring process is provided in which medals discharged from the lower tank 20 are thrown into the main lift 24 without passing through the cleaning unit 22.

The control unit 70 of the medal replenishing device 2a performs the washing machine detouring process in order not to stop the medal counting machine 10 when the number of medals waiting for the washing process exceeds a predetermined amount in the time zone when the differentiation process is to be executed. Run.
1) It is a time zone when the differentiation process should be executed.
2) The medal cannot be inserted into the cleaning unit 22.
3) The storage level of the lower tank 20 of the medal replenishing device 2a is LV4 (almost full state).
4) The medal supply device 2a is not in a special processing state such as during maintenance.
5) There is no abnormality in each unit related to lift-up.
When all the above conditions are satisfied, a cleaning unit detour process is performed in which the medals stored in the lower tank 20 bypass the cleaning unit 22 and are directly input to the main lift 24, and continue until either condition is not satisfied.

  The state in which the medal cannot be inserted into the cleaning unit 22 in the above 2) is a state in which the storage hopper 221 of the cleaning unit 22 is full (the sensor 222 is on), or the cleaning unit 22 is out of order. The storage level of the lower tank 20 of the medal replenishing device 2a in 3) is for determining the amount of medals waiting for the cleaning process, but in order to avoid stopping the medal counter 10 as much as possible, The storage level LV3) may be set.

  The operation of the cleaning unit detour processing is as follows. When the conditions for the cleaning unit detouring process are satisfied, the control unit 70 of the medal replenishing device 2a first drives the main lift 24 of the medal replenishing device 2a, and then moves the belt conveyor 21 of the lower tank 20 to the main lift. Drive to 24 side (right direction in FIG. 4). With the above drive control, medals in the lower tank 20 are directly thrown into the main lift 24 without passing through the cleaning unit 22.

  The cleaning unit detouring process is a process that is executed during a time zone in which the differentiating process is to be performed. Therefore, if the conditions for the differentiating process are satisfied, the medal inserted into the main lift 24 is changed by the differentiating process. The islands are transported to the medal supply devices 2b and 2c. On the other hand, when it is a time zone in which the differentiation process is to be executed, but the conditions for the differentiation process are not satisfied, it is put into its own supply tank 36.

  Next, the basic concept of island passing in the case of complete cleaning will be described. Generally, it is desirable that the replenishing medals discharged from the replenishing means to the outside of the medal replenishing device are cleaned by the cleaning unit at least once after being collected by the medal replenishing device. The supply means includes automatic supply means such as the supply conveyor 38 and manual supply means such as the mug 46 and the discharge means 44.

  Since the medal replenishing device 2a has the cleaning unit 22, the collected medals can be used as a replenishing medal as they are. However, since the medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c do not have the cleaning unit 22, the medal replenishing device 2b. It is not preferable to use the medal collected by 2c as it is as a supplemental medal. Therefore, the medal supply devices 2b and 2c obtain cleaned medals for supply by inter-device transport supply processing that receives supply of cleaned medals from the medal supply device 2a. The medals collected by the medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c are washed by an inter-device transport cleaning process in which the medal replenishing device 2a having the cleaning unit 22 is transported to the island and washed.

  At this time, the inter-device transport replenishment process and the inter-device transport cleaning process are not always executable. For example, a medal cannot be sent if there is no allowance in the medal storage amount of the medal replenishing device serving as a medal receiving side. Therefore, the conditions for starting and stopping each process are determined mainly based on the medal storage amount of the medal supply devices 2a to 2c.

  And in the time zone just before the closing of the amusement store, the medal storage of the medal replenishing device 2a having the counter 10 is prepared in preparation for the concentration of the recovered medals on the medal counter 10 in the time zone just before the closing of the game store, as in the case of island passing when it is not complete cleaning. There is a demand to keep the amount small. Therefore, at least two conditions, a normal condition and a condition before closing, are prepared in advance as conditions for starting and stopping each process, and are used properly depending on the time period.

  The time zone just before closing is set in advance by operating the operator group 78 by the clerk operating in the state of the clerk operation (step S10) in the same manner as the time zone when the differentiation process is to be executed when the cleaning is not complete. Although it is preferable to set, it is also possible to operate the operator group 78 when it is desired to start and end the process just before closing, and to instruct each time.

  The inter-device transport replenishment process in the complete cleaning will be described. This is for transferring the washed medals from the medal replenishing device 2a having the cleaning unit 22 to the other medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c. In the example of FIG. 3, the medal replenishing device 2a The inter-device transport supply processing can be executed for the medal supply devices 2b and 2c.

  The control unit 70 of the medal replenishing device 2a, which is the parent machine, monitors whether or not the conditions for starting the inter-device transport replenishment processing are satisfied from the medal replenishing device 2a to the left and right replenishing devices 2b and 2c. As this condition, the following normal conditions and conditions before closing are prepared.

The conditions for the inter-device transport replenishment process during normal operation are as follows:
1) It is not the time zone before closing.
2) There is an empty space in the supply tank 36 of the medal supply device 2b.
3) There are enough medals in any one of the upper tank 42, the lower tank 20, and the recovery bucket 16 of the medal supply device 2a. For example, the storage volume of any tank is LV2 or higher.
4) The supply tank 36 of the medal supply device 2a is not LV1 (empty).
5) The island transfer conveyor 32 used for island transfer is in a usable state.
6) Neither medal supply device 2a, 2b is in a special processing state such as during maintenance.
7) There is no abnormality in each unit related to the island-passing process.
It is.

The conditions for the inter-device transport replenishment process before closing are as follows:
1 ′) Time before closing.
2 ′) The storage amount of the upper tank 42 of the medal supply device 2b is LV3 or less.
4 ') The supply tank 36 of the medal supply device 2a is not LV1 (empty).
5 ′) The island passing conveyor 32 used for passing the island is in a usable state.
6 ′) Neither the medal supply devices 2a and 2b are in a special processing state such as during maintenance.
7 ') There is no abnormality in each unit related to the island passing process.
It is.

  Then, the control unit 70 of the medal replenishing device 2a, which is the parent machine, normally makes a determination based on the start condition of the inter-device transport replenishment process at the normal time, for example, a time zone where the pre-closing process should be executed, The determination is made from the start condition of the inter-device transport supply process before closing from one hour before the closing time to the closing time. Instead of setting in advance the time zone for executing the pre-closing process, the clerk may operate the operator group 78 to instruct the start time and end time of the time zone each time.

  First, it is determined whether or not the inter-device transport replenishment process should be started with the medal replenishment device 2a as the sending side of the inter-device transport replenishment process and the left medal replenishment device 2b as the receiving side. When all of the above conditions 1) to 7) are satisfied, or when all of the conditions 1 ') to 7') are satisfied, it is determined that the inter-device transport supply process should be started. The conditions for the inter-device transport replenishment process before closing the store are 1 ') and 2') instead of the normal inter-apparatus transport replenishment process conditions 1) to 3). 4) -7) and 4 ')-7') are the same conditions.

  In normal times, an appropriate amount of medals are left in the medal replenishing device 2a on the sending side, and the island is transported to the medal replenishing device 2b on the receiving side. On the other hand, in the inter-device transport replenishment processing before closing the store, As long as the replenishment tank of the medal replenishing device 2a is not empty, the medal is transported to the medal replenishing device 2b, and the amount stored in the medal replenishing device 2a is reduced as much as possible.

  Next, the same determination is made for the right medal replenishing device 2c. When both the right and left medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c satisfy the start condition of the inter-device transport replenishment processing, the detailed medal storage amount of the replenishment tank 36 of the receiving side medal replenishing device, the number of connected medal use machines, etc. The priority order is determined according to the conditions. The inter-device transport replenishment process is executed for the medal replenishing apparatus 2b or 2c determined in this way, and the process ends when any of the above conditions is not satisfied.

  The operation of the inter-device transport supply process will be described by taking the inter-device transport supply process from the medal supply device 2a to the medal supply device 2b as an example. The medal replenishing device 2a, which is the parent machine, instructs the medal replenishing device 2a and the medal replenishing device 2b to perform islanding of the cleaned medal. As a result, the branch unit 28 of the medal supply device 2b is closed. The island transfer conveyor 32 is driven to the medal supply device 2b side. The branching device 26 of the medal replenishing device 2a is driven to rotate and adjusted to a position where the medal is inserted into the island transfer conveyor 32.

  The main lift 24 of the medal supply device 2a is driven. Medals are put into the main lift 24 from the upper tank 42, the lower tank 20, or the collection bucket 16. At this time, if there is a medal in the collection bucket 16, the medal in the collection bucket 16 is preferentially inserted. The priority order of the upper tank 42 and the lower tank 20 is appropriately determined by comparing the respective storage amounts. The medal insertion from the lower tank 20 and the recovery bucket 16 to the main lift 24 passes through the cleaning unit 22. With the above drive control, the cleaned medals are thrown into the island conveyor 32 via the main lift 24 and the branching device 26 of the medal replenishing device 2a. Then, the branch unit 28 of the medal replenishing device 2b branches and discharges from the island conveyor 32 and is put into the replenishing tank 36 of the medal replenishing device 2b. The above inter-device transport replenishment processing is sequentially performed according to the priority order for the combination of replenishing devices that satisfy the start condition.

  In the complete cleaning, the inter-device transport cleaning process for transferring unwashed medals from the medal replenishing device not having the cleaning unit 22 to the medal replenishing device having the cleaning unit is performed. In the example of FIG. 3, the medal replenishing devices 2b and 2c perform inter-device transport cleaning processing on the medal replenishing device 2a.

  The control unit 70 of the medal replenishing device 2a, which is the parent device, monitors whether the right and left replenishing devices 2b and 2c satisfy the conditions for starting the inter-device transport cleaning process from the respective devices to the medal replenishing device 2a. . As in the case of the inter-device transport supply process, the normal condition and the condition before closing are prepared as this condition.

The conditions for the inter-unit transport cleaning process during normal operation are as follows:
1) There is an empty space in the lower tank 20 of the medal supply device 2a.
2) There are stored medals in the storage tank 43 of the medal replenishing device 2b, or there are medals being collected. The presence or absence of a medal being collected is determined by a sensor provided at the lower end entrance of the main lift 24 of the medal replenishing device 2b.
3) The island transfer conveyor 34 used for island transfer is in a usable state.
4) Neither the medal supply devices 2a and 2b are in a special processing state such as during maintenance.
5) There is no abnormality in each unit related to the island passing process.
It is.

The conditions for inter-device transport cleaning before closing are as follows:
1 ′) There is an empty space in the lower tank 20 of the medal supply device 2a.
2 ′) The storage level of the storage tank 43 of the medal supply device 2b is LV4 (full state).
3 ′) The island passing conveyor 34 used for passing the island is in a usable state.
4 ′) Neither the medal supply devices 2a and 2b are in a special processing state such as during maintenance.
5 ') There is no abnormality in each unit related to the island passing process.
It is.

  Then, the control unit 70 of the medal replenishing device 2a, which is the parent device, makes a determination based on the normal conditions in the normal state, as in the inter-device transport replenishment processing, and closes the store during the time zone when the pre-closing processing is to be executed. Judgment is made according to the previous conditions. In addition, instead of setting in advance the time zone in which the pre-closing process is to be executed, the clerk may instruct the start time and end time of the time zone by operating the operator group 78.

  First, it is determined whether or not the inter-device transport cleaning process should be started with the left medal replenishing device 2b as the sending side of the inter-device transport cleaning process and the medal replenishing device 2a as the receiving side. When all of the above conditions 1) to 5) are satisfied, or when all of the conditions 1 ') to 5') are satisfied, the inter-device transport cleaning process is started. As a condition for the inter-device transport cleaning process before closing the store, 1 ') is adopted instead of the normal inter-apparatus transport replenishment process condition 1). 2) -5) and 2 ')-5') are the same conditions.

  Normally, when there are medals stored in the storage tank 43 of the medal replenishing device 2b on the sending side or medals being collected, and there is room for receiving medals in the medal replenishing device 2a on the receiving side, island transfer To do. In other words, if there are any unwashed medals in the medal replenishing device 2b on the sending side, they are transferred to the replenishing device 2a to be washed. On the other hand, in the inter-device transport cleaning process before closing the store, only when the storage tank of the medal replenishing device 2b on the sending side is full and there is room for the medal replenishing device 2a on the receiving side to accept medals, Do it. In other words, processing is performed with the aim of keeping unwashed medals as much as possible in the medal replenishing device 2b on the sending side and reducing the amount of the medal replenishing device 2a stored as much as possible.

  Next, the determination is similarly made for the right medal replenishing device 2c. When both the left and right replenishing devices 2b and 2c satisfy the start condition of the inter-device transport cleaning process, the priority order is determined according to conditions such as the detailed medal storage amount of each medal replenishing device. In this way, the inter-device transport cleaning process is executed in accordance with the priority order for each combination of the medal supply devices, and the process is terminated when any of the above conditions is not satisfied.

  The operation of the inter-device transport cleaning process in the complete cleaning will be described by taking as an example the case where the inter-device transport cleaning process is executed from the medal supply device 2b on the left side to 2a. That is, this is a case where unwashed medals are transported across the island.

  The medal control device 2a, which is the parent machine, instructs the medal replenishing device 2a and the left medal replenishing device 2b to perform island transfer of unwashed medals. As a result, the branch unit 30 of the medal supply device 2a is closed. The island transfer conveyor 34 is driven in the direction from the left medal supply device 2b to 2a. The branching device 26 of the medal replenishing device 2b is rotationally driven to adjust the medal insertion position to the island transfer conveyor 34. The main lift 24 of the medal supply device 2b is driven. Medals are put into the main lift 24 from the storage tank 43. At this time, if medals from the collection conveyor 14 have already been put into the main lift 24, the medals from the collection conveyor 14 are preferentially lifted.

  By the above drive control, unwashed medals are thrown into the island transfer conveyor 34 via the main lift 24 and the branching device 26 of the medal replenishing device 2b. The medals that have been branched and discharged from the island conveyor 34 by the branch unit 30 of the medal replenishing device 2a and have flowed down a bypass path (not shown) are temporarily stored in the lower tank 20, washed by the washing unit 22, and replenished medals. Used as. The above island-passing process is sequentially performed according to the priority order for the combinations that satisfy the condition. Since the island passing conveyor 34 for transporting unwashed medals and the island passing conveyor 32 for transporting cleaned medals are provided separately, the inter-device transport cleaning processing and the above-described inter-device transport replenishment processing are performed independently in parallel. And can be executed.

  The cleaning unit detouring process is also performed when passing between islands in the case of such complete cleaning. That is, an attempt is made to maintain a state where almost no medals are stored in the lower tank 20 of the medal replenishing device 2a having the medal counter 10 by the inter-device transport replenishment process or the inter-device transport cleaning process before closing the store. This prepares for the insertion of a large number of medals into the medal counting machine 10 just before the closing time. However, when a large number of medals continue to be inserted more than expected, or a large number of medals continue to be collected from the collection conveyor 14. When the lower tank 20 becomes full and there is a possibility that the return of medals to the medal counter 10 must be stopped, the lower tank 20 is discharged from the lower tank 20 as in the case of the island-passing differentiation process that is not completely cleaned. A cleaning unit detour process is provided in which the medal is inserted into the main lift 24 without passing through the cleaning unit 22.

  The start condition and operation of the washing machine detouring process are the same as the start condition and operation of the washing machine detouring process in the case of the island-passing differentiation process that is not complete cleaning, and therefore will be omitted.

  As described above, in the medal replenishment system according to the present embodiment, equalization processing, differentiation processing, and cleaning unit detour processing in island transfer that is not complete cleaning are performed. Executed when multiple patterns of operations such as cleaning unit bypass processing are prepared in advance, and the selected one of them satisfies the conditions set for the selected one. Is done.

  In the above embodiment, the belt conveyor 21 is used as the switching means. However, in addition to this, a transfer device such as a screw conveyor that can switch the transfer direction in both directions, or a branch device on a unidirectional belt conveyor. A built-in switch that can be branched into two places, a flow path switching device using a switching valve, or the like can also be used. Further, the amount of medals awaiting processing of the cleaning unit 22 is measured by the capacity of the lower tank 20 provided between the medal counter 10 and the cleaning unit 22, but the storage hopper 221 of the cleaning unit 22 has a certain capacity. The amount stored in the storage hopper 221 may be the amount of medals that are waiting for processing in the cleaning unit 22. In the above embodiment, as the medal replenishment device, one medal replenishment device 2a having the cleaning unit 22 and two medal replenishment devices 2b and 2c not having the cleaning unit 22 are used. For example, a plurality of medal replenishing devices including the cleaning unit 22, for example, two or more medal replenishing devices may be provided, and three or more medal replenishing devices not including the cleaning unit 22 may be provided. In this case, each medal replenishing device is connected by the island crossing conveyors 32 and 34, respectively.

It is a schematic block diagram of the medal supply apparatus 2a used with the medal supply system of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the medal supply apparatus 2b used with the medal supply system of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the medal supply system of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a detailed block diagram of a part of the medal supply device 2a of FIG. It is a block diagram of the medal supply system of FIG. It is a state transition diagram of the medal supply system of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2a Medal replenishment device (first medal processing device)
2b, 2c Medal replenishment device (second medal processing device)
20 Lower tank (collection and storage means)
21 Belt conveyor (switching means)
22 Cleaning unit (cleaning means)
32 34 Island Conveyor (Transport between devices)
36 Supply tank (first and second storage means)
38 Supply conveyor (first and second supply means)
42 Upper tank (first storage means)
43 Reservation tank (second storage means)
44 Discharging means (first supplying means)
46 Mug (first supply means)
70 Control unit (control means)

Claims (2)

First and second medal processing devices;
An inter-device transport means for connecting the first and second medal processing devices and enabling the medal to be transferred to and from each other;
Control means for controlling the operations of the first and second medal processing devices and the inter-device transport means;
A medal processing system comprising:
The first medal processing device counts and collects the temporary storage means capable of temporarily storing the medals recovered from the first medal use machine and the medals from the outside of the first medal use machine. Counting means, recovery storage means for storing the medals recovered by the counting means, provided downstream of the temporary storage means and the recovery storage means, and the medals from the temporary storage means and the recovery storage means Cleaning means for cleaning the first medal, first storing means for storing the cleaned medal, first supply means for discharging the stored medal to supply the first medal use machine, and the recovery and switching means for guiding the medal accumulating means to the first storing means directly, bypassing the cleaning means comprises,
Second medal processing apparatus includes a second storage means for storing the medal recovered from the second medal use machine, the medals stored in the second storage means to the second medal used machine Second supply means for discharging for replenishment,
The control means acquires information about the storage amount of the first and second storage means, and based on this information, the difference between the storage amounts of the first and second storage means is less than or equal to a predetermined value. An equalization process for driving and controlling the inter-device transport means and a differentiation process for driving and controlling the inter-device transport means so that the storage amount of the first storage means is smaller than the storage amount of the second storage means. When it is determined that the amount of medals awaiting processing in the cleaning means is greater than or equal to a predetermined amount when at least the differentiation process is enabled, the temporary storage means and restricts the medals of the capture and storage means for conveying to said cleaning means, the medals of at least the capture and storage unit, by driving and controlling the switching means, the first to bypass the cleaning means Lead to storage means Dar processing system. First and second medal processing devices;
An inter-device transport means for connecting the first and second medal processing devices and enabling the medal to be transferred to and from each other;
Control means for controlling the operations of the first and second medal processing devices and the inter-device transport means;
A medal processing system comprising:
The first medal processing device counts and collects the temporary storage means capable of temporarily storing the medals recovered from the first medal use machine and the medals from the outside of the first medal use machine. Counting means, recovery storage means for storing the medals recovered by the counting means, provided downstream of the temporary storage means and the recovery storage means, and the medals from the temporary storage means and the recovery storage means Cleaning means for cleaning the first medal, first storing means for storing the cleaned medal, first supply means for discharging the stored medal to supply the first medal use machine, and the recovery Switching means for guiding the medal of the storage means directly to the first storage means, bypassing the cleaning means ,
Second medal processing apparatus includes a second storage means for storing the medal recovered from the second medals use machine, the medals stored in the second storage means to the second medal used machine Second supply means for discharging for replenishment,
The control means transports the medals collected by the second medal processing device to the first medal processing device and is cleaned by the cleaning means, and the cleaning means of the first medal processing device. And the inter-device transport replenishment processing for transporting the medals washed by the above-mentioned to the second medal processing device and supplying them to the second replenishment means,
The condition for executing the inter-device transport cleaning process and the inter-device transport replenishment process can be selected from a plurality of patterns prepared in advance.
The control means is configured such that the amount of medals awaiting processing in the cleaning means is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount during execution of the inter-device transport cleaning process or the inter-device transport replenishment process according to a predetermined condition pattern among the plurality of condition patterns. When it is determined that the medals of the temporary storage unit and the recovery storage unit are transported to the cleaning unit, at least the medals of the recovery storage unit are driven and controlled. The medal processing system that bypasses the cleaning means and leads to the first storage means .

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