JP5349144B2 - Gift dispensing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a prize put-out device capable of smoothly collecting prizes remaining in storage parts, in a constitution having a plurality of storage parts to store the prizes. <P>SOLUTION: In a prize put-out device 1 having a plurality of cassettes 4 for storing prizes 2, a collection unit 50 automatically collects the prizes 2 by taking out the prizes 2 remaining in one cassette 4 (a moving source cassette 4A) and moving them to the other cassette 4 (a moving destination cassette 4B) based on an input of a prescribed instruction signal. Thus, the prizes 2 remaining in the cassettes 4 can be collected smoothly. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a prize payout device for paying out prizes to be exchanged for game media such as pachinko balls.

In game facilities such as pachinko parlors, the number of prizes corresponding to the number of pachinko balls and other game media acquired by the player is paid out to the player by the prize payout device.
In Patent Document 1 below, a prize payout device that is directly placed on the floor of a game facility is proposed. In the prize dispensing device of Patent Document 1, a plurality of cassettes storing a plurality of prizes are loaded so as to be able to be drawn out from the prize dispensing device, and a necessary number of prizes are taken out from each cassette and delivered to the player. It is.

Japanese Patent No. 3722878

In the amusement facility having the prize payout device of Patent Document 1, after closing, the employee pulls out all cassettes from the prize payout device and collects the prizes remaining in each cassette by hand.
Here, in order to reduce the time required for collecting the prize as much as possible, immediately before the store closes, the employee pulls out the cassette at the timing when the prize is no longer paid out, and in the prize dispensing device, the back side (far from the employee) The prizes left in the cassette on the side may be taken out by hand and transferred (aggregated) to the cassette on the near side (side closer to the employee). In this way, after the store is closed, the collection of all the prizes in the prize dispensing device is completed simply by collecting the prizes in the cassette on the near side.

  However, since it is the busiest day in the amusement facility just before the store closes, there is almost no timing at which the prizes are not paid out. Even if there is this timing, it is difficult to collect the prizes in a short time. In addition, if a player requests a prize to be paid out during aggregation, the player will wait until the aggregation is completed, or conversely, prizes will be paid out while the aggregation is in progress. Therefore, there is a possibility that troubles may occur in either the aggregation or the payout work.

Further, when collecting prizes by hand, it is easy to overlook a small number of prizes remaining in the rear cassette that is difficult to reach, and there is a risk that prizes may be lost when moving prizes between cassettes. If there is such an oversight or loss, trouble may occur after collecting the prize.
Also, the operation of pulling out the cassette is very troublesome, so I would like to do it only when collecting after closing the store.

As described above, in the prize dispensing device of Patent Document 1, since prizes are collected by hand, it is difficult to smoothly collect prizes.
The present invention has been made under such a background, and provides a prize dispensing device capable of smoothly collecting prizes remaining in a storage section in a configuration including a plurality of storage sections for storing prizes. With the goal.

The invention according to claim 1 is a prize payout device for paying out prizes stored in the apparatus, and is arranged in the apparatus, a plurality of storage units for storing prizes, and a predetermined instruction signal And a collecting unit that collects the prizes by taking out the prizes remaining in one of the storage units and moving them to the other storage units based on the input.
The invention according to claim 2 includes a door that is opened and closed when the storage unit is replenished with a prize, and the aggregation means is configured to allow the prize taken out from one storage part to be more than the one storage part. The prize dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein the prize is transferred to another storage unit close to the storage unit.

A third aspect of the present invention is the giveaway device according to the first or second aspect, further comprising counting means for counting the number of prizes stored in the storage section for each storage section.
The invention according to claim 4 is the prize dispensing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the aggregating means aggregates prizes for each type of prize.
The invention according to claim 5 is the prize dispensing device according to claim 4, characterized in that the aggregation means includes a reading means for reading type information for specifying the type of the prize.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the storage unit stacks and stores premiums in the vertical direction, and the aggregation means is provided corresponding to the storage unit, and moves the premiums in the storage unit up and down. One transport unit is disposed above the storage unit, and horizontally moved above the plurality of storage units, thereby holding the premium moved upward by the first transport unit and horizontally moving to a desired position. The prize according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: a second transport unit that can be operated; and a control unit that controls operations of the first transport unit and the second transport unit. This is a dispensing device.

According to the present invention, in the prize dispensing device having a plurality of storage units for storing prizes, the aggregation means takes out the prizes remaining in one storage part based on the input of a predetermined instruction signal, Collect prizes automatically by moving them to the storage. Therefore, the prizes remaining in the storage unit can be smoothly collected.
According to the present invention, the prize dispensing device includes a door that is opened and closed when the storage unit is replenished with a prize, and the consolidating means is configured so that the prize taken out from the one storage part is closer to the door than the one storage part. Since it moves to another storage part, prizes are collected in the storage part near a door. For this reason, all the prizes in the prize dispensing device can be collected simply by opening the door and collecting the prize in the storage unit close to the door, so that the prize can be collected smoothly.

According to the present invention, since the counting means counts the number of prizes stored in the storage section for each storage section, before and after taking out the prize remaining in one storage section and moving it to another storage section (collecting the prizes) By counting the number of prizes in each of the one storage unit and the other storage unit, it is possible to prevent the prizes from being lost while collecting the prizes.
According to the present invention, since the aggregating unit aggregates the prizes for each type of the prize, it is possible to collect the prizes aggregated for each type and is convenient. In addition to collecting in the middle of sales, if a small number of the same type of prizes are distributed and stored in a large number of storage units, the payout operation is performed from multiple storage units. However, if the same types of prizes are collected, it can be handled by a payout operation from one storage unit.

According to the present invention, the aggregating unit includes a reading unit that reads type information for specifying a type of a prize. Thus, it is possible to determine whether or not a desired type of prize has been correctly aggregated based on the type information read by the reading unit after the prizes have been aggregated.
According to the present invention, the storage unit stores premiums stacked in the vertical direction. The aggregation means includes a first transport unit, a second transport unit, and a control unit that controls operations of the first transport unit and the second transport unit.

  In the aggregation unit, the first transport unit moves the prize in the corresponding storage unit upward by the control of the control unit, and the second transport unit disposed above the storage unit horizontally extends above the plurality of storage units. By moving, the premium moved upward by the first transport unit is held and horizontally moved to a desired position. The prize that has been moved to a desired position is transferred to the first transport unit corresponding to the storage unit at the desired position, and is transferred to the storage unit by the first transport unit.

  The aggregation means can be simply configured by the first transport unit that moves up and down and the second transport unit that moves horizontally as described above.

It is the perspective view which looked at prize giving device 1 from the front side (side which an employee operates). It is a disassembled perspective view of the prize dispensing unit 5 in a state where the right wall is removed and the inside is exposed. It is the perspective view which looked at the conveyance mechanism 24 from diagonally upward, (a) shows the state in which the conveyance unit 32 exists in a lower limit position, (b) has shown the state in which the conveyance unit 32 is in the middle of a raise. . FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a procedure when the transport unit 32 transports the prize 2 of the cassette 4. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a procedure when the transport unit 32 transports the prize 2 of the cassette 4. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a procedure when the transport unit 32 transports the prize 2 of the cassette 4. FIG. 3 is a schematic front sectional view of a prize dispensing unit 5. It is the perspective view which looked at the upper unit 21 in the state where the inside was exposed from diagonally upper side, Comprising: The conveyance mechanism 24 is also shown together. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the upper unit 21 in an exposed state, and shows an elevator 82. 1 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a prize dispensing device 1. FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. In the following, the horizontal direction and the width direction are the same, and the vertical direction and the vertical direction are the same. The front-rear direction and the left-right direction (width direction) are included in the horizontal direction.
<Outline of the prize dispensing device>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the prize dispensing device 1 viewed from the front side (side on which an employee operates).

Referring to FIG. 1, a prize payout device 1 according to the present invention pays out a prize stored in the device, and is used, for example, by being directly installed on the floor of a game facility.
Here, prizes handled by the prize dispensing device 1 (see reference numeral 2 in FIG. 3B described later) are exchanged according to the number of game media such as pachinko balls acquired by the player at the game facility. Also called a special prize in the card body. This prize is generally a resin card having a thickness of about 1 to 3 mm. In the prize, an object having a predetermined monetary value is built in, and there are four types according to the monetary value such as 100 yen, 500 yen, 1000 yen, 5000 yen, for example. In addition, in order to identify the type of the prize, information indicating the type is printed on the surface so as to be visible, or an RFID tag or the like is incorporated. In the present embodiment, the color of the surface of the prize is different depending on the kind of the prize, and is the type information for specifying the kind of the prize. Therefore, the type of the prize is distinguished according to the surface color of the prize. In addition, the prize may be subjected to processing for preventing fraud such as forgery.

The prize dispensing device 1 is connected to a prize management machine (POS terminal) (not shown) and can communicate with the prize management machine.
When a game medium such as a pachinko ball acquired by a player is inserted into a counter (not shown) installed in the game facility, the inserted game medium is counted, and for example, a bar code indicating the counting result is printed. A receipt is issued from this counter.

  When the player hands over the receipt to the employee of the gaming facility, the employee causes the aforementioned prize management machine (not shown) to read the counting result recorded in the barcode on the receipt. The prize management machine determines the type and number of prizes to be paid out based on the read counting result, and instructs the prize dispensing apparatus 1 to pay out prizes (payout instruction) according to the determined contents. Send. In response to this command, the prize payout device 1 pays out the required number of prizes of the corresponding type, and the customer receives the paid prize.

Here, the customer who receives the payout of the prize from the prize dispensing device 1 is located on the rear side (the back side in FIG. 1) of the prize dispensing device 1, and the employee is located on the front side of the prize dispensing device 1 to serve the customer. Do.
The prize dispensing device 1 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shaped cabinet 3 (device) that forms an outline thereof, and a plurality of (in this example, four) prize dispensing units 5 housed in the cabinet 3. Each premium payout unit 5 stores a plurality of cassettes 4 (see FIG. 2 described later) as storage units. Each cassette 4 stores a plurality of prizes 2 (see FIG. 3B) stacked in the vertical direction.

The plurality of prize payout units 5 are accommodated in the cabinet 3 in a state of being arranged in the width direction. In each premium payout unit 5, a total of eight cassettes 4 are arranged in four rows in the horizontal direction (see FIG. 2).
A portion of the front wall (the employee-side wall) of the cabinet 3 that coincides with the four prize payout units 5 in the width direction constitutes a foldable door 6. The door 6 is opened and closed when the cassette 4 is replenished with the prize 2. As shown in FIG. 1, by opening the door 6, the four prize payout units 5 are exposed forward from the cabinet 3, so that the prize payout unit 5 can be pulled out from the cabinet 3.

A display unit 7 is provided on the upper surface of the cabinet 3. The display unit 7 includes a first display unit 7A for a player and a second display unit 7B for an employee, and necessary information is displayed on each display unit. The second display section 7B is provided with operation keys (not shown) that are operated to control the operation of the prize payout device 1.
Eight payout openings 8 are formed at positions above the display units 7 on the upper surface of the cabinet 3 and above the prize payout units 5. The eight outlets 8 are arranged in the width direction. Each outlet 8 communicates with the inside of the cabinet 3 from above. Each payout port 8 is provided with a shutter 9. The shutter 9 opens and closes the dispensing outlet 8 by sliding back and forth. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the shutter 9 closes the outlet 8.

Although only a part is shown in FIG. 1, in order to pay out the prize 2 stored in the cassette 4 (see FIG. 2), the first delivery unit 10 and second The conveyance part 11, the holding | maintenance part 12, the lift part 13, and the sending part 14 are provided (refer FIG. 8 mentioned later).
As a rough payout procedure of the prize 2 in the prize payout device 1, first, the first transport unit 10 separates a prize group corresponding to a predetermined payout number from the prize 2 stored in the cassette 4 (see FIG. 2). And transport it upward. Next, the second transport unit 11 transports the prize 2 (premium group) transported upward by the first transport unit 10 substantially horizontally toward the payout port 8 side. Then, the holding unit 12 holds the delivered prize 2 below the payout opening 8. Thereafter, the lift unit 13 lifts the suspended prize 2 toward the payout opening 8. Finally, the delivery unit 14 pushes the prize 2 lifted up to the payout opening 8 onto the upper surface of the cabinet 3. Here, the shutter 9 and the configuration for sliding the shutter 9 are included in the above-described sending unit 14. In this way, the prize 2 stored in the prize dispensing device 1 is dispensed from the dispensing outlet 8.

These configurations (the first transport unit 10, the second transport unit 11, the holding unit 12, the lift unit 13, and the sending unit 14) will be described individually when the prize payout unit 5 is described below.
<Premium delivery unit>
Each premium payout unit 5 has a hollow box shape that is slightly thin in the left-right direction. The prize dispensing unit 5 includes a lower unit 20 that forms approximately a fifth of the vertical direction of the premium unit 5 and an upper unit 21 that is disposed above the lower unit 20.

Further, a handle 26 is provided on the front surface (the front surface in FIG. 1) of the prize payout unit 5 (specifically, the lower unit 20). The handle 26 is gripped when the prize payout unit 5 is pulled out from the cabinet 3 as described above.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the prize dispensing unit 5 in a state where the right wall is removed and the inside is exposed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lower unit 20 and the upper unit 21 are separable. Specifically, the upper unit 21 is fixed to the cabinet 3 (see FIG. 1) side, and the giveaway unit 5 can pull out only the lower unit 20 from the cabinet 3 by grasping the handle 26. .
Below, the lower unit 20 and the upper unit 21 are demonstrated separately.
(1) Lower unit The lower unit 20 has a lower casing 22 that forms an outer shell, eight cassette holders 23 (four cassette holders 23 on the right side appear in FIG. 2), and eight cassettes 4 (in FIG. 2). One of the eight cassettes 4 is shown arranged above the lower unit 20), and four transport mechanisms 24 (shown in FIG. 2) corresponding to the eight cassettes 4. (See FIG. 3). The cassette holder 23, the cassette 4, and the transport mechanism 24 are normally disposed in the lower casing 22. Here, the transport mechanism 24 constitutes the first transport unit 10 described above.

As described above, when the lower unit 20 is pulled out from the cabinet 3 (see FIG. 1) and the lower unit 20 and the upper unit 21 are separated (as shown in FIG. 2), the upper surface of the lower casing 22 is opened. ing.
(1-1) Cassette Holders The eight cassette holders 23 are arranged so that four are arranged in the front-rear direction (the direction connecting the front side and the back side in FIG. 4) and two are arranged on the left and right. Each cassette holder 23 includes four holding rails 25 extending in the vertical direction. The four holding rails 25 are arranged so as to form four corners of a square when viewed from above (see the cassette holder 23 on the right front side).
(1-2) Cassette Referring to one cassette 4 arranged above the lower unit 20, each cassette 4 is longitudinal in the vertical direction, and the left or right side of the flat cross section is cut out. It has a substantially U shape. In the cassette 4, the upper surface is opened to accommodate the prize 2 in the cassette 4, while the bottom surface is blocked so that the prize 2 accommodated in the cassette 4 does not fall from the cassette 4. .

The left surface or right surface of the cassette 4 is continuously opened over the entire range in the vertical direction so as to form the above-described substantially U-shaped flat section, and the opened portion is referred to as an opening portion 28. . The opening portion 28 is continuous with the upper surface opened in the cassette 4.
Grooves 29 are formed on the front and rear surfaces of the cassette 4 so as to be recessed inward of the cassette 4 and extending vertically. In addition, two grooves 29 are formed on the right surface or the left surface of the cassette 4 where the opening portion 28 is not formed, with a gap in the front-rear direction. These grooves 29 are used to guide loading of the cassette 4 when the cassette 4 is loaded into the lower casing 22 as will be described later.

The cassette 4 can store a maximum of, for example, about 100 sheets in a stacked state in which a plurality of prizes 2 of a predetermined type are stacked in the vertical direction. In this state, the prize 2 in the stacked state is placed on the bottom wall of the cassette 4. All prizes 2 stored in the cassette 4 are partially exposed from the opening portion 28.
The cassette 4 in which the prize 2 is stored is located above the lower casing 22 through the upper surface of the lower casing 22 opened in the lower unit 20 drawn out from the cabinet 3 (see FIG. 1) with the door 6 opened. And is held by the corresponding cassette holder 23. Specifically, as the cassette 4 is loaded, the four holding rails 25 of the corresponding cassette holder 23 are fitted into the four grooves 29 of each cassette 4 from the outside, and the cassette 4 is outside by the four holding rails 25. It is positioned by being surrounded by. Thus, the cassette 4 is held by the corresponding cassette holder 23.

  Here, in the lower casing 22, two cassette holders 23 are arranged side by side, so that the cassettes 4 held by the cassette holders 23 arranged side by side are arranged side by side. At this time, among the two cassettes 4 arranged side by side, the open portion 28 of the left cassette 4 and the open portion 28 of the right cassette 4 face each other in the horizontal direction. That is, each cassette 4 is loaded in the lower casing 22 so that the opening portion 28 faces the center in the width direction of the lower casing 22.

As described above, when the cassette 4 in which the prize 2 is stored (supplemented) is loaded into the lower casing 22 and then the lower unit 20 is pushed into the cabinet 3 and then the door 6 (see FIG. 1) is closed, the prize dispensing device In 1, the prize 2 can be paid out.
(1-3) Transport Mechanism FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the transport mechanism 24 as viewed obliquely from above, where (a) shows the state where the transport unit 32 is at the lower limit position, and (b) shows the transport unit. 32 shows the state in the middle of ascending.

Referring to FIG. 3, the four transport mechanisms 24 described above are arranged side by side in the lower casing 22 (one transport mechanism 24 is shown in FIG. 3). Each transport mechanism 24 is disposed between the cassette holders 23 arranged side by side in the lower casing 22 (in other words, the cassettes 4 arranged side by side) (see FIG. 5 described later).
As shown in FIG. 3A, each transport mechanism 24 includes a support rail 31 that extends in the vertical direction, a transport unit 32, and a motor 33.

The transport unit 32 is supported by the support rail 31 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. In this state, the transport unit 32 faces the open portion 28 (see FIG. 2) of the cassette 4 loaded in one of the cassette holders 23 on the left and right sides of the transport mechanism 24 from the horizontal direction ( (See FIG. 5).
The motor 33 is fixed to the lower end of the support rail 31. When the motor 33 is driven, the driving force of the motor 33 is transmitted to the transport unit 32 via a transmission member such as a belt or a chain, and the transport unit 32 is supported by the support rail 31 in the vertical direction. Slide. 3 (b), the transport unit 32 takes out the prize 2 stored in the cassette 4 from the opening portion 28 (see FIG. 2) of the cassette 4 and transports the premium 2 upward. The prizes 2 above can be conveyed downward and stored in the cassette 4. Here, the position of the transport unit 32 when in the vicinity of the upper limit is referred to as a standby position.

Further, the transport mechanism 24 can rotate around a support rail 31 extending in the vertical direction. Accordingly, the transport unit 32 that has been directed to the right front with respect to the posture of FIG. 3 is directed to the left rear (not illustrated) as the transport mechanism 24 is rotated by 180 °. The rotation of the transport mechanism 24 will be described later again.
4A to 4C are schematic diagrams for explaining a procedure when the transport unit 32 transports the prize 2 of the cassette 4.

Next, the function of the transport unit 32 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C.
4A to 4C, it is assumed that the transport unit 32 faces the opening portion 28 of the cassette 4 located on the left side with respect to the transport mechanism 24 from the right (see FIG. 5 described later). (See (d)), the left and right orientations of the transport unit 32 are specified based on the posture of the transport unit 32 at this time. Therefore, unlike the states shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, when the transport unit 32 faces the opening portion 28 of the cassette 4 located on the right side with respect to the transport mechanism 24 from the left (described later). 5A to 5C), the left and right directions in the transport unit 32 are opposite to those in the case of referring to FIGS. 4A to 4C.

The functions of the transport unit 32 include not only the function of transporting the prize 2 (transport function) described above but also the function of counting the number of prizes 2 in each cassette 4 (counting function). Further, according to this transport function, the prizes 2 in the cassette 4 are not simply transported one by one, but the necessary number of prizes 2 can be transported collectively.
(1-3-1) Counting Function As shown in FIG. 4A, the transport unit 32 includes a substantially box-shaped frame 35 (see also FIG. 3A). 36 and a sensor 37 are provided. The aligning unit 36 and the sensor 37 constitute a counting unit 60 (counting unit) that counts the prizes 2 stored in the cassette 4 in a stacked state one by one for each cassette 4.

Since the transport unit 32 is slidable in the vertical direction (stacking direction of the prize 2 in the cassette 4) as described above, the aligning unit 36 and the sensor 37 (counting unit 60) provided in the transport unit 32 are Relative displacement is possible in the vertical direction.
The aligning portion 36 is a substantially trapezoidal rib provided integrally with the frame 35, and protrudes so as to narrow upward and downward toward the outer side in the width direction of the frame 35 (left side in FIG. 4A). The left end portion of the aligning portion 36 is the left surface of the frame 35 in FIG. 4A (the surface facing the opening portion 28 (see FIG. 2) of the cassette 4 located on the left side with respect to the transport mechanism 24 and is referred to as the facing surface 35A). It protrudes to the left (cassette 4 side).

  The sensor 37 is attached to the facing surface 35A of the frame 35 at a position that coincides with the aligning portion 36 in the vertical direction. The sensor 37 is a so-called reflection-type optical sensor, and is a light-emitting element (not shown) composed of an infrared LED or the like, and light reflected from a detected object among light emitted from the light-emitting element (not shown). And a light receiving element (not shown).

  The transport unit 32 includes the aligning unit 36 and the sensor 37 (counting unit 60), so that the number of prizes 2 stored in the cassette 4 can be counted. The number of prizes 2 is counted when an operation key (not shown) of the second display unit 7B (see FIG. 1) described above is operated or an instruction is transmitted from the prize management machine (not shown). In response, a command is sent from the control unit (not shown) provided in the prize dispensing device 1 or the prize dispensing unit 5 to the transport unit 32 (counting unit 60).

  When the counting is executed, first, the opposing surface 35A of the transport unit 32 is placed through the opening portion 28 of the cassette 4 with respect to the side surface 2A (right surface in FIG. 7A) 2A of the prize 2 stored in the cassette 4 in a stacked state. Then, the transport unit 32 slides downward from the standby position described above in a state of facing from the right side. Here, the (right) side surface 2A of all prizes 2 stored in a stacked state in the cassette 4 is collectively referred to as a stacked side surface 2B. When the transport unit 32 slides downward, the aligning section 36 contacts the prize 2 stacked in the cassette 4 in order from the upper prize 2 from the right side through the opening section 28 of the cassette 4. Thereby, the prize 2 is pressed against the inner surface of the left wall of the cassette 4 in order from the prize 2 on the upper side. At this time, the sensor 37 faces the laminated side surface 2B from the right side with a predetermined interval.

Then, when the alignment unit 36 finishes contacting all the prizes 2 and further the transport unit 32 slides downward until the sensor 37 reaches a position lower than the prize 2 at the lowest position, the prizes adjacent to each other in the cassette 4 vertically. The right edge of 2 is aligned by the aligning portion 36 so as to be aligned in a straight line along the vertical direction.
Note that an aligning portion 38 having a shape similar to the aligning portion 36 is provided on the right surface of the frame 35 in FIG. 4A (the surface facing the opening portion 28 of the cassette 4 located on the right side with respect to the transport mechanism 24). . Therefore, when the transport unit 32 slides up and down, the edge in the width direction of the prize 2 in each of the two cassettes 4 (see FIG. 5A) positioned on both the left and right sides with respect to the transport mechanism 24 It is aligned at a time by the corresponding aligning part 36 or 38. Here, the operation in which the aligning portions 36 and 38 align the edges of the prize 2 may be performed when the corresponding cassette 4 is loaded in the lower casing 22.

After the edges of the prizes 2 are aligned, the transport unit 32 slides upward toward the standby position. As the transport unit 32 slides upward, the sensor 37 of the counting unit 60 rises in a state of facing the stacked side surface 2B of the prize 2 from the right side at a predetermined interval.
While the sensor 37 is moving up, in the sensor 37, a light emitting element (not shown) projects light sequentially from the lower prize 2 toward the (right) side surface 2 </ b> A of the prize 2. The reflected light reflected by the side surface 2A is received by a light receiving element (not shown). Here, when the light from the light emitting element (not shown) is applied to the boundary X of the side surface 2A of the prize 2 adjacent to the top and bottom, the light receiving element ( The amount of reflected light (the amount of received light) received by the light (not shown) changes.

Therefore, every time the amount of light received by the light receiving element (not shown) in the sensor 37 changes, the transport unit 32 counts that there is one prize 2. Then, according to the same procedure, the transport unit 32 counts the prizes 2 one by one in order from the lower prize 2 to count the number of prizes 2, and when returning to the standby position, the counting of all prizes 2 is completed. To do.
As described above, the transport unit 32 counts the number of prizes 2 in a non-contact manner in the counting unit 60 in accordance with a change in the amount of light received by a light receiving element (not shown) of the sensor 37. The counting result is displayed on the second display section 7B (see FIG. 1) as the inventory information of the prize 2 in each cassette 4 according to the instruction of the control section (not shown) described above, or the prize management device 1 manages the prize. Or sent to a machine (not shown).
(1-3-2) Transport Function The transport unit 32 mainly includes a transport claw 40 (see also FIG. 3A) and a turning roller 42 as a member related to the transport function. . The conveyance claw 40 and the turning roller 42 and a mechanism (not shown) for driving the conveyance claw 40 and the turning roller 42 constitute a separation conveyance unit 70.

  A pair of transport claws 40 are provided at an interval in the front-rear direction (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 4A) (see also FIG. 3A). Each conveyance claw 40 extends downward from a protruding portion 40A that protrudes substantially horizontally to the prize 2 side (left side) of the cassette 4 and an upstream side (right side) of the protruding portion 40A in the protruding direction, and a lower end portion on the right side. A bent extended portion 40B is integrally provided. Each conveyance claw 40 is supported by the frame 35 so as to be movable left and right and up and down.

  Here, with respect to the left and right positions of the pair of transport claws 40, a position (refer to FIG. 4A) that is located on the right side of the facing surface 35A of the frame 35 and away from the stacked side surface 2B of the prize 2 of the cassette 4 is referred to as a retracted position. The position where most of the protrusions 40A are on the left side of the facing surface 35A and advanced to the left side of the laminated side surface 2B of the prize 2 (see FIG. 4C) is referred to as the advanced position. The pair of transport claws 40 can advance and retract between the retracted position and the advanced position in the left-right direction.

The turning roller 42 is disposed at the upper end of the facing surface 35 </ b> A of the frame 35 and is supported by the frame 35. The turning roller 42 is rotatable around an axis extending in the front-rear direction. On the outer peripheral surface of the turning roller 42, one place on the circumference projects outward in the radial direction as compared with the other parts, and is a projecting portion 42A.
Next, a procedure in which the transport unit 32 transports the prize 2 in the cassette 4 will be described.

  First, in a state where the transport unit 32 is in the standby position (near the upper limit) and the transport claw 40 is in the retracted position, an instruction to pay out the prize 2 by a predetermined payout number (here, 1) is issued. The control unit (not shown) goes down to the transport unit 32. As a result, the transport unit 32 descends with the facing surface 35A of the frame 35 facing the prize 2 stored in the cassette 4 from the right. As descending, the transport unit 32 counts the stacked prizes 2 in order from the prize 2 above as described above by the sensor 37 of the counting unit 60.

Then, when the transport unit 32 counts the prize 2 up to the number of payout sheets (here, 1), the protruding portion 40A of the transport claw 40 coincides with the boundary X between the prize 2 to be paid out and the prize 2 not to be paid out in the vertical direction. Until further down.
As shown in FIG. 4A, when the protruding portion 40A of the transport claw 40 coincides with the boundary X between the prize 2 to be paid out and the prize 2 to be not paid out, the transport unit 32 stops descending and stops.

When the lowering of the transport unit 32 stops, the turning roller 42 rotates clockwise in FIG. 4A. Thus, the protruding portion 42A of the turning roller 42 comes into contact with the (right) side surface 2A of the prize 2 to be paid out from below. As a result, the prize 2 is turned up by the turning roller 42.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 4B, a gap Y is formed between the prize 2 to be paid out and the prize 2 not to be paid out. Here, since the number of prizes 2 to be paid out is one, one prize 2 is turned up. However, when a plurality of prizes 2 are paid out, the prize 2 is the lowermost of the prizes 2 to be paid out. As the prize 2 is turned up by the turning roller 42, all of the plural prizes 2 are turned up as a lump (a prize group).

  When the prize 2 to be paid out is turned up, the pair of transport claws 40 that have been in the retracted position (see FIG. 4A) move leftward toward the advanced position (see FIG. 4C). Here, since the protruding portion 40A of the conveyance claw 40 coincides with the boundary X between the prize 2 to be paid out and the prize 2 not to be paid out (see FIG. 4A), the conveyance claw 40 moves to the left side. Accordingly, the gap X is entered from the boundary X. And the conveyance nail | claw 40 scoops up the prize 2 to payout by raising as it goes to a retracted position, and thereby begins to separate the prize 2 to be paid out and the prize 2 that is not to be paid out.

After that, as shown in FIG. 4C, when the conveyance claw 40 reaches the advanced position, the conveyance claw 40 scoops up the prize 2 to be paid out by a predetermined amount, thereby completely separating the prize 2 to be paid out and the prize 2 not to be paid out. All the payouts 2 (here, only one) to be paid out are placed on the protruding portion 40A of the conveying claw 40.
Thus, after the prize 2 to be paid out and the prize 2 not to be paid out are completely separated, the transport unit 32 rises toward the standby position. As a result, all the prizes 2 placed on the protrusions 40A of the transport claws 40 of the transport unit 32 rise together with the transport unit 32 (see also FIG. 3B). That is, the transport unit 32 (specifically, the separation transport unit 70) transports the payout number 2 of prizes upward.

In connection with the separation transport unit 70 transporting the prize 2 upward, for example, an optical sensor is disposed at an upper position, and a configuration for reconfirming the number of prizes 2 to be paid out by this optical sensor is added. It may be.
That is, the optical sensor is provided at a predetermined upper position, and the optical path is blocked by the prize 2 when the prize 2 is conveyed to the upper predetermined position. Then, when the prize 2 is conveyed upward from a predetermined position above, the optical path of the optical sensor is reconnected.

  For example, the separation transport unit 70 is raised at a rate of 1 step OOmm by a step motor, so that the prize 2 is proportional to the number of prizes 2 that are placed on the separation transport unit 70 and transported upward. It is possible to detect the number of steps of the step motor while blocking the optical path of the optical sensor. Therefore, with such a configuration, the number of prizes 2 to be paid out (conveyed upward) may be reconfirmed.

When the prize 2 placed on the protruding portion 40A of the conveying claw 40 is paid out (specifically, when it is delivered to the upper unit 21 as shown in FIG. 6 described later), the conveying claw 40 is changed to FIG. 4A. Return to the retracted position.
FIG. 5 is a schematic front sectional view of the prize dispensing unit 5.
Each transport mechanism 24 is disposed in the lower casing 22 between the cassette holders 23 arranged side by side (cassettes 4 arranged side by side).

  Then, the facing surface 35A of the frame 35 of the transport unit 32 of the transport mechanism 24 first faces the right cassette 4 loaded in the right cassette holder 23 from the left as shown in FIG. 5A, for example. . Then, according to the above-described procedure, the prize 2 stored in the right cassette 4 is transported to the upper unit 21 in the order from the upper prize 2 by the number of payouts (see FIG. 5B).

As a result, as shown in FIG. 5C, when all the prizes 2 in the right cassette 4 are transported and the right cassette 4 becomes empty, as shown in FIG. As described above, the support rail 31 that extends in the vertical direction is rotated by 180 ° (see the thick arrow in FIG. 5D).
Thus, the facing surface 35A of the frame 35 of the transport unit 32 faces the left cassette 4 loaded in the left cassette holder 23 from the right, and this time, the prize 2 stored in the left cassette 4 is moved upward. The prizes 2 can be separated and transported upward in the order described above.

In this way, one transport mechanism 24 is arranged between the left and right cassettes 4 and can count and separate the respective prizes 2 in these two cassettes 4.
(2) Upper unit FIG. 6: is the perspective view which looked at the upper unit 21 in the state where the inside was exposed from diagonally upper side, Comprising: The conveyance mechanism 24 is also shown together.

Next, the upper unit 21 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 6, the upper unit 21 includes an upper casing 80 that forms an outer shell, a storage box 81 and an elevator 82 that are disposed in the upper casing 80 (see FIG. 7, which is not shown in FIG. 6, and will be described later). ).
The upper casing 80 has a box shape that is long in the front-rear direction and flat in the vertical direction. In FIG. 6, the front wall and the right wall of the upper casing 80 are omitted. In the upper casing 80, the upper surface is open.

Further, six openings 83 communicating with the inside of the upper casing 80 are formed on the bottom surface of the upper casing 80. The six openings 83 are formed so that three are arranged in the front and rear and two in the left and right. Each of the openings 83 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction. In particular, in the three openings 83 arranged in the front-rear direction, the opening 83 in the middle is about twice as large in the front-rear direction as the remaining openings 83.
In a state in which the lower unit 20 is in the cabinet 3 (see FIG. 1) (the lower unit 20 and the upper unit 21 are integrated, see FIG. 1), each opening 83 has a corresponding cassette 4 (see FIG. 1). 2)) from above.

  That is, in the three openings 83 arranged in the front and rear on the left side, the frontmost opening 83 faces the upper surface of the frontmost cassette 4 among the four cassettes 4 arranged in the front and rear on the left side in the lower unit 20. (See also FIG. 2). Further, in the three openings 83 arranged on the left side in the front-rear direction, the rearmost opening 83 is from the upper side with respect to the upper surface of the rearmost cassette 4 among the four cassettes 4 arranged in the front-rear direction on the left side in the lower unit 20. (See also Fig. 2). On the other hand, the opening 83 in the middle in the front-rear direction faces the upper surface of the second and third cassettes 4 from the front among the four cassettes 4 arranged in the front-rear direction (see also FIG. 2). The same applies to the three openings 83 arranged on the right side in the front-rear direction.

Two hold boxes 81 are provided on the left and right (in FIG. 6, only one hold box 81 is shown). The holding box 81 is a box shape that is slightly thin on the left and right, and its upper and bottom surfaces are open.
The flat cross section of the storage box 81 is substantially U-shaped like the cassette 4 (see FIG. 2). In the holding box 81 on the left side shown in FIG. 6, the right surface is opened in the entire area in the vertical direction, and in the holding box 81 on the right side (see FIG. 2), the left surface is opened in the entire area in the vertical direction. In each holding box 81, the part opened in this way is referred to as an open part 84. The opening portion 84 is continuous with both the opened top surface and bottom surface of the storage box 81.

The left holding box 81 is slidably supported in the front-rear direction by the left wall of the upper casing 80, and the right holding box 81 (see FIG. 2) is moved back and forth by the right wall (not shown) of the upper casing 80. It is slidably supported in the direction. The left and right holding boxes 81 can slide independently without being interlocked with each other.
Each holding box 81 passes above the three openings 83 arranged in the front-rear direction on the same side in the left-right direction when sliding back and forth.

  Here, referring to the frontmost opening 83 on the left side, as described above, the transport unit 32 (separation transport unit 70) moves the premium 2 of the cassette 4 (see FIG. 2) below the opening 83 upward. When transporting, the storage box 81 on the same side in the left-right direction (here, the storage box 81 on the left side) moves so as to be positioned directly above the prize 2 to be transported, and then waits at this position.

  The prize 2 conveyed upward by the separation conveyance unit 70 of the conveyance unit 32 is an opening 83 (here, the frontmost opening 83 on the left side) above the cassette 4 in which the prize 2 is stored. It passes through the opened bottom surface of the waiting holding box 81 in order and is accommodated in the holding box 81. That is, the holding box 81 is disposed above (adjacent in the vertical direction) with respect to the cassette 4 and receives the prize 2 conveyed by the separation conveyance unit 70. Thereafter, the transport unit 32 returns to the original position (the standby position described above).

  When the prize 2 is accommodated in the holding box 81, engaging claws 77 (see FIG. 8 described later) rotatably provided at the lower ends of the front wall and the rear wall of the holding box 81 are used as the holding box. It rotates so that it may protrude in 81, and it engages from the bottom with the prize 2 which is the lowest in the storage box 81 (refer FIG. 8). Thereby, the prize 2 accommodated in the holding box 81 is held by the holding box 81, and the prize 2 does not fall from the bottom surface of the holding box 81.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the upper unit 21 with the inside exposed, and shows the elevator 82.
As shown in FIG. 7, the elevator 82 is at a substantially central position in the front-rear direction of the bottom wall of the upper casing 80. The elevator 82 is attached from above to a portion (referred to as a rib 85) extending in the front-rear direction between the openings 83 adjacent to the left and right in the bottom wall of the upper casing 80. In this state, the elevator 82 can move back and forth on the rib 85. The elevator 82 includes two horizontal plate-like stages 86 disposed on the left and right sides with an interval therebetween, and an expansion / contraction mechanism 87.

Of the two stages 86, the left stage 86 faces from the top to the middle opening 83 of the three openings 83 arranged on the left and front and back, and the right stage 86 is arranged three on the right and front and back. It faces the middle opening 83 of the opening 83 from above. In this state, the two stages 86 are connected and integrated by a connecting member 88.
The expansion / contraction mechanism 87 has a so-called pantograph structure, and can change the posture into a contracted state flattened up and down and an extended state (not shown) extended upward as shown in FIG. In the expansion / contraction mechanism 87, the substantially central portion in the front-rear direction (referred to as a rising portion 89) rises most when the expansion / contraction mechanism 87 changes its posture from the contracted state to the extended state. When the telescopic mechanism 87 changes its posture between the contracted state and the extended state, the rising portion 89 moves up and down linearly along the vertical direction. A connecting member 88 that connects the two stages 86 is attached to the rising portion 89 of the telescopic mechanism 87 from above.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the telescopic mechanism 87 is in the contracted state, each stage 86 is at a position lower than the bottom surface of the holding box 81 on the same side in the left-right direction. Although not shown, when the telescopic mechanism 87 is in the extended state, each stage 86 is positioned higher than the holding box 81 on the left and right sides (only the left holding box 81 is shown in FIG. 7). And coincides with the payout port 8 (see FIG. 1) at the same position in the left-right direction on the upper surface of the cabinet 3.

  Here, when the prize 2 is stored in the holding box 81 as described above, the holding box 81 slides in the front-rear direction (horizontal movement), and as shown in FIG. 7, the stage is on the same side in the left-right direction. It stops just above 86 (in other words, directly below the payout opening 8). That is, the holding box 81 conveys the received prize 2 to a predetermined position (directly above the stage 86 and directly below the payout opening 8). At this time, the expansion / contraction mechanism 87 is in a contracted state.

In this manner, the holding box 81 transports the prize 2 conveyed by the conveyance unit 32 (see FIG. 6) to the payout outlet 8 (see FIG. 1) side, and then the conveyed prize 2 below the payout outlet 8. Since it holds, it functions as the 2nd conveyance part 11 and the holding part 12 which were mentioned above.
When the prize 2 of the cassette 4 located immediately below the stage 86 is paid out, the entire elevator 82 including the stage 86 is shifted to either the front or back with respect to the cassette 4. When the prize 2 conveyed from the cassette 4 is accommodated in the holding box 81, the elevator 82 returns to the original position so that the stage 86 is disposed directly below the payout opening 8.

  When the holding box 81 thus transports the prize 2 to a predetermined position (directly above the stage 86 and directly below the payout opening 8), the telescopic mechanism 87 in the contracted state changes its posture to an unillustrated expanded state. . As a result, the stage 86 located just below the holding box 81 moves up along the vertical direction. At this time, the stage 86 passes through the opened bottom surface of the holding box 81, and then pushes up the bottom surface of the prize 2 located at the lowermost side among the prizes 2 accommodated in the holding box 81 from below. As a result, all the prizes 2 accommodated in the holding box 81 rise while being placed on the stage 86.

  When the telescopic mechanism 87 is in the extended state, all the prizes 2 accommodated in the holding box 81 are lifted by the stage 86 and moved upward from the opened upper surface of the holding box 81. At this time, the payout opening 8 (see FIG. 1) at the same position in the left-right direction on the upper surface of the cabinet 3 is opened, and the prize 2 that has moved upward from the opened upper surface of the holding box 81 has been opened. It is exposed to the upper surface of the cabinet 3 from the discharge outlet 8. That is, the elevator 82 lifts the prize 2 transported to a predetermined position (directly above the stage 86 and directly below the payout port 8) by the holding box 81 to the payout port 8, and thus functions as the lift unit 13 described above. ing.

  Here, referring to FIG. 1, the shutter 9 that opens and closes the dispensing outlet 8 is shifted to the front side (employee side) with respect to the dispensing outlet 8 when the dispensing outlet 8 is opened (this state is not shown). ) As described above, when the prize 2 is exposed from the payout opening 8, the shutter 9 slides to the rear side (customer side), and closes the payout opening 8 while pushing the prize 2 toward the rear customer. Thereafter, the telescopic mechanism 87 returns to the contracted state (see FIG. 7).

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the prize dispensing device 1.
With reference to FIG. 8, the payout operation of the prize 2 in each prize payout unit 5 of the prize payout apparatus 1 of the present invention described above will be summarized.
In each prize payout unit 5, the prizes 2 stored in each cassette 4 of the lower unit 20 are separated upward by a necessary number (payout number) by the transport unit 32 (specifically, the separation transport unit 70) and then upward. To the holding box 81 of the upper unit 21. Thereafter, the prize 2 delivered to the holding box 81 is conveyed by the holding box 81 directly below the payout exit 8. Next, the shutter 9 of the payout port 8 is opened, and the prize 2 is lifted up to the payout port 8 by the elevator 82, and finally the rear side (right side in FIG. ) And paid out to customers.
(3) Aggregation process In each prize paying unit 5, a process (aggregation process) for aggregating the prizes 2 is performed by taking out the prizes 2 remaining in a certain cassette 4 and moving them to another cassette 4. Hereinafter, the aggregation process will be described. Here, in FIG. 8, thick arrows indicate the flow of prizes 2 to be aggregated.

The aggregation process will be described by paying attention to four cassettes 4 (see also FIG. 2) arranged in front and rear (left and right in FIG. 8) in each premium paying unit 5. Here, it is assumed that the same type of prize 2 is stored in these cassettes 4. In each of these cassettes 4, the number of prizes 2 gradually decreases as the prizes 2 are paid out.
Then, during the business hours, particularly when the amusement facility is closed, an aggregation process is performed. In the aggregation process, an employee operates an operation key (not shown) of the display unit 7 (the second display unit 7B, see FIG. 1) or gives an instruction from the above-described premium management machine (not shown). Started in response to receiving. Further, the aggregation processing may be automatically started at a predetermined timing just before closing.

Specifically, the control unit (not shown) is operated in accordance with the operation of the operation key (not shown), the reception of an instruction from the prize management machine (not shown), or the predetermined timing described above. A predetermined instruction signal is input to the control unit (not shown), and a control unit (not shown) starts an aggregation process based on the input of the instruction signal.
When the aggregation process is started, a control unit (not shown) controls the operations of the first transport unit 10 and the second transport unit 11 described above. Thereby, first, the cassette 4 on the side far from the door 6 (for example, in FIG. 8, there are two cassettes 4 on the rear side (right side) and may be referred to as “moving source cassette 4A” hereinafter). The prize 2 (sometimes referred to as “moving source prize 2”) is taken out from the cassette 4 and conveyed upward by the first conveyance unit 10 (conveyance unit 32) corresponding to each cassette 4.

  If the total number of movement source prizes 2 in each movement source cassette 4A is the number that can be accommodated in the holding box 81 at a time, all the movement source prizes 2 in the movement source cassette 4A are taken out at a time. If the total number of movement source prizes 2 in the movement source cassette 4A does not fit in the holding box 81 at a time, the number of prizes 2 that can only fit in the holding box 81 out of the movement source prizes 2 in the movement source cassette 4A. Is taken out.

The second transport unit 11 (holding box 81) stands by immediately above the movement source cassette 4A.
The movement source prize 2 transported upward is delivered to the holding box 81 as described above. At this time, as described above, each engaging claw 77 provided in the holding box 81 rotates so as to protrude into the holding box 81, so that the prize 2 accommodated in the holding box 81 is lowered. The prize 2 that has been delivered to the holding box 81 is held by the holding box 81.

  The holding box 81 holds the prize 2 and moves horizontally toward the front side (left side in FIG. 8) toward the door 6. At this time, the holding box 81 moves horizontally above the plurality of cassettes 4. Thereafter, the holding box 81 is the cassette 4 at a desired position, specifically, the cassette 4 close to the door 6 (in FIG. 8, it is the frontmost cassette 4 and may be referred to as “destination cassette 4B” hereinafter). ) Stop just above. It should be noted that the cassette 4 next to the rearmost (second from the front) cassette 4 may be the movement source cassette 4A or the movement destination cassette 4B.

  When the movement of the holding box 81 stops or before the movement of the holding box 81 stops, the transport unit 32 corresponding to the movement destination cassette 4B rises from the standby position, and the corresponding opening 83 (FIG. 7). Wait around). For this reason, when the movement of the holding box 81 stops, the holding box 81 is positioned directly above the transport unit 32 that is waiting. Here, in the transport unit 32 waiting in this way, the transport claw 40 ascends to a position in contact with the lowermost end of the prize 2 of the holding box 81.

  Next, the above-described engaging claws 77 of the holding box 81 rotate downward so as to be separated from the holding box 81, and are disengaged from the movement source prize 2 housed in the holding box 81 (not shown). . Along with this, the movement source prize 2 in the holding box 81 is transferred by its own weight from the opened bottom surface of the holding box 81 to the transport unit 32 that stands by just below the holding box 81 and is in the advanced position. Is mounted on the protrusion 40A (see FIGS. 4C and 6) of the transport claw 40. In this way, each engaging claw 77 is disengaged from the movement source prize 2 and the prize 2 is handed over to the transport unit 32 by its own weight. However, if there is a drop, there is a risk that the prize 2 will collapse. Is moved to a position directly above the transport unit 32, the transport unit 32 rises and the transport claw 40 approaches the lower end of the prize 2, and the position where it touches the lowermost end of the prize 2 so that the prize 2 does not fall. The conveying claw 40 is raised up to the point.

Thereafter, with reference to FIG. 4C, the transport unit 32 to which the movement source prize 2 has been delivered is lowered. Accordingly, the protruding portion 40A of the transport claw 40 on which the movement source prize 2 is placed descends in the cassette 4 (movement destination cassette 4B).
The protrusion 40A of the transport claw 40 on which the movement source prize 2 is placed is the highest prize 2 in the prize 2 (sometimes referred to as “movement destination prize 2”) originally in the destination cassette 4B. , The conveyance unit 32 stops descending.

When the lowering of the transport unit 32 stops, the transport claw 40 moves from the advanced position to the retracted position (see FIG. 4A). As a result, the transport claw 40 disappears from the lower side of the movement source prize 2 that has been placed on the protruding portion 40A of the conveyance claw 40 until now, so that the movement source prize 2 is transformed into the topmost movement destination prize 2 by its own weight. On the other hand, they are stacked from above.
Then, referring to FIG. 8, the operation of moving the prize 2 (movement source prize 2) of the movement source cassette 4A as described above to the movement destination cassette 4B (refer to the thick line arrow) empties all the movement source cassettes 4A. Repeat until it is.

  The above is a series of flow of aggregation processing. When the aggregation process is completed, as described above, all the prizes 2 of the four cassettes 4 arranged in the front-rear direction are collected in the destination cassette 4B on the door 6 side. Therefore, after the store is closed, the door 6 (see FIG. 1) is opened, each premium paying unit 5 is pulled out, and the free gift 2 stored in the destination cassette 4B in each premium paying unit 5 is simply collected. All remaining prizes 2 can be collected.

  Here, before and after the aggregation process, in each cassette 4, the prize 2 is counted by the counting unit 60 described above, and the above-described control unit (not shown) sums the counting results of all the cassettes 4. Are the same before and after the aggregation process, it is determined that the aggregation process has been properly executed. That is, before and after the prizes 2 are collected, the number of the prizes 2 in the movement source cassette 4A and the movement destination cassette 4B is counted, so that the prizes 2 can be prevented from being lost during the collection of the prizes 2. In addition, the counting result of each cassette 4 may be displayed on the second display unit 7B (see FIG. 1) described above.

  In addition, since the prizes 2 collected in the destination cassette 4B in the prize dispensing unit 5 are all the prizes 2 remaining in the prize dispensing apparatus 1, the prizes 2 in the destination cassette 4B of each prize dispensing unit 5 are stored after the store is closed. If counted, the counting result is inevitably the inventory data of the prize 2 in the prize dispensing device 1. Therefore, by using this inventory data as it is (for example, by printing out a form on which inventory data is written), subsequent inventory confirmation processing can be smoothly performed.

  As described above, the same types of prizes 2 are stored in the four cassettes 4 before and after the aggregation process is performed in each prize payout unit 5. For this reason, if the types of the prizes 2 stored in the cassettes are unified for each group in the premium giving device 1 as a whole with the four cassettes 4 at the front and back, the prizes 2 are classified for each type of the prizes 2 by the aggregation process. Can be aggregated.

In this case, a color sensor 90 (reading means) is attached to the transport unit 32 corresponding to each of the four front and rear cassettes 4 as shown in FIG. The color sensor 90 is slidable up and down together with the transport unit 32 in a state where it faces the opening 28 (see FIG. 2) of the cassette 4.
The color sensor 90 includes a light emitting unit (not shown) and a light receiving unit (not shown). In the color sensor 90, a light emitting unit (not shown) irradiates the prize 2 exposed from the opening part 28 of the cassette 4 with white light, and a light receiving unit (not shown) receives the reflected light. The color sensor 90 reads the color of the surface of the prize 2 by converting the reflected light into RGB data and analyzing it based on the reflected light received by the light receiving unit (not shown). The control unit (not shown) described above determines the type of the prize 2 based on the color of the surface of the prize 2 read by the color sensor 90.

  The color sensor 90 can read the colors (that is, the types) of all the prizes 2 stored in the cassette 4 by sliding up and down together with the transport unit 32. Therefore, if the color of all the prizes 2 in the destination cassette 4B read by the color sensor 90 after the aggregation process is the same after the aggregation process, the control unit (not shown) correctly assigns the prizes 2 for each type of the prizes 2. It is discriminated that it has been collected (that different types of prizes 2 are not mixed in the destination cassette 4B).

Further, after the prizes 2 are collected, the color sensor 90 slides up and down in the movement source cassette 4A, so that it can be confirmed whether or not the prize 2 remains in the movement source cassette 4A.
A group of the control unit (not shown), the first conveyance unit 10 (conveyance unit 32), and the second conveyance unit 11 (holding box 81) described above is an aggregation unit 50 as an aggregation unit. As described above, the aggregation unit 50 takes out the prize 2 remaining in one cassette 4 (movement source cassette 4A) based on the input of the predetermined instruction signal described above, and extracts the other cassette 4 (movement destination cassette). 4B), an aggregation process for automatically aggregating the prizes 2 is performed. Therefore, the prizes 2 remaining in the cassette 4 can be smoothly collected.

In this way, the prize dispensing device 1 itself collects the prizes 2, so that the employee can save the trouble of manually collecting the prizes 2 and the aggregation process is being performed. (For example, inventory of general prizes different from prize 2 (special prize)). As a result, the time required for the entire work for closing the store can be shortened.
For example, after the inventory of general prizes is completed, the above-described aggregation process is completed. Therefore, if the worker pulls out the lower unit 20 from the cabinet 3 and collects the prize 2 in the destination cassette 4B after taking out the general prize, the collection of all the prizes 2 remaining in the prize dispensing device 1 is completed. .

  Further, the transfer source cassette 4A is emptied by the aggregation process. For this reason, when the prize 2 of the destination cassette 4B is not enough when the prize 2 is paid out, the prize 2 that is full (for the 100 sheets described above) is filled with respect to the empty source cassette 4A. It can be quickly replenished in a collective state to prepare for payout. On the other hand, if the prize 2 remains halfway in the movement source cassette 4A because the aggregation process is not performed, the prize to be replenished to the movement source cassette 4A when the prize 2 is replenished to the movement source cassette 4A. 2 must be examined one by one, and it takes time to replenish the prize 2 in the source cassette 4A.

  Further, in the aggregation process, the aggregation unit 50 moves the prize 2 taken out from the movement source cassette 4A to the movement destination cassette 4B closer to the door 6 (see FIG. 1) than the movement source cassette 4A. It is collected in the 6th destination cassette 4B. Therefore, by opening the door 6 and pulling out the lower unit 20 a little from the cabinet 3 until the destination cassette 4B can be seen, and collecting the prizes 2 in the destination cassette 4B, all the prizes 2 in the prize dispensing device 1 can be collected. Since it can collect | recover, the prize 2 can be collect | recovered smoothly. In this case, since it is not necessary to pull out the entire lower unit 20 from the cabinet 3, labor required for pulling out the lower unit 20 can be suppressed.

As described above, the aggregating unit 50 aggregates the prizes 2 for each type of the prize 2. Therefore, the prizes 2 collected for each type can be collected, which is convenient. If it is not necessary to aggregate the prizes 2 for each type, a plurality of types of prizes 2 may be aggregated in a mixed state.
Further, the aggregation unit 50 can be simply configured by the first transport unit 10 that moves up and down and the second transport unit 11 that moves horizontally.

The present invention is not limited to the contents of the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.
For example, the above-described aggregation process is performed just before closing, but it may be performed after closing or may be performed at any timing during business hours other than just before closing.

  Further, a measure for the counting unit 60 (see FIG. 4A) of the transport unit 32 to accurately count the prize 2 (application of a mechanism for moving the transport unit 32 with high accuracy, optimal arrangement of the counting unit 60 (especially the sensor 37), etc.) ) Is appropriately implemented as necessary. The sensor 37 is not limited to the non-contact optical type described above, and a contact type that directly contacts the side surface 2A (see FIG. 4A) of the prize 2 and detects the boundary X described above can also be applied.

The prize 2 includes an IC chip in which type information representing the type of the prize 2 is recorded, and an IC chip reader (not shown) is used instead of the color sensor 90 (see FIG. 8). The type information of the IC chip in 2 may be read.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the prize payout device 1 installed directly on the floor of the game facility is illustrated, but the present invention can also be applied to a desktop type prize payout device placed on a counter or the like of the game facility ( (See JP 2008-093190 for the configuration of the desktop-type gift dispensing device.)

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Premium offer device 2 Premium 3 Cabinet 4 Cassette 4A Movement origin cassette 4B Movement destination cassette 6 Door 10 1st conveyance part 11 2nd conveyance part 50 Aggregation unit 60 Counting part 90 Color sensor

Claims (6)

A giveaway device for paying out prizes stored in the device,
A plurality of storage units arranged in the apparatus for storing prizes;
An aggregating means for collecting prizes by taking out prizes remaining in one of the storage units and transferring them to the other storage units based on an input of a predetermined instruction signal;
A prize dispensing device characterized by comprising: Including a door that is opened and closed when replenishing the storage unit with a prize;
2. The prize dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein the aggregating unit moves a prize taken out from one of the storage parts to another storage part closer to the door than the one storage part.   3. The prize dispensing device according to claim 1, further comprising counting means for counting the number of prizes stored in the storage section for each storage section.   The prize dispensing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the aggregating means aggregates prizes for each type of prize.   5. The prize payout device according to claim 4, wherein the aggregation means includes a reading means for reading type information for specifying a type of the prize. The storage unit stores premiums stacked in a vertical direction,
The aggregation means includes
A first transport unit that is provided corresponding to the storage unit and moves the prize in the storage unit up and down;
The first unit disposed above the storage unit and horizontally moved above the plurality of storage units can hold the premium moved upward by the first transport unit and can be horizontally moved to a desired position. Two transport units;
A control unit for controlling operations of the first transport unit and the second transport unit;
The prize dispensing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by comprising:

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