JP6713040B2 - Paper sheet transport device, game machine island, transport path fixture - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a paper sheet conveying apparatus or the like for conveying paper sheets such as banknotes by the action of an air flow generated in a conveying pipe, and more particularly, a game machine in which a game machine and a game medium lending machine are arranged in a curved line. The present invention relates to a paper sheet conveying device installed inside the island.

Inside the gaming machine island that accommodates multiple sets of a gaming media lending machine that lends gaming media (medals etc.) to a player in response to the insertion of banknotes and a gaming machine such as a slot machine, A transport device is provided along the longitudinal direction of the gaming machine island for transporting bills inserted into the gaming machine lending machine to a safe provided at the end of the gaming machine island. In the middle of the transport path, a loading device for loading the banknotes discharged from the game media lending machine into the transport path is provided for each game media lending machine.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in order to cope with various installation forms of game machines in a game arcade, a game machine island (denoted as a circular island) in which a game machine and a game medium lending machine are arranged in an arc shape has been devised. In order to convey bills and the like to a safe in such a circle island, it is necessary to form a conveyance path in an arc shape along the inside of the circle island.

When forming an arcuate transport path along the inner side of a circle island, it is conceivable to connect a straight line portion and a curved portion curved in an arcuate shape. For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a paper piece transporting device in which a linear transporting device and a curved transporting device are connected to each other so as to form a curved shape of a gaming machine island.

By the way, when fixing the transportation path inside the gaming machine island, a transportation fixing tool (clamp) is attached to the back surface of the gaming medium lending machine having a bill outlet, and a rigid linear frame is attached to the transportation fixing metal fitting. By fitting them, a reference of the transport path is created, and various members constituting the transport path are attached to the frame to secure their positions. That is, since a take-in device for taking bills discharged from the game medium lending machine into the conveyer path is provided in the middle of the conveying path, the taking-in device is located at the correct position corresponding to the game medium lending machine. As it is attached, the transfer path is assembled based on the frame held by the transfer fixing tool attached to the back surface of the game medium lending machine.

When the distance between the game medium lending machine and the game medium lending machine becomes longer, the distance between the adjacent transport fixing tools also becomes longer, so that the transport path may hang down due to its own weight. Therefore, apart from the transportation fixture attached to the back of the game media lending machine, prepare an island-mounted transport fixture to be attached to other parts of the game machine island, and attach the island-mounted transport fixture to the appropriate place on the game machine island. Thus, it is possible to prevent the transportation path from hanging down. The island-mounting type transport fixture cannot be installed in a place where various equipments and wirings installed in the game machine island are present, so it is installed in a position avoiding them.

JP 2004-81249A

In a curved game machine island such as a circle island, a straight path and a curved part are connected to form a transport path, but in order to support the entire transport path with the frame described above, the curvature of the curved section must be supported. And you also need a curved frame. However, it is difficult to create a highly rigid frame that serves as a reference for the transport path while maintaining accuracy with an arbitrary curvature. Further, since the curvature of a curved game machine island such as a circular island varies depending on the game arcade, it is not preferable to prepare frames having various curvatures from the viewpoint of common parts.

On the other hand, if only the straight portion is supported by the frame and the bending portion is supported by the straight conveying path connected to the bending portion, it is difficult to keep the conveying portion of the bending portion at an accurate position. .. That is, since microvibration occurs due to collision with the inner wall when a bill or the like passes through a curved portion, the bend portion moves and the connection with the straight portion on the upstream side occurs while the bill or the like repeatedly passes. It may come off.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and a paper sheet capable of reliably fixing a curved portion of a conveying path connecting a linear portion and a curved portion by preventing the curved portion from slipping off from the linear portion. It is an object to provide a carrier device, a gaming machine island, and a carrier path fixing tool.

The gist of the present invention for achieving such an object resides in the inventions of the following items.

[1] A game machine and a game medium lending machine are extended along an inner side of a game machine island in which a transport path is provided for transporting paper sheets discharged from the game medium lending machine to a predetermined place. ,
The transport path is configured by connecting a straight portion that forms a section in which the transported object goes straight and a curved portion that forms a section that bends the path of the transported object ,
The curved portion is held by a transport path fixture fixed to the gaming machine island,
The conveyance path fixing device is fixed to a position where the conveyance path fixing tool is brought into contact with the peripheral surface of the curving portion from the outside in the direction opposite to the direction in which the conveyed article enters from the linear portion adjacent to the curving portion to be held, and the curving portion is fixed. A paper sheet transporting device having an abutting portion for preventing the sheet from falling off from the straight portion.

[2] a game machine island game machine and game media lending machine is sequence,
A game machine island comprising the paper sheet transporting device according to [1 ] .

[3] A part of a conveying path that extends along an inner side of a gaming machine island in which a gaming machine and a game medium lending machine are arranged, and that conveys paper sheets discharged from the game medium lending machine to a predetermined place A transport path fixing device for supporting,
The transport path is configured by connecting a straight portion that forms a section in which the transported object goes straight and a curved portion that forms a section that bends the path of the transported object ,
The transport path fixture is
A holding portion that is fixed to the gaming machine island and holds the bending portion,
It is fixed at a position where it comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the curved portion from the outside in the direction opposite to the direction in which the conveyed object enters the curved portion held by the holding portion, and prevents the curved portion from slipping off from the straight portion. A contact portion to
A transport path fixing device having:

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the paper sheet conveying apparatus, the gaming machine island, and the conveyance path fixing tool according to the present invention, the curved portion of the conveyance path that connects the linear portion and the curved portion is prevented from falling off from the linear portion, and is securely fixed. can do.

It is a top view showing a schematic structure of a sheet conveying device concerning an embodiment of the invention provided in a circle island. It is a perspective view which shows the paper sheet conveying apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention provided in the circle island. It is a figure which shows the structure of the part provided in the inside of the safe of an island edge among a paper sheet conveying apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which a conveyance auxiliary body pushes the banknote in a conveyance pipe from the rear end side of this banknote. It is a perspective view which shows the conveyance pipe in a linear part. It is sectional drawing of the conveyance pipe in a linear part. It is a figure which shows the plane and front of a conveyance auxiliary body. It is sectional drawing which passes along the central axis of a conveyance auxiliary body in the state which inserted the conveyance auxiliary body in the conveyance pipe. It is sectional drawing which shows a turn part. It is a perspective view which shows a turn part. It is a perspective view showing a part of section of a conveyance pipe. It is a disassembled perspective view which decomposes|disassembles and shows the conveying pipe of the area shown in FIG. It is a front view which shows the conveyance pipe of the area corresponding to FIG. It is a top view which shows the conveyance pipe of the area corresponding to FIG. It is a figure which shows a part of conveyance path in the state which the game medium lending machine was attached. It is sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of a banknote taking-in device. It is a perspective view which shows a bending pipe part. It is the perspective view which looked at the curve pipe part holding metal fitting from the slanting upstream side. It is the perspective view which looked at the bending pipe part metal fitting from the slanting downstream side. It is a front view which shows a curved pipe part holding metal fitting. It is a left side view which shows a curved pipe part holding metal fitting. It is a rear view which shows a curved pipe part holding metal fitting. It is a top view which shows a curved pipe part holding metal fitting. It is a bottom view which shows a curved pipe part holding metal fitting. It is a figure which shows how to attach the curved pipe part holding metal fitting to the edge part of a frame member. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the bending tube portion is held by a bending tube portion holding fitting attached to the downstream end of the frame member. It is a perspective view which shows the turn part holding member which holds a turn part. It is a perspective view which shows the turn part holding member which hold|maintains the turn part in the position which is distant from the bill taking-in device to some extent. It is a figure which shows the state which hold|maintained the turn part by the turn holding member of FIG. It is a perspective view showing a conveyance path of a paper sheet conveyance device installed inside a game machine island provided so as to surround a pillar. It is a plan view showing a transport path of a paper sheet transport device installed inside a gaming machine island provided so as to surround a pillar. It is a perspective view which shows an example of a corner bending tube holding member. It is a perspective view showing the state where the corner bending tube was held by the corner bending tube holding member. It is a perspective view which shows the example of another corner bending pipe holding member. It is a perspective view showing the state where the corner bending tube was held by the corner bending tube holding member.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a paper sheet transporting device 10 incorporated in a circle island according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the paper sheet transporting device 10 incorporated in a circle island. It is a figure. In the present embodiment, the paper sheet transporting device 10 is a set of a game medium lending machine 3 for lending a game medium (medal) to a player upon receiving a bill and a game machine 4 such as a slot machine. Is provided inside a circle island (gaming machine island 2) having a plurality of arc-shaped arrangements with the front facing outward, and takes in the banknotes discharged from the back surface of each gaming medium lending machine 3 to play the gaming machine island 2 It is configured as a banknote transport device for transporting to the safe 5 provided at the end of the. The gaming machine 4 is not shown in FIG. 3 shows the internal structure of the safe 5.

The paper sheet transport apparatus 10 includes a transport tube 12 that serves as a transport path for bills 6 (paper sheets), and an air flow generation device (blower) 14 (a blower) that generates an air flow in the transport tube 12 in the extending direction. (See FIG. 3). The carrier pipe 12 extends in an arc shape along the inside of the game machine island 2 (the game medium lending machine 3 and the game machine 4 arranged in an arc shape). In the paper sheet transporting device 10, a transport auxiliary body 16 that is movable in the transport pipe 12 by receiving an air flow is inserted into the transport pipe 12 on the upstream side of the bill 6 to be transported. The banknotes 6 in the transport tube 12 are pushed from the rear and transported downstream.

In the gaming machine island 2 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, an airflow generation device 14 and a bill separating/conveying auxiliary body circulation device 20 are provided inside the safe 5. The banknote separation/conveyance auxiliary body circulation device 20 has the function of the conveyance auxiliary body insertion device 21 that sends the conveyance auxiliary body 16 into the conveyance pipe 12, and the bills 6 and the conveyance auxiliary body 16 that has pushed and moved the bills 6 from the rear side. It has a function of a separation and collection device 22 that separates and collects each of them, and also has a function of returning the collected transport auxiliary body 16 to the transport auxiliary body insertion device 21 and circulating it. The banknotes 6 collected by the separation and collection device 22 are stored in a banknote storage unit (not shown) in the safe 5.

The air outlet side (air outlet passage 14a) of the air flow generator 14 is connected to the air inlet side of the auxiliary transfer body inserting device 21, and the start end of the transfer pipe 12 is connected to the air outlet side of the auxiliary transfer body inserting device 21. It is connected. The transfer pipe 12 has an outward path 12a extending in an arc shape from the air outlet side of the auxiliary transfer body insertion device 21 to the other end of the gaming machine island 2 and a turn that is folded back in a U shape at the other end. It is composed of a portion 12b (see FIG. 2) and a return path 12c that is folded back at the turn portion 12b and then extends above the outward path 12a to return to the safe 5 along the outward path 12a. The end of the return path 12c is connected to the air inflow side of the separation/collection device 22 (see FIG. 3), and the air suction side (air suction passage 14b) of the air flow generation device 14 is connected to the air outflow side of the separation/recovery device 22. It is connected.

The airflow generator 14 generates an airflow by rotating a fan with a motor. The airflow generated by the airflow generator 14 flows into the start end of the carrier pipe 12 from the air outlet passage 14a through the carrier auxiliary body inserting device 21, passes through the outward path 12a, the turn portion 12b, and the return path 12c, and then is separated and recovered by the separation/collection device 22. , So as to be drawn into the suction side of the airflow generation device 14 through the air suction passage 14b.

The forward path 12a and the return path 12c of the carrier tube 12 are each formed into an arc shape as a whole along the inside of the gaming machine island 2 by connecting a straight straight tube portion and a curved curved tube portion. In the straight pipe portion forming the return path 12c, the banknotes 6 discharged from the back surface of the game medium lending machine 3 are provided at positions corresponding to the respective game medium lending machines 3 in the conveying pipe 12 (the straight pipe portion of the return path 12c). A bill taking-in device 24 for taking in is provided. The bill taking device 24 includes a passage portion 51 (see FIG. 15) forming a part of the straight pipe portion of the return path 12c, and takes the bill 6 into the passage portion 51.

The bill 6 taken into the return path 12c of the transport pipe 12 from the bill taking device 24 stays at the take-in completion position with its paper surface along the extending direction of the transport pipe 12. The conveyance auxiliary body 16 is conveyed by the conveyance auxiliary body insertion device 21 to convey and collect the bills 6 taken in the conveyance pipe 12 (the passage portion of the bill taking device 24) and staying therein to the safe 5. It is sent into 12. The transfer auxiliary body 16 sent from the transfer auxiliary body insertion device 21 into the transfer pipe 12 moves in the outward path 12a toward the turn portion 12b under the action of the air flow generated by the air flow generation device 14, After making a U-turn at the turn portion 12b, the inside of the return path 12c is further moved toward the terminal end portion. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the bills 6 in the transport tube 12 are pushed toward the terminal end of the transport pipe 12 by the transport auxiliary body 16 pushing from the rear end side of the bill 6 (in the figure, The bill 6 is conveyed in the conveying direction F).

The banknote separation/conveyance auxiliary body circulation device 20, the banknote take-in device 24, and the like of the paper sheet transporting device 10 have a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like as main parts. It operates under the control of a control unit (not shown). In this example, the airflow generation device 14 is always operated, and when the sensor provided in the banknote loading device 24 detects the banknote 6 discharged from the back surface of the game media lending machine 3, the control part reads the banknote loading device. 24 is operated to take in the bill 6 into the conveying pipe 12. Then, when this taking-in operation is completed, the auxiliary transfer member insertion device 21 sends the auxiliary transfer member 16 into the transfer tube 12. Then, the conveyance assisting body 16 moves in the conveyance pipe 12 from the forward path 12a to the turn section 12b and the return path 12c under the action of the air flow, and in the return path 12c, the banknotes 6 staying in the middle thereof are moved backward. Push and move from. When the separation/collection device 22 detects the arrival of the transport auxiliary body 16, the separation/collection device 22 separates the bill 6 and the transport auxiliary body 16 and collects each of them, and the collected transport auxiliary body 16 prepares for the next delivery and then the transport auxiliary body insertion device. The operation is controlled such that the bills 6 are guided to the banknote 21 and the collected bills 6 are conveyed to the bill storage unit in the safe 5.

In addition, the airflow generation device 14 is operated only when necessary (for example, from the time when the banknote take-in device 24 detects the banknote 6 discharged from the game medium lending machine 3 to the time when the banknote is completely conveyed to the safe 5). You may control so that it may be made to.

In this way, the conveyance assisting body 16 moves under the action of the air flow, and the bills 6 are pushed and conveyed from the rear end side by the conveyance assisting body 16 so that the bills 6 themselves receive the air flow and the propulsive force is received. You don't have to get Therefore, the bill 6 can be conveyed by the air flow without taking measures such as bending the bill 6 to receive the air flow. Further, since the transport assisting body 16 can obtain the propulsive force from the airflow more efficiently than the bill 6, the bill can be efficiently transported.

Next, the shapes of the transfer tube 12 and the transfer auxiliary body 16 will be described in detail.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the transport pipe 12 forming a part of the straight pipe portion, and FIG. 6 is a view in the extending direction F (=the bill transport direction F=the air flow direction) of the transport pipe 12 of the same portion. It is sectional drawing which shows a vertical cross-sectional shape. The carrier tube 12 is made of a resin having a thickness of about 1.5 mm. The carrier tube 12 is formed by extrusion molding, for example. The inner shape of the carrier tube 12 is the same in the curved tube portion.

The cross-sectional shape of the cross section of the straight portion of the transport pipe 12 perpendicular to the extending direction F is such that the central portions of the left and right side walls of the vertically long rectangular shape are expanded outward into a rectangular shape. In detail, the transport pipe 12 includes upper and lower wall portions 31, left and right side wall portions 32, and an expansion portion 33 that projects outward in a rectangular shape at the center portion of the left and right side wall portions 32 in the up and down direction. In addition, in a substantially rectangular cross section perpendicular to the extending direction of the transport pipe 12 (transport direction F), the short side direction is the X direction (or the width direction, the left-right direction), and the long side direction is the Y direction (or the height direction, the vertical direction). Direction). In each of the X direction and the Y direction, the direction toward the center of the carrier tube 12 is referred to as the inside, and the direction from the center toward the inner wall is referred to as the outside.

The expansion portion 33 is divided into two upper and lower parts by a separation wall 34 which is erected inward of the transfer tube 12. The separation wall 34 is formed by attaching a T-shaped member to the inner wall of the expanded portion 33.

On the side wall portion 32, a plurality of ribs 35 projecting inward of the transport pipe are formed so as to extend along the transport direction. In this example, ribs 35 projecting inward of the transport pipe are formed along the transport direction at the boundary between the side wall portion 32 and the expansion portion 33. The separating wall 34 has the same height as the rib 35, and the top of the separating wall 34 acts as a rib.

The side wall portions 32 are a pair of inner walls facing the paper surface of the banknote 6 being conveyed. The bill 6 has a rectangular shape, and is transported in the transport tube 12 in a direction in which the long side is the transport direction F. In other words, the paper surface is conveyed such that the paper surface faces the side wall portion 32 of the conveyance tube 12 and one short side of the banknote 6 becomes the leading end side in the conveying direction and the other short side becomes the rear end side.

The interval Dy between the upper and lower wall portions 31 of the transport tube 12 is slightly longer than the short side of the bill 6. Further, the distance Dx between the left and right side wall portions 32 (the portions where the ribs 35, the expansion portions 33, and the separation walls 34 are not formed (reference flat surface portions)) is set to about 21 mm. The extension portions 33 provided on the left and right side wall portions 32 extend outwardly from the side wall portion 32 (reference plane portion) by about 6 mm. The ribs 35 and the tops of the separation walls 34 are located at a height of about 2 mm inward from the side wall portion 32 (reference plane portion). The height of the rib 35 may be set appropriately.

FIG. 7 shows a plan view and a front view of the transport auxiliary body 16. The conveyance assisting body 16 has a columnar shape having a circular cross section (a cross section perpendicular to the axis is circular) having a different diameter in each part. The transport auxiliary body 16 is used by being inserted into the transport pipe 12 such that the central axis of the cylinder is in the Y direction (height direction) of the transport pipe 12. The transport assisting body 16 has a vertically symmetrical shape, and has a head 16a, a neck 16b having a diameter slightly smaller than the head, a large diameter portion 16c having a diameter larger than the head 16a, and a neck 16b having the same diameter in order from the top. And has a constricted portion 16d located at the upper and lower center, a large diameter portion 16c, a neck portion 16b, and a head portion 16a. The transport assisting body 16 is lightweight and durable, and has a hollow interior made of, for example, plastic. If it is lightweight and durable, it may be formed of expanded polystyrene or extruded expanded polystyrene.

FIG. 8 shows a cross section perpendicular to the extending direction F and passing through the central axis of the transport auxiliary body 16 in a state where the transport auxiliary body 16 is inserted into the transport pipe 12. The diameter of each part of the transfer auxiliary body 16 corresponds to the inner edge shape of the transfer pipe 12. That is, the cross-sectional shape passing through the central axis of the transfer auxiliary body 16 is a shape corresponding to the inner edge shape of the transfer tube 12 in the cross section perpendicular to the extending direction F, and the inside of the transfer tube 12 is separated from the inner wall. It is shaped so as to close a predetermined clearance.

In this way, the auxiliary conveyance body 16 has a shape (substantially the same shape with a slight clearance) corresponding to the inner edge shape of the conveyance tube 12 and closes almost the entire cross section of the conveyance tube 12, so that the action of the air flow is exerted. Can receive and move efficiently. Further, the auxiliary transfer body 16 plays a role of preventing an air flow from the upstream from reaching the downstream side of the auxiliary transfer body 16 and suppressing turbulence of the air flow on the downstream side.

The banknote 6 tends to stick to the side wall portion 32 when it is acted upon by the air flow in the transport tube 12. That is, the distance between one paper surface of the banknote 6 and the side wall portion 32 facing the paper surface and the distance between the other paper surface and the side wall portion 32 facing the paper surface rarely become equal, and any of the distances is When it is narrower than the other, the flow velocity of the air flow becomes faster on the narrow gap side than on the wide gap side, so the atmospheric pressure on the narrow gap side becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure on the wide gap side, and due to this atmospheric pressure difference, the banknote 6 has a side wall on the narrow gap side. Adsorbed and pressed by 32. Then, the interval on the narrow interval side is further narrowed, and the bill 6 sticks to the side wall portion 32 and is attracted.

When the bill 6 sticks strongly to the side wall portion 32, it becomes difficult to push and move the bill 6 by the conveyance auxiliary body 16, but the conveyance auxiliary body 16 blocks the air flow to the downstream side thereof as described above ( Since the action of reducing the amount of the bills 6 is performed, the force of sticking and adsorbing the bills 6 becomes small, and smooth conveyance is realized.

The two large-diameter portions 16c of the transfer auxiliary body 16 engage with the two expanded portions 33 partitioned by the separation wall 34 of the transfer tube 12, respectively. In this example, since the expansion part 33 is divided into two by the separation wall 34 and these expansion parts 33 are provided near the center of the transfer tube 12 in the Y direction, the transfer auxiliary body 16 is maintained in a stable posture. Can be moved. Further, since the posture of the transport auxiliary body 16 is stable, the large-diameter portion 16c of the transport auxiliary body 16 can appropriately contact the rear end of the bill 6 to give a stable transport force. Further, it becomes difficult for the banknote 6 to be caught between the transport tube 12 and the transport auxiliary body 16.

In addition, by providing the large-diameter portion 16c, the conveyance assisting body 16 expands the area of the portion affected by the air flow, and can efficiently receive the force for moving. Further, since the large-diameter portion 16c is provided to efficiently receive the action of the air flow, the diameter of the head portion 16a can be reduced accordingly. By reducing the diameter of the head portion, the interval (width (Dx)) between the pair of opposing side wall portions 32 in the transport tube 12 can be narrowed, and the banknote 6 can be prevented from falling.

Further, the presence of the plurality of ribs 35 provided on the side wall portion 32 prevents the banknote 6 from sticking to the side wall portion 32 exactly. That is, the contact area between the bill 6 and the side wall portion 32 is reduced, friction is reduced, and generation of static electricity can be suppressed. Further, even when the banknote 6 is stuck to the side wall portion 32, the banknote 6 is supported by the tip end portion of the rib 35, so that a gap is secured between the side wall portion 32 and the banknote 6 around the rib 35, Sticking force can be suppressed to a small level. Further, since the banknote 6 is supported by the separating wall 34, the banknote 6 is prevented from falling into the recess of the expansion portion 33.

Further, the plurality of ribs 35 protruding inward from the side wall portion 32 and the tops of the separation walls 34 define the substantial passage width W of the banknote 6 in the width direction (X direction) of the transport tube 12 as the reference plane portion distance Dx. Play a role of narrowing. As a result, the banknotes 6 are less likely to fall sideways inside the transport tube 12, and the banknotes 6 are held so that their postures are along the Y direction. In particular, by providing a plurality of ribs 35, it is possible to properly prevent the banknote 6 from falling down and effectively prevent the banknote 6 from sticking to the side wall portion 32. It should be noted that Dx can be increased by the amount of the ribs 35 provided, thereby increasing the cross-sectional area of the transfer tube 12 and making the transfer auxiliary body 16 more susceptible to the action of air flow.

In the case of the conveyance assisting body 16 according to the present embodiment, since the large diameter portion 16c has the largest diameter, as shown in FIG. 4, the large diameter portion 16c contacts the rear end of the bill 6 and pushes it. Become.

9 is a sectional view of the turn portion 12b, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the turn portion 12b. The turn portion 12b connects the conveying pipe 12 to an arc portion 13b extending so as to draw a 90-degree arc in the Y direction as a radial direction, a straight portion 13c, and a 90-degree arc-shaped arc portion 13b. It has a different shape, and changes the course of the conveyance assisting body 16 by 180 degrees. The ribs 35 and the expansion portions 33 are also formed in the turn portion 12b, but the separation wall 34 is not provided so as not to be caught when the transport auxiliary body 16 moves in an arc shape along the arc portion 13b. The ribs 35 and the expansion portions 33 are made to escape (a clearance is larger than a straight portion) in a portion overlapping with the locus of the transport auxiliary body 16 passing through the inside of the turn portion 12b. As a result, the turning radius of the arc portion 13b of the turn portion 12b can be reduced. The length of the straight portion 13c may be appropriately determined according to the distance required between the outward path 12a and the return path 12c depending on the sizes of the auxiliary transporting body separating device 22 and the bill taking device 24. .. The extended portion 33 of the turn portion 12b is provided with two ribs 13a corresponding to the large-diameter portion 16c of the auxiliary conveyance body 16, and positions the auxiliary conveyance body 16 toward the center in the X direction.

Next, connection and fixing of the carrier tube 12 will be described.

11 is a perspective view showing a part of a section of the carrier tube 12, FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view showing the carrier tube 12 in a section corresponding to FIG. 11, and FIG. 13 corresponds to FIG. FIG. 14 is a front view showing the transport pipe 12 in the section, and FIG. 14 is a plan view showing the transport pipe 12 in the section corresponding to FIG. 11.

As shown in FIG. 12, the straight pipe portion 40 in the outward path 12a of the transfer pipe 12 is composed of a linear transfer pipe 41 of a predetermined length and an upstream connection adapter 42 to which the downstream end of the linear transfer pipe 41 is connected. It The curved pipe portion 45 has an arcuate portion curved with a predetermined curvature and short linear transport pipe connection ports (upstream side transport pipe connection port 45a and downstream side transport pipe connection port 45c described later) formed at both ends thereof. Composed of. The linear transport pipe 41 is connected to one of the transport pipe connection ports (downstream transport pipe connection port 45c) of the curved pipe portion 45, and the upstream transport connection to the other transport pipe connection port (upstream transport pipe connection port 45a). The adapter 42 is connected.

The straight pipe portion 46 in the return path 12c includes the passage portion 51 (see FIG. 16) of the bill taking device 24, the upstream connection adapter 42 connected to one end (upstream side) of the passage portion 51, and the upstream connection adapter 42. A straight transport pipe 41 connected to the upstream side, a straight transport pipe 41 connected to the other end (downstream side) of the passage portion 51, and an upstream connection adapter 42 connected downstream of the straight transport pipe 41. Composed of and. The curved pipe portions 45 are connected to the upstream side and the downstream side of the straight pipe portion 46, respectively.

The straight pipe portions 40 and 46 of the transport pipe 12 are supported by a rigid metal linear frame member 60. The frame member 60 has a length slightly shorter than the total width of the game machine 4 and the game medium lending machine 3 arranged side by side. The frame member 60 is not present in the portion corresponding to the bending tube portion 45, and is interrupted in this portion.

One end of the frame member 60 is supported by the other end of the first mounting member 70 whose one end is fixed to the structure of the gaming machine 4 or the gaming machine island 2. The other end of the frame member 60 is supported by the other end of the second mounting member 80 whose one end is fixed to the back surface of the game medium lending machine 3.

The frame member 60 is in the form of an elongated flat plate having grooves on both sides in the width direction, and the upper surface of the frame member 60 engages with the frame member 60 and slides freely along the longitudinal direction of the frame member 60. A movable base 62 is attached. The pedestal portion 62 is attached to the frame member 60 such that the lower claw is hooked on the back surface side of the frame member 60. Due to this catch, the pedestal portion 62 does not easily come off from the frame member 60.

The lower portion of the bill taking device 24 is fitted onto the upper surface of the pedestal portion 62. The pedestal portion 62 supports the bill capturing device 24 from below. The bill taking-in device 24 is attached so that the taking-in port 54 for the bills 6 is at a position just opposite to the ejecting port for the bills 6 provided on the back surface of the game medium lending machine 3 (see FIG. 15 ).

The second mounting metal fitting 80 is fixed to the game medium lending machine 3 at one end side and extends toward the rear surface of the game medium lending machine 3, and a fixed arm 81 is attached to the other end side of the fixed arm 81 and fixed. A plane in which the attachment angle with respect to the arm 81 is perpendicular to the paper surface of the banknote 6 heading from the outlet on the back of the game medium lending machine 3 to the inlet 54 of the banknote capturing device 24 and including the direction from the outlet to the inlet 54. And a supporting portion 82 that can be adjusted within a predetermined angle range. As shown in FIG. 15, the fixed arm 81 of the second mounting member 80 connects the outlet of the bill 6 provided on the back surface of the game medium lending machine 3 and the taking-in port 54 of the bill taking-in device 24. ..

As shown in FIG. 15, between the outlet provided on the back surface of the game medium lending machine 3 and the intake port 54 of the banknote loading device 24, the banknotes 6 fed out from the outlet are loaded into the banknote loading device 24. It is connected by the bill guide passage 110 which guides to the taking-in port 54 of the. The bill guide passage 110 is configured by connecting a plurality of short rectangular tubular passage members 111. By adjusting the number of the passage members 111 to be connected, the length of the bill guiding passage 110 is adjusted to the distance from the discharge port on the back surface of the game medium lending machine 3 to the taking-in port 54 of the bill taking-in device 24. Further, since the passage members 111 are connected to each other by a hinge, the passage members 111 can be bent at a connecting portion within a predetermined angle range.

A hook member 64 is attached near the end of the frame member 60 on the side supported by the first mounting member 70 (see FIG. 12 ). The hook member 64 is hooked on and suspended from the frame member 60. The hook member 64 includes a hanging arm portion 64a which extends downward and then has a lower end bent upward in a U shape. The outward path 12a of the transport tube 12 is held by being held by the hanging arm portion 64a of the hook member 64. That is, the outward path 12 a of the transport tube 12 is held so as to be suspended by the frame member 60 via the hook member 64.

A curved pipe portion holding metal fitting 90 is attached to an end portion of the frame member 60 on the side supported by the second mounting metal fitting 80. The bending pipe portion holding metal fitting 90 is attached to the base plate 91 (see FIG. 25), one end of which is inserted into the end portion of the frame member 60 and fixed to the frame member 60, and the other end side of the base plate 91. The outward bending tube suspending member 92 is extended, and the returning bending tube holding member 93 is attached to the other end of the base plate 91 and extends upward.

The outward curve tube suspending member 92 holds the curved tube section 45 on the outward path 12a side in the same manner as the hook member 64. The return path bending tube holding member 93 holds the bending tube portion 45 on the return path 12c side. The details of the curved tube portion holding fitting 90 will be described later.

In the return path 12c of the carrier pipe 12, the frame member 60 is fixed to the gaming machine island 2 by the first mounting metal fitting 70 and the second mounting metal fitting 80, and the bill taking-in device 24 is mounted on the frame member 60 via the base 62. Then, the conveyance pipes before and after the bill take-up device 24 are attached and supported. Further, the bending tube portion 45 of the return path 12c is held by the returning path bending tube holding member 93 of the bending tube portion holding fitting 90 attached to the end portion of the frame member 60.

The outward path 12a of the carrier tube 12 is supported by being suspended from the frame member 60 via the hook member 64 and the outward path curved tube suspending member 92 of the curved tube portion holding fitting 90.

Next, the structure of the bill taking device 24 will be briefly described.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the bill taking device 24. The bill capturing device 24 has a tubular passage portion 51 that is a part of the transport path 12, and a rectangular box-shaped main body frame portion 52 provided along the passage portion 51.

One end of the passage portion 51 is an upstream side transfer pipe connecting portion 51a to which the upstream side transfer pipe 12 is connected via the upstream connection adapter 42, and the other end is the downstream side transfer pipe 12 (see FIG. 12 is a downstream side transfer pipe connecting portion 51b to which the linear transfer pipe 41) is connected. The arrow F in the figure indicates the transport direction (direction of air flow) of the bill 6 in the transport tube 12.

A banknote passage 51c having an inner edge shape corresponding to the inner edge shape of the transfer tube 12 is provided between the upstream side transfer tube connecting section 51a and the downstream side transfer tube connecting section 51b. An opening 53 for taking in the bill 6 into the bill passage 51c is provided on the wall surface of the bill passage 51c on the main body frame 52 side.

At one end of the front surface of the main body frame portion 52 of the bill taking device 24, a taking-in port 54 for receiving the bills 6 fed out from the discharge port provided on the back surface of the game medium lending machine 3 is opened. The game medium lending machine 3 discharges the horizontally long banknotes 6 in the upright posture in the direction of the long side with one short side at the top. The take-in port 54 is a narrow rectangular opening slightly longer than the short side of the bill 6, and receives the bill 6 from the short side. A standby portion 55 is formed between the intake port 54 and the opening portion 53 of the passage portion 51 as a passage for holding the bills 6 to be fed into the bill passage 51c from the opening portion 53 next. The standby portion 55 is an S-shaped curved narrow passage (narrow in the thickness direction of the bill 6) (curved passage), so that one bill 6 can be put on standby in the curved passage. Is becoming

The various conveyance rollers 56 provided in the standby unit 55 send the banknotes 6 taken in from the taking-in port 54 through the waiting unit 55 into the banknote passage 51c from the opening 53. The take-in port 54 of the bill taking device 24 is opened so as to face the same direction as the front side of the bill taking device 24.

Next, the holding of the bending tube portion 45 of the return path 12c by the bending tube holding metal member 90 will be described.

First, the shape of the bending tube portion 45 held by the bending tube portion holding fitting 90 will be described. FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the bending tube portion 45. The curved pipe portion 45 includes an arcuate curved portion 45b curved in a circular arc shape with a predetermined curvature, an upstream side transport pipe connection port 45a provided on the upstream side of the circular arc curved portion 45b, and a downstream of the circular arc curved portion 45b. And a downstream side transport pipe connection port 45c provided on the side. The upstream side transport pipe connection port 45a and the downstream side transport pipe connection port 45c are linear pipe lines.

The upstream side transport pipe connection port 45a is adjacent to the arcuate curved portion 45b, is adjacent to the edge portion k1 whose outer shape is slightly larger than the arcuate curved portion 45b, and is adjacent to the upstream side of the edge portion k1, and is arcuate curved portion. 45b, which has the same outer shape as that of the straight tube portion 45b, and an expansion pipe portion k4, which is located at the upstream end of the bending pipe portion 45 and whose outer shape is expanded outward from the straight pipe portion k2, and expanded from the upstream end of the straight pipe portion k2. It is composed of a straight pipe part k2 and an inclined expansion pipe part k3 connecting between the expansion pipe part k4 with a wall surface between the downstream ends of the pipe parts k4 and inclined so that the outer shape gradually increases toward the expansion pipe part k4. .. The inclined expansion pipe part k3 and the expansion pipe part k4 form an expansion part expanded outward as compared with the straight pipe part k2.

In the return path 12c of the transfer pipe 12, the upstream connection adapter 42 is connected to the upstream transfer pipe connection port 45a, and the linear transfer pipe 41 is connected to the downstream transfer pipe connection port 45c (see FIG. 12).

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the bending tube part holding metal fitting 90 seen from an oblique upstream side, FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the bending tube part holding metal fitting 90 seen from an oblique downstream side, and FIG. 20 is a front view of the bending tube part holding metal fitting 90. 21, FIG. 21 is a left side view of the bending tube part holding metal fitting 90, FIG. 22 is a rear view of the bending tube part holding metal fitting 90, FIG. 23 is a plan view of the bending tube part holding metal fitting 90, and FIG. 25 is a bottom view of FIG. 25, and FIG. 25 is a view showing how to attach the bending tube portion holding metal fitting 90 to the frame member 60. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing how the bending tube portion holding metal fitting 90 attached to the downstream end of the frame member 60 holds the bending tube portion 45. It is a perspective view showing the state where it did.

As shown in FIG. 25, the curved tube portion holding metal fitting 90 is attached to the other end side of the base plate 91, which has one end inserted into the end portion of the frame member 60 and is fixed to the frame member 60. It is configured by a forward bending tube suspending member 92 extending downward and a backward bending tube holding member 93 attached to the other end of the base plate 91 and extending upward.

The frame member 60 includes a flat portion 66 having an elongated plate shape, a groove portion 67 having a U-shaped cross-section that extends along the longitudinal direction of the flat portion 66 at both ends in the width direction of the flat portion 66, and groove portions at both edges. A pair of projecting pieces 68 projecting from 67 toward the center of the flat portion 66 in the width direction and extending along the longitudinal direction of the frame member 60.

The base plate 91 has a width approximately equal to the distance between the groove portion 67 at one edge of the frame member 60 and the groove portion 67 at the other edge, and a gap 68 a between the back surface of the flat portion 66 and the pair of protrusion pieces 68. It is an elongated high-rigidity flat plate having a thickness corresponding to, and has a slightly wide locking portion 91a at the center in the longitudinal direction.

The base plate 91 is firmly held in the frame member 60 by pushing one end of the base plate 91 into the gap 68a at the end of the frame member 60 until the locking portion 91a enters the gap 68a.

A pair of opposing support plates 91b are provided upright along the longitudinal direction of the base plate 91 at the center of the upper surface on the other end side of the base plate 91. The outward bending tube suspending member 92 and the returning bending tube holding member 93 are attached to the support plate 91b, respectively. The forward bending tube suspending member 92 and the backward bending tube holding member 93 can be adjusted in their mounting positions by slidingly moving them relative to the support plate 91b in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 91.

The outward bending tube suspending member 92 extends downward along one side wall of the bending tube portion 45 that is suspended below the base plate 91, and then has an upward U-shape so as to hold the lower portion of the bending tube portion 45 at the lower end. It has a hanging arm portion 92a bent in a shape, and a holding piece 92b that holds the upper portion of the other side wall of the bending tube portion 45 between the hanging arm portion 92a.

An attachment plate 92c for attaching the suspension arm portion 92a to the one support plate 91b is provided at the upper end of the suspension arm portion 92a. The mounting plate 92c is provided with a long hole 92d that is long in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 91. The hanging arm portion 92a is attached to one support plate 91b with a screw threaded through the elongated hole 92d, and the attachment position can be adjusted by sliding in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 91 within the range of the elongated hole 92d. ..

A mounting plate 92e for mounting the sandwiching piece 92b on the other supporting plate 91b is provided at the upper end of the sandwiching piece 92b. The mounting plate 92e is provided with a long hole 92f that is long in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 91. The holding piece 92b is attached to the other support plate 91b with a screw threaded through the elongated hole 92f, and the attachment position can be adjusted by sliding in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 91 within the range of the elongated hole 92f.

The return path curved tube holding member 93 is slidably attached to one support plate 91b of the base plate 91, extends upward along one side wall of the curved tube portion 45 of the return path 12c to be held, and then has an upper end. The upper holding arm 93a is bent downward in a U shape so as to hold the upper portion of the bending tube portion 45, and the lower portion of the other side wall of the bending tube portion 45 of the return path 12c to be held is the upper holding arm 93a. It is provided with an upper clamping piece 93b which is sandwiched therebetween.

At the lower end of the upper holding arm 93a, a mounting plate 93c for mounting the upper holding arm 93a to the one support plate 91b is provided. The mounting plate 93c is provided with a long hole 93d that is long in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 91. The upper holding arm 93a is attached to the one support plate 91b with a screw threaded through the elongated hole 93d, and the attachment position can be adjusted by sliding in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 91 within the range of the elongated hole 93d.

A mounting plate 93e for mounting the upper sandwiching piece 93b to the other supporting plate 91b is provided at the lower end of the upper sandwiching piece 93b. The mounting plate 93e is provided with an elongated hole 93f that is long in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 91. The upper holding piece 93b is attached to the other support plate 91b with a screw threaded through the long hole 93f, and the attachment position can be adjusted by sliding in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 91 within the range of the long hole 93f.

In the middle of the arm extending above the upper holding arm 93a, a contact portion 93g formed by bending both ends in the width direction of the arm inward is provided.

As shown in FIG. 26, the return path bending tube holding member 93 of the bending tube holding metal member 90 is located in the bending tube section 45 at a position closest to the inclined expansion tube section k3 of the upstream side conveying tube connection port 45a. Hold k2. As a result, the contact portion 93g of the upper holding arm 93a of the return path bending tube holding member 93 comes into contact with the inclined expansion tube portion k3 of the upstream side transfer tube connecting port 45a of the bending tube portion 45 from the downstream side.

The contact portion 93g comes into contact with the inclined expansion pipe portion k3 to prevent the bending pipe portion 45 from falling off from the upstream connection adapter 42. In the paper sheet transporting device 10, a force that moves the transport auxiliary body 16 moving from the upstream side to the downstream side collides with the bending portion of the bending tube portion 45 and moves the bending tube portion 45 downstream. Even if this force acts and the bending tube portion 45 tries to move to the downstream side, the contact portion 93g of the return path bending tube holding member 93 comes into contact with the inclined expansion pipe portion k3 of the upstream side transport pipe connecting port 45a so as to bite, Since the return path bending tube holding member 93 is firmly fixed to the frame member 60 via the base plate 91, the bending tube portion 45 does not move downstream. This prevents the bending tube portion 45 from falling off the upstream connection adapter 42.

Further, since the return path bending tube holding member 93 holds the straight tube section k2 which is the straight section of the bending tube section 45, it holds the bending tube section 45 without being affected by the curvature of the arcuate bending section 45b. be able to. That is, in the configuration in which the portion of the arc-shaped curved portion 45b is held, in order to accommodate a plurality of types of bending tube portions 45 having different curvatures in the portion of the arc-shaped curved portion 45b, the return path curved-tube holding member 93 having various curvatures is provided. It will be necessary to prepare. Since the return path bending tube holding member 93 of the bending tube holding metal member 90 holds the bending tube 45 at the portion of the straight tube portion k2 which is a straight portion, such a problem does not occur, and all the bending tube portions 45 are provided. Can be commonly used.

It should be noted that the presence of the edge portion k1 makes it possible to easily perform the positioning of the portion for holding the bending tube portion 45 by the return path bending tube holding member 93.

In addition, the bending tube portion holding metal fitting 90 that holds the bending tube portion 45 serves as a reference for installing the transfer tube 12 (in particular, is fixed to the game medium lending machine 3 that serves as a reference for the installation position of the banknote loading device 24). Since it is attached to the member 60, the curved tube portion 45 is reliably fixed in accordance with the installation standard of the carrier tube 12 without being affected by the island environment (installation status of equipment and wiring in the gaming machine island 2). be able to.

Next, the holding of the turn portion 12b will be described.

The turn portion 12b is also a kind of curved portion. The turn portion holding member that holds the turn portion 12b is attached to the gaming machine island 2 or the frame member 60, and has an abutting portion that abuts the U-shaped bottom portion of the turn portion 12b from the outside.

The turn portion holding member 120 shown in FIG. 27 corresponds to the case where the turn portion 12b is arranged immediately adjacent to the bill taking device 24. The turn portion holding member 120 has a horizontal U shape, and a vertical side of the fixed arm 121 attached to the back surface of the game medium lending machine 3, and a lower end of the fixed arm 121, which is provided at the tip of the frame member 60. The frame holding portion 122 to be held and the U-shaped bottom portion of the U-shaped turn portion 12b provided at the tip of the arm extending in the downstream direction in the outward path 12a from the lower side in the vicinity of the tip portion are located outside (outward path). The contact portion 123 is provided so as to contact from the downstream side of 12a).

The contact portion 123 contacts the turn portion 12b with a surface (contact surface) having a predetermined width. The contact surface of the contact portion 123 is set such that the traveling direction of the paper sheet reaching the turn portion 12b from the outward path 12a is the normal line of the contact surface.

The turn portion holding member 130 shown in FIG. 28 corresponds to a case where the turn portion 12b is located at a position apart from the bill taking device 24 closest to the turn portion 12b to some extent (see FIG. 29). The turn portion holding member 130 is attached along the frame member 60 fixed to the gaming machine island 2 by the mounting metal fittings 70 and the like, and an extension arm extending further downstream from the downstream end of the frame member 60 in the outward path 12a direction. 131 and an abutting portion 132 provided at the downstream end of the extension arm 131 and abutting from the outside on the U-shaped bottom portion of the U-shaped turn portion 12b.

The contact portion 132 contacts the turn portion 12b with a surface (contact surface) having a predetermined width. The contact surface of the contact portion 132 is set such that the traveling direction of the paper sheet arriving at the turn portion 12b from the outward path 12a is the normal to the contact surface.

FIG. 29 shows a state where the turn portion holding member 130 holds the turn portion 12b. When the bill 6 and the auxiliary transportation member 16 that have entered the turn section 12b from the outward path 12a travel along the U-shaped curved turn section 12b and change direction, they strike the inner wall of the turn section 12b. , A force that moves the turn portion 12b to the downstream side acts. The contact portions 123 and 132 of the turn portion holding members 120 and 130 abut against the turn portion 12b from the direction opposite to the direction in which this force acts, thereby preventing the turn portion 12b from moving (falling out) against the force. To do.

In the gaming machine island that is provided so as to surround the pillars of the game arcade, for example, when the conveyance path (conveyance tube 12) of the paper sheet conveyance device 10 is installed in a shape as shown in FIGS. 30 and 31. There is also. In such a transport path, a curved tube 160 curved at about 90 degrees is provided at a corner that is curved at about 90 degrees. In the corner curved tube 160, the bills 6 and the transport assisting body 16 that have entered from the upstream side collide with the inner wall of the curved tube 160 when the direction is changed along the curved tube 160. As a result, a force is applied to the corner curved tube 160 from the upstream side transport tube so as to fall off. Therefore, in order to prevent the bending tube 160 from coming off due to this force, the corner bending tube holding members 140 and 150 that hold the corner bending tube 160 are provided.

FIG. 32 shows an example of the corner bending tube holding member 140. The corner bending tube holding member 140 has one end attached to the gaming machine island, and is in contact with the bending portion from the outside in the direction opposite to the advancing direction of the bills 6 and the auxiliary conveyance body 16 entering the corner bending tube 160. The contact portion 142 is provided.

The corner bending tube holding member 140 shown in FIG. 32 is attached to the L-shaped fixed base portion 141 and the upper surface of the longer arm of the fixed base portion 141 so as to be slidable along the longitudinal direction of the arm. The contact portion 142 is provided. The shorter arm of the fixing base 141 is fixed to the wall surface of the end of the gaming machine island with screws or the like so that the longer arm extends horizontally toward the other end of the gaming machine island.

The contact portion 142 includes a contact surface 142a that contacts the side wall surface (particularly, the expanded portion 33) of the transport tube 12. When attaching the contact portion 142 to the fixed base portion 141, the attachment angle of the contact portion 142 can be selected from four directions in units of 90 degrees. For example, in FIG. 32, in the upper corner bending tube holding member 140, the contact surface 142a is in a state of being oriented along the longitudinal direction of the longer arm of the fixing base 141, and the lower corner portion. The curved tube holding member 140 is oriented such that the contact surface 142a faces the wall surface of the gaming machine island end portion. Accordingly, by making the direction of the contact surface 142a switchable, the common corner bending tube holding member 140 can deal with the bending tubes 160 having the left and right corners.

FIG. 33 shows a state where the corner bending tube 160 is held by the corner bending tube holding member 140. In the corner bending tube holding member 140, the contact surface 142a abuts the peripheral surface of the bending tube 160 from the outside in the direction opposite to the advancing direction in which the bill 6 or the auxiliary transport member 16 enters the corner bending tube 160 from the upstream side. It is attached so that it touches. By contacting the curved tube 160 with the contact surface 142a, the curved tube 160 is firmly held, and the curved tube 160 is prevented from falling out or moving.

FIG. 34 shows an example of another corner bending tube holding member 150. The corner bending tube holding member 150 shown in FIG. 34 contacts the bending tube 160 having a corner bent at about 90 degrees from two directions to prevent the positional deviation.

The corner curved tube holding member 150 has one end fixed to the wall surface of the end of the gaming machine island with a screw or the like, and a main arm 151 of a predetermined length that extends horizontally from the wall surface toward the other end of the gaming machine island, and the main arm. It has a sub arm 152 extending from the middle of 151 at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the main arm 151 and in the horizontal direction. Long holes are formed in the main arm 151 and the sub arm 152 along the respective longitudinal directions. A moving contact portion 153 slidable along the elongated hole is attached to each of the main arm 151 and the sub arm 152, or one of them.

The abutting portion 153 has a shape that holds the conveying tube 12 so as to surround it from all sides, and a contact surface 153a that comes into contact with the outer peripheral wall surface of the corner bending tube 160 has a sheet-shaped elastic body. 154 is attached.

FIG. 35 shows a state where the corner bending tube 160 is held by the corner bending tube holding member 150. The corner bending tube holding member 150 is attached such that the elastic body 154 attached to the contact surface 153a of the contact portion 153 contacts the curved peripheral surface of the corner bending tube 160 from the outside. The contact surface 153a of the contact portion 153 that contacts the curved tube 160 at a position downstream of the center of the angled curved tube 160 has a traveling direction of the banknotes 6 and the transfer auxiliary body 16 that reach the curved portion 160 from upstream. The side surface of the curved portion 160 is abutted from the outside in the opposite direction to prevent the curved portion 160 from falling off. Further, by providing the elastic body 154, the contact of the bending portion 160 with the curved outer peripheral surface is ensured.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configurations are not limited to those shown in the embodiments, and there are changes and additions within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention. Are also included in the present invention.

The shape of the curved tube portion holding metal fitting 90 is not limited to that illustrated in the embodiment. For example, the base plate 91 may be attached to the frame member 60 with screws or the like. Further, the structure or the like that makes it possible to adjust the attachment positions of the outward bending tube suspending member 92 and the returning bending tube holding member 93 with respect to the base plate 91 in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 91 is limited to those illustrated in the embodiment. Not done.

In the embodiment, the abutting portion 93g is brought into contact with the inclined expansion pipe portion k3 whose outer shape is gradually increased so that the bending pipe portion 45 does not move downstream. However, the inclined expansion pipe portion k3 is omitted and a straight line is omitted. The expansion pipe part k4 may be provided adjacent to the upstream side of the pipe part k2, and the contact portion 93g may contact the expansion pipe part k4 from the downstream side. Further, the inwardly bent abutting portion 93g may not be provided in particular, and the upper holding arm 93a itself may be used as the abutting portion so that the upper holding arm 93a abuts the inclined expansion pipe portion k3 or the expansion pipe portion k4.

In the embodiment, the paper conveyance device 10 of the air conveyance system in which the conveyance assisting member 16 pushes the paper sheets such as the bills 6 from the rear side is shown. However, without using the conveyance assisting member 16, only the air flow is provided. The present invention can be applied even to a paper sheet conveying device that conveys paper sheets such as bills 6. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to a paper sheet transporting device that transports paper sheets by another method such as a belt or a roller without using the air flow.

The shape of the conveyance assisting body 16 shown in the embodiment is an example, and the shape is not limited to this. For example, it may be a pillar shape such as a rectangular or polygonal cross section. Further, although the auxiliary conveyance body 16 has a symmetrical shape with respect to the central portion in the Y direction, it may have an asymmetrical shape in the Y direction.

In the embodiment, the bill 6 is described as an example of the paper sheet, but other types of paper sheets such as a ticket and a card may be used. In addition, in the embodiment, the case where the gaming machine lending machine 3 and the gaming machine 4 are arranged in an arbitrary curved shape, such as an elliptical shape or a wavy curve, has been described as an example in which they are installed inside the substantially circular gaming machine island 2. The present invention is applied to the gaming machine islands.

In the embodiment, an example in which only one sheet is conveyed is shown in FIG. 4 and the like. However, when the conveyance assisting body 16 is inserted in the state where there are a plurality of banknotes 6 in the middle of the conveyance tube 12, It is also possible to convey these plural banknotes 6 at once. For example, if the auxiliary conveyance body 16 is fed from the auxiliary conveyance body insertion device 21 in a state where the bills 6 are stopped at the completion positions of the respective bill taking-in devices 24 in the return path 12c of the conveying pipe 12, The number of banknotes 6 pushed by the body 16 increases in sequence on the way of the return path 12c, and all the banknotes 6 can be conveyed. Such a large carrying force is due to the fact that the carrying auxiliary body 16 has a shape that substantially closes the cross section of the carrying tube 12, and thus the sticking and sticking of the bills 6 is reduced, and the presence of the expansion portion 33 causes the air flow. It is ensured by the fact that the area affected by is large. In addition, since the transfer auxiliary body 16 has a column shape that does not deform, it is possible to collectively transfer a large number of sheets, which cannot be realized by a wing or the like.

In the embodiment, the transport tube 12 has a substantially rectangular cross section, but may have another shape such as a circle or an ellipse. However, a plurality of ribs are provided on the inner wall to prevent paper sheets from sticking and to guide the position and posture of the conveyance assisting body. Further, it is preferable that the transport auxiliary body has a shape corresponding to the inner edge shape thereof and closes almost the entire cross section.

Further, the gaming machine island is not limited to the configuration for accommodating the slot machine and the gaming medium lending machine for lending medals illustrated in the embodiment, and the gaming machine island for lending a gaming ball and a pachinko machine can also be used. I don't care.

2... Gaming machine island 3... Gaming media lending machine 4... Gaming machine 5... Safe box 6... Banknotes 10... Paper sheet conveying device 12... Conveying tube 12a... Outgoing path 12b... Turn section 12c... Return path 13a... Rib of turn section 13b... Arc part of turn part 13c... Straight part of turn part 14... Air flow generating device 14a... Air blowing passage 14b... Air suction passage 16... Transfer auxiliary body 16a... Head 16b... Neck 16c... Large diameter portion 16d... Constriction portion 20 ... Banknote separation/conveyance auxiliary body circulation device 21... Conveyance auxiliary body insertion device 22... Separation and collection device 24... Banknote take-up device 31... Wall part 32... Side wall part 33... Expansion part 34... Separation wall 35... Rib 40... Straight pipe Part 41... Linear transport pipe 42... Upstream connection adapter 45... Curved pipe part 45a... Upstream side transport pipe connection port k1... Edge part k2... Straight pipe part k3... Inclined expansion pipe part k4... Expansion pipe part 45b... Arc curve Portion 45c... Downstream transport pipe connection port 46... Straight pipe portion 51... Passage portion 51a... Upstream transport pipe connection portion 51b... Downstream transport pipe connection portion 51c... Banknote passage 52... Main body frame portion 53... Opening portion 54... Capture Port 55... Standby portion 56... Conveying roller 60... Frame member 62... Pedestal portion 64... Hook member 64a... Suspending arm portion 66... Flat portion 67... Groove portion 68... Projection piece 68a... Gap 70... First mounting bracket 80... 2 mounting metal fitting 81... fixed arm 82... support portion 90... curved pipe portion holding metal fitting 91... base plate 91a... locking portion 91b... support plate 92... outward curved pipe suspending member 92a... suspending arm portion 92b... sandwiching piece 92c ... Mounting plate 92d... Oblong hole 92e... Mounting plate 92f... Oblong hole 93... Return path curved tube holding member 93a... Upper holding arm 93b... Upper holding piece 93c... Mounting plate 93d... Oblong hole 93e... Mounting plate 93f... Oblong hole 93g... Contact part 110... Banknote guide passage 111... Passage member 120... Turn part holding member 121... Fixed arm 122... Frame holding part 123... Contact part 130... Turn part holding member 131... Extension arm 132... Contact part 140... Corner Part curved tube holding member 141... Fixed base part 142... Abutting part 142a... Abutting surface 150... Corner bending tube holding member 151... Main arm 152... Sub arm 153... Abutting part 153a... Abutting surface 154... Elastic body 160... Angled curved pipe Dx... Distance between reference plane portions of transport pipe Dy... Inner dimension of transport pipe in Y direction F... Extending direction of transport pipe W... Passage width X... Passage width direction of transport pipe Y: height direction of carrier pipe

Claims (3)

A game machine and a game medium lending machine are extended along the inner side of a game machine island in which the game machine lending machine is arranged, and have a transport path for transporting paper sheets discharged from the game medium lending machine to a predetermined place,
The transport path is configured by connecting a straight portion that forms a section in which the transported object goes straight and a curved portion that forms a section that bends the path of the transported object ,
The curved portion is held by a transport path fixture fixed to the gaming machine island,
The conveyance path fixing device is fixed to a position where the conveyance path fixing tool is brought into contact with the peripheral surface of the curving portion from the outside in the direction opposite to the direction in which the conveyed article enters from the linear portion adjacent to the curving portion to be held, and the curving portion is fixed. A paper sheet transporting device having an abutting portion for preventing the sheet from falling off from the straight portion. A gaming machine island in which gaming machines and gaming media rental machines are arranged,
A game machine island comprising the paper sheet conveying device according to claim 1. A game machine and a game medium lending machine are extended along an inner side of a game machine island in which the game machine lending machine is arranged, and support a part of a transport path for transporting paper sheets discharged from the game medium lending machine to a predetermined place. A transport path fixture,
The transport path is configured by connecting a straight portion that forms a section in which the transported object goes straight and a curved portion that forms a section that bends the path of the transported object ,
The transport path fixture is
A holding portion that is fixed to the gaming machine island and holds the bending portion,
It is fixed at a position where it comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the curved portion from the outside in the direction opposite to the direction in which the conveyed object enters the curved portion held by the holding portion, and prevents the curved portion from slipping off from the straight portion. A contact portion to
A transport path fixing device having: