JPH0247796A - Change device for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make unnecessary a large fall from a coin path to a coin holding cylinder by making the coin tumble down on a coin holding path, and lamination-holding it with the coin holding cylinder. CONSTITUTION:The coin inputted to a coin path 26 tumbles down in a sliding part, and detected by external diameter sensors 31 and 32 and a magnetic sensor 33. When the coin is held as the result of detection, the coin is guided to a change path 40a by a path switching member 26c provided at the communicating port of the coin path 26. The coin is made to tumble down on the change path 40a, and lamination-hold by a change holding cylinder 27. The coin held in the change holding cylinder 27 is paid out through a paying device 44.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a change device for a vending machine that dispenses change, and more particularly to a change device that retains inserted coins as change.

[Prior art 1] In order to reduce the negative aspects of replenishing change, a change device of a vending machine holds the inserted coins according to the identification result, and dispenses the held coins as change as needed. There is.

In this case, the inserted coins are vertically piled up and held in the change storage section for each denomination, and when paid out, they are moved through the change passage using gravity and guided from each change storage section to the change payout port. .

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, in conventional change devices, identified coins are stacked vertically, so in order to store a large amount of change, the change storage section must have a sufficient height. It becomes necessary. Furthermore, in order to reliably lead change to the change dispenser, there is a
A certain length is required. Therefore, the change device as a whole requires a considerable height, and the coin input port and change payout port are separated from each other, which causes inconvenience to the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a small change device for a vending machine, particularly a thin change device with limited height dimensions.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The change device for a vending machine of the present invention has an inclined portion for transferring coins, an outer diameter detection means for detecting the outer diameter of the coin, and an outer diameter detection means for detecting the outer diameter of the coin, and a change device for changing the coin as the coin passes. a narrow coin passageway equipped with a magnetic flux detection means for detecting magnetic flux; a coin holding passageway that communicates with the coin passageway through a communication port provided in a side wall of the coin passageway and overturns passing coins; , a passage changing means provided in the communication port and guiding a coin rolling in the coin passage to the coin holding passage according to detection results by the outer diameter detection means and the magnetic flux detection means; The present invention employs a technical means consisting of a coin holding cylinder that holds the stacked coins in a stack, and a coin dispensing means that horizontally urges and dispenses the lowest layer of coins among the coins stacked and held in the coin holding cylinder. .

[Operations and Effects of the Invention] In the present invention, a coin thrown into the coin passage rolls on the inclined portion and is detected by the outer diameter detection means and the magnetic flux detection means. If the coin is held as a result of the detection, the coin is guided to the coin holding passage by passage changing means provided at the communication port of the coin passage. The coins are overturned in the coin holding passage and held in a stack by the coin 1 holding cylinder. Therefore, there is no need for the coins to descend significantly from when they are inserted until they are held, so there is no need to provide a large drop from the coin passage to the coin holding tube.

Furthermore, when it is necessary to dispense the coins held in the coin holding cylinder, the coins in the lowest layer are urged horizontally by the coin dispensing means and dispensed.

Therefore, coins can be dispensed at the same height as the bottom layer of the coin storage tube without requiring a large drop for dispensing change.

Therefore, in the present invention, coins can be stored and dispensed even without a large height difference between the coin passage and the coin storage cylinder, so that the change device can be made thinner.

[Embodiment] Next, an explanation will be given based on an embodiment in which the change device for a vending machine of the present invention is used in a pachinko ball lending machine.

As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of pachinko machines 10 are installed in a row on the island 1 inside the pachinko parlor, and above each pachinko machine 10, a plurality of ball lending machines 20 are installed corresponding to each pachinko 8110. has been done.

The front of each ball lending machine 20 has a bill insertion slot 21 for inserting 1,000 yen bills, a coin slot 22 for inserting 100 yen coins and 500 yen coins, and a slot for returning defective coins and changing. A return port 23 for dispensing coins is provided respectively.

In addition, when a 1,000 yen bill is inserted into the ball lending machine 20, either 500 yen or 1,000 yen is set as the ball rental amount;
Ball rental amount selection switches 24 and 25 are provided for specifying the X option, and the ball rental amount is selected according to the player's preference.

A coin conveying device 2 is arranged on the back side of each pachinko machine 10 on the island 1, and the coins discharged from each ball lending machine 20 are conveyed and stored in a coin storage device 31 installed at the end of the island 1. be done.

The ball holder of each of these pachinko machines 10 is connected between the tray 11 and each corresponding ball rental machine 20, so that the rental balls supplied from each ball rental machine 20 are directly supplied only to the corresponding pachinko machine 8!10. A pachinko ball supply pipe (not shown) is connected as shown in FIG.

In addition, each pachinko machine 10 and each ball rental machine 20 are connected to each island 1
Pachinko balls are supplied from a pachinko ball supply facility (not shown) arranged in each machine, and a number of pachinko balls are supplied to the ball tray 11 of the pachinko machine 10 in accordance with the number of winning balls and the amount of balls to be paid. .

It should be noted that the missed balls in each pachinko machine 10 are collected by ball collecting equipment (not shown), and are sent via a ball transport device to
The ball is circulated again to each ball supply equipment.

As shown in FIG. 4, each ball lending machine 20 is connected to a central computer 100 installed in the counter or office processing room of the pachinko parlor.
0 is provided with the following functional units: a coin validation unit 30, a change unit 40, a banknote identification unit 50, a coin cutter 60, and a control unit 70.
There is.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the coin validation section 30 has a narrow coin passage 26 that is inclined and whose upper end is the coin slot 22.
The coin passage 26 is provided with an outer diameter sensor 31 . for identifying the outer diameter of a coin inserted from the coin input port 22 .
32. Magnetic sensor 33.3 paired with a coil driven by high frequency current to identify the material of the coin
4. When it is determined that the coin is genuine coin, the genuine coin discharge port 22
A passage detection sensor 35 is provided in order to detect that a coin is discharged from a to the coin conveying device 2. Further, an opening 26a is formed at the bottom of the coin passage 26 between the magnetic sensor 33, 34 and the passage detection sensor 35, and the opening 26a allows the coin to be sent to the return slot 23 when it is determined that it is not a genuine coin. An opening/closing member 23a is provided in order to return the item to the user. This opening/closing member 23a is driven by a return solenoid 36, and when returning a coin, opens the opening 26a of the coin passage 26 to change the coin passage and guide the coin to the return passage 23b.

An opening 26b is formed in the coin passage 26 between the opening/closing member 23a and the passage detection sensor 35, and a change passage 40a is connected to the coin passage 26 in communication with the opening 26b. There is.

The opening 26b is provided with a passage switching member 26c that switches the coin passage to the change passage 40a in order to reserve a portion of the inserted coin as change if necessary when the inserted coin is a 500 yen coin. , the passage switching member 26c is driven by the passage switching solenoid 41.

The change passage 40a is a flat tube whose height is lower than the diameter of a 500 yen coin introduced as change, and has an opening 26b.
It is arranged so that it gradually descends from the top. As a result, the 500 yen coin is overturned in the change passage 40a, slides down without rolling, enters the change holding tube 27 connected to the change passage 40a, falls, and is held.

The change holding cylinder 27 has a cylindrical shape with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of a 500 yen coin. This makes it easy for the 500 yen coins to be stored and the coins to be stored in a stacked manner.

The change holding cylinder 27 is provided with position sensors 42 and 43 for detecting the number of held 500 yen coins. Here, the maximum number of sheets on hold is set to 10, the position sensor 42 detects that the number of sheets on hold is 10, and the position sensor 43 detects that the number of sheets on hold is 0.

A change discharge table 28 is provided below the change holding cylinder 27. Between the change discharge stand 28 and the change holding tube 27,
A push-out plate 29 is provided for dispensing 500 yen coins.

The pushing plate 29 is driven by a motor 29a, and the pushing plate 29 and the motor 29a form a dispensing bag W44. When the motor 29a rotates once, the push-out plate 29 reciprocates once to push out one 500 yen coin stored in the coin storage cylinder 27 at the lowest layer and pay it out to the return slot 23.

Further, the change discharging stand 28 is provided with a roller 28b elastically supported by a spring 28a as a part of the dispensing device 44 in order to urge the coins pushed out by the pushing plate 29 toward the return port 23. ing. As a result, the coin is pushed out by the push-out plate 29 while pushing the roller 28b apart, and when the maximum diameter portion of the coin passes, the roller 2 returns to its position by the elastic force of the spring 28a.
8b, and is urged in the horizontal direction.

Further, the change dispensing table 28 is provided with a dispensing detection sensor 45 for detecting that a 500 yen coin is dispensed.

Incidentally, 23c is a plate serving as a coin receptacle for making it easy to take returned coins and change.

The banknote identification unit 50 identifies banknotes using a well-known identification method.The banknote recognition unit 50 transports the banknotes inserted through the banknote insertion slot 21 into the banknote, and if the recognition result is a 1,000 yen banknote, A transport device 51 transports the banknotes to the banknote transport device 2 and returns them to the banknote insertion slot 21 if the identification result is other than a thousand yen bill, and a position sensor 52 for detecting the size of the banknote.
53.54, Identification sensor 55.56 that detects the printed pattern on the banknote surface and the magnetic pattern caused by printing, respectively.
, magnetic sensors 57 and 58, and an LED lighting circuit 59 serving as a light source for identifying the printed pattern.

The ball cutting section 60 includes a counting sensor 61 for counting the pachinko balls supplied from the pachinko ball supply equipment, and a counting sensor 61 for counting the pachinko balls supplied from the pachinko ball supply equipment. A pachinko ball sensor 62 for detection and a ball cutting device 63 that divides the supplied pachinko balls into predetermined numbers according to the identification results and supplies them to each pachinko machine 10 are provided.

The control unit 70 comprehensively controls the coin verification unit 30, the change unit 40, the banknote identification unit 50, and the ball cutting unit 60 in the ball lending machine 20 as follows.

When a coin is inserted, the coin validation section 30, the change section 40, and the coin cutting section 60 are controlled, and when a coin is inserted, the outer diameter of the coin is detected by each outer diameter sensor 31, 32, and The material is determined by each magnetic sensor 33, 34, and these results are combined to determine the inserted coin, and the coin is processed as follows according to the determination result.

If the determination result is a 100 yen coin, the return solenoid 36 and the passage switching solenoid 41 are not driven, and the coin is discharged to the coin conveying device 2.

When the determination result is a 500 yen coin and ten 500 yen coins are held in the change section 40 and detected by the position sensor 42, the return solenoid 36 and the passage switching solenoid 41 are not driven. , the coins are discharged to the coin conveying device 2.

If the determination result is a 500 yen coin, the number of 500 yen coins being held is 9 or less, and the position sensor 42 does not detect that the 500 yen coins are full, the path switching solenoid 4
1 is driven, and the return solenoid 36 is not driven. Therefore, the 500 yen coin is stored in the change storage cylinder 27.

As described above, when the 100 yen coin and the 500 yen coin are respectively discriminated, the ball cutting unit 60 is driven according to the discriminated amount, and the counting sensor 61 counts the pachinko balls supplied from the pachinko ball supply equipment. The balls are separated by a ball cutting device 63, and the number of pachinko balls corresponding to the determined amount of money is fed to the tray 11 by the ball receiver of the corresponding pachinko machine 1a10.

If the discrimination result is neither a 100 yen coin nor a 500 yen coin,
The return solenoid 36 is activated and the path is changed.

Therefore, the coin is returned to the return slot 23, and the coin is returned to the pachinko machine 10.
Pachinko balls are not supplied to.

When a banknote is inserted, the banknote identification section 50 and the change section 4
0. The decoder 60 is controlled to identify whether the bill inserted from the bill insertion slot 21 is a 1,000 yen bill. When the inserted bill is a 1,000 yen bill, it is discharged from the bill discharging port to the bill conveying device 2, and the ball cutter 60 is operated according to the selection state of each ball rental amount selection switch 24, 25 operated by the player. is driven to supply pachinko balls to the pachinko machine 10.

Further, when the selected ball rental amount is 500 yen, the payout device 44 of the change section 40 is driven and controlled to pay out a 500 yen coin to the return slot 23.

Note that if a new banknote is inserted before the payout detection sensor 45 detects that the change has been paid out, the conveyance device 51 will not be driven and the banknote will not be transferred. 120
Uke cannot be attached to the inside. Further, even if a coin is inserted, the receiver is not attached, and the return solenoid 36 is activated to return the coin.

If the inserted bill is a counterfeit bill or a bill other than a thousand yen bill, it is returned from the bill insertion slot 21 by the conveying device 51.

Also, for some reason, pachinko balls are not supplied from the pachinko ball supply equipment to the ball rental machine 20, and the pachinko ball sensor 62
If no pachinko balls are detected by
will be returned.

Furthermore, the control unit 70 further includes input (insertion) amount information indicating the amounts of coins and banknotes identified in each of the controls listed in "-", reservation amount information indicating that the inserted 500 yen coin is reserved, reservation amount information indicating that the inserted 500 yen coin is The payout amount information indicating that the 500 yen coin was paid out and the sales amount information determined based on these information are transmitted to the central computer 100.

Each pachinko machine 10 is equipped with a pachinko ball counting device (not shown) that counts the number of winning balls and losing balls in each pachinko machine 10, as well as the number of prize balls discharged depending on winnings.
The machine is connected to the central computer 10, which constantly counts each man-hour as the pachinko balls move, and sends it to the central computer 10 as information on the number of balls.
Transmit to 0.

The central computer 100 controls the control unit 70 of each ball rental machine 20.
Each ball lending a! 120 - Manage status. Also,
The central computer 100 calculates the number of winning balls and losing balls in each pachinko machine 10, as well as the number of prize balls ejected depending on winnings, based on the counting information transmitted from the ball counting device provided in each pachinko machine 10. , manages the operating status of each pachinko machine 10.

As described above, in the ball lending machine of this embodiment, the inserted coin is determined based on the detection results of each sensor, and according to the determination results, the 500 yen coin that should be held as change is immediately removed without falling down significantly. It will be kept as change. Further, since the stacked and held coins are dispensed with the lowest layer being urged in the horizontal direction, a large drop is not required for dispensing. Therefore, there is no need for a large drop between the coin input port and the return port, and the coin input port and return port can be provided close to each other, resulting in a thin change device with reduced height.

Therefore, the player can perform the action of inserting banknotes and the action of accepting and taking change in almost the same posture, allowing the player to continue playing the game very comfortably without any hindrance to the game. Can be done.

In addition, in this embodiment, the central computer can always keep track of the pending state of change in the ball lending machine.
You can replenish your change before you run out of change.

This replenishment of change is done manually by an attendant, but it is also easy to install a separate change stocker and automatically replenish the change when a position sensor detects that change is running out.

Furthermore, since the sales amount of pachinko balls lent out from each pachinko machine and the operating status of each pachinko machine can be grasped at the same time, it is possible to understand the relationship between the sales amount and operating status of each pachinko machine, and to ensure proper management. It can be carried out.

Additionally, it is also possible to grasp the number of each banknote and coin with respect to the money discharged to the money conveyance device as sales proceeds.

Although the above embodiment was for a pachinko ball rental machine, it is clear that the change device described above can be used when used as change.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 are a schematic plan view and a schematic side view showing the coin verification unit in the ball lending machine of this embodiment, Fig. 3 is a front view showing the configuration of the island in this embodiment, and Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a ball lending machine in this embodiment.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) A device having an inclined portion for rolling the coin, and comprising an outer diameter detection means for detecting the outer diameter of the coin and a magnetic flux detection means for detecting the magnetic flux changing as the coin passes. a narrow coin passage provided in the coin passage, a coin holding passage which communicates with the coin passage through a communication port provided in a side wall of the coin passage and overturns passing coins; a path changing means for guiding rolling coins to the coin holding passage according to detection results by the outer diameter detecting means and the magnetic flux detecting means; and a coin holding tube for stacking and holding coins that have fallen over in the coin holding passage. A change device for a vending machine comprising: and a coin dispensing means for horizontally urging and dispensing the lowest layer of coins among the coins stacked and held in the coin holding tube.