JPH0512539A - Medal delivering device in playing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To quickly deliver medals to respective medal supplying devices in proper order without generating troubles. CONSTITUTION:This medal delivering device for feeding medals M to respective medal renting machines 12 by driving a bucket 28 is provided with a signal receiving order storing means 80a for storing the output order of medal empty signals from medal empty switches 82 in respective machines 12 and a feeding object specifying means 80d for specifying the medal renting machine 12 to which medals are to be fed at current point of time based upon the stored signal receiving order.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gaming machine such as a slot machine, and a gaming system in which a plurality of medal providing devices for providing medals used therein are arranged, and medals are appropriately delivered to each medal providing device. The present invention relates to a device for supplying and replenishing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a gaming system in which medals are used, a medal providing device is provided between the gaming machines or at a position adjacent to the gaming machines, and the medals lent by the medal providing device are used for the gaming machines. To be used for. In such a system, when the medals in each medal providing device are used up, how to automatically replenish medals becomes a major issue.

For example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-28279, medals used in each gaming machine are collected and transported to a medal storage section by a medal lifter, and the medals stored in the medal storage section are used for medal distribution. The conveyor circulates above each medal lending machine (medal-providing device), and when any one of the medal lending machines runs out of medals, the medals are distributed from the above-mentioned medal distribution conveyor through the distributor into the medal lending machine as appropriate. It is shown to be replenished.

[0004]

The above device has the following problems to be solved.

(A) Depending on the game system, the one suitable for this must be manufactured individually, which tends to increase the cost. In particular, even if the arrangement of the game machines is slightly different, another device must be configured, which is inefficient.

(B) Since the medals are conveyed by the belt conveyor, the durability of the belt becomes a problem, and the repair and replacement of the medals require a great deal of labor. It should be noted that, as a transporting means, not a belt but a device for supplying tokens to each medal lending machine in a tandem manner has been devised, but such a device has a slow replenishment speed, and deformed medals are mixed. If there is, there is a risk that the medal will be blocked in the transport path.

(C) In the above device, even medals that do not need to be circulated are circulated, so that a separate collecting device for collecting the surplus medals is required, and extra power is required for the operation of the conveyor drive motor. The running cost is high.

(D) In the above device, since the medals are counted one by one and carried into the medal lending machine from the time when supply is required at any of the medal lending machines,
Lack of quickness of replenishment operation.

(E) When a shortage of medals occurs in a plurality of medal lending machines within a short time, the medals are not always supplied in the order closer to the medal lifter, and the medals are not always supplied in the order of the shortage of medals. So, lack of fairness in medal supply,
There is a risk that medals will be replenished to a particular medal lending machine. Also, these medal lending machines may have variations in medal consumption speed (that is, medal provision frequency) due to their installation location, etc. Inconvenience occurs that the shortage of medals occurs.

An object of the present invention is to provide a medal delivery device which can solve the above problems.

[0011]

The present invention is provided in a game system in which a plurality of gaming machines and a plurality of medal providing apparatuses for providing medals used in these gaming machines are arranged in parallel, and each medal providing apparatus is provided. Is a device for delivering medals to a device, and a medal detection unit for detecting whether or not the medals in each medal providing device are below a certain value, and a medal supply unit for stocking the medals and for ejecting the medals to the outside. And a bucket that is provided above each medal providing device and is configured to be able to switch between a storage state in which medals can be stored and a discharge state in which medals are discharged, and this bucket that supplies medals from the above medal supply means. From the bucket drive means for moving between the reference position for receiving and the supply position corresponding to the medal entrance of each medal providing device, and the medal detecting means in each medal providing device. Signal receiving order storage means for storing the order in which the detection signal indicating that the dull is equal to or less than a certain value is stored, and replenishment for designating the medal providing device at which the medal replenishment should be performed at this time based on the stored signal receiving order. When the bucket reaches the supply position of the target designating means and the medal providing device designated by the supply target designating means, the bucket is switched from the stored state to the discharging state, and the medal supply from the bucket to the medal providing device is completed. After that, bucket state switching means for returning to the stored state, medal supply control means for supplying a predetermined amount of medals into the bucket by operating the medal supply means with the bucket in the reference position, and replenishment are required. Move the bucket to the supply position that corresponds to the medal providing device, and then return the bucket to the reference position. It is obtained by a bucket drive control means for controlling the serial bucket driving means (claim 1).

Further, a replenishment frequency storage means for storing the replenishment frequency to each medal providing device in the past medal replenishing operation, and a priority replenishment determination for determining a medal providing device whose replenishment frequency exceeds a certain value as a priority replenishment target Means for performing the medal replenishment regardless of the signal reception order stored in the signal reception order storage means when the priority replenishment determination means has the priority replenishment determination means. The supply target designating means may be configured to preferentially designate the providing device (claim 2),
The above-mentioned replenishment frequency is provided with a continuous replenishment determining means for determining a medal providing device whose replenishment frequency exceeds a certain value as a continuous replenishing target, and if there is a medal providing device for which continuous replenishment determination is made by this continuous replenishment determining means, replenish medals By configuring the replenishment target designating means so as to consecutively designate the medal providing device for which the continuous replenishment determination has been made as a power supply device a plurality of times (claim 3), a more excellent effect as described below can be obtained. can get.

[0013]

In the apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, in a normal state in which the medal is not replenished, the bucket is held in a storage state capable of storing the medal. Then, with the bucket at the reference position, a predetermined amount of medals is replenished in the bucket in advance by the medal supply means.

On the other hand, when the amount of medals in one or a plurality of providing devices becomes a certain value or less and the medal shortage detection signals are successively input from the medal detection means in these devices to the signal reception order storage means, The receiving order storing means stores the signal receiving order, and the supply target designating means sequentially specifies the medal providing devices to be supplied with medals based on the stored order. When such a replenishment target is designated, first, by operating the bucket drive means,
The bucket is driven to the supply position corresponding to the medal providing device designated as the supply target. When the bucket reaches the replenishment position, the bucket state switching means operates to switch the bucket from the stored state to the ejected state, and the medals stored in the bucket are replenished in the medal providing device at one time.

After replenishment, the bucket is returned to the reference position and returned to the stored state by the action of the bucket state switching means.

Further, in the apparatus according to the second aspect, the replenishment frequency to each medal providing apparatus in the past medal replenishing operation is stored in the replenishment frequency storage means, and there is a medal providing apparatus in which the replenishment frequency exceeds a certain value. In this case, this device is determined to be the priority supply target by the priority supply determination means. When such a determination is made, regardless of the signal reception order stored in the signal reception order storage means,
The medal providing device for which the above-mentioned preferential replenishment determination is made is preferentially designated as a device for replenishing medals, and a bucket is sent to this medal providing device for medal replenishment.

Further, in the apparatus according to the third aspect, when there is a medal providing apparatus having a replenishment frequency exceeding a certain value similarly to the above, this apparatus is determined to be a continuous replenishment target by the continuous replenishment determining means. Then, if such a determination is made, the above-mentioned medal providing device is designated as a device for performing medal replenishment a plurality of times continuously, and buckets are continuously sent to this medal providing device, and medal replenishment is performed. Done.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

4 and 5 show one gaming island in the gaming system. In the figure, 10 is a plurality of gaming machines arranged in a straight line on both front and back sides (left and right sides in FIG. 5), and a medal lending machine (medal providing device) 12 is provided between the two gaming machines 10. ing. Medal hoppers (medal entrances) 14 are provided above the pair of front and back medal lending machines 12, respectively.
Is connected to a tank in each medal lending machine 12 via a medal passage 16.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, 13 is a housing side wall which is provided upright on both front and back sides of each gaming island.

A medal discharge port 18 is provided at the bottom of each gaming machine 10.
Is provided, and a collecting conveyor 20 is installed below the collecting conveyor 20, so that the medals used in the gaming machine 10 are discharged onto the collecting conveyor 20 through the medal discharge port 18 and are carried into the medal storage tank 22. Has become. A vertically extending medal lifter 24 is provided at the end of the game island, and the lower end of the medal lifter 24 is inserted into the medal storage tank 22. A spiral member is provided in the medal lifter 24, and the medals in the medal storage tank 22 are conveyed upward by the rotation thereof.

The outlet of the medal lifter 24 is connected to the medal supply device 26. This medal supply device 26
Is provided above each medal hopper 14, stocks the medals conveyed from the medal lifter 24, and counts a predetermined number of medals according to a command from the central control unit 80 described later in detail. It is discharged from the supply port 27. In this embodiment, the medal supply device 26 is provided with a ratchet mechanism (not shown), is configured to throw out medals one by one, and is provided with a medal counter for counting the number of throwed medals. Therefore, when the count number, that is, the number of medals to be thrown out reaches a predetermined number, the throwing out is controlled.

On the other hand, a bucket 28 as shown in FIG. 6 is provided at a position above each medal hopper 14. The main body of the bucket 28 has a shape that opens up and down, and a horizontal shaft 30 is attached to a lower portion of a rear end surface (right side surface in FIG. 6) via a bracket 29, and the bucket 28 rotates about the horizontal shaft 30. A bottom lid 32 is provided as possible.
A bottom lid holding member 34 is attached to the front side surface of the bucket 28 so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 33.
The upper end of the bottom lid holding member 34 and the front side portion (the left side portion in FIG. 6) are folded back to form a spring mounting portion 35.

At the position on the back side of the bottom lid holding member 34,
The stopper plate 36 is fixed to the front side wall side of the bucket 28, and the upper end and rear portion of the stopper plate 36 is folded back to form a stopper portion 37. A tension spring 38 is interposed between the stopper portion 37 and the spring mounting portion 35 of the bottom lid holding member 34. The bottom cover holding member 34 is urged clockwise in FIG. 6 by the pulling force of the tension spring 38, and is held at a position (a position shown in the drawing) in which the bottom cover holding member 34 comes into contact with the stopper portion 37 in a normal state.

A hook portion 39 is formed at the lower end of the bottom lid holding member 34. On the other hand, a pin 40 is projectingly provided on the front side surface of the free end of the bottom lid 32, and the hook portion 39 is attached to the pin 40 at the position where the bottom lid holding member 34 contacts the stopper portion 37. , So that the bottom lid 32 is held in the closed state as shown in FIG.

That is, the bottom lid holding member 34 is in a position where the hook portion 39 is engaged with the pin 40 of the bottom lid 32 by the pulling force of the tension spring 38, that is, the position where the bottom lid 32 is held in the closed position. It is fixed to. Further, a pin 64 is provided in a protruding manner on the front side surface of the lower end portion of the bottom lid holding member 34.

Horizontal shafts 43 are rotatably attached to the front and rear side surfaces of the bucket 28 via brackets 42, and rollers 44 are fixed to both ends of the horizontal shaft 43. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, a frame 45 is provided in an upright state at a position where the bucket 28 is sandwiched from both sides,
The upper end of the frame 45 is folded back inward and the rail portion 4
6 is formed, and the rail portion 46 covers the cover 4
7 is covered by the roller 28 on the side of the bucket 28 and travels on the rail portion 46.
Are arranged to move in the direction in which the gaming machines 10 are arranged side by side (left and right in FIG. 4).

At the upper end of one end of the game island (the end on the right side in FIG. 4), a bucket carrying motor (bucket driving means) 52 as shown in FIG. 6 is provided upward. A pulley 54 is fixed to a drive shaft 53 of a bucket carrying motor 52, and a pulley 56 is rotatably supported at the other end of the same game island. A wire 50 is hung on both pulleys 54 and 56, and both ends of the wire 50 are connected to front ends of both brackets 42 via tension springs 48. Therefore, the bucket 28 is moved in the above-mentioned direction by operating the bucket carrying motor 52 and rotationally driving the pulley 54.

The medal hopper 1 in each medal lending machine 12
At a predetermined position just above 4, as shown in FIG.
A switching member 60 is attached so as to be rotatable around a horizontal shaft 58. The horizontal shaft 58 is rotationally driven by the rotary solenoid 62, which causes the switching member 6 to rotate.
As for 0, the rear end surface is a fall position where it does not come into contact with the pin 64 provided at the lower end of the bottom lid holding member 34 as shown in FIG. 8 and a position where it can come into contact with the pin 64 as shown in FIG. Can be switched to.

Further, on the upper surface of the cover 47,
At a position corresponding to each medal hopper 14, a detection lever 68 is attached rotatably about a horizontal shaft 66 via a bracket 65 as shown in FIG. A detection convex portion 72 is formed below the free end of the detection lever 68, and the detection convex portion 72 faces below the cover 47 through a through hole 70 formed in the upper wall of the cover 47 in a normal state.

At the upper part of the free rotation end of the lever 68,
A switch contact portion 74 having a horizontal surface is formed. On the other hand, between the upper ends of the left and right housing side walls 13 is shown in FIG.
A bracket 75 as shown in FIG. 2 is bridged, and the micro switch 76 is fixed to the lower surface of the bracket 75. Then, when the bucket 28 reaches the replenishment position (that is, the position where the bottom lid 32 is immediately above the medal hopper 14), the lever 68 is pushed up by the roller 44 as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. The arrangement positions of the lever 68 and the micro switch 76 are set so that the contact portion 74 of the lever 68 contacts the detection portion 78 of the micro switch 76 and turns on the switch 76.

Further, in the conveyance path of the bucket 28 and at a position closer to the reference position than each medal hopper 14, the position shown in FIG.
2 to 14 has a cylindrical bottom lid regulating member 79.
Is installed horizontally. The height position of the bottom lid regulating member 79 is set so as not to abut the bottom lid regulating member 79 when the bottom lid 32 is closed, but only when the bottom lid 32 is open. There is.

In this game system, a central control unit (constituting each control means of the present invention) 80 as shown in FIG.
Is installed. In addition to the detection signal of the micro switch 76, the central control device 80 is provided with each medal lending machine 12
The medals housed inside are below a certain level (may be 0)
The medal empty switch 82 that can be turned on when it becomes, and the medal full switch 8 that can be turned on when the medals in the medal supply device 26 are full.
4 and the home position switch 85 that is turned on when the bucket 28 reaches the reference position (that is, the position immediately below the medal supply device 26), and the home position switch 85 that is turned on when the bucket 28 is in the empty state at the reference position. The detection signal of the bucket empty sensor 81 is input.

Based on the detection signal, the central control unit 80 outputs a control signal to the rotary solenoid 62 to control the position switching of the switching member 60, and outputs a control signal to the medal supply unit 26. By doing so, the medal ejecting operation of the medal supply device 26 is controlled, and by driving a control signal to the bucket carrying motor 32, the bucket 28 is driven and controlled, and is connected to the spiral member of the medal lifter 24. The drive control of the medal lift 24 is performed by outputting a control signal to the medal lift motor 86.

Further, the central control device 80, when a detection signal is continuously output from the medal empty switches 82 of a plurality of medal lending machines 12 within a short time, the order of supplying medals to these medal lending machines 12 is continued. As a means for determining the signal reception order storage means 80 as shown in FIG.
a, supply frequency storage means 80b, priority supply determination means 80
c and a supply target designating unit 80d.

As shown in FIG. 2, the signal receiving order storage means 80a corresponds to the medal empty switch 82 which has output the medal empty signal. The medal lending machine 12 (here, five kinds of medal lending machines A to E are provided). Order),
That is, the signal receiving order is stored, and the oldest medal lending machine 12 (the lowermost C in the figure) that has received the signal is designated and the signal is output to the supply target designating means 80a.

As shown in FIG. 3, the supply frequency storage means 80b stores a breakdown of the number of past signal receptions for each medal lending machine 12 (A to E in the illustrated example) as the supply frequency of each medal lending machine 12. To do. The priority supply determination means 80c
If there is a medal lending machine 12 whose supply frequency is equal to or higher than the specified value SL1 among all the medal lending machines 12, it is determined as a priority supply target, and the determination signal is given to the supply target designating means 8.
It is output to 0c.

As a general rule, the supply target designating means 80d
Medal lending machine 1 designated by the signal receiving order storage means 80a
2 outputs a signal to the rotary solenoid 62 corresponding to
Although the medal delivery to the medal lending machine 12 is performed, if there is a determination signal from the priority replenishment determining means 80c, the medal lending machine 12 is determined to have the priority replenishment regardless of the order.
Is preferentially output to the rotary solenoid 62 corresponding to, and the medal supply is performed.

Next, the replenishment target designating operation by the controller 80, that is, the operation of selecting the medal lending machine 12 to be replenished will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG. 15 shows a storage operation for signal reception, and FIG. 16 shows an actual supply target designating operation based on the stored contents. Both operations are performed in parallel.

First, in the storage operation of FIG. 15, after initial setting (step S1) is performed, every time a medal empty signal is output from the medal empty switch 82 in each medal lending machine 12 (step S2), a signal is output. The reception order storage means 80a updates and stores the signal reception order (step S3). For example, as shown in FIG.
For the five medal lenders 12 (shown as A to E in FIG. 5), B is stored while the order of C, D, A, and E is stored.
When a medal empty signal is received from the medal lending machine 12, the order C, D, A, E, B is newly stored.

Further, in the replenishment frequency storage means 80b, as shown in FIG. 3, the medal lending machine 1 which has received the signal.
For the time zone-based replenishment frequency storage counter for 2 (B in the figure), 1 is added (step S4), and also for the control replenishment frequency storage counter, 1 is added (step S5). Here, the "counter for storing replenishment frequency by time zone" is for storing the number of times the medal lending machine 12 is replenished with medals in a certain time zone (for example, one hour) and providing it later as reference data. Therefore, it is not particularly related to the replenishment control described later. On the other hand, the "control replenishment frequency storage counter" is for storing the replenishment frequency, which will be described later, as a criterion for determining a replenishment target for each medal lending machine 12.

Next, the supply target designating operation shown in FIG. 16 will be described. This operation is repeated as long as the signal reception from at least one medal lending machine 12 is stored in the storage operation (step S11).

As a specific operation, first, the replenishment frequency stored in the replenishment frequency storage means 80b (the replenishment frequency stored in the control replenishment frequency storage counter) is the specified value S.
It is determined whether or not there is a medal lending machine 12 of L1 or more (step S12), and if there is, a medal with the highest replenishment frequency among the medal lending machines 12 having a replenishment frequency of the specified value SL1 or more. The lending machine 12 is designated as the supply target (step S13), and the supply frequency counter is set to 0 at this point.
After clearing to step S14 (step S14), the specified medal lending machine 12 is supplied with medals once (step S1).
5). On the other hand, the medal lending machine 12 with the specified value SL1 or more
If there is not, the medal lending machine 12 having the supply frequency less than the specified value SL1 has the earliest signal reception order, that is, the signal reception order storage means 80a stores the earliest reception of the medal empty signal. The designated medal lending machine 12 is designated as a replenishment target (step S16), and medals are replenished (step S15).

When there are a plurality of medal lending machines 12 having the highest supply frequency in step S13, the medal lending machine 12 having the earliest signal reception order may be designated. Alternatively, the counter clearing in step S15 may be omitted, and after the priority supply is designated, the medal lending machine 12 may be permanently supplied with priority.

Next, the actual medal delivery operation performed in step S15 will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the bucket 28 is returned to the reference position (step # 1), and in this state, if no medals have been supplied to the bucket 28 yet, that is, if the bucket empty sensor 81 is switched on. When the control signal is output from the central control device 80 to the medal supply device 26 (YES in step # 2), the medal counter provided in the medal supply device 26 is turned on (step # 3) and the medals are supplied. Supply device 26
The medals are started to be thrown, and medals are supplied into the bucket 28 one by one.

The number of medals counted is the number of medals supplied to each medal lending machine 12 once (100 here).
When (0) is reached (YES in step # 4), the medal counter is turned off (step # 5), and the medal supply device 26 stops the ejection of medals. By this operation, the bucket 28 at the reference position is constantly replenished with a fixed amount of medals.

In this state, when the supply target is designated by the supply target designating operation shown in FIG. 16, that is, when the medal supply command is issued (step #
6 is YES), the following medal delivery operation is executed.

First, a control signal is output from the central controller 80 to the rotary solenoid 62 corresponding to the medal lending machine 12, whereby the rotary solenoid 62 is turned on (step # 7), and the corresponding switching is performed. The position of the member 60 is switched from the lying position as shown in FIG. 8 to the standing position as shown in FIG. 9, and the pin 64 of the bottom lid holding member 34 can come into contact with the rear end face 61. .

In this state, the bucket conveying motor is driven in the forward direction (clockwise direction when viewed from above in FIG. 6) (step # 8), so that the bucket 28 moves from the reference position to the rail portion 46. Travel along the target medal lending machine 12. Immediately before reaching the medal lending machine 12, the pin 64 at the lower end of the bottom lid holding member 34 comes into contact with the switching member 60, so that the bottom lid holding member 34 resists the biasing force of the tension spring 38 and moves toward the front. The hook portion 3 of the bottom lid holding member 34 is pushed in counterclockwise as a result.
9 and the pin 40 of the bottom lid 32 are disengaged, and the bottom lid 32
Is opened by its own weight (see FIGS. 12 and 13).

Immediately after that, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 10 and FIG. 13, the roller 44 pushes up the lever 68 corresponding to the desired medal lending machine 12, and the contact portion 74 of this lever 68 causes the microswitch 76 to move. By contacting the detector 78 and turning on the switch 76 (YES in step # 9), the central controller 8 which receives this detection signal.
0 stops the bucket carrying motor 52 (step #
10), the bucket 28 is positioned at a predetermined supply position.
At this point, the bottom lid 32 is in the fully open state as shown in FIG. 10, and the medal M (see FIG. 13) in the bucket 28 is
It is supplied into the target medal lending machine 12 through the medal hopper 14.

Thereafter, after waiting a predetermined time (a time sufficient for all the medals M to move to the medal lending machine 12) (step # 11), a control signal is sent from the central controller 80 to the bucket carrying motor 52. By the output, the motor 52 is driven in the reverse rotation direction (step # 12), and the bucket 28 travels toward the original reference position. During this movement, the open bottom lid 32 comes into contact with the bottom lid restricting member 79 provided in the transport path, so that the bottom lid 32 is
Is automatically pushed to the closed position and is again held by the bottom lid holding member 34.

Thereafter, when the home position switch 85 is turned on by the bucket 28, that is, when the bucket 28 almost returns to the home position (reference position) (YES in step # 13), the bucket carrying motor 52 is moved. Is stopped (Step # 1
4), return to the original normal state. The above operation is performed until the main switch of the game system is turned off (step # 15), so that the appropriate replenishment of medals is executed.

According to the above apparatus, the bucket 28
By reciprocating the drive, the medals M can be efficiently supplied to each medal lending machine 12. Moreover, in principle, medals are supplied to each medal lending machine 12 based on the storage order of the signal receiving order storage means 80a, that is, in the order in which the medal empty signals are received. For example, there is no inconvenience that the medal lending machine 12 close to the medal lifter is intensively replenished with medals, and the medal lending machines 12 can be evenly replenished with medals.

Further, in this embodiment, the preferential replenishment of medals is exceptionally performed to the medal lending machine 12 having a high replenishment frequency stored in the past, that is, the medal providing frequency is high and the medal consumption speed is high. Therefore, even if the medal consumption speed varies among the medal lending machines 12, it is possible to realize more appropriate medal supply according to the consumption speed. If the variation in medal consumption speed in each medal lending machine 12 is small or almost nonexistent, the replenishment frequency storage means 80b and the priority replenishment determination means 80c may be omitted.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

Here, continuous supply determining means 80e is provided in place of the priority supply determining means 80c in the second embodiment. The continuous replenishment determining means 80e has the replenishment frequency stored in the replenishment frequency storage means 80b as the specified value SL1.
It is determined whether or not the above medal lending machine 12 is present, and if it is present, it is designated as a target for continuous replenishment, and a command signal is output to the replenishment target designation means 80d.
The supply target designating means 80d is a signal receiving order storing means 80.
The replenishment target is sequentially designated based on the order stored in a, and a drive signal is output to the corresponding rotary solenoid 62. The designated replenishment target is determined to be the continuous replenishment target by the continuous replenishment determining means 80e. In the case of the coin lending machine 12, the drive signal is output so that the medal lending machine 12 is continuously replenished (in this embodiment, two consecutive replenishments).

Next, the operation of designating the replenishment target by this apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This operation is similar to the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG.
As long as there is a signal reception memory (YES in step S21),
It is repeated.

In this operation, the medal lending machine 12 having the earliest stored signal reception order is designated as the replenishment target regardless of whether or not the medal lending machine 12 having the replenishment frequency of the specified value SL1 or more exists. (Step S22). And
The supply frequency of the specified medal lending machine 12 is the specified value SL.
If it is less than 1 (NO in step S23), medal replenishment is performed only once (step S26), and if the replenishment frequency is equal to or greater than the specified value SL (YE in step S23).
S), the replenishment frequency counter is cleared to 0 (step S2
After 4), continuous replenishment is performed (step S25, 2).
6).

Even in such a device, by continuously supplying the medal lending machine 12 having a high supply frequency,
It is possible to realize appropriate medal supply in consideration of variations in medal consumption speed in each medal lending machine 12. Also in this embodiment, the clearing of the replenishment frequency counter in step S24 may be omitted and the medal lending machine 12 for which continuous replenishment has been designated may be continuously replenished.

Next, a third embodiment is shown in FIGS.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 20, the above-described priority supply determining means 80c and continuous supply determining means 80e are provided side by side.
Both sides cope with variations in medal consumption speed in each medal lending machine 12. Further, in the replenishment frequency storage means 80b, a value obtained by dividing the number of replenishments for each medal lending machine 12 by the number of replenishment for all medal lending machines 12, that is, a replenishment probability (%) is calculated, and this is set as the replenishment frequency in the present invention. I am trying to output it. For example, if the number of replenishments for all the medal lending machines 12 is 200 and the number of replenishments for a particular medal lending machine 12 is 20, a replenishment frequency of 10% is calculated for this particular medal lending machine 12.

Next, a specific supply target designating operation in this apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This operation is also repeatedly executed with the signal reception and storage (YES in step S31).

First, as in the first embodiment, it is determined whether or not there is a device whose replenishment frequency (%) is equal to or greater than the specified value SL1 (step S32). The machine 12 is designated as a supply target (step S
33). Further, the supply frequency of the designated medal lending machine 12 is the second prescribed value SL2 which is larger than the prescribed value SL1.
It is determined whether or not it is the above (step S35), if the value is less than the specified value SL2, one priority supply is performed (step S37), and if it is the specified value SL2 or more, it is the priority supply and Perform continuous replenishment (step S
36, 37). If there is no device having the supply frequency equal to or greater than the specified value SL1 in step S32, the medal lending machine 12 having the earliest signal reception order is designated as a general rule (step S34), and the medal lending machine 12 is set to 1 The medals are supplied once (step S37).

The supply frequency is not cleared even after the supply, and the stored supply frequency for each medal lending machine 12 is maintained.

As described above, in the present invention, the actual number of times of replenishment may be used as the replenishment frequency, or the ratio to the total number of times of replenishment may be used.

In addition to the above-described embodiment, the present invention can take the following aspects as examples.

(1) In the present invention, the means for transferring the medals M in the bucket 28 to each medal lending machine 12 is not limited to the above-described rotation of the bottom lid 32. For example, in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 22, the bottom lid 120 of the bucket 28 is configured to be slidable in the bucket advancing direction, and the bottom lid 120 is normally urged in the bucket advancing direction by a spring or the like not shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the stopper 122 at the front end of the bucket 28 is
It is held at a position (that is, a closed position) that abuts on the bottom lid 120, and a protrusion 124 is provided on the bottom bottom surface of the bottom lid 120 so as to project downward, while the protrusion 124 is provided near a medal hopper (not shown).
Is provided with a stopper 126 that can be switched between an abutting position where it can abut and an avoiding position where it does not abut, and only the stopper 126 corresponding to the medal lending machine that requires replenishment is switched from the avoiding position to the abutting position. By advancing
The bucket 28 is further advanced and stopped from the time point when the projection 124 comes into contact with the stopper 126, thereby switching the bucket 28 to the open state shown in FIG.
The medal M may be dropped into the medal hopper. In this case, the bottom lid 120 can be returned to the closed position by the urging force of the urging means by retracting the bucket 28.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 23A to 23C, the medal M inside may be dropped into the medal lending machine 12 by the fall of the bucket 28. In the figure, the bearing roller 10 is attached to the wire 50 shown in each embodiment.
0 is fixed, and the rear part of the bucket 28 is supported by the bearing roller 100 so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis, while the bearing roller 100 itself is guided by the rail 46. Further, the roller 102 is provided on the front side wall of the bucket 28.
Is rotatably supported, and this roller 102 is
You will be guided to. A predetermined portion of the rail 46, more specifically, the medal hopper 14 of the medal lending machine 12 (not shown)
In the portion corresponding to, the rotating plate 104 is supported so as to be rotatable around an end portion on the rear side in the bucket traveling direction. The rotary plate 104 is rotationally driven by a rotary solenoid (not shown) or the like, and the rotary solenoid is drive-controlled by the central controller 80 shown in FIG. Further, a roller guide plate 106 that is inclined obliquely downward to the front is provided at a position corresponding to the rotating plate 104.

In such a structure, the roller 102 is controlled by rotating the rotating plate 104 corresponding to the medal providing device to which the medal is to be supplied downward.
As shown in FIG. 23 (b), the rotating plate 104 is used as a bridge, and as shown in FIG.
By being guided inside, the bucket 28 is tilted so that the medals M therein can be dropped into the medal hopper of the desired medal providing device. Further, after replenishing, simply by retracting the bucket 28, the bucket 28 can be returned to the original state in which the opening faces upward.

(2) In each of the above embodiments, the drive control of the bucket 28 is performed on the basis of the detection signals of the home position switch 85 and each micro switch 76. The distance to the replenishment position may be stored, the drive amount of the bucket 28 may be detected by an encoder, and the drive may be stopped when the detected drive amount corresponds to the storage distance.

(3) In the first to third embodiments, one bottom lid intermediate holding member 134 is shown. However, by arranging two or more bottom lid intermediate holding members in parallel, the bottom lid intermediate holding member 134 is provided. It becomes possible to switch the opening degree of 32 in multiple stages.

(4) In the first to third embodiments, the micro switch 76 is used for position detection and the like, but instead of this,
Various detection devices such as a magnetic sensor and a photo sensor may be used.

(5) In the second and third embodiments,
As the continuous replenishment, the one in which the same medal lending machine 12 is continuously replenished with the medals M is shown, but the "continuous replenishment" in the present invention is not limited to two, and the number of times is not limited to the bucket 28.
It may be set appropriately according to the capacity of the above.

(6) In the device shown in each of the above embodiments,
An automatic mode in which automatic / manual switching means is connected to the central control unit 80 to automatically deliver medals M as shown in each of the above implementations, and a manual mode in which delivery of medals M is started only after receiving manual operation It may be configured so that it can be switched to the mode. In this case, for example, if the mode is switched to the manual mode and the medal M delivery operation is stopped and the maintenance operation or the like is performed in this state, then the medal delivery operation is restarted by a manual operation. It is possible to avoid the risk that the delivery operation of the medal M is automatically started in the meantime.

(7) In the above embodiment, a single bucket 28 is used.
However, if a plurality of buckets 28 are arranged in parallel as shown in FIG. 24 so that the medal lender 12 can be replenished with tokens in any of the buckets 28, one bucket 28 can be used as a reference position. While returning to another bucket 2
It is possible to perform control such that the medal M is delivered by 8, and it is possible to shorten the time for delivering the medal M to each medal lending machine 12. In addition, a single medal supply device 26 is provided in the center, and buckets 28 are provided on both left and right sides of the single medal supply device 26. One bucket 28 is dedicated to replenishing the medal lending machine 12 group on the left side of the medal supply device 26, and the other one. The bucket 28 may be allocated exclusively to the medal lending machines 12 on the right side of the medal supply device 26.

Further, as shown in FIG. 25, a plurality of buckets 28 are connected in series to a single wire 50, and each bucket 28 is circulated only when bucket replenishment is required, and a medal lending required for medal replenishment is performed. The medal supply may be performed on the machine 12 from a bucket 28 close to the machine 28.

(8) In the present invention, irrespective of the specific structure of the medal supply device 26, various devices can be applied as long as they can supply a predetermined amount of medals M to the bucket 28 at the reference position. be able to.

[0078]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the present invention can be easily installed in accordance with the structure of the game system, is more versatile than the conventional device such as a belt conveyor, and is suitable for mass production and cost reduction. . Also, in a normal state where the medal replenishment operation is not performed, an appropriate amount of medals is replenished in the bucket in advance, and then the medal replenishment operation is performed by replenishing this medal at once to the medal providing device without causing clogging. In addition to shortening, the bucket can be completely stopped in the normal state, so that running cost is reduced and durability is improved as compared with the case where the medals are constantly circulated.

Further, as an important feature of this device,
Signal receiving order storage means for storing the order in which detection signals indicating that medals are below a certain value are output from the medal detection means in each medal providing device, and medal replenishment at the present time based on the stored signal reception order. Since there is a supply target designating means for designating the medal providing device to be performed, and in principle, the medal replenishment is performed in accordance with the above-mentioned signal receiving order, the conventional medal providing device is similar to, for example, a medal lifter. There is no inconvenience that medals are replenished unevenly, and there is an effect that medals can be replenished evenly to each medal providing device.

Further, a medal providing device having a high replenishment frequency is provided, in addition to the replenishment frequency storage means as in claims 2 and 3, and the priority replenishment determination means in claim 2 and the continuous replenishment determination means in claim 3. Therefore, even if the medal providing speed, that is, the medal consumption speed varies in each medal providing device, priority supply and continuous replenishment are performed, and the medal supplying speed is promptly dealt with and appropriate supply is performed. The effect that can be realized is obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main part of a controller of a medal delivery device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining a storage operation of a signal reception order storage means in the controller.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a storage operation of a supply frequency storage means in the controller.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional front view showing the overall configuration of a gaming island of a gaming system provided with the medal transport device.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the gaming island.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a bucket provided on the gaming island and a drive mechanism thereof.

FIG. 7 is a sectional side view of the bucket and a guide mechanism thereof.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing a positional relationship between a bottom lid holding member provided on the bucket and a switching member.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a positional relationship between a bottom lid holding member provided on the bucket and a switching member.

FIG. 10 is a partially sectional front view showing a position detection mechanism provided above the bucket.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing input / output signals of a central controller installed in the game system.

FIG. 12 is a sectional front view for explaining the operation performed in the game system.

FIG. 13 is a sectional front view for explaining an operation performed in the game system.

FIG. 14 is a sectional front view for explaining the operation performed in the game system.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a storage operation performed in the controller.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a supply target designating operation performed in the controller.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a supply control operation performed by the controller.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a main part of a controller in the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a supply target designating operation by the controller.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a main part of a controller according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a supply target designating operation by the controller.

22 (a) and 22 (b) are front views showing a modification of bucket state switching.

23 (a), (b), and (c) are partial cross-sectional front views showing modifications of bucket state switching.

FIG. 24 is a plan view showing two buckets juxtaposed to each other and a drive mechanism thereof.

FIG. 25 is a plan view showing a plurality of buckets connected in series to one wire.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 game machines 12 Medal lending machine (medal providing device) 14 medal hopper 20 Recovery conveyor (constituting recovery means) 22 Medal storage tank (constituting recovery means) 24 medal lifter (constituting recovery means) 26 medal supply device 28 buckets 50 pulley (bucket drive means) 52 Bucket transport motor (bucket drive means) 54 pulley (bucket drive means) 62 rotary solenoid 80 Central control unit (constituting each control means) 80a Signal receiving order storage means 80b Replenishment frequency storage means 80c Priority supply determination means 80d Supply target designation means 80e Continuous supply determination means 82 Medal empty switch (Medal detection means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A device which is provided in a game system in which a plurality of gaming machines and a plurality of medal providing devices for providing medals used in these gaming machines are arranged in parallel, and which delivers the medals to each medal providing device. The medal detecting means for detecting whether or not the medals in each medal providing device are equal to or less than a certain value, the medal supplying means for stocking the medals and ejecting the medals to the outside, and the medal providing device A bucket provided at an upper position and configured to be able to switch between a storage state in which medals can be stored and a discharge state in which medals are discharged, a reference position at which the bucket receives the medals from the medal supply means, and each medal provision The fact that the number of medals is less than or equal to a certain value from the bucket drive means for moving between the replenishment position corresponding to the medal entrance of the device and the medal detection means in each medal providing device Signal receiving order storage means for storing the order in which the detection signals of the above are output, a supply target designating means for specifying a medal providing device which should perform the medal supply at the present time based on the stored signal receiving order, and the supply target. A bucket that switches the bucket from the stored state to the discharged state when the bucket reaches the supply position of the medal providing device designated by the designating means, and restores the storage state after the medal supply from the bucket to the medal providing device is completed. A state switching means, a medal supply control means for supplying a predetermined amount of medals into the bucket by operating the medal supply means while the bucket is at the reference position, and a replenishment position corresponding to a medal providing device requiring replenishment. The bucket drive means to move the bucket to the reference position and then return the bucket to the reference position. Medal delivery device in the gaming system characterized in that a bucket drive control means that. 2. The medal delivery device in the game system according to claim 1, wherein a replenishment frequency storage means for storing replenishment frequency to each medal providing device in a past medal replenishment operation, and the replenishment frequency exceeds a certain value. Priority supply determination means for determining the medal providing device as a priority supply target,
If there is a priority determination by the priority supply determination means, the medal providing device for which the priority supply determination is made is given priority as a device for performing the medal supply regardless of the signal reception order stored in the signal reception order storage means. A medal delivery device in a game system, wherein the supply target designating means is configured to designate. 3. The medal delivery device in the game system according to claim 1, wherein a replenishment frequency storage means for storing replenishment frequency to each medal providing device in a past medal replenishment operation, and the replenishment frequency exceeds a certain value. A continuous supply determination means for determining the medal providing device as a continuous supply target,
When the medal providing device to be continuously replenished is designated by the continuous replenishment determining means, the replenishment target is specified so that the medal providing device for which the continuous replenishment determination has been made is consecutively designated as the device to perform the medal replenishment. A medal delivery device in a game system, characterized in that a designation means is configured.