JPH0663244A - Coin checker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent irregular coins from mixing into normal coins for slot machines by detecting the irregular coins to be fed into the slot machines. CONSTITUTION:A coin checker 1 is made up of a coin outline detecting section 5 and a coin passage sensor 6. The coin outline detecting section 5 has detection pieces 7 at least at positions facing the diameters of the coins while the distance between the detection pieces 7 is set for dimensions to let the normal coins C alone contact the detection pieces simultaneously so that a coin outline detection signal is outputted as each coin contacts the detection pieces.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[Object of the Invention]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is provided in a slot machine, detects foreign objects such as odd-shaped coins inserted in the slot machine, and prevents the slot machine from being illegally used by these. The present invention relates to a slot machine coin checker that prevents these foreign matters from being mixed into a slot machine coin as a regular coin.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Slot machines and various game machines include
Each has a coin of its own size. Specifically, a coin having a diameter of 25 mm is used for a slot machine, and a coin having a diameter of 24.2 mm is used for a game machine. And in this case, the problem is that coins of different sizes are thrown into the slot machine and the game machine, the slot machine etc. is illegally used, or it is mixed in the coin as it should be, and it becomes a foreign substance, The operation of these slot machines and game machines is hindered, and smooth coin transfer is hindered.

Therefore, various attempts have heretofore been made in this kind of device to prevent the mixing of such odd-shaped coins, and the weight of the coin inserted into one of them is measured,
Coins are selected by determining whether or not the value matches the original weight of the coin.
However, even if the coins have the same weight, it is possible to assume that the coins have different shapes and sizes, and it is not possible to find such odd-shaped coins by the above method alone.

[0004]

[Technical Items Attempted to Be Solved] The present invention has been made from such a background, and paying attention to the fact that the outer dimensions of coins are different depending on the type of coin, and by distinguishing the outer dimensions of coins It proposes a new coin checker that detects the.

[0005]

[Constitution of the invention]

That is, the first invention of the coin checker according to the present application is an apparatus for detecting foreign matter such as odd-shaped coins to be inserted into a slot machine and preventing the foreign matter from being mixed into regular coins. The device comprises a coin outer shape detecting portion and a coin passage detecting sensor, of which the coin outer shape detecting portion has a detecting piece at a position facing at least in the diametrical direction of the coin, and the distance between the detecting pieces is a regular coin. Only the size of the coins is set so that the coins come into contact with each other at the same time. In addition to the above requirements, the second invention of the coin checker according to the present application is characterized in that the detection piece itself directly constitutes an electrode. The above objects are intended to be achieved by these inventions.

[0006]

The coin checker of the present invention comprises a coin outer shape detecting portion and a coin passage detecting sensor, of which the coin outer shape detecting portion has a detecting piece at least at a position facing each other in the diameter direction of the coin. Moreover, since the distance between the detection pieces is set so that only regular coins come into contact at the same time, when a regular coin is inserted, the coins come into contact with the detection pieces at the same time and a coin outer shape detection signal is output. After that, it further reaches the inside of the coin insertion slot, and the passage of the coin is detected by the coin passage detection sensor. On the other hand, when a coin having a smaller outer dimension than a regular coin (for example, a coin for a game machine) is inserted, the coin cannot contact the detection pieces provided facing each other at the same time. No output. However, since this coin can reach the inside of the coin insertion slot, the passage of the coin is detected by the coin passage detecting sensor. When a coin with a larger outer dimension than a regular coin is inserted, this coin abuts the detection piece or the edge of the coin insertion slot and cannot reach the inside of the coin insertion slot. However, the coin passage detection sensor does not detect the passage of coins. When the detection piece itself is directly configured as an electrode, the inserted coin serves as a relay material and a current flows between the detection pieces provided facing each other, and this is output as a coin outer shape detection signal. To be done.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the coin checker of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the coin checker 1 of the present invention is provided inside the coin insertion slot 3 of the slot machine 2 as shown in FIG. 1, and comprises a coin outer shape detection section 5 and a coin passage detection sensor 6.

Of these, the coin outer shape detecting portion 5 is a portion which constitutes the characteristic constitution of the present invention.
This makes it possible to detect whether the inserted coin is the regular coin C for the slot machine or the odd-shaped coin C other than for the slot machine. The coin outer shape detecting portion 5 is provided with at least two detection pieces 7 facing each other inside the coin insertion slot 3 and has a detection circuit (not shown) connecting the detection pieces 7 to each other. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the purpose is to detect the difference in the diameter of coins to be inserted. Therefore, the detection piece 7 should face two side surfaces of the coin insertion slot 3 on the short side a side. It is provided in.

In the present embodiment, the sensing side 7 is directly used as an electrode itself, and various conductive materials can be applied as the material. As an example, copper, brass and the main components thereof are used. The metal material etc. are applied. Further, the shape is not limited to the hemispherical shape as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and may be within a range that does not hinder the entrance of coins (for example, a coma shape as shown in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B). Various shapes such as a leaf spring shape as shown in FIG. In addition, in the case of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the detection piece 7 is fixedly provided on the inner side surface of the coin insertion slot 3, but as shown in FIG. Or by forming the detection piece 7 itself with a leaf spring as shown in FIG.
It is also possible to provide the detection piece 7 in a state in which it has an elastic force.

In the present invention, the distance between the detection pieces 7 provided facing each other is set at least according to the diameter of the regular coin C. Specifically, in order to increase the certainty of contact with the regular coin C, the diameter of the regular coin C is set to be slightly smaller than 25 mm (for example, 2 in this embodiment).
The distance between the detection pieces 7 was set to 4.8 ± 0.1 mm). When the detection piece 7 is formed of a leaf spring as shown in FIG. 5B, the detection piece 7 contacts the regular coin C and is set to have the above-mentioned size at the most bent position. However, in this case, even when a deformed coin C ′ having a smaller diameter than the regular coin C is inserted, the deformed coin C ′ comes into contact with both the detection pieces 7 and becomes conductive, so that FIG. As shown in the drawing, it is necessary to separately provide a micro switch S and the like, and to take measures such as setting the micro switch S so that the micro switch S is in the ON state at the bending position when the slot machine coin C is inserted.

Further, the detection piece 7 may be provided only in the diameter direction of the coin C, or may be provided so as to face two side surfaces of the coin insertion slot 3 on the long side b side as shown in FIG. The distance between the pieces 7 is set to the thickness of the regular coin C so that the odd-shaped coins C'having different thicknesses are detected. Further, the detection piece 7 can be provided on all four side surfaces of the coin insertion slot 3, and in this case, both the diameter and the thickness of the inserted coin are detected.

Whether or not the coin that has entered the slot machine 2 through the coin outer shape detecting section 5 is confirmed by the coin passage detecting sensor 6 which is another component of the present invention. As the coin passage detection sensor 6, in addition to a mechanical method of directly touching a falling coin to confirm passage, an optical sensor such as a photoelectric tube switch is used to confirm the passage of the falling coin in a non-contact manner. Various methods such as a method can be adopted. Further, the regular coin C for the slot machine used in the slot machine 2 provided with the coin checker 1 of the present invention is the detection piece 7
As long as is used as a direct electrode, it is necessary to be formed of a material having at least conductivity, and by doing so, it is possible to detect coins made of the same shape and different materials.

Next, the operating state of the coin checker 1 will be described. First, a case where a deformed coin C having an outer size smaller than that of the regular coin C for the slot machine is inserted into the coin insertion slot 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3A, this odd-shaped coin C'cannot contact both of the two detection pieces 7 at the same time, so that no current flows between the detection pieces 7 and therefore the coin outer shape detection portion 5 Will not be emitted and will fall into the slot machine 2 in the OFF state. Note that the coin passage sensor 6
Detects the entry of the odd-shaped coin C'and the detection signal is O
It is in the N state. Then, it is determined from the above information that the inserted coin is the odd-shaped coin C, the odd-shaped coin C ′ is discharged to the outside of the slot machine 2, and the activation signal of the slot machine 2 is not issued.

When a deformed coin C'having a larger outer dimension than the regular coin C for the slot machine is inserted into the coin insertion slot 3, this deformed coin C'is detected as shown in FIG. 3 (b). Even if the detection signal of the coin outer shape detection unit 5 is turned on by the contact 7 or the contact with the edge of the coin insertion slot 3, the coin passage detection sensor 6 is still off. The activation signal for the slot machine 2 is not issued.

Further, the coin checker 1 of the present invention detects the odd-shaped coin C'in this manner. In addition to providing this alone in the slot machine 2, the coin checker 1 is also used in combination with the coin for weight detection. It is of course possible to separately provide a chucker.

[0016]

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION The coin checker 1 of the present invention exhibits the following effects by having the configuration described above. That is, in the present invention, the combination of the coin outer shape detection unit 5 and the coin passage detection sensor 6 detects a difference in coin outer shape, and the slot machine 2 operates when only the regular coin C for the slot machine is inserted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the odd-shaped coin C ′ having a different external dimension from the regular coin C from being mixed into the regular coin C. Further, it is also possible to detect the same-weight irregular shaped coins that cannot be detected by the conventional coin checker. Furthermore, the detection mechanism of the coin outer shape detection unit 5 uses the detection piece 7 as an electrode directly to check the conductivity between the electrodes. In this case, the difference in weight due to the difference in the material of the coins can also be determined, so that coins of different weights and shapes can be detected.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a slot machine to which a coin checker of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a skeleton of the mechanism of the coin checker of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a skeletal explanatory view showing a relationship with a detection piece when a deformed coin is inserted into the coin insertion slot.

FIG. 4 is a skeletal explanatory view showing an embodiment in which the thickness of a coin is detected by changing the arrangement of detection pieces.

FIG. 5 is a skeletal explanatory view showing two types of examples in which the shape of the detection piece and the support mechanism are different.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 coin checker 2 slot machine 3 coin insertion slot 5 coin outer shape detection section 6 coin passage detection sensor 7 detection piece 8 spring a short side b long side C regular coin C'deformed coin S micro switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A device for detecting foreign matter such as odd-shaped coins inserted into a slot machine and preventing the foreign matter from mixing into a regular coin, the device comprising a coin outer shape detecting portion and a coin passage detecting sensor. Of these, the coin outer shape detection unit has detection pieces at least at positions facing each other in the diametrical direction of the coin, and the distance between the detection pieces is set so that only regular coins contact at the same time. A coin checker characterized by being set to output an outer shape detection signal. 2. The coin checker according to claim 1, wherein the detection piece itself directly constitutes an electrode.