JPH08287311A - Medal selector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To surely select a small-diameter medal which has an external diameter smaller than specific size and ejects it from a medal passage by the medal selector which is used for a game machine such as a slot machine. CONSTITUTION: The medal selector 40 is equipped with the downward slanting medal passage 50 where a medal thrown in through a metal insertion slot 32 rolls, a lower side plate 51 and an upper side plate 52 which face each other across the medal passage 50 at a distance long enough for the medal to pass in the thickness direction of the medal and slant in the thickness direction of the medal, and a fall hole 63 which is formed in the lower side plate 51 and has the height from the bottom part 53 of the medal passage 50 smaller than the specific external diameter of a medal and makes a small-diameter medal having an external diameter less than the specific external diameter fall out of the medal passage 50; and the upper side plate 52 is provided with an extrusion projection 91 projecting into the medal passage 50 toward the fall hole 63.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medal selector used in a gaming machine such as a slot machine, and in particular, reliably selects medals having an outer diameter smaller than a predetermined size,
It is designed so that it can be removed from the medal passage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of medal selector has a downwardly inclined medal passage through which a medal inserted from a medal insertion slot rolls. The above-mentioned conventional medal passage is provided with a lower side plate and an upper side plate that are opposed to each other across the medal passage in the thickness direction of the medal with a distance allowing the medal to pass through and that are inclined in the thickness direction of the medal. It was

On the conventional lower side plate, a medal is a small-diameter medal having a height from the bottom of the medal passage which is less than the diameter of the medal having a predetermined outer diameter and having an outer diameter smaller than the predetermined outer diameter. There was a drop hole that fell out of the passage.
Then, when passing between the lower side plate and the upper side plate provided in the medal passage, the medals inserted from the medal insertion slot roll toward the medal feed opening while leaning on the lower side plate.

As described above, the lower side plate on which the medal rolls while leaning is formed with a drop hole. The drop hole has a predetermined outer diameter when it is located above the bottom of the medal passage. Since the diameter of the medal is less than the diameter of the medal that it has, the top of the medal is positioned above the upper edge of the drop hole when passing through the drop hole formed in the lower side plate of a medal having a predetermined size or more. Therefore, it passes through the position of the drop hole while leaning against the lower side plate, is ejected from the medal feed port, and is inserted into the game.

On the other hand, a small-diameter medal having a size smaller than a predetermined size should lean against the lower side plate because the uppermost part of the medal is positioned below the upper edge of the drop hole when passing through the dropping hole formed in the lower side plate. And the upper part of the medal falls into the drop hole. Then, on the bottom side of the upper side plate facing the drop hole, a selection medal exclusion opening for removing the selected small diameter medals from the medal passage is provided so as to open downward.

Therefore, among medals rolling in the medal passage, a small-diameter medal having an outer diameter smaller than a predetermined size is inclined from the upper side thereof to the outside of the drop hole, and at the same time, the lower side of the medal is separated from the bottom portion to be sorted. It is removed from the medal passage through the medal exclusion port.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional medal selector, although a small-diameter medal having an outer diameter smaller than a predetermined size can be reliably removed from the medal passage, the medal passage is vigorously achieved. However, there is a problem that small-sized medals may not be removed from the medal passage when they are sent inside.

That is, since the small-sized medals that are sent vigorously have a large velocity component in the traveling direction, it takes a short time for the small-sized medals to pass through the drop holes, and before the small-sized medals tilt and reach the drop holes. The medal itself had passed through the drop hole. In addition, small-sized medals may pass the upper-side plate without leaning on the lower-side plate.In this case, the small-sized medals pass away from the drop hole, making it more difficult to remove them from the medal passage. It was

Therefore, the invention according to claim 1 has been made in view of the problems of the above-mentioned prior art, and the purpose thereof is to provide a predetermined size without causing an increase in cost and arrangement space. An object of the present invention is to provide a medal selector capable of reliably selecting a small-diameter medal having an outer diameter smaller than the size and excluding it from the medal passage.

The invention according to claim 2 has the following object in addition to the object of the invention according to claim 1 described above. That is, the invention according to claim 2 is to provide a medal selector that can more reliably select a small-diameter medal having an outer diameter smaller than a predetermined size and can be more reliably excluded from the medal passage.

[0011]

The present invention is to achieve the above-mentioned object, and the contents thereof will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. According to the first aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG.
It is characterized in that a push-out projection 91 protruding toward the medal passage 50 is provided.

The invention according to claim 2 is the above-mentioned claim 1.
In addition to the configuration of the described invention, the following configuration is provided. That is, the push-out protrusion 91 provided on the upper side plate 52 is characterized in that it is formed along the medal rolling direction in the medal passage 50, for example, as shown in FIG.

[0013]

According to the invention described in claim 1, the medal slot 32
When passing between the lower side plate 51 and the upper side plate 52 provided in the medal passage 50, the medals thrown in from the lower side by the pushing protrusion 91 provided on the upper side plate 52 as shown in FIG. 7, for example. It is pushed out toward the side plate 51. Therefore, the medal rolling in the medal passage 50 always rolls while leaning against the lower side plate 51.

A small-diameter medal having a size smaller than a predetermined size, when passing through the drop hole 63 formed in the lower side plate 51, has the uppermost part of the medal positioned below the upper edge of the drop hole 63.
You can't lean on 51, and you're
Let it fall inside and the lower side of the medal will come off the bottom 53,
Removed from the medal passage 50. On the other hand, a medal having a predetermined size or a larger diameter can lean toward the lower side plate 51 when passing through the dropping hole 63 formed in the lower side plate 51, and therefore passes through the dropping hole 63 as it is. And is put into the game.

Therefore, a small-diameter medal having an outer diameter smaller than a predetermined size is pushed toward the lower side plate 51 having the drop hole 63 by coming into contact with the pushing projection 91 when rolling in the medal passage 50. Therefore, small-diameter medals can be reliably selected and eliminated. Furthermore, since the velocity component in the traveling direction of the medal is attenuated due to the contact with the pushing projection 91, the medal has a time margin for tilting the medal. Even if it is, it can be reliably selected and eliminated.

According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the configuration of the invention described in claim 1, the following operation is exhibited. Since the push-out protrusion 91 provided on the upper side plate 52 is formed along the medal rolling direction in the medal passage 50, the medals passing between the lower side plate 51 and the upper side plate 52 provided in the medal passage 50. Are more reliably pushed toward the lower side plate 51.

Therefore, it is possible to more reliably select the small-diameter medals having the outer diameter smaller than the predetermined size and remove them from the medal passage 50 more reliably.

[0018]

1 to 8 show one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a medal selector, FIG. 2 is a front view of a slot machine showing a state in which a front door is closed, and FIG. Is a front view of the slot machine showing the front door opened 180 degrees,
FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the main part of the medal selector as seen from the front door side, and FIG. 5 is a V-of FIG. 1 showing passage of a medal of a predetermined size.
6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V, FIG. 6 corresponds to FIG. 5, and a cross-sectional view showing how medals less than a predetermined size are removed from the medal passage, FIG. 7 corresponds to FIG. FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a state in which the formed medal leans toward the drop hole side, and FIG. 8 corresponds to FIG. 5 and shows a sectional view showing a state in which the medal is forcibly removed.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, reference numeral 10 indicates a slot machine. As shown in FIG.
A main body (20) and a front door (30) attached to one side of the front surface of the main body (20) so as to be openable and closable by a hinge or the like are provided. Above front door
As shown in FIG. 2, a game display section 31 is provided on the front surface of the 30 at a substantially central portion thereof, and a medal insertion slot 32 for a player to insert medals is provided at a lower right corner of the game display section 31. A cancel button 33 for forcibly ejecting the medals inserted through the medal insertion slot 32 to the outside of the slot machine 10 is provided on the further right side of the insertion slot 32.

Further, on the lower left of the game display section 31,
A start button 34 for starting the game is provided, and a medal payout opening 35 is provided at the center of the lower end portion of the front door. As shown in FIG. 3, the inside of the main body 20 is fixed to the inner bottom surface thereof, and stores a plurality of medals inside,
Store the medals in the payout opening 35 provided on the front of the front door 30.
A hopper device 21 for paying out one by one is installed. A hopper tank 22 that opens upward and stores a plurality of medals is provided in an upper portion of the hopper device 21.

As shown in FIG. 3, a medal selector 40 according to the present invention is provided on the back surface of the front door 30 from the back side of the medal insertion slot 32 provided on the front surface of the front door 30 to the hopper device 21.
It is installed with a downward slope toward. The medal selector 40 detects the passage of a medal inserted through the medal insertion port 32 and detects the medal concerned in the hopper device 21.
It is a device that rolls toward and removes and removes medals of different diameters whose outer diameters are different from a predetermined size, and also selects and eliminates a predetermined number or more of medals that can be inserted per game.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lower side of the medal selector 40 is covered with the payout opening of the front door 30.
A lead-out path 36 communicating with 35 is provided. The medals sorted by the medal selector 40 are returned to the player from the payout port 35 via the lead-out path 36. As shown in FIG. 1, the medal selector 40 has a medal slot 32.
A medal passage 50 having a downward slope is provided for rolling the medals thrown into the hopper device 21 toward the hopper device 21. Also,
The medal passage 50 sandwiches the medal passage 50 and faces the medal thickness direction at a distance that allows the medal to pass through, and a lower side plate inclined toward the front door 30 side in the medal thickness direction.
51 and an upper side plate 52 are provided, and the lower side plate 51 constitutes a lower side wall surface of the medal passage 50, and the upper side plate 52 constitutes an upstream side upper wall surface of the medal passage 50.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lower side plate 51 has a lower side with a width that allows the medal to pass while rolling, for example, 1.5 times or more the medal thickness and up to twice the medal thickness. The medal passage 50 is formed by bending the inside of the main body 20 of the slot machine 10 with a width that does not make it so that the bent portion serves as a bottom portion 53, and the medal passage 50 is formed along the upper surface of the bottom portion 53. As shown in FIG. 1, the lower side plate 51 and the upper side plate 52 constituting the upstream side wall surfaces of the medal passage 50 are bent in a wide-angle L-shape on the medal insertion port 32 side and obliquely upward toward the medal receiving port. 54 is opened. Also, the lower side plate 51 that constitutes the medal passage 50.
Is formed by bending the hopper device 21 side in a wide-angle L shape opposite to the medal insertion port 32 side and opening a medal sending port 55 obliquely downward.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the part of the medal passage 50 between the medal receiving port 54 and the medal sending port 55, which is perpendicular to the medal passage,
Various functional members are attached to the lower side plate 51. This functional member includes, in order from the medal receiving port 54 side, a medal selecting unit 60 for eliminating medals of different diameters from the medal passage 50, a medal blocking unit 70 for preventing a predetermined number or more of medals from being inserted into the game, and a medal passage. The medal selector 40 is composed of a passage detection unit 80 for monitoring, and these functional members are arranged in a line along the medal passage 50 to configure the entire medal selector 40.

First, the structure of the medal selecting unit 60 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the medal selecting portion 60 is provided with a pair of bearing portions 61, 61 on the lower side plate 51, which protrude toward the front door 30 side in an L shape and face each other. The bearings 61, 61 include a lower side plate 51 that extends through the center of both bearings 61, 61.
A rotary shaft 62 is provided in parallel with.

Below the bearings 61, 61, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, rectangular drop holes 63 along the medal rolling direction of the lower side plate 51 are provided on the front and back surfaces of the lower side plate 51. It is open through. As shown in FIG. 5, the height of the drop hole 63 from the upper surface of the bottom portion 53 of the upper edge thereof is set to be less than the diameter of the medal A of a predetermined dimension, and the height of the lower edge of the lower edge 53 from the upper surface of the bottom portion 53 is a predetermined dimension. The radius is set to the radius of the medal A or less. Although not shown, the size of the drop hole 63 in the medal rolling direction is set to be sufficiently longer than the diameter of the medal A having a predetermined size.

On the lower side plate 51 above the drop hole 63, as shown in FIG. 5, a large diameter suppressing plate 64 for restricting the upper limit of the medal passage 50 in the height direction is provided along the medal rolling direction. Falling hole
It is screwed to the top of 63. The screw stop position in the height direction of the large-diameter restraint plate 64 is set to be slightly larger than the diameter of the medal A of a predetermined size from the upper surface of the bottom portion 53 of the lower side plate 51.
Therefore, the large-diameter restraint plate 64 prevents rolling of medals having a diameter larger than that of the medal A having a predetermined size. The height of the medal passage 50 can be changed according to the size of the medal A of a predetermined size by changing the screw fixing position in the height direction of the large diameter holding plate 64.

As shown in FIG. 1, an upper side plate 52, which opposes the lower side plate 51 with the medal passage 50 in between, is fixed to the rotating shaft 62 from the front side in the drawing. The upper side plate 52 is formed such that the lower side thereof abuts the end surface of the bottom part 53, forms the upper wall surface of the medal passage 50 from the medal receiving port 54 to the medal selecting part 60, and can be opened downward around the rotating shaft 62. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the upper side plate 52 reaches the bottom 53 on the medal receiving port 54 side, but the lower end side of the medal selecting unit 60 is located at a predetermined lower end from the vicinity of the dropping hole 63. The size medal A is cut from the bottom to a height of about one-third, so that the selection medal exclusion port 90 is formed. As shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5, the upper side plate 52 above the sorted medal exclusion port 90 is provided with a horizontally long extrusion protrusion 91 along the medal rolling direction of the medal passage 50.
Are formed so that a part of each of them has the same thickness and protrudes inside the medal passage 50. As shown in FIG. 5, the push-out protrusion 91 is positioned such that the height from the bottom portion 53 is equal to or higher than the radius of the medal A having a predetermined size, and the medal A is formed between the push-out protrusion 91 and the lower side plate 51 on the tip side thereof. Upper side plate leaving a gap that can pass through
It projects from 52. The push-out protrusion 91 has a semicircular cross section and both ends are formed in a hemispherical shape. The push-out protrusion 91 may be provided so as to project from the upper side plate 52 in a thick shape. The cross-section of the extrusion protrusion 91 does not necessarily have to be a semicircle, but when a medal rolling in the medal passage 50 collides, the medal smoothly moves to the lower side plate.
The shape is preferably extruded toward 51.
Furthermore, the push-out protrusion 91 does not necessarily have to be formed horizontally long along the medal rolling direction of the medal passage 50, and may be, for example, a hemispherical convex portion that protrudes toward the inside of the medal passage 50. .

As shown in FIG. 4, a pushing member 92 having a V-shaped cross section is fixed to the rotating shaft 62 on the side opposite to the upper side plate 52 with the rotating shaft 62 interposed therebetween. . The pushing member 92 is fixed to the upper side plate 52 and rotates together with the axial rotation of the upper side plate 52. When the upper side plate 52 is in contact with the bottom portion 53, the lower end of the pushing member 92 is located outside the drop hole 63, as shown in FIG. It is formed so that it can be inserted into and removed from the drop hole 63 and can appear in and out of the medal passage 50.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, on the outer surface of the pushing member 92, a pressing portion 93 that is pushed down in association with the forward / backward movement of the cancel button 33 provided on the front surface of the front door 30 is provided substantially horizontally. With the pressing of the pressing portion 93,
The pushing member 92 and the upper side plate 52 rotate about the axis. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the pushing member 92 and the upper side plate 52 are biased by the coil spring 65 wound around the rotating shaft 62 in a direction in which the upper side plate 52 is pressed against the end surface of the bottom portion 53. As a result, normally, the upper side plate 52 is positioned substantially parallel to the lower side plate 51, and the pushing member 92
Is located outside the drop hole 63.

Next, the structure of other functional members will be described. The medal blocking unit 70 is located along the electromagnetic solenoid (not shown) fixed to the back side of the lower side plate 51 and the back side of the lower side plate 51, and has a block at its tip as shown in FIG. It is formed by protruding the piece 71 and turns on / off the electromagnetic solenoid.
When the block member 71 is turned off, the moving member (not shown) that moves the block piece 71 into and out of the medal passage 50 through the slit 72 provided in the lower side plate 51, and the tip of the moving member is slightly separated from the medal receiving port 54 side, and the medal passage Located above 50, the medal passage 50
And a restraining side plate 73 whose upper end is axially locked so that it can be opened downward. This medal block 70
Excludes from the inside of the medal passage 50 by colliding with the block piece 71 protruding from the lower side plate 51 side into the medal passage 50 an excess number of medals that can be inserted in one game. It is for leading to the dispensing port 35 provided.

Although not shown, the above-mentioned operating member is provided with a spring on the side opposite to the block piece 71, and is biased so as to project the block piece 71 into the medal passage 50 when the electromagnetic solenoid is OFF. As shown in FIG. 1, the restraining side plate 73 has a weight 74 on its upper surface side so that the medal does not jump out of the medal passage 50 while it reaches the block piece 71. Is pressed against the end face of the bottom portion 53.

The passage detecting section 80, as shown in FIG.
For example, two photocouplers 81, 81, which have a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion facing each other and have a U-shaped cross section, and whose detection optical axis faces the inside of the medal passage 50 from above, are adjacent to each other. It will be. The passage of a medal sent without being blocked by the medal blocking unit 70 is detected by each photo coupler 81. Two photo couplers 81 are arranged adjacent to each other not only to detect the number of medals but also to monitor whether or not the medals pass normally. That is, the photo coupler 81
By arranging two adjacent tokens, it is possible to detect the passing speed and the passing direction of medals, and thus it is possible to detect not only the number of medals but also the passing of an illegal medal moving in the opposite direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lower side plate 51 and the upper side plate 52 of the medal receiving opening 54 are open outward toward the medal inserting opening 32 so that the inserted medals can be easily received. Further, the upstream end portion of the lower side plate 51 on the medal receiving port 54 side is bent inward in an L shape in the medal passage 50 so that the medals received from the medal receiving port 54 are guided to the medal selecting unit 60 side. The upstream side of the medal passage 50 is blocked.

On the other hand, on the medal feed port 55 side, as shown in FIG. 1, the sliding contact surface itself of the medal of the lower side plate 51 is
It is formed by shallowly bending it inside the main body 20 of the slot machine 10. As a result, the medals can be reliably sent from the medal selector 40 toward the center of the hopper tank 22 of the hopper device 21. Next, the operation of the medal selector 40 thus formed will be described.

The medals inserted by the player from the medal insertion slot 32 are guided to the medal receiving opening 54 formed to spread outward, enter the medal selector 40, and are first sent to the medal selecting section 60. The medal selecting section 60 selects medals having an outer diameter different from the predetermined size. Hereinafter, the sorting operation will be described by dividing it into three cases, that is, a sent medal is smaller than a predetermined size, a medal is larger than a predetermined size, and a predetermined size.

First, the case where the medal is a small-diameter medal B having a size smaller than a predetermined size will be described. If the medal is less than the specified size,
When a small-diameter medal B whose diameter is less than the distance from the upper surface of the bottom portion 53 to the upper edge of the drop hole 63 is sent to the medal selecting unit 60, the small-diameter medal B moves above the bottom portion 53 toward the lower side plate 51. It rolls in the medal passage 50 while hanging, but since the outer diameter is smaller than the predetermined dimension, the uppermost part at the drop hole 63 is not supported by the lower side plate 51, and from the drop hole 63 to the outside of the medal passage 50. Collapse. At the same time, the lower side of the small-diameter medal B which was in contact with the bottom portion 53 is swung to the outside of the medal passage 50 and comes off from the bottom portion 53. As a result, the small diameter medal B is at the bottom.
As shown in FIG. 6, the upper side plate 52 loses its support.
It slides downward from the selected medal exclusion port 90, and is then returned to the player from the payout port 35.

Further, the small-diameter medal B is vigorously in the medal passage.
When the small diameter medal B has a large velocity component in the traveling direction when it is sent into the inside 50, it can pass through the medal passage 50 near the upper side plate 52 without leaning against the lower side plate 51. is there. In this case, the small-diameter medal B hits the end of the push-out protrusion 91 provided on the upper side plate 52 and is pushed toward the lower side plate 51. As a result, the small-diameter medal B is pushed down from its upper side toward the drop hole 63, as shown in FIG.
It falls down from 63, its lower part comes off from the bottom part 53, and the small diameter medal B falls downward.

At this time, the stronger the medal is, the stronger the force of pushing it toward the drop hole 63 side is. Further, the closer it is to the upper side plate 52, the longer the medal is in contact with the push-out projection 91, and therefore the velocity component in the traveling direction of the medal is greatly attenuated and reaches the opening of the drop hole 63 accordingly. There is a time margin. This is proportional to the momentum of the medal and the distance from the drop hole 63.
It means that the action of trying to make the medal reach the drop hole 63 by 91 strongly works. Therefore, by this push-out protrusion 91, at what passage position in the medal passage 50,
In addition, no matter how fast or suddenly a medal is sent, it is possible to reliably drop the small-diameter medal B having a diameter smaller than the predetermined size to the payout port 35 side.

Further, since the push-out protrusion 91 is provided along the medal rolling direction of the medal passage, the small-diameter medal B passing through the drop hole 63 has the lower side plate during the passage through the drop hole 63.
Since it is pushed down toward 51, that is, toward the drop hole 63, the small-diameter medals B can be reliably selected and eliminated. Next, a large diameter medal C whose diameter is larger than the distance from the upper surface of the bottom portion 53 to the lower end of the large diameter suppressing plate 64 will be described.

When the large-diameter medal C is sent to the medal selecting section 60, the large-diameter medal C rolls in the medal passage 50 as in the case described above, but the large-diameter medal C is in the middle of the drop hole 63. Since the upper part of the peripheral surface of the medal C hits against the end surface of the large-diameter suppressing plate 64,
It cannot be rolled any more in the medal passage 50 and stops in the medal selecting unit 60. At this time, the player notices that the inserted large-diameter medal C does not cause a reaction in the gaming machine, and thinks that the medal is clogged, and pushes the cancel button 33 provided on the front surface of the front door 30. Then, the pushing member 92 interlocked with the cancel button 33 rotates together with the upper side plate 52, and as shown in FIG.
The lower end of 92 pushes the large-diameter medal C, which projects from the drop hole 63 into the medal passage 50 and is stopped. Therefore, the large-diameter medal C is forcibly removed from above the bottom portion 53, and falls by the rotation of the upper side plate 52 from the selection medal exclusion port 90 provided between the upper side plate 52 and the bottom portion 53. After that, the dropped large-diameter medal C is returned to the player from the payout opening 35 in the same manner as above.

The compulsory return of medals is not limited to the case where a large-diameter medal C having a diameter larger than that of the medal A having a predetermined size is sent to the medal selecting section 60. That is, even when the medal A of the predetermined size or the small-diameter medal B having a diameter smaller than the predetermined size is sent to the medal selecting unit 60, the medals A to C can pass through the medal selecting unit 60 for some reason. If it gets stuck without it, by the player pressing the cancel button 33,
The medals A to C are similarly returned to the player.

Next, a case where the medal A having a predetermined size is sent will be described. When the medal A of the predetermined size is sent, the medal A of the predetermined size is, while passing through the drop hole 63, the upper part of the medal A of the predetermined size above the drop hole 63, as shown in FIG. Since it is supported by the portion, it passes through the medal selecting unit 60 and is sent to the next medal blocking unit 70.

When the medal intake is permitted and the electromagnetic solenoid of the medal blocking unit 70 is energized, the block piece 71 of the operating member is in a state of being retracted outside the medal passage 50. Therefore, the medal A sent from the medal selecting unit 60 rolls in the medal passage 50 without being blocked by the medal blocking unit 70, and is counted by the next passage detecting unit 80. After that, it is sent out from the medal sending port 55 into the hopper tank 22 of the hopper device 21.

On the other hand, when a predetermined number of medals that can be used in one game are already counted by the passage detection unit 80, or the start button 34 provided on the front surface of the front door 30 is pressed. If more medals are thrown in from the start to the end of the game, the electromagnetic solenoid of the medal blocking unit 70 is de-energized. in this case,
The excited electromagnetic solenoid stops attracting the operating member, and the operating member is pressed against the lower side plate 51 side by the urging of a spring (not shown), and the block piece 71 at the tip thereof is pressed.
Project into the medal passage 50. After that, the medal selection unit 60
The medal A sent from is collided with the block piece 71 and can be turned to the outside of the medal passage 50, so that it deviates from the medal passage 50 and is guided to the lower payout opening 35 as in the previous term. In this way, the capture of a predetermined number of medals or more medals or during the start of the game is prevented.

[0047]

Since the present invention is constituted as described above, it has the following effects. Claim 1
According to the invention described above, the small-diameter medal having the outer diameter smaller than the predetermined size contacts with the extrusion protrusion provided on the upper side plate when passing between the lower side plate and the upper side plate provided in the medal passage. Thus, it is pushed toward the lower side plate having the drop hole.

Therefore, small-diameter medals having an outer diameter smaller than the predetermined size can be reliably selected and eliminated. In particular, even for small-diameter medals that are vigorously thrown into the medal passage, contact with the push-out protrusion attenuates the velocity component in the moving direction of the medal, and the medal tilts toward the drop hole. Since there is a margin, it can be reliably selected and eliminated.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, the following effect is exhibited. Since the extrusion protrusion provided on the upper side plate is formed along the medal rolling direction in the medal passage,
The medals passing between the lower side plate and the upper side plate provided in the medal passage are more reliably pushed toward the lower side plate.

Therefore, it is possible to more reliably select the small-diameter medals having the outer diameter smaller than the predetermined size and remove them from the medal passage more surely.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a medal selector.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the slot machine showing a state in which a front door is closed.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the slot machine showing a state where a front door is opened 180 degrees.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the main part of the medal selector as viewed from the front door side.

5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 1 showing passage of a medal having a predetermined size.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5, showing how medals having an outer diameter smaller than a predetermined size are removed from the medal passage.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5, showing a state in which the medal contacting the push-out projection is inclined toward the drop hole.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5, showing how medals are forcibly removed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 slot machine 20 main body 21 hopper device 22 hopper tank 30 front door 31 game display 32 medal insertion slot 33 cancel button 34 start button 35 payout opening 36 ejection path 40 medal selector 50 medal passage 51 lower side plate 52 upper side plate 53 bottom 54 Medal slot 55 Medal slot 60 Medal selection section 61 Bearing section 62 Rotating shaft 63 Drop hole 64 Large diameter retaining plate 65 Coil spring 70 Medal blocking section 71 Block piece 72 Slit 73 Suppression side plate 74 Weight 80 Passage detection section 81 Photocoupler 90 Sorting medal exclusion port 91 Extruded protrusion 92 Extruded member 93 Pressed part A to C medal

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A medal selector for selecting medals having different diameters inserted from a medal insertion slot, wherein the medal selector has a downwardly inclined medal passage on which the medals inserted from the medal insertion slot roll. The lower side plate and the upper side plate, which are opposed to each other across the medal passage in the thickness direction of the medal with a distance that allows the medal to pass, and are inclined in the thickness direction of the medal, and are formed on the lower side plate. In a medal selector having a height from the bottom is less than a diameter of a medal having a predetermined outer diameter, and a drop hole in which a small-diameter medal having an outer diameter smaller than the predetermined outer diameter falls outside the medal passage, A medal selector characterized in that the upper side plate is provided with a push-out projection protruding into the medal passage toward the drop hole. 2. The medal selector according to claim 1, wherein the push-out protrusion provided on the upper side plate is formed along the medal rolling direction in the medal passage.