JPH1076069A - Vending machine equipment for use in game machine facility - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide vending machine equipment suitable for use in a game machine facility, that allows a player to purchase the desired drink on a self-service basis while sitting on the chair of a game machine. SOLUTION: Vending machine equipment, which provides drinks and the like to players at every pachinko island 1 serving as a unit, which is constructed by arranging a plurality of pachinko machines 2, comprises a combination of vending machine terminal devices 4 each one of which is installed between the pachinko machines, a main body machine 5 installed inside the island, and an article-carrying conveyor device 6 laid in the form of a loop inside the island to communicate the main body machine 5 with each terminal machine 4. The terminal machine 4 is provided with a coin mechanism, an article selecting button 4d, an article output port 4e, and an article taking mechanism which takes articles from the conveyor into the article output port. An article storage rack is mounted on the main body machine 5, and a designated article is sent out to the conveyor device 6 from the main body machine 5 and conveyed to the corresponding terminal machine 4 according to a selling command imparted via the terminal machine 4, so that the article is taken out to the article output port 4e of the terminal machine 4 from the conveyor to sell it.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine facility which is attached to a game machine facility for pachinko parlors and the like, and which sells and provides goods such as canned beverages to players.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to sell beverage products to customers at pachinko parlors and the like, a vending machine corner has been conventionally set up in a pachinko parlor, or a game machine island constructed by arranging a plurality of game machines such as pachinko machines. A vending machine is installed in one corner. And when using this vending machine, the player leaves the pachinko machine and goes to the corner of the vending machine, and uses money to purchase the desired product from the vending machine. Is the current situation.

[0003]

By the way, as described above, in order for a player to leave the game machine and go to the vending machine corner in the store, the player must stop playing the game machine, which is troublesome. . Therefore, some stores provide a delivery service in which a clerk receives a customer's order and carries a beverage to a seat of a game machine as a service measure for the customer.

[0004] However, such a delivery service may increase labor costs. As a countermeasure, a player self-services a desired beverage product (can product such as coffee or juice) while sitting in front of the game machine. There is a demand for the development of a sales system that can be purchased on the Internet. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine facility suitable for a game machine facility in which a player can purchase a desired beverage product by self-service while sitting at a game machine. To provide.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a beverage machine which is attached to a game machine facility having a plurality of game machines such as a pachinko machine arranged side by side and constructed as a unit. As vending machine equipment that sells and provides products to players, there are vending machine terminals installed one by one between the left and right amusement machines, and vending machine main units installed inside the amusement machine island And a conveyor device for conveying goods which is laid in a loop inside the amusement machine island in cooperation with the main body and each terminal, wherein the terminal has a coin mechanism and a product selection button. Includes a sales operation unit, a product take-out port, and a product take-out mechanism that takes in products from the conveyor device to the product take-out port. The main unit is equipped with a product storage rack with a product pay-out mechanism. Specify from the main unit based on The product is conveyed Te payout to the conveyor device until the corresponding terminal shall be configured to take out the product outlet of the product from the conveyor by operation of the product take-out mechanism.

In the above vending machine equipment, when a user inserts a predetermined coin into a terminal adjacent to a game machine being played and presses a selection button of a desired product while sitting in a chair of the game machine, The sales command is transmitted from the terminal to the main unit online, and the main unit pays out the designated product from the product storage rack to the conveyor device based on the sales command. Then, when the goods dispensed from the main unit are conveyed to the corresponding terminal on a conveyor, the product take-out mechanism of the terminal takes in the goods from the conveyor and sends them out to the goods outlet.

[0007] In addition, even if the user does not have coins, he / she can use a pachinko ball used in a game machine or a prepaid card for a lending ball instead of money in order to purchase goods. According to the invention, there is provided a configuration in which the terminal is provided with a payment mechanism capable of handling a pachinko ball or a prepaid card in addition to the coin mechanism.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, taking a pachinko game facility as an example. First, FIG.
In (a) and (b), 1 is a game machine facility (hereinafter referred to as “Pachinko Island”), which is called “Pachinko Island”, in which a plurality of pachinko machines 2 are arranged in two rows as shown in the figure and constructed in the store. Reference numeral 3 denotes a player's chair provided for each pachinko machine 2. With this pachinko island as a unit, the vending machine equipment according to the present invention includes a vending machine terminal 4 interposed and juxtaposed between each pachinko machine 2 and an automatic vending machine installed inside the pachinko island 1. It comprises a combination of a main machine 5 of a vending machine and a loop-shaped conveyor device 6 laid on the back side of the pachinko machine in cooperation with the main machine 5 and each of the terminal devices 3.

Here, the terminal 4 is provided with a coin slot 4 leading to a coin mechanism (not shown) built in the machine.
a, a sales operation unit including a change return lever 4b, a change return port 4c, and a product selection button 4d;
e, and a product take-out mechanism 4f in which the flapper projects obliquely from the back side of the terminal device 4 toward the transport path of the conveyor device 6 as shown in FIG. Although not shown, the product take-out port 4e is provided with a burglarproof door mechanism for preventing a hand or the like from being freely inserted while waiting for sale. On the other hand, the main unit 5 has a configuration in which a product storage rack 5b with a product payout mechanism is mounted in a cabinet of a cabinet 5a provided with cooling or heating means as shown in FIG. A commodity delivery port 5c with an opening opens toward the conveyor device 6. In addition, 5d is a cooler (evaporator of a refrigerator), 5e is a condensing unit of a refrigerator. The conveyor device 6 is a kind of slat conveyor of a chain conveyor. As shown in the figure, a conveyor plate 6b having arcuate front and rear end faces as slats is provided on a chain segment of a conveyor chain 6a laid along a loop-shaped conveyor path. The transport chain 6a is driven in a fixed direction via a drive motor 6c and a drive gear. 6d is a guide rail for supporting the transport plate 6b.

Further, although not shown, a vending machine main unit 5 is equipped with a sales control unit (microcomputer), and each terminal 4 and the conveyor device 6 are connected by a signal line. Through the signal line, the terminal 4 exchanges a sales command, selected product information, and the like with the control unit of the main unit 5. Next, the selling operation of the vending machine equipment configured as described above will be described. When a player inserts a coin into the terminal 4 adjacent to the pachinko machine being played while sitting on the chair 3 of the pachinko machine 2, selects a desired product, and presses the select button 4d, a sales command from the terminal 4 is issued. The main unit 5 pays out the specified product 7 from the product storage rack 5b to the conveyor device 6 based on the information. On the other hand, the conveyor device 6
Is started in response to a sales command, and transports the commodity 7 paid out from the main unit 5 on the transport plate 6c. Further, in the terminal device 4, the flapper of the product take-out mechanism 4f protrudes from the standby position indicated by the chain line in FIG. When the product 7 on the transport plate 6c of the conveyor device 6 is transported to the position of the corresponding terminal 4, the product 7 hits the flapper of the product removal mechanism 4f protruding into the transport path and changes its direction.
The product is taken into the terminal 4 from the conveyor and the product is taken out 4e
To be carried out. As the product take-out mechanism 4f, a pusher mechanism or the like may be employed in addition to the illustrated example, and the product 7 conveyed on the conveyor may be pushed out toward the product take-out port 4e of the terminal device 4.

Next, an applied embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the illustrated embodiment described above, a coin mechanism is mounted on the terminal device 4, and the merchandise is sold by payment by accepting a coin. On the other hand, in the terminal of the application example,
In addition to money, a pachinko ball or a prepaid card for lending can be accepted so that a product can be purchased. As a settlement means therefor, in addition to the coin mechanism, a slot for the pachinko ball and a ball leading to the slot. It has a payout mechanism using a pachinko ball combined with a number counter and a payment mechanism using a prepaid card. In this case, the number of pachinko balls required to purchase the product is separately determined for each product, and the required number of balls is displayed together with, for example, the money price on a selection button.

Further, as another application example of the present invention, it is possible to automatically receive pachinko balls stored in the payout tray of the pachinko machine 2 so as to perform payment for merchandise sales. For this purpose, the terminal 4 is provided with a dedicated button for accepting a ball, and when the player presses this button and a product selection button, the number of balls corresponding to the price of the selected product is automatically taken in from the tray of the ball. To sell products.

The present invention can be applied not only to the above-mentioned pachinko game facility but also to a game facility provided with a game machine such as a slot machine. Further, when the present invention is applied to a facility of a slot machine, it is assumed that the terminal is provided with a settlement mechanism for receiving metal used in the slot machine instead of money.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, a user of a vending machine can use a terminal adjacent to a playing game machine while sitting at a game machine and continuing to play. A desired beverage product can be purchased at any time, and the serviceability to the patrons of the amusement machine facility can be improved.

[0015] In addition, by providing the terminal of the vending machine with a payment means for accepting pachinko balls or prepaid cards for lending balls in addition to money, the user can use a pachinko machine instead of money even if there is no change. Items can be purchased using the ball of the machine or a prepaid card.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of vending machine equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a front view of a terminal device juxtaposed on a pachinko machine,
(b) Plan layout of the entire vending machine equipment

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a detailed structure of a main unit and a conveyor device in FIG. 1 (b).

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a product take-out mechanism of the terminal in FIG. 1 (a).

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pachinko island 2 Pachinko machine 4 Terminal of vending machine 4a Coin slot 4b Coin return lever 4c Change return port 4d Product selection button 4e Product exit 4f Product removal mechanism 5 Main machine of vending machine 5b Product storage rack 6 Conveyor Equipment 6b Transport plate

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A vending machine facility which is attached to a game machine facility in which a plurality of game machines such as pachinko machines are arranged and constructed on an amusement machine island basis and which sells beverage products and the like to a player, comprising: A vending machine terminal installed one by one between the amusement machines lined up in the game, a vending machine main body installed inside the amusement machine island, and a game between the main body and each terminal Combined with a conveyor device for transporting goods laid in a loop inside the machine island, the terminal device has a coin mechanism, a sales operation unit including a product selection button, a product outlet, and a product from the conveyor device. Equipped with a product take-out mechanism to take in the take-out port, the main unit is equipped with a product storage rack with a product delivery mechanism, and based on the sales command given by the terminal, the specified product is delivered from the main unit to the conveyor device and the corresponding terminal Conveyed to Vending machine equipment for the game machine facility, characterized in that they were taken out of the takeout commodity goods from on the conveyor by the operation of the mechanism out. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein:
A vending machine for amusement machine facilities, characterized in that the terminal machine has, in addition to a coin mechanism, a settlement means capable of accepting a pachinko ball used for a game machine instead of money or a prepaid card for lending a ball. Facility.