JPS6362030B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a vertical feed hopper of a coin feeding device. More specifically, the coins are sequentially pushed up from a lower position and fed to a horizontal guide placed at a high place for distributing coins (such as coins or coin-like medals, the same applies hereinafter) to multiple coin supply destinations. Regarding the vertical feed hopper.

[Prior art]

Jikoko 55 as a hotspa that supplies conventional coins
-There is one shown in Publication No. 33409.

As shown in FIG. 19, this hopper is located near the upper end of the feed disk 101.
02 is provided. The buffle plate 102 is a sheet metal member bent into an L-shape, and a slit-shaped gap 103 is provided between its free end and the surface of the feed disk 101. This gap 103 is designed to allow only one coin to pass through,
When two coins overlap in close contact with each other, the function is to prevent the passage of excess coins and allow the coins to pass one by one. 104 is shoot;
The coins that have passed through the baffle plate 102 are guided to the discharge port by this chute 104.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve] Conventional hoppers have the following problems.

Since the full plate 102 is supported on a cantilever,
Deformation easily occurs, and the coin will suddenly close the gap 10
3, the gap 103 will easily open and become useless.

Even if the passage of two coins that are in close contact with each other can be prevented, if a large number of coins are sent in a dumpling shape, the coins often get stuck between the buttful plate 102 and the surface of the feed disk 101.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention is capable of neatly organizing two coins that are close together or a large number of coins that are sent in a dumpling shape, allowing only one coin to pass through, and is extremely unlikely to malfunction. The purpose is to provide a vertical feed hopper that is unlikely to occur.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides (a) a method for distributing coins to a plurality of coin supply destinations by sequentially pushing up coins from a lower position onto a horizontal guide disposed at a high place; A vertical feed hopper for feeding coins, the vertical feed hopper feeds coins one by one to an outlet by a rotating feed disk, and (b) a hopper is provided near the upper end of the feed disk. Equipped with a dispensing spring for dispelling the second or more coins stacked on top of the coins placed on the eid disk, and a regulating plate for scooping up a large number of coins that are sent in a dumpling shape. Ori,
(c) The regulation plate has its base end fixed to the housing near the outlet, its tip end directed in the downward direction of rotation of the feed disk, and inclined so as to approach the surface near the top end of the feed disk. Further, the tip portion is loosely fitted into an annular groove formed on the inner peripheral side of the feed disk, and a triangular guide piece is provided at the tip portion so as to be perpendicular to the surface of the feed disk. This article focuses on the vertical feed of the coin feeding device.

[Function] In the present invention, 1 placed on the feed disk
If another coin is on top of the first coin, it will be knocked off by the pay spring.
Since the dispensing spring is made up of elastic springs, it quickly returns to its original state even if a strong force is applied, so no deformation occurs.

Also, when a large number of coins are sent in a dumpling shape, they are scooped up by a regulating plate, and the large number of coins are broken into pieces and thrown away. Therefore, since the cause of the jam is removed, it is possible to reliably feed coins one by one.
In addition, since the tip of the regulation plate is sunk into the groove of the feed disk, coins will not sink into the bottom surface of the regulation plate, and excess coins will be scooped up without fail. Furthermore, since there is a triangular guide piece at the tip of the regulation plate, the contact area when scooping up coins is wide, and the scooping and brushing off is highly effective.

In this way, in the present invention, coins are reliably fed one by one to the exit of the hopper.

〔Example〕

Next, the vertical feed hopper of the coin feeding device of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the vertical feed hopper in the apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the main part of the vertical feed hopper shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main part of the vertical feed hopper shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a front view showing the entire embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are respectively FIG. 8a is a plan view showing another embodiment of the device of the present invention, FIG.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the retrograde prevention device shown in FIG. 8a; FIGS. 10 and 11 are perspective views showing other embodiments of the retrograde prevention device, respectively;
12 and 13 are a front view and a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of a traversing hopper, respectively, FIG. 14a is a perspective view of a main part showing an embodiment of a fixed guide, and FIG. 14b is a main part perspective view showing an embodiment of a fixed guide. FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of the Y part, FIGS. 15 and 16 are a perspective view and a vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of the coin ejector, respectively;
Figures 17 and 18 are numbers 15 to 16, respectively.
It is an explanatory view showing an operation of a coin takeout device shown in a figure.

First, based on FIG. 5, the vertical feed hopper 1 of this embodiment is
The entire coin feeder P in which the coin feeder P is used will be explained.

In FIG. 5, the coin feeding device P has a vertical feed hopper 1 placed on a floor F and a horizontal feed hopper 2 placed above the vertical feed hopper 1. An upward guide 3 extends upward from the outlet 1a of the vertical feed hopper 1 and reaches the horizontal feed hopper 2. A horizontal guide 4 extends substantially horizontally from the traverse feed hopper 2, and a diagonal guide 5 that slopes gently downward extends from the tip of the horizontal guide 4. The horizontal guide 4 and the oblique guide 5 constitute a lateral guide 6. Coin ejectors 8 are provided in the middle of the lateral guide 6 for distributing coins C to a coin dispenser 7, which is a coin supply destination, at desired intervals. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 9 denotes a belt conveyor for collecting coins C from the coin dispenser 7 or the game machine 10 and returning them to the vertical feed hopper 1.

In the coin feeding device constructed as described above, coins are fed into the vertical feed hopper 1 manually. Alternatively, the coins C collected by the belt conveyor 9 are sent out by the vertical feed hopper 1, guided upward by the upward guide 3, and then retained in the horizontal feed hopper 2. Further, the coin C in the cross-feeding hopper 2 is sent out into the horizontal guide 4, guided by the horizontal guide 4 and the diagonal guide 5, and transported to the end portion 11 of the line. During the transfer, the coins C are supplied to the coin dispenser 7 by a coin ejector 8 which opens upon receiving a signal from the coin dispenser 7 that the remaining amount is low.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when the coin supply device P supplies coin dispensers 7 arranged in two rows with their backs facing each other, one unit is used as shown in FIG. The direction of the guide (for example, a prismatic spring) 12 from the outlet of the coin extractor 8 may be alternately changed using the device P, or the two lines may be arranged in parallel as shown in Fig. 7. . Alternatively, coins may be supplied from one vertical hopper to one horizontal hopper, and then to two horizontal guides, and coins may be fed from one vertical hopper to two horizontal hoppers. May be supplied.

The lateral guide 6 is suspended from, for example, a groove shaped steel 13 with a lip placed in the ceiling or the like, or is fixed by being attached inside the groove.

Next, the vertical feed hopper 1 of the present invention will be explained in detail based on FIGS. 1 to 4. The basic structure of this vertical hopper is almost the same as a commercially available hopper feeder. That is, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
on the plate 16, which is placed at an angle of 60°.
A feed disk 18 having pin-shaped protrusions 17 provided at appropriate pitches is rotatably provided near the outer periphery of the feed disk 18, and a housing 1 for storing coins is provided on the outer periphery of the feed disk 18.
9 are provided so as to surround it. A stepped portion 20 is provided near the outer periphery of the feed disk 18, which is lower than the center portion by the thickness of one coin.

When the feed disk 18 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow A by the motor M disposed on the back side of the plate 16, the coin C hooked on the protrusion 17 is guided by the inner surface of the housing 19 and the stepped portion 20. are sequentially sent in the direction of arrow A, and guided to the outside along a fixed guide 21 near the outlet 1a formed in a part of the housing 19. Furthermore, feed disk 18
A stirring member (for example, a tightly wound coil spring) 22 for stirring the accumulated coins C is attached to a rubber boss 29 in the center of the coin. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a large number of steel balls 28 are arranged between the feed disk 18 and the plate 16, especially near the outer periphery, to prevent the feed disk 18 from tilting. There is.

The vertical feed hopper 1 of this embodiment is designed to reduce the driving force required for the feed disk 18 and to smoothly feed a large number of coins.
It is characterized in that a regulating plate 23 and a discharging spring 24 are additionally provided.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the regulation plate 23 is an elongated triangular sheet metal member when viewed from the front (see FIG. 2), and is fixed on the housing 19 near the outlet 1a of the coin C. The tip 23a thereof is directed toward the lower side of rotation of the feed disk 18. Also, this regulation plate 23 is the third
As shown in the figure, the tip 23a side is inclined so as to gradually approach the surface of the feed disk 18, and the tip 23a is almost in contact with the surface of the feed disk 18. The base 23b of the regulation plate 23 is connected to the feed disk 18 to prevent the regulation plate 23 from being bent outward by the pressure of the coin C being fed.
It is fixed to the housing 19 on the upper surface side than the surface of the housing 19 .

On the other hand, the feed disk 18 has an annular groove 25.
is formed on the inner peripheral side of the stepped portion 20, and the tip portion 23a of the regulating plate 23 is loosely fitted into the groove 25. Furthermore, a triangular guide piece 26 is provided at the tip 23a of the regulating plate 23. Therefore, when some coins C are pushed by the protrusion of the feed disk 18 and rotated in a dumpling shape, the first coin C on the feed disk 18
Except for the above coins C, the coins C stacked on top of the coins C are thrown off by the regulation plate 23. Further, at this time, since the tip 23a of the regulation plate 23 is sunk into the groove 25, the coins C do not sink into the lower surface of the regulation plate 23, and the excess coins C are surely scooped up.

Preferably, the housing 19 is further provided with a dispensing spring 24 for dispelling the second coin. The second coin paid by the paying spring 24 is dropped downward through a space 27 provided in the regulating plate 23.

The details of the coin supply device P shown in FIG. 5 will be explained below. It is preferable to provide a reverse movement prevention device (30 in FIG. 5) near the lower end of the ascending guide 3.

The ascending guide 3 is formed into a flat C-shape in order to guide both side edges of the coin, as its cross-sectional shape is shown in FIG. 8b. Therefore, there is little space between the coins C and the portions that are shown externally.
Therefore, as the reverse movement prevention device 30, for example, one provided with two small claw portions 31 as shown in FIG. 9 is adopted. The lower surface 31a of the claw portion 31 is tapered to allow coins to pass through smoothly, and the upper surface 31b is flat. The member 32 having the claw portion 31 is biased by a spring 33 or the like so that the claw portion 31 is always pushed toward the surface side of the ascending guide 3.

As the reverse movement prevention device, it is also possible to employ reverse movement prevention devices 34 and 35 having a simple structure made of spring steel or the like as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

Any of the reverse movement prevention devices can support the weight of the coins in the ascending guide 3 and alleviate the feeding action of the vertical feed hopper 1, thereby making it possible to smooth the flow of coins along the entire line.

The horizontal feed hopper 2 shown in FIGS. 12 to 14b has almost the same shape as the vertical feed hopper 1 shown in FIG. is adopted.

The feed disk 41 is shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.
As shown in the figure, the back side is open, and the front side is provided with a cover part 43 in which a spectacle hole 42 is bored. Glasses hole 42 on the back side of the cover 43
An elongated protrusion 44 is provided between the two. Preferably, the projection 44 is cut out from the feed disk 41.

An annular groove 46 is formed in the surface of the plate 45, which is attached at an angle (β) of about 45°, to fit with the projection 44.

A large number of steel balls 48 are arranged between the plate 45 and the feed disk 41 and held at equal intervals by retainers (47 in Fig. 14b).

The feed disk 41 is held down by a holding plate 50 in the vicinity of the outlet 49, where a coin extrusion reaction force is applied. Steel ball 48 and presser plate 50
Both of these are for securely holding the feed disk 41 so that the feed disk 41 is not agitated by the reaction force of the coins being pumped.

Further, a triangular fixed guide 52 is fixed on the plate 45 near the outlet 49 thereof. Preferably, the fixed guide 52 is cut out from the plate 45. A groove 53 that is continuous with the annular groove 46 is formed in the fixed guide 52 . The guide surface 52a of the fixed guide 52 is connected to the eyeglass hole 4 located directly above the center of rotation of the feed disk 41.
2 and the center of rotation of the feed disk 41, so that it is guided by the inner surface of the housing 54 and the surface of the plate 45 and is pushed by the protrusion 44 and the recess 56 of the step 55. Place the coin C between the protrusion 44 and the guide surface 52.
It can be pushed out smoothly by sandwiching it with a. Further, it is preferable that the end surface 44a of the protrusion 44 that comes into contact with the coin is inclined so as to recede toward the outside in the radial direction of the feed disk, so that the coin C can be moved toward the guide surface 52a.
Sufficient pressing force can be transmitted even while moving along.

The shape of the fixed guide 52 is not limited to a triangle, but the guide surface 5 at an appropriate position and angle can be used.
2a, and may be disposed close to the stepped portion 55 on the back side of the feed disk 41.

Note that when the radially inner part 52b of the fixed guide 52 is made thicker than the outer part 52c as shown in FIG. This has the advantage that it is less likely to occur and a stable extrusion guide function can be achieved over a long period of time.

FIG. 15 shows a state in which the coin ejector 8 shown in FIG. 5 is inserted halfway into the lateral guide 6. The coin takeout device 8 includes a main body 60 inserted and fixed in the middle of the lateral guide 6, and a payout mechanism 61 provided on the back side of the main body 60.

A passage 62 communicating with the coin feeding passage 6a of the lateral guide 6 is formed in the main body 60. The passage 62 consists of a lower bottom part 63 and a guide 64 provided on the upper front side.

As shown in FIG. 17, the bottom part 63 consists of an inlet part 65 having a width somewhat wider than the thickness of the coin C, and an outlet part 66 that continues from the inlet part 65 while expanding in a tapered shape.

As shown in FIG. 16, the dispensing mechanism 61 is rotatably provided around a solenoid S as a driving source and a fulcrum 67, and is supported by an arrow P by a spring 68.
A swinging piece 69 that is biased in one direction and a swinging piece 6
The lower guide plate 70 fixed to 9 and the swinging piece 69
An upper push plate 71 extending from the upper end, and an L-shaped upper guide plate rotatably supported on a fulcrum 72 so as to retract in the direction of arrow P3 when the upper push plate 71 is pushed in the direction of arrow P2. It is composed of 73.

When the solenoid S is not passed through, the lower guide plate 70 is pushed into the passage 62 by the biasing force of the spring 68.
The upper guide plate 73 protrudes in the direction of arrow P2. In that case, the front ends 70a, 73a of the respective guide plates 70, 73 function as guides for the coin C and form part of the passage 62 (see solid lines in FIGS. 17-18).

Next, when receiving a signal from a coin supply destination (for example, the coin dispenser 8 in FIG. 1) and sending out a coin C, the solenoid S is energized. As a result, the swinging piece 69 swings in the direction of arrow P2, causing the lower guide plate 70 to protrude somewhat into the passage 62, and retracting the upper guide plate 73 to a position slightly retracted from the passage 62. Therefore, the coins C that are sent one after another from the upstream side of the lateral guide 6 reach the front ends 73 of the upper guide plate 73 and the lower guide plate 70.
The coin is forcibly tilted along the slope defined by a and 70a, detaches from the bottom 63, falls through the opening 74 of the main body 60, and is sent through the take-out guide 12 to the coin supply destination.

It is preferable to form a tapered or rounded notch on the entrance side of the front ends 70a, 73a of the guide plates 70, 73 because the coins being fed can be tilted smoothly along the front ends 70a, 73a.

An outlet portion 6 that expands in a tapered shape toward the outlet side of the bottom portion 63
6 is preferable because when the solenoid S is activated, the coin that is about to pass through the bottom part 63 can be passed through without being pushed out halfway.

Note that a cover 7 is provided in the opening 74 of the main body 60 to guide the removed coin to the removal guide 12.
It is preferable to provide 5.

Next, to explain the advantages of the entire coin supply device of the above embodiment, the coin supply device P of this embodiment
The coin C is transferred by two drive sources: a vertical feed hopper 1 for transferring the coin C upward and a horizontal feed hopper 2 for horizontally sending out the coin C transferred upward. The pressing force applied can be reduced and a large amount of coins C can be smoothly supplied.

Furthermore, since the horizontal guide 6 for guiding the coin C from the horizontal feed hopper 2 to the coin C supply destination is configured by combining the horizontal guide 4 and the diagonal guide 5, the overall height of the device and the installation space are reduced. In addition, the pressing force and the power of the driving source applied to the coin C that is fed in the lateral direction can be significantly reduced, and furthermore, the coin C can be prevented from being crushed.

In addition, in the coin feeding device P of this embodiment, when the reverse movement preventing device 35 is provided near the lower end of the ascending guide 3, the weight of the coin C in the ascending guide 3 is supported by the backward movement preventive device 35, so that the vertical feed hopper 1 is The power can be reduced, and the coins C can be smoothly fed from the vertical feed hopper 1 to the ascending guide 3.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In the vertical feed hopper of the coin supply device of the present invention, since it is possible to reliably push up one coin at a time, the operation of the entire coin supply device can be ensured.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the vertical feed hopper in the apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the main part of the vertical feed hopper shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main part of the vertical feed hopper shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a front view showing the entire embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are respectively FIG. 8a is a plan view showing another embodiment of the device of the present invention, FIG.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the retrograde prevention device shown in FIG. 8a; FIGS. 10 and 11 are perspective views showing other embodiments of the retrograde prevention device, respectively;
12 and 13 are a front view and a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of a traversing hopper, respectively, FIG. 14a is a perspective view of a main part showing an embodiment of a fixed guide, and FIG. 14b is a main part perspective view showing an embodiment of a fixed guide. FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of the Y part, FIGS. 15 and 16 are a perspective view and a vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of the coin ejector, respectively;
Figures 17 and 18 are numbers 15 to 16, respectively.
Explanatory diagram showing the action of the coin extractor shown in the figure, Part 1
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of essential parts of a conventional coin feeding hopper. Main symbols in the drawing: P: Coin supply device, C: Coin, 1: Vertical feed hopper, 18: Feed disk, 23: Regulation plate, 25: Groove.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 (a) A vertical feed hopper for sequentially pushing up and feeding coins from a lower position to a horizontal guide disposed at a high place for distributing coins to a plurality of coin supply destinations. The vertical feed hopper is configured to feed the coins one by one to the outlet by a rotating feed disk, and (b) the coins are placed on the feed disk near the upper end of the feed disk. It is equipped with a dispensing spring for dispelling second or more coins stacked on one coin, and a regulating plate for scooping up a large number of coins that are sent in a dumpling shape, (c) the above-mentioned regulation; a plate having its proximal end fixed to the housing near the outlet, its distal end oriented in a downward direction of rotation of the feed disk and angled toward a surface near the top end of the feed disk; A coin feeding device in which the tip portion is loosely fitted into an annular groove formed on the inner peripheral side of the feed disk, and a triangular guide piece is provided at the tip portion so as to be perpendicular to the surface of the feed disk. Vertical feed hopper.