JPH01196689A - Hopper - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent that an overcurrent flows at a motor and to prevent the damage of the motor by providing a clutch part to slip with the overload between the output shaft of the motor and the disk shaft of a hopper. CONSTITUTION:A clutch part 30 to slip by the overload is provided between an output shaft 11 of a motor 10 and a disk shaft 24 of a hopper. Thus, when a medal, etc., are sandwiched to a disk 25, etc., and rotation can not be executed, a clutch plate 30 to slide at the section up to a disk 25 while the rotation of the motor 10 is continued and to be unable to rotate the disk 25 is provided, it is prevented that the overcurrent flows at the motor 10 and the damage of the motor 10 can be prevented.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a hopper, and more particularly to a hopper for dispensing a predetermined number of coins, medals, etc., and particularly relates to a slot machine that is a gaming machine using medals. It is suitable for use in machines, etc.

[Prior Art j Hoppers for dispensing coins, medals, etc. have been used in various places.

One of the uses of such a hopper is particularly in gaming machines 2 that use medals, such as slot machines.

Such slot machines are configured to start a game by inserting medals, and when the game results in a predetermined result, a predetermined number of medals are paid out to the outside through a hopper. was.

Such a hopper usually has a concave portion large enough to accommodate medals in a disk rotated by the rotational force of a motor, and the medals in the concave portion are sent out to the outside by rotation of the disk.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] A common problem with conventionally used hoppers is that medals can get caught between the disc and the hopper body, resulting in an accident where the disc cannot rotate. Ta.

When such an accident occurs, the motor may seize up and the hopper itself may become unusable.

Therefore, in recent years, when an overload is applied to the motor, the rotation of the motor is temporarily stopped, the rotation of the motor is reversed, and then
By rotating the machine forward again and continuing to pay out the medals, it was possible to remove the medals that were caught during the reverse rotation.

However, even with such a hopper, if a medal is still caught during forward or reverse rotation, an overload will be applied to the motor, which will prevent it from rotating and cause an overcurrent to flow. Accidents such as burnt-out motors could not have been prevented.

Therefore, the present invention provides a latch part that, when a medal or the like is caught in a disc or the like and becomes unrotatable, allows the disc to slide between the discs while continuing to rotate the motor, thereby making the discs unrotatable. This prevents excessive current from flowing into the motor, thereby preventing damage to the motor.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is characterized in that a clutch portion that slips due to overload is provided between the output shaft of the motor and the disc shaft of the hopper. shall be.

[Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to illustrated examples.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a partially cutaway front view and a partially cutaway side view showing an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the motor 10
A screw gear serving as an original gear 12 is fixed to the output shaft 11 of.

On the other hand, from the speed reduction mechanism 20 which is fixed integrally with this motor IO, an input shaft 2 is connected in the direction of the output shaft 11 of the motor IO.
1 is a protrusion. Further, a driven gear 22 also formed as a threaded gear is loosely mounted on this input shaft 21 and meshes with the original gear 12, and this driven gear 22 rotates in conjunction with the input shaft 21 by a spring 23. It is formed to do so.

Therefore, in this embodiment, since the driven gear 22 slips with respect to the input shaft 21, this portion
It functions as a

On the other hand, a disk shaft 24 is protruded from the side opposite to the input shaft 21 of the speed reduction mechanism 20, and a disk 25, whose detailed illustration is omitted, is fixed to this disk shaft 24.

In such an embodiment, if the rotation of the disk 25 stops for some reason.

Disc shaft 24. Via the deceleration mechanism 20, the deceleration mechanism 20
The rotation of the input shaft 21 will also stop.

However, even in this case, the output shaft 11 of the motor IO rotates the follower gear 22 via the original gear 12.

However, at this time, the follower gear 22 that constitutes the clutch section 30 is
Although it is rotating due to the rotation of the original gear 12, since the input shaft 21 has stopped rotating, the input shaft 21
It slips and continues to rotate while resisting the elastic force of the spring 23.

Therefore, even if the rotation of the disk 25 is stopped, it is possible to continue the rotation of the motor 10, so a small overload is applied to the motor 10, which causes an overcurrent to flow, but the motor 10 continues to rotate. A current large enough to burn out the 10 coils will not flow, and as a result, there is no risk of damage to the motor IO.

Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, although everything from the output shaft 11 of the motor IO to the disc shaft 24 through the deceleration mechanism 20 continues to rotate at all times, the disc 2 When the disc 25 becomes unable to rotate, only the rotation of the disc 25 is stopped, and the motor l
This embodiment shows a case where the O1 speed reduction mechanism 20 and the disk shaft 24 continue to rotate.

That is, at this time, the lining 27 is positioned on the disk shaft 24 via the post 26, the disk 25 is positioned via this lining 27, and furthermore, the disk 25 is
The clutch portion 30 is formed so that the disk 25 is pressed against the lining 27 by the elastic force of the spring 28 from the half-life blowfish 2 side.

In this case, when the disk 25 stops rotating for some reason, the motor lO1 deceleration mechanism 20 and the disk shaft 24 continue to rotate, and there is a gap between the lining 27 of the disk shaft 24 and the disk 25. This only causes slipping against the elastic force of the spring 28, and although an overcurrent still flows, the motor 10 continues to rotate, so there is no risk of the motor 10 being burnt out. do not have.

That is, in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 or the embodiment shown in the fJB diagram, the output shaft 1 of the motor IO is
In the case where the clutch part 30 is provided near 1, and when the clutch part 30 is provided near the disc 25
This embodiment shows a case where the clutch section 30 is provided nearby, but it can also be used at a location other than this embodiment, for example, between them.

Next, the operating procedure for actually operating this embodiment will be described.

In either case, the motor 10 is rotated to dispense a predetermined number of medals in response to a predetermined external input, and the disc 25 rotates as the motor lO rotates, thereby dispensing the medals to the outside. .

At this time, if the rotation of the disk 25 is blocked due to a medal jam or the like, the motor 10 will continue to rotate and a slight overload will be applied, and this overload will cause a slight overcurrent to flow through the motor 10. becomes.

Then, this overcurrent is detected, and after stopping the rotation of the motor 10, the motor 10 is then rotated in the reverse direction.

Regarding the reverse rotation of this motor lO, for example, the disk 2
Rotate it in the opposite direction by the amount that 5 rotates in the forward direction,
Alternatively, it may be possible to reverse rotation for a certain period of time.

Next, after rotating the motor 10 in the reverse direction for a predetermined number of rotations or time, the motor 10 is rotated in the forward direction for a predetermined number of rotations or time, and then the motor 10 is rotated in the reverse direction for a predetermined number of rotations or time.

The purpose of this type of forward and reverse rotation is to remove a stuck medal, and in the example above, it was explained that it is repeated twice, but it is sufficient to repeat it once, and it can also be done three times or more. It is possible.

After repeating such forward and reverse rotations a preset number of times, the motor 10 returns to normal rotation for dispensing medals.

If the medal is still jammed when the rotation is returned to normal, an overcurrent may flow due to an overload, so detect this overcurrent and perform some kind of repair. If not, it is determined that the motor IO cannot be restored, and an output is made to the effect that the motor IO has failed.

On the other hand, if the medal comes off after repeating the reciprocating rotation a predetermined number of times, the medal will be paid out by starting the motor IO again.

The operation for dispensing the number of medals after the rotation of the motor 10 described above is stopped is continued.

Further, in the present invention, when an overload is applied to the motor 10, regardless of whether the motor lO is rotating in the forward direction or in the reverse direction, the clutch portion 30 slips, causing the motor lO to
Since the rotation of O is not completely stopped, a slight overcurrent flows through the motor 10, but it is possible to prevent failures such as seizure of the motor 10.

Furthermore, even if a deceleration motor is used without providing the deceleration mechanism 20, the same effect can be achieved by providing the clutch portion 30 between the output shaft of the motor and the disc shaft of the hopper. . Furthermore, the shapes of the original gear 11 and the follower gear 22 can also be selected as appropriate.

In the above explanation, the case where it is used as a hopper of a slot machine has been explained as an example, but it can also be used as a hopper for other gaming machines that dispense medals, or for dispensing coins in an automatic vending machine. It can also be used in other fields as a hopper for discharging objects.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the present invention, when a medal or the like is caught in a disc or the like and cannot rotate, the disc is rotated by sliding it between the discs while the motor continues to rotate. A latch plate is provided to prevent overcurrent from flowing into the motor, thereby preventing damage to the motor.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a partially cutaway front view and a partially cutaway side view, and FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view. FIG. 10...Motor 11...Output shaft 12...
・Original gear 20...Reduction mechanism 21...Input shaft 22...Following gear 23...Spring
24... Disc shaft 25... Disc
26... Boss 27... Lining 28...
Spring 30...Clutch part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hopper characterized in that a clutch portion that slips due to overload is provided between the output shaft of the motor and the disc shaft of the hopper.