JPH07112054A - Medal discharge game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a fact that a medal falls down from a gap between a medal discharge device and a passage member, or the medals are jammed in its gap. CONSTITUTION:A medal 6 discharged from a medal discharge port 5 of a medal discharge device 4 is taken into the inside of a passage member 1 from a medal receiving port 2. In the inside of the passage member 1, a direction converting plate 23 is arranged in a position opposed to the medal receiving port 2. This direction converting plate 23 is provided in order to repulse the medal 6 which jumps in from the medal receiving port 2, and attached in the inside of the passage member 1 so that the front medal collision face 24 makes an oblique angle theta against the opening face of the medal receiving port 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medal payout game machine such as a slot machine which pays out a predetermined number of medals according to a game result or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a slot machine, a game is played by using medals as a play medium. Inside the box constituting the machine body, the medals housed in the hopper are sequentially taken in and ejected from the medal outlet. The medal payout device is incorporated. This medal payout device operates in response to a payout command or the like according to the game result, and the medals discharged from the medal discharge port are guided to the medal tray on the front surface of the machine through the passage member. The passage member and the medal tray are arranged on the side of a door that is openably and closably attached to the front opening surface of the box.

6 and 7 show a conventional passage member 1 formed by using a metal pipe. The passage member 1 has a medal receiving opening 2 and a medal discharging opening 3 at a position below the medal receiving opening 2. When the door is closed, the medal receiving opening 2 is a medal payout opening 5 of the medal payout device 4. The passage member 1 is positioned and fixed on the inner surface of the door so as to be opposed to. When the medal 6 is taken into the passage member 1 from the medal receiving port 2, the medal 6 falls in the passage inside the passage member 1 and is ejected from the medal ejecting port 3 to the medal receiving tray 7. In the figure, 8 is a sensor provided in the medal payout device 4 for confirming the passage of the medal 6, and the number of ejected medals 6 is counted by the output of this sensor.

[0004]

The above-mentioned medal payout device 4
The medals 6 are ejected one by one from the medal ejection port 5 one by one, but the performance of the medal payout device 4 in recent years is improved and the medal ejection speed is increased. Therefore, the ejected medals 6 vigorously jump into the inside of the passage member 1 from the medal receiving port 2 and collide with the opposing inner walls of the passage member 1. The colliding medal 6 bounces in the direction of the medal receiving port 2 as shown by an arrow a in the figure, and collides with the succeeding medal 6.

Since the medal payout device 4 is provided on the box side and the passage member 1 is provided on the door side, when the door is closed, a slight gap is generated between the passage member 1 and the medal payout device 4. Therefore, the medal 6 colliding with the bounced medal 6 may be pushed back and dropped from the gap or may be clogged in the gap. Further, the following medal 6 may be pushed back into the medal ejection port 5 of the medal payout device 4, and in this case, not only does the medal ejection port 5 become clogged, but the sensor 8 detects the same medal 6 twice. By doing so, there is a problem that a counting error occurs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. By devising the internal structure of the passage member so that collision and contact of medals do not occur inside the passage member, dropping and clogging of medals occur. It is an object of the present invention to provide a medal payout game machine in which there is no risk of causing a mistake or a counting error.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a medal payout device for sequentially ejecting medals from a medal payout port and a destination for receiving medals ejected from the medal payout device from opposing medal receiving ports with a gap therebetween. In a medal payout game machine having a passage member leading up to, a medal collision surface is formed inside the passage member at a position facing the medal receiving opening and forming an oblique angle with respect to an opening surface of the medal receiving opening. It is a thing.

[0008]

[Function] A medal jumping from the medal receiving port into the passage member collides with the medal colliding surface. Since this medal colliding surface forms an oblique angle with respect to the opening surface of the medal receiving port, the colliding medal is not It does not bounce in the direction and does not collide or come into contact with subsequent medals.

[0009]

1 shows the appearance of a slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. This slot machine is configured to play games using medals as play media,
On the front surface of the machine, a medal insertion slot 10 for inserting medals necessary for executing a game, and a medal tray 7 for accommodating medals discharged according to the game result and the like are provided. The medal slot 10 is located at the center of the front surface of the machine, the medal tray 7 is located below, and the medal outlet 3 is located just above the medal tray 7.
Is open.

At the height center of the front surface of the machine, a play surface 12 where three reels 11a to 11c can be visually recognized through a glass plate.
A start lever 13 and stop button switches 14a to 14c corresponding to the reels 11a to 11c are provided below the play surface 12. The starting lever 13 is for simultaneously starting the three reels 11a to 11c, and the three stop button switches 14a to 14c.
c is for individually stopping the corresponding reels 11a to 11c.

Each of the reels 11a to 11c has a plurality of symbols arranged in a line on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and rotates in one direction using a stepping motor as a drive source. When the stop button switches 14a to 14c are sequentially pressed after the rotation, the corresponding reels 11a to 11c are displayed on the playing surface 12 as shown in FIG.
The rotation is stopped so that three symbols are located on the stop line L of the book. Although this embodiment is of a system in which three reels are physically rotated, the present invention is not limited to this, and the three reels are displayed as images on the screen and the respective symbols are moved. It can be applied to a slot machine of such a system. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a game machine other than the slot machine as long as the medal is used as a game medium.

As shown in FIG. 2, the slot machine having the above-described structure has a structure in which a door 16 is attached to a front opening of a box box 15 so that the door 16 can be opened and closed.
On the outer surface of the medal receiving tray 3, the medal insertion slot 10,
Play surface 12, start lever 13, stop button switch 14a-
Each component such as 14c is provided, and a passage member 1 described later is provided on the inner surface of the door 16. Each reel 1
1a to 11c are stored and arranged inside the box 15,
It is positioned and fixed according to the height of the playing surface 12.

Inside the box 15, the reels 11a ...
The medal payout device 4 is housed and arranged at a position below 11c. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 2 shows only the medal payout device 4 and the reels 11a to 11c. However, in addition to this, a control circuit for controlling the operation of the machine in series and a control circuit and various constituent parts. It goes without saying that the lead wires for connecting the wires are also incorporated into the box 15.

The medal payout device 4 has a hopper 17 having an upper opening having a volume capable of accommodating a large number of medals, and a medal sending mechanism 18 for taking in the medals in the hopper 17 from the lower opening and ejecting them from the medal ejecting port 5. It has and. The medal sending mechanism 18 is of a type in which a motor 19 is used as a drive source to drive a rotary plate (not shown) to rotate, and one medal is taken into a medal engaging groove formed around the rotary plate to take out medals one by one. 5 and discharge it one after another. The medal payout device 4 is a known device such as a so-called hopper device, and therefore detailed illustration of the structure and detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

FIG. 3 shows a passage member 1 which characterizes the present invention.
The external appearance of is shown together with other configurations in its vicinity. The passage member 1 is attached to the inner surface of the door 16, and when the door 16 is closed, the passage member 1 is in a state of approaching the medal payout device 4 (not shown), and is opposed to the medal payout device 4 with a slight gap. The passage member 1 of the illustrated example is formed of a metal pipe having a rectangular cross section, but if it is attached so as to be in close contact with the inner surface of the door 16, for example, it is a gutter-shaped member having an open side surface. May be.

The passage member 1 has a hollow inside which serves as a dropping passage for medals. A medal receiving port 2 is opened on a side surface of the medal payout device 4, and a medal receiving tray is located below the medal receiving port 2. The medal discharge port 3 is opened on the side surface on the 7 side. This passage member 1 is provided on the inner surface of the door 16 so that when the door 16 is closed, the medal receiving port 2 faces the medal discharging port 5 of the medal payout device 4 as shown in FIG. The positioning is fixed.

The lower end opening of the passage member 1 is closed by a guide plate 20 which is inclined downward toward the medal tray 7, and the upper end opening 21 is communicated with the lower end opening of another passage member 22 constituting the medal return passage. is there. This passage member 22
Has an upper end communicating with the medal insertion slot 10, and when a medal is inserted when a medal cannot be accepted, such as during a game, or when an improper medal is inserted, those medals are medals. Return to saucer 7.

Inside the passage member 1, as shown in FIG. 4, a direction changing plate 23 made of a flat metal plate is arranged at a position facing the medal receiving port 2. The direction changing plate 23 jumps from the medal receiving port 2 into the passage member 1 in a direction indicated by an arrow b in the drawing, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the opening surface of the medal receiving port 2.
Is for bounced back in a direction c different from the direction b, and the front surface of the direction changing plate 23 serves as a medal collision surface 24 against which the medal 6 collides, and the medal collision surface 24 is opposed to the opening surface of the medal receiving port 2. It is attached inside the passage member 1 so as to form an oblique angle θ.

The angle .theta. Is an opening angle in the horizontal direction with respect to the opening surface of the medal receiving opening 2. If this angle is set to 45 degrees, the bounce direction c becomes a right angle to the inward direction b. Although it is desirable, the angle does not necessarily have to be 45 degrees, and the point is to set the angle so that the medal 6 bounces in a direction in which it does not come into contact with the following medal 6.

In addition, in this embodiment, in consideration of the fact that the other passage member 22 constituting the medal return passage communicates with the passage member 1, the direction changing plate 23 is oriented vertically and horizontally. Although it is attached to the inner surface of the passage member 1 at an angle θ, when the medal return passage is formed independently, for example, the direction changing plate 23 is oriented horizontally and the vertical angle θ (preferably 45 degrees). It may be attached to the inner surface of the passage member 1. In this case, when the medal 6 collides with the medal collision surface 24 of the direction changing plate 23, the medal 6 bounces downward.

Further, in this embodiment, a flat metal plate is used as the direction changing plate 23, but the present invention is not limited to this.
You may use the curved metal plate as shown in FIG. In this case, it is desirable to set the angle θ formed by the tangent line d drawn to the medal collision position on the medal collision surface 24 and the opening surface of the medal receiving opening 2 to be 45 degrees.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the direction changing plate 2 is used.
Although the medal collision surface 24 is formed by attaching 3 to the inside of the passage member 1 with an angle θ, the inner wall surface facing the medal receiving opening 2 forms an oblique angle θ with respect to the opening surface of the medal receiving opening 2. By using a metal pipe having such a shape as the passage member 1, the inner wall surface itself of the passage member 1 may serve as the medal collision surface 24.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, reference numeral 8 is a sensor for confirming passage of medals, and the sensor output is input to the control circuit to count the number of medals discharged. The number of ejected medals is displayed on the display 25 provided on the front surface of the machine.

Next, the operation of the slot machine having the above configuration will be described. First, when the medal is inserted into the medal insertion slot 10 and the starting lever 13 is operated, the three reels 11a to 11
c starts rotating all at once. When the stop button switches 14a to 14c for each reel are sequentially pressed, the corresponding reels are sequentially stopped, and each reel 1 is connected to the activated stop line L.
When the predetermined symbols 1a to 11c are aligned, the game wins, the medal payout device 4 operates, and the medal ejection operation is executed.

The medal payout device 4 ejects the medals 6 from the medal ejection opening 5 one by one at a high speed. The ejected medals 6 jump into the passage member 1 from the medal receiving opening 2 of the passage member 1 to change the direction. It collides with the medal collision surface 23 of the plate 23. Since this medal collision surface 23 has an angle θ with respect to the opening surface of the medal receiving port 6, the medal collision surface 2
The medal 6 that has collided with 3 does not bounce toward the medal receiving port 2 and does not collide with or come into contact with the following medal 6. As a result, the following medal 6 will not be pushed back and will not fall from the gap between the medal payout device 4 and the passage member 1 or will not be clogged in the gap. Further, the succeeding medals 6 are not pushed back into the medal ejection port 5 of the medal payout device 4, so that the medal clogging occurs in the medal ejection port 5 or the sensor 8 detects the same medal twice. There is no possibility that a counting error will occur due to this.
The bounced medal 6 falls downward along the fall passage inside the passage member 1 and is ejected from the medal ejection port 3 to the medal tray 7.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, the medal collision surface forming an oblique angle with respect to the opening surface of the medal receiving opening is provided inside the passage member for guiding the medals discharged from the medal payout device to the destination. Since the medals have been formed, the medals that have collided with the medal collision surface do not bounce back toward the medal receiving port, and do not collide with or come into contact with the following medals. Therefore, there is no possibility that a succeeding medal pushed back from the gap between the medal payout device and the passage member will drop or the medal will be clogged in the gap. Further, the subsequent medal pushed back inside the medal discharge port is not clogged, and the occurrence of counting error can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an appearance of a slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the internal structure of the slot machine.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of the passage member 1 together with other configurations in the vicinity thereof.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the passage member showing the attachment structure of the direction changing plate.

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view of a passage member showing another embodiment of the direction changing plate.

FIG. 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a conventional passage member.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a conventional passage member.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 passage member 2 medal receiving port 4 medal payout device 7 medal receiving plate 23 direction changing plate 24 medal collision surface

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A medal having a medal payout device for sequentially ejecting medals from a medal payout port, and a passage member for receiving the medals discharged from the medal payout device from a facing medal receiving port with a gap and guiding the medal to a destination. In the payout game machine, a medal payout game machine is formed, inside the passage member, at a position facing the medal receiving opening, a medal collision surface forming an oblique angle with respect to an opening surface of the medal receiving opening.