JPH07227459A - Slot machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate an opening/closing operation, to reduce the factors of trouble generation as well and further to previously stock medals to be complemented. CONSTITUTION:Inside a box 1, a first space part A to house and arrange a medal complementing machine 22 and a second space, part B to house and arrange a medal ejecting machine 10 are formed, the respective space parts A and B are provided with first and second front panel doors 2A and 2B to be opened/closed and when complementing medals, those medals are put into the medal complementing machine 22 by opening the first front panel door 2A.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a slot machine having a structure suitable for supplying medals to a medal payout machine housed inside a box.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a slot machine, a game is started by inserting a medal into a medal insertion slot and operating a start lever, and when the result of the game is a prize, a medal payout machine is activated to select a prize type. The specified number of medals are paid out according to.

In a conventional slot machine, the front surface of the box is a door that can be opened and closed, and three reels, a medal payout machine, a control device, etc. are housed inside the box, and a game is provided on the front door. A medal slot, a start lever, a stop button switch, and the like are provided as a configuration for carrying out.

The medal payout machine is integrally provided with a hopper capable of accommodating a large number of medals and a medal payout device having a drive source for paying out one medal in the hopper. When the inside of the hopper becomes empty, a staff member opens the front door to supply medals into the hopper.

[0005]

However, since the front door is provided with the above-mentioned plurality of constituent members and the electric wiring is complicatedly provided, the total weight is increased and the medal is replenished. Not only is it difficult to open and close the front door, but frequent opening and closing of the front door may cause a failure or disconnection, which causes trouble. In addition, in the conventional slot machine, in case of medal runout, it is not possible to stock the medals to be replenished in advance.
It is necessary to open the front door and supply medals, which increases the burden on staff.

Further, since the medal payout machine is inside the box, the clerk must replenish the medals in a narrow space inside the box when replenishing the medals, which makes replenishment work very difficult. Furthermore, the amount of medals released per slot machine is determined for each playground, but it is necessary to accurately count the number of medals to be supplied in advance before replenishing medals, which is very complicated. Is.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a space portion in which a medal payout machine is housed and disposed and a space portion in which a medal supply machine is housed and disposed are provided in each box. It is an object of the present invention to provide a slot machine in which an individual front door is attached so as to be openable and closable so that opening and closing operations are easy, there are few causes of troubles, and medals to be supplied can be stocked in advance.

Another object of the present invention is to:
The medal replenishing machine can be inserted / removed from the front opening to provide a slot machine that facilitates the medal replenishing work. Another object of the present invention is to provide a slot machine in which it is not necessary to accurately count the number of medals to be replenished by making it possible to count the number of medals delivered from the medal replenishing machine. There is a point to do.

[0009]

In the slot machine of the present invention, a box having a front opening in which first and second spaces are provided above and below, and a first and second spaces of the box are provided. 1st and 2nd front doors that can be opened and closed to close from the front, and 1st
The medal supply machine housed and arranged in the space section, the medal payout machine housed and arranged in the second space section, and a switch for operating the medal supply machine. The medal replenishing machine comprises a hopper capable of accommodating a large number of medals, and a medal feeding device having a drive source and feeding out medals in the hopper one by one from a medal feeding port. A medal passage that passes through the first and second spaces is formed between the medal payout opening and the medal payout machine.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first front door is a double door, and each door piece is formed so as to be capable of opening both sides by pivotally supporting the outer edge of the door piece on the box.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the first front door is a single door, and one end of the first front door is pivotally supported by the box so that the door can be opened.

In the invention of claim 4, the first front door is a double door, and each door piece is formed slidable on the rail.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the medal supply machine is provided on a horizontal support plate that can be inserted into and removed from the front opening of the first space.

In the invention of claim 6, the medal passage is
A communication hole formed in a partition plate for partitioning the first space portion and the second space portion, a first passage member connecting the medal delivery port of the medal supply machine and the communication hole, and the communication hole. The second passage member is connected to the medal payout machine.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a box having a front opening in which the first and second spaces are provided above and below, and the box that can be opened and closed by closing the first and second spaces of the box from the front side. First and second front doors, a medal supply machine housed and arranged in the first space, a medal payout machine housed and arranged in the second space, and a switch for operating the medal supply machine, And a control device for controlling the operations of the medal supply machine and the medal payout machine. The medal supply machine has a hopper capable of accommodating a large number of medals, and a drive source, so that the medals in the hopper can be removed from the medal exit through
It is composed of a medal payout device for paying out one by one, and a medal detection sensor for detecting medals paid out from the medal payout port. A medal passage is formed which passes through each of the two spaces. Further, the control device stops the operation of the medal feeding device of the medal replenishing device when the counting means for counting the number of fed medals from the output of the medal detection sensor and the count value by the counting means reaches a specified value. And a control means.

[0016]

When the medal is replenished, only the first front door is opened and the medal to be replenished is inserted into the hopper of the medal replenishing machine. Then, when the switch is operated, the medal feeding device of the medal replenishing device is activated to feed the medals in the hopper one by one from the medal feeding port. The paid-out medals are guided to the medal payout machine through the medal passage to be supplied. The first front door closes after the switch is operated. Further, if medals are loaded in the hopper of the medal replenishing device in advance, it is possible to replenish medals simply by operating the switches without performing the medal insertion work.

When replenishing medals, the first front door is in a double-opened state in the slot machine of claim 2, and is in a single-opened state in the slot machine of claim 3. In the slot machine according to the fourth aspect, it is slid and opened.

In the slot machine of the fifth aspect, when replenishing medals, after opening the first front door, the support plate is pulled out and the medals to be replenished are inserted into the hopper of the medal replenishing machine in the external space.

In the slot machine of the sixth aspect, the medals fed from the medal supply machine are guided to the medal payout machine through the first passage member, the communication hole and the second passage member in this order.

In the slot machine according to the seventh aspect, every time a medal is fed from the medal supply device, the medal detection sensor detects the medal and the counting means of the control device counts the number of fed medals. When the counted value reaches the specified value, the control means stops the operation of the medal replenishing machine and terminates the medal replenishment.

[0021]

1 and 2 show the appearance of a slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows the internal structure of the slot machine. In the slot machine of the illustrated example, the first and second spaces A and B are vertically partitioned inside the box 1 through a partition plate 19, and the front of the box 1 has the first and second spaces. First and second front doors 2A and 2B for closing the space portions A and B are provided so as to be opened and closed, respectively.

The first front door 2A is a two-door door, and each of the door pieces 20, 20 is formed so as to be openable with its outer edge pivotally supported by a hinge mechanism 33. Each door piece 20 is provided with a knob 29 for facilitating the opening / closing operation of the front door 2A. Note that the first front door 2A is not limited to that of this embodiment, and for example, as shown in FIG. 7, it is configured by a single door, and one edge is pivotally supported on the box 1 by the hinge mechanism 33. It may be formed to be openable. Although not shown, the first front door 2A may be formed as two doors and each door piece may be configured to slide on the rail.

The second front door 2B is pivotally supported on one edge of the box 1 by a hinge mechanism 14 so as to be openable and closable, and has a reel display window 3, a medal slot 4, a starting lever 5, and the like.
Three stop button switches 6, a medal tray 7, etc. are provided. Although not shown, it is needless to say that a lock is attached to each of the first and second front doors 2A and 2B so that a person other than an attendant cannot open the lock.

In the second space B, three reels 8 are provided.
A support body 9 that integrally supports A to 8C is provided at the position of the reel display window 3, and a medal payout machine 10 is housed at the lower position thereof. This medal payout machine 10
Is a hopper 1 that can store a large number of medals.
1 and a medal payout device 12 that has a motor as a drive source and pays out the medals in the hopper 11 one by one from a medal payout opening. When a winning occurs, the medal payout device 12 operates to win the prize. The specified number of medals according to the type of is sent to the medal tray 7. In the figure, 13
Is a medal collection box for collecting medals overflowing from the hopper 11.

A control device 15 composed of a microcomputer is incorporated on one side of the support 9 and a second medal passage is formed on the other side of the support 9 so as to communicate with a first passage member 16A described later. The passage member 16B is provided. The second passage member 16B is a gutter-shaped body or a tubular body, extends in the up-down direction, guides the upper end portion upward to form the upper end opening as the medal receiving opening 17, and the lower end portion is the hopper of the medal payout mechanism 10. It leads to the upper part of 11 and becomes the medal exit 18.

In the first space A, the medal supply machine 2
A medal replenishing section 21 is formed by accommodating and deploying 2 and providing a replenishing switch 30 for operating the medal replenishing machine 22. The medal supply machine 22 has the same structure as the medal payout machine 10 described above, that is, a hopper 23 capable of accommodating a large number of medals, a motor as a drive source, and a medal delivery port for the medals in the hopper 23. A medal payout device 24 that pays out one by one is provided, and medals paid out from the medal payout opening are detected by a medal detection sensor (not shown).

The medal supply unit 22 is fixed on a horizontal support plate 25 which can be inserted and removed from the front surface. The support plate 25 is slidably supported by guides 26, 26 provided on the inner surfaces of both side plates of the box 1. An upper end of the first passage member 16A having a gutter-shaped body or a tubular body is connected to the medal supply port of the medal supply device 22. The first passage member 16A extends downward, and the lower end of the first passage member 16A communicates with the medal drop opening 34 formed in the support plate 25. A communication hole 27 is formed in the partition plate 19 that forms a boundary between the first space portion A and the second space portion B.
A communication pipe 28 that connects the medal drop port 34 and the medal receiving port 17 of the second passage member 16B is fitted in the.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the configuration of the control device 15 described above. A CPU 41, which is the controlling body, is connected via a bus 44 to a ROM 41 for storing programs and fixed data and a RAM 42 used for reading and writing data. In addition to the above, a timer 43 for monitoring the operation of the medal supply device 22 is connected. On the bus 44, the above-mentioned starter lever 5, three stop button switches 6, and replenishment switch 3 are provided.
0, the medal detection sensor 31, the medal payout machine 10, the medal supply machine 22, etc. are connected, and the CPU 40 is
These input / output units are controlled in series while reading / writing data from / to the RAM 42 according to the program of the OM 41.

FIG. 6 shows step 1 (indicated by "ST1" in the figure) to step 10 of the control procedure relating to the medal supply by the CPU 40. In order to supply medals, the first front door 2A is opened to open the first space A, and the support plate 25 is pulled out until the hopper 23 of the medal supply machine 22 protrudes from the front opening, and then the medals. Supply machine 2
The medals to be supplied are put into the second hopper 23. After inserting the medals, the support plate 25 is pushed in to return the medal supply device 22 to a predetermined position in the first space portion A. As a result, the first passage member 16A communicates with the communication hole 28, and a series of medal passages is generated.

Thereafter, when the supply switch 30 is operated, the determination in step 1 becomes "YES", and in the next step 2, the CPU 40 resets the internal counter n,
In the next step 3, the motor of the medal feeding device 24 of the medal supply device 22 is driven, and in the subsequent step 4, the timer 43 is started.

When a medal is delivered from the medal delivery port of the medal replenishing device 22, the medal detection sensor 31 detects this and the determination in step 5 becomes "YES", and the CPU
In step 6, the timer 40 turns off the timer 43 and then increments the counter n. If the hopper 23 of the medal supply machine 22 is empty, no medals are paid out within a fixed time, so the determination in step 5 is "NO", the determination in step 9 is "YES", and C
The PU 40 stops the motor of the medal supply device 22 in step 10.

In step 8, the count value of the counter n,
That is, it is determined whether or not the number of medals that have been paid out has reached the specified number N, and if the determination is "NO", after returning to step 4 and restarting the timer 4, the medal detection is performed. It waits for the detection operation of the sensor 31. In this way, when the medals corresponding to the specified number N are fed from the medal replenishing device 22, the determination in step 8 becomes "YES", and the motor of the medal replenishing device 22 is stopped in step 10.

The medals successively fed from the medal replenishing device 22 are the first passage members 16 constituting the medal passage.
A, the communication pipe 28, and the second passage member 16B are sequentially passed to be guided to the medal payout machine 10 to replenish medals. The first front door 2A may be closed after operating the supply switch 30. If medals are loaded into the hopper 23 of the medal replenishing device 22 in advance, when medals need to be replenished, the medal can be replenished only by operating the replenishment switch 30 without performing the medal insertion work. Is.

[0034]

As described above, the present invention provides the first space portion in which the medal payout machine is housed and arranged and the second space portion in which the medal supply machine is housed and arranged, and each space portion is provided. Since the individual front doors are provided so as to be openable and closable, the front door of the first space portion is made lighter and simpler, and when replenishing medals,
It becomes easy to open and close the front door, the number of factors causing troubles is reduced, and it is possible to stock the medals to be replenished in advance in case the medals run out.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5, since the medal replenishing device is provided on the support plate so that the medal replenishing device can be inserted and removed from the front opening of the first space portion, the medal replenishment can be carried out in a wide external space, and the medal can be replenished. It will be easier to replenish.

Further, in the invention of claim 7, since the medals fed out from the medal replenishing machine are detected and the number of fed medals is counted, it is necessary to accurately count the number of medals to be fed in advance. There is also an effect that the complexity of the playground can be eliminated.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the outer appearance of the slot machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the internal structure of the slot machine.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a medal supply unit.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a control device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure by a CPU.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the first front door.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 box 2A 1st front door 2B 2nd front door 10 medal payout machine 15 control devices 16A, 16B passage member 22 medal supply machine 23 hopper 24 medal feeding device 25 support plate 30 supply switch 31 medal detection sensor 40 CPU A, Space B

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A box with a front opening, in which first and second spaces are provided above and below, and openable and closable first and second spaces that close the first and second spaces of the box from the front. A front door, a medal supply machine stored and deployed in the first space, a medal payout machine stored and deployed in the second space, and a switch for operating the medal supply machine. The machine comprises a hopper capable of accommodating a large number of medals, and a medal feeding device having a drive source for feeding the medals in the hopper one by one from a medal feeding port. A slot machine in which a medal passage that passes through the first and second spaces is formed between the outlet and the medal payout machine. 2. The first front door is a two-door door,
The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein each door piece is formed so as to be able to open both sides by pivotally supporting an outer end edge of the box. 3. The first front door is a single door,
The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein one edge of the slot machine is pivotally supported by the box so that the box can be opened. 4. The first front door is a two-door door,
The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein each door piece is slidably formed on a rail. 5. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein the medal supply device is provided on a horizontal support plate that can be inserted and removed from a front opening of the first space portion. 6. The medal passage comprises a first space portion and a second space portion.
No. 1 for connecting a communication hole formed in a partition plate for partitioning the space of the medal supply unit and a medal supply port of the medal supply machine with the communication hole.
2. The slot machine according to claim 1, further comprising: a passage member and a second passage member connecting the communication hole and the medal payout machine. 7. A box having a front opening in which first and second spaces are provided above and below, and openable and closable first and second spaces for closing the first and second spaces of the box from the front side. Front door, a medal supply machine stored and deployed in the first space, a medal payout machine stored and deployed in the second space, a switch for operating the medal supply machine, the medal supply machine, and The medal supply machine is provided with a control device for controlling the operation of the medal payout machine, and the medal supply machine has a hopper capable of accommodating a large number of medals; It is composed of a medal payout device for paying out one by one, and a medal detection sensor for detecting medals paid out from the medal payout port. 2 through each space A medal passage is formed, the control device, counting means for counting the number of medals to be fed from the output of the medal detection sensor, when the count value by the counting means reaches a specified value, A slot machine comprising a control means for stopping the operation of the medal payout device.