JPH0877422A - Medal payoff device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily perform replenishing operation for medals by composing a tubular body of a flexible tubular member. CONSTITUTION: This device is equipped with a tubular base body 1 and a flexible tubular auxiliary body 2 which is fitted by insertion into the upper end part of the tubular base body 1, and while the outer peripheral part 2x of the tubular auxiliary body 2 is fitted and held in to the inner hole of a large- diameter part 1x formed at the upper end part of the tubular base body 1, a medal storage passage 3 is formed of the inner holes 1a and 2a of both the tubular bodies 1 and 2. The tubular auxiliary body 2 is formed by using an elastic material to form a bellows part 2y to the overall length except at the lower end part 2x. Consequently, proper flexibility and secure restoring property after flexural deformation are obtained. A diameter-expanded part 2z is formed at the peripheral edge of the upper end opening part of the tubular auxiliary body 2 and a medal 4 begins to be inserted smoothly into the storage passage 2. The lower end part 2x is not in the bellows shape and the insertion fitting into the tubular base body 1 is performed without hindrance.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medal payout device used by being incorporated in, for example, an arcade game machine, and more particularly to a technique for easily replenishing the device with medals.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, as a kind of arcade game machine, a game machine of a type in which a predetermined number of medals are paid out in accordance with the result of winning or losing when a game is played by a player is practically used. Has been converted. The medal payout device built into this type of game machine generally has, for example, the following structure.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, a tubular auxiliary body (tube) 52 made of transparent resin or the like is connected and fixed above a tubular substrate 51 fixedly installed on a base plate 50, and inner holes of both are formed. 51a and 52a are contacted, and a plurality of medals 5
This is a structure for forming a medal storage passage for storing 3 in a laminated form.

As shown in FIG. 6, the lower end of the inner hole 51a of the tubular substrate 51 is communicated with the medal drop passage 54, and the laminated medal 53 is formed at the lowermost layer at the lower end. An ejecting mechanism 55 for ejecting to the medal drop passage 54 is provided in this order.

More specifically, the discharging mechanism 55 includes a mounting table 56 fixedly installed on the base plate 50 at a position below the inner hole 51a of the tubular substrate 51, and a linear groove formed on the mounting table 56. And a push-out block 57 slidably held by 56a. The mounting table 56 is arranged in a state where the communication portion 58 to the medal drop passage 54 is avoided. The upper surface of the push block 57 is higher than the upper surface of the mounting table 56, and the height difference is set within the range of the thickness of one medal 53.

The driving means 58 for moving the pushing block 57 back and forth (see FIG. 5) is the pushing block 5 thereof.
7, a drive rod 59a which is connected to the distal end thereof and moves back and forth in accordance with the excitation and non-excitation of the solenoid 59, and a tension coil spring 60 which urges the pushing block 57 toward the projecting movement side (arrow A1 direction side). To be done.

According to this structure, the push-out block 57 is moved backward and forward by causing the solenoid 59 to be energized and de-energized based on the signal sent from the control means such as the game machine. Perform a series of operations. As a result, through the state shown in FIG. 7, the stacked medals 53 are sequentially ejected one by one from the bottom layer, and the ejected medals 53 pass through the medal drop passage 54 as shown by an arrow X1 and the game is performed. It is sent to the medal exit of the machine.

In this case, for example, inside the game machine,
As shown in FIG. 8, a shooter 66 for feeding the medals 53 projected into the medal drop passage 54 to the medal takeout opening 65 is attached. It is not appropriate to increase the distance of the shooter 66 in consideration of the necessity of surely feeding the medal 53 to the medal takeout opening 65. For this reason, since the medal payout device needs to be brought close to the medal takeout opening 65, it is usually installed on the front side of the game machine as shown in the drawing.

[0009]

By the way, in the above-mentioned game machine, there are an input means 67 such as a push button switch, a display section 68 such as a CRT, and various wirings for these in a front area of the game machine. Therefore, the opening / closing portion H for working with respect to the inside of the game machine is usually disposed on the back side thereof. Since the above-mentioned conventional medal payout device fastens and fixes the tubular base body 51 and the tubular auxiliary body 52 using the lock nut 61 or the like, the empty switch 62 or the like indicates that the number of remaining medals 53 is small. When the replenishment work of the medals 53 is performed after the detection of, the following problems occur.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the tubular auxiliary body 52 of the medal payout device is opened from the back opening / closing portion H of the game machine.
Since the distance to the upper end of the tubular auxiliary body 52 is long, the operator manually passes through the upper end opening portion of the tubular auxiliary body 52 through its inner hole 5
Inserting a large number of medals 53 into 2a is an extremely difficult task. In addition, since the medals 53 are normally stored in a box or bag in a scattered state without being aligned, a large number of the medals 53 in the scattered state are stored in the tubular auxiliary body 52. However, there is a problem in that the work will be even more complicated if it is attempted to be inserted regularly, and the labor and burden imposed on the operator will increase.

As a medal replenishment work other than the above, the tubular auxiliary body 52 is detached from the tubular base body 51 and pulled out from the inside of the game machine, and a large number of medals 53 are inserted into the inner hole 52a thereof. It is also possible to fasten and fix the tubular auxiliary body 52 in the initial position by using the lock nut 61 or the like. However, even with such a method, since the distance from the back opening / closing portion H of the game machine to the tubular base body 52 is long, the work of removing and attaching the tubular auxiliary body 52 is troublesome, and a large number of scattered states are present. It also has the same problem as described above such that the work for inserting the medals 53 is complicated.

It should be noted that if a large number of medals 53 are stored in a scattered state as described above, not only there is a problem that the medals 53 are scratched by mutual collisions, but also the following problems occur. Also occurs. That is, when two or more tubular bodies are arranged in parallel inside the game machine,
It may be necessary to store different types of medals 53 in each of the two or more tubular auxiliary bodies 52. In such a case, it is preferable to store the medals 53 for each type, but at present, due to the fact that the storage mode using boxes or bags is adopted as described above, It is customary to store the medals 53 in the same box or the like in a scattered state. Therefore, only a specific type of medal has to be found out and inserted into the tubular auxiliary body 52, which makes the work more difficult.

The present invention has been devised under the circumstances described above, and the refilling work of medals can be easily performed by improving the structure of the tubular body which is the storage portion of the medal payout device. The task is to do so.

[0014]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention takes the following technical means.

That is, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is a tubular body having a storage passage, the lower end of which communicates with a medal dropping path, and which has a storage passage for accommodating medals in a stacked state above the tubular body.
In a medal payout device provided with a discharge mechanism arranged at the lower end of the tubular body and discharging the medals fed in a stacked form from the storage passage in order from the lower layer part to the medal dropping path, It is characterized in that at least a part thereof is made of a flexible tubular member.

In this case, it is preferable that the medals are stored in a state in which a large number of the medals are stacked in a peelable packaging cylinder (claim 2).

[0017]

According to the invention described in claim 1, since at least a part of the tubular body is made of a flexible tubular member, the upper end of the tubular body is flexible. The flexible tubular member can be deformed to a desired position or orientation.

Therefore, even when the above-mentioned medal payout device is arranged on the front side of the game machine and the opening / closing portion for working with respect to the inside thereof is arranged on the rear side thereof, It is possible to easily perform the medal replenishment work for the medal payout device through the work opening / closing portion.

More specifically, an operator holds the upper end of the tubular body from the back side of the game machine by hand or pulls the flexible tubular member toward the front while bending the flexible tubular member using a hooking rod or the like. As a result, the upper end opening of the tubular body approaches the opening / closing portion for work. Under such a condition, if the medals are inserted into the tubular body, the medal replenishing work can be easily performed without causing the work inconvenience caused by the medal payout device being installed on the front side of the game machine. It will be.

Further, as in the invention described in claim 2, if a large number of medals are stored in a state of being wrapped in a peelable packaging cylinder in a laminated state, when the medal is replenished, It becomes possible to insert a large number of the above-mentioned medals in a laminated state through the upper end opening of the tubular body while peeling off the packaging tubular body. This further facilitates the medal replenishment work.

In addition, in the storage mode as described above, it is possible to arrange and store medals of different types in advance in a state where they are distinguished from each other, and the medals are scattered in a box or bag as in the conventional case. Not only can medals be prevented from being damaged during storage, but also medals of a specific type can be searched out from different types of medals and inserted into the tubular body, which is extremely troublesome.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
A specific description will be given with reference to the drawings.

Regarding the periphery of the lower opening of the tubular base body 51, the medal drop passage 54, the ejection mechanism 55, the drive means 58 and the like in the conventional example shown in FIGS. However, the detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of parts disassembled arrangement showing a main part of a medal payout device according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, a characteristic part of this medal payout device is a tubular base body 1 in which the above-mentioned discharging mechanism is provided at the lower end portion, and a flexibility to be inserted and fitted into the upper end portion of the tubular base body 1. And a tubular auxiliary body 2 having the same. Then, in a state where the lower end outer peripheral portion 2x of the tubular auxiliary body 2 is fitted and held in the inner hole of the large diameter portion 1x formed in the upper end portion of the tubular base body 1 (see FIG. 2).
), The inner holes 1a, 2a of both the tubular bodies 1, 2 constitute a medal storage passage 3.

The tubular auxiliary body 2 is formed of an elastic material such as resin or rubber. Then, preferably, as shown in the drawing, the bellows-like portion 2y is formed over substantially the entire length excluding the lower end portion 2x. As a result, the tubular auxiliary body 2 has appropriate flexibility and reliable resilience after flexural deformation. When forming the bellows-like portion 2y on the tubular auxiliary body 2 in this manner, the inner peripheral surface 2a thereof is formed.
In order to allow the medal 4 to slide smoothly along the medals 4, the corrugated shape of the bellows is gently curved, or the inner peripheral surface 2a itself is made smooth.

Further, a diametrically expanded portion 2z whose upper part is diametrically expanded is formed at the peripheral edge of the upper end opening of the tubular auxiliary body 2.
This is done so that the insertion of the medal 4 into the storage passage 3 can be started smoothly. Further, the lower end portion 2x of the tubular auxiliary body 2 has a non-bellow shape,
Care is taken so that the lower end portion 2x can be inserted and fitted into the tubular substrate 1 without any trouble. It is not always necessary to form the large-diameter portion 1x on the upper end of the tubular base body 1 as shown in the drawing, and the connecting structure of the tubular bodies 1 and 2 is not limited to the illustrated structure. However, for example, a fastening structure using a lock nut as described above may be used.

The above-mentioned medal 4 is stored when it is stored.
As shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), a large number of the packaging cylinders 5 made of, for example, paper or resin are wrapped in a laminated state. The packaging cylinder 5 is provided with two perforations (cutting lines) 6, 6 extending in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. Therefore, in order to peel off the packaging cylinder 5, it suffices to cut the strip-shaped portion 7 between the two perforations 6 and 6 therebetween. The means for allowing the packaging cylinder 5 to be peeled off is not limited to engraving the perforations 6, 6 and, for example, a packaging cylinder in which the medal 4 can be inserted and removed in the axial direction, It is also possible to employ other means such as removably fitting a cap into the opening at one end or both ends of the packaging cylinder.

On the other hand, FIG. 4 shows a game machine 2 incorporating a medal payout device 10 having the above-mentioned characteristic parts.
0 shows an example of 0. As is clear from the figure, the medal payout device (especially the tubular bodies 1 and 2) is arranged on the front side of the game machine 20. The game machine 20 is based on an input means 21 such as a push button switch operated by a player, a signal a from the input means 21 and a signal b from a storage means 22 storing various game information and the like. The game progress control means 23 for controlling the progress status of the game is provided as a basic constituent element, and the display means 24 for displaying the state of the game at that time based on the signal c from the game progress control means 23. .

Further, in the game machine 20, when a player plays a game and wins the game, a predetermined control signal d is sent from the game progress control means 23. The control signal d is input to the solenoid drive control means 25. Then, from the solenoid drive control means 25, a drive signal e for sending the solenoid 27, which is the drive source of the ejection mechanism 26, into the excited and non-excited states is sent. In this case, the control signal d sent from the game progress control means 23 to the solenoid drive control means 25 indicates the number of medals 4 to be paid out, and the number of medals 4 to be paid out depends on the type of victory in the game and other factors. It is determined according to the game rules.

A shooter 29 for guiding and moving the medal 4 dropped from the lower end of the tubular substrate 1 by the operation of the discharging mechanism 26 is attached to the front surface of the game machine 20.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described with reference to the game machine 20.
The medal payout device will be mainly described including the relationship with.

First, when the player operates the input means 21 of the game machine 20 shown in FIG. 4 to play the game, for example, when a win predetermined by the game rule is obtained, the game progress control is performed. A control signal d indicating the number of paid-out medals 4 is sent from the means 23 to the solenoid drive control means 25. As a result, the solenoid drive control means 25 sends the drive signal e corresponding to the number of payouts to the solenoid 27. As a result, the series of energized and non-excited states of the solenoid 27 is the same as the number of payouts. It is repeated a number of times.

As a result, a predetermined number of medals 4 are sequentially fed to the medal takeout opening 28 via the shooter 29.

By performing the above-described operation a number of times, the empty switch 30 installed at the lower end of the tubular substrate 1 detects that the number of remaining medals 4 is less than or equal to a predetermined number. At this point, the worker opens the work opening / closing part (opening / closing plate) L on the back side of the game machine 20.

Then, by inserting a hand through the work opening / closing portion L or using a locking rod or the like to pull the upper end portion of the tubular auxiliary body 2 to the back side, as shown by a chain line in FIG. The tubular auxiliary body 2 is bent. As a result, the upper end opening of the tubular auxiliary body 2 and the enlarged diameter portion 2z of the peripheral edge thereof reach the vicinity of the work opening / closing portion L.

With the tubular auxiliary body 2 bent as described above, the strip-shaped portion 7 of the packaging cylinder 5 shown in FIG. 3 (b) is cut along the perforations 6 and 6 as shown in FIG. As shown by an arrow C, a large number of medals 4 are inserted in the inner hole 2a and thus the medal storage passage 3 from the upper opening of the tubular auxiliary body 2 in the laminated state. Then, when a predetermined number of medals 4 are inserted, the tubular auxiliary body 2 is returned to the initial state shown by the solid line in FIG. 4 by its restoring force.
As a result, the work of replenishing the medals 4 is completed in a short time.

As described above, since the tubular auxiliary body 2 is composed of the flexible tubular member, it is provided on the front side of the game machine 20 where the refilling work of the medals 4 is originally difficult. Despite the provision of the tubular bodies 1 and 2 of the medal payout device, by bending the tubular auxiliary body 2, the refilling work of the medals 4 from the back side thereof can be performed very easily.

Further, since the medals 4 are stored in a state of being wrapped by the packaging cylinder body 5, the medals 7 are stored in a box or a bag in a messy state as in the conventional case. Problems such as scratches due to a collision can be avoided, and the medals can be easily stored and replenished by type.

In the above embodiment, the tubular auxiliary body 2 of the tubular body is a tubular member having flexibility over substantially the entire length. However, a part of the tubular auxiliary body 2, for example, the upper end portion or the central portion thereof or You may comprise only the fixed length part of a lower end part by the tubular member which has flexibility.

If the restoring property is good, the tubular base body 1 may be replaced with the tubular auxiliary body 2, and the tubular base body 1 may be constituted by a flexible tubular member. The tubular auxiliary body 2 and the tubular auxiliary body 2 may be integrally formed, and the appropriate place may be configured by a flexible tubular member.

Further, the medal payout device according to the above embodiment is not limited to being applied to a game machine as illustrated above, but can be similarly applied to, for example, a money changing machine.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a component exploded array perspective view showing a main part of a medal payout device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical side view showing a state of the medal payout device according to the embodiment when refilling medals.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a medal storage means used when replenishing medals of the medal payout device according to the above embodiment,
FIG. 3 (a) is a vertical sectional front view showing its internal state, and FIG. 3 (b) is a front view showing its external appearance.

FIG. 4 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional side view showing an internal structure of a game machine provided with the medal payout device according to the above embodiment and a control system thereof.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view showing an overall configuration of a conventional medal payout device.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical side view showing the internal structure and operation of a conventional medal payout device.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged vertical side view showing the internal structure and operation of a conventional medal payout device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic vertical sectional side view showing an internal structure of a game machine provided with a conventional medal payout device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tubular substrate 1a Inner hole of tubular substrate 2 Flexible tubular member (tubular auxiliary body) 2a Inner hole of tubular auxiliary body 3 Medal storage passage 4 Medal 5 Packaging cylinder

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A tubular body having a lower end communicating with a medal drop path and having a storage passage for accommodating the medals in a laminated state above the medal fall path, and a tubular body disposed at the lower end of the tubular body to be laminated from the accommodating passage. In a medal payout device having a discharging mechanism for discharging the medals to be fed to the medal drop path in order from the lower layer part, at least a part of the tubular body is formed of a flexible tubular member. A featured medal payout device. 2. The medal payout device according to claim 1, wherein the medals are stored in a state in which a large number of the medals are wrapped in a peelable packaging cylinder in a laminated state.