JPS6231392B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention provides marks obtained by inserting medals (circular plates such as coins), rotating a plurality of drums with a required number of marks on the outer periphery, and stopping the rotating drums arbitrarily. This invention relates to a slot machine in which a corresponding number of winning prize medals are ejected to a player depending on the combination of the following. Further, the present invention provides a medal distribution system device which effectively circulates medals used in this slot machine and saves manpower at a game hall where this slot machine is installed.

The slot machines used in the present invention are not unique to Japan, but are mostly imported from Europe and the United States, and each slot machine is an independent machine. There is no way to manage the system, and to the extent of the applicant's knowledge, it has not appeared in gambling parlors that exist in the United States or Europe.In other words, until now, only independent management methods have been considered for each machine. In other words, even if there are many slot machines installed in a gaming hall (gaming hall), each machine is an independent machine, and they are simply placed on a table in groups of one or three. It was installed as described. The advantage of this is that even a single machine can be freely installed without taking up space in the game hall, and it is convenient because it can be moved. However, considering the current trend of installing a large number of slot machines in gaming parlors, if each slot machine is managed independently, a large number of medals will be used in the game, so the gaming parlor will have to manage each slot machine individually. However, it is very inefficient when considering the labor involved in replenishing and collecting medals that have become insufficient or saturated, and recently a large number of game machines that use medals called game centers have appeared. At present, there was a desire to manage the medal distribution system. However, in the current situation where the conventional fixed concept of individual management of slot machines is the mainstream, the present invention improves this and establishes a management of the medal distribution system that could not be done in the past with the advent of a system device. It is something.

Furthermore, when we examine the internal mechanisms of slot machines compared to the old ones, we find that although the mechanical parts accounted for most of the machine parts due to improvements in electronic technology, the weight of the machines has decreased, and the game methods have also been improved by applying electronic technology. However, only the control part remains, and the main parts such as the rotating drum or operating handle and the hopper device for dispensing medals when winning a prize still remain as mechanical devices, occupying a very large space. A large number of devices are housed in the space. In other words, although the control mechanism has been transitioned to electronic control as mentioned earlier, it is no exaggeration to say that it remains in its original form, although some improvements have been made to the main parts. In other words, the main mechanical parts occupied the limited storage space, making it impossible to manage the medal system. Therefore, in the present invention, the part corresponding to the hopper part which is a payout device for winning medals is separated from the slot machine main body, and the lower part of the slot machine table is not used because it is simply used to place the slot machine. There is a considerable amount of storage space, and the present invention focuses on this. Specifically, when actually playing a slot machine, the player either stands up or sits on a tall chair. Although there was a considerable amount of space at the bottom of the platform, it was left unused and the space was not utilized.

Next, to explain the structure and gaming procedure of the conventional example (see Fig. 4), there is a medal slot 2 on the front side of the slot machine main body 1, and when playing a game, an arbitrary number of coins are inserted through the medal slot 2. do. The inserted medals are judged good or bad by the medal sorting machine 3, and the number of good medals inserted is detected and the control device 4
A signal is sent to When the player inserts a medal, the player pulls the operating handle 5 toward him and releases it, causing the rotating drum 6 to rotate, allowing the player to control the individual drums 6 ₁ to 6.
_3. When the stop buttons ₇₁ to ₇₃ for stopping are pressed as appropriate, the rotating drum 6 linked to each stop button 7 is stopped, the combinations of marks attached to the outer periphery of the drum are compared, and medals are paid out according to winnings. Medals are paid out from a hopper 8 of the device to a medal tray 9 on the player's side. Of course, it goes without saying that if the combination is wrong (unless you win a prize), no coins will be paid out. The inserted medals that have passed through the medal sorter 3 are stored in a hopper 8 having the function of a medal payout device, and the stored medals are reused as payout medals at the time of winning. When the hopper 8 is saturated with medals, a float switch (not shown) is activated, and the medal passage switching device 10 causes the medals to be ejected from the slot machine main body 1 and stored in a receiving box 11 provided at the bottom of the platform. Ru.
Then, when the amount of medals in the hopper 8 decreases, the passage switching device 10 is operated again, and the medals thrown into the hopper 8 are guided. however,
Conventionally, the game can be continued by switching paths only when the hopper 8 is saturated with medals, but if there are no more medals in the hopper 8, winning medals are paid out even when the player wins. It disappears. Therefore, the player's manager asked the player to temporarily stop playing, opened the front of the slot machine, and manually placed a certain number of medals into the hopper 8.
The current situation was that they were being supplied with supplies. Therefore, in places where a large number of slot machines are installed, it is necessary to always pay attention to the task of replenishing medals, collecting medals when more than a certain amount has accumulated in the receiving box 11 at the bottom, and troubleshooting problems with the slot machines themselves. It took a lot of effort to distribute them.

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention will be explained below with reference to embodiment figures. Broadly speaking, slot machines are equipped with a medal slot 2, a medal tray 9, and a winning display device 12 on the front of the slot machine main body 1, which can be seen by the player. The slot machine 3 and the control device 4 are built in, and the hopper part of the conventional medal dispensing device when winning a prize has been removed from the inside of the main body 1 in order to manage the medal distribution system of the slot machine of the present invention. It's summery. The slot machine main body 1 is the mounting base 1
A transfer device 15 is installed in the space 14 under the platform 13 for each slot machine, and when a prize is won, the transfer device 15 is arranged horizontally in a row at equal intervals and fixed. The medals are transferred upward, and since a medal dispensing function is added, necessary winning medals are directly dispensed to the medal receiving tray 9. Also, when the tank 24 of the transfer device 15 is saturated, the inserted medals will overflow.
6, the medals are collected in one place, and when there is a shortage of medals in the tank 24, which is separate from each slot machine, the medals are collected in the tank 24 that is separated from each slot machine.
A platform 13 on which a plurality of slot machines are arranged in a line is equipped with a medal collection and supply device 17 that has the role of replenishing medals.
A medal conveying device 18, which is provided at either end of the slot machine and sends the supplied medals to a predetermined location, extends from one end of the platform 13 on which the slot machine is installed.

The content described above was an explanation of each block, but now let's discuss the individual structural content and operating status. The game is started by inserting medals from the medal slot 2 and pulling the operating handle 5 toward you, and until the rotating drum 6 is stopped by pressing the stop button 7, there is no difference from a conventional slot machine, and it has a different structure. Although it is not much different from the gaming method of a slot machine, since the present invention is an improved distribution processing device for the inserted medals 19, the gaming method in particular has been explained in the conventional example and will be omitted here. The medals inserted through the medal slot 2 are discriminated by a medal sorting machine 3 and are led to a passage 20 to a transfer device 15 installed at the bottom of a platform 13.
and the path guided on the medal collection belt 21 of the medal transport device 18 are divided into two, and good medals are guided to a path switching device 23 provided in this section. Normally, each transfer device 15 is stored in a tank 24 through a passage 20, but the tank 2
The amount of medals in the tank 24 is controlled by the operation of the upper and lower switches 25 and 26, which detect the upper and lower limits of the amount of medals in the tank 24.
When the upper switch 25 is activated, the medals in the tank 24 are saturated in this state, so there is no need to store the medals 19 in the tank 24, and the passage switching device 23 blocks the passage 20 leading to the tank 24 and switches the passage to one side. The passage 22 is opened and the medal conveyance device 1
The medals 16 thrown onto the medal collection belt 21 of No. 8 are dropped and temporarily stored in a collection tank 27 of a medal collection and supply device 17 provided at the lower end of the platform 13.

The recovery tank 27 collectively collects and stores medals discharged through the passage 22 from a plurality of slot machine bodies 1 fixed to a row of platforms 13 arranged in parallel, and similarly transfers the medals to each transfer device 15. When a shortage occurs, the respective lower switches 26 are activated to replenish a certain number of medals 30 from the collection tank 27 to the medal counting section 28 and the medal transport section 29.
A medal collecting and replenishing device 17 comprising a lower supply belt 3 opposite to the medal conveying device 18
Replenishment medals 30 are placed on the slot machine 2, and are guided to the tank 24 from the replenishment medal receiving section 31 of the transfer device 15 of the slot machine in which the shortage has occurred, and are replenished in a fixed quantity. Although this embodiment diagram of the medal conveying device 18 uses a flat belt moving up and down (reciprocating), this is not particularly limited in carrying out the present invention.
Separate transport means may be used for replenishment.

Up/down switch 2 for medal detection inside tank 24
5 and 26 are not operating, that is, before the tank 24 is empty, the lower switch 26 is still not sensing the amount of medals stored, and the tank 24 is still empty.
If the amount of medals stored is such that the upper switch 25 does not yet detect it in the medal storage state before the inside is saturated, the medals are normally circulated for each machine, and the medals inserted from the medal slot 2 are switched to the passage. Since the device 23 operates to block the passage 22, the interior of the tank 24 is guided to the passage 20 and the medals 19 are stored therein. These medals 19 are temporarily stored in a tank 24, and when they play a game and win a prize, a transfer path extends upward from the transfer device 15 to the medal receiving tray 9 via a discharge port 33, and is guided through a connecting passage 34. The winning medal 37 is then paid out. The number of medals to be paid out is variously set depending on the combination mark at the time of winning, so it is not a fixed number. This transfer device 15
is the control device 4 built into the slot machine body 1.
It is composed of a payout mechanism 35 that counts the number of medals to be paid out according to a command, and an upward transfer machine 36 that directly transfers the medals in the tank 24 to the medal receiving tray 9. Furthermore, the medal receiving section 31 at the time of replenishment is also a series of components. It has been established as

The number of medals to be paid out is counted and checked by the payout mechanism 35 according to a command from the control device 4, and the medals 37 to be paid out at the time of each winning are sent directly to the medal tray 9 from a place separated from the slot machine main body 1 by an upward transfer device 36. is paid out to the player. The operation of the medal receiving unit 31 is that when the probability of winning is very high and a large amount of medals are paid out to the player, the tank 2
The lower switch 26 senses that the medals in the tank 4 are running low and activates the medal collection and supply device 17 to start replenishing the medals in the tank 24. However, when a large number of slot machines are installed in parallel, a certain number of medals can be placed at the required locations. Since it is necessary to replenish medals, an entrance is opened in the supply medal receiving section 31 of the transfer device 15 where the shortage has occurred, and the sent medals 30 are guided from the receiving section to the tank 24 to be replenished with medals. The balance of medal circulation for each machine differs depending on the number of medals inserted and the number of medals dispensed, but when the medal circulation for each machine is unbalanced, the medals that overflow from other machines are reused and Since the medals are collected and stored in the recovery tank 27, the medals are sent from the recovery tank 27 to the medal transfer unit 18 by the medal transport unit 29 of the medal recovery and supply device 17, and the supply medal receiving unit 31 is opened. Replenish the missing medals at the location. The opening/closing operation of the replenishment medal receiving section 31 is performed in the order of replenishment commands in each tank 24, and the next replenishment is not performed until the replenishment to one transfer device 15 is completed. The replenishment method is also not particularly limited.

Similar to the tank 24 of the transfer device 15, the amount of medals is sensed in the recovery tank 27 of the medal recovery and supply device 17 installed at the end of the space 14 of the platform 13 to which the parallel slot machine bodies 1 are fixed. An upper switch 38 and a lower switch 39 are provided, and the switches serve to monitor the accumulated amount of replenishment medals and notify them with a display lamp 40. 41,42,4
3 and 44 indicate command paths for operating each device. Although it is limited to display in the embodiment, if the platform 13 on which a plurality of slot machines are arranged side by side is used as one block and a mutual supply transfer route with other blocks is created, circulation throughout the entire game hall can be performed as a medal distribution system. It can be used to a great extent for medal management.

As described above, the present invention does not operate as a stand-alone slot machine, which was the fixed concept of conventional slot machines, but rather separates the conventional hopper section from the slot machine main body 1 and provides the transfer device 15 having the function corresponding to this hopper section. This led to the effective use of the space that was previously used only as a stand, and enabled the system management of medals. In addition, the amount of medals that can be stored in a single slot machine is limited to 300 to 400 medals due to lack of storage capacity in the hopper section, which is a conventional medal dispensing device.Furthermore, the structure of the hopper section has quite a number of constraints. Since it was a medal dispensing device, maintenance was extremely difficult. However, by separating the medal dispensing mechanism 35 from the slot machine main body 1, there is more space available, and since there is also more space in the place where it is installed, a large amount of medals can be stored, and the structural design is also very convenient. There are also benefits such as ease of use and the elimination of many restrictive conditions. As the amount of accumulated medals increases, the number of times of replenishment decreases, so in the embodiment of the present invention, an example of docking the medal collection and replenishment device 17 and the medal transport device 18 is shown. It also plays a major role in circulation, meaning that the amount of water stored increases, reducing the need for manual replenishment. In addition, since a space is created by removing the hopper section built into the slot machine body 1, the overall height can be reduced by that amount, making it possible to provide a compact slot machine, among other advantages. It is obvious that this invention will establish the distribution system management of slot machine medals in future gaming halls.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of the internal mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a system diagram showing a medal circulation route in an embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 3 shows a state in which slot machines are installed side by side. The perspective view shown in FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a medal distribution route of a conventional slot machine. 1... Slot machine main body, 3... Medal sorting machine, 5... Operating handle, 6... Rotating drum, 9
... medal tray, 13 ... mounting table, 15 ... transfer device, 17 ... medal collection and supply device, 18 ... medal transport device, 23 ... passage switching device, 24 ...
Tank, 25...Upper switch, 26...Lower switch, 27...Recovery tank, 29...Medal transport section, 31...Replenishment medal receiving section, 34...Connection passage, 35...Payout mechanism, 36... ...Upward transport machine.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A plurality of slot machines are installed in parallel, medals are stored in a tank 24 in the transfer device 15, and are paid out as winning medals.The tank 24 is saturated and the overflowing medals are transferred to the slot machine by the medal transfer device. The medals are stored in a recovery tank included in a medal recovery and supply device 17 provided at one end of the lower part of the platform, and the medal recovery and supply device stores the medals in the recovery tank when there is a shortage of medals in the transfer device 15. Accordingly, the medals of the slot machine are sent by a lifting part provided in the medal collecting and replenishing device, and are supplied to the tank 24 by the medal transporting device via the supplied medal receiving part 31 of the transfer device 15. In the circulation system, the medals inserted into the slot machine main body 1 are transferred to the transfer device 1.
A passage switching device 23 is provided to divide the passage between a passage 20 leading to the medal collection supply device 17 and a passage 22 leading to the medal collecting and supplying device 17 in a saturated state. A payout mechanism 35 that is equipped with a switch that senses the amount of medals in the tank 24 of the transfer device 15 and that counts and controls the number of medals paid out at the time of winning, and an upward transfer mechanism 36 that pays out the winning medals directly to the player's tray 9. Furthermore, when the tank 24 of the transfer device 15 is short of medals, a replenishment medal receiving section 31 is provided to receive medals from the medal transfer device, and a medal payout mechanism 35 is provided at the time of winning from within the slot machine main body. This winning medal payout device also serves as a medal supply and transfer function, characterized in that a device 15 is provided separately.