JP2519966B2 - Ball payout mechanism when continuously inserting coins in a thin ball lending machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a thin ball lending machine provided between pachinko machines on a gaming island of a hall, and more specifically, to a player. Is a coin lending machine with two or more coins continuously inserted into the coin lending machine. Regarding

(Prior Art) Various thin ball lending machines installed between conventional pachinko machines have been developed and provided.

For example, in the configuration of the thin ball lending machine of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-221384 filed by the applicant of the present invention, the continuously inserted coins are moored, and only the preceding one coin is moored by the signal detecting the coins. The coin continuous insertion mechanism that keeps the next coin moored, the coin discriminating device that discriminates the appropriateness / ineligibility of the moored coin and its denomination, and the signal from the coin discriminating device. A coin allocating mechanism, a coin lending counting mechanism for starting and controlling by a coin detection signal of a branch sensor of the coin allocating mechanism, and an operation of the coin lending counting mechanism in accordance with a denomination signal discriminated by the coin identifying device. A means for controlling the number of times is provided to enable the use of one or more types of coins by introducing a coin identification device that discriminates whether coins are suitable or not, and the denomination of 100-yen / 500-yen coins, and The coin sorting mechanism sorts the good and bad of coins. The number of coins is processed by a microcomputer (hereinafter, abbreviated as CPU) to set the number of operating times of the ball rental counting mechanism. Will be explained in more detail.

The progressive feeding solenoid 32 of the continuous coin feeding mechanism 3 moorizes the continuously fed coins by the forward feeding lever 31 for the time being,
The coin is detected by the forward feed sensor 33, and the forward feed lever 31 is excited by the signal that detects the coin, and the forward feed lever 31 is rotated to release the mooring of only the first coin, and moor the next coin. The coin discriminator 4 discriminates whether the coin, which has been released from the mooring, is in the falling passage, and discriminates whether the coin is suitable or not, and the denomination thereof.
Signal to excite the branch solenoid 51, and the branch solenoid 51 is attracted to the coin sorting plate 52 to move the coin passage 40.
The branch sensor 53 detects coins on the distribution plate 52.

Then, in the ball rental counting mechanism 2, the sprocket wheel 21 facing the ball passage 1 has the pachinko balls P replenished from above fitted into the concave teeth 21a and rotates at that weight to send the pachinko balls P, and the counting gear 22 is the sprocket wheel above
Rotation counting is performed in conjunction with 21, the stop lever 25 constantly restrains the count gear 22 with a spring force, the ball-cutting solenoid 26 releases the restraint of the count gear 22, and the ball-cutting switch 27 holds the count gear 22. Control by the rotation angle, restrain,
Starting control is performed by the coin detection signal of the branch sensor 53 of the coin allocating mechanism 5, and the number of ball rental operation (1 cycle) is controlled according to the denomination signal discriminated by the coin discriminating device 4. .

That is, the counting gear 22 is a coin detection signal of the branch sensor 53 to activate the beating solenoid 26 to be activated, and the ball-leasing switch 27 demagnetizes the betting solenoid 26 to stop it. The coin discriminating device 4 discriminates the coin denomination, controls the beating solenoid 26,
Further, it is provided with a condition data arithmetic processing means for counting and displaying by a detection signal of the ball cutting switch 27.

In other words, the conventional thin ball lending machine described above substantially lends 25 pachinko balls P by rotating the sprocket wheel 21 2.5 times for 100 yen, and the number of ball lending operations is 1 cycle. Even if the coins are continuously inserted, the coins are temporarily moored and the coins are allowed to flow one coin at a time so that each cycle is processed in sequence. It consisted of a mechanism in which the cycle did not start.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Because of the above-mentioned mechanism, the conventional thin ball lending machine 1
It takes about 3 seconds or more with one 100-yen coin to complete the cycle (ball rental operation), and if there is only one coin inserted, there is no problem, but the player can play five coins at a time. If you throw them in continuously, it will take a long time (about 15 seconds) for all the pachinko balls to be lent out, so when you hit a jackpot and need to lend balls immediately, you are crazy about games. It was just frustrating for the person. Not only that, but with such a slow processing speed, the player has the illusion that so-called swallowing has occurred, and there are complaints about the hole due to anxiety that it may damage the game price. It became a hall's credit problem, which became a complaint to the manufacturer, and became a major problem in terms of service. This is because there is a problem that the ball rental operation takes a single time too much, and improvement thereof has been demanded early.

That is, the biggest factor is that the operation setting for each cycle for one coin is being tried, and during this operation, for example, the operating time of each solenoid operating serially and the sum of those time lags, etc. There was a time-waiting part.

The above-mentioned drawbacks are not limited to the thin ball lending machine of the present application, and can be applied to thin ball lending machines of other manufacturers that are variously provided.

For example, a coin counting mechanism and a coin forward feed lever are mechanically linked by a link mechanism to achieve the cycle of each part, and the inserted coin is temporarily moored to the coin forward feed lever, simultaneously presses the micro switch, and receives the signal to electromagnet. Even if the other thin ball lending machine that operates the ball lending operation tries to mechanically process the operation until the end of one cycle, if one cycle is not completed, the next coin cycle Couldn't start. As a result, the ball lending operation takes a long time, and even if trying to solve these problems, it is difficult to sequence them, and it is also necessary to install it in a device with dimensional restrictions such as a thin ball lending machine installed between pachinko machines. Was virtually impossible.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a thin ball lending machine in which the time required to complete the ball lending operation for two or more coins continuously inserted is extremely short and the waiting time for internal processing is short. The purpose is to provide a ball payout mechanism when continuously inserting coins.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention was devised to achieve the above object, and a ball payout mechanism at the time of continuous coin insertion in the thin ball lending machine of the present invention is
The first and second coins that have been continuously inserted are moored at the column position in the coin alignment passage, the mooring of the first coin is released by the signal that detects the first coin, and the second coin is released. The coin has a coin continuous insertion mechanism in which the first coin is moored at the position where it was moored to intermittently take in the coin, and a coin identification device that discriminates the appropriateness of the inserted coin and its denomination. Connected to the continuous coin insertion mechanism,
The coin discriminating device discriminates between a coin allocating mechanism operated by a signal detected as a true coin by the coin discriminating device, a coin-rental counting mechanism for starting control by a coin detection signal of a branch sensor of the coin allocating mechanism, and the coin discriminating device. In a thin ball lending machine comprising means for controlling the number of times of operation of the ball lending counting mechanism in accordance with an input coin denomination signal, a continuously inserted first coin is a branch sensor of a coin allocating mechanism. When the number of coins is detected by the coin lending counting mechanism, the coin lending control unit starts the ball lending operation for the amount of coins inserted, and the coin type signal in the order of receipt of the positive coins that have passed through the coin identification device from the continuous coin insertion mechanism is stored. If the second and subsequent coins are detected during the coin lending operation, the control unit that keeps them operated is used to capture the second and subsequent coins in parallel with the coin lending operation for the first coin. First piece based on denomination signal in order of receipt After the coin lending operation of coins is completed, the ball lending operation is successively performed.

(Operation) Therefore, as in the conventional method, the first coin is detected, the mooring of the first coin is released, the coin identification device discriminates, and the second and subsequent coins are moored and stopped. A signal at the end of one cycle after leasing a pachinko ball by rotating the sprocket wheel of the ball rental counting mechanism 2.5 times, indicates the next ball rental operation for the second and subsequent coins (1
Because the control unit stores a denomination signal in the order of accepting the second and subsequent proper coins, even if the first coin is in the ball lending operation, not a serial operation such as entering a cycle). Since the number of ball rental operations is determined and the sprocket wheels rotate one after another in response to the denomination signal of the order of acceptance, it is obvious that the ball rental operation time is significantly shortened.

(Example) Next, one example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to this example. Incidentally, the same parts as those of the conventional one are indicated by the same reference numerals. FIG. 1A is a side view showing a schematic arrangement of an internal mechanism of a thin ball lending machine according to the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a front view of FIG. 1A.

In the thin ball lending machine A of the present invention, a pachinko ball P is guided to the ball passage 1 from a ball supply source (not shown) from above, and the number of balls counted by the ball rental counting mechanism 2 falls vertically in series. Then, it is discharged from a ball discharge port 11 (ball jar) which is opened in front of the end. A part of the tip end of the sprocket wheel 21 of the ball rental counting mechanism 2 faces the upper part of the ball passage 1. The sprocket wheel 21 has concave teeth 21a corresponding to the radius of the pachinko ball P.
Has a predetermined number (for example, 10 teeth) cut out on its circumferential surface, and the falling pachinko balls P are rotated by their own weight by sequentially engaging the recessed teeth 21a from the tip, and the counting gear 22 interlocked with this. The number of pachinko balls P per turn
Is supposed to pass.

A coin continuous insertion mechanism 3 is a coin alignment passage in which coins S1 (first coin) coin S2 (second coin) continuously inserted from the front coin insertion slot 30 are inclined coins after the second coin. The first inserted coins S1 that are arranged in a row are moored at the tip of the forward feed lever 31, arranged in the receiving order, and taken in intermittently.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a coin discriminating device, which is provided at a position below the continuous coin inserting mechanism 3 and is used for determining whether the coin is proper or unsuitable, and discriminating the coin denomination of the proper coin, and the coin passage. It falls to 40. The types of proper coins in this example were 100-yen coins and 500-yen coins.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a coin allocating mechanism, which is the coin identifying device 4
When it is determined that the coin is inappropriate, the coin falls through the coin passage 40 as it is, and is returned to the coin return opening 42 on the front side through the coin return passage 41. At this time, the coin sorting mechanism 5 does not operate. When the coin discriminating device 4 determines that the coin allocating mechanism 5 is appropriate, the branch solenoid 51 of the coin allocating mechanism 5 is excited to absorb the coin allocating plate 52, and when the coin passage 40 is closed, the coin S1 is tilted. The shape is such that it rolls along the minute plate 52 and is temporarily moored at the end.

Reference numeral 53 denotes a branch sensor, and the coin S1 released from the mooring by the detection signal of the coin S1 moored to the coin sorting plate 52 is dropped and sent out toward the coin sending passage 43. 6 is a microcomputer (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as CPU) and I / O
It is a control unit in which ports and the like are arranged. 7 is a coin return button protruding to the front. Reference numeral 8 denotes a display unit, which displays a trouble display and the balance of the inserted coins.

Next, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a ball rental counting mechanism. 3A to 3C are explanatory views showing the operation of the ball rental counting mechanism.

One tooth of a sprocket wheel 21 having concave teeth 21a with respect to the radius of the pachinko ball P arranged on the peripheral surface is made to face the ball passage 1, and a transmission gear 21b and a count gear 22 provided coaxially with the sprocket wheel 21 mesh with each other. Then, the sprocket wheel 21 and the count gear 22 are configured to rotate in conjunction with each other. A stop cam 23 is coaxial with the counting gear 22.
And a semi-circular switch cam 24 are overlapped with each other, and the stop cam 23 is provided with a protruding locking portion 23a.

Reference numeral 25 is a stop lever, which is an upper portion 23a of the stop cam 23.
A direction in which the stop claw 25a that engages with the stop claw 25a and the blocking claw 25b that prevents over-rotation are disposed at the ends, and the stop claw 25a always engages the stop 23a with the shaft 25c that is rotatably supported as a fulcrum It is biased by a spring 25d. 26 is a ball cutting solenoid and its plunger
26a is arranged to support the other end 25e of the stop lever 25. 27 is a ball cutting switch, the actuator
27a is in sliding contact with the switch cam 24. 28 is a governor, which prevents the sprocket wheel 21 from reversing.

 Next, the operation of the ball rental counting mechanism 2 will be described.

When the ball-cutting solenoid 26 is excited, the blanker 26a rotates around the shaft 25c of the stop lever 25 as a fulcrum, and the stop claw 25a engaged with the latch portion 23a is tripped against the urging force of the spring 25d. The constraint of the gear 22 is released, and the weight of the pachinko ball P engaged with the concave teeth 21a of the sprocket wheel 21 causes the count gear 22 to start rotating via the transmission gear 21b (see FIG. 3A). The switch cam 24 that rotates at the same time is approximately
It turns on at 1/3 rotation to demagnetize the ball cutting solenoid 26, and the count gear 22 completes one cycle of counting the number of ball rentals by engaging the stop claw 25a with the latching portion 23a with one rotation (see FIG. 3B). .

If the stop lever 25 is activated due to some cause (including illegal means from the outside), the ball cutting solenoid 26, the ball cutting switch 27, and other mechanical parts are located on the orbit of the hooking part 23a. A blocking pawl 25b for preventing over-rotation engages with the hooking portion 23a to prevent abnormal discharge of pachinko balls (3C).
See figure).

Next, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a coin continuous insertion mechanism,
5A to 5C are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the coin continuous insertion mechanism, and FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams showing the operation when the coin return button is operated.

A forward lever 31 is provided with a first protrusion 31a for mooring the first coin S1 and a second protrusion 31b for mooring the second coin S2 at different positions at its tip.

32 is a progressive feed solenoid, and its blanker 32a is supported by a rear end support hole 31c of the forward feed lever 31 and is rotatably supported by a spindle 31d. 33 is a forward feed sensor, which detects the coin S1 moored to the first protrusion 31a. Reference numeral 7 denotes a coin return button, the tip of which is in contact with the coin return lever 71, and the fulcrum 71a of the lever 71 is normally used as a fulcrum to push up the tip of the forward lever 31 to moor the coin S1 to the first protrusion 31a. And, it is urged by a spring 72 in a direction to fly to the front of the coin return button 7.

Next, the operation of the coin continuous insertion mechanism 3 will be described.

When the inserted first coin S1 is anchored on the first protrusion 31a at the tip of the forward feed lever 31, the forward feed sensor 33 excites the forward feed solenoid 32 by the detection signal of the coin S1.
The plunger 32a of the progressive solenoid 32 is the progressive lever 3
The coin S1 of the first protrusion 31a is rotated by rotating the first support shaft 31d as a fulcrum.
Is released from mooring. The second coin S2 has the second protrusion 31
moored at b. This state is maintained until the operation of the coin S2 is completed (see FIG. 5). That is, when the coin S1 receives the detection signal of the branch sensor 53 and the forward feed solenoid 32 is demagnetized, the second coin S2 moves from the second protrusion 31b to the first protrusion 31a.
Is moored to start the operation of the next coin continuous insertion mechanism 3. At this time, when the coin return button 7 is pressed, the coin return lever 71 rotates about its fulcrum 71a, and the forward feed lever 31
The tip of the coin S1 is lowered to release the mooring of the coin S1 on the first protrusion 31a, and the coin S1 is discharged to the coin return port 42 (see FIG. 6).

7A to 7D are operation explanatory views showing the coin distribution mechanism. 7A to 7B show the operation when the coin identifying device 4 facing the coin passage 40 determines that the coin is a proper coin,
Excitation of the branch solenoid 51 attracts the coin distribution plate 52 to close the coin passage 40.

The first coin S1 that has dropped is the coin distribution plate
It rolls along the slope of 52 and is temporarily moored at the corner of the side wall. The moored coin S1 is demagnetized by the detection signal of the branch sensor 53, the branch solenoid 51 is demagnetized, the coin distribution plate 52 is opened, the coin S1 is sent to the coin sending passage 43, and at the same time, the beating solenoid 26 is excited. The operation of the ball rental counting mechanism 2 starts.

7C to 7D show the case of an improper coin. Since the coin discriminating device 4 does not excite the branch solenoid 51, the improper coin S1 falls into the coin return passage 41 and is returned to the coin return port 42.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a microcomputer arranged in the control unit, which mainly comprises a CPU 61, a ROM 62 in which a program is written, a RAM 63 for storing each data, and each input / output. In addition, I / O ports are equipped between each input and output, and the data bus 64 and address bus 65 connect between the CPU 61 and RAM 63-ROM 62. RAM 63 is a battery backup circuit that retains all data at the time of power failure. To be done. Further, a clock as a control timing signal for the CPU 61 and a timing clock for dynamic display are provided to ensure reliable digital operation.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the overall operation and function of the thin ball lending machine A of the present invention, which will be described with reference to this flowchart.

If a trouble message such as "use stopped" is displayed on the display unit 8 on the front of the machine, coin insertion is impossible. (Step
n101 to n103). In step n104, if the forward feed sensor 33 is turned on, the CPU 61 determines that the first coin S1 is on if the first coin S1 is on the first protrusion 31a and no other switch (for example, ball rental replenishment) is on. The forward feed solenoid 32 is turned on after 0.5 seconds (steps n105 and n106). If the inserted coin S1 is improper (false), the progressive solenoid 32 is turned on, turned off after 2 seconds, returned, and displayed as a trouble.

In step n107, the coin discriminating device 4 determines whether the coin is suitable or not (coins of 100 yen or 500 yen in this embodiment), and if the coin is not 100 yen or 500 yen, the process proceeds to step n108. Is returned, and if it is a proper coin S, the branch solenoid 51 is turned on and the coin distribution plate 52
The coin passage 40 is blocked by and is detected by the branch sensor 53 (steps n109 to n110). In step n110, if no detection signal is output even after 3 seconds, a trouble is displayed (steps n111 to n112).

Next, in step n113, the type of coin is displayed as a code, and the process advances to step n114 to count the number of ball rentals. Here, the branch sensor 53 is turned on, the mooring of the first coin S1 is released, and the ball-cutting solenoid 26 is turned on by an off signal to start counting the number of balls paid for 100 yen / time (step n115). Moving to step n116, when the betting switch 27 is turned on, the betting solenoid 26 is turned off, counting the number of balls to be paid for one cycle of 100 yen / time (step n119). (Step n121). In step n122, if the end of the ball rental operation is requested and the remaining display is other than 0, the process branches to step n115 to repeat the ball rental counting operation and when the remaining display becomes 0, the process returns to the start position and stands by (step n101). Step n11
For 7, n120, the trouble code is flashed and displayed when the ball rental is out.

The forward feed sensor 33 detects the coin S1 and immediately after the forward feed solenoid 32 is turned on, the forward feed sensor 33 is turned off.
The progressive solenoid 32 is turned off by the off signal of the ball cutting switch 27. That is, the signal discriminated by the coin discriminating device 4 as a 500-yen coin is processed by the CPU 61, and the coin-turning switch 27 5
The progressive solenoid 32 remains on until the OFF signal for the first time.

The amount display shows "5" or "1" according to the amount of money inserted after the branch sensor 53 is turned off, and is subtracted (-1) after the ball cutting switch 27 is turned off. If any abnormality occurs in the operation sequence, all functions are stopped.

While the coin lending operation for the first coin S1 is being performed, in the flowchart of FIG. 9, the routine branched after step n113 is shown, but the coins are continuously inserted here. In that case, the following control is performed.

That is, as in steps n104 to n109, the forward feed sensor 33 confirms that the second coin S2 is present,
To ensure that confirmation, wait 0.8 seconds, turn on the forward feed solenoid 32, determine the authenticity of the second and subsequent coins S2, and turn on the branch solenoid 51 if the coin is valid. And set the ball output flag (step
n201 to n206).

Then, before the slicing of the first coin S1 is completed (determined in n208), flags are set for the number of coins one after another.

During this period, if the ball cutting related to the first coin S1 is completed, and if the ball throwing flag is set (step n2
08-n209) Branch and fly before the ball payout step n114. In other words, a routine different from the ball payout routine always counts the proper number of coins, and this counting routine can move to the next ball payout as soon as one cycle of the ball payout routine is completed. , The first coin
While one cycle of S1 is not completed, the counting is executed prior to the ball payout, and it is in the standby state. Therefore, it is possible to judge whether coins are suitable or not one coin at a time and serialize the coin payout operation. It will not take a long time to execute, and the strength of parallel processing will be demonstrated.

(Effect of the invention) As is clear from the above description, the time required to complete the ball rental operation for two or more coins continuously inserted is extremely short, and the waiting time for internal processing is short, For example, conventionally, it took about 15 seconds to process 100 yen coin continuous insertion (5 coins) and complete the ball rental operation, but with the present invention, it can be shortened to about 8 seconds and coins are continuously inserted. Even if you do, it does not take so long for all the prescribed balls to be lent, and it will not be frustrating for players who need to lend balls quickly due to a big hit, the so-called illusion of swallowing There was no fear that it would damage the game price due to, no complaints about the hall and the manufacturer disappeared, and it became a big revolution in the service aspect, achieving the intended purpose.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a side view showing a schematic arrangement of an internal mechanism of a thin ball lending machine according to the present invention, FIG. 1B is a front view of FIG. 1, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a ball rental counting mechanism, and FIGS. FIG. C is an operation explanatory view of the ball rental counting mechanism, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the coin continuous insertion mechanism.
5A to 5C are explanatory views of the operation of the coin continuous insertion mechanism, 6A.
7A to 7B are side views for explaining the coin return operation of the coin continuous insertion mechanism, and FIGS. 7A to 7B are side views for explaining the operation of the coin sorting mechanism (in the case of a proper coin) and AA 'sectional views thereof, and 7C to 7D. The figure is a side view for explaining the operation of the coin allocating mechanism (in the case of an improper coin) and its BB 'sectional view, FIG. 8 is a block diagram, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart diagram. 1 ... Ball passage, 2 ... Ball rental counting mechanism, 3 ... Coin continuous insertion mechanism, 4 ... Coin identification device, 5 ... Coin sorting mechanism, 6 ... Control unit, 21 ... Sprocket wheel, 22 …
… Counting gear, 23 …… Stop cam, 24 …… Switch cam, 25 …… Stop lever, 31 …… Sequential feed lever, 32
…… Sequential feed solenoid, 33 …… Sequential feed sensor, 51 ……
Branch solenoid, 52 …… Coin sorting plate, 53 …… Branch sensor

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first coin and a second coin, which are continuously inserted, are moored at a vertical position in a coin alignment passage, and the mooring of the first coin is released by a signal detecting the first coin. Then, the second coin is moored at the position where the first coin was moored, and the coin continuous insertion mechanism that intermittently takes in the coin, and whether the inserted coin is suitable or not and its denomination are determined. A coin discriminating device is connected to the coin continuous insertion mechanism, and a coin sorting mechanism that operates by a signal detected as a true coin by the coin discriminating device and a start detection control by a coin detection signal of a branch sensor of the coin discriminating mechanism. In the thin ball lending machine, the coin lending counting mechanism and the means for controlling the number of operations of the ball lending counting mechanism in accordance with the coin denomination amount signal determined by the coin identifying device are continuously loaded. The first coin is a coin The ball rental counting mechanism starts the ball rental operation for the inserted denomination amount when detected by the branch sensor of the distribution mechanism, and the acceptance order of the positive coins that have passed through the coin identification device from the continuous coin insertion mechanism. When a coin after the second coin is detected during the coin lending operation, the control unit that stores the denomination signal of Coins in a thin ball lending machine, characterized in that the coins are taken in and the ball lending operation is sequentially performed after the ball lending operation for the first coin is completed based on the denomination signal of the receiving order. Ball payout mechanism for continuous loading.