JP7610853B2 - Automatic Mahjong Table - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic mahjong table that can shorten the time it takes to simultaneously raise the pile of tiles and the dealt tiles onto the tabletop, and also reduces the possibility of malfunctions or mechanical failures.

For example, JP 2004-242812 A (Patent Document 1) shows an automatic mahjong table in which all tiles used in the previous game are dropped and shuffled under the square top that serves as the playing surface of the mahjong table and in the next game, a "deal" consisting of the 13 tiles in the player's hand at the start of the game out of a total of 136 tiles, and a "tile pile" consisting of the remaining 84 tiles, excluding the 13 tiles for each of the four players (a total of 52 tiles), stacked randomly in two layers above and below, are raised separately to the deal position and the tile pile position on each side of the top.

In Patent Document 1, underneath the top board and inside the mahjong table, there is a stacking means for stacking shuffled tiles in three layers, a re-stacking means for rearranging the three-layer stacked tile array into two layers and one layer, and a tile lifting means for lifting the re-stacked tile array onto the top board. At the same time that the tile lifting means lifts the tile array onto the top board, the stacking means descends to start stacking the tiles in three layers, and once the tiles have been stacked in three layers, the system is configured to wait for the tile lifting means to descend.

However, an automatic mahjong table like the one in Patent Document 1 requires separate openings in the tabletop to allow the pile of tiles and dealt tiles to rise from below the tabletop to above it. These openings are blocked when a plate on which the pile of tiles and dealt tiles are placed is raised from below the tabletop to the same height as the top surface of the tabletop, meaning that the openings are blocked when the game begins, but when the next tile is to be raised onto the tabletop after the game ends, the plate descends below the tabletop to reveal the opening.

If there are many openings on the tabletop, for example, sticks or personal items can be inserted, which increases the frequency of mechanical problems with the automatic mahjong table. In particular, because the openings appear just before the game begins, sticks exchanged on the tabletop may still be located close to the players on the tabletop, and when openings appear all over the tabletop, it is relatively common for items placed on the tabletop to be inserted into the openings.

Due to these circumstances, automatic mahjong tables that raise the pile of tiles and dealt tiles onto the tabletop at once from one location on the tabletop facing each player (a total of four locations on the tabletop) have become mainstream these days. As far as the applicant is aware, there are the following two types of automatic mahjong tables on the market:

(Type A): After stacking in three layers, the tile pile and the upright dealt tiles are lifted simultaneously.In Type A, the tiles are stacked in three layers on a loading platform under the tabletop where the tiles are lined up after being shuffled, and when the lifting platform is lowered to a height that leaves the bottom layer remaining (i.e., it is lowered the height of the top and middle layers), a pusher pushes the top and middle layers from the loading platform onto the lifting platform, and after this pushing, the lifting platform is lowered further by the height of the bottom layer, and at this time, part of the loading platform is tilted toward the lifting platform so that the bottom layer (dealt) is upright with the tile patterns facing the player, and the lifting platform is then raised.

(Type B): After stacking three layers, the tile pile and the dealt tiles are lifted simultaneously.In Type B, the tiles are stacked in three layers on a platform below the table where the shuffled tiles are lined up, and when the lifting platform descends to the backside position of the bottom layer, a pusher pushes the top, middle and bottom three layers from the platform onto the lifting platform, lifting the lifting platform by the top and middle two layers (tile piles), and when the sensor detects that the player has moved the top and middle two layers of tile piles from the opening to a designated position on the tabletop, the lifting platform is lifted a further bottom layer, allowing the player to move the dealt tiles to their own playing position.

However, both the A and B types had the following problems and room for improvement.
(Type A)
- The tiles are dealt in an upright position when they are raised onto the tabletop, so the platform needs to be raised slowly to prevent it from falling over, which takes time.
・It takes time to get the tiles upright.

(Type B)
-A separate sensor is required to detect when the tile pile has been moved.
-If the above sensor malfunctions or an error occurs, the tiles may not rise above the top plate and game play may not be able to begin.
- It is necessary to control the lifting of the mounting table in two stages.
-The sensor that detects the movement of the dealt tiles was very difficult to understand.

JP 2004-242812 A

The problem to be solved is that it takes a long time to raise the pile of tiles and the dealt tiles onto the tabletop at the same time, making it prone to malfunctions and mechanical failures.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a game machine that includes a tile shuffling section which stirs tiles dropped into a cabinet from a top plate which is a playing surface; a platform on which tiles stored in the cabinet are placed; a tile transport section which sends tiles from the tile shuffling section to the platform on which the piles of tiles and dealt tiles are placed; a tile alignment section which arranges the tiles sent by the tile transport section into two rows on the platform, one above the other, that are face-down in a plan view, with one row of 13 tiles in one row; a movement mechanism which moves the piles of tiles and dealt tiles arranged on the platform to a lifting platform which rises and falls between inside the cabinet and the top plate; and a lifting mechanism which moves the tiles and dealt tiles arranged on the platform to a lifting platform which rises and falls between inside the cabinet and the top plate. The table is provided with a lifting mechanism which raises or lowers the table into or from an opening provided at one position on the top board facing each player, and the moving mechanism is provided with a guide wall which abuts against the short side of the upper tile of the tile pile and moves it to the lifting table in order to move the aligned pile of tiles and dealt tiles from the placement table to the lifting table while maintaining the aligned state , a guide surface which covers the side of the dealt tiles opposite the patterns on them to prevent the arrangement from being distorted, and an adjustment wall provided at the 14th tile position where the dealt tiles are aligned on the placement table.

The present invention has the advantage that after shuffling, the tiles can be arranged in two rows, with the two tiers of tiles (top and bottom) and the dealt tiles (one tier) facing down in a plan view from above (with the pattern side of the tiles (hereafter referred to as the "pattern side") and the opposite side (hereafter referred to as the "back side") facing upwards), and then simultaneously raised onto the tabletop. The present invention also allows play to begin quickly due to the above, and allows the tile piles and dealt tiles to be raised onto the tabletop stably with a small number of parts and with reduced risk of malfunction or mechanical failure.

1A is an external perspective view of the automatic mahjong table of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the state of the tabletop just before the start of play. 1A is a plan view showing the internal structure of the cabinet under the top plate of the automatic mahjong table of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a schematic perspective view showing only the characteristic configuration. (a) is a schematic oblique view showing the peripheral surface of the tile alignment section of the automatic mahjong table of the present invention, (b) is a schematic oblique view seen from the center of the tabletop showing the tile alignment section and the area around the placement table, and (c) is a schematic oblique view seen from the edge of the tabletop showing the tile alignment section and the area around the placement table. (a) is a schematic oblique view of the automatic mahjong table of the present invention, showing the moving mechanism as viewed from the center of the table top, (b) is a schematic oblique view of the moving mechanism as viewed from the middle edge of the table top, and (c) is a schematic oblique view showing the drive structure of the moving mechanism. (a) is a schematic oblique view of the automatic mahjong table of the present invention, showing the lifting platform as viewed from the center of the tabletop, (b) is a schematic oblique view of the lifting platform as viewed from the middle edge of the tabletop, and (c) is a schematic oblique view showing the drive structure of the lifting platform. 13(a) to 13(h) are diagrams for explaining the arrangement of tiles on the automatic mahjong table of the present invention. 13(a) to 13(h) are diagrams for explaining the arrangement of tiles on the automatic mahjong table of the present invention. 13(a) to 13(h) are diagrams for explaining the arrangement of tiles on the automatic mahjong table of the present invention. 13(a) to 13(h) are diagrams for explaining the arrangement of tiles on the automatic mahjong table of the present invention.

The present invention has been able to improve the problem that it takes a long time to finish lifting the pile and dealt tiles simultaneously onto the top plate, which is prone to malfunctions and mechanical failures, by equipping the moving mechanism with a guide wall that abuts against the short side of the upper tile in the pile to move it to the lifting platform, a guide surface that covers the side of the dealt tile opposite the design to prevent it from losing its alignment, and an adjustment wall located at the 14th tile position where the dealt tiles are aligned on the loading platform.

In other words, the problems that arose with the conventional example, Type A, and Type B were caused by the fact that after shuffling, the tiles were stacked in three layers: top, middle, and bottom. Naturally, a three-layer stack is higher than a two-layer stack and therefore more unstable, and in some cases the top layer of the three layers may collapse under the tabletop.

Also, after stacking the tiles in three layers like this, Type A moves the top and middle layers to the lifting platform first, then tilts the bottom layer down and moves it to the lifting platform, and then lifts the platform, but there is a risk that the tiles that were tilted down may fall over during this lifting process.

Furthermore, with Type A, players must move the upright tiles from the platform that is raised and lowered onto the tabletop to their playing position while maintaining that position. At this time, the upright tiles have a small footprint and are therefore unbalanced, so there is a risk that they may fall over and allow the opponent to see the tiles.

On the other hand, with Type B, the tiles are stacked in three layers under the tabletop, and then the top and middle layers are raised onto the tabletop first using the lifting platform. Unlike Type A, this pile of tiles is moved to a position closer to the center of the tabletop, and when this movement is detected, the dealt portion (the bottom layer) is raised onto the tabletop.

However, while the stack is being moved, the lifting platform is lowered below the surface of the tabletop by the amount of tiles that will be dealt in the remaining bottom row, meaning that the lifting platform does not cover the opening in the tabletop. This means that, for example, tiles from the top and middle rows of the stack may accidentally fall into the opening when it is being moved, or points or other objects may get caught in the opening, which could result in a machine error or other trouble.

In addition, with Type B, the tiles will not rise onto the tabletop unless it detects that the stack of tiles has been moved to a position closer to the center of the tabletop, as described above. This means that it takes time to determine the sensor's detection position, and there is also the possibility of the sensor malfunctioning, causing the tiles to rise even though the stack of tiles has not moved.

The present invention is designed to prevent problems that may occur with types A and B. In other words, the present invention places two rows of dealt tiles ( one row) that are face down in a plan view and two rows of tile piles , one above the other, on a lifting platform and moves them onto the tabletop. After the piles and dealt tiles are moved onto the tabletop, they are raised to a position where the piles can be moved to a position closer to the center of the tabletop in some cases, but generally they do not need to be moved. On the other hand, the dealt tiles must be moved to a position closer to the player, but since they are face down at this time, the patterned surfaces of the tiles are not exposed during this movement.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to Figures 1 to 4. Reference number 1 is an automatic mahjong table of the present invention, which has 27 types of number tiles (Tong, So, Man) from 1 to 9, and 7 types of character tiles (East, South, West, North, White, Fa, Central), each of which has 4 tiles of each type, for a total of 136 tiles. For example, two sets are used, one set is placed on the top surface of the tabletop 1A for the current game, and the other set is stored in the cabinet 2 after the previous game, where it is washed and arranged in the tile pile and dealt tiles in preparation for the next game.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the automatic mahjong table 1 is equipped with a tile cleaning section 3 that mixes tiles P dropped into the cabinet 2 from the top plate 1A, which is the playing surface, a tile transport section 5 that sends tiles P from the tile cleaning section 3 to a platform 4 on which piles of tiles and dealt tiles are placed, a tile alignment section 6 that aligns the tiles P sent by the tile transport section 5 on the platform 4, a moving mechanism 8 that moves the aligned tiles P from the platform 4 to a lifting platform 7 that lifts them up onto the top plate 1A, and a lifting mechanism 9 that raises or lowers the lifting platform 7 to or from an opening 1a provided at a position on the top plate 1A where each player faces. Note that in Figures 2 and 5, the lifting surface of the lifting platform 7 is hatched.

The automatic mahjong table 1 also includes a moving mechanism 8 that abuts against the short side of the top tile in the pile to move it to the lifting platform, a guide surface 11 that covers the back of the dealt tile P to keep it in its arranged position, and an adjustment wall 12 located at the 14th tile position on the placement platform 4 where the dealt tiles are aligned.

The details of the automatic mahjong table 1 configured as above will now be explained. As shown in FIG. 3, the tile alignment section 6 is provided continuous with the tile transport section 5 on the transport path of the tiles P, and the dealt tile alignment section 6A is provided at the end of the transport path of the tiles P, ahead of the direction in which the tiles P are transported, and the tile pile alignment section 6B is provided approximately one tile behind the dealt tile alignment section 6A in the direction in which the tiles P are transported.

The dealt tile alignment section 6A and the tile pile alignment section 6B share a common floor surface 6a. This floor surface 6a is not covered by the transport drive of the tile transport section 5, specifically the conveyor belt, and the tile P moves to the floor surface 6a by the inertia of the conveyor transport of the tile transport section 5, and stops at the tile pile alignment section 6B position on the floor surface 6a. To send a tile P to the dealt tile alignment section 6A, it is pushed out by the subsequent tile P of the tile P stopped at the tile pile alignment section 6B.

Floor surface 6a is configured to rise and fall by one step, the thickness of a tile P. A push-out section 6b is provided on floor surface 6a in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of tile P, which pushes the long side of tile P on floor surface 6a and pushes tile P onto placement table 4. A terminal wall 6c is provided at the end of the transport path for tile P on floor surface 6a.

The pushing section 6b shares the pushing surface for tiles P with the dealt tile alignment section 6A and the tile pile alignment section 6B. In addition, when the floor surface 6a descends, the pushing section 6b always performs the pushing action and the return of the pushing action at the same height. Meanwhile, the end wall 6c prevents the tiles P from overrunning the floor surface 6a beyond the dealt tile alignment section 6A.

A sensor 6d for the tile pile alignment section 6B is provided on the pushing surface of the push-out section 6b, and a sensor 6e for the deal tile alignment section 6A is provided on the contact surface of the terminal wall 6c with the tile P. These sensors 6d, 6e detect that a tile P is located in the deal tile alignment section 6A or the tile pile alignment section 6B when the tile P approaches them.

In addition, at the upper end of the push-out section 6b, between the tile stack alignment section 6B and the deal alignment section 6A, a stopper 6f is provided to stop the tile P to be aligned in the upper row from entering the deal alignment section 6A side.

The placement table 4 is provided in the tile alignment section 6 in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which tiles P are transported by the tile transport section 5. On the placement table 4, one row of tiles from the dealt tile alignment section 6A and one row of tiles from the pile alignment section 6B (two rows, top and bottom) are pushed out by the push-out section 6b, and the pushed-out tiles P are placed in an aligned state.

A moving mechanism 8 is provided on the mounting table 4 so that it can operate. As shown in FIG. 4, the moving mechanism 8 is composed of the guide wall 10, the guide surface 11, and the adjustment wall 12, as described above. The guide wall 10 abuts against the short side of the tile P in the upper tier of the two-tiered pile of tiles on the mounting table 4.

The guide surface 11 is provided on the guide wall 10 on the opposite side to the center of the top plate 1A. This guide surface 11 consists of a cover surface 11A that restricts the movement of the tile P in the dealt alignment section 6A so that the tile P does not unexpectedly break the line and so that the back surface of the tile does not flip over and become exposed on the pattern surface, and an extrusion surface 11B that is formed perpendicular to and continues from the cover surface 11A on the opposite side to the center of the top plate 1A.

In addition, an adjustment wall 12 is provided on the guide surface 11 at a position where 13 tiles P are aligned in the direction of movement of the tiles P pushed out from the deal alignment section 6A, i.e., at the 14th tile position where the dealt tiles are aligned. This adjustment wall 12 regulates so that only 13 tiles P are aligned in the deal alignment section 6A.

The moving mechanism 8 moves the guide surface 11 in the direction of the lifting platform 7 by a push-out lever 8A provided from a position below the mounting platform 4. The push-out lever 8A is operated by a cam 8B, and the moving mechanism 8 is configured such that after the push-out lever 8A is moved by the cam 8B, the spring 8C, which was extended during the movement, is contracted and restored to its original position, returning the moving mechanism 8 to its initial position.

That is, in the moving mechanism 8, the dealt tiles and the bottom row are moved from the placement table 4 to the lifting table 7 by the guide surface 11 (of its push-out surface 11B), and the top row is moved from the placement table 4 to the lifting table 7 by the guide wall 10. Since the moving mechanism 8 has the guide wall 10 and guide surface 11 (and also the adjustment wall 12) integrated, there is no particular misalignment of the upper and lower rows of the tile pile.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the pile of tiles and dealt tiles are handed over from the placement table 4, the lifting platform 7 lowers until the surface to which the tiles P will be moved is slightly lower than the placement surface of the placement table 4 for the tiles P, and when the pile of tiles and dealt tiles are handed over from the placement table 4 in an aligned state by the moving mechanism 8, the lifting platform 7 rises to the opening 1a in the top plate 1A.

The lifting platform 7 has a lifting surface 7a on which the pile of tiles and dealt tiles are placed, and a contact surface 7b provided on the side of the lifting surface 7a that faces the moving mechanism 8. When the lifting platform 7 rises during play to cover the opening 1a of the top plate 1A, that is, when tiles P are being lined up under the top plate 1A for the next game, the contact surface 7b acts as a wall on the side of the platform 4 where tiles P are moved by the moving mechanism 8 in the pile of tiles alignment section 6B, guiding the alignment.

The automatic mahjong table 1 in this embodiment configured as above operates as follows. In the present invention, of the 136 tiles, 52 tiles (13 x 4) are distributed to the dealt tiles and the remaining 84 tiles are distributed to the piles. The 84 tiles in the piles can be arranged, for example, evenly into 3 piles (1 pile: 28 tiles = 14 tiles in the upper row, 14 tiles in the lower row) by inputting it using a control unit (not shown), or they can be arranged, for example, into 4 piles.

In this example, for the 84 tiles excluding the 52 dealt tiles, three piles of 10 tiles on the top row and 10 tiles on the bottom row, and one pile of 6 tiles on the top row and 8 tiles on the bottom row are arranged as shown in Figure 1 (b), and the operation of seat E (playing position) where the pile of 6 tiles on the top row and 8 tiles on the bottom row that forms the top pile, and the 13 dealt tiles are arranged will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 6, when tiles P are transported from the tile washing section 3 to the tile alignment section 6 by the tile transport section 5, the floor surface 6a lowers for up to five tiles, and the tiles are pushed out by the push-out section 6b and aligned for the lower row of the placement table 4 in the tile stack alignment section 6B.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 6(a), the floor surface 6a is in the initial raised position, and when a tile P is transported to the tile alignment section 6, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the tile alignment section 6 does not transport the tile P, so that the tile P stops at the tile stack alignment section 6A due to its own weight.

Then, as shown in Figure 6(c), when sensor 6d detects that tile P is positioned in tile stack alignment section 6A, the control section counts tile P and lowers floor surface 6a by the thickness of one tile, and as shown in Figure 6(d), drives pusher 6b to move tile P to placement section 4. At this time, lift platform 7 rises and closes opening 1a with lift surface 7a, and below top plate 1A, contact surface 7b of lift platform 7 prevents tile P from moving toward cleaning section 3 on placement platform 4.

After moving the tile P to the placement section 4, the control section returns the push-out section 6b to its initial position as shown in FIG. 6(f), and raises the floor surface 6a to its initial position as shown in FIG. 6(e). Note that the order of the steps is reversed in FIG. 6(f) and FIG. 6(e) due to the illustrated relationship. After this, FIG. 6(a)-(f) is repeated for the subsequent tile P, and five tiles are arranged as the bottom section of the tile pile as shown in FIG. 6(g)(h).

For the sixth through ninth tiles, the operation is as shown in Figure 7. As shown in Figure 7(a), the floor surface 6a is in the raised position, i.e., the initial position, and the sixth tile is stopped in the tile stack alignment section 6B while waiting for the seventh tile. When the seventh tile is conveyed, as shown in Figure 7(b), the seventh tile pushes the sixth tile out so that it abuts against the terminal wall 6c, and the sixth tile is positioned in the dealt tile alignment section 6A.

The position of the sixth tile in the deal alignment section 6A is detected by sensor 6e installed on the end wall 6c, and the position of the seventh tile in the tile stack alignment section 6B is detected by sensor 6d. Based on the detection by sensors 6e and 6d, the control section counts tiles P and controls the operation of the floor surface 6a and the push-out section 6b.

When the sixth tile is positioned in the dealt tile alignment section 6A and the seventh tile is positioned in the tile stack alignment section 6B, the control section lowers the floor surface 6a as shown in FIG. 7(c), and then, as shown in FIG. 7(d), the pushing section 6b pushes each tile P onto the placement table 4 and arranges them. At this time, the lifting table 7 rises and closes the opening 1a with the lifting surface 7a, and under the top plate 1A, the contact surface 7b of the lifting table 7 prevents the tile P from moving towards the tile cleaning section 3 on the placement table 4.

After the above, the control unit returns the pusher 6b to its initial position as shown in FIG. 7(f), and raises the floor surface 6a to its initial position as shown in FIG. 7(e). Note that the order of the steps is reversed between FIG. 7(f) and FIG. 7(e) due to the illustrated relationship. After this, FIG. 7(a)-(f) is repeated for the subsequent tiles P, and the 6th to 9th tiles P are arranged as two tiles for the bottom row of the pile (for a total of seven tiles for the bottom row) and two tiles for the dealt, as shown in FIG. 7(g) and (h).

After the 10th tile, the operation is as shown in Figure 8. As shown in Figure 8(a), the floor surface 6a is in the raised position, i.e., the initial position, and the 10th tile is stopped in the tile stack alignment section 6B while waiting for the 11th tile. When the 11th tile is conveyed, as shown in Figure 8(b), the 11th tile pushes the 10th tile out so that it abuts against the terminal wall 6c, and the 10th tile is positioned in the dealt tile alignment section 6A.

The position of the 10th tile in the deal alignment section 6A is detected by sensor 6e installed on the end wall 6c, and the position of the 11th tile in the tile stack alignment section 6B is detected by sensor 6d. Based on the detection by sensors 6e and 6d, the control section counts tiles P and controls the operation of the floor surface 6a and the push-out section 6b.

When the 10th tile is positioned in the deal tile alignment section 6A and the 11th tile is positioned in the tile stack alignment section 6B, the control section lowers the floor surface 6a as shown in Figure 8 (c), and in this state waits for the transport of the 12th tile.

When the 12th tile is transported, it is stacked on top of the 11th tile already positioned in the tile stack alignment section 6B on the lowered floor surface 6a, as shown in Figure 8 (d), and its movement in the transport direction to the deal alignment section 6A is restricted by stopper 6f. Note that in the illustration, the hatching on the back of the tile P positioned in the upper row is different from that in the lower row to make it easier to distinguish.

As shown in Figure 8 (e), when sensors 6e and 6d detect that two tiles on the top and bottom tiers have been arranged in tile stack arrangement section 6B and one tile has been arranged in deal arrangement section 6A, the control section causes pusher section 6b to push each tile P onto table 4 and arrange them as shown in Figure 8 (f). At this time, lift platform 7 rises and with lift surface 7a blocking opening 1a, the contact surface 7b of lift platform 7 below top board 1A restricts tile P from moving towards cleaning section 3 on table 4.

After the above, the control unit returns the push-out unit 6b to its initial position as shown in FIG. 8(h), and raises the floor surface 6a to its initial position as shown in FIG. 8(g). Note that the order of the steps is reversed between FIG. 8(h) and FIG. 8(g) due to the illustrated relationship.

After this, the process of FIG. 8(a)-(h) is repeated for the subsequent tiles P, and the 13th, 14th, and 15th tiles are pushed out and arranged by the pushing section 6b in the same way as the 10th, 11th, and 12th tiles above, with the 13th tile being pushed out to the dealt tile and the 14th and 15th tiles being pushed out and arranged in upper and lower rows to the tile pile, in the same way that three tiles (tiles 16-18, 19-21, 22-24, and 25-27) are pushed out and arranged by the pushing section 6b as one set.

In this way, as shown in Figures 9(a) and (b), when the 27th tile has been arranged, there will be 13 tiles in the lower row of the tile pile, 6 tiles in the upper row, and 8 tiles in the dealt tile. After this, as shown in Figures 9(c) and (d), the control unit uses the lifting mechanism 9 to lower the lifting surface 7a of the lifting platform 7 to the height of the lower row of the tile pile and the pattern surface of tile P in the dealt tile.

Next, as shown in Figures 9(e) and (f), the control unit operates the moving mechanism 8 to move from the placement table 4 to the lifting table 7. At this time, the push-out surface 11B of the moving mechanism 8 moves the eight tiles of the dealt on the placement table 4 toward the lifting table 7, and similarly, the guide wall 10 moves the top six tiles of the stack toward the lifting table 7.

The 8 dealt tiles move the 8 tiles in the lower part of the pile that overlap with the 8 dealt tiles toward the center of the tabletop 1A as they move. At this time, the 5 tiles in the lower part of the pile that are not overlapped with the 8 dealt tiles are not moved by the 8 dealt tiles, but remain stationary, waiting for the push-out surface 11B to come into contact with them. When the push-out surface 11B comes into contact with the 5 stationary tiles, they form a line with the dealt tiles 8 that are moving toward the lifting platform 7, and become dealt tiles 13, which move to the lifting surface 7a of the lifting platform 7.

As shown in Figures 9 (g) and (h), when the pile of tiles and the dealt tiles move from the placement platform 4 to the lifting platform 7, the control unit causes the pile of tiles and the dealt tiles to appear on the top plate 1A, and causes the lifting platform 7 to rise using the lifting mechanism 9 with the pile of tiles and the dealt tiles still placed on it so that the opening 1a of the top plate 1A is blocked by the lifting surface 7a, and returns the moving mechanism 8 to its initial position.

As a result, as shown in seat E in Figure 1(b), the bottom row of 8 tiles, the top row of 6 tiles, and the face-down dealt tiles (13 tiles) all appear on the tabletop 1A at the same time. The player moves the dealt tiles to his or her playing position and then turns them over when they are there.

The above was for a pile of 13 tiles or less, but if the pile of tiles is 14 or more tiles (say 15 tiles), the adjustment wall 12 of the moving mechanism 8 will push the 14th and 15th tiles, counting from the tile adjustment section 6 side of the pile of tiles, from the loading platform 4 to the lifting platform 7, so the pile of tiles will never be 15 tiles.

As described above, in this invention, two rows of dealt tiles 1 (one row) that are face down in a plan view and two rows of tile piles, one above the other, are placed on the lifting platform 7 and moved onto the tabletop 1A. This shortens the time it takes for the piles and dealt tiles to appear on the tabletop 1A, and also greatly shortens the time that the opening 1a is open, reducing the possibility of tiles P, scoring sticks, or other foreign objects entering through the opening 1a and causing problems.

In addition, the dealt tiles that appear on the tabletop 1A are face down, so when they are moved closer to the player, the patterned surfaces of the tiles P are not exposed. Furthermore, with this invention, it is sufficient to count the number of dealt tiles P equal to the number in the upper row of the tile pile, while it is sufficient to count 13 tiles for the lower row of the tile pile, so control is not complicated and tiles P can be quickly arranged.

Reference Signs List 1 Automatic Mahjong Table 1A Top Plate 1a Opening 4 Placement Table 6 Tile Alignment Section 6A Tile Deal Alignment Section 6B Tile Pile Alignment Section 6a Floor Surface 6b Push-Out Section 6c End Section 6f Stopper 7 Lifting Table 7a Lifting Surface 7b Contact Surface 8 Movement Mechanism 10 Guide Surface 11 Guide Surface 12 Adjustment Wall P Tile

Claims (1)

The machine comprises a tile washing section which stirs the tiles dropped into the cabinet from the top plate which is the playing surface; a placement table on which the tiles stored in the cabinet are placed; a tile transport section which sends the tiles from the tile washing section to the placement table; a tile alignment section which aligns the tiles sent by the tile transport section into two rows on the placement table , one above the other, with two tiers of tile piles and one tier of dealt tiles consisting of 13 tiles, all lying face down in a plan view; a movement mechanism which moves the tile piles and dealt tiles aligned on the placement table to a lifting platform which rises and falls between the inside of the cabinet and the top plate; and a lifting mechanism which moves the tile piles and dealt tiles aligned on the placement table to a lifting platform which rises and falls between the inside of the cabinet and the top plate , ... top plate to a position facing each player. and a lifting mechanism for raising or lowering the lifting platform relative to an opening provided in one of the tables , wherein the moving mechanism has a guide wall that abuts against the short side of the upper tile of the pile of tiles and moves them to the lifting platform, in order to move the aligned pile of tiles and dealt tiles from the placement table to the lifting platform while maintaining them in the aligned state, a guide surface that covers the sides of the dealt tiles opposite to the patterns on them to prevent them from losing their arrangement, and an adjustment wall provided at the 14th tile position where the dealt tiles are aligned on the placement table.

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