JPH02752B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a lateral feed hopper of a coin feeding device. More specifically, it relates to a lateral feed hopper for sequentially feeding coins to a lateral guide for distributing coins (coins, coin-like medals, etc., hereinafter) to a plurality of coin supply destinations.

[Prior Art] A conventional hopper is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 52-20895.

This hopper has a feed disk rotatably mounted on a horizontally placed plate. The surface of the plate is flat, and projections formed on the back surface of the feed disk slide on the plate. A triangular ridge is formed near the center of the plate. A cylinder for storing coins extends vertically upward from the plate.
When a coin is inserted from above the tube and enters the eyeglass hole of the feed disk, it is dropped onto the surface of the plate. The coin is then pushed out to the exit by the protrusion of the feed disk.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the conventional hopper has the following drawbacks.

Since the plate is placed horizontally, the coin is also pushed horizontally. Therefore, the contact friction with the lateral guide is large, and a large driving force is required. Since the protrusions of the feed disk are in direct contact with the plate, frictional resistance is large and a large driving force is required. Therefore, a large force is required to drive the hopper, and the force for pushing out the coin becomes small. Since the lower end of the protrusion is always in contact with the coin, it is prone to wear and jams and feeding errors are likely to occur during long-term use. Since the ridge is provided close to the center of the plate, the guiding action near the exit does not work sufficiently, and coins tend to accumulate near the exit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a cross-feeding hopper that can increase the force for pushing out coins, can be used stably for a long time, and can push out coins reliably.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a horizontal feed hopper for sequentially feeding coins in an upright position to a horizontal guide for distributing coins to a plurality of coin supply destinations, comprising: (a) an inclined hopper; (b) A large number of eyeglass holes are drilled on the periphery,
A feed disk fixed to a rotating shaft extending from the center of the plate, (c) A number of steel balls held at equal intervals around the circumference by a retainer, placed between the plate and the feed disk, (d) a projection formed on the back of the feed disk for pushing the coin; and an annular groove formed on the plate for the projection to engage and move around; (e) for pushing the coin pushed by the projection; a fixed guide formed on the plate for movement in the exit direction, and the guide surface of the fixed guide is located approximately between the spectacle hole located directly above the rotation center of the feed disk and the rotation center of the feed disk. The fixing guide is characterized in that a groove is formed at an intermediate position and at a position crossing the annular groove and continuous with the annular groove.

[Operation] In the present invention, since the plate is inclined, the lateral guide connected to it is also inclined, so that coins can be fed in an upright position. Therefore, the frictional resistance between the coin and the lateral guide is reduced, and the coin can be smoothly fed with a small driving force.

The steel balls placed between the plate and the feed disk allow the feed disk to rotate smoothly, and the driving force of the hopper can be directed to the force of pushing out the coin, resulting in good driving efficiency. Furthermore, the feed disk is subjected to an upward deflection force due to the resistance of the coin near the exit, but the steel balls placed around the circumference support the feed disk and prevent the rotating shaft from deflecting. Disk tilting is prevented and coins are sent smoothly.

Furthermore, since the protrusion on the back of the feed disk is placed in the annular groove on the plate, the coin can always be pushed by the center of the protrusion, and only the lower end of the protrusion will not come into contact with the coin and wear out. Without,
No coin jams. Therefore, coins can be fed reliably even after long-term use, and the life of the hopper is extended.

Furthermore, since the guide surface of the fixed guide is located approximately midway between the center of the feed disk and the spectacle hole located directly above the center of rotation of the feed disk, the direction of the force that the protrusion pushes against the coin is always in the direction of the guide. facing towards the surface. Therefore, force can be applied to pinch the coin between the guide surface and the protrusion.
Force can be continued to be applied until the coin reaches the exit, ensuring that the coin is pushed out. Therefore, coins will not remain near the exit.

[Example] Next, a cross-feeding hopper (hereinafter simply referred to as a cross-feeding hopper) of a coin feeding device of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cross-feeding hopper according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of main parts of the cross-feeding hopper shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is the same as shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the main part showing an embodiment of the fixed guide according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the Y section in FIG. 3, and FIG. FIGS. 7 and 8 are plan views showing other configuration examples of the coin feeding device, respectively.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the vertical feed hopper shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 10 is a front view of main parts of the vertical feed hopper shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 11 is a plan view of the regulating plate, and FIG. 12 is a Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view of the main part of the vertical feed hopper, Fig. 13a is a front view showing the ascending guide with a reverse movement preventive device attached, Fig. 13b is a sectional view taken along line X--X of Fig. 13a, Fig. 14 13a is a perspective view of the anti-reverse device shown in FIG. 13a, FIGS. 15 and 16 are perspective views showing other examples of the anti-reverse device, and FIGS. 17 and 18 are perspective views each showing a coin ejector. 19 and 20 are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the coin takeout device shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, respectively.

First, based on FIG. 6, the horizontal feed hopper 2 of this embodiment is
The entire coin supply device P in which the coin supply device P is used will be explained.

In FIG. 6, the coin feeding device P has a vertical feed hopper 1 placed on a floor F and a horizontal feed hopper 2 placed above the vertical feed hopper 1. An upward guide 3 extends upward from the outlet 1a of the vertical feed hopper 1 and reaches the horizontal feed hopper 2. A horizontal guide 4 extends substantially horizontally from the traverse feed hopper 2, and a diagonal guide 5 that slopes gently downward extends from the tip of the horizontal guide 4. The horizontal guide 4 and the oblique guide 5 constitute a lateral guide 6. Coin ejectors 8 are provided in the middle of the lateral guide 6 for distributing coins C to a coin dispenser 7, which is a coin supply destination, at desired intervals. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 9 denotes a belt conveyor for collecting coins C from the coin dispenser 7 or the game machine 10 and returning them to the vertical feed hopper 1.

In the coin feeding device configured as described above, the coins C that are manually fed to the vertical hopper 1 or collected by the belt conveyor 9 are sent out by the vertical hopper 1 and are sent upward by the ascending guide 3. After being guided to the hopper 2, it is retained in the traverse feed hopper 2. Further, the coin C in the cross-feeding hopper 2 is sent out into the horizontal guide 4, guided by the horizontal guide 4 and the diagonal guide 5, and transported to the end portion 11 of the line. During the transfer, the coins C are supplied to the coin dispenser 7 by a coin ejector 8 which opens upon receiving a signal from the coin dispenser 7 that the remaining amount is low.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when coins C are supplied by the coin supply device P to the coin lending machines 7 arranged in two rows with their backs facing each other, as shown in FIG. The direction of the guide (for example, a prismatic spring) 12 from the outlet of the coin extractor 8 may be alternately changed using one device P, or the two lines may be arranged in parallel as shown in Fig. 8. Good too. Also, from one vertical feed hopper
Coins may be fed to a transverse hopper of a machine and further fed to two transverse guides, or coins may be fed from one longitudinal hopper to two transverse hoppers.

The lateral guide 6 is suspended from, for example, a groove shaped steel 13 with a lip placed in the ceiling or the like, or is fixed by being attached inside the groove.

The vertical feed hopper 1 has an appearance as shown in FIG. 9, for example, and its basic structure is the same as a commercially available hopper feeder. That is, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 12, on the plate 16 which is disposed diagonally (for example, at an angle (α) of 60 degrees) on the frame 15, there are pins provided at appropriate pitches near the outer periphery of the plate 16. A feed disk 18 having a shaped protrusion 17 is rotatably provided, and a housing 19 for storing coins is provided around the outer periphery of the feed disk 18. A stepped portion 20 is provided near the outer periphery of the feed disk 18, which is lower than the center portion by the thickness of one coin.

When the feed disk 18 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow A by the motor M disposed on the back side of the plate 16, the coin C hooked on the protrusion 17 is guided by the inner surface of the housing 19 and the stepped portion 20. are sequentially sent in the direction of arrow A, and guided to the outside along a fixed guide 21 near the outlet 1a formed in a part of the housing 19. Note that 22 in FIG. 9 is a member for stirring the accumulated coins, and is made of, for example, a tightly wound coin spring.

The vertical feed hopper 1 has a feed disk 1.
A regulating plate 23 and a dispensing spring 24 are attached to reduce the driving force required for the coins 8 and to smoothly feed out a large number of coins.

The regulating plate 23 is, for example, a plate-shaped member, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, with its tip 23a facing in the downward direction of rotation of the feed disk 18. The tip 23a side of the regulating plate 23 is inclined so as to gradually approach the surface of the feed disk 18, and the tip 23a is almost in contact with the surface of the feed disk 18. The base 23b of the regulation plate 23 is connected to the feed disk 18 to prevent the regulation plate 23 from being bent outward by the pressure of the coin being fed.
It is fixed to the housing 19 on the upper surface side than the surface of the housing 19 .

It is preferable to form an annular groove 25 in the feed disk 18 and fit the tip 23a of the regulating plate 23 into the groove 25 because the coin C can be scooped up smoothly. Furthermore, the regulation plate 23
It is preferable to provide a triangular protrusion 26 on the tip 23a of the coin because it makes it easier to float the second coin C that is sent overlapping the coin C that is sent by the protrusion 17 and drop it.

Preferably, the housing 19 is further provided with a dispensing spring 24 for dispelling the second coin. The second coin paid by the paying spring 24 passes through a space 27 provided in the regulating plate 23 and falls downward.

As shown in FIG. 12, when a large number of steel balls 28 are arranged between the feed disk 18 and the plate 16, especially near the outer periphery, the feed disk 18 can be prevented from tilting.

A reverse movement prevention device (sixth
30) in the figure is preferably provided.

The ascending guide 3 is formed into a flat C-shape in order to guide both side edges of the coin C, as its cross-sectional shape is shown in FIG. 13b. Therefore, only a small amount of space between coins C is shown to the outside. Therefore, as the reverse movement prevention device 30, for example, one provided with two small claw portions 31 as shown in FIG. 15 is adopted. Lower surface 31a of claw portion 31
is formed into a tapered shape so that coins can pass through it smoothly, and the upper surface 31b is flat. Claw portion 31
In the member 32 having
It is biased by a spring 33 or the like so as to be pushed toward the surface side.

As the reverse movement prevention device, it is also possible to employ reverse movement prevention devices 34 and 35 having a simple structure made of spring steel or the like as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16.

Any of the reverse movement prevention devices can support the weight of the coins in the ascending guide 3 and alleviate the feeding action of the vertical feed hopper 1, thereby making it possible to smooth the flow of coins along the entire line.

Next, the lateral feed hopper 2 of the present invention will be explained in detail based on FIGS. 1 to 5.

In Fig. 1, 2 is a horizontal feed hopper, 3 is an upward guide for guiding the coins sent from the vertical feed hopper 1, and 4 is a horizontal guide for distributing coins to multiple coin supply destinations. be. Coins sent from the ascending guide 3 are stored in the housing 19 of the lateral feed hopper 2, and the coins are fed into the lateral guide 4 one after another by the lateral feed hopper 2.

The illustrated horizontal feed hopper 2 has almost the same shape as the vertical feed hopper 1 shown in FIG. 9, but it employs several preferable mechanisms to smoothly transfer a large number of coins with a strong pushing force. .

The feed disk 41 is fixed to a rotating shaft 41a as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and is attached to a plate 45.
placed above. The back side of the disk 41 is open, and a cover part 43 in which a spectacle hole 42 is bored is provided on the front side. Cover part 43
An elongated protrusion 44 is provided between the eyeglass holes 42 adjacent to each other on the back side. Protrusion 44
is preferably carved out from the feed disk 41.

An annular groove 46 is formed in the surface of the plate 45, which is attached at an angle (β) of about 45°, to fit with the projection 44.

A large number of steel balls 48 held at equal intervals by retainers (47 in FIG. 5) are arranged circumferentially between the plate 45 and the feed disk 41.

The feed disk 41 is held down by a holding plate 50 in the vicinity of the outlet 49, where a coin extrusion reaction force is applied. Steel ball 48 and presser plate 50
In both cases, even if the feed disk 41 is agitated due to the reaction force of the coin being force-fed, the deflection of the rotating shaft 41a is reduced, and the feed disk 41 is
This is to ensure that the

Further, a triangular fixed guide 52 is fixed on the plate 45 near the outlet 49 thereof. Preferably, the fixed guide 52 is cut out from the plate 45. A groove 53 that is continuous with the annular groove 46 is formed in the fixed guide 52 . The guide surface 52a of the fixed guide 52 is connected to the eyeglass hole 4 located directly above the center of rotation of the feed disk 41.
2 and the center of rotation of the feed disk 41, so that the protrusion 44 and the recess 56 of the stepped portion 55 are guided by the inner peripheral surface of the housing 54 and the surface of the plate 45.
The coin C pushed by the protrusion 44 and the guide surface 5
It can be pushed out smoothly by sandwiching it with 2a. Further, it is preferable that the end surface 44a of the protrusion 44 that comes into contact with the coin is inclined so as to recede toward the outside in the radial direction of the feed disk, so that the coin C can be pushed toward the guide surface 52.
Sufficient pressing force can be transmitted even while moving along a.

The shape of the fixed guide 52 is not limited to a triangular shape, and the shape of the fixed guide 52 is not limited to a triangular shape.
52a, and is disposed close to the stepped portion 55 on the back side of the feed disk 41.

Note that when the radially inner part 52b of the fixed guide 52 is made thicker than the outer part 52c as shown in FIG. 4, "settling" may occur due to friction when that part slides into contact with the coin C. This has the advantage that it is less likely to occur and a stable extrusion guide function can be achieved over a long period of time.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 57 denotes a charging guide, which is provided along the lower edge of the feed disk 41. This input guide 57 has a surface that has the eyeglass hole 4.
The coins C stored in the housing 19 are guided so as to easily fall into the eyeglass hole 42.

The details of the coin supply device P shown in FIG. 6 will be explained below.

FIG. 17 shows a state in which the coin ejector 8 is inserted halfway into the lateral guide 6. The coin takeout device 8 includes a main body 60 inserted and fixed in the middle of the lateral guide 6, and a payout mechanism 61 provided on the back side of the main body 60.

A passage 62 communicating with the coin feeding passage 6a of the lateral guide 6 is formed in the main body 60. The passage 62 consists of a lower bottom part 63 and a guide 64 provided on the upper front side.

As shown in FIG. 19, the bottom part 63 consists of an inlet part 65 having a width somewhat wider than the thickness of the coin C, and an outlet part 66 that continues from the inlet part 65 while expanding in a tapered shape.

As shown in FIG. 18, the dispensing mechanism 61 is rotatably provided around a solenoid S as a driving source and a fulcrum 67, and is supported by an arrow P by a spring 68.
A swinging piece 69 that is biased in one direction and a swinging piece 6
The lower guide plate 70 fixed to 9 and the swinging piece 69
An upper push plate 71 extending from the upper end, and an L-shaped upper guide plate rotatably supported on a fulcrum 72 so as to retract in the direction of arrow P3 when the upper push plate 71 is pushed in the direction of arrow P2. It consists of 73.

When the solenoid S is not passed through, the lower guide plate 70 is pushed into the passage 62 by the biasing force of the spring 68.
The upper guide plate 73 protrudes in the direction of arrow P2. In that case, the front ends 70a, 73a of the respective guide plates 70, 73 function as guides for the coin C and form part of the passage 62 (see solid lines in FIGS. 19-20).

Next, when receiving a signal from a coin supply destination (for example, the coin dispenser 8 in FIG. 6) and sending out a coin C, the solenoid S is energized. As a result, the swinging piece 69 swings in the direction of arrow P2, causing the lower guide plate 70 to protrude somewhat into the passage 62, and retracting the upper guide plate 73 to a position slightly retracted from the passage 62. Therefore, the coins C that are sent one after another from the upstream side of the lateral guide 6 reach the front ends 73 of the upper guide plate 73 and the lower guide plate 70.
The coin is forcibly tilted along the slope defined by points a and 70a, detaches from the bottom 63, falls through the opening 74 of the main body 60, and is sent through the take-out guide 12 to the coin supply destination.

It is preferable to form a tapered or rounded notch on the entrance side of the front ends 70a, 73a of the guide plates 70, 73 because the coins being fed can be tilted smoothly along the front ends 70a, 73a.

An outlet portion 6 that expands in a tapered shape toward the outlet side of the bottom portion 63
6 is preferable because when the solenoid S is activated, the coin that is about to pass through the bottom part 63 can be passed through without being pushed out halfway.

Note that a cover 7 is provided in the opening 74 of the main body 60 to guide the removed coin to the removal guide 12.
It is preferable to provide 5.

Next, to show the advantages of the above coin feeding device as a whole, this coin feeding device P has a vertical feeding hopper 1 for transferring the coin C upward, and a vertical feeding hopper 1 for feeding the coin C transferred upward horizontally. Since the coins C are transported by two drive sources including the horizontal feed hopper 2, the pressing force applied to the coins C can be reduced and a large amount of coins C can be smoothly supplied.

Furthermore, since the lateral guide 6 for guiding the coin C from the lateral feed hopper 2 to the coin supply destination is configured by combining the horizontal guide 4 and the diagonal guide 5, the height of the entire device and the installation space are reduced. Moreover, it is possible to significantly reduce the pressing force and the power of the driving source applied to the coin C that is sent in the lateral direction, and it is also possible to prevent the coin C from being crushed.

In addition, in the coin feeding device P, when the reverse movement prevention device 35 is provided near the lower end of the ascending guide 3, since the reverse movement prevention device 35 supports the weight of the coin C in the upward guide 3, the power of the vertical feed hopper 1 is reduced. There is an advantage that the coin C can be smoothly fed from the vertical feed hopper 1 to the ascending guide 3.

[Effects of the Invention] The horizontal feeding hopper of the coin feeding device of the present invention has a high coin feeding driving force, can be used stably for a long period of time, and can be fed reliably.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the lateral feed hopper of the present invention;
The figure is a front view of the main part of the cross-feeding hopper shown in Fig. 1, FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the main part of the cross-feeding hopper shown in Fig. 1, and FIG. 4 is a diagram of the fixed guide according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the Y section in FIG. 3, FIG. 6 is a front view showing the entire coin feeding device using the lateral feed hopper of the present invention, and FIG. 8 and 8 are respectively plan views showing other configuration examples of the coin feeding device, FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the vertical feeding hopper shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the vertical feeding hopper shown in FIG. 9. Main part front view, No. 11
The figure is a plan view of the regulation plate, Figure 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main part of the vertical feed hopper shown in Figure 9, Figure 13a is a front view of the ascending guide with the reverse movement prevention device attached, and Figure 13b is the vertical sectional view of the vertical feed hopper shown in Figure 9. XX cross-sectional view of Figure 13a, No. 14
The figure is a perspective view of the retrograde prevention device shown in Figure 13a,
5 and 16 are perspective views showing other examples of the reverse movement prevention device, FIGS. 17 and 18 are perspective views and vertical sectional views showing one embodiment of the coin ejector, respectively, and FIGS. FIG. 20 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the coin extractor shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, respectively. Main symbols in the drawing: P: Coin feeder, C: Coin, 2: Horizontal feed hopper, 4: Horizontal guide, 4
1: Feed disk, 42: Glasses hole, 44:
Projection, 46: Groove, 52: Fixed guide.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A horizontal feed hopper for sequentially feeding coins in an upright position to a horizontal guide for distributing coins to a plurality of coin supply destinations, comprising: (a) a plate arranged at an angle; (b) Numerous eyeglass holes are perforated on the periphery;
A feed disk fixed to a rotating shaft extending from the center of the plate; (c) a number of steel balls placed between the plate and the feed disk or held at equal intervals around the circumference by a retainer; (d) a projection formed on the back of the feed disk for pushing the coin; and an annular groove formed on the plate for the projection to engage and move around; (e) for pushing the coin pushed by the projection; a fixed guide formed on the plate for movement in the exit direction, and the guide surface of the fixed guide is located approximately between the spectacle hole located directly above the rotation center of the feed disk and the rotation center of the feed disk. A lateral feed hopper of a coin feeding device, wherein a groove is formed in the fixed guide, the groove being at an intermediate position and crossing the annular groove, and continuous with the annular groove.