JPH077473B2 - Slot machine - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a slot machine, and more particularly to a slot machine having a structure for supplying a shortage of medals.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional slot machine, a front plate of a machine body can be opened and closed, and a symbol display window for viewing each symbol on three reels accommodated in the machine body is provided on the front plate. There is. The front plate is provided with a starting lever for starting each reel, three stop buttons for individually stopping each reel, and a medal insertion slot for inserting a medal when starting a game. . A medal discharging device provided with a hopper for storing medals is provided in the machine body, and this medal discharging device discharges a predetermined number of medals one by one to a medal tray outside the machine at the time of winning or settlement.

In recent years, such slot machines have adopted a winning mode in which a large number of medals are released to a player in a short time. Before this type of prize form was adopted, 1
It is rare that the stored medals in the hopper will be exhausted during the game of a human player, and the clerk will open the front plate in consideration of the time when there are no players and replenish the medals manually. Was.

[0004]

However, in the prize winning form in which a large number of medals are discharged, the medals in the hopper may run out during the game. In such a case,
The player must interrupt the game and receive a medal supply from the attendant. In addition, the staff member must always pay attention to running out of medals when the above-described winning form occurs, and when the medals run out, it is necessary to urgently replenish medals, which is complicated.

In order to avoid such a situation, it is possible to increase the capacity of the hopper.
In some cases, the load on the medal ejection mechanism provided in the medal ejection device becomes too large, and the medal ejection operation does not proceed smoothly.

Further, the total medal emission amount for one machine is determined for each playground, and at each playground, the total medal emission amount is always checked for each machine. Is complicated and makes the work burden on the staff even greater.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a slot machine which is improved in usability, reduces the work load on staff, and improves customer service.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a medal receiving device is provided on a front surface outside the machine, and a medal discharging device having a hopper for storing medals is provided inside the machine, and the medal discharging device is connected to the medal receiving device. In a slot machine for driving the medal ejecting device to eject the medals in the hopper to a medal receiving tray at the time of winning or settlement, a medal replenishing device for replenishing medals to the hopper of the medal ejecting device is provided in the machine. The medal supply device includes a hopper for accommodating replenishment medals, a medal sending mechanism unit for sending out medals in the hopper, and a plurality of level sensors for detecting the remaining amount of medals in the hopper at different levels. A setting switch for selecting and activating a level sensor, the medal discharging device includes a lower limit sensor for detecting a lower limit value of a medal storage amount, and an upper limit sensor for detecting an upper limit value of a medal storage amount. Is provided. The medal replenishing device is connected to a control unit, and the control unit starts the medal sending mechanism unit of the medal replenishing device by the detection operation of the lower limit sensor, and the medal replenishment device is detected by the upper limit sensor or the activated level sensor. The delivery mechanism is stopped.

[0009]

[Operation] When the stored medals in the hopper of the medal ejecting device decrease to the lower limit value, the control unit drives the medal replenishing device to eject the medals in the hopper of the medal replenishing device until the stored medal reaches the upper limit value. Automatically replenish the hopper of the device. Therefore, even if a large number of medals are released, the state of running out of medals will not occur. Since the amount of medals to be supplied by the medal supply device is determined by operating the switch, when the set amount of medals in the hopper of the medal supply device is supplied, the supply of medals is automatically stopped.

[0010]

1 is a front view of a slot machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the slot machine 1 with a front door 10 opened.

In this slot machine 1, a large number of medals that have been lent out are loaded into the machine in advance and lent out before the start of the game, and at the time of each game, the loan medals are consumed by the button operation described later. A so-called credit system is adopted in which a game is executed by using the so-called credit system. In addition, for a specific winning form, the game content is such that a player executes a special game called a bonus game and a large amount of medals are paid out in a short time.

The slot machine 1 of the illustrated example has three reels 23A, 23A each having a plurality of symbols displayed on its peripheral surface.
B and 23C are housed in the machine body 11, and on the front surface of the front door 10, a symbol display window 25, an end lamp 90, a loan number display 26, a medal slot 27, and three stop button switches 28.
A, 28B, 28C, a starting lever 29, a game switch 30, a settlement switch 31, a selection switch 32, and a medal tray 33 are arranged respectively.

The symbol display window 25 is for each reel 23A, 2A.
The symbols on the peripheral surfaces of 3B and 23C are aligned and displayed along a plurality of stop lines L. The rotation state of each reel 23A, 23B, 23C can be seen through the symbol display window 25, and when the reels 23A, 23B, 23C are stopped,
It is possible to easily confirm how the symbols on the reels 23A, 23B and 23C are arranged on the plurality of stop lines L.

The starting lever 29 includes three reels 23.
For starting A, 23B, 23C all at once, 3
The individual stop button switches 28A, 28B and 28C are for individually stopping the corresponding reels 23A, 23B and 23C. The end lamp 90 is turned on when a large number of medals are discharged, thereby notifying the player that the execution of the game by this machine is completed, that is, the stop.

The medal insertion slot 27 is a portion for inserting one or a plurality of medals at the time of playing a game or lending medals, and the medal tray 33 accommodates the medals to be discharged at the time of payout or settlement of medals. . The loan number display device 26 digitally displays the loan number of medals for the slot machine 1. It is also possible to provide a prepaid card receiving slot for the slot machine in the machine body 11 and display the number of medals corresponding to the value of the amount on the loan number display 26 when the prepaid card is inserted into the receiving slot. .

The game switch 30 gives an instruction to use a loan medal at the time of executing a game, and is pushed a number of times according to the consumed amount of the medal. Selection switch 32
Is a changeover switch for selecting whether to play a game by inserting a medal from the medal insertion slot 27 or to play a game by consuming a loan medal. The settlement switch 31 sets the number of medals to be returned after settlement of the lent medals and the medal tray 33.
To release.

Inside the machine body 11, a medal discharging device 34 for storing a large number of medals and discharging the medals of the number of payouts one by one to the medal receiving plate 33 at the time of winning is equipped.
The medal ejecting device 34 includes a medal ejecting mechanism 35 for ejecting medals one by one as necessary, and a hopper 36 for storing medals mounted on the medal ejecting mechanism 35.

The slot machine 1 is provided with a medal replenishing device 37 at a position above the medal discharging device 34 in the machine body 11 in order to provide a large amount of medals. The medal supply device 37 includes a hopper 38 and an auxiliary hopper 79 for accommodating medals for supply, and the hoppers 38, 79.
An openable / closable lid plate 41 for supplying medals into the inside, a medal sending mechanism 39 for sending the medals housed in the hopper 38 to the medal ejecting device 34 one by one by an operation described later, and this medal. Chute 4 for guiding medals from the sending mechanism 39 to the hopper 36 of the medal discharging device 34
With 0 and.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the cover plate 41. The lid plate 41 is opened to open the medal supply port 59.
Opens. The lower end of the cover plate 41 is pivotally fixed. The lid plate 41 has a side wall 60 integrally formed with the lid plate 41,
When 61 is erected and the lid plate 41 is unlocked and its lock 62 is pulled out toward the front side in the direction of arrow A1, and tilted,
A chute 63 that slopes inwardly low is configured. The medals thrown into the chute 63 all at once fall into the hopper 38 via the auxiliary hopper 79 as shown by the arrow A2 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view of the medal supply device 37 as viewed from the left side of FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the medal supply device 37 and the hopper 3.
It is the figure which looked at 6 and from the front. The hopper 36 is provided with a lower limit sensor 42 for detecting the lower limit of the medal storage amount, that is, a replenishment start position, and an upper limit sensor 43 for detecting the upper limit value of the medal storage amount, that is, a replenishment stop position.

Each of these sensors 42 and 43 is connected to the hopper 36.
Is made of synthetic resin, for example, each of them is composed of a pair of metal rods, and the electrical continuity due to the medal between the metal rods is detected. Further, if the hopper 36 is made of metal, each hopper 36 is constituted by one metal rod insulated from the hopper 36, and electric conduction by the medal between the hopper 36 and the metal rod is detected. The detection output of these sensors 42, 43 starts or stops the supply operation of the medal supply device 37 to the medal discharge device 34.

The hopper 38 of the medal replenishing device 37 has the same structure as the sensors 42 and 43.
Five level sensors 44, 45, 46, 47 and 48 are provided to detect the remaining amount of the liquid in different levels. The first to fifth level sensors 44 to 48 are the hopper 3
The first to fifth setting switches 80 to 84 arranged corresponding to the respective level positions on the front of 8 are activated, and the first to the first for displaying the switch-on state by lighting for each setting switch. 5 level lamps 85-89 are provided.

The medal supply device 37 includes a mounting board 54.
A take-out mechanism 55 for taking out the medals mounted on the hopper 38 one by one, a take-out mechanism 56 for guiding the medals from the take-out mechanism 55 to a delivery port 57 opened in the attachment substrate 54, and each mechanism 55. , 56, and a power mechanism 58 such as a speed reduction mechanism, which constitute a medal sending mechanism 39.

As shown in FIG. 6, the take-out mechanism 55 has a plurality of circular holes 65 formed in a circle in the first rotary plate 64, and each circular hole 65 has one medal housed in the hopper 38.
It is a structure that takes in one by one. Guide members 66 and 67 for moving a medal fitted in the circular hole 65 toward the drawing mechanism 56 are arranged in a passage path of the circular hole 65 by the rotation of the rotary plate 64.

From the take-out mechanism 55 to the guide members 66, 6
The medal 68 removed by 7 moves to the pullout mechanism 56. It is needless to say that the structure of the lower surface of the rotating plate 64 is devised so that its rotation is not hindered by the presence of the guide members 66 and 67.

The lead-out mechanism 56 is provided with a second rotary plate 69, and a plurality of claw pieces 70 curved toward the downstream side in the rotation direction A3 are provided on the peripheral surface thereof. An opening 71 for receiving one medal 68 is formed between the adjacent claw pieces 70.

The rotary plates 64 and 69 are the power mechanism 58.
When the medal 68 is sent out from the rotary plate 64 in synchronization with each other, the opening 71 between the claw pieces 70 faces the medal 68 and is drawn into the opening 71 by the claw piece 70. The medal 68 in the opening 71 is locked by a hook-shaped part near the tip of the claw 70 so as not to escape, and is guided to the medal delivery port 57 after making a half turn.

The rotary plate 69 is positioned so that each opening 71 passes above the medal delivery port 57. Therefore, the medals 68 in the opening 71 are supported on the mounting substrate 54 and move half a circle. , Falls down to the medal sending port 57. The chute 40 is communicated directly below the medal delivery port 57, and the dropped medals 68 are fed through the chute 40 to the hopper 3 of the medal ejection device 34.
It is housed in 6.

A micro switch 73 for detecting the sending of the medal 68 is provided near the second rotary plate 69, and the medal 68 in the opening 71 pushes the tip of the lever 74 to swing it. At this time, the base end of the lever 74 turns on the micro switch 73, and a signal for confirming the sending operation and counting the number of sent sheets is generated.

A stopper 75 is provided near the medal outlet 57, that is, at a position upstream of the medal outlet 57 in the rotational direction of the rotary plate 69 to prevent the medal 68 from turning around. Such a medal sending mechanism 39
The same applies to the medal ejection mechanism 35 of the medal ejection device 34.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the slot machine 1. For example, the control unit 77 including a microprocessor includes the above-described start lever 29, stop button switches 28A, 28B and 28C, the upper limit sensor 43, the lower limit sensor 42, the first to fifth level sensors 44 to 48, and the micro controller. Switch 73, end lamp 9
0, first to fifth setting switches 80 to 84, first to fifth
Level lamps 85 to 89, etc. are connected, and control signals are input to and output from the control unit 77. In addition, the control unit 7
7, motors 78A, 78B, 78C for rotation drive provided for each reel 23A, 23B, 23C, a power mechanism (not shown) of the medal ejecting device 34, a power mechanism 58 of the medal replenishing device 37, etc. are connected. These are controlled by the control unit 7.
It is controlled in series by 7.

8 and 9 show the control procedure of the medal supply operation by the control unit 77. When a large amount of medals are paid to the player in a short time, the medal releasing device 3
The medal storage amount in the No. 4 hopper 36 is below the position of the lower limit sensor 42. At this time, since the lower limit sensor 42 shifts from the ON state to the OFF state, the control unit 77 sets the step 1 of FIG.
When the output of the lower limit sensor 42 is checked (indicated by "ST1" in the figure), the determination in step 2 is "YES", and the control unit 77 determines in the next step 3 whether the flag F indicating completion of replenishment is set. I will check. If the determination in step 3 is "NO", the medal replenishing device 37 is driven in step 4, and the medals stored in the hopper 38 are sent to the medal releasing device 34 to replenish the medals.

Next, at step 5, the control section 77 checks whether or not the remaining amount of medals in the hopper 38 of the medal supply device 37 has reached the set position. FIG. 9 shows the details of this checking procedure.
At 1, it is checked whether or not the first setting switch 80 is turned on. If it has been turned on, the determination in step 5-2 becomes "YES", and then in step 5-3, the control section 77 checks whether or not the first level sensor 44 is in the off state.

If the above step 5-2 is "NO", the control section 77 sequentially follows the second setting switch 81 in step 5-4 and the third setting switch 8 in step 5-7.
2 and the fourth setting switch 83 in step 5-8, respectively, and check steps 5-5, 5-8,
After determining which setting switch is turned on in step 5-11, it is checked whether or not the level sensor corresponding to the turned on setting switch has shifted to the off state (steps 5-6 and 5-5). 9, Step 5-
12, steps 5-13).

When the level sensor corresponding to the setting switch thus turned on is not in the off state, step 6 in FIG. 8 is "NO", and then the control section 77 causes the step 7 to proceed.
The output of the upper limit sensor 43 is checked with. If the medal supply is sufficiently performed without the level sensor shifting to the off state, the hopper 36 of the medal ejecting device 34 will be operated.
The stored medal amount reaches the position of the upper limit sensor 42.
At this time, since the upper limit sensor 43 shifts from the off state to the on state, the determination in step 8 becomes “YES”, and the control section 77 stops the driving of the medal replenishing device 37 in the next step 9 and ends the replenishing operation.

If the replenishment of medals is not sufficient, the medal storage amount in the hopper 36 of the medal ejection device 34 does not reach the position of the upper limit sensor 43, and the judgment in step 8 is "N".
O ”. In this case, the process returns to step 4, and while checking the steps 5 and 6, the medal supply device 37 is continuously driven.

In the process of replenishing medals, if the level sensor corresponding to the inserted setting switch shifts to the OFF state, the determination in step 6 becomes "YES" and the process proceeds to step 13, and the control unit 77 causes the flag F to be set. And the drive of the medal supply device 37 is stopped (step 9).

After the flag F is set, the medal storage amount in the hopper 36 of the medal discharging device 34 is reduced by the lower limit sensor 42.
When the position is below the position of, the step 2 becomes “YES”, the following step 3 becomes “YES”, and the process proceeds to step 10 in which the control unit 77 lights the end lamp 90 and executes the game end process in the next step 11. Then, in step 12, the flag F is reset.

The above-mentioned game ending process is a process for prohibiting the continuation of the game, for example, prohibiting and returning the medal from the medal slot 27 and operating the game switch 30 and the starting lever 29. To invalidate.

[0040]

As described above, the present invention is provided with a medal replenishing device for replenishing medals to the medal ejecting device in the body, and when the medal storage amount of the medal ejecting device approaches an empty state, the medal replenishing device is used. Since the player is automatically supplied, the player does not need to interrupt the game for supplying the medal, and the customer service can be improved. Moreover, the staff does not need to always pay attention to the medal run-out or frequently supply medals, and the work load is greatly reduced. Further, since an excessive load is not applied to the medal ejection mechanism of the medal ejection device, the medal ejection operation is not hindered.

Furthermore, when the remaining amount of medals in the hopper of the medal replenishing device reaches the set amount, the medal replenishment is stopped, so that the total medal emission amount for each machine can be managed without human intervention. The work load on the staff is further reduced. Moreover, the set amount can be arbitrarily determined by the setting switch, and any number of excellent effects can be achieved, such as being compatible with any playground.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the slot machine with a front door opened.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a medal supply device near a cover plate.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a medal supply device.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged front view of a medal supply device and a medal ejection device.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a medal sending mechanism of the medal supply device.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the slot machine.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a medal supply operation by the control unit.

9 is a flowchart showing details of step 5 of FIG. 8. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 slot machine 11 machine body 34 medal discharging device 35 medal discharging mechanism 36 hopper 38 hopper 39 medal sending mechanism 42 lower limit sensor 43 upper limit sensor 44-48 level sensor 77 control unit 80-84 setting switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A medal receiving device provided with a medal receiving tray on the outside of the machine and having a hopper for storing medals inside the machine. The medal releasing device is communicated with the medal receiving tray, and the medal receiving device is provided at the time of winning or settlement. In a slot machine for driving a medal ejecting device to eject medals in a hopper to a medal receiving tray, a medal replenishing device for replenishing medals to the hopper of the medal ejecting device is provided in the machine, and the medal replenishing device is provided for replenishment. A hopper that stores medals, a medal sending mechanism that sends out medals in the hopper, a plurality of level sensors that detect the remaining amount of medals in the hopper at different levels, and activates by selecting one of the level sensors. The medal discharging device has a lower limit sensor for detecting a lower limit value of the storage amount of medals, and a medal storage device. An upper limit sensor for detecting the upper limit value of the amount is provided, and the medal supply device starts the medal sending mechanism section of the medal supply device by the detection operation of the lower limit sensor, and detects the upper limit sensor or the activated level sensor. A slot machine connected to a control unit for stopping the medal sending mechanism unit by an operation.