JPH0816943B2 - Banknote handling system in amusement arcades - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a system for automatically storing dispensed banknotes in an amusement facility where many gaming machines are installed. In particular, the present invention relates to a banknote handling system for transporting banknotes taken into each gaming machine island and automatically storing them in a sales safe installed in an amusement facility where gaming machines and gaming media lending machines that lend out gaming media used in the gaming machines are arranged side by side.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, there are amusement parlors equipped with multiple gaming machine islands, each consisting of a large number of gaming machines and gaming media lending machines arranged side by side. Here, a gaming machine island refers to a collection of equipment where a large number of gaming machines and gaming media lending machines are gathered. The reason for the name "island" comes from the state in which multiple equipment collections are arranged in an island-like manner within the amusement parlor.

In these gaming parlors, each gaming machine island is equipped with a stacker machine for temporarily storing bills paid by players on that island. The stacker machine stores the bills received on the gaming machine island where it is installed. The bills stored in each stacker machine are manually collected for each gaming machine island and transported to a sales safe for storage.

However, with this conventional technology, a store clerk must collect bills from the stacker installed on each gaming machine island whenever the stacker becomes full of bills.
The conventional technology has a problem in that the work required to collect banknotes is extremely time-consuming.

Furthermore, since large amounts of cash are removed from the stacker machine and transported during opening hours of the amusement arcade, there is a risk of inviting crimes such as robbery.

Furthermore, there was a risk that the store staff collecting the items would commit theft.

Furthermore, there was a problem in that the work of collecting banknotes by store staff was conspicuous within the amusement parlor, causing discomfort to players and interfering with the movement of players, thereby spoiling the atmosphere within the amusement parlor.

Disclosure of the Invention The object of the present invention is to provide a banknote handling system that can quickly and reliably transport and collect banknotes taken into each gaming machine island to a sales safe without requiring human labor, thereby preventing the incitement of crime.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bill handling system that eliminates the need for store clerks to collect bills, thereby improving the atmosphere in the gaming parlor.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention,
A bill handling system for use in an amusement facility is provided, which includes a plurality of gaming support machines each having a mechanism for receiving bills. The bill handling system comprises a safe having a mechanism for automatically storing bills, and a collection device for collecting the bills received by each of the machines and transporting them to the safe.

The collection device includes one or more stacker machines that sequentially stack and temporarily hold the banknotes taken in by the support equipment, and receives the banknotes held by the stacker machines,
and a banknote transport mechanism for transporting the banknotes to the safe.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bill handling system that is installed in an amusement machine island where a plurality of gaming machines for playing games and a plurality of gaming support devices, each having a mechanism for receiving bills for such payments, are assembled together, and that receives bills sent from the gaming support devices and discharges them outside the amusement machine island. This system includes an intra-island transport mechanism that transports the bills received by each gaming support device one by one, and a stacker machine that receives the bills transported by the intra-island transport mechanism, temporarily holds them, and then discharges them outside.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a banknote handling system for an amusement parlor having a plurality of gaming machine islands, each of which comprises a plurality of gaming machines for playing games and a plurality of gaming support devices for making payments necessary for playing games on the gaming machines, the banknote handling system transporting the banknotes taken in by each gaming support device to a safe where they should be stored. This system comprises an intra-island transport mechanism, which is arranged on each gaming machine island, and transports the banknotes taken in by each gaming support device one by one, means, which is arranged on each gaming machine island, for taking in the banknotes transported by the intra-island transport mechanism and bundling them into a predetermined size, and a banknote transport mechanism, which transports the bundled banknotes to the safe.

In each of the above aspects, the respective components can be configured as follows, for example.

A plurality of gaming machines and gaming support devices may be arranged side by side to form a plurality of gaming machine islands arranged in an amusement facility. The gaming support device may be a device that dispenses gaming media used in the gaming machine according to the amount of inserted banknotes. For example, the gaming support device may be a gaming media lending machine.

A plurality of stacker machines can be provided, for example, one for each gaming machine island.

The banknote transport mechanism has a transport path connecting each stacker and the safe. This transport path may include, for example, a mechanism for moving banknotes along the transport path, such as a transport belt. The transport belt may be arranged, for example, to circulate between each stacker and the safe.

The stacker and safe have their banknote transport mechanism and the part that receives and delivers banknotes located near the floor where they are installed, and the banknote transport mechanism has a transport belt that can be installed on the floor. Of course, the floor can have a double structure,
Preferably, the banknote transport mechanism is not directly visible.

The conveyor belt may have a plurality of conveyor cassettes, which are containers for holding banknotes in a stacked state. The conveyor cassettes may be attached to a plurality of locations on the conveyor belt, for example.

The stacker machine consists of a stacker cassette, which is a container that stores banknotes in a stacked state, and a stacker cassette,
The stacker can be configured to include an in-stacker cassette transport means that moves between a storage position where banknotes are loaded inside and a discharge position where the banknotes are discharged outside the stacker machine, an in-stacker banknote transport mechanism that takes in banknotes sent from the gaming support equipment and transports them to the storage position, a storage mechanism that stores the banknotes transported by the in-stacker banknote transport mechanism in a stacked state in a stacker cassette at the storage position, and a first transfer mechanism that transfers the banknotes stored in the stacker cassette to a transport cassette while still in a stacked state at the discharge position.

The safe has a mechanism for receiving banknotes transported by the banknote transport mechanism and transferring them to the safe, and a holding mechanism for holding the transferred banknotes. The safe can also have a safe cassette that is a container for storing banknotes in a stacked state, and a second transfer mechanism that transfers the banknotes in a stacked state from the transport cassette transported by the banknote transport mechanism to the safe cassette.

The operation of the bill handling system of the present invention is outlined as follows.

The banknotes taken into the gaming support device are then taken into a stacker machine, which takes in the banknotes one by one and stacks them. When the stack of banknotes reaches a certain size, it is released into a banknote transport mechanism.

The bill transport mechanism transports the bundle of bills to the safe via a transport belt connecting each stacker machine.

The safe receives the transported banknotes in a stacked state and stores them.

This allows you to use the bills taken in by each gaming support device.
The bills can be transported to the safe and collected quickly and reliably without requiring manpower, thereby reducing the likelihood of crime. Furthermore, if the transport path of the bill transport mechanism within the amusement facility is located under the floor of the amusement facility, the bill collection work can be carried out without causing discomfort to players, and the atmosphere within the amusement facility will not be affected.

Furthermore, by disposing a conveyor belt that circulates in the conveying direction along the conveying route within the amusement facility and attaching conveyor cassettes to multiple locations on the conveyor belt, banknotes taken into each gaming machine island can be efficiently transported and collected to the safe at any time or at regular intervals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view showing a bill collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken along the arrow II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a pachinko island equipped with a stacker machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an amusement hall equipped with a stacker machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which banknotes are loaded into a stacker cassette of a stacker machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which banknotes are loaded into a stacker cassette of a stacker machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which banknotes are loaded into a stacker cassette of a stacker machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which banknotes are loaded into the stacker cassette of the stacker machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a bill transport mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which banknotes are transferred from the stacker cassette of the stacker machine to the transport cassette of the banknote transport mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which banknotes are transferred from the stacker cassette of the stacker machine to the transport cassette of the banknote transport mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which banknotes are transferred from the stacker cassette of the stacker machine to the transport cassette of the banknote transport mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which banknotes have been transferred from the stacker cassette of the stacker machine to the transport cassette of the banknote transport mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of transferring banknotes from the transport cassette of the banknote transport mechanism to a safe stacker of a safe according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of transferring banknotes from the transport cassette of the banknote transport mechanism to a safe stacker of a safe according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of the operation showing a state in which the banknotes have been transferred from the transport cassette of the banknote transport mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention to the safe stacker of the safe.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a control system in the banknote handling system of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a plan view showing an example of a transport cassette used in another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing a typical configuration of a barcode management table used in another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a plan view showing yet another example of a transport cassette used in another embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an embodiment of a bill handling system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 4, the bill handling system according to the embodiment of the present invention is installed in a game center A.

A plurality of gaming machine islands 10a to 10h are installed on the floor 15 of the game parlor A. As shown in Fig. 1, the gaming machine islands 10a to 10h are each configured by arranging a plurality of gaming machines 11 and gaming media lending machines 12 alternately in a frame-shaped unit. Of these gaming machine islands 10a to 10h, 10a to 10f are configured by arranging the gaming machines 11 and gaming media lending machines 12 back to back with other gaming machines 11 and gaming media lending machines 12 in two rows, as shown in Fig. 3. In addition, the gaming machine islands 10g and 10h are also configured by arranging the gaming machines 11 and gaming media lending machines 12 back to back with other gaming machines 11 and gaming media lending machines 12 in two rows, as shown in Fig. 3.
Along the wall, a plurality of gaming machines 11 and gaming media rental machines
12 are arranged alternately.

Here, examples of the gaming machine 11 include gaming machines such as pachinko machines that use balls as gaming media, and gaming machines such as slot machines that use medals, coins, etc. as gaming media. Of course, it is not limited to these, and various types of gaming machines can be installed.

The game medium lending machine 12 is a machine that dispenses and lends game media, for example, balls such as pachinko balls or medals, according to the amount of payment.

The system of this embodiment comprises a safe 80 having a mechanism for automatically storing banknotes, and a recovery device 10 for collecting banknotes taken in by a gaming media lending machine 12 and transporting them to the safe 80. In this banknote handling system, the gaming media lending machine 12 is installed as a gaming support device having a mechanism for taking in banknotes, but this is not limited to this. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which a banknote taking mechanism is provided in the gaming machine 11 and the gaming media lending machine 12 is omitted. In this case, the gaming machine 11 itself also functions as a gaming support device. Note that for gaming machines that use coins to play games, a changer that exchanges banknotes for coins is used as the gaming support device.

The collection device 10 is composed of a stacker machine 30 arranged for each of the gaming machine islands 10a to 10f, and a transport mechanism 50 that connects the stacker machines 30 to the safe 80 and transports banknotes.

As shown in Figure 1, the gaming media lending machine 12 installed between each gaming machine 11 receives a banknote inserted by a player from outside and dispenses gaming media equivalent to the value of the banknote to the player. A banknote recognition unit (not shown) is built into the area where the banknote is inserted. The banknote recognition unit recognizes the type of inserted banknote using a magnetic sensor or optical sensor and outputs a banknote type signal. It also recognizes whether the banknote is genuine or counterfeit.

Inside the gaming machine island 10a, a round belt 13 for transporting banknotes within the island is stretched along the back side of the gaming media lending machine 12 toward both ends of the island. The round belt 13 is arranged to transport banknotes sent out from the gaming media lending machine 12 to a stacker machine 30 installed on one end side of the gaming machine island 10a.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 17, the stacker machine 30
The power stacker unit 31 includes stacker cassettes 40a and 40b for storing banknotes in a bundled state, and a stacker cassette 4
The stacker is equipped with an in-stacker transport means 44 that moves the stackers 40a, 40b to a storage position where banknotes are packed inside and a discharge position where the banknotes are discharged to the outside in a bundled state, a control device 30b that mainly controls the operation of the stacker machine 30, and a communication control device 30c that communicates with the control device 500.

As shown in Figure 2, the power stacker unit 31 has a receiving unit 32 into which each banknote sent by the round belt is inserted, a separating unit 33 that separates the banknotes one by one, and a transporting unit 34 that sends each banknote to a storage unit 36. The transporting unit 34 has a transport path through which the banknotes pass one by one and reach one end of the storage unit 36. A pushing unit 35 is provided at the end of the transporting path of the transporting unit 34 for stacking the banknotes in an orderly manner in the storage unit 36. The pushing unit 35, the storage unit 36, and the stacker piston member 37 make up a banknote storage mechanism.

The power stacker unit 31 is also provided with a detector 30a. The detector 30a detects whether or not a banknote has reached the end of the transport unit 34. The detector 30a detects, for example,
It consists of an optical sensor.

The control device 30b performs various controls in the stacker machine 30, including the pushing unit 35, the stacker piston member 37 described below, the in-stacker transport means 44, and the first transfer mechanism 70. For example, the control device 30b controls the driving of the pushing unit 35 in response to a detection signal from the detector 30a. The control device 30b also has a counter (not shown) that counts the detection signal from the detector 30a to count the number of banknotes stored in the storage unit 36, and controls the driving of the in-stacker transport means 44 when the count value of the counter reaches a target value. Furthermore, in response to detection signals from the first proximity detector 21 and second proximity detector 22 described below, the control device 30b controls the driving of the corresponding stacker piston member 37 and first transfer mechanism 70, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 17, the communication control device 30c is
and a communication line 520, and communicates with the control device 500 via the communication line 520. Note that communication may also be performed with another communication control device 30c.

The in-stacker conveying means 44 includes a pair of drive chains 46, 46
The drive chains 46 are wound around two sets of sprockets 45, 45... each in a substantially rectangular shape, and a drive chain drive device 44a (see Figure 17) that drives and rotates at least one of the sprockets 45.
Each of the two sets of sprockets 45 has four sprockets 45.
Two of them are disposed on the lower end side of the stacker device 30, and the other two are disposed on the upper end side of the power stacker unit 31.
As a whole, they are located at the four corners of a rectangle.

The pair of drive chains 46, 46 are connected to the stacker cassette 40
The stacker cassettes 40a and 40b are arranged in a positional relationship such that the stacker cassettes 40a and 40b are sandwiched between them.
These pins 43, 43 are attached to a pair of drive chains 46, 46. As the drive chain 46 rotates, the stacker cassettes 40a, 40b
The stacker cassettes 40a, 40b are provided to circulate vertically inside the stacker device 30 and move between a storage position at the top and a discharge position at the bottom.
As the drive chains 46, 46 move, the lever moves in the order of an upper horizontal position, a vertical position, a lower horizontal position, and a vertical position.

In this embodiment, the stacker cassettes 40a and 40b are turned upside down when placed in the upper horizontal position and the lower horizontal position.
The rollers 40a and 40b may be rotatably attached to the drive chains 46 and 46, and may be circulated without turning upside down.

As shown in FIG. 2, inside the stacker device 30, guide members 47 and 48 are arranged along the drive chain 46 to smoothly circulate the stacker cassettes 40a and 40b.

The stacker cassette 40a and the stacker cassette 40b are both designed to store bills of the same size, for example, 1,000 yen bills.
This is a cassette for transporting stackers.
The stacker cassette 40a and the stacker cassette 40b are respectively attached to a pair of drive chains 46, 46 so that when one is in a storage position for storing banknotes, the other is in a discharge position for discharging banknotes.

As shown in Fig. 5, the top and bottom surfaces of the stacker cassettes 40a and 40b (based on the case where they are located on the power stacker unit 31 side) are formed with large openings 41a and 42a for banknotes.
A pair of openable and closable shutter members 41, 42 are provided on both end edges of the stacker 2a to hold the banknotes in a stacked state. The shutter members 41, 42 are normally biased by a spring or the like to remain in a closed state.

Although not shown in the figure, in reality, other bills of different denominations, for example, 5,000 yen bills and 10,000 yen bills, can also be stored and
The stacker cassettes for transporting the bills are attached to the drive chains 46, 46. Like the cassettes for 1,000 yen bills described above, these are each configured as a pair. And, like the cassettes for 1,000 yen bills, they are attached to the drive chains 46, 46 so that when one is at the top end, the other is at the bottom end.
In response to this, a storage section 36 according to the type of bill is provided.
Furthermore, a pushing unit 35 is built into the stacker device 30.

The mechanism for storing and transporting 1,000 yen bills will be described below using the mechanism for storing and transporting 1,000 yen bills as an example.

5 to 8, a stacker piston member 37 is disposed below the storage section 36 of the stacker device 30. When a certain number of banknotes, for example, 50 banknotes, are accumulated in the storage section 36, the stacker piston member 37 is operated by the control of the control device 30b to move the stacker cassette 40a, which has been moved to the storage position, to the storage position.
(or 40b), the bundle of bills is passed through the shutter member of the entrance/exit 42a.
The stacker piston member 37 is made up of a drive rod 39 that moves up and down and a push plate 38. In addition, a first drive unit 370 (see Figure 17) is provided to move the drive rod 39 back and forth.

2, a first proximity detector 21 is provided on the upper end side of the power stacker unit 31. Also, a cassette intrusion detector 22b, a second proximity detector 22, and a third proximity detector 23 are provided on the lower end side of the stacker unit 30.
Each of the proximity detectors 21, 22, 22b, and 23 is configured with a sensor such as an optical sensor or a limit switch.
The first proximity detector 22 detects that the stacker cassette 40a (or 40b) has reached the storage position. The proximity detector 22 detects that the stacker cassette 40b (or 40a) has reached the discharge position. The cassette intrusion detector 22b detects that the transport cassette 60 has arrived just before the discharge position of the stacker device 30. The third proximity detector 23 detects that the transport cassette 60 has been transported to a position below the stacker cassette 40a (or 40b) which is in the discharge position.

When the transport cassette 60 is located immediately before the discharge position of the stacker 30, an empty cassette detector 22a is disposed at a position facing the transport cassette 60. The empty cassette detector 22a detects whether or not banknotes have already been placed in the transport cassette 60, i.e., whether or not the transport cassette 60 is empty.
is configured, for example, by a reflective photoelectric detector, and detects the presence or absence of banknotes by utilizing the fact that the reflected light from the transport cassette 60 changes depending on the presence or absence of banknotes.

The output signals of the detectors 21, 22, 22b, 23, and 22a are sent to the control device 30b, and some of the signals are sent to the control device 500 via a communication line 520 (see FIG. 17).

As shown in Figure 4, a bill transport mechanism 50 is provided under the floor 15 of the gaming facility A. The bill transport mechanism 50 collects bills stored in the stacker machines 30, 30, ... of each gaming machine island 10a to 10h and transports them to a safe 80 installed at counter B.

As shown in Figure 3, the floor 15 of the game center A has a double floor structure.
The floor block members 17, 17... are laid on the floor base surface 16.
0 is installed in the space S formed between the floor block member 17 and the floor base surface 16.

As shown in Figure 4, the bill transport mechanism 50 has an endless transport chain 52. This transport chain 52 is connected to each stacker.
30 and the safe 80, and are arranged along a conveyance route within the game center A. That is, a plurality of sprockets 51, 51... are arranged along the conveyance route,
A conveying chain 52 is stretched over these sprockets 51, 51 . . .

The conveyor chain 52 is driven by drive devices M1 and M2. The drive devices M1 and M2 are, for example, a control circuit 610 and an electric motor 620 such as a synchronous motor that is controlled and driven by the control circuit 610.
The electric motor 620 is composed of sprockets 5
The drive units M1 and M2 are connected to the floor block members 17 and 51, and are controlled to operate in synchronization with each other under the control of the control unit 500.
6.

If the drive units M1 and M2 are too large to be placed in the space S, the drive units M1 and M2 may be placed in other positions and the power may be transmitted to the target sprockets via a belt, a rotating shaft, etc. Alternatively, a gear mechanism, a pulley mechanism, etc. may be provided to transmit the power to the drive units M1 and M2 via these.
2 may drive the sprockets 51, 51. Furthermore, in this embodiment, two electric motors are used, but this is not limitative. One motor or three or more motors may also be used.

As shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of transport cassettes 60, 60 . . . are attached to the transport chain 52 at approximately equal intervals.
These transport cassettes 60, 60 are used to collect and transport bundles of banknotes discharged from each stacker machine 30.
Further, guide members 53 are arranged on both sides of the transport chain 52, extending along the transport chain 52 to allow the transport cassette 60 to move smoothly.

As shown in Figures 10 to 13, a pin 61 is provided on the bottom of the transport cassette 60. The pin 61 is supported by the transport chain 52 so as to be rotatable relative to the transport chain 52. As the transport cassette 60 circulates along the transport chain 52, it passes under each stacker unit 30, collects bundles of banknotes from the stacker cassettes 40a and 40b at the discharge position, and delivers them to the safe 80.
A large opening for banknotes is formed in the top surface of the transport cassette 60. A pair of openable shutter members 62, 62 that hold the banknotes in a stacked state are provided on both end edges of the opening 60a.

10 to 13, a first transfer mechanism 70 is provided at the lower end side of the stacker device 30. This first transfer mechanism 70 is for transferring the bundle of banknotes in the stacker cassettes 40a, 40b to the transport cassette 60 which has moved below the stacker cassettes 40a, 40b when the stacker cassettes 40a, 40b move to the discharge position.

The first transfer mechanism 70 has a first piston member 71. The first piston member 71 moves the stacker cassettes 40a, 40b.
b to the transport cassette 60, and the stack of banknotes is transferred from the cassette 40a
(or 40b), and the shutter member 62 at the entrance 60a of the transport cassette 60.
The first piston member 71 is made up of a drive rod 72 that reciprocates up and down, and a push plate 73. It also has a second drive device 710 (see Figure 17) that reciprocates the drive rod 72.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIGS. 14 to 16, the banknote transport mechanism 50
The conveyor chain 52 is arranged to pass through the inside of a safe 80 installed at counter B in game parlor A. The safe 80 is equipped with a safe cassette 81 for storing bundles of banknotes. The safe cassette 81 stores, for example, 1,000 yen bills.

A large opening for banknotes, an entrance/exit port 81a, is formed on the bottom surface of safe cassette 81. A pair of openable/closable shutter members 82, 82 that hold the banknotes in a stacked state are provided on both end edges of entrance/exit port 81a. Although not shown, safe 80 actually contains safe cassettes for storing 5,000 yen bills and 10,000 yen bills.

The bill storage mechanism in the safe cassette will be described below using a mechanism for storing 1,000 yen bills as an example.

A second transfer mechanism 90 is provided at the lower end of the safe 80. The second transfer mechanism 90 transfers the transport cassette 60 to the safe 80.
When the second transfer mechanism 90 reaches the inside of the transport cassette 60, the stack of banknotes in the transport cassette 60 is transferred to the safe cassette 81.
The stack of banknotes is then passed through the shutter member 62 at the entrance 60a of the cassette 60 and the shutter member 8 at the entrance 81a of the cassette 81.
The second piston member 91 has a pair of second piston members 91, 91 that push open and transfer the contents of the container 2.
It is composed of a drive rod 92 that moves up and down and a push plate 93. A drive device for moving the drive rod 92 back and forth is also included.
810 (see FIG. 17).

As shown in FIG. 14, a guide member 53 passing through the safe 80 is provided with a height adjustment wedge 54 for adjusting the height position of the transport cassette 60 being transported.
At the bottom end of the safe 80, there is provided a cassette intrusion detector 80b that detects when the transport cassette 60 approaches the safe 80, and a proximity detector 80a that detects when the transport cassette arrives directly below the safe (see Figure 4). These detectors are composed of sensors such as optical sensors and limit switches.

In addition, the transport cassette 60 immediately below the safe 80
An empty cassette detector 80c is disposed at a position facing the transport cassette 60 (see FIG. 17). The empty cassette detector 80c detects whether or not banknotes have already been placed in the transport cassette 60, i.e., whether or not the transport cassette 60 is empty. The empty cassette detector 80c is configured, for example, with a reflective photoelectric detector, and detects whether or not the transport cassette 60 is empty depending on the presence or absence of banknotes.
The presence or absence of a bill is detected by utilizing the change in the reflected light from the

The detection signals of these detectors 80a, 80b and 80c are sent to the control device 500. The control device 500 also controls the operation of the second transport mechanism 90.

Both the control device 30b and the control device 500 can be configured as a computer system, for example, a microcomputer system. That is, a computer system configured with a central processing unit (CPU), memory, interface, etc. can be used. The control of each part is realized by storing the procedure as a program in memory and executing the program by the CPU. Note that all or part of the control device can also be configured as a hard logic circuit such as a programmable logic array.

The control device 30b and the control device 500 are configured to be able to communicate with each other via a communication line, so that the stacker device 30, the transport mechanism 50, and the safe 80 can function in cooperation with each other.

FIG. 17 shows the system configuration of the control system of each device used in this embodiment.

As shown in Figure 17, in this embodiment, the control devices include a control device 500 that controls the safe 80 and the banknote transport mechanism 50, and multiple control devices 30b that are provided for each stacker machine 30 and control them.

As described above, the control device 500 is composed of a central processing unit (CPU) 501, a memory 502, and an interface 503. The interface 503 is connected to each of the detectors 80 of the safe 80.
a, 80b and 80c, the safe drive 810, and the drive M1,
M2 is connected to the interface 503. The communication control device 510 is also connected to the interface 503.
10 communicates with the communication control device 30c of the stacker machine 30 via a communication line 520.

Although not shown, the control device 30b has a CPU, memory, and interface, similar to the control device 500. The control device 30b is connected to the pushing unit 35, the drive chain driving device 44a, the first driving device 370, and the second driving device 710. In addition, the above-mentioned various detectors 30a, 22a, 22b, 2
2, 21 and 23 are connected.
As described above, the communication control device 30c is connected to the control device 500, and communicates with the control device 500 via the communication line 520.

Next, the operation of the bill handling system of this embodiment will be described.
explain.

As shown in FIG. 1, each gaming medium lending machine 1
The type of the banknotes taken in at 2 is determined by a banknote recognition unit in the gaming media lending machine 12, and they are sent out from the back side of the gaming media lending machine 12. The sent banknotes are then transported by a round conveying belt 13 to a stacker machine 30 installed at one end of the gaming machine island 10a, where they are sorted into 1,000 yen notes, 5,000 yen notes, and 10,000 yen notes and stored.

The following describes the storage and transport of banknotes, taking the storage and transport of 1,000 yen bills as an example.

As shown in FIG. 2, banknotes input into a receiving section 32 of a power stacker section 31 in a stacker machine 30 are separated one by one by a separator 33 and sent to a conveying section 34.
and sent to storage unit 36. That is, when the banknotes reach the end of transport unit 34, control unit 30b instructs pusher 35 to pack the 1,000 yen banknotes into storage unit 36 in an orderly and stacked state. Here, detector 30a detects whether the banknotes have reached the end of transport unit 34. Control unit 30b counts the output of detector 30a to detect the number of banknotes stored in storage unit 36.

As shown in FIG. 5, when a predetermined number of banknotes (for example, 50 banknotes) are stored in the storage unit 36, the stacker cassette 40a is moved by the in-stacker transport means 4 in response to an instruction from the control device 30b.
4, it is moved to a storage position directly above and facing the storage section 36, and when the first proximity detector 21 detects that it has reached the predetermined position, it is restrained in the storage position by the control of the control device 30b.

Subsequently, in response to an instruction from the control device 30b, the first driving device 3
6 and 7, the first drive unit 70 (see FIG. 17) raises the stacker piston member 37 disposed below the storage section 36, causing the push plate 38 to lift the stack of banknotes, and while pushing open the shutter members 42, 42 of the stacker cassette 40a, the stack of banknotes is transferred into the stacker cassette 40a. The banknotes in the stacker cassette 40a are caught by the shutter members 42, 42 which have returned to their original closed state, and are stored in the stacker cassette 40a. As shown in FIG. 8, the first drive unit
The stacker piston member 37 is lowered to its original position by the first driving device 370. The first driving device 370 notifies the control device 30b of this state.

When the banknotes have been stored in the stacker cassette 40a, the control device 30b receives this and rotates the sprocket 45 of the in-stacker transport means 44 to circulate the drive chain 46. As a result, the stacker cassette 40a moves from the storage position to the discharge position. As shown in FIG. 2,
When the stacker cassette 40a moves from the storage position to the discharge position, the stacker cassette 40b moves from the discharge position to the storage position.
The banknotes in the storage section 36 are stored in the stacker cassette 40b.

Furthermore, the control device 30b determines whether or not an empty transport cassette 60 is in the release position based on signals from the empty cassette detector 22a, the transport cassette intrusion detector 22b, and the third proximity detector 23. If an empty transport cassette 60 is not present in the stacker device 30, the communication control device 30c requests the control device 500 via the communication line 520 and the communication control device 510 to transport the transport cassette 60 to the stacker device 30.

When the control device 500 receives this request, the drive devices M1 and M2
to drive the conveyor chain 52.
Each control circuit 610 of M1 and M2 controls a corresponding electric motor 620
is driven to move the conveyor chain 52 in a circular motion.

As shown in Figure 10, when the stacker cassette 40a containing banknotes reaches the discharge position, the second proximity detector 22 detects this and the control device 30b stops the conveying means 44 to temporarily restrain it at the discharge position.

At this time, the transport cassette 60 of the bill transport mechanism 50 arranged under the floor 15 is sent by the transport chain 52 to a position directly below and facing the stacker cassette 40a at the discharge position. When the transport cassette intrusion detector 22b detects this, the control device 30b detects the empty cassette detector 22b.
2a to detect whether or not the transport cassette 60 that has been sent contains banknotes.

The transport cassette 60 moves further and the third proximity detector
When the third proximity detector 23 detects this, a detection signal is sent to the control device 30b. When the control device 30b receives this detection signal, it checks the detection result of the empty cassette detector 22a. If the transport cassette 60 is not empty, it ignores the detection signal from the third proximity detector 23. As a result, the transport cassette 60
continues to move without stopping at that stacker unit 30. That is, that stacker unit 30 waits until the next transport cassette 60 arrives before transferring the banknotes.

When the transport cassette 60 is empty, or
If the transport cassette 60 transported thereafter is empty, the control device 30b sends a signal indicating that the transport cassette 60 has arrived to the control device 500 via the communication control device 30c, the communication line 520, and the communication control device 510. In response to this, the control device 500 stops the transport mechanism 50, and the transport cassette 60 is temporarily restrained at this position.

Subsequently, in response to an instruction from the control device 30b that has received the detection signal from the third proximity detector 23, the second driving device 710 (see FIG. 17)
11 and 12, the first piston member 71 of the first transfer mechanism 70 disposed above the stacker cassette 40a at the discharge position is lowered. This causes the push plate 73 to press down on the stack of banknotes, pushing open the shutter members 41, 41 of the stacker cassette 40a and the shutter members 62, 62 of the transport cassette 60, and transferring the stack of banknotes into the transport cassette 60. When the stack of banknotes is completely stored in the transport cassette 60, the shutter members 41, 41 and 62,
13, the first piston member 71 is raised to its original position by the driving device 710. The driving device 710 notifies the control device 30b of this state.

The control device 30b receives the communication line 520 from the communication control device 30c.
and to the control device 500 via the communication control device 510,
The control device 500 receives a signal indicating the completion of the transfer of banknotes and instructs the drive devices M1 and M2 to drive the conveyor chain 52.

In this manner, as shown in Figures 4 and 9, the transport cassette 60 circulates within the gaming facility A, sequentially collecting banknotes from the stacker cassettes 40a, 40b of each gaming machine island 10a to 10h and transporting them to the safe 80 installed within counter B.

As shown in FIG. 14, a transport cassette 60 containing banknotes is
However, when the user approaches the bottom of the safe 80, the cassette intrusion detector 80
b detects this and notifies the control device 500. In response to this, the control device 500 causes the empty cassette detector 80c to detect whether the nearby transport cassette 60 contains banknotes or is an empty cassette with no banknotes.

The transport cassette 60 continues to move and then reaches the bottom of the safe 80. The proximity detector 80a detects this and sends a detection signal to the control device 500. In response to this, the control device 500 checks the detection result of the empty cassette detector 80c, and if the cassette is empty, ignores the detection signal of the proximity detector 80a. Therefore, the transport mechanism 50
The transport cassette 60 continues to be transported. On the other hand, if the transport cassette 60 contains banknotes, the control device 500 instructs the drive devices M1 and M2 to stop driving the transport chain 52. As a result, when the transport cassette 60 reaches the bottom of the safe 80, it stops directly below the safe cassette 81 inside the safe 80 due to the action of the guide members 53 and the height adjustment wedges 54, etc.

Next, in response to an instruction from the control device 500, the driving device 810
16, the drive unit 810 raises the pair of second piston members 91, 91 of the second transfer mechanism 90 arranged below the safe cassette 81. As a result, each push plate 93 strongly lifts the stack of banknotes, pushing open the lower end shutter members 82, 82 of the safe cassette 81 and transferring the stack of banknotes into the safe cassette 81. The banknotes in the safe cassette 81 are caught by the shutter members 82, 82 which have returned to their original closed state, and are stored in the safe cassette 81. Then, the drive unit 810 lowers the pair of second piston members 91, 91 to their original positions. The drive unit 810 detects this state and controls the control unit 5 to
Notify 00.

The control device 500 waits in this state and waits for a request to transport a transport cassette from the control device 30b of one of the stacker devices 30. When a transport request is received, the control device 500 operates as described above. Note that even if a transport request is received, the control device 500 may not be able to transport the transport cassette from another stacker device.
If a bill is being exchanged at either the cashbox 30 or the safe 80, the transfer will not start until the exchange is completed.

In this way, when the banknotes are collected from the transport cassette 60 into the safe 80, the transport cassette 60 is again transported by the transport chain
52, the machine circulates within the gaming parlor A and successively collects bills from the stacker cassettes 40a and 40b of each gaming machine island 10a to 10h.

Above, we have explained about the collection of 1,000 yen notes, but in reality,
Five thousand yen and ten thousand yen notes are also collected into each safe cassette using a similar mechanism.

The banknotes can be collected either according to the number of banknotes stored in the cassette or at regular time intervals, but either method is acceptable.

This allows the bills taken into each of the gaming machine islands 10a to 10h to be transported to the cashbox 80 and collected efficiently, quickly, reliably, and at regular intervals without requiring human labor.

In addition, since the bill transport mechanism 50 is arranged under the floor 15 of the game parlor A, the bill collection work can be carried out without causing discomfort to the players, and the atmosphere in the game parlor A is not impaired.

Furthermore, the floor block 17 can be removed at will, so that when a problem occurs, only the affected portion can be peeled off and repaired.

In the above embodiment, the conveyor chain 52 is provided with the conveyor cassette 6.
0, 60... are fixedly attached. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, each transport cassette 60 may be configured to be detached from the transport chain 52 when transferring banknotes between the stacker machine 30 and the safe 80, and to be attached to the transport chain 52 only during transport.

Furthermore, the present invention can be further developed to use the transport cassette as a stacker cassette, i.e., the transport cassette can be detached from the transport chain and attached to a drive chain in a stacker to be used as a stacker cassette, and once banknotes are loaded onto the transport cassette, it can be detached from the drive chain and attached to the transport chain to return to its original state.

In the above embodiment, the system is such that any transport cassette 60 is used if it is available in each stacker machine 30. Therefore, it is necessary for each stacker machine 30 and safe to know whether the transport cassette 60 that has arrived is available or not. For this reason, the empty cassette detector 22
In steps 80a and 80c, it is detected whether the transport cassette that has arrived is empty. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the following system may be used.

One or more of the transport cassettes 60 are transported to each stacker.
30. And all the transport cassettes
An identifier for this purpose is attached to the cassette 60. For example, as shown in FIG. 18, a bar code 65 is used as the identification format. Also, a bar code reader is used instead of the empty cassette detectors 22a and 80c shown in FIG. 17. Furthermore, each control device 30
b stores the assigned barcodes. Note that other configurations are the same as those in the above-described embodiment. Therefore, the drawings for the above-described embodiment are used for the drawings of this embodiment. In this case, in the following description, the reference numerals 22a and 80c in FIG. 17 respectively refer to barcode readers.

According to this embodiment, each stacker unit 30 reads the barcode 65 of the arriving transport cassette with the barcode reader 22a and compares it with barcodes pre-stored in the control unit 30b to determine whether it is for its own unit. If it is for its own unit, the stacker unit 30 transfers the banknotes to the transport cassette, as in the above-described embodiment. On the other hand, if the arriving transport cassette is for another unit, it passes it through. The control unit 30b then notifies the control unit 500 via the communication line 520 of the barcode of the transport cassette 60 containing the banknotes, as well as the denomination and number of banknotes placed therein.

As shown in FIG. 19, the control device 500 has a barcode management table in the memory 502, and the control device 30b
The barcode sent from is registered, along with the denomination and number of bills.

In addition, in the safe 80, the transport cassette 60 that arrived
Read barcode 65 with barcode reader 80c,
The control unit 500 compares the barcode with the barcode registered in the memory 502 and determines whether the transport cassette
The system determines whether or not the transport cassette 60 contains banknotes. If it does, the banknotes are transferred in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment. If it does not contain banknotes, i.e., if it is an empty cassette, the transport cassette 60 is allowed to pass through.

Furthermore, when a banknote is transferred, the control device 500 checks the barcode management table in the memory 502 as follows:
The barcode is erased, and the denomination and number of the corresponding bills are sent to a host device (not shown).

By configuring in this way, it is possible to reliably find an empty cassette from among the multiple circulating transport cassettes 60 in each stacker device 30.
You can check the receipt of banknotes at the safe,
Highly reliable transport can be achieved.

As a modification of this embodiment, the following system can be provided.

The first is a system in which barcodes are collectively managed by the control device 500. That is, in the above embodiment, the transport cassettes 60 are assigned exclusively to each stacker machine, but in this embodiment, they are used in common. And, all the transport cassettes 60 are assigned unique identifiers, for example, barcodes,
As shown in FIG. 18, each stacker 30
The control device 30b reports the barcode of the transport cassette 60 containing the banknotes to the control device 500 via the communication line 520. The control device 500 registers the reported barcode in the barcode management table in the memory 502. Then, each stacker machine 30 reads the barcode of the transport cassette 60 that has arrived with the barcode reader 22a and sends it to the control device 500. The control device 500 refers to the barcode management table and determines whether or not the barcode is already registered. If it is registered, it means that the transport cassette with that barcode already contains banknotes, and so sends an unusable signal to the control device 30b via the communication line 520. On the other hand, if the barcode is not registered, it registers the barcode in the management table and also sends the drive device
It instructs M1 and M2 to stop the transport chain 52. It also notifies the control device 30b via the communication line 520 that the transport cassette is available for use.

In response to this, the control device 30b transfers the banknotes to the transport cassette, and then sends the denomination and number of the transferred banknotes together with the barcodes to the control device 500 via the communication line 520. The denomination and number of the banknotes are registered in the barcode management table in correspondence with the barcodes.

In the safe 80, the transport cassette in which the banknotes are loaded is detected and the banknotes are transferred in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment.

The second is a system in which barcodes are managed in a distributed manner in each stacker machine.
The control device 500 determines whether the transport cassette can be used in each stacker 30.
That is, the barcodes registered in the barcode management table of the control device 500 can be judged by the control devices of all the stacker devices 30.
30b and register it, each stacker machine 3
At step 0, it can be determined whether the transport cassette that has arrived is usable or not.

The third is a system that uses a rewritable storage medium, such as a magnetic recording medium, as an identifier, instead of a barcode. Figure 20 shows a transport cassette 60 with a rewritable magnetic tape attached to the top surface of the shutter member 62. This transport cassette 60 is used in this example. Also, a magnetic reader/writer is used instead of the barcode readers 22a and 80c used in the above example. In the explanation of this example, the reference numerals 22a and 80c in the drawing refer to magnetic readers/writers.
Also, these magnetic readers/writers
In the case of 22a and 80c, the head of the reader portion and the head of the writer portion are arranged apart along the moving direction of the transport cassette 60. This is because after the signal is read by the reader,
This is to allow new signals to be written at the same location on the magnetic tape.

In this configuration, the stacker 30 reads the magnetic tape 66 of the transport cassette that has arrived from the magnetic reader/writer.
22a, and if a signal indicating that the cassette is in use is written, the cassette is allowed to pass through.
If a signal indicating that the magnetic tape is unused has been written, the magnetic reader/writer 22a writes a signal indicating that the magnetic tape is in use onto the magnetic tape 66. Then, as described above, the banknotes in the machine are transferred to the transport cassette 60.

In the safe 80, the magnetic reader/writer 80c reads the magnetic tape 66.
The contents of the cassette 60 are read, and if a signal indicating that the cassette is unused is written, the cassette is allowed to pass as is. If a signal indicating that the cassette is in use is written, a signal indicating that the cassette is unused is written by the magnetic reader/writer 80c. Then, as described above, the banknotes are transferred from the transport cassette 60 to the safe cassette 81.

As described above, in this example, by writing used/unused information to the magnetic tape, it is possible to determine whether or not a banknote is placed in the transport cassette.

In this example, a magnetic recording medium is used as the identifier. Therefore, it is possible to write other information in addition to the signal indicating whether the cassette is used or unused. For example, it is possible to write information indicating the denomination and number of banknotes stored in the cassette. Furthermore, it is possible to write information to identify the stacker machine that placed the banknotes in the cassette.

In the above embodiments, the stacker installed in the gaming machine island collects banknotes, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a gaming media lending machine may be provided with a stacker function, and banknotes may be collected from the stacker. Of course, a similar mechanism may be provided in the gaming machine to collect banknotes.

The systems of the above embodiments are not limited to new amusement facilities, but can also be applied relatively easily to existing amusement facilities by installing a banknote transport mechanism on the floor and laying floor block members on top of it or improving the stacker machine.

In addition, although the safe and the transport mechanism are managed by the same control device in the above embodiments, they may be configured to be controlled by separate control devices. Also, the safe, the transport mechanism, and each stacker machine may be configured to be controlled by a single control device.

Claims (22)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A bill handling system for an amusement parlor in which a plurality of gaming machines for playing games and a plurality of gaming support devices for making payments necessary for playing games on the gaming machines, each having a mechanism for accepting bills for such payments, is installed, the system comprising: a safe having a mechanism for accepting and storing bills; and a system for collecting the bills accepted by each of the support devices,
and a collection device for transporting the banknotes to the safe, the collection device comprising: one or more stacker machines that sequentially stack and temporarily hold the banknotes taken in by the support equipment; a banknote transport mechanism that receives the banknotes held in the stacker machines and transports them to the safe; and a control system that controls the operation of the stacker machines and the banknote transport mechanism, wherein when the amount of banknotes held in the stacker machines reaches a certain amount, the control system causes the stacker machines to transfer the held banknotes to the banknote transport mechanism and transport the transported banknotes to the safe,
A banknote handling system characterized in that when a banknote reaches the position of a safe, the banknote transporter is caused to transport the banknote to the safe. [Claim 2] In the banknote handling system for an amusement facility described in claim 1, a plurality of stacker machines are arranged, the banknote transport mechanism has a transport path connecting each stacker machine and the safe, and the control system has a first control device that at least controls the banknote transport mechanism, a second control device provided in each stacker machine that controls the operation of the stacker machine, and communication means for exchanging information between the first control device and the second control device. [Claim 3] In the banknote handling system for an amusement facility described in claim 2, the banknote transport mechanism has a plurality of transport cassettes that hold banknotes in a stacked state and a mechanism for moving these transport cassettes along the transport path, each stacker machine further has a sensor for detecting whether the transport cassette located in that stacker machine is an empty cassette that does not contain any banknotes, and the second control device controls the transfer of banknotes held by that stacker machine to that empty cassette when the output of the sensor is a signal indicating that the cassette is empty. [Claim 4] A bill handling system for an amusement parlor in which a plurality of gaming machines for playing games and a plurality of gaming support devices for making payments necessary for playing games on the gaming machines, each having a mechanism for taking in bills for such payments, is installed, the system comprising: a safe having a mechanism for taking in and storing bills; and a system for collecting the bills taken in by each of the support devices,
a collection device for transporting the banknotes to the safe, wherein the collection device comprises a plurality of stacker machines that sequentially stack and temporarily hold the banknotes taken in by the support equipment, and a banknote transport mechanism that receives the banknotes held in the stacker machines and transports them to the safe, wherein the banknote transport mechanism has a transport path connecting each stacker machine and the safe, a plurality of transport cassettes that hold the banknotes in a stacked state, and a mechanism for moving these transport cassettes along the transport path, wherein the transport path is a circulation path that circulates between each stacker machine and the safe, and the mechanism for moving the transport cassettes circulates the transport cassettes along the circulation path, and the safe has a mechanism that receives the banknotes transported by the transport cassettes from the cassettes and transfers them to the safe, and a holding mechanism that holds the transferred banknotes. [Claim 5] In the banknote handling system for an amusement facility described in claim 4, the stacker machine and the safe have a banknote transport mechanism and a part for receiving and sending banknotes located near the floor on which they are installed, and the mechanism for moving the transport cassette is installed on the floor. [Claim 6] In the bill handling system for an amusement parlor according to claim 4, the gaming machines and gaming support devices are arranged in a plurality of units,
A plurality of gaming machine islands are arranged in an island-like fashion within the gaming facility, and at least one stacker machine is installed on each gaming machine island. [Claim 7] In the bill handling system for an amusement facility according to claim 6, the gaming support device is a device that dispenses gaming media used in the gaming machine according to the amount of bills inserted. [Claim 8] In the banknote handling system for an amusement facility described in claim 6, the stacker machine comprises a stacker cassette that stores banknotes in a stacked state, an in-stacker cassette transport means that moves the stacker cassette between a storage position where banknotes are loaded into it and a discharge position where the banknotes are discharged outside the stacker machine, an in-stacker banknote transport mechanism that takes in banknotes sent from the gaming support equipment and transports them to the storage position, a storage mechanism that stores the banknotes transported by the in-stacker banknote transport mechanism in a stacked state in the stacker cassette at the storage position, and a first transfer mechanism that transfers the banknotes stored in the stacker cassette to a transport cassette while still in a stacked state at the discharge position. [Claim 9] In the banknote handling system for an amusement facility described in claim 8, the safe has a safe cassette that stores banknotes in a stacked state, and has a second transfer mechanism that transfers the banknotes in a stacked state from the transport cassette transported by the banknote transport mechanism to the safe cassette. [Claim 10] In the banknote handling system for an amusement facility described in claim 6, the safe has a safe cassette that stores banknotes in a stacked state, and has a second transfer mechanism that transfers the banknotes in a stacked state from the transport cassette transported by the banknote transport mechanism to the safe cassette. 11. The bill handling system for an amusement arcade according to claim 8, wherein the stacker cassette and the transport cassette have at least one entrance/exit corresponding to the size of the bill,
Each entrance has a shutter member that can be opened and closed. [Claim 12] In the banknote handling system for an amusement facility described in claim 11, the first transfer mechanism has a first piston member that transfers stacked banknotes from the stacker cassette to the transport cassette while pushing open the shutter members at the entrance and exit of each cassette. [Claim 13] In the banknote handling system for an amusement facility described in claim 10, the safe cassette and the transport cassette have an entrance/exit on at least one side corresponding to the size of the banknote, and each entrance/exit has a shutter member that can be opened and closed freely. [Claim 14] In the banknote handling system for an amusement facility described in claim 13, the second transfer mechanism has a second piston member that transfers stacked banknotes from the transport cassette to the safe cassette while pushing open the shutter members at the entrance and exit of each cassette. 15. A gaming system comprising: a plurality of gaming machines for playing games;
The device is for making payments necessary for playing games on gaming machines, and is installed in an amusement facility where a plurality of gaming support devices each having a mechanism for receiving bills for the payment are installed, and receives bills sent from the gaming support devices,
A stacker machine that temporarily holds banknotes and then discharges them to the outside, comprising: a cassette that stores banknotes in a stacked state; a cassette transport means that moves the cassette between a storage position for loading banknotes into the cassette and a discharge position for discharging the banknotes to the outside of the stacker machine; a banknote transport mechanism that takes in banknotes sent from an gaming support device and transports them to the storage position; a storage mechanism that stores the banknotes transported by the banknote transport mechanism in a stacked state in the cassette at the storage position; and a first transfer mechanism that discharges the banknotes stored in the cassette in a stacked state at the discharge position. 16. A gaming system comprising: a plurality of gaming machines for playing games;
a bill handling system for making payments required for playing games on gaming machines, the system being installed on a gaming machine island where a plurality of gaming support devices, each having a mechanism for taking in bills for payment, are assembled and installed, the system taking in bills sent from the gaming support devices and discharging them outside the gaming machine island, the system comprising: an in-island transport mechanism for transporting the bills taken in by each gaming support device one by one; and a stacker machine for taking in the bills transported by the in-island transport mechanism, temporarily holding them and then discharging them outside, the stacker machine comprising: cassettes for storing the bills in a stacked state; cassette transport means for moving the cassette between a storage position for loading the bills into the cassette and a discharge position for discharging the bills outside the stacker machine; an in-stacker bill transport mechanism for taking in the bills sent from the gaming support devices and transporting them to the storage position; and a storage mechanism for storing the bills transported by the in-stacker bill transport mechanism in a stacked state in the cassette at the storage position; and a transfer mechanism for discharging the bills stored in the cassette in a stacked state at the discharging position. 17. A gaming system comprising: a plurality of gaming machines for playing games;
A bill handling system for an amusement parlor where a plurality of gaming machine islands are installed, each of which is a device for making payments required to play on a gaming machine, and where the system is configured to transport the bills taken in by each gaming support device to a safe where the bills are to be stored, the system comprising: an intra-island transport mechanism disposed on each gaming machine island for transporting each of the bills taken in by each gaming support device; means disposed on each gaming machine island for taking in the bills transported by the intra-island transport mechanism and stacking them to a predetermined size; and a bill bundle transport mechanism for transporting the stacked bills to the safe, wherein the bill bundle transport mechanism has a plurality of transport cassettes and a mechanism for moving these transport cassettes along the transport path. 18. A bill handling system for an amusement facility according to claim 17, wherein the mechanism for moving the bill along the conveying path is installed on the floor. [Claim 19] An amusement parlor equipped with a bill handling system for handling paid bills, comprising: a plurality of gaming machines for playing games; and a plurality of gaming support devices which are devices for making payments necessary to play games on the gaming machines and have mechanisms for taking in bills for such payments; the amusement parlor has a double-structure floor having a first floor surface and a second floor surface formed thereon with a certain space therebetween; the bill handling system comprises: a safe having a mechanism for taking in and storing bills; and a storage unit for storing bills by collecting the bills taken in by each of the support devices and
and a collection device for transporting the banknotes to the safe, wherein the collection device comprises a plurality of stacker machines that sequentially stack and temporarily hold the banknotes taken in by the support equipment, and a banknote transport mechanism that receives the banknotes held in each stacker machine and transports them to the safe, wherein the safe has a mechanism that receives the banknotes transported by the banknote transport mechanism and transfers them to the safe, and a holding mechanism that holds the transferred banknotes, and the banknote transport mechanism has a transport path that circulates between each stacker machine and the safe, and this transport path is installed in the space between a first floor surface and a second floor surface. [Claim 20] In the amusement facility described in claim 19, the double-structure floor is constructed by laying blocks on a first floor surface to form a second floor surface, and the blocks have a structure that maintains a certain space on the first floor surface. [Claim 21] In the amusement facility described in claim 20, the banknote transport mechanism has a plurality of transport cassettes that hold banknotes in a stacked state, and a mechanism for moving these transport cassettes along the transport path. 22. A bill handling system according to claim 8, comprising at least two of said shutter cassettes.