JPH10277257A - Hopper apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simple hopper apparatus constructed to be run even if pellets together with coins are mixedly inserted. SOLUTION: A hopper apparatus is formed with a hopper guide plate 22 of a hopper body a rotor located rotatably on the upper surface side and having a coin storing hole 411 for storing a plurality of coins and a motor for ratably driving the rotor. A contact inducing part 6 consisting of a bar spring 61 is provided in a paying-off position formed on the hopper guide plate 22, while a count lever 51 is spaced approximately by the diameter of a coin from the contact inducing part to be pivotably connected therewith, and provided with a count roller 511 contacting the coin. And an urging spring 53 is provided to urge a point of the bar spring 61 contacting the coin and a point of the count roller 511 conducting the coin in the direction of narrowing an interval therebetween so that the coin conveyed by the rotation of the rotor 4 is sandwiched in between the bar spring 61 and the count roller 511 to accumulate a press force in the urging spring 53 while the coin is discharged by the return pivoting of the count lever when the contact interval is contracted over the diameter of the coin.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hopper device for coins in a coin game machine and the like.
The present invention relates to a hopper device for coins that is hardly affected by polishing pellets and attached dust.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A coin (or medal) game machine such as a slot machine uses a coin as a game medium and is provided with a hopper device for paying out coins while counting them as prizes. A conventional hopper device is disclosed in, for example,
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 354088 and the like, a hopper body for sending out coins and a hopper tank attached to an upper portion thereof are provided.

That is, the conventional hopper body has as a basic member a box frame-shaped bracket, a base plate fixed to the upper part, and a driving motor housed inside the bracket. Then, the output shaft of the motor protrudes upward through the through hole formed in the base plate. In addition, the base plate has a storage recess recessed downward in the center of the flat plate portion, and has a cutout portion for sending out coins in the front. On the other hand, a tank fixing portion for fixing the hopper tank is provided outside the storage recess. The base plate has two ring-shaped upper fixed disks and lower fixed disks, and a spacer ring and a cut-out portion which are located outside these fixed disks and are cut out corresponding to the cut-out portions. A count plate that covers the top of the coin, a coin sensor for counting the number of coins to be sent, a count roller that urges the coins to be sent out, and the like, and a rotating disk fixed to the output shaft of the motor. The rotating disk is composed of an upper disk having a plurality of coin pits slightly larger than the outer diameter of the coin, and a lower disk smaller in diameter than the upper disk. The lower disk has a central circular portion located at the center, an outer circular portion located outside the central circular portion, and a feed ridge corresponding to a coin drop hole of the upper disk, and the feed ridge defines The central circle and the outer circle are connected so as to form a space. In the outer circle, there is a dust pit that penetrates the upper and lower surfaces. The portion below the coin drop hole and surrounded by the central circle portion, the outer circle portion, and the feed ridge forms a coin storage portion.

The rotating disk mounted on the base plate rotates with the lower surface of the lower disk in contact with the upper surface of the storage recess of the base plate. The count roller is formed to have a rotation assisting member along the outer edge of the outer circular portion of the lower disk of the rotating rotating disk, and a delivery member for actually delivering the coin, and is rotated by a delivery biasing spring. Movably connected. The rotation auxiliary member is formed by two auxiliary rollers rotatably supported on the auxiliary roller support plate. The delivery member is formed by a delivery roller rotatably supported by a delivery roller support plate. A hopper tank is fixed on the upper portion of the hopper body as described above, and the coin supplied to the hopper tank is located on the rotating disk.

Therefore, when the output shaft of the motor rotates, the rotating disk also rotates. The lower disk of the rotating disk directs the coin closest to the delivery cutout by the delivery ridge to the delivery roller of the count roller. When the disc is further rotated, the coin pressed by the delivery ridge causes the delivery member to retreat while resisting the delivery biasing spring. At this time, the biasing spring stores the elastic force. When the rotating disk further rotates, a moment is reached when the distance between the point where the delivery ridge contacts the coin and the point where the delivery roller contacts the coin exceeds the diameter of the coin. At that moment, the resiliency stored in the delivery urging spring is released at a stretch, the delivery roller presses the coin, and the coin jumps out of the delivery cutout toward the outside of the hopper body. Then, the popped-out coin is paid out to the player as a prize.

[0006] On the other hand, dirt such as hand marks on the coin is
It is polished and removed by mixing and stirring with fine granules of plastic called pellets. The pellets are configured to be separated from the coins by a saw or a mesh.

[0007]

However, it is difficult to completely separate the pellets from the coins, and it is inevitable that some of the pellets enter the hopper together with the coins. Therefore, an accident often occurs in which the pellets mixed in the hopper device are caught in the coin drop hole, clogged between the rotating disk and the storage recess, or between the rollers, and become inoperable. Further, the conventional hopper device has a large number of members such as an upper disk, a lower disk, a delivery ridge, a count roller, and the like, so that the structure is extremely complicated. Further, in a conventional hopper device provided with a cam mechanism for sending out a coin, if a pellet is caught in the cam mechanism, the timing may go wrong and the coin may not be correctly paid out. The present invention has been proposed in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a simple hopper device having a structure that can be operated even when a pellet is mixed with a coin.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a hopper guide plate forming a substrate portion of a hopper body, and a plurality of coins rotatably positioned on the upper surface side of the hopper guide plate. In a hopper device formed with a rotor having a coin storage portion for storing and a motor for rotating the rotor, a payout position formed on a hopper guide plate is provided with a contact guide portion made of a spring material. A count lever is pivotally attached to the contact guide portion at a distance corresponding to the diameter of the coin, and a count roller for contacting the coin is provided on the count lever. A biasing means for biasing in a direction to reduce a distance between a contact point and a contact point between the count roller and the coin is provided, and the coin conveyed and pressed by the rotation of the rotor is provided. When the pin is sandwiched between the touch guiding portion and the count roller, the pressing force is accumulated in the urging means, and when the contact interval narrows beyond the diameter of the coin, the count lever returns to rotate and discharge the coin. did. Therefore, even if the pellets are mixed, the pellets can be easily discharged, and the coin payout and the rotation of the rotor can be synchronized without providing a cam mechanism, so that the coins can be discharged at a correct timing. It is. Further, the payout direction of the coin is the extension direction of the contact guiding portion, and the coin is stabilized.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A contact guide portion is provided so that a bent stainless steel bar spring faces a long hole formed in a fixing ring, and a coin is guided in the longitudinal direction of the bar spring. According to such an embodiment, the coin is protruded in the extending direction of the bar spring, so that stable payout is possible.

In addition, a fixing portion formed at one end of a contact guide portion formed of a bent stainless steel bar spring is fixed to a fixing ring, and a locking portion formed at the other end is formed in an elongated hole formed in the fixing ring. From above, so that when a coin rides on the locking portion, it is elastically deformable. According to such an embodiment, when the coin riding on the locking portion passes, a part of the locking portion immediately returns to a state of protruding above the fixing ring. The next coin is locked, and the next coin is reliably ejected.

[0011]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view of a main part of a hopper device 1 according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state where a hopper tank 11 is fixed to a hopper main body 2, and FIG. FIG. 2B is a plan view of the main body 2, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the hopper main body 2.

The hopper device 1 comprises a hopper body 2 and a hopper tank 11 fixed to an upper portion of the hopper body 2 and supplying coins to the hopper body 2.

The hopper body 2 is a box-shaped frame 21 formed by sheet metal processing of a metal plate, a hopper guide plate 22 fixed to an upper portion of the frame 21 to form a substrate portion, and fixed inside the frame 21. Motor 3 as drive source
And the rotor 4 mounted on the motor 3 is a main component.

The hopper guide plate 22 is a member having a substantially square planar shape, and has a circular opening 2 at a substantially central portion.
21, and a storage recess 22 a formed by a peripheral wall portion 223 extending downward from the inner peripheral edge of the opening 221. On the other hand, an outer edge piece 224 bent downward from the outer edge of the flat plate portion 222.
Extend and can be assembled to the frame 21.
Also, one side of the hopper guide plate 22, that is, the peripheral wall portion 223
And a part of the outer edge piece 224,
The coin is ejected through the cutout 225. The hopper guide plate 22 is also formed by sheet metal processing of a metal plate in the same manner as the frame 21. Then, the hopper body 2 is formed by assembling the hopper guide plate 22 and the frame 21.

On the lower surface side of the hopper guide plate 22, a motor mounting plate 23 is provided. A through-hole 231 is formed in the motor mounting plate 23, and the motor 3 is fixed so that the output shaft 31 of the motor 3 projects through the through-hole 231 into a storage recess 22a described later. The motor 3 may be a motor with a speed reducer. At the upper end of the output shaft 31 protruding into the storage recess 22a, a horizontal bar 32 used for mounting the rotor 4 described later is provided. Further, not only the motor 3 is mounted on the motor mounting plate 23, but also a counting mechanism 5 described later.

On the other hand, on the upper surface side of the motor mounting plate 23, a fixing ring 24 is provided. The fixing ring 24 serves as a support for the coin, and has a ring-shaped support surface 241.
And a leg portion 242 extending downward from an appropriate position of the support surface portion 241. And this leg 24
2 and is fixed to the upper surface of the motor mounting plate 23.

In the support surface 241 of the fixing ring 24, pellet discharge ports 243 are opened at appropriate intervals. Further, corresponding to a predetermined position of the support surface 241 and a cutout 225 for paying out coins, a linear long hole 245 through which a bar spring 61 described later is inserted is opened.

On the other hand, above the fixed ring 24, a rotor 4 rotated by the motor 3 is provided. The rotor 4 has a disc-shaped first rotor 41 and the first rotor 41.
And a ring-shaped second rotor 42 which is superimposed.

The first rotor 41 radially has coin storage holes 411 capable of storing coins one by one, and has a bead portion 412 projecting upward between the coin storage holes 411. . In addition, each coin storage hole 411
A coin pressing piece 413 cut and raised in a claw shape is provided at the rear in the rotation direction of. A substantially oval mounting hole 414 is formed in a central portion of the first rotor 41 in correspondence with a fixing portion 431 of the rotor shaft 43 described later.

On the other hand, the second rotor 42 is a ring-shaped member fixed to the peripheral portion of the first rotor 41, and has a large-diameter ring hole 421 at the center and a ring portion 422 at the peripheral edge. A semicircular cutout 423 is formed in the ring 422 so as to communicate with the ring 422. The ring portion 422 has a rectangular mounting hole 424 corresponding to the coin pressing piece 413 of the first rotor 41.

The first rotor 41 and the second rotor 42
Means that the coin pressing piece 413 is inserted into the mounting hole 424 and the tip of the coin pressing piece 413 is caulked to be integrally fixed to each other to constitute the rotor 4.

Further, a conical rotor shaft 43 faces the upper surface of the first rotor 41, and a fixed plate 44
Face. The rotor shaft 43 is made of a synthetic resin or the like, and has an oval fixed portion 431 extending on the lower surface side. The fixing hole 43 extends from the center on the upper surface side of the cone to the fixing portion 431 on the lower surface side.
2 and the mounting hole 433 is extended from the left and right slopes to the left and right of the oval-shaped fixing portion 431 in the short axis direction. The coins in the hopper tank 11 are almost aligned by the conical rotor shaft 43.

On the other hand, an oval hole 441 corresponding to the fixing portion 431 of the rotor shaft 43 is opened in the fixing plate 44,
Screw holes 442 for attachment corresponding to the attachment holes 433 of the rotor shaft 43 are provided on the left and right of the oval hole 441 in the short axis direction.

Then, in order to fix the rotor 4 having the above configuration to the output shaft 31 of the motor 3, first, the rotor shaft 43 is fixed to the rotor 4. That is, the oval fixing portion 431 of the rotor shaft 43 is inserted into the mounting hole 414 of the first rotor 41, the fixing plate 44 faces the rear surface, and the screws inserted into the left and right mounting holes 415 are attached to the fixing plate 44. The rotor 4 including the first rotor 41 and the second rotor 42 is attached to the rotor shaft 43 by being screwed into the screw hole 442.

Next, the output shaft 31 of the motor 3 is inserted into the fixing hole 432 of the rotor shaft 43 from below, and
2 is screwed into the screw hole at the tip of the output shaft 31 from above. By doing so, the rotor 4 can be attached and detached with a single central screw. The oval fixed portion 431 of the rotor shaft 43 has a horizontal bar 3 provided on the output shaft 31 of the motor 3.
2 are formed. Therefore, the horizontal groove 434 and the horizontal bar 32 are fitted to each other to position each other, and the driving force of the motor 3 is transmitted to the rotor 4 reliably.

A counting mechanism 5 is provided at the coin payout position. The counting mechanism 5 includes a swingable count lever 51 having a count roller 511 in contact with a coin.
And a sensor 52 for detecting the swing of the count lever 51.
And an urging spring 53 for urging the count lever 51.

The count lever 51 is pivotally movable about halfway by a count lever shaft 512.
2 is attached to the shaft. The count roller shaft 511a is implanted at one end by a fixing means such as caulking, and the count roller 51 is attached to the count roller shaft 511a.
The count roller 511 is rotatably provided by attaching the number 1 and stopping it with an E-ring or the like.

On the other hand, a detector 513 is provided at the other end of the count lever 51, and the number of swings of the count lever 51 is detected by detecting the detector 513 by the sensor 52. That is, the number of coins paid out is counted. The sensor 52 is formed by, for example, an optical sensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element arranged in a U-shape. The sensor 5
2 is attached to the motor mounting plate 23 by a sensor mounting bracket 521.

An urging spring engaging portion 514 is provided at the end of the count lever 51 on the side of the count roller 511 to lock one end of the urging spring 53.
Is locked to a spring locking piece 531 provided on the motor mounting plate 23 to bias the count lever 51. That is, the urging spring 53 urges the count roller 511 so that the interval between the bar spring 61 forming the contact guiding portion 6 described below is reduced. The interval at this time is regulated by a urethane stopper attached via a stopper washer.

A rod spring 61 forming the contact guiding portion 6 is inserted into the elongated hole 245 of the fixing ring 24 and slightly protrudes from the upper surface of the fixing ring 24. This bar spring 61
Is, for example, as shown in FIG.
It is bent in a substantially U-shape, and circular portions 611 for attachment are formed at both ends. The upright portion 612 rises from the left and right circular portions 611, and the horizontal bar portion 613 extends from the upright portion 612 via a bent portion. The horizontal bar portion 613 connects the left and right upright portions 612. And
The horizontal bar portion 613 is formed by the elongated hole 245 of the fixing ring 24.
Protruding from. The amount of protrusion is about the thickness of the coin, and the coin can be locked and can slip through the upper surface. In addition, the direction of the horizontal bar portion 613,
In other words, the direction of the slot 245 is determined in consideration of the coin payout direction.

Further, in the illustrated embodiment, an auxiliary roller 54 is provided at a position facing the count roller 511. The auxiliary roller 54 is provided on the motor mounting plate 23 via an auxiliary roller shaft 541, and the hopper guide plate 22
Through the notch 226 formed in the flat plate portion 222 of the rotor 4
Facing the periphery of.

Next, the operation of the hopper device 1 according to the present invention will be described. Coin C supplied to hopper tank 11
With the rotation of the rotor 4, the coins C in different directions are flattened and parallel in the lower part, and are inserted one by one into the coin storage holes 411. At this time, the bead portion 41
2 creates a gap between the coins that overlap.

On the other hand, the pellets mixed together with the coin C are carried to the pellet discharge port 243 or the semicircular notch hole 423 through the gap of the coin C, and these discharge ports 24
3 or fall into the frame 21 from the notch hole 423.
Further, it also falls from a gap outside the fixing ring 24. Further, the coin C is guided from the gap between the coins C to the outlet 243 and falls.

Coin C inserted into coin storage hole 411
Advance by the rotation of the rotor 4 and come into contact with the contact guiding portion 6. Further proceeding, it comes into contact with the count roller 511, and swings the count lever 51 against the biasing spring 53.
An elastic force is accumulated in the urging spring 53. When the distance between the contact point between the bar spring 61 and the coin C and the contact point between the count roller 511 and the coin C exceeds the diameter of the coin C, the count lever 51 is suddenly returned by the resilient force of the urging spring 53. Moves and coin C jumps out.

At this time, the direction in which the coin C pops out is the extension direction of the bar spring 61 constituting the contact guiding section 6, and stable payout is possible. Further, since there is no cam mechanism or the like, the structure becomes extremely simple. According to the illustrated embodiment, since the auxiliary roller 54 is provided, the pop-out direction of the coin C is slightly changed.

Further, even if the pellets for cleaning are mixed, the pellets can be easily discharged, so that troubles such as operation stop caused by the pellets do not occur.

FIGS. 10 to 12 show another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the contact guiding portion 6 is formed by a bar spring 61.
Are bent, and only one end of the bar spring 61 is fixed to the fixing ring 24 so that when the coin rides on the bar spring 61, the coin is elastically deformed downward.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the contact guiding portion 6 is formed by bending a stainless steel for spring to form a circular fastening portion 62 at one end and at the other end. The locking portion 63 is formed by bending the side substantially in a U-shape.

Then, the fixing portion 62 is fixed to the fixing ring 24.
Is screwed into the mounting hole 246 opened at a predetermined position, and the locking portion 63 is made to face upward from the long hole 245 of the fixing ring 24. In this state, the locking portion 63 slightly protrudes from the upper surface of the fixing ring 24 and can be locked to a coin.

In the hopper main body 2 having the above-described contact guiding portion 6, even if the coin C1 rides on the contact guiding portion 6 as shown in FIG. The part is elastically deformed and the coin C1
Through. Then, even if the next coin C2 approaches the locking portion 63 before the coin C1 has passed, according to this embodiment, a part of the locking portion 63 is fixed as shown in FIG. Since it immediately returns to the state in which it protrudes above the ring 24, the next coin C2 is locked in the protruding locking portion 63, and the coin C2 can always be reliably paid out.
In this embodiment, members having the same functions as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the above-described embodiment, and description thereof will be omitted.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately implemented without changing the configuration described in the claims. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, coins of a gaming machine have been described, but the present invention can be easily applied to a currency exchange machine, coins of a vending machine, and the like.

[0042]

In summary, the present invention is directed to a rotor having a hopper guide plate forming a substrate portion of a hopper body, and a coin storage portion rotatably positioned on the upper surface side of the hopper guide plate and storing a plurality of coins. And a motor for rotating and driving the rotor, the dispensing position formed on the hopper guide plate is provided with a contact guiding portion made of a spring material, and the contact guiding portion is substantially A count lever is pivotally attached to the coin at a distance corresponding to the diameter of the coin, and the count lever is provided with a count roller that contacts the coin. A biasing means for biasing in a direction to reduce a distance between the contact guide portion and the contact guide portion and the count row. And the pressing force is accumulated in the urging means, and when the contact interval narrows beyond the diameter of the coin, the count lever returns to rotate and discharge the coin, so that the Even if the pellets are mixed in the coin, the pellets can be easily removed and troubles such as operation stop caused by the pellets do not occur. In addition, a cam mechanism or the like is not required, the configuration is simple, the number of parts is small, it can be provided at low cost, and maintenance is easy. Further, the hopper device of the present invention is stable in a fixed coin payout direction, so that it is easy to handle and has a very high practical value.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a hopper device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view showing a state where a hopper tank is fixed to a hopper body.

3A and 3B show a hopper body, wherein FIG. 3A is a plan view and FIG.
Is a sectional view of a main part.

4A and 4B show a rotor, wherein FIG. 4A is a plan view and FIG. 4B is a sectional view.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the hopper device.

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view showing a main part of the hopper body.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the hopper device.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory view of the hopper device.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the hopper device.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of a contact guiding portion and a fixing ring in another embodiment of the hopper device, and an assembled state thereof.

FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory view in another embodiment of the hopper device.

FIG. 12 is an operation explanatory view of another embodiment of the hopper device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hopper apparatus 2 Hopper main body 3 Motor 4 Rotor 5 Count mechanism 6 Contact guide part 22 Hopper guide plate 51 Count lever 53 Energizing spring 61 Bar spring 63 Locking part 511 Count roller 613 Horizontal bar part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A rotor having a hopper guide plate forming a substrate portion of a hopper body, a rotor rotatably positioned on an upper surface side of the hopper guide plate and storing a plurality of coins, and rotating the rotor. In the hopper device formed with a driving motor, a contact guide portion made of a spring material is provided at a dispensing position formed on the hopper guide plate, and a distance between the contact guide portion and a diameter of approximately a coin is provided. A count lever is pivotally mounted on the count lever, and the count lever is provided with a count roller that contacts the coin, and a point at which the contact guide portion and the coin come into contact with each other;
A biasing means is provided that biases the gap between the count roller and the point where the coin comes into contact, in a direction to reduce the distance.The coin conveyed and pressed by the rotation of the rotor is sandwiched between the contact guide section and the count roller, and a pressing force is applied. A hopper device wherein the count lever returns and rotates to discharge the coin when the contact interval is reduced beyond the diameter of the coin while being accumulated in the biasing means. 2. The hopper device according to claim 1, wherein the contact guiding portion is constituted by a horizontal bar portion formed by bending a bar spring. 3. The contact guiding portion is formed by bending a bar spring, and one end of the bar spring is fixed to a hopper guide plate so as to be deformable when a coin rides on.
Or the hopper device according to claim 2.