Medal arrangement device and medal game machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11545009-B2
Application number	US-202217688086-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 7, 2022
Priority date	Mar 8, 2021
Publication date	Jan 3, 2023
Grant date	Jan 3, 2023

Abstract

A medal arrangement device and a medal game machine are disclosed. A medal arrangement device has a holder and a supplier with a medal hopper and a guide unit. A medal passage has a first medal passage part and a second medal passage part. The guide has an upstream abutting part and a downstream abutting part provided on a first side wall surface side of the first medal passage part. When one medal ejected from the medal hopper reaches a predetermined position of the downstream end portion, at least a part of the upstream abutting part and at least a part of the downstream abutting part are located in the first medal passage part to press the medal against the second side wall surface. When the medal passes through the predetermined position, the downstream abutting part retracts to an outside of the first medal passage part.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A medal arrangement device comprising:
a holder having a holding surface for holding a single-layer medal set configured with a plurality of medals disposed in a predetermined arrangement; and
a supplier supplying the medals to the holding surface via a medal passage,
wherein the supplier has a medal hopper ejecting the medals one by one into the medal passage, and a guide unit guiding the medals ejected into the medal passage,
wherein the medal passage has a first medal passage part formed on an upstream side of the holding surface in a moving direction of the medal and having a first side wall surface and a second side wall surface facing each other, and a second medal passage part connected to a downstream end portion of the first medal passage part and formed on the holding surface,
wherein the guide unit has an upstream abutting part and a downstream abutting part, wherein both the upstream abutting part and the downstream abutting part are movable and are provided on a first side wall surface side of the first medal passage part so as to be urged toward the second side wall surface, and
wherein the upstream abutting part and the downstream abutting part are provided so that: when one medal ejected from the medal hopper reaches a predetermined position of the downstream end portion, at least a part of the upstream abutting part and at least a part of the downstream abutting part are located in the first medal passage part so as to press the medal against the second side wall surface; and when the medal passes through the predetermined position, the downstream abutting part retracts to an outside of the first medal passage part.

2. The medal arrangement device according to claim 1 , wherein the downstream abutting part is interlocked with movement in a width direction of the first medal passage part of the upstream abutting part.

3. The medal arrangement device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the guide unit has a first guider,
wherein the first guider has a first abutting part having a lever structure,
wherein the first abutting part has a fulcrum fixed to the first side wall surface side of the first medal passage part and a downstream free end provided on a downstream end portion side,
wherein the upstream abutting part and the downstream abutting part are provided at the downstream free end of the first abutting part, and
wherein the downstream abutting part is provided so as to rotate around the fulcrum in a direction away from the first medal passage part or a direction approaching the first medal passage part as a position where the upstream abutting part abuts against a side surface of a medal changes.

4. The medal arrangement device according to claim 3 , wherein the guide unit further has a second guider which is provided at a center of the holding surface intersecting the holding surface and guides the medals so as to define a traveling direction of the medals in the annular passage part.

5. The medal arrangement device according to claim 4 ,
wherein the second guider has a protrusion provided in the annular passage part toward the downstream end portion of the first medal passage part, and
wherein a distance between a tip end of the protrusion and a most downstream end of the first side wall surface is equal to or greater than a diameter of one medal, and a distance between the tip end of the protrusion and a most downstream end of the second side wall surface is less than the diameter of one medal.

6. The medal arrangement device according to claim 4 ,
wherein the guide unit further has a third guider having a guide plate, wherein the guide plate is provided above the second medal passage part so as to cover at least a part of the second medal passage part, and
wherein a distance between the holding surface and a surface of the guide plate facing the holding surface is greater than a thickness of one medal and less than a thickness of two medals.

7. The medal arrangement device according to claim 6 ,
wherein the guide unit further has an actuator moving the third guider in a range from a position where the third guider covers the second medal passage part to a position where the third guider does not cover the second medal passage part.

8. The medal arrangement device according to claim 1 ,
wherein both the upstream abutting part and the downstream abutting part are configured with rollers, and
wherein a shortest distance between the upstream abutting part and the downstream abutting part is less than a diameter of one medal.

9. The medal arrangement device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the second medal passage part is an annular passage part formed along a circumferential direction of the holding surface, and
wherein the medals are disposed on the holding surface while filling the annular passage part.

10. The medal arrangement device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a mounter having a mounting surface on which the single-layer medal set or a medal tower configured with plural layers of the single-layer medal sets is mounted; and
a transporter raising or lowering the holder in a range from a position above the mounting surface to a position below the first medal passage part.

11. A medal game machine comprising:
a medal feeder feeding medals;
a mounting table on which the medals fed by the medal feeder are mounted;
a pusher table moving the medals mounted on the mounting table;
a winning port for the medals dropped from the mounting table entering; and
the medal arrangement device according to claim 1 configured to be disposed inside the mounting table and arrange medals to be exposed from the mounting table.

Assignees

• Sega Corp

Inventors

• Sagawa Yuichiro
• Hanamata Akira

Classifications

• G07D1/02

  giving change {(coin-actuated mechanisms in general G07F)} · CPC title

• G07F17/3253

  involving articles, e.g. paying in bottles, paying out toys · CPC title

• G07F17/3223

  Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, leader-follower, wireless communication · CPC title

• G07F17/3297 Primary

  Fairground games, e.g. Tivoli, coin pusher machines, cranes · CPC title

• G07F17/3216

  Construction aspects of a gaming system, e.g. housing, seats, ergonomic aspects · CPC title