Token discriminating device

A token discriminating device includes: a rolling member having two guide walls and a bottom for defining a rolling passage in which a token is rolled; and a smaller unacceptable token discriminating portion having: a cut-away portion formed in one of the two guide walls; a deflective wall provided in an upper portion of the cut-away portion to define a discriminating opening, a discriminating distance between the bottom and a lower end of the deflective wall being smaller than the diameter of an acceptable token, the deflective wall being bent outward of the rolling passage; a deflector provided on the other guide wall at a position facing the discriminating opening for deflecting a rolling token to the discriminating opening.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a token discriminating device, particularly to a 
token discriminating device which is disposed in a token chute portion of 
a token game machine to discriminate acceptable tokens from unacceptable 
tokens according to the size of token. 
There have been proposed several token discriminating devices. For example, 
Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 60-59632 discloses a token 
discriminating device for use in an automatic vending machine. 
Specifically, there is provided a rolling member for rolling a token. The 
rolling member is formed with a rolling passage in which tokens are rolled 
down. The rolling passage is an enclosed space which is defined by two 
guide walls, top wall, and bottom wall. The two guide walls face each 
other and extend in parallel with each other over the entire length. One 
of the guide walls is formed with a cut-away portion in an appropriate 
portion thereof to discriminate off unacceptable tokens having a diameter 
smaller than the diameter of an acceptable token. The cut-away portion is 
in the form of a square having lengths and heights slightly smaller than 
the diameter of an acceptable token. Further, the other guide wall is 
provided with a braking member at a position facing the cut-away portion. 
The braking member is pivotable about a vertical axis. The braking member 
receives a rolling token, slowing the rolling speed of the token, and then 
pushing the token to the cut-away portion together with a pivotal motion 
of the braking member. 
The rolling member is declined in a rolling direction in entirety so that a 
token rolls down by its weight. Also, the rolling member is inclined in a 
vertical plane perpendicularly intersecting the rolling direction in such 
a manner that the guide wall having the cut-away portion faces downward. A 
token is inserted and rolled in the rolling passage. The braking member 
then slows and pushes the rolling token to the cut-away portion. An 
acceptable token having the diameter larger than the size of the cut-away 
portion passes the cut-away portion while an unacceptable token having a 
diameter smaller than the size of the cut-away portion cannot pass the 
cut-away portion and consequently falls from the cut-away portion by its 
weight. In this way, unacceptable tokens are discriminated off. 
In this token discriminating device, however, there is the likelihood that 
when the rolling member is inclined in the reverse direction in the 
vertical plane due to a failure in installation of a machine provided with 
this discriminating device, and the guide wall having the cut-away portion 
consequently comes into a vertical position, unacceptable tokens may not 
fall from the cut-away portion accurately. 
Also, the braking member is made to be pivotal in the vertical axis. 
Accordingly, in the state where the rolling member is inclined in the 
vertical plane, there is the likelihood that the braking member does not 
pivot smoothly and the rolling token is stopped at the braking member. 
Further, the braking member is provided in the rolling passage having the 
parallel guide walls. The portion where the braking member is provided is 
narrower than the other portion of the rolling passage. Accordingly, 
maloperation of the pivotal braking member increases the likelihood of 
stopping or jamming tokens. 
Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 3-58489 discloses a token 
discriminating device which is provided with a solenoid-driven pushing 
mechanism. This pushing mechanism ensures forcible pushing of unacceptable 
tokens irrespective of inclination of guide walls, but needs more 
complicated construction, which thus increases the production costs. Also, 
the arrangement of the solenoid-driven pushing mechanism requires frequent 
maintenance services to assure a long operation, consequently increasing 
the running costs. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a token discriminating 
device which has overcome the problems residing in the prior art. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a token 
discriminating device which can discriminate unacceptable tokens reliably 
irrespective of installation conditions of a game machine. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a token 
discriminating device which can reliably perform token discrimination for 
a longer time at a reduced cost. 
The present invention is directed to a token discriminating device 
comprising: a rolling member including two guide walls and a bottom for 
defining a rolling passage in which a token is rolled; and a smaller 
unacceptable token discriminating portion including: a cut-away portion 
formed in one of the two guide walls; a deflective wall provided in an 
upper portion of the cut-away portion to define a discriminating opening, 
a discriminating distance between the bottom of the rolling member and a 
lower end of the deflective wall being smaller than the diameter of an 
acceptable token, the deflective wall being bent outward of the rolling 
passage: a deflector provided on the other guide wall at a position facing 
the discriminating opening for deflecting a rolling token to the 
discriminating opening. 
The deflective wall may be preferably constructed by a band member bent 
outward of the rolling passage; and a supporting portion which is formed 
in an upper portion of the cut-away portion and supports the band member 
slidably in the height direction of the guide wall. 
It may be appreciated that the deflector is fixedly provided on the other 
guide wall. 
Further, it may be appreciated to form a larger unacceptable token 
discriminating portion in the rolling member on an upstream of the smaller 
unacceptable token discriminating portion. The larger unacceptable token 
discriminating portion may be defined by providing two restrictive members 
in an upstream end of the rolling passage, and spacing the two restrictive 
members by distance slightly larger than the diameter of an acceptable 
token. It may be preferable to make one of the two restrictive members 
fixed and make the other restrictive member movable. 
With thus constructed token discriminating device, the outward-bent 
deflective wall is provided in an upper portion of the cut-away portion to 
define the discriminating opening and the deflector is provided on the 
opposite guide wall. Rolling tokens are deflected or inclined to the 
discriminating opening from which unacceptable tokens then fall by the 
weight. Acceptable tokens roll along the deflective wall and then rolls in 
the main rolling passage. Accordingly, even in the state where the 
deflector is projected in the rolling passage, the deflective wall permits 
tokens to roll down smoothly, and eliminates the likelihood that tokens is 
stopped by the deflector. 
The deflective wall is constructed by the band member slidably supported by 
the support portion. Accordingly, the space of the discriminating opening 
can be desirably changed, and a variety of tokens having different sizes 
can be thus discriminated by one rolling member. 
The deflector is fixedly provided on the other guide wall. This will 
simplify the construction of the token discriminating device and ensure a 
prolonged operation without maintenance service, thus enabling lower 
production and running costs. 
Also, the larger unacceptable token discriminating portion is formed on an 
upstream of the smaller unacceptable token discriminating portion. 
Accordingly, unacceptable tokens having larger diameters that the diameter 
of the acceptable token can be discriminated off in addition to the 
discrimination of the smaller unacceptable tokens. 
The larger unacceptable token discriminating portion is defined by two 
restrictive members only. Accordingly, its construction is very simple. 
Also, since one of the two restrictive members is made to be movable, the 
size of the discriminating opening can be changed easily by moving the 
movable restrictive member. 
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention 
will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed 
description and drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
A token discriminating device embodying the invention will be described 
with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
The token discriminating device 1 includes a rolling member 2 which is in 
the form of a channel and has a specified length in a rolling direction. A 
token is rolled in the rolling member 2. The rolling member 2 is supported 
by a support pole 20 in a posture of declining in such an angle that a 
token rolls down by its weight. 
Specifically, the rolling member 2 includes guide walls 3a, 3b and a bottom 
member 4. The guide walls 3a, 3b face each other at a specified gap. The 
gap between the guide walls 3a, 3b is slightly larger than the thickness 
of the token to be rolled down in the rolling member 2. The bottom member 
4 is disposed at a bottom of the guide walls 3a, 3b and connect the guide 
walls 3a, 3b to each other. The guide walls 3a, 3b and the bottom member 4 
define a rolling passage 5 in which a token is to be rolled. 
The rolling member 2 has an outlet portion 2a and an inlet/discriminating 
portion 2b. The guide walls 3a, 3b in the outlet portion 2a are made to 
have a height smaller than the diameter of an acceptable token so that the 
passing of the token can be checked. 
The inlet/discriminating portion 2b is provided with a larger unacceptable 
token discriminating portion A and a smaller unacceptable token 
discriminating portion B. The larger unacceptable token discriminating 
portion A is located on upstream of the smaller unacceptable token 
discriminating portion B. 
As shown in FIG. 2, the larger unacceptable token discriminating portion A 
is defined by a lower restrictive member 12 and an upper restrictive 
member 15. The two restrictive members 12 and 15 are placed in the gap 
between the guide walls 3a, 3b. 
The lower restrictive member 12 is disposed on an inlet end portion of the 
bottom member 4 of the rolling member 2, and generally has a trapezoid 
shape. The lower restrictive member 12 is releasably attached on the guide 
walls 3a, 3b by a screw 14 passing an oblong hole 13 formed in the guide 
wall 3b. The lower restrictive member 12 is permitted to slide on the 
bottom member 4 in a lengthwise direction of the rolling member 2 within a 
length of the oblong hole 13 by releasing the screw 14. 
The upper restrictive member 15 is disposed in an upper portion of the 
inlet end portion of the rolling member 2 and downstream of the lower 
restrictive member 12, and has a rectangular shape. The upper restrictive 
member 15 is fixedly attached on the guide walls 3a, 3b. 
The lower and upper restrictive members 12 and 15 are spaced from each 
other so that a token inlet passage W is defined between them. The token 
inlet passage W has a discriminating throat T which is defined by a 
smallest space between a lower right corner 15a of the upper restrictive 
member 15 and a slanting surface 12a of the lower restrictive member 12. 
The space distance D of the discriminating throat T is equal to or 
slightly larger than the diameter of an acceptable token. Tokens having a 
diameter larger than the space distance D are kept from passing while 
tokens having a diameter equal to or smaller than the space distance D are 
permitted to pass. In this way, unacceptable tokens having a diameter 
larger than the diameter of an acceptable token are discriminated off. The 
space distance D is changed by sliding the lower restrictive member 12. 
The smaller unacceptable token discriminating portion B is defined by a 
cut-away portion 6 formed in an intermediate of the guide wall 3b, a 
deflective wall 3b', and a deflector 11 formed in an intermediate of the 
guide wall 3a. 
The cut-away portion 6 has a length equal to or slightly larger than the 
diameter of the acceptable token. A lower end of the cut-away portion 6 is 
positioned slightly higher than a top surface of the bottom member 4 so 
that a low guide wall exists in a lower portion of the smaller 
unacceptable token discriminating portion B. However, the low guide wall 
is not so high as to support or keep tokens from falling from the cut-away 
portion 6. The low guide wall is provided to merely guide a lower portion 
of rolling tokens. 
The deflective wall 3b' is formed by a band member 8 and support arm 
portions 7a and 7b. As shown in FIG. 5, the support arm portions 7a and 7b 
are provided in an upper portion of the cut-away portion 6. The support 
arm portion 7a extends from a downstream side of the cut-away portion 6 
while the support arm portion 7b extends from an upstream side of the 
cut-away portion 6. Also, the support arm portions 7a and 7b are bent 
outward from the guide wall 3b. Further, the support arm portion 7a is 
formed with a through-hole for passing a screw 9a and the support arm 
portion 7b is formed with a thread hole for engaging with a screw 9b. The 
screws 9a and 9b will be described below. 
The band member 8 is attached on the support arm portions 7a and 7b. The 
band member 8 has an intermediate portion 8a, a downstream portion 8b, and 
an upstream portion 8c. The downstream and upstream portions 8b and 8c are 
respectively formed with oblong holes 10a and 10b. The oblong holes 10a 
and 10b extend in a vertical direction. 
The upstream portion 8c is bent inward at the same angle as the support arm 
portion 7b and is releasably attached onto an outer surface of the support 
arm portion 7b by engaging the screw 9b passing through the oblong hole 
10b with the threaded hole formed in the support arm portion 7b. The 
downstream portion 8b is bent inward at the same angle as the support arm 
portion 7a and is releasably attached to an inner surface of the support 
arm portion 7a by engaging the screw 9a passing the through-hole formed in 
the support arm portion 7a with a plate nut provided on an inner surface 
of the downstream portion 8b. 
In this way, a discriminating opening O is defined by the cut-away portion 
6 and the band member 8. The band member 8 is set in such a position that 
a discriminating distance between a bottom end of the band member 8 and 
the top surface of the bottom member 4 is slightly smaller than the 
diameter of the acceptable token. Accordingly, unacceptable token having a 
diameter smaller than the discriminating distance are fallen off from the 
discriminating opening O because there is not any portion for keeping the 
unacceptable small token from falling. The discriminating distance is 
changed by releasing the screws 9a and 9b and sliding the band member 8 
vertically along the oblong holes 10a and 10b. 
Also, the upstream portion 8c of the band member 8 is attached onto the 
outer surface of the support arm portion 7b while the downstream portion 
8b is attached onto the inner surface of the support arm portion 7a. In 
other words, in the upstream of the band member 8, the support arm portion 
7b is positioned inside relative to the band member 8. In the downstream 
of the band member 8, the band member 8 is positioned inside relative to 
the support arm portion 7a. This arrangement will assure smooth rolling of 
a token because there is no likelihood that a rolling token comes into 
contact with an upstream end edge of the band member 8 and with an 
upstream end edge of the support arm portion 7a. and then halts rolling at 
these end edges. 
The deflector 11 is formed in the guide wall 3a at a position opposite to 
the discriminating opening O of the cut-away portion 6. The deflector 11 
is projected in the rolling passage 5 so as to deflect a rolling token to 
the discriminating opening O. This will ensure the discrimination of 
unacceptable token having a smaller diameter than the discriminating 
distance. The defector 11 is formed by making a cut in the specified 
portion of the guide wall 3a and bending the cut portion inward. 
The deflective wall 3b' is formed by the combination of the outward-bent 
support arm portions 7a, 7b and the outward-bent band member 8. 
Accordingly, although the deflector 11 is fixedly projected in the rolling 
passage, there is no likelihood that the rolling token is stopped at the 
deflector 11 because the rolling token inclines to the deflective wall 
3b'. 
Next, an operation of the token discriminating device of this invention 
will be described. 
A token is inserted in the token inlet passage W formed in the larger 
unacceptable token discriminating portion A where it is discriminated 
whether the inserted token is larger than the predetermined diameter of 
the acceptable token. Specifically, if the inserted token is larger than 
the predetermined diameter, the inserted token is blocked from passing at 
the discriminating throat T which is defined by the lower right corner 15a 
of the upper restrictive member 15 and the slanting surface 12a of the 
lower restrictive member 12 and is set at a distance D equal to or 
slightly larger than the diameter of the acceptable token. On the other 
hand, if the inserted token is smaller than the predetermined diameter, 
the inserted token passes through the discriminating throat T of the 
larger unacceptable token discriminating portion A. 
The passed token rolls down in the rolling passage 5 to the smaller 
unacceptable token discriminating portion B where it is discriminated 
whether the token is smaller than the predetermined diameter of the 
acceptable token. Specifically, the rolling token comes into contact with 
the deflector 11. Consequently, the rolling token is inclined toward the 
discriminating opening O formed in the smaller unacceptable token 
discriminating portion B. As shown in FIG. 6, the acceptable token M, even 
when being inclined toward the discriminating opening O, is prevented from 
falling from the discriminating opening O by the band member 8, and then 
passes the smaller unacceptable token discriminating portion B. However, 
the unacceptable token C having a diameter smaller than the discriminating 
distance is fallen from the discriminating opening O by the deflecting 
force of the deflector. In this way, unacceptable tokens are discriminated 
off in the smaller unacceptable token discriminating portion B. 
When using acceptable token having a different size or diameter, the lower 
restrictive member 12 in the larger unacceptable token discriminating 
portion A is slidingly moved in the lengthwise direction of the rolling 
member 2 to vary the distance D of the discriminating throat T, or the 
band member 8 in the smaller unacceptable token discriminating portion B 
is vertically moved to adjust the discriminating distance. 
Tokens which have passed the smaller unacceptable token discriminating 
portion B are judged to be the acceptable token and supplied to an 
appropriate portion of the game. 
In the above-mentioned embodiment, the discriminating opening O of the 
smaller unacceptable token discriminating portion B is defined in one of 
the two guide walls defining the rolling passage 5, i.e., the guide wall 
3b, by the cut-away portion 6 and the band member 8. Also, the deflector 
11 is fixedly formed in the opposite guide wall 3a at a position facing 
the discriminating opening O. The rolling token is forcibly inclined to 
the discriminating opening O by the deflector 11, and is then 
discriminated in the discriminating opening O whether or not to have a 
smaller diameter than the diameter of the acceptable token. Accordingly, 
since the rolling token is forcibly inclined to the discriminating opening 
O, the discrimination is reliably carried out irrespective of its 
installation state. 
Also, the discriminating device does not have any moving parts. 
Accordingly, the construction is very simple and little wear occurs, which 
thus makes it possible to reduce the production costs and to eliminate 
maintenance service. 
Further, the size of the discriminating opening O is changed merely by 
releasing the screws 9a, 9b and sliding the band member 8 in the vertical 
direction. Accordingly, the token discriminating device of the invention 
can be used for a wide variety of game machines each using different size 
tokens. 
Moreover, on upstream of the smaller unacceptable token discriminating 
portion B is provided the larger unacceptable token discriminating portion 
A. The larger unacceptable token is prevented from rolling down to the 
smaller unacceptable token discriminating portion B. Accordingly, larger 
and smaller unacceptable tokens can be both discriminated off reliably. 
In the foregoing embodiment, the deflector 11 is formed by making a cut in 
a middle portion of the guide wall 3a and bending the cut portion inward. 
However, according to the invention, it may be appreciated to bulge an 
upper end portion of the guide wall 3a into the rolling passage 5 to form 
a deflector, or to fixedly attach a properly shaped block onto an inner 
surface of the guide wall 3a to form a deflector. 
Also, in the foregoing embodiment, there is provided a single smaller 
unacceptable token discriminating portion B. However, according to the 
invention, a plurality of smaller unacceptable token discriminating 
portions may be provided step by step in the lengthwise direction of the 
rolling member 2 to sort smaller unacceptable tokens in accordance with 
their sizes. For example, in order of the rolling direction, there are 
provided a first discriminating portion having a smallest discriminating 
opening O for discriminating off smallest unacceptable token, a second 
discriminating portion having an intermediate discriminating opening O for 
discriminating off intermediate small tokens, and a third discriminating 
portion having a relatively large discriminating opening O for 
discriminating off relatively large tokens. 
Further, in the foregoing embodiment, the discriminating distance of the 
smaller unacceptable token discriminating portion B is constant in the 
rolling direction. However, according to the invention, the discriminating 
distance of a single smaller unacceptable token discriminating portion B 
may be changed in the rolling direction to sort smaller unacceptable 
tokens in accordance with their sizes. For example, in order of the 
rolling direction, the discriminating distance of a single smaller 
unacceptable token discriminating portion is made to be smallest at an 
upstream portion to discriminate off smallest unacceptable token, and is 
made to be intermediate at an intermediate portion to discriminate off 
intermediate small tokens, and is made to be relatively large at a 
downstream portion to discriminate off relatively large tokens. 
Although the present invention has been fully described by way of example 
with reference to the drawings, it is to be understood that various 
changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
Therefore, unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the 
scope of the invention, they should be construed as being included 
therein.