Patent Publication Number: US-6902459-B2

Title: Coin bank having fun-to-use interface

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a coin bank equipped with a recreational function. More particularly, the present coin bank provides a simple game: win by throwing a coin into a target hole, or lose the game if the thrown coin misses the target hole. When a player wins the game by throwing a coin into the target hole, the accumulated coins that were previously thrown but missed the target will pour into the saving container. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
   Generally, a conventional coin bank, such as a “piggy bank” forms a sealed container with a deposit slot at the top. Such a coin bank is used for accumulating coins during ordinary daily life. When the coin bank is fully filled with coins, it cold be opened to assist the home economy. Sometimes, the coins being accumulated in the coin bank could be a great assistance in an emergency situation. Even though a penny is a small amount of money, it is necessary to stimulate children for cultivating an interest in saving at an early age. 
   However, most conventional coin banks have a container of simple shape or copies of famous cartoon characters for merely storing the coins therein. Further, those shapes of coin banks do not attract any interest or stimulate the children to save money. 
   Therefore, a coin bank with a limited fun-to-use interface, such as an audio function or a game function is developed for encouraging an interest in saving while amusing the children. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a coin bank having a fun-to-use interface that not only stimulates an interest in saving, but also amuses the children. 
   Another object of the present invention is to provide a coin bank having a fun-to-use interface that could be used as a toy as well as a coin saving container. 
   According to a simple playing means of the present invention, a player throws a coin into a target hole, which is located in the middle of the funnel shaped opening, to win the game. If a coin is successfully thrown into the target hole, the winning coin causes the shutter to open and the accumulated coins that have been previously thrown and missed the target hole are poured down into the saving container. 
   The coin bank of the present invention is comprised of a body, a shutter and a shutter operating mechanism. The body has a funnel shape with a large opening at the top to receive the thrown coins. A coin outlet is formed at the lower part of the body for discharging the coins into the saving container. An operable shutter blocks the coin outlet to accumulate the coins that miss the target hole during the games. 
   The shutter is connected to the shutter opening mechanism to block or open the coin outlet according to the game result. If a coin goes into the target hole, a control unit activates the shutter operating mechanism to open the shutter and discharge the collected coins from the body. The shutter will automatically block the coin outlet again once all coins have drained. 
   The rules of the present invention are simple to determine the winning coin. If a thrown coin enters into the target hole, it is a winning coin. If a thrown coin misses the target hole, it will stay on the bottom of the funnel shaped body until a winning coin occurs. It is possible to define different playing means in this mechanism. 
   In the first embodiment of the present invention, the top surface of the body is divided into two sections: a target hole as a success section, and the rest of the top surface as a failed section. If a player throws a coin into the target hole, he wins the game. 
   In a second embodiment of the present invention, the bottom of the body includes a bingo game plate that has the same rules as the conventional bingo game. When a coin is thrown into the top opening of the funnel shaped body, the coin will arbitrarily go into a pocket of the bingo plate. 
   In a third embodiment of the present invention, the body includes a slot machine. When a coin is thrown into the top opening of the funnel shaped body, the thrown coin causes the slot machine to rotate and images or numbers appear on the display, as in the conventional slot machine. 
   Accordingly, the coin bank of the present invention is further provided with a coin storing container connected to the coin outlet; thereby the coins drained from the body are deposited into the coin container. 
   The coin bank of the present invention is designed to be installed on the indoor wall in the corner of a recreation room. A player may throw a coin into the opened mouth of the coin bank from a certain distance away to play and save money. At this point, if the coin does not go into the target hole, the thrown coin stays in the bottom of the body. If a coin hits the target hole, the shutter operating mechanism operates to open the shutter, whereby all remaining coins in the body are drained into the saving container. 
   Preferably, the coin bank of the present invention is also equipped with an additional function, such as an illuminating or flashing light, music or voice generation and doll dancing performance when the accumulated coins are discharged through the coin outlet. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing of a coin bank equipped with a coin throwing game according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the coin bank equipped with the coin throwing game. 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic drawing showing a shutter operating mechanism for the coin throwing game. 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram for operating a shutter mechanism of the coin throwing game. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates the game operating process of the coin bank equipped with the coin throwing game. 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing of a coin bank equipped with a bingo game according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram for operating a bingo game adapted to the coin bank. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an operating process of the bingo game adapted to the coin bank. 
       FIG. 9  is a schematic drawing of a coin bank equipped with a slot machine game according to the third embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 10  is a block diagram for operating a slot machine adapted to the coin bank. 
       FIG. 11  illustrates an operation procedure of the slot machine adapted to the coin bank. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  6  and  9 , a coin bank  1  of the present invention comprises a body  10  equipped with a game function, a shutter  20  for blocking the coin outlet, and a shutter operating mechanism  30  operated by a control unit. 
   The body  10  has an outer shape of a quarter cylinder and an inside shape of a funnel or bowl with an open top  11  for receiving a thrown coin therein. Inside of the body  10 , there is a target hole  13  in the shape of a long cup without a bottom. The coin bank  1  also includes a shutter  20  and a shutter operating mechanism  30  as shown in FIG.  2 . Preferably, the outer appearance of the body  10  could have a decoration with animal characters to attract the children&#39;s interest. 
   A coin receiving part  14  is the opening at the top of the body  10  for receiving the thrown coin into the coin bank. Preferably, the open top of the coin receiving part  14  is large enough so that any player can easily throw a coin into the body  10  from a certain distance. 
   A coin outlet  12  is located at the bottom portion of the body  10  of sufficient diameter for discharging the coins. 
   The coin outlet  12  is ordinarily blocked by the shutter  20 . Since the shutter  20  blocks the coin outlet  12 , the coins  2  that miss the target hole  13  will collect on the bottom of the body  10 . 
   The shutter  20  is operated by the shutter operating mechanism  30 . Namely, if a coin  2  goes into the target hole  13 , the shutter operating mechanism  30  actuates the shutter  20 , so that the shutter  20  opens and the coins  2  accumulated at the bottom of the body  10  are discharged at once. When the coins are completely discharged, the shutter  20  will be automatically operated by the operation mechanism  30  to block the coin outlet  12  once again. 
   First Embodiment: 
   Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the coin bank  1 A is explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the body  10  of the coin bank  1 A has a target hole  13  as a success section in the middle of the top opening, the rest of which is played as a fail section  14 . As a means of playing the game, a player aims and throws a coin  2  toward the target hole  13 . If a thrown coin successfully enters the target hole  13 , it is considered a winning coin. 
   On the other hand, if the thrown coin  2  won&#39;t go into the target hole  13  and falls into the fail section  14 , the coin  2  is simply laid on the bottom of the body  10  without any event. But, if the thrown coin  2  enters into the target hole  13 , all accumulated coins on the bottom of the body  10  are discharged from the body  10  into the coin saving container. 
   The opening area of the target hole  13  is relatively smaller than the open top area of the coin receiving part  14 . This means that the frequency of success in the game is relatively less than the frequency of failing. Thus, the area ratio of the target hole  13  to the open top area of the coin receiving part  14  could be adjusted to control the success ratio of the gene by using a different size target hole  13 . However, the success section  13  and the fail section  14  are connected to the coin outlet  12  for discharging all accumulated coins  2  into the coin saving container through a chute  40 . 
   There is no restriction on the location of the target hole  13  in the body  10 . As seen in the drawings, the target hole  13  can be positioned at the center of the body  10 , with the fail section  14  evenly surrounding the target hole  13 . Both the success section  13  and the fail section  14  are formed with a conical or funnel shape in which the upper portion is wider than the lower portion, so that the thrown coins  2  easily pass through. 
   As seen in  FIG. 1 , the rear portion of the body  10  is formed at a right angle for setting in the corner of the recreation room. In the case where a coin bank  1 A is located against a flat wall instead of a corner, the body  10  can be formed in a half-cylindrical shape instead of with right angled rear surfaces. 
   If a coin bank  1 A is hung on the wall, a hanging fixture  3  must be installed on the wall prior to hanging the coin bank  1 A. As seen in  FIG. 1 , a hook  4  is used for hooking the body  10 . In this case, a paired hook is formed on the back surface of the body  10 . 
   Because the coin outlet  12  is closed by the openable shutter  20 , the coins which did not enter the target hole  13  are retained on the bottom of the body  10  for a while. 
   A sensor  31  consisting of a pair of contacting points is located on the surface of the shutter  20  for detecting the winning coin that enters into the target hole  13 . If a coin enters into the target hole  13 , the sensor  31  detects the winning coin. Then, a signal is transmitted to the control unit  35  for activating the shutter operating mechanism  30 . Thus, the shutter  20  is opened by the shutter operating mechanism  30 . 
   At this point, the coins  2  accumulated on the fail section  14  are discharged through the coin outlet  12 . Once the accumulated coins  2  are discharged, the shutter  20  is restored to its original position to block the coin outlet  12 , whereby it is ready to play the next coin throwing game. 
   As shown in  FIG. 2  to  5 , the shutter operating mechanism  30  comprises a sensor  31  for sensing the entering coin  2 , a rack  32  formed on the shutter  20 , a driving motor  33  with a pinion  34  engaged to the rack  32 , and a control unit  35  for controlling the overall system. 
   When the control unit  35  receives a signal from the sensor  31 , the control unit  35  actuates the driving motor  33  to open the shutter  20  for a preset time and then promptly close the shutter  20 . 
   In the first embodiment, a pair of contacting points  31  located under the target hole  13  is used as a sensor. In the closed state of the shutter  20 , the pair of contacting points  31  disposed under the target hole  13  is electrically disconnected. When a coin enters into the target hole  13 , the pair of contacting points  31  is electrically connected for sending a signal to the control unit  35 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 4  to  5 , the operation of the shutter  20  and the shutter operating mechanism  30  will be explained in detail. 
   If a coin does not enter into the target hole  13 , the shutter operating mechanism  30  is not activated, and a closed state of the coin outlet  12  is maintained (Refer to A of FIG.  5 ). When a coin enters into the target hole  13 , a pair of contacting points  31  is electrically connected (Refer to B of  FIG. 5 ) and the control unit  35  receives a signal. Then, the control unit  35  will activate the motor  33  to open the shutter  20  for a preset time (the opening time for discharging all coins from the body). Therefore, the coins accumulated in the body  10  are discharged (Refer to C of FIG.  5 ). After a short time elapses, the control unit  35  activates the motor  33  to restore the shutter  20  to the closed position for the next coin throwing game (Refer to D of FIG.  5 ). 
   The configuration of the shutter operating mechanism is not limited to the present shutter mechanism. Other possible configurations of the shutter operation mechanism may be adapted for the same purpose without altering the spirit. That is, the shutter operating mechanism can be adapted to an analog or digital display by combining with the various mechanisms. For example, a servomotor can be used for operating the shutter mechanism while an elastic element, such as a spring can be applied for closing the shutter. Further, another type of driving devices such as a solenoid valve can be used instead of the conventional motor. An optical sensor (e.g. a photoelectric switch) can be used as the sensor  31  instead of the contacting point sensor. Such a combination of the conventional elements with the present configuration of the shutter operating mechanism can be easily accomplished by a skilled person in this art. Therefore, the possible combinations of the configuration are omitted hereinafter. 
   The coins  2  discharged from the body  10  are stored in the coin storing container  40 , which is connected to the coin outlet  12 . There is no limit to the shape of the container which can be used for storing the coins. 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , multiple transparent pipes  41  are vertically extended and connected to the coin outlet  12  of the coin bank  1 A. The series of multiple transparent pipes  41  form a supporting column and base and can be used as a coin-storing container  40 . At this moment, the multiple transparent pipes  41  are coupled and extended to the ground. If a transparent pipe  41  is used as a coin-storing container  40 , it can be a visual attraction when the coins are falling from the body  10 . The coins accumulated in the coin-storing container  40  can be withdrawn when the owner needs them by disassembling a cap  42  from the end of the transparent pipe  41 . 
   To enhance the visual attraction, the coin bank can include more features, such as a flashing light  50 , sound generator  60 , dancing doll  70 , etc. The activation of the flashing light  50 , sound generator  60  and dancing doll  70  along with the shutter operating mechanism  30  are controlled by the control unit  35 . That is, when the shutter  20  is operated, the above described elements are activated. For example, while the accumulated coins are falling into the chute, the flashing light  50  will be flashing, the sound generator  60  will say “Congratulations!” and the dancing doll  70  will be swinging around. 
   The dancing doll  70  is ordinarily hidden inside the body  10 . When a coin  2  enters the target hole  13 , the dancing doll  10  will appear to celebrate the winning game. 
   As shown in  FIG. 3 , a dancing doll  70  is installed at the tip of the shutter  20 . The dancing doll mechanism consists of an extension rod  71  extended from the shutter  20 , a dancing doll  72  installed on the extension rod  71 , a pair of openable doors  73  installed in front of the dancing doll  72  and a pair of links  74  connected to the extension rod  71  and the pair of doors  73  set on a hinge pin. The dancing doll  70  is operated simultaneously with the shutter  20 . 
   Accordingly, when a coin  2  enters the target hole  13 , the shutter  20  is moved towards the open position. Simultaneously, the extension rod  71  is moved in the direction of the doors  73 . The pair of links  74  is swiveled to push open the hinged the doors  73 . Then, the dancing doll  72  appears from the inside of the body  10  and performs a certain action. The structure and operation of the dancing doll mechanism could be adapted from that of the conventional dancing doll because the technology is already well known in this art. 
   When the shutter  20  is moved toward the closed position, the extension  71  is moved away from the door  73 . Then, the dancing doll  72  is retracted into the body  10 , and the pair of links  74  is swiveled back to close the door  73 . 
   An additional sensor (not shown) may be installed in the fall section  14  for detecting the incoming coins  2 . If the coin comes into the fail section  14 , a recorded message says “Sorry! Try again!” 
   An illuminating light or a flashing light  80  may be added to the coin bank  1 A to provide exciting effects. When the shutter is operated by the shutter operation mechanism  30 , the flashing light  80  will be flashing with various color lights in all directions irregularly. A switch  81  is separately installed for controlling the coin bank lights from a main power switch  39 . 
   Second Embodiment 
   According to a second embodiment of the present invention, the coin bank  1 B is hereby presented with reference to  FIGS. 6  to  8 . The coin bank  1 B comprises a body  10 , a shutter  20  and a shutter operating mechanism  30 . 
   In the coin bank  1 B, the body  10  includes a bingo game section  15  instead of the target hole as a success section  13  and the open area as a fail section  14 . In this embodiment of the present invention, the coin  2  is thrown by the player. The thrown coin will enter into a grid of the bingo game plate section  15  is an arbitrary manner. 
   That is, if a coin  2  does not enter the bingo grid plate, it falls into the bottom of the body  10 . But if the coins  2  enter the bingo grid plate  15  and form a bingo state, the collected coins are discharged from the body  10 . 
   As well known to the public, the bingo game uses a 5×5 bingo grid plate with arbitrary numbers from  1  to  75  printed in the 24 grid sections except the center grid. When the numbers are randomly drawn, the players match the 5 series number in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal direction on their bingo game plate. 
   However, the coin bank  1 B of the present invention adopts a simplified bingo game grid plate (actually, tic-tac-toe) that has 3×3 grid sections  15  with printed arbitrary numbers to increase the probability of winning. In this case, if the thrown coins enter into three series grids in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal direction on the bingo game plate, the game is won. 
   The coin outlet  12  is located below the bingo grid plate  15 . A shutter  20  that blocks the coin outlet  12  is located between the bingo plate  15  and the coin outlet  12 . The operation of the shutter  20  is performed by the shutter operation mechanism  30 . 
   In the second embodiment of the present invention, the bingo game plate  15  is located on the shutter  20  in the horizontal direction. Alternatively, the bingo plate or bingo display  15  may be positioned in the vertical direction. 
   The shutter operating mechanism  30  includes a plurality of contacting point sensors  31  for detecting the entrance state of the coins into the bingo grid plate  15 . There is one sensor  31  installed in each grid section to detect whether a coin enters into each corresponding grid of the bingo plate  15 . If the entered coins satisfy the winning condition as described above, the control unit  35  receives a signal from the sensors to activate the shutter operation mechanism  30 . In addition, a display panel  15 A corresponding to the bingo grid plate  15  is installed in the front surface of the body  10  to easily see the game status. Each indicating light  15 A will light up when a coin goes into the corresponding grid section. 
   In this second embodiment, the configuration of the shutter operating mechanism  30  for operating the shutter  20  is not limited. As an example, the shutter  20  can be a hinged door to the body  10 . Thus, the shutter operation mechanism  30  can tilt down the shutter  20 , so that the coins will fall down to the chute. 
   The shutter operating mechanism  30  of the second embodiment consists of multiple sensors  31  installed on the surface of the shutter  20 , a driving device  33  such as a solenoid valve for tilting the shutter  20  and a control unit  35 . 
   According to the signal of the sensors  31 , the control unit  35  operates the driving device  33  to open the shutter. When the sensors  31  detect the winning bingo state, the shutter  20  is tilted for a preset time to allow all accumulated coins to fall down. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the operation of the shutter  20  and the shutter operating mechanism  30  is described in detail. If a coin  2  enters a bingo grid section  15 , a sensor  31  installed at the corresponding bingo grid section detects the entering the coin and turns on the light for the corresponding bingo grid section. At this moment, the shutter  20  maintains the closed state of the coin outlet  12  (Referring to A of FIG.  8 ). However, the control unit  35  will not activate the motor  33  until it receives a winning signal from the detectors. The winning signal will be issued when a series of three bingo grid sections are occupied in the horizontal, vertical or diagonal direction. Then, the control unit  35  starts to operate the shutter operating mechanism  30  (Refer to B of FIG.  8 ). 
   The control unit  35  operates the driving device  33  to tilt down the shutter  20  for a while (to allow all coins to fall down from the body), so that the coins accumulated on the bottom of the body  10  fall down (Refer to C of FIG.  8 ). 
   After a short time elapses, the control unit  35  reverses the driving device  33  to restore the shutter  20  to the original position. Thereby, it is ready to play the next game (Refer to D of FIG.  8 ). 
   The coin bank  1 B is also equipped with a flashing light  50 , a second generator  60 , a dancing doll  70 , etc. for demonstrating the various events in the same manner as the previous embodiment. 
   Third Embodiment 
   Referring to  FIGS. 9  to  11 , the coin bank  1 C of the third embodiment is described in detail as follows: 
   The coin bank  1 C comprises a body  10  equipped with a slot machine  16 , a shutter  20 , and a shutter operating mechanism  30 . When a coin enters into the body  10 , the coin initiates the operation of the slot machine  16  by passing behind the slot machine  16 . 
   If all three images or digits appearing on the display blocks of the slot machine  16  were not matched, the coin  2  would fall into the bottom of the body  10 . If all three images or digits appearing on the display blocks of the slot machine  16  were matched, all coins accumulated so far are discharged from the body  10  into the coin saving container. 
   As well known to the public, the slot machine is an amusement device equipped with three individually rotating cylinders that display a certain number or image on each block of three in a row. When a player inserts a token or a coin and pulls the lever, the three cylinders start rotating to display a picture or number at each display block in the row. As a player releases the lever, an image or number appears on each displaying block. If the images or numbers are all the same, the player wins the game and the tokens or coins pour down as a prize. The amount of the prize varies depending on the probability of appearance of the winning combination of images. 
   The third embodiment of the present invention has adopted a simplified slot machine that is designed to be operated by the entering coin. As the coin passes behind the slot machine  16 , the cylinders are rotated to display a digit or picture on the displaying window of the body  10 . If there are three of the same images or digits of the lower probability appeared on the displaying window, the shutter operation mechanism  30  activates the shutter  20 . Then the accumulated coins are drained into to the coin outlet  12  of the body  10 . The simplified slot machine may have many images and digits. However, this simplified device of the present invention includes only several pictures and digits. 
   In the same manner as the previous embodiments, the coin outlet  12  of the body  10  is blocked by the shutter  20  that is operated by the shutter operating mechanism  30 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 10  to  11 , the shutter and shutter operating mechanism of the coin bank are identical to those of the first and second embodiment, excluding the connecting mechanism to the slot machine  16 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 10 and 11 , the operation of the shutter  20  and the shutter operating mechanism  30  is described in detail as follows: When a coin  2  is thrown into the body  10 , a sensor  16 A detects the entrance of the coin while it passes behind the slot machine  16 . As the sensor transmits a signal to the control unit, the slot machine  16  is initiated to display the game result. If the three images displayed on the display window are not the same, the shutter operating mechanism  30  does not activate the shutter  20  and keeps blocking the coin outlet  12  (Referring to A of FIG.  11 ). If the three images displayed on the display window are the same, the control unit  35  activates the shutter operating mechanism  30  to open the shutter (Referring to B of FIG.  11 ). 
   Then, the control unit  35  activates the driving device  33  to open the shutter  20  for a preset time, so the coins accumulated on the bottom of the body  10  are discharged (Referring to C of FIG.  11 ). After a short time has elapsed, the control unit  35  reverses the driving device  33  to restore the shutter  20  to the original position. Thereby, the slot machine is ready to play the next game (Referring to D of FIG.  11 ). 
   The coin bank  1 C may be equipped with a flashing light  50 , a sound generator  60  and a dancing doll  70  for event performance in the same manner as described in the previous embodiments. 
   On the other hand, it is possible to adopt another game means to the coin bank  1  of the present invention. For example, a rotating device that could be rotated by the weight of the coin may be installed in the body  10  such that the shutter operating mechanism and the shutter are operated when the rotation device stops at a section of lower probability. 
   In addition, it is also possible to install two or more amusement devices for performing various events at the same time, such as a coin throwing game with a success section and fail section, a bingo game plate, a slot machine and a rotation device adapted in the present invention. For example, a combination of the slot machine  16  and the bingo plate  15  can be installed in the upper and lower portions of the body  10 . When a coin enters the body, it first operates the slot machine and next performs the bingo game. In this situation, it would have more chances to win the game because one coin plays two games, the winning possibility is doubled and either the slot machine game or the bingo game could be won by one throwing of the coin. 
   As described so far, a coin  2  could be saved while providing amusement such as a coin toss game. Even if the coin is wrongly thrown and falls off-target, the coins are accumulated on the bottom of the body  10 . If a coin hits the target to be a winning coin, the accumulated coins are discharged into a saving container with a performance celebrating the event, such as flashing a light, generating a second message, and operating a dancing doll. Therefore, it is possible to stimulate the children to save money with a joyful mind. 
   Accordingly, the coin bank  1  of the present invention is distinct from the conventional coin bank by employing a coin playing game. Thus, it is possible to spontaneously encourage the children to save, while it can be used as a recreational device. 
   While the embodiments of the present invention have been described as having a preferred design, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.