Games machine with electronic payment mechanism

• US 5,575,374 A
• Filed: 10/18/1994
• Issued: 11/19/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gemplus International SA (Thales SA)
• Original Assignee: Gemplus International SA (Thales SA)
• Inventors: Orus, Herve, Richard, Andre, Nicolai, Alain, Foglino, Jean-Jacques, Lopez, Firmin
• Primary Examiner(s): Bartuska, F. J.
• Application Number:
  US08/324,657
• Time in Patent Office: 763 Days
• Field of Search: 194/205, 194/210, 194/213, 194/214, 194/344, 364/412, 235/380, 273/138 A
• US Class Current: 194/213
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 1/06 Coins specially adapted to operate coin-freed mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/00 Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0873 Details of the card reader

Abstract

Game machines provided with electronic payment mechanisms. The conventional payment mechanism is replaced by a payment mechanism operating by tokens that are secured by contract-free detection and the machine is furthermore provided with a second payment mechanism operating by a chip card. Switching make it possible to change over from the token-operated payment mechanism to the chip-card operated payment mechanism when a card such as this is inserted into the corresponding payment mechanism. This device makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the games machines.

Claims

1. An electronic payment mechanism for a games machine comprising

a first token payment mechanism operated by tokens secured by contact-free detection,

a second chip-card payment mechanism,

switching means for switching, by choice, between the first and second payment mechanisms, and

a sorting channel including

a set of rollers provided with an external half-crown and driven in continuous rotation by toothed wheels in such a way that secured tokens introduced into the sorting channel can pass from one roller to the next one, and

a set of hatches placed before the rollers to enable the ejection of the secured token when it goes into a roller corresponding to its face value.

2. A machine according to claim 1, further comprising a set of pistons going into the shafts of the rollers to expel the tokens when the hatches are open.

3. A sorting device for sorting secured tokens, a first plurality of the secured tokens having a first face value and a second plurality of the secured tokens having a second face value, the sorting device comprising:

a sorting channel;

a first roller, the first roller being provided with a first external half-crown, the first roller being disposed in the sorting channel, and the first roller corresponding to the first face value;

a second roller, the second roller being provided with a second external half-crown, the second roller being disposed in the sorting channel in such a way that the secured tokens introduced into the sorting channel can pass from the first roller to the second roller, and the second roller corresponding to the second face value;

a remote detection means for ascertaining by contact-free detection an actual face value of each of the secured tokens;

a first hatch, the first hatch being adjacent the first roller, and the first hatch receiving from the first roller the first plurality of secured tokens having the first face value; and

a second hatch, the second hatch being adjacent the second roller, and the second hatch receiving from the second roller the second plurality of secured tokens having the second face value.

4. A sorting device according to claim 3, further comprising a set of pistons which extend into shafts of the first and second rollers so as to eject the tokens when the first and second hatches are open.

5. A sorting device according to claim 3, further comprising an ejection means for ejecting into the first hatch secured tokens that have the first face value and that are blocked by the first half-crown of the first roller, and for ejecting into the second hatch secured tokens that have the second face value and that are blocked by the second half-crown of the second roller.

6. A sorting device according to claim 3, further comprising a drive system, the drive system being coupled to the first roller and the second roller, and the drive system rotating the first roller and the second roller at equal speeds;

and wherein, when the first external half-crown is in an upward position, the second external half-crown is in a downward position.