This invention relates to a dispenser for a coin-operated game-playing apparatus comprising - a coin store for each kind of coin to be inserted into the game-playing apparatus;

- a cash bag for each kind of coin;

- a prize delivery chute for receiving at least one coin; and - a dispenser comprising a guide means posi¬ tioned between the stores, the cash bags and the prize delivery chute, and an operating means for selectively displacing the guide means into positions where each store is connected to the prize delivery chute or to the cash bag.

This type of dispenser is used in game-playing apparatuses for guiding coins from a coin store into a prize delivery chute or into a cash bag. If the coin store is full of coins when the player wins a prize, a predetermined number of coins determined by the central unit of the game-playing apparatus is first fed from the coin store into the cash unit, whereafter a required number of coins is fed from the coin store into the prize delivery chute. If the game-playing apparatus operates with coins of different kinds, a separate coin store and a separate cash bag has to be provided for each kind of coin.

Solenoid-operated flap mechanisms have previous¬ ly been used as dispensers positioned e.g. under coin locks to control the passing of coins, whereby the flap can be moved into 2 to 4 positions, depending on the size of the coin. The change of the position of the flap takes place as a reciprocating movement of the flap, and the coin has to be positioned in a controlled position in the dispenser.

Similar solenoid-operated flap mechanisms have also been used previously, which are able to receive coins in arbitrary positions. The flap can thereby be positioned only in two positions. In this kind of dispensers only a few flap positions can be obtained without complicating the structure of the dispenser excessively. A separate dispenser therefore has to be provided under the respective coin store for each coin type that can be used in the game-playing apparatus so as to guide the coin into the prize delivery chute or into the cash bag provided for this kind of coin. Moreover, solen¬ oids contaminate easily and require regular cleaning. The object of the present invention is to provide a dispenser which avoids the above-mentioned drawbacks and provides a structure where, in prin¬ ciple, the number of guide positions is unlimited. This is achieved by a dispenser according to the invention, which is characterized in that - the dispenser comprises a common inlet opening for all coin stores and separate outlet openings for each cash bag and the prize delivery chute; that the guide means is a slide mounted rotatably in the dispenser; and - that the operating means of the slide is a rotary motor.

The dispenser according to the invention is based on the idea that a reciprocating flap mechanism is replaced with a rotatable slide provided with a vertical shaft. In principle, such a slide has an unlimited number of guide positions. The rotation movement can be realized by a service-free stepper motor controlled from the central unit of the game- playing apparatus. In this way, a coin can be guided by means of a single dispenser from different coin

stores into several desired locations. This makes the structure of the coin passage system considerably simpler and provides a compact structure.

In the following the invention will be described more closely with reference to the attached drawings, in which

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a game- playing apparatus provided with a dispenser according to the invention; and Figures 2 and 3 illustrate a preferred embodi¬ ment of the dispenser as an axial sectional view and a partial sectional end view, respectively.

The game-playing apparatus shown in Figure 1 of the drawings is e.g. a coin-operated card playing apparatus where the player attempts to obtain certain combinations of cards on a display screen, and the player either wins a prize or loses the stake, depend¬ ing on the outcome of the game.

The game-playing apparatus comprises a cabinet- like frame 1 having a coin slot 2 in its top portion for starting a game with one or more coins A. The coin is passed into a coin lock 3, where the coins are identified and then guided into a coin store 4 (hopper) corresponding to the size of the coin. In the game-playing apparatus described herein the apparatus is able to receive coins of three different sizes, and there are thus also three coin stores. A feeder 5 is provided under the coin stores, which feeds coins from the different stores through an inlet tube 6 into a dispenser 7. A prize delivery chute 8 and three cash bags 9, one for each coin size, are provided under the dispenser.

A display screen 10 and push buttons 11 are fitted in the front surface of the frame of the game- playing apparatus for the player to be able to

influence the course of the game. A central memory unit 12 controls the functions of the game-playing apparatus.

With the exception of the dispenser 7, all of the above-mentioned individual components of the game- playing apparatus are known per se in structure and operation. Known game-playing apparatuses also employ dispensers, which, however, differ in structure and operation from the dispenser according to the inven- tion to be described below and shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The dispenser 7 comprises a body 13, the end plates of which define a pentagon and which has a central housing 14 and an outlet opening 15 commun- icating with the housing in each side surface. The upper end surface of the body has a central inlet opening 16 leading into the housing.

The dispenser further comprises a slide 17 mounted in the housing 14 rotatably about the central axis of the polygon and having a guide chute 18 extending between the inlet opening and outlet opening of the body. The slide is connected to the shaft of a stepper motor 19, and the motor is connected to the lower end surface of the body with its axis in an up- right position.

The slide can be rotated by the motor so as to position the guide chute at the desired outlet opening of the body. In this example, one outlet opening of the body is connected by a pipe connection 20 to the prize delivery chute, and three outlet openings are each connected with their respective pipe connections 20 to an inlet pipe 21 for one of the cash bags. An optical sensing means 22 is installed for determining the 0-ρosition of the slide. The dispenser of the game-playing apparatus

operates in the following way:

When the player drops a coin into the slot 2, and the coin lock 3 has accepted the coin, the coin is passed into the corresponding coin store 4. The central unit 12 receives an impulse for starting a game event, which is displayed on the screen 10. When a prize is to be paid out to the player, the central unit sends an impulse to the motor of the dispenser 7 to turn the slide into a position where the guide chute 18 connects the inlet opening 16 of the dis¬ penser to the pipe connection 20 leading to the prize delivery chute. The central unit also sends an impulse to the feeder 5 of the coin store to feed coins from the store to the dispenser in a number corresponding to the prize in a manner known per se. If the degree of fullness of the coin stores has exceeded a pre¬ determined value, the central unit, however, first sends an impulse to the motor of the dispenser to turn the guide chute 18 of the dispenser into a position where the guide chute of the slide connects the inlet opening 16 of the dispenser to the inlet pipe 21 of the corresponding cash bag. The central unit there¬ after sends an impulse to the feeder 5 of the coin store to feed a predetermined number of coins from the full coin store into the cash bag. This fixed sum of money can be transferred from one or more coin stores into the cash bags. The game started by the coin dropped into the game-playing apparatus thereafter comes to an end. It is noted that the coins can be selectively passed by a single slide from the different coin stores to four different locations, i.e. into the prize delivery chute or one of the three different cash bags as the dispenser is formed as a rotating slide, by means of which the guide chute of the slide

connects the common inlet to a desired number of separate outlets.

The drawings and the description related to them are only intended to illustrate the invention. In its details, the dispenser according to the invention may vary within the scope of the claims. As used herein, the word coin does not refer only to metal coins but also to various tokens, counters, and the like. Depending on the number of outlets needed in the dispenser, all unnecessary outlets can be closed by a closing plate 23. Instead of cash bags, it is possible to use boxes, casings or other suitable containers.