A mahjong machine and a card storage device thereof

Abstract

The present invention discloses a mahjong machine and a card storage device thereof, wherein the card storage device comprises at least one card storage channel, wherein the card storage channel is composed of a front straight segment, a first arc segment and a first rear straight segment which are arranged in sequence and smoothly connected, and the central angle of the first arc segment is less than 180°. In the present invention, the card storage channel is not a simple straight line or arc, but is composed of a front straight segment, a first arc segment and a first rear straight segment, so that the volume of the card storage channel can be reduced while ensuring the length of the card storage channel, and the resistance exerted by the card storage channel on the mahjong tiles during the card loading process can be reduced (in the front straight segment and the first rear straight segment, the resistance to the mahjong tiles is greatly reduced), thus achieving two goals at one stroke.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of mahjong machines, and in particular relates to a mahjong machine and a card storage device thereof. Background Art

[0002] The card storage device of the mahjong machine is provided with a card storage channel for storing card piles. According to the shape of the card storage channel, the mahjong machines currently on the market can be divided into the following two categories.

[0003] In the first type of mahjong machine, the card storage channel is in the form of a straight strip, and the tile piles in the storage channel basically only touch the bottom of the storage channel, so the storage channel does not cause too much obstruction to the advancement of the tile piles; however, the strip-shaped card storage channel is mostly used in mahjong machines with vertical tile advancement. In mahjong machines with sloped tile advancement, the length of the card storage channel needs to be greatly extended, making the mahjong machine too large.

[0004] The second type of mahjong machine is usually a sloped tile-raising mahjong machine. The tile storage channel in this type of mahjong machine is set to an arc shape greater than 180 degrees. This type of tile storage channel has a compact structure and does not make the mahjong machine too large. However, in this type of tile storage channel, the tile pile contacts the bottom and side walls of the storage channel, which exerts considerable resistance to the advancement of the tile pile in the storage channel. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a mahjong machine and a card storage device thereof, which are not only compact in structure and small in size, but also do not bring excessive resistance to the card loading process.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object of the invention, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0007] A card storage device for a mahjong machine includes at least one card storage channel. The card storage channel consists of a front straight segment, a first arc segment, and a first rear straight segment that are sequentially arranged and smoothly connected. The central angle of the first arc segment is less than 180 degrees.

[0008] In the present invention, the card storage channel is not simply straight or curved, but is composed of a front straight segment, a first curved segment and a first rear straight segment. This can not only reduce the volume of the card storage channel while ensuring its length, but also reduce the resistance exerted by the card storage channel on the mahjong tiles during the card loading process (in the front straight segment and the first rear straight segment, the resistance exerted on the mahjong tiles is greatly reduced), killing two birds with one stone.

[0009] The present invention does not impose any restrictions on the lengths of the front straight segment, the first curved segment, and the first rear straight segment, provided that the three segments are sufficient to store mahjong tiles when used together. Preferably, a relatively longer first curved segment further reduces the volume of the tile storage passage. Specifically, preferably, the front straight segment and the first rear straight segment are both shorter than the first curved segment.

[0010] The smaller the central angle of the first arc segment, the larger the angle between the front straight segment and the first rear straight segment. This is not conducive to further reducing the volume of the card storage device, nor is it conducive to providing a simple card loading assembly. To avoid this problem, preferably, in the above-mentioned card storage device, the central angle of the first arc segment is between 120° and 179.9°. Obviously, without considering the structure of the card loading assembly, or only considering controlling the volume of the card storage device within an appropriate range without pursuing a smaller size, the present invention has no requirements for the size of the first arc short central angle, and any angle less than 180° meets the requirements of the present invention.

[0011] In the card storage device of the present invention, the number and form of the card storage channels can be various, mainly including the following three situations:

[0012] The first type: the card storage channel has a card inlet and a card outlet, the card inlet is connected to the front straight line segment, and the card outlet is connected to the first rear straight line segment.

[0013] The second type: the card storage channel has a card input port, a first card output port and a second card output port, a first channel is formed between the card input port and the first card output port, a second channel is formed between the card input port and the second card output port, and at least one of the first channel and the second channel is composed of a front straight line segment, a first arc segment and a first rear straight line segment which are arranged in sequence and smoothly connected.

[0014] The third type: the card storage channel has a card inlet, a first card outlet and a second card outlet, a main channel is formed between the card inlet and the second card outlet, and the first card outlet is connected to the main channel through a branch channel;

[0015] At least the main channel is composed of a front straight segment, a first arc segment and a first rear straight segment which are arranged in sequence and smoothly connected.

[0016] Preferably, in the third case above, the branch channel is composed of a second arc segment and a second rear straight segment; or, the branch channel is an arc channel.

[0017] The present invention also provides a mahjong machine, which comprises a frame, and the four sides of the frame are each provided with the above-mentioned card storage device.

[0018] Preferably, the mahjong machine further comprises a card-loading push rod, the fixed end of which is movably connected to the card storage device, and the free end of which is provided with at least one card-loading push head extending into the card storage channel to perform a card-pushing action;

[0019] The card loading push head is fixedly arranged or movably arranged on the card loading push rod.

[0020] Preferably, in the above-mentioned mahjong machine, the card push rod runs from the card inlet of the card storage channel to the card outlet and continues to run to return to the card inlet;

[0021] Alternatively, the card loading push rod runs from the card inlet of the card storage channel to the card outlet and then returns to the card inlet along the original path.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the technical effects of the present invention are embodied in:

[0023] (1) In the present invention, the card storage channel is not simply straight or arc-shaped, but is composed of a front straight segment, a first arc segment and a first rear straight segment. This can not only reduce the volume of the card storage channel while ensuring its length, but also reduce the resistance exerted by the card storage channel on the mahjong tiles during the card loading process (the resistance exerted on the mahjong tiles in the front straight segment and the first rear straight segment is greatly reduced), thus killing two birds with one stone.

[0024] (2) In the present invention, the relatively long length of the first arc segment is not only more conducive to reducing the volume of the card storage channel, but also conducive to using the card pushing head fixedly connected to the card pushing rod to implement the card pushing action. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a first structure of a card storage device of a mahjong machine according to the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 for Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the structure of the card storage device shown in another perspective;

[0027] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a second structure of a card storage device of a mahjong machine according to the present invention;

[0028] Figure 4 for Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the structure of the card storage device shown in another perspective;

[0029] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the first structure of a mahjong machine of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 6 This is a second structural schematic diagram of a mahjong machine of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The technical solution of the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0032] Example 1

[0033] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, this embodiment is a card storage device for a mahjong machine, and a card storage channel is recessed in the card storage device. The card storage channel has a card inlet 1 and a card outlet 2. Between the card inlet 1 and the card outlet 2, a front straight section 3, a first arc section 4 and a first rear straight section 5 are arranged in sequence and smoothly connected.

[0034] It should be noted that the central angle of the first arc segment 4 is less than 180°. This prevents excessive curvature and the resulting resistance to mahjong tiles as they pass through the first arc segment 4. However, to minimize the volume of the tile storage passage while ensuring sufficient length, the angle between the front straight segment 3 and the first rear straight segment 5 is minimized, and the central angle of the first arc segment 4 is preferably close to 180° (e.g., 120-179.9°).

[0035] In this embodiment, there are no restrictions on the lengths of the front straight segment 3, the first curved segment 4, and the first rear straight segment 5, as long as they are sufficient to store mahjong tiles when used together. Preferably, the first curved segment 4 is relatively long, while the front straight segment 3 and the first rear straight segment 5 are relatively short, thereby reducing the volume of the tile storage passage.

[0036] Example 2

[0037] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the structure of the card storage device of a mahjong machine in this embodiment is basically the same as that of the embodiment 1, except that:

[0038] The card storage channel has a card inlet 1, a first card outlet 21 and a second card outlet 22, wherein a main channel is formed between the card inlet 1 and the second card outlet 22, and the first card outlet 21 is connected to the main channel through a branch channel; wherein the main channel is composed of a front straight segment 3, a first arc segment 4 and a first rear straight segment 5 which are arranged in sequence and smoothly connected, and the branch channel is composed of a second arc segment 6 and a second rear straight segment 7 or only consists of the second arc segment 6.

[0039] Example 3

[0040] The present embodiment provides a card storage device for a mahjong machine, and its structure is basically the same as that of the first embodiment, except that: the card storage channel has a card inlet 1, a first card outlet 21, and a second card outlet 22. A first channel is formed between the card inlet 1 and the first card outlet 21, and a second channel is formed between the card inlet 1 and the second card outlet 22. The first channel and the second channel are independent of each other, and at least one of the first channel and the second channel is composed of a front straight segment 3, a first arc segment 4, and a first rear straight segment 5 that are arranged in sequence and smoothly connected.

[0041] Example 4

[0042] like Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, this embodiment is a mahjong machine, which includes a frame 8. The four sides of the frame 8 are each provided with a card storage device according to embodiment 1, embodiment 2 or embodiment 3.

[0043] like Figure 5 or Figure 6 As shown, the mahjong machine also includes a card-loading push rod 9, the fixed end of which is movably connected to the card storage device, and the free end of the card-loading push rod 9 is provided with a card-loading push head 10 extending into the card storage channel; when the card-loading push rod 9 rotates around its fixed end, the card-loading push head 10 performs a card-pushing action in the card storage channel, pushing the mahjong tiles from the card inlet 1 to the card outlet 2.

[0044] In this embodiment, the card-loading push head 10 can be fixedly set on the card-loading push rod 9. At this time, the front straight segment 3, the first arc segment 4 and the second arc segment 6 and the first rear straight segment 5 and the second rear straight segment 7 can be compatible with the circular trajectory of the card-loading push head 10; if the card storage channel cannot be compatible with the circumferential trajectory due to reasons such as the first arc segment 4 becoming smaller or the length of the front straight segment 3, the first rear straight segment 5 and the second rear straight segment 7 increasing, it is necessary to movably set the card-loading push head 10 on the card-loading push rod 9 so that the card-loading push rod 9 can change its position on the card-loading push rod 9 at any time along with the card storage channel.

[0045] In this embodiment, after the card loading push rod 9 runs from the card inlet 1 of the card storage channel to the card outlet 2, it can continue to run forward 360° to return to the card inlet 1; it can also return to the card inlet 1 along the original path; the present invention is not limited to this.

Claims

1. A card storage device for a mahjong machine, comprising at least one card storage channel, characterized in that: The card storage channel is composed of a front straight segment (3), a first arc segment (4) and a first rear straight segment (5) which are arranged in sequence and smoothly connected, and the center angle of the first arc segment (4) is less than 180°.

2. The card storage device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lengths of the front straight line segment (3) and the first rear straight line segment (5) are both shorter than the length of the first arc segment (4).

3. The card storage device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The center angle of the first arc segment (4) is between 120° and 179.9°.

4. The card storage device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The card storage channel has a card inlet (1) and a card outlet (2), the card inlet (1) is connected to the front straight line segment (3), and the card outlet (2) is connected to the first rear straight line segment (5).

5. The card storage device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The card storage channel comprises a card inlet (1), a first card outlet (21) and a second card outlet (22), wherein a first channel is formed between the card inlet (1) and the first card outlet (21), and a second channel is formed between the card inlet (1) and the second card outlet (22), and at least one of the first channel and the second channel is composed of a front straight line segment (3), a first arc segment (4) and a first rear straight line segment (5) which are arranged in sequence and connected smoothly.

6. The card storage device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The card storage channel comprises a card inlet (1), a first card outlet (21) and a second card outlet (22), a main channel is formed between the card inlet (1) and the second card outlet (22), and the first card outlet (21) is connected to the main channel via a sub-channel; At least the main channel is composed of a front straight section (3), a first arc section (4) and a first rear straight section (5) which are arranged in sequence and connected smoothly.

7. The card storage device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The branch channel is composed of a second arc segment (6) and a second rear straight segment (7).

8. A mahjong machine, comprising a frame (8), characterized in that: The four sides of the frame (8) are each provided with a card storage device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The mahjong machine according to claim 8, characterized in that: It also includes a card loading push rod (9), the fixed end of which is movably connected to the card storage device, and the free end of which is provided with at least one card loading push head (10) extending into the card storage channel to perform a card pushing action; The card loading push head (10) is fixedly arranged or movably arranged on the card loading push rod (9).

10. The mahjong machine according to claim 9, characterized in that: The card loading push rod (9) moves from the card input port (1) of the card storage channel to the card output port (2) and continues to move to return to the card input port (1); Alternatively, the card loading push rod (9) moves from the card input port (1) of the card storage channel to the card output port (2) and then returns to the card input port (1) along the original path.

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