Mahjong machine and tile feeding assembly thereof

Abstract

A tile storage groove and a tile feeding push head are arranged on a tile feeding support, the tile storage groove is bent in an arc shape, the bending angle of the tile storage groove is larger than 180 degrees, and an inclined supporting structure with the high outer side and the low inner side is adopted for mahjong tiles at the position of an arc-shaped bent section at the bottom of the tile storage groove. The mahjong tiles are centripetally inclined at the positions of the arc-shaped bent sections with high outer sides and low inner sides; the inner side wall of the tile storage groove is centripetally inclined, a first inner side wear-resisting strip and a second inner side wear-resisting strip which are used for making contact with the mahjong tiles are arranged on the inner side wall of the tile storage groove, and the first inner side wear-resisting strip is located on the lower portion and makes contact with the mahjong tiles on the lower layer in a blocking mode from the inner side; and the second inner side wear-resisting strip is positioned at the upper part and is in blocking contact with the mahjong tiles at the upper layer from the inner side. According to the scheme, tile pushing resistance and collision noise caused by the fact that mahjong tiles move in the large-angle bent annular tile storage groove are reduced, and the service life of mahjong machine parts and the service life of the mahjong tiles are prolonged.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the field of mahjong machine manufacturing, and particularly relates to a mahjong machine and its card feeding assembly.

Background Art

[0002] With the continuous improvement of living standards, people pay more and more attention to their leisure and entertainment life, and automatic mahjong machines that are convenient and labor-saving are gradually favored by people.

[0003] The patent document with the publication number of CN200966910Y discloses a slope card playing device for a full-automatic mahjong machine, which has a table board with a card discharging port in the center. Four rectangular card playing ports in a windmill shape are arranged on the table board and are inclined at an angle with the side line of the table board. There are four arc-shaped storage card grooves in a windmill arrangement under the table board. A card feeding push head is installed at the end of each storage card groove, and the push head is connected to a push head motor through a card feeding steel wire rope. A support plate door strip is arranged at each card playing port. One end of the support plate door strip is hinged to the card playing port, and the other end is movably connected to a lifting mechanism. The four card playing ports are arranged in a windmill shape, and each card playing port is inclined at an angle with the bottom edge of the table, that is, the windmill shape is inclined. Therefore, the table top can be made smaller, and the inclination of the card strip also conforms to the habits of players. Secondly, when playing cards, the whole card stack is not lifted onto the table top after being built, but is pushed onto the table top along the slope. Therefore, the space inside the machine can also be reduced, so as to reduce the volume of the whole machine. However, in this card playing device, the whole storage card groove is arranged in a slope shape, the resistance during the card feeding process is large, the load of the steel wire rope motor is large, the steel wire is easy to shake and break, the card feeding process is not stable enough, the service life of the steel wire rope is low, the storage card groove, the stacking and pushing head and the conveying device (the mechanism for picking up mahjong cards from the large plate and conveying them to the stacking and pushing head) are not reasonably arranged, and it is difficult for a conventional square independent stacking and pushing head to push mahjong cards to the card feeding port of the storage card groove track, and the height of the main machine is relatively high.

[0004] The patent document with the publication number of CN201783185U discloses a chain-driven slope card playing device for a full-automatic mahjong machine, which has four liftable card lifting plates hinged to the table top. One end of each card lifting plate is a card feeding port. The outer side of each card lifting plate is a conveyor belt. A stacking and pushing mechanism is installed on one side of the conveyor belt. An arc-shaped card storage groove is arranged outside the conveyor belts on all four sides. There is a circular closed chain under the groove, and vertical chain rods are installed at set intervals on the chain. Although this card playing device uses a chain to push mahjong cards and overcomes the problem of low service life of the steel wire rope, the machine has a large working noise and causes the plane size of the main machine to increase, and other defects have not been improved.

[0005] The patent document with the publication number CN102133480A discloses a fully automatic mahjong machine, including a card delivery system, a card loading system, a card raising system and a shuffling plate, wherein the card loading system includes four card pushing devices, four card loading tracks and a chain transmission device. Among them, the height of the card delivery system is substantially flush with the height of the card raising system. Although this reduces the height of the host, the arrangement position of the card raising system will interfere with the shuffling of the plate and the absorption of mahjong tiles by the card delivery system, and is only suitable for small mahjong tiles. In addition, the card delivery system's card outlet and the card loading track's card inlet are arranged unreasonably, and the card pushing device does not have a card stacking function. The mahjong tiles are stacked on the card receiving table by themselves, so that the mahjong tiles are stacked unevenly and easily dislocated, resulting in the mahjong tiles being unable to enter the card loading track, causing chaos in the card loading track and other faults. In addition, after adopting a horizontal card loading track, the mahjong tiles close to the card loading track's card outlet are very easy to fall out of the card outlet and fall back into the shuffling plate; the use of a chain and a card loading flag wheel structure is noisy.

[0006] The automatic mahjong machine disclosed in the patent documents with publication numbers CN201906453U and CN201949619U has a card storage board in the card storage track of the mahjong machine that is tilted and docked with the card receiving board at one end. The stacking card pusher pushes the mahjong tiles on the card receiving board onto the card storage board. After the mahjong tiles on the card storage board are arranged in a row, the loading card pusher pushes the entire row of mahjong tiles to the loading card assembly. Since the stacking card pusher is provided with an avoidance groove and the loading card pusher is provided with a push rod, the two pushers can be arranged crosswise up and down, so that the two can completely avoid each other through the avoidance groove when pushing cards respectively. However, because the card storage track must pass above the conveying part of the card feeding device, the height of the mahjong machine host is relatively high (the height of the card feeding device and the loading card device are superimposed). In addition, the L-shaped card storage track is relatively short and has poor versatility.

[0007] The automatic mahjong machines disclosed in the patent documents with publication numbers CN103861280A and CN104645608A also have the problems of high main machine height (the height of the card feeding device and the card loading device is superimposed), short L-shaped card storage track, etc. Moreover, after adopting a horizontal card loading track, the mahjong tiles close to the card output port of the card loading track are very easy to fall out of the card output port and fall back into the shuffling plate; the steel wire rope is used to drive the card loading pusher to move, and the steel wire rope has serious friction with the side wall of the track, resulting in a short service life.

[0008] The patent document with the publication number CN204699375U discloses an automatic mahjong machine with an improved structure, including a card-sending system, a card-lifting system, a card-ascending system, and a large shuffling plate. The card-sending system includes four card-sending mechanisms, each of which includes a transmission frame and a conveyor belt fixed on the transmission frame. The four card-sending mechanisms are sequentially connected to form a rectangular structure, and the large shuffling plate is arranged within the four card-sending mechanisms. The card-lifting tracks all adopt an entire large arc structure, reducing the friction between the mahjong tiles and the card-lifting tracks, ensuring a relatively fast card-lifting speed and relatively low card-lifting noise. Moreover, the layout positions of the card-lifting system and the card-sending system are designed with partial overlap avoidance, reducing the height of the main unit. However, since the card-sending device uses a linear in-and-out conveyance of mahjong tiles, the card outlet of the card-sending device and the card inlet of the card-lifting track still cannot be reasonably arranged. The card-pushing resistance of the stacking and pushing device is large and it is prone to card jams, and the large arc-shaped card-lifting track increases the size of the mahjong machine tabletop. The patent document with the publication number CN105363195A discloses a card-sending device of a mahjong machine. By reasonably adjusting the positions of the card outlet and the card inlet of the card-sending device, the card-sending channel is arc-shaped, so that the mahjong tiles sent by the card-sending device to the card-receiving block of the card-pushing device and the mahjong tiles pushed by the card-pushing device are neat and disorder-free and have less resistance.

[0009] The patent document with the publication number CN105413161A discloses a card-lifting driving mechanism, a card-lifting component, and a mahjong machine. The card-lifting driving mechanism of this mahjong machine includes a card-lifting support, a card storage slot, a card-lifting guide rail, a card-lifting push head, and a steel wire rope. A rolling member is arranged at a position where the steel wire rope is close to the card-lifting guide rail and / or the card storage slot. The rolling member is rotatably installed on the card-lifting guide rail or the card-lifting support. The part of the steel wire rope in the card storage slot is in rolling contact with a plurality of rolling members and maintains a gap with the side wall of the card-lifting guide rail and / or the card storage slot. This solution replaces the sliding friction of the steel wire rope in the prior art with the rolling friction of the steel wire rope, greatly reducing the frictional resistance of the operation of the steel wire rope and avoiding the sliding friction contact between the part of the steel wire rope in the card storage slot and the arc-shaped curved side wall of the card-lifting guide rail and / or the card storage slot, which affects the service life and operation stability of the steel wire rope.

[0010] Mahjong machines, their card - placing components, and card - placing drive mechanisms disclosed in patent documents such as those with publication numbers CN106075897A and CN106215413. The card - placing component includes a card - placing bracket, on which a card - storage slot, a first card - placing pusher, and a second card - placing pusher are provided. An opening is formed on the inner sidewall of the middle position of the card - storage slot, and the card - storage slot is communicated with a commutation slot through this opening. The first card - placing pusher is driven by the card - placing drive mechanism to move from outside the card - feeding port of the card - storage slot to near the opening and then return. The second card - placing pusher is driven by the card - placing drive mechanism to move from the card - discharging port of the card - storage slot into the commutation slot and then return. The card - placing drive mechanism includes a first card - placing push rod and a second card - placing push rod that reciprocate independently and cooperate with each other. The first card - placing pusher is arranged on the first card - placing push rod, and the second card - placing pusher is arranged on the second card - placing push rod. This solution uses the method of two card - placing push rods relaying to push the cards, completely avoiding defects such as large resistance between the card - placing pusher and the guide rail and large working noise of the chain in the prior art.

[0011] However, for the above - mentioned slope - card - discharging mahjong machines in the prior art, although the inventor has repeatedly researched, developed, and improved them, the following technical problems have not been completely overcome so far:

[0012] 1. In the prior art, the card - feeding device and the card - lifting component are arranged inside the card - storage slot, and the card - lifting component in one set of card - picking and transporting systems is arranged inside the card - feeding device in another set of card - picking and transporting systems, so as to form an interlaced arrangement between adjacent card - picking and transporting systems to extend the length of the card - storage slot. However, the number of mahjong cards that can be stored is still limited, especially for large - sized ones.

[0013] 2. Because adjacent card - picking and transporting systems are interlaced with each other, the upper - and - lower superposition between adjacent card - feeding devices and card - lifting components is inevitable, resulting in an increase in the overall height of the mahjong machine.

[0014] 3. Because adjacent card - picking and transporting systems are interlaced with each other, restricted by the fact that the card - lifting component and the card - storage slot cannot be superposed vertically and the length of the card - storage slot, the setting position of the card - lifting ports of adjacent card - picking and transporting systems is greatly restricted, affecting the use comfort of the mahjong machine. Taking a mahjong machine with a side length of 85 cm using 48 - mm mahjong cards as an example, as Figure 1 shown, the four rows of mahjong - card walls lifted onto the tabletop 11 directly from the square card - lifting ports 111 are arranged in a windmill shape. The distance between the opposite two rows of mahjong - card walls is 35 cm, which results in a very small area (i.e., the distance between the mahjong - card wall and the table frame edge is too small) on the left - hand side of the player where it is customary to place the bar cards and there is no space to place the cards. The player needs to move the mahjong - card wall to vacate the bar - card area, affecting the use comfort.

[0015] 4. Because adjacent card picking and transporting systems are staggered with each other, the arc curvature of the card storage slot is small (that is, the card input direction and the card output direction of the card storage slot are arranged at an acute angle) and the shape is irregular. Therefore, the card loading drive mechanism that drives the card loading push head in the card storage slot to move has a complex structure, high manufacturing precision requirements, reliability is limited by the structure, and the manufacturing cost and maintenance cost are high.

[0016] Patent documents with publication numbers CN106166379A, CN107773976A, CN107773977A, etc. disclose a ring-shaped card-pushing device for an automatic mahjong machine and a mahjong machine. The device comprises a motor, a turntable, a card-pushing block assembly, a ring-shaped upright track, a base and a ring-shaped card-blocking side plate of the base, the ring-shaped upright track is arranged on the surface of the base, the base, the ring-shaped upright track and the ring-shaped card-blocking side plate of the base form a mahjong card-pushing slot, the mahjong card-pushing slot is provided with a mahjong card inlet and a mahjong card outlet, a card-pushing block assembly is arranged on the ring-shaped upright track, the inner side of the card-pushing block assembly has a card slot, the card-pushing block assembly is movably plugged into the ring-shaped upright track through the card slot, the part of the card-pushing block assembly built into the mahjong card-pushing slot has a card-pushing arm for card-pushing transmission, the motor is mounted on the base, and the motor is connected to the turntable for transmission, and the turntable has a driving part for driving the card-pushing block assembly to push cards in the mahjong card slot. In this structure, the card pushing block is inserted into the annular vertical track and slides to push the cards. The annular vertical track is composed of arc segments and straight segments. The card pushing block is driven by a turntable to move back and forth in the card pushing slot. The movement path of the card pushing block is irregular. The large-angle curved annular card pushing slot structure not only leads to large friction resistance between the card pushing block and the track and a short service life of the components, but also the mahjong cards will collide and rub against the outer wall of the annular card pushing slot under the action of centrifugal force when moving along the annular card pushing slot, and will collide and rub against the inner wall of the annular card pushing slot again after the outer collision force, resulting in large card pushing resistance and noise, and even the mahjong cards are stuck and cannot be pushed.

[0017] Patent documents such as CN106492454A, CN106512390A, CN106861176A, CN106823363A, CN106621315A, CN106669142A, CN108339265A, CN107233724A, CN108245878A, CN117654012A disclose a mahjong machine. The four card-picking and transporting systems of this mahjong machine are independently arranged without being interlaced with each other. The card storage slot is arc-shaped and bent with a bending angle greater than 180°. The card inlet direction of the card inlet on the card storage slot forms an angle of 45° to 90° with the card outlet direction of the card outlet. In the same card-picking and transporting system: the card-lifting component and the card-feeding device are directly adjacent to each other inside and outside and are arranged outside the arc-shaped bend of the card storage slot. The card-lifting driving mechanism of the card-lifting push head is arranged inside the arc-shaped bend of the card storage slot. The card outlet of the card-feeding device is provided with a card-pushing device. The card-pushing direction of the card-pushing device forms an angle of 80° to 100° with the card outlet direction of the card-feeding device. The card inlet direction of the card storage slot in the card-lifting component forms an angle of 0° to 10° with the card-pushing direction of the card-pushing device. In this structure, the card-lifting push head is fixedly installed on the card-pushing arm, which reduces to a certain extent the risk that the card-pushing block is stuck on the annular vertical track during movement and the risk that the mahjong tiles are stuck and cannot be pushed due to improper thrust applied to the mahjong tiles. However, it still does not solve the problems of large card-pushing resistance, large card-pushing noise, and low service life of the components and mahjong tiles of the mahjong machine caused by the movement of the mahjong tiles in the annular card storage slot with a large bending angle.

Summary of the Invention

[0018] In order to solve the above technical problems of the prior art, the purpose of the present utility model is to provide a mahjong machine and its card-lifting component, further reducing the card-pushing resistance and collision noise caused by the movement of the mahjong tiles in the annular card storage slot with a large bending angle and improving the service life of the components and mahjong tiles of the mahjong machine.

[0019] In order to achieve the above purpose, the present utility model adopts the following technical solutions:

[0020] A mahjong tile feeding component of a mahjong machine, comprising a feeding bracket, on which there are a card storage groove for storing multiple stacks of mahjong tiles and a feeding pusher for pushing the mahjong tiles out of the card storage groove. The card storage groove is arc-shaped and bent with a bending angle greater than 180°. The card feeding direction at the inlet of the card storage groove and the card discharging direction at the outlet of the card storage groove form an included angle of 45° to 90°. The feeding pusher is driven by a feeding driving mechanism to move along the card storage groove from the outer edge of the card inlet of the card storage groove to the card outlet of the card storage groove and then back to the outer edge of the card inlet of the card storage groove. The card storage groove includes at least one arc-shaped bending section. At the position of the arc-shaped bending section at the bottom of the card storage groove, a tilting support structure with the outer side higher than the inner side is adopted for the mahjong tiles, so that the mahjong tiles show a centripetal tilt with the outer side higher than the inner side at this arc-shaped bending section position. The mahjong tiles are placed flat at the inlet and outlet of the card storage groove. The inner side wall of the card storage groove is also arranged in a centripetal tilt. On the inner side wall of the card storage groove, there are a first inner wear-resistant strip and a second inner wear-resistant strip for contacting the mahjong tiles. The first inner wear-resistant strip and the second inner wear-resistant strip extend along the moving path of the mahjong tiles in the card storage groove. The first inner wear-resistant strip is located below and blocks and contacts the lower-layer mahjong tiles from the inner side, and the second inner wear-resistant strip is located above and blocks and contacts the upper-layer mahjong tiles from the inner side.

[0021] Preferably, the bottom wall of the card storage groove is in a tilting structure with the outer side higher than the inner side at the position of the arc-shaped bending section, so that the mahjong tiles show a centripetal tilt with the outer side higher than the inner side.

[0022] Preferably, a bottom wear-resistant sheet for contacting the mahjong tiles is provided at the bottom of the card storage groove, and two inner and outer bottom ribs for contacting the mahjong tiles are provided on the bottom wear-resistant sheet, so that the mahjong tiles show a centripetal tilt with the outer side higher than the inner side at the arc-shaped bending section position of the card storage groove.

[0023] Preferably, when the mahjong tiles are at the position between the inlet and the outlet of the card storage groove, they show a centripetal tilt with the outer side higher than the inner side. The centripetal tilt angle increases first and then decreases from the inlet to the outlet of the card storage groove, and the maximum centripetal tilt angle does not exceed 45°.

[0024] Preferably, an outer wear-resistant sheet is installed on the outer side wall of the card storage groove. The outer wear-resistant sheet is inserted and clamped with the feeding bracket up and down through the insertion part and the buckle below it and is locked and fixed by fasteners. On the outer wear-resistant sheet, there are outer ribs for contacting the mahjong tiles, and the outer wear-resistant sheet contacts and blocks the mahjong tiles through the outer ribs. The outer wear-resistant sheet is arranged in a centripetal tilt. The centripetal tilt angle increases first and then decreases from the inlet to the outlet of the card storage groove, and the maximum centripetal tilt angle does not exceed 45°.

[0025] Preferably, the angle of the inner side wall of the card storage groove inclines centripetally, which first increases and then decreases from the card storage groove inlet to the card storage groove outlet, and the maximum centripetal inclination angle does not exceed 45°; the contact position of the first inner wear-resistant strip with the lower-layer mahjong tiles is located between 30% and 90% of the height of the lower-layer mahjong tiles, and the contact position of the second inner wear-resistant strip with the upper-layer mahjong tiles is located between 40% and 90% of the height of the upper-layer mahjong tiles.

[0026] Preferably, the first inner wear-resistant strip is provided with a plurality of first fixing parts protruding towards the inner side of the card storage groove, and the second inner wear-resistant strip is provided with a plurality of second fixing parts protruding towards the inner side of the card storage groove. A plurality of vertical slots corresponding to the first fixing parts and the second fixing parts are opened on the inner side of the card storage groove on the card placing support. After the first fixing parts on the first inner wear-resistant strip and the second fixing parts on the second inner wear-resistant strip are embedded in the vertical slots, they are fixed by fasteners or snap-fixing.

[0027] Preferably, the first inner wear-resistant strip and the second inner wear-resistant strip are integrally formed on the card placing support by two-shot injection molding.

[0028] Preferably, the width of the second inner wear-resistant strip is greater than that of the first inner wear-resistant strip, so that the upper-layer mahjong tiles are more outward relative to the lower-layer mahjong tiles. In this way, the moving stroke of the upper-layer mahjong tiles in the card storage groove is greater than that of the lower-layer mahjong tiles in the card storage groove. Therefore, when the cards are discharged along the slope, the upper-layer mahjong tiles in the first stack of mahjong tiles pushed onto the table will lag behind the lower-layer mahjong tiles by a certain distance.

[0029] A mahjong machine includes a central control panel assembly and a shuffling large plate located at the center of the machine frame bottom plate. Four groups of card picking and transporting systems are arranged around the shuffling large plate. The card picking and transporting system includes a card sending device for picking up mahjong tiles one by one from the shuffling large plate and sending them out, a card pushing device for stacking two mahjong tiles into a stack and pushing them out, and a slope card discharging device for sending multiple stacked mahjong tiles along a slope onto the mahjong table. The slope card discharging device includes a card placing component and a card lifting component; the card lifting component is arranged inside the card sending device in the same group of card picking and transporting systems and the two are directly adjacent inside and outside. In the same group of card picking and transporting systems: the card placing component is a mahjong machine card placing component as described above.

[0030] Due to the adoption of the above technical solution, the bottom of the card storage groove adopts an inclined support structure with a higher outer side and a lower inner side for the mahjong tiles at the arc bending section, so that the mahjong tiles show a centripetal inclination with a higher outer side and a lower inner side when passing through the arc bending section of the card storage groove, so as to offset all or part of the centrifugal force during the rotation and movement of the mahjong tiles, thereby fundamentally reducing the collision and friction between the mahjong tiles in the card storage groove with a large-angle arc bending and the inner and outer side walls, wear-resistant sheets or wear-resistant strips of the card storage groove, reducing the pushing resistance and collision noise caused by the movement of the mahjong tiles in the annular card storage groove with a large-angle bend, and improving the service life of the components of the mahjong machine and the mahjong tiles.

Description of the Drawings

[0031] Figure 1 is the structural schematic diagram (with cover) of the mahjong machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present utility model.

[0032] Figure 2 is the structural schematic diagram (without cover) of the mahjong machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present utility model.

[0033] Figure 3 is the structural schematic diagram of the card picking and transporting system according to Embodiment 1 of the present utility model.

[0034] Figure 4 is the structural schematic diagram of the card feeding assembly and the card lifting assembly according to Embodiment 1 of the present utility model.

[0035] Figure 5 is the structural schematic diagram of the card feeding assembly according to Embodiment 1 of the present utility model.

[0036] Figure 6 is one of the perspective views of the card feeding assembly according to Embodiment 1 of the present utility model.

[0037] Figure 7 is the other perspective view of the card feeding assembly according to Embodiment 1 of the present utility model.

[0038] Figure 8 is Figure 5 the A-A cross-sectional view of

[0039] Figure 9 is the exploded view of the card feeding assembly according to Embodiment 1 of the present utility model.

[0040] Figure 10 is the schematic diagram of the card feeding assembly storing mahjong tiles according to Embodiment 1 of the present utility model.

[0041] Reference numerals:

[0042] Mahjong tiles 10, base plate 1, large card shuffling plate 2, card feeding device 3, card feeding device cover plate 300, annular housing 301, card pushing device 4, card pushing head 401, card supporting table 402, card blocking rack 403, card placing component 5, cover 500, card placing support 501, card storage slot inlet 5011, card storage slot outlet 5012, card feeding detection device 5013, outer wear-resistant sheet 502, inner convex part 5021, insertion part 5022, outer rib 5023, card placing push rod 503, outer teeth 5031, sensor 504, card placing push head 505, card placing motor 506, gear transmission mechanism 507, bottom wear-resistant sheet 508, bottom rib 5081, first inner wear-resistant strip 509, first fixing part 5091, second inner wear-resistant strip 510, second fixing part 5101, card lifting component 6, card lifting support plate 601, central control panel component 7.

Detailed implementation manners

[0043] The embodiments of the present utility model will be described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the drawings, where the same or similar reference numerals indicate the same or similar elements or elements with the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are exemplary and are intended to explain the present utility model, and should not be construed as a limitation to the present utility model.

[0044] In the description of the present utility model, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", etc. indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. These are only for the convenience of describing the present utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be construed as a limitation to the present utility model.

[0045] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. In the description of the present utility model, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly defined.

[0046] In the present utility model, unless otherwise clearly defined and limited, terms such as "installation", "connection", "linkage", "fixation", etc. shall be understood in a broad sense. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it may be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, and it may be the communication inside two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present utility model can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0047] In the present utility model, unless otherwise clearly defined and limited, the first feature being "above" or "below" the second feature may include the direct contact between the first and second features, or may include the situation where the first and second features are not in direct contact but in contact through other features therebetween. Moreover, the first feature being "above", "over" and "on the top of" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or merely indicates that the horizontal height of the first feature is higher than that of the second feature. The first feature being "under", "beneath" and "underneath" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or merely indicates that the horizontal height of the first feature is lower than that of the second feature.

[0048] Embodiment 1:

[0049] As Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 3 shown, an automatic mahjong machine includes a shuffling turntable 2 located at the center of a bottom plate 1 and a central control panel assembly 7. Four groups of card-picking and conveying systems are arranged around the shuffling turntable. The card-picking and conveying system includes a card-sending device 3 for picking up mahjong tiles one by one from the shuffling turntable and sending them out, a card-pushing device 4 for stacking two mahjong tiles into a stack and pushing them out, and a ramp card-playing device for sending the stacked mahjong tiles along a ramp onto the mahjong tabletop. The ramp card-playing device includes a card-playing component 5 and a card-lifting component 6.

[0050] The card-sending device 3 includes a card-sending box. A card-sending channel for transferring mahjong tiles is provided inside the card-sending box, and a card-sucking wheel is provided at the card-inlet of the card-sending channel. In this embodiment, a conveyor belt driven by a card-sending motor is provided inside the card-sending channel. The card-sending channel can be a straight channel, or an arc-shaped card-sending channel can be selected if the need for optimizing the structural layout arises. To ensure the reliability of mahjong tile conveyance, the height of the card-outlet of the card-sending channel is not lower than that of the card-inlet of the card-sending channel. For the specific structure of the card-sending device, reference can be made to the patent document with the publication number CN105413161A.

[0051] The card pushing device in the present embodiment can realize the stacking function, including a card pushing head 401 and a card receiving platform 402. The specific structure of the card pushing device can refer to the patent documents such as publication number CN201906453U, CN201949619U, CN103861280A and CN204699375U. Generally speaking, the card pushing device with the stacking function includes a head box, a card pushing motor is installed on the head box, a transmission mechanism is provided in the head box, a card pushing head and a card receiving platform are provided outside the head box, the card pushing motor drives the card receiving platform to move up and down through the transmission mechanism to realize the stacking of mahjong tiles, and the card pushing motor drives the card pushing head to move horizontally through the transmission mechanism to realize the ejection of stacked mahjong tiles. Of course, the card pushing device can also be other mechanisms that can realize the carrying of a pile of mahjong tiles on the card receiving platform and the pushing head ejecting a pile of mahjong tiles. A counting detection device for detecting the number of times and / or the number of pushed cards is installed on the head box, a card retaining frame 403 is provided near the card receiving platform 402, the card outlet of the card feeding device and the card retaining frame are respectively located on the two opposite sides of the card receiving platform 402, and one side of the other two opposite sides of the card receiving platform 402 is provided with a card pushing head, and the other side is an exit for the card pushing head to push mahjong cards out of the card receiving platform. In this embodiment, a card feeding detection device for detecting whether the card outlet of the card feeding device has sent mahjong cards to the card receiving platform is arranged on the card retaining frame, and can also be arranged on the side of the card receiving platform 402 where the card pushing head is arranged, so as to improve the detection accuracy and reliability, and the card feeding detection device can be installed on the extension of the card retaining frame, or on the card pushing head.

[0052] The components on the plate are as follows Figures 4 to 7 As shown, it includes a card-loading bracket 501, which is provided with a card storage slot for storing multiple mahjong tiles and a card-loading pusher 505 for pushing mahjong tiles out of the card storage slot. The card storage slot is curved in an arc shape and the bending angle is greater than 180°. The card-entry direction of the card storage slot inlet 5011 and the card-discharging direction of the card storage slot outlet 5012 are at an angle of 45° to 90°. The card-loading pusher 505 is driven by a card-loading driving mechanism to move from the card-entry port of the card storage slot to the card-discharging port of the card storage slot and then return to the card-entry port of the card storage slot. The card-loading driving mechanism of the card-loading pusher 505 is arranged inside the curved arc of the card storage slot. The card-loading driving mechanism is connected to the motor transmission, and the motor can be arranged inside the curved arc of the card storage slot, or outside the curved arc of the card storage slot. It can be an independent motor or share a motor with the card-lifting component. The card storage slot preferably stores two layers of mahjong tiles, or a single layer / single mahjong tile.

[0053] For the specific structure of the card-lifting component, please refer to patent documents such as those with publication numbers CN201906453U, CN201949619U, CN102133480A, CN103861280A, CN105413161A, and CN204699375U. Generally speaking, the card-lifting component 6 on one side includes a card-lifting support, a card-lifting pallet 601, and a card-lifting motor. A card-lifting groove is provided on the card-lifting support. The card-lifting pallet is located above the card-lifting groove, and one end of the card-lifting pallet (i.e., the card-outlet end) is installed on the card-lifting groove. The other end of the card-lifting pallet (i.e., the card-inlet end) can move and is driven by a card-lifting driving mechanism to move up and down. A sensor for detecting the position of the card-lifting pallet is also provided on the card-lifting support. For example, two upper and lower Hall elements or optical eyes.

[0054] In this embodiment, the four card-picking and transporting systems of the mahjong machine are independently arranged and do not intersect with each other. That is, the card-lifting component is arranged inside the card-sending device in the same group of card-picking and transporting systems and the two are directly adjacent inside and outside. In the same group of card-picking and transporting systems: the card-lifting component 6 is arranged inside the card-sending device 3. The card-lifting component 6 and the card-sending device 3 are arranged outside the arc-shaped bend of the card-storage groove. The card-lifting driving mechanism of the card-placing pusher 505 is arranged inside the arc-shaped bend of the card-storage groove. The card-outlet direction of the card-sending device 3 and the card-inlet direction of the card-lifting component 6 form an angle of 135° to 180°. A card-pushing device 4 is arranged at the card-outlet of the card-sending device 3. The card-pushing device 4 pushes the mahjong tiles into the card-storage groove to complete the storage of mahjong tiles. When placing the cards, one end of the card-lifting pallet 601 descends, and the card-placing pusher 505 moves counterclockwise in the card-storage groove to push the mahjong tiles in the card-storage groove onto the card-lifting pallet 601 and the mahjong machine tabletop.

[0055] In this way, the four card-picking and transporting systems are independently arranged and do not intersect with each other, having the following advantages:

[0056] 1. The card-sending device and the card-lifting component in the same group of card-picking and transporting systems are directly adjacent inside and outside, making the card-storage groove have a large-angle arc-shaped bend, extending the length of the card-storage groove and increasing the number of mahjong tiles stored in the card-storage groove.

[0057] 2. The card-lifting component and the card-sending device in the same group of card-picking and transporting systems are arranged outside the arc-shaped bend of the card-storage groove, and the card-lifting driving mechanism of the card-placing pusher is arranged inside the arc-shaped bend of the card-storage groove. In this way, there is no overlapping position between the card-placing component and the card-sending device in the vertical direction, and there is no vertical overlap between the card-sending device and the card-lifting component either, or only a small amount of overlap exists at the card-outlet end of the card-lifting component and the card-sending device. This avoids the problem in the prior art that due to the intersection of adjacent card-picking and transporting systems, the significant vertical overlap of related device components increases the overall height of the mahjong machine. Compared with the machines in the prior art where the card-storage groove is stacked on the card-sending device, the overall height of the machine can be correspondingly reduced.

[0058] 3. In the card-picking and transporting system of the same group, the card-lifting component and the card-feeding device are arranged outside the arc bend of the card storage slot, and the card-lifting driving mechanism of the card-lifting push head is arranged inside the arc bend of the card storage slot, making the arc bend of the card storage slot closer to a circular arc. In this way, the resistance of the card-lifting driving mechanism to drive the card-lifting push head to move and push the cards in the card storage slot is smaller, the acting forces required in each stage of the movement are more uniform, the motor load of the card-lifting driving mechanism is smaller, the transmission structure is simpler, the reliability is better, and the manufacturing cost and the use and maintenance cost are reduced.

[0059] 4. The adjacent card-picking and transporting systems are independent of each other and are not arranged in an interlaced manner, so that the setting of the card-lifting openings on the mahjong table is no longer restricted by the position and length of the card storage slot. In this way, the position of the card-lifting opening can be moved inwards, providing a larger setting space for the card-lifting component. The arc radius of the card storage slot can be made larger, and the card storage slot can be longer to store more cards. Taking an 85 cm square mahjong machine with the structure of the present utility model and using 48 mm mahjong tiles as an example, the four rows of mahjong card walls directly lifted onto the tabletop 11 from the four-sided card-lifting openings 111 are arranged in a windmill shape. The distance between the two opposite rows of mahjong card walls (i.e., the two opposite card-lifting openings) is 30.5 cm. According to the size of the mahjong tiles, this distance can be reduced to 30.5 ± 1 cm. In this way, the area where the players are used to placing the bar cards on the left hand side is relatively large, making it easier to place the mahjong tiles. The players do not need to deliberately move the mahjong card walls to vacate the bar card area, and the use experience and comfort are better.

[0060] In addition, the four groups of card-picking and transporting systems are independently arranged, and a relatively large space can be vacated between two adjacent card-lifting components. This part of the space can be used as the space for the border box, thus reducing the overall size of the mahjong machine. The control main board, transformer, large plate motor, etc. originally placed in the electrical box under the bottom plate of the mahjong machine can also be placed in the gap between the two card-lifting components outside the shuffling large plate. This can make the electrical box smaller and thinner. In the central control structure scheme using a flat-opening door structure, the electrical box can be removed, greatly reducing the height of the mahjong machine main body and the manufacturing cost, making the electrical box in the four-foot structure mahjong machine almost invisible. And the smaller and thinner electrical box makes the use experience and comfort better.

[0061] In this embodiment, the card-loading driving mechanism is a card-loading push rod 503 that rotates around a fixed point. A card-loading push head 505 is mounted on the card-loading push rod 503. The card-loading push rod 503 is in transmission connection with a card-loading motor 506 through a gear transmission mechanism 507. In other embodiments, the card-loading push rod 503 can be directly fixed on the output shaft of the card-loading motor 506, or can be in transmission connection with the motor through a chain transmission mechanism, a synchronous belt transmission mechanism or a connecting rod transmission mechanism, etc. It can also share a motor with the card-lifting assembly, the card-feeding device or the card-pushing device. In this embodiment, a single push rod is used to push the cards. The rotation center of the card-loading push rod is concentric with the arc bending center of the card storage slot. In this way, the direction of the thrust is basically in the tangential direction of the arc, which is basically coincident with the moving direction, so that the thrust can be smaller (reduce the component force) under the same shape, the motor load is smaller, and the reliability is better. In this embodiment, external teeth 5031 are provided at the base of the card-loading push rod 503, and the external teeth 5031 are in meshing transmission with a small gear on the output shaft of the card-loading motor 506. A sensor 504 for detecting the position of the card-loading push head 505 is also provided on the card-loading bracket 501.

[0062] In this embodiment, the card storage slot is arc-shaped and bent at an angle of 185° to 330°. The card-feeding direction at the inlet of the card storage slot and the card-outlet direction at the outlet of the card storage slot form an included angle of 45° to 90°. The base of the card storage slot is formed on the card-loading bracket 501. The card storage slot includes at least one arc-shaped bending section and at least one straight section. The outlet of the card storage slot is preferably a straight section to facilitate connection with the slope formed by the lowering of the card-lifting tray.

[0063] In order to reduce the frictional resistance between the mahjong tiles and the bottom of the card storage slot without significantly increasing the cost, a bottom wear-resistant sheet 508 is provided at the bottom of the card storage slot. The bottom wear-resistant sheet 508 is preferably made of a material with a smooth and wear-resistant surface, such as polyoxymethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, etc. The bottom wear-resistant sheet 508 is installed as an independent component in the card storage slot of the card-loading bracket, and the card-loading bracket is made of a material with poor performance and low price, which can not only meet the use requirements, but also reduce the manufacturing cost of the machine. The bottom wear-resistant sheet is preferably positioned in cooperation with the card-loading bracket through a plurality of buckles and locked and fixed through fasteners for convenient installation.

[0064] For the convenience of description, the side close to the center position of the arc-shaped card storage slot is defined as the inner side, and the side far from the center position of the arc-shaped card storage slot is defined as the outer side. In order to reduce the collision frictional resistance and noise between the mahjong tiles and the inner and outer side walls of the card storage slot (especially the side wall of the arc-shaped bending section) without significantly increasing the cost, wear-resistant sheets or wear-resistant strips for contacting the mahjong tiles are provided on both the inner side and the outer side of the card storage slot. The wear-resistant sheets or wear-resistant strips are preferably made of a material with a smooth and wear-resistant surface, such as polyoxymethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, etc. The wear-resistant sheets or wear-resistant strips are positioned and fixedly connected in cooperation with the card-loading bracket, or integrally formed on the card-loading bracket for convenient installation and manufacturing.

[0065] In order to further reduce the collision and friction between the mahjong tiles in the card storage groove with a large-angle arc bend and the side walls, wear-resistant sheets or wear-resistant strips on the inner and outer sides of the card storage groove, a preferred solution is that the bottom of the card storage groove adopts an inclined support structure with a higher outer side and a lower inner side at the arc bend position, so that the mahjong tiles show a centripetal inclination with a higher outer side and a lower inner side when passing through the arc bend position of the card storage groove, so as to offset all or part of the centrifugal force during the rotation and movement of the mahjong tiles, thereby fundamentally reducing the collision friction and noise. In a preferred embodiment, the bottom wall of the card storage groove is an inclined structure with a higher outer side and a lower inner side at the arc bend position, so that the mahjong tiles show a centripetal inclination with a higher outer side and a lower inner side. In other embodiments, the bottom inclined structure of the card storage groove at the arc bend position can also be formed by a bottom wear-resistant sheet, and the outer part of the bottom wear-resistant sheet is thick and the inner part is thin, so that the mahjong tiles on it show a centripetal inclination with a higher outer side and a lower inner side. Further preferably, at least one bottom rib 5081 for contacting the mahjong tiles is provided on the bottom wear-resistant sheet, and the bottom rib 5081 extends along the card storage groove and is close to the outer side of the card storage groove, so that the mahjong tiles on the bottom wear-resistant sheet show a centripetal inclination with a higher outer side and a lower inner side. As Figure 9 shown, in this embodiment, the bottom wall of the card storage groove is an inclined structure with a higher outer side and a lower inner side at the arc bend position, and two inner and outer bottom ribs 5081 for contacting the mahjong tiles are provided on the bottom wear-resistant sheet 508, so that the mahjong tiles show a centripetal inclination with a higher outer side and a lower inner side at the arc bend position of the card storage groove, as Figure 10 shown.

[0066] In this embodiment, the card storage groove inlet 5011 needs to cooperate with the card pushing device 4, so the card storage groove inlet 5011 is flat, and the heights of the inner and outer sides of the mahjong tiles at this place are the same; the card storage groove outlet 5012 needs to cooperate with the card lifting support plate 601, so the card storage groove outlet 5012 is also flat, and the heights of the inner and outer sides of the mahjong tiles at this place are the same. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is preferred that the mahjong tiles are placed flat at the card storage groove inlet 5011 and the card storage groove outlet 5012, and show a centripetal inclination with a higher outer side and a lower inner side at the position between the card storage groove inlet 5011 and the card storage groove outlet 5012. The centripetal inclination angle first increases and then decreases from the card storage groove inlet 5011 to the card storage groove outlet 5012, and the maximum centripetal inclination angle does not exceed 45°, and further preferably does not exceed 15°. In this way, not only can the collision and friction between the mahjong tiles and the side walls, wear-resistant sheets or wear-resistant strips on the inner and outer sides of the card storage groove be reduced to the greatest extent, but also the cooperation and connection between the card storage groove and the card pushing device 4 and the card lifting assembly 6 are facilitated, and the forming and manufacturing of the card loading bracket are also facilitated.

[0067] As Figures 4 to 7As shown, in the present embodiment, an outer wear-resistant sheet 502 is preferably installed on the outer side wall of the card storage slot, and the outer wear-resistant sheet 502 is plugged and connected with the card loading bracket 501 through the plug-in portion 5022 and the buckle below it and is locked and fixed by fasteners. In this way, the outer wear-resistant sheet is manufactured as an independent component and can be quickly positioned and installed in the card storage slot of the card loading bracket, which is easy to assemble and has low manufacturing cost.

[0068] In order to avoid collisions and noise caused by excessive movement space of mahjong tiles in the card storage slot, in this example, the outer wear-resistant plate 502 is not arranged upright, but is arranged centripetally inclined. The centripetal inclination angle increases first and then decreases from the card storage slot inlet 5011 to the card storage slot outlet 5012. The maximum centripetal inclination angle does not exceed 45°, and is further preferably not more than 15°.

[0069] In order to reduce the movement resistance of the mahjong tiles in the tile storage slot, the outer wear-resistant sheet 502 is provided with an outer convex rib 5023 for contacting the mahjong tiles, and the outer wear-resistant sheet 502 contacts and blocks the mahjong tiles through the outer convex rib 5023. In this way, the contact area between the mahjong tiles and the outer wear-resistant sheet 502 can be reduced, thereby reducing the movement resistance of the mahjong tiles.

[0070] Preferably, in this embodiment, the outer wear-resistant sheet 502 is provided with an inner protrusion 5021 near the card storage slot outlet 5012, and the inner protrusion 5021 can push the mahjong tiles inwardly, thereby increasing the movement resistance of the mahjong tiles at the card storage slot outlet 5012, and preventing the mahjong tiles from falling back onto the shuffling plate from the card storage slot outlet 5012 when the card lifting support plate does not descend.

[0071] In this embodiment, the inner convex part 5021 is an elastic piece that is tilted inward from the outer wear-resistant sheet 502, and one end or both ends of the elastic piece are fixedly connected or integrally formed with the outer wear-resistant sheet 502. This can not only increase the moving resistance of the mahjong tiles at the exit of the storage slot to prevent them from falling, but also does not affect the sloped card output, and the manufacturing cost is low.

[0072] This embodiment is preferred, as Figures 7 to 10 As shown, the inner side wall of the card storage slot is not arranged upright, but is arranged to be inclined toward the heart, and the angle of the inclination increases first and then decreases from the card storage slot inlet 5011 to the card storage slot outlet 5012, and the maximum inclination angle does not exceed 45 degrees, and is further preferably not more than 15 degrees. This can not only avoid oblique collisions and noise caused by excessive activity space of mahjong tiles in the card storage slot, but also facilitate the molding and manufacturing of the card loading bracket, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

[0073] Preferably, in this embodiment, a first inner wear-resistant strip 509 and a second inner wear-resistant strip 510 for contacting the mahjong tiles are provided on the inner side wall of the card storage slot. The first inner wear-resistant strip 509 and the second inner wear-resistant strip 510 extend along the movement path of the mahjong tiles in the card storage slot. The first inner wear-resistant strip 509 is located below and contacts and blocks the lower-layer mahjong tiles from the inside, and the second inner wear-resistant strip 510 is located above and contacts and blocks the upper-layer mahjong tiles from the inside. In this way, the inner side wall of the card storage slot no longer contacts the mahjong tiles and is no longer used to block the mahjong tiles from the inside. Instead, the inner wear-resistant strips are used to contact and block the mahjong tiles, which has several advantages: First, it reduces the contact area between the mahjong tiles and the inner side of the card storage slot, not only reducing the movement resistance of the mahjong tiles, but also reducing collisions and noise; Second, the relative positions of the upper and lower layers of mahjong tiles and their gaps with the inner and outer sides of the card storage slot can be adjusted accurately at low cost to minimize the collisions, resistance and noise between the mahjong tiles and the card storage slot; Third, it enhances the versatility of the card feeding assembly. On the same card feeding bracket, the width of the card storage slot can be adjusted by installing inner wear-resistant strips with different widths to be applicable to mahjong tiles of different sizes; Fourth, it reduces the molding difficulty and manufacturing cost of the card feeding bracket.

[0074] Preferably, in this embodiment, a plurality of first fixing parts 5091 protruding towards the inside of the card storage slot are provided on the first inner wear-resistant strip 509, and a plurality of second fixing parts 5101 protruding towards the inside of the card storage slot are provided on the second inner wear-resistant strip 510. A plurality of vertical slots corresponding to the first fixing parts 5091 and the second fixing parts 5101 are opened on the inner side of the card storage slot on the card feeding bracket 501. After the first fixing parts 5091 on the first inner wear-resistant strip 509 and the second fixing parts 5101 on the second inner wear-resistant strip 510 are inserted into the vertical slots, they are fixed by fasteners or snap-fittings, which is convenient for installation and has a low manufacturing cost. In other embodiments, the first inner wear-resistant strip 509 and the second inner wear-resistant strip 510 can also be integrally formed on the card feeding bracket by secondary injection molding.

[0075] As Figure 10 shown, preferably, in this embodiment, the width of the second inner wear-resistant strip 510 is greater than that of the first inner wear-resistant strip 509, so that the upper-layer mahjong tiles are more outward relative to the lower-layer mahjong tiles. In this way, the movement stroke of the upper-layer mahjong tiles in the card storage slot is greater than that of the lower-layer mahjong tiles in the card storage slot. Therefore, when the mahjong tiles are discharged in a slope, the upper-layer mahjong tiles in the first stack of mahjong tiles pushed onto the tabletop will lag behind the lower-layer mahjong tiles by a certain distance, which can avoid the problem that the first stack of mahjong tiles jumps when crossing the hinge position between the card lifting tray and the mahjong machine tabletop, resulting in the displacement or even overturning of the upper mahjong tiles, and ensure the neatness of the mahjong tile wall lifted onto the mahjong machine tabletop.

[0076] Preferably, in this embodiment, when mahjong tiles are stored in the tile storage slot, the contact position between the first inner wear-resistant strip 509 and the lower layer of mahjong tiles is located between 30% and 90% of the height of the lower layer of mahjong tiles, and the contact position between the second inner wear-resistant strip 510 and the upper layer of mahjong tiles is located between 40% and 90% of the height of the upper layer of mahjong tiles. In this way, the movement resistance, collision and noise of the mahjong tiles can be minimized when the tiles are rotated and pushed.

[0077] In the preferred embodiment, a card-discharging slope for lifting mahjong tiles is provided near the card-discharging outlet of the card storage slot, which not only effectively prevents the mahjong tiles near the card-discharging outlet in the card storage slot from falling back into the shuffling plate during the card-discharging process of the card-discharging device, but also does not increase the card-loading resistance of the card-loading pusher too much. In addition, the card storage slot is provided with a slope, which can also extend the length of the card-lifting support plate in the card-lifting assembly to a certain extent, slow down the inclination slope of the card-lifting support plate, and thus reduce the card-loading resistance. The card-discharging slope can be formed at the bottom of the card storage slot, but is preferably arranged on the wear-resistant sheet at the bottom of the card storage slot, that is, the wear-resistant sheet at the bottom of the card storage slot is formed with a card-discharging slope capable of lifting mahjong tiles near the card-discharging outlet of the card storage slot. The wear-resistant sheet at the bottom of the card storage slot is formed with a card-loading slope at the card-loading outlet of the card storage slot for facilitating the entry of mahjong tiles. In order to prevent the mahjong tiles in the card storage slot from arching, jumping, and other faults during the card pushing process of the card pushing device, a cover 500 is installed above the card storage slot on the card loading bracket 501 to limit the card storage height of the card storage slot, and the cover 500 covers the entire top of the card storage slot.

[0078] In order to prevent the mahjong tiles lifted onto the mahjong machine table from shifting up and down, the horizontally movable loading card pushing head has multiple card pushing positions, which respectively contact two mahjong tiles stacked up and down in the same pile, wherein the card pushing position contacting the lower mahjong tiles protrudes from the card pushing position contacting the upper mahjong tiles. In this way, when the loading card pushing head pushes multiple piles of mahjong tiles to move horizontally, the mahjong tiles on the upper layer lag behind the mahjong tiles on the lower layer. When the loading card pushing head pushes the last pile of mahjong tiles onto the inclined card lifting support plate, the mahjong tiles on the upper layer are flush with the mahjong tiles on the lower layer.

[0079] In order to prevent the card-loading pusher from colliding with the card-pushing head 401 in the card-pushing device outside the card-loading port of the card-loading slot and blocking the mahjong tiles sent out by the card-feeding device, the card-loading pusher 505 and the card-pushing head 401 in the card-pushing device are designed to be staggered and avoided, and are arranged together with the card-pushing head 401 on one side of the card-receiving platform 402 before the cards are loaded. In order to prevent the mahjong tiles pushed by the card-pushing device from being easily scattered and stuck, the card-feeding direction of the card-loading slot inlet and the card-discharging direction of the card-discharging port of the card-feeding device are arranged at an angle of 80° to 100°, and the card-pushing direction of the card-pushing head 401 of the card-pushing device 4 is consistent with the card-feeding direction of the card-loading port of the card-loading slot.

[0080] The card blocking frame 403 in the card pushing device can be fixedly connected to or integrally formed with the card placing support. The card feeding box, the card placing support, and the card lifting support in the four-sided card picking and transporting system can be fixedly connected or integrally formed by combining several of them. In this embodiment, the annular housing 301 integrally formed on four sides is used as the installation base of the four-sided card feeding device and the four-sided card lifting assembly, which is convenient for assembly and has a simple and reliable structure.

[0081] In this embodiment, the above-mentioned card placing push rod 503 can swing back and forth or rotate in a single direction. Accordingly, an opening through which the card placing push head and the card placing push rod can pass is formed on the outer side wall of the card lifting slot of the card lifting assembly 6. That is to say, the card placing push head can rotate in a single-direction cycle, so that the slope card-playing mahjong machine can achieve card placing in stages. The process of card placing in stages is as follows: After the card pushing device pushes six stacks or twelve mahjong tiles into the card storage slot of the slope card-playing device, the card placing push head enters and stays in the card storage slot. In this way, there are six stacks or twelve mahjong tiles in front of the card placing push head, and the remaining mahjong tiles are pushed into the card storage slot by the card pushing device again, so that the card placing push head is clamped between the front and rear rows of mahjong tiles; When the mahjong machine receives the first card placing signal, the card lifting plate of the card lifting device descends. The card placing push head first pushes the six stacks or twelve mahjong tiles in front of it onto the card lifting plate. The card lifting plate rises to place these mahjong tiles on the tabletop. The card placing push head moves to the outside of the inlet of the card storage slot through the opening on the side wall of the card lifting slot; After the player takes away the six stacks or twelve mahjong tiles of each of the four sides on the tabletop and the mahjong machine receives the second card placing signal, the card lifting plate descends again. The card placing push head enters the card storage slot again to push the remaining mahjong tiles onto the card lifting plate. The card lifting plate rises to place the mahjong tiles on the tabletop. The card placing push head moves to the outside of the inlet of the card storage slot through the avoidance opening on the side wall of the card lifting slot again, waiting for the next card placing. In this way, by adopting card placing in stages, the player can start playing cards by standing up the six stacks or twelve mahjong tiles placed in the first stage, saving the process of manual card sorting and arrangement. The player's operation is simpler and more convenient, and the entertainment experience is better. Moreover, by adopting card placing in stages, while placing six stacks or twelve mahjong tiles or other set numbers of mahjong tiles in the first stage, the card feeding device and the card pushing device can continue to send mahjong tiles into the card storage slot for storage. In this way, the card storage slot does not need to store all the mahjong tiles required by one side at one time, and only needs to store the number of mahjong tiles placed in one stage. Therefore, the length of the card storage slot can be greatly shortened, and further the layout of the mahjong machine main body can be made more flexible and compact, the volume of the mahjong machine can be made smaller, or larger mahjong tiles can be used on the mahjong machine of the same volume.

[0082] The above mahjong machine can also adopt one-time card placement, that is, the card pushing device pushes all the mahjong tiles on one side (for example, 18 stacks on each of the four sides) into the card storage slot of the card placement component at one time. The card placement pusher head 505 is located outside the card inlet of the card storage slot; when the mahjong machine receives a card placement signal, the card lifting tray in the card lifting component descends, and the card placement pusher head 505 in the card placement component pushes the mahjong tiles in the card storage slot to the card lifting tray 601 in the card lifting component for card placement under the drive of the card placement drive mechanism. After the card placement is completed, the card lifting tray rises to be flush with the mahjong machine tabletop.

[0083] A sensor 504 for detecting the position state of the card placement push rod 503 or the card placement pusher head 505 and / or the mahjong tiles is provided on the above-mentioned card placement support 501: In the card placement component adopting the one-time card placement method, at least two sensors are required, which are respectively used to detect the position information when the card placement pusher head stays outside the card inlet of the card storage slot waiting for card pushing and the position information when the card placement pusher head stays at the card outlet of the card storage slot waiting for the card lifting tray to lift the mahjong tiles onto the tabletop; in the card placement component adopting the phased card placement method, at least three sensors are required, which are respectively used to detect the position information when the card placement pusher head stays outside the card inlet of the card storage slot waiting for card pushing, the position information when the card placement pusher head stays in the card storage slot waiting for the first card placement signal, and the position information when the card placement pusher head stays at the card outlet of the card storage slot waiting for the card lifting tray to lift the mahjong tiles onto the tabletop. In this way, the accurate position of the card placement pusher head is determined through the sensor, with timely feedback, convenient control, accurate actions, and reduced faults.

[0084] The above-mentioned sensor for detecting the card placement pusher head can be a direct detection method or an indirect detection method. For example, the position of the drive mechanism of the card placement pusher head is detected to obtain the corresponding position information of the card placement pusher head, such as detecting the position information of the card placement push rod to obtain the position information of the card placement pusher head. Another example is to use a stepper motor or a motor with a built-in position sensor, and record the rotation stroke information of the motor to convert the position information of the card placement pusher head. The above-mentioned sensor can be various proximity sensors such as Hall sensors, photoelectric sensors, and ultrasonic sensors, or various contact sensors such as limit switches.

[0085] The above-mentioned first card placement signal is generally generated by a player pressing a control button. The above-mentioned second card placement signal can be generated by a player pressing a control button or by a sensor that can detect whether the player has taken away the mahjong tiles on the card lifting tray. The sensor can be a light eye or a gravity sensor provided on the card lifting tray 601, or other sensors provided on the tabletop or the card lifting support for detecting the action state and / or load-bearing state of the card lifting tray.

[0086] In the description of this specification, the descriptions referring to terms such as "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples", etc. mean that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present utility model. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described can be combined in a suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

[0087] Although the embodiments of the present utility model have been shown and described above, it can be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the present utility model. Those of ordinary skill in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of the present utility model without departing from the principles and purposes of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A mahjong machine tile feeding component, including a tile feeding support, on which there is a tile storage groove for storing multiple stacks of mahjong tiles and a tile feeding pusher for pushing the mahjong tiles out of the tile storage groove. The tile storage groove is arc-shaped and curved at an angle greater than 180°. The tile feeding direction at the inlet of the tile storage groove forms an angle of 45° to 90° with the tile discharging direction at the outlet of the tile storage groove. The tile feeding pusher is driven by a tile feeding driving mechanism to move along the outer edge of the tile storage groove from the tile feeding port of the tile storage groove to the tile discharging port of the tile storage groove and then back to the outer edge of the tile feeding port of the tile storage groove; it is characterized in that, The card storage slot includes at least one arc-shaped bending section. At the position of the arc-shaped bending section at the bottom of the card storage slot, a tilting support structure with a higher outer side and a lower inner side is adopted for the mahjong tiles, so that the mahjong tiles show a centripetal tilt with a higher outer side and a lower inner side at this arc-shaped bending section position; the mahjong tiles are placed flat at the inlet and outlet of the card storage slot; the inner side wall of the card storage slot is also arranged to be centripetally tilted, and a first inner wear-resistant strip and a second inner wear-resistant strip for contacting the mahjong tiles are arranged on the inner side wall of the card storage slot. The first inner wear-resistant strip and the second inner wear-resistant strip extend along the moving path of the mahjong tiles in the card storage slot. The first inner wear-resistant strip is located below and blocks and contacts the lower-layer mahjong tiles from the inner side, and the second inner wear-resistant strip is located above and blocks and contacts the upper-layer mahjong tiles from the inner side.

2. The automatic tile addition component of a mahjong machine according to claim 1, wherein, The bottom wall of the card storage slot is of a tilted structure with a higher outer side and a lower inner side at the position of the arc-shaped bending section, so that the mahjong tiles show a centripetal tilt with a higher outer side and a lower inner side.

3. A mahjong machine card assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that: A bottom wear-resistant sheet for contacting the mahjong tiles is provided at the bottom of the card storage slot, and two inner and outer bottom ribs for contacting the mahjong tiles are provided on the bottom wear-resistant sheet, so that the mahjong tiles show a centripetal tilt with a higher outer side and a lower inner side at the arc-shaped bending section position of the card storage slot.

4. The automatic tile adding component of a mahjong machine according to claim 1, wherein, When the mahjong tiles are at the position between the inlet and outlet of the card storage slot, they show a centripetal tilt with a higher outer side and a lower inner side. The angle of the centripetal tilt first increases and then decreases from the inlet to the outlet of the card storage slot, and the maximum angle of the centripetal tilt does not exceed 45°.

5. A mahjong machine tile - placing component according to claim 1, characterized in that, An outer wear-resistant sheet is installed on the outer side wall of the card storage slot. The outer wear-resistant sheet is inserted and clamped up and down with the upper card support through the insertion part and the buckle under it and is locked and fixed by a fastener; an outer rib for contacting the mahjong tiles is provided on the outer wear-resistant sheet, and the outer wear-resistant sheet contacts and blocks the mahjong tiles through the outer rib; the outer wear-resistant sheet is arranged to be centripetally tilted, the angle of the centripetal tilt first increases and then decreases from the inlet to the outlet of the card storage slot, and the maximum angle of the centripetal tilt does not exceed 45°.

6. A mahjong machine card assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The angle of the centripetal tilt of the inner side wall of the card storage slot first increases and then decreases from the inlet to the outlet of the card storage slot, and the maximum angle of the centripetal tilt does not exceed 45°; the contact position of the first inner wear-resistant strip with the lower-layer mahjong tiles is at the position between 30% and 90% of the height of the lower-layer mahjong tiles, and the contact position of the second inner wear-resistant strip with the upper-layer mahjong tiles is at the position between 40% and 90% of the height of the upper-layer mahjong tiles.

7. A mahjong machine card dealing component according to claim 1, characterized in that, A plurality of first fixing parts protruding towards the inner side of the card storage slot are provided on the first inner wear-resistant strip, and a plurality of second fixing parts protruding towards the inner side of the card storage slot are provided on the second inner wear-resistant strip. A plurality of vertical slots corresponding to the first fixing parts and the second fixing parts are opened on the upper card support on the inner side of the card storage slot. After the first fixing parts on the first inner wear-resistant strip and the second fixing parts on the second inner wear-resistant strip are embedded into the vertical slots, they are fixedly connected.

8. The automatic tile adding component of a mahjong machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first inner wear-resistant strip and the second inner wear-resistant strip are integrally formed on the upper card support by secondary injection molding.

9. A mahjong machine card assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The width of the second inner wear-resistant strip is greater than that of the first inner wear-resistant strip, so that the upper mahjong tiles are more outward relative to the lower mahjong tiles. In this way, the moving stroke of the upper mahjong tiles in the card storage slot is greater than that of the lower mahjong tiles in the card storage slot. Therefore, when the cards are discharged on the slope, the upper mahjong tiles in the first stack of mahjong tiles pushed onto the table will lag behind the lower mahjong tiles by a certain distance.

10. A mahjong machine, comprising a central control panel assembly located at the center of the bottom plate of the frame and a large shuffling plate. Four sets of card picking and transporting systems are arranged around the large shuffling plate. The card picking and transporting system includes a card sending device for picking up mahjong tiles one by one from the large shuffling plate and sending them out, a card pushing device for stacking two mahjong tiles into a stack and pushing them out, and a ramp card playing device for sending multiple stacked mahjong tiles along a ramp onto the tabletop of the mahjong machine. The ramp card playing device includes a card playing component and a card lifting component; the card lifting component is arranged inside the card sending device in the same set of card picking and transporting systems and the two are directly adjacent to each other inside and outside. In the same set of card picking and transporting systems: It is characterized in that, The upper card component is a mahjong machine upper card component according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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