TILT MECHANISM PROTECTION CIRCUIT FOR MERCHANDISERS
(Ramon Vivar, Sr. Technician, Alpha-Omega Amusements)
In many of our FEC game zones players are finding ways to tilt and shake the merchandise dispensing machines in order to move the prizes and gain an advantage. We started with a Key Master because it had attracted more frequent shaking incidents even though the game was in view of our employees. Rather than spend a few hundred dollars for the manufacturer’s ‘add-on’ kit, we built a simple and much improved one ourselves.* And the shaking of the merchandisers has stopped! This will work on any merchandiser machine.
A plumb bob assembly, (borrowed from an old pinball machine) initiates the activation when someone tries to tilt or shake the machine. …..When the plumb bob touches the ring it completes the circuit to energize a simple 12 volt relay, which in turn, opens up a set of normally-closed contacts and consequently breaks a main line that powers up the whole or most of the machine. This is accomplished by employing a unique interconnection of the other sets of contacts of the relay. The relay will now be in a “latched” mode so it stays energized even if the plumb bob is no longer connecting with the outside ring. At this point, the whole machine is now totally or partially off, depending on how the installer prefers. The only way to put the machine back into service is for someone to press the reset button which is mounted inside the machine. This button, which has a “normally-closed” switch, opens up when pressed, thereby de-energizing the relay and releasing it from its “latched” mode. The attendant can then return the prizes to their proper positions. …Then the cycle is back to zero. We found that it is much easier to spot a game when all of its lights are off and then watch it after it is reset.
*The factory made anti-tilt kit stops the game play when the game is tilted but then automatically goes back to game mode after a set time period. The cheater loses the current game play but doesn’t lose any remaining credits. The game attendant intervention is not needed to restart the machine and the cheater has accomplished his advantage and just keeps playing.
BILL OF MATERIALS
- 12 volts DPDT Relay……Radio Shack 275-0206…………$4.97
- 12 volts 1 amp power adaptor or power supply……..…$15.00
- Game Button with momentary normally-closed contacts…$5.00
- Tilt/plumb bob assembly………Happ 95-0328-00……$11.95
- Time of Installation…1 hour.
As you can see, the circuit is old school, not a single semiconductor component is used. No IC’s, no transistors…. (except maybe, one might want to add a simple diode across the relay coil for more accurate deactivation times, which is not critical for this application) ….In this hi tech modern time, where a simple toggle on-off switch or a knob you normally turn, are being replaced by tiny, computer connected buttons, it is easy to go over-technical in design. There are over-the –counter IC drive circuit boards out there that can be used to do the same function, plus more, but this is one case that I think simple is better, less expensive, and more reliable.
