JP2001145760A - Pachinko game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pachinko game machine capable of reducing the number of parts, and opening and closing a ball outlet in a simple structure. SOLUTION: In this pachinko game machine, a shoot ball supply device 19 for supplying a pachinko in a shoot ball supply tray 8 openably and closably mounted on the front of a front frame 2 to a shooting position 18 by a ball feed member 29 is mounted on the front frame 2 side, and the machine includes a ball stop means 65 for opening and closing a ball outlet 62 of the shoot ball supply tray 8 communicating with an introduction port 30 of the shoot ball supply device 19 and a ball extract means for extracting the pachinko balls in the shot ball supply tray 8. In the machine, the ball extract means is formed by a ball extract member for closing a ball extract port 34 disposed in the ball supply device 19 and an operating member 64 disposed on the shoot ball supply tray 8 which link with each other, a ball stop means 65 is provided linking with the operating member 64, by opening of the shoot ball supply tray, the linking of the ball extract means 38, 64 is released and the ball outlet 62 is closed, and when the shoot ball supply tray 8 is closed, the ball outlet 62 is opened by linking of the ball extract means 38, 64.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pachinko game machine, and more particularly to a pachinko game machine having a ball stopping mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional pachinko game machine, a pachinko ball on a hit ball supply tray is supplied one by one to a firing portion of a firing rail by a hit ball supplying device in conjunction with a firing device. On the other hand, a ball ejection port is provided in the hitting ball supply tray, and a ball ejection member that closes the ball ejection port is provided, and the ball ejection member is operated by operating the operating member to open the ball ejection hole. To remove the ball.

[0003] In a conventional pachinko gaming machine, a hitting ball supply device that supplies pachinko balls of a hitting ball supply plate to a firing portion of a firing rail one by one in conjunction with a hitting ball firing device is provided on a front frame side. Some of them do not require alignment with the hit ball supply device. On the other hand, a ball stopping mechanism for opening and closing the ball outlet of the hit ball supply tray with opening and closing of the hit ball supply tray is provided so that the pachinko ball does not flow out of the ball outlet when the hit ball supply tray is opened. (See Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 54-29903)

[0004]

In the above-mentioned pachinko gaming machine, since the ball stopping structure for stopping the ball at the ball outlet of the hitting ball supply tray is dedicated to the ball stopping, the number of parts is increased and the cost is inevitably increased. Had become.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a pachinko game machine which solves the above-mentioned problems, reduces the number of parts, and allows a ball outlet to be opened and closed with a simple structure.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a hit ball supply device for feeding a pachinko ball of a hit ball feeding tray, which is openably and closably mounted on a front surface of a front frame, to a firing position by a ball feeding member. A pachinko machine equipped with a device on the front frame side, a ball stopping means for opening and closing a ball outlet of a hitting ball supply tray communicating with an introduction port of the hitting ball feeding device, and a ball punching device having a ball punching means for punching a pachinko ball of the hit ball feeding tray. In the gaming machine, the ball-pulling means is connected to a ball-pulling member that closes a ball-pulling hole provided in the hitting ball supply device, and an operating member provided in the hitting ball supply plate,
Further, a ball stopping means is provided in communication with the operating member, and the connection of the ball removing means is released by opening the hit ball supply tray and the ball outlet is closed, and the ball outlet is closed by the connection of the ball removing means when the hit ball supplying dish is closed. It is characterized by being opened.

With the above configuration, the present invention makes it possible to open and close the ball outlet with a simple structure by utilizing the connection of the ball removing means to cause the ball stopping means to act.

Further, the ball feeding member has a support portion for supporting the earliest pachinko ball, the upper surface of the support portion is an inclined surface facing a ball hole, and the pachinko ball is left in the hit ball supply device. It is preferable that the ball can be removed without any ball.

Further, the ball removing member is provided with a pressing piece for pushing out the earliest pachinko ball supported by the ball feeding member to the ball removing port, so that the ball is not left in the hitting ball supply device. Preferably, it can be removed.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachinko gaming machine, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lower portion of the pachinko gaming machine in a state where a glass door frame and a front panel are opened. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a machine frame of a pachinko gaming machine, and a front frame 2 formed in a frame shape is attached to the front of the machine frame 1 so as to be freely opened and closed. A game board 4 is mounted on a back surface of the front frame 2 via a mounting frame 3 integrally formed of synthetic resin, and a glass door frame 5 is mounted so as to cover the front surface thereof. Further, a front plate 6 made of a synthetic resin is mounted below the front plate 6 so as to be openable and closable by a hinge mechanism 7, and a hit ball supply tray 8 for supplying a hit ball to the front surface of the front plate 6 is mounted. Reference numeral 9 denotes a lower ball receiving tray for storing surplus balls in the hit ball supply tray 8.

An operation handle 10 is provided on the side of the lower ball receiving tray 9, and the operation handle 10 is
As shown in FIG. 16, a grip portion 11 fixed to the front surface of the front frame 2 and an operation lever 12 rotatably provided on the grip portion 11 are provided. A volume switch 13 is incorporated in the grip portion 11, and the volume of the volume switch 13 is adjusted by rotating the operation lever 12,
The firing force of the hit ball is adjusted.

A guide rail 14 is provided on the front of the game board 4.
Is disposed below the guide rail 14 and supplies the launching rail 16, the ball launching device 17, and the slingshot ball to the launching position 18 of the launching rail 16 in the mounting recess 15 formed in the mounting frame 3. A firing unit 20 to which the device 19 and the like are mounted is attached.

As shown in FIG. 5, the hitting ball firing device 17 has a box-shaped mounting frame 21 on which a linear reciprocating firing solenoid 22 driven by operating the operation handle 10 is installed. The firing solenoid 22 has a plunger-type striking rod 23 inserted and supported in the longitudinal direction. A rubber mallet 24 is provided at the tip, and reciprocation is restricted by a stopper 25 at the rear end of the striking rod 23. And the impact is reduced. A locking member 26 that engages with a ball feed member 29 described later is mounted on the tip side of the striking rod 23, and a coil-shaped restoring spring 27 is wound around the rear end side.

As shown in FIG. 6, the hitting ball supply device 19 comprises a case body 28 and a ball feed member 29 for feeding the pachinko balls of the hitting ball supply tray 8 one by one to the firing position 18. The case body 28 is formed by dividing the front and rear parts into two parts, and an inlet 30 for guiding the pachinko balls of the hit ball supply tray 8 is opened above the front case body 28a, and the rear case body 28b communicates with the inlet 30. A supply path 31 is formed at the end of the supply path 31, and a cylindrical accommodation portion 32 for accommodating the ball feed member 29 is formed at the end thereof, and a supply port 33 is opened on a side wall corresponding to the firing position 18 of the firing rail 16. You. And the front case body 2
In FIG. 8 a, a ball vent hole 34 is opened, and the ball vent hole 34 communicates with a ball vent passage 36 formed below the housing part 32 via a ball vent passage member 35. Further, the ball removing passage 36 communicates with the lower ball receiving tray 9 via a ball removing gutter 37 formed in the front frame 2. Also, the front case body 28a
The ball removing member 38 of the ball removing means for opening and closing the ball removing port 34 is disposed movably in the left-right direction by the guide portion 39 and is urged by the spring 40 so as to always close the ball removing port 34. ing. The ball removing member 38 has a plate-shaped portion 41 for closing the ball removing port 34 and a cylindrical portion 42 having a conical tip.

The ball feed member 29 includes a front case body 28a.
A ball stopper 45 which is rotatably supported by a rotation support shaft 43 provided integrally with the motor through a spring 44 and receives the earliest pachinko ball in the supply path 31; The ball holding portion 46 for receiving and holding the pachinko ball falling from the body is integrally provided, and the arc-shaped long hole 80 of the rear case body 28b is provided on the side surface.
An engagement pin 47 is provided which protrudes outward from the lock member 26 and engages with the locking member 26. In addition, the ball stopper 45
Is an arc surface centered on the rotation support shaft 43 and is formed so as to be inclined downward toward the ball extraction port 34 side.
6 is inclined downward so as to guide the pachinko balls received in the ball holding portion 46 to the supply port 33.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the firing unit 20 has a mounting base 47 which fits into the mounting recess 15, and the mounting base 47 has a mounting boss 48 of the above-described firing rail 16 and a hitting ball firing device. 17 is formed in a concave shape, and the mounting boss 5 of the hit ball supply device 19 is formed.
0 is provided. Further, the mounting base 47 has a foul ball falling from a foul ball opening 51 formed between the starting end of the guide rail 14 and the firing rail 16 and a spill falling from the pachinko ball outlet 52 when the front panel 6 is opened. A furl ball gutter 53 for receiving the ball and leading it to the lower ball receiving tray 9 is formed, and a speaker housing portion 55 for housing the speaker 54 is formed on the left side thereof, and a circular shape exposing a cone portion of the speaker 54 on the front surface. The cover 57 provided with the sound transmission hole 56 is mounted.

The mounting boss 48 of the mounting base 47
Then, the firing rail 16 is screwed on, and the hitting ball firing device 17 is fitted to the mounting portion 49 and screwed on, so that the firing position 18 of the firing rail 16 and the mallet 24 of the hitting rod 23 are aligned. Can be surely done. Further, by screwing the hit ball supply device 19 to the mounting boss 50, the supply port 33 is accurately mounted corresponding to the firing position 18. The firing unit 20 thus assembled is fitted into the mounting recess 15 formed in the mounting frame 3 and is easily mounted by appropriate means such as screws.

As shown in FIG. 7, the hitting ball supply tray 8 comprises a plate member 58 for storing pachinko balls and a cover member 59 covering the front outside of the plate member 58.
The bottom wall 60 is gently inclined downward to one side, and an alignment passage portion 61 in which the pachinko balls are arranged in a line is formed at the lower end of the inclination, and communicates with a ball outlet 62 having an end formed in the front plate 6. Further, an operation member as a ball removing means is provided inside the cover member 59, and the operation member includes an operation portion 63 and a lever member 64, and is further connected to the lever member 64 to open the front plate 6 when the front plate 6 is opened. A ball stopper 65 for closing the ball outlet 62 is provided. As shown in FIG. 8, the operation unit 63 is provided with an opening 6 formed in the plate-shaped portion 58a of the plate member 58.
6, the lever 67 is supported by a shaft 67 projecting from the front plate 6 so as to be able to be pressed vertically, and the lever member 64 has a shaft hole 68 formed in an oblong shape and protruding from the front plate 6. Cylinder 6
9, a plate-like portion 70 having the open end of the shaft cylinder 69 suspended below the operating portion 63.
It is blocked by and locked. Then, the lever member 64
Is biased by a spring 71, and the engaging projection 72 of the lever member 64 and the operating piece 73 of the operation section 63 are always in contact with each other. The lever member 64 is provided with a connecting hole 74 for engaging with the cylindrical portion 42 of the ball removing member 38, and further provided with a connecting pin 75 for connecting to the ball stopping member 65.
Note that the operation member may be one in which the operation portion and the lever member are formed integrally, and in this case, the shaft hole may be formed as a long hole.

The ball stopper 65 is pivotally supported by a shaft pin 76 projecting from the front plate 6, and has a fan-shaped ball stopper 77 for opening and closing the ball outlet 62 on one side through the shaft support. An elliptical guide hole 78 into which the connecting pin 75 is inserted is formed in the arm provided on the other side. 7
9 is a guide groove formed in the front plate 6 and facing the cylindrical portion 42.

The operation of the ball stopping mechanism configured as described above will be described. When the front panel 6 is closed, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the cylindrical portion 42 of the ball removing member 38 faces the inside of the cover member 59 of the hit ball supply tray 8 from the guide groove 79 of the front plate 6 and is in a connected state with the connecting hole 74 of the lever member 64. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the ball stopping member 65 is swingably held at a position to open the ball outlet 62, and the ball outlet 62 of the hit ball supply tray 8 communicates with the introduction port 30 of the hit ball supply device 19. Then, the pachinko balls of the plate member 58 can be supplied. Then, when the front plate 6 is opened by checking the hit ball launching device 17 and the like from this state, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the connection between the connecting hole 74 of the lever member 64 and the cylindrical portion 42 of the ball removing member 38 is released, and the lever member 64 is moved upward by the bias of the spring 71. Then, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
Swings the shaft pin 76 about the support shaft, and the ball stopper 77
2 is closed. In this way, when the front plate 6 is opened, the outflow of pachinko balls from the hit ball supply tray 8 is prevented.

When the front plate 6 is closed from this state, the cylindrical portion 42 of the ball removing member 38 is moved to the guide groove 79 of the front plate 6.
, The tip conical portion is inserted into the connecting hole 74 of the lever member 64, and the lever member 64 resists the bias of the spring 71, and the oval shaft hole 6.
8, the ball removing member 38 and the lever member 64 are connected to each other as shown by a chain line in FIGS. Accordingly, the connecting pin 75 moves downward to swing the ball stopper member 65, and the ball stopper 77 moves upward to open the ball outlet 62. Thereby, the pachinko ball in the hitting ball supply tray 8 can be supplied to the hitting ball supply device 19 by being in communication with the introduction port 30.

The pachinko gaming machine constructed as described above has the locking member 2 when the firing solenoid 22 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is demagnetized and the striking rod 23 is retracted.
With the engagement between the ball 6 and the engagement pin 47, the ball feed member 29 moves the ball stopper 45 on the axis of the rotation support shaft 43, and moves the ball feed member 29 into the ball supply path 31 from the ball supply path 8. Stopped in a state of receiving pachinko balls.

In this state, when the player turns the operation lever 12 of the operation handle 10 to adjust the volume of the volume switch 13, a pulse signal is output,
The firing solenoid 22 of the hit ball firing device 17 is operated by the pulse signal, and the locking member 2 is moved by the forward movement of the hitting rod 23.
As shown in FIG. 14, the ball feed member 29 of the ball feeding device 19 is rotated through the ball 6, and the earliest pachinko ball supported by the ball support portion 45 is received in the ball holding portion 46, and then the ball is hit. The pachinko ball is returned from the supply port 33 to the firing position 18 of the firing rail 16 by returning the rod 23 to the upright state. Then, due to the forward movement of the hitting rod 23, the pachinko ball at the firing position 18 of the firing rail 16 is hit vigorously onto the game board 4 and the same operation is repeated thereafter.

Next, the removal of pachinko balls in the hitting ball supply tray 8 will be described. First, the operating section 63 is pressed downward as shown by the chain line in FIG.
Is rotated against the urging of. As a result, the ball removing member 38 connected to the lever member 64 as shown by the chain line in FIG.
Moves, and the pachinko ball received by the ball stopping portion 45 loses the support of the plate-shaped portion 41 and falls into the ball removing passage 36 via the ball removing passage member 35 due to the upper surface inclination of the ball stopping portion 45. . Then, the subsequent pachinko ball similarly falls into the ball-pulling passage 36 and passes through the ball-pulling gutter 37 to the lower ball tray 9.
Is discharged. In this way, all the pachinko balls in the hitting ball supply tray 8 can be removed without leaving any pachinko balls in the hitting ball supply device 19. At this time, the ball stopping member 65 keeps the state in which the lever member 64 connecting pin 75 does not swing only by moving in the guide hole 78, and the ball outlet 62 is opened.

Then, after the pachinko ball in the hitting ball supply tray 8 is extracted into the lower ball receiving tray 9, as shown in FIG.
Is released, the lever member 64 returns to the original state by the urging of the spring 71, and at the same time, the ball releasing member 3
8 also moves to the position shown in FIG. 15 by the bias of the spring 40, closes the ball vent hole 34, and the state of communication with the ball vent passage 36 is released.

FIGS. 17 to 20 show another embodiment of the hit ball supply device. In this embodiment,
The difference from the hitting ball supply device 19 is that an electric driving means is used.
Since only the locking member 26 with 7 has been eliminated, the same components will be described with the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 17, the hitting ball supply device 19A includes a ball feeding member 82 for feeding the pachinko balls of the case body 81 and the hitting ball supply tray 8 one by one to the firing position 18, and an electric driving means for operating the ball feeding member 82. And the electromagnet 83 which is

The case body 81 is provided with the hitting ball supply device 1.
9 is substantially the same in appearance as that of FIG. 9 and is formed by being divided into two parts in the front and rear. An inlet 30 is formed in the upper part of the front case body 81a so as to match the ball outlet 62. The passage 31 is formed, and the ball feed member 82 is accommodated at the end thereof. The supply port 3 is provided on the side wall of the rear case body 81b corresponding to the firing position 18 of the firing rail 16.
3 is established. Then, a ball vent hole 34 is opened at the end of the supply path 31, and a ball vent passage 36 is formed below the ball vent hole 34, and the ball vent passage 36 communicates with a ball vent gutter 37 formed in the front frame 2. . Also, in the rear case body 81b,
A ball removing member 38 of a ball removing means for opening and closing the ball removing port 34 is disposed movably in the left-right direction by a guide portion 39, and is urged by a spring 40 to always close the ball removing port 34. The ball removing member 38 is formed with a plate-shaped portion 41 for closing the ball removing port 34 and a pressing piece 84 facing the upper surface of the ball feeding member 82, and a conical cylindrical portion 42 protruding from the guide portion 39. Are formed.

The ball feeding member 82 includes a ball stopping portion 45 for receiving the earliest pachinko ball in the supply path 31 and a ball holding portion 46 for receiving and holding the pachinko ball falling from the ball stopping portion 45 by rotation. In order to prepare for the
Is provided. A rotation support shaft 86 parallel to the firing rail 16 is integrally provided on both sides to protrude. The rotation support shaft 86 is fitted into a bearing recess 87 formed in the rear case body 81b, and is turned up and down. Freely supported.

The electromagnet 83 is mounted in a storage space 88 of the front case body 81a via a mounting bracket 89, and the magnetic attachment piece 90 is positioned below the electromagnet 83 and tilts to a shaft pin 91 projecting from the front case body 81a. An engaging portion 92 which is freely rotatably supported and on which the engaging pin 85 is engaged and mounted is provided. As shown in the figure, when the front plate 6 is closed, the metal fitting 6 is attached to the metal plate 6.
a, and promotes the heat radiation action of the electromagnet 83.

The hitting ball supply device 19A thus configured
When the electromagnet 83 is not excited, the ball feed member 82 is in the upright state as shown in FIGS. 18 and 20, and the ball stopper 45 receives the earliest pachinko ball. When the player operates the operating handle 10 in this state, the firing solenoid 22 of the hit ball firing device 17 operates, and the hitting rod 23
Is reciprocated, and the electromagnet 83 is excited in synchronization with the operation, the magnetically attached piece 90 is attracted as shown by the chain line in FIG. 18, the ball feed member 82 swings as shown by the chain line in FIG. The earliest pachinko ball supported by the part 45 is received by the ball holding part 46, and then returns to the standing state by its own weight when the electromagnet 83 is demagnetized, and the pachinko ball is moved from the supply port 33 to the firing position 18 of the firing rail 16. Will be sent. Then, the pachinko ball at the firing position 18 of the firing rail 16 is vigorously hit on the game board 4 by the forward movement of the hitting rod 23, and the same operation is repeated thereafter.

In the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, the ball removing member 38 connected to the lever member 64 by pressing the operating portion 63 downward is used to remove the ball of the pachinko ball in the hitting ball supply tray 8. 18 and 19, the pachinko ball that has been received by the plate-shaped portion 41 loses the support of the plate-shaped portion 41, and the ball-passing passage 36
And is discharged to the lower ball receiving tray 9 through the ball drain gutter 37. Further, the pachinko ball left on the upper surface of the ball stopper 45 of the ball feeding member 82 is pushed by the pushing piece 84 of the ball removing member 38 as shown by a chain line in FIGS.
The ball 4 is pushed out and falls into the ball removing passage 36, is discharged to the lower ball receiving tray 9, and does not remain in the ball supplying device 19A, so that all the pachinko balls in the ball supplying tray 8 can be removed.

The operation of the ball stopper mechanism is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, and when the front plate 6 is closed, as shown in FIG. The ball stop member 65 is swingably held at a position to open the ball outlet 62, and the plate member 58
When the front plate 6 is opened, the link between the lever member 64 and the cylindrical portion 42 is released as shown by the chain line in FIG. 20, and the ball stopper member 65 swings accordingly. As a result, the ball stopping portion 77 closes the ball outlet 62 and reliably prevents the slingshot ball from flowing out of the hit ball supply tray 8.

Since the hitting ball supply devices 19 and 19A have the same external shape and the introduction port 30 and the supply port 33 are provided at the same position, the hitting ball supply devices 19 and 1A are provided.
9A are interchangeable with each other, and the pachinko gaming machine that supplies a hit ball via the locking member 26 of the hit ball launching device 17 and the pachinko gaming machine that supplies a hit ball by an electric drive source can be replaced with only a few parts. Can be easily converted.

[0034]

As described above, the pachinko gaming machine of the present invention enables the opening and closing of the ball outlet by utilizing the connection of the ball removing means, so that the structure is simple, the number of parts is small, and the structure is simple. The cost can be reduced, and the efficiency of the assembly operation can be increased. Further, the pachinko ball can be removed from the ball supplying device when the ball is removed from the ball supplying tray, and the trouble of the remaining ball processing for the player can be eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachinko gaming machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lower portion of the pachinko gaming machine in a state where a glass door frame and a decorative plate are opened.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a firing unit is detached from a front frame.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a firing unit.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the firing unit.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the hit ball supply device.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a hit ball supply tray.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a main part of a ball removing device.

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of a main part of a hit ball supply device.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional plan view of a main part of a hitting ball supply device.

FIG. 11 is a front sectional view of the hit ball supply device.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a main part showing a ball stopping action.

FIG. 13 is a side sectional view of a main part in a state where a hit ball supply tray is opened.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of the hit ball supply device.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the hitting ball supply device showing the action of removing a ball.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of the operation handle.

FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view of a hit ball supply device according to another embodiment.

18 is a front sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 19 is a plan sectional view of a main part of the hitting ball supply device of FIG. 17;

20 is a side sectional view of a main part of the hitting ball supply device of FIG. 17;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 2 front frame 8 hitting supply tray 17 hitting / launching device 18 firing position 19, 19A hitting / supplying device 29 ball feed member 30 introduction port 34 ball punching hole 38 ball pulling member (ball pulling means) 62 ball outlet 63 operating section (ball pulling means) ) 64 Lever member (ball removing means) 65 Ball stopping member (ball stopping means) 82 Ball feeding member

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hitting ball supply device for supplying a pachinko ball of a hitting ball supply tray, which is openably and closably mounted on a front surface of a front frame, to a launch position by a ball feeding member, is mounted on a front frame side, and an introduction port of the hitting ball supplying device. A ball stopping means for opening and closing a ball outlet of a hitting ball supply tray communicating with the ball feeding means, and a ball punching means for pulling out a pachinko ball of the hitting ball supply tray, wherein the ball pulling means is provided in a hit ball feeding device. A ball-pulling member that closes the ball-pulling port is connected to an operating member provided on the ball-supplying tray, and ball-stopping means is further provided in connection with the operating member. A pachinko gaming machine characterized in that the ball exit is closed and the ball exit is closed, and the ball exit is opened by linking the ball ejection means when the hit ball supply tray is closed.