JP2001321521A - Game ball dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly practical game ball dispenser in which the stop position of a sprocket can be precisely settled and which is free from troubles such as ball biting caused by position errors. SOLUTION: This game ball dispenser for a pachinko game machine is equipped with a downflow assembly 50, a sprocket assembly 30, and a solenoid assembly made by assembling a solenoid 13 and a stopper 11 onto a bracket 10 respectively mounted on a board 20 and counts and dispenses game balls B one by one. Flange parts 10d, 10e abutting on the board 20 are formed on the bracket 10 and the standard position 10f of the bracket 10 mounted onto the board 20 is placed near the swing support point of a stopper 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a pachinko game machine,
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game ball dispensing device for a ball game machine such as an arrangement ball machine, and more particularly, to an improvement technology of a device that counts game balls and pays out a required number of game balls.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A game ball payout device (payout device) of a pachinko game machine is a device used for paying out prize balls or paying out rental balls, and is generally installed behind a pachinko game machine. It is provided in the middle of the game ball passage connected to the prize ball tank and counts the game balls one by one (also called ball cutting) and supplies a required number of game balls.

[0003] As this dispensing device, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No.
As shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 3 as a ball cutting device, a game ball drop path in which game balls fall in a row, and a blade portion inserted into the drop path to be rotatable between the blades. A sprocket adapted to hold one game ball, a stopper which is engaged with the blade of the sprocket and is resiliently urged to stop its rotation and is capable of swinging; And a solenoid for releasing the combination.

This payout device holds a game ball in a state where a sprocket is stopped unless a solenoid is excited,
When the solenoid is excited and the stopper is removed from the sprocket, the sprocket rotates, pays out the game balls one by one, and the number of game balls detected by the game ball detection sensor provided facing the game ball drop path is required. When the number is reached, the excitation of the solenoid is released, the stopper is returned to the original position, and the rotation of the sprocket is stopped.

[0005] In this dispensing device, depending on the timing of the stop of the sprocket, the game ball is caught between the tooth tip of the sprocket and the wall of the falling path, and the sprocket cannot rotate (referred to as ball pinch). There was a problem that payment was not possible. To solve such a problem,
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-28887 also proposes a device provided with an auxiliary stopper (second stopper) for stopping rotation of a sprocket due to inertia.

[0006] However, in the above prior art, it is difficult to accurately mount the relative positional relationship between the sprocket and the stopper, and this mounting position error often causes the ball to be caught. Even if it is provided, since it only stops the sprocket, the dead point of the sprocket causing the ball to be caught (the game ball is caught between the tooth tip of the sprocket and the wall of the falling path, The point where falling gravity does not work as the rotation torque of the sprocket) could not be completely avoided, and as a result, ball entrapment could not be completely eliminated.

Further, in the conventional dispensing apparatus, there are various problems in practical use, such as a problem that the rotation of the sprocket is distorted and a detection sensor of the game ball does not operate normally, and it is easy to manufacture and assemble. Device was desired.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems in the conventional apparatus, in which the stop position of the sprocket can be accurately determined, and the problems such as pinching of a ball due to a positioning error can be solved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a game ball dispensing device with high practicability and a dispensing device with high assemblability by reducing the number of parts.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a game ball drop path in which game balls fall in a row, and a wing portion inserted into the drop path to be rotatable so as to hold one game ball between the blades. Engage with the sprocket and the blade of the sprocket,
A stopper that is elastically urged and oscillating to stop the rotation, a solenoid that attracts the stopper by magnetic force to release the engagement with the blade, and a sprocket so that the sprocket avoids a deadlock position where the game ball is pinched. It consists of an auxiliary stopper that suppresses the rotation of the
A sprocket assembly and a solenoid assembly in which a solenoid and a stopper are assembled to a bracket are respectively attached to a board, and in a game ball dispensing device of a ball game machine that counts out game balls one by one and pays out the ball, the bracket is applied to the board. The invention is characterized in that a flange portion to be in contact with the substrate is formed, and a reference position for attaching the bracket to the substrate is provided in the vicinity of the pivot of the stopper.

[0010] Thus, the relative position between the stopper and the sprocket can be accurately determined, and the stop position of the sprocket can be accurately determined, and problems such as pinching of the ball due to mounting errors can be solved.

Further, the stopper is formed in a rectangular plate-like body, and the center in the width direction of the sprocket is located at the center in the width direction of the plate-like body, thereby preventing distortion of rotation of the sprocket. To increase the durability of the device. The auxiliary stopper is formed with a convex portion at the contact portion with the sprocket, and the blade tip of the sprocket is positioned before and after the convex portion so as to avoid a dead point. In the case where an uneven portion is provided on the inner surface of the falling path and the falling speed of the game ball is reduced, the detection sensor can surely detect the game ball.

Further, in the dispensing device of the present invention, each of the receiving seats is integrally formed on the L-shaped substrate including a side substrate and a base substrate, and the bracket for holding a solenoid assembly is provided on the substrate. A rotating shaft that supports the sprocket,
A fall path member for forming the auxiliary stopper and the fall path, accommodating the sprocket, and assembling the light emitting / receiving substrate constituting the game ball detection sensor is assembled.

In this dispensing apparatus, parts can be easily manufactured, the number of parts is small, and assembly is easy.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given based on the illustrated embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a game ball payout apparatus according to the present invention.
It is a perspective view of one embodiment (hereinafter, referred to as a dispensing device),
2 (a) is a front view, FIG. 2 (b) is a side view, and FIG. 3 is a plan view (top view of FIG. 2 (a)). 4 is an enlarged view of the auxiliary stopper, FIG. 4 (a) is a front view, and FIG. 4 (b) is a side view. FIG.
Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the assembling, Fig. 6 (a) is a transparent front view showing a state where the sprocket is stopped, and Fig. 6 (b) is a transparent front view showing a state where the sprocket is dispensed.

1, 2, 3 and 4, the upper surface of a bracket 10 having a substantially U-shaped cross section with an open front surface.
In front of 10a, a rectangular plate-like stopper 11 is swingably fitted. A spring locking portion 10b is formed at the rear end of the upper surface 10a of the bracket 10, and a tension coil spring 12 is hung between the spring locking portion 11a formed at the upper end of the stopper 11, and the stopper 11 has a head portion. Is pulled backward (to the left) and the lower part is pushed forward (to the right). A cylindrical solenoid 13 is attached to the U-shaped space of the bracket 10, and has a suction surface 13a on the front surface. On the other hand, the stopper 11 is provided with a magnetically attached surface 11b made of a magnetic material at a position facing the suction surface 13a.

An upper flange 10d and a lower flange 10e are formed on an upper surface 10a and a lower surface 10c of the bracket 10 to form a U-shaped space, respectively. The upper flange 10d and the lower flange 10e are formed in the upper flange 10d. Hole for screw 10
g A screw hole 10h is formed in the lower flange 10e.

The substrate 20 is a substantially L-shaped assembling base material comprising a side substrate 21 and a base substrate 22 which constitute a wall surface of a later-described game ball drop path (hereinafter referred to as a drop path) at the right end. Ribs 23a and 23b sandwiching the upper flange 10d of the bracket 10 are formed at the upper left end of the bracket 21, and a shaft seat 24 having a shaft hole for mounting the rotation shaft 31 of the sprocket 30 is formed substantially below the center. In the lower left diagonal,
A columnar protruding stopper mounting seat 25 for mounting the auxiliary stopper 40 is formed, and an upper screw seat 26 and a lower screw seat 27 for mounting the dropping path member 50 are formed at the center upper and lower ends.

The sprocket 30 is a shaft seat formed on the substrate 20.
It is loosely fitted to a rotating shaft 31 fitted to 24 and is rotatably held, and its tooth tip is normally in contact with the stopper 11 to prevent rotation (FIG. 2 (a)). The auxiliary stopper 40 is, as shown in FIG. 4, a receiving seat formed at the tip of the stopper mounting seat 25.
A mounting portion 41 to be fitted to 25a and a contact portion 42 formed at a right angle to the mounting portion 41 and extending upward, and a convex portion 42a is formed at a portion of the contact portion 42 that contacts the tooth tip of the sprocket 30. You. The auxiliary stopper 40 is made of a thin metal plate having elasticity.
41a is opened.

The falling path member 50 has an inverted U-shaped falling path wall 51 extending up and down at the right end, and an upper mounting seat 52 and a lower mounting seat abutting on the upper screw seat 26 and the lower screw seat 27 of the substrate 20. It has 53 at the base. In addition, on the front surface of the inverted U-shaped falling road wall 51, a light receiving substrate 60 on which a light receiving tube 61 constituting a game ball detection sensor is attached.
Light receiving holes 56 for inserting the light receiving tube 61 and the upper and lower mounting seats 54 and 55 for fixing the light receiving plate 61 are formed. A light emitting hole (not shown) is formed at a position, and a falling path P of a game ball having a closed periphery is formed between the falling path wall 51 and the side substrate 21. Further, on the inner surface of the falling road wall 51, stripes of unevenness and fine washing plate-like steps (not shown) are formed in the horizontal direction.

Two columnar reinforcing seats 57a and 57b whose tips contact the surface of the base substrate 22 protrude from the inside of the falling path member 50, and an eave-like rib 58 is formed below the reinforcing seat 57a. Thus, a sprocket chamber S surrounded by the rib 58, the reinforcing seat 57b and the front wall 50a is formed. The front wall 50a is formed with a cutout 50b for allowing the rotation shaft 31 of the sprocket 30 to escape. A connector 62 is formed at the lower end of the light-receiving substrate 60, holes 63 and 64 for mounting screws are formed vertically, and a connector 72 and mounting holes 73 and 74 are similarly formed in the light-emitting substrate 70.

The assembly of the dispensing device will be described with reference to FIG. First, the bracket 10 incorporating the stopper 11, the extension coil spring 12, and the solenoid 13 is attached to the base substrate 22 of the substrate 20. At this time, the upper flange 10d is mounted between the ribs 23a and 23b formed integrally with the base substrate 22, and the positioning hole 10f of the upper flange 10d is connected to the base substrate 22.
A positioning hole (not shown) is aligned with a pin (not shown) or the like to determine a position, and screwed through the screw holes 10f and 10g. At this time, since the positioning hole 10f is formed in the vicinity of the swing fulcrum of the stopper 11, there is almost no positional error in the vertical and horizontal directions of the swing fulcrum with respect to the reference position of the base substrate 22. Therefore, the mounting position of the lower end of the stopper 11 with respect to the base substrate 22 does not change.

Next, the sprocket 30 is loosely fitted to the rotating shaft 31, and the rotating shaft 31 is fitted and fixed to the shaft seat 24 formed on the base substrate 22. As a method of fixing the rotating shaft 31 to the shaft seat 24, an appropriate known technique can be adopted. At this time, the position in the front-rear direction of the sprocket 30 is determined on the front surface of the shaft seat 24, but the shaft seat 24 is provided such that the center in the width direction of the sprocket 30 and the center line in the width direction of the rectangular stopper 11 overlap. Stopper 11
Exerts a force evenly distributed in the width direction of the sprocket 30, that is, in the direction of the rotation axis.

Further, the mounting portion 41 of the auxiliary stopper 40 is fitted to a receiving seat 25a formed in the same shape as the mounting portion 41 at the end of the stopper mounting seat 25, and is fixed with screws (not shown). At this time, the position of the convex portion 42a formed on the contact portion 42 of the auxiliary stopper 40 is such that when the tip point of each tooth of the sprocket 30 is in a position in contact with the convex portion 42a, the convex portion 42a It is mounted so that the position of the facing teeth is exactly the position of the deadlock.

Thereafter, the falling path member 50 incorporating at least the light emitting substrate 70 is assembled so as to contact the base substrate 22 and the side substrate 21. At this time, the falling path member 50 is pushed in from the front so as to store the sprocket 30 in the sprocket chamber S, and the upper and lower mounting seats 52 are arranged so that the tips of the reinforcing seats 57a and 57b abut on the surface of the base substrate 22. At 53, it is fixed to the substrate 20. At this time, the notch of the mounting seat 53
The mounting position can be determined such that the pin 27a of the screw seat 27 fits into the 53a. In addition, the concave receiving seats 57a ', 57b' for receiving the tips of the reinforcing seats 57a, 57b on the base substrate 22.
(See FIG. 6), it is also possible to assemble more firmly.

As shown in FIG. 6, the dispensing device suppresses the rotation of the sprocket 30 by the stopper 11 urged by the extension coil spring 12 so that the game ball B is moved by the teeth of the sprocket 30 facing the falling path P. Support (Fig. 6 (a))
When 3 is excited, the magnetic attachment surface 11b of the stopper 11 is attracted, the engagement of the stopper 11 is released, and the sprocket 30 is fed downward so as to cut the game balls one by one. The game ball detection sensor including the light emitting light source 71 and the light receiving tube 61 detects the number of game balls passing through the ray axis, and emits a signal for canceling the excitation of the solenoid 13 when a required number of game balls are supplied. I have. As described above, the function of counting and supplying and paying out the game balls as appropriate is basically the same as that of the conventional technique, so that the detailed description is omitted.

In the present invention, a bracket for supporting a solenoid assembly incorporating a solenoid and a stopper is provided with a flange for abutting on the board surface, and a positioning reference for restricting a mounting position on the board is determined in the vicinity of a swing support point of the stopper. The fixing position of the solenoid assembly with respect to the substrate is reliably determined, so that the error of the stopper mounting position with respect to the substrate can be ignored. As a result, the stop positions of the teeth of the sprocket can be held at the positions determined geometrically, so that deadlock positions can be reliably avoided.

Since the auxiliary stopper which comes into contact with the teeth of the sprocket is formed with a sharp projection toward the tip of the sprocket tooth at a position corresponding to the deadlock, the sprocket inevitably avoided the deadlock position. It will remain at the position and the occurrence of deadlock can be completely prevented.

Since the center in the width direction of the stopper and the center in the width direction of the teeth of the sprocket are aligned, the force applied to the sprocket is evenly distributed, so that no distortion occurs in the sprocket and the rotating shaft, and Rotational durability is improved.

Further, since the steps or grooves are formed minutely in the falling path, the falling speed of the game ball can be reduced,
The detection sensor can follow the drop of the game ball, and can reliably count the game ball by simple means without increasing the detection speed of the detection sensor, and can eliminate the counting mistake.

According to the present invention, various receiving seats are integrally formed on an L-shaped substrate composed of a base substrate and a side substrate, and a bracket for holding a solenoid assembly and a rotating shaft for supporting a sprocket are formed on the substrate. , An auxiliary stopper, and a fall path member that forms a fall path, accommodates a sprocket, and can attach a light emitting and receiving substrate that constitutes a game ball detection sensor, and assembles a payout device, so that Molding process is easy,
The dispensing device has a small number of parts and is easy to assemble.

In the above embodiment, the falling path is formed by the falling path member and the side substrate. In this case, it is easy to manufacture and easy to assemble, but a fall path member having a fall path surrounded by a periphery may be attached to a flat plate substrate, and a fall path member of an appropriate type may be used. it can. Further, the shape, position, and the like of various mounting seats, reinforcing ribs, or reinforcing seats formed on the substrate can be appropriately changed as necessary. Further, the various positioning mechanisms are not limited to the positioning pin and the hole type, and the positions can be determined by inserting a common pin into a matching hole formed in each member.

[0033]

According to the present invention, a game ball drop path on which game balls fall in a row, a blade is inserted into the drop path, and one game ball is rotatably held between the blades. A sprocket that engages with the blade of the sprocket, is elastically urged to stop its rotation, and is capable of swinging; a solenoid that attracts the stopper with magnetic force to release the engagement with the blade; An auxiliary stopper which suppresses the rotation of the sprocket so as to avoid the position of the deadlock that sandwiches the ball. In a game ball dispensing device of a ball game machine for dispensing while counting game balls one by one, a franc abutting the bracket on the board is provided. The reference position for attaching the bracket to the substrate is formed near the pivot point of the stopper, so that the relative position between the stopper and the sprocket can be accurately determined, and the stop position of the sprocket can be determined accurately. Problems such as pinching of a ball due to an attachment error can be solved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a game ball payout device (hereinafter referred to as a payout device) of the present invention.

FIG. 2 (a) is a front view, and FIG. 2 (b) is a side view.

FIG. 3 is a plan view (top view of FIG. 2 (a)).

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of an auxiliary stopper, FIG. 4 (a) is a front view,
FIG. 4B is a side view.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view illustrating assembly.

6 (a) is a perspective front view showing a state where the sprocket is stopped, and FIG. 6 (b) is a perspective front view showing a state where the sprocket is dispensed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Bracket 10c Upper flange 10d Lower flange 10f Positioning hole 11 Stopper 12 Tension coil spring 13 Solenoid 20 Substrate 30 Sprocket 40 Auxiliary stopper 50 Drop path member P Drop path

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A game ball falling path in which game balls fall in a row,
A sprocket inserted into the falling path so as to be rotatable and holding one game ball between the blades, and elastically attached to engage with the blades of the sprocket and stop the rotation. A biased and swingable stopper, a solenoid for attracting the stopper by magnetic force and releasing engagement with the blade,
An auxiliary stopper which suppresses rotation of the sprocket so as to avoid a deadlock position where the sprocket sandwiches a game ball; and In the game ball dispensing device that attaches the body to the substrate and pays out the game balls while counting them one by one, the bracket has a flange portion that comes into contact with the substrate, and the mounting reference position of the bracket to the substrate is determined. A game ball dispensing device provided near a swinging fulcrum of the stopper. 2. The game ball dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein said stopper is a rectangular plate-like body, and a center in a width direction of said sprocket is located at a center in a width direction of said plate-like body. 3. A game ball dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein a projection is formed at a contact portion of said auxiliary stopper with said sprocket, and a tip of a blade of said sprocket is located before and after said projection. . 4. The game ball dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein an uneven portion is provided on an inner surface of said falling path to reduce a falling speed of the game ball. 5. A game ball falling path in which game balls fall in a row,
A sprocket inserted into the falling path so as to be rotatable and holding one game ball between the blades, and elastically attached to engage with the blades of the sprocket and stop the rotation. A biased and swingable stopper, a solenoid for attracting the stopper by magnetic force and releasing engagement with the blade,
An auxiliary stopper for suppressing rotation of the sprocket so as to avoid a deadlock position where the sprocket sandwiches a game ball; In the game ball dispensing device that attaches the body to each of the substrates and counts out the game balls one by one, each receiving seat is integrally formed on the L-shaped substrate including the side substrate and the base substrate, Assemble the board with the bracket for holding the solenoid assembly, the rotating shaft for supporting the sprocket, the auxiliary stopper, and the fall path member that forms the fall path, houses the sprocket, and assembles the light emitting and receiving substrate that constitutes the game ball detection sensor. A game ball dispensing device. 6. The game ball payout device according to claim 5, wherein a falling path is formed by an inverted U-shaped falling path wall formed on the falling path member and the side substrate surface.