JP2002035352A - Ball discharge device for game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ball discharge device for a game machine such as a Pachinko machine in which the need of left and right wide spaces is eliminated and balls can be discharged from two parts or a wide range. SOLUTION: This ball discharge device 10 for the game machine is constituted of a pair of left and right discharge plates 12a and 12b, a pair of turning shafts 14a and 14b and a pair of operation knobs 16a and 16b. The pair of the discharge plates 12a and 12b of the ball discharge device 10 for the game machine are arranged at the opening part 23 of the bottom surface 21 of a game ball vessel 20 for storing game balls and the operation knobs 16a and 16b are arranged on the outside of the front surface of the side wall 22. The pair of the operation knobs 16a and 16b can be turned independently or simultaneously on the left and right.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game machine, and more particularly to a ball removing device for removing a game ball stored in a game ball reservoir of a game machine such as a pachinko machine using the game ball as needed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A gaming machine such as a pachinko machine shoots a game ball into a game area by a firing device that can be adjusted by a player. The shot game balls flow downward from above the game area. When the flowing game balls win a prize hole arranged at a plurality of positions in the game area, a predetermined number of game balls are paid out to the player from a prize ball payout device inside the gaming machine. Further, when the game ball wins the starting port, the variation of the display symbol of the symbol display device provided in the game area is controlled. When the stop symbol is a predetermined "big hit", the big prize winning device is opened, and the winning probability is significantly increased,
A game state (or special state) advantageous to the player is obtained.

[0003] As described above, a game ball which is received by a player from a ball rental device or paid out from a prize ball payout device and is not fired by a launch device is stored in a game ball reservoir (or upper tray). The game balls are arranged one by one from the game ball reservoir and supplied to the launching device one by one and fired at a fixed rate. The player can adjust the firing speed by changing the angle of the adjustment knob. Since the winning rate to the winning opening or the grand prize winning device differs depending on the skill of the player or the like, the time available for playing with a certain number of game balls also differs. When the skill of the player is high, the game balls in the game ball pool become full, and it is necessary to remove all or a part of the game balls from the game ball pool and move them to another box or the like.

[0004] A conventional ball-pulling device is configured so that an operating unit can be slid left and right to slide a discharge plate attached to the bottom of a game ball pool, and a ball-pulling opening can be opened and closed. Then, if necessary, the release plate is opened, and the game balls stored in the game ball pool are extracted into a box.

[0005]

However, in the conventional ball punching device, in order to slide the discharge plate (or the bottom plate) in the left-right direction, the moving range of the discharge plate needs to be wide in the left-right direction. is there. In addition, since the ball removing device generally has only one opening hole, when the game balls stored in the game ball reservoir are extracted into the box, the game balls are intensively discharged from the one opening hole. . For this reason, the game balls drawn into the box become mountain-shaped, and may fall out of the box unless the player breaks down the mountain of the game balls appropriately and makes it flat.

Accordingly, the present invention has been conceived in order to solve such problems of the prior art, and it is possible to efficiently and reliably remove the game balls stored in the game ball reservoir from the box. It is an object of the present invention to provide a ball punching device for a game machine.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A ball removing device for a game machine according to the present invention is incorporated in a game ball reservoir for storing game balls of a game machine which shoots a game ball into a game area and plays a game. A device for extracting stored game balls as necessary, wherein a pair of discharge plates rotating around a rotation axis are arranged at openings on the bottom surface of the game ball reservoir, and the discharge plates are rotated. As a result, a gap is formed between the base and the bottom surface, and the game ball is extracted.

[0008] According to a preferred embodiment of the ball removing device for a gaming machine of the present invention, the pair of discharge plates are arranged so that their rotation axes are adjacent to each other. The pair of discharge plates are substantially semicircular, and the rotation axis is arranged near the chord. It has an operation knob attached to the front end of the rotating shaft, and by rotating this operation knob, a pair of discharge plates are selectively rotated. Also,
The game ball reservoir is placed on a support base having an opening having a shape corresponding to the discharge plate, and a stopper member is provided at the opening to lock a rotating portion of the discharge plate.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The construction and operation of a preferred embodiment of a ball removing device for a game machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the basic structure of a preferred embodiment of a ball-punching device for a game machine according to the present invention.
This ball removing device 10 for a gaming machine includes a pair of semicircular discharge plates,
That is, the left emission plate 12a and the right emission plate 12b,
A left turning shaft 14a, a right turning shaft 14b, one end of which is inserted into a shaft hole 13 formed near a chord portion of 12a, 12b, and a left operation knob 16a attached to the other end of these turning shafts 14. It consists of a right operation knob 16b. Although not shown, the operation knobs 16a and 16b are formed with holes into which the rotating shafts 14a and 14b are inserted.

As will be described later, the discharge plates 12a, 12b
(Hereinafter, both will be referred to collectively using reference numeral 12, 14 and 16
The same applies), with their chords adjacent to each other,
The game ball is rotatably attached to the bottom of the game ball reservoir for storing the game ball so as to have a substantially circular shape as a whole. Also, the shaft hole of the discharge plate 12
The hole of 13 and the operation knob 16 described above is preferably formed in a non-circular shape, and the shape of both ends of the rotating shaft 14 is also configured to be complementary to the shape of the hole described above. As a result, when the operation knob 16 is rotated, this rotational movement
To the discharge plate 12 via the Then, the discharge plate 12 is tilted (or rotated), and a gap is formed between the discharge plate 12 and the fixed portion on the bottom surface of the game ball storage for storing the game balls. When this gap exceeds the diameter of the game ball, it is possible to discharge the game ball to the box through this gap.

The left and right operation knobs 16a and 16b are simultaneously
It may rotate in opposite directions, ie, left (counterclockwise) and right (clockwise). These operation knobs 16
Alternatively, only one of them (for example, the left operation knob 16a) may be rotated first, and then the other (for example, the right operation knob 16b) may be operated. It should be noted here that when the pair of operation knobs 16 is rotated, a gap is formed at a distance corresponding to the approximate diameter of the discharge plate 12 on the bottom surface of the game ball reservoir. . Therefore, the game balls released from the upper tray can be reliably removed (without spilling out of the box) without forming one mountain in the box.

Next, FIG. 2 is a plan view of an example of a game ball storage 20 for storing game balls of a game machine using the game machine ball punching device 10 shown in FIG. This game ball pool 20
Is generally rectangular and has a bottom surface 21 and a side wall 22 of a predetermined height slightly inclined toward a substantially central portion, and is selected to have a capacity capable of storing enough game balls therein. An opening formed substantially at the center of the bottom surface 21 of the game ball reservoir 20,
The pair of discharge plates 12 of the ball punching device 10 described above with reference to
Arranged adjacent to each other, the pair of emission plates 12
Form part of 21. Then, the operation knob 16 is arranged outside the side wall 22 located on the front surface of the game ball reservoir 20, and enables the player to perform a rotation operation as needed.

3 (A) to 3 (C) are longitudinal sectional views of the game ball reservoir 20 including the ball removing device 10 shown in FIG. 2, and show the ball removing device for a game machine according to the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the detailed configuration and operation of the tenth embodiment. FIG. 3A shows a normal state in which game balls are stored or can be stored. FIG. 3 (B)
Shows a state in which only the right operation knob 16b is turned to remove the ball from the right side. On the other hand, FIG. 3C shows the left operation knob 16a.
This shows a state in which only one is rotated to remove the ball from the left side.

As shown in FIG. 3, the game ball reservoir 20 has an opening 31
It is placed on a support 30 having. The discharge plate 12 of the ball-pulling-out device 10 for a gaming machine faces the opening 31 of the support base 30. This support
Opposite stopper members 32 are arranged on both sides of the opening 31 of 30. The stopper members 32 are urged toward each other by a coil spring 33 and engage with the outside of the discharge plate 12 to fix the discharge plate 12 to the closed position. This engaging force is set to a magnitude sufficient to prevent the discharge plate 12 from rotating under its own weight of the stored game balls. However, to remove the ball, the operation knob 16 is rotated against the engaging force of the stopper member 32.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C, the operation of the ball removing device for a game machine according to the present invention will be described. First, FIG. 3A shows a sectional view when the ball removing device 10 is closed. At this time, the release plate 12 of the ball removing device 10
In a state substantially parallel to the bottom surface 21. The free end of the discharge plate 12, that is, the end far from the rotation shaft 14, is locked by a stopper member 32. Therefore, since the bottom of the game ball reservoir 20 is closed, game balls can be stored inside.

Next, when the right side is opened as shown in FIG. 3B, the right operation knob 16b is turned rightward against the engaging force of the stopper member 32. As a result, the game balls are released (balls are removed) through the gap 40b between the bottom surface 21 of the game ball reservoir 20 and the right discharge plate 12b and the opening 31 of the support base 30.

When the left side is opened as shown in FIG. 3C, the left operation knob 16a is turned to the left against the engaging force of the stopper member 32. As a result, a gap 40a is formed between the bottom surface 21 of the game ball reservoir 20 and the left discharge plate 12a, and the game ball is released (ball is removed) through the gap 40a and the opening 31 of the support base 30.

Although FIG. 3 does not show the case where both operation knobs 16a and 16b of the ball removing device 10 are simultaneously rotated, the both operation knobs 16 are required to perform the ball removing operation quickly. Needless to say, they may rotate at the same time.

The configuration and operation of the preferred embodiment of the ball removing device for a gaming machine according to the present invention have been described above in detail. But,
Such embodiments are merely exemplary of the present invention,
It does not limit the invention in any way. Various modifications and changes can be made depending on the specific application without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the shape of the emission plate 12 is not limited to a semicircle, but may be a shape such as a semiellipse, a trapezoid, a rectangle, or a triangle. Also, it is not essential to use a pair of left and right operation knobs. By rotating the operation knob using one operation knob and a gear mechanism, both rotating shafts are used.
You may comprise so that 14 and both discharge plates 12 may rotate simultaneously.

[0021]

As will be understood from the above description, the ball removing device for a game machine according to the present invention has the following remarkable practical effects. That is, since the pair of discharge plates are rotated, unlike the conventional left and right slide method, the left and right spaces are substantially unnecessary. In addition, since a pair of left and right discharge plates are rotated to remove the ball from the gap, the ball is removed from two places separated from each other, and the released game ball is not concentrated in one place as in the conventional case, but in a box. It can be released almost uniformly. Furthermore, since the left and right discharge plates can be independently rotated, they can be selectively discharged to the right or left of the box.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a preferred embodiment of a ball removing device for a gaming machine of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a top view of a game ball reservoir using the game machine ball punching device of FIG. 1;

3A and 3B are cross-sectional views of the upper tray shown in FIG. 2 in a longitudinal direction, in which FIG. 3A shows a state where the ball removing device is closed, FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Ball release device for gaming machines 12 Left and right release plate 13 Shaft hole 14 Left and right rotation shaft 16 Left and right operation knob 20 Game ball reservoir 21 Bottom 22 Side wall 23 Opening 30 Support base 31 Opening 32 Stopper member 40 Gap

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A game in which a game ball is launched into a game area and is incorporated in a game ball reservoir for storing the game ball of the game machine, and the game ball stored in the game ball reservoir is extracted as necessary. In the machine ball punching device, a pair of release plates that rotate about the rotation axis are respectively disposed in the openings on the bottom surface of the game ball reservoir, and the release plates are rotated to form a gap between the release plate and the bottom surface. A ball removing device for a game machine, wherein a gap is formed and the game ball is withdrawn. 2. The ball punching device for a gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein said pair of discharge plates are arranged such that said rotation axes are adjacent to each other. 3. The ballless game machine according to claim 1, wherein said pair of discharge plates are substantially semicircular, and said rotating shaft is disposed near a chord portion thereof. apparatus. 4. An operation knob attached to a front end of the rotary shaft, and the operation knob is rotated to rotate the operation shaft.
4. The ball punching device for a game machine according to claim 3, wherein the pair of discharge plates are selectively rotated. 5. The game ball reservoir is mounted on a support base having an opening having a shape corresponding to the discharge plate, and a stopper member for locking a rotating portion of the discharge plate is provided in the opening. The ball punching device for a gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: