JP2002136734A - Prize ball discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a prize ball discharge device capable of discharging the accurate number of prize balls into a ball tray. SOLUTION: A first lower part ball detection sensor 46 and a second lower part ball detection sensor 52 for detecting Pachinko balls 2 discharged from the inside of a case 8 are provided. Since the drive contents of a driving motor 34 are controlled on the basis of the detected results of the first lower part ball detection sensor 46 and the second lower part ball detection sensor 52, the accurate number of the prize balls are discharged into the ball tray. Also, since the first lower part ball detection sensor 46 and the second lower part ball detection sensor 52 detect the Pachinko balls 2 vertically falling inside the case 8, the Pachinko balls 2 pass through the detection areas of the first lower part ball detection sensor 46 and the second lower part ball detection sensor 52 loosely one by one without interfering with each other. Thus, since the detection accuracy of the Pachinko balls 2 is improved, the accurate number of the prize balls are discharged into the ball tray.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a prize ball discharging device for discharging a pachinko ball in a ball tank as a prize ball.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is a prize ball discharging device in which a pachinko ball is discharged from a case into a ball tray as a prize ball by driving a discharge mechanism by a drive motor. In this configuration, the correspondence between the driving amount of the driving motor and the number of discharged pachinko balls is mechanically set, and the number of discharged pachinko balls is adjusted based on controlling the driving amount of the driving motor. Is done.

[0003]

In the case of the above-described prize ball discharging device, there is a risk that a defective discharge may occur in which the number of pachinko balls is not discharged according to the driving amount of the drive motor. The number of prize balls paid out to the ball tray becomes insufficient or excessive. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a prize ball discharge device capable of dispensing an accurate number of prize balls in a ball tray.

[0004]

According to the present invention, there is provided a prize ball discharging apparatus comprising: a case having two ball supply paths to which pachinko balls are supplied from a ball tank; and one pachinko ball in the both ball supply paths. A discharging mechanism for alternately dropping the pachinko balls from the inside of the case, a driving motor for driving the discharging mechanism, and a discharging mechanism provided in the case at a position downstream of the discharging mechanism. Ball detecting means for detecting a pachinko ball made to fall, wherein the ball detecting means detects a pachinko ball falling vertically in the case. According to the above means, the number of pachinko balls ejected can be confirmed based on the detection result of the ball detecting means, and the driving content of the drive motor can be controlled based on the result of confirmation of the number of ejected pachinko balls. A number of prize balls are paid out. In addition, since the ball detecting means detects the pachinko balls falling vertically in the case, the pachinko balls pass one by one without interfering with each other in the detection area of the ball detecting means. For this reason, erroneous detection of pachinko balls by the ball detecting means is prevented, and the accuracy of detecting the number of ejected pachinko balls is increased, so that a more accurate number of prize balls are paid out in the ball tray.

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a prize ball discharging device will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, in FIG. 3 showing the rear side of the entire pachinko machine, a ball tank 3 which is a ball supply source for storing a large number of prize balls, that is, pachinko balls 2, is disposed on the upper rear side of the machine body 1.
Pachinko balls 2 are supplied into the ball tank 3 from a pachinko ball supply mechanism (not shown).

[0006] In the lower part of the ball tank 3, a ball downflow passage 4 is provided.
The pachinko ball 2 flowing out from the bottom of the ball tank 3 flows down in the ball downflow passage 4. The interior of the spherical downflow passage 4 is configured to be divided into two branch passages 5 (only one is shown) by ribs in the front and rear. At the lower right side of these branch passages 5, a prize ball discharging device 6 is disposed. The pachinko ball 2 discharged from the prize ball discharging device 6 is configured to flow down the ball flow passage 7 and then be stored in a ball tray (not shown) provided at a lower portion on the front side of the machine body 1. ing.

Now, the prize ball discharging device 6 will be described with reference to FIG.
2 and FIGS. 4 to 7. In FIG. 1, in a case 8, first and second sphere supply paths 9 and 10 are provided so as to extend in a vertical direction side by side. The first ball supply passage 9 has an upper end opening communicating with one of the branch passages 5 of the ball flow-down passage 4 and a lower end opening communicating with the ball flow-down passage 7 on the ball discharge port side. The second ball supply passage 10 has an upper end opening communicating with the other branch passage of the spherical downflow passage 4 and a lower end opening communicating with the spherical downflow passage 7.

FIG. 1 shows an intermediate portion of the first ball supply path 9.
An upper through-hole 9a and a lower through-hole 9b are formed in the middle right side wall at an interval of approximately one pachinko ball 2. In these upper through-hole 9a and lower through-hole 9b,
An upper stopper member 11 and a lower stopper member 12 on the first ball supply path 9 side are provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the left-right direction.

In this case, the upper stopper member 11 and the lower stopper member 12 are each provided with a stop position for stopping the pachinko ball 2 in the first ball supply passage 9 (a position protruding into the first ball supply passage 9), The pachinko ball 2 can reciprocate with a passage position (a position that does not protrude into the first ball supply path 9) where the pachinko ball 2 is allowed to pass. The upper stopper member 11 and the lower stopper member 12 are vertically arranged at an interval of about one pachinko ball 2.

In addition, an upper through hole 10a and a lower through hole 1a are provided on the left side wall in FIG.
0b are formed at intervals of approximately one pachinko ball 2. The upper through hole 10a and the lower through hole 10
b, the upper stopper member 13 on the second ball supply path 10 side
And the lower stopper member 14 is provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the left-right direction.

In this case, the upper stopper member 13 and the lower stopper member 14 are respectively provided with a stop position for stopping the pachinko ball 2 in the second ball supply path 10 (a position protruding into the second ball supply path 10), The pachinko ball 2 can be reciprocated with a passage position (a position that does not protrude into the second ball supply path 10) to allow the pachinko ball 2 to pass. In this case, the upper stopper member 13 and the lower stopper member 14
They are arranged one above the other with an interval between them.

Now, the above-mentioned four stopper members 11 to 11 will be described.
Reference numeral 14 denotes a discharge mechanism for alternately dropping the pachinko balls 2 from the first ball supply path 9 and the second ball supply path 10 one by one, and moves and drives the four stopper members 11 to 14. The link mechanism 15 will be specifically described below with reference to FIGS. Beside the first and second ball supply paths 9 and 10, three link members 16, 1
Reference numerals 7 and 18 are provided so as to be rotatable around the pins 19, 20 and 21 as fulcrums. Each link member 16, 1
As shown in FIG. 5, the central portion of each of the support members 7, 18 is pivotally supported at the upper end portion of each of three support portions 22, 23, 24 fixed to the case 8 via pins 19, 20, 21. .

The three link members 16, 17, 18
Are connected to the pins 26, 27,
28, and the lower ends thereof are connected by connecting rods 29 via pins 30, 31, 32. Thereby, the three link members 16, 17, 1
Numeral 8, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.

Here, the center link member 17 is fixed to the pin 20 so as to rotate integrally therewith. The pin 20 is connected via a coupling 33 to a rotating shaft 35 of a drive motor 34 which is a drive means. Thus, the link member 17 is driven to rotate forward and backward in accordance with the forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor 34. The drive motor 34 is formed of, for example, a stepping motor, and the direction and amount of rotation of the drive motor 34 can be appropriately controlled.

The base ends of the upper stopper member 11 and the lower stopper member 12 on the side of the first ball supply path 9 are provided with pins 36 at portions slightly above the center from the upper and lower ends of the right link member 16. And 37 so as to be rotatable. Thereby, when the link member 16 rotates, the upper stopper member 11 and the lower stopper member 12
Move in the left-right direction and alternately to the stop position.

Specifically, when the link member 16 rotates counterclockwise to the position shown in FIG.
Moves to the stop position, and the lower stopper member 12 moves to the passing position. And the link member 16
Is rotated clockwise to the position shown in FIG. 2, the upper stopper member 11 moves to the passing position and the lower stopper member 1
2 moves to the stop position. Note that spacers 38 are provided between the base member of the upper stopper member 11 and the lower stopper member 12 and the link member 16.

On the other hand, a part of the left link member 19 from the upper and lower ends and slightly from the center is provided with the second ball supply path 10.
The base ends of the upper stopper member 13 and the lower stopper member 14 are rotatably mounted via pins 39 and 40. As a result, when the link member 19 rotates, the upper stopper member 13 and the lower stopper member 1 correspond to the rotation.
4 moves left and right and alternately moves to the stop position.

Specifically, when the link member 19 rotates counterclockwise to the position shown in FIG.
Moves to the passing position, and the lower stopper member 14 moves to the stop position. And the link member 19
Is rotated clockwise to the position shown in FIG. 2, the upper stopper member 13 moves to the stop position and the lower stopper member 1
4 moves to the passing position. Note that spacers 38 are provided between the base members of the upper stopper member 13 and the lower stopper member 14 and the link member 19, respectively.

In this case, since the link members 16 and 19 of the link mechanism portion 15 rotate in conjunction with each other, when the upper stopper member 11 on the first ball supply path 9 moves to the stop position, the second stopper member is moved to the second position. Each of the stopper members 11 to 14 is moved so that the lower stopper member 14 on the ball supply path 10 moves to the stop position.
Are linked.

A position detecting plate 41 bent substantially in an L shape is screwed to the right end of the upper connecting rod 25 in FIG. The tip 41 a of the position detection plate 41 is detected by a position detection sensor 42 fixed to the case 8. The position detecting sensor 42 is formed of, for example, a transmission type optical sensor, and has a substantially U-shape as shown in FIG. 6, and includes a light projecting element 42a and a light receiving element 42b.
have.

In this case, when the connecting rod 25 is moving to the position shown in FIG. 1, light from the light projecting element 42a is received by the light receiving element 42b. When the connecting rod 25 is moving to the position shown in FIG. 2, the light from the light projecting element 42a is blocked by the distal end 41a of the position detecting plate 41 and is not received by the light receiving element 42b. Therefore,
Based on the light receiving signal from the position detection sensor 42, the positions of the connecting rod 25 and thus each of the stopper members 11 to 14 can be known.

On the other hand, a first upper ball detection sensor 43 for detecting the presence or absence of the pachinko ball 2 is provided on the outer peripheral wall on the upper end side of the first ball supply path 9. The first upper sphere detection sensor 43 is constituted by, for example, a transmission type optical sensor,
It has a light projecting element 44 and a light receiving element 45. In this case, a through hole is formed on the side wall of the first ball supply path 9 corresponding to each of the above elements, and light from the light emitting element 44 passes through each of the through holes to the light receiving element 45. It is designed to receive light. Note that a transparent plastic plate (not shown) for dust prevention is provided in each of the through holes.

On the outer peripheral wall at the lower end of the first ball supply path 9, a first lower ball detection sensor 46 for detecting the number of pachinko balls 2 passing through the first ball supply path 9 is provided. ing. The first lower sphere detection sensor 46 is constituted by, for example, a transmission type optical sensor, and has a light projecting element 47 and a light receiving element 48. A through hole is formed on the side wall of the first ball supply path 9 corresponding to each of the above elements, and light from the light projecting element 47 passes through each of the through holes to the light receiving element 48. It is designed to receive light. Note that a transparent plastic plate (not shown) for dust prevention is provided in each of the through holes.

On the other hand, a second upper sphere detecting sensor 49 for detecting the presence or absence of the pachinko ball 2 is provided on the outer peripheral wall at the upper end of the second sphere supply path 10. 49 is constituted by, for example, a transmission type optical sensor,
It has a light projecting element 50 and a light receiving element 51. And
A through hole is formed in the side wall of the second ball supply path 10 corresponding to each of the above elements, and light emitted from the light emitting element 50 is received by the light receiving element 51 through each of the through holes. It has become. Note that a transparent plastic plate (not shown) for dust prevention is provided in each of the through holes.

A second lower ball detecting sensor 52 for detecting the number of pachinko balls 2 passing through the second ball supply path 10 is provided on the outer peripheral wall on the lower end side of the second ball supply path 10. Have been. The second lower sphere detection sensor 52 constitutes sphere detection means for detecting the pachinko ball 2 discharged from the discharge mechanism together with the first lower sphere detection sensor 46, and is constituted by, for example, a transmission type optical sensor. It has a light projecting element 53 and a light receiving element 54. And the second ball supply path 10
A through hole is formed in the side wall of the light emitting element 53 so as to correspond to each of the above elements, so that light emitted from the light emitting element 53 is received by the light receiving element 54 through each of the through holes. Note that a transparent plastic plate (not shown) for dust prevention is provided in each of the through holes.

Referring to FIG. 7 showing the electrical configuration, the control circuit 55 includes a microcomputer and has a function of controlling the overall operation of the pachinko machine and the operation of the prize ball discharging device 6. Have a program. The control circuit 55 includes a prize detection signal from the prize detection circuit 56 for detecting that the pachinko ball 2 has won a prize port (not shown), a detection signal from the position detection sensor 40, the first upper sphere detection sensor 43, 1 lower sphere detection sensor 4
6. Each detection signal from the second upper sphere detection sensor 49 and the second lower sphere detection sensor 52 is received. Further, the control circuit 55 outputs the drive control signal to the drive circuit 5.
7, the drive of the drive motor 34 is controlled.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. When the prize ball discharging device 6 is not discharging the pachinko ball 2, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the upper stopper member 11 on the first ball supply path 9 side is at the stop position, the first ball is discharged. The lower stopper member 12 on the ball supply path 9 is at the passing position, the upper stopper member 13 on the second ball supply path 10 is at the passing position, and the lower stopper member on the second ball supply path 10 side. 14 is at the stop position. In this state, the pachinko ball 2 is stopped by the upper stopper member 11 on the first ball supply path 9 side. On the other hand, the second ball supply path 1
On the 0 side, the pachinko ball 2 is stopped by the lower stopper member 14.

In this state, when the pachinko ball 2 hit into the game section (not shown) wins, the prize ball discharging device 6 discharges, for example, 15 pachinko balls 2 as prize balls. In this case, the control circuit 55 receives the detection signal from the winning detection circuit 56, controls the energization of the drive motor 34 to drive the link members 16 to 18 of the link mechanism unit 15 in the forward and reverse directions. To move the 15 pachinko balls 2 one by one into the first ball supply path 9 and the second ball supply path 10
And is discharged to the ball downflow passage 7 side.

Specifically, when the link members 16 to 18 of the link mechanism section 15 are driven to rotate clockwise from the state shown in FIG. 1, the first ball supply path 9 as shown in FIG. The upper stopper member 11 moves to the passing position and
The lower stopper member 12 on the side of the ball supply path 9 moves to the stop position, and the upper stopper member 1 on the side of the second ball supply path 10
3 moves to the stop position, and the lower stopper member 14 on the second ball supply path 10 moves to the passing position.

As a result, the pachinko ball 2 is stopped by the lower stopper member 12 on the first ball supply path 9 side. On the other hand, on the second ball supply path 10 side, only one pachinko ball 2 stopped by the lower stopper member 14 is dropped and discharged, and the remaining pachinko balls 2 are stopped by the upper stopper member 13. Become like

Thereafter, the link member 1 of the link mechanism 15
When the rotary members 6 to 18 are driven to rotate counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. 2, as shown in FIG.
Is moved to a position opposite to the position described above,
Only one pachinko ball 2 drops from the first ball supply path 9 and is discharged. Hereinafter, by repeating the forward and reverse rotation of the link members 16 to 18 of the link mechanism unit 15 in the same manner,
Pachinko balls are discharged one by one from the first and second ball supply paths 9 and 10 alternately.

In the above configuration, when one pachinko ball 2 is discharged from one of the ball supply passages 9 and 10, the pachinko ball 2 that is stationary is merely stopped by the upper stopper members 11 and 13. The load of the pachinko ball 2 acting on the upper stopper members 11, 13 is a static load, and the magnitude of the load is reduced by that amount. Also, upper stopper member 1
When the pachinko ball 2 stopped by the pachinko balls 1 and 13 is stopped by the lower stopper members 12 and 14, the pachinko ball 2 only falls by one from the rest state, so that the pachinko balls acting on the lower stopper members 12 and 14 are provided. The load 2 is almost a static load and its magnitude is small.

Accordingly, since the load acting on each of the stopper members 11 to 14 is reduced, each of the stopper members 11 to 14 is reduced.
Chipping can be reliably prevented. Further, since it is not necessary to form the stopper members 11 to 14 with a material having such a high durability, the material cost can be reduced, and the stopper members 11 to 14 can be prevented from being chipped.
Operational reliability is improved.

A first lower ball detecting sensor 46 for detecting the pachinko ball 2 discharged from the case 8 and a second lower ball detecting sensor 46 are provided.
The lower sphere detection sensor 52 is provided. Therefore, the first lower sphere detection sensor 46 and the second lower sphere detection sensor 52
The number of ejected pachinko balls 2 can be confirmed based on the detection result, and the driving content of the driving motor 34 can be controlled based on the confirmed result of the number of ejected pachinko balls, so that the correct number of prize balls are paid out in the ball tray.

Further, since the first lower ball detecting sensor 46 and the second lower ball detecting sensor 52 detect the pachinko ball 2 falling vertically in the case 8, the pachinko ball 2 is moved to the first lower ball detecting sensor. 1 without causing mutual interference in the detection areas of the ball detection sensor 46 and the second lower ball detection sensor 52.
You will be able to pass individually. Therefore, the first lower sphere detection sensor 46 and the second lower sphere detection sensor 5
2 prevents erroneous detection of the pachinko ball 2 and increases the accuracy of detecting the number of ejected pachinko balls 2, so that a more accurate number of prize balls are paid out in the ball tray.

When controlling the energization of the drive motor 34, the connecting rod 25 of the link mechanism 15, that is, the link member 16 to the link member 16 based on the detection signal from the position detection sensor 40.
The control is performed while detecting the rotational position of 19. At the same time, based on the detection signals from the first upper ball detection sensor 43 and the second upper ball detection sensor 49, the pachinko ball 2 is placed in the first ball supply path 9 and the second ball supply path 10. The drive motor 34 is controlled while detecting whether or not there is any. Further, the first lower ball detection sensor 46 and the second
Based on each detection signal from the lower sphere detection sensor 52,
The control is performed while detecting the number of pachinko balls 2 passing through the first ball supply path 9 and the second ball supply path 10.

In the above-described embodiment, 15 pachinko balls 2 are ejected at the time of winning. However, the number of pachinko balls 2 to be ejected may be set to 8, 9, 10, or the like. , Can be set to a desired even or odd number. In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the prize ball discharging device 6, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the present invention may be applied to a ball rental machine.

Further, in the above embodiment, the link member 16,
Although the cantilever structure 18 is supported by the support portions 22 and 24 via the pins 19 and 21, the invention is not limited to this. The ends of the pins 19 and 21 are extended to support the side wall of the case 8. A two-point support configuration.

[0039]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention has a ball detecting means for detecting pachinko balls discharged from the case. For this reason, since the driving content of the drive motor can be controlled based on the detection result of the ball detecting means, an accurate number of prize balls are paid out in the ball tray. In addition, the ball detecting means detects a pachinko ball falling vertically in the case. As a result, the pachinko balls pass one by one without interfering with each other in the detection area of the ball detecting means, so that the detection accuracy of the pachinko balls by the ball detecting means is increased, and the pachinko balls are more accurately placed in the ball tray. A number of prize balls are paid out.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a prize ball discharging device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical side view of the prize ball discharging device showing an operation state different from that of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the pachinko machine.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a prize ball discharging device.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a link mechanism and a stopper member.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a position detection sensor.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a machine body, 2 is a pachinko ball, 3 is a ball tank, 6 is a prize ball discharge device, 8 is a case, 9 is a first ball supply path (ball supply path), and 10 is a second ball supply path (ball supply path). Supply path), 11 is an upper stopper member, 12 is a lower stopper member, 13 is an upper stopper member, 14 is a lower stopper member, 15 is a link mechanism, 3
4 is a drive motor (drive means), 42 is a position detection sensor,
43 is a first upper sphere detection sensor, 46 is a first lower sphere detection sensor, 49 is a second upper sphere detection sensor, and 52 is a second upper sphere detection sensor.
, 55 denotes a control circuit, and 56 denotes a winning detection circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pachinko ball is supplied from a ball tank.
A case having two ball supply paths, a discharge mechanism for alternately dropping the pachinko balls in the two ball supply paths one by one to discharge the pachinko balls from the case, and a drive motor for driving the discharge mechanism. Ball detection means provided in the case on the downstream side of the discharge mechanism and detecting a pachinko ball dropped by the discharge mechanism, wherein the ball detection means extends vertically inside the case. A prize ball discharging device for detecting a falling pachinko ball.