JP2003164624A - Ball gutter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem of static electricity affecting electronic components of game machines in the conventional art which inevitably allows the generation thereof in balls flowing through the ball gutter, while the static electricity generated once is hard to be released. <P>SOLUTION: In the ball gutter, for example, a vertical case 1 of the cylindrical ball gutter is built up of a conducting material and a through hole 20 is provided at a part of the circumferential surface of the cylinder of the vertical case 1 of the cylindrical ball gutter piercing the inside thereof and an electroconductive part provided on the body side (mechanism plate 13) is so positioned as to contact balls flowing through the ball gutter 1A by way of the through hole 20. Otherwise, a holding means (holder 40) is provided to hold and mount the vertical case 1 of the cylindrical ball gutter on the body side of the game machine while the through hole 20 is provided at a part of the circumferential surface of the cylinder of the vertical case 1 of the ball gutter piercing the inside thereof. An electroconductive part of the holding means is so positioned as to contact balls flowing through the ball gutter 1A by way of the through hole 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a cylindrical vertical gutter,
In particular, it relates to electrostatic structures.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A game machine such as a pachinko machine has a fixed frame installed on an island facility of a game machine such as a pachinko hall, and an opening / closing frame on which various parts constituting the game machine are mounted, and the necessary wiring. Wiring is done and the game is ready. FIG. 5 is a view showing the back side of the open / close frame. On the front side of the open / close frame 11 (the side on which the player plays a game), a game board, a glass door for sealing the front side of the game board, a lower plate, an upper plate, and the like are attached. The open / close frame 11 is attached to the fixed frame by the upper hinge 12 and the lower hinge so that the player can open the fixed frame to the player side. A mechanism plate 13 called a rear plate is fixed to the back side of the open / close frame 11. The game board is fixedly attached to the mechanism plate 13 from the front side of the opening / closing frame 11. On the back side of the game board attached to this mechanism plate 13,
Each control device such as a main control device, a pattern control device, a launch control device 14, a ball payout control device 15 and the like is provided. Also,
The back side of the opening / closing frame 11 covers an upper tank 16 which receives a ball supply from a ball supply facility, a ball payout mechanism 17, a lower tank 18 for guiding the ball from the upper tank 16 to the ball payout mechanism 17, a control device, and the like. A rear cover 19 and the like are attached via the mechanism plate 13. The base 71 of the ball payout mechanism 17 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a ball gutter 72 having a meandering passage 72a is attached with a screw 80 or the like, and the ball passes from the ball inlet 73 through the ball gutter 72 to the passage switching unit 74 and then to the ball dispensing device 75. After that, the balls are delivered to the upper plate through a ball delivery gutter (not shown). When the passage switching unit 74 is operated, the sphere is guided to a ball removing passage (not shown). Reference numeral 76 is an introduction ball confirmation detector, 77 is a payout ball confirmation detector, and 78 and 79 are ball feed sprockets.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned prior art, static electricity is generated in the sphere flowing in the ball gutter 72, and static electricity generated in the sphere is difficult to escape. There has been a problem that such static electricity has a bad influence on electronic components of a game machine.

[0004]

According to the ball gutter of the present invention,
By constructing the cylindrical ball gutter vertical case with a conductive material, it is possible to eliminate static electricity due to the balls flowing through the ball gutter. In addition, a through hole penetrating inside is provided in a part of the cylindrical peripheral surface of the cylindrical ball gutter vertical case, and a conductive portion provided on the gaming machine main body side is changed to a ball flowing in the ball gutter through the through hole. It is arranged so that it can come into contact with it, or holding means for holding the tubular ball gutter vertical case and attaching it to the main body of the gaming machine is provided, and at a part of the cylinder circumferential surface of the ball gutter vertical case. By providing a through-hole that penetrates inside and arranging the conductive part of the holding means so that it can contact the sphere flowing in the ball gutter through the through-hole, the static electricity caused by the ball flowing in the gutter can be more efficiently Can be removed. Further, in the above, if the conductive portion is grounded, the static elimination effect is further enhanced. The vertical gutter case is attached to the upper and lower ends of a tubular body composed of a semi-cylindrical element having a semicircular cross section formed by dividing the tube into two parts, and the dividing surfaces of these semi-cylindrical elements facing each other. By configuring the semi-cylindrical element with the coupling element that maintains the coupled state, it is possible to provide a highly reliable ball trough capable of preventing ball clogging and the like due to the pressure of the ball separating the upper and lower sides of the semi-cylindrical element. In addition, by forming a spiral slope extending vertically in the vertical gutter case, the spiral slope guides the sphere to swivel around a vertically extending center, reducing the horizontal width of the vertical gutter. Even if formed, the balls are stored in a meandering pattern along the spiral slope in the front, rear, left, and right directions, so that the amount of balls stored in the vertical ball gutter can be increased. In addition, if the spiral slope is formed so as to carry the balls in a double row, the storage amount of the balls in the vertical ball gutter increases significantly. The spiral slope is equipped with spiral blades on the outside of the rod, and the upper and lower ends of the rod are on the upper and lower sides of the vertical gutter case so that there is a gap between the outer periphery of the spiral blade and the inner peripheral wall of the vertical gutter case. It is possible to prevent the spiral blade from swinging in the lateral direction by forming a protrusion that is fixed and is formed on the outer periphery of the spiral blade or the inner peripheral wall of the vertical gutter case. Further, by forming the spiral slope with a conductive material, it is possible to further enhance the static elimination effect.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a view showing a state in which a ball gutter is attached to a mechanism plate via a holder, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the holder, FIG. 3 is a view showing an internal structure of the ball gutter and an internal structure of a half cylinder element, and FIG. It is a partially expanded view of FIG. Figures 1 and 3
As shown in FIG. 2, half-cylindrical elements 2A and 2B each having a semicircular cross section formed by dividing the cylinder into two pieces so as to divide the bamboo,
The upper cap 3A and the lower cap 3B, which are attached to the upper and lower ends of a tubular body formed by abutting the divided surfaces 1a of the 2B and maintain the semi-cylindrical elements 2A and 2B in a tightly coupled state, form a sphere. The gutter vertical case 1 is formed, and a spiral slope 4 to be described later is provided in the ball gutter vertical case 1 to form a ball gutter 1A.

The ball gutter 1A is held by a holder 40 and attached to a mechanism plate 13 made of a conductive material such as metal.
The holder 40 is provided with a plurality of flexible hooking members 42 that are cut and raised from the base plate 41 that is in contact with the mechanism plate 13, and that the hooking members 4 are provided on both sides of the base plate 41.
A plurality of sets of flexible arm pieces 43, 43 projecting in a direction opposite to 2 and holding and holding the ball gutter vertical case 1 by holding the case vertically are provided in plurality. The hook member 4 is attached to the mechanism plate 13.
A receiving portion 30 for receiving 2 and fixing the ball gutter 1A is provided, and the ball gutter 1A can be attached / detached to / from the mechanism plate 13 (that is, the gaming machine main body side) with one touch by the engaging means by the hooking member 42 and the receiving portion 30. I configured it like this. That is,
The hooking member 42 is brought into contact with the back surface 13b of the mechanism plate 13 through the opening 31 that constitutes the receiving portion 30, and the root 42t of the hooking member 42 is locked to the lower edge 32 of the opening 31 so that a driver, etc. Ball gutter 1 without using tools
A can be easily attached to the mechanism plate 13 with one touch. When inspecting the ball gutter 1A, the ball gutter 1A can be removed from the holder 40 and the ball gutter vertical case 1 can be disassembled to inspect the inside.

Semi-cylindrical element 2A forming a vertical gutter case 1
A part of the outer peripheral surface of the through hole 2 penetrating inside the ball gutter 1A
A plurality of 0s are formed, and the cut-and-raised portions 21 cut and raised from the base plate 41 of the holder 40 are fitted in the through holes 20 and positioned so as to be able to contact the balls P flowing in the ball gutter 1A. The cut-and-raised portion 21 has flexibility, and when the vertical gutter case 1 is attached to the holder 40 so that the through-hole 20 and the cut-and-raised portion 21 are aligned with each other, as shown in a partially enlarged view of FIG. The front surface 22 of the raised portion 21 is formed to be flush with the inner peripheral wall 2u of the semi-cylindrical element 2A. As a result, the sphere P flows smoothly without obstructing the flow of the sphere P flowing in the ball gutter 1A. The holder 40 is formed of a conductive material such as metal or conductive resin. Therefore, the sphere P flowing in the ball gutter 1A comes into contact with the front surface 22 of the cut-and-raised portion 21 so that the sphere P is charged with static electricity. Flows to the mechanism plate 13 (grounded portion) via the holder 40, so that static electricity can be removed. Further, the front surface 22 of the through hole 20 and the cut and raised portion 21.
By forming the vertical direction, the spiral slope 4 in the ball gutter 1A
The sphere P swirling down along the front surface 2 of the cut-and-raised portion 21
The number of times of contact with 2 can be increased, and the charge can be efficiently removed.

The spiral slope 4 has a spiral blade 6 fixedly provided on the outside of the center rod 5 like a screw.
The upper end 5a and the lower end 5b of the center rod 5 are fixed to the upper and lower sides in the vertical gutter case 1. As a result, the ball gutter vertical case 1
A spiral slope 4 centered on the center rod 5 is formed in the inside of the so as to extend in the vertical direction. The spiral slope 4 is
The lower end 5b of the center rod 5 is fitted and fixed to a fitting portion 1x provided on the lower end side of the semi-cylindrical elements 2A and 2B, and the upper end 5a of the center rod 5 is provided on the upper end side of the semi-cylindrical elements 2A and 2B. It is installed inside the ball gutter vertical case 1 by fitting and fixing the fitting portion 1y.

A lower tank 18 is provided on the upper part of the vertical gutter case 1.
The sphere inlet 1c for introducing the sphere P supplied from the sphere into the spiral slope 4 is provided. The sphere outlet 1a of the lower tank 18 is inserted inside the sphere gutter vertical case 1 from the outside to the inside of the sphere inlet 1c. Spheres P are connected to the upper end portion of 6 so as to smoothly flow in a line in a plan view. The ball gutter vertical case 1 is provided with a ball discharge port 1d for leading the ball P from the spiral slope 4 to the ball payout device 75, and the ball P is provided at the ball inlet 75a of the ball payout device 75.
And the balls are dispensed to the upper plate 81. The vertical distance between the upper spiral blade 6 and the lower spiral blade 6 is a dimension in which two or more spheres P form a double row arranged vertically and flow from top to bottom. The gap 7 between the outer circumference 6f of the spiral blade 6, the vertical gutter case 1 and the inner peripheral wall 1u is smaller than the diameter of one sphere P.

The split surfaces 1a of the semi-cylindrical elements 2A and 2B are provided with concave portions 1s and convex portions 1t which are fitted to each other, and the semi-cylindrical elements 2A and 2B are joined by the concave and convex fitting. Note that FIG. 3 shows the split surface 1a of the semi-cylindrical element 2A, and the semi-cylindrical elements 2A and 2B have opposite recesses 1s and projections 1t provided on the split surface 1a. The element 2A has a symmetric configuration except that a ball inlet 1c is provided and the half-cylindrical element 2B is provided with a ball outlet 1d. In addition, a fitting hole 44 is formed at the center of the arm piece 43.
Is provided. The fitting hole 44 of the arm piece 43 provided on the center side of the base plate 41 is fitted into the positioning projection 50 provided so as to project from the outer peripheral surface in the vicinity of the dividing surface 1a of each of the semi-cylindrical elements 2A and 2B. The fitting hole 45 of the arm piece 43 provided on the upper end side of the base plate 41 is provided in each half-cylindrical element 2
Upper end side and upper cap 3 in the vicinity of the dividing surface 1a of A and 2B
The positioning projections 51 and 52 are provided so as to project from the outer peripheral surfaces of the A half-cylindrical elements 2A and 2B. Incidentally, the fitting hole 4 of the arm piece 43 provided on the lower end side of the base plate 41
Similarly, 5 is a positioning projection 51, which is provided so as to project from the lower end side near the dividing surface 1a of each half-cylindrical element 2A, 2B and the outer peripheral surface of the lower cap 3B on the half-cylindrical element 2A, 2B side.
Fit in 52. Thereby, the ball gutter vertical case 1 can be held while being maintained in the coupled state. Further, a vertical movement restricting wall 60 of the arm piece 43 is formed on a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the vertical vertical gutter case 1 corresponding to the mounting position of the arm piece 43. By mounting 43, the ball gutter 1A can be held so as not to move up and down. Further, as can be seen from FIG. 3, the caps 3A and 3B have two parts, the outer part and the inner part, which are the semi-cylindrical elements 2.
The caps 3A and 3B are fitted to the upper and lower ends of A and 2B, and the caps 3A and 3B are firmly connected to the upper and lower ends of the semi-cylindrical elements 2A and 2B. As a result, the pressure of the sphere causes the half-cylindrical elements 2A, 2B
The upper and lower sides of the two do not separate from each other, and the half cylinder elements 2A, 2B
It is possible to prevent the ball clogging and the like from occurring due to the upper and lower sides of the.

According to the first embodiment, the front surface 2 of the cut-and-raised portion 21 which is a part of the holder 40 made of a conductive material.
2 is positioned so as to be able to contact the ball P flowing in the ball gutter 1A by facing the inside of the ball gutter 1A through the through hole 20 formed in the gutter vertical case 1, and the holder 40 is made of a conductive material. Since it is attached to the mechanical plate 13 and grounded, the static electricity of the ball P flowing in the ball gutter 1A can be effectively removed.
When inspecting the ball gutter 1A, the ball gutter 1A is removed from the holder 40 and the caps 3A, 3B and the half-tube elements 2A, 2B are removed.
By separating them from each other, they can be easily disassembled and the inside can be easily inspected, so that the inspection work of the ball gutter 1A becomes easy. In addition, the cap 3A, 3B as a coupling element is a half cylinder element 2
Since the upper and lower end sides of A and 2B are firmly coupled (fitted and coupled), it is possible to prevent the ball clogging and the like due to the upper and lower sides of the semi-cylindrical elements 2A and 2B being separated by the pressure of the ball P. The spiral slope 4 is a ball P supplied from the lower tank 18.
Is guided in the direction of the ball dispensing device 75 in a double flow manner in a natural flow-down manner. In this way, since the spiral slope 4 guides the sphere P in multiple rows so as to turn around the center extending in the vertical direction, even if the lateral width of the ball gutter 1A, that is, the lateral width of the ball gutter vertical case 1 is formed small, Since the sphere P is in the form of meandering along the spiral slope 4, the sphere storage amount inevitably increases in the sphere gutter 1A as compared with the conventional sphere gutter 72.

Embodiment 2. When the shaft diameter of the center rod 5 that fixes the spiral slope 4 is small, or when the material of the center rod 5 is soft, the center rod 5 may bend and the spiral slope 4 may swing. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, by providing a projecting portion 8 for reducing the gap 7 on the outer circumference of the spiral blade 6, it is possible to prevent the shake. The protruding portion 8
It is desirable to provide three or more locations. For example, they are provided at intervals of 120 ° on the outer circumference of the spiral blade 6 (note that
FIG. 3 shows a case where four spiral blades 6 are provided on the outer circumference of the spiral blade 6 at intervals of 90 °. Instead of providing the protruding portion 8 on the outer circumference of the spiral blade 6, the above-described protruding portion may be provided on the inner peripheral wall 1u of the vertical gutter case 1 at a position facing the outer circumference of the spiral blade 6. .

Embodiment 3. If the ball gutter vertical case 1 and the spiral slope 4 are also made of a conductive material, the static elimination effect can be further enhanced. Alternatively, only the spiral slope 4 may be formed of a conductive material without using the above-described configurations of the through hole 20 and the cut and raised portion 21. In this case, the half cylinder element 2
A tap screw is cut on the upper and lower ends of A and 2B, the screw is fixed, one end of the lead wire is connected between the screw and the upper and lower ends of the center rod 5, and the other end of the lead wire is grounded to the mechanism plate 13 or the like. If so, a static elimination effect can be obtained. Further, if only the ball gutter vertical case 1 is formed of a conductive material without using the above-described configurations of the through hole 20 and the cut-and-raised portion 21, the mechanism plate 13 is grounded via the holder 40. A static elimination effect can be obtained.

It should be noted that instead of the divided cylinder composed of the half cylinder elements 2A and 2B, an integrally formed cylinder may be used.
In addition, using a cylinder with a bottom, the spiral slope 4
It may be a ball gutter vertical case constructed by covering the upper lid after mounting. In this case, without using the holder 40,
You may use what provided the above-mentioned hooking member 42 on the cylindrical peripheral surface. In this case, the mechanism plate 13 side may be provided with a conductive portion that comes into contact with the ball P in the ball trough via the through hole 20. In addition, the cut-and-raised portion 2 in the holder 40
Only a part including 1 may be formed of a conductive material.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a ball gutter of Embodiment 1 is attached to a mechanism plate via a holder.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the holder according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an internal structure of a ball gutter and an internal structure of a semi-cylindrical element according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a back side of an opening / closing frame to which a conventional ball gutter is attached.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a conventional ball gutter mounting structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ball gutter vertical case, 1A ball gutter, 2A, 2B half cylinder element, 3A, 3B cap (coupling element), 4 spiral slope, 5 center rod (rod), 6 spiral blade, 7 gap, 8
Projection part, 13 Mechanism plate (game machine main body side), 20 Through hole, 21 Cut-and-raised part, 22 Front of cut-and-raised part,
40 holder.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A ball gutter characterized in that a cylindrical ball gutter vertical case is made of a conductive material. 2. A tubular ball gutter is provided with a through-hole penetrating inside thereof on a part of a cylindrical peripheral surface of the vertical case, and a conductive portion provided on the gaming machine main body side is inserted through the through-hole into the ball gutter. A ball gutter characterized by being positioned so that it can contact a flowing ball. 3. A holding means for holding a tubular ball gutter vertical case and attaching it to the gaming machine main body side is provided, and a through hole penetrating inside is provided in a part of the cylindrical peripheral surface of the ball gutter vertical case. A ball gutter characterized in that the conductive portion of the holding means is positioned so as to be able to come into contact with a ball flowing in the ball gutter through the through hole. 4. The ball gutter according to claim 2, wherein the conductive portion is grounded. 5. The vertical gutter case is attached to the upper and lower ends of a tubular body formed by contacting the semi-cylindrical elements having a semicircular cross section formed by dividing the tube into two and the split surfaces of these semi-cylindrical elements. The ball gutter according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the ball gutter is configured with a coupling element that holds the half-cylindrical element in a coupled state. 6. The ball gutter according to claim 1, wherein a spiral slope extending vertically is formed inside the ball gutter vertical case. 7. The ball gutter according to claim 6, wherein the spiral slope is formed to carry the balls in double rows. 8. The spiral slope is provided with spiral blades on the outside of the rod, and the upper and lower ends of the rod are of the vertical gutter vertical case so that a gap is formed between the outer periphery of the spiral blade and the inner peripheral wall of the vertical gutter vertical case. The ball gutter according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the ball gutter is fixed to the upper and lower sides, and a projecting portion that reduces the gap is formed on the outer circumference of the spiral blade or the inner circumferential wall of the gutter vertical case. . 9. The ball gutter according to claim 6, wherein the spiral slope is formed of a conductive material.