JP2004000708A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent deviation of the trajectory of a game ball caused by the hitting of the game ball on a guide rail when the shot game ball is made to jump over the gap formed between the guide rail and a shooting rail so that the game ball flowing reversely along the guide rail because of the lack of the shooting force will not reach the shooting rail. <P>SOLUTION: A rail body 46 is structured by integrating the guide rail and the shooting rail. The section of the rail body 46 is formed in an asymmetrical M shape, and a shot ball 52 runs along a depression on the upper part of the M shape without meandering. A magnet rail 34 is set on a side of the rail body 46, and a ball 52' shot with a weak shooting force is attracted to the magnet rail and falls down from a notch 64. Accordingly, as the ball 52 is shot and runs along the rail body 46 without gap, the trajectory of the ball 52 is stable. In addition, as the returned ball 52' can pass together with the shot ball 52, the shooting will not be hindered. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

The present invention relates to a guide rail used for a ball-and-ball game machine represented by a pachinko machine.

In a ball-and-ball game machine such as a pachinko machine, a game ball (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a ball) is launched diagonally upward by a predetermined firing mechanism, and the ball is run on a metal rail called a guide rail. Leading to the area. The game area is formed on the front of a board called a game board, and a guide rail is usually provided on the game board. The ball is fired from a frame board installed below the game board.

様 子 This situation is shown in FIG. This figure is an explanatory view showing a game board 70 and a frame board 72 built in a pachinko machine. It should be noted that the game board 70 is actually provided with corner decorations for lighting and nameplates, but these are removed in the drawing.

As shown in the figure, the game board 70 has a substantially circular game area 70a provided with a liquid crystal display device 74, a winning opening 76, a variable winning device 78, a windmill 80, and the like. A belt-like guide rail 84 is erected from the lower part of the game area 70a to the clockwise upper right of the game area 70a. A guide rail 86 that prevents the ball that has reached the game area 70a from returning to the guide rail 84 again is provided substantially in parallel with the guide rail 84 from the left end of the variable winning device 78. is there.

The frame board 72 is provided with a firing rail 90 for driving a pachinko ball (hereinafter simply referred to as a ball) 88 against the guide rail 84. The firing rail 90 is installed at the upper left as shown in the figure, and hits the ball 88 on the guide rail 84 when the ball 88 is hit by a firing mechanism (not shown).

The struck ball 88 is moved by the guide rail 84 as indicated by an arrow, and reaches the game area 70a.
The firing force can be adjusted by the amount of twist of a firing handle (not shown). The ball 88 that has failed to reach the game area 70a due to insufficient firing force moves in a direction substantially opposite to the arrow, and falls downward from a gap 92 provided between the firing rail 90 and the guide rail 84.

However, according to the related art, the ball 88 hit from the firing rail 90 jumps over the gap 92 and reaches the guide rail 84. At this time, when the ball 88 collides with the guide rail 84, the ball 88 may get an extra spin or bounce. The trajectory of such a ball 88 is not constant, and the player cannot fire the ball 88 aiming at a desired position in the game area 70a.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a guide rail for a ball-type gaming machine according to claim 1 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a guide rail) prevents collision of game balls on the guide rail. The aim is to be able to launch in a stable trajectory.

A second object of the present invention is to stabilize the behavior of the guide rail in the width direction so that game balls can be launched with a more stable trajectory.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a guide rail having a simple structure for detaching a return ball outside the guide rail.

The guide rail according to the fourth aspect is intended not to hinder detection of fraudulent activity using a magnet.

A guide rail for a ball-type gaming machine according to claim 1 of the present invention which has been made to solve such a problem is used for a ball-type gaming machine, and is arranged below a substantially circular game area. In a guide rail for a ball-type gaming machine that guides a ball fired from a shooting rail that has been swung to the upper part of the game area while turning,
A rail body disposed in a wall shape around the game area, from the substantially lower end position to at least a side end position of the game area,
A biasing unit that biases the ball traveling on the rail body in one direction along the width direction of the rail body,
A release opening for releasing the ball moved in the one direction by the urging portion from the rail main body,
And the rail main body is formed integrally with the firing rail.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the guide rail for a ball-type gaming machine according to the first aspect,
The rail body has a cross section perpendicular to the running direction of the ball, the cross section of which is substantially M-shaped, and allows the ball to run in the upper concave portion of the substantially M shape,
The release opening may be a hole formed in the one-way surface of the surface formed by the substantially M-shaped oblique lines.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the guide rail for a ball-type gaming machine according to the first or second aspect,
The urging portion may be a magnet disposed at the position in the one direction with respect to the rail main body.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the guide rail for a ball-type gaming machine according to the third aspect,
The urging portion is covered with a ferromagnetic material having a substantially U-shaped cross-section, and the opening side of the substantially U-shape is directed in a direction substantially opposite to the one direction. And

A guide rail for a ball-type gaming machine according to claim 1 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a guide rail) includes a rail main body corresponding to a conventional guide rail and a ball running on the rail main body, the width of the rail main body. An urging portion that exerts a force to move the ball in one direction along the direction (hereinafter, simply referred to as a width direction), and a release port that detaches the ball moved by the urging portion from the rail body.

In a ball-type game machine equipped with this guide rail, the ball struck along the firing rail reaches the rail main body, but since this rail main body and the firing rail are formed integrally, the ball has a trajectory. Run on the rail body without disturbing.

玉 The ball is pressed against the rail body by centrifugal force. This ball is urged in the width direction of the rail main body, but if the ball is hit with sufficient strength, it travels along the rail main body and reaches the game area. On the other hand, the ball whose firing strength is insufficient loses the gravity, and its speed becomes zero before reaching the game area. On the way to the zero, the ball is moved in the biased direction and separates from the rail main body through the release opening.

Therefore, according to the guide rail of the first aspect, since the shot ball is run on the guide rail having no gap, the trajectory is not easily disturbed, and the ball stably reaches the position aimed by the player. I do. Further, the ball that has not reached the game area is released from the release opening to the outside of the rail by being urged by the urging unit, so that the ball can be stably fired without returning to the fired position.

In the guide rail according to the second aspect, the cross section (perpendicular to the running direction) of the rail body is substantially M-shaped. When the ball travels on the rail body, the ball is brought into contact with the depression at the upper portion of the substantially M-shape due to centrifugal force. Therefore, even if the ball is biased, it travels along the substantially M-shaped recess and does not bounce in the width direction.

玉 The ball that has returned with insufficient firing force moves to one side of the substantially M-shaped slope under the urging of the urging unit. Here, a hole is formed as a release port, and the ball is attracted by gravity and falls downward from here.

Therefore, according to the guide rail of the second aspect, since the cross section of the rail body is M-shaped, the behavior in the width direction is also stabilized. The release opening can be realized with an extremely simple configuration of a hole formed on the M-shaped slope.

In addition, the urging portion, for example, on the board surface on which the game area is formed, a portion where the ball travels along the rail body (hereinafter, referred to as a travel path), provides a hole, and blows air from here to blow the ball. For example, it is possible to urge the glass toward the front glass, or to apply the method as described in claim 3.

That is, in the guide rail according to the third aspect, the biasing portion is configured by a magnet. That is, the ball is urged in the width direction by the magnetic force of the magnet. Therefore, this magnet is arranged in the width direction with respect to the rail body.

When the urging unit is configured to blow out the air, a pump and a configuration for supplying electric power and the like to the pump are required, but according to the urging unit according to claim 3, the pump is configured as follows. Such a configuration is not required, and power is not required at all, and can be realized with a simple configuration.

In the guide rail according to the fourth aspect, the biasing portion formed of a magnet is covered with a substantially U-shaped ferromagnetic material. The opening side of the U-shape is oriented in a direction opposite to the width direction of the rail main body. That is, the lines of magnetic force generated by the magnet mainly flow through the ferromagnetic material and leak only in the direction opposite to the width direction of the rail body. In other words, although the force for urging the ball in the width direction is strong, it hardly leaks the magnetic lines of force in other directions.

Therefore, according to the guide rail of the fourth aspect, if the player attempts a fraudulent action using the magnet, the line of magnetic force by the magnet is not erroneously detected as the line of magnetic force by the urging portion. That is, it does not prevent the detection of fraudulent acts by the magnet.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachinko machine 2 to which the present invention is applied. As shown in this figure, the pachinko machine 2 has a frame-shaped member called a front frame 4 disposed on the front side, and a firing handle 6 below which is operated by a player and a firing handle 6 operated by operating the firing handle 6. A receiving tray 8 in which game balls (not shown) to be stored are provided. A sash 10 is provided above the tray 8, and a game board 14 disposed behind the front frame 4 can be viewed through two transparent glass plates housed in the sash 10.

On the front surface of the game board 14, a substantially circular game area 14a provided with prize holes such as a prize hole 16 and a sleeve prize hole 18a, 18b, 18c, 18d, and a liquid crystal display device 20 and a variable prize device such as a variable prize device 22. Is formed. In addition to the above, the game area 14a has corner lights 24a and 24b, start winning holes 26a, 26b and 26c for starting a process of changing a display image of the liquid crystal display device 20, windmills 28a and 28b, a guide rail 30, and the like. Are arranged.

The game area 14a is surrounded by resin plate-like members (hereinafter, referred to as corner decorations) 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d, and 32e called tank windows, side covers, and the like. It becomes a barrier for the game ball, and prevents the game ball from rolling out of the game area 14a.

Then, when the firing handle 6 is rotated clockwise, a game ball is fired with a strength corresponding to the rotation angle. The trajectory of the game ball is determined by a firing rail (described later) arranged at the back of the right side of the tray 8, and travels along the path between the corner decorations 32a and 32b and the guide rail 30 as shown by arrows P and Q. The game is guided to the game area 14a. On this side of the passage in this figure is a magnet rail 34, which exerts a force to move a ball traveling in the passage toward the front.

FIG. 2 shows how each of the above components is configured behind the front frame 4.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the pachinko machine 2 in a direction in which the front frame 4 and the game board 14 are separated from each other. As can be seen from this figure, a plate-like member called a base plate 36 is disposed between the front frame 4 and the game board 14, and a hole 38 is formed substantially at the center thereof. The punched hole 38 is for facing the game area 14 a from the front of the front frame 4. Also, corner decorations 32a to 32e, a firing rail 40, and the like are fixed to the base plate 36, and the magnet rail 34 is fixed in front of the corner decoration 32a. Further, a mechanism panel having a portion serving as a passage for awarded game balls or prize balls, a mechanism for discharging prize balls, and the like are arranged further behind the game board 14, which is a main object of the present invention. Since the relative positions of the guide rail and the launch rail are not directly related, description thereof is omitted.

Next, the base plate 36 and the magnet rail 34 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where corner decorations 32 a to 32 e are removed from base plate 36. The base plate 36 is a substantially flat plate, and in addition to the above-described hole 38, a window 42a through which a prize ball discharged from the mechanism panel flows out to the tray 8, and a light of a lamp provided on the game board 14 side is used as a front frame. Substantially rectangular lamp holes 42b and 42c for transmitting light to the four sides are provided. Further, a portion 44 of the firing rail 40 where the ball slides has a rail body 46 extending in the firing direction, and there is no seam between the two 40 and 46 (hereinafter, in particular, particularly). Unless otherwise stated, the rail body 46 includes the portion 44). Further, a plurality of tap holes 48 for fixing the corner decorations 32a to 32e are formed in the base plate 36.

The base plate 36 is provided with through holes for fixing the base plate 36 to the front frame 4 in addition to the tapped holes 48. It is omitted in the figure.

The corner decoration 32 a is a plate-like member having a substantially right-angled triangle, and a portion corresponding to the hypotenuse of the right-angled triangle is formed in a curved shape corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the hole 38. The magnet rail 34 is fixed to the front frame 4 side of the corner decoration 32a. A substantially rectangular hole is formed corresponding to the window 42a of the base plate 36.

When the corner decoration 32 a is attached to the base plate 36, the edge of the rail main body 46 comes to be positioned on the outer periphery of the magnet rail 34. This is shown in FIG.
FIG. 4A shows the rail main body 46 when the corner decoration 32a is attached to the base plate 36, as viewed from the game area 14a toward the outer periphery. The point R is the position where the ball to be fired is located, and the ball placed here is hit by a firing device (not shown) and travels in the direction of the arrow. In other words, this figure shows the rail body 46 that is actually curved in the depth direction of this figure in a straight line. The inside of the magnet rail 34 is shown in a cross section. FIG. 4B is a diagram of FIG. 4A viewed from below.

As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the magnet rail 34 is arranged beside the rail body 46 and has balls 50a, 50b,..., 50f (hereinafter, referred to as magnets 50) arranged inside. It exerts a force to move 52 like a ball 52 '. That is, the magnet 50 corresponds to the urging portion of the present invention. In FIG. 4A, the magnet 50 is actually arranged in a larger number because the middle is broken and omitted. Each magnet 50 is disposed such that a gap 54 is provided between the magnet 50 and an adjacent magnet 50, and that the rail body 46 has different polarities in the width direction.

The cross section of the magnet is covered with a substantially U-shaped ferromagnetic material 56 as shown in FIG. To the right of the magnet 50 is a thin plate 58 projecting from the curved end surface of the corner decoration 32a, to which the magnet rail 34 is glued.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4B, the rail main body 46 has a substantially M-shaped cross section that is asymmetrical in the left-right direction. When the ball 52 runs at a sufficient speed, the rail main body 46 is curved. As a result (see FIG. 3), centrifugal force is applied to the ball 52, and the vehicle travels while being in contact with the slopes 60a and 60b forming the upper part of the M-shape. When this is viewed from within the game area 14a, it looks as if the ball 52 runs on the valley line 62 as shown in FIG.

A notch 64 is formed on the wider slope 60 a, and the width thereof is slightly larger than the diameter of the ball 52. The right side of the notch 64 is a portion 44 on which the ball slides in the firing rail 40 shown in FIG. The overall width of the rail body 46 is slightly wider than twice the diameter of the ball 52 so that the ball traveling on the valley line 62 and the ball in contact with the thin plate 58 can pass without touching. I have.

The ball 52 fired from the point R of the rail main body 46 with a sufficient firing force is in close contact with the slopes 60a and 60b by centrifugal force while receiving a force in the left direction in the figure by the magnet 50. Keep traveling. Then, it is fired in a stable trajectory in the game area 14a.

On the other hand, when the firing force is small, the speed of the ball 52 decreases, the magnetic force overcomes the centrifugal force, and the ball 52 collides with the thin plate 58. The ball 52 moves downward due to gravity while being in contact with the thin plate 58, and falls off from the notch 64 in the depth direction of FIG. When the ball 52 moves downward, the speed of the ball 52 is increased. However, since the magnetic force acting on the ball 52 approached once is strong, the ball 52 reaches the notch 64 without leaving the thin plate 58. Since the entire width of the rail body 46 is set so that the ball 52 running on the valley line 62 and the ball 52 'in contact with the thin plate 58 can pass through without touching, the return ball 52' The ball 52 falls off the notch 64 without hindering the movement of the ball 52 that has been (or has already been fired). That is, the notch 64 corresponds to the release opening of the present invention.

磁 Although the magnetic force of the magnet 50 is used as a force for moving the ball 52 with insufficient firing force in the direction of the slope 60a, this does not hinder detection of fraud. In other words, as a traditional misconduct against pachinko machines, a ball is made to enter a desired winning opening using a magnet, and a magnetic field sensor or the like is provided on the pachinko machine to detect abnormal magnetism. If so, measures such as sounding an alarm may be taken. Since the magnet 50 is housed in the U-shaped ferromagnetic body 56, the lines of magnetic force leak only slightly from the thin plate 58, and can only move the ball 52 in the direction of the slope 60a. Therefore, the influence on the magnetic field sensor is extremely small, and it is possible to detect a fraudulent activity using a magnet.

When the ball 52 is urged by using the magnet 50, the ball 52 itself may be magnetized. However, since the polarity of the magnet 50 is alternated, the magnetization of the ball 52 can be prevented.

(4) The magnet 50 is configured to apply a biasing force over a wide range of the rail body 46 as the magnet rail 34. Therefore, the ball 52 that has not reached the game area 14a can be separated downward from the notch 64 without leakage.

Further, since the rail body is M-shaped, even with a slight centrifugal force, the ball 52 can travel without meandering against the urging force of the magnet 50. In addition, since the M-shape is asymmetrical left and right, the rail body 46 in which the return ball 52 'and the firing ball 52 can pass each other can be realized with a minimum width. This is extremely useful in the pachinko machine 2 or the like in which the installation width of the rail body 46 is limited.

As described above, the pachinko machine 2 has been described as an example to which the present invention is applied. However, the present invention is not limited to such an example and can be implemented in various modes.
For example, the present invention may be applied to a ball-and-ball game machine such as an arrangement ball-type pachinko machine and a sparrow ball game machine other than the pachinko machine. Regardless of the application to any of the ball-type gaming machines, it becomes possible to fire a game ball with a stable trajectory.

The cross section of the rail body 46 is an asymmetric M-shape as shown in FIG. 4B, but may be another shape. For example, the slope 60a may be folded in the middle in the width direction. In this case, the ball 52 'with insufficient firing force is attracted to the magnet 50 over the ridge formed by folding the mountain. In this case, since the ball 52 'cannot return to the valley line 62 unless the ridge is again crossed, it is not necessary to provide the magnet 50 over a wide area as shown in FIG.

In the pachinko machine 2, the magnet rail 34 is provided on the thin plate 58 of the corner decoration 32a in order to be positioned at the edge of the rail main body 46. However, the magnet rail 34 may be installed by other methods. For example, it is conceivable to provide the magnet rail 34 between two glasses fitted to the sash 10. In this case, it is not necessary to secure a space for providing the magnet rail 34 between the glass and the corner decoration 32a.

It is an explanatory view showing the front of the pachinko machine 2 to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the pachinko machine 2. It is a perspective view showing signs that corner decoration 32a was removed from base board 36. It is explanatory drawing which shows the rail main body 46, the magnet rail 34, and the ball 52 run by these. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conventional guide rail and launching rail.

Explanation of reference numerals

2 ... Pachinko machine 14 ... Game board 14a ... Game area 32a ... Corner decoration 34 ... Magnet rail 36 ... Base plate 46 ... Rail body 50, 50a to 50f ... Magnet 52, 52 '... Ball 56 ... Ferromagnetic body 60a, 60b ... Slope 62 ... Valley line 64 ... Notch

Claims (4)

A ball-type game machine guide used in a ball-type game machine and guiding a ball fired from a firing rail disposed below a game area formed in a substantially circular shape while turning to the upper part of the game area. On the rail,
A rail body disposed in a wall shape around the game area, from the substantially lower end position to at least a side end position of the game area,
A biasing unit that biases the ball traveling on the rail body in one direction along the width direction of the rail body,
A release opening for releasing the ball moved in the one direction by the urging portion from the rail main body,
And the rail body is formed integrally with the firing rail. The guide rail for a ball-type game machine according to claim 1,
The rail body,
The cross section perpendicular to the running direction of the ball is substantially M-shaped, and the ball travels in the upper concave portion of the substantially M shape.
The release opening is
A guide rail for a ball-type gaming machine, characterized in that it is a hole formed in the one-way surface of the surface formed by the substantially M-shaped oblique lines. The guide rail for a ball-type game machine according to claim 1 or 2,
The urging unit,
A guide rail for a ball-type gaming machine, wherein the rail main body is a magnet arranged at the position in the one direction. The guide rail for a ball-type gaming machine according to claim 3,
The urging portion is covered with a ferromagnetic material having a substantially U-shaped cross-section, and the opening side of the substantially U-shape is directed in a direction substantially opposite to the one direction. Guide rail for ball-and-ball game machines.

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