JP2004344553A - Game ball shooting mechanism of pinball game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game ball shooting mechanism of a pinball game machine without causing any useless space inside the pinball game machine. <P>SOLUTION: The pinball game machine is constituted so that a game ball is supplied from a storage upper tray 3 storing the game balls to a shooting rail 5 by a ball feeder 4 and the game ball on the shooting rail 5 is shot on the board surface of a game board 7 by a shooting device 6. In the pinball game machine, a base plate 30 supporting the storage upper tray 3 projecting in a shelf shape to a front surface is installed so as to cover the lower part of the front surface, an opening 35 for fetching the game ball from the storage upper tray is formed on the base plate 30, the shooting rail 5 is installed at a position below the opening 35 along the back surface of the base plate 30 adjacently to the base plate 30 at the position right behind the back surface of the base plate 3, thereby eliminating the useless space. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game ball launching mechanism for launching a game ball of a ball game machine onto a game board.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ball game machines such as pachinko machines and arrangement ball machines send game balls supplied from a storage plate into a game machine one by one by a ball feeder, receive the game balls with a firing rail, and set a predetermined firing position. (For example, see Patent Document 1). Then, the game balls on the firing rail are launched by the firing hammer of the firing device and are sent to the game board.
[0003]
9 and 10 are schematic cross-sectional views in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively, showing the structure near the game ball launching mechanism at the lower part of a typical conventional ball game machine. The lower part of the ball game machine has a front surface. And a inner frame 2 covering the back of the front frame 1. A storage upper plate 3 is provided on the front frame 1 so as to protrude forward in a shelf shape via a base plate 30 installed so as to partially cover the front surface thereof. The base plate 30 and the front frame 1 are respectively formed with openings 35 and 15 for moving game balls from the storage upper plate 3 to the back side of the front frame 1, and between the base plate 30 and the front frame 1. Is provided with a ball feeder 4A. The ball feeder 4A temporarily blocks the game balls supplied from the openings 35 and feeds the game balls to the rear side of the front frame 1 through the openings 15 one by one.
[0004]
Between the front frame 1 and the inner frame 2, at a position lower than the opening 15, a firing rail 5 for receiving a game ball dropped from the opening 15 is provided. The firing rail 5 is a metal rail having a shallow and substantially V-shaped cross section, and is installed in an inclined shape along the width direction of the ball game machine and with its tip raised toward the game board 7 in the upper half of the ball game machine. . A firing device 6 is provided on the inner frame 2, and the tip of the firing hammer 60 extends to a position facing the base end of the firing rail 5. The firing rail 5 receives the game ball supplied from the opening 15 and holds it at the base firing position. Then, the launch hammer 60 of the launch device 6 hits the game ball at the above launch position and launches it toward the game board 7. Thereafter, the ball feeder 4A newly sends out the game ball onto the launch rail 5, and this is continuously repeated. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 37 denotes a storage lower dish.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2002-331080
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional structure, as shown in FIG. 9, the storage upper plate 3, the ball feeder 4A and the firing rail 5 are juxtaposed at front and rear positions in a plan view. However, the ball feeder 4A is smaller in the width direction of the ball game machine than the storage plate 3 and the launch rail 5 that are long in the width direction of the ball game machine. Between them, there is a problem that a useless space Z extending along the width direction of the ball game machine is created beside the ball feeder 4A. Also, since the launch rail 5 is installed at a low position behind the ball feeder 4A (FIG. 10), when the game balls are supplied from the ball feeder 4A to the launch rail 5, the ball is sent out by the ball feeder 4A. The hit game ball hits the front surface of the inner frame 2 above the firing rail 5 and rebounds, hits the rear surface of the front frame 1 and the like, and rebounds in a complicated manner. As a result, it takes time for the game ball to stop at the firing position at the base end of the firing rail 5, and the firing device 6 launches before the game ball stops at the firing position, thereby stably firing the game ball. And it was difficult to launch the game ball to the position aimed by the player. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a game ball launching mechanism for a ball game machine in which no useless space is formed in the ball game machine and the game ball can be stably fired. .
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention provides a game ball of a ball game machine, from which a game ball is supplied to a firing rail by a ball feeder from a storage plate for storing the game ball, and the game ball of the firing rail is shot by a firing device onto the surface of a game board. In a game ball launching mechanism of a gaming machine, a base plate is provided so as to cover a lower part of the front surface of the ball game machine, and supports a storage plate that projects in a shelf shape on the front surface. An opening for taking in a game ball from the upper plate is formed, and the firing rail is installed at a position immediately behind the rear surface of the base plate at a position below the opening along the rear surface of the base plate and adjacent to the base plate. (Claim 1). When viewed in a plan view, there is no useless space between the storage tray and the firing rail as in a conventional ball game machine.
[0008]
The ball feeder is installed at a position directly above the firing rail on the back side of the base plate, so that game balls taken into the ball feeder from the opening are allowed to fall vertically downward on the firing rail ( Claim 2). The game balls sent from the ball feeder can be stopped on the firing rail in a short time, and the shooting stability of the game balls can be improved.
[0009]
The shooting rail is provided such that a shooting position of a game ball fired by the shooting device from the shooting rail is on a rear side of the base plate and below the storage plate (claim 3). Since the inclination angle of the launch rail can be made steep, the ball stops well at the launch position of the game ball, and the launch stability of the game ball can be improved.
[0010]
The ball feeder is installed on the front side of the base plate, and the ball feeder feeds a game ball onto the launch rail through the opening (claim 4).
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a ball game machine to which a game ball launching mechanism of the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal sectional view at a position along line -III. As shown in FIG. 1, the game ball launching mechanism is a mechanism for distributing the game balls while firing the game balls from the storage plate 3 to the game board 7, and includes a storage plate 3 for storing the game balls and a storage plate. A ball feeder 4 for feeding game balls supplied from the upper plate 3 into the ball game machine one by one, a launch rail 5 for receiving the game balls sent from the ball feeder 4, and a game ball on the launch rail 5 It comprises a launching device 6 that strikes toward the board 7.
[0012]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a ball-and-ball game machine (hereinafter simply referred to as a game machine) includes an outer frame 8 surrounding an outer periphery of the game machine, and a front frame 1 constituting a front surface of the game machine at a front side thereof. ing. An inner frame 2 is provided on the rear side of the front frame 1 (FIGS. 2 and 3). A game board 7 is mounted on the inner frame 2 and the game board 7 is connected to the front frame 1 through an opening in the upper half. To face the player. In addition, a glass frame 9 provided with a double glass plate 90 is installed in the opening of the front frame 1, and the game board 7 is covered with the glass frame 9 (FIG. 3).
[0013]
At the lower part of the gaming machine below the gaming board 7, a shelf-shaped storage plate 3 projecting forward of the gaming machine is provided on the front surface of the front frame 1. At the position just below the lower edge of the opening facing the game board 7 on the front frame 1, the plate surface of the front frame 1 bulges to the rear side, and the upper plate is formed to have a substantially U-shaped shallow cross section that opens forward. A part 10 is provided.
[0014]
On the other hand, the storage upper plate 3 has a shallow base plate 30 having a substantially U-shaped cross section, which opens forward, corresponding to the upper plate mounting portion 10 of the front frame 1, on the front surface of the upper plate mounting portion 10. An inner plate member 31 for substantially storing game balls and an outer plate member 32 surrounding the outer peripheral surface of the inner plate member are integrally fixed and supported on the front surface of the base plate 30 so as to fit together. The storage upper plate 3 forms a container body with the inner plate member 31 and the upper half of the base plate 30.
[0015]
The storage upper tray 3 is provided at one side end thereof with a discharge port 36 which penetrates through the plate surfaces of the base plate 30 and the upper plate mounting portion 10 of the front frame 1 and opens into the storage upper tray 3. At the time of lending a ball or paying out a prize ball, a game ball is paid out from the payout port 36 to the storage upper plate 3. The storage upper plate 3 is formed so as to be inclined gently downward toward the other side end and to collect game balls toward the other side end. A supply path 34 for supplying game balls into the gaming machine is formed at the other side end, and the leading end of the supply path 34 penetrates through the plate surfaces of the base plate 30 and the upper plate mounting portion 10 of the front frame 1. An opening 35 for supplying a game ball to the inside of the front frame 1 (inside the gaming machine) is formed. Although not shown, a passage for discharging game balls from the supply passage 34 is provided between the lower half of the base plate 30 and the lower half of the outer plate member 32.
[0016]
The lower part of the gaming machine has a double frame structure in which an inner frame 2 is disposed on the back side of the front frame 1 with an interval in the front-rear direction. The distance between the upper plate mounting portion 10 of the front frame 1 and the inner frame 2 is wider than the diameter of the game ball. On the back side of the upper plate mounting portion 10 of the front frame 1, a ball feeder 4 is installed in a gap between the upper plate mounting portion 10 and the inner frame 2. The ball feeder 4 includes a flow path 41 that allows game balls supplied from the opening 35 to the back side of the front frame 1 to flow in the width direction of the gaming machine along the back side of the upper plate mounting portion 10 of the front frame 1. A ball feeding member 40 is provided, which is provided so as to vertically drop one game ball at a time, facing the front end opening of the flow path 41. The ball feed member 40 is a lever member whose base end is rotatably supported by a support shaft 42 and has a substantially U-shaped ball receiving portion at its tip for receiving a game ball supplied from the tip opening of the flow path 41. ing. The ball feeding member 40 is rotated vertically by a solenoid drive (not shown), and sends out a game ball in synchronization with the operation of a firing hammer 60 of the firing device 6 described later.
[0017]
In the gap between the upper plate mounting portion 10 of the front frame 1 and the inner frame 2 which are overlapped with the base plate 30 of the storage upper plate 3, the game balls sent from the ball feeder 4 are located immediately below the ball feeder 4. A firing rail 5 is provided. The firing rail 5 is a metal rail having a shallow and substantially V-shaped cross section, and has both side edges abutting against the rear surface of the upper plate mounting portion 10 of the front frame 1 and the front surface of the inner frame 2, respectively, and extends along the width direction of the gaming machine. It is. The launching rail 5 has the base end 50 disposed almost immediately below the distal end of the ball feeding member 40 of the ball feeding device 4, and the distal end 51 side is disposed so as to be inclined toward the terminal of the guide rail 71 of the game board 7. is there. A stopper 52 is provided at the base end 50 of the firing rail 5 at a position immediately above the base end 50 with an interval. The stopper 2 comes into contact with and stops the game ball falling from the ball feeder 4 to the vicinity of the base end 50 of the firing rail 5 and rolling to the base end 50 along the inclination of the firing rail 5, and stops the game ball. In the firing position on the base end 50 of A discharge path 38 is provided between the end 51 of the firing rail 5 and the terminal of the guide rail 71 for discharging a missed game ball, and the game ball is transferred to the lower plate 37 provided at the lower end of the front frame 1. It is made to discharge.
[0018]
A firing device 6 is provided on the inner frame 2 below the firing rail 5. The launching device 6 is attached to a motor 61 located on the back side of the inner frame 2 and a distal end of a motor shaft 62 that penetrates the inner frame 2 and protrudes to the front side, and is directed toward the base end 50 of the launching rail 5. And a firing hammer 60 extending obliquely upward. The tip of the firing hammer 60 is formed with a hammer that bends toward the firing rail 5, and the hammer hits the game ball at the firing position from the gap between the base end 50 of the firing rail 5 and the stopper 52. It is. The firing device 6 takes the firing hammer 60 back in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 1 by the driving force of the motor 61, and releases the firing hammer 60 from the driving force of the motor 61 when the firing hammer 60 moves to a predetermined takeback position. The firing hammer 60 is vigorously returned in the direction indicated by the arrow F by the substantially biasing force of the return spring, and the game ball at the above firing position is hit hard with the tip of the hammer and fired toward the game board 7.
[0019]
In addition, the installation positions of the launch rail 5 and the launch device 6 in a plan view are not different from those of the conventional structure.
[0020]
According to this embodiment, the base plate 30 of the storage upper tray 3 is superimposed on the front frame 1, the base plate 30 and the firing rail 5 are arranged substantially adjacent to each other, and the ball feeder 4 is connected to the firing rail. 5, the storage upper plate 3, the ball feeder 4, and the firing rail 5 are not arranged in front and rear view in plan view as in the conventional structure, so that there is no waste in the lateral direction of the ball feeder 4. Space Z (FIG. 8) cannot be created. Therefore, if the front-rear dimension (dimension from the front of the storage tray 3 to the rear edge of the outer frame 8) D of the gaming machine is made the same as that of the conventional gaming machine, there is no useless space, so the inside of the storage tray 3 is reduced. Can be made larger than the front-to-back dimension L2 in the conventional storage dish 3, and the amount of game balls stored in the storage dish 3 can be increased.
[0021]
Further, when the game balls are sent out from the ball feeder 4, the game balls are vertically dropped toward the firing rail 5, so that the game balls hit the plate surfaces of the inner frame 2 and the front frame 1 as in the conventional structure. It falls on the firing rail 5 linearly without rebounding in a complicated manner and smoothly moves to the firing position. Therefore, the launching device 6 can reliably launch the game ball at the launch position and can improve the stability of launching the gaming ball by the launching device 6.
[0022]
In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, if the front-rear dimension L2 in the storage tray 3 is made the same as that of the conventional structure, the front-rear dimension of the gaming machine (the front face of the storage tray 3) is correspondingly increased. From the front frame 8 to the rear edge of the outer frame 8) can be shorter than the front-rear dimension D of the conventional gaming machine by D ′, and when the gaming machine is mounted on the gaming machine installation island of a pachinko parlor, the front-rear dimension of the gaming machine is reduced. Can be avoided because the size is too large to install.
[0023]
Next, a second embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG. The basic structure of the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description will focus on the differences. In the drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 5, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the ball feeding member 40 of the ball feeding device 4 is set so that the ball feeding member 40 is located directly below the storage dish 3 when the gaming machine is viewed from the front. It is installed on the back side of the front frame 1 superimposed on the base plate 30. The flow path 41a through which the game balls flow from the opening 35 at the tip of the supply path 34 of the storage upper tray 3 to the ball feed member 40 is formed in a stepped shape that extends downward and returns the ball. It is made to flow down to the member 40 step by step.
[0024]
At a position directly below the ball feeding member 40 of the ball feeding device 4, a firing rail 5 </ b> A is installed on the back side of the front frame 1 overlapping with the base plate 30. The firing rail 5A is disposed so as to be located immediately below the storage dish 3 when the gaming machine is viewed from the front. In addition, the inclination angle of the guide rail 71 of the game board toward the terminal is set to a steep angle because the position of the launch rail 5A is lower than that of the launch rail 5 of the first embodiment.
[0025]
The shooting rail 5A receives a game ball falling vertically from the ball feeding member 40 near the base end 50, and guides the game ball to the firing position of the base end 50 along the inclination of the shooting rail 5A.
[0026]
A firing device 6A is installed next to the ball feed device 4 and the firing rail 5A. The launching device 6A includes a launching hammer 60a that extends diagonally downward toward the base end 50 of the launching rail 5A at the distal end of the motor shaft 62 of the motor 61. The firing device 6A takes the firing hammer 60a back in the direction indicated by the arrow G by the driving force of the motor 61, and returns the firing hammer 60a in the direction indicated by the arrow G by the urging force of a return spring (not shown). The ball is hit and fired toward the game board 7.
[0027]
According to the second embodiment, the same operation and effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and in addition to these effects, the inclination angle of the firing rail 5A is increased. It is possible to more stably stop the game ball at the firing position of the base end 50 in a short time, and it is possible to more reliably improve the stability of shooting of the game ball by the firing device 6A. In addition, since the ball feeder 4 is installed below the storage tray 3, the storage tray 3 can be expanded in the width direction of the gaming machine to be enlarged, and the game ball of the storage tray 3 can be enlarged. Can further increase the storage amount.
[0028]
A third embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. The basic structure of the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description will focus on the differences. In the drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the gaming machine according to the present embodiment is installed such that the ball feeder 4 </ b> A is located at the front position of the base plate 30 of the storage dish 3 </ b> A and at the front position of the firing rail 5. I have.
[0029]
The storage upper plate 3A has a deeper depth at the other side end, and the supply path 34 at the side end and the flow path 41 of the ball feeder 4A are linearly formed along the width direction of the gaming machine. It is connected continuously. At the end of the flow path 41, a ball feeding member 40a is provided on the front surface of the base plate 30 of the storage upper plate 3A. Corresponding to the ball feeding member 40a, the base plate 30 and the upper plate mounting portion 10 of the front frame 1 are formed with openings 35 for supplying game balls into the gaming machine immediately after the ball feeding member 40a. The game balls sent out from the ball sending member 40 a through 35 roll and move onto the base end 50 of the firing rail 5. The ball feed member 40a is a lever member that rotates up and down in synchronization with the operation of the launching device 6. When the ball feed member 40a rotates downward, the ball receiving portion at the tip and the opening 35 match, and the ball feed member 40a moves rearward through the opening 35. A game ball is sent out.
[0030]
The structures of the launch rail 5 and the launch device 6 and their installation positions are the same as in the first embodiment.
[0031]
According to the present embodiment, the base plate 30 of the storage upper tray 3A is superimposed on the front frame 1, the base plate 30 and the firing rail 5 are disposed substantially adjacent to each other, and the ball feeder 4A is connected to the base. Since it is disposed at the front position of the plate 31, there is no useless space Z (FIG. 8) unlike the conventional structure, and the front and rear dimensions of the gaming machine (the dimension from the front of the storage tray 3 to the rear edge of the outer frame 8) D Is set to the same size as that of the conventional gaming machine, the front-rear dimension in the storage upper plate 3 can be enlarged more than the conventional storage upper plate.
[0032]
Also, since the ball feeder 4A is installed immediately before the firing rail 5 and the head between the ball feeder 4A and the firing rail 5 is eliminated, when the game ball is sent from the ball feeder 4A to the firing rail 5, The game ball rolls over the base end 50 of the firing rail 5 through the opening 35 and moves smoothly to the firing position. Therefore, the launching device 6 can launch the game ball in a state where the game ball is reliably stopped at the launch position, and the stability of launch of the game ball by the launch device 6 can be improved.
[0033]
Further, the depth of the storage upper plate 3A can further increase the storage amount of the game balls. Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the front and rear dimensions in the storage tray 3A are the same as those of the conventional structure, and the front and rear dimensions of the gaming machine (dimensions from the front of the storage tray 3 to the rear edge of the outer frame 8). May be shorter than the front and rear dimensions of a conventional gaming machine.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the game ball launching mechanism of the ball game machine of the present invention, the useless space in the ball game machine is eliminated, so that the storage amount of the game ball can be increased and the front-rear dimension of the ball game machine can be reduced. . Further, according to the game ball launching mechanism of the present invention, since the launch stability of the game ball can be improved, the player can accurately launch the game ball at a target position on the board of the game board.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a ball game machine showing a game ball firing mechanism according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a lateral cross-sectional view taken along a line II-II in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view at a position along a line III-III in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of another ball game machine corresponding to FIG. 3 of the first embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a schematic front view of a ball game machine showing a game ball firing mechanism according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic front view of a ball game machine showing a game ball firing mechanism according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a lateral cross-sectional view taken along a line VII-VII in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view taken along a line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7;
9 is a lateral cross-sectional view of a ball game machine showing a conventional game ball launching mechanism corresponding to FIG. 2;
FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view at a position along line XX in FIG. 9;
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 1 front frame 2 inner frame 3, 3A storage plate 30 base plate 35 opening 4, 4A ball feeder 5, 5A launch rail 6, 6A launcher 7 game board

Claims (4)

A game of a ball game machine in which a game ball is supplied from a storage plate for storing game balls of a ball game machine to a launch rail by a ball feeder, and the game ball of the launch rail is ejected to a board surface of a game board by a launch device. In the ball launch mechanism,
A base plate is provided to cover the lower part of the front surface of the ball game machine and supports the storage plate overhanging on the front surface in a shelf shape, and the base plate has an opening for taking in game balls from the storage plate. A ball game machine characterized in that the firing rail is formed and installed at a position immediately behind the rear surface of the base plate, at a position below the opening, along the rear surface of the base plate and adjacent to the base plate. Game ball launch mechanism. The ball feeder is installed at a position directly above the firing rail on the back side of the base plate, and the game balls taken into the ball feeder from the opening are allowed to fall vertically downward on the firing rail. A game ball launching mechanism for the ball game machine according to claim 1. 3. The shooting rail according to claim 1, wherein the shooting rail is provided so that a shooting position of a game ball fired by the shooting device from the shooting rail is on a back side of the base plate and below the storage plate. A game ball launching mechanism for a ball game machine according to claim 1. The game ball of a ball game machine according to claim 1, wherein the ball feeder is installed on the front side of the base plate, and the ball feeder feeds the game ball onto the firing rail through the opening. Firing mechanism.

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