JP2005143613A - Ball put-out control mechanism of pinball game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a put-out control mechanism capable of making even a miniaturized put-out device perform the put out operation appropriately and stably for a long period of time. <P>SOLUTION: This ball put-out control mechanism comprises a pressure receiving member 220, a pressure receiving member driving means 230, and a ball stopper means 145 for locking the pressure receiving member at a ball stopping position at the distal end of a waiting passage 52 for guiding game balls reserved in a ball reserving tank to the ball put-out device 53. The pressure receiving member 220 is disposed to be displaced to a pressure receiving position for receiving the pressure from game balls reserved on the upstream side and reducing the pressure, to a pressure releasing position for transmitting the pressure without reducing the pressure, or to a ball stopping position for retaining game balls and controlling the flow-down of the game balls. The pressure receiving member driving means 230 has a driving source 231 disposed between a front wall face of the waiting passage and a game board 21 and displaces the pressure receiving member to the pressure receiving position or to the pressure releasing position. A control device operates the pressure receiving member driving means 230 before the start of rotation of a ball put-out motor so that the pressure receiving member 220 is located at the pressure receiving position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball game machine including a ball storage tank that stores game balls, and a motor-driven ball payout device that pays out game balls guided from the ball storage tank according to winning conditions in a game board. More specifically, the present invention relates to a payout control mechanism for a ball payout device that operates while receiving pressure from a game ball stored upstream of the ball payout device.

  Conventionally, in a ball game machine that uses a game ball as a game medium, such as a pachinko machine, a mechanism set board called a back set board is provided on the back of the game board so that it can be opened and closed. In addition, a ball payout device for paying out game balls according to the winning state on the game board is used. A ball storage tank that stores a large number of game balls and a guide passage that aligns the game balls stored in the ball storage tank and guides them to the ball payout device are provided above the ball payout device. A ball payout passage is formed for guiding the game balls paid out from the payout device to a ball tray in front of the gaming machine, and a control device for controlling the operation of the ball payout device is provided to constitute a ball payout control mechanism. .

In recent ball payout devices, the number of game balls to be paid out at the time of a single winning (referred to as the number of payout winning balls) can be arbitrarily set, and according to winning conditions such as the type and timing of the winning equipment won. A motor-driven ball payout device is generally used so that a plurality of types of payout winning ball numbers can be set, and furthermore, payout at the time of lending a ball in a so-called CR machine can be supported. The motor-driven ball payout device includes a ball payout motor whose rotation is controlled by a control device, and a ball feed rotating body driven by the ball payout motor. It is configured to move out to the ball payout passage side by turning the feed rotating body and pay out the game ball (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-164626 (pages 24 to 25, FIG. 28)

Here, as shown in FIG. 25, a specific configuration example of the ball payout device in the ball payout control mechanism has a guide path that guides the game balls by aligning the game balls above the payout device 53 in the front and rear. Two rows are formed, and the ball feeding rotating body 53r of the ball dispensing device has a front and rear two-stage impeller configuration corresponding to the front and rear guide passages 52a and 52b. The front row side impeller 53r ₁ and the back row side impeller 53r ₂ are each provided with three receiving portions for receiving game balls at a pitch of 120 degrees, and the angular positions of the receiving portions in the front and rear impellers are offset by 60 degrees. The front and rear impellers are shown as (a) and (b), respectively, showing the angular positional relationship between the front and rear row impellers at a certain stop timing and the state of the game balls waiting to be aligned in the guide passage. Are configured to alternately receive the game balls in the receiving portion, and move the received game balls one by one from the guide path side to the ball payout path side by the rotation of the ball feed rotating body 53r. For this reason, by controlling the rotation angle of the ball payout motor 53m and setting the rotation angle of the ball feed rotating body 53r to n times 60 degrees (n = 1, 2, 3,...), The impeller is single-staged. In any case, an arbitrary number of game balls can be paid out regardless of whether the number is an odd number or an even number. In addition, by switching the rotation direction of the ball payout motor clockwise or counterclockwise, for example, the payout of the prize ball and the lending of the ball are divided according to the rotation direction of the motor, or the ball path to be paid out is divided into different paths. It is also possible to do.

  By the way, in the payout control mechanism, the ball storage tank is disposed at the upper side and the ball payout device is disposed at the lower side so that the game balls stored in the ball storage tank flow down to the ball payout device by the weight of the game balls themselves. The guide passage is formed with a large drop between them. For this reason, pressure based on the own weight of a large number of game balls stored on the upstream side acts on each part of the ball dispensing device in contact with the game ball, and the ball feed rotator and the bearing unit that supports the ball feed rotator A ball payout motor or the like for rotating the ball feed rotating body is required to have strength and rotational torque corresponding to the magnitude of the acting pressure. In particular, a large starting torque is required at the time of rotation starting to rotate the ball feeding rotating body from a stopped state where the storage balls are closely connected, and a high torque motor that satisfies this is required, and the ball feeding rotating body and the bearing portion In addition, it is necessary to have a strength that does not cause damage or shaft run-off against the reaction force acting at the start of rotation.

  For this reason, in addition to the problem that the ball payout motor itself becomes large and expensive, the ball feed rotating body, the bearing portion that supports the ball feed rotating body, the support portion that supports the ball payout motor, and the like are similarly increased in size. There has been a problem that the use of materials has been advanced, and the entire ball dispenser has become larger and more expensive. In addition, even if a relatively large ball dispensing device as described above is used, each part and bearing part of the ball-feed rotating body that receives strong pressure from the game ball is likely to wear with long-term use, and stable for a long time. There has been a need for a payout control mechanism that can be activated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and even with a ball dispensing device using a relatively small motor, an appropriate dispensing operation is possible, which contributes to downsizing and cost reduction of the device, and for a long time. It is an object to provide a payout control mechanism that can be stably operated.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a back set board attached to cover the back of the game board, a ball storage tank for storing game balls, and a game board provided below the ball storage tank. A ball payout device for paying out a predetermined number of game balls according to the winning conditions, and a game ball stored in the ball storage tank provided between the ball storage tank and the ball payout device are aligned to the ball payout device. A guide passage for guiding, a ball payout passage for guiding the game balls paid out from the ball payout device to the ball tray, and a control device for controlling the operation of the ball payout device, the ball payout device being rotated by the control device; A ball payout motor to be controlled and a ball feed rotator driven by the ball payout motor are moved to the ball payout passage side by rotating the ball feed rotator. A motor-driven ball dispenser that dispenses game balls The guide passage has an alignment passage for aligning in the process of flowing down the game balls supplied from the ball storage tank, and a standby passage for receiving the game balls aligned in the alignment passage and guiding them to the lower ball dispensing device. It is related to the bullet ball machine. In addition, in the present invention, at the end portion of the standby passage, a pressure receiving position for receiving pressure acting on the game ball stored on the upstream side and reducing the pressure acting on the game ball on the downstream side, a game ball stored on the upstream side Displacement to the release position where the pressure acting on the ball is transmitted to the downstream game ball without reducing it, and to the ball stop position where the game ball stored on the upstream side is dammed to restrict the flow of the game ball downstream The pressure receiving member is provided, and has a drive source (for example, the solenoid 131 in the embodiment) disposed between the front wall surface of the standby passage and the game board, and the pressure receiving member is displaced to the pressure receiving position or the release position. And a ball stopper for locking the pressure receiving member at the ball stopping position, and the controller activates the pressure receiving member driving means prior to the start of rotation of the ball payout motor. Constituting a ball disbursement control mechanism so as to position the timber to the pressure receiving position.

  In this ball payout control mechanism, upstream of the guide passage connecting the ball storage tank and the ball payout device, the end of the standby passage that receives the game balls aligned in the alignment passage and guides them to the lower ball payout device. The pressure receiving position that receives pressure acting on the game ball stored on the side and reduces the pressure acting on the downstream game ball, and the downstream side without reducing the pressure acting on the game ball stored on the upstream side A pressure receiving member that is displaceably disposed at a release position to be transmitted to the game ball, and a driving source disposed between the front wall surface of the standby passage and the game board, the pressure receiving member is displaced to the pressure receiving position or the release position. Pressure receiving member driving means is provided. Here, “reducing pressure” means reducing or excluding pressure acting on the downstream game ball from the game ball stored on the upstream side, and acting on the game ball stored on the upstream side. When the pressure receiving member receives a part of the pressure to reduce the pressure acting on the downstream game ball, and when the pressure receiving member receives all the pressure acting from the game ball stored on the upstream side, the downstream game ball It is a concept that includes both cases of exempting the pressure acting on the. In the ball payout control mechanism, the control device operates the pressure receiving member driving means prior to the rotation start of the ball payout motor so that the pressure acting on the downstream game ball is reduced by placing the pressure receiving member in the pressure receiving position. Composed.

  Further, in the ball payout control mechanism, in addition to the pressure receiving position or the release position provided by the pressure receiving member driving means, the pressure receiving member blocks the game ball stored on the upstream side and restricts the flow of the game ball. The ball stop position is provided so as to be displaceable, and ball stop means for locking the pressure receiving member at the ball stop position is provided. Here, “damming” the game ball means not only reducing the pressure acting from the game ball stored on the upstream side but also regulating the flow itself from the upstream side to the downstream side. In addition, when making the said pressure receiving position into the position which exempts the pressure which acts on the game ball of a downstream, it is also possible to set a pressure receiving position and a ball stop position to the same position (it can share).

  According to the configuration of the present invention, among the guide passages connecting the ball storage tank and the ball payout device, the end portion of the standby passage for guiding the game balls aligned in the alignment passage to the lower ball payout device, that is, the guide passage The pressure receiving member is provided at the entire downstream end, and when the rotation of the ball dispensing motor is started, the ball dispensing motor is activated in a state where the pressure receiving member is disposed at the pressure receiving position and the pressure acting on the downstream game ball is reduced. Then, the ball feed rotating body is rotated. For this reason, the pressure acting from the game ball at the start of rotation of the ball payout motor should be reduced to a weight equivalent to only a few balls stopped between the exit of the standby passage and the ball feed rotating body in the ball payout device. Can do. Therefore, the starting torque at the time of starting the rotation that requires the largest rotating torque can be greatly reduced, which enables use of a small motor having a lower torque than that of the prior art, as well as a ball feed rotating body and a bearing portion. Similarly, it can be miniaturized, or can be configured using general materials. Therefore, even with a ball dispenser using a small motor, an appropriate dispensing operation can be ensured, the apparatus can be reduced in size and cost, and a dispensing control that can be stably operated for a long time by reducing the load. A mechanism can be provided.

  In addition, the back set board includes a game ball guide path, a game ball discharge path for collecting the game balls discharged from the game board and discharging them to the game island collection device, A ball removal passage for extracting game balls stored in a ball storage tank or a guide passage is provided, and the back set board generally has a front and rear two-layer structure in which these ball passages are three-dimensionally formed. . In the ball payout control mechanism of this configuration, the driving source of the pressure receiving member driving means for displacing the pressure receiving member to the pressure receiving position or the release position is between the front wall surface of the standby passage and the game board, that is, on the front side of the front and rear two-layer structure. Arranged in layers. For this reason, it is possible to provide a ball payout control mechanism having the above-described effect with a compact configuration that does not increase the thickness of the back set board in the front-rear direction.

  Further, in the ball payout control mechanism having the above-described configuration, the pressure receiving member blocks the game ball stored on the upstream side in addition to the pressure receiving position or the release position provided by the pressure receiving member driving means, thereby allowing the game ball to flow down. The ball stop position to be regulated is provided displaceably, and ball stop means for locking the pressure receiving member at the ball stop position is provided. For this reason, for example, when carrying out maintenance and inspection of the ball dispensing device, etc., the pressure receiving member is displaced to the ball stopping position and is locked at the ball stopping position by the ball stopping means, thereby guiding the upstream side of the pressure receiving member. Without removing all of the game balls stored in the passage or the ball storage tank, only the game balls stopped on the downstream side can be operated to perform maintenance and inspection work. Therefore, it is possible to provide a payout control mechanism with good workability with a simple configuration without separately providing a dedicated ball stopper mechanism.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. As an example of a ball game machine to which the payout control mechanism according to the present invention is applied, FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachinko machine equipped with a ball payout control mechanism, and FIG. 2 is a pachinko machine equipped with a ball payout control mechanism of the first configuration form. The rear view of the machine is shown. First, the overall configuration of the pachinko machine PM will be briefly described with reference to these drawings.

  In the pachinko machine PM, the front frame 2 for opening and closing mounted on the front surface of the outer frame 1 that is configured to have a rectangular frame size and forms a vertically fixed holding frame is arranged on the front surface of the opening and closing mounted to each other. A hinge mechanism 3 arranged on the upper left and right sides of the front side is attached to the front so as to be openable and detachable and detachable, and is always engaged and connected to the outer frame 1 using a locking device 4 provided on the right side of the front side. Kept in a state.

  On the front side (front side) upper part of the front frame 2, a glass door 5 is attached to the front so that it can be opened / closed and detached detachably, and the front side of the front frame 2 is always fixed using a locking device 4 provided on the right side of the front. The cover is kept closed. An upper part of the front frame located behind the glass door 5 is provided with an accommodation frame for detachably accommodating the game board 20, and the game board 20 latched and held in this accommodation frame in a standing posture is provided on the glass door. 5 is visible.

  The game board 20 has a decorative board 21 in which cells are pasted on the surface of a laminated plywood having a predetermined thickness and a router processing as a substrate, and inner and outer guide rails 22 are fixed on the front side in a circular arc shape so as to have a substantially circular game area. PA is partitioned. In the game area PA, there are a large number of game nails and game components such as a windmill, various prize-winning devices 23, 24, 25, a symbol display device 27 for displaying symbols according to the game development status, and left and right side lamps. It is attached and an out port 28 is formed at the lower end of the game area PA. A symbol display control device 87 for controlling the operation of the symbol display device 27 is attached to the center of the back side of the decorative plate 21, and a winning tool is dropped around the guide plate control device 87 and guided to the back side of the decorative plate 21. The safe balls and the out balls (collectively referred to as “played balls”) guided to the back side of the decorative plate 21 through the out port 28 are connected to the back set board 30 along the back surface of the decorative plate 21. A ball gathering cover 29 that leads to the game-completed ball discharge passage is attached.

  An auxiliary mechanism portion called a game auxiliary board is provided at the front side intermediate portion of the front frame 2, and an upper ball tray 6 is attached to the front side of the front frame 2 so that it can be opened and closed laterally and attached detachably. It is always kept in a closed state that covers the front surface of the game assisting board by using the ball tray locking device. A lower ball tray 7 is attached to the lower side of the upper ball tray 6 so as to protrude forward, and a launching handle 8 for performing a game ball launching operation is attached to the right side thereof. A game ball launching device 9 is attached to the lower part of the rear surface of the front frame 2, and a game rail that guides the game ball hit by the hammer of the game ball launching device 9 and launches it toward the outer rail on the game assisting board. In addition, a speaker for generating sound effects according to the game development status is provided.

  On the other hand, on the back side (rear side) of the front frame 2, a back set board 30 is attached to the back of the front frame 2 so as to be opened and closed laterally and detachable, and is always kept in a closed state covering the back side of the game board 20. Yes. The back set board 30 has a window 32 for receiving the game board symbol display control device 87 at the center, and is formed in a rectangular frame shape slightly smaller than the inner size of the outer frame 1. Based on

  The base frame 31 has a front and rear two-layer structure in which a game-completed ball discharge passage, a ball passage of a ball payout control mechanism, a ball removal passage, and the like are three-dimensionally formed on the front and back sides, and the base frame body 31 is divided into front and rear. A game-recovered collection path and a ball removal path that collects game-completed balls discharged mainly on the back side of the game board 20 on the front side of the support surface and guides them to the collection device on the game island are mainly game balls on the back side of the support surface. A ball payout control mechanism for paying out the ball is formed.

  In addition, on each rear part of the base frame 31, a main control device 81 that comprehensively controls the operation of the pachinko machine PM, a ball payout control device 82 that controls the payout operation of the game ball, and operation control of effect lighting and sound effects Various control devices such as a lamp / voice control device 83, a power supply unit 84 for supplying power to each control device and electronic components, a terminal board 85 for inputting / outputting signals and power to / from the game facility side, a ball payout Electronic parts such as the device 53 are attached, and these are connected by a connector cable (not shown) so that the pachinko machine PM can be operated.

  The pachinko machine PM is provided to the game with the upper ball tray 6 and the glass door 5 closed and locked, and the game is started by storing the game ball in the upper ball tray 6 and rotating the launch handle 8. The When the firing handle 8 is turned, the game balls stored in the upper ball tray 6 are sent one by one to the launch rail by the ball feeding device mounted on the back of the upper ball tray, and the game ball launching device 9 It is launched by a hammer and fired into the game area PA, and then a pachinko game is developed.

  Now, in the pachinko machine PM generally configured as described above, regarding the payout process of the game ball when the game ball launched into the game area PA falls into each winning tool, the configuration of each related part is a little more detailed explain. There are various types of prizes provided on the game board, including the appearance design and actions at the time of winning, and any type of prizes may be used depending on the gauge setting. For example, the gaming board 20 illustrated in FIG. 1 shows an example in which three types of prizes are provided: a general prize 23, a start prize 24, and an attacker device 25.

  The general winning tool 23 is a fixed winning tool having a winning opening into which a game ball can drop, and a winning detection sensor 23s for detecting the gaming ball is attached to the inside of the winning hole. A safe ball guiding path for guiding the dropped safe ball to the back side of the decorative board 21 is provided at the rear portion of the general winning device 23, and the safe ball that has dropped into the general winning device 23 is detected by the winning detection sensor 23s. Then, it passes through the safe ball guide path and the ball approaching cover 29 and is received by the game-completed ball discharge passage on the front side of the base frame 31, and flows down the ball discharge passage and is discharged to the collection device on the game island.

  The starting prize-winning tool 24 is a so-called electric tulip-type movable prize-winning tool, and can open and close the left and right tulip blades to enlarge / reduce the winning opening. A safe ball guiding path for guiding the winning safe ball to the back side of the decorative board 21 is provided at the rear of the start winning tool 24, and a winning detection sensor 24s for detecting a game ball flowing down the guiding path is attached. Then, the safe ball won in the start winning tool 24 is detected by the winning ball detection sensor 24s, and flows down the safe ball guide path, the ball gathering cover 29, and the game-completed ball discharge passage and is discharged to the collection device of the game island.

  The attacker device 25 is a so-called attacker-type movable winning tool, and an open / close door that covers a horizontal rectangular large winning opening is attached to be openable and closable. The open / close door is normally closed, and when a special game state is established under predetermined winning conditions during the game, the upper part of the open / close door is tilted forward approximately 90 degrees to open the large winning opening. The left and right area openings are provided inside the big winning opening, and winning detection sensors 25 s and 25 t are provided respectively, and on the rear side of the attacker device 25, the two opening areas are connected to penetrate the decorative plate 21. Two safe ball guide paths are provided, and the safe balls that have fallen into the big prize opening are detected by the winning detection sensors 25s and 25t through one of the area openings, It flows down the game-completed ball discharge passage and is discharged to the collection device on the game island.

  Detection signals from the winning detection sensors 23s, 24s, 25s, and 25t are output to the main control device 81, and the main control device 81 controls the operation of the pachinko machine PM based on the input detection signals. For example, when a game ball falls into the start winning opening 24 and a winning detection signal is output from the winning detection sensor 24s, the main controller 81 determines that the gaming ball has dropped into the winning tool from the input signal. It is detected that the winning tool is the start winning opening 24, and a game program corresponding to the winning conditions is called and executed. Specifically, the symbol combination lottery is performed in the main control device, the lottery result is output to the symbol display control device 87, and the symbols displayed on the symbol display device 27 are controlled to fluctuate and stop. For example, a blinking display of a side lamp or generation of a sound effect by a speaker is performed via the lamp / voice control device 83. Further, the ball payout control device 82 outputs a payout command signal corresponding to the winning condition, and operates the ball payout device 53 to perform the game ball payout operation.

  On the other hand, a ball payout control mechanism that performs a payout operation of game balls is provided on the back set board 30 that is always located behind the game board 20 and held closed. FIG. 3 shows a rear view of the right frame rod (frame frame portion on the right side of the window in the base frame body 31) 33 of the back set board including the ball payout control mechanism. The main mechanism related to the payout of the game ball is provided on the back side of the base frame 31 having a front and rear two-layer structure, and will be described with reference mainly to the rear view. The left and right directions in the rear view shown will be referred to as the left or right, and the other side (pachinko machine front side) in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface will be referred to as the front, and the front side (the back side) will be referred to as the rear. Further, the basic configuration such as a guide passage for guiding the game ball to the ball payout device and the operation of the ball payout device are substantially the same as the configuration and operation shown in FIG. 25 referred to in the background art section, so these drawings are also combined. The description will be given with reference.

  The ball payout control mechanism is attached to the upper left part of the base frame body 31 and stores a game ball, and is attached to the lower part of the right frame rod 33 in the base frame body 31 to pay out game balls. Below the ball payout device 53, a guide passage that is connected between the device 53, the ball storage tank 41 and the ball payout device 53, aligns the game balls stored in the ball storage tank 41 and leads to the ball payout device 53. A ball payout for controlling the operation of the ball payout device 53 attached to the lower part of the rear surface of the base frame 31 and the ball payout passage 60 for guiding the game balls provided and discharged from the ball payout device to the upper and lower ball dishes 6 and 7. A control device 82, a pressure receiving control unit 100 that regulates the pressure of a game ball that is provided in the guide passage and acts on the ball payout device 53, and the like.

  The ball storage tank 41 is a box-shaped body with an open top surface, and can store about 500 to 800 game balls inside the tank. The bottom surface of the sphere storage tank 41 is gently inclined leftward and forwardly, and an opening communicating with the upper and lower sides is formed in the front left and connected to the lower guide passage. The guide passage includes an alignment passage that aligns the game balls supplied from the ball storage tank 41 in the process of flowing down, and a standby passage that receives the game balls aligned in the alignment passage and guides them to the lower ball dispensing device 53. The passage is formed in a tank rail 42 attached immediately below the ball storage tank, and the standby passage is formed before and after the S-shaped rail 52 attached to the right frame rod 33.

  The tank rail 42 has a hook-like body surrounded by front and rear wall surfaces in the mounting posture screwed to the base frame body 31 above the window 32, and has a rib-like shape whose height increases toward the right on the bottom surface. A partition wall is erected to form two rows of alignment passages 42a and 42b in the front and rear. The tank rail 42 is attached at an inclination angle of about 4 degrees from the upper left ball storage tank 41 side toward the lower right standby passage side, and the game balls stacked in the vertical direction are leveled in the middle of the passage. The ball leveling tool 44 is vertically arranged, and the game balls supplied from the ball storage tank 41 are aligned in the process of flowing down toward the downstream side of the slope. It flows down to the standby passage side in a state of being aligned with 42b. The inclined end portion of the tank rail 42, that is, the end portions of the alignment passages 42 a and 42 b are smoothly bent downward and connected to the standby passage at the deflection outlet opening at the lower end.

  The right frame rod 33 receives the game balls sent from the deflection outlet and waits in an aligned state in the standby passages 52a and 52b, and is attached to the lower side of the S-shaped rail 52 and is attached to the standby passage. The ball payout device 53 for paying out the waiting game ball based on a predetermined payout condition and the rear of the S-shaped rail 52 supported by the right frame rod 33 are attached to the front and rear surfaces of the S-shaped rail 52. A lid member 58 or the like for forming a standby passage of the row is attached. Further, between the deflection outlet and the S-shaped rail 52, there is a ball detection sensor 51 for detecting whether or not sufficient game balls capable of paying out the game balls are held in the standby passages 52a and 52b. Ball counting sensors 54 and 54 are attached between the ball dispensing device 53 and the ball dispensing passage 60 so as to be detachably mounted and detect the game balls that have been paid out and count the actual numbers. It is provided as possible.

  The S-shaped rail 52 has a partition wall 52w formed in the middle, and a passage wall 52L erected in parallel on the left and right sides with a space slightly larger than the ball diameter of the game ball on the front and rear surfaces sandwiching the partition wall. A concave passage groove surrounded by passage walls 52L and 52R is formed on the front and rear sides of the partition wall 52w. The front and rear passage grooves are bent as shown in FIG. 3, and the ball pressure due to the weight of the game ball located on the upstream side is applied on the downstream side so that it does not become excessive pressure. The S-shaped rail 52 is configured separately from the base frame 31 for easy cleaning of the passage groove, etc., and is inserted into a support boss 34 erected on the right frame rod 33 so as to be positioned and supported. The member 58 is fixed to the right frame rod 33 by screwing.

  When the S-shaped rail 52 is fixed to the right frame rod 33, the opening portions of the front and rear passage grooves are covered with the support surface of the front right frame rod 33 and the rear lid member 58, and the front and rear two rows of standby passages 52a. , 52b are formed. A part of the upper passage wall in the S-shaped rail 52 is notched, and is always closed by a flow path switching member 55 in which a passage wall 55a corresponding to the notch is formed (see FIG. 12). ). The lower end portion of the S-shaped rail 52 is formed so as to be aligned with the receiving port of the ball dispensing device 53, and guides the game balls introduced from the deflection outlet to the ball dispensing device 53 in a two-row alignment state. When the game stops, the game balls are made to wait in alignment in the standby passages 52a and 52b.

The ball payout device 53 is formed with receiving ports 53a and 53b for receiving game balls by communicating with standby passages 52a and 52b in front and rear of the upper center, and payout ports 53c and 53d for paying out game balls on the left and right sides of the lower part. In the case, there are provided a ball feed rotating body 53r having two front and rear impellers, and a ball payout motor 53m for rotating the ball feed rotating body 53r (see FIG. 25). The front row side impeller 53r ₁ and the back row side impeller 53r ₂ of the ball feed rotating body 53r are each provided with three U-groove shaped receiving portions for receiving game balls at intervals of 120 degrees, and the front and rear impellers are respectively The angular position of the receiving part is offset by 60 degrees. For this reason, the game balls supplied from the receiving ports 53a and 53b are alternately received by the receiving portions of the front and rear impellers 53r ₁ and 53r ₂ with the rotation of the ball feed rotating body 53r. One by one is moved to the right or left passage in the cassette and is paid out to the ball payout passage 60 from either the left or right payout outlets 53c, 53d.

  The ball payout control device 82 receives a payout command signal corresponding to the winning conditions in the game board 20 from the main control device 81, and the ball payout control device 82 responds to the payout command signal input from the main control device 81. The motor driving signal is output to the ball paying device 53. The ball paying device 53 operates the ball paying motor 53m on the basis of the input motor driving signal, and the ball feed rotating body 53r is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise as required. The amount of game balls corresponding to the motor drive signal is paid out to the ball payout passage 60 from the right or left payout ports 53d and 53c.

  In the so-called CR machine to which the prepaid card unit 90 is connected, a CR operation panel 92 having a ball lending request button is provided on the front side of the upper ball tray 6, and an output signal thereof is input to the ball payout control device 82. The ball payout control device 82 outputs a motor drive signal corresponding to the ball lending request signal input from the CR operation panel 92 to the ball payout device 53, and the ball payout device 53 is based on the input motor drive signal. The ball payout motor 53m is actuated to rotate the ball feed rotating body 53r counterclockwise or clockwise by a required rotation angle, and the number of game balls corresponding to the motor drive signal are left or right payout outlets 53c, 53d. To the ball payout passage 60.

  The game balls paid out from the ball payout outlets 53c and 53d are detected by the ball counting sensors 54 and 54, and the ball payout control device 82 receives the game balls paid out from the detection signal input from the ball counting sensor. The quantity is counted and compared with the target quantity related to the motor drive signal, and the operation of the ball dispensing device 53 is controlled. As a result, a number of game balls corresponding to the payout command signal input from the main controller 81 or the ball lending request signal input from the CR operation panel 92 are paid out to the ball payout passage 60, and the ball payout passage 60 is switched. It moves down and is paid out to the upper ball tray 6 or the lower ball tray 7.

  The ball presence detection sensor 51 provided at the upper portion of the standby passage detects whether or not the game balls are waiting for alignment up to the upper position where the ball presence detection sensor is disposed, thereby paying out the game balls. Is a sensor for determining whether or not a sufficient quantity (for example, about 35) of game balls can be held, and a detection signal thereof is output to the ball payout control device 82. The ball payout control device 82 restricts the operation of the ball payout device 53 and generates a predetermined alarm when the detection signal input from the ball presence detection sensor 51 is in the absence of a ball.

  Further, an upper ball stop mechanism is provided in the downstream portion of the alignment passage, and an upper ball removal mechanism is provided in the upstream portion of the standby passage. The upper ball stop mechanism includes a ball stop member 45 that is positioned above the deflection outlet and pivotally supported in a plane parallel to the support surface of the base frame 31. The ball stopper member 45 is formed with a hook-shaped hook portion in accordance with the arrangement positions of the front and rear alignment passages 42a and 42b. The ball stopper member 45 is swung counterclockwise to remove the front and rear hook portions. By projecting into the alignment passage, it is possible to stop the flow of game balls located upstream from the hook portion.

  The upper ball removing mechanism includes a flow path switching member 55 pivotally supported on the back side of the right frame rod 33 in a plane parallel to the support surface of the right frame rod, and a right side on the front side of the right frame rod 33. The operation member 56 is mounted so as to be swingable in a direction orthogonal to the support surface of the frame cage, and a ball removal passage 57 that guides a game ball that overflows when the standby passage is opened to a collection device on the game island.

  A passage wall 55a having a wall shape corresponding to a notch portion of the S-shaped rail 52 is formed in the lower portion of the flow path switching member 55, and the pivot shaft 35 of the right frame rod is formed by a pivot hole formed in the middle portion. (See FIG. 12). The ball removal passage 57 is located on the right side of the S-shaped rail 52 and is formed on the back surface side of the base frame 31, and passes through the support surface of the right frame rod 33 below the spare passage 57a. The communication opening 57b is formed, and a lower passage 57c formed downward from the communication opening 57b on the front side of the base frame 31. The front of the descending passage 57c is covered with a front cover 118 attached to the front side of the base frame 31 (see FIG. 6 and the like), and is connected to the above-mentioned game ball discharge passage below the right frame rod 33. Yes.

  The flow path switching member 55 is always held at a closed position where the notch portion of the S-shaped rail is closed by the engagement with the engagement protrusion of the operation member 56, and the game balls supplied from the upstream side are arranged in two rows Are guided to the ball dispensing device 53 in an aligned state by the standby passages 52a and 52b. On the other hand, when the operation lever portion of the operation member 56 is swung backward, the engagement between the engagement protrusion and the flow path switching member is released, and the flow path switching member 55 is swung counterclockwise to be released. The game ball overflowing from the cutout portion into the preliminary passage 57a flows down from the communication opening 57b to the game island recovery device via the descending passage 57c and the game-completed ball discharge passage.

  For this reason, the game ball stored in the ball storage tank 41 or the tank rail 42 is removed by restricting the flow of the game ball using the upper ball stop mechanism and performing the ball removal operation using the upper ball removal mechanism. Without removing all the balls, only the game balls located in the vicinity of the detection sensor 51 with a sphere are extracted, and the maintenance inspection and replacement work of the detection sensor 51 with a sphere can be performed.

  The front frame 2 and the glass door 5 are subjected to maintenance work called a heart key at a position facing the front of the operation lever portion of the operation member 56 in a state where the back set board 30 is closed and held on the front frame 2. 5h is formed with a ball punching operation hole 5h through which an operation pin (see the heart key 145 appended to FIGS. 5 and 7) is inserted, and the heart key 145 is inserted into the ball punching operation hole 5h from the front side of the pachinko machine PM. By inserting and pressing the operation lever portion, the ball removal operation and the return operation after the ball removal can be performed from the outside of the pachinko machine.

  Now, a pressure receiving control unit is provided in an intermediate portion of the standby passages 52a and 52b in the payout mechanism configured as described above, thereby constituting a ball payout control mechanism. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the pressure receiving control unit 100 according to the first configuration will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 11. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the pressure receiving control unit 100 as viewed from the right rear side, FIG. 5 is a right sectional view mainly showing the pressure receiving control unit 100 and the ball dispensing device 53, and FIG. 6 is a VI-VI arrow in FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view as seen in the direction of arrows VII-VII in FIG. 3 with the pressure receiving member locked at the ball stop position, and FIG. 8 is a view of the ball dispensing control mechanism. FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing the drive timing of the solenoid and the ball payout motor in the ball payout control mechanism. FIGS. 10 and 11 show the relationship of the game ball when the pressure receiving member is displaced to the pressure receiving position. FIG. 12 is a rear view of the pressure receiving control unit 100 when the ball is stopped by a heart key.

Broadly speaking, the pressure receiving control unit 100 is supported so as to be swingable adjacent to the S-shaped rail 52, receives pressure acting from a game ball stored on the upstream side, and acts on the game ball on the downstream side. The pressure receiving position P _r for reducing or releasing the pressure, the release position P _{f for} transmitting the pressure acting from the game ball stored on the upstream side to the downstream game ball as it is without reducing the pressure, and the game ball stored on the upstream side spherical stop position P _s pressure receiving member 120 provided so as to be displaceable in pressure-receiving member driving mechanism 130 for displacing the receiving member 120 to the pressure receiving position or releasing position blocking in the game ball is restricted from flowing down to the downstream side pressure receiving A ball stopper structure 140 for locking the member 120 at the ball stopper position is formed.

  The S-shaped rail 52 has a pressure receiving protrusion insertion portion through which the pressure receiving protrusions 122a and 122b before and after the pressure receiving member 120 are inserted into a bent portion located immediately above the ball dispensing device 53, that is, a bent portion at the end of the standby passages 52a and 52b. 112a and 112b are formed. The front and rear pressure receiving protrusion insertion portions 112a and 112b are formed at the bent corners of the right passage wall 52R in accordance with the swinging locus of the pressure receiving protrusions 122a and 122b, and receive the pressure receiving protrusions 122a and 122b in the standby passage. It is configured to be possible. In addition, the rear part of the left and right passage walls in the standby passage 52b on the rear row side is formed on the lid member 58 (see the respective drawings in FIGS. 4 to 7), so that the pressure receiving protrusion insertion portion 112b on the rear row side opens rearward. It has a notch shape.

  The pressure receiving member 120 includes a bearing portion 121 formed at the upper end portion of the main body plate portion serving as a substrate, two front and rear pressure receiving protrusions 122a and 122b that are projected and formed at the lower end portion of the main body plate portion, and the center of the right side surface of the main body plate portion. ABS resin or nylon resin polyacetal which consists of a cam plate part 123 formed in the part, a shaft-shaped operation knob 124 which protrudes rearward from the main body plate part, and toughened by adding glass fiber or carbon fiber A resin material such as resin is integrally formed by a molding means such as injection molding.

  The bearing portion 121 formed at the upper end of the main body plate portion is formed in a cylindrical shape that is smoothly connected to the main body plate portion and extends in the front-rear direction, and its shaft center is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the support shaft 125. A bearing hole having an inner diameter and communicating in the front-rear direction is formed. On the support surface of the right frame rod 33, a frame-side shaft support boss 111a having an inner diameter that is the same as or slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the support shaft 125 and that supports the front end portion of the support shaft 125 is formed. .

  The lower region of the main body plate portion is formed in a cantilever shape in which the front and rear intermediate portions are notched and extend downward, and the lower end portion thereof has a bowl-shaped pressure receiving protrusion corresponding to the opening positions and shapes of the pressure receiving protrusion insertion portions 112a and 112b. 122a and 122b are formed. Therefore, when the bearing member 121 is loosely inserted and supported by the support shaft 125 fitted and supported by the frame side support boss 111 and the pressure receiving member 120 is swung, the front and rear pressure receiving protrusions 122a and 122b are inserted into the pressure receiving protrusions. The pressure receiving projections of the cantilever structure can be independently elastically displaced to the left and right while being able to project and displace to the left and right through the portions 112a and 112b.

  The cam plate portion 123 formed on the right side surface of the main body plate portion has a rib shape that protrudes rightward from the main body plate portion and extends up and down, and its upper portion gradually increases downward. An engaging slope 123b is formed.

  On the other hand, the lid member 58 attached to cover the rear side of the S-shaped rail 52 and the pressure receiving member 120 is connected to the left and right passage walls 52L and 52R of the S-shaped rail on the front side facing the S-shaped rail 52, and the rear row. The left and right rear passage walls 58L and 58R that form the side standby passage 52b are formed, and the rear end of the support shaft 125 is aligned with the frame-side support boss 111a formed on the support surface of the right frame rod 33. A lid-side pivot boss 111b that gently supports the end portion is formed. The bearing hole of the lid side support boss may be opened rearward, and a screw may be inserted from the rear surface side of the cover member 58 to be fastened to the frame side support boss 111a.

  In addition, a solenoid support portion 115 that supports the solenoid 131 of the pressure receiving member drive mechanism 130 is formed on the rear surface side of the lid member 58, and a pin insertion hole 116 through which the engagement pin 133b of the drive transmission tool 133 is inserted below. A knob insertion hole 117 through which the operation knob 124 of the pressure receiving member is inserted is formed. The solenoid support portion 115 is formed in a frame shape that supports the bottom corner portion of the case of the solenoid 131 and is positioned and supported so as to be sandwiched between the left and right support walls. The right support wall includes a fixing screw 138 on the rear end side. Screw receiving slits 115 s and 115 s are formed for receiving from. The pin insertion hole 116 is formed in a long hole shape having an opening width larger than the shaft diameter of the engagement pin 133b and an opening length larger than the drive stroke of the solenoid 131, and the knob insertion hole 117 is an operation knob 124. It is formed in an arc shape that matches the swing trajectory.

  The pressure receiving member drive mechanism 130 is a drive source of this drive mechanism, and includes a solenoid 131 that projects the push rod when the solenoid drive signal is turned ON, a drive transmission tool 133 fitted to the lower end of the push rod, and the like. Composed.

  The solenoid 131 includes a metal case 131a, a drive coil 131b housed in the case, a plunger 131c supported by the air core portion of the drive coil so as to be slidable up and down, and a return mounted on the outer periphery of the plunger 131c. The spring 131d is composed of a push rod 131e fixed to the lower end of the plunger and protruding downward from the case 131a and supported so as to be slidable up and down. The plunger 131c is attracted when a solenoid drive signal is applied to the drive coil 131b. When the push rod 131e is protruded downward and the solenoid drive signal is turned OFF, the plunger 131c is pulled up by the spring force of the return spring 131d, and the push rod 131e returns to the reference position. In degrees. The signal line of the drive coil is connected to the ball payout control device 82, and the operation of the solenoid 131 is controlled by the ball payout control device 82. A thin disc-like locking flange 131f is fixed to the lower end portion of the push rod 131e, and screw holes for attaching the solenoid 131 are formed in two upper and lower portions on the side of the case of the solenoid 131.

  The drive transmission tool 133 includes a shaft end block 133a and an engagement pin 133b. The shaft end block 133a is formed with a locking slit for receiving and locking the locking flange 131f at the tip of the push rod. The engaging pin 133b is a smooth cylindrical pin, and is provided extending in a direction orthogonal to the operating axis of the push rod. The drive transmission tool 133 is integrally formed by a molding means such as injection molding using a resin material such as polyacetal resin or ABS resin, or a shaft end block 133a formed by a similar molding method. The engagement pins 133b are driven in and fixed by press fitting, or the metal engagement pins 133b are insert-molded into the resin shaft end block 133a.

  The drive transmission tool 133 is fixed to the lower end portion of the push rod 131e by engaging and locking the engagement flange with the engagement slit of the shaft end block 133, and the drive transmission tool 133 and the solenoid 131 are integrated. The Then, the fixing screws 138 and 138 are loosely screwed into the screw holes on the side surface of the solenoid 131 to align the lower end corner of the case with the lower end corner of the solenoid support portion 115, and the solenoid 131 is slid forward to support the left and right sides. Loosely insert between walls. Then, the fixing screws 138 and 138 slide forward in the grooves of the screw receiving slits 115s and 115s, and the engaging pin 133b of the drive transmission tool 133 projects to the front side of the lid member 58 through the pin insertion hole 116, and the solenoid The front end surface of the case 131 is positioned by engaging the back surface of the lid member 58. Then, by tightening the upper and lower fixing screws 138, the pressure receiving member drive mechanism 130 including the solenoid 131 and the drive transmission tool 133 is attached to the rear surface side of the lid member 58.

  Therefore, the S-shaped rail 52 is loosely inserted into and supported by the upper and lower support bosses 34 that are projected and formed on the support surface of the right frame rod 33, and the front end portion of the support shaft 125 is inserted into the frame-side support boss 111a for support. Then, the pressure receiving member 120 is swingably supported on the support shaft 125 by fitting the bearing portion 121 of the pressure receiving member 120 from the rear end side of the support shaft 125 protruding rearward. Next, the lid member 58 to which the pressure receiving member driving mechanism 130 is attached is covered from behind the right frame rod 33 in which the S-shaped rail 52 and the pressure receiving member 120 are supported on the support surface in this way, and the operation knob 124 is picked and inserted. The relative position of the pressure receiving member 120, the S-shaped rail 52, and the pressure receiving member drive mechanism 130 is positioned by inserting the rear end portion of the support shaft 125 into the cover side support boss 111b on the front surface side of the cover member. Is done.

  Then, by inserting a screw from the rear surface side of the lid member 58 and fixing the screw to the support boss 34, the pivot shaft 35, etc., the S-shaped rail 52, the pressure receiving member 120, the pressure receiving member drive mechanism 130, the lid member 58, etc. Is attached to the right frame rod 33 in a state in which is positioned, and the pressure receiving control unit 100 is formed. Then, by connecting the signal line of the solenoid 131 to the ball payout control device 82, a ball payout control mechanism is formed, and the operation of the pressure receiving control unit 100 is controlled by the ball payout control device 82.

  When the pressure receiving control unit 100 is attached, that is, when the solenoid drive signal is OFF, the pressure receiving member 120 is suspended substantially vertically on the support shaft 125 according to gravity, and the front and rear pressure receiving protrusions 122a and 122b are inserted into the pressure receiving protrusion insertion holes 112a and 112b. Arranged in a state of being retracted to the right. Further, the engagement pin 133b of the pressure receiving member drive mechanism 133 is held above the cam plate portion 123 and adjacent to the vicinity of the proximal end portion of the engagement slope 123b (see FIG. 3). Therefore, the game balls flowing down the standby passages 52a and 52b do not contact the pressure receiving projections 122a and 122b, and flow down as they are toward the ball dispensing device 53.

Accordingly, at the swing angle position shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the pressure receiving control unit 100 transmits the pressure acting from the game ball stored upstream of the pressure receiving member 120 to the game ball downstream. In this way, the swing angle position at which the pressure acting from the game ball stored on the upstream side is directly transmitted to the downstream game ball without being reduced or released is referred to as a release position _Pf . The ball dispensing control mechanism, in before the payout of game balls is started, the pressure receiving member 120 is disposed in the release position P _f in principle.

  On the other hand, in the ball payout control mechanism, the pressure receiving member driving mechanism 130 is operated to swing the pressure receiving member 120 when the game ball payout is started. Hereinafter, the operation of the ball payout control mechanism will be mainly described with reference to the block diagram of the control configuration in the ball payout control mechanism shown in FIG. 8 and the timing chart of the solenoid 131 and the ball payout motor 53m shown in FIG. . In addition, each figure of (a), (b), and (c) in FIG. 9 exemplifies the control timing when the payout conditions are different, such as winning conditions on the game board 20 or ball lending by the ball lending request button on the CR operation panel 92. Is.

The main control device 81 receives detection signals from the winning detection sensors 23s, 24s, 25s, and 25t of the winning devices, and the main control device 81 receives the winning detection signals from the winning detection sensors. The winning condition is determined from the winning detection signal, and a payout command signal based on the winning condition is output to the ball payout control device 82. For example, when the winning detection signal is input from the winning detection sensor 23 s of the general winning tool 23 or the winning detection sensor 24 s of the start winning tool 24, the main controller 81 pays out when winning the winning tools 23, 24. It is determined from the table stored in the internal memory that the quantity corresponds to a small number (for example, 4 or 8), and a payout command signal C ₁ corresponding to the small number is output to the ball payout control device 82. Similarly, when a winning detection signal is input from the winning detection sensors 25s and 25t of the attacker device 25, the main control device 81 corresponds to a large number (for example, 15) of payout quantities when winning a big winning opening. It determines, and outputs a payout command signal C ₂ corresponding to the large number to the ball dispensing control device 82.

In addition to the payout command signals C ₁ and C ₂ input from the main controller 81, a ball lending request signal C ₃ is input from the CR operation panel 92 to the ball payout control device 82. Sphere lend generally have been made to 25 units, it spheres rental request signal C ₃ is a signal for requesting 25 payout.

  When these signals are input to the ball payout control device 82, the ball payout control device 82 first refers to the detection signal of the ball presence detection sensor 51, and a sufficient number of game balls for paying out are placed in the standby passage. It is determined whether or not the storage is waited up to the top. When the detection signal is in the absence of a ball (for example, when the contact point of the ball detection sensor 51 is open), a ball break signal is output to the main control device 81, and the main control device 81 operates the ball payout device 53. The ball break indicator lamp on the front surface of the pachinko machine is turned on, and an alarm such as outputting a ball break signal to the management device on the game facility side is generated via the terminal board 85.

  On the other hand, when the detection signal of the ball presence detection sensor 51 is in a ball presence state (when the contact of the ball presence detection sensor 51 is closed), drive signals are output to the pressure receiving control unit 100 and the ball payout device 53, respectively. The game ball is paid out.

By the way, the payout command signals C ₁ and C ₂ and the ball lending request signal C ₃ input to the ball payout control device 82 are signals for requesting different numbers of payouts. Therefore, the ball payout control device 82 generates motor drive signals M ₁ , M ₂ , M ₃ corresponding to the quantity to be paid out (payout conditions) from the input payout command signal C (C ₁ , C ₂ , C ₃ ). It is generated and output to the ball payout motor 53m of the ball payout device 53. The ball payout control device 82 generates solenoid drive signals S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ for driving the solenoid 131 of the pressure receiving control unit 100 and outputs the solenoid drive signals S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ to the solenoid 131.

9 (1), (2), and (3), when the ball payout quantity is a small number (1), a large number (2), and a ball lending (3), and each of them is continuously operated multiple times (a plurality of payout commands). As shown in the timing chart, the relationship between the motor drive signals M ₁ , M ₂ , M ₃ and the solenoid drive signals S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ (when the signal C is accumulated and in the continuous payout state) is shown in the timing chart. The drive signal S (S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ ) is synchronized with the motor drive signal M (M ₁ , M ₂ , M ₃ ) immediately before the motor drive signal M is output (in other words, the ball payout motor 53m). This is a pulse-like drive signal that is turned on before the rotation of the motor is turned on and turned off after the motor drive signal M is output and a predetermined time has elapsed (after the rotation of the ball payout motor 53m is started).

  That is, when the solenoid drive signal S is turned on, the ball payout motor 53m has not yet rotated, and the game balls are aligned in two rows in the front and rear in the alignment passages 42a and 42b and the standby passages 52a and 52b. Is stored in a state of being closely connected from the ball storage tank 41 to the downstream ball dispensing device 53.

  When the solenoid drive signal S is turned ON, the push rod 131e of the solenoid is pushed downward to move the drive transmission tool 133 downward, and the engagement pin 133b engages with the engagement inclined surface 123b of the cam plate portion. Press 123 to the left. For this reason, the pressure receiving member 120 is swung clockwise around the support shaft 125, and the pressure receiving protrusions 122a and 122b project into the standby passages 52a and 52b through the pressure receiving protrusion insertion portions 112a and 112b (FIG. 3 to FIG. 10). .

  For this reason, the game balls stopped in alignment in the standby passages 52a and 52b are pressed and locked by the pressure receiving protrusion 122b (122a) as shown in FIG. 10, or the pressure receiving protrusion as shown in FIG. 122b (122a) is sandwiched between the leading end of the passage wall 52L and is held in a locked state.

  Here, a moment acts on the solenoid 131 in the direction of rotating the case counterclockwise as a reaction force, but the solenoid itself is rotated because the solenoid support portion 115 is configured to support the left and right sides of the case. There is no such thing as being done. Further, the actual stroke of the direct acting solenoid is defined by an equilibrium point where the generated thrust and the reaction force at the movement position of the plunger are balanced, and when the game ball is sandwiched as shown in FIG. The thrust and the ball pressure of the game ball are maintained in a balanced state. For this reason, the game ball is engaged with the tip end portions of the pressure receiving protrusions 122a and 122b without exerting an excessive load on the solenoid 131, the drive transmission tool 133, the pressure receiving member 120, etc. in either state of FIGS. In this state, it is elastically locked and held.

  Furthermore, the pressure receiving member 120 is formed in a cantilever shape in which a lower intermediate region of the main body plate portion is cut out and can be elastically displaced independently from each other. For this reason, for example, even if the stopping positions of the game balls aligned and waiting in the front and rear standby passages 52a and 52b are different (for example, even if the stopping positions are shifted by about a half pitch), the front and rear cantilevers are different in the stopping positions. Accordingly, it is elastically deformed and received, and the front and rear pressure receiving projections 122a and 122b can elastically hold and hold the game ball.

As a result, the pressure acting from the game ball stored on the upstream side is received by the pressure receiving member 120, and the pressure from the upstream side does not act on the downstream game ball. In this way, the pressure receiving member 120 receives the pressure acting from the game ball stored on the upstream side, and the swing angle position where the pressure to the game ball located on the downstream side is reduced or released (in this embodiment, the swing to be released). the dynamic angular position) of the pressure-receiving position _{P r.}

In a state where the pressure receiving member 120 is displaced to the pressure receiving position P _r, than the pressure receiving member 120 is reduced significantly the pressure acting on the game ball located downstream, the ball disbursement motor 53m, thus the pressure is reduced In this state, more specifically, a motor driving signal M is output from the ball payout control device 82 in a state where the weight is reduced to the weight of only a few balls located between the pressure receiving protrusions 122a and 122b and the ball feed rotating body 53r. Is done.

The motor drive signals M ₁ , M ₂ , and M ₃ are signals that rotate the ball feed rotator 53r clockwise or counterclockwise by a rotation angle corresponding to the dispensed quantity. For example, a small number of dispense command signals C 240 ° ball disbursement motor when ₁ is four, 480 degrees in the case of eight, to rotate the ball feeding rotary body 53r outputs a motor drive signal M ₁ for rotating clockwise, right Pays out to the ball payout passage 60 from the payout exit 53d. The same applies to the case of a large number of payout signal, 15 a ball disbursement motor 900 degrees with respect to the payout command signal C ₂ (2.5 rotations) by outputting a motor drive signal M ₂ for rotating clockwise The ball feed rotator 53r is rotated and paid out to the ball payout passage 60 from the right payout port 53d. Further, in the case of the ball lending request signal C ₃ (25), a motor drive signal M ₃ for rotating the ball payout motor counterclockwise by 1500 degrees (4 rotations and 60 degrees) is output and the ball feed rotating body 53r. Is rotated to pay out to the ball payout passage 60 from the left payout port 53c.

After a predetermined time (for example, about 20 to 100 ms) has elapsed since the motor drive signal M was output, the ball payout controller 82 turns off the solenoid drive signal S. When the solenoid drive signal is turned OFF, the plunger is pushed back by the elastic force of the return spring 131d attached to the plunger outer periphery of the solenoid 131, the drive transmission tool 133 returns to the reference position, and the pressure receiving member 120 is moved by the ball pressure of the game ball. is swung counterclockwise by the pressure-receiving projections 122a, 122b are pressure-receiving projection insertion portion 112a, return to the right side of the release position _{P f} of 112b, so far the game ball which has been locked to the pressure receiving projection waiting path 52a, 52b Flow down. As the ball feed rotator 53r starts to rotate, it catches up with the game ball moving down the standby passages 52a and 52b and is smoothly paid out.

  The game balls paid out from the ball payout outlets 53 c and 53 d are detected by the left and right ball counting sensors 54 and 54, and the ball payout control device 82 is paid out from the detection signal input from the ball counting sensor 54. The actual number of the game balls is counted and compared with the target quantity related to the motor drive signal M to control the operation of the ball payout motor 53m. As a result, a number of game balls according to the winning conditions on the game board 20 and the payout conditions such as the ball lending request input from the CR operation panel 92 are paid out to the ball payout passage 60 and flow down the ball payout passage 60. Then, it is paid out to the upper ball tray 6 or the lower ball tray 7.

Payout operation of the game ball, when paying command signal C is more accumulated, for example, when the payout command signal C ₂ is the n accumulation by one operation corresponding to each payout command signal C ₂ n performed repeatedly times, solenoid drive signal S ₂ to each output of the motor drive signal M _2, is output before the rise of the motor drive signal M _2. For this reason, at the time of the rotation start in which the maximum rotational torque is required for the ball dispensing device 53, the pressure receiving member 120 receives the pressure of the upstream game ball and the load acting on the ball dispensing motor 53m is about the weight of only a few balls. Thus, even with a ball dispensing device using a small motor, an appropriate dispensing operation can be ensured. Further, not only the ball payout motor 53m but also the load on the ball feed rotating body 53r, the receiving port and the like can be remarkably reduced, so that it can be stably operated for a long time.

In addition, a light emitting element 137 such as an LED is provided at a visible position on the back side of the back set board 30, for example, on the side of the ball payout device 53 or the side of the window near the solenoid, and the light emitting element 137 is attached from the ball payout control device 82. It is also preferable that the light emission control signal to be blinked is output simultaneously with the solenoid drive signal S so that the light emitting element is turned on when the solenoid 131 is driven. During the operation of the solenoid 131 according to this arrangement, i.e. the pressure receiving member 120 is lit the light emitting element 137 when it is swung to the pressure receiving position P _r, the back of the operating condition of the pressure-receiving control unit 100 of the back set Release 30 It can be easily visually confirmed from the side.

  The ball payout control mechanism is provided with a ball stop function capable of artificially stopping the flow of the game ball in addition to the pressure control function for reducing the load when the rotation of the ball payout motor 53m is started as described above. This function is realized by the ball stop structure 140. For example, it is not necessary to remove all the game balls stored in the ball storage tank 41 as in the inspection work or replacement work of the ball payout device 53, and the upper ball. This is used when a game ball in a waiting passage that cannot be removed by the removal mechanism is removed.

  The ball stopper structure 140 includes a frame-side key support hole 141a formed in the support surface of the right frame rod 33, a lid-side key support hole 141b formed in the cover member, an operation knob 124 formed in the pressure receiving member 120, and a pressure receiving pressure A heart key 145 or the like that holds and holds the member 120 at the ball stop position is formed.

The frame-side key support hole 141a and the lid-side key support hole 141b are formed obliquely above the pressure receiving projection insertion holes 112a and 112b in the S-shaped rail 52 so that the heart key 145 can be inserted, and the pressure receiving member 120 swings. in relation to the angular position, as shown in FIG. 12, until the pivot angle position of the degree contact with the opening end surface of the pressure receiving projection 122b (122a) pressure receiving projection insertion hole 112b (112a) (referred ball stop position _{P s)} It is located on the right side of the main body plate portion in a displaced state, and is formed to engage with the right side surface of the main body plate portion and the lower end edge surface of the cam plate portion 123 when the heart key 145 is inserted. The heart key 145 is a metal pin having a wire diameter of 1.5 to 2 mm and a length of about 80 to 100 mm, and a clerk of the game facility is always carried along with the key of the locking device 4 in order to perform the above-described ball removal operation. This is an operation pin for work.

  Further, as described above, the pressure receiving member 120 is formed with the operation knob 124 projecting rearward from the main body plate portion, and the lid member 58 has an arc-shaped knob insertion hole 117 that matches the swinging locus of the operation knob. The operation knob 124 is formed so as to protrude to the rear surface side of the lid member 58.

Therefore, by placing a finger on the operation knob 124 and pressing it to the left, the pressure receiving member 120 can be swung clockwise to displace the ball stop position P _s . Therefore, when the heart key 145 is inserted into the lid-side key support hole 141b and the leading end is loosely inserted and supported in the frame-side key support hole 141a, the heart key 145 is disposed on the right side of the pressure receiving member 120, and the body plate right side parts and engage the lower edge surface of the cam plate 123, the pressure receiving member 120 is locked held the ball stop position P _s. As a result, the game ball stopped on the upstream side is blocked by the front and rear pressure receiving protrusions 122a and 122b protruding from the standby passages 52a and 52b, and the flow down to the downstream side is restricted.

In this state, the pressure receiving member 120 is sandwiched between the pressure receiving protrusion insertion holes 112a and 112b and the heart key 145, and the heart key 145 is inclined to the right and the right side surface of the main body plate portion inclined downward to the left. In the vicinity of the intersection with the lower end edge surface of the cam plate portion 123, the cam plate portion 123 is engaged and held by both surfaces. For this reason, for example, even if the back set board 30 is shaken or the pressure acting from the game ball stored on the upstream side fluctuates, the pressure receiving member 120 may return to the release position _Pf side. Absent.

  Therefore, a clerk at the game facility drops the game ball into the general prize-winning tool 23 or the start prize-winning tool 24, or opens the open / close door of the attacker device 25 to insert the game ball into the big prize opening, or the CR operation panel 92. When the ball lending request button is pressed, the ball paying device 53 is operated to pay out the game ball, so that the game ball stopped between the pressure receiving protrusions 122a and 122b and the ball feed rotating body 53r is shortened. All the balls can be removed in time, and the inspection and replacement of the ball payout device 53 can be easily performed in a state where the game balls in the ball payout device 53 are completely discharged.

In order to release the ball-stopping state after the inspection operation of the ball dispensing device 53 is completed, the operation knob 124 is lightly supported, the heart key 145 is removed backward, and the supported operation knob 124 is released gently. . Then, the pressure receiving member 120 swings counterclockwise by the ball pressure of the game ball stopped in the standby passages 53a and 53b, and the release position where the front and rear pressure receiving protrusions 122a and 122b are retracted to the right of the pressure receiving protrusion insertion holes 112a and 112b. Return to _Pf .

  Therefore, according to the ball payout control mechanism as described above, it is possible to ensure an appropriate payout operation even with a ball payout device using a small motor, so that the device can be reduced in size and cost, and the load can be reduced. It is possible to provide a payout control mechanism that can be stably operated for a long period of time by reducing. In addition, it is possible to provide a payout control mechanism with good maintenance workability with a simple device configuration in which the pressure receiving member is displaced and locked at the ball stop position.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view showing a modified example regarding the support mechanism portion of the S-shaped rail and the pressure receiving member. First, in the S-shaped rail 52 described above, the rear end portions 58L and 58R of the left and right passage walls 52L and 52R in the standby passage 52b on the rear row side are formed on the lid member 58. Then, these are collectively formed on the S-shaped rail 52 'side, whereby the front and rear surfaces sandwiching the partition wall 52w are configured symmetrically, and the front form of the lid member 58' can be simplified. Further, the support shaft portions 111a and 111b formed separately on the support surface of the right frame rod 33 and the front surface of the lid member 58 are integrally formed as the support shaft portion 111 'on the partition wall 52w of the S-shaped rail 52'. In addition, the bearing 121 'of the swing member 120' is formed before and after the support shaft 111 'is sandwiched so that the pressure receiving member 120 can be partially assembled to the S-shaped rail 52', thereby facilitating the assembly of the pressure receiving member 120 '. ing. Furthermore, it has a configuration which forms a key insertion hole 123c for inserting the heart key 145 in spherical stop position P _s in the cam plate 123, and further strengthen the engagement holding by heart key 145 of a spherical stop position.

  Next, the ball payout control mechanism of the second configuration form will be described. This ball payout control mechanism is different from the ball payout control mechanism of the first configuration described above only in the configuration of the pressure receiving control unit, and the basic configuration of the pachinko machine main body and the configuration of the ball payout control device are the same as those of the pachinko machine PM described above. It is the same. Accordingly, the same reference numerals are assigned to the components in FIGS. 14 to 24 to omit common description, and the pressure receiving control unit 200 of the second configuration form will be described in detail focusing on the different components.

  14 is a rear view of the pachinko machine equipped with the ball payout control mechanism of the second configuration form, FIG. 15 is a rear view of the right frame rod 33 portion of the back set board including the ball payout control mechanism, and FIG. 16 is a pressure receiving control. 17 is an exploded perspective view of the unit 200 as viewed from the right rear side, FIG. 17 is a right side sectional view mainly showing the pressure receiving control unit 200 and the ball dispensing device 53, and FIG. 18 is a plane cross section seen in the direction of arrows XVIII-XVIII in FIG. FIG. 19 is a plan sectional view of the pressure receiving member locked in the ball stop position as seen in the direction of the arrow XIX-XIX in FIG. 15, and FIG. 20 is a right side frame of the back set board including the ball payout control mechanism. FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 are rear views showing a locked state of the game ball when the pressure receiving member is displaced to the pressure receiving position, and FIG. 23 is a pressure receiving control unit when the ball is held by the heart key. FIG.

Broadly speaking, the pressure receiving control unit 200 is supported so as to be swingable adjacent to the S-shaped rail 52, receives pressure acting from a game ball stored on the upstream side, and acts on the game ball on the downstream side. The pressure receiving position P _r for reducing or releasing the pressure, the release position P _{f for} transmitting the pressure acting from the game ball stored on the upstream side to the downstream game ball as it is without reducing the pressure, and the game ball stored on the upstream side spherical stop position P _s pressure receiving member 220 provided so as to be displaceable in pressure-receiving member driving mechanism 230 for displacing the receiving member 220 to the pressure receiving position or releasing position blocking in the game ball is restricted from flowing down to the downstream side pressure receiving A ball stopper structure 140 that locks the member 220 at the ball stopper position is formed.

  The S-shaped rail 52 is configured in the same manner as the S-shaped rail 52 of the first configuration described above, and is formed at the bent portion located immediately above the ball dispensing device 53, that is, the bent portion at the end of the standby passages 52a and 52b. The pressure receiving protrusion insertion portions 112a and 112b through which the pressure receiving protrusions 222a and 222b before and after the pressure receiving member 220 are inserted are formed. The rear portions of the left and right passage walls in the standby passage 52b on the rear row side are formed on the lid member 58, and the pressure receiving protrusion insertion portion 112b on the rear row side has a notch shape opened rearward.

  The pressure receiving member 220 includes a bearing portion 221 formed at the upper end portion of the main body plate portion serving as a substrate, two front and rear pressure receiving protrusions 222a and 222b projectingly formed at the lower end portion of the main body plate portion, and the right side surface center of the main body plate portion. ABS plate or nylon resin polyacetal which is composed of a cam plate portion 223 formed in the portion, a shaft-shaped operation knob 224 which is projected backward from the main body plate portion, and toughened by adding glass fiber or carbon fiber. A resin material such as resin is integrally formed by a molding means such as injection molding.

  The bearing portion 221 formed at the upper end portion of the main body plate portion is formed in a cylindrical shape that is smoothly connected to the main body plate portion and extends in the front-rear direction, and its shaft center is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the support shaft 125. A bearing hole having an inner diameter and communicating in the front-rear direction is formed. On the support surface of the right frame rod 33, a frame side support boss 111a having an inner diameter that is the same as or slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the support shaft 125 is formed.

  The lower region of the main body plate portion is formed in a cantilever shape in which the front and rear intermediate portions are notched and extend downward, and the lower end portion thereof has a bowl-shaped pressure receiving protrusion corresponding to the opening positions and shapes of the pressure receiving protrusion insertion portions 112a and 112b. 222a and 222b are formed. For this reason, when the bearing member 221 is loosely inserted and supported by the support shaft 125 fitted and supported by the frame side support boss 111 and the pressure receiving member 220 is swung, the front and rear pressure receiving protrusions 222a and 222b are inserted into the pressure receiving protrusions. The pressure receiving projections of the cantilever structure can be independently elastically displaced to the left and right while being able to project and displace to the left and right through the portions 112a and 112b.

  The cam plate portion 223 formed on the right side surface of the main body plate portion has a rib shape that protrudes rightward from the main body plate portion and extends up and down, and its upper portion gradually increases in height downward. An engagement slope 223b is formed.

  The lid member 58 attached to cover the rear side of the pressure receiving member 220 and the S-shaped rail 52 is connected to the left and right passage walls 52L and 52R of the S-shaped rail on the front side facing the S-shaped rail 52. The left and right rear passage walls 58L and 58R forming the standby passage 52b are formed, and the rear end end portion of the support shaft 125 is loosely aligned with the support boss 111a formed on the support surface of the right frame rod 33. A lid-side pivot boss 111b that is inserted and supported is formed. The lid member 58 is formed with an arc-shaped insertion hole 217 penetrating the front and back of the lid member 58 in accordance with the swing locus of the operation knob 224 when the pressure receiving member 220 is supported on the support shaft 125.

  Therefore, the S-shaped rail 52 is loosely inserted into and supported by the upper and lower support bosses 34 that are projected and formed on the support surface of the right frame rod 33, and the front end portion of the support shaft 125 is inserted into the frame-side support boss 111a for support. Then, the pressure receiving member 220 is swingably supported on the support shaft 125 by inserting the bearing portion 221 of the pressure receiving member 220 from the rear end side of the support shaft 125 protruding rearward. Next, from the rear side of the right frame rod 33 in which the S-shaped rail 52 and the pressure receiving member 220 are supported on the support surface in this way, the cover member 58 is covered and the operation knob 224 is inserted into the insertion insertion part 217 to support the support shaft 125. The S-shaped rail 52 and the pressure receiving member 220 are positioned on the right frame rod 33 by fitting the rear end portion of the lid side support shaft boss 111b on the front side of the lid member. Then, a screw is inserted from the rear surface side of the lid member 58 and fixed to the support boss 34, the pivot shaft 35, etc., so that the S-shaped rail 52, the pressure receiving member 220, the lid member 58, etc. are positioned in the right position. It is attached to the rear surface side of the frame rod 33.

  On the other hand, a frame wall 114 for securing the rigidity of the base frame body 31 and increasing the frame body strength is formed on the front side of the right frame rod 33 so as to surround the periphery of the window 32. A solenoid support portion 215 that supports the solenoid 231 of the pressure receiving member drive mechanism 230 is formed in the lower portion. In addition, a pin insertion hole 216 through which the engagement pin 233b of the drive transmission tool 233 is inserted is formed in the support surface that partitions the right frame rod 33 forward and backward. The solenoid support portion 215 is formed in a frame shape that supports the case of the solenoid 231, and screw receiving slits 215 s and 215 s for receiving a fixing screw 238 for fixing the solenoid 231 from the front end side are formed on the side wall surface on the window side. ing. The pin insertion hole 216 has a long hole shape having an opening width larger than the shaft diameter of the engagement pin 233b and an opening length larger than the drive stroke of the solenoid 231.

  The pressure receiving member drive mechanism 230 is a drive source of the drive mechanism, and is a solenoid 231 that pulls in the plunger when the solenoid drive signal is turned ON, a drive transmission tool 233 fitted to the tip of the plunger, and a solenoid 231. The return spring 234 is mounted on the outer periphery of the plunger between the metal case and the drive transmission tool 233 and pushes the plunger back to the reference position when the solenoid drive signal is turned off.

  The solenoid 231 has a metal case 231a, a drive coil 231b housed in the case, and a plunger 231c supported so that the air core portion of the drive coil can be slidably displaced. A solenoid drive signal is sent to the drive coil 231b. This is a direct acting electromagnetic solenoid in which the plunger 231c is pulled in when applied. The signal line of the drive coil is connected to the ball payout control device 82, and the operation of the solenoid 231 is controlled by the ball payout control device 82. The distal end portion of the plunger 231c is chamfered partly on the outer peripheral surface to form a shaft end locking portion, and screw holes for attaching the solenoid 231 are formed in two places on the side surface of the case 231a.

  The drive transmission tool 233 includes a shaft end block 233a and an engagement pin 233b. The shaft end block 233a has a slightly smaller mounting hole having the same cross-sectional shape as the shaft end locking portion at the tip of the plunger. Yes. The engagement pin 233b is a smooth cylindrical pin, and is provided extending in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the mounting hole. The drive transmission tool 233 is integrally formed by, for example, molding means such as aluminum die casting, or a metal end pin 233b such as stainless steel is press-fitted and fixed to a shaft end block 233a formed by a similar molding method, or It is integrally formed by means such as insert molding a metal engaging pin 233b on a resin shaft end block 233a.

  The pressure receiving member driving mechanism 230 is mounted by supporting a return spring 234 on the outer peripheral portion of the plunger 231c, and by engaging the mounting hole of the shaft end block 233 with the shaft end locking portion at the distal end of the plunger, thereby fixing the spring. A return type drive mechanism is partially assembled. Then, the fixing screws 238 and 238 are loosely screwed into the screw holes on the side surface of the case 231b to align with the lower end corner of the solenoid support portion 215, and the solenoid 231 is slid rearward (in the direction of the support surface of the right frame rod 33). Then, the fixing screws 238 and 238 slide rearward in the grooves of the screw receiving slits 215s and 215s, and the engagement pin 233b of the drive transmission tool 233 protrudes rearward through the pin insertion hole 216 on the support surface, and the solenoid 231 The rear end surface of the case is positioned by engaging with the support surface. Therefore, by tightening the upper and lower fixing screws 238 from the inside of the window 32, the pressure receiving member driving mechanism 230 is attached to the front surface side of the support surface of the right frame rod 33.

  Thereby, the S-shaped rail 52, the pressure receiving member 120, the lid member 58, and the pressure receiving member drive mechanism 130 are positioned and attached to the right frame rod 33, and the pressure receiving control unit 200 is formed. Then, by connecting the signal line of the solenoid 231 to the ball payout control device 82, a ball payout control mechanism is formed, and the operation of the pressure receiving control unit 200 is controlled by the ball payout control device 82.

  When the pressure receiving control unit 200 is attached, that is, when the solenoid drive signal is OFF, the pressure receiving member 220 is suspended substantially vertically on the support shaft 125 according to gravity, and the front and rear pressure receiving protrusions 222a and 222b are inserted into the pressure receiving protrusion insertion holes 112a and 112b. Arranged in a state of being retracted to the right. Further, the engagement pin 233b of the pressure receiving member drive mechanism 223 is held above the cam plate 223 and adjacent to the vicinity of the proximal end portion of the engagement slope 223b (see FIG. 15). For this reason, the game balls flowing down the standby passages 52 a and 52 b do not contact the pressure receiving protrusions 222 a and 222 b, and flow down as they are toward the ball dispensing device 53.

Therefore, at the swing angle position shown in FIGS. 15 to 18, the pressure receiving control unit 200 transmits the pressure acting from the game ball stored on the upstream side of the pressure receiving member 220 to the game ball on the downstream side as it is. In this way, the swing angle position at which the pressure acting from the game ball stored on the upstream side is directly transmitted to the downstream game ball without being reduced or released is referred to as a release position _Pf . The ball dispensing control mechanism, in before the payout of game balls is started, the pressure receiving member 220 is disposed in the release position P _f in principle.

  On the other hand, in the ball payout control mechanism, the pressure receiving member driving mechanism 230 is operated to swing the pressure receiving member 220 when the game ball payout is started. The operation control of the pressure receiving member driving mechanism 230 is performed by the ball payout control device 82, and is the same as the operation control of the pressure receiving member driving mechanism 130 of the first configuration form already described with reference to FIGS. Therefore, the action of the ball payout control mechanism of this configuration form will be briefly summarized below.

When a game ball wins any of the winning devices 23, 24, 25 on the game board 20, a winning detection signal is input to the main control device 81 from the winning detection sensors 23s, 24s, 25s, 25t provided in the winning devices. The main controller 81 outputs payout command signals C ₁ and C ₂ based on the winning conditions to the ball payout controller 82. The CR operation panel 92 when the sphere rental request button is operated by the CR operation panel 92 outputs a sphere rental request signal C ₃ to the payout controller 82.

When these payout command signals C (C ₁ , C ₂ , C ₃ ) are input to the ball payout control device 82, the ball payout control device 82 refers to the detection signal of the ball presence detection sensor 51 and detects the detection signal. When the ball is in a no ball state, a ball shortage signal is output to the main control device 81 to generate an alarm, and in the ball present state, a motor drive signal M corresponding to the discharge condition is sent to the pressure receiving control unit 200 and the ball discharge device 53. (M ₁ , M ₂ , M ₃ ) is output and the game ball is paid out. Further, the ball payout control device 82 generates a solenoid drive signal S (S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ ) for driving the solenoid 231 of the pressure receiving control unit 200 and outputs it to the solenoid 231.

As shown in FIGS. 9 (1), (2) and (3), the solenoid drive signal S (S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ ) is synchronized with the motor drive signal M (M ₁ , M ₂ , M ₃ ). , ON immediately before the motor drive signal M is output (before the rotation of the ball payout motor 53m), and OFF after the predetermined time has elapsed after the motor drive signal M is output (after the rotation start of the ball payout motor 53m). This is a pulsed drive signal. That is, when the solenoid drive signal S is turned on, the ball payout motor 53m has not yet rotated, and the game balls are aligned in two rows in the front and rear in the alignment passages 42a and 42b and the standby passages 52a and 52b. Is stored in a state of being closely connected from the ball storage tank 41 to the downstream ball dispensing device 53.

  When the solenoid drive signal S is turned ON, the solenoid plunger 231c is pulled in and the drive transmission tool 233 is moved downward, and the engagement pin 233b engages with the engagement slope 223b of the cam plate to move the cam plate 223 to the left. Press. Therefore, the pressure receiving member 220 is swung clockwise around the support shaft 125, and the pressure receiving protrusions 222a and 222b project into the standby passages 52a and 52b through the pressure receiving protrusion insertion portions 112a and 112b (FIG. 15 → FIG. 21). . For this reason, the game balls stopped in alignment in the standby passages 52a and 52b are pressed and locked by the pressure receiving protrusion 222b (222a) as shown in FIG. 21, or the pressure receiving protrusion as shown in FIG. 222b (222a) is sandwiched between the front end portion of the passage wall 52L and is held in a locked state.

  Here, the actual stroke of the direct acting solenoid is defined by an equilibrium point where the generated thrust and the reaction force at the plunger moving position are balanced, and when the game ball is sandwiched as shown in FIG. The generated thrust and the ball pressure of the game ball are maintained in a balanced state. For this reason, the game ball is engaged with the tip portions of the pressure receiving protrusions 222a and 222b without exerting an excessive load on the solenoid 231, the drive transmission tool 233, the pressure receiving member 220 or the like in any state of FIGS. In this state, it is elastically locked and held.

  Further, the pressure receiving member 220 is formed in a cantilever shape in which a lower intermediate region of the main body plate portion is notched and can be elastically displaced independently from each other. For this reason, for example, even if the stopping positions of the game balls aligned and waiting in the front and rear standby passages 52a and 52b are different (for example, even if the stopping positions are shifted by about a half pitch), the front and rear cantilevers are different in the stopping positions. In response to the elastic deformation, the front and rear pressure receiving protrusions 222a and 222b can elastically hold and hold the game ball.

Thereby, the pressure acting from the game ball stored on the upstream side is not received by the pressure receiving member 220 and acts on the downstream game ball. Thus, receiving the pressure receiving member 220 is applied from the upstream side of the game ball, (it is exempted in the present embodiment) that is to exemption pressure on the game ball located on the downstream side is displaced to the pressure receiving position P _r In this state, the pressure acting on the game ball located on the downstream side of the pressure receiving member 220 is greatly reduced, and the pressure of the ball payout motor 53m is thus reduced, specifically, the pressure receiving protrusions 222a and 222b. The ball payout control device 82 outputs a motor drive signal M in a state where the weight is reduced to the weight of only a few balls located between the ball feed rotating body 53r.

The motor drive signal M (M ₁ , M ₂ , M ₃ ) is a signal for rotating the ball feed rotating body 53r clockwise or counterclockwise by the rotation angle corresponding to the dispensed quantity. For example, the dispense command signal C 240 degrees in the case ₁ is four, the motor drive signal M ₁ for rotating the 480 ° sphere payout motor 53m clockwise in the case of eight, when ball disbursement command signal C ₂ is 15 pieces 900 ° (2.5 turns), the ball dispensing motor 53m and outputs a motor drive signal _{M 2} for rotating clockwise rotates the ball feeding rotary member 53r, the ball dispensing passage 60 from the right side of the dispensing opening 53d Let them pay out. Further, in the case of the ball lending request signal C ₃ (25), a motor drive signal M ₃ for rotating the ball payout motor counterclockwise by 1500 degrees (4 rotations and 60 degrees) is output and the ball feed rotating body 53r. Is turned and discharged to the ball payout passage 60 from the left payout port 53c.

After a predetermined time (for example, about 20 to 100 ms) has elapsed since the motor drive signal M was output, the ball payout controller 82 turns off the solenoid drive signal S. When the solenoid drive signal is turned OFF, the plunger is pushed up by the elastic force of the return spring 234 of the solenoid 231 and the drive transmission tool 233 returns to the reference position, and the pressure receiving member 220 is swung counterclockwise by the ball pressure of the game ball. receiving projection Te 222a, 222b are returned to the release position _{P f} of the pressure receiving projection insertion portion 112a, 112b right of the game ball which has been locked to the pressure receiving projection flows down the waiting path 52a, 52b before. As the ball feed rotator 53r starts to rotate, it catches up with the game ball moving down the standby passages 52a and 52b and is smoothly paid out.

  The game balls paid out from the ball payout outlets 53 c and 53 d are detected by the left and right ball counting sensors 54 and 54, and the ball payout control device 82 is paid out from the detection signal input from the ball counting sensor 54. The actual number of the game balls is counted and compared with the target quantity related to the motor drive signal M to control the operation of the ball payout motor 53m. As a result, a number of game balls according to the winning conditions on the game board 20 and the payout conditions such as the ball lending request input from the CR operation panel 92 are paid out to the ball payout passage 60 and flow down the ball payout passage 60. Then, it is paid out to the upper ball tray 6 or the lower ball tray 7.

  When a plurality of payout command signals C are accumulated, the game ball payout operation is repeated one operation at a time corresponding to each payout command signal, and the solenoid drive signal S is output every time the motor drive signal M is output. Is output prior to the rise of the motor drive signal M. For this reason, at the time of rotation start in which the largest rotational torque is required for the ball dispensing device 53, the pressure receiving member 220 receives the pressure of the upstream game ball and applies a load acting on the ball dispensing motor 53m to the weight of only a few balls. Accordingly, even with a ball dispensing device using a small motor, an appropriate dispensing operation can be ensured. Further, not only the ball payout motor 53m but also the load on the ball feed rotating body 53r, the receiving port and the like can be remarkably reduced, so that it can be stably operated for a long time.

It is also preferable that a light emitting element 137 such as an LED is provided at a visible position on the back side of the back set panel 30 so that it is output simultaneously with the solenoid drive signal S, and the light emitting element is turned on when the solenoid 231 is driven. . During the operation of the solenoid 231 according to this configuration, i.e. the light emitting element 137 is illuminated when the pressure receiving member 220 is swung to the pressure receiving position P _r, the back of the operating condition of the pressure-receiving control unit 200 of the back set Release 30 It can be easily visually confirmed from the side.

  The ball payout control mechanism is provided with a ball stop function capable of artificially stopping the flow of the game ball in addition to the pressure control function for reducing the load when the rotation of the ball payout motor 53m is started as described above. This function is realized by a ball stop structure 140 similar to the configuration described above, and it is not necessary to remove all the game balls stored in the ball storage tank 41, and the inside of the standby passage that cannot be extracted by the upper ball removal mechanism. It is used when removing the game balls. The ball stopper structure 140 includes a frame-side key support hole 141a formed in the support surface of the right frame rod 33, a lid-side key support hole 141b formed in the lid member, an operation knob 224 formed in the pressure receiving member 220, and a pressure receiving pressure A heart key 145 or the like that holds and holds the member 220 at the ball stop position is formed.

The frame-side key support hole 141a and the lid-side key support hole 141b are formed obliquely above the pressure receiving protrusion insertion holes 112a and 112b in the S-shaped rail 52 so that the heart key 145 can be inserted. As shown in FIG. 23, these key support holes receive pressure until the pressure receiving protrusion 222b (222a) contacts the opening end surface of the pressure receiving protrusion insertion hole 112b (112a) to the swing angle position (ball stop position P _s ). The member 220 is positioned on the right side of the main body plate portion with the rocking displacement, and is formed so as to engage with the right side surface of the main body plate portion and the lower end edge surface of the cam plate 223 when the heart key 145 is inserted. Has been. Further, the operation knob 224 of the pressure receiving member 220 is disposed in a state of protruding to the rear surface side of the lid member 58 through the knob insertion hole 217.

Therefore, by pressing the left over the finger on the operation knob 224, may be a pressure receiving member 220 is swung clockwise to the sphere stop position P _s displacement. Therefore, when the heart key 145 is inserted into the lid-side key support hole 141b and the tip is loosely inserted and supported in the frame-side key support hole 141a, the heart key 145 has a right side surface of the main body plate portion and a lower end edge surface of the cam plate 223. engaged, the pressure receiving member 220 is locked held the ball stop position P _s. As a result, the game ball stopped on the upstream side is blocked by the front and rear pressure receiving protrusions 222a and 222b protruding from the standby passages 52a and 52b, and the flow down to the downstream side is restricted.

In this state, the pressure receiving member 220 is sandwiched between the pressure receiving protrusion insertion holes 112a and 112b and the heart key 145, and the heart key 145 is inclined to the right and the right side surface of the main body plate portion that is inclined downward to the left. The cam plate 223 engages with and holds both sides in the vicinity of the intersection with the lower end edge surface of the cam plate 223. For this reason, for example, even if the back set board 30 is shaken or the pressure acting from the game ball stored on the upstream side fluctuates, the pressure receiving member 220 may return to the release position _Pf side. Absent.

  Therefore, a clerk at the game facility drops the game ball into the general prize-winning tool 23 or the start prize-winning tool 24, or opens the opening / closing door of the attacker device 25 to insert the game ball into the big prize opening, or the CR operation panel 92. When the ball lending request button is pressed, the ball paying device 53 is operated to pay out the game ball, so that the game ball stopped between the pressure receiving protrusions 222a and 222b and the ball feed rotating body 53r is shortened. All the balls can be removed in time, and the inspection and replacement of the ball payout device 53 can be easily performed in a state where the game balls in the ball payout device 53 are completely discharged.

To release the ball-stopping state after the inspection operation of the ball dispensing device 53 is completed, the operation knob 224 is lightly supported, the heart key 145 is removed backward, and the supported operation knob 224 is gently released. . Then, the pressure receiving member 220 swings counterclockwise due to the ball pressure of the game balls stopped in the standby passages 53a and 53b, and the release position where the front and rear pressure receiving protrusions 222a and 222b are retracted to the right of the pressure receiving protrusion insertion holes 112a and 112b. Return to _Pf .

  Therefore, according to the ball payout control mechanism as described above, it is possible to ensure an appropriate payout operation even with a ball payout device using a small motor, so that the device can be reduced in size and cost, and the load can be reduced. It is possible to provide a payout control mechanism that can be stably operated for a long period of time by reducing. In addition, a solenoid that swings and displaces the pressure-receiving member is arranged between the front wall surface of the standby passage (the support surface of the back set board) and the game board, so that the thickness of the back set board is not increased. Thus, it is possible to provide a ball payout control mechanism having the above effects. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a payout control mechanism with good maintenance workability with a simple device configuration in which the pressure receiving member is displaced and locked at the ball stop position.

FIG. 24 is an exploded perspective view showing a modified example related to the support mechanism portion of the S-shaped rail and the pressure receiving member, and the configuration is the same as the modified example described with reference to FIG. That is, in the S-shaped rail 52 ′ of this configuration example, the left and right passage walls that are partly formed separately on the lid member side are formed on the S-shaped rail 52 ′, thereby the front and rear surfaces sandwiching the partition wall 52w are formed. It is possible to simplify the configuration of the front surface of the lid member 58 ′ while being configured symmetrically. Further, the support shaft portions 111a and 111b formed separately on the support surface of the right frame rod 33 and the front surface of the lid member 58 are integrally formed as the support shaft portion 111 'on the partition wall 52w of the S-shaped rail 52'. At the same time, the bearing portion 221 'of the swing member 220' is formed before and after the support shaft portion 111 'is sandwiched to facilitate the assembly of the pressure receiving member 220'. Furthermore, it has a configuration which forms a key insertion hole 223c for inserting the heart key 145 in spherical stop position P _s in the cam plate 223, and further strengthen the engagement holding by heart key 145 of a spherical stop position.

In the above in each configuration embodiment described, the set pressure receiving position P _r for exemption the pressure on the downstream side of the game ball, the swing angular positions different and ball stop position P _s of blocking stream of game balls mentioned example, may be set and the pressure receiving position P _r and the ball stop position P _s on the same swing angle position. For example, the frame side and the cover side key supporting hole 141a, the position of 141b formed in accordance with the pressure receiving position _{P r,} the pressure receiving member 120, 220 to lock held by the pressure receiving position _{P r} (receiving position the ball retaining position _{P s} P _r and set to a common angular position) may be configured to.

Further, in the above, regardless of whether the payout command signal C or the like input to the ball payout control device 82 is a small number or a large number of ball payout command signals C ₁ and C ₂ or a ball lending request signal C _3. The control mode for controlling the operation of the pressure receiving control units 100 and 200 is exemplified. However, the operation state is changed according to the type of the input signal, or the number of game balls to be paid out, the continuous state of payout, etc. Accordingly, the operation state can be changed as appropriate. For example, a small number of payout command signal C ₁ is configured so actuates the first time dispensing operation only pressure control unit if, as is more accumulated, or pulse of the solenoid drive signal S in response to the payout quantity It is also possible to configure to change the width.

  Furthermore, although the example which formed the pressure receiving protrusion which engages / disengages with a game ball integrally with the pressure receiving members 120 and 220 was shown, you may comprise so that a pressure receiving protrusion may be formed separately and fixed to a main body plate part. For example, the pressure-receiving member may be formed by forming a pin-shaped pressure-receiving protrusion with an elastic resin material such as polyurethane and integrating it with the lower end of the body plate portion by fitting or bonding.

It is a front view of the pachinko machine shown as an example of a bullet ball game machine provided with the ball discharge control mechanism concerning the present invention. It is a rear view of the pachinko machine provided with the ball payout control mechanism of the 1st composition form. It is a rear view of the right frame collar part of a back set board containing the ball | bowl payout control mechanism of a 1st structure form. It is the disassembled perspective view which looked at the pressure receiving control unit in the ball | bowl delivery control mechanism of a 1st structure form from diagonally back. It is right side sectional drawing which mainly shows the said pressure receiving control unit and a ball dispensing apparatus. It is the plane sectional view seen in the VI-VI arrow direction in FIG. It is the plane sectional view seen in the VII-VII arrow direction in Drawing 3 in the state where the pressure receiving member was locked in the ball stop position. It is a block diagram which mainly shows the control form of a ball payout control mechanism. It is a timing chart which shows the drive timing of the solenoid and ball payout motor in a ball payout control mechanism. It is a rear view which shows the latching state of a game ball when a pressure receiving member is displaced to a pressure receiving position. It is a rear view which shows the other latching state of a game ball when a pressure receiving member is displaced to a pressure receiving position. It is a rear view of a pressure receiving control unit when it is in a ball stop state by a heart key. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the example of a change regarding the support mechanism part of the S-shaped rail and a pressure receiving member in the ball | bowl delivery control mechanism of a 1st structure form. It is a rear view of the pachinko machine provided with the ball payout control mechanism of the 2nd composition form. It is a rear view of the right frame collar part of a back set board containing the ball payout control mechanism of the 2nd composition form. It is the disassembled perspective view which looked at the pressure receiving control unit in the ball | bowl delivery control mechanism of a 2nd structure form from diagonally back. It is right side sectional drawing which mainly shows the said pressure receiving control unit and a ball dispensing apparatus. It is the plane sectional view seen in the XVIII-XVIII arrow direction in FIG. It is the plane sectional view seen in the XIX-XIX arrow direction in Drawing 15 in the state where the pressure receiving member was locked in the ball stop position. It is a front view of the right frame collar part of a back set board containing a ball paying-out control mechanism. It is a rear view which shows the latching state of a game ball when a pressure receiving member is displaced to a pressure receiving position. It is a rear view which shows the other latching state of a game ball when a pressure receiving member is displaced to a pressure receiving position. It is a rear view of a pressure receiving control unit when it is in a ball stop state by a heart key. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the example of a change regarding the support mechanism part of the S-shaped rail and a pressure receiving member in the ball | bowl delivery control mechanism of a 2nd structure form. It is a rear view which illustrates the composition and operation of the ball dispensing device in the conventional ball dispensing control mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

PA gaming area PM pachinko machine P _f release position P _r pressure receiving position P _s ball stop position C ₁ , C ₂ payout command signal C ₃ ball lending request signal M ₁ , M ₂ , M ₃ motor drive signal S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ Solenoid drive signal 1 Outer frame 2 Front frame 3 Hinge mechanism 4 Locking device 5 Glass door (5h ball removal operation hole)
6 Upper ball dish 7 Lower ball dish 8 Launch handle 9 Game ball launcher 20 Game board 21 Dressing plate 22 Guide rail 23 General prize (23s prize detection sensor)
24 start prize tool (24s prize detection sensor)
25 Attacker device (25s, 25t winning detection sensor)
27 Symbol display device 28 Out port 29 Ball gathering cover 30 Back set panel 31 Base frame body 32 Window 33 Right frame rod 34 Support boss 35 Pivot shaft 41 Ball storage tank 42 Tank rail (42a Alignment passage on the front row side, 42b Rear row side Alignment passage)
44 Sphere equalizing tool 45 Sphere stop member 51 Sphere detection sensor 52, 52 'S-rail (52a Standby path on the front row side, 52b Standby path on the back row side,
52L, 52R left and right passage walls, 52w partition walls)
53 Ball dispenser (53a Front row side receiving port, 53b Rear row side receiving port, 53c, 53d Left and right payout ports,
53m ball delivery motor, 53r ball feed rotor, 53r ₁ front row impeller,
53r ₂ rear row impeller)
54 ball counting sensor 55 flow path switching member (55a passage wall)
56 Operating member 57 Ball passage (57a preliminary passage, 57b communication opening, 57c descending passage)
58, 58 'lid member (58L, 58R left and right passage walls)
60 Ball dispensing passage 81 Main controller 82 Ball dispensing controller 83 Lamp / voice controller 84 Power supply unit 85 Terminal board 87 Symbol display controller 90 Prepaid card unit 92 CR operation panel 100 Pressure receiving control unit 111a Frame side support boss 111b Lid Side shaft boss 111 'Support shaft portion 112a Pressure receiving protrusion insertion portion 112b on the front row side Pressure receiving protrusion insertion portion 114 on the back row side Frame wall 115 Solenoid support portion (115s screw receiving slit)
116 Pin insertion hole 117 Knob insertion hole 118 Front cover 120, 120 ′ Pressure receiving member 121, 121 ′ Bearing portion 122 a Front row pressure receiving projection 122 b Rear row pressure receiving projection 123 Cam plate portion (123 b engagement slope, 123 c key insertion hole)
124 Operation knob 125 Support shaft 130 Pressure receiving member drive mechanism 131 Solenoid (131a case, 131b drive coil, 131c plunger, 131d return spring, 131e push rod, 131f locking flange)
133 Drive transmission tool (133a shaft end block, 133b engagement pin)
137 Light emitting element 138 Fixing screw 140 Ball stop structure 141a Frame side key support hole 141b Cover side key support hole 145 Heart key 200 Pressure receiving control unit 215 Solenoid support (215s screw receiving slit)
216 Pin insertion hole 217 Knob insertion hole 220, 220 ′ Pressure receiving member 221, 221 ′ Bearing portion 222 a Pressure receiving protrusion 222 b on the front row side Pressure receiving protrusion 223 on the rear row side Cam plate portion (223 b engagement slope, 223 c key insertion hole)
224 Operation knob 230 Pressure receiving member drive mechanism 231 Solenoid (231a case, 231b drive coil, 231c plunger)
233 Drive transmission tool (233a shaft end block, 233b engagement pin)
234 Return spring 238 Fixing screw

Claims (1)

A back set board attached to cover the back of the game board, a ball storage tank for storing game balls, and a predetermined quantity according to winning conditions in the game board provided below the ball storage tank. A ball payout device for paying out game balls; a guide passage provided between the ball storage tank and the ball payout device and arranged to guide the game balls stored in the ball storage tank to the ball payout device; A ball payout passage for guiding the game balls paid out from the ball payout device to a ball tray, and a control device for controlling the operation of the ball payout device,
The ball payout device includes a ball payout motor whose rotation is controlled by the control device, and a ball feed rotating body driven by the ball payout motor. A motor-driven ball payout device that moves to the ball payout passage side by turning the ball feed rotating body and pays out a game ball;
The guide passage includes an alignment passage that aligns the game balls supplied from the ball storage tank in the process of flowing down, and a standby passage that receives the game balls aligned in the alignment passage and guides them to the ball dispensing device below. In the ball game machine you have,
At the end of the waiting passage,
A pressure receiving position for receiving pressure acting on the game ball stored on the upstream side and reducing pressure acting on the game ball on the downstream side, on the downstream side without reducing pressure acting on the game ball stored on the upstream side A release position that is transmitted to the game ball, and a pressure receiving member that is displaceably provided at a ball stop position that dams the game ball stored on the upstream side and restricts the game ball from flowing down to the downstream side;
A pressure receiving member driving means having a driving source disposed between the front wall surface of the standby passage and the game board and displacing the pressure receiving member to the pressure receiving position or the release position;
Comprising ball stop means for locking the pressure receiving member at the ball stop position;
The ball dispensing of the ball game machine characterized in that the control device is configured to operate the pressure receiving member driving means prior to the rotation activation of the ball dispensing motor and to position the pressure receiving member at the pressure receiving position. Control mechanism.

Images