JP2006043054A - Aligning path, storage tank and ball hopper - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To naturally dissolve ball clogging and to secure smooth flow by contriving the peak part shape of a partition plate such that the partition plate for partitioning an inclined path of a recessed groove shape parallel in the inclination direction does not damage the flow of balls. <P>SOLUTION: An aligning path is provided with the inclined path of the recessed groove shape for making many balls on the upstream side roll by gravity and flow down to the downstream side, and the partition plate gradually and smoothly raised from a bottom surface from the upstream side to the downstream side of the inclined path for partitioning the recessed groove of the inclined path into a plurality of parallel paths. On the peak part of the partition plate, a ball distributing slope inclined only on one path side adjacent over the ridge line direction is provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, an alignment passage that allows balls to be aligned and flowed down from a storage tank for storage in preparation for payout of a winning ball of a pachinko gaming machine or payout of a ball rental of a ball rental apparatus. The present invention relates to an alignment passage, a storage tank, and a ball hopper for aligning a large number of balls stacked and smoothly flowing down.

  In general, pachinko machines use pachinko balls (hereinafter referred to as balls) as game media to supply balls from the back side of the pachinko machine to the front side of the pachinko machine. When supplying these balls, a storage tank (prize ball tank) for storing a large number of balls is installed at the upper back of the pachinko machine, and the storage tank is supplied with balls from a supply mechanism (not shown) above for storage. In this way, the balls that have been stored are dispensed downward. At the time of paying out this ball, the ball is arranged from the storage tank through a ball aligning device, which is led to a lower ball paying device (winning ball processing device). Distributing to the upper or lower plate located at the lower front.

  In this way, the balls supplied from the upstream storage tank are led to the downstream ball dispensing device via the ball aligning device, but the passage (樋) between them is smoothly downstream without clogging the balls. It has a relatively gentle slope so that it rolls.

  The storage tank installed on the upstream side stores a large number of balls in a tank having a box shape with an open upper surface. Then, the balls in a piled state are led to the alignment passage and aligned, and roll to the downstream side and are guided to the ball flow lower outlet (ball outlet). This ball flow lower opening has an opening for two balls, for example, and two balls are juxtaposed from each other to let the ball flow down.

  The alignment passage is usually provided with a partition plate in the center of the passage width of two balls having a concave groove shape, and the row of balls is divided into two parallel passages on the left and right. The partition plate used here divides gradually and smoothly from the bottom of the passage from the upstream side to the downstream side of the inclined passage so as not to impair the flow of balls. Furthermore, it is formed in a smooth shape so as not to get caught on the top of the partition plate.

  For example, as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, the edge (corner portion) of the upper surface of the partition plate is chamfered, an arc-shaped curved surface shape, or a mountain shape, It is devised to roll on one of the left and right passages without riding on the upper surface.

  However, as shown in FIG. 25 to FIG. 29, the intermediate ball P1 riding on the upper surface of the partition plate 252 that stands upright at the center of the alignment passage 251 is located between the left ball P2 and the right ball P3 that are juxtaposed side by side. At this time, the contact surface of the intermediate ball P1 includes a central contact 253 where the ball central surface and the upper surface of the partition plate 252 are in point contact, and a left ball P2 flowing down through one passage parallel to the intermediate ball P1. Is in point contact at a total of three points: one contact 254 that contacts with the other contact 255 that contacts the right ball P3 that flows down the other passage parallel to the intermediate ball P1, and both the left and right balls P2 and P3 are intermediate balls that are offset by the opposite forces from the downstream side and the upstream side as shown in the direction of the arrows shown in the figure, and roll back from the downstream side of the partition plate 252 back to the storage tank side. P1 and left and right flowing down from the upstream storage tank The movement of the balls P1 to P3 is restricted just between the balls P2 and P3 juxtaposed with each other, and the balls P1 to P3 cannot move back and forth and right and left. Therefore, the ball P is locked on the upstream side of the alignment passage 251 and does not collapse, and clogging due to a so-called bridge phenomenon occurs.

  In this case, even if the upper surface of the partition plate is formed in a mountain shape or a curved surface shape, it is the same as the ball making point contact with the surface. The support will cause clogging. When this clogging occurs, a clogging release operation by an attendant is required each time, and there is a problem that the game is interrupted and the operating rate of the gaming machine is lowered.

JP 2000-153041 A JP 2002-18054 A Utility model registration No. 2563138

  Therefore, the present invention eliminates clogging naturally by smoothing the clogging by devising the shape of the top of the partition plate so that the partition plate that divides the inside of the recessed groove-shaped inclined passage in parallel does not impair the flow of the ball. It is an object of the present invention to provide an alignment passage, a storage tank, and a ball hopper that can secure the above.

  This invention has a concave groove-like inclined passage that rolls a large number of balls on the upstream side by its own weight and flows down to the downstream side, and rises gradually and smoothly from the bottom surface from the upstream side to the downstream side of the inclined passage. A partition plate for partitioning the inside of the groove of the inclined passage into a plurality of passages arranged in parallel, and the top of the partition plate is tilted only to one side of the passage adjacent to the ridge line direction. It is the alignment channel | path which provided the surface, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  Here, the ball distribution inclined surface is an inclined surface formed so that the balls can easily move from the top of the partition plate, and does not lock even if the ball riding on the top of the partition plate receives contact action with other balls. It is provided on the inclined surface. For example, if the top portion of the partition plate is inclined by one side in the plate width direction, the top portion of the partition plate can be provided as an inclined surface for ball distribution.

  Specifically, since the ball distribution inclined surface is inclined only to one of the passages, the contact point between the center of the ball and the top of the partition plate makes point contact even if the ball is on the top of the partition plate. This is because the point deviates from the center of the ball, and the center of gravity of the ball deviates in the direction of deviation, and the ball is displaced.

  According to the present invention, the balls guided to the alignment passage from the upstream side are partitioned by the partition by the partition plate and flow down the parallel passages. At this time, the balls on the upper surface of the partition plate on the downstream side and the left and right balls on both passages in the lower position on the upstream side make contact with the balls on the upper surface of the partition plate. Even if the force that restricts the movement of the ball is applied, the ball located in the center part rolls in one inclination direction by the ball distribution inclined surface provided at the top of the partition plate, so the clogging phenomenon naturally occurs To avoid. As a result, the ball flow in the process of flowing down the alignment passages is improved regardless of the presence of the partition plate, and a stable alignment operation without the risk of clogging can be promoted.

  In another configuration of the present invention, the downstream side of the partition plate raised for partitioning from the bottom surface of the inclined passage is extended to the subsequent overlapping limiting member that limits the flow of the upper layer balls flowing down in the stacked state. Can be configured.

  According to the present invention, since the downstream side of the partition plate reaches the subsequent overlapping limiting member, the balls partitioned right and left reach the downstream side in parallel, and the upper layer ball in the stacked state reaching the downstream side is the downstream side It is limited to the overlap limiting member, and is limited to a certain stacking height suitable for supplying balls downstream, and then flows down to the downstream side.

  In another configuration of the present invention, the ball distribution inclined surface is formed by shifting an inclined top portion inclined in the plate width direction of the partition plate from a center position in the passage width direction.

  According to the present invention, since the ball distribution inclined surface is provided so as to be shifted from the center position in the passage width direction, the center-of-gravity height position of the ball is shifted at the top of the partition plate, and the ball is displaced in the direction of shifting. For this reason, it becomes a left-right asymmetric inclined surface where a ball does not stay. The ball distribution inclined surface may be provided, for example, by inclining the entire plate width at the top of the partition plate or by inclining it partially.

  In another structure of this invention, it has a tank part which stores many balls in an upstream, and makes many balls stored in the said tank part roll down by own weight on the downstream. A storage tank provided with a groove-shaped alignment passage, which rises gradually and smoothly from the bottom surface from the upstream side to the downstream side of the alignment passage, and divides the grooves in the alignment passage into a plurality of parallel passages. A partition plate is provided, and a storage tank can be configured by providing a ball distribution inclined surface inclined only on one side of the passage adjacent to the top of the partition plate in the ridge line direction.

  According to the present invention, a large number of balls are led from the upstream tank portion to the downstream alignment passage in a stacked state. The balls that have entered the grooves in the alignment passage are partitioned by a partition plate and flow down. At this time, even if the ball is on the upper surface of the partition plate and in contact with the balls of the left and right passages, the ball distribution inclined surface formed in the ridge line direction at the top of the partition plate, The action of breaking the three-point support acts on the ball itself and rolls to one of the passages, so that the clogging is naturally eliminated. In this case, the alignment passage is not limited to two rows of parallel passages, and can be applied to passages of three or more rows.

  In another structure of this invention, it has a tank part which stores many balls in an upstream, and makes many balls stored in the said tank part roll down by own weight on the downstream. A storage tank provided with concave groove-shaped alignment passages, which rises gradually and smoothly from the bottom toward the downstream side from the upstream side of the alignment passages, and forms two rows of parallel passages in the concave grooves of the alignment passages. A partition plate can be provided, and a storage tank can be configured by providing a ball distribution inclined surface inclined only on one side of the passage adjacent to the top of the partition plate in the ridge line direction.

  According to the present invention, when two rows of alignment passages are formed, the partition plate that partitions the left and right at the center in the passage width direction may be raised from the passage bottom surface. In addition, the number of parallel passages can be increased in consideration of the ball supply speed on the downstream side, and in order to satisfy the supply amount of balls, two rows of parallel passages that flow down by two are most suitable. ing.

  In another configuration of the present invention, a tank portion having a storage space for storing a large number of balls in a stacked state and having a narrowing passage gradually narrowed toward the inclined downstream side thereof, and the downstream side of the tank portion A storage tank having a concave groove-like alignment passage connected through a narrowing passage, and a ball rolled to the inclined downstream side of the alignment passage one by one by a sprocket. A ball hopper equipped with a ball dispensing device to be fed on the same inclined passage, and gradually rising up from the bottom surface for partitioning from the upstream side to the downstream side of the alignment passage, and in the concave groove of the alignment passage Are provided with a partition plate that divides the passages into two rows of passages, and the top of the partition plate is provided with a ball distribution inclined surface that is inclined only on one side of the passage adjacent to the ridgeline direction. To do.

  According to this invention, when the balls piled up irregularly in the tank part reach the downstream side due to their own weight, the inner side of the narrowed passage located on the downstream side receives the balls, for example. Therefore, it is possible to flow down while reducing the ball pressure by this narrowing passage.

  Furthermore, since the storage tank, the alignment passage, and the ball dispensing device can be disposed on the same inclined passage and the ball hopper can be integrated, the passage length and the height direction can be shortened to achieve miniaturization. be able to. Further, since the ball moves straight in the same inclination direction and the direction of the ball does not change, there is no drop or direction change at the time of ball flow, and smooth straight movement suitable for ball flow can be performed. If a partition plate having a ball distribution inclined surface is interposed in the alignment passage of such a ball hopper, a ball hopper with good ball flow and high reliability can be constructed.

  According to the present invention, since the partition plate of the alignment passage is provided with the ball distribution inclined surface, even if the clogging occurs at the position of the partition plate, the ball is rolled in the inclined direction so that the ball is stopped. It can be broken down in advance. For this reason, it is possible to eliminate clogging naturally during the ball flow-down process, and to align while completely eliminating clogging due to the partition plate.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a ball hopper 11 mounted on an upper part on the back side of a pachinko machine 11A of a pachinko machine. As shown in FIG. 2, the ball hopper 11 is configured by integrating an upstream storage tank 12 and a downstream ball dispensing device 13, and these are arranged on the base end side of a large storage tank 12 that is installed horizontally. It has a single structure in which a small ball dispensing device 13 is connected.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the above-described storage tank 12 has a tapered concave shape whose upper surface is opened, and balls are replenished from a replenishment mechanism (not shown) above the upper surface opening portion. Store balls. The balls stored in the storage tank 12 are configured to roll by their own weight and be guided from the upstream side to the downstream ball dispensing device 13.

  In this case, an alignment passage 14 is formed in the front stage of the ball dispensing device 13 in order to smoothly pass the balls from the upstream side to the downstream side. As shown in FIG. 4, the alignment passage 14 is formed integrally with the storage tank 12, and is provided with a long and narrow alignment passage 14 protruding from the tip of the storage tank 12.

  By the way, from the tank bottom surface in the upstream storage tank 12 to the bottom surface from which the balls of the downstream ball dispensing device 13 are dispensed, there is provided a long identical inclined passage L that is gently inclined in the same inclination direction and goes straight.

  This same inclined passage L is connected by setting the bottom surface of each passage through which balls P roll and pass in the order of the storage tank 12, the alignment passage 14, and the ball dispensing device 13 to a gentle inclination angle in the same inclination direction. It is a passage. For this reason, the ball rolls gently from the upstream side to the downstream side by its own weight. In particular, since it is a path that goes straight in the same inclination direction, there is no drop or direction change at the time of ball flow, and smooth straight movement suitable for ball flow can be achieved.

  In this case, if the inclination angle of the same inclined passage L is made small and the inclination is made gentle, the rolling speed of the balls becomes slow, and the supply of the balls to the downstream side tends to be delayed. On the other hand, if the inclination angle of the same inclined passage L is increased to make the inclination abrupt, the rolling speed of the ball becomes faster, and the load due to gravity on the ball flowing down continuously on the downstream side increases. As a result, it is suitable to roll at a gentle inclination angle of, for example, about 5 to 8 degrees. For this reason, the ball rolling here has a small speed difference and flows down stably.

  Therefore, since the same inclined passage L is a passage that goes straight diagonally downward, it extends longer in the horizontal direction than in the vertical (height) direction. For this reason, it suffices to occupy less space in the height direction for installation, and the passage becomes a path whose length in the height direction is shortened, and a compact installation that allows a wide space at the center of the back side of the pachinko machine 11A becomes possible. .

  The three elements connected in the order of the storage tank 12, the alignment passage 14, and the ball dispensing device 13 are arranged in series in the passage direction, and are integrally held by the holding plate 15 in a horizontally long manner. A horizontal payout unit 16 is provided. Further, since the horizontal dispensing unit 16 can be handled as a single item, the assembly work to the pachinko machine 11A is facilitated.

  The holding plate 15 of the horizontal paying unit 16 has a horizontally long flat plate shape shorter than the width of the pachinko machine 11A. The storage tank 12 and the ball paying device 13 are provided with an alignment passage 14 on one side of the holding plate 15. Are attached to the back side of the pachinko machine, and both sides of the holding plate 15 are effectively used as attachment surfaces. Further, in this case, since the attachment is made through one holding plate 15, the number of parts is reduced, and the attachment is simplified. Furthermore, since the storage tank 12 and the ball dispensing device 13 are exposed on the back surface side of the holding plate 15 when viewed from the back surface side of the pachinko machine 11A, maintenance inspection by a staff member is facilitated.

  Furthermore, since the horizontal payout unit 16 has the same gentle sloping passage L that is long in the lateral direction, the overall length is long in the lateral direction and becomes a rectangular parallelepiped, and the height direction of the passage L is shortened. it can. For this reason, it can be incorporated into the upper position on the back side of the vertical pachinko machine in a horizontally long manner. For this reason, a large mounting space for other components can be secured below the horizontal dispensing unit 16 mounted on the back side of the pachinko machine. Further, by connecting the three elements in series, it is not necessary to bend or turn the passage like the S-shaped passage when guiding the ball to the ball dispensing device 13 on the downstream side, and it can be provided linearly. . For this reason, the entire passage length is shortened to reduce the size.

  Further, a ball dispensing port 17 from the horizontal dispensing unit 16 is provided on the lower surface of one end portion of the unit 16 located on the end side of the passage of the ball dispensing device 13 so that the ball is dispensed downward from the dispensing port 17. It is configured. For this reason, the side space of the unit can be fully utilized. A ball lowering passage 18 (see FIG. 1) is connected to the dispensing port 17, and the balls dispensed thereby are dispensed to a tray (not shown) on the front surface of the pachinko machine below.

  A tank switch SW1 and a ball presence / absence detection switch SW2 are arranged on the bottom surface of the storage tank 12 located on the upstream side of the above-described same inclined passage L to detect the accommodation state of the balls in the tank 12. Yes.

  At the tip of the storage tank 12 on the downstream side, the left and right walls of the tip are tapered so that the stacked balls stored in the tank 12 are gradually aligned and flowed down. An elongated passage at the downstream end portion of the passage 12a extends long forward, and this extended portion is provided in the alignment passage 14.

  The alignment passage 14 forms a left passage 14a and a right passage 14b having two rows of concave grooves with the left and right wall surfaces and a partition plate 33 between them.

  In this case, the bottom of the alignment passage 14 is provided with an exclusion port 14c that is opened in a lattice shape to exclude foreign matter. By providing this exclusion port 14c, even if foreign matter is mixed in the storage tank, the foreign matter will drop from the exclusion port 14c and be removed when it moves to the alignment passage 14 on the downstream side. For this reason, it is possible to avoid clogging due to foreign matter mixing by always passing only the balls P.

  The balls guided irregularly here are aligned in two rows by the alignment passage 14 having the two rows 14a and 14b described above and an overlap limiting roller 19 which will be described later.

  The overlap limiting roller 19 described above is provided as an aligning portion 20 that aligns the balls by breaking the overlap of the balls above the alignment passage 14. The aligning portion 20 allows the upper cantilever support shaft 21 orthogonal to the passage direction to rotate in the passage direction around the tilting fulcrum, and suspends a freely overlapping overlap limiting roller 19 below the shaft 21. By providing this overlap limiting roller 19, it is possible to suppress overload by breaking the overlap of balls when delivering balls from the storage tank 12 to the ball dispensing device 13 via the downstream alignment passage 14. A flow guide function suitable for ball delivery is obtained. The above-described overlap limiting roller 19 may be provided so as to be freely pivotally supported, or may be configured to be rotated by transmitting a rotational force in order to increase the breaking force.

  Then, the aligned balls are guided in two rows to the ball dispensing device 13 located on the downstream side thereof. In this case, the front end portion 14d of the alignment passage 14 extends to the position of the ball dispensing device 13, and the upstream storage tank 12 and the downstream ball dispensing device 13 are arranged via the alignment passage 14 as shown in FIG. Are connected by the same inclined passage L linearly. Further, the ball dispensing device 13 is provided so as to be attachable / detachable from the horizontal dispensing unit 16 to facilitate maintenance and inspection inside the ball dispensing device 13.

  The above-mentioned storage tank 12 is configured to roll a large number of stored balls P by its own weight and guide it to the downstream narrowing passage 12a. The narrowing passage 12a is laterally directed toward the center in the width direction. Are formed in an inverted C shape with the width direction gradually narrowed down.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a top plate 22 is provided at the upper part on the downstream side of the storage tank 12. The top plate 22 can be formed of a flat plate having a length that covers the alignment passages 14 and the upper surfaces of the ball dispensing devices 13. At the upstream end of the top plate 22, a receiving piece (corresponding to the downstream side of the storage tank 12) that faces the upper side of the storage tank from the upper side and receives the upper layer portion of the ball P that overlaps and moves ( 23) is suspended.

  By providing this receiving piece 23, the flow of the upper layer part of the ball P in a piled state is prevented. For this reason, only the ball P of the lower layer can be caused to flow down, and thereafter, the flow rate of the number of balls can be sufficiently reduced and supplied to the downstream side. Thereby, it becomes the flow which reduced the ball pressure to the downstream, and can ensure the smooth flow suitable for supply of the ball P from the storage tank 12 to the alignment channel | path 14 side.

Further, since the top plate 22 is provided, the balls P supplied to the storage tank 12 jump up vigorously, and even if they reach the alignment passage 14 or the ball dispensing device 13, they are blocked by the top plate 22 and do not jump in. And the possibility of inducing malfunction.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the partition plate 33 is gradually raised from the bottom toward the downstream side from the upstream side of the alignment passage 14 corresponding to the terminal side of the narrowing passage 12a. The top part of the partition plate 33 has a smooth arc shape in the ridge line direction, and the end side that is most raised is extended to the position of the overlap limit roller 19 at the subsequent stage. Alignment guides are provided at 19 positions. And this partition plate 33 partitions the inside of a ditch | groove into right and left, and the left channel | path 14a and the right channel | path 14b which are paralleled in 2 rows are formed.

  Further, the top of the partition plate 33 has a ball distribution inclined surface 34 that is inclined only on one side of the passage adjacent to the ridgeline direction, for example, on the left passage 14a side in FIG.

  This ball distribution inclined surface 34 is an inclined surface formed so that the balls P can easily move from the top of the partition plate 33, and as shown in FIG. Inclined.

  Further, the ball distribution inclined surface 34 is provided so as to be shifted from the center position in the passage width direction. For this reason, even if the ball P gets on the top of the partition plate 33 at the top of the partition plate 33, the contact point 35 between the center of the ball P and the top of the partition plate 33 is shifted from the center of the ball and deviates. The center of gravity of the ball is displaced in the direction and the ball is displaced. For this reason, at the top part of the partition plate 33, it becomes a left-right asymmetric inclined surface where a ball does not stay. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, even if the intermediate ball P1 riding on the top of the partition plate 33 comes into contact with another ball P2 and is position-controlled, the ball distribution action in which the height of the center of gravity displaces directly downward. And stay is avoided.

Next, the ball distribution operation of the ball distribution inclined surface 34 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The balls guided to the alignment passage 14 from the upstream side flow down through both the passages 14a and 14b which are divided into left and right by the partition plate 33 and parallel to the left and right. At this time, as shown in FIG. 12, the intermediate ball P1 positioned on the upper surface of the partition plate 33 due to the contact between the intermediate ball P1 positioned on the upper surface of the partition plate 33 and the left and right balls P2, P3 of the both passages 14a, 14b. Even if the force that restricts the movement of the intermediate ball P1 in the counter-flow downward direction is applied by receiving the force in the flow direction of the left and right balls P2, P3, the intermediate ball P1 located at the center is the top of the partition plate 33. Since the ball distribution inclined surface 34 provided on the surface acts as a rolling force in one inclination direction, the clogging phenomenon on the partition plate 33 is naturally avoided. As a result, in the process of flowing down the balls flowing down the alignment passage 14, the ball flow is improved regardless of the presence of the partition plate 33, and a stable alignment operation without clogging can be promoted.

  Furthermore, the downstream side of the partition plate 33 raised for the partition is extended to the subsequent overlapping limiting roller 19 that limits the flow of the upper layer balls flowing down in the stacked state. For this reason, the balls divided in the left and right directions are parallel to the downstream side, and the upper layer balls in the stacked state reaching the downstream side are restricted in height by the overlap limiting roller 19 and supplied to the ball dispensing device 13 on the downstream side. It flows down to the downstream side at a constant stacking height suitable for the above.

  In particular, as a specific ball distribution function of the ball distribution inclined surface 34, as shown in FIG. 13, the intermediate ball P <b> 1 with a ball on the upper surface of the partition plate 33 is formed by the partition plate 33 rising at the center of the passage. On the upper surface, a force in a direction opposite to the flow direction is applied to the intermediate ball P1, and the rolling force of the intermediate ball P1 in the reverse flow direction and the rolling force of the balls P2 and P3 flowing down both the passages 14a and 14b are When they contact each other, as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 13, the ball contact point between the slanted contact point 36 where the lower surface of the intermediate ball P1 contacts the upper surface of the partition plate 33, and both the left and right balls P2, P3. Even if the intermediate ball P1 tries to stay at the position of the upper surface of the partition plate 33 due to the support of a total of three points 37 and 38, the center of gravity displacement action in the direction of breaking the three-point support of the ball itself works, and one passage Since it rolls to the 14a side, clogging is eliminated beforehand.

Next, the ball dispensing device 13 that performs a ball dispensing operation will be described.
The ball dispensing device 13 has a feeding portion 24 and a detecting portion 25 in this order along the same inclined passage L following the alignment passage 14 on the downstream side of the storage tank 12.

  The above-mentioned feeding portion 24 has a sprocket 26 provided on the upper surface of the terminal end portion of the same inclined passage L, and the balls guided between the sprocket 26 and the same inclined passage L are discharged continuously one by one in the rotational direction. Is.

  Further, the balls guided between the above-described sprocket 26 and the same inclined passage L below it are fed one by one as the sprocket 26 rotates. For this reason, a plurality of balls supplied continuously are continuously paid out without interruption.

  This sprocket 26 has semicircular concave portions and convex portions (claw portions) suitable for ball feeding on the outer peripheral surface alternately in the circumferential direction. Then, the sprocket 26 is rotated at a constant speed suitable for dispensing by the driving force of a dispensing motor (not shown). As a result, the balls P guided here are partitioned by the claw portions one by one as the sprocket 26 rotates, and are individually fed while being held by the recesses.

  The detection unit 25 described above is configured by arranging, for example, proximity sensors near the end position of the same inclined path L as the two counting sensors S corresponding to the two rows of paths for counting the balls that have been paid out. When the balls are paid out through the same inclined passage L, the counting sensor S counts the balls immediately after the passing through.

  Further, in the front stage of the ball dispensing device 13, a flat plate-like overlap prevention cover 27 that restricts the overlap of balls between the bottom surface of the same inclined passage L and the upper facing surface thereof is provided above the same inclined passage L. is doing. This overlap prevention cover 27 is a reverse-shaped flat plate provided along the same inclined passage L at a height interval allowing one ball to pass above. This overlap prevention cover 27 prevents the balls from overlapping so that the alignment just before the sprocket 26 is complete.

  Further, a ball passage restriction lever 28 for restricting the flow of balls is disposed at a position immediately before the ball dispensing device 13. As shown in FIG. 14, the ball passage restriction lever 28 is provided by pivotally supporting the upper end portion of the ball passage restriction lever 28 on a support shaft 29 protruding from a side wall of a drive unit U2 described later. When the support shaft 29 is provided as a rotation fulcrum and the lower end portion of the lever 28 is allowed to rotate up and down and moved to the up and retracted position, there is no restriction in the same inclined passage L, so the ball P When the passage is allowed and moved downward, the same inclined passage L is closed perpendicularly to the same inclined passage L, the passage of the ball P is restricted, and the supply of the ball P to the ball dispensing device 13 is stopped. To do.

  The lower end portion of the ball passage restriction lever 28 is formed in an arc shape that is in surface contact with the spherical surface of the ball P and can perform a stable receiving action. Further, it also serves as a guide passage that makes it easy to discharge the ball P directly below during a ball removal operation to be described later.

  On the other hand, the upper end portion of the ball passage restriction lever 28 has a fan shape, and a lower elastic locking piece 30 for elastically locating and positioning the lever 28 when the lever 28 is tilted upward is provided in the fan-shaped portion, When the lower elastic locking piece 30 corresponds to the engagement pin 31 protruding from the side wall of the drive unit U2, the ball passage restriction lever 28 is elastically held at the upward movement retracted position. Thereby, the passage of the balls is permitted and the balls are continuously supplied to the ball dispensing device 13.

  Similarly, an upper elastic locking piece 32 for elastically locating and positioning the lever 28 when the lever 28 is tilted downward is provided in the fan-shaped portion at the upper end of the lever. The ball passage restriction lever 28 is elastically held at the downward movement restriction position. In this case, the lower end of the lever 28 closes the same inclined passage L to restrict the passage of the balls P. In this manner, the ball flow restriction lever 28 can be tilted to either the upward movement retracting position or the downward movement restriction position, so that the ball flow can be released or stopped.

  By the way, in this ball hopper 11, as shown in FIG. 15, a ball removal mechanism for emptying the ball hopper 11 by collecting all the balls existing in the storage tank 12 and the same inclined passage L. 71 is provided. The ball removal mechanism 71 includes a slide mechanism 72 that slides the ball dispensing device 13 in the inclination direction of the same inclined passage L, and a slide operation unit 73 that causes the operator to slide the slide mechanism 72.

  When the ball dispensing device 13 is slid in the downstream direction by the ball removal mechanism 71, a ball removal opening 74 is formed between the bottom surface of the ball dispensing device 13 and the bottom surface of the same inclined passage L on the upstream side. Then, the ball is dropped directly from the same inclined passage L into the ball removal passage 75. And it is provided so that it may be balled through a balling passage 75 connected below the balling opening 74 (see FIG. 14).

  As shown in FIG. 16, the slide mechanism 72 includes a ball dispensing device 13 in which both the units U1 and U2 of the dispensing unit U1 and the drive unit U2 are connected to the left and right and integrated with the longitudinal (inclined passage) of the ball hopper 11. It is provided to allow sliding in the direction.

  In this sliding, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the guide projection 76 projecting from the inner wall surface of the holding plate 15 is engaged with a guide rail 77 extending to the drive unit U <b> 2, so that the ball dispensing device 13 is engaged. The ball hopper 11 is supported so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction.

  As shown in FIG. 19, the guide rail 77 is stably slidably guided by engaging a pair of guide protrusions 76 with the elongated holes 78 on both sides opened in series along the sliding direction. The opening length of the long hole 78 substantially corresponds to the slide length, and the guide projection 76 comes into contact with one end surface 78a of the long hole 78 and is regulated to slide.

  This ball dispensing device 13 includes a coil spring 81 stretched between a locking projection 79 projecting from the side surface of the guide rail 77 and a locking projection 80 projecting from the inner wall surface of the holding plate 15 shown in FIG. It is urged | biased by the direction which opens the doffing opening 74 by the tension | pulling action. Normally, the coil spring 81 is supported in a state in which a biasing action is applied in a direction in which the ball opening 74 is opened from the closed state.

  As shown in FIG. 21, the position restriction and the position restriction release of the slide position at this time include a connecting lever 83 having a push button part 82 as a slide operation part, and a slide release mechanism for releasing the slide restriction at the ball dispensing position. 84 is executed in combination.

  As shown in FIGS. 15, 21, and 23, the connecting lever 83 extends long along the passage direction, and an intermediate shaft 85 that is orthogonal to the passage direction is attached to the lower portion of the top plate 22 at the middle portion of the lever. The intermediate lever 85 is attached to the tilting fulcrum so that the connecting lever 83 is allowed to tilt up and down in the form of a seesaw.

  A push button portion 82 that can be pushed with a fingertip is provided on the upper surface of the base end portion of the connecting lever 83, and the push button portion 82 projects to a push button window 86 opened on the upper surface of the top plate 22 so as to be pressed. Mounted.

  On the opposite side of the lever tip, a long and narrow lever claw 87 projects from one side of the branch and parallel, and this lever claw 87 is detachably provided on a fixed claw 88 provided in the drive unit U2. In a normal ball payout state, the lever claw 87 is caught by the fixed claw 88 and is regulated to slide. An excessive tilt restricting piece 89 protrudes from the other end of the lever branching side by side, and the excessive tilt restricting piece 89 comes into contact with the lower surface of the top plate 22 and interlocks with the pressing operation of the push button portion 82. This prevents excessive tilting when the connecting lever 83 tilts.

Next, a procedure for performing ball removal will be described.
First, the operator pushes down the ball passage restriction lever 28 with a fingertip, and moves the lower end portion of the ball passage restriction lever 28 to the downward movement restriction position. Thereby, the lower end portion of the ball passage restriction lever 28 is orthogonal to the same inclined passage L, restricts the passage of the ball flowing through the same inclined passage L, and temporarily stops the flow of the ball P from the upstream side.

  After the passage is closed, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 24, when the operation button portion 82 exposed on the upper surface of the connecting lever 83 is pressed with a fingertip, the lever claw 87 as the slide release mechanism 84 is fixed to the fixed claw 88. More off. Based on this slide release operation, the ball dispensing device 13 slides in the downstream direction from the ball dispensing position to the ball extraction position, and a ball extraction opening 74 is opened at the bottom of the passage. As soon as the bead opening 74 is opened, the beading operation is started.

  In this case, in order to remove the ball P from the restricted passage state of the balls P, the balls connected on the same inclined passage L are dropped directly below the inclined direction, for example, an air bridge is formed in the inclined direction by the pressure applied to the inclined direction. It is difficult to do. However, when the ball dispensing device 13 is slid, the position restriction in the tilt direction is instantaneously released, and the pressure between the balls in the tilt direction can be released. For this reason, dropping resistance can be eliminated and the ball P can be dropped naturally by its own weight.

  Further, when the ball opening portion 74 is opened, the ball passage restriction lever 28 faces the ball opening portion 74, and the ball that flows down can be smoothly dropped by changing the direction from the inclined direction to directly below.

After this ball removal, the balls roll on the inclined surface of the same inclined passage L from the upstream side to the downstream side, and thereafter the ball is naturally extracted.
In addition, even if one or two balls P remain on the sprocket 26 of the ball dispensing device 13 located downstream from the ball opening 74, an operation knob that protrudes outside the dispensing unit U1. If the operator rotates 90, the sprocket 26 guides it to the bead opening 74 and can completely discharge it.

  When all the balls are collected by the ball hopper 11, the operator grasps the ball dispensing device 13 and slides it in the reverse direction so as to push it back to the position before the slide. Returning to the position, at this time, the lever claw 87 engages with the fixing claw 88 and the position is restricted, and at the same time, the ball opening 74 is closed. Thereafter, when the ball passage restricting lever 28 is pulled up to the up and retracted position, the same inclined passage L is opened again, the ball flows, the ball is supplied to the ball dispensing device 13 on the downstream side, and the next ball is dispensed. Provided.

  As described above, the storage tank, the alignment passage, and the ball dispensing device can be arranged on the same inclined passage, and the ball hopper can be integrated and provided in a compact manner. In addition, the ball hopper has a partition plate with a function to smoothly distribute the balls to the passages on both sides. Thus, stable alignment and supply suitable for supplying the balls to the ball dispensing device 13 at the subsequent stage can be performed, and a ball hopper with good ball flow and high reliability can be constructed.

In correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the configuration of the above-described embodiment,
The inclined passage of the present invention corresponds to the same inclined passage L of the embodiment,
Similarly,
Although the overlapping limiting member corresponds to the overlapping limiting roller 19, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and can be applied based on the technical idea described in the claims. Embodiments can be obtained.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which balls are made to flow down in two rows is shown, but three or more rows may be used. Further, the top of the partition plate 33 may have any shape as long as the shape is different from the left and right at a position shifted to the left or right from the center.

The principal part rear view of the pachinko machine provided with the ball hopper. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a ball hopper. The perspective view which shows a ball hopper. The perspective view which shows the flow of the ball in a storage tank. The partial exploded perspective view of a ball hopper. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the ball delivery state of a ball hopper. The perspective view which looked at the ball hopper from the upstream side. The top view which shows a storage tank. The principal part longitudinal cross-sectional front view which shows the ball partition state in an alignment channel | path. The principal part expansion longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the contact state of a partition plate and a ball | bowl. The principal part vertical side view which shows the ball partition state in an alignment channel | path. The principal part perspective view which looked at the ball partition state in the alignment path from the upstream. The perspective view which looked at the ball partition state in the alignment passage from the diagonally upstream side. The principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the ball removal state of a ball hopper. The partially exploded perspective view which shows the ball removal mechanism integrated in the ball hopper. The principal part disassembled perspective view which shows the ball removal mechanism integrated in the ball hopper. The perspective view which shows the relationship between a holding plate and a slide mechanism. The perspective view which shows the relationship between a ball delivery apparatus and a slide mechanism. The expansion perspective view which shows the latching state of a coil spring and a guide rail. The principal part expansion perspective view which shows the latching state of a coil spring and a holding plate. The principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the control state of a slide cancellation | release mechanism. The principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the cancellation | release state of a slide cancellation | release mechanism. The principal part perspective view which shows the control state of a slide cancellation | release mechanism. The principal part perspective view which shows the cancellation | release state of a slide cancellation | release mechanism. The principal part longitudinal section front view which shows the ball partition state in the conventional alignment channel | path. The principal part expansion longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the contact state of the conventional partition plate and a ball | bowl. The principal part vertical side view which shows the ball partition state in the conventional alignment channel | path. The principal part perspective view which looked at the ball partition state in the conventional alignment channel | path from the upstream. The perspective view which looked at the ball partition state in the conventional alignment channel | path from the diagonal upstream.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Ball hopper 12 ... Storage tank 12a ... Narrowing passage 13 ... Ball delivery apparatus 14 ... Alignment passage 19 ... Overlapping restriction roller 33 ... Partition plate 34 ... Ball distribution inclined surface L ... Same inclination passage

Claims (6)

A concave groove-shaped inclined passage that rolls a large number of balls on the upstream side by its own weight and flows down to the downstream side;
A partition plate that rises gradually from the bottom surface toward the downstream side from the upstream side of the inclined passage and partitions the groove in the inclined passage into a plurality of parallel passages;
An alignment passage provided at the top of the partition plate with a ball distribution inclined surface which is inclined only on one side of the passage adjacent to the ridge line direction. The alignment passage according to claim 1, wherein the partition plate extends downstream from a bottom surface of the inclined passage for partitioning to a subsequent overlapping restriction member that restricts the flow of upper-layer balls flowing down in a stacked state. The alignment passage according to claim 1, wherein the ball distribution inclined surface is formed by shifting an inclined top portion inclined in the plate width direction of the partition plate from a center position in the passage width direction. The upstream side has a tank part that stores a large number of balls, and the downstream side is provided with a groove-like alignment passage that rolls down and flows down a large number of balls stored in the tank part by its own weight. Storage tank,
Providing a partition plate that rises gradually from the bottom toward the downstream side from the upstream side of the alignment passage and partitions the grooves in the alignment passage into a plurality of parallel passages;
A storage tank provided at the top of the partition plate with a ball distribution inclined surface that is inclined only on one side of the passage adjacent to the ridge line direction. The upstream side has a tank part that stores a large number of balls, and the downstream side is provided with a groove-like alignment passage that rolls down and flows down a large number of balls stored in the tank part by its own weight. Storage tank,
Providing a partition plate that rises gradually from the bottom toward the downstream side from the upstream side of the alignment passage and partitions the grooves in the alignment passage into two rows of parallel passages;
A storage tank provided at the top of the partition plate with a ball distribution inclined surface that is inclined only on one side of the passage adjacent to the ridge line direction. A tank part having a storage space for storing a large number of balls in a stacked state and having a narrowing passage gradually narrowed toward the downstream side of the slope, and connected through a narrowing passage on the downstream side of the tank part A storage tank having a recessed groove-shaped alignment passage;
A ball hopper provided on the same inclined passage on the inclined downstream side of the alignment passage with a ball dispensing device that rotates and feeds balls that have been rolled to the inclined downstream side one by one with a sprocket,
A partition plate is provided that gradually rises up from the bottom for partitioning from the upstream side to the downstream side of the alignment passage and partitions the grooves in the alignment passage into two rows of parallel passages;
A ball hopper provided at the top of the partition plate with a ball distribution inclined surface that is inclined only toward one of the adjacent passages in the ridge line direction.

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