JP2006198005A - Game ball hitting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform adjustment to stable hitting force at all times, to freely lay out an installation position, and to finely adjust a hitting force setting range. <P>SOLUTION: This game ball hitting device comprises: a torsion coil spring 18 externally mounted on a rotary shaft 12 which is freely rotatably pivoted to a base plate 10 and for which a ball hitting hammer is fixed to one end; a handle side cup 20 engaged with one end of the spring 18 and turned centering on the rotary shaft 12; a hammer side cup 22 engaged with the other end of the spring 18 and fixed to the other end side of the rotary shaft 12; a cam 24 abutting on a cam roller 38 for moving back the ball hitting hammer against the energizing force of the spring 18 and releasing it at a prescribed position; and a hitting force adjusting means for transmitting the turning amount of an operation handle to the handle side cup 20 and turning the cup in the direction of increasing the energizing force of the spring. The hitting adjusting means is provided with an operation gear 28 fixed to the operation handle, the turning gear 20A of the handle side cup 20 and the intermediate gear 30 of both gears. The ball hitting hammer is disposed such that a hammer tip part for hitting game balls is below the rotary shaft. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a game ball launching device for launching a game ball into a game area of a gaming machine.

  In general, as shown in FIG. 5, the gaming machine hits a game ball supplied from a ball tray 91 onto a firing rail 92 by a launching device located at the lower right, thereby causing the game board 93 to play. The game area 94 is formed to fire. At that time, the firing speed of the game ball is controlled by the player adjusting the firing force of the launching device by increasing or decreasing the rotation angle of the operation handle 95 shown at the lower right in the drawing.

  As a launching device used in such a gaming machine, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a main part shown in FIGS. 6 to 9.

  The launching device 103 is provided with a hitting ball 105, a hitting ball driving motor 106, and a rubber stopper 107 for stopping the hitting ball 105 at a shooting position on the back side of the base plate 104. The hitting ball 105 is provided with a tip portion 108 at the upper end, a cam receiving roller 109 is rotatably provided on the intermediate rear side surface, and a rotation shaft 110 is provided at the lower end.

  The rotating shaft 110 supports the hitting ball 105 so as to be swingable with respect to the base plate 104, and is rotatably supported by a bearing 113 having a shape in which a cylindrical portion 112 projects from the surface of the base plate 104.

  A cam 116 is fixed to the tip of the output shaft 115 of the hitting ball driving motor 106, and the cam 116 can come into contact with the cam receiving roller 109 of the hitting ball 105.

  On the other hand, a hitting force adjusting unit 117 for adjusting the hitting force of the hitting ball 105 is attached to the front side of the base plate 104. The unit 117 is further provided with a pulley box 119 located on the right side in FIG. And the power device 120.

  The pulley box 119 includes a case body 121 fixed to the surface of the base plate 104 with screws as shown in FIG. 8, and a driving pulley 122 and an auxiliary pulley 123 that are rotatably incorporated in the case body 121. One end of a wire 124 is locked to the driving pulley 122, and the wire 124 is wound around an auxiliary pulley 123 and pulled out to the outside.

  A handle fixing portion 210 for jointing the operation handle 95 is projected on the front surface of the case body 121 of the pulley box 119, and a shaft hole 126 reaching the driving pulley 122 is provided in the center of the handle fixing portion 210. Although not described in detail, by attaching the operation handle 95, the driving pulley 122 can be rotated by the handle 95.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the urging device 120 includes a heel side cup 136, a handle side cup 137, and a torsion coil spring 138 that connects the cups 136 and 137. The heel side cup 136 has a cup shape with a drum-like short cylindrical portion 136a projecting toward the handle side cup 137, and is fastened to the end of the rotating shaft 110 of the hitting ball heel 105 with a screw 139 so as not to move relatively. In addition, a batting operation is performed integrally with the hitting ball 105 by a swinging motion.

  The handle-side cup 137 has a cup shape in which a drum-like short cylindrical portion 137 a is projected toward the heel-side cup 136, and is freely loosely fitted around the cylindrical portion 112 of the bearing 113 of the base plate 104. Yes. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the other end of the wire 124 is fixed to the end of the pulley groove 140 on the outer periphery. Therefore, when the player rotates the operation handle 95, the rotation operation is transmitted to the driving pulley 122 through the operation shaft (not shown), and the rotation is further transmitted to the handle-side cup 137 through the wire 124.

  The torsion coil spring 138 is incorporated in a compressed state between the handle side cup 137 and the heel side cup 136. Engaging portions 138a and 138b are bent at both ends of the torsion coil spring 138. One engaging portion 138a is engaged with the retaining hole 141 of the handle side cup 137, and the other engaging portion 138b is hooked. The concave spherical groove 142 of the side cup 136 is engaged.

  The torsion coil spring 138 is incorporated in a pre-twisted state so as to urge the handle side cup 137 clockwise and the heel side cup 136 counterclockwise in FIG. The hitting ball 105 and the operation handle 95 are pulled together. As described above, a plurality of the retaining grooves 142 of the heel side cup 136 are formed. By selecting one of them, the strength of the torsion coil spring 138 is appropriately adjusted, so that the player can increase the firing force. A setting range that can be adjusted (hereinafter referred to as a firing force setting range) can be changed.

JP 2002-798445 A

  However, in the game ball launching device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the firing force is adjusted by rotating the operation handle 95 and pulling the wire 124 to increase or decrease the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 138. Therefore, there is a problem that the wire is stretched over time and the initial firing force cannot be maintained. In addition, since it is necessary to attach the wire to a predetermined position by caulking both ends or the like, there is a problem that an increase in the number of processes causes an increase in cost and the attachment part may come off.

  Further, in the game ball launching device, the striking position (tip part) by the striking ball is arranged above the rotation shaft as a fulcrum, so that the swinging range of the striking ball is restricted upward. As a result, there is a problem that the installation position of the launcher cannot be laid out freely because it is subject to space restrictions.

  Furthermore, since the firing force setting range is changed by shifting the spring-engaging position of the torsion coil spring, only a single spring-engaging position can be changed, so that the firing force setting range cannot be finely adjusted. there were.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, can always be adjusted to a stable firing force, and can increase the degree of freedom of the layout of the installation position, and further, the firing force setting range is small. It is an object of the present invention to provide a game ball launcher that can be adjusted.

  The present invention relates to a striking ball fixed to one end of a rotating shaft rotatably supported on a base plate and hitting a game ball supplied to a launch position, a torsion coil spring externally mounted on the rotating shaft, and the twist One end of the coil spring is engaged, and the handle side cup that is loosely fitted to the rotating shaft and rotates about the shaft, and the other end of the torsion coil spring is engaged, and the other end of the rotating shaft is A fixed side cup for biasing the striking ball in the striking direction, a driving means for retreating the striking ball against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring and releasing it at a predetermined position, and a rotation of the operation handle In a game ball launching device comprising: a firing force adjusting means for transmitting a moving amount to the handle side cup and rotating the handle side cup in a direction in which the biasing force of the torsion coil spring is increased. , Operation of the operation handle An operation gear fixed to the shaft, a rotation gear formed on the outer periphery of the handle-side cup, and an odd number of intermediate gears interposed between the two gears. The above-mentioned problem is solved by disposing the tip portion for hitting below the rotating shaft.

  In the present invention, the intermediate gear meshed with the rotating gear may be detachable.

  According to the present invention, since the rotation amount of the operation handle is transmitted to the handle-side cup with which one end of the torsion coil spring is engaged via the gear, the firing force is always stable as compared with the case of using the wire. Can be adjusted. In addition, since the tip of the hitting ball is disposed below the rotation axis with the intermediate gear interposed, the striking position can be positioned downward, and the diameter and number of the intermediate gear Since the distance between the hitting ball basket and the operation handle can be arbitrarily changed, the degree of freedom in the layout for installing the launching device can be improved. Further, since the initial rotation position of the handle-side cup can be adjusted in units of the number of teeth using the intermediate gear, the firing force setting range can be easily finely adjusted.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1 is a front view of a game ball launching apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a rear view thereof, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a mechanism portion formed on the rear side.

  The game ball launcher of this embodiment is fixed to one end of a rotary shaft 12 that is rotatably supported on the front side (player side) of the base plate 10 and is formed on the launch rail 92 shown in FIG. A striking ball 16 for striking the game ball B supplied to the launch (blow) position is provided.

  Further, on the back side of the base plate 10, as in the case of Patent Document 1, a torsion coil spring 18 sheathed on the rotating shaft 12 and one end of the torsion coil spring 18 are engaged, and the rotating shaft 12 is engaged with the rotating shaft 12. The handle-side cup 20 that is loosely fitted and rotates about the shaft and the other end of the torsion coil spring 18 are engaged, and the hitting ball 16 that is fixed to the other end of the rotating shaft 12 is hit. A heel side cup 22 that is biased in the direction is attached.

  In addition, the launching device has a cam 24 that constitutes driving means (described later) for retreating the hitting ball 16 against a biasing force of the torsion coil spring 18 and releasing it at a predetermined position, and a rotation of the operation handle 95. A firing force adjusting means for transmitting the amount of movement to the handle-side cup 20 and rotating the handle-side cup 20 in a direction in which the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 18 is strengthened is provided.

  In the present embodiment, the firing force adjusting means includes an operation gear 28 fixed to the operation shaft 26 of the operation handle 95, a rotation gear 20A formed on the outer periphery of the handle-side cup 20, and a gap between the two gears. Has an intermediate gear 30 interposed therebetween.

  Further, by interposing an odd number of intermediate gears 30 (one in this example), the hitting ball 16 is arranged with the tip 16A for hitting a game ball being lower than the rotary shaft 12. ing.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 32 denotes a ball stationary device for stopping the game ball B at the launch position, 34 denotes a hitting ball stopper for stopping the hitting ball 16 during the ball launching operation, and 36 denotes an arrow on the back cam 24. It is a hitting ball driving motor that rotates in the direction.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 38 denotes a cam roller formed on the extended portion of the heel-side cup 22, and the cam roller 38 is brought into contact with the cam 24, which is driven to rotate by the motor 36, so The striking ball 16 fixed via 12 is rotated against the urging force of the torsion coil spring 18. That is, the torsion coil spring 18, the handle side cup 20, the heel side cup 22, the cam 24, the cam roller 38, and the like constitute drive means for retracting the hitting ball heel 16 until it is released.

  In the gaming ball launching apparatus of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, (1) a hitting operation of a hit ball, (2) a firing force adjustment method, and (3) a launch adjustment range changing method will be described.

(1) Hitting operation of hitting ball When a hitting signal generated by the player touching the operation handle 95 is received and the hitting ball driving motor 36 rotates, the cam 24 repeats rotation in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

  The rotation of the cam 24 rotates the heel side cup 22 in the direction of the arrow through the cam roller 38, thereby twisting the ball striking rod 16 fixed to the other end of the rotating shaft 12 and resisting the urging force of the coil spring 18. However, the hitting ball 16 is moved backward. When the hitting ball 16 is thus retracted to a predetermined position, the cam roller 38 is released from the maximum diameter portion of the cam 24 and is released.

  As a result, the striking force of the torsion coil spring 18 causes the striking ball 16 to pivot vigorously from the maximum retracted position, and hitting the game ball B in the launching part on the launching rail 14 with the tip 16A, The game ball B jumps out and the hitting ball 16 hits the hitting ball stopper 34 and stops.

(2) Firing force adjustment method When the player turns the operation handle 95 shown in FIG. 4, the operation is transmitted to the operation gear 28 via the handle shaft 26 and further to the rotating gear 20A via the intermediate gear 30. The steering force is adjusted by adjusting the repulsive force of the torsion coil spring 18 by rotating the handle side cup 20 transmitted.

(3) How to change the launch force setting range The launch force can be adjusted because the launcher is mounted on a different game board, the parts vary, or the torsion coil spring 18 is loose. The following two methods are used to change the appropriate setting range.

(Method i)
Spring-engaging grooves 20B and 22A for engaging the handle-side cup 20 and the heel-side cup 22 with the two ends of the torsion coil spring 18 are provided at a plurality of locations (FIG. 2 shows three locations). By changing the spring engaging groove for engaging the coil end, the initial repulsive force of the torsion coil spring 18 can be changed as usual, and the firing force setting range can be changed.

(Method ii)
The intermediate gear 30 is pulled away from a state in which the intermediate gear 30 is engaged with the rotation gear 20A of the handle-side cup 20 and the operation gear 28 to a position where the intermediate gear 30 is lifted and disengaged against the urging force of the pressing spring 42. Since the initial repulsive force of the torsion coil spring 18 can be changed by returning to the original state after rotating to the left or right, the firing force setting range can be changed.

  According to this method, since the firing force setting range can be changed in units of the number of teeth, it is slightly smaller than the case where the position of the groove for engaging the end of the torsion coil spring 18 is changed as in the method i. Adjustment is possible.

  According to the present embodiment described in detail above, since the wire is not used for adjusting the game ball firing force as in the prior art, it can be always adjusted to a stable firing force.

  In addition, since the odd number of intermediate gears are interposed between the operation gear and the rotation gear and the hitting ball 16 is disposed so that the tip 16A is below the fulcrum (rotating shaft) 12, the tip 108 Is lower than the fulcrum 110 (see FIG. 9) (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-79844), it is possible to lower the ball launch position, that is, the position of the launch rail. By changing the diameter of the gear 30, it is possible to change the distance between the hitting ball and the operation handle, so that the degree of freedom of the layout for installing the launching device is improved. Therefore, it is possible to expand the game area, and at that time, it is also possible to bring the launch position to the left side.

  In addition, since the firing force setting range can be changed simply by lifting the intermediate gear, the number of parts to be disassembled can be greatly reduced, and can be changed in units of one tooth. Adjustment is possible.

  Furthermore, since the gear can be molded with resin, parts can be manufactured at low cost.

  FIG. 4 shows the characteristics of the game ball launching apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, the rotation shaft of the intermediate gear 30 is elongated outward, and the collar 40 is fixed by screwing or the like with a gap more than the thickness of the gear between the front end and the bearing portion, A pressing spring 42 is provided around the shaft, and the intermediate gear 30 is urged toward the base plate 10 by the pressing spring 42. Thereby, the intermediate gear 30 can be easily lifted against the urging force of the pressing spring 42 and is detachable.

  Therefore, the firing force setting range can be changed more easily without using any tool.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which there are three gears, that is, one intermediate gear is shown. However, any number of intermediate gears can be used as long as it is an odd number. And the layout of the launch position can be freely changed.

The front view which shows the game ball | bowl launching apparatus of 1st Embodiment which concerns on this invention. Rear view showing the game ball launcher The exploded perspective view which shows the principal part of the said game ball | bowl launching device The rear view equivalent to FIG. 2 which shows the game ball | bowl launching apparatus of 2nd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. Schematic front view showing the appearance of the game ball launcher Front view including a cross section showing a conventional game ball launcher A perspective view showing a conventional game ball launcher Exploded perspective view showing a conventional game ball launcher Rear view showing a conventional game ball launcher

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Base plate 12 ... Rotating shaft 14 ... Launch rail 16 ... Hitting ball 16A ... Tip part 18 ... Torsion coil spring 20 ... Handle side cup 20A ... Rotating gear 22 ... Side cup 24 ... Cam (drive means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 26 ... Operation shaft 28 ... Operation gear 30 ... Intermediate gear 32 ... Ball stationary device 34 ... Hitting ball hammer stopper 36 ... Hitting ball hammer drive motor 38 ... Cam roller 40 ... Collar 42 ... Pushing spring

Claims (2)

A batting ball that is fixed to one end of a rotation shaft that is rotatably supported by the base plate and that hits a game ball supplied to the launch position;
A torsion coil spring sheathed on the rotating shaft;
One end of the torsion coil spring is engaged, a handle-side cup that is loosely fitted to the rotating shaft and rotates around the shaft;
A hook-side cup that is engaged with the other end of the torsion coil spring and is fixed to the other end of the rotating shaft, and biases the hitting ball hook in the hitting direction;
Driving means for retracting the hitting ball against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring and releasing it at a predetermined position;
In a game ball launching device comprising firing force adjusting means for transmitting a turning amount of an operating handle to the handle side cup and turning the handle side cup in a direction in which the biasing force of the torsion coil spring is strengthened.
The firing adjustment means includes an operation gear fixed to the operation shaft of the operation handle, a rotation gear formed on the outer periphery of the handle side cup, and an odd number of intermediate gears interposed between the two gears. Have
2. A game ball launching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hitting ball is disposed with a tip portion for hitting a game ball positioned below the rotation axis.   The game ball launcher according to claim 1, wherein an intermediate gear meshed with the rotating gear is detachable.

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