JP2008267977A - Impact sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an impact sensor capable of surely detecting and preventing an illegal act with no omission even when based on any illegal operation by surely detecting an acceleration value of a shake caused by shaking a base and an acceleration value of a shake caused by striking the base with one impact sensor. <P>SOLUTION: Mechanical impulsive vibration is converted into an electric signal by a pickup 3. When an output signal from the pickup 3 is low impact frequency by shaking, the output signal is allowed to pass through without being damped by high-pass filters 12, 14 and is amplified by low-pass amplifying circuits 13, 15 while suppressing the degree of amplification, and an amplification signal is compared by a wind comparator 16 to detect impact by detecting a low acceleration value for low impact frequency and detecting a high acceleration value for high impact frequency. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an impact sensor for monitoring a game machine fraud that detects an unauthorized operation caused by a hit or shake in a pachinko game and prevents the game machine from being illegally played.

In conventional pachinko machines, illegal operation by striking the table or shaking the table,
Profit is gained by earning and cashing a huge number of winning balls, and the store is seriously damaged.

In other words, launch a ball on the pachinko machine and hit the ball on the moving ball near the winning hole on the board,
Alternatively, it is an illegal operation to win a ball by applying vibration from the outside by pushing or pulling the stand.

For this reason, pachinko machine manufacturers and stores are equipped with shock sensors and overturn switches, and high-frequency acceleration due to the impact is detected by the impact sensor, and low-frequency wave number acceleration due to shaking is detected using the overturn switch. Yes.

  The detected output signals are used to issue a warning to the player using an OR circuit, or the game itself is stopped so that the game cannot be continued to prevent damage to the store.

  Conventionally, as a commonly used impact sensor, one using a piezoelectric element as a detection element is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Moreover, as a fall switch, the type which detects the rolling of the steel ball in a case is known (for example, refer patent document 2, patent document 3).

Here, FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram as an example of a conventional fall switch. In this overturning switch, a pachinko ball or a corresponding metal ball 53 is placed on the inner bottom surface 52 of the case 51 provided with an inclination 52a that slightly decreases toward the center, and when the pachinko base is shaken, the ball 53 By utilizing the fact that the sphere 53 moves against the inclination 52a due to the applied inertia, it acts on the contact opening / closing actuator 54 with the moving force of the sphere 53, and opens and closes the output signal contact 55, thereby leading A signal is derived from the lines 56a and 56b, and the shaking is detected.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-133973 JP-A-6-196059 JP 2003-36774 A

As described above, high-frequency acceleration due to hitting on the pachinko machine is detected by an impact sensor, and low-frequency acceleration due to shaking is detected using a fall switch.
However, there is a difference of several tens to several hundreds of times between the acceleration value by hitting the table for giving an illegal effect to the pachinko ball moving on the surface of the pachinko machine and the acceleration value of shaking by shaking the table.

  Therefore, if the sensitivity is set to the detection sensitivity value so that there is no malfunction due to the vibration caused by the surrounding environment due to the impact due to the impact, the small acceleration due to the shake cannot be detected.

  In addition, if the detection sensitivity is set to a sensitivity that detects small acceleration due to shaking, the acceleration of the vibration is detected even if the player's belongings touch the pachinko machine and the vibration acceleration is detected even with a very small impact with high amplitude. There was a big problem of outputting a signal.

On the other hand, in order to avoid the above problem, a large acceleration with a high frequency due to impact is detected using a general impact sensor, and a small acceleration due to shaking is detected using a fall switch for oil stove or gas stove instead. Yes.

In addition, since two sensors are used, the cost is very high, and there is a design problem that it is very difficult to divide a lot of installation space with a small space pachinko machine.

  In the case of using the overturn switch shown in FIG. 9 described above, the movement of the ball by shaking the pachinko machine has resonance at a specific frequency determined by the weight of the ball and the inclination angle of the ball case. The acceleration of the complex frequency that occurs when the table is pushed or pulled cannot be detected quantitatively, and it is clear from the principle that if the sphere is not mounted in a perfectly horizontal state, There is a disadvantage that it is very inconvenient in handling because it moves without permission and causes malfunction.

For this reason, there is a problem that it is impossible to produce a large quantity of the same characteristics and the reliability of the detection characteristics is very low.
The present invention has been made paying attention to each of the above-mentioned problems, and with a single impact sensor, it can reliably detect the acceleration value of the shaking caused by shaking the table and the acceleration value caused by hitting the table. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an impact sensor that can reliably detect fraud and prevent this from occurring even if any fraudulent operation is performed.

  The impact sensor of the present invention is an acceleration sensor that electrically captures mechanical vibration and outputs a signal value corresponding to the acceleration, and a signal is amplified with a relatively high degree of amplification with respect to a signal having a low impact frequency due to shaking. The frequency characteristic is set so that a signal with a reduced amplification degree is output with respect to a signal having a high impact frequency due to impact with a lower amplification than in the case of the signal having the low impact frequency, and the signal from the acceleration sensor is set. And a frequency characteristic setting circuit that outputs a signal value corresponding to the signal frequency, and an impact detection circuit that detects an impact based on a signal output from the frequency characteristic setting circuit. Is characterized in that a low acceleration value is detected, and a high acceleration value is detected for a high shock frequency due to the impact, and a shock is detected.

  In the impact sensor of the present invention, it is preferable to set a detected acceleration value higher than a detected acceleration value at a frequency higher than that frequency for an acceleration having a frequency below a certain value among the low impact frequencies.

  In the impact sensor of the present invention, the acceleration sensor that electrically captures the mechanical vibration may be a piezoelectric ceramic.

In the impact sensor of the present invention, the piezoelectric ceramic of the acceleration sensor that electrically captures the mechanical vibration may be one that is attached to a metal plate.

In the impact sensor of the present invention, preferably, the high-frequency detection impact of the unauthorized operation due to the hitting is that the acceleration is at a frequency of 15 Hz or more, considering various pachinko machine manufacturers or places where the pachinko machine is hit. The detection impact of the low frequency of unauthorized operation due to shaking is 0.5G to 8G, the maximum sensitivity value of the detected acceleration is 20mG to 400mG with the frequency 2Hz to 20Hz considering the material and structure of the pachinko machine mounting island It is desirable that

Moreover, in the impact sensor of the present invention, the frequency that makes the detected acceleration value higher than the detected acceleration value at a frequency higher than the lower frequency is set to 10HZ or less in consideration of various soils where the store is built. It is desirable.
In the impact sensor of the present invention, it is preferable that the detected acceleration signal is output for a long time by delaying an output signal by a timer circuit.

According to the present invention, (1) even if a slight acceleration value due to a low frequency shaking that swings the pachinko machine with one sensor, or a high acceleration value with a high frequency caused by hitting the machine, the value is regarded as an illegal operation that the ball receives. Monitoring can be done in exactly the same way.
(2) Since a single sensor can monitor illegal operations such as striking and shaking, the installation space is small, and the degree of freedom of attachment to the base is increased.
(3) A single sensor is sufficient, and by using a piezoelectric ceramic for the pickup (acceleration sensor), it can be made very inexpensive.
(4) For extremely low frequency acceleration caused by a heavy vehicle passing in front of a store, by increasing the detected acceleration value, it is possible to reduce malfunction due to vibration caused by them.
(5) By delaying the signal by the timer circuit even when an instantaneous acceleration value is input, the output time is lengthened, and there is no oversight of detection of impact application.

  There is an effect.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to embodiments. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of an impact sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a plan view showing a cover partly cut away, and FIG. 1 (b) is a diagram of FIG. It is sectional drawing cut | disconnected by the cutting line PP of (a).

The impact sensor 1 is housed in a ring-shaped pickup holding portion 4 made of rubber so that the acceleration pickup 3 is not destroyed by a strong impact in a case 2 composed of a lower case 2a and a cover 2b. The pickup holding unit 4 is a plan view of FIG. 4A and FIG.
As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, the entire body is composed of an O-ring-shaped rubber main body 4a, and a recess 41 for fitting the pickup 3 is provided in the inner central portion of the ring shape, and a part of the upper portion of the main body 4a is provided. A lead wire lead-out notch 42 is formed from the inside to the outside. A perspective view in which the pickup 3 is housed in the pickup holding portion 4 is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the acceleration pickup 3 has a piezoelectric ceramic 3a of about 20
It is affixed to an extremely thin disk-shaped metal plate 5 of 0 microns with an adhesive. FIG. 3 (a)
Fig. 3B is a plan view of the pickup 3, and Fig. 3B is a side view thereof.
A printed circuit board 6 on which circuit components are mounted is mounted on the pickup holding section 4 (see FIG. 1), and the pickup holding section 4 (pickup 3) is pressed by the printed circuit board 6 and is attached to the lower case 2a. It is fixed by screws 7.

The piezoelectric ceramic 3a and the metal plate 5 are connected to an electric circuit mounted on the printed circuit board 6 via connected lead wires 8a and 8b.

The printed circuit board 6 is mounted with a filter circuit and an amplifier circuit for processing and amplifying the frequency characteristics of signals input via the lead wires 8a and 8b, and signals output through these circuits are , Output from the connector 9 to the outside. The configuration and connection of these circuits are shown in FIG. The operation of each circuit will be described later. The upper surface of the case 2 is protected by a cover 2b so that dust does not enter the circuit portion and malfunction or malfunction will occur. A connector 9 for supplying power to the outside and outputting signals is mounted on the printed circuit board 6.

  Here, looking at how the relationship between the input vibration frequency and the output voltage in the pickup 3 changes with the acceleration as a parameter, as shown by the arrows in FIG. Since the applied acceleration is configured to be applied at right angles to the detection surface of the pickup 3, when the acceleration is applied, as shown in FIG. 5, from several Hz to about 1 kHz, it is proportional to the applied acceleration. Thus, a flat output voltage is generated regardless of the frequency. That is, the output of the pickup 3 is a voltage corresponding to the acceleration value and is constant regardless of the frequency.

  However, the relationship between acceleration, vibration amplitude, and vibration frequency is expressed by the following equation.

G ≒ (D × F × F) ÷ 500 G = Acceleration (G)
D = amplitude of vibration (mm)
F = Frequency of vibration (Hz)
Now, suppose a case where fraud is done by shaking the pachinko machine. For example, if a ball that moves on the board near the winning hole of the pachinko machine with a swing of 3 mm and a frequency equivalent to 6 Hz enters the winning hole, the acceleration G applied to the acceleration sensor is
G≈3 × 6 × 6 ÷ 500 = 0.216
It is. That is, in order to detect fraud in this case, it is necessary to detect 216 mG (milligal).
In addition, it is assumed that the pachinko machine is hit with a fist and cheating. When an impact of 0.5 mm is generated at a frequency of approximately 40 Hz by striking and a ball that moves near the prize opening enters, the acceleration G applied to the acceleration sensor is
G ≒ 0.5 × 40 × 40 ÷ 500 = 1.6
It becomes. In other words, in order to detect the impact due to the impact, it is necessary to process the frequency characteristic so as to detect 1600 mG.

If the acceleration is 216 mG at a frequency of 40 Hz, the amplitude is
0.216 ≒ D × 40 × 40 ÷ 500
D≈0.0675 mm.

In other words, since it has only an amplitude of about 68 microns, it can not only affect the ball, but it is also generated by the vibration of the ball during the game, the vibration of the normal air conditioner, or the vibration of the solenoids often used for pachinko machines Cause malfunction due to acceleration.

Conversely, to operate an acceleration sensor with a detection sensitivity of 1600 mG at a frequency of 6 Hz
D≈ (500 × 1.6) ÷ (6 × 6) = 22.2.

This indicates that the acceleration sensor cannot be detected unless it is shaken by 22 mm, which is equivalent to destroying the table.

As described above, when one pachinko machine is shaken, the acceleration when the pachinko machine is struck with a fist has the same acceleration as the frequency. If both are detected, it cannot be detected.

In the present invention, in order to avoid such a problem, acceleration and frequency detection characteristics are set as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, f1 to f5 indicate vibration frequency bands when the pachinko machine is shaken, f6 or f7 or higher frequencies indicate vibration frequency bands when the pachinko machine is hit,
The frequency below f1 or f2 indicates a main low frequency band when a heavy vehicle or the like passes in front of a store. As shown in FIG. 5, the output of the acceleration sensor, that is, the pickup 3 is generally constant with respect to a constant acceleration regardless of the frequency. On the other hand, here, the setting is made to process the frequency characteristics in the circuit portion subsequent to the pickup 3, and in the vibration frequency band due to the fluctuation of the frequencies f1 to f5, the detected acceleration value is as low as g1 to g2, and the frequency f6 or more. The detected acceleration value is set as high as g3 or more in the vibration frequency band due to the hit.
Next, FIG. 7 shows a circuit block diagram of an impact sensor having a circuit unit that realizes the characteristic of the relationship between the vibration frequency and acceleration shown in FIG. The circuit section of the impact sensor includes the pickup 3, the first high-pass filter 12, the first low-pass amplifier circuit 13, the second high-pass filter 14, the second low-pass amplifier circuit 15, and the window. The comparator 16, the OFF delay timer circuit 17, the output circuit 18, and a constant voltage circuit 19 that supplies a power supply voltage to each circuit.

    In this shock sensor circuit, a flat signal having a frequency characteristic output from the acceleration pickup 3 is cut and attenuated by the first and second high-pass filters 12 and 14 in a low frequency band of f1 or lower than f2. The cut signal in the low frequency band (the signal in the frequency band exceeding f1 or f2) is amplified by the first and second low-pass amplifier circuits 13 and 15 in the frequency band f1 to f5 of the frequency band caused by the fluctuation. In addition, the detection sensitivity is increased, and the frequency band higher than (f6 or higher) is not greatly amplified, and the detection sensitivity at a high frequency (f6 or higher) is lowered to detect only a large acceleration value. Thereafter, when the acceleration value shown in FIG. 6 is detected, the window comparator 16 outputs an impact detection.

It should be noted that, in order to cut the low frequency portion below the frequency f2 in the frequency band of the input signal, only the first high-pass filter 12 is used. In order not to greatly amplify the high frequency component, it is only necessary to provide the first low-pass amplifier circuit 13, but here the second high-pass filter 14 and the second low-pass amplifier circuit 15 are provided so that the function can be emphasized. With cascade connection. The second high-pass filter 14 cuts f2 and below in the same manner as the first high-pass filter 12,
The second low-pass amplifier circuit 15 greatly amplifies the low frequency component and suppresses the amplification of high frequency components of f6 or higher. By cascading in this way, it is possible to amplify low frequency components and adjust the degree of suppression of amplification of high frequency components over a wide range.

  In this embodiment, the first and second high-pass filters 12 and 14 and the first and second low-pass amplifier circuits 13 and 15 amplify the signal with a relatively high degree of amplification with respect to a signal having a low shock frequency due to shaking. The frequency characteristic is set so that a signal with a reduced amplification degree is output with respect to a signal having a high impact frequency due to impact with a lower amplification degree than in the case of the signal having a low impact frequency. The frequency characteristic setting circuit is configured to receive the above signal and output a signal value corresponding to the signal frequency. However, as another embodiment, the frequency characteristic setting circuit may be configured by only the first high-pass filter and the first low-pass amplifier circuit. Further, the frequency characteristic establishment circuit may be configured by combining different numbers of high-pass filters and low-pass amplifier circuits.

The output of the second low-pass amplifier circuit 15 is input to the window comparator 16.
When swinging the pachinko machine, there are times when you pull and push. Does not become to be detected in exactly the same manner either signals for different electrical phase of 180 degrees when pressing and when the draw output signal of the accelerometer. FIG. 8 shows the acceleration applied at this time and the signal output from the piezoelectric ceramic.

When acceleration is applied from the A direction in FIG. 8A, a positive output voltage is output as shown in FIG. 8B, and when acceleration is applied from the B direction in FIG. As shown in c), a negative output voltage is output.

For this reason, in order to detect both accelerations in the same manner, the window comparator 16 is used as a comparison circuit for generating an output signal regardless of whether the signal exceeds a certain value or less than a certain value with respect to the reference value. It has been. The window comparator 16 outputs a signal of logic “1” when the input voltage is larger than the reference voltage value + Vk or smaller than the reference voltage value −Vk.

The signal compared and detected by the window comparator 16 is input to the OFF delay timer 17. When a pachinko machine is hit instantly, a high-frequency pulse signal is output. However, this pulse output alone often fails to obtain a signal when the status time of a monitoring microcomputer or the like in the pachinko machine system is long.

Therefore, in that case, the OFF delay timer 17 of 100 to 1000 milliseconds is used to avoid detection errors.
Is used.

The above block diagram is explained in the block diagram to make it easier for the sensor order to cope with the intensity difference due to various manufacturers' pachinko machines and structures for various pachinko machines, etc., but only the frequency of shaking is increased using a band pass filter. By amplifying and selecting the Q value of the filter, it is possible to amplify the high acceleration value of the high frequency caused by the impact and to amplify the gain necessary for detection and to set the necessary detection sensitivity.

Although the basic configuration of the present invention has been described by the above embodiment, the details will be further supplemented.

In actual stores where pachinko machines are installed, there are various store structures such as wooden houses and reinforced concrete buildings, and in the construction of pachinko machines, etc. Easy to shake using timber.

Alternatively, as a pachinko machine, the vibration characteristics vary depending on the type of game machine, which is a manufacturer with a sturdy structure that uses a lot of thick plastic, a manufacturer that does not, or the same manufacturer.

  In addition, there are various places where shops are open, such as soft and hard ground.

  There are also various vehicles passing through it, and the frequency of ground shaking is various.

In order to function with high reliability in these various environments, the inventors have experimented 1) The frequency f1 to f5 of vibration detection in FIG. 6 is within 2 Hz to 20 Hz and the detection sensitivity is 20 mG to 400 mG. In the frequency f6 or f7 according to the above, good results have been obtained by setting the detection sensitivity to 0.5 G to 8 G at 15 Hz or more. By selecting these values, various general pachinko machine island constructions and pachinko machine manufacturers can be handled.
2) In order to avoid malfunctions caused by the sound of the floor caused by various strata in which the store was built, heavy vehicles passing through it, or people with large weight, the frequency of f2 in FIG. . By selecting these values, it is possible to deal with pachinko machine installation locations in various environments.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the impact sensor which is one Embodiment of this invention, (a) is a top view which notches and shows a part of cover, (b) is the cutting line PP of (a). It is sectional drawing cut | disconnected. It is a figure which shows the structure of the pickup of the same embodiment impact sensor, (a) is the perspective view hold | maintained at the pickup holding | maintenance part, (b) is the perspective view. It is a figure which shows the structure of the pickup of the same embodiment impact sensor, (a) is the top view, (b) is the side view. It is a figure which shows the pick-up holding | maintenance part of the same embodiment impact sensor, (a) is the top view, (b) is sectional drawing cut | disconnected by the cutting line QQ of (a). It is a characteristic view which shows the relationship of the vibration frequency-output voltage of the pickup of the same embodiment impact sensor. It is a characteristic view showing the relation between the vibration frequency and acceleration of the pickup of the same embodiment impact sensor. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of the embodiment impact sensor. It is a figure explaining the output voltage when a vibration is applied to the pickup of the embodiment from the front surface and when a vibration is applied from the back surface. It is the schematic for demonstrating an example of the conventional impact sensor.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Impact sensor 2 Case 2a Lower case 2b Cover 3 Pickup 3a Piezoceramic plate 4 Pickup holding part 5 Metal plate 6 Printed circuit board 7 Screw 8a, 8b Lead wire 9 Connector 12 First high-pass filter 13 First low-pass amplifier circuit 14 2 high-pass filter 15 second low-pass amplifier circuit 16 window comparator 18 output circuit 19 constant voltage circuit

Claims (9)

An acceleration sensor that electrically captures mechanical vibration and outputs a signal value corresponding to the acceleration;
The frequency characteristics are set so that the signal of low impact frequency due to shaking is amplified with a relatively high degree of amplification, and the signal of high impact frequency due to impact is reduced compared to the case of the signal of low impact frequency. A frequency characteristic is set so that a signal is output with a high degree of amplification, a frequency characteristic setting circuit that receives a signal from the acceleration sensor and outputs a signal value corresponding to the signal frequency;
An impact detection circuit for detecting an impact from a signal output from the frequency characteristic setting circuit;
An impact sensor for detecting an impact by detecting a low acceleration value for the low impact frequency and detecting a high acceleration value for a high impact frequency by the hitting.   The frequency characteristic setting circuit amplifies the signal with a relatively high amplification degree with respect to a signal with a low impact frequency due to shaking, and is reduced compared with a signal with a low impact frequency with respect to a signal with a high impact frequency due to impact. 2. The impact sensor according to claim 1, wherein the impact sensor is a low-pass amplifier circuit that outputs a signal with a high degree of amplification.   The frequency characteristic setting circuit includes a high-pass filter that reduces a signal having a frequency equal to or lower than a predetermined value of the low shock frequency and passes a signal having a frequency exceeding the frequency, in a stage preceding the low-pass amplifier circuit. The impact sensor according to claim 2.   4. The impact sensor according to claim 3, wherein a detected acceleration is set to be higher than a detected acceleration value of a frequency higher than that frequency for an acceleration having a frequency below a certain value among the low impact frequencies.   The impact sensor according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the acceleration sensor that electrically captures the mechanical vibration uses a piezoelectric ceramic.   6. The impact sensor according to claim 5, wherein the ceramic of the acceleration sensor that electrically captures the mechanical vibration is attached to a metal plate.   The detection impact of the higher frequency due to the impact is 15 Hz or more and the acceleration is 0.5 G to 8 G, and the detection impact of the lower frequency due to shaking is the frequency 2 Hz to 20 Hz and the maximum sensitivity value of the detected acceleration is 20 mG to The impact sensor according to claim 1, 2, 5, or 6, wherein the impact sensor is 400 mG.   5. The impact sensor according to claim 4, wherein a frequency for increasing the detected acceleration value of the low frequency is 10 Hz or less. The detected acceleration signal is output by a timer circuit so that the output signal becomes long. Claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 Or the impact sensor of Claim 8.

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