JP2009022664A - Lifting and feeding device and game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable game balls to be reliably taken in to lifting and feeding passages in a lifting and feeding device one by one without increasing driving force for a lifting and feeding movement in the lifting and feeding device nor requiring a lifting and feeding ball supplying device for supplying the game balls to the lifting and feeding device by separating the game balls one by one. <P>SOLUTION: A lifting and feeding call passage 33 is the passage for guiding the game ball 50 to a lifting and feeding call part 28. The first lifting and feeding passage 34 is formed with an angle of 90° or more with respect to the lifting and feeding call passage 33. Consequently, when the game ball 50 is lifted and fed, the ball is raised in the direction of an arrow A3. Thus, the game ball 50 does not push away the subsequent balls 51, 52, ..., and is not affected by the ball pressure of the subsequent balls 51, 52, .... <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a lifting device that lifts a game ball stored in a game ball storage section of a spinning game machine using a pachinko machine or a game ball, and a gaming machine, and in particular, a lifting operation of the lifting device. Without increasing the driving force of the ball, and without the need for a lifting ball supply device that separates the game balls one by one and supplies them to the lifting device, one ball at a time in the lifting path in the lifting device. The present invention relates to a lifting device that can take in a game ball, and a gaming machine including the same.

  Conventionally, as a lifting device that lifts a game ball stored in a game ball storage section of a revolving game machine using a pachinko machine or a game ball, as in Patent Document 1, a sprocket is connected in a rosary manner in a transfer pipe. There are those that are sent out and lifted, and those that are lifted by a screw member as in Patent Document 2.

  Here, when the game balls are lifted by rotating the sprocket and the screw member in this manner, a large number of game balls to be lifted are guided in the lifting device by rolling the inclined guide passage with their own weight. For this reason, the ball pressure of the succeeding game ball through the game ball to be lifted may suppress adverse effects on the taking-in of the game ball to be lifted or the lifting operation. For example, a load is applied to the drive device that drives the above-mentioned sprockets and screw members, which may hinder the lifting, and ball biting is likely to occur, and the gaming ball may not be lifted well. It was.

  For this reason, in Patent Document 3, in the lifting device, a S-shaped lifting ball guiding passage meandering in an S-shape on a horizontal plane at a portion for taking in a game ball to be lifted, or in the lifting ball guiding passage Are provided with a sprocket that suppresses the ball pressure of the succeeding game balls and sends out the game balls one by one. This prevents the influence of the ball pressure from the subsequent game ball.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-163388 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2805499 JP 2004-255051 A

  However, the sprocket in the lifting ball guiding passage of the above-mentioned Patent Document 3 needs to operate smoothly even if the ball pressure applied by the game balls that are cascaded and succeeded as described above fluctuates and sometimes increases. Such a sprocket mechanism has a problem that the structure becomes complicated and the driving force for rotating the sprocket needs to be increased, resulting in a large cost increase.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and without increasing the driving force of the lifting operation of the lifting device, and separately supplying the game balls one by one to the lifting device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lifting device that can take a game ball into a lifting path in the lifting device one by one without any need for a lifting ball supply device.

  The present invention relates to a lifting device that lifts a game ball stored in a game ball storage unit of a spinning game machine using a pachinko machine or a game ball, and guides the game ball from a game ball stop to a lifting and calling unit. A second lifting path is provided in which a lifting call path is provided, a first lifting path formed at an angle of 90 ° or more with respect to the lifting call path is provided, and thereafter the game ball is lifted vertically. By providing the above, the above-mentioned problems are solved.

  Further, in the above-described lifting device, a lifting and calling portion is formed at the spiral starting portion at the lower end portion of the screw, and a spiral outer peripheral portion from the spiral starting portion to the lifting and feeding portion is a cylindrical surface, and the spiral end of the upper end portion of the screw is finished. The above-mentioned problems are solved by forming a game ball pushing part in the part.

  The present invention also provides a gaming machine equipped with the above-described lifting device.

  According to the present invention, there is no need for a lifting ball supply device that separates the gaming balls one by one and supplies them to the lifting device, and the gaming balls can be reliably taken into the lifting path one by one. Moreover, it can be set as an inexpensive structure. Also, in the lifting device, the driving load when rotating the screw member and sprocket member for lifting the game ball can be suppressed, so it is possible to make this driving means, for example, a motor small and inexpensive. This is advantageous in terms of space and cost.

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

  FIG. 1 is a front view of a gaming machine 100 according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the main body frame of the gaming machine 100.

  In the present embodiment, a parrot is taken as an example of a gaming machine that uses game balls. However, the lifting device of the present invention is not limited to such a gaming machine. First, in FIG. 1, the tray 110 is configured so that a player can freely put in and out game balls. The game ball placed in the tray 110 is taken into the game machine 100 by the ball transport device when the player presses the bet button 114. The tray 110 corresponds to the game ball storage unit of the present invention.

  Then, when the start lever 116 is operated, the reels 112a, 112b, and 112c on which some pictures are written respectively rotate, and the pictures are switched. When the stop switches 118a, 118b, and 118c provided corresponding to the reels 112a, 112b, and 112c are pressed, the rotation of the corresponding reels 112a, 112b, and 112c is stopped, and the change of the picture is stopped. . When all of the reels 112a, 112b, and 112c are stopped, a prize game ball is paid out to the tray 110 according to a predetermined combination of patterns of the reels 112a, 112b, and 112c. Note that the reel device 140 shown in FIG. 2 incorporates the aforementioned reels 112a, 112b, and 112c.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper ball tank 133 is supplied with game balls from a so-called island facility. The prize ball device 135 pays out the game balls stored in the ball tank 133 supplied via the prize ball path 134 to the tray 110 as prize balls and pays them to the player.

  Further, the above-described ball transport device includes a game ball supply path 122, a lifting device 125, a game ball take-in path 127, and a take-in mechanism device 130. In the game ball supply path 122, an entrance game ball sensor 123 is provided on the lifting device 125 side. In the game ball take-in route 127, a take-in route game ball sensor 128 is provided on the lifting device 125 side.

  The game balls placed in the tray 110 roll in the ball supply path 122 and are guided to the carry-in port at the lower end of the lifting device 125. The entrance game ball sensor 123 provided immediately before the carry-in entrance detects whether or not there is a game ball to be lifted by the lifting device 125. The lifting device 125 sequentially takes in and lifts the game balls from the carry-in port, and feeds the game balls to the game ball take-in path 127 from the carry-out port on the upper side.

  Such lifting and feeding are performed until the intake ball game ball sensor 128 detects that a predetermined number of game balls are filled in the game ball intake route 127. Then, the game balls in the game ball take-in path 127 are taken into the gaming machine 100 by the take-in mechanism device 130 according to the operation of the player using the bet button 114 as described above.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the lifting device 125 used in the gaming machine 100 of the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is an exploded configuration diagram of the lifting device 125.

  In these drawings, the lifting device 125 is mainly composed of an F cover 1, a screw 2, an R cover 3, a drive motor 4, and a motor cover 5.

  A screw 2 for lifting a game ball is accommodated in a housing structure of an F cover 1 and an R cover 3 and is rotatably supported by a bearing 9 sandwiched between the F cover 1 and the R cover 3. . The drive motor 4 is fixed so as to straddle the F cover 1 and the R cover 3, and a drive gear 8 is provided on the drive shaft of the drive motor 4. Further, the intermediate gear 7 is rotatably supported by a bearing 10 provided on the R cover 3.

  The rotation of the drive shaft of the drive motor 4 is transmitted to the driven gear 6 formed integrally with the screw 2 via the drive gear 8 and the intermediate gear 7, whereby the screw 2 rotates.

  In addition, the F cover 1 is provided with a fixing means 13 for fixing the pachinko machine or the spinning cylinder type game machine body using a game ball, and the R cover 3 is provided with a control signal for controlling the lifting device 125. A relay board 11 and a relay board case 12 to be relayed are provided. In addition, the F cover 1 and the R cover 3 each provided with at least one maintenance long hole for cleaning the screw and eliminating the clogging of the balls are fixed to the lifting device fixing surface by screws. Yes. A motor cover 5 is provided so as to sandwich the F cover 1 and the R cover 3.

  FIG. 5 is a side view of the screw 2 used in the lifting device 125 of the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a side view of the screw 2 rotated (1/4) from the state shown in FIG.

  In these drawings, the central axis 29 of the screw 2 is vertical when the screw 2 is attached to the lifting device 125 and when the lifting device 125 is attached to the gaming machine 100. A spiral portion 21 having a pitch slightly larger than the diameter of the game ball is formed around the central axis 29. The spiral portion 21 is formed from the spiral start portion 25 at the lower end of the screw 2 to the game ball pushing portion 24 at the upper end.

  First, at the lower end portion of the screw 2, a lifting and calling portion wall surface 22 is provided at the starting end portion of the spiral portion 21. The lifting / calling-in wall surface 22 is a wall surface having a height approximately equal to the diameter of the game ball and provided with the spiral portion 21 over approximately one pitch. The hollow space around the central axis 29 by the spiral portion 21 from the lift / call-in portion wall surface 22 to the above-described spiral start portion 25 takes in one game ball in contact with the lift / call-in portion wall surface 22. It is large enough to be able to. Hereinafter, the hollow space will be referred to as a lifting and receiving unit 28. Further, the portion of the outer periphery of the central axis 29 from the lifting / calling-in part wall surface 22 to the spiral start part 25 is a cylindrical surface whose center is in the same direction as the central axis 29. It becomes the spiral outer periphery cylindrical surface 23 of the shape provided with the part.

  Next, at the upper end portion of the screw 2, a game ball pushing portion 24 is provided at the end portion of the spiral portion 21. The game ball extruding portion 24 is a wall surface provided with the spiral portion 21 having a pitch of about the diameter of the game ball or a slightly smaller height over substantially one pitch. The space of the hollow formed by the spiral portion 21 reaching the game ball push-out portion 24 is sized so that one game ball can be taken in contact with the game ball push-out portion 24. Hereinafter, the hollow space is referred to as a spiral uppermost hollow space.

  FIG. 7 is a side view of the vicinity of the calling-in part 22 of the game ball to be lifted in the lifting device 125 of the first comparative example. FIG. 8 is a side view of the vicinity of the calling-in part 22 of the game ball to be lifted in the lifting device 125 of the present embodiment. Further, FIG. 9 is a side view of the vicinity of the calling portion 22 of the game ball to be lifted in the lifting device 125 of the second comparative example. 7 to 9 are schematic diagrams.

  In the first comparative example as shown in FIG. 7, the lifting and calling path 33 is transferred to the lifting and calling section 28, and the game ball 50 that has been rolled by its own weight is transferred from the lifting and calling section 28 to the lifting path 35. When rising vertically in the direction of the arrow A1 in the figure, the gaming ball 50 and the succeeding ball 51 have an overlap of δd in the horizontal direction. Therefore, in order for the game ball 50 to rise, it cannot rise unless the subsequent balls 51, 52,... Are pushed in the direction of the arrow A2 in the figure by the overlap δd.

  In order to push the succeeding spheres 51, 52..., An extra load is required for the rise according to the influence of the weight of the succeeding spheres 51, 52. Therefore, an overload is generated in the drive motor 4 of the screw 2 and there is a risk of hindering the lifting of the game ball.

  In contrast to such a comparative example, in the case of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the ball pressure in the direction of the arrow A5 in the figure due to the weight of the succeeding spheres 51, 52. The first lifting path 34 is formed at an angle of 90 ° or more, and the game ball 50 is first raised at such an angle. In addition, the pumping path 35 above the first pumping path 34 is a second pumping path 35 in the present embodiment.

  The rising direction of the gaming ball 50 in the first lifting path 34 of the present embodiment with respect to the inclined surface of the lifting and calling path 33 that allows the gaming ball 50 to roll by its own weight in order to guide to the lifting and calling section 28. Is at an angle of 90 ° or more. On the other hand, in the case of the first comparative example described above, the game ball 50 is lifted along the lifting path 35 that is in the rising direction at an angle smaller than 90 ° with respect to the inclined surface of the lifting and calling path 33. To be.

  In the present embodiment, since the game ball 50 is first raised at such an angle of 90 ° or more, the overlap δd does not occur against the ball pressure of the following balls 51, 52. There is no such thing as pushing the following balls 51, 52.

  When the previous game ball 50 rises to some extent along the first lifting path 34, the succeeding ball 51 is stopped by the helical outer peripheral cylindrical surface 23 at the lower end of the screw 2 and separated from the previous game ball 50. This ensures that the game balls are raised one by one.

  The game ball 50 ascends in the vertical direction through the first lifting path 34 and the second lifting path 35, and finally the gaming ball pusher 24 provided at the spiral end portion of the upper end surface of the screw 2. Thus, the game ball is discharged out of the lifting device 125 from the game ball discharge port 36 provided on the side surface of the F cover 1.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, when the first pumping path 34 is formed at a considerably larger angle than 90 ° with respect to the direction of the ball pressure due to the weight of the succeeding spheres 51, 52. The ball pressure due to the weight of the following balls 51, 52,... Indicated by the arrow A is in the direction of the arrow A6 that pushes up against the game ball 50. There is a possibility that a load different from the comparative example is applied. Therefore, the angle is preferably 90 ° or more and less than about 100 °.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the present embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIGS.

  10 to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 18, 19 to 21, 22 to 24, 25 to 27, 28 to 30, and 31 to 33 are respectively shown in FIG. They are the top view of the raising apparatus 125 bottom part of the 1st step-the 8th stage, the perspective view of this bottom part, and the sectional view seen from the front of the raising apparatus 125.

  10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, and 31 are top views of the bottom of the lifting device 125 at the corresponding stage. 11, FIG. 14, FIG. 17, FIG. 20, FIG. 23, FIG. 26, FIG. 29, and FIG. 32 are perspective views of the bottom of the lifting device 125 at the corresponding stage. FIG. 12, FIG. 15, FIG. 18, FIG. 21, FIG. 24, FIG. 27, FIG.

  Here, similarly to the above-described FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, the game ball to be raised next by turning the screw 2 is a game ball 50, and the subsequent balls following the game ball 50 are sequentially followed by the following balls 51, 52. To do. First, the game ball 50 that has flowed down from the game ball storage part of the spinning-type game machine using a pachinko machine or game ball passes through the game ball entrance 31 formed in the F cover 1 and goes to the game ball stop 32. Led.

  In FIG. 10 to FIG. 12 in the first stage, the game ball 50 is in contact with the spiral outer peripheral cylindrical surface 23. In the first stage, the game ball 50 is supported and stopped by the spiral outer peripheral cylindrical surface 23 and the game ball stop 32 in the game ball stop 32.

  In FIG. 13 to FIG. 15 in the second stage, the screw 2 is turned by the driving force of the drive motor 4 from the first stage, and the game ball 50 is in contact with the outer side of the wall surface 22 of the lifting and calling part. .

  In FIG. 16 to FIG. 18 in the third stage, the screw 2 further turns from the second stage, and the game ball 50 is in a state of being slightly pulled into the above-described lift and call-in portion 28. Here, the lifting / calling path 33 is a path that communicates from the game ball stop 32 to the lifting / calling section 28, and is directed in the axial direction of the screw 2 at an angle of approximately 45 ° with respect to the front surface of the F cover 1. Further, it is formed with a downward inclination of approximately 30 ° toward the lower end of the screw 2. When the immediately preceding game ball 50 disappears, the game ball 50 stopped at the game ball stop 32 rolls on the spiral outer peripheral cylindrical surface 23 to a certain rotation angle with respect to the rotation of the screw 2 and maintains the stop state as it is. Then, when the screw 2 rotates and the lifting / calling unit 28 reaches the lifting / calling path 33, the game ball 50 is guided to the lifting / calling section 28 through the inclined surface of the lifting / calling path 33.

  In FIG. 19 to FIG. 21 in the fourth stage, the screw 2 further turns from the third stage, and the game ball 50 is further drawn into the lifting / calling-in portion 28, but is not fully drawn in. Yes.

  In FIG. 22 to FIG. 24 of the fifth stage, the screw 2 further turns from the fourth stage, and after the game ball 50 is drawn into the lifting / invoking part 28, it comes into contact with the spiral start part 25, and the screw 2 is turned. It is in a state just before the ascent.

  After the fifth stage, when the screw 2 further rotates, the game ball 50 of the lift-in / call-in unit 28 starts climbing from the spiral start unit 25 to the spiral unit 21. When the ascent is started, the game ball 50 first rises in a direction inclined approximately 30 ° from the vertical along the first lifting path 34. Then, after ascending the first lifting path 34, the game ball 50 rises in the vertical direction along the second lifting path 35. As described above with reference to FIG. 8, the first lift path 34 is perpendicular to the approximately 30 ° downward slope in the lift call path 33. Therefore, the first lifting path 34 has an inclination of about 30 ° with respect to the axial direction of the central axis 29.

  In FIG. 25 to FIG. 27 in the sixth stage, the screw 2 further turns from the fifth stage, and the game ball 50 has already started to rise due to the turning of the screw 2. In the sixth stage, the succeeding ball 51 is not in contact with the screw 2 because it is in contact with the game ball 50.

  In FIG. 28 to FIG. 30 in the seventh stage, the screw 2 further turns from the sixth stage, and the game ball 50 is further raised by the turning of the screw 2. In this seventh stage, the subsequent ball 51 is not in contact with the screw 2 because it is in contact with the game ball 50, but the subsequent ball 51 is further closer to the screw 2 than in the sixth stage. It is.

  In FIGS. 31 to 33 in the eighth stage, the screw 2 further turns from the seventh stage, and the game ball 50 is further raised by the turning of the screw 2. In the eighth stage, the succeeding ball 51 is not in contact with the game ball 50. In addition, the succeeding ball 51 in the eighth stage is slightly drawn into the lift-in calling unit 28 to the same extent as the game ball 50 in the third stage.

  FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view of the lifting device 125 of the present embodiment as viewed from the front in a state where the spiral portion 21 is filled with game balls. FIG. 35 is a top view of the bottom of the lifting device 125 in this state.

  Even after the above-described eighth stage, when the screw 2 continues to rotate by the driving force of the driving motor 4, the spiral portion 21 of the screw 2 is filled with the game ball from the lower end to the upper end as shown in FIG. As the screw 2 rotates, the respective game balls are lifted as shown in the order of arrows A10 to A12.

  Then, as indicated by an arrow A13, the game ball is discharged from the game ball discharge port 36 to the outside of the lifting device 125 so as to be pushed out by the rotation of the game ball pushing portion 24 as the screw 2 rotates. The FIG. 35 is a top view of the bottom of the lifting device 125 in the state of FIG.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the game ball 50 guided to the lifting / invoking section 28 while rolling a downward inclination of approximately 30 ° in the lifting / invoking path 33 is first transferred to the first lifting path 34. Therefore, it is not affected by the ball pressure due to the weight of the succeeding spheres 51, 52. Further, after the first lifting path 34 is lifted, the game ball 50 is lifted vertically along the second lifting path 35, so that it can be transported efficiently and reliably. For this reason, it is not necessary to increase the driving force of the driving motor 4 that causes the lifting device 125 to perform the lifting operation. In the present embodiment, the lift-in / call-in path 33 is approximately 45 ° toward the axial center of the screw 2 at an angle of approximately 45 ° with respect to the front surface of the F cover 1 and toward the lower end of the screw 2. Although it is formed with a downward slope, it is not limited to this, and it may be formed at other angles.

Front view of a gaming machine according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied Rear view of the main frame of the above gaming machine The perspective view which shows the external appearance of the conveying apparatus used for the said embodiment. Exploded view of the lifting device Side view of screw used in the lifting device Side view of the screw rotated (1/4) from the state shown in FIG. Side view of the vicinity of the calling portion of the game ball to be lifted in the lifting device of the first comparative example Side view of the vicinity of the calling portion of the game ball to be lifted in the lifting device of the embodiment. Side view of the vicinity of the calling portion of the game ball to be lifted in the lifting device of the second comparative example Top view of the bottom of the lifting device in the first stage of operation of the embodiment Perspective view of the bottom of the lifting device at the above stage Sectional view seen from the front of the lifting device at the above stage Top view of the bottom of the lifting device in the second stage of operation of the embodiment Perspective view of the bottom of the lifting device at the above stage Sectional view seen from the front of the lifting device at the above stage Top view of the bottom of the lifting device in the third stage of operation of the embodiment Perspective view of the bottom of the lifting device at the above stage Sectional view seen from the front of the lifting device at the above stage Top view of the bottom of the lifting device in the fourth stage of operation of the embodiment Perspective view of the bottom of the lifting device at the above stage Sectional view seen from the front of the lifting device at the above stage Top view of the bottom of the lifting device in the fifth stage of operation of the embodiment Perspective view of the bottom of the lifting device at the above stage Sectional view seen from the front of the lifting device at the above stage Top view of the bottom of the lifting device in the sixth stage of operation of the embodiment Perspective view of the bottom of the lifting device at the above stage Sectional view seen from the front of the lifting device at the above stage Top view of the bottom of the lifting device in the seventh stage of operation of the embodiment Perspective view of the bottom of the lifting device at the above stage Sectional view seen from the front of the lifting device at the above stage Top view of the bottom of the lifting device in the eighth stage of operation of the embodiment Perspective view of the bottom of the lifting device at the above stage Sectional view seen from the front of the lifting device at the above stage Sectional drawing seen from the front of the state with which the spiral part of the lifting device of the said embodiment is filled with the game ball Top view of the bottom of the lifting device in the above state

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... F cover 2 ... Screw 3 ... R cover 4 ... Drive motor 5 ... Motor cover 6 ... Drive gear 7 ... Intermediate gear 8 ... Drive gear 9 ... Bearing 10 ... Bearing 11 ... Relay board 12 ... Relay board case 13 ... Fixing means DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 ... Spiral part 22 ... Lifting / calling part wall surface 23 ... Spiral outer periphery cylindrical surface 24 ... Game ball pushing part 25 ... Spiral start part 28 ... Lifting / calling part 29 ... Central axis 50 ... Game ball 51, 52 ......... Subsequent ball 31 ... Game ball entrance 32 ... Game ball stop 33 ... Lifting and calling route 34 ... First lifting route 35 ... Second lifting route (lifting route)
36 ... Game ball outlet 100 ... Game machine 110 ... Patch 112a, 112b, 112c ... Reel 114 ... Bet button 116 ... Start lever 118a, 118b, 118c ... Stop switch 122 ... Game ball supply path 123 ... Inlet game ball sensor 125 ... Lifting device 127 ... Game ball take-in route 128 ... Take-in route game ball sensor 130 ... Take-in mechanism device 133 ... Ball tank 134 ... Award ball route 135 ... Prize ball device 140 ... Reel device

Claims (3)

In a lifting device that lifts game balls stored in a game ball storage section of a pachinko machine or a spinning cylinder machine,
A lifting and calling path for guiding the gaming ball from the gaming ball stop to the lifting and calling section is provided.
A first lifting path that is formed at an angle of 90 ° or more with respect to the lifting and calling path is provided, and a second lifting path that allows the game ball to be lifted vertically is provided. Lifting device to do.   The lifting and calling part is formed at the spiral starting part at the lower end of the screw, the outer peripheral part of the spiral from the spiral starting part to the wall surface of the lifting and calling part is a cylindrical surface, and the game ball pushing part at the spiral ending part at the upper end of the screw The lifting device according to claim 1, wherein:   A gaming machine comprising the lifting device according to claim 1.

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