JP2009034324A - Hitting handle of pinball game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the hitting handle of a pinball game machine which is capable of surely blocking fraudulent action of playing a game while fixing a turning ring by a foreign matter such as a token. <P>SOLUTION: In the hitting handle in which the turning amount of a turning ring 10 manually operated by a player is detected in a rotary volume 12 and the hitting strength of a game ball is adjusted on the basis of the detection signals, a control part 18 executes the waveform shaping processing of cyclically changing the hitting strength of the game ball determined according to the detection signals of the rotary volume 12 and the change state of the hitting strength is displayed at a display device 20 disposed on a game board 3 or the like. Thus, a player needs to play while adjusting the turning ring 10 to an optimum hitting angle while looking at the change state of the hitting strength displayed at the display device 20, and the fraudulent action of playing the game while fixing the turning ring 10 by the foreign matter such as a medal or a coin is surely blocked. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a launch handle for a ball game machine that launches game balls into a game area of a game board.

  The launch handle of a ball game machine represented by a pachinko machine usually has a base body that is fixed to the bottom of the front frame of the ball game machine and protrudes forward, and a circular bowl shape that is fixed to the front end of this base body. And a rotating ring or the like that is rotatably disposed between the base body and the face cover. The rotating ring is rotated to a predetermined initial position by the resilient force of the torsion spring. Has come to be. The rotating ring is a movable side member that is manually operated by the player. The amount of rotation of the rotating ring is detected by a detecting element such as a rotary volume, and the motor of the launching device is operated by the hitting rod based on the output signal. By rotationally driving, the game ball is launched with a firing strength corresponding to the rotation angle of the rotation ring. The rotating ring is made of a surface of a synthetic resin material that is plated with good conductivity, and the plated portion on the surface is electrically connected to the touch circuit. This touch circuit determines whether or not the player is in contact with the rotating ring, and power is supplied to the motor of the launcher only when the player is in contact with the rotating ring. Yes.

  In the launching handle of the ball ball game machine schematically configured as described above, if a foreign object such as a medal or a coin is sandwiched between the face cover that is a fixed side member and the rotating ring that is a movable side member, an arbitrary angle can be obtained. Even if the player releases his / her hand from the rotating ring that has been rotated, the rotating ring does not return to the initial position and remains fixed at the rotating position. However, it was a factor that allowed the cheating of launching a game ball with a certain firing strength just by touching. Also, if two adjacent ball game machines use foreign objects to fix the rotating rings at the optimum firing angles, two players can touch two of these rotating rings with one hand. Since it is possible to play with a ball game machine at the same time, an illegal act in which one player occupies two ball game machines is also possible.

Therefore, conventionally, the control circuit that cuts off the power supply to the motor of the launcher when the player does not touch the touch circuit of the rotating ring for a predetermined time and the blocking operation when the rotating ring is returned to the initial position are released. Resetting means, and when a fraudulent act of playing a game with a rotating ring fixed with a foreign object such as a coin is performed, the player releases his hand from the rotating ring for a predetermined time and touches it again Even so, there has been proposed a launch handle of a ball game machine in which the launch of the game ball is stopped so that the game cannot be played (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This means that if the player does not return to the initial position when the player releases his or her hand from the rotating ring for a predetermined time, even if the player touches the touch circuit of the rotating ring again, Since the launcher that launches the ball will not work, the player will be forced to return the pivoting ring to its initial position in order to activate the launcher. As a result, it is possible to prevent an illegal act such as leaving the seat with a rotating ring fixed by a foreign object such as a coin, returning and playing again at the original position. A ball game machine cannot be used.
JP-A-6-315558

  However, in the conventional launching handle disclosed in Patent Document 1, the output of the detection element composed of a rotary volume or the like changes as the turning ring rotates, and the game ball is launched based on the output value of the detection element. Since the strength is determined, even if the player uses a foreign object such as a coin to fix the rotating ring in an arbitrary position instead of being manually operated, the player touches the rotating ring to operate the touch circuit. As long as it is in the state, the game ball can be continuously launched at a constant firing strength based on the output value of the detection element corresponding to the position, so that the game is played while the rotating ring is fixed by a foreign object. It was difficult to completely prevent fraud.

  The present invention has been made in view of the actual situation of the prior art, and its purpose is to reliably prevent an illegal act of playing a game while fixing a rotating ring by a foreign object such as a medal or a coin. It is to provide a launch handle for a ball game machine.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a base body fixed to a gaming machine and protruding forward, a face cover fixed to the front end portion of the base body, and between the base body and the face cover. A rotation ring arranged to be rotatable, a detection element for detecting the rotation of the rotation ring, a launching device for adjusting the launch intensity of the game ball based on an output signal of the detection element, and the rotation A game ball determined according to an output signal of the detection element in a launching handle of a bullet ball gaming machine provided with a touch circuit that detects that a player has touched a moving ring and activates the launching device The control means for periodically changing the emission intensity of the light source and the display means for displaying the change state of the emission intensity determined by the control means are provided.

  In the launching handle of the ball game machine configured as described above, when the player rotates the rotating ring by manual operation, the touch circuit detects the player's contact and activates the launching device. Since a signal corresponding to the rotation angle of the rotation ring is output from the element, it is possible to adjust the launch intensity of the game ball based on the output signal of the detection element. At that time, the control means periodically changes the launch intensity of the game ball determined according to the output signal of the detection element, and the change state of the launch intensity determined by the control means is displayed on the display means. The player needs to correct the rotation position of the rotation ring while viewing the display content of the display means so that the firing intensity of the game ball that changes periodically is kept constant. Therefore, it is necessary for the player to play the game while adjusting the turning ring to the optimum firing angle with his / her hand, and to reliably prevent an illegal act of playing while fixing the turning ring by a foreign object such as a medal or a coin. be able to.

  In the above configuration, the control means may periodically change the launch intensity of the game ball with the same waveform, but the control means periodically changes the launch intensity of the game ball during the symbol change of the special symbol display device. The control to be changed to may be canceled. Alternatively, the control means may periodically change the firing intensity of the game ball with a different waveform according to the lapse of the operation time of the touch circuit. In this case, for example, the amplitude of the waveform (vertical axis as the game time elapses) ) Is shortened or the period (horizontal axis) is lengthened, the adjustment width of the rotating ring can be gradually reduced to reduce the player's fatigue.

  Further, in the above configuration, when the display means can display both the first launch intensity determined according to the output signal of the detection element and the second launch intensity determined by the control means, The player can easily adjust the rotation ring to the optimum firing position while viewing the first and second firing intensities.

  In the launching handle of the ball game machine according to the present invention, when the touch circuit detects the player's contact and activates the launching device, the pivoting ring is pivoted to rotate the pivoting ring from the detection element. When a signal according to the amount of movement is output, the control means periodically changes the launch intensity of the game ball determined according to the output signal of the detection element, and the change state of the launch intensity determined by this control means Is displayed on the display means, so that the player needs to adjust the rotation position of the rotation ring while viewing the display content of the display means so as to keep the firing intensity of the periodically changing game ball constant. . Therefore, the player must always play the game while adjusting the rotation ring to the optimum firing angle with his / her hand, and reliably prevent illegal acts such as playing with the rotation ring fixed by a foreign object such as a medal or coin. can do.

  An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ball game machine equipped with a firing handle according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the firing handle, and FIG. Is a sectional view of the firing handle, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the firing handle, FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a firing control device provided in the firing handle, and FIG. 6 is a display content of a display device provided in the firing handle. It is explanatory drawing shown.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a ball game machine according to the present embodiment includes a machine frame 1 installed in an island facility of a game arcade, and a front frame 2 attached to the machine frame 1 so as to be openable and closable in a door shape. A front board having a game board 3 housed in the front frame 2, a glass frame 4 attached to the front surface of the front frame 2 so as to be openable and closable, and a tray 5 disposed on the lower side of the front frame 2 6 and a launching handle 7 attached to the front board 6, and the like so that game balls stored in the tray 5 are launched toward the game area of the game board 3 using the launching handle 7. It has become.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the firing handle 7 includes a base body 8 that is attached to the front board 6 and protrudes forward, and a conical face cover 9 that is fixed to the front end of the base body 8. And a rotation ring 10 that is rotatably disposed between the base body 8 and the face cover 9 and is rotated manually by a player. The launch intensity of the game ball is adjusted accordingly.

  The base body 8 has a cylindrical main body portion 8a that protrudes forward from the front board 6 and a circular substrate portion 8b that protrudes radially outward from the front end of the main body portion 8a. Is formed with a cylindrical jetty 8c protruding forward. A support protrusion 8d and a plurality of support columns 8e are projected from the front surface of the substrate portion 8b, and a bearing tube portion 8f is formed at the center of the substrate portion 8b. A detection switch 11 is mounted on the front surface of the substrate portion 8b, and a part of the actuator 11a for operating the detection switch 11 protrudes outward from the cylindrical jetty 8c. This detection switch 11 is an electrical component that outputs a game ball launch stop signal. When a player presses the actuator 11a during a game, the game ball launch is temporarily stopped. Further, a rotary volume 12 is mounted on the rear end surface of the substrate portion 8b, and the rotary shaft of the rotary volume 12 projects forward through the substrate portion 8b. The rotary volume 12 is a detection element that detects the amount of rotation of the rotary ring 10, and the launcher motor described later controls the rotational driving force of the striking rod based on the output signal of the rotary volume 12. Thus, the launch intensity of the game ball is adjusted.

  A cylindrical bearing portion 9a that protrudes rearward from the center and a plurality of leg portions 9b that protrude rearward from the periphery of the bearing portion 9a are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the face cover 9. The base body 8 and the face cover 9 are integrated with each other by inserting screws (not shown) from the back side of the substrate portion 8b into the respective pillars 8e and screwing them to the leg portions 9b. However, an annular space having a predetermined width is defined between the rear end face of the face cover 9 and the cylindrical jetty 8c of the base body 8, and a part of the rotating ring 10 can be rotated from the annular space. Exposed.

  The rotating ring 10 includes an operation portion 10a that protrudes outward from the annular space, a cylindrical portion 10b that protrudes forward from the front end surface of the operation portion 10a, and the like, and an inner region of the cylindrical portion 10b. Is a base portion 10c. A transmission body 14 is fixed to the rear end surface of the base body portion 10c by screwing or the like, and the transmission body 14 has a shaft portion 14a that protrudes rearward along the rotation center axis of the rotation ring 10. The distal end portion of the shaft portion 14 a is rotatably supported by the bearing tube portion 8 f of the base body 8, and the transmission body 14 functions as a rotating shaft that pivotally supports the rotating ring 10 on the base body 8. A gear portion (not shown) is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 14a, and the gear 13 is engaged with the gear portion. The gear 13 is attached to the rotary shaft of the rotary volume 12 described above, whereby the rotation of the rotating ring 10 is transmitted to the rotary volume 12 via the transmission body 14 and the gear 13.

  Further, a rotation support shaft 10d is formed on the front end surface of the base portion 10c so as to protrude forward, and the rotation support shaft 10d and the shaft portion 14a of the transmission body 14 are arranged on the same line. The distal end portion of the rotation support shaft 10d is rotatably supported by the bearing portion 9a of the face cover 9, and the rotation ring 10 is rotated around the rotation support shaft 10d and the shaft portion 14a. A pair of arc-shaped holes 10e and a spring receiving projection 10f are formed in the base portion 10c, and the support protrusions 8d and the support columns 8e of the base body 8 are inserted into the face cover 9 through the arc-shaped holes 10e. Has reached. As a result, the rotation ring 10 can be rotated within a predetermined angle range with respect to the base body 8 and the face cover 9, and the rotation range of the rotation ring 10 is the both ends in the circumferential direction of the arc-shaped hole 10e. Is defined by contacting the support 8e. The rotating support shaft 10d holds a winding portion 15a of the torsion spring 15. The pair of arms protruding from the winding portion 15a are the support protrusion 8d of the base body 8 and the spring receiver of the rotating ring 10. It is respectively latched by the protrusion 10f. Thereby, the rotation ring 10 is urged to the initial position in the rotation direction by the elastic force of the torsion spring 15. Further, a plurality of finger holding portions 10g are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the operation portion 10a at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction so that these finger holding portions 10g do not protrude from both front and rear end faces of the operation portion 10a. The same width as the operation unit 10a is set.

  The rotating ring 10 is a resin molded product molded using an insulating synthetic resin, and its outer surface is covered with a highly conductive plating layer made of chromium or the like. A capacitor 16 in contact with the plating layer is attached to the rear end surface of the base portion 10 c, and the capacitor 16 is connected to the touch circuit 17. The touch circuit 17 detects that a player has touched the rotating ring 10, and an operation signal is output from the touch circuit 17 when the player contacts the surface of the rotating ring 10. As shown in FIG. 5, the output signals of the touch circuit 17 and the rotary volume 12 described above are input to the control unit 18, and the control unit 18 outputs the launching device 19 and the display device 20 based on these output signals. Each outputs a desired control signal.

  That is, when the touch circuit 17 is turned on by contact of the player with the rotating ring 10, the control unit 18 supplies power to a motor (not shown) of the launching device 19 based on the operation signal of the touch circuit 17 to launch the firing handle. 7 is ready to fire. In this state, when a rotation information signal is output from the rotary volume 12 in accordance with the rotation operation of the rotation ring 10, the control unit 18 launches a game ball determined according to the rotation information signal of the rotary volume 12. A waveform shaping process is executed on the strength, and the firing strength of the game ball is periodically changed over time. At the same time, the control unit 18 outputs a drive signal to the display device 20, and displays the change state of the firing intensity determined by the control unit 18 on the display device 20, as shown in FIG. In the same figure, the symbol P indicates the launch intensity of the game ball determined based on the rotation information signal of the rotary volume 12, and when the player adjusts the turning angle of the turning ring 10, the launch intensity is accordingly increased. P moves up and down in the level meter. Reference symbol A indicates a waveform of the firing intensity that is periodically changed by the control unit 18, and the launching intensity of the game ball gradually changes with time. The period and amplitude of the waveform A can be arbitrarily set. In this embodiment, one period (horizontal axis) of the waveform A is set to about 20 minutes and the amplitude (vertical axis) is set to about 3.5 levels. is there.

  Now, when the player operates the turning ring 10 to adjust the firing strength P of the game ball to an arbitrary level, for example, level “7” as shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 18 launches as described above. If a periodic change in intensity is not executed, the game ball will be continuously fired while maintaining a firing intensity of level “7”. However, in the launch handle 7 according to the present embodiment example, the control unit 18 periodically changes the launch intensity of the game ball as shown by the waveform A. Therefore, the launch intensity P adjusted to the level “7” increases with time. Move up and down. Therefore, if the rotation angle of the rotation ring 10 is corrected so that the firing strength P is maintained at the level “7” while looking at the level meter, the game ball is continuously launched at the launch strength intended by the player. Can do. In addition, when the player adjusts the firing strength P of the game ball to another level, for example, level “8” or level “5”, the control unit 18 changes the launch strength of the game ball as waveforms B and C. In this case, if the rotation angle of the rotation ring 10 is corrected so that the firing strength P is maintained at the initial level, the game ball is continuously launched at the firing strength intended by the player. be able to. The display device 20 is preferably installed at a place where the player can easily see, for example, at an appropriate position on the game board 3 or the glass frame 4.

  In the ball game machine configured as described above, first, when the player presses the palm against the face cover 9 and grasps the operation portion 10a of the rotating ring 10 with a finger, the touch circuit 17 detects the player's contact. Then, the control unit 18 outputs a drive signal to the launching device 19 based on the operation signal, so that electric power is supplied to the motor of the launching device 19 so that the launching is possible. In this state, when the player's fingertip is pressed against the finger holding portion 10g of the operation portion 10a to rotate the rotation ring 10, the rotation of the rotation ring 10 is transmitted to the rotary volume 12 through the gear 13. A rotation information signal corresponding to the rotation amount of the rotation ring 10 is input from the rotary volume 12 to the control unit 18. The control unit 18 outputs a control signal to the motor of the launching device 19 based on the rotation information signal, and the motor rotates the striking rod (not shown) according to the control signal, so that the game balls stored in the tray 5 are stored. Is fired toward the game area of the game board 3 with an arbitrary firing strength in accordance with the amount of rotation of the rotation ring 10.

  At this time, since the control unit 18 executes the waveform shaping process on the launch intensity of the game ball determined according to the rotation information signal of the rotary volume 12, as shown by the waveforms A, B, and C in FIG. The launch intensity of the sphere changes periodically over time. Therefore, if the rotation angle of the rotation ring 10 is adjusted (corrected) so that the emission intensity P is maintained at a constant level while looking at the level meter of the display device 20, the controller 18 controls the motor of the emission device 19. On the other hand, an appropriate control signal is output, and the game ball can be maintained at the firing intensity intended by the player. In other words, even if the game is continued while the rotation ring 10 is fixed at the optimum launch angle using a foreign object such as a medal or a coin, the launch intensity of the game ball periodically changes as the game time elapses. The player needs to play the game while adjusting the rotation ring 10 to the optimum firing angle with his / her hand, and can reliably prevent an illegal act of playing the game while fixing the rotation ring by the foreign object being caught.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the control unit 18 always changes the firing intensity of the game ball determined according to the rotation information signal of the rotary volume 12 with a waveform having the same period during the game has been described. 18 may change the firing intensity of the game ball with a waveform having a different period as the game time elapses. For example, if the waveform amplitude (vertical axis) is gradually shortened as the game time elapses, or the waveform period (horizontal axis) is gradually increased as the game time elapses, the rate of change in the firing intensity per unit time is Since it gradually decreases with time, the adjustment width of the rotating ring 10 can be gradually reduced to reduce the player's fatigue.

  Further, when the ball game machine has a special symbol display device (not shown) in the game area of the game board 3, the periodic change in the firing intensity by the control unit 18 is canceled only during the symbol variation of the special symbol display device. In other cases, the control unit 18 may execute control to periodically change the emission intensity.

It is a perspective view of a bullet ball game machine provided with a launching handle according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the firing handle. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the firing handle. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the firing handle. It is a block diagram of the firing control device with which the firing handle is provided. It is explanatory drawing which shows the display content of the display apparatus with which this launching handle is equipped.

Explanation of symbols

6 Front board 7 Launch handle 8 Base body 9 Face cover 10 Rotating ring 10a Operation unit 10g Finger holding unit 12 Rotary volume (detection element)
13 Gear 15 Torsion Spring 16 Capacitor 17 Touch Circuit 18 Control Unit 19 Launching Device 20 Display Device

Claims (4)

A base body fixed to the gaming machine and projecting forward; a face cover fixed to the front end of the base body; and a rotation ring rotatably disposed between the base body and the face cover; A detection element for detecting the rotation of the rotation ring, a launching device for adjusting the launch intensity of the game ball based on an output signal of the detection element, and detecting that a player has touched the rotation ring In the launch handle of a ball game machine with a touch circuit that activates the launch device,
Control means for periodically changing the launch intensity of the game ball determined according to the output signal of the detection element, and display means for displaying a change state of the launch intensity determined by the control means are provided. The launch handle of the bullet ball machine.   2. The firing handle of a bullet ball game machine according to claim 1, wherein the control means cancels the control for periodically changing the firing strength of the game ball during the symbol variation of the special symbol display device.   2. The firing handle of a bullet ball game machine according to claim 1, wherein the control means periodically changes the firing strength of the game ball with a different waveform according to the lapse of the operation time of the touch circuit.   4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit includes a first launch intensity determined according to an output signal of the detection element and a second launch intensity determined by the control unit. A launch handle of a ball game machine characterized by being capable of displaying both.

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