JP2009189477A - Container body, ball circulation device and game apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent ball clogging in a container body where balls are supplied and discharged. <P>SOLUTION: The container body 22, where the balls are supplied and discharged, is provided with a ball supply part 30 in the outer circumferential part, a ball falling hole 31 at the central part, and a spiral ball guide passage 32. The ball guide passage 32 has a lower face 32a and an outer wall face 32b, and is gradually inclined and lowered from the side of the ball supply part 30 toward the ball falling hole 31. The ball falling hole 31 is continuously connected to the dead end of the lower face 32a of the ball guide passage 32 and formed on the spiral trajectory of the lower face 32b. The circumference of the ball falling hole 31 excluding the side of the lower face 32a of the ball guide passage 32 is covered with a wall face 31a. The wall face 31a is continuously connected to the dead end of the outer wall face 32b of the ball guide passage 32, and the upper end of the wall face 31a is formed into the same to or higher height than that of the dead end of the outer wall face 32b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a container, a ball circulation device including the container, and a game device including the ball circulation device.

  Conventionally, a game apparatus installed in a game center includes a medal pusher game apparatus, for example. In this medal pusher game device, for example, when a player inserts a medal into a specific field, the medal pressed by the pusher reciprocating on the field falls from the field, and the dropped medal is paid out to the player. If it goes well, the player can acquire more than the number of cards he has inserted.

  Some medal pusher game devices of this type have a lottery function using, for example, a ball in order to further improve playability (see Patent Document 1). For example, when a medal inserted from a medal inserter passes a medal chucker, the lottery device slot rotates, and when a predetermined combination is achieved, a ball is supplied to a field where a large number of medals are accumulated. . This metal pusher game device is provided with a ball supply device for supplying and discharging the ball to and from the field.

JP 2002-253842 A

  By the way, in a game device using a ball such as the above-mentioned medal pusher device, the ball is thrown into the outer periphery as shown in FIG. It can be proposed to arrange a funnel-shaped container 100. Thereby, the playability using the ball | bowl in a game device and presentation property can be improved.

  However, in the game device as described above, it is conceivable to supply and discharge a large number of balls continuously in consideration of, for example, performance. In this case, if a funnel-shaped container as described above is simply used, it is conceivable that two or more balls try to enter the dropping port at the same time, for example, in the vicinity of the dropping port at the center of the container. When the ball is clogged, it is necessary to immediately stop the game device and remove the ball by the worker.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this point, and it aims at preventing the ball | bowl clogging of the container which can be used for the game apparatus etc. which used the above balls.

  The present invention for achieving the above object is a container into which a ball is thrown in and discharged, a ball throwing portion for throwing the ball into the outer peripheral portion, a ball dropping port for dropping the ball from the central portion, and the ball throwing portion A ball guide path that spirally guides the ball thrown into the outer peripheral portion from the ball into the center, and the ball guide path includes a lower surface on which the ball rolls and an outer side of the ball that rolls on the lower surface. And has an outer wall surface that is inclined so as to gradually become lower from the ball insertion portion side toward the ball drop port, and the ball drop port is continuously connected to the end of the lower surface of the ball guide path Formed on a spiral trajectory of the lower surface, and the periphery of the ball dropping port except for the lower surface side of the ball guide path is covered with a wall surface, and the wall surface is continuous with the end of the outer wall surface of the ball guide path. In Is continued, the upper end of said wall, characterized in that it is equal to or formed higher than the end of the outer wall surface. Note that the “center portion” includes a center periphery that is shifted from the center of the container.

  According to the present invention, the periphery of the ball drop opening except for the lower surface side of the ball guiding path is covered with the wall surface, and the upper end of the wall surface is formed to be equal to or higher than the end of the outer wall surface of the ball guiding path. Therefore, the movement of the ball guided to the ball drop opening is strictly limited by the wall surface. For example, the ball does not collide with the wall surface of the ball drop port, bounce off, get over the wall surface, and be returned to the ball guide path side. As a result, even if the balls are continuously thrown in, the balls fall sequentially without changing the order of the balls at the ball drop opening, so that, for example, the previous ball and the subsequent ball try to enter the ball drop opening at the same time. Clogging is prevented.

  The ball dropping port may be formed to have a diameter that is greater than 1.5 times the diameter of the ball and less than 2.0 times in the spiral trajectory direction. In such a case, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, when the balls are continuously supplied, when the previous ball C1 starts to fall from the ball drop opening H, the center of gravity G of the next ball C2 becomes the ball drop opening. Located on H. For this reason, a force acts diagonally downward in the traveling direction on the next ball C2, thereby pushing the previous ball C1 diagonally downward. As a result, the previous ball C1 does not bounce off the wall surface of the ball drop opening H and return to the ball guide path side, and the ball can be more reliably prevented from being clogged. Further, since the diameter of the ball drop opening H is less than 2.0 times that of the ball, for example, the previous ball C1 and the next ball C2 do not fall into the ball drop opening H almost at the same time. It can also prevent clogging.

  The container may further include ball deceleration means for decelerating the ball thrown from the ball throwing portion. In such a case, since the ball is decelerated, the ball is properly guided along the ball guide path. Further, the ball is prevented from bouncing off the wall surface of the ball drop opening. As a result, ball clogging can be prevented more reliably.

  The ball speed reducing means may include a friction plate having a friction coefficient larger than that of the lower surface of the ball guiding path, and the friction plate may be provided on the lower surface.

  The ball speed reducing means further includes a contact member that contacts an outer surface of a ball rolling on the ball guiding path, and a part of the friction plate is located on an inner side than a lower surface of the ball guiding path provided with the friction plate. The contact member may be protruded to contact the outer surface of the ball rolling on the inner ball guide path. In such a case, since the ball can be decelerated at two locations on the ball guide path using a single friction plate, the ball can be decelerated effectively while suppressing the number of parts.

  The lower surface of the ball guiding path may be inclined outward so that the outer wall surface side is lowered.

  The above-described container may further include a guide portion for preventing a ball to be guided from the outermost ball guiding path to the inner ball guiding path from climbing on the outermost ball guiding path.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a ball circulation device having the above-described container, a ball moving path connected to the ball throwing portion of the container, and a ball dropping port, and circulating the ball through the container and the ball moving path. Provided.

  Moreover, according to this invention from another viewpoint, the game device provided with the said circulation device is provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent clogging of a container into which a ball is inserted and discharged.

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

  The container according to the present invention is mounted on a game apparatus 1 as shown in FIG. The game apparatus 1 is a medal pusher game apparatus, for example, and has an event function using, for example, a ball. The game apparatus 1 is configured by a large cylindrical casing 10 as a whole, and a plurality of satellites 11 are equally arranged in the circumferential direction of the casing 10. The satellite 11 is provided with a field 12 on which a large number of medals are placed, a medal pusher 13 that reciprocates on the field 12 and drops the medals into a groove, a medal insertion machine 14 that inserts medals on the field 12, and the like. ing. The player can play medals by inserting medals in the satellite 11 and receiving medals.

  In the housing 10, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of courses capable of continuously transferring a plurality of balls are provided. For example, a part of the plurality of courses is a circulation course 20 as a ball circulation device. The circulation course 20 includes, for example, a U-shaped rail 21 on which the ball rolls, a container 22 according to the present embodiment, and a lifter 23 that is connected in the middle of the rail 21 and carries the ball from the lower part to the upper part. In the present embodiment, the rail 21 and the lifter 23 constitute a ball moving path.

  The lifter 23 has two ascending paths A and B as shown in FIG. The rail 21 includes, for example, a first rail 21 a that connects the end of the lift path A of the lifter 23 and the container 22, a second rail 21 b that connects the container 22 and the start end of the lift path B of the lifter 23, and the lift of the lifter 23. A third rail 21c that connects the end of the path B and the start of the ascending path A is provided. With this configuration, a circulation course 20 is formed that passes through the first rail 21a, the container 22, the second rail 21b, the ascending path B, the third rail 21c, and the ascending path A in order, and returns to the first rail 21a.

  For example, a seesaw-type ball storage section 24 is formed on the first rail 21 a on the upstream side of the container 22. The balls rolling on the first rail 21a are temporarily stored in the ball storage unit 24, and when a predetermined number of balls are stored, the seesaw falls due to the weight, and the balls flow into the container 22. Therefore, a plurality of balls are put into the container 22 continuously.

  The circulation course 20 is connected to a course for supplementing the circulation course 20 with a ball, a course for supplying the ball on the circulation course 20 to a predetermined satellite 11 at an event, and the like. The container 22 is also connected with another course 25 for dropping the ball into the container 22 from above.

  In such a game apparatus 1, for example, the balls are accumulated in the circulation course 20 according to the number of inserted medals by the player, and the balls of the circulation course 20 are supplied to the field 12 of the satellite 11 of a specific player at a predetermined event. Is done. Then, the medals on the field 12 are pushed down by the supplied balls and fall into the grooves, and medals are paid out, or medals are paid out according to the number of balls collected from the field 12.

  Next, the configuration of the container 22 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the container 22 has a substantially circular shape when viewed from above, and generally has a funnel shape that gradually becomes deeper from the outer peripheral portion side toward the central portion side. On the outer peripheral wall 22 a of the container 22, a ball throwing portion 30 for throwing the ball C toward the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral portion of the container 22 is formed. The above-described first rail 21 a is connected to the ball throwing portion 30. A ball drop port 31 through which the ball is dropped is formed at the center of the container 22. The second rail 21b is connected to the ball drop opening 31.

  A spiral ball guiding path 32 is formed on the surface of the container 22 from the outer peripheral portion toward the ball dropping port 31 in the central portion. The ball guiding path 32 is inclined so as to gradually become lower from the outer peripheral portion toward the central portion.

  The ball guide path 32 has a lower surface 32a on which the ball C rolls and an outer wall surface 32b surrounding the outside of the rolling ball C. The lower surface 32a is slightly inclined so that the outer side is lowered. The outer wall surface 32b is formed substantially perpendicular to the outer end portion of the lower surface 32a. In the ball guide paths 32 adjacent to each other in the radial direction, the substantially horizontal lower surface 32a of the inner ball guide path 32, the substantially vertical outer wall surface 32b, and the substantially horizontal lower surface 32a of the outer ball guide path 32 are continuous. Connected and formed in steps. For this reason, the lower surface 32a of the ball guiding path 32 having the ball guiding path 32 on the inner side is formed with a wall only on the outer side.

  The ball throwing part 30 is formed at a position higher than the lower surface 32 a of the outermost ball guiding path 32, and the ball C thrown from the ball throwing part 30 falls on the lower face 32 a of the ball guiding path 32.

  The ball drop port 31 is continuously connected to the terminal end of the lower surface 32a of the ball guiding path 32, and is formed on the spiral locus of the lower surface 32a. Therefore, the ball C guided spirally by the ball guiding path 32 falls as it follows the spiral trajectory. The ball drop opening 31 is formed at a position slightly shifted from the center of the container 22.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the ball dropping opening 31 has a diameter D that is more than 1.5 times the diameter of the ball C and less than 2.0 times in the spiral trajectory direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the ball drop port 31 is covered with a wall surface 31 a except for the lower surface 32 a side of the ball guide path 32. The wall surface 31 a is continuously connected to the end of the outer wall surface 32 b of the ball guiding path 32. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the upper end of the wall surface 31a is formed at the same height as the upper end of the end E of the outer wall surface 32b. Accordingly, the height of the upper end of the outer wall surface 32b gradually decreases from the start end toward the end E, but the upper end height is maintained in the wall surface 31a connected thereto.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a friction plate 40 as a ball speed reducing unit is attached to the lower surface 32 a of the outermost ball guiding path 32. The friction plate 40 is provided at a position where the ball C thrown from the ball throwing portion 30 falls. The friction plate 40 is larger than at least the friction coefficient of the lower surface 32a, and the speed of the ball C can be reduced by friction. Further, the friction plate 40 is made of, for example, an elastic material such as rubber, and can reduce the impact when the ball C falls. The friction plate 40 is formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape, the short upper base 40a is directed outward, and the long upper base 40b as a contact member is directed inward. The long upper base 40b protrudes inward from the lower surface 32a of the outermost ball guiding path 32. For example, the friction plate 40 is formed such that the straight line of the long upper base 40b passes from the outermost lower surface 32a through the inner lower surface 32a to reach the outermost lower surface 32a again. In other words, the long upper base 40 b is disposed at a position of a substantially circular string formed by the inner ball guiding path 32. The outer surface of the ball C passing through the inner ball guide path 32 is in contact with the long upper base 40b.

  On the outer peripheral wall 22 a of the container 22, there is a guide portion 50 that prevents the ball C to be guided from the outermost ball guiding path 32 to the inner ball guiding path 32 from riding on the outermost ball guiding path 32. Is provided. The guide part 50 is formed so as to protrude inward from the outer peripheral wall 22a of the container 22, for example.

  Next, the operation of the container 22 configured as described above will be described. First, in the game apparatus 1, a large number of balls C are circulated through the circulation course 20 during the execution of the game, and a plurality of balls C are thrown into the container 22 continuously and irregularly. The ball C thrown from the ball throwing portion 30 falls on the friction plate 40 of the outermost ball guiding path 32 as shown in FIG. At this time, the impact is reduced by the elasticity of the friction plate 40. Thereafter, the ball C passes through the friction plate 40 and is decelerated. Thereafter, the ball C is guided along the ball guide path 32. At this time, the ball C is guided along the outer wall surface 32b by the centrifugal force and the inclination to the outside of the lower surface 32a. The ball C comes into contact with the long upper bottom 40b of the friction plate 40 in the second round of the spiral and is decelerated again. Thereafter, the ball C reaches the end of the ball guiding path 32 and falls from the ball dropping port 31. At this time, the ball C is strictly limited by the wall surface 31 a of the ball dropping port 31 and falls to the ball dropping port 31 in order. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, when the previous ball C1 starts to fall, the center of gravity G of the next continuous ball C2 is on the ball drop opening H (31), and the previous ball C1 It is pushed diagonally downward by the ball C2 and is prevented from bouncing upward or in the direction of the ball guiding path 32.

  According to the above embodiment, the periphery of the ball drop opening 31 except for the lower surface 32 a side of the ball guide path 32 is covered with the wall surface 31 a, and the upper end of the wall surface 31 a is the outer wall surface 32 b of the ball guide path 32. Therefore, the movement of the ball C guided to the ball drop opening 31 is strictly limited by the wall surface 31a. For example, the ball C does not collide with the wall surface 31a of the ball drop port 31 and bounce off, get over the wall surface 31a and be returned to the ball guiding path 32 side. Thereby, even if the balls C are continuously thrown in, the balls C sequentially fall without changing the order of the balls C at the ball drop opening 31, so that, for example, the previous ball and the next ball are simultaneously dropped into the ball drop opening 31. The ball is prevented from clogging when trying to enter.

  In the above embodiment, the height of the upper end of the wall surface 31a is the same as the height of the end E of the outer wall surface 32b of the ball guiding path 32, but may be higher than that.

  In the above embodiment, the ball drop opening 31 is formed so as to have a diameter D that is more than 1.5 times the diameter of the ball C and less than 2.0 times in the spiral trajectory direction. As described above, the previous ball C1 is pushed obliquely downward by the next ball C2 when dropped. For this reason, the front ball C1 does not bounce off the wall surface 31a of the ball drop port 31 and return to the ball guiding path 32 side, and ball clogging can be prevented more reliably. Further, since the diameter D of the ball drop port 31 is less than 2.0 times the ball, for example, the previous ball C1 and the next ball C2 do not fall into the ball drop port 31 almost simultaneously, Ball clogging can also be prevented.

  Since the friction plate 40 is provided on the lower surface 32a of the ball guiding path 32, the speed of the ball is reduced. As a result, the ball C is properly guided along the ball guide path 32. Further, the ball C is prevented from bouncing off on the wall surface 31 a of the ball drop opening 31. As a result, ball clogging can be prevented more reliably.

  The friction plate 40 is provided at a position where the ball thrown from the ball throwing portion 30 falls. In such a case, the ball C falls on the friction plate 40 when thrown, and then rolls onto the lower surface 32a of the ball guide path 32 without the friction plate 40. On the other hand, if the friction plate 40 is not at the drop position of the ball C, the ball C once falls on the ball guide path 32 without the friction plate 40 and then passes over the friction plate 40. That is, when the friction plate 40 is provided at the drop position of the ball C as in the present embodiment, the ball C does not hit the friction plate 40 with a thickness and bounce during rolling. Therefore, the ball C can be decelerated without hindering the rolling of the ball C.

  Further, since the friction plate 40 is formed of an elastic material, the ball deceleration capability of the friction plate 40 is increased. Further, the impact due to the drop of the ball C is relieved, and the deterioration and damage of the ball C and the container 22 can be prevented.

  The long upper base 40b of the friction plate 40 protrudes inward from the lower surface of the outermost ball guiding path 32 and is in contact with the outer surface of the ball rolling on the inner ball guiding path 32. It can be decelerated. In addition, since the ball C can be decelerated at two locations on the ball guide path 32 by using one friction plate 40, the ball C can be decelerated effectively while suppressing the number of parts. Further, since the long upper base 40b of the friction plate 40 is located on the substantially circular string of the inner ball guiding path 32 and protrudes in a crescent shape, the outer surface of the ball C smoothly contacts the long upper base 40b, The rolling of the ball C is not disturbed. Therefore, it is possible to properly guide the ball C while decelerating the ball C also on the inner ball guide path 32.

  Since the lower surface 32a of the ball guiding path 32 is inclined outward so that the outer wall surface 32b side is lowered, the ball C is guided along the outer wall surface 32b by the inclination and centrifugal force. Thereby, the ball C is reliably guided by the ball drop opening 31.

  Since the guide portion 50 is formed on the outer peripheral wall of the container 22, the ball C to be guided from the outermost ball guide path 32 to the inner ball guide path 32 rides on the outermost ball guide path 32. Can be prevented. As a result, the ball C is properly guided.

  Further, in the above-described game apparatus 1, since a large number of balls C are supplied to the container 22 continuously and irregularly, the effect of using the container 22 according to the present invention in the game apparatus 1 is great.

  Note that the friction plate 40 described in the above embodiment does not necessarily have to be in the ball drop position, and the effect of suppressing the ball clogging can be obtained even in other portions on the ball guide path 32. Further, the contact member that contacts the outer surface of the ball C and the friction plate 40 may be separate. Further, the friction plate and the contact member may be provided at a plurality of locations, respectively.

  In the above embodiment, the friction plate 40 is provided on the lower surface 32a of the ball guide path 32 to decelerate the ball C. However, the ball C may be decelerated by providing an uneven portion on the lower surface 32a as a ball decelerating means. . For example, the concavo-convex portion may be a hole 60 formed in the lower surface 32a of the ball guiding path 32 as shown in FIG. The holes 60 are formed at a plurality of locations as long holes perpendicular to the spiral direction of the ball guide path 32, for example. Also in this case, the ball C is decelerated by the hole 60, and the ball clogging at the ball drop opening 31 is suppressed.

  In the above example, the hole 60 may be a long hole that is long in the spiral direction of the ball guiding path 32. Further, the uneven portion is not limited to the hole 60, and may be a hole having another shape, or may be convex with respect to the lower surface 32a of a plate or the like. Further, the uneven portion may be a combination of a concave shape such as a hole and a convex shape such as a plate.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the ideas described in the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood that it belongs.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the ball circulation device is configured by the container 22, the rail 21, and the lifter 23, but the configuration of the ball circulation device is not limited to this. Further, such a ball circulation device is not limited to the game device 1 described above, and may be applied to other game devices using balls. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to a game device, and can be applied to a ball circulation device such as a viewing object for circulating a ball.

It is a perspective view of the whole game device. It is the perspective view which showed the circulation course in the housing | casing of a game device. It is a schematic diagram of a circulation course. It is a perspective view of a container. It is a top view of a container. It is explanatory drawing which shows the height of the wall surface of a ball | bowl drop opening. It is a perspective view of a container showing the state where a plurality of balls were thrown continuously. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that two continuous balls fall in a ball | bowl drop opening. It is a perspective view of a container when a hole is formed in a ball guide path. It is explanatory drawing which shows the container before improvement.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Game equipment 20 Circulation course 21 Rail 22 Container 23 Lifter 30 Ball insertion part 31 Ball drop opening 31a Wall surface 32 Ball guide path 32a Lower surface 32b Outer wall surface 40 Friction plate 50 Guide part C ball

Claims (9)

A container into which a ball is thrown in and out,
A ball throwing portion for throwing the ball into the outer periphery,
A ball drop opening for dropping the ball from the center,
A ball guiding path that guides the balls thrown from the ball throwing portion to the outer peripheral portion in a spiral manner to the ball dropping port in the central portion;
The ball guide path has a lower surface on which the ball rolls and an outer wall surface covering the outside of the ball rolling on the lower surface, and is inclined so as to gradually become lower from the ball insertion portion side toward the ball dropping port,
The ball drop opening is continuously connected to the end of the lower surface of the ball guiding path, and is formed on a spiral locus of the lower surface,
The periphery of the ball drop opening except the lower surface side of the ball guide path is covered with a wall surface,
The container is characterized in that the wall surface is continuously connected to the end of the outer wall surface of the ball guiding path, and the upper end of the wall surface is formed to be equal to or higher than the end of the outer wall surface.   2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the ball drop opening is formed to have a diameter of more than 1.5 times and less than 2.0 times the diameter of the ball in the spiral trajectory direction. .   The container according to claim 1, further comprising ball decelerating means for decelerating the ball thrown from the ball throwing portion. The ball deceleration means has a friction plate having a friction coefficient larger than that of the lower surface of the ball guiding path,
The container according to claim 3, wherein the friction plate is provided on the lower surface. The ball deceleration means has a contact member that contacts an outer surface of a ball rolling on the ball guide path,
A part of the friction plate protrudes inward from the lower surface of the ball guiding path provided with the friction plate to constitute the contact member, and contacts the outer surface of the ball rolling on the inner ball guiding path. The container according to claim 4, wherein the container is characterized.   The container according to claim 1, wherein a lower surface of the ball guiding path is inclined outward so that an outer wall surface side is lowered.   The guide according to claim 1, further comprising a guide portion for preventing a ball to be guided from the outermost ball guiding path to the inner ball guiding path from climbing on the outermost ball guiding path. The container according to any one of the above. The container according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A ball moving path connected to the ball throwing portion and the ball dropping port of the container;
A ball circulation device for circulating a ball through the container and the ball moving path.   A game device comprising the ball circulation device according to claim 8.