JP2013056044A - Game ball lifting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game ball lifting device that prevents a game ball from being caught even if game balls are intermittently supplied onto an endless belt.SOLUTION: The game ball lifting device 20 includes a first belt conveyor 30 with a first endless belt 34 stretched in a ring shape on a first pulley 31 for conveying game balls placed on the first endless belt 34; and a second belt conveyor 40 with a second endless belt 44 stretched in a ring shape on a second pulley 41 for receiving and lifting game balls conveyed on the first endless belt 34 on the second endless belt 44. A plurality of cross rails 35 and 45 are formed at predetermined pitches on the outer periphery of the first and second endless belts 34 and 44, respectively. A gap between the cross rails 35 on the first endless belt 34 serves as a first storage part 36 for storing a game ball, and a gap between the cross rails 45 on the second endless belt 44 serves as a second storage part 46 for storing a game ball. The first endless belt 34 and the second endless belt 44 synchronously rotate so that a game ball stored in the first storage part 36 is conveyed to the second storage part 46.

Description

  The present invention relates to a game ball lifting device for lifting a game ball.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a game ball lifting device that lifts a game ball such as a pachinko ball, a device including a pair of upper and lower pulleys and an endless belt that is looped around a pair of pulleys and rotated is known. On the outer periphery of the endless belt, a plurality of horizontal rails are formed at a predetermined pitch in the circumferential direction, and game balls are accommodated in the gaps between adjacent horizontal rails (see Patent Document 1).

JP-A-5-237259

By the way, in the game ball lifting device described in Patent Document 1, an alignment device that aligns and continuously feeds a plurality of game balls to the lower part of the endless belt on the descending side is necessary.
In addition, when the game device is insufficient in the alignment device and the game ball is intermittently fed into the endless belt, the horizontal beam of the endless belt bites the game ball at the game ball receiving portion in the game ball lifting device. There was a case.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and does not require an alignment device that aligns a plurality of game balls on an endless belt and continuously feeds them, and intermittently sends game balls to the endless belt. However, it is an object of the present invention to provide a game ball lifting device that does not cause the game ball to bite.

(First invention)
The first invention of the present invention is:
A first belt conveyor (30) which has a first endless belt (34) which is looped around a plurality of first pulleys (31) and rotates, and carries a game ball on the first endless belt (34). When,
A second endless belt (44) rotating in a ring shape around a plurality of second pulleys (41) is provided, and a game ball conveyed by the first endless belt (34) is transferred to the second endless belt (44). A game ball lifting device (20) comprising a second belt conveyor (40) for receiving and lifting upward,
On the outer circumference of the first endless belt (34) and the second endless belt (44), a plurality of lateral bars (35, 45) projecting outward are formed at a predetermined pitch in the circumferential direction,
The gap between the adjacent cross rails (35) in the first endless belt (34) is a first storage portion (36) that can store game balls,
The gap between the adjacent horizontal rails (45) in the second endless belt (44) serves as a second storage part (46) capable of storing game balls,
The first endless belt (34) and the second endless belt (44) are synchronized so that the game balls stored in the first storage unit (36) are transferred to the second storage unit (46). It is characterized by rotating.

Examples of the game ball include pachinko balls used in pachinko machines (87), Parrot (registered trademark), and the like.
It is desirable that the gap between the adjacent cross rails (35) in the first endless belt (34) is larger than the diameter of the game ball and smaller than twice the diameter of the game ball. Specifically, one game ball may be stored in each first storage section (36). Alternatively, a plurality of game balls may be stored in a row in the width direction of the first endless belt (34) per one first storage section (36).
It is desirable that the gap between the adjacent cross rails (45) in the second endless belt (44) is larger than the diameter of the game ball and smaller than twice the diameter of the game ball. Specifically, one game ball may be stored in one second storage portion (46). Alternatively, a plurality of game balls may be stored in one row in the width direction of the second endless belt (44) per one second storage portion (46).

(Second invention)
Of the present invention, the second invention is characterized in addition to the features of the first invention,
A motor (90) in which one of the first pulley (31) and the second pulley (41) is attached to a drive shaft;
A transmission device (70) for transmitting the power of the motor (90) to either the first pulley (31) or the second pulley (41);
The first pulley (31) and the second pulley (41) rotate synchronously by the operation of the motor (90).

The first pulley (31) may be attached to the drive shaft of the motor (90), or the second pulley (41) may be attached.
When the first pulley (31) is attached to the drive shaft of the motor (90), the transmission device (70) transmits the power of the motor (90) to the second pulley (41) to drive the motor (90). When the second pulley (41) is attached to the shaft, the transmission device (70) transmits the power of the motor (90) to the first pulley (31).
The transmission device (70) may be composed of, for example, a plurality of gears, or may be composed of a timing belt and a timing pulley.

According to the present invention, when the game ball is fed into the first endless belt, the game ball is stored in the first storage portion and conveyed toward the second endless belt. Then, the first endless belt and the second endless belt rotate in synchronization with each other, and the game balls stored in the first storage unit are delivered to the second storage unit. In order to deliver the game ball from the first storage unit to the second storage unit in this way, even if the game ball is intermittently sent to the first endless belt, the second endless portion is received at the game ball receiving portion of the second belt conveyor. The horizontal rail of the belt does not bite the game ball.
Further, in the present invention, even if the game balls are intermittently fed to the first endless belt, the game balls are not bitten by the second endless belt. Therefore, the alignment device described above is unnecessary.

It is a front view which shows the game machine island provided with the game ball lifting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the game ball lifting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the 1st belt conveyor and 2nd belt conveyor which concern on embodiment of this invention partially fractured | ruptured. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which looked at the 1st belt conveyor concerning an embodiment of the invention from the right side. It is a perspective view which shows the motor, 1st pulley, 2nd pulley, and transmission apparatus which concern on embodiment of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, a building called a gaming machine island 80 is constructed in the hall. A pachinko machine 87 using a pachinko ball P as a game ball is installed on the base plate 81 of the gaming machine island 80.
A pachinko ball collection tank 10 for storing pachinko balls P is provided at the lower part of the gaming machine island 80. The pachinko balls P that have entered the winning or out port of the pachinko machine 87 and discharged to the outside flow down the pachinko ball collection passage 89 and are collected in the pachinko ball collection tank 10.
In addition, a counting tray 82 for storing pachinko balls P paid out from the pachinko machine 87 is provided on the front surface of the pachinko machine 87 on the base plate 81 of the gaming machine island 80.

In addition, a pachinko ball sand 83 for paying out a pachinko ball P to the upper plate of the pachinko machine 87 is provided on the left side of the pachinko machine 87 on the base plate 81 of the gaming machine island 80. A pachinko ball counting unit 86 is provided. The pachinko ball counting unit 86 includes a pachinko ball counter 84 that receives and counts the pachinko balls P of the counting tray 82, and a reader / writer 85 that records the count of the pachinko ball counter 84 on an IC card. The pachinko balls P counted by the pachinko ball counter 84 are collected in the pachinko ball collection tank 10.
A pachinko ball supply tank 88 for supplying a pachinko ball P to the pachinko machine 87 and the pachinko ball sand 83 is provided at the upper part of the gaming machine island 80. In addition, at the position on the back side of the pachinko machine 87 on the gaming machine island 80, a game ball lifting device 20 for transporting the pachinko balls P in the pachinko ball collection tank 10 is provided. This game ball lifting device 20 transports the pachinko balls P stored in the pachinko ball collection tank 10 to the pachinko ball supply tank 88.

(Pachinko ball collection tank 10)
As shown in FIG. 2, the pachinko ball collection tank 10 includes a square cylindrical portion 11 that is open in the vertical direction and a bottom plate portion 12 that partitions the internal space of the rectangular cylindrical portion 11 in the vertical direction. In the pachinko ball collection tank 10, at least the rectangular tube portion 11 is formed of a transparent material (for example, synthetic resin).
The rear side wall 13 of the rectangular tube part 11 has a shape in which the substantially right half is recessed in the back direction from the rear side end part of the bottom plate part 12, and the substantially right half of the back side wall 13 and the bottom plate part 12 A gap (hereinafter referred to as “falling hole 14”) is formed between the rear end portion. The space in the front-rear direction of the drop hole 14 is formed slightly larger than the diameter of the pachinko ball P.

A first belt conveyor 30 that carries the pachinko balls P in the pachinko ball collection tank 10 is provided at a position below the drop hole 14 in the internal space of the rectangular tube portion 11.
An inclined surface is formed on the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 12 so that the pachinko balls P roll toward the drop hole 14. As a result, the pachinko balls P collected in the pachinko ball collection tank 10 roll down into the drop holes 14 and are placed on the first belt conveyor 30.
A second belt conveyor 40 that lifts the pachinko balls P carried out by the first belt conveyor 30 to the pachinko ball supply tank 88 is provided at a position on the back side of the rectangular tube portion 11 and on the left side of the first belt conveyor 30. It has been.

At the position between the left end portion of the first belt conveyor 30 and the lower portion of the second belt conveyor 40 in the rectangular tube portion 11, the pachinko balls P carried out by the first belt conveyor 30 are sent out of the pachinko ball collection tank 10 A delivery port 15 is formed.
The second belt conveyor 40 includes a vertically long rectangular cylindrical housing 50. A receiving port 51 (see FIG. 3) for receiving the pachinko balls P sent out from the sending port 15 is formed at a position facing the sending port 15 in the housing 50.
A pachinko ball chute 52 for rolling down the pachinko balls P lifted by the second belt conveyor 40 to the pachinko ball supply tank 88 is provided on the upper right side of the housing 50.

(Game Ball Lifting Device 20)
As shown in FIG. 3, the game ball lifting device 20 is for transporting the pachinko balls P, and includes the first belt conveyor 30 and the second belt conveyor 40 described above.
The first belt conveyor 30 includes two left and right first pulleys 31 and a first endless belt 34 that is looped around the two first pulleys 31 and rotates. The two left and right first pulleys 31 are disposed in the rectangular tube portion 11 in a substantially horizontal direction. The left U-turn portion of the first endless belt 34 is inserted into the delivery port 15 of the pachinko ball collection tank 10 and faces the receiving port 51 of the housing 50. Although not particularly illustrated, a plurality of teeth are formed on the outer periphery of the first pulley 31 at a predetermined pitch, and a plurality of teeth are formed on the inner periphery of the first endless belt 34 at a predetermined pitch. Then, the teeth of the first pulley 31 and the teeth of the first endless belt 34 are engaged with each other, and the first endless belt 34 also rotates as the first pulley 31 rotates. Of the pair of first pulleys 31, the first pulley 31 located on the left side is referred to as a “left first pulley 32”, and the first pulley 31 located on the right side is referred to as a “right first pulley 33”.

  On the outer periphery of the first endless belt 34, a plurality of horizontal bars 35 protruding outward are formed at a predetermined pitch in the circumferential direction. The horizontal bars 35 are provided in the first endless belt 34 at a pitch slightly larger than the diameter of the pachinko ball P, and the gap between the adjacent horizontal bars 35 in the first endless belt 34 is the first that can store the game balls. One storage section 36 is provided. As shown in FIG. 4, the upper horizontal outer peripheral surface of the first endless belt 34 is close to the edge of the drop hole 14 of the pachinko recovery tank, and the horizontal rail 35 formed on the outer peripheral surface is provided with the drop hole 14. Protruding to The height of the horizontal rail 35 from the outer periphery of the first endless belt 34 is formed to be substantially equal to the radius of the pachinko ball P. The width of the first endless belt 34 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the pachinko ball P. The width of the horizontal bar 35 is substantially equal to the width of the first endless belt 34, that is, slightly smaller than the diameter of the pachinko ball P. The distance in the front-rear direction of the drop hole 14 is slightly larger than the diameter of the pachinko, and therefore the crosspiece 35 does not contact the edge of the drop hole 14.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the second belt conveyor 40 includes two upper and lower second pulleys 41 and a second endless belt 44 that loops around the two second pulleys 41 and rotates. The upper and lower second pulleys 41 are disposed in the housing 50 in a substantially vertical direction. The lower U-turn portion of the second endless belt 44 faces the receiving port 51 of the housing 50. In the receiving port 51, the lower U-turn portion of the second endless belt 44 and the left U-turn portion of the first endless belt 34 are close to each other. Although not particularly illustrated, a plurality of teeth are formed on the outer periphery of the second pulley 41 at a predetermined pitch, and a plurality of teeth are formed on the inner periphery of the second endless belt 44 at a predetermined pitch. The teeth of the second pulley 41 and the teeth of the second endless belt 44 are meshed with each other, and the second endless belt 44 rotates as the second pulley 41 rotates. Of the pair of second pulleys 41, the lower second pulley 41 is referred to as a “lower second pulley 42” and the upper second pulley 41 is referred to as an “upper second pulley 43”.

On the outer periphery of the second endless belt 44, a plurality of lateral bars 45 protruding outward are formed at a predetermined pitch in the circumferential direction. The horizontal bars 45 are provided on the second endless belt 44 at a pitch slightly larger than the diameter of the pachinko ball P, and the gap between the adjacent horizontal bars 45 in the second endless belt 44 is the second endless belt 44 that can store a game ball. 2 storage portions 46 are provided. The width of the second endless belt 44 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the pachinko ball P. The width of the horizontal rail 45 is formed to be approximately equal to the width of the second endless belt 44. The height of the horizontal rail 45 from the outer periphery of the second endless belt 44 is formed substantially equal to the radius of the pachinko ball P.
As shown in FIG. 3, a lower guide portion 53 for guiding the game ball received from the first storage portion 36 is formed at a position below the second endless belt 44 inside the housing 50. The lower guide portion 53 has a curved shape corresponding to the lower U-turn portion of the second endless belt 44. In the space surrounded by the upper surface of the lower guide 53, the outer peripheral surface of the lower U-turn portion of the second endless belt 44, and the inner peripheral surface of the housing 50, the pachinko balls P are located under the second endless belt 44. It is a lower curved passage 61 that moves through. The gap between the upper surface of the lower guide portion 53 and the outer peripheral surface of the lower U-turn portion of the second endless belt 44 is formed slightly larger than the diameter of the game ball.

A space surrounded by a substantially vertical outer peripheral surface on the left side of the second endless belt 44 and an inner peripheral surface of the housing 50 includes a vertical passage 62 in which the pachinko balls P that have passed through the lower curved passage 61 move substantially vertically upward. It has become. The gap between the substantially vertical outer peripheral surface on the left side of the second endless belt 44 and the inner peripheral surface of the housing 50 facing the outer peripheral surface is formed to be slightly larger than the diameter of the game ball.
An upper guide portion 54 for guiding the game ball to the pachinko ball chute 52 is formed at a position above the second endless belt 44 inside the housing 50. The upper guide portion 54 has a curved shape corresponding to the upper U-turn portion of the second endless belt 44. The space surrounded by the lower surface of the upper guide portion 54, the outer peripheral surface of the upper U-turn portion of the second endless belt 44, and the inner peripheral surface of the housing 50 is such that the pachinko balls P get over the second endless belt 44. The upper curved passage 63 moves. The gap between the lower surface of the upper guide portion 54 and the outer peripheral surface of the upper U-turn portion of the second endless belt 44 is formed slightly larger than the diameter of the game ball.

As shown in FIG. 5, the game ball lifting device 20 includes a motor 90 for rotating the first pulley 31 and the second pulley 41. In the present embodiment, the motor 90 is installed on the outer periphery of the rear side of the housing 50 of the second belt conveyor 40. A lower second pulley 42 is attached to the drive shaft of the motor 90.
The game ball lifting device 20 includes a transmission device 70 that transmits the power of the motor 90 to the first pulley 31. As shown in FIG. 5, in this embodiment, the transmission device 70 includes a first gear 71 attached to the rotation shaft of the left first pulley 32 and a first gear 71 attached to the rotation shaft of the lower second pulley 42. 2 gear 72. The first gear 71 and the second gear 72 have teeth cut on the outer periphery of the cylinder, and the teeth of the first gear 71 and the teeth of the second gear 72 are engaged with each other.

When the operation of the motor 90 is activated, the lower second pulley 42 connected to the drive shaft rotates clockwise. The rotation of the lower second pulley 42 causes the second endless belt 44 and the upper second pulley 43 to rotate clockwise.
When the lower second pulley 42 is rotated clockwise by the operation of the motor 90, the second gear 72 connected to the lower second pulley 42 is also rotated clockwise. By the rotation of the second gear 72, the first gear 71 meshing with the second gear 72 rotates counterclockwise, and the left first pulley 32 connected to the first gear 71 also rotates counterclockwise. The rotation of the left first pulley 32 causes the first endless belt 34 and the right first pulley 33 to rotate counterclockwise.

Therefore, when the motor 90 is operated, the left first pulley 32 and the lower second pulley 42 rotate in synchronization, and the first endless belt 34 and the second endless belt 44 rotate in synchronization.
In the transmission device 70, when the first endless belt 34 and the second endless belt 44 rotate, the horizontal beam 35 of the first endless belt 34 and the horizontal beam 45 of the second endless belt 44 are closest to each other at the receiving port 51. Synchronize rotation with. Thereby, the pachinko ball P can be delivered from the first storage unit 36 to the second storage unit 46.
Specifically, when the first gear 71 and the second gear 72 rotate the first pulley 32 on the left side, the horizontal beam 35 of the first endless belt 34 is connected to the horizontal beam 45 of the second endless belt 44 at the receiving port 51. It is formed so as to synchronize the rotation of the first endless belt 34 so as to be closest.

(Transportation of pachinko balls P)
The pachinko balls P collected in the pachinko ball collection tank 10 roll on the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 12 and fall into the drop holes 14 (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 3, the pachinko balls P that have fallen into the drop hole 14 are placed one by one in the first storage portion 36 of the first endless belt 34 that faces the drop hole 14. The first endless belt 34 rotates counterclockwise, and the pachinko balls P stored in the first storage portion 36 are transported toward the delivery port 15. At the receiving port 51 facing the sending port 15, the left U-turn part of the first endless belt 34 and the lower U-turn part of the second endless belt 44 are close to each other. Further, at the receiving port 51, the horizontal beam 35 of the first endless belt 34 and the horizontal beam 45 of the second endless belt 44 are closest to each other, in other words, at the receiving port 51, the first storage unit 36 and the second storage unit. The first endless belt 34 and the second endless belt 44 are rotated in synchronization with each other so that 46 faces each other. The pachinko balls P stored in the first storage unit 36 are delivered to the second storage unit 46 facing the first storage unit 36 at the receiving port 51.

The pachinko balls P stored in the second storage portion 46 are guided by the crosspiece 45 of the second endless belt 44 and pass through the lower curved passage 61 and ascend the vertical passage 62 following the lower curved passage 61. . The pachinko ball P that has gone up the vertical passage 62 and has reached the upper curved passage 63 is guided to the horizontal rail 45 of the second endless belt 44 and passes through the upper curved passage 63 to reach the pachinko ball chute 52. Then, the pachinko balls P stored in the second storage section 46 fall down to the pachinko ball chute 52 and roll down to the pachinko ball supply tank 88.
An abrasive (for example, non-woven fabric) may be provided in the housing 50 of the second belt conveyor 40 so that the abrasive and the pachinko balls P in the vertical passage 62 are in contact with each other. Thereby, when the pachinko ball P ascends the vertical passage 62, the dirt adhering to the pachinko ball P is wiped off by the abrasive.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the pachinko ball P is fed into the first endless belt 34, the pachinko ball P is stored in the first storage portion 36 and directed toward the second endless belt 44. Transport. Then, the first endless belt 34 and the second endless belt 44 rotate in synchronization, and the pachinko balls P stored in the first storage unit 36 are delivered to the second storage unit 46. Since the pachinko balls P are delivered from the first storage portion 36 to the second storage portion 46 in this way, even if the pachinko balls P are intermittently sent to the first endless belt 34, the game balls on the second belt conveyor 40 are The crosspiece 45 of the second endless belt 44 does not bite the game ball at the receiving site.
Further, in the embodiment according to the present invention, even if game balls are intermittently fed into the first endless belt 34, the second endless belt 44 does not bite the game balls. There is no need to align the game balls and send them in continuously, thus eliminating the conventional alignment device.

In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, The deformation | transformation and improvement in the range which can achieve the objective of this invention are also included.
Although the gaming ball lifting device 20 according to the above-described embodiment is installed on the gaming machine island 80 and transports the gaming balls on the gaming machine island 80, the present invention is not limited to this. The game ball lifting device 20 according to the present invention may be provided in a machine that uses a game ball (for example, a game machine or the like) and may be configured to carry the game ball in the machine.

10 Pachinko ball collection tank 11 Square tube
12 Bottom plate 13 Back side wall
14 Drop hole 15 Outlet
20 Game ball lifting device
30 1st belt conveyor 31 1st pulley
32 Left first pulley 33 Right first pulley
34 1st endless belt 35
36 First compartment
40 Second belt conveyor 41 Second pulley
42 Lower second pulley 43 Upper second pulley
44 Second endless belt 45
46 Second storage
50 Housing 51 Receiving port
52 Pachinko ball chute 53 Lower guide
54 Upper guide
61 Lower curved passage 62 Vertical passage
63 Upper curved passage
70 Transmission 71 First gear
72 2nd gear
80 amusement machine island 81
82 Counting pan 83 Pachinko ball sand
84 Pachinko ball counter 85 Reader / writer
86 Pachinko ball counting unit 87 Pachinko machine
88 Pachinko ball supply tank 89 Pachinko ball collection passage
90 Motor P Pachinko ball

Claims (2)

A first belt conveyor having a first endless belt that is looped around a plurality of first pulleys and rotates, and transports game balls on the first endless belt;
A second belt conveyor that has a second endless belt that is looped around a plurality of second pulleys and rotates, and that receives the game balls transported by the first endless belt by the second endless belt and lifts them upward. A game ball lifting device comprising:
On the outer periphery of the first endless belt and the second endless belt, a plurality of lateral bars protruding outward are formed at a predetermined pitch in the circumferential direction,
The gap between the adjacent cross rails in the first endless belt is a first storage portion that can store a game ball,
The gap between the adjacent horizontal rails in the second endless belt is a second storage portion that can store a game ball,
The game ball lifting device, wherein the first endless belt and the second endless belt rotate synchronously so as to deliver the game ball stored in the first storage unit to the second storage unit . A motor in which either one of the first pulley or the second pulley is attached to a drive shaft;
A transmission device for transmitting the power of the motor to the other of the first pulley and the second pulley;
2. The game ball lifting device according to claim 1, wherein the first pulley and the second pulley rotate in synchronization with the operation of the motor.

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