JP2013165752A - Dirt removal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dirt removal device that uses fewer members to simplify the structure and can be easily manufactured, and also prevents game balls from being brought into contact with parts other than a conveyance part and a polishing part, thereby preventing friction loss.SOLUTION: A dirt removal device 20 includes: a conveyance screw 28 having a spiral groove 28a formed on an outer circumferential surface; and a guide part 30 which forms a conveyance passage (A) formed with the spiral groove 28 to allow a game ball B to pass. The guide part 30 comprises: roller parts 31, 32 which are disposed in parallel to the conveyance screw 28 so as to surround the game ball B passing through the conveyance passage (A) with the conveyance screw 28, and are rotatable around the center axis by contact with the game ball B passing through the conveyance passage (A); and polishing parts 31b, 32b which are formed on the surface of the roller parts 31, 32.

Description

  The present invention relates to a dirt removing device that removes dirt attached to a game ball while conveying the game ball.

  In a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine, the game balls launched from the hitting position and entering the winning opening or the out opening once flowed down to the lower ball gathering part, then transported upward by the lifting device, and again at the hitting position Sent to. When the game ball is conveyed upward by the lifting device, the dirt attached to the surface is removed by the dirt removing device. As such a dirt removing device, a dirt removing device provided with a spiral ball carrying unit that carries a game ball, a guide unit that guides the game ball along the carrying path, and a polishing unit that polishes the game ball. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  In this dirt removing device (pachinko ball conveying cleaner), a roller-shaped cleaning member or an endless belt-shaped cleaning member is used as the polishing section. A dirt removing device using a roller-shaped cleaning member includes a horizontal movement block, a spiral coil, and a pair of roller-shaped cleaning members. The horizontal movement block is formed with a spiral coil holding portion and a pair of pachinko ball movement guide portions located on both sides of the spiral coil holding portion, and a portion corresponding to the outer portion of both pachinko ball movement guide portions. Has a hole leading to the outside. And a spiral coil is arrange | positioned in a spiral coil holding | maintenance part, and a pair of roller-shaped cleaning member is made into the exterior of a horizontal movement block in the state which made a part of outer periphery of a pair of roller-shaped cleaning member approach into the hole mentioned above. It is arranged. For this reason, the pachinko ball can be polished by the cleaning member while being transported in the pachinko ball moving guide by the rotational driving of the helical coil.

  Further, the dirt removing device using the cleaning member formed in an endless belt shape has a spiral coil holding portion, a pair of pachinko ball moving guide portions, and portions corresponding to the outer portions of both pachinko ball moving guide portions. A horizontally moving block is formed which is formed with a formed hole leading to the outside. And a spiral coil is arrange | positioned in a spiral coil holding | maintenance part, and a part of pachinko ball which passes the pachinko ball movement guide part is made to protrude outside from the hole which leads outside. In addition, a pressing roller is arranged at a portion where the pachinko ball protrudes in the horizontal movement block, a pair of idle rollers are arranged on both sides of the pressing roller, and another roller is arranged behind the pressing roller, and each roller A cleaning member formed in an endless belt-like shape is stretched over. For this reason, the pachinko ball can be polished by the cleaning member while being transported in the pachinko ball moving guide by the rotational driving of the helical coil.

JP-A-10-80566

  However, in the above-described conventional dirt removing device, in order to move the pachinko balls along the conveyance path, a horizontal movement block including a pachinko ball moving guide unit is necessary, and the pachinko balls are brought into contact with the cleaning member. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a hole in a portion corresponding to the outer side portion of the pachinko ball moving guide portion in the horizontal moving block. For this reason, there is a problem that the structure of the dirt removing device is complicated, the number of members is increased, and manufacturing is complicated. In addition, since the pachinko ball contacts the inner peripheral surface of the pachinko ball moving guide part, dirt on the surface of the pachinko ball adheres to the inner peripheral surface of the pachinko ball moving guide part, and friction loss occurs. There is also a problem.

  The present invention has been made in order to cope with the above-described problems. The object of the present invention is to simplify manufacture by reducing the number of members and simplifying the structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a dirt removing device that can prevent the occurrence of friction loss by eliminating contact with parts other than the part. The friction loss in this case is that the game ball comes into contact with a portion other than the transport unit and the polishing unit to generate friction, and the friction at the time of transport is diminished. In the description of each constituent element of the present invention below, the reference numerals of corresponding portions of the embodiment are shown in parentheses in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention. The present invention should not be construed as being limited to the configurations of the corresponding portions indicated by the reference numerals of the forms.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the structural feature of the dirt removing apparatus according to the present invention is that a game ball is formed by a rod-like body having a spiral groove (28a) formed on the outer peripheral surface and rotating in the direction around the axis. A conveyance screw (28) for conveying (B) and a guide portion (30, 60) for forming a conveyance path (A) for passing a game ball between the conveyance screw and conveying the game ball In the dirt removing device (20, 50) for removing dirt adhered to the game ball, the guide portion is arranged in parallel to the transport screw so as to surround the game ball passing through the transport path with the transport screw, and passes through the transport path. A plurality of rod-shaped roller portions (31, 32, 61, 62) that can rotate around the central axis by contact with the game ball, and polishing portions (31b, 32b, 63) and It lies in that the configuration was.

  The dirt removing device according to the present invention includes a conveying screw that conveys the game ball while being pushed in one direction by a spiral groove by rotating, and a guide portion that guides the game ball conveyed by the conveying screw along the conveying path. And is equipped. The guide portion is composed of a plurality of rod-shaped roller portions that are rotatable about the central axis, and a polishing portion provided on the surface of the roller portion. For this reason, by rotating the transport screw, the game ball can be transported substantially straight along the traveling direction of the transport path formed between the transport screw and the guide portion, and at the same time, dirt that adheres to the surface of the game ball Can be removed by a polishing portion constituting a part of the guide portion. At this time, the polishing unit rotates with the roller unit according to the movement of the game ball while contacting the game ball to remove the dirt of the game ball.

  As described above, the game ball is guided by the guide unit having a polishing function and is transported by the rotational drive of the transport screw while being polished. Therefore, the game ball is a member or game that only guides the game ball included in the conventional dirt removing device. A member that only grinds the sphere is unnecessary. As a result, the number of members can be reduced to simplify the structure of the dirt removing apparatus, and the dirt removing apparatus can be easily manufactured. Further, since the only thing that the game ball comes into contact with in the transport path is the transport screw and the guide portion, it is possible to prevent the surface of the game ball from being attached to other members or causing friction loss. Furthermore, since the polishing portion rotates together with the roller portion by coming into contact with the game ball, there is no need to provide a driving device for rotating the polishing portion and the roller portion, and this also enables cost reduction.

  Note that the plurality of roller portions may be two, or may be three or more. In short, it is only necessary to surround the game ball with the transport screw and the plurality of roller portions and prevent the game ball from being detached from the spiral groove of the transport screw. Further, the polishing portion may be formed integrally with the roller portion, or may be formed separately from the roller portion, as long as it can rotate with the roller portion in contact with the game ball. In this case, the polishing unit and the roller unit may be replaced after a certain period of use. However, as the polishing unit, a polishing surface that is scraped off according to use, or the polishing surface is shaved by operation. You can also use something that can be dropped. According to this, the polishing unit can be used until it is consumed without maintenance. Furthermore, when the dirt adhering to the polishing unit exceeds a predetermined amount, it may fall downward from the polishing unit. This also allows continuous use of the soil removal device without maintenance.

  Another structural feature of the dirt removing apparatus according to the present invention is that the polishing portion is constituted by polishing surfaces (31b, 32b) formed on the peripheral surfaces of the plurality of roller portions (31, 32). According to the present invention, since the polishing portion can be formed by making the peripheral surface of the roller portion rough or by attaching a sheet-like polishing member to the peripheral surface of the roller portion, formation of the polishing portion is facilitated.

  Still another structural feature of the dirt removing apparatus according to the present invention is that the polishing portion is constituted by an endless belt (63) having a polishing surface formed on a surface thereof spanned by a plurality of roller portions (61, 62). There is. According to the present invention, it is easy to attach and detach the polishing unit to and from the roller unit when replacing the polishing unit.

It is the front view which showed the inside of the pachinko machine provided with the dirt removal apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the rear view which showed the inside of the pachinko machine of FIG. It is the perspective view which showed the dirt removal apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 shows a dirt removing device according to a first embodiment, wherein (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a side view. It is 5-5 sectional drawing of FIG.4 (b). It is the perspective view which showed the conveyance path in the principal part of the dirt removal apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is the perspective view which showed the state which attached the back case to the principal part of the dirt removal apparatus of FIG. It is the side view which showed the state which conveys a game ball in the conveyance path of the dirt removal apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is the front view which showed the dirt removal apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 10-10 in FIG. 9; It is the perspective view which showed the conveyance path in the principal part of the dirt removal apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is the side view which showed the state which conveys a game ball in the conveyance path of the dirt removal apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show an outline of a sealed ball type pachinko machine 10 provided with a dirt removing device 20 according to the embodiment. FIG. 1 shows the inside of the pachinko machine 10 as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 2 shows the inside of the pachinko machine 10 as seen from the back side. The upper and lower directions will be described with reference to FIG. The pachinko machine 10 includes a rectangular outer frame 11, an inner frame 12 rotatably attached to the outer frame 11, and a game board 13 attached to the inner frame 12. The front door (not shown) provided with the glass plate is attached so that it can rotate centering on one edge part extended up and down. In addition, a circular game area 13a is formed at the center of the game board 13, and a prize winning opening (not shown), an out opening 14 and the like are provided in the game area 13a. An operation handle is provided at the lower front part of the front door.

  A conveyance mechanism 15 is provided from the back surface to the front surface of the inner frame 12 of the pachinko machine 10, and the dirt removing device 20 is incorporated in the conveyance mechanism 15. The transport mechanism 15 includes a ball collecting basket 16 formed on the back surface of the inner frame 12, a dirt removing device 20, and a ball passage 17 formed from the back surface of the inner frame 12 to the front surface. The collecting bowl 16 is formed of a bowl-shaped passage extending slightly inclined downward from the left side to the right side of the inner frame 12 (left and right are reversed in FIG. 2). The game ball B (see FIG. 8) that has entered the winning opening or the out port 14 of the game area 13 a moves to the back surface of the inner frame 12 and falls into the ball collecting bowl 16. The game balls B that have entered the ball basket 16 flow sequentially toward the lower right end of the ball basket 16.

  A dirt removing device 20 is installed on the right side of the lower right end of the ball collecting basket 16, and the ball collecting basket 16 communicates with the dirt removing device 20. The dirt removing device 20 has a lifting function for transporting the game ball B upward, and a dirt removing function for removing dirt attached to the surface of the game ball B. As shown in FIG. 2, the dirt removing device 20 is inclined, but hereinafter, in the description of the dirt removing device 20 using FIGS. 3 to 8, the position of the motor 21 is assumed to be downward. , Left and right, front and back (front and back) and up and down directions will be described based on FIG. In this case, FIG. 4B is a front view, and in the description of the dirt removing device 20, the left and right and front and rear directions are opposite to those in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the dirt removing device 20 includes a motor 21 and a case member 22. Inside the case member 22, as shown in FIG. A guide unit 30 is installed. The motor 21 is arranged at the lower part of the dirt removing device 20, and is configured by projecting a rotating shaft (not shown) upward from the upper surface of the motor body 21a formed in a substantially columnar shape whose upper and lower axial directions are short. Has been. Further, from the left and right of the upper surface of the motor main body 21a, fixing pieces 21b and 21c (see FIG. 6) each having a screw insertion hole formed at the center protrude toward the outside. And the case member 22 is being fixed to the upper surface of the motor main body 21a via the fixing pieces 21b and 21c and the screw 21d.

  The case member 22 is formed by assembling a back surface case 23, a front surface lower case 24, and a front surface upper case 25, and a screw housing portion 26 and a guide portion housing portion 27 are formed therein. Further, a sphere inlet portion 22 a is formed at the lower portion of the case member 22, and a sphere outlet portion 22 b (only the edge portion of the opening is shown) is formed at the upper portion of the case member 22. As shown in FIG. 7, the back surface case 23 is formed of a substantially L-shaped member extending upward from the rear surface of the upper surface of the motor main body 21 a, and has a vertically long bowl-shaped vertical groove portion 23 a that forms the rear portion of the screw housing portion 26. And a lateral groove portion 23b extending rightward from the lower end of the longitudinal groove portion 23a and forming the rear portion of the ball inlet portion 22a.

  The vertical groove portion 23a is formed in a plate shape whose center in the width direction projects rearward from both sides and has a semicircular cross section, and the horizontal groove portion 23b has a vertical cross section composed of an upper surface portion, a lower surface portion, and a rear surface portion. It is formed in a U-shaped plate shape. And the part connected with the horizontal groove part 23b in the right side lower part of the vertical groove part 23a is notched, and the recessed part formed in the vertical groove part 23a, and the recessed part formed in the horizontal groove part 23b are connected by this. Yes. Further, planar fixing pieces 23c and 23d projecting left and right are formed on the left and right edges of the vertical groove 23a, excluding the portion connected to the horizontal groove 23b. Further, cylindrical screw engaging portions 23e and 23f are formed at the lower portion of the fixing piece 23c and the lower portion of the lateral groove portion 23b, respectively. The fixing pieces 21b and 21c are formed on the screw engaging portions 23e and 23f, respectively. The back case 23 is assembled to the motor main body 21a by screwing the screws 21d inserted through the screw insertion holes.

  The lower surface case 24 extends upward from the front upper surface of the motor body 21a so as to cover the lower half of the recess of the rear surface case 23, and includes a lower support portion 24a that forms the lower portion of the guide portion accommodating portion 27, A lateral groove portion 24b is provided below the lower support portion 24a and extending rightward from a portion corresponding to the center of the lower support portion 24a to form the front portion of the ball inlet portion 22a. As shown in FIG. 5, the lower support portion 24a has a slit with a width slightly longer than the diameter of the game ball B at the center of the rear portion (lower side in FIG. 5) of the oval cross section. And a portion that curves backward and widens from the edge of the slit in the peripheral side portion to form a part of the front portion of the screw accommodating portion 26.

  The lateral groove portion 24b is formed in a U-shaped plate shape having a vertical cross section composed of an upper surface portion, a lower surface portion, and a front surface portion, and a left end portion is a curved lower front surface portion 24c extending downward from a lower end rear portion of the lower support portion 24a. It is connected to. The front lower portion 24 c constitutes the lower front portion of the screw accommodating portion 26. Also, planar fixed pieces 24d and 24e projecting to the left and right are formed on the left and right edges of the rear end of the lower support 24a, and the lower portion of the fixed piece 24d extends downward and extends downward from the front surface. It is connected to the left edge of 24c. And the lower end of the lower support part 24a is closed by the bottom face part 24f, and a pair of support hole parts 24g penetrating vertically is formed in the bottom face part 24f at intervals.

  The lower surface case 24 is assembled to the back case 23 with the fixing pieces 24d and 24e aligned with the lower portions of the fixing pieces 23c and 23d, and the rear edge of the horizontal groove 24b aligned with the front edge of the horizontal groove 23b. 24d, 24e and fixing pieces 23c, 23d are fixed by screws 23g. As a result, a ball inlet portion 22 a communicating with the ball collecting basket 16 is formed below the back case 23 and the lower surface case 24. The ball inlet portion 22a is formed in a size that allows two or three game balls B to pass through. In addition, a conveyance path A, which will be described later, is formed in front of the screw accommodating portion 26 in a space formed by the back surface case 23 and the front surface lower case 24 and communicates with the ball inlet portion 22a.

  The upper surface case 25 is disposed above the lower surface case 24 so as to cover the upper half of the concave portion of the back surface case 23, and includes an upper support portion 25a that forms the upper portion of the guide portion accommodating portion 27, and an upper support portion. A lateral groove portion 25b that forms a ball outlet portion 22b is provided above the fixed piece 23c and positioned above the 25a. The upper support portion 25a is formed vertically symmetrically with the lower support portion 24a, and a slit having a width slightly longer than the diameter of the game ball B is formed at the center of the rear portion of the cylindrical body having an elliptical cross-sectional shape. The peripheral side part and the part which curves and spreads backward from the edge part of the slit in a peripheral side part, and forms a part of front part of the screw accommodating part 26 are provided. A pair of support hole portions 25d penetrating vertically is formed in the upper surface portion 25c covering the upper end of the upper support portion 25a with a gap therebetween.

  The lateral groove portion 25b is composed of a side surface portion extending upward from a portion excluding the right side portion in the rear portion of the upper surface portion 25c, and an upper surface portion extending in the horizontal direction from the upper end of the side surface portion. A semicircular ceiling portion 25e that extends further rearward from the right side portion and covers the upper end of the vertical groove portion 23a of the back surface case 23 is formed. A support hole portion 25f is formed at the circular center position of the ceiling portion 25e. In addition, planar fixed pieces 25g and 25h projecting left and right are formed on the left and right edges of the rear end of the upper support portion 25a, and the upper portion of the fixed piece 25h extends upward and extends to the ceiling. 25e. The upper end portion of the fixed piece 25h is bent backward to cover the upper end portion of the fixed piece 23d.

  The upper surface case 25 is assembled to the rear surface case 23 with the fixing pieces 25g and 25h aligned with the upper portions of the fixing pieces 23c and 23d and the upper end of the vertical groove portion 23a covered with the ceiling portion 25e. 25g, 25h and the fixing pieces 23c, 23d are fixed. As a result, the ball outlet portion 22 b is formed at the upper part of the back surface case 23 and the front surface upper case 25. The ball outlet 22b is set to a size that allows one game ball B to pass therethrough. In addition, an upper portion of the conveyance path A communicating with the ball outlet portion 22b is formed in front of the screw accommodating portion 26 in a space formed by the back surface case 23 and the top surface upper case 25. The contact portions between the fixed piece 25g and the fixed piece 24d and the contact portions between the fixed piece 25h and the fixed piece 24e are formed with stepped portions that mesh with each other. 24 and the upper surface case 25 are accurately positioned.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the conveying screw 28 is composed of a rod-like rotating body having a spiral groove 28a formed on the outer peripheral surface, and is made of a synthetic resin having wear resistance. A cylindrical fixing hole 28 b that can be fixed by inserting the rotation shaft of the motor 21 is formed at the lower end of the conveying screw 28, and the upper end rotates to a support hole 25 f provided at the upper end of the case member 22. A rotating shaft 28c that is supported is formed. The conveying screw 28 is installed in the screw accommodating portion 26 in the case member 22 by connecting the cylindrical fixed hole portion 28b to the rotating shaft of the motor 21 and supporting the rotating shaft 28c by the supporting hole portion 25f. When the rotating shaft rotates by the operation of the motor 21, the conveying screw 28 rotates integrally with the rotating shaft.

  The spiral groove 28a formed on the outer peripheral surface of the conveying screw 28 extends upward from the motor 21 side while rotating in the clockwise direction when viewed from the lower side of FIGS. In this state, when the transport screw 28 rotates counterclockwise, the game ball B is transported upward. The width of the spiral groove 28a is set to be approximately the same as the diameter of the game ball B, and the cross-sectional shape of the spiral groove 28a is formed in an arc shape having substantially the same curvature as the curved surface of the game ball B. . The conveying screw 28 configured in this manner is arranged in the screw accommodating portion 26 in the state shown in FIG.

  The guide unit 30 forms a transport path A through which the game ball B passes with the transport screw 28 and has a function of polishing the game ball B passing through the transport path A. The pair of roller units 31 , 32. The roller parts 31 and 32 are composed of the same member. The roller part 31 is composed of a shaft part 31a and a polishing part 31b provided on the outer periphery of the shaft part 31a. The roller part 32 is composed of the shaft part 32a and the shaft part. It is comprised with the grinding | polishing part 32b provided in the outer periphery of 32a. As the polishing parts 31b and 32b, for example, a structure in which a polishing cloth made of a nonwoven fabric is attached to the surface of a cylindrical body can be used.

  And the roller parts 31 and 32 are inserted into the pair of support hole parts 25d by inserting the lower end parts of the shaft parts 31a and 32a into the pair of support hole parts 24g and inserting the upper end parts of the shaft parts 31a and 32a into the pair of support hole parts 25d. The guide unit accommodating portion 27 is arranged so as to be rotatable around the axis. At this time, only a slight gap is formed between the roller portions 31 and 32, between the roller portion 31 and the conveying screw 28, and between the roller portion 32 and the conveying screw 28, and the game ball B passes therethrough. Can not. For this reason, the rotation of the transport screw 28 causes the game ball B to move straight in the direction in which the transport path A formed between the transport screw 28 and the roller portions 31 and 32 extends.

  The spherical passage 17 includes a hole portion 17a that penetrates from the ball outlet portion 22b of the dirt removing device 20 on the back surface of the inner frame 12 to the surface of the inner frame 12, and a front surface of the inner frame 12 and slightly toward the left side from the hole portion 17a. It is comprised by the inclination part 17b which inclines and extends below. A ball striking device 40 is installed on the left end side of the inclined portion 17 b on the front surface of the inner frame 12. The hitting device 40 includes a plunger-type solenoid 41, a bullet emitting unit, a ball launching unit, and the like. A guide rail 42 that guides the hit game ball B into the game area 13a above the ball launching unit. Is provided. For this reason, the game ball B sent out above the dirt removing device 20 passes through the ball passage 17, is sent to the ball launching unit, and is launched into the game area 13 a by the operation of the hitting device 40. The ball striking device 40 is operated by rotating the operation handle.

  Further, the pachinko machine 10 is provided with a sensor for detecting the game ball B that has entered the winning opening or the out port 14. Further, in the vicinity of the pachinko machine 10 or in the vicinity of the pachinko machine 10, the number of prize balls based on the game balls B that have entered the winning opening is added, or the number of game balls B that have entered the winning opening and the out opening 14 is calculated. An addition / subtraction device for subtracting, a storage device for storing a value calculated by the addition / subtraction device, a numerical value display device for displaying the value, and the like are also provided. That is, in this encapsulated ball type pachinko machine 10, the number of premium balls is added without paying out premium balls based on winning, and the number of used game balls B is subtracted from the number and stored. A game is played by firing the game ball B within the stored number range.

  When using the pachinko machine 10 configured as described above, first, a predetermined amount of the game ball B is transported from the ball collecting basket 16 toward the ball passage 17 by the operation of the dirt removing device 20. At that time, the game balls B flow through the ball collecting basket 16 in an unaligned state, and enter the inside of the case member 22 from the ball inlet portion 22a. Then, the game balls B enter the spiral groove 28a one by one when they reach the lower part of the transport screw 28, and as shown in FIG. Move towards.

  Then, when the game ball B reaches the conveyance path A where the roller parts 31 and 32 constituting the guide part 30 are located, the dirt on the surface is removed by the polishing parts 31b and 32b. At this time, the game ball B moves while being pressed against the polishing portions 31b and 32b, so that the dirt adhering to the surface of the game ball B is efficiently removed. Further, due to the contact with the game ball B, the roller portions 31 and 32 rotate in a direction pressed by the game ball B. The game balls B from which the dirt is removed by the contact with the polishing units 31b and 32b pass through the upper part of the transport path A and sequentially flow into the ball path 17. In addition, the roller portions 31 and 32 rotate slowly and gradually change the contact portion with the game balls B that are sequentially sent.

  When a predetermined amount of game balls B are accumulated in the ball passage 17, the operation handle is operated to activate the ball striking device 40, so that the game balls B sent from the ball passage 17 to the ball launching unit are 1 It is discharged to the game area 13a of the game board 13 one by one. As a result, the game ball B enters the winning or out port 14 of the game area 13a. The winning balls that have entered the winning opening and the out balls that have entered the out opening 14 fall into the ball collecting bowl 16 through predetermined passages. The adder / subtracter adds the number of prize balls when the sensor detects a winning ball that has entered the winning opening, and the value is displayed on the numerical display device.

  At this time, the number of game balls B that have entered the winning opening or the out opening 14 is subtracted. That is, the adder / subtracter always performs addition / subtraction in accordance with the detection of the sensor, and the value calculated by the addition / subtraction is displayed on the numerical display device, and the real prize ball is not paid out. For this reason, a certain number of game balls B circulate in the pachinko machine 10. And each time the game ball B passes through the dirt removing device 20, dirt attached to the surface, for example, cigarette smoke, oil, dust and the like is removed.

  Further, the dirt attached to the polishing portions 31b and 32b is periodically scraped off from the surface portions of the polishing portions 31b and 32b, or the polishing cloth is peeled off from the cylindrical body constituting the main body of the polishing portions 31b and 32b. It is removed by attaching an abrasive cloth to the cylinder. It should be noted that when a predetermined amount or more of dirt attached to the polishing parts 31b and 32b is accumulated, it falls downward and can be left as it is.

  As described above, the dirt removing device 20 according to the present embodiment includes the conveyance screw 28 that conveys the game ball B and the guide portion 30 that forms the conveyance path A between the conveyance screw 28. And the guide part 30 is comprised by the roller parts 31 and 32 by which the grinding | polishing parts 31b and 32b were provided in the surface. Therefore, by rotating the transport screw 28, the game ball B can be transported along the transport path A, and at the same time, the dirt adhering to the surface of the game ball B can be removed. At that time, since the roller portions 31 and 32 rotate in contact with the game ball B, the entire surfaces of the polishing portions 31b and 32b can be used for removing dirt on the game ball B without waste.

  Thus, in this embodiment, since the guide part 30 comprises the conveyance path A and has the function to grind the game ball B, it is not necessary to separately provide a member for guiding the game ball B. This simplifies the structure of the dirt removing device 20 and facilitates the manufacture of the dirt removing device 20. Further, in the transport path A, the game ball B does not come into contact with anything other than the transport screw 28 and the guide portion 30, and therefore, unnecessary friction does not occur. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to provide a drive device for rotating the roller portions 31 and 32 constituting the guide portion 30, this also makes it possible to reduce the cost. Further, since the polishing parts 31b and 32b are made of polishing cloth, the work at the time of replacement becomes easy.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 9 shows a dirt removing apparatus 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In this dirt removing device 50, the width of the lower support portion 54a of the lower surface case 54 and the upper support portion 55a of the upper surface case 55 constituting the surface portion of the case member 52 is the lower support of the first embodiment described above. It is narrower than the width of the part 24a and the upper support part 25a. The guide portion 60 is composed of a pair of roller portions 61 and 62 and an endless belt 63 stretched over the roller portions 61 and 62. The roller parts 61 and 62 are formed of a cylindrical body having a smaller diameter than the roller parts 31 and 32 of the first embodiment described above. The endless belt 63 is a wide belt whose surface is a polished surface.

  About the structure of the other part of this dirt removal apparatus 50, it is the same as that of the dirt removal apparatus 20 which concerns on 1st Embodiment mentioned above. Accordingly, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment, the conveyance path A is formed at a portion between the conveyance screw 28 and the endless belt 63 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

  When the dirt removing device 50 configured in this way operates, first, the game ball B enters the inside of the case member 52 from the ball inlet portion 22a. When the game balls B reach the lower part of the transport screw 28, they enter the spiral groove 28a one by one, and as shown in FIG. Go to. Then, when the game ball B reaches the surface of the endless belt 63 constituting the guide portion 60, the surface dirt is removed by the polishing surface of the endless belt 63. At this time, since the game ball B moves while being pressed against the endless belt 63, the dirt adhering to the surface of the game ball B is efficiently removed.

  In this case, since the game ball B contacts the endless belt 63 with a line instead of a point, the area where the game ball B contacts the endless belt 63 is increased. It is efficiently removed. Further, due to the contact with the game ball B, the endless belt 63 rotates in the direction pressed by the game ball B together with the roller portions 61 and 62. The game balls B from which the dirt is removed by the contact with the endless belt 63 pass through the upper part of the transport path A and sequentially flow into the ball path 17. The endless belt 63 rotates slowly and gradually changes the contact portion with the game balls B that are sequentially sent. The same effect as that of the dirt removing device 20 described above can be obtained by the dirt removing device 50.

  Moreover, the dirt removing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the roller portions 31 and 32 constituting the guide portion 30 and the roller portions 61 and 62 included in the guide portion 60 are each constituted by a pair of roller portions. Three or more may be provided so as to surround the conveyance path A. In this case, the case members 22 and 52 are provided with support holes according to the number of roller portions or support portions that can rotatably support the roller portions.

  In the first embodiment, the polishing portions 31b and 32b are made of polishing cloth. Instead, the polishing portions are formed by forming the surfaces of the main bodies of the roller portions 31 and 32 into rough surfaces. May be. Further, as the polishing portions 31b and 32b and the endless belt 63, those whose surface is worn away according to use or those which can form a new polishing surface by scraping off the surface can be used. Furthermore, when the dirt adhering to the polishing surface exceeds a predetermined amount, it may fall downward from the polishing surface.

  Further, the cylindrical fixing hole 28b of the conveying screw 28 and the rotating shaft 28c are made of vibration-proof rubber, and vibration generated by the rotation of the conveying screw 28 is prevented from being transmitted to the main body side of the pachinko machine 10. it can. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the width of the portion between the screw housing portion 26 and the guide portion housing portion 27 in the case members 22 and 52 is narrowed, but the width of this portion may be widened. However, a narrow portion is provided at the lower ends of the lower support portions 24a and 54a so that the game ball B is guided between the transport screw 28 and the guide portion 30.60.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the dirt removing devices 20 and 50 are incorporated in the enclosed ball pachinko machine 10, and the dirt removing devices 20 and 50 are ball feeding devices provided in conventional island facilities. Can also be incorporated. Furthermore, the configuration of the other parts of the dirt removing apparatus according to the present invention can be implemented with appropriate modifications within the technical scope of the present invention.

  20, 50 ... dirt removing device, 28 ... conveying screw, 28a ... spiral groove, 30, 60 ... guide part, 31, 32, 61, 62 ... roller part, 31b, 32b ... polishing part, 63 ... endless belt, A ... conveyance path, B ... game ball.

Claims (3)

A conveying screw that conveys a game ball by rotating in a direction around the axis, comprising a rod-like body having a spiral groove formed on the outer peripheral surface;
A dirt removing device that includes a guide portion that forms a conveyance path for passing the game ball between the conveyance screw and removes dirt adhered to the game ball while conveying the game ball;
The guide part,
A plurality of bar shapes arranged in parallel to the transport screw so as to surround the game ball passing through the transport path with the transport screw, and rotatable about a central axis by contact with the game ball passing through the transport path The roller part,
A dirt removing device comprising a polishing portion provided on a surface of the roller portion and rotating together with the roller portion.   The dirt removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the polishing unit is configured by a polishing surface formed on a peripheral surface of the plurality of roller units.   2. The dirt removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the polishing section is constituted by an endless belt that is wound around the plurality of roller sections and has a polishing surface formed on a surface thereof.

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