JP2013215440A - Gutter for game balls - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gutter for game balls that has a combination of a straight passage portion and a meandering passage portion and thus is capable of not only leveling balls without a ball leveling member being installed but also of achieving smooth downward flow and confluence and of making an unprecedentedly large amount of game balls flow downward.SOLUTION: A gutter 20 for game balls includes a bottom wall 21 having a straight portion 21a that is linearly formed in part and a curved portion 21b that is curvedly formed, and a both sides wall 22 that is standingly provided on both sides of the bottom wall 21 and has a straight portion side wall 22a for forming the straight passage 23 and a meandering side wall 22b for forming the meandering passage portion 24.

Description

  The present invention provides a game machine such as a pachinko gaming machine, an arrangement ball gaming machine, a sparrow ball gaming machine, and a rotating gaming machine using a pachinko ball as a gaming medium (Barrot: registered trademark). The present invention relates to a game ball cage for guiding game balls stored in a provided ball tank to a ball payout device.

  Conventionally, the game ball cage has been provided with a roller-shaped ball leveling member above the game ball path in order to break up the stack in case the game balls are stacked up and down in the path (Patent Literature). 1). Furthermore, in recent years, by forming the shape of both side walls of the game ball cage into a longitudinal corrugated plate shape, a row of game balls flow down in the game ball cage without separately providing roller-shaped ball leveling members. There has been proposed a method for aligning with (Patent Document 2). The invention of a game ball cage according to Patent Document 2 has a bottom wall that inclines from the upstream side to the downstream side of the game ball cage and meanders, and is formed on both sides of the bottom wall. Are arranged vertically above the longitudinal corrugated plate shape, and this longitudinal corrugated plate shape has the function of a sphere. By adopting such a configuration, the ball breakage of the game balls stacked in multiple stages in the game ball cage is performed by the flow of the game balls without separately providing a ball leveling member.

  However, according to the invention described in Patent Document 2, since the entire game ball cage is meandering, all the game balls passing through the game ball cage are meandering. For this reason, there has been a problem that the entire flow speed of the game balls is reduced due to frictional resistance with both side walls and rebound at the time of collision. In such a situation, there is a possibility that the supply to the ball dispensing device may be delayed, particularly at the time of a big hit when a large amount of game balls are discharged. Therefore, in the invention described in Patent Document 2, two or more rows of game ball cages are required.

JP 2003-126389 A JP 2006-149568 A

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and not only can the ball leveling be performed without providing a ball leveling member, but also a smooth merging can be realized and aligned further. The main object of the present invention is to provide a gaming ball cage capable of flowing down a gaming ball at high speed.

  The present invention adopts the following means in order to achieve the main object described above.

The game ball cage of the present invention is a game ball cage having an inclined bottom wall so that game balls stored in a ball tank provided on the back surface of the game machine flow down by their own weight,
The game ball cage is composed of a bottom wall having a straight portion at least a part of which is formed substantially linearly from the upstream side to the downstream side, and both side walls erected on both sides of the bottom wall,
The both side walls are provided in the shape of the straight portion from the bottom wall to at least the height of the radius of the game ball, and are provided above the straight passage portion and from the upstream side to the downstream side. And a meandering passage portion that is bent repeatedly.

  According to the game ball cage according to the present invention, the game ball is formed as a straight passage portion that does not inhibit the game ball from flowing down linearly at least at the height of the radius of the game ball from the bottom wall of the game ball cage. Smooth flow speed is ensured. In other words, the game ball flowing through the straight passage portion can be maintained at a high flow speed with almost no friction between the game ball and the rebound at the time of collision. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that supply to the ball payout device is delayed at the time of a big hit when a large amount of game balls are paid out. On the other hand, by providing a meandering passage portion that meanders above the straight passage portion, when the game balls existing in the second or higher stage among the game balls stacked in multiple stages in the gaming ball cage, By reducing the speed due to the collision and friction of each other, and by virtue of these vibrations applied to all the game balls, it is possible to gradually align in one stage. That is, by providing a speed difference between the flow velocity of the game ball flowing down the straight passage portion and the flow velocity of the game ball flowing down the meandering passage portion, the flow of the game ball flowing through the straight passage portion is fast, and the game ball It is easy to make a gap between them, and the upper game ball can easily enter the lower game ball. Therefore, smooth merging can be realized without separately providing a ball leveling member.

  Furthermore, in the game ball cage according to the present invention, when the game balls stacked in the game ball cage are joined to one side wall of the straight passage portion from the meandering passage portion toward the bottom wall. You may have the ball shelf which receives. By adopting such a configuration, the positions of the ball centers of the game balls stacked in multiple stages in the vertical direction can be gradually merged with the straight passage portion so as not to overlap in the vertical direction. In addition, since the ball receiving shelf having a curved surface increases the frictional resistance with respect to the game balls stacked in multiple stages, the speed difference of the game balls between the straight passage portion and the meandering passage portion can be further increased, and smoother. Can be achieved.

  Furthermore, in the gaming ball cage according to the present invention, the ball receiving shelf has a collar portion located above the bottom wall on the opposite side wall of the ball receiving shelf, and at least the bottom wall located below the collar portion includes a garbage. A discharge hole may be formed. By providing such a dust discharge hole, the meandering passage portion can prevent dust from being collected in a place that is difficult to clean. Further, by providing a dust discharge hole in the bottom wall located below the flange, the structure of the mold can be simplified when the flange is injection molded.

  Furthermore, in the gaming ball cage according to the present invention, the gaming ball cage may be provided in a line. By guiding the game balls in a single row, it is possible to break the ball reliably, and to achieve a smoother merging, and to install the game ball cage in a narrower area.

  According to the gaming ball cage according to the present invention, it is possible to perform ball leveling without providing a ball leveling member, and it is possible to achieve smoother flow and merging compared to the prior art. Can provide firewood.

FIG. 1 is a rear view showing an outline of the configuration of the back surface of the pachinko gaming machine 100 according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the ball tank 10 and the game ball cage 20 according to the embodiment, FIG. 2A is a view showing the front, the right side, and the plane, and FIG. It is a figure showing a back surface, a left side surface, and a bottom face. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the ball tank 10 and the gaming ball cage 20 according to the embodiment and a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in the plan view. FIG. 4 is a right side view of the ball tank 10 and the game ball cage 20 according to the embodiment. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB and the line CC of FIG. 3. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the state of the flow of game balls stacked on the ball tank 10 and the game ball cage 20 according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a front view showing a modification of the bottom wall 21 of the gaming ball cage 20 according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a right side view showing a further modification of the bottom wall 21 of the gaming ball cage 20 according to the embodiment.

  Now, a mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail based on the above-described drawings. In this embodiment, a pachinko gaming machine will be described as an example of a gaming machine. Even if there is no ball leveling member, the game ball cage of the present embodiment smoothly flows down the game balls by placing the game balls stacked and stored in a ball tank provided on the back side of the pachinko gaming machine in one row. It is intended to be carried to the ball dispensing device.

  First, the back side of the pachinko gaming machine 100 will be briefly described. FIG. 1 is a rear view showing the back surface of the pachinko gaming machine 100. The pachinko gaming machine 100 includes a ball tank 10 in which game balls are stored, a game ball cage 20 connected to the ball tank 10, a ball dispenser 30 and a ball dispenser 30 communicated with the game ball cage 20. Is provided with a ball delivery rail 40 provided below. The game balls of the pachinko gaming machine 100 formed in this way are once stored in the ball tank 10, then flowed out from the ball tank 10, flowed down while being aligned by the game ball cage 20, and supplied to the ball payout device 30. The Then, by operating the ball payout device 30, the game balls are paid out via a ball payout rail 40 to a ball tray or the like (not shown) disposed on the front surface of the pachinko gaming machine 100.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ball tank 10 is for temporarily storing game balls, and is formed in a container shape from plastic. As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom surface 11 of the ball tank 10 has a curved surface and an inclined surface so that the game ball can be smoothly moved to a game ball cage 20 to be described later. It is formed so as to face the ridge 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the game ball cage 20 is made of plastic, is formed continuously from the ball tank 10, and forms an integral member with the ball tank 10. The gaming ball cage 20 is provided with a straight wall 21a, a part of which is formed in a straight line, and a bottom wall 21 having a bent part 21b that is bent, and standing on both sides of the bottom wall 21. Both side walls 22 having straight side walls 22a to be formed and meandering side walls 22b to form the meandering passage portion 24 are provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the bottom wall 21 is inclined so as to descend from the upstream side toward the downstream side, that is, from the ball tank 10 side toward the ball dispensing device 30 side. It flows down inside the game ball cage 20 by its own weight.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the straight portion side wall 22 a is erected on both sides of the straight portion 21 a of the bottom wall 21, and the straight wall portion 23 is formed by the bottom wall 21 and the straight portion side wall 22 a. The straight portion side wall 22a is formed in a plane at least up to a position higher than the height of the radius of the game ball, and the straight passage portion 23 is formed in a straight groove. The game ball flows down linearly along the straight passage portion 23. The width of the bottom wall 21 is formed slightly wider than the diameter of the game balls as a whole from the upstream side toward the downstream side, and the game balls are arranged so that only one row can pass.

  The meandering side wall 22b is formed above the straight portion side wall 22a, is bent in a wave shape, and is repeatedly bent above the straight passage portion 23 from upstream to downstream. The meandering passage portion 24 is formed by the meandering side walls 22b on both sides formed to be bent. Specifically, the meandering passage portion 24 has a meandering side wall 22b erected on the straight portion side wall 22a, and the meandering side wall 22b and the straight portion side wall 22a form a straight line, as shown in the BB cross-sectional view of FIG. The side wall 22 and the bottom wall 21 are curved so as to be shifted in the lateral direction from the straight portion side wall 22a as shown in a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. It has a region composed of a flange 22c and a ball receiving shelf 22d, and a meandering side wall 22b composed of the flange 22c and a vertical wall extending vertically from the tip of the ball receiving shelf 22d. By providing such regions alternately, the meandering passage portion 24 meandering can be formed. As shown in FIG. 6, the meandering passage portion 24 is formed to have a height that is not less than 3 times and not more than 10 times the diameter of the game ball so that the game balls flowing in from the ball tank 10 can be stacked in multiple stages. . The width of the meandering passage portion 24 is formed slightly wider than the diameter of the game ball as a whole from the upstream side to the downstream side, and the game balls are arranged in a row in the meandering passage portion 24. In addition, the bottom wall 21 is formed with a dust discharge hole 21c for discharging dust under the flange 22c that is difficult to clean. By providing the dust discharge hole 21c, the configuration of the mold can be simplified when the flange portion 22c is injection-molded.

  In the gaming ball cage 20 configured as described above, the gaming ball moves as follows. First, the game balls are stored in the ball tank 10 in a stacked state. The game balls stacked in multiple stages are guided from the ball tank 10 to the game ball cage 20. The game ball cage 20 moves in one row while being stacked in multiple stages. Then, among the game balls that have moved into the game ball cage 20, the game balls flowing through the lowermost straight passage portion 23 may come into contact with the side walls 22 at the height of the radius of the game balls, as shown in FIG. However, since it flows in a straight line, it will flow down quickly without causing great friction and without being killed. On the other hand, among the game balls stacked in multiple stages, the game balls arranged in the second and higher stages flow down while repeatedly swinging along the waveforms of the inner surfaces of the side walls 22 in the meandering passage 24. Therefore, as it flows down, it falls to the straight passage 23 and flows down while aligning in a straight line while eliminating the stacking of game balls. Furthermore, the game balls arranged in the second and higher stages collide with the inner surfaces of the side walls 22 when flowing down, and the speed is slowed down due to friction with the inner surfaces, so that they flow down the lowermost straight passage portion 23. A speed difference is created with game balls. Due to this speed difference, the game balls flowing through the straight passage portion 23 are likely to have a gap, so that the second or higher stage game balls are likely to enter between the game balls of the straight passage portion 23. Furthermore, the ball receiving shelf 22d having a curved surface increases the frictional resistance with respect to the game balls stacked in multiple stages, so that the speed difference of the game balls between the straight passage portion 23 and the meandering passage portion 24 can be further increased. In addition, smoother merging can be realized. Thus, the game balls are finally arranged in a row and in a row and sent to the payout device. The game balls in the straight passage portion 23 flow down in a straight line, and since the second or higher game balls enter the gap, the game balls eventually flow down with little gap between the game balls in the front and rear. The Therefore, in addition to the speed at which game balls flow down originally, the game balls flow down without any gaps, so that a large amount of game balls can flow down.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to each embodiment mentioned above, and it cannot be overemphasized that it can implement with a various aspect, as long as it belongs to the technical scope of this invention.

  In the embodiment described above, the straight passage portion 23 and the meandering passage portion 24 are formed so that the width of each passage portion is slightly wider than the diameter of the game balls, so that the game balls flow down in almost one row. Although formed, it is not necessarily limited to this. You may make it flow down in two or more rows by making the width | variety of each channel | path part more than twice the diameter of a game ball. Further, like the embodiment, the meandering passage portion is formed to be slightly wider than the diameter of the game ball so as to easily collide with the side wall, and the straight passage portion is arranged to meander upward so that the game ball can flow more smoothly. It may be formed so as to have a slightly wider width than the passage portion.

  In the above-described embodiment, the ball tank 10 and the game ball cage 20 have been described as being integrated, but the ball tank 10 and the game ball cage 20 may be manufactured separately.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the straight passage portion 23 is formed at a height that is half the diameter of the game ball, but is not limited to this, and has a side wall that is not less than the height of the radius of the game ball. If it does, it doesn't matter.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the bottom wall 21 of the straight passage portion 23 is formed in a plane from upstream to downstream, but may be partially formed in a step shape as shown in FIG. . Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the bottom wall 21 may be formed to be inclined downward toward the center line 21 e of the bottom wall 21. By forming in this way, it becomes easy to arrange game balls in one row.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the meandering passage portion 24 is formed so that constant bending is repeated, but the bending shape may be changed between the upstream portion and the downstream portion.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the dust discharge hole 21c is formed with the dust discharge hole 21c for discharging the dust below the flange portion 22c. However, the dust discharge hole 21c is not limited to the lower portion of the flange portion 22c. However, it can be appropriately provided in a place where dirt is easily collected or dust is easily collected.

  As shown in the above-described embodiment, the present invention can be used for a gaming machine that uses a game ball as a game medium.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Ball tank, 11 ... Bottom, 20 ... Game ball cage, 21 ... Bottom wall, 21a ... Straight part,
21b ... bent portion, 21c ... dust discharge hole, 21e ... center line, 22 ... both side walls,
22a ... straight part side wall, 22b ... meandering side wall, 22c ... collar part, 22d ... ball receiving shelf,
23 ... Straight passage portion, 24 ... Meandering passage portion, 30 ... Ball dispensing device, 40 ... Ball dispensing rail,
100 ... Pachinko machine

Claims (4)

A game ball cage having an inclined bottom wall so that a game ball stored in a ball tank provided on the back surface of the game machine flows down by its own weight,
The game ball cage is composed of a bottom wall having a straight portion at least a part of which is formed substantially linearly from the upstream side to the downstream side, and both side walls erected on both sides of the bottom wall,
The both side walls are provided in the shape of the straight portion from the bottom wall to at least the height of the radius of the game ball, and are provided above the straight passage portion and from the upstream side to the downstream side. A game ball cage comprising: a meandering passage portion that is bent repeatedly.   The side wall includes a ball receiving shelf having a curved surface that is formed when the game balls stacked in the game ball cage are to be joined from the meandering passage portion toward the bottom wall. The game ball cage according to claim 1.   It has a collar part located above the bottom wall on the opposite side wall of the ball receiving shelf, and at least a dust discharge hole is formed in the bottom wall located below the collar part. The game ball cage according to claim 2. The game ball cage according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the game ball cage is in a line.

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