JP2015012917A - Ball polishing device for game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ball polishing device for game machines of a type incorporated in a game machine capable of exerting an excellent cleaning function without impairing a degree of design freedom in the game machine.SOLUTION: A ball polishing device 1A includes: a ball conveyance path 10 for linearly conveying Pachinko balls 100; a motor-drive type spiral conveyance shaft 30 that is formed by forming a spiral ball feed groove 300 around an outer peripheral surface of a columnar member, in which rotary axial lines are parallel disposed along the ball conveyance path 10, and that conveys the Pachinko balls 100 in the ball conveyance path 10; and a cleaning member 4A disposed at a mid-flow of the ball conveyance path 10 to expose a cleaning surface 41 with which the Pachinko balls 100 come into contact. The ball conveyance path 10 is vertically disposed so as to vertically convey, by the turning of the spiral conveyance shaft 30, the Pachinko balls 100 entering the ball conveyance path 10 and having parts thereof buried in the ball feed groove 300, and clean them, with their sliding on the cleaning surface 41.

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball polishing apparatus for gaming machines, and more particularly to a ball polishing apparatus for cleaning pachinko balls that are built in gaming machines that use pachinko balls and are dirty for use in games.

  In gaming machines such as pachinko machines, the surface of pachinko balls used in games is likely to be contaminated with hand oil, dirt in the hall, tobacco smoke components, or equipment-derived oil and dust. It is known that such dirt clogs the circulation path of pachinko spheres and affects the behavior of pachinko spheres. Also, if you continue to use dirty pachinko balls, the board surface of the gaming machine will be soiled and its aesthetics will be deteriorated.

  For this reason, dirty pachinko balls from a plurality of gaming machines are collected in one place, and the dirt is removed by one ball polishing device and then recirculated to each gaming machine. However, in order to reciprocate the pachinko balls with the ball polishing device located at a distance from each gaming machine in this way and to operate with a dedicated ball polishing device, extra installation space and a large amount of drive are required. Because it requires electric power, it tends to be a factor that deteriorates the cost performance of the amusement hall.

  Therefore, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-289246, a ball polishing device that polishes pachinko balls and cleans them at predetermined positions in a ball passage inside a gaming machine has come to be widely used. As described above, each gaming machine has a small ball polishing device, so that the installation space and the power cost can be greatly reduced as compared with the case where cleaning is performed at one place using a large ball polishing device. .

  However, such a ball polisher for a gaming machine has a cleaning path in which a cleaning member is provided in a sideways ball transport path, and occupies a relatively large space in the left-right direction inside the gaming machine. There is a problem that the degree of freedom of design in the machine is easily lost. Therefore, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-104438, the cleaning path constituting a part of the ball transport path is inclined upward to reduce the installation space in the left-right direction, or the distance of the cleaning path itself can be reduced. It has also been shortened.

  However, even when the cleaning path is obliquely upward as described above, the installation space is still not sufficiently reduced, and there are cases where it becomes easier to interfere with other parts due to the inclination. Further, when the apparatus is made compact by shortening the cleaning path, the cleaning area / cleaning amount of the pachinko ball per time is reduced, resulting in a deterioration of the cleaning function.

JP 2007-289246 A JP 2011-104438 A

  The present invention is intended to solve the above-described problems, and an excellent cleaning function for a ball polisher for a gaming machine that is built in each gaming machine without impairing the degree of freedom of design in the gaming machine. It is an issue to make it possible to demonstrate.

  Therefore, the present invention is arranged at a predetermined position in a gaming machine using a pachinko ball, and includes a ball transport path for linearly transporting the pachinko ball, and a spiral ball feed groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member. A motor-driven spiral conveyance shaft that is arranged in parallel so that its rotation axis is along the spherical conveyance path and conveys the pachinko balls in the spherical conveyance path, and a cleaning surface that contacts the pachinko balls at a midway position in the spherical conveyance path A ball polishing apparatus provided with a cleaning member disposed so as to be exposed, wherein the ball conveyance path is arranged vertically, and a pachinko that enters the ball conveyance path and partially immerses in the ball feed groove Cleaning is performed by sliding the sphere on the cleaning surface while transporting the sphere in the vertical direction by rotation of the spiral transport shaft.

  In this way, the pachinko ball that has entered the ball conveyance path is cleaned by the cleaning member disposed in the middle while being conveyed vertically by the spiral conveyance shaft attached thereto, so that the cleaning function is not deteriorated. Since the size of the ball polisher can be made compact in the horizontal direction, it becomes easy to ensure the degree of freedom in designing the gaming machine.

  Further, in this gaming machine ball polishing device, at a predetermined position in the longitudinal direction of the spiral transfer shaft, the spiral transfer shaft rotates in a state of being in contact with the pachinko ball, thereby causing a friction of a predetermined level or more with the pachinko ball. Friction means for generating a force is provided on the bottom side of the ball feed groove, and the friction means gives a lateral rotation to the pachinko sphere while abutting against the side surface of the pachinko sphere at the time of conveyance by rotation of the spiral conveyance shaft. In this case, the phase of the pachinko sphere is changed during conveyance, and the unevenness of the cleaning site on the surface can be eliminated. Therefore, an excellent cleaning function can be easily exhibited even with a short cleaning path.

  In this case, if the friction means is characterized in that a plurality of ribs made of vertical protrusions are formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction on the bottom side of the ball feed groove, Friction means having excellent functionality can be easily provided without incurring an increase in cost.

  Furthermore, in the above-described ball polishing apparatus for gaming machines, the ball conveyance path is configured such that the ball conveyance path for raising the pachinko ball and the ball conveyance path for lowering are connected in the vertical direction with the upper end side or the lower end side connected to each other. The partition walls are arranged in parallel, and at least a part of the partition walls is constituted by a flat plate-shaped cleaning member, and pachinko balls reciprocating in the vertical direction across the partition wall are cleaned on both the front and back surfaces of the cleaning member. If it is characterized by the above, the cleaning surface can be used efficiently while exhibiting an excellent cleaning function without increasing the size in the vertical direction.

  In this case, if the spiral transport shafts that transport in opposite directions are provided in the vertical ball transport path, both the ascending and descending operations of the pachinko sphere are performed. It becomes active, and it becomes easy to avoid troubles of ball clogging while ensuring a pressing force of a predetermined level or more against the cleaning member in any ball conveyance path.

  Alternatively, in the above-described ball polishing apparatus for a gaming machine in which the ball conveyance path reciprocates in the vertical direction, the ball conveyance path in the vertical direction actively conveys the ball conveyance path to be lifted together with the spiral conveyance axis, If the following ball transport path to be lowered is passively transported by the pachinko ball's own weight or / and the subsequent pachinko ball's delivery pressure, one spiral is provided. Since both the ascending and descending operations can be performed only by the conveying shaft, the configuration of the apparatus is simplified, and even if it has two ball conveying paths, the entire apparatus can easily be accommodated compactly.

  Furthermore, in the above-described ball polishing apparatus for gaming machines, the cleaning member is formed into a flat plate shape, and can be attached to and detached from the apparatus body from the outside, and both front and back surfaces can be used as cleaning surfaces. If this is a feature, it is possible to greatly reduce the maintenance work of the ball polishing apparatus by making the attachment and removal work easy.

  According to the present invention in which the pachinko ball is cleaned by a cleaning member disposed in the middle while being transported in the vertical direction by the spiral transport shaft provided along with the vertical ball transport path, the design freedom in the gaming machine is not impaired. It can exhibit an excellent cleaning function.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ball polishing apparatus for a gaming machine that is a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which removed the door of the ball | bowl conveyance path of the ball polisher for game machines of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state which opened the outer door of the ball conveyance path and removed the cleaning member during the cleaning operation | work of the ball polisher for game machines of FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial view for explaining a function of a spiral conveyance shaft of the ball polishing apparatus for a gaming machine of FIG. 3. It is a perspective longitudinal cross-sectional view of the ball polisher for game machines which is the 2nd Embodiment in this invention. It is the disassembled perspective view to which the cleaning member used with the ball polisher for game machines of FIG. 5 was expanded. FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view for explaining the function of the cleaning member of FIG. 6. It is a perspective view of the ball polisher for game machines which is the 3rd embodiment in the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the ball polisher for gaming machines of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state which pulled out the cleaning member from the ball polisher for game machines of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the application example of the ball polishing apparatus for game machines of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the ball polishing apparatus for game machines of FIG. 12 from the back side.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present invention, the sphere polishing means cleaning of the sphere, and the vertical direction (longitudinal direction) means the vertical direction.

  FIG. 1 shows a ball polishing apparatus 1A for a gaming machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This ball polisher 1A for gaming machines is arranged at a predetermined position of a ball passage inside a pachinko machine, and has a lateral introduction path 5a for introducing a pachinko ball on the upper side of the resin main body casing 2A, a lower part It has a lateral delivery path 5b for discharging pachinko balls on the side, and a ball transport path 10 for linearly transporting the pachinko balls downward.

  The ball transport path 10 for transporting the pachinko balls downward has an opening at the position of the window 101 opened on the outer surface of the main body casing 2A. The window 101 is closed by a door 110 that can be opened and closed. ing. As shown in FIG. 2 in a state where the door 110 and a cleaning member 4A described later are removed, the spiral conveying shaft 30 in which a spiral ball feeding groove 300 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the columnar member has a rotational axis thereof. Are arranged in parallel along the ball conveyance path 10, and the pachinko balls in the ball conveyance path 10 are conveyed by motor drive.

  The spiral transport shaft 30 is rotated around the shaft by an electric motor (not shown) via a gear 71 connected to the upper end of the main body casing 2A and a gear 70 meshed with the gear 71, and a spherical transport path. 10 is provided with a function of transporting a pachinko ball having entered part 10 into the ball feed groove 300 downward. And since the spiral conveyance axis | shaft 30 and the ball conveyance path 10 were arranged in parallel in the vertical direction in this way, in addition to becoming hard to raise | generate a ball clogging in the ball conveyance path 10, the ball for game machines which has this It is characterized in that the size of the polishing apparatus 1A is compact in the horizontal direction.

  FIG. 3 shows that when the gaming machine ball polishing apparatus 1A is operating, the outer door 110a of the door 110 is opened and the cleaning member 4A sandwiched between the lattice-shaped inner door 110b is removed. Indicates the state. The cleaning member 4 </ b> A is disposed so as to expose the cleaning surface 41 with which the pachinko ball 100 contacts in the middle position of the ball conveyance path 10, and on the cleaning surface 41 while lowering the pachinko ball 100 by the rotation of the spiral conveyance shaft 30. By sliding, the function of removing dirt on the surface of the pachinko ball 100 is exhibited.

  Various materials are assumed as the cleaning member 4A, but those having excellent deformability but easily adsorbing and holding dirt are suitable. Non-woven fabric and soft foamed resin made of fibers having excellent surface adsorbability are shown in the figure. A thin flat plate is recommended. Accordingly, the protrusion 111 formed on the inner surface of the outer door 110a is pressed while being in close contact with the outer surface of the curved inner door 110b, and partially protrudes inward from the lattice-shaped opening 112 of the inner door 110b. Therefore, the cleaning surface 41 is easily brought into close contact with the surface of the pachinko ball 100.

  The cleaning member 4A can be attached and detached from the outside by opening the outer door 110a that constitutes the door 110. However, if it is turned upside down, the back side of the cleaning surface 41 can be used as the cleaning surface 42. Therefore, in addition to the replacement work being easy, the maintenance cost can be expected to be reduced when both front and back sides are used.

  FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view for explaining the function of the spiral conveyance shaft 30. The spiral transport shaft 30 is rotated at a predetermined level with the pachinko ball 100 by rotating the spiral transport shaft 30 while being in contact with the pachinko ball 100 on the bottom side of the ball feed groove 300 at the midway position in the vertical direction. As the friction means for generating the above frictional force, a plurality of ribs 300a, 300b, 300c, 300d,... Formed of vertical protrusions are provided at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. For this reason, when the spiral conveying shaft 30 is rotated, this friction means abuts against the side surface of the pachinko ball 100 to give a lateral rotation, which is also a characteristic part of the present embodiment. .

  That is, when the spiral conveying shaft 30 does not have the above-described friction means, the pachinko ball 100 moves almost without rotation when being conveyed on the vertical ball conveying path 10 and is slid on the cleaning surface 41. Since only a slight vertical rotation is applied, the cleaning site on the surface of the pachinko ball 100 is biased, which is insufficient from the viewpoint of efficient cleaning.

  On the other hand, by providing the friction means as described above, a lateral rotation is applied to the pachinko ball 100 during conveyance, so that the phase can be changed to eliminate the above-mentioned bias, and the cleaning member 4A can be By giving lateral rotation at the contact position, the cleaning area on the surface of the pachinko ball 100 is remarkably increased, so that an excellent cleaning function can be exhibited even with a short cleaning path.

  FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a ball polishing apparatus 1B for a gaming machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention. This ball polisher 1B for gaming machines is configured such that a ball transport path 11 that raises the pachinko ball 100 and a ball transport path 12 that lowers the pachinko ball 100 are connected in parallel via a vertical partition 20 in a state where they are connected on the upper end side. Since the introduction path 5c and the delivery path 5d of the pachinko ball 100 are substantially the same height, the pachinko ball 100 can be arranged as it is even in a ball path having no level difference. It is characterized in that it has a ball transport path that is approximately twice as long as the ball transport path 10 in FIG.

  In addition, the ball polishing device 1B for gaming machines has the ball transport path 11 for raising the pachinko ball 100 provided with the spiral transport shaft 30 for active transport, and the ball transport path 12 for lowering is spirally transported. A method is adopted in which the pachinko ball 100 is passively conveyed by the dead weight of the pachinko ball 100 or / and the subsequent pressure of the pachinko ball 100 without the shaft 30.

  A part of the partition wall 20 is composed of a flat plate-shaped cleaning member 4B. One of the cleaning surfaces 44 is exposed to the ball transport path 11 side, and the other cleaning surface 43 is exposed to the ball transport path 12 side. The pachinko ball 100 that reciprocates in the vertical direction via the partition wall 20 is also characterized in that it is cleaned on both the front and back surfaces of the cleaning member 4B.

  Therefore, even with the cleaning member 4B having the same size as the cleaning member 4A described above, the cleaning path is doubled, so that an effective and efficient cleaning operation can be realized. Moreover, since both the raising and lowering operations can be performed with only one spiral conveyance shaft 30, the cleaning function is remarkably improved without causing an excessive increase in the size of the apparatus.

Further, the cleaning member 4B can be easily attached and detached by external insertion / extraction, thereby reducing the labor required for maintenance. A pull-out trash box 22 is provided below the partition wall 20 for receiving trash such as dust that has fallen from the pachinko ball 100 without adhering to the cleaning member 4B.

  FIG. 6 is an exploded view showing the detailed configuration of the above-described cleaning member 4B. This cleaning member 4B has a cleaning body 40 formed of a soft and excellent surface-adhesive material such as foamed resin (sponge) in a slightly thick flat plate shape, and a vertical beam parallel to a rectangular frame. It is formed by sandwiching two frames 40a and 40b from the front and back, and as shown in FIG. 7, two vertical stripes are formed on both the front and back surfaces by crosspieces, so that the pachinko ball 100 has a spherical shape. Compared with the case where the surface of the pachinko sphere 100 is in contact with the hard cleaning surface that remains flat and is not deformed, a large contact area can be realized.

  FIG. 8 shows a ball polishing apparatus 1C for a gaming machine according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, similarly to the above-described gaming machine ball polishing apparatus 1B, two longitudinal ball transport paths 13 and 14 are provided in parallel, and these lead-in paths 5e have substantially the same height. A vertical reciprocating path is formed by lowering and rising between the feeding path 5f. Further, between the parallel ball transport paths 13 and 14, a partition wall 21 is provided and is connected laterally on the lower end side thereof, and a part of the partition wall 21 is constituted by a cleaning member 4B.

  In the gaming machine ball polishing apparatus 1C, as shown in the longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 9, the two spiral transport shafts 30 and 30 are rotated in opposite directions by the action of the gears 70, 72, and 73. Are arranged in parallel with the ball transport paths 13 and 14 between them. Moreover, although the lower end side of the ball | bowl conveyance paths 13 and 14 is connected by the horizontal ball | bowl conveyance path 15 and forms the substantially U-shaped ball conveyance path as a whole, the ball conveyance path which descends the introduced pachinko ball 100 13. It is characterized in that both the ball transport path 14 to be lifted are actively transported. For this reason, in any of the ball transport paths 13 and 14, it is difficult to cause a problem of clogging while securing an appropriate pressing force against the cleaning surfaces 43 and 44 of the cleaning member 4B sandwiched therebetween.

  FIG. 10 shows a state where the cleaning member 4B is pulled out in the above-described ball polishing apparatus 1C for gaming machines. In this gaming machine ball polishing apparatus 1C, a longitudinally slit-like insertion hole 25 is opened at a substantially central position of the main body casing 2C, and the cleaning member 4B can be inserted and removed from the outside. Although the left and right widths of the insertion hole 25 are narrower than the thickness of the cleaning member 4B, the cleaning body 40 is easily deformed by being made of a soft foamed resin, so that the insertion / removal operation can be performed without difficulty. ing.

  FIG. 11 shows a ball polishing apparatus 1D for a gaming machine as an application example of the above-described ball polishing apparatus 1C for a gaming machine. This gaming machine ball polishing apparatus 1D has substantially the same configuration as the gaming machine ball polishing apparatus 1C, but a belt-shaped sheet material 45 is wound instead of the cleaning member 4B having a flat plate shape as a whole. It is characterized in that a cleaning member 4C made of a roll body is used.

  That is, from the cleaning member 4C of the roll body rotatably supported by the upper and lower arms 26 (the lower arm is not visible) at the upper and lower positions of the insertion hole 25 (not shown) opened on the front side of the main casing 2D. As shown in FIG. 4, the front end side of the strip-shaped sheet material 45 extending through the insertion hole 24 on the back surface is sequentially wound by a shaft 49 that is rotatably supported by the upper and lower arms 28 and 29. It is a feature.

  Also in this application example, the sheet material 45 constituting a part of the cleaning member 4C while extending from the cleaning member 4C enters the inside of the main body casing 2D, and is formed of two vertically-oriented ball conveyance paths arranged in parallel via a partition wall. The pachinko balls 100 that are transported in the vertical direction are in sliding contact with the cleaning surface. The cleaning surface that has been used for cleaning and becomes dirty can be sequentially updated.

  Since the sheet material 45 penetrates through the main body casing 2D to the back side in this way, the motor (not shown) is arranged shifted from the center position, and the arrangement of the gear 70 is also moved. . In the figure, the winding operation of the sheet material 45 is shown as a manual type. However, if it is configured to automatically wind the sheet material 45 at a predetermined interval or a predetermined speed with a predetermined power, the maintenance work is greatly reduced. It becomes possible to reduce.

  On the other hand, for the flat plate-like cleaning members 4A and 4B in the above-described embodiment, a cleaning body made of a nonwoven fabric or foamed resin is integrally formed by insert molding together with a resin lid, frame, or core. Alternatively, a powdery or short fiber-like cleaning element component may be formed by being kneaded into a predetermined resin so as to be exposed on the surface. Similarly, if the spiral conveying shaft is formed and the spiral conveying shaft itself functions as a cleaning member, the cleaning function is further improved.

  As described above, an excellent cleaning function can be exhibited while securing a degree of freedom of design in a gaming machine according to the present invention, with respect to a ball polishing apparatus for gaming machines that is built in each gaming machine.

  1A, 1B, 1C, 1D Ball polisher for gaming machines, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D Main body casing, 4A, 4B, 4C Cleaning member, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 Ball transport path, 20, 21 Bulkhead, 30 spiral conveying shaft, 40 cleaning body, 41, 42, 43, 44 cleaning surface, 45 sheet material, 100 pachinko ball, 300 ball feed groove, 300a, 300b, 300c, 300d rib

Claims (7)

A ball conveyance path that is arranged at a predetermined position in a gaming machine that uses a pachinko ball, conveys the pachinko ball linearly, and a helical ball feed groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member. A motor-driven spiral conveyance shaft that is arranged in parallel along the sphere conveyance path and conveys the pachinko balls in the sphere conveyance path, and a cleaning surface that is in contact with the pachinko sphere at an intermediate position on the sphere conveyance path is disposed. In a ball polishing device provided with a cleaning member
The ball conveyance path is arranged vertically, and the pachinko balls that have entered the ball conveyance path and partially immersed in the ball feed groove are conveyed in the vertical direction by rotating the spiral conveyance shaft. A ball polishing apparatus for a gaming machine, wherein the cleaning is performed by sliding on a cleaning surface.   At a predetermined position in the longitudinal direction of the spiral conveyance shaft, a friction means that generates a frictional force of a predetermined level or more with the pachinko ball by rotating the spiral conveyance shaft in a state of being in contact with the pachinko ball is the ball feed 2. The pachinko ball, which is provided on the bottom side of the groove and imparts a lateral rotation to the pachinko sphere while the friction means abuts a side surface of the pachinko sphere during conveyance by rotation of the spiral conveyance shaft. A ball polisher for gaming machines as described in 1.   3. The gaming machine according to claim 2, wherein the friction means is formed by a plurality of ribs formed of vertical protrusions at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction on the bottom side of the ball feed groove. Ball polishing equipment.   The ball conveyance path is configured such that a ball conveyance path for raising a pachinko ball and a ball conveyance path for lowering are connected in parallel through a vertical partition in a state where the ball conveyance path is connected on the upper end side or the lower end side thereof, 2. The pachinko ball that reciprocates in the vertical direction across the partition is cleaned on both front and back surfaces of the cleaning member, at least a part of the partition is formed of a flat plate-shaped cleaning member. , 2 or 3 ball polisher for gaming machines. 5. The ball polishing apparatus for a gaming machine according to claim 4, wherein the spiral conveyance shaft for conveying the ball transport paths in the vertical direction in opposite directions is provided in the vertical direction.   The ball transport path in the vertical direction is configured such that the ball transport path to be lifted is provided with the spiral transport shaft for active transport, and the ball transport path to be subsequently lowered is the pachinko ball's own weight or / and the succeeding pachinko ball. The ball polishing apparatus for a gaming machine according to claim 4, wherein the transfer is passively carried out by the delivery pressure.   4. The cleaning member according to claim 1, 2, 3, wherein the cleaning member has a flat plate shape and is detachable from the outside of the apparatus main body, and both front and back surfaces thereof can be used as the cleaning surface. , 4, 5 or 6 ball polisher for gaming machines.

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