JP2015144646A - Ball polishing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ball polishing device that can improve polishing ability of game balls.SOLUTION: A ball polishing device 200 having a polishing cassette 240 facing a portion of conveyed game balls T by a conveyance unit 220 for conveying game balls T and detachably attached to a portion of the conveyance unit 220. A screw conveyor 221 enables movement along a conveyance path 226 of the game balls T when rotationally driven by a ball conveyance motor 228, and presses the game balls T against polishing cloth 243 on the movement. A cassette body 241 of the polishing cassette 240 feeds out the polishing cloth 243, and includes polishing cloth feeding means 244 driven by an abrasive motor 234. The polishing cloth feeding means 244 is provided with a driving force for moving the polishing cloth 243 by the abrasive motor 234, and the polishing cloth 243 is fed in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the game balls T conveyed on the conveyance path 226 by the rotation of the screw conveyor 221.

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball polishing apparatus for polishing a game ball used in a gaming machine. The game ball is, for example, a pachinko ball, and the game machine is, for example, a pachinko machine.

  In recent years, various amusement islands (single islands) independent of one or two have been proposed instead of amusement islands configured with a large number of gaming machines. Since a single island has a built-in ball replenishing device for one or two, a large ball replenishing facility installed for each island is unnecessary.

  Even on a single island, dirt may adhere to the balls used for the game balls due to static electricity or the like, so a ball polishing apparatus for removing dirt and imparting gloss to the balls is required. A gaming machine including a relatively small ball polishing apparatus for polishing a game ball is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

Utility Model Registration No. 2516345

  Incidentally, in the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, an abrasive is provided on the surface of the base frame, and the abrasive is pressed against the sphere conveyed by the rotation of the screw by the elastic force of the spring spring. Yes. Therefore, the same part of the abrasive is pressed against the sphere, and there is a problem that the exchange frequency of the abrasive is high.

  Therefore, the present applicant has studied a spherical polishing apparatus that uses a long abrasive (abrasive cloth) and presses the sphere while moving the abrasive cloth to polish (clean) the sphere. Overlapping. In such a sphere polishing apparatus, since the abrasive moves, the problem that the same portion of the abrasive is always pressed against the sphere can be solved. However, even with such a ball polishing apparatus, further improvement in polishing ability (cleaning ability) is desired.

  The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a ball polishing apparatus capable of improving the polishing ability of a game ball.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to a first aspect of the present invention, a transport unit that transports a game ball, a part of the game ball transported by the transport unit, and a part of the transport unit. A ball polishing apparatus having a polishing cassette that is detachably attached, and a conveyance unit is provided on a screw conveyor that is rotatably provided, and is provided on an outer peripheral side of the screw conveyor and with the rotation of the screw conveyor. The conveyance path for conveying the game ball and a first drive means for rotationally driving the screw conveyor, and the screw conveyor along the conveyance path of the game ball when rotated by the first drive means In addition to allowing movement, the game ball is pressed against the abrasive during the movement, and the polishing cassette can accommodate endless and strip-shaped abrasive in the accommodation space. The cassette body is provided with an abrasive outlet for sending the abrasive from the housing space and an abrasive inlet for allowing the abrasive to enter the housing space from the outside to the abrasive inlet. In addition, the abrasive is exposed to the outside of the cassette main body, and the cassette main body is provided with an abrasive feeding means for moving the abrasive, and the abrasive feeding means moves the abrasive by the second driving means. A driving force is applied, and the polishing cloth is sent in the direction opposite to the direction in which the game balls are conveyed along the conveyance path by the rotation of the screw conveyor.

  Further, according to another aspect of the present invention, in the above-described invention, the screw conveyor includes a central shaft extending along the axial direction, and a belt plate protruding from the outer peripheral side of the central shaft and provided in a spiral shape. It is preferable that the length of the protruding dimension from the outer periphery of the central axis of the band plate is shorter than the radius of the game ball.

  Further, according to another aspect of the present invention, in the above-described invention, a cushion material is attached to at least a part of a portion of the cassette body where the abrasive is exposed to the outside, and the cushion material contacts the abrasive. At the same time, it is preferable that the abrasive has elasticity that is recessed when pressed by a game ball.

  In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention, in the above-described invention, the cushion material includes a base cloth positioned on the cassette body side and raised hairs protruding from the base cloth, and from the base cloth side that is the root of the raised hair. It is preferable that the direction toward the front end side of the protrusion includes a component in the same direction as the feed direction of the polishing pad.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the polishing ability of a game ball in a ball polishing apparatus.

It is a front view which shows an example of the game island (single island) comprised from two game machines. It is a front view which shows the structural example of the game island (single island) different from FIG. It is a figure which shows schematically the structure of the game device which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of installation with respect to the single island of the game apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a single island in FIG. 2, showing a state in which the gaming machine in FIG. 2 is removed. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in the use condition of the lower tank of the game device. It is a disassembled perspective view of the lower tank of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the lower part and introducing | transducing part of the conveyance part of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the improved introduction part. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a case where one row of spheres is introduced in the introduction portion of FIG. 9. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a case where two rows of spheres are introduced in the introduction part of FIG. 9. It is a figure which shows the image at the time of the screw conveyor as a comparative example conveying a ball | bowl, (a) is a partial sectional side view which shows the structure of the screw conveyor near polishing cloth, (b) is received by a ball | bowl. It is a figure which shows the mode of force. It is a figure which shows the image at the time of the screw conveyor of this Embodiment conveying a ball | bowl, (a) is a partial sectional side view which shows the structure of the screw conveyor near polishing cloth, (b) is a ball | bowl. It is a figure which shows the mode of the force received. It is a perspective view which shows the 1st structural example of a conveyance part and a grinding | polishing part, and is shown in the state which the grinding | polishing cassette isolate | separated. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state where a conveyance guide in the polishing main body of the polishing unit of FIG. 14 is meandering. The modification of a screw conveyor is shown, The partial perspective view of the screw conveyor in case the plane cross-sectional shape of a center axis | shaft is elliptical shape, and the plane cross-sectional view of a center axis | shaft are shown. It is a top sectional view for explaining the pressing state of the sphere to the polishing cloth inside the conveyance guide, (a) shows the state where the sphere faces the short axis side of the central axis of the elliptical shape, and (b) shows the elliptical shape. The state where the long axis side of the central axis of the shape faces the sphere is shown. The partial perspective view of the screw conveyor in case the plane cross-sectional shape of a center axis | shaft is substantially triangular shape, and the plane cross-sectional view of a center axis | shaft are shown. The perspective view of the screw conveyor of a mode with which a pair of plane part which cut the perimeter of the central axis in parallel exists, and the plane sectional view of the central axis are shown. The perspective view of the screw conveyor of a mode with which a projection exists in the central axis whose plane section shape is circular, and the plane sectional view of the center axis are shown. It is a perspective view which removes and shows one box of a polishing cassette. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the structure of a grinding | polishing cassette. It is a figure which shows the grinding | polishing cassette of the state which removed the polishing cloth, (a) is the perspective view seen from the front side, (b) is a rear view, (c) is a bottom view. It is a top view which shows the state which removed the box of the grinding | polishing cassette. The form which attaches a grinding | polishing cassette to a grinding | polishing main-body part is shown, (a) shows the state where the longitudinal direction of a cassette body is parallel to the central axis of a screw conveyor, (b) shows the diagonal state unlike (a) Yes. It is a perspective view which shows the state which looked at the grinding | polishing cassette attached in the diagonal state from the back wall side. It is a figure which shows the motion of the ball | bowl in conveyance which touches the polishing cloth of the grinding | polishing cassette attached in the diagonal state. It is a perspective view which shows the 2nd structural example of a conveyance part and a grinding | polishing part, and is shown in the state which the grinding | polishing cassette isolate | separated. It is a perspective view which abbreviate | omits a part of gear cover in the state of FIG. 28, and shows the drive part of a grinding | polishing part. FIG. 29 is a perspective view showing a state where the conveyance guide in the polishing main body of the polishing unit of FIG. 28 is meandering. The form which attaches the grinding | polishing cassette of a 2nd structural example to a grinding | polishing main-body part is shown, (a) shows the state where the longitudinal direction of a cassette body is parallel to the central axis of a screw conveyor, (b) is diagonally unlike (a) Shows the state. It is a perspective view which shows the state which looked at the grinding | polishing cassette attached in the diagonal state as shown in FIG.31 (b) from the back wall side. It is a figure which shows the motion of the ball | bowl in conveyance which touches the polishing cloth of the grinding | polishing cassette attached in the diagonal state. It is a figure which shows the specification of the polishing cloth of this Embodiment. It is a figure explaining an effect | action in case the junction part of polishing cloth is diagonal. It is a figure explaining the structural example for aiming at the damage reduction in the edge part of polishing cloth, (a) shows the structure which shortened the length of the gear roller, (b) is a figure which shows the gear roller which has a gearless part. is there. It is a top view which shows the structure of an abrasive cloth, (a) shows the abrasive cloth in this Embodiment, (b) has shown the abrasive cloth as a comparative example. It is an enlarged view of the left side part of the grinding | polishing cassette of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a gear roller, a rotating shaft, and an abrasive cloth guide, (a) is an exploded perspective view before an assembly | attachment, (b) is a perspective view which shows an assembly state, (c) is an abrasive cloth between gear rollers. It is a perspective view which shows the state pinched | interposed. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the gear roller which concerns on a modification, a rotating shaft, and an abrasive cloth guide, (a) is an exploded perspective view before an assembly | attachment, (b) is a perspective view which shows an assembly state, (c) is an abrasive cloth. It is a perspective view which shows the state pinched | interposed between the gear rollers. It is a partial top view which shows the structure of polishing cloth entrance vicinity of a cassette main body, (a) is a figure which shows schematic structure of polishing cloth entrance vicinity, (b) is a figure which shows an example of the attachment structure of a movable wall. It is. It is a figure which shows an example of the arrangement | positioning relationship of the gear roller which comprises an abrasive cloth feeding means. It is a figure which shows the other example of arrangement | positioning relationship of the gear roller which comprises an abrasive cloth feeding means. It is a figure which shows the structural example which urges | biases a driven-side gear roller to a drive-side gear roller. FIG. 25 is an enlarged view of a polishing cloth outlet side portion of the polishing cassette of FIG. 24. It is a figure which shows the dimensional relationship of a folding | turning part and a columnar part while expanding and showing a pair of wall member shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the back wall vicinity of the cassette main body of a grinding | polishing cassette. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows only the polishing cloth and cushion material of FIG. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows an abrasive cloth and a preferable cushion material. It is sectional drawing which shows a mode that the ball | bowl was pressed on the abrasive cloth and cushion material shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the cushion material which concerns on the modification of the cushion material shown in FIG. It is a perspective view explaining the fall direction of raising and the advancing direction of polishing cloth, (a) shows the case where the falling direction of raising is parallel to the movement direction of polishing cloth, and (b) goes to the movement direction of polishing cloth. It is a perspective view which shows a mode that the fall direction of raising is inclined so that it may leave | separate from the center of the width direction of a cushioning material. It is a perspective view which shows the cushion material in FIG.52 (b), (a) shows the structure without a combination prevention means, (b) has shown the structure with a combination prevention means. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which looked at the structure of the upper tank from the side surface side. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which cut | disconnected the upper tank shown in FIG. 54 along the AA line. It is a disassembled perspective view of the upper tank shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the upper tank shown in FIG. FIG. 55 is a perspective view showing a state in which the upper end side of the ball polishing apparatus is connected to the ball receiving portion of the upper tank of FIG. 54. It is a top view which shows the storage aspect of a ball | bowl when not attaching a guide plate to the upper end side of the ball | bowl grinding | polishing apparatus of FIG. It is a top view which shows the storage aspect of a sphere at the time of attaching a guide plate to the upper end side of the sphere grinding | polishing apparatus of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of this Embodiment. It is a timing chart which shows operation | movement of the conveyance part and grinding | polishing part by a control apparatus. It is a flowchart of the 1st example of the control processing of the ball conveyance motor and polishing motor by a control apparatus. It is a flowchart of the 2nd example of the control processing of the ball conveyance motor and polishing motor by a control apparatus. It is a flowchart following the circle 1 in FIG. 64A. It is a flowchart following the circle 2 in FIG. 64A. It is a flowchart explaining the 3rd example of the control processing of the ball | bowl conveyance motor and grinding | polishing motor by a control apparatus. FIG. 65B is a flowchart following circle 1 in FIG. 65A. FIG. 65B is a flowchart following circle 2 in FIG. 65A. It is a flowchart of the 4th example of control processing of a ball conveyance motor and a polish motor by a control device. FIG. 66B is a flowchart following circle 1 in FIG. 66A. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment in which a ball polishing apparatus according to the present embodiment is used in a non-open gaming machine. FIG. 68 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the housing with the polishing cassette removed in the ball polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 67. FIG. 68 is a front view showing an internal configuration of the ball polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 67. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the grinding | polishing cassette set to a housing.

  Hereinafter, a gaming island (single island), a gaming machine, a gaming apparatus, and a ball polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system may be used. Of these, the X direction is the width direction of the gaming island or gaming machine, the X1 side is the right side when the user faces the gaming island or gaming island, and the X2 side is the left side. The Z direction is the height direction of the game island or gaming machine, the Z1 side is the upper side, and the Z2 side is the lower side. The Y direction is a direction orthogonal to the XZ direction and the depth direction of the game island or gaming machine, the Y1 side is the front side, and the Y2 side is the back side.

[table of contents]
1. 1. Overall structure of amusement island (single island) and gaming machine 2. Schematic configuration of gaming device 3. Installation form of game equipment on a single island Detailed configuration of gaming device 4.1 Lower tank 4.2 Ball polishing device (1) Introduction unit (2) Transfer unit (3) Screw conveyor (4) First configuration example of polishing unit (4.1) Polishing unit Driving means (4.2) Polishing cassette (5) Second configuration example of polishing unit (6) Polishing cloth (7) Desirable additional configuration of polishing unit (a) Reduction of polishing cloth damage at polishing cloth inlet of polishing cassette (b) ) Prevention of polishing cloth from being caught at polishing cloth inlet of polishing cassette (c) Prevention of polishing cloth from being caught at polishing cloth outlet of polishing cassette (d) Prevention of uneven distribution of polishing cloth in polishing area (e) Cushioning material in polishing area 4.3 Upper tank 4.4 Control system (1) Control of ball transport motor and abrasive cloth feed motor First example (2) Control of ball transport motor and abrasive cloth feed motor Second example (3) Ball transport motor and abrasive cloth feed motor Motor control third example (4) Control of ball transport motor and polishing cloth feed motor Fourth example 5. Effect 6. Other embodiments (1) Non-open type gaming machine (2) Other variations

[1. Single island (amusement island) and overall configuration of gaming machine]
FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of a gaming island (single island) A composed of, for example, two gaming machines B (gaming machines B1, B2). In recent years, a small scale equipped with one or a few gaming machines due to the load of the ball polishing device, the complexity of the ball supply control in the ball polishing device, or the maintenance problems such as the labor and cost of changing the polishing cloth A gaming device has been developed that constitutes a simple island (game island) and can successfully reuse a limited number of balls within the constructed range. Here, the gaming machine is a pachinko machine that uses steel balls as balls.

  In a single island, one ball polishing device is installed for a plurality of gaming machines such as one, two or three. FIG. 1 shows a case where a gaming device C having a ball polishing device 200 is provided when a single island A is configured by two gaming machines B1 and B2.

  Each of the two gaming machines B1 and B2 constituting the single island A has a glass door 3 that is pivotally supported by the main body 2 on one side, and has a front plate 4 below the glass door 3. doing. A game board 5 is provided on the back side of the glass door 3. The game board 5 is provided with a dislodged ball collection opening h1 and a winning opening h2, so that the balls can be collected. Further, the front plate 4 is provided with an operation unit 6 for inputting a ball launch command to a known ball launcher (not shown) and adjusting the ball launch speed.

  Each gaming machine B1, B2 is provided with a ball lending machine 7 on one side. The ball lending machine 7 is a well-known device, and includes a display lamp 7a, a bill insertion slot 7b, a coin insertion slot 7c, a coin return slot 7d, and a card insertion slot 7e. The ball lending machine 7 outputs a ball replenishment command signal when a predetermined amount of banknotes or coins is inserted, or when a card having a balance of a predetermined amount or more is inserted. The ball supply command signal is given to a ball counter (not shown) provided in the ball supply tube 8. Thus, the ball counter counts the balls T from the upper tank 300 and replenishes the ball lending machine 7 with a predetermined number of balls T through the ball supply pipe 8. The ball lending machine 7 is provided with a ball lending pipe 15 for supplying the ball T to the adjacent gaming machines B1 and B2.

  In FIG. 1, an upper plate 16 is provided on the front side of the front plate 4 in the main body 2, and a lower plate 17 is provided on the lower side of the upper plate 16. The upper plate 16 and the lower plate 17 can see through the sphere T accommodated therein from the outside. Further, a funnel 18 is provided below the lower plate 17, and a ball collection path 30 is connected to the funnel 18. Further, a tray 19 is provided at a position corresponding to the upper side of the glass door 3 in the main body 2. A ball T is supplied to the tray 19 through the ball supply tube 9.

  In addition, a display unit 20 is provided below the game board 5 in the main body 2. The display unit 20 is a part that displays the number of remaining balls and the number of winning balls provided on the game board 5. The position where the display unit 20 is provided is not limited to the game board 5 and may be an arbitrary position that is easy for the player to see.

  In the single island A in FIG. 1, the function of collecting the falling balls from the gaming machines B1 and B2, the function of polishing the balls, and the function of supplying the balls to the gaming machines are completed in the two gaming machines B1 and B2. That is, the balls T that have entered the dislodged ball collection port h1 and the winning port h2 in the game board 5 of each gaming machine B1, B2 flow into the lowest funnel 18 of each gaming machine B1, B2, and collect the ball from the funnel 18 It is temporarily stored in the lower tank 100 constituting the gaming apparatus C via the path 30. Thereafter, the sphere T flows into an inlet 227 (described later) of the sphere polishing apparatus 200 and is polished while being conveyed in the sphere polishing apparatus 200 as described later. Thereafter, the sphere T is discharged to the upper tank 300 from an outlet 2315 described later of the sphere polishing apparatus 200. In this way, the sphere T is polished (cleaned) and is transported to the upper tank 300.

  As described above, the ball T accommodated in the upper tank 300 is controlled to the ball lending machine 7 through the ball supply pipe 8 and to the trays 19 of the gaming machines B1 and B2 through the ball supply pipe 9, respectively. The supplied quantity is to be supplied.

  Here, the configurations of a gaming island (single island) A and a gaming machine B to which a gaming device C described later is attached are not limited to those shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view showing another configuration example of the game island (single island) A. FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the ball discharged to the upper plate 16 rolls to the ball launch position via the guide path 10. When the player operates the operation section 6 such as a knob, the player is fired by a known launching means (not shown), and passes through the launch path 11 between the rail 12, the board surface 5 a of the game board 5, and the front glass door 3. Fly to the formed game area 13.

  The off-balls that have been launched into the game area 13 but did not enter the winning hole h2 are dropped and accommodated from the off-ball collecting port h1 onto the lower plate 17. When the fired ball enters the winning opening h <b> 2, the ball is supplied from the upper tank 300 to the upper plate 16 through the second supply pipe 14. In this supply, balls are counted by a counter (not shown), and a predetermined number is supplied as prize balls.

  When the upper plate 16 is full, the player opens the bottom shutter 16a of the upper plate 16, and the ball in the upper plate 16 falls to the lower plate 17 while being counted by a counter (not shown). The spheres in the lower plate 17 are collected from the bottom to the lower tank 100, and the spheres flowing out from the outlet 101 d at the bottom of the lower tank 100 pass through the introduction part 210 of the sphere polishing apparatus 200 to the lower end of the transport part 220. Introduced and polished by the polishing unit 230 provided near the upper end of the transport unit 220 while being transported by the transport unit 220, it is discharged from the upper end of the transport unit 220 and accommodated in the upper tank 300. Yes.

  As described above, a part of the balls stored in the upper tank 300 is supplied to the ball lending machine 7 through the ball supply pipe 8, and the other part is supplied through the ball supply pipe 14 when winning. It is supplied to the upper plate 16.

  Although the configuration of each part described below is basically based on the game island A in FIG. 2, the configuration of each part below is applied to the game island A in FIG. 1 described above. May be.

[2. Schematic configuration of gaming device]
Next, a schematic configuration of the gaming apparatus C will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the gaming apparatus C. As shown in FIG. As shown schematically in FIG. 3, the gaming device C collects and stores the lower tank 100 that collects and stores the balls T used in the gaming machine B, and transports the balls T that flow out of the lower tank 100, and A ball polishing apparatus 200 for polishing, and an upper tank 300 for storing the transferred and polished balls T and supplying them to the gaming machine B are provided. With such a configuration, the gaming apparatus C circulates the balls T used in the gaming machine B. The sphere polishing apparatus 200 includes a transfer unit 220 that transfers the sphere T flowing out from the lower tank 100 and a polishing unit 230 that polishes the sphere T that is being transferred.

  In FIG. 1, the ball polishing apparatus 200 of the gaming apparatus C is attached to the lower part of either one of the gaming machines B1 and B2 or the lower part of the boundary between both. However, the attaching position of the polishing unit 230 in FIG. 1 is not limited to the lower part of the gaming machines B1 and B2, but may be the upper part or the inside of the gaming machines B1 and B2.

[3. Installation form of game machines on a single island]
Next, FIG. 4 illustrates a mode in which the gaming apparatus C is provided on the gaming island A. First, as shown to Fig.4 (a), it can be set as the structure provided with the one game apparatus C in the single island A1 which has one game machine (not shown). Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, a single island A2 in which two gaming machines (not shown) are provided back to back is provided with one gaming device C corresponding to each gaming machine. be able to. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4 (c), a configuration in which one gaming device C corresponding to each gaming machine is provided in a single island A3 in which two gaming machines (not shown) are provided side by side. You can also In addition, as shown in FIG. 4D, one gaming device C is shared by two gaming machines in a single island A3 in which two gaming machines (not shown) are provided side by side. You can also

  In the description based on FIG. 4 described above, four forms are exemplified, but one gaming device C is provided in the single island A2 in which the two gaming machines (not shown) in FIG. Depending on whether the game machine is shared by two game machines, or depending on the vacant space in the game hall, for example, four game machines are arranged side by side to form a single island. Hereinafter, the single island A1 in FIG. 4A will be described as an example with reference to FIGS. 2 and 5 and subsequent drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the single island A has a main body 2, a known gaming machine B is installed in the single island A, and the balls collected after use in the gaming machine B are again used as the gaming machine B. Is provided with a gaming apparatus C according to the present embodiment.

[4. Detailed configuration of gaming device]
[4.1. Lower tank]
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the single island A of FIG. 2 and shows a state where the gaming machine B of FIG. 2 is removed. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the lower tank 100 of the gaming apparatus C in use. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the lower tank 100 of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lower tank 100 shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 generally includes a tank body 101, a horizontal guide plate 102, a first inclined plate 103, and a second inclined plate 104. doing.

  The tank body 101 is formed in a box shape having an open space 101a having a rectangular space 101a. The tank main body 101 has a bottom wall 101b and peripheral walls 101c1 to 101c4. The bottom wall 101b is inclined so as to descend from one end side (X2 side) toward the other side end (X1 side) to form a fourth ball rolling surface P4. Although the peripheral walls 101c1 to 101c4 rise from the periphery of the bottom wall 101b, the peripheral walls 101c1 and 101c2 protrude to the other end side (X1 side) from the bottom wall 101b, and the peripheral wall 101c4 connects the protruding end side. Is provided. Thus, an outlet 101d for discharging the sphere in the direction of the spherical polishing device 200 is formed at a position of the tank main body 101 on the peripheral wall 101c4 side where the lower end of the bottom wall 101b is connected.

  On the upper side of the lower tank 100, there is provided a lower tray 17 that receives a ball T falling off the game island A or a winning ball, or a ball T falling as a winning ball. The sphere T is discharged from the bottom to the upper surface of the horizontal guide plate 102.

  The horizontal guide plate 102 has a length (dimension in the X direction) substantially equal to the space 101a of the tank body 101, and is narrower than the space 101a by a width slightly larger than twice the diameter of the sphere T ( (Dimension in the Y direction). Therefore, the horizontal guide plate 102 is formed in a rectangular shape. A hole (or notch) 102a is formed on one end side (X1 side) in the longitudinal direction of the horizontal guide plate 102 for dropping the ball T rolling on its upper surface.

  When the horizontal guide plate 102 is accommodated in the center of the tank body 101 in the width direction (Y direction) and fixed at a predetermined height, the upper surface of the horizontal guide plate 102 defines the first ball rolling surface P1. Form. Further, between the horizontal guide plate 102 and the peripheral walls 101c1 and 101c2 facing the tank body 101, the sphere T rolling on the first ball rolling surface P1 is on both sides in the width direction (Y direction) of the horizontal guide plate 102. A gap is formed that can fall from the bottom.

  The first inclined plate 103 is fixed to the tank main body 101 at a distance equal to or larger than the diameter of the sphere T from the horizontal guide plate 102 below the horizontal guide plate 102. The first inclined plate 103 is inclined so that the other end side (X2 side) in the longitudinal direction is lower than the one end side (X1 side), and the first inclined plate 103 and the horizontal guide plate 102 on the upper side are arranged. A second ball rolling surface P2 is formed between them. The first inclined plate 103 has holes 103a and 103b for dropping the sphere T on the upper inclined side (X1 side) and the lower side (X2 side). Further, as shown in FIG. 7, at both ends in the width direction (Y direction) of the first inclined plate 103, a separation member 103c extending downward (Z2 side) with a height slightly larger than the diameter of the sphere T. Is provided. The spacing member 103c may be formed intermittently instead of being continuous in the longitudinal direction (X direction) as shown in FIG.

  The second inclined plate 104 is fixed to the tank main body 101 with a space larger than the diameter of the sphere T from the first inclined plate 103 below the first inclined plate 103. The second inclined plate 104 is formed so that its width (dimension in the Y direction) is equal to the width of the first inclined plate 103, but its length (dimension in the X direction) is shorter than the length of the first inclined plate 103. Yes. A horizontally elongated trapezoidal separation member 104a is provided at both ends of the second inclined plate 104 in the width direction (Y direction) on the other end side (X2 side). The spacing member 104a is set in a trapezoidal shape such that the height on one end side (X1 side) on the upper tilt side is larger than the height on the other end side (X2 side) on the lower tilt side. In addition, a separation member 104b is provided at the end of one end side (X1 side) of the second inclined plate 104 so as to stand up toward the upper side (Z1 side).

  The horizontal guide plate 102 and the first and second inclined plates 103 and 104 are mounted and fixed in the tank body 101 as follows. First, the second inclined plate 104 is inserted into the space 101a of the tank body 101, and the second inclined plate 104 is arranged so as to approach the peripheral wall 101c4 on the outlet 101d side, while the spacing member 104a is mounted on the upper surface of the bottom wall 101b. The state to be placed. At this time, a fitting portion (for example, a tongue piece) provided on the second inclined plate 104 is appropriately attached to a corresponding portion (for example, a slit) of the tank body 101.

  Subsequently, the first inclined plate 103 is inserted into the space 101a, the separating member 103c of the first inclined plate 103 is placed on the upper surface of the second inclined plate 104, and one end side (X1 side) is the separating member. 104b. At this time, similarly to the second inclined plate 104 described above, a fitting portion provided in the first inclined plate 103 is appropriately attached to a corresponding portion of the tank main body 101. Thereby, on the upper surface of the second inclined plate 104, a third ball rolling surface P3 on which the ball T rolls with the first inclined plate 103 is formed. In addition, the second ball rolling surface P2 on the upper surface side of the second inclined plate 104 and the third ball rolling surface P3 on the upper surface side of the second inclined plate 104 are kept in parallel, and the sphere T is between them. A void having a height slightly larger than the diameter is formed.

  Next, the horizontal guide plate 102 is disposed in the vicinity of the upper surface of the space 101a. At this time, the horizontal guide plate 102 is positioned in the center in the width direction (Y direction) of the space 101a. At this time, the horizontal guide plate 102 is mounted on a mounting piece (not shown) protruding from the inner surfaces of the peripheral walls 101c3 and 101c4, and then fixed.

  With such a configuration of the lower tank 100, as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 6, the ball T discharged from the bottom of the lower plate 17 rolls on the first ball rolling surface P1 of the horizontal guide plate 102, The horizontal guide plate 102 falls from the holes on both sides in the width direction (Y direction) to the second ball rolling surface P2. The sphere T rolling on the second ball rolling surface P2 falls from the hole 103a on the upper side (X1 side) of the first inclined plate 103 to the third ball rolling surface P3, or on the first inclined plate 103. It falls from the hole 103b on the lower side (X2 side) to the fourth ball rolling surface P4. In addition, the sphere T rolling on the third ball rolling surface P3 after falling from the hole 103a of the first inclined plate 103 is rolled into the fourth ball from the lower end (X2 side) of the second inclined plate 104. The ball T that falls on the surface P4 and rolls on the fourth ball rolling surface P4 is discharged from the outlet 101d of the tank body 101.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the discharge cylinder 17 a at the bottom of the lower plate 17, the discharged sphere T is guided to one end side of the horizontal guide plate 102 (X1 side: the upper inclined direction of the first inclined plate 103). A guiding guide 17b is provided.

  Observing the situation in which the sphere T is stored in the lower tank 100, when the sphere T starts to accumulate in the lower tank 100, the gap on both sides in the width direction (Y direction) of the first ball rolling surface P1 and the hole 102a at one end. The ball T falls from the second ball rolling surface P2. Then, the ball T rolls on the second ball rolling surface P2, falls from the lower (X2 side) hole 103b to the fourth ball rolling surface P4, and then the fourth ball rolling surface P4. The sphere T starts to accumulate from the lower end (X1 side) end. Accordingly, since the balls entering the lower tank 100 from the lower plate 17 pass through a relatively short course and accumulate on the fourth ball rolling surface P4, they are accommodated quickly and with minimal noise.

  In addition, after the fourth ball rolling surface P4 is filled with the ball T, the subsequent ball T entering the lower tank 100 from the lower plate 17 accumulates on the second ball rolling surface P2, but the second ball rolling surface When the moving surface P2 is full, or when the number of the balls T entering the lower tank 100 from the lower plate 17 is large, the balls from the upper hole 103a of the first inclined plate 103 to the third ball rolling surface P3. T falls. Therefore, the sphere T can be efficiently accommodated without causing any dead space on any of the ball rolling surfaces P4 and P3. Therefore, the effect that the ball accommodation capacity is substantially increased is exhibited.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the second inclined plate 104, the first inclined plate 103, and the horizontal guide plate 102 of the lower tank 100 are in close contact with each other in the void 101a of the tank body 101 in this order from above. It can be formed into a shape and size that can be fixed (without using a fixing tool such as a screw) simply by being fitted to. In this case, the lower tank 100 can be assembled and disassembled without tools (toolless). Therefore, when the lower tank 100 becomes dirty due to dust in the air, transfer of dirt on the ball T, etc., the lower tank 100 is disassembled for cleaning or the lower tank 100 is assembled again after cleaning. Can be performed quickly and easily.

  Further, the outlet 101d of the lower tank 100 is connected to an introduction part 210 of a ball polishing apparatus 200 described later (see FIG. 2).

[4.2 Ball polishing equipment]
As shown in FIG. 2, the ball polishing apparatus 200 conveys the introduced sphere, and an introduction part 210 for introducing the sphere T discharged from the outlet 101 d of the lower tank 100 to the lower end of the sphere polishing apparatus 200. A transport unit 220 for polishing, and a polishing unit 230 for polishing a sphere transported by the transport unit 220. Hereinafter, each part will be described sequentially.

<(1) Introduction part>
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the lower part of the transport unit 220 and the introduction unit 210A of FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the improved introduction part 210B. The introduction portion 210A has a sphere introduction path 211, and the other end side (X2 side) of the sphere introduction path 211A is connected to one end side (X1 side) of the sphere introduction path 211A connected to the outlet 101d of the lower tank 100. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, it is configured to be coupled to an inlet 227 opened at the lower end portion of the transport guide 225 of the transport unit 220.

  By the way, when one end side (X1 side) of the sphere introduction path 211A is inclined downward with a small inclination angle and coupled to the inlet 227 as shown in FIG. 8, depending on the inclination angle and the weight of the sphere T, the sphere T There is a possibility that the pressure in the direction of the central axis 222 of the screw conveyor 221 is insufficient. Therefore, when the ball T comes into contact with a band plate 223 (described later) of the rotating screw conveyor 221, the ball T rolls away from the screw conveyor 221 (returns to the ball introduction path 211), and the ball T moves to the screw conveyor 221. Since it cannot reach the position in contact with the central axis 222 (that is, the transport standby position WP), it may be difficult to transport.

  FIG. 9 shows an improved introduction part 210B to solve this problem. The ball introduction path 211B of the introduction part 210B has an inclined part 211B1 and a vertical drop part 211B2. The upper end of the inclined portion 211B1 is connected to the outlet 101d of the lower tank 100. The vertical drop part 211B2 has an upper end connected to the lower end of the inclined part 211B1 and a lower end of the vertical drop part 211B2 connected to the inlet 227 of the transfer path 226 of the transfer unit 220. In a preferred embodiment, the lower end portion of the vertical drop part 211B2 is connected to the inlet 227 with an inclination angle equal to the inclination angle of the strip 223 of the screw conveyor 221.

  With such a configuration, the sphere T falling from the inclined portion 211B1 of the sphere introduction path 211B to the vertical dropping portion 211B2 receives a larger pressure as the sphere T moves toward the traveling direction side. For this reason, even when the ball T in the traveling direction comes into contact with the belt plate 223 of the rotating screw conveyor 221, the ball T does not move backward from the screw conveyor 221, but reaches the transport standby position WP. Accordingly, the ball T is smoothly and reliably conveyed (lifted).

  Note that the vertical drop part 211B2 does not have to be literally vertical. In other words, the vertical drop portion 211B2 may have a slope enough to receive a pressure sufficient for the ball T on the traveling direction side of the balls T introduced therein to enter the space 224 of the screw conveyor 221.

  FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration in which one row of ball introduction paths 211B for introducing the balls T is provided in the introduction part 210B shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration in which two rows of ball introduction paths 211B for introducing the balls T are provided in the introduction unit 210B illustrated in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the ball conveyor path 221 may be provided with only one row of ball introduction paths 211B for introducing the balls T. However, as shown in FIG. 11, as shown in FIG. Also good.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 11, the conveyance guide 225 of the conveyance unit 220 is provided with two columns of conveyance paths 226 when the vertical direction is the vertical direction (Z direction). Further, two inlets 227 are provided corresponding to the two vertical rows of the conveyance paths 226, and the tip side of the vertical drop part 211B2 of the introduction part 210B is connected to each of the inlets 227, so that the sphere T can be divided into two. Configured to introduce columns. When such a ball polishing apparatus 200 having two introduction sections 210B and two rows of conveyance paths 226 is used, the amount of balls supplied from the lower tank 100 to the upper tank 300 per unit time is set as one introduction section 210B. And twice that of the ball polishing apparatus 200 having one row of the conveyance paths 226. However, the ball introduction paths 211B may be provided in three or more rows. In that case, the number of the conveyance paths 226 and the inlets 227 may be three or more.

<(2) Conveying unit>
Next, the conveyance unit 220 will be described. The conveyance part 220 has the screw conveyor 221 as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. The screw conveyor 221 includes a central shaft 222 and a strip 223, and is configured such that the inner peripheral side end of the spiral strip 223 is joined to the outer periphery of the central shaft 222. Further, the transport unit 220 includes a transport guide 225. The conveyance guide 225 surrounds the outside of the screw conveyor 221 over the entire length in the vertical direction (Z direction). And between the conveyance guide 225 and the screw conveyor 221, the conveyance path 226 extended | stretched to an up-down direction (Z direction) is formed.

  In addition, the conveyance unit 220 preferably has a motor 228 as a power source for rotating the screw conveyor 221 such as a stepping motor or a DC motor capable of changing the rotation speed, and the screw conveyor 221 can be rotated in a vertical state. And upper and lower bearing portions 229 and 2210 (see FIG. 2). In the following description, the motor 228 will be described as the ball transport motor 228, but the ball transport motor 228 corresponds to the first drive unit. Further, when a DC motor is used as the ball transport motor 228, it is preferable to use together a means that enables detection of the rotational speed, such as an encoder.

  The inner diameter of the conveyance guide 225 described above is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the screw conveyor 221, but a part of the conveyance guide 225 in the circumferential direction (portion on the inlet 227 side in FIGS. 10 and 11) is conveyed. The entire length of the guide 225 is enlarged. The diameter formed by the arc shape of the enlarged portion of the conveyance guide 225 is smaller than the arc shape of the conveyance guide 225 other than the enlarged portion. The shortest distance from the inner surface of the enlarged portion of the conveyance guide 225 to the outer peripheral surface of the central axis 222 of the screw conveyor 221 is set to be slightly larger than the diameter of the sphere T. A portion between 221 is a conveyance path 226 that is continuous in the longitudinal direction (Z direction) of the conveyance guide 225.

  Therefore, when the screw conveyor 221 is rotated in a predetermined direction by the ball conveyor motor 228, the sphere T that has entered the conveyance path 226 fits into the space 224 between the strips 223 of the screw conveyor 221. Is also a transport path 226. Therefore, the ball T is transported upward along the transport path 226 as the belt plate 223 rotates. Further, in FIG. 2, the ball transport motor 228 that is a rotation driving unit of the transport unit 220 is provided on the upper side (Z1 side) of the screw conveyor 221, but is provided on the lower side (Z2 side) of the screw conveyor 221. May be.

<(3) Screw conveyor>
Next, the detail of a structure of said screw conveyor 221 is demonstrated below. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an image when a screw conveyor 221 ′ as a comparative example conveys a ball T, and FIG. 12 (a) is a partial sectional side view showing the configuration of the screw conveyor 221 ′ in the vicinity of the polishing pad 243. (B) is a diagram showing the state of the force that the sphere T receives. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an image when the screw conveyor 221 of the present embodiment conveys the ball T, and (a) is a partial sectional side view showing the configuration of the screw conveyor 221 in the vicinity of the polishing pad 243. Yes, (b) is a diagram showing the state of the force received by the sphere T. FIG.

  In the following description, the screw conveyor of the comparative example will be described as a screw conveyor 221 ′, and other configurations of the comparative example will be described using reference numerals with “′”.

  As shown in FIG. 13A, the screw conveyor 221 of the present embodiment has a protruding dimension from the central axis 222 of the band plate 223, and the band plate 223 of the screw conveyor 221 ′ in the comparative example of FIG. It is shorter than the projecting dimension of ′. Specifically, in the screw conveyor 221 ′ of FIG. 12A, the protruding dimension from the outer peripheral surface of the central shaft 222 ′ to the top surface 223a ′ of the strip 223 ′ is longer than the radius of the sphere T. Is provided. On the other hand, in the screw conveyor 221 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13A, the protruding dimension from the outer peripheral surface of the central shaft 222 to the top surface 223a of the strip 223 is shorter than the radius of the sphere T. It is provided as follows.

  In the present embodiment, the configuration shown in FIG. 13A is used to press the ball T toward the polishing cloth 243 compared to the configuration shown in FIG. 12A. The power can be increased. That is, as shown in FIG. 12B, in the screw conveyor 221 ′ of the comparative example, the force F1 received by the ball T from the strip 223 ′ is a normal resistance against the surface of the strip 223 ′. . As shown in FIG. 12B, the force F1 is a resultant force of the force Fy1 in the direction of the polishing pad 243 and the force Fz1 in the moving direction.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13B, in the screw conveyor 221 of the present embodiment, the contact point between the strip 223 and the ball T can be extended from the contact point in the vertical direction, The vertical line does not pass through the center of the sphere T. Therefore, the sphere T is in a state where the sphere T is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the central axis 222 (a state where the sphere T falls down). Therefore, the direction in which the sphere T receives the force F2 is a vertical direction of a straight line connecting the contact point between the sphere T and the strip 223 and the contact point between the sphere T and the central axis 222. At this time, as shown in FIG. 13B, the force F2 is a resultant force of the force Fy2 in the polishing cloth 243 direction and the force Fz2 in the moving direction.

  Here, as is clear from the comparison between FIG. 12B and FIG. 13B, in this embodiment, the protruding dimension from the central axis 222 of the band plate 223 is the band of the screw conveyor 221 ′ in the comparative example. By being shorter than the projecting dimension of the plate 223 ′, the force Fy2 in the direction of the polishing pad 243 out of the force F2 is significantly increased. Thereby, the force which presses the sphere T against the polishing cloth 243 can be greatly improved, and the sphere T can be efficiently polished (cleaned) even with a short transfer distance.

  Further, an urging means such as a spring for pressing the polishing cloth 243 against the ball T becomes unnecessary, and the cost can be reduced by reducing the number of parts. In addition, since it is not necessary to use an urging means such as a spring, the size of the polishing unit 230 can be reduced.

  Further, when an urging means such as a spring is used, the ball T is always pressed against the polishing pad 243, and the pressing force becomes a load on the ball transport motor 228, and the heat generated by the ball transport motor 228 increases. End up. However, by adopting a configuration that does not use a spring as in the present embodiment, for example, when the ball transport motor 228 is stopped, the ball T is not lifted (lifted), so that the pressing force to the polishing pad 243 is reduced. As a result, the heat generation of the ball transport motor 228 can be reduced.

  Further, while the sphere T is raised by the rotation of the screw conveyor 221, the contact position of the sphere T with the polishing cloth 243 is changed by sending the polishing cloth 243 downward on the opposite side of the sphere T. Thereby, in the sphere T to be transferred, a wide range of spherical surfaces come into contact with the polishing pad 243, whereby the polishing efficiency (cleaning efficiency) of the sphere T can be improved. In addition, it is possible to prevent the polishing cloth 243 from being bent or generating wrinkles by sending the polishing cloth 243 downward in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the ball T. By preventing these, the original polishing ability (cleaning ability) can be prevented. Can be demonstrated. Further, as will be described later, a cushion material is provided between the polishing cloth 243 and the back wall 241 d of the polishing cassette 240. Therefore, when the sphere T is pressed against the polishing cloth 243, a portion of the pressing portion that is recessed toward the back wall 241 d is generated with respect to the other portion of the polishing cloth 243, and the spherical surface on which the polishing cloth 243 contacts the sphere T Can be expanded. Thereby, the polishing efficiency (cleaning efficiency) of the sphere T can be improved.

  Furthermore, as will be described later, the raised portions provided in the cushion material are inclined obliquely so as to go in the feeding direction of the polishing pad 243 when going from the root to the tip. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the polishing cloth 243 from moving in the direction opposite to its own feeding direction by the ball T. In addition, the polishing cloth 243 can be prevented from being bent or wrinkled, and the original polishing ability (cleaning ability) can be exhibited by preventing these.

  Note that the strip 223 having a short projecting dimension as shown in FIG. 13A is provided only on the polishing main body 231 (particularly the portion facing the polishing cloth 243) of the screw conveyor 221, and other than the screw conveyor 221. This part may be a strip 223 having a long projecting dimension as shown in FIG.

<(4) First configuration example of polishing unit>
FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating a first configuration example of the polishing unit 230, in which the polishing cassette 240 is separated. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state where the conveyance guide 236 in the polishing main body 231 of the polishing unit 230 of FIG. 14 is meandering.

  14 and 15 corresponds to the configuration in the case where there are two introduction sections 210B and two rows of conveyance paths 226 as shown in FIG. Here, the polishing unit 230 includes a polishing main body 231 and a polishing cassette 240, and the polishing unit 230 is configured by setting the polishing cassette 240 in the polishing main body 231. However, the concept of the polishing unit 230 may not include the polishing cassette 240. The concept of the polishing unit 230 includes the polishing cassette 240 but may not include the polishing cloth 243, and may include both the polishing cassette 240 and the polishing cloth 243.

<(4.1) Polishing main body>
As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the polishing main body 231 includes an attachment member 232, a motor fixing member 233, a motor 234, a gear cover 235a, a gear 235b, a conveyance guide 236, and the like as main components. Among these, the attachment member 232 extends downward from the upper bearing portion 229. However, the attachment member 232 has a form in which a plate-like member such as a metal plate is appropriately bent. A small motor 234 is attached to the attachment member 232 via a motor fixing member 233, and the motor 234 is a power source (abrasive power source) of the polishing unit 230. In the following description, the motor 234 is referred to as a polishing motor 234. This polishing motor 234 corresponds to the second drive means.

  Further, a gear cover 235a is attached to the motor fixing member 233, and a worm on the output shaft side of the polishing motor 234, and further, a worm gear are attached to a portion covered with the gear cover 235a via a support member (not shown). A gear mechanism (all of which are not shown) is provided, and the gear mechanism transmits a driving force to the gear (first gear) 235b.

  As will be described later, the polishing cassette 240 is attached so as to be inclined with respect to the transport guide 236. Therefore, the polishing motor 234 and the gear 235b are also mounted obliquely with respect to the vertical direction (Z direction) of the mounting member 232 so as to mesh with the gear 247 present in the polishing cassette 240.

  14 and 15, the upper end side of the conveyance unit 220 is attached to the attachment member 232, and the polishing cassette 240 is detachably attached so as to cover the conveyance unit 220. .

  As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the conveyance path 226 of the conveyance unit 220 is provided with a conveyance guide 236 that constitutes the polishing body 231. The conveyance guide 236 guides the sphere T while meandering, and makes the front side (Y1 side) of the sphere T contact a polishing cloth 243 described later. Thereby, the sphere T is wiped (polished or cleaned).

  The transport guide 236 is provided in a groove shape that opens in the front direction (Y1 direction) of the game island A in the spherical meandering region 2314 and meanders at a constant pitch. The transport guide 236 is formed by end walls 236a and 236b facing each other. The end walls 236a and 236b meander along the vertical direction (Z direction) as a whole so as to repeat a slight reciprocation in the X direction.

  Further, the conveyance guide 236 formed by such end walls 236a and 236b is provided in a vertically long member having a U-shaped or arc-shaped cross section, and the front side (Y1 side) is open. The opening of the conveyance guide 236 has a width slightly smaller than the diameter of the sphere T. A polishing cloth 243 described later is positioned on the front side (Y1 side) of the conveyance guide 236. Therefore, the sphere T located on the conveyance guide 236 is in a state of being wiped off (polished or cleaned) by the polishing pad 243 through the opening.

  In addition, the screw conveyor 221 is provided in the back | inner side (Y2 side) of the conveyance guide 236 as mentioned above. Therefore, when the screw conveyor 221 is rotated by driving the ball conveyance motor 228, the ball T moves toward the upper side (Z1 side) while meandering along the conveyance guide 236.

  Further, as shown enlarged on the right side of FIG. 13, the sphere T conveyed by the conveyance guide 236 rotates irregularly by driving the screw conveyor 221 and meandering the sphere T by the conveyance guide 236 described above. Therefore, since the entire spherical surface of the sphere T is in contact with the polishing pad 243, the polishing efficiency is improved.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the transport path 226 has an outlet 2315 that is opened in the lateral direction at the upper end of the transport unit 220. When the spheres T are polished in two rows as in this embodiment, two outlets 2315 that open in substantially the same direction are provided.

<(4.2) Modification of Screw Conveyor and Transport Guide>
The screw conveyor 221 and the conveyance guide 236 are not limited to the above-described configuration and can be variously modified. Such deformation modes will be described below. FIG. 16 shows a modification of the screw conveyor 221, showing a partial perspective view and a plan sectional view of the central shaft 222. The screw conveyor 221 shown in FIG. 16 is different from the central axis 222 having a circular cross section as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, and the shape of the central axis 222 is elliptical. The screw conveyor 221 having such an elliptical center axis 222 can realize the operation shown in FIG.

  FIG. 17 is a plan cross-sectional view for explaining a state in which the sphere T is pressed against the polishing pad 243 inside the conveyance guide 236. FIG. 17A is a diagram in which the sphere T faces the short axis side of the elliptical central axis 222. (B) shows a state in which the long axis side of the elliptical central axis 222 and the sphere T face each other. As shown in FIG. 17A, when the short axis side of the elliptical central axis 222 faces the sphere T, the central axis 222 hardly presses the sphere T against the polishing pad 243 or lightly presses it. It becomes. Therefore, the dent of the contact part with respect to the ball | bowl T of the polishing pad 243 will be the smallest state.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 17B, when the major axis side of the elliptical central axis 222 faces the sphere T, the central axis 222 strongly presses the sphere T against the polishing pad 243. Therefore, the dent of the contact part with respect to the ball | bowl T of the polishing pad 243 will be the largest state. In this way, by making the cross-sectional shape of the central axis 222 elliptical, the pressure of the sphere T against the polishing cloth 243 can be changed, thereby changing the friction between the sphere T and the polishing cloth 243. Can do. Thus, compared with the case where the cross-sectional shape of the central shaft 222 is circular, the central shaft 222 of the screw conveyor 221 conveys the sphere T upward while changing the pressing force of the sphere T toward the polishing cloth 243. be able to. As a result, the central axis 222 can give an irregular rotation to the sphere T, and the entire spherical surface of the sphere T comes into contact with the polishing pad 243, so that the polishing efficiency is improved. It should be noted that the central shaft 222 that gives such a change in pressure can be regarded as a cam shaft for the sphere T.

  Here, the cross-sectional shape of the central axis 222 is not limited to an elliptical shape, and any cross-sectional shape can be used as long as the distance from the center of the central axis 222 to the outer peripheral surface is not constant (changes). May be. Such an example is shown in FIGS. FIG. 18 shows a partial perspective view of the screw conveyor 221 and a planar sectional view of the central shaft 222 when the planar sectional shape of the central axis is substantially triangular. As shown in FIG. 18, a flat surface portion 222a and an arcuate curved surface 222b exist on the outer peripheral surface of the central axis 222, and thereby the sphere T moves between the flat surface portion 222a and the curved surface 222b. A sudden change in the pressing force of the sphere T toward the polishing cloth 243 can be caused.

  FIG. 19 shows a perspective view of the screw conveyor 221 and a cross-sectional plan view of the central shaft 222 in a form in which there is a pair of flat portions 222 a obtained by cutting the outer periphery of the central shaft 222 in parallel. Also in the configuration shown in FIG. 19, a flat surface portion 222 a and an arcuate curved surface 222 b exist on the outer peripheral surface of the central shaft 222. Therefore, when the sphere T moves between the flat surface portion 222a and the curved surface 222b, it is possible to cause a sudden change in the pressing force of the sphere T toward the polishing pad 243.

  FIG. 20 shows a perspective view of the screw conveyor 221 and a plan sectional view of the central shaft 222 in a form in which the protruding portion 222c exists on the central shaft 222 having a circular planar sectional shape. In the configuration shown in FIG. 20, the pressing force of the sphere T toward the polishing cloth 243 can be changed more rapidly when the sphere T approaches the protrusion 222c. Thus, even if it is the shape of the screw conveyor 221 shown in FIGS. 18-20, it becomes possible to give irregular rotation with respect to the sphere T, and since the whole spherical surface of the sphere T contacts the polishing pad 243, Polishing efficiency is improved.

<(4.3) Polishing cassette>
Next, the polishing cassette 240 will be described. FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a cross-sectional state of an object in the storage space 242 while removing one box 241b of the polishing cassette 240. FIG. FIG. 22 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the polishing cassette 240. FIG. 23 is a view showing the polishing cassette 240 with the polishing cloth 243 removed, wherein (a) is a perspective view seen from the front side, (b) is a rear view, and (c) is a bottom view. FIG. 24 is a plan view showing a state in which the box 241B is removed from the two boxes 241A and 241B constituting the polishing cassette 240.

  As shown in FIG. 22, the polishing cassette 240 includes box bodies 241A and 241B constituting the cassette body 241, each member is attached to the cassette body 241 constituted by the box bodies 241A and 241B, and polishing is performed. A cloth 243 is stored. The members attached to the cassette body 241 include gear rollers 245a and 245b and rotating shafts 246a and 246b that constitute the polishing cloth feeding means 244, and the end of the rotating shafts 246a and 246b on the side of the box 241A. Is attached with a gear 247 (details will be described later). FIG. 22 shows a state where three gear rollers 245a and three gear rollers 245b are attached to the rotary shafts 246a and 246b, respectively.

  Further, polishing cloth guides 248A and 248B are attached to the cassette body 241 in a state of being close to the gear rollers 245a and 245b (details will be described later). An urging member 253 is attached to the end wall 241f side of the cassette body 241. The urging member 253 presses the polishing cloth 243 pulled out from the exit portion 252 at the portion where the folded portions 251A2 and 251B2 face each other toward the wall member 251B (details will be described later).

  As shown in FIGS. 21 to 24, the polishing cassette 240 has a cassette body 241 formed in a sealed, substantially vertically long box shape. The cassette body 241 is divided into two boxes 241A and 241B. In addition, the division structure of the boxes 241A and 241B is not necessarily equally divided, and may be in the form of a vessel and a lid. The two box bodies 241A and 241B are brought into contact with the peripheral edges of the opening surfaces, and screws are screwed into holes (for example, screw holes) 2412 existing in the tongue pieces 2411 formed at the four corners of the peripheral edges of the two box bodies 241A and 241B. For example, the two boxes 241A and 241B are combined. As a normal operation, since the cassette body 241 can be replaced as a single body, maintenance is easy. Then, it is possible to replace the polishing cloth 243 in the accommodation space 242 in a state where the box body 241A and the box body 241B are divided into two. Therefore, the endless belt-like polishing cloth 243 and the polishing cassette 240 are excellent in recyclability.

  Further, the two box bodies 241A and 241B are abutted to each other, so that the cassette body 241 has a side wall 241a, a bottom wall 241b, a front wall 241c, a back wall 241d, and a pair of end wall 241e and 241f. Existing. In addition, a slit-shaped polishing cloth outlet 241g communicating with the accommodation space 242 is provided at one end of the back wall 241d of the cassette body 241, and the polishing cloth 243 is pulled out from the polishing cloth outlet 241g. A slit-shaped polishing cloth inlet 241h communicating with the accommodation space 242 is provided at the other end of the back wall 241d of the cassette body 241, and the polishing cloth 243 is received from the polishing cloth inlet 241h. .

  Further, as shown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 23B, a guide rib 241r is provided on the rear wall 241d of the cassette body 241 on the end side in the width direction. The guide rib 241r guides the progress of the polishing pad 243. That is, as the polishing cloth 243 advances, it may try to move away from the back wall 241d, but the guide rib 241r suppresses such movement in the displacement direction. Therefore, the guide rib 241r is provided so as to slightly protrude from the rear wall 241d, and is provided in a long shape parallel to the traveling direction of the polishing pad 243.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 23 (b), a pair of guide ribs 241r are provided, and the pair of guide ribs 241r are provided on the end side in the width direction of the back wall 241d. The guide rib 241r may be configured to be long, but may be configured to intermittently arrange ribs having a short length. In addition, when the polishing cloth 243 moves only to one side in the width direction of the back wall 241d, the pair of guide ribs 241r is not provided, and the polishing is performed on the end side in the width direction of the back wall 241d. It is good also as a structure arrange | positioned at the side which suppresses the cloth 243 moving.

  As shown in FIGS. 21, 22, and 24, an endless strip-shaped abrasive material, for example, a polishing cloth 243 is accommodated in the accommodating space 242 in the cassette body 241 in a bellows shape. The polishing cloth 243 can be repeatedly deformed from the bellows shape in the accommodation space 242 to the bellows shape again through the external planar shape, and thus is suitable as a polishing material.

  The polishing cloth 243 is pulled out along the outer side surface of the back wall 241d, which is the longitudinal outer wall of the cassette body 241, so that the polishing cloth 243 covers the back wall 241d. That is, a part of the polishing cloth 243 in the longitudinal direction is exposed to the outside of the back wall 241d of the cassette body 241, and the polishing cloth 243 is in a state along the back wall 241d by applying tension to the polishing cloth 243. ing. A portion along the polishing pad 243 of the back wall 241d provides a polishing region PF of a sphere T as will be described later.

  In the accommodation space 242, abrasive cloth feeding means 244 (corresponding to abrasive material feeding means) for feeding the polishing cloth 243 in a predetermined direction is provided inside the polishing cloth inlet 241h. The polishing cloth feed means 244 has two gear rollers 245a and 245b that are rotatably supported by rotating shafts 246a and 246b inside the polishing cloth inlet 241h. The gear rollers 245a and 245b have the same gear pitch. The gear roller 245a is provided coaxially with the gear 247. Hereinafter, as necessary, the gear roller 245a coaxial with the gear 247 is referred to as a driving gear roller 245a, and the gear roller 245b meshing with the driving gear roller 245a is referred to as a driven gear roller 245b.

  The drive gear roller 245a on one side is fixed in its mounting position, but the other gear roller 245b may be biased in a direction approaching the one gear roller 245a, or may be configured not to be biased. Further, the rotation shaft 246a of one gear roller 245a projects outward through the bottom wall 241b of the box 241A, and a gear 247 (second gear) is attached to the outward projecting portion. It has been. The gear 247 meshes with the gear (first gear) 234b, so that a driving force from the polishing motor 234 is applied.

  The polishing cloth 243 passes between the gear rollers 245a and 245b. At this time, the polishing cloth 243 is between the gear rollers 245a and 245b with a force that does not cause permanent deformation of the polishing cloth 243 by the gear rollers 245a and 245b. It is pinched by.

  Accordingly, when the gear 247 (second gear) is rotated in a predetermined direction by driving the polishing motor 234, the polishing cloth 243 covering the back wall 241d of the cassette body 241 is accommodated from the polishing cloth inlet 241h of the cassette body 241. It is drawn inside 242 and is configured to be folded into a bellows shape. Here, as apparent from the fact that the polishing cloth inlet 241h is positioned below the polishing cloth outlet 241g, the polishing cloth 243 is in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the balls T of the conveying unit 220 in the polishing region PF. Moved to.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the above-described polishing cassette 240 is attached to the attachment member 232 and other portions in a state of facing the spherical meandering region 2314 existing near the upper end portion of the transport unit 220. In the attachment, the gear 247 meshes with the gear 235b. In this attachment, the polishing pad 243 located in the polishing region PF is in a state along the surface of the spherical meandering region 2314. Therefore, when the polishing motor 234 is driven, the polishing pad 243 moves downward along the surface of the spherical meandering region 2314. However, as will be described later, the polishing cassette 240 is attached so as to be slightly inclined with respect to the vertical direction.

  By attaching the polishing cassette 240 as described above, the sphere T conveyed while irregularly rotating the sphere meandering region 2314 is in contact with the polishing cloth 243, so that the polishing efficiency is improved. Further, since the polishing cloth 243 is moved in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the sphere T, the length of the polishing cloth 243 that contacts the sphere T with respect to the moving distance of the sphere increases, so that the polishing ability is improved. Furthermore, when the polishing pad 243 is moved in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the sphere T, the occurrence of bending and wrinkling of the polishing pad 243 is suppressed.

  It is preferable that the polishing cloth 243 is fed by the polishing motor 234 intermittently between feeding and pausing. By driving the polishing motor 234 in this manner, the polishing cloth 243 can be prevented from slackening (slacking can be prevented), and the life of the polishing motor 234 can be extended.

  FIG. 25 shows a form in which the polishing cassette 240 is attached to the polishing body 231, (a) shows a state in which the longitudinal direction of the cassette body 241 is parallel to the central axis 222 of the screw conveyor 221, and (b) shows (a). Unlike FIG., It shows an oblique state. As shown in FIG. 25A, the polishing cassette 240 may be attached in a state where the longitudinal direction of the cassette body 241 is parallel to the central axis 222 of the screw conveyor 221 of the transport unit 220. However, in such an attachment mode, the polishing effective range (B) of the polishing pad 243 is limited to an elongated range (shaded range) parallel to the longitudinal direction of the polishing pad 243. Therefore, since the other range (white range) (A) is not used, the use efficiency of the polishing pad 243 is low. In FIG. 25A, the effective polishing range (B) of the polishing pad 243 and the transport route (C) of the sphere T by the meandering transport guide 236 substantially coincide with each other.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 25B, the polishing cassette 240 is polished such that the longitudinal direction of the cassette body 241 is inclined with respect to the central axis 222 (conveying direction) of the screw conveyor 221 of the conveying unit 220. Consider a mode of attachment to the main body 231. In this case, the transport route (c) of the sphere T by the meandering transport guide 236 is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the polishing pad 243. Therefore, when feeding (moving) of the polishing pad 243 is taken into consideration, the effective polishing range (B) of the polishing pad 243 is expanded so as to straddle the entire width of the polishing pad 243. Thereby, the entire surface of the polishing pad 243 fed by the polishing pad feeding means 244 is used for polishing (cleaning) the sphere T, and the use efficiency of the polishing pad 243 is improved.

  In the present embodiment, the effective polishing area in the case of the oblique feed shown in FIG. 25B is about 2.3 times that in the parallel feed shown in FIG. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the consumables cost of the ball polishing apparatus 200. Further, since the area of the polishing pad 243 is used effectively, the feeding frequency of the polishing pad 243, that is, the driving frequency of the polishing motor 234 can be reduced. In addition, the replacement frequency of the polishing pad 243 can be reduced. Therefore, the operation cost and maintenance cost of the ball polishing apparatus 200 can be reduced.

  12, FIG. 13, and FIG. 25 illustrate an example in which the transport unit 220 and the polishing unit 230 of the ball polishing apparatus 200 perform ball polishing of the balls T in two rows. However, it is also possible to adopt a structure in which the spheres T are sphere polished in three or more rows.

  The operation of the polishing unit 230 having the polishing main body 231 and the polishing cassette 240 as described above will be described. FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing a state in which the polishing cassette 240 attached in an oblique state as shown in FIG. 25B is viewed from the back wall 241d side. FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating the movement of the ball T during conveyance in contact with the polishing pad 243 of the polishing cassette 240 attached in an oblique state.

  A gear (not shown) is fixed to the central axis of the screw conveyor 221, and the gear is engaged with a gear (not shown) fixed to the rotation shaft of the ball transport motor 228. Accordingly, when the ball transport motor 228 is rotated in a predetermined direction, the screw conveyor 221 is rotated, so that the ball T that has entered the space 224 between the strips 223 of the screw conveyor 221 from the introduction unit 210 is rotating. The conveyance path 226 is conveyed (lifted) by 223. Then, as shown in FIGS. 26 and 27, the sphere T to be conveyed comes into contact with the polishing cloth 243 of the polishing cassette 240 while being meandered by the conveyance guide 236 in the sphere meandering region 2314 of the polishing body 231. Thus, the sphere T is polished (cleaned).

<(5) Second configuration example of polishing unit>
Next, a second configuration example of the polishing unit 230 of the ball polishing apparatus 200 will be described. FIG. 28 is an exploded perspective view showing a second configuration example of the polishing unit 230 of the sphere polishing apparatus 200. FIG. 29 is a perspective view showing a drive part of the polishing unit 230 with a part of the gear cover 235a omitted in the state of FIG. FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing a state where the conveyance guide 236 in the polishing main body 231 of the polishing unit 230 of FIG. 28 is meandering.

  The basic configuration of the second configuration example of the polishing unit 230 is the same as that of the polishing unit 230 of the first configuration example. Therefore, the polishing unit 230 of the second configuration example will be described using the same reference numerals as the polishing unit 230 of the first configuration example. 28 and 30 of the second configuration example correspond to FIGS. 14 and 15 of the first configuration example, respectively.

  In the configuration shown in FIGS. 28 to 30, only one row of the conveyance paths 226 is provided. Therefore, in the second configuration example of the polishing unit 230, the conveyance guides 236 are not provided in two rows but only in one row. Such a configuration in which only one row of conveyance guides 236 is provided can be used particularly for the gaming machines B having a small number of balls T. In particular, in a non-open type gaming machine in which the ball T is encapsulated in the gaming machine B in advance, the second configuration example in which the conveying path 226 has only one row as shown in FIGS. 28 to 30 is suitable. It has become. On the other hand, in the configuration like the single island A that is an open type, since the number of the balls T used is large, there is a first configuration example in which two rows of the transport paths 226 as described above are provided. It is suitable.

  Further, in the second configuration example, as apparent from the comparison between FIG. 14 and FIG. 28, the width of the polishing cassette 240 is the first configuration example due to the fact that the conveyance guide 236 is provided in only one row. The width of the polishing cassette 240 can be made narrower.

  In FIG. 29, a driving part of the polishing unit 230 such as the polishing motor 234 is shown. As shown in FIG. 29, a worm gear 234b is attached to the output shaft 234a of the polishing motor 234, and the worm gear 234b meshes with the worm wheel 235c. The worm wheel 235c is provided so as to rotate coaxially and integrally with the gear 235b. Such a configuration using the worm gear 234b can be operated only from the output shaft 234a side, and can prevent the polishing cloth 243 from moving unnecessarily when the polishing motor 234 is stopped, for example. That is, loosening of the polishing pad 243 can be prevented.

  Further, the upper bearing portion 229 is provided with a drive pulley 229 a attached to the output shaft of the ball transport motor 228 and a driven pulley 229 b attached to the upper end side of the central shaft 222 of the screw conveyor 221. A belt 229c is stretched between the driving pulley 229a and the driven pulley 229b. With such a configuration, the driving force of the ball transport motor 228 is transmitted to the screw conveyor 221 and the screw conveyor 221 is rotationally driven.

  FIG. 31 shows a mode in which the polishing cassette 240 of the second configuration example is attached to the polishing body 231, (a) shows a state in which the longitudinal direction of the cassette body 241 is parallel to the central axis 222 of the screw conveyor 221, (B), unlike (a), shows an oblique state. FIG. 31 corresponds to FIG. 25 relating to the first configuration example. In the second configuration example, there is only one transport route (c) of the sphere T. When there are two transport routes (c) of the sphere T as in the first configuration example, the two transport routes (c) and the portion between them occupy a larger width than in the first configuration example. Therefore, assuming that the polishing area PF of the first configuration example and the polishing area PF of the second configuration example have the same area, in the second configuration example, the width occupied by the transport route (c) of the sphere T becomes narrower. Thus, the inclination angle of the polishing cassette 240 can be increased.

  Increasing the inclination angle also leads to securing the diagonal length of the polishing pad 243, and accordingly, when the length of the polishing region PF of the first configuration example and the polishing pad 243 is the same. Can secure a sufficiently long polishing path (conveyance route). In addition, when the polishing path (conveyance route) of the first configuration example and the second configuration example have the same length, the length of the polishing cloth 243 can be shortened, thereby reducing the size of the polishing cassette 240. Can be planned.

  FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing a state where the polishing cassette 240 attached in an oblique state as shown in FIG. 31B is viewed from the back wall 241d side. FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating the movement of the ball T during conveyance in contact with the polishing cloth 243 of the polishing cassette 240 attached in an oblique state. FIGS. 32 and 33 relating to these second configuration examples correspond to FIGS. 26 and 27 relating to the first configuration example, respectively. Therefore, the description about this detail is abbreviate | omitted.

<(6) Abrasive cloth>
Next, the polishing pad 243 will be described. In addition, about this polishing cloth 243, not only the structure but the specification of the polishing cloth 243 is also demonstrated.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing the specifications of the polishing pad 243 of the present embodiment. In addition, (a) before joining the elongate cloth 243M which is a raw material, (b-1) and (b-2) show the aspect which joins elongate cloth 243M, (c) is joined, and polishing cloth 243 is joined. The formed state is shown. As shown in FIG. 34A, in the present embodiment, out of the elongated cloth 243M that is a material, a longitudinal end 243P that is an end in the longitudinal direction is cut obliquely. In the following, “joining” may be pressure bonding, welding, or other methods. Also, in the case of performing welding, welding by heating may be used, but when there is an overlapping portion 243S as shown in FIG. 34 (b-2), welding may be performed by ultrasonic waves.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 34 (b-1), the elongated cloth 243 </ b> M having the longitudinal ends 243 </ b> P at both ends in the longitudinal direction is formed into a ring shape, and the cut longitudinal ends 243 </ b> P are butted together. A butt portion 243Q is formed, and the butt portion 243Q is joined. In this joining, the longitudinal end portions 243P forming the butt portion 243Q are joined together. Then, as shown in FIG. 34C, a ring-shaped polishing cloth 243 having a joint portion 243R that is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction is formed.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 34 (b-2), instead of matching the inclined portions, the cut portions may be slightly overlapped, and the overlapped portion 243S may be joined.

  Thus, in the ring-shaped polishing cloth 243 having the joint portion 243R, the length of the polishing cloth 243 can be adjusted during the manufacturing process. That is, in the seamless polishing cloth 243 ′ without the joining portion 243R as described above, the diameter of the cylindrical winding portion around which the yarn or fiber is wound is determined in the manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the polishing cloth 243 ′. The length of the polishing pad 243 ′ cannot be changed unless the manufacturing apparatus is significantly changed. On the other hand, in the polishing pad 243 of the present embodiment, the length of the polishing pad 243 can be changed only by changing the position at which the longitudinal end 243P cut obliquely is changed in the elongated cloth 243M. Thereby, even when it is desired to change the length of the polishing pad 243 by changing the design of the ball polishing apparatus 200, the length of the polishing pad 243 can be easily changed.

  As shown in FIG. 24, when the polishing pad 243 advances, the joining portion 243R is wound around the gear roller 245a, and then the joining portion 243R passes between the gear roller 245a and the gear roller 245b.

  FIG. 35 is a diagram for explaining the operation when the bonding portion 243R of the polishing pad 243 is oblique. FIG. 35A shows a state before the joint portion 243R reaches the gear roller 245a. However, the joint 243R is wound around the gear roller 245a as shown in FIG. 35 (b), and then the joint 243R passes between the gear roller 245a and the gear roller 245b as shown in FIG. 35 (c).

  Here, in the case of a conventional configuration in which the joint portion is perpendicular to the width direction of the polishing cloth 243 (along the short side direction), the joint portion over the entire width of the polishing cloth 243 is simultaneously It is sandwiched between the gear roller 245a and the gear roller 245b. Since the joining portion is formed by thermocompression bonding or the like, it is usually harder than other portions of the polishing pad 243. When such a hard portion is sandwiched between the gear roller 245a and the gear roller 245b at the same time (at the same time) over the entire width direction, the load on the gear rollers 245a and 245b increases.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 34, the hard joint portion 243 </ b> R has a longitudinal end portion 243 </ b> P that is inclined with respect to the width direction of the polishing pad 243. As a result, as shown in FIG. 35 (c), it is possible to prevent the hard joint 243R from being sandwiched at once (simultaneously) across the entire width direction of the polishing pad 243 between the gear rollers 245a and 245b. Then, a part of the joint portion 243R sequentially passes between the gear rollers 245a and 245b. As a result, the load on the gear rollers 245a and 245b can be reduced, and the load on the polishing motor 234 can also be reduced. Thereby, durability of driving parts such as the gear rollers 245a and 245b and the polishing motor 234 can be improved. Further, it is not necessary to use a large motor for the polishing motor 234.

  In addition, since the polishing cloth 243 has a bonding portion 243R that is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction and the width direction, the bonding portion is perpendicular to the width direction of the polishing cloth 243 (along the short direction). Compared to such a conventional configuration, the length of the joint 243R can be increased. Therefore, the tensile strength with respect to the joint part 243R can be improved.

  In the above description, the longitudinal end portion 243P is assumed to be cut obliquely when viewed in the planar direction. However, the longitudinal end 243P may be cut obliquely when viewed in the thickness direction, together with the oblique cut in the planar direction, or separately from the oblique cut in the planar direction.

  In addition, the inclination angle α formed by the joint portion 243R (longitudinal end portion 243P) with respect to the length of the polishing pad 243 (elongate cloth 243M) may be any angle. However, when the inclination angle α becomes an angle that approaches parallel to the width direction, the length of the joint portion 243R that is sandwiched at the same time (simultaneously) by the gear rollers 245a and 245b becomes longer. In addition, when the inclination angle α becomes an angle that approaches perpendicularly to the width direction, the length that overlaps the transport route (c) as shown in FIGS. 25B and 31B becomes longer in some cases. It will be in a state to end up. Therefore, it is most preferable that the inclination angle α is, for example, about 45 degrees, but other angle ranges such as a range of 30 degrees to 60 degrees can also be used.

  Here, in the case shown in FIG. 25B or FIG. 31B, the polishing cassette 240 itself is inclined and attached. Therefore, when the polishing cassette 240 is attached with an inclination, the inclined joint part 243R (longitudinal end part 243P) rises from the lower left to the upper right on the paper surface of FIG. 25 (b) and FIG. 31 (b). It is preferable that the slope is such that it rises from the lower right to the upper left rather than a gentle slope.

  That is, even if the joint portion 243R (longitudinal end portion 243P) has the same inclination angle with respect to the width direction and the longitudinal direction of the polishing cloth 243, the difference in attachment of the back and front of the polishing cloth 243 to the polishing cassette 240 is caused. In FIG. 25 (b) and FIG. 31 (b), the inclination is such that the inclination increases from the lower left to the upper right and the inclination increases from the lower right to the upper left. However, in the inclination of the paper surface of FIG. 25 (b) or FIG. 31 (b) rising from the lower left to the upper right, the length of the joining portion 243R reaching the transport route (c) is increased, and the polishing (cleaning) capability is increased. May decrease. Therefore, the joining portion 243R (longitudinal end portion 243P) is inclined such that the joining portion 243R (longitudinal end portion 243P) rises from the lower right to the upper left in the paper surface of FIG. 25 (b) or FIG. 31 (b). 243P) can shorten the length of crossing the transport route (c), and the polishing (cleaning) ability can be improved.

  Further, when the width of the joint portion 243R is made smaller than the diameter of the sphere T, the area where the sphere T is in contact with the joint portion 243R is reduced, so that the polishing (cleaning) efficiency is good. Further, when the polishing cloth 243 is made of a mixed fiber of nylon fiber and polyester fiber, there are advantages that welding can be easily performed and dirt on the sphere can be easily adsorbed.

<(7) Desirable additional configuration of polishing section>
Next, a desirable additional configuration of the polishing unit 230 will be described.
(A) Damage reduction of polishing cloth 243 at polishing cloth inlet 241h of polishing cassette 240 The length of gear rollers 245a and 245b sandwiching polishing cloth 243 is larger than the width of polishing cloth 243 (the dimension in the height direction in FIG. 36). When the polishing cloth is long, damage at both end portions of the polishing cloth 243 sandwiched between the gear rollers 245a and 245b during feeding of the polishing cloth is large, and there is a risk of fraying. In particular, the polishing cloth 243 ′ having the heat cut processing unit 243H as shown in FIG.

  A preferred embodiment for preventing such a fray will be described below. FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example for reducing damage at the end of the polishing pad 243. FIG. 36A illustrates a configuration in which the length of the gear rollers 245a and 245b is shorter than the width of the polishing pad 243. (B) is a figure which shows the gear rollers 245a and 245b which have the gearless part 245c.

  As shown in FIG. 36A, when the length L of the gear rollers 245a and 245b is made slightly shorter than the width W of the polishing pad 243, both ends in the width direction of the polishing pad 243 are in contact with the gear rollers 245a and 245b. Accordingly, the end portions 243T on both ends in the width direction of the polishing pad 243 are not sandwiched between the gear rollers 245a and 245b. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent fraying at the end portion 243T, thereby extending the life of the polishing pad 243. Note that the extension of the life becomes significant in the polishing pad 243 ′ having the heat cut processing unit 243H as shown in FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 36 (b), a configuration may be adopted in which gearless portions 245c are provided on both ends of the gear rollers 245b and 245b. The radius of the gearless portion 245c is smaller than the distance (radius) from the center to the tooth tip of the gear rollers 245a and 245b. The gearless portion 245c may be configured such that the teeth of the gear rollers 245a and 245b do not exist, or may be configured by attaching a spacer to the rotating shafts 246a and 246b.

  Here, in the state where the gearless portion 245c does not exist as in the configuration shown in FIG. 36A, there is no member that supports the end portions 243T side of the both ends of the polishing pad 243. There is a concern that there is a difference in the amount of expansion and contraction between the end portion 243T of the polishing pad 243 and the other portions. In addition, there is a concern that the end portion 243T is frayed or deformed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 36 (b), the gearless portions 245c exist on both ends of the gear rollers 245a and 245b, so that the end portion 243T of the polishing pad 243 contacts the gearless portion 245c (rotating shaft). 246a and 246b), it is possible to reduce the difference in the amount of expansion and contraction as described above. In addition, the end portion 243T can be prevented from being frayed or deformed.

  Note that involute gears are preferably used for the gear portions of the gear rollers 245a and 245b. When such an involute gear is used, smooth meshing can be realized even if the polishing pad 243 is interposed between the gear rollers 245a and 245b. In addition, by realizing smooth engagement, damage to the polishing pad 243 can be reduced.

  Next, a preferred embodiment of the end portion 243T in the width direction of the polishing pad 243 will be described below. It is preferable that the polishing pad 243 of the present embodiment is configured such that the end portion in the width direction is not cut and the edge weaving portion 243N exists. FIG. 37 is a plan view showing the configuration of the polishing pad 243, (a) shows the polishing pad 243 in the present embodiment, and (b) shows a polishing pad 243 'as a comparative example. In the above-described polishing cassette 240, the polishing cloth 243 of the present embodiment can be the polishing cloth 243 ′ related to the comparative example.

  When seamlessly forming a long endless belt-like polishing cloth 243 ', a cylindrical material having a diameter of 3 m and a height of 1 m, for example, is produced using a manufacturing apparatus having a cylindrical winding portion as described above. A method of heat-cutting the material in units of 5 to 8 cm in width is conceivable. However, in the case of this method, as shown in FIG. 37 (b), a heat cut processing part 243H is formed at the edge in the width direction of the polishing pad 243 ′. This heat cut processing part 243H is welded and hardened by heat at the time of heat cut. Therefore, the hard heat cut processing unit 243H may be caught between the gear rollers 245a and 245b of the polishing cloth feeding unit 244 of the polishing cassette 240, and the polishing cloth 243 'may not be fed. Further, as described above, the seamless polishing cloth 243 has a high manufacturing cost.

  In contrast, the polishing pad 243 of the present embodiment is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 37 (a), the polishing cloth 243 of the present embodiment is formed by weaving such as a twill weave, and an edge weaving portion 243N by twill weaving is also provided at the end in the width direction. Existing. That is, the polishing pad 243 does not have the heat cut processing unit 243H that is welded and hardened, but instead has an edge weaving unit 243N that is woven by twill weaving or the like. Here, when the heat cut processing unit 243H is formed, a fray or deformation such that the fiber (yarn) can be unwound while the polishing cloth 243 is being used due to variations in bonding at the fiber (yarn) level. Often occurs. However, the edge weaving portion 243N is less likely to be frayed or deformed as compared with the heat cut processing portion 243H. For this reason, the gear roller 245a, 245b is prevented from being entangled with a part that is frayed or deformed. Thereby, the polishing pad 243 can exhibit the polishing (cleaning) ability stably over a long period of time.

  In addition, since the heat cut processing unit 243H as described above does not exist, and the edge weaving unit 243N exists instead, the entire polishing cloth 243 is used evenly when the polishing cloth 243 is moved. Thus, the sphere T can be polished (cleaned). Thereby, the polishing pad 243 can greatly improve the polishing (cleaning) ability.

  It should be noted that the polishing cloth 243 ′ of the comparative example and the polishing cloth 243 of the present embodiment can be used repeatedly by moving the polishing cloth 243 ′ or the polishing cloth 243 as long as they are formed in an endless shape. Therefore, it is of course possible to use the polishing pad 243 ′ or the polishing pad 243 for a long period of time.

(B) Prevention of Entrainment of Polishing Cloth 243 at Polishing Cloth Entrance 241h of Polishing Cassette 240 FIG. 38 is an enlarged view of the left side portion of the polishing cassette 240 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 38, an assist wall 241k is provided in the cassette body 241 in the vicinity of the polishing cloth inlet 241h. A part of the inner wall surface of the cassette body 241 is provided so as to protrude toward the gear roller 245a. Moreover, the assist wall portion 241k is provided to be curved so that the guide property of the polishing pad 243 is good.

  The presence of the assist wall 241k makes the width of the passage 241m between the gear roller 245a and the assist wall 241k significantly smaller than the width of the polishing pad 241h. Therefore, when the polishing cloth 243 is conveyed, the behavior of the polishing cloth 243 becomes unstable, and the polishing cloth 243 can be prevented from being exposed. In addition, the timing at which the polishing cloth 243 that has passed through the polishing cloth inlet 241h contacts the gear roller 245a can be accelerated.

  Here, a tangent line connecting the end of the rear wall 241d on the polishing cloth inlet 241h side and the top surface portion of the teeth of the gear roller 245a is considered. It is preferable that the assist wall portion 241k has an intersecting portion (portion exceeding the tangent; intersecting portion 241k1) with respect to the tangent. If such an intersection 241k1 exists, the certainty of bringing the polishing pad 243 into contact with the assist wall 241k can be further improved. In addition, the timing at which the polishing cloth 243 that has passed through the polishing cloth inlet 241h contacts the gear roller 245a can be made earlier.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 38, in the storage space 242 of the polishing cassette 240, the polishing cloth 243 is transported in the storage space 242 from the polishing cloth inlet 241 h side to the portion closer to the polishing cloth inlet 241 h than the gear roller 245 a. A polishing cloth guide 248A having an arcuate circumferential wall surface 248A1 is provided so as to go downstream. The abrasive cloth guide 248A is a member for preventing the abrasive cloth 243 drawn into the accommodation space 242 from being caught in the gear roller 245a.

  Further, a polishing cloth guide 248B is provided in a portion of the storage space 242 of the polishing cassette 240 opposite to the gear roller 245a with respect to the gear roller 245b (portion on the upper side in FIG. 38). The polishing pad guide 248B also has an arcuate circumferential wall surface so as to cover the gear roller 245b.

  That is, if the gear rollers 245a and 245b are not covered with the circumferential wall surfaces 248A1 and 248B1 of the polishing cloth guides 248A and 248B, the polishing cloth 243 is wound around the gear rollers 245a and 245b. Therefore, abrasive cloth guides 248A and 248B having circumferential wall surfaces 248A1 and 248B1 are disposed on the gear rollers 245a and 245b, respectively. The circumferential wall surfaces 248A1 and 248B1 are opposed to the gear rollers 245a and 245b with gaps 249A and 249B therebetween, respectively. The polishing pad guides 248A and 248B are fixed to the bottom wall 241b of the cassette body 241 via screws B1 and B2, respectively.

  However, if only the circumferential wall surfaces 248A1 and 248B1 as shown in FIG. 38 are provided, the polishing cloth 243 may enter the gaps 249A and 249B, and the polishing cloth 243 may be bitten. Therefore, details of the configuration of the polishing pad guides 248A and 248B for preventing the polishing pad 243 from being bitten will be described with reference to FIG.

  39 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the gear rollers 245a and 245b, the rotating shafts 246a and 246b, and the polishing pad guides 248A and 248B. FIG. 39A is an exploded perspective view before the assembly, and FIG. 39B is a perspective view showing the assembled state. FIG. 4C is a perspective view showing a state in which the polishing pad 243 is sandwiched between the gear rollers 245a and 245b. As shown in FIG. 39, the gear rollers 245a and 245b are provided with a plurality of small gear portions 2451a and 2451b along the axial direction of the rotation shafts 246a and 246b, and between the small gear portions 2451a and 2451b. Are provided with gaps 2452a and 2452b, respectively.

  On the other hand, the polishing cloth guides 248A and 248B are provided with baffle plate portions 248A2 and 248B2, and the baffle plate portions 248A2 and 248B2 do not interfere with the rotation shafts 246a and 246b and rotate with the rotation shafts 246a and 246b. Support recesses 248A3 and 248B3 are provided for guiding the above. Then, as shown in FIG. 39B, such baffle plate portions 248A2 and 248B2 enter the gap portions 2452a and 2452b between the small gear portions 2451a and 2451b.

  Note that the base portions of the baffle plate portions 248A2 and 248B2 on the side of the circumferential wall surfaces 248A1 and 248B1 extend from one end side to the other end side of the circumferential wall surfaces 248A1 and 248B1. Therefore, even if the polishing cloth 243 tries to enter the gaps 249A and 249B, the entry of the polishing cloth 243 is blocked by the baffle plate portions 248A2 and 248B2. Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent the polishing cloth 243 from being caught.

  Here, a modification of the configuration shown in FIG. 39 is shown in FIG. FIG. 40 is a perspective view showing the configuration of gear rollers 245a and 245b, rotating shafts 246a and 246b, and polishing cloth guides 248A and 248B according to a modification, (a) is an exploded perspective view before assembly, and (b) is assembly. FIG. 4C is a perspective view showing a state in which the polishing pad 243 is sandwiched between the gear rollers 245a and 245b.

  As shown in FIG. 40, flange portions 248A4 and 248B4 are provided on both ends of the polishing pad guides 248A and 248B, respectively. The flange portions 248A4 and 248B4 are portions for suppressing the small gear portions 2451a and 2451b located on the end side of the rotating shafts 246a and 246b from swinging (moving). When such flanges 248A4 and 248B4 are present, there are the following advantages.

  That is, as described above, in the polishing cloth 243 ′ in which the heat cut processing part 243 H exists at the edge in the width direction, the polishing cloth 243 ′ is used due to bonding variation at the fiber (thread) level. In many cases, fraying or deformation that causes the fibers (yarns) to unravel occurs. Therefore, if the small gear portions 2451a and 2451b are swung (moved) and pinched with respect to the heat cut processing portion 243H, fraying and deformation are likely to occur. In order to prevent such fraying and deformation, the flange portions 248A4 and 248B4 prevent the small gear portions 2451a and 2451b located on the end side of the rotating shafts 246a and 246b from swinging (moving). Thereby, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of the above-described fraying and deformation.

  In addition, if large fraying or deformation occurs in the polishing pad 243 ', the polishing pad 243' is likely to be caught. However, the presence of the flanges 248A4 and 248B4 can prevent the polishing cloth 243 'from being caught by suppressing the occurrence of fraying and deformation as described above. In addition, there is an effect similar to the configuration of FIG. 36B described above, and it is possible to prevent the polishing cloth 243 'from being caught.

  FIG. 41 is a partial plan view showing a configuration in the vicinity of the polishing cloth inlet 241h of the cassette body 241, (a) is a diagram showing a schematic configuration in the vicinity of the polishing cloth inlet 241h, and (b) is a movable wall 2413. It is a figure which shows an example of this attachment structure. As shown in FIG. 41 (a), a movable wall 2413 is provided at a site constituting the polishing pad inlet 241h. The movable wall 2413 has an inlet wall surface 2413a facing the space of the polishing pad inlet 241h.

  As shown in FIG. 41 (a), the inlet wall surface 2413a is an end portion on the end wall 241e side of the gear roller 245a when the polishing cloth 243 is considered to travel along the wall surface of the back wall 241d. It protrudes to the polishing cloth inlet 241h side from 245a1. That is, the inlet wall surface 2413a protrudes toward the space of the polishing pad inlet 241h by K2 from the end portion 245a1. In FIG. 41A, in addition to the dimension K2, a dimension K1 indicating the width of the polishing pad inlet 241h is also shown, and naturally K1> K2.

  The inlet wall surface 2413a has the same position in the vertical direction (here, the same direction as the width direction of the polishing pad 243) protruding toward the space of the polishing pad inlet 241h. The movable wall 2413 is slidably provided so that the width of the polishing cloth inlet 241h can be adjusted. By making such a width adjustable, the width of the polishing cloth inlet 241h can be adjusted before and after the polishing cloth 243 is passed through the polishing cloth inlet 241h. Thereby, before setting the polishing cloth 243, the width of the polishing cloth inlet 241h can be widened so that the polishing cloth inlet 241h can be easily passed.

  Further, after the polishing cloth 243 is set and passed through the polishing cloth inlet 241h, the inlet wall surface 2413a can be protruded toward the space so that the width of the polishing cloth inlet 241h is narrowed. Thereby, the polishing cloth 243 that has passed through the polishing cloth inlet 241h can be brought into contact with the gear roller 245a quickly. As a result, it is possible to prevent the polishing cloth 243 from being excessively slackened, and thereby the polishing cloth 243 can be prevented from becoming a so-called violent behavior.

  Note that the provision of the slidable movable wall 2413 is advantageous also during maintenance. That is, when the polishing cloth inlet 241h is narrow and dust and other foreign matters are easily clogged, it can be adjusted to widen the polishing cloth inlet 241h during maintenance. Further, even if the polishing cloth 243 has a good behavior at the initial stage of setting the polishing cloth 243, if the polishing cloth 243 does not have a good behavior due to long-term use, for example, the polishing cloth inlet 241h is narrowed. By sliding the movable wall 2413 or sliding the movable wall 2413 so as to widen the polishing cloth inlet 241h, the behavior of the polishing cloth 243 can be stabilized even after long-term use. it can.

  The movable wall 2413 can be configured, for example, as shown in FIG. In the configuration shown in FIG. 41B, the flange portion 2413b of the movable wall 2413 is overlaid on the back surface side of the tongue piece 2411. The flange portion 2413b is provided with a long hole 2413c, and the long hole 2413c is arranged so as to overlap the hole 2412 vertically. And the movable wall 2413 is fixed by letting a screw or a bolt pass through both the elongated hole 2413c and the hole 2412 that are overlapped. In the case shown in FIG. 41 (b), the movable wall 2413 can be divided into two parts in the vertical direction. However, the movable wall 2413 can be divided into two parts in the vertical direction. It is good also as a structure integrated in. In the case of this integrated configuration, the tongue piece 2411 can be omitted. However, a recess (concave portion) into which the tongue piece 2411 or a screw or the like enters is provided in the central portion of the movable wall 2413 in the vertical direction. Also good.

  In addition, the entrance wall surface 2413a may have a configuration in which a central portion in the vertical direction protrudes more toward the space than both ends in the vertical direction. In this case, the central portion in the vertical direction has a central convex shape protruding from both ends.

  When the entrance wall surface 2413a is formed in such a central convex shape, there are the following merits. That is, when the polishing cloth 243 is used for a long period of time, the transport route (C) through which the ball T of the polishing cloth 243 passes becomes thinner due to wear. At this time, depending on the mode in which the polishing pad 243 is used, the center side in the width direction of the polishing pad 243 may be in a state where it extends beyond both ends in the width direction. However, when the entrance wall surface 2413a of the movable wall 2413 is formed in a central convex shape as described above, the polishing cloth 243 is restrained from slackening even if the center side in the width direction of the polishing cloth 243 extends from both ends. The entire width direction of 243 can be brought into contact with the inlet wall surface 2413a.

  FIG. 42 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement relationship between the gear rollers 245a and 245b constituting the polishing pad feeding means 244. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 42, the inter-axis distance L1 between the rotation shafts 246a, 246b of the gear rollers 245a, 245b is a distance L0 that is a distance (including backlash) that the gear rollers 245a, 245b normally mesh with each other. It is set to the distance which added thickness D of this. The reason why the thickness D of the polishing pad 243 is added is that an excessive load is not applied to the gear rollers 245a and 245b. However, the inter-axis distance L1 is not limited to the case where the thickness D of the polishing pad 243 is added. For example, a distance within 1 to 2 times the thickness D of the polishing pad 243 may be added. Further, a distance more than twice the thickness D may be applied as long as the driving force can be transmitted while having a clamping force necessary for conveying the polishing pad 243 between the gear rollers 245a and 245b. As described above, the gear portions of the gear rollers 245a and 245b can be normally meshed even if the distance between the shafts is changed as described above by using an involute gear.

  Here, when the polishing cloth 243 has appropriate flexibility, the gear rollers 245a and 245b can hold the polishing cloth 243 even when the inter-axis distance L1 is constant (ie, the feed of the polishing cloth 243). No problem arises in reliability. However, as described above, the welded portion 243R is present on the polishing pad 243. Further, the polishing cloth 243 may deteriorate with time, and the flexibility of the polishing cloth 243 may change.

  Even in such a case, the structure shown in FIG. 43 is preferable in order to exert the clamping force necessary for conveying the polishing pad 243. FIG. 43 is a view showing another example of the arrangement relationship of the gear rollers 245a and 245b constituting the polishing pad feeding means 244. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 43, the hole portion 245b1 through which the rotation shaft 246b of the driven-side gear roller 245b passes is provided in a long hole shape. In the configuration shown in FIG. 43, when the rotary shaft 246b is positioned near the gear roller 245a in the elongated hole portion 245b1, the distance between the rotary shafts 246a and 246b of the gear rollers 245a and 245b is as follows. Although it corresponds to the distance L1 described above, it may be shorter than the distance L1.

  The rotating shaft 246b is biased toward the gear roller 245a. A specific configuration example relating to this biasing is shown in FIG. FIG. 44 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example in which the driven-side gear roller 245b is urged toward the driving-side gear roller 245a. As shown in FIG. 44, the polishing pad guide 248B is biased toward the polishing pad guide 248A (drive side gear roller 245a side) by a spring 250 that is a biasing means. The spring 250 is located between the front wall 241c and the polishing pad guide 248B, and applies an urging force toward the polishing pad guide 248A side (drive side gear roller 245a side) to the polishing pad guide 248B.

  By adopting such a configuration, as described above, the gear rollers 245a and 245b are maintained at a distance L1 obtained by adding the thickness D of the polishing pad 243 to the distance L0, which is a distance that normally engages normally. However, when the joining portion 243R of the polishing cloth 243 passes between the gear rollers 245a and 245b, or when the polishing cloth 243 becomes harder due to a decrease in flexibility of the polishing cloth 243, the spring 250 resists the biasing force of the spring 250, The gear roller 245b moves away from the gear roller 245a. In addition, with the above-described configuration, the polishing cloth 243 can be given a clamping force necessary for transporting the polishing cloth 243, thereby causing idle rotation of the gear rollers 245a and 245b, clogging of the polishing cloth 243, and the like. Occurrence can be prevented.

(C) Prevention of Entrainment of Polishing Cloth 243 at Polishing Cloth Outlet 241g of Polishing Cassette 240 FIG. 45 is an enlarged view of the right side portion of the polishing cassette 240 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 45, the polishing cloth 243 accommodated in the accommodation space 242 of the polishing cassette 240 is pulled out from the polishing cloth outlet 241g and proceeds along the wall surface of the back wall 241d in a stretched state. After that, after entering the accommodation space 242 again from the polishing cloth inlet 241h opposite to the polishing cloth outlet 241g in the cassette body 241, and being sandwiched by the polishing cloth feeding means 244, the polishing cloth 243 is folded in a bellows shape. It is.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 21, 24, and 45, a pair of wall members 251 </ b> A and 251 </ b> B are provided in a portion of the inside of the cassette body 241 on the polishing cloth outlet 241 g side. The wall members 251A and 251B may be wall portions that constitute the inside of the accommodation space 242, but the end wall 241f that exists outside the wall members 251A and 251B constitutes the inside of the accommodation space 242. It's okay. The pair of wall members 251A and 251B have end wall portions 251A1 and 251B1, folded portions 251A2 and 251B2, and columnar portions 251A3 and 251B3.

  Among these, terminal wall part 251A1, 251B1 is provided so that it may mutually approach as it goes to the downstream of the advancing direction of the polishing pad 243. Therefore, the pair of end wall portions 251A1 and 251B1 are arranged in an inclined state with respect to the length of the cassette body 241.

  46 is an enlarged view of the pair of wall members 251A and 251B shown in FIG. 45, and is a diagram showing a dimensional relationship between the folded portions 251A2 and 251B2 and the columnar portions 251A3 and 251B3. As shown in FIGS. 45 and 46, the pair of folded portions 251A2 and 251B2 are directed from the portion where the pair of end walls 251A1 and 251B1 are closest to each other toward the gear rollers 245a and 245b on the opposite side of the cassette body 241. Is extended. The pair of folded portions 251A2 and 251B2 are provided in parallel to each other.

  In addition, columnar portions 251A3 and 251B3 are provided on the distal end side of the extension of the pair of folded portions 251A2 and 251B2, respectively. The columnar portions 251A3 and 251B3 are provided in a shape having a smooth curved surface on the outer peripheral side thereof. In the configuration shown in FIGS. 45B and 46, the columnar portions 251A3 and 251B3 are provided in a columnar shape. The center lines in the width direction of the folded portions 251A2 and 251B2 are provided so as to pass substantially through the radial centers of the columnar portions 251A3 and 251B3. Further, the diameters of the columnar portions 251A3 and 251B3 are provided to be larger than the widths of the folded portions 251A2 and 251B2.

  Such a dimensional relationship will be described with reference to FIG. When the interval between the columnar portions 251A3 and 251B3 is A and the interval between the folded portions 251A2 and 251B2 is D, the interval D> the interval A is satisfied. In addition, as a preferable example of the dimension, when the thickness of the polishing pad 243 is 0.2 mm, the distance A is 1 mm and the distance D is 1.5 mm. Further, when the radius of the columnar portions 251A3 and 251B3 is B, and the dimension from the inner wall side of the wall members 251A and 251B1 to the distal end side of the columnar portions 251A3 and 251B3 among the folded portions 251A2 and 251B2, the dimensions C As a preferred example, when the thickness of the polishing pad 243 is 0.2 mm, the radius B is 1.3 mm and the dimension C is 5 mm.

  In such a configuration, when the polishing cloth 243 is pulled out toward the polishing cloth outlet 241g, the polishing cloth 243 can be prevented from being caught. In particular, in the columnar portions 251A3 and 251B3 with which the polishing cloth 243 comes into contact first, the polishing cloth 243 is prevented from coming into wide contact and is in a linear contact. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the polishing cloth 243 in a state where dirt is adsorbed or the like from sticking to the columnar portions 251A3 and 251B3. In addition, when the polishing cloth 243 passes through the columnar portions 251A3 and 251B3, the polishing cloth 243 is smoothly guided and pulled out by the columnar portions 251A3 and 251B3, so that the polishing cloth 243 is overlapped in many layers. It becomes possible to avoid the entrainment state that is discharged in the state.

  In addition, since the folded portions 251A2 and 251B2 extend to the inside of the accommodation space 242, the polishing cloth 243 to be discharged spreads away from the other polishing cloth 243 layers in the accommodation space 242. A margin space 242A that enables this is formed. Also by this, it becomes possible to avoid the entrainment state in which the polishing cloth 243 is discharged in a state where many layers overlap.

(D) Prevention of uneven distribution of polishing cloth 243 in polishing region PF Further, the polishing cloth 243 drawn out from the exit portion 252 of the portion where the folded portions 251A2 and 251B2 are opposed is pressed by the urging member 253. The urging member 253 is formed of a thin plate member such as a thin metal plate or a synthetic resin plate, and is attached to any part of the end surface wall 241f of the cassette body 241. This urging member 253 is attached so as to gradually approach the end wall portion 251B1 toward the polishing cloth outlet 241g side (to narrow the interval), thereby smoothing the guide property of the polishing cloth 243. . Due to the presence of the urging member 253, an appropriate tension is applied to the polishing cloth 243 stretched along the polishing region PF of the back wall 241d of the cassette body 241. Therefore, the polishing cloth 243 is prevented from being unevenly distributed due to the force when the conveyed ball T comes into contact with the polishing cloth 243 in the polishing region PF.

  Note that static electricity may be generated in the polishing pad 243 due to polishing (cleaning) of the sphere T or other causes, but when the biasing member 253 is conductive, the biasing member 253 is It can function as a ground for removing static electricity. This contributes to improvement of the sphere polishing efficiency.

(E) Cushion material 260 in the polishing region PF
FIG. 47 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration near the rear wall 241d of the cassette body 241 of the polishing cassette 240. As shown in FIG. FIG. 48 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the polishing pad 243 and the cushion material 260 of the comparative example. FIG. 49 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the polishing pad 243 and the preferred cushion material 260. 50 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the sphere T is pressed against the polishing pad 243 and the cushion material 260 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 47, the back wall 241d of the polishing cassette 240 is provided with a cushion material 260 that comes into contact with the polishing pad 243. The cushion material 260 is provided so as to be appropriately recessed when the ball T presses the polishing pad 243. In addition, although there exists a thing with about 1 mm of such moderate dents, a dent may be larger than that and a dent may be smaller than 1 mm.

  As the cushion material 260, for example, as shown in FIG. 48, a felt having a random fiber direction can be used. The cushion material 260 as a comparative example shown in FIG. 48 will be described below as a cushion material 260 ′. However, the cushion material 260 as shown in FIG. 49 is preferable to the cushion material 260 ′ shown in FIG. The cushion material 260 shown in FIG. 49 is configured by arranging raised 262 standing obliquely in the moving direction of the polishing cloth 243 on the surface of a flat base cloth 261. The raised 262 is not a fiber that has been planted at a uniform high density on the entire surface. For example, by placing dozens of fiber bundles 262a on the base fabric 261 at substantially equal intervals, each fiber bundle 262a It is desirable to have a hollow portion 263 between them.

  In this case, the raised 262 is preferably made of a material having elasticity that satisfies the relationship of Y> X, where Y is the length of the raised 262 and X is the amount of sinking of the raised 262 due to ball pressure. The raised 262 may be formed by cutting a part of a pile-like (annular) member planted obliquely with respect to the base cloth 261, but the fiber bundle 262 a is attached to the base cloth 261. Alternatively, the hair may be obliquely planted or formed by other methods.

  The cushion material 260 (particularly the raised 262) is preferably a slidable material. Specifically, for example, a fluorine-based fiber corresponds to this. Moreover, it is preferable that the cushion material 260 (particularly the raised 262) has both slidability and elasticity.

  The raised 262 is planted so that the tip side thereof stands obliquely so as to face the feeding direction of the polishing cloth 243 from the base side that is the base cloth 261 side. Therefore, although the load with respect to the feed direction of the polishing pad 243 is small, if the polishing pad 243 is moved in the direction opposite to the feed direction, a large load is generated. Therefore, the movement of the polishing pad 243 in the reverse direction by the conveyed ball T is prevented, and bending of the polishing pad 243 and generation of wrinkles are suppressed. Therefore, the original polishing (cleaning) ability of the polishing pad 243 is exhibited.

  FIG. 50 shows a situation in which the polishing pad 243 and the cushion material 260 are deformed by the pressure of the sphere T when the sphere T conveyed by the conveyance unit 220 passes. By using the cushion material 260 in this way, the contact area between the ball T to be conveyed and the polishing pad 243 is widened by the depression of the polishing pad 243 and the cushioning material 260. Therefore, a better polishing (cleaning) effect can be obtained as compared with the case where there is no cushion material 260 and dents are hardly generated. Such a polishing (cleaning) effect is obtained not only by the screw conveyor 221 having a short protruding length of the strip 223 as shown in FIG. 13, but also by the protruding length of the strip 223 ′ as shown in FIG. Such a polishing (cleaning) effect can be obtained even with a long screw conveyor 221 '.

  In addition, foreign matters such as dust, sweat, and oil may adhere to the sphere T passing through the polishing region PF due to static electricity. However, in the cushion material 260 shown in FIGS. 49 and 50, the hollow portion 263 is formed between the raised 262s (particularly on the base fabric 261 side). Therefore, the foreign matter is transferred and penetrated into the polishing pad 243 and reaches the raised 262, and the foreign matter is accommodated in the hollow portion 263. Therefore, there is an advantage that the amount of foreign matter can be increased and the usable period of the polishing pad 243 and the cushion material 260 becomes longer.

  A cushion material 260 having a base cloth 261 as shown in FIGS. 49 and 50 is attached to the back wall 241d of the cassette body 241 by adhesion or the like. An example of such a change of the cushion material 260 is shown in FIG. 51 is a view showing a cushion material 260 according to a modification of the cushion material 260 shown in FIG. In the configuration of the cushion material 260 shown in FIG. 51, the base cloth 261 of the cushion material 260 is attached to the back wall 241 d of the cassette body 241 by the adhesive member 264. The adhesive member 264 includes an adhesive layer 266 having adhesiveness similar to the adhesive base 265 having adhesiveness. The adhesive base 265 is a part that is attached to the back wall 241d, and the adhesive layer 266 is a part that attaches the base cloth 261 and captures foreign matter. When the foreign matter is captured by the adhesive layer 266, the foreign matter is difficult to return to the polishing pad 243 side.

  The adhesive member 264 has a two-layer structure including the adhesive base 265 and the adhesive layer 266. However, the adhesive member 264 may have only one layer, and has a layer other than the adhesive base 265 and the adhesive layer 266. It is good also as a structure which has three or more layers.

  Further, as described above, when the polishing cloth 243 is fed by the polishing motor 234, when the feeding and the pause are intermittently performed, the feeding or the polishing cloth 243 is compared with the case where the polishing motor 234 is continuously driven. During the pause, the raised part 262 is likely to be raised. Further, the rising (raising) of the raised 262 can improve the polishing (cleaning) ability of the sphere T as compared with the configuration in which the raised portion is less likely to occur in the raised 262.

  Next, FIG. 52 shows the relationship between the direction in which the raised 262 is inclined (the falling direction) and the moving direction of the polishing pad 243. FIG. 52 is a perspective view for explaining the falling direction of the raised 262 and the traveling direction of the polishing pad 243. FIG. 52A shows the case where the falling direction of the raised 262 is parallel to the moving direction of the polishing pad 243. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the falling direction of the raised 262 is inclined away from the center in the width direction of the cushion material 260 when moving in the moving direction of the polishing cloth 243.

  The cushion material 260 shown in FIG. 48 to FIG. 51 can be considered to stand up diagonally so that the direction in which the raised 262 falls is directed to the moving direction of the polishing pad 243. An example of such a configuration is shown in FIG. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 52A, when the polishing cassette 240 having the cushion material 260 is mounted on the polishing unit 230 of the ball polishing apparatus 200 and the polishing motor 234 is driven, the polishing cloth 243 is shown in FIG. 52 (a) is guided in the direction indicated by the arrow, and the direction of the guidance is parallel to the feed direction of the polishing pad 243.

  On the other hand, the cushion material 260 may be configured as shown in FIG. In the configuration shown in FIG. 52 (b), the cushion material 260 is configured from two cushion materials 260L and 260R along the width direction (left and right) for one polishing cassette 240. In the cushioning material 260L and the cushioning material 260R, the raised hairs 262 are inclined so as to be separated from each other in the traveling direction of the polishing pad 243. In other words, the raising 262 is inclined so as to be away from the boundary portion between the cushioning material 260L and the cushioning material 260R from the root side (the base cloth 261 side) of the raising 262 toward the tip side.

  When the cushion material 260 is configured as shown in FIG. 52 (b), when the polishing cloth 243 advances, the left half of the polishing cloth 243 in the width direction in FIG. 52 (b) is shown in the polishing region PF. 52 (b), the right half of the polishing pad 243 in the width direction in FIG. 52 (b) is guided obliquely upward to the right in FIG. 52 (b). Accordingly, the moved polishing cloth 243 is spread from the width center line toward both ends in the width direction, whereby the polishing cloth 243 is in a state where tension is applied without being biased to either the left or right side. Accordingly, the unevenness of the polishing pad 243 is prevented, and the polishing pad 243 can exhibit a stable polishing (cleaning) ability with respect to the sphere T.

  FIG. 53 is a perspective view showing the cushion material 260 in FIG. 52 (b). FIG. 53 (a) shows a configuration without the combination prevention means 267, and FIG. 53 (b) shows a configuration with the combination prevention means 267. Is shown. As shown in FIG. 53 (b), when two cushion materials 260L and 260R are used, it is desirable that there is a configuration that prevents a right / left combination in the width direction at the time of attachment. In the configuration shown in FIG. 53 (b), the combination preventing means 267 is a notch provided at the corner of each cushion material 260L, 260R. Here, the cushion material 260 and the cushion material 260R can distinguish the two cushion materials 260L and the cushion material 260R by changing the corners where the combination prevention means 267 is provided.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 53 (b), two cutouts as the combination preventing means 267 are provided, and the two cutouts are arranged in the diagonal direction of the cushion members 260L and 260R. Moreover, the direction of the left and right cushion members 260L and 260R can be easily identified by setting the diagonal direction to a direction close to the inclination direction of the raised 262 when the cushion members 260L and 260R are viewed in plan.

  Further, in the case where the combination preventing means 267 is constituted by a notch, it is preferable that a protruding member such as a notch into which the notch is inserted is provided on the back wall 241d of the cassette body 241.

[4.3 Upper tank]
Next, the upper tank 300 will be described. FIG. 54 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the upper tank 300 as viewed from the side. 55 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the upper tank 300 shown in FIG. 54 is cut along the line AA. FIG. 56 is an exploded perspective view of the upper tank 300 shown in FIG. FIG. 57 is a perspective view of the upper tank 300 shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 54 to 57, the upper tank 300 is a portion into which the sphere T is introduced from the sphere receiving portion 330. The upper tank 300 has a tank body 310 and an inclined plate 320, and has a multi-stage structure. The upper tank 300 has a ball receiving portion 330 on one end side.

  As shown in FIGS. 56 and 57, the inclined plate 320 is formed into a shape and size that can be fixed without using a fixing tool such as a screw by tightly fitting into the tank body 310. Yes. Therefore, like the lower tank 100, the upper tank 300 can be assembled and disassembled without tools.

  The tank main body 310 includes a bottom wall 311 that slopes downward on the side opposite to the receiving portion 330 and one end in the width direction, and a peripheral wall portion 312 that includes peripheral wall portions 312a, 312b, 312c, and 312d that stand up from the periphery of the bottom wall 311. Thus, it is formed in a box shape having a space 312e that opens upward. The peripheral wall portion 312d on the receiving portion 330 side of the bottom wall 311 is formed to be approximately half the length of the side on the same side of the bottom wall 311 and one end thereof is connected to or close to the peripheral wall portion 312a. And between the other end of the surrounding wall part 312d and the front-end | tip of the surrounding wall part 312c is opened. Two outlets 313 and 314 for discharging the sphere T that rolls on the upper surface of the bottom wall 311 to the outside are provided at a position where the lower end portion in the width direction of the bottom wall 311 is connected to the peripheral wall portion 312c. .

  As shown in FIG. 54, the inclined plate 320 and the bottom wall 311 are inclined such that the other end side (X2 side) in the longitudinal direction is lower than the one end side (X1 side). It is provided so as to be parallel to 311. A first spherical passage P5 is formed on the upper surface of the inclined plate 320, and a second spherical passage P6 is formed between the inclined plate 320 and the bottom wall 311.

  As shown in FIG. 55, the inclined plate 320 is inclined in the width direction (Y direction), but in FIG. 55, from one end side (Y1 side) to the other end side (Y2 side) in the width direction. Inclined to face downward. A communication portion 321 is provided between the other end side (Y2 side) in the width direction of the inclined plate 320 and the peripheral wall portion 312a constituting the inclined plate 320, and the inclined portion is inclined via the communication portion 321. The plate 320 communicates with the bottom wall 311. Accordingly, the sphere T rolling on the upper surface of the first sphere passage P5 falls to the upper inclined side (Y2 side in FIG. 55) of the second sphere passage P6 via the communication portion 321, and the dropped sphere T Rolls toward the lower inclined side (Y1 side) of the second ball passage P6. In the first and second spherical passages P5 and P6, the sphere T rolls toward the other end side (X2 side) in the longitudinal direction (X direction) in FIG.

  In addition, outlets 313 and 314 are provided in the peripheral wall portion 312c of the tank main body 310 facing the second spherical passage P6, and the outlets 313 and 314 are provided in the second spherical passage P6. Is a portion for discharging the first supply pipe 2 and the second supply pipe 14. The outlets 313 and 314 are provided with counters 315 and 316 that count the balls supplied from the tank body 310 to the first supply pipe 2 and the second supply pipe 14.

  As shown in FIG. 54, FIG. 56 and FIG. 57, the ball receiving portion 330 is connected to the outer side of the inclined upper side which is one end side (X1 side) of the inclined plate 320 of the tank body 310. The ball holder 330 communicates with the space 312e through the opening 312d1 of the peripheral wall portion 312d. The ball receiving portion 330 is formed in a box shape having an upper surface and one side surface opened, and the box shape includes a bottom wall 331 and a peripheral wall 332. The peripheral wall 332 includes peripheral walls 332 a, 332 b, and 332 c that stand continuously on three sides of the bottom wall 331. Then, the tank main body 310 and the ball receiving portion 330 are connected in a state where the opening 332 d that is a portion where the peripheral wall 332 does not exist in the ball receiving portion 330 and the opening 312 d 1 of the peripheral wall portion 312 d of the tank main body 310 are abutted. As a result, the upper surface of the bottom wall 331 is in a state of being continuous with the inclined upper side end (X1 side) of the inclined plate 320 of the tank body 310.

  58 is a perspective view showing a state in which the upper end side of the ball polishing apparatus 200 is connected to the ball receiving portion 330 of the upper tank 300 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 58, the ball receiving portion 330 is flush with the tank body 310 on one end side in the width direction (Y direction), but the width of the ball receiving portion 330 is significantly larger than the width of the tank body 310. narrow. Therefore, a concave portion 333 that is partitioned by the peripheral wall portion 312d and the peripheral wall 332c exists at a portion on the other end side (Y2 side) from the ball receiving portion 330, and the concave portion 333 includes the concave portion 333. The upper bearing portion 229 on the upper end side is located. Here, as shown in FIGS. 58 and 59, the corner portion on the X1 side and the Y2 side of the ball receiving portion 330 is a cutout portion 334, and the cutout portion 334 starts from 2 of the ball polishing apparatus 200. Two outlets 2315 are opened toward the ball receiving portion 330.

  FIG. 59 is a plan view showing a sphere storage mode when the guide plate 335 is not attached to the upper end side of the sphere polishing apparatus 200 of FIG. FIG. 60 is a plan view showing a sphere storage mode when the guide plate 335 is attached to the upper end side of the sphere polishing apparatus 200 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 60, a guide plate 335 made of, for example, a thin plate is attached to the upper surface of the outlet 2315 as a guide member. The guide plate 335 is a member that defines the traveling direction of the sphere T. In the configuration shown in FIG. 60, the guide plate 335 is configured such that the sphere T discharged from the outlet 2315 is directed toward the peripheral wall 332a opposite to the outlet 2315. It is for prescribing in the collision direction.

  As shown in FIG. 59, the sphere T is discharged from the outlet 2315 of the sphere polishing apparatus 200 to the inside of the sphere receiving unit 330, and the sphere T is accumulated in the upper tank 300 until it is almost full. It is stored up to the inside. At this time, when the guide plate 335 as shown in FIG. 59 is not provided, there is a tendency that a dead space DS in which the sphere does not accumulate in the corner portion on the opposite side to the outlet 2315 of the sphere receiving portion 330 is generated. The formation of such a dead space DS means that the number of balls that can be stored in the upper tank 300 is suppressed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 60, in the case of the configuration including the guide plate 335, the ball T discharged from the outlet 2315 is guided by the guide plate 335 toward the peripheral wall 332a opposite to the outlet 2315. Progress diagonally. Therefore, when the sphere T accumulates in the upper tank 300 and then accumulates in the sphere receiving portion 330, the sphere T occupies a half of the sphere receiving portion 330 on the upper tank 300 side, and then the sphere T is a corner on the side opposite to the outlet 2315. Occupy part. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a dead space from occurring. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the suppression of the number of balls that can be stored in the upper tank 300.

  In a preferred embodiment, the guide plate 335 is formed of a conductive material such as a thin metal plate such as aluminum or copper. As a result, the guide plate 335 can eliminate static electricity generated when the sphere to be conveyed passes through the conveyance unit 220 and the polishing unit 230. Therefore, the adhesion of the sphere T to dirt can be prevented and the gloss of the sphere T can be maintained.

  The upper surface of the bottom wall 331 of the sphere receiving portion 330 may be horizontal, and in the case of being horizontal, the sphere T previously accommodated in the sphere receiving portion 330 is smooth by the rolling force of the sphere T discharged one after another from the outlet 2315. It is pushed to the tank body 310 side and proceeds. However, it is preferable that the upper surface of the bottom wall 331 is slightly inclined downward toward the tank body 310 side.

[4.4 Control system]
The single island A according to the present embodiment has a control device 400 as shown in FIG. 61 in order to control the driving of the ball polishing device 200. The control device 400 is configured around a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a memory such as a nonvolatile memory, a timer, and other elements. In FIG. 61, one control device 400 is shown, but it may be composed of a plurality of control boards such as a main control board and a sub control board. The control device 400 may be a control device for the single island A or the gaming machine B, or may be a part of a control device for the single island A or the gaming machine B. It may be configured to send and receive control signals from the control device of the single island A or the gaming machine B separately from the device. The control device 400 may include a motor driver. However, the control device 400 may include a motor driver separately from the control device 400.

  The control device 400, as an output signal supply destination, a ball conveyance motor 228 for rotating the screw conveyor 221 of the conveyance unit 220 of the ball polishing device 200, a polishing motor 234 of the polishing unit 230, and a means for informing the state As shown, a notification LED 401, which is a light emitter, is connected.

  Further, the control device 400 operates as an input signal source the operation of an introduction part sensor 402 provided in the introduction part 210, a full sensor 403 provided in the upper tank 300, an empty sensor 404, and a ball transport motor 228. A ball conveyance motor sensor 405 for monitoring, a polishing cassette detection sensor 406 for monitoring whether the polishing cassette 240 of the polishing unit 230 is attached, and a polishing motor sensor 407 for monitoring the operation of the polishing motor 234 Is connected.

  The introduction part sensor 402 is a sensor for detecting the presence of a certain number of spheres T in the sphere introduction paths 211A and 211B or the vertical drop part 211B2. When there is no fixed number of spheres T in the sphere introduction paths 211A, 211B or the vertical drop part 211B2, the pressure applied to the sphere T existing at the tip of the introduction part 210 is small, so that the sphere T is the transport standby position of the screw conveyor 221. You may not be able to enter the WP.

  If the screw conveyor 221 of the transport unit 220 is rotated in this state, the ball T at the front end may be caught between the band plate 223 and the periphery of the entrance 227 of the transport guide 225 and may be locked. However, when a certain number of spheres T are present in the introduction part 210, sufficient pressure is applied to the sphere T present at the tip of the introduction part 210, so the sphere T at the tip enters the transport standby position WP. The ball does not lock.

  Therefore, when the detection signal of the introduction unit sensor 402 of the introduction unit 210 is OFF, the control device 400 performs control so that the ball conveyance motor 228 that drives the screw conveyor 221 is not started. In this way, the control device 400 prevents the ball T from being locked to the introduction unit 210.

  In a preferred embodiment, a lock sensor (not shown) that outputs a ball lock detection signal is provided when the conveyance of the ball T is not detected within a predetermined time after the rotation of the ball conveyance motor 228 is started in the middle of the conveyance path 226. When the lock sensor outputs a ball lock detection signal, the ball transport motor 228 is rotated at least once in reverse and forward to perform a retry operation so that the lock of the ball T can be released. is there.

  As shown in FIG. 57, the full sensor 403 is attached to the peripheral wall 332a opposite to the outlet 2315 of the ball receiving portion 330 of the upper tank 300. The full sensor 403 outputs a signal corresponding to fullness to the control device 400 when the sphere T detects a change in state due to the presence of the sphere T in the sphere receiving unit 330. As shown in FIG. 57, the empty sensor 404 is attached to a peripheral wall portion 312c located on the same side as the full sensor 403 in the tank body 310 of the upper tank 300. However, the attachment position is a position closer to the other end (close to the end portion on the X2 side) of the tank main body 310. This empty sensor 404 outputs to the control device 400 a signal corresponding to the fact that the sphere T is empty when detecting a change in state due to the absence of the sphere T in the tank body 310.

  FIG. 62 is a timing chart showing the operations of the transport unit 220 and the polishing unit 230 by the control device 400. That is, the control device 400 rotates the ball transport motor 228 while the introduction unit sensor 402 detects the ball T in the introduction unit 210, and during that time, the polishing motor 234 rotates for a predetermined time T1, for example, 1 second. The stop for a predetermined time T2, for example, 3 seconds is repeated. Then, when the controller 400 outputs a polishing stop signal, for example, when a full detection signal for detecting fullness is input from the full sensor 403, the rotation of the ball transport motor 228 and the polishing motor 234 is stopped.

<(1) First Example of Control of Ball Transfer Motor 228 and Polishing Motor 234>
FIG. 63 is a flowchart of a first example of control processing of the ball transport motor 228 and the polishing motor 234 by the control device 400. The first example is a control process in the case where the ball transport motor 228 is always rotated at a constant speed. This control process will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the control process shown in FIG. 63 is started, it is determined in step 11 (hereinafter, step is represented as s) whether or not there is a stop instruction (polishing stop signal). When there is no stop instruction in s11 (when N), the system waits until there is a start instruction in s12. When a start instruction is given (when Y), the operation of the ball transport motor 228 is started in s13 (assuming the ball transport motor is ON). Next, in s14, it is determined whether or not the measured value of the polishing timer is zero. In the control device 400, a setting value of a polishing timer that determines an operation pattern of the polishing motor 234 is registered. The set value is, for example, 4 seconds. The first 1 second of the 4 seconds determines the ON timing (operation timing) of the polishing motor 234, and the next 3 seconds determines the OFF timing (stop timing).

  As described above, by setting the ON timing (operation timing) and the OFF timing (stop timing) in the polishing timer that determines the operation pattern of the polishing motor 234, the control device 400 causes the polishing motor 234 to be intermittently driven. Is controlling. In the case of intermittent driving, the life of the polishing motor 234 can be extended and the polishing motor 234 can be downsized compared to the case of continuous driving. In addition, by moving the polishing cloth 243 intermittently, the polishing cloth 243 fed into the polishing cassette 240 temporarily stops the feeding state and then enters the feeding state again. Therefore, an opportunity to meander the polishing cloth 243 fed into the polishing cassette 240 can be generated.

  When the polishing timer is not 0 in s14 described above (in the case of N), the polishing timer is updated in s15, and subsequently, in s16, it is determined whether or not the measured value of the polishing timer is greater than or equal to the upper limit value. If the determination result is affirmative (Y), the polishing timer is cleared to 0 in s17, and in s18, it is determined whether or not the polishing motor 234 is at an operation timing. If the determination result of s16 is negative (N), the process proceeds to s18.

  In s18, it is determined whether or not the polishing motor 234 is at the operation timing as follows. For example, when the polishing timer is set to 4 seconds, the first 1 second is the timing of operation (ON) of the polishing motor 234, and the next 3 seconds is the timing of stop (OFF) of the polishing motor 234. Whether or not the operation timing has come within the measurement by the polishing timer is determined. If the determination result at s18 is affirmative (Y), the polishing motor 234 is turned on (operated) at s19, and the process returns to s11.

  When there is a stop instruction in s11, the process proceeds to s110, the operation of the ball transport motor 228 is stopped (OFF), and then the process proceeds to s111, where the polishing motor 234 is stopped (OFF), and then the process returns to s11. In addition, when the measured value of the polishing timer is 0 in s14 (in the case of Y) or the determination result in s18 is negative, the polishing motor 234 is stopped (OFF) in s112, and then the process returns to s11. . That is, the control device 400 controls the ball conveyance motor 228 and the polishing motor 234 so as to minimize the noise and power consumption of the conveyance unit 220 and the polishing unit 230 of the ball polishing apparatus 200.

<(2) Second Example of Control of Ball Transfer Motor 228 and Polishing Motor 234>
64A, 64B, and 64C are flowcharts of a second example of control processing of the ball transport motor 228 and the polishing motor 234 by the control device 400. FIG. In the second example, the control device 400 controls the ball transport motor 228 based on the detection signal from the full sensor 403 and the detection signal from the empty sensor 404.

  The processing contents of s21, s27, and s28 in FIG. 64A are the same as the processing contents of s11, s110, and s111 in FIG. Therefore, the detailed description of these steps is omitted. When a start instruction for s22 is given in the start instruction standby state after the stop instruction for s21 (when Y), the start instruction for s22 described above corresponds to the low-speed driving of the ball transport motor 228 in s23. It is determined whether or not. When the detection signal of the full sensor 403 is OFF and the detection signal of the empty sensor 404 is ON, that is, when the control device 400 is not full but not empty, the control device 400 operates the low speed of the ball transport motor 228. It is determined that driving is necessary. When the determination result of s23 is affirmative (Y), the process proceeds to s29 in FIG. 64B.

  When the process proceeds to s29 in FIG. 64B, the ball transport motor 228 is activated (ON) and low-speed driving is started. In s210, it is determined whether or not the polishing timer has reached 0. If the measured value of the polishing timer is not 0 in s210 (in the case of N), the polishing timer is updated in s211. Subsequently, in s212, it is determined whether or not the measured value of the polishing timer is greater than or equal to the upper limit value. . If the determination result is affirmative (Y), the polishing timer is cleared to 0 in s213. Subsequently, in s214, it is determined whether or not the polishing motor 234 is in operation timing. The determination at s214 is the same as the determination at s18 described above.

  If the result of determination at s212 is negative (N), the process proceeds to s214. If the determination result of s214 is affirmative (Y), the polishing motor 234 is turned on (actuated) in s215 to start low-speed driving, and then the process returns to s21 in FIG. 64A.

  On the other hand, when the determination result of s210 is affirmative (when Y) or when the determination result of s214 is negative (when N), the process proceeds to s216 and the polishing motor 234 is stopped (OFF). And return to s21.

  If the result of determination in s23 is negative (N), it is determined in s24 whether or not the above-described start instruction in s22 corresponds to the medium speed drive of the ball transport motor 228. The control device 400 starts low-speed driving of the ball transport motor 228 based on the detection signal of the full sensor 403 being OFF and the detection signal of the empty sensor 404 being ON (s29). When the detection signal of the full sensor 403 is not turned ON, it is determined that the medium speed driving of the ball transport motor 228 is necessary. Therefore, when the determination result of s24 is affirmative (Y), the process proceeds to s217 in FIG. 64C.

  When the process proceeds to s217 in FIG. 64C, the ball transport motor 228 is activated (ON) and medium speed driving is started. In s218, it is determined whether or not the measured value of the polishing timer is zero. If the measured value of the polishing timer is not 0, the polishing timer is updated in s219. Subsequently, in s220, it is determined whether or not the measured value of the polishing timer is greater than or equal to the upper limit value. If the determination result is affirmative (Y), the polishing timer is cleared to 0 in s221. Next, in s222, it is determined whether or not the polishing motor 234 is in operation timing at that time. This determination is also the same as s18 described above. When the determination result of s220 is negative (when N), the process proceeds to s222. If the determination result of s222 is affirmative (Y), the polishing motor 234 is activated (ON) in s223 and medium speed driving is started, and then the process returns to s21.

  On the other hand, when the determination result of s218 is affirmative (when Y) or when the determination result of s222 is negative (in the case of N), the process proceeds to s224 and the polishing motor 234 is stopped (OFF). Later, the process returns to s21.

  When the determination result of s23 and the determination result of s24 are both negative (N), the ball transport motor 228 is activated (ON) in s25, but at this time, the ball transport motor 228 starts to be driven at high speed. To do. At the same time, the polishing motor 234 is activated (ON) in s26 to start continuous driving, and then returns to s21. When the ball transport motor 228 is rotated at a high speed, the transport amount per unit time on the ball transport path increases. Therefore, when the intermittent feeding of the polishing pad 243 is continued, it is considered that the polishing (cleaning) ability is insufficient. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, when the ball transport motor 228 is rotated at a high speed, the polishing motor 234 is continuously rotated in order to exhibit a necessary polishing (cleaning) capability. When the polishing motor 234 is continuously rotated, an effect that the polishing cloth 243 is less twisted or the like can be obtained.

  An example of a case where the ball transport motor 228 is driven at high speed is when the empty sensor 404 detects an empty state. Further, if the detection signal of the full sensor 403 does not turn on even after a certain time has elapsed after the medium speed driving, it may be determined that high speed driving is necessary (determined as N) in s24.

<(3) Third Example of Control of Ball Transport Motor 228 and Polishing Motor 234>
65A to 65C are flowcharts of a third example of control processing of the ball transport motor 228 and the polishing motor 234 by the control device 400. In this control process, the feed pattern of the polishing pad 243 is changed as the use period of the polishing pad 243 elapses.

  The processing contents of s31, s32, s34, and s35 in FIG. 65A are the same as the processing contents of s11, s12, s110, and s111 in FIG. 63 and the processing contents of s21, s22, s27, and s28 in FIG. Therefore, the detailed description of these steps is omitted.

  When a start instruction is given in s32 of FIG. 65A (Y), it is determined in s33 whether or not the usage period of the polishing pad 243 has exceeded a predetermined period. This determination is made by comparing the use period accumulated from the use start date set in the internal clock of the control device 400 at the start of use of the polishing pad 243 with the usable period registered for the polishing pad 243. When it is determined in s33 that the usage period does not exceed the predetermined period (N), the process proceeds to s36 in FIG. 65B. If it is determined in s33 that the usage period exceeds the predetermined period (Y), the process proceeds to s314 in FIG. 65C.

  When it is determined in s33 that the usage period of the polishing pad 243 has exceeded the predetermined period, the ball transport motor 228 is activated (ON) in s36 of FIG. 65B, and then the measured value of the polishing timer is 0 in s37. Determine whether or not. If the determination result in s36 is negative (in the case of N), the polishing timer is updated in s38, and then it is determined in s39 whether the measured value of the polishing timer is greater than or equal to the upper limit value. When 4 seconds is set as the upper limit value, it is determined whether or not it is greater than or equal to 4 seconds.

  If the determination result in s39 is affirmative (Y), the polishing timer is cleared to 0 in s310, and then in s311, it is determined whether or not the polishing motor 234 is in operation timing. If the determination result in s311 is affirmative (if Y), the polishing motor 234 is activated (ON) in s312 and then the process returns to s31. When, for example, 4 seconds is set as the upper limit value in the polishing timer, the first 1 second of the set 4 seconds is the ON timing (operation timing) of the polishing motor 234, and the next 3 seconds are the polishing motor. 234 is used for OFF timing (stop timing).

  Further, when the determination result of s37 is affirmative (when Y) or when the determination result of s311 is negative (in the case of N), the process proceeds to s313, the polishing motor 234 is stopped (OFF), Thereafter, the process returns to s31.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in s33 that the usage period exceeds the predetermined period (when Y), the process proceeds to s314 in FIG. 65C. Note that s314, s315, and s316 in FIG. 65C are the same processing as s36, s37, and s38 in FIG. 65B. Then, after performing the processes of s314, s315, and s316, it is determined in s317 whether the measured value of the polishing timer is greater than or equal to the upper limit value after the set value has elapsed.

  The upper limit value after the passage corresponds to the case where it is determined in s33 that the usage period of the polishing pad 243 has exceeded the predetermined period. When the use period of the polishing pad 243 exceeds a predetermined period, the polishing (cleaning) ability of the sphere T may deteriorate due to dirt or the like adhering to the polishing pad 243. Therefore, the post-elapse upper limit value in s317 is set longer than the upper limit value in s39. For example, when the upper limit value in s39 is set to 4 seconds, the upper limit value after elapse in s317 may be set to 5 seconds, but the set time may be any time.

  If, for example, 5 seconds is set as the upper limit value after the polishing timer has elapsed, the first 2 seconds of the set 5 seconds is the ON timing (operation timing) of the polishing motor 234, and the next 3 seconds. Is changed to the OFF timing (stop timing) of the polishing motor 234. That is, the operation pattern of the polishing motor 234 is changed to an intermittent operation of 2 seconds ON (operation) / 3 seconds OFF (stop).

  If the determination result in s317 is affirmative (Y), the polishing timer is cleared to 0 in s318, and in s319, it is determined whether or not the polishing motor 234 is in operation timing. If the determination result in s319 is positive (in the case of Y), the polishing motor 234 is activated (ON) in s320, and then the process returns to s31. When the determination result of s315 is affirmative (when Y), or when the determination result of s319 is negative (when N), the process proceeds to s321 and the polishing motor 234 is stopped (OFF). , Return to s31.

(4) Control of Ball Transport Motor 228 and Polishing Motor 234 Fourth Example FIGS. 66A and 66B are flowcharts of a fourth example of control processing of the ball transport motor 228 and the polishing motor 234 by the control device 400. This control process controls the ball transport motor 228 and the polishing motor 234 based on a signal from the full sensor 403 and the empty sensor 404 provided in the upper tank 300 indicating that the ball T is empty. is there.

  When this control process is started, the control device 400 monitors whether or not the detection signal of the full sensor 403 is turned off in s41 of FIG. 66A, that is, whether or not the full state is lost. When the detection signal of the full sensor 403 is turned off (Y in s41), the low speed rotation of the ball transport motor 228 is started (s42). Further, the control device 400 intermittently rotates the ball transport motor 228 at regular intervals according to a control flow (not shown). Thereby, the conveyance unit 220 of the sphere polishing apparatus 200 conveys the sphere T from the lower tank 100 with low noise and low power consumption, and the conveyed sphere is polished by the polishing unit 230.

  The control device 400 monitors whether or not the detection signal of the full sensor 403 is turned on in s43 after starting the low-speed rotation, and when turned on, that is, when full (when Y in s43). Then, the low-speed rotation of the ball transport motor 228 is stopped (s44). After stopping the low speed rotation, the process returns to s41. This is a control pattern in a normal game where a big hit is not made.

  On the other hand, if the detection signal of the full sensor 403 does not turn ON after s42 starts the low speed rotation of the transport motor 228 in s42 (when s43 is N), the control device 400 starts the timer in s45 and is full again. Whether or not the detection signal of the sensor 403 is turned on is monitored for a certain time (N in s46, N in s47). If the detection signal of the full sensor 403 is turned on in s46, the process of s44 is subsequently performed.

  However, if the detection signal of the full sensor 403 does not turn on even after a certain period of time has elapsed after the start of low speed rotation (s42) (N in s43, N in s46, Y in s47), the ball transport motor 228 The rotation speed is switched from the low speed rotation to the medium speed rotation (s48). In other words, in this case, control that increases the ball conveyance speed from the lower tank 100 to the upper tank 300 is performed, which means that the replenishment amount of the balls T from the upper tank 300 is large. Then, the control device 400 monitors whether or not the detection signal of the full sensor 403 is turned ON by the accelerated conveyance to the upper tank 300 (s49). When the detection signal of the full sensor 403 is turned ON (Y in s49), the control device 400 stops the medium speed rotation of the ball transport motor 228 (s410). After stopping the medium speed rotation, the process returns to s41. This is, for example, a control pattern when a single hit is made.

  If the detection signal of the full sensor 403 is not turned ON at s49 after the start of the medium speed rotation at s48 (when N at s49), the control device 400 proceeds to s411 in FIG. It is monitored whether the detection signal is turned off. When the detection signal of the empty sensor 404 is turned off, that is, when the number of balls in the upper tank 300 becomes less than a certain amount (Y in s411), the rotation speed of the ball transport motor 228 is rotated at medium speed. Is switched to high speed rotation (s412). Thereby, the conveyance speed by the ball polishing apparatus 200 is further increased, and control is performed so that the number of balls in the upper tank 300 is quickly increased. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation where supply from the upper tank 300 is insufficient. Such control is, for example, a control pattern that is performed in the case of a big hit of consecutive fires.

  If the detection signal of the full sensor 403 is not turned on in s49 and the detection signal of the empty sensor 404 is not turned off in s411, the process returns to s49 and waits for the detection signal of the full sensor 403 to turn on.

  After switching to high speed rotation in s412, the control device 400 starts the timer again (s413) and determines whether the detection signal of the full sensor 403 is turned on (s414). When the detection signal of the full sensor 403 is turned ON (Y in s414), the high speed rotation of the ball transport motor 228 is stopped (s415), and then the process returns to s41.

  However, if the detection signal of the full sensor 403 does not turn on after a lapse of a certain time after switching to high speed rotation in s412 (N in s414 and Y in s416), for example, a ball in the introduction unit 210 Since clogging or other abnormalities are considered to have occurred, the high speed rotation is stopped (s417), and the control of the ball polishing apparatus 200 is stopped.

  When the high speed rotation of the ball transport motor 228 is stopped in s417, it is preferable that the ball transport motor 228 is reversely rotated for a minute time, for example, for a few seconds, and then forward rotated again. When the sphere T is bitten at the boundary between the introduction unit 210 and the conveyance unit 220 due to this reverse rotation, the sphere T is retracted to the sphere introduction path 211 side. Smoothly reaches the transport standby position WP and is transported along the transport path 226. Therefore, the ball clogging is eliminated.

  With such control, during normal games without hits, power consumption is reduced by low-speed operation, and noise generation is suppressed. In addition, when a win occurs during the game, it is possible to rationally respond to the required degree of ball supply by performing a medium speed operation or a high speed operation depending on whether it is a single big hit or a continuous big hit.

  As described above, the full sensor 403 and the empty sensor 404 are adjusted by moving the respective mounting positions in the longitudinal direction (X direction) of the tank body 310 or the longitudinal direction of the ball receiving portion 330 as illustrated in FIG. It is possible. By making it possible to change the mounting positions of the full sensor 403 and the empty sensor 404, the timing of starting rotation, switching the rotation speed, or stopping rotation of the ball transport motor 228 can be set in the ball capacity of the upper tank 300 and the upper tank 300. This can be done flexibly according to the required supply amount. Thereby, it is possible to more reliably avoid the occurrence of a situation where the upper tank 300 is short of balls during the game.

[5. effect]
According to the above configuration, the polishing ability of the sphere T can be improved. That is, since the screw conveyor 221 is rotated and a force for pressing the ball T against the polishing cloth 243 is generated during the rotation, the ball T moving on the transport path 226 (transport guide 236) is efficiently polished (cleaned). Can do.

  Further, the polishing cloth 243 is moved by the polishing motor 234, and the movement of the polishing cloth 243 is set to be opposite to the conveying direction of the sphere T. For this reason, it is possible to perform efficient polishing (cleaning) even though the section of the conveyance guide 236 where the sphere T is polished (cleaned) is a short distance.

  Further, as described above, since the polishing means generates the force that rotates the screw conveyor 221 and presses the ball T against the polishing cloth 243 at the time of the rotation, the abrasive material as in Patent Document 1 is always pressed. Since the driving force may be small as the ball transport motor 228 as compared with the present configuration, a small-sized one can be adopted. Further, the power consumption of the ball transport motor 228 can be suppressed, and as a result, heat generation in the ball transport motor 228 can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the polishing pad 243 moves in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the sphere T. Therefore, the contact length with which the polishing pad 243 comes into contact with the moving distance of the sphere T can be increased, and thereby the polishing (cleaning) ability can be improved. In addition, since the polishing cloth 243 moves in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the sphere T as described above, it is possible to prevent the polishing cloth 243 from being bent or wrinkled.

  Further, as described above, the polishing cloth 243 is fed in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the sphere T by the driving of the polishing motor 234. Therefore, the polishing surface with which the sphere T pressed against the polishing cloth 243 contacts changes. Thereby, the spherical surface over a wide range of the sphere T to be conveyed can be pressed against the polishing pad 243, and thereby the polishing (cleaning) efficiency of the sphere T can be improved.

  Further, as described above, since the polishing cloth 243 moves in the opposite direction, the contact length with which the polishing cloth 243 comes into contact with the moving distance of the sphere T can be secured, so the polishing unit 230 can be downsized. It becomes.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the length of the projecting dimension from the outer periphery of the central axis 222 of the band plate 223 is provided shorter than the radius of the sphere T. Therefore, the pressing force of the sphere T toward the polishing cloth 243 is increased when the sphere transport motor 228 is driven, as compared with the case where the protruding dimension of the strip 223 ′ is longer than the radius of the sphere T as shown in FIG. Can do. Thereby, the polishing (cleaning) efficiency of the sphere T can be increased.

  In the present embodiment, the cassette body 241 is provided with a cushion material 260 that is recessed when the ball T is pressed against the polishing pad 243. For this reason, when the sphere T is pressed toward the polishing cloth 243, the cushion material 260 can be recessed, and thereby the area of the spherical surface of the sphere T with which the polishing cloth 243 contacts can be increased. Thereby, the polishing (cleaning) efficiency of the sphere T can be improved.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the cushion material 260 is provided with raised brushes 262, and in the direction from the base cloth 261 side, which is the root of the raised brushes 262, to the protruding distal end side, FIG. 49 to FIG. As shown, a component in the same direction as the feed direction of the polishing pad 243 is included. Therefore, the polishing pad 243 can smoothly move in the feeding direction, and the polishing pad 243 can be moved in the direction in which the polishing pad 243 is transported (the direction opposite to the feeding direction of the polishing pad 243). Is prevented from moving to. Further, since the polishing cloth 243 is prevented from moving in the conveying direction of the ball T (the direction opposite to the feeding direction of the polishing cloth 243), the polishing cloth is compared with a configuration in which such movement is not prevented. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of bending or wrinkles in 243. Thereby, the polishing pad 243 can exhibit the original polishing (cleaning) ability.

[Other effects]
Since the ball polishing apparatus 200 rotates the screw conveyor 221 to transfer the sphere T in the transfer path 226 and generate a force for pressing the sphere T against the polishing cloth 243, the sphere T is polished efficiently. Thus, efficient polishing can be performed with a short conveyance distance.

[6. Other Embodiments]
(1) Non-open type gaming machine In the above embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower tank 100 is coupled to the lower side of the ball polishing apparatus 200, and the upper tank 300 is connected to the upper side of the ball polishing apparatus 200. However, as another embodiment, the gaming machine does not include the lower tank 100 and the upper tank 300, but the non-open gaming machine B ′ illustrated in FIG. It can also be used with only. In the following description, the spherical polishing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 67 will be described as a spherical polishing apparatus 200 ′.

  FIG. 67 is a front view showing an embodiment in which the ball polishing apparatus 200 ′ according to the present embodiment is used in a non-open gaming machine B ′. As shown in FIG. 67, in the non-open type gaming machine B ′, one ball polishing device 200 ′ is installed for one gaming machine, and the ball T is enclosed in the gaming machine in advance. Yes. Then, the player launches the ball T guided to the predetermined launch standby position toward the game area 13 on the surface side of the game board 5, collects the ball T flowing down the game area 13, and again returns to the predetermined launch position. It leads to.

  The player launches a ball based on the game data owned by the player, which is stored in a storage device such as a gaming machine or a ball lending machine provided for each gaming machine or a membership card or a visitor card. And play a game. The ball holding data for each gaming machine may be stored in a host computer that can communicate with the ball lending machine. In addition, when a player performs a ball lending operation with a ball lending machine attached to the gaming machine, data on the number of balls lent according to the operation is added to the ball holding data. During the game, the ball data is subtracted corresponding to the ball that has been fired, and when winning in various winning ports, the number of winning balls is added to the ball number data.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 67, in the gaming machine B ′, the ball T that has been launched by the launching device 31 into the game area 13 of the game board 5 and flowed down the game area 13 is a missed ball collection port h1 or a winning port h2 or the like. Through the various winning awards, the ball collecting unit 33 provided on the back side of the game board 5 has a capacity of, for example, about 100 balls. The sphere T collected by the sphere collection unit 33 flows into the sphere polishing apparatus 200 provided below the sphere collection unit 33 from the sphere inlet 34.

  The sphere T flowing into the sphere polishing apparatus 200 ′ is conveyed and polished in the sphere polishing apparatus 200 ′, then flows out from the sphere outlet 35 of the sphere polishing apparatus 200 ′, and is again launched by the sphere lifting means 36. It is configured to be guided to 31 predetermined launch standby positions 37. Note that the position where the firing standby position 37 and the launching device 31 are provided is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 67, and may be any other position.

  In the gaming machine B ′ shown in FIG. 67, the ball polishing apparatus 200 ′ has a horizontal housing 201 ′ unlike the ball polishing apparatus 200 described above. The housing 201 ′ has a longitudinal direction in the width direction (X direction) of the gaming machine B ′.

  FIG. 68 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the housing 201 ′ with the polishing cassette 240 removed in the ball polishing apparatus 200 ′ shown in FIG. FIG. 69 is a front view showing an internal configuration of the ball polishing apparatus 200 ′ shown in FIG. FIG. 70 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the polishing cassette 240 set in the housing 201 ′. Details of the configuration of the ball polishing apparatus 200 ′ shown in FIG. 67 will be described below.

  As shown in FIGS. 68 and 69, the spherical polishing apparatus 200 ′ includes a box-shaped housing 201 ′ having an open front side (Y1 side). And inside this box-shaped housing 201 ', screw conveyor 221' is arrange | positioned so that rotation is possible, and conveyance guide 236 'is provided so that the screw conveyor 221' may be covered. The conveyance guide 236 ′ is provided in a groove shape that opens in the front direction (Y1 direction). Further, the transport guide 236 ′ is formed by end walls 236a ′ and 236b ′ facing each other. The end walls 236a ′ and 236b ′ extend toward the upper side (Z1 side) while the overall traveling direction is toward the other side (Y2 side) in the width direction. However, when it travels along the traveling direction, it meanders so as to repeat a slight reciprocation in a direction orthogonal to the overall traveling direction. Thereby, a spherical meandering region 2314 ′ is formed which meanders when the sphere T travels along the transport guide 236 ′.

  The above-described screw conveyor 221 ′ is rotatably supported by a bearing portion 229 ′ fixed to the inner surface of the box-shaped housing 201 ′. In order to drive the screw conveyor 221 ′, a ball transport motor 228 ′ is provided in the housing 201 ′ or outside thereof (in FIG. 68, a case 202 ′ protruding from the housing 201 ′), and the ball transport motor 228. The driving force of ′ is transmitted to the screw conveyor 221 ′ via a gear train G composed of a plurality of gears G. In this way, the screw conveyor 221 ′ rotates, and the rotation causes the ball T to be guided toward the upper left side of FIGS. 68 and 69 while meandering by the conveyance guide 236 ′.

  Further, the lower end side (Z2 side) of the first connecting path 203 ′ is connected to one end side (X1 side) of the transport guide 236 ′. The upper end portion of the first connection path 203 ′ is connected to the ball inlet 34 of the sphere collection unit 33, so that the sphere T can be introduced from the sphere collection unit 33 into the first connection path 203 ′.

  On the other hand, the other end side (X2 side) of the transport guide 236 ′ is connected to the upper end side (Z1 side) of the second communication path 204 ′. As shown in FIG. 69, the lower end portion 204a ′ of the second communication path 204 ′ is bent toward the side wall of the housing 201 ′, and the tip end side thereof is open at the side wall of the housing 201 ′. Connected with. Therefore, the sphere T which is conveyed through the conveyance guide 236 ′ and then enters the second communication path 204 ′ is discharged from the sphere outlet 35 and moves to the sphere lifting means 36.

  Note that a rotation detection sensor 205 ′ is provided inside the housing 201 ′ so that the rotation of the screw conveyor 221 ′ can be detected. However, the rotation detection sensor 205 ′ may not be provided. Further, mounting pieces 206 ′ having insertion holes 207 ′ are provided at the front (Y1 side) portions of the four corners of the housing 201 ′. Therefore, the ball polishing apparatus 200 ′ is attached to a predetermined part of the gaming machine B ′ by inserting a screw or the like through the insertion hole 207 ′.

  As shown in FIG. 68, a polishing cassette 240 for storing the polishing cloth 243 is attached to the internal space 208 ′ of the housing 201 ′. In order to provide a driving force for feeding the polishing cloth 243, the housing 201 In ′, a polishing motor 234 ′ is provided. The polishing motor 234 ′ is an abrasive power source for the ball polishing apparatus 200 ′. The driving force of the polishing motor 234 ′ is transmitted to the gear 247 of the polishing cassette 240 via the gear 235b ′.

  As shown in FIG. 70, the polishing cassette 240 is provided with an escaping portion 241Q for escaping a portion corresponding to the first connecting path 203 ′ in the ball movement route TR of FIG.

  With the above-described configuration, the main part is a state in which the ball moving route TR in which the ball T is sent by the transport guide 236 ′ is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the housing 201 ′. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 70, the length of contact of the sphere T with the polishing pad 243 can be increased.

  The sphere polishing apparatus 200 ′ having such a configuration has the following advantages. That is, in a general open type gaming machine (including a single island), the ball T is discharged to the outside, so that the ball polishing apparatus 200 can be installed outside the gaming island or the gaming island. However, in the case of a non-open game machine B ′ as shown in FIG. 67, unlike a general open game machine, the ball T is not discharged to the outside. It is necessary to install a polishing apparatus 200 ′. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a space for installing the ball polishing apparatus 200 ′ inside the non-open gaming machine B ′.

  However, if the width of the non-open gaming machine B ′ is increased in order to secure such an installation space, the number of installed non-open gaming machines B ′ will be reduced. The width of the machine B ′ cannot be increased. Therefore, when the ball polishing apparatus 200 ′ is installed in the non-open gaming machine B ′, the installation location is on the lower side (Z1 side) of the game board 5. However, since there is no extra space on the lower side (Z1 side), it is necessary to install the ball polishing apparatus 200 'in a limited space. Therefore, in the non-open gaming machine B ′ shown in FIG. 67, as shown in FIGS. 68 and 69, the screw conveyor 221 ′ is not horizontal or vertical, but is inclined with respect to the horizontal and vertical, Accordingly, the conveyance guide 236 ′ is also inclined.

  By arranging the screw conveyor 221 ′ and the conveyance guide 236 ′ in an inclined manner in this manner, the conveyance guide 236 ′ extends in the diagonal direction of the housing 201 ′. It becomes possible, and it can suppress that the polishing capability (cleaning capability) falls.

(2) Other Modifications In the above-described embodiment, the control device 400 may control to change the driving speed of the polishing motor 234 in accordance with the transport speed of the sphere T in the transport unit 220. it can. In such a configuration, for example, when the transfer speed of the sphere T in the transfer unit 220 (ball transfer motor 228) is high, the polishing motor 234 is driven at a high speed, and the transfer unit 220 (ball transfer motor 228). When the conveying speed of the sphere T at the medium speed is medium, the polishing motor 234 is driven at a medium speed, and when the conveying speed of the sphere T at the conveying section 220 (the sphere conveying motor 228) is low. The polishing motor 234 can be controlled to be driven at a low speed.

  When controlling in this way, it becomes possible to send polishing cloth 243 according to the conveyance speed of sphere T, and it is possible to improve the efficiency of polishing (cleaning). Further, since the driving speed of the polishing motor 234 can be changed according to the conveying speed of the sphere T, even if the frictional force with respect to the polishing cloth 243 changes due to the conveying speed of the sphere T, the feeding speed of the polishing cloth 243 can be changed. Thus, the tension can be maintained, whereby the twist of the polishing pad 243 can be reduced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the control device 400 may control the driving time of the polishing motor 234 to be random. In this case, random control can be realized using, for example, random numbers. In this case, since the driving time and the stop time in the intermittent operation of the polishing motor 234 are random, irregular rotation can be given by the sphere T when the sphere T is polished (cleaned). Therefore, the contact state between the sphere T and the polishing cloth 243 can be further changed, and the area where the sphere T can be polished (cleaned) can be increased.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, when the ball transport motor 228 and the polishing motor 234 are DC motors, they may be controlled and driven by PWM control. In that case, heat generation from the ball transport motor 228 and the polishing motor 234 can be further suppressed. In the PWM control, it is possible to suppress heat generation from the ball transport motor 228 and the polishing motor 234 by reducing the duty ratio.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the ball transport motor 228 and the polishing motor 234 are DC motors, the heat generation amount is calculated based on the drive time of those motors, and the calculated heat generation amount is a predetermined threshold value. The control device 400 may control the motor so as to stop the motor when it reaches. In particular, the polishing motor 234 may perform control based on such a calorific value calculation. When controlling in this way, it is possible to prevent the motor from being burned out due to heat generation.

  In the above-described embodiment, the polishing cloth 243 is exemplified as the abrasive, but the abrasive is not limited to the polishing cloth 243. For example, a thin porous member may be used as the abrasive, and a paper-like member may be used as the abrasive.

A ... Single island (Amusement island)
B, B ', B1, B2 ... gaming machine C ... gaming device T ... ball (game ball)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Lower tank 101 ... Tank main body 101b ... Bottom wall 101c ... Perimeter wall 101d ... Outlet 102 ... Horizontal guide plate 102a ... Notch or hole 103 ... 1st inclination board 104 ... 2nd inclination board 200 ... Spherical-polishing apparatus 210, 210A, 210B ... Introducing part 211, 211A, 211B ... Sphere introduction path 211B1 ... Inclined part 211B2 ... Vertical dropping part 220 ... Conveying part 221 ... Screw conveyor 222 ... Central shaft 223 ... Strip 224 ... Space 225 ... Conveying guide 226 ... Conveying path 227 ... Entrance of conveyance path 228... Sphere conveyance motor (first driving means)
229 ... Bearing 230 ... Polishing part 234 ... Polishing motor (second drive means)
234b ... Gear (first gear)
240 ... Abrasive cassette 241 ... Cassette body 241g ... Abrasive cloth outlet 241h ... Abrasive cloth inlet 243 ... Abrasive cloth (abrasive)
244 ... Abrasive cloth feed means (abrasive feed means)
247 ... Gear (second gear)
2314 ... spherical meandering region 2315 ... outlet 300 ... upper tank 310 ... tank body 315, 316 ... counter 320 ... inclined plate 330 ... ball receiving part 400 ... control device 403 ... full sensor 402 ... introduction part sensor 403 ... full sensor 404 ... Empty sensor

Claims (4)

A transport unit for transporting game balls;
A polishing cassette that is opposed to a part of the game ball transported by the transport unit and is detachably attached to a part of the transport unit;
A ball polishing apparatus having
The conveying section is rotatably provided, a screw conveyor provided on the outer peripheral side of the screw conveyor and a conveyance path for conveying a game ball along with the rotation of the screw conveyor, and the screw conveyor. First driving means for driving, and
The screw conveyor allows the game ball to move along the transport path when being rotated by the first driving means, and presses the game ball against the abrasive during the movement,
The polishing cassette includes a cassette body capable of accommodating an endless and strip-shaped abrasive in an accommodation space, and the cassette body accommodates the abrasive outlet from which the abrasive is sent out from the accommodation space and the abrasive from the outside. An abrasive inlet for entering the space, and exposing the abrasive to the outside of the cassette body between the abrasive outlet and the abrasive inlet;
Further, the cassette body includes an abrasive feeding means for moving the abrasive,
The abrasive feeding means is given a driving force to move the abrasive by the second driving means,
The abrasive cloth is sent in a direction opposite to the direction of conveyance of the game balls conveyed through the conveyance path by rotation of the screw conveyor,
A spherical polishing apparatus characterized by that. The ball polishing apparatus according to claim 1,
The screw conveyor has a central axis extending along the axial direction, and a band plate protruding from the outer peripheral side of the central axis and provided in a spiral shape,
The length of the protruding dimension from the outer periphery of the central axis of the band plate is provided shorter than the radius of the game ball,
A spherical polishing apparatus characterized by that. The ball polishing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A cushion material is attached to at least a part of a portion of the cassette body where the abrasive is exposed to the outside. The cushion material contacts the abrasive and the abrasive is pressed by the game ball. In case the dent has elasticity,
A spherical polishing apparatus characterized by that. The ball polishing apparatus according to claim 3,
The cushion material includes a base fabric located on the cassette body side and raised hairs protruding from the base fabric,
In the direction from the base cloth side that is the root of the raising to the leading end side of the protrusion, a component in the same direction as the feeding direction of the polishing cloth is included,
A spherical polishing apparatus characterized by that.

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