JP2016112357A - Ball distribution device for game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve durability and facilitate maintenance by preventing balls from biting each other between a passage and a slider.SOLUTION: In a ball distribution device 1 for a game machine, a slider 2 which enters and exits from a channel of game balls K from a lateral direction through the opening 108 of a passage 101 for the game balls flowing down therethrough distributes the directions of the game balls, a cam 4 is rotated with the driving force of a motor 3 to slide the slider 2 with the rotation of the cam 4, the slider 2 is biased by a spring 5, and the elastic force of the spring 5 applied to the slider 2 is set to be smaller than the weight of one game ball K.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball sorter for gaming machines, and more particularly to a structure for driving a slider with a motor.

  As for the ball sorter of a gaming machine, a system using a rotor driven by a motor, a system in which the rotation of the motor moves a slide plate through a link mechanism via a drive arm, and a sprocket by moving a partition cam by a motor drive Typically, a method of distributing by means of a method and a method of rotating a door by driving a slider by solenoid driving are typical. For these, the following inventions have been proposed.

  In the invention described in Patent Document 1, the motor 3 swings the swing member 2 and rotates the rotor 3. The ball winning device is fed from the ball winning passage 22 and the swing member 2 that receives the balls dropped from the croon 1 by sorting them into the ball winning passage 22 and the ball discharging passage 23 that are connected to the opening 21 at the upper end. And the rotor 3 for receiving the sphere in the general recess 33 or the specific recess 35. The general recess 33 discharges the sphere in one direction and flows into the general winning path 41, and the specific recess 35 discharges the sphere in the radial direction of the rotor and flows into the specific winning path 42.

  The invention described in Patent Document 2 has a configuration in which the slide plate 126 is reciprocated by the rotation of the stepping motor. The slide plate 126 can be linearly moved horizontally through the drive arm 130 and the through hole 106H can be removed. The outlet 208A can be arranged to the entrance 214A of the ball rental side passage 214 or to the entrance 212A of the prize ball side passage 212.

  The invention described in Patent Document 3 is provided on the back surface of each pachinko machine and includes a partition cam 12, a counting sensor S1, a sorting cam 13, a prize sensor S2, and a ball lending sensor S3 from the top to the bottom. The two cams 12 and 13 and the forward / reverse motor M are connected by a planetary gear mechanism 14 in this order.

  The invention described in Patent Document 4 includes a housing 2 that receives a ball from the winning opening 1, a front door 3 that is pivotally attached to a side wall 28 of the housing 2 to open and close the winning opening 1, and the front door 3 is rotated. In a winning device comprising a plunger type solenoid 4 that is attached, a cylindrical body 6 having a cam curve 5 formed on the outer peripheral surface is mounted on the tip of a plunger 41 and a contact that engages the cam curve 5 on the housing 2. 7, the plunger 41 is sucked and protruded, and the cylindrical body 6 is moved back and forth while rotating according to the cam curve 5, so that the cylindrical body 6 presses the engaging protrusion 32 at the lower part of the front door 3. The front door 3 is rotated.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-130373 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-95837 JP-A-2001-190778 JP 2004-337522 A

  The motor drive systems shown in Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3 have higher durability compared to the solenoid drive system shown in Patent Document 4 in which heat generated by driving the solenoid is intense. However, since the motor drive system usually has a structure in which the slider and the motor are connected by a gear or the like, the motor has a strong force to push out the slider, and if the slider moves in a bad timing, the game ball is moved between the slider and the wall of the passage. There is a risk of biting, which may cause inconvenience in maintenance.

  Accordingly, the ball distribution device for a gaming machine according to the present invention is a ball distribution device for a gaming machine that distributes the discharge direction of the game balls supplied from the game ball supply passage to one passage and the other passage, Distributing the direction of the game ball with a slider that goes in and out of the flow path of the game ball through the opening of the wall, rotating the cam by the driving force of the motor, and sliding the slider with the rotation of the cam; and The slider is biased by a spring, and the elastic force of the spring applied to the slider is set to be smaller than the weight of one game ball.

  It is preferable that the shape of the lower surface of the front end portion of the slider is an inclined surface that decreases in thickness as it goes further.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the ball from engaging between the wall of the passage and the slider, thereby facilitating maintenance of the gaming machine.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the probability of biting can be reduced, and even when the ball is engaged between the wall of the passage and the slider, the resistance of the releasing operation of the game ball can be reduced.

It is a front view showing the state where the ball distribution device of the gaming machine of the embodiment of the present invention is attached to the game ball discharge device. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1 when the slider is in the retracted position. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1 when the slider is in the advanced position. It is also a front view. It is a perspective view of the ball distribution device of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is an exploded perspective view similarly. The top view which similarly shows the operation | movement of a slider and a cam. (A) is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows biting of the game ball in this embodiment, (b) is a partial vertical cross-sectional view when biting is eliminated.

  Below, the ball distribution apparatus 1 of the game machine of embodiment of this invention is demonstrated with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the ball sorting apparatus 1 is attached to a game ball discharge device 100. The game ball discharge device 100 is provided on the back surface of each game table and includes a passage 101 for flowing down. This passage 101 forms a first passage 102 and a second passage 103 for discharging one row, and a passage that is divided into two rows on both sides by disposing a sorting rib 104. From the upper part to the lower part of the passage 101 of the ball sorter 1, a shutter 105 that turns on and off the passage of the game ball K, a proximity sensor 106 that detects that the game ball K has passed, and a game ball according to the game situation A stopping part 107 for temporarily stopping K and a ball sorting apparatus 1 provided at the entrance of the first passage 102 are respectively provided. The stopping unit 107 temporarily stops the game balls K and distributes the game balls K at different timings.

  A detailed configuration of the ball distribution device 1 of the gaming machine will be described with reference to FIGS. The ball distribution device 1 distributes the flow direction of the game ball K by the slider 2 that enters and exits the flow path of the game ball K from the lateral direction through the opening 108 of the path 101 through which the game ball K flows down, 3, the cam 4 is rotated by the driving force 3, and the slider 2 is slid in the horizontal direction as the cam 4 rotates. The slider 2 is urged by the spring 5, and the elastic force of the spring 5 applied to the slider 2 It is characterized by being set smaller than the weight of one of the above.

  In addition to the above configuration, the ball sorting apparatus 1 includes a base 6, a lid 7 that closes an upper opening of the base 6 and to which a spring 5 is attached, and a proximity sensor 8 that detects the position of the slider 2. Yes. Details of each component will be described below.

  The slider 2 has a tongue portion 20 at the front portion of the box-shaped main body, has an inclined surface 22 at the tip region of the lower surface 21 of the tongue portion 20, and has a plate-like portion 23 in the horizontal direction on the bottom surface of the main body. A pin 24 is erected. The shape of the inclined surface 22 is such that the thickness decreases toward the tip, and here the face is a face-like shape, but it may be a curved surface. The inclined surface 22 reduces the height of the vertical surface 22a. The tongue portion 20 is disposed so as to enter and exit the first passage 102 in the horizontal direction. A plate-like portion 23 extending in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction is fixed to the front portion slightly from the center portion of the bottom surface of the main body of the slider 2. The plate-like portion 23 comes into contact with the cam 4 by the elastic force of the spring 5. Here, the contact of the springs 5 is held by the elastic force that the springs 5 are to return to. The spring 5 is locked to the upper part of the pin 24. As shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, when the slider 2 is in the retracted position, the game ball K is dropped straight down into the first passage 102, and when the slider 2 is in the advanced position (position where the passage 102 is closed), It collides with the upper surface of the tongue portion 20, its direction is changed, and it is distributed to the second passage 103 in the left direction.

  The motor 3 is fixed to the lower surface of the base 6 by a mounting portion 30. The motor 3 includes a rotating shaft 31. The motor 3 rotates the cam 4 so that the slider 2 having the plate-like portion 23 reciprocates. The motor 3 is connected to a control board (not shown).

  The cam 4 includes a shaft portion 40 that is fixed to the rotating shaft 31 and rotates integrally, and a cylindrical or columnar contact portion 41 that is eccentric from the shaft portion 40 and extends upward to contact the plate-like portion 23. ing.

  The axial direction of the spring 5 is parallel to the sliding direction of the slider 2. The spring 5 has one end 50 and the other end 51. The spring 5 always urges the slider 2 with an elastic force that pulls the slider 2 back to the advanced position, and the plate-like portion 23 of the slider 2 comes into contact with the contact portion 41 of the cam 4 by this elastic force. By the rotational action of the cam 4, the reciprocation of the slider 2 is converted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the base 6 is formed in a box shape and includes openings 60 and 61 provided on the upper surface and the lower surface, and attachment portions 62, 63 and 64 for fixing. The slider 2 is accommodated in the opening 60 so as to be slidable forward.

  The lid 7 covers the top in a state in which the slider 2 is accommodated in the opening 60 of the base 6. The lid 7 includes a through-hole 70 that allows the pin 24 to pass therethrough, attachment portions 71, 72, and 73 for fixing, and a hook-shaped locking portion 74 that locks one end portion 50 of the spring 5. The other end 51 of the spring 5 is locked to the pin 24.

  The photo sensor 8 optically detects the position of the slider 2, is fixed to the lower part of the base 6, and is located at the lower part of the slider 2. Here, the photo sensor 8 senses whether the slider 2 has moved forward or retracted. The photosensor 8 is connected to a control board (not shown).

  Next, although an example is demonstrated about distribution operation | movement of the ball distribution apparatus 1 of a game machine, it is not necessarily limited to this. In this example, the motor 3 and the cam 4 are always rotating during the game. The spring 5 urges the slider 2 in the sliding direction to bring the slider 2 closer to the first passage 102, that is, the left side in FIG. 6, and the cam 4 and the plate-like portion 23 are always moved along with the rotation of the cam 4. The contact is always made by elastic force. The slider 2 periodically repeats horizontal sliding in the front-rear direction with respect to the first passage 102. The slider 2 takes any one of the retracted position in FIG. 2, the closed position in FIG. 3, or a position in the middle of moving between them. Thereby, when the slider 2 is moving forward, as shown in FIG. 3, the first passage 102 is closed and the game ball K hits the upper surface of the slider 2 and is distributed to the second passage 103, as shown in FIG. As shown, when the slider 2 is retracted, it is distributed to the first passage 102.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), the game ball K is sandwiched between the wall of the first passage 102 and the tip of the tongue 20 of the slider 2 at a poor timing, and does not fall and bites. Suppose that occurs. In such a case, since the elastic force of the spring 5 applied to the slider 2 is set to be smaller than the weight of the game ball K1, the force with which the slider 2 bites the game ball K is weak. As shown in FIG. 7 (b), the game ball K escapes from the bite and falls safely into the first passage 102 as the weight of the player is great. During escape, the plate-like portion 23 and the cam 4 are separated by momentary reaction, but automatically return to the contact state by the elastic force of the spring 5. Since the height of the vertical surface 22a is reduced by the inclined surface 22, the contact time is short, and the separation from the biting is performed early.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the ball distribution device 1 of the gaming machine can prevent heat generation as in the solenoid system, increase durability, and even if the gaming ball K is bitten, Can be eliminated automatically, and maintenance can be facilitated. Further, the inclined surface 22 can reduce the probability of biting and reduce the resistance during the biting release operation.

  The above embodiments are exemplifications of preferred embodiments for carrying out the present invention, and those skilled in the art, in view of the disclosure of the present invention, have made many improvements, modifications, and changes without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Substitution, deletion, addition, etc. are possible. For example, although a pachinko machine has been described as an example of a gaming machine, the present invention may be applied to other gaming machines such as a sparrow ball gaming machine and an arrangement ball gaming machine. Moreover, although applied to the constant drive, it can also be applied to an emergency drive. Further, the structure of the slider 2, the cam 4, the spring 5, and the like is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ball distribution apparatus 2 of a game machine ... Slider 20 ... Tongue part 21 ... Undersurface 22 ... Inclined surface 23 ... Plate-like part 24 ... Pin 3 ... Motor 30 ... Mounting part 31 ... Rotating shaft 4 ... Cam 40 ... Shaft part 41 ... Abutting part 5 ... Spring 50 ... One end 51 ... Other end 6 ... · Bases 60, 61 ··· Openings 62, 63, 64 ··· Mounting portion 7 ··· Lid 70 ··· Through holes 71, 72, 73 ··· Mounting portion 74 ··· Locking portion 8 · ··· Proximity sensor 100 ··· Game ball discharge device 101 ··· Passage 102 ··· First passage 103 ··· Second passage 104 ··· Sorting rib 105 ··· Shutter 106 ··· Proximity sensor 107 ..Stopping part 108 ... Opening part K ... Game ball

Claims (2)

A ball distribution device for a gaming machine that distributes the discharge direction of game balls supplied from a game ball supply passage to one passage and the other passage,
Distributing the direction of the game ball by a slider that enters and exits the flow path of the game ball through the opening of the wall of the passage,
Rotating the cam by the driving force of the motor, sliding the slider with the rotation of the cam; and
The slider is biased by a spring, and the elastic force of the spring applied to the slider is set to be smaller than the weight of one game ball;
A ball sorter for gaming machines characterized by this.   2. The ball sorting apparatus for a gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the lower surface of the front end portion of the slider is an inclined surface whose thickness decreases as going forward.

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