JP2020078689A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an enclosed type game machine which allows a player or the like who is not accustomed to the game machine to confirm an approximate game method and which can create atmosphere where a hall is full of energy.SOLUTION: A demonstration game is started if a start condition set in advance is satisfied and is terminated if a termination condition set in advance is satisfied. Through the demonstration game, a player or the like who is not accustomed to a game machine can confirm an approximate game method, and atmosphere where a hall is full of energy is created. During the demonstration game, game information including a demonstration game signal is outputted from an external terminal board 133. A hall computer determines an on-state of the demonstration game signal and thereby does not count the game information during the demonstration game. As the result, no influence is given to the business data of the hall. Since the demonstration game is performed in a standby state, the demonstration game does not become a hindrance against the will of the hall side intending to maintain business operation rate of game machines.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 108

Description

  The present invention accommodates a predetermined number of game balls in a gaming machine, shoots the predetermined number of game balls into a game area by a launching device, plays a game, collects the game balls after the game, and collects the predetermined number. The present invention relates to a gaming machine that circulates and uses gaming balls.

There is an enclosed ball type gaming machine that allows a player to play a game without touching the game ball.
Patent Document 1 describes a trial hit mode, an explanation mode A, and an explanation mode B. The trial hit mode is a trial shot, and the content of the variation effect can be confirmed by the trial shot. In the explanation mode A, the operator uses a hand to perform a predetermined operation such as winning a game ball to input a production number and execute a variation production. In the explanation mode B, an external controller is attached to the gaming machine. It is described that the connection is made and the variation effect is executed by the operation.

JP, 2013-223752, A

  A player who is not accustomed to a gaming machine may look at the state of the game, the effect, etc. from the back of the player who is actually playing the game, be interested in the effect, and check the approximate playing method. However, some players find it uncomfortable to see their game from behind. In addition, during the time when there are few gamers in the game hall, there are many game machines waiting for customers, which gives the visiting guests a dull impression, which may not lead to games there.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention is to provide a game machine in which the player can easily understand the features of the game machine and can reduce the impression that the game hall is absent.

Means 1:
A game board in which a game area where the game balls roll is formed,
A launching device that launches the game ball toward the game area in response to an operation on a ball hitting handle,
The game board includes a winning opening and a game ball collecting opening,
The game ball is launched into the game area by the launching device, and the launched game ball is collected from the winning port or the game ball collecting port after rolling in the game region and conveyed to the launching device. In the enclosed ball type gaming machine that allows the game to be performed by circulating the game ball in a closed manner,
While performing game control, at least a main control board that outputs a prize ball command based on the acceptance of the game ball into the winning opening,
A ball information control board for controlling the number of balls held based on the prize ball command,
The sphere information control board,
Non-gaming state detection means for detecting a non-gaming state in which no game is being played,
On condition that the non-gaming state is detected, the launching device is automatically operated without operating the hit ball handle, thereby performing a demo game of launching the gaming ball in the game area. Means and
While playing the demo game, a demo game signal output means for outputting a demo game signal to the external terminal board, which indicates that the demo game is being performed,
Enclosed ball type gaming machine characterized by having.

According to the present invention, the player can enjoy watching the game machine automatically playing without worrying about the line of sight from the back of the player as in the past, so that the opportunity to be more interested and the actual game can be increased. You can be guided to. In addition, it is possible to provide an environment in which a player can play comfortably to a player who feels uncomfortable when someone sees the state of the game from behind.
Furthermore, since the game machine set to be able to execute the demo game in advance starts the demo game under predetermined conditions, it is possible to create a lively atmosphere.

It is a front view showing a pachinko gaming machine which is one embodiment of a gaming machine according to the present invention, and a settlement machine installed side by side with the pachinko gaming machine. It is a front view of the pachinko gaming machine shown with the door frame removed. It is a front perspective view which shows the main-body frame which comprises a pachinko game machine. It is a rear perspective view showing a main body frame and a game board which constitute a pachinko gaming machine. It is a perspective view showing an upper launching device, a deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit, and a sphere collecting portion. It is a right view which shows an upper launching device, a ball supply path member, and a ball lifting device. It is a perspective view by the line of sight which looked up at the upper part of the game board from the lower front of the game board showing the upper launching device and the launch area. It is a front view which shows an upper launching device (a hammer hammer hitting position for launching). FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the upper launching device as viewed from the front left side. It is a perspective view which shows the upper launching device as seen from the rear left side. It is a perspective view which removes a ball feeding unit cover and which shows the upper launching device, as seen from the rear left side. It is a figure which shows the open state of the upper launching device in the pachinko gaming machine shown with the door frame removed. It is a right view which shows the vertical cross section of the pachinko game machine which removes and shows a door frame. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a part of a cross-sectional perspective view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2. It is a perspective view showing a state in which a joint portion with a base plate in the upper launching device and an extending portion of a panel holder in the game board are in contact with each other. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the upper launching device as viewed from the front right side. It is a front view which shows an upper launching device (shooting hammer standby position). It is a right view which shows an upper launching device (ball feed solenoid non-excitation, a ball feed member is a holding position and a return ball blocking position). FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the upper launching device taken along the line BB in FIG. 10 (ball feed solenoid de-excitation, ball feed member holding position and return ball blocking position). It is a perspective view which shows the ball feed member, the ball feed shaft, and the ball feed sheet metal in a ball feed device from diagonally rear. It is a right view which shows an upper launching device (ball feed solenoid excitation, a ball feed member is a supply position and an allowance position). FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the upper launching device cut along the line BB in FIG. 10 (ball feed solenoid excitation, ball feed member is in supply position and allowable position). FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view in which a main body frame is broken in a vertical direction to show an upper launching device, a ball supply path member, and a ball lifting device. It is a time chart which shows the drive timing of a ball sending solenoid and a firing solenoid. It is a front perspective view of a ball outlet opening and closing unit. It is a rear perspective view of a ball outlet opening/closing unit. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between the upper launch unit and the ball outlet opening/closing unit in a main body frame. It is an external appearance perspective view explaining a deformed sphere and a magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 29 is a view for explaining the magnetic sphere discharging portion cover separated and turned over in FIG. 28. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit. It is a rear view of a deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit. It is a figure explaining the base plate of a deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the irregular shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit by separating it into a irregular shaped sphere discharging unit and a magnetic sphere discharging unit. It is a figure explaining the path|route which a deformed sphere and a magnetic sphere are discharged|emitted in a modified sphere and a magnetic sphere discharge unit. It is a figure explaining the situation where a magnetic ball is separated from a circulation route and discharged. It is a figure explaining the state where the magnetic sphere reached the magnetic sphere discharge slope. It is a front left perspective view of a ball collecting part and a ball lifting device. It is a front view of a ball collecting part and a ball lifting device. It is a front view which shows the state which removed the ball polishing cartridge in a ball collection part. It is a rear perspective view showing the state where the case of the ball collecting portion and the cover of the ball lifting device are removed. It is a rear perspective view which expanded the sphere assembly part in FIG. FIG. 42 is an enlarged view of FIG. 41. It is a top view which removed the case of a sphere collection part. It is a rear perspective view which shows the state which removed the upper gearbox and the lower gearbox. It is a right side view which shows the state which removed the cover of the ball lifting device. It is an enlarged view of (A) in FIG. It is a figure showing the state which decomposed|disassembled the screw. It is a perspective view showing the upper part of a ball lifting device. It is a figure which shows the fitting/non-fitting state of a screw and a fitting member. It is a left side view showing a state where a ball-polishing cartridge is mounted. It is a perspective view explaining the mechanism which fixes a ball-polishing cartridge. It is a perspective view showing the state at the time of mounting the ball polishing cartridge. It is a perspective view showing a state where a ball and a ball polishing cloth of a ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other. It is a left side view showing a state in which the ball-polishing cloth of the game ball and the ball-polishing cartridge are pressed against each other. FIG. 55 is a left side view showing a state where the left side cover of the ball polishing cartridge is removed in FIG. 54. FIG. 56 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge in FIG. 55. It is a perspective view showing a state where a ball-polishing cartridge is mounted. FIG. 58 is a perspective view showing a state in which only the right outer side cover is removed for explanation in FIG. 57. FIG. 59 is an upper perspective view showing a state in which the right side cover is opened in FIG. 58. It is a perspective view of a ball-polishing cartridge. It is a front view of a ball polishing cartridge. It is a side view of a ball polishing cartridge. FIG. 63 is a side view showing a state where the left side cover is removed in FIG. 62. It is a perspective view of a ball-polishing cartridge mounting portion. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between a ball-polishing cartridge and a ball-polishing cartridge mounting part. FIG. 40 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball-polishing cartridge of FIG. 39. It is a side view which shows the 2nd Example in the lifting slope member. It is a perspective view which shows the 2nd Example in the lifting slope member. It is a top view which shows the state which removed the upper gearbox in the lifting device. It is a rear view which shows the state which removed the lifting part cover in the lifting device. It is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the number of inserted game balls is less than a predetermined number when the game balls are enclosed in the enclosed ball type game machine (pachinko game machine). It is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a predetermined number of game balls are inserted when a game ball is sealed in a sealed ball type game machine (pachinko game machine). It is a schematic diagram showing the behavior of the game balls when the number of inserted game balls exceeds a predetermined number when the game balls are enclosed in the enclosed ball type game machine (pachinko game machine). It is a perspective view showing a state in which a game ball introducing member in the game panel is projected. It is a perspective view showing a state where a game ball introduction member in a game panel is stored. It is a block diagram showing a main part in an embodiment of a main control board arranged in an enclosed ball game machine (pachinko game machine). It is a block diagram showing a main part of a ball information control board provided in an enclosed ball game machine (pachinko game machine). It is a block diagram showing each element connected to a settlement machine. It is a flowchart which shows the main control side power-on process which the main control MPU of a main control board performs. FIG. 80 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the main control-side power-on process in FIG. 79. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the main control side timer interruption process which a main control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the sphere information control side power-on process which the sphere information control MPU of a sphere information control board performs. FIG. 83 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the sphere information control side power-on process in FIG. 82. FIG. FIG. 84 is a flowchart illustrating a sequel to the ball information payout control side power-on process following FIG. 83. It is a flow chart which shows processing at the time of power-off of ball information control which a ball information control MPU of a ball information control board performs. It is a flow chart which shows an example of a timer information side timer interruption processing. It is a flow chart which shows a subroutine of a ball rental processing which sphere information control MPU performs. It is a flow chart which shows a subroutine of hitting possibility judgment processing which ball information control MPU performs. It is a flow chart which shows the subroutine of the number-of-balls counting processing which sphere information control MPU performs. It is a flow chart which shows a subroutine of ball sending / launch drive processing which sphere information control MPU performs. It is a continuation of the flowchart of FIG. It is a flow chart which shows the subroutine of the emitted ball detection processing which sphere information control MPU performs. It is a flow chart which shows a subroutine of the number-of-balls subtraction processing which sphere information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the pumping drive process which sphere information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the ball clogging alerting|reporting process which sphere information control MPU performs. It is the figure which showed the cushion and the following member provided in the back side of the door frame, and the cushion receiving plate provided in the upper launching device. The perspective view which shows the body frame from the front side roughly (the following, Example 2). The front view of the game board. The perspective view which showed the main body frame and the game board. (A) is a perspective view of the upper guide member seen from below, (B) is a perspective view of the lower guide member seen from above, and (C) is a perspective view of the slider. (A) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. 97, and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II. FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically showing the operation. (A) is a schematic plan view for explaining the mechanism, and (B) is an enlarged plan view of a main part thereof. The perspective view (partially disassembled) which shows the connection part of a ball lifting device and an upper launching device. The perspective view which shows the state after the operation which removes a game board from a main frame is started. The perspective view which shows the state which attached the game board to the main body frame. (A), (b), (c) is sectional drawing which shows the connection state of a ball sending-out gutter and a lifting delivery communication gutter. It is a transition diagram of a demonstration game state. It is a flow chart which shows a subroutine of demonstration game condition judging processing. It is a flow chart which shows a subroutine of non-gaming state detection processing. It is the flowchart which shows the subroutine of demonstration game processing. 6 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of end processing. It is a flow chart which shows a subroutine of an example which uses RTC for non-gaming state detection processing. It is an example of a screen for explaining the effect during the demonstration game.

[Outline of gaming machines]
Hereinafter, Examples 1 and 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to an enclosed ball game machine (pachinko game machine).
Note that the present invention can be implemented in a game machine other than the enclosed ball game machine.
[Example 1]
The pachinko gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment can be installed in the current island facility in a hall (pachinko gaming hall), and the game contents are the same as those of known pachinko gaming machines. However, it is an enclosed ball game machine that does not use the ball supply mechanism or ball discharge mechanism of the island facility. That is, in the enclosed ball-type pachinko game machine 1 according to the present embodiment, a predetermined number of game balls formed of a non-magnetic material (for example, stainless steel) are accommodated in the game machine, and the predetermined number of game balls are played by the launch device. Play a game by shooting in the area, collect the game balls that have finished the game, guide them to the launching device, and circulate and use the game balls. I am supposed to do it. Then, it becomes possible to shoot the game balls corresponding to the number of game balls (data of the number of balls held) based on the data of the number of balls to be rented input from the storage medium such as a card through the settlement system or the like, and the game balls are shot. Then, the data of the number of held balls is subtracted corresponding to the number of game balls shot.

  In addition, when the launched game ball wins the prize hole in the game area and a prize ball (game ball) occurs, the actual game ball is not paid out, and the number of prize balls is recorded in the number of balls held. Is added. Moreover, when the data of the number of possessed balls becomes "0", the game balls cannot be fired. In this state, based on the data of the amount of money stored in the storage medium such as the card, the data of the stored balls, etc., when the numerical value (the number of lent balls) is added to the data of the number of balls held, the game ball can be fired again. Becomes In addition, the game balls that have been launched are collected in the game machine, sent to the launch position again, and circulated in the game machine. That is, the pachinko gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment is an enclosed ball type gaming machine that collects the gaming balls that have been launched into the gaming area and supplies them to the game again.

  First, the main frame 2 (FIG. 3) and the door frame 3 (FIG. 1) that configure the pachinko gaming machine 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. It should be noted that the pachinko gaming machine 1 of FIG. 1 is provided with a settlement machine 4 as an external device.

The pachinko game machine 1 has an outer frame 1a (FIG. 12) configured in a rectangular frame shape and installed on the island facility on the side of the hall, and a game board 5 (FIG. 2) pivotally supported by the outer frame 1a so as to be openable and closable. And a door frame 3 that is rotatably supported by the body frame 2 so as to be openable and closable.
A decorative cover 6 is attached to the front surface of the outer frame 1a at a position lower than the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3, so that the front surface of the outer frame 1a is completely closed by the door frame 3 and the decorative cover 6. It has become. Further, the outer frame 1a, the main body frame 2, and the door frame 3 are arranged so that their upper ends are substantially aligned, and the main body frame 2 is rotatable by a hinge 7 (FIG. 3) provided on the left side of the outer frame 1a. The main body frame 2 is pivotally supported, and the main body frame 2 is opened by moving the right side of the main body frame 2 to the front side with respect to the outer frame 1a. The door frame 3 is rotatably attached to the main body frame 2 with a pin, and is opened by moving the right side of the door frame 3 to the front side.

[Door frame 3]
The door frame 3 is provided with a game window 9 in which a player can visually recognize a game area 8 in which a game ball of the game board 5 is driven, and a game window 8 arranged below the game window 9 and operated by the player. It has a hit ball handle 10 for hitting a game ball. A transparent plate 11 is attached to the game window 9 so as to cover the front surface (game area 8) of the game board 5 mounted on the body frame 2 side with the door frame 3 closed with respect to the body frame 2. Has been. The hitting ball handle 10 drives a firing solenoid 13 (see FIG. 5) of a hitting ball launching device (referred to as an upper launching device 12) mounted on the upper left side of the main body frame 2 based on a turning operation of a player, A game ball is driven into the game area 8. The ball hitting handle 10 includes a micro switch (not shown) that is turned on when the ball is turned, and a firing stop switch and a ball hitting handle 10 that turn the micro switch off when pressed when the micro switch is turned on. A touch switch for detecting contact of the player with the ball hitting handle 10 is provided through conductive plating applied to the outer peripheral surface of the. The upper launch device 12 will be described later.

  It should be noted that the door frame 3 and the main body frame 2 are opened with respect to the main body frame 2 by inserting a key into a key device arranged at a lower right corner of the door frame 3 and rotating the key frame to one side. You can do it.

[Touch panel 14]
The door frame 3 is provided with a horizontally long touch panel portion 14 at a lower portion of the game window 9 (a portion corresponding to the upper plate of a well-known non-enclosed ball type pachinko gaming machine). On the touch panel portion 14, the remaining number, the number of gaming machine balls, and the number of end balls are displayed.

  Here, the remaining number is a value corresponding to the amount of money stored in the card used by the settlement machine 4, and the player's ball count is lent to the player by lending the ball. It is the total of the number of balls and the number of prize balls that the player has acquired as a result of playing the game.

  On the touch panel portion 14, a ball lending button as a ball lending command input means that can be operated by the player and a settlement button as a settlement command input means that can be operated by the player are displayed. The ball lending button is an instruction for lending a ball for playing a game. The payment button is used to end the pachinko game and instruct payment.

  Further, the touch panel portion 14 further displays an edge number display button as an edge number display command input means operable by the player. Here, the number of end balls is the number of surplus balls when the number of balls possessed by the player is divided by the number of balls corresponding to one special prize when exchanging prizes. The touch panel unit 14 can also display a message such as "Do you hit only the edge ball?" when the edge number display button is instructed to display the edge number. A dialog question type message is displayed together with the edge number display button, and a YES button and a NO button for the player to make a selection input for responding either yes or no are displayed.

[Main body frame 2]
The main body frame 2 is a box shape having a frame-shaped fitting frame 15 and a peripheral wall portion 16 so that the main frame 2 can be exactly accommodated in the rectangular frame-shaped outer frame 1a (FIGS. 3 and 4). The fitting frame 15 has a rectangular accommodation opening 17 for fitting and accommodating the game board 5 on the front side thereof. A projecting wall 18 projecting inward is integrally formed behind the accommodation opening 17 (FIGS. 3 and 12). The back is closed with a back cover. When the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, the front surface (game area 8) of the game board 5 housed in the main body frame 2 can be seen through the game window 9 of the door frame 3.

  A deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit accommodating portion 19 is formed below the accommodating opening 17, and a deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit 20 is disposed in the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit accommodating portion 19. . Then, as will be described later, the discharge ball receiving box 234 for storing the deformed spheres and magnetic balls having a smaller diameter than the regular game spheres discharged from the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 is provided in the gaming machine. It can be attached and removed from the front.

  FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view in which the main body frame 2 is broken in the vertical direction so that the upper launching device, the ball supply path member, and the ball lifting device are shown. As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 6, and 23, the body frame 2 is provided with an upper launching device 12, a ball collecting portion 21, a ball lifting device 22, and a ball supply path member 24. The ball collecting portion 21 is a portion that receives the game balls that have passed through the irregular-shaped/magnetic-ball discharging unit 20 and guides them to the base of the ball lifting device 22 (FIG. 5), and includes a ball polishing device and the like.

  A hitting ball launching device 29 for launching a game ball toward the game area 8 is arranged at the front part and one side part (left part) of the upper part of the main body frame 2 (FIGS. 3 and 23). Further, the ball feeding device 28 for feeding the game balls stored in an array in the guiding passage (ball feeding guiding trough 69, which will be described later, refer to FIG. 11) to the launching position of the ball launching device 29 one by one is a ball launching device 29. Is arranged so as to overlap in the front-rear direction with respect to the rear (FIGS. 6 and 23). In the present embodiment, the hitting ball launching device 29 and the ball feeding device 28 form an upper launching device 12 as an upper launching unit.

  The ball lifting device 22 uses a screw 25 driven by a ball lifting motor 150 (see FIG. 24) in this embodiment, and the game balls that reach the base part are separated from each other by the rotation of the screw 25. After being opened, it is lifted from the lower part to the upper part of the main body frame 2. The ball lifting device 22 is attached to the rear surface of the main body frame 2 behind the upper launching device 12, and the upper end portion of the ball lifting device 22 is arranged above the ball feeding device 28 (FIG. 3, FIG. 3). 4, FIG. 23).

  Between the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 and the upper part of the upper launching device 12, a ball supply in the front-rear direction for sending the game balls lifted by the ball lifting device 22 to the ball feeding device 28 from above. A route member 24 is provided (FIGS. 3, 4, and 23). Further, in the present embodiment, the ball supply path member 24 is formed at the upper end portion of the ball lifting device 22 and is provided with a gentle downward inclination toward the front so that the game balls that have been pumped are forwarded from above. It is composed of a ball delivery gutter 23 to be sent out, and a lifting communication gutter 65 which is formed in the upper rear part of the upper launching device 12, is connected to the ball delivery gutter 23, and is provided with a gentle downward slope toward the front. In addition, the game balls that have been pumped by the ball lifting device 22 are sent to the ball sending gutter 23. The ball delivery gutter 23 of the ball supply path member 24 is provided with a launch standby ball detection switch 26 for detecting the presence or absence of a game ball flowing down the ball delivery gutter 23 (see FIG. 6).

[Upper launch device]
FIG. 8 is a front view showing the upper launching device, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the upper launching device as viewed from the front left side. 10 is a perspective view showing the upper launching device as viewed from the rear left side, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the upper launching device as viewed from the rear left side with the ball feeding unit cover removed.

  12 is a view showing an open state of the upper launching device in the gaming machine shown with the door frame removed, and FIG. 13 is a right side view showing a vertical section of the gaming machine shown with the door frame removed. FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically showing a part of the cross-sectional perspective view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state in which the joint portion with the base plate in the upper launcher and the protruding portion of the panel holder in the game board are in contact with each other.

  The upper launcher 12 receives a metal plate-shaped base plate 39 for mounting and fixing the upper launcher 12 to the main body frame 2 and a game ball reaching from the ball supply path member 24, and launches the hitting ball launcher 29. A ball feeding device 28 that reliably sends the game balls one by one with the ball feeding solenoid 31 (FIG. 11) and the ball feeding member 32 to the hitting ball firing position of the hammer 30 (FIG. 8), and shoots the game ball toward the game area 8. And a hitting ball launching device 29 (see FIGS. 8 to 11).

  The ball feeding device 28 receives the game ball that has arrived from the ball supply path member 24 (FIG. 6), and moves the game ball 1 ball to the firing position of the firing hammer 30 (FIG. 8) of the hitting ball launching device 29 with the ball feeding member 32. It is a device for surely sending each.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the hitting ball launching device 29 includes a launching hammer 30, a launching solenoid 13, a rail member 33, a launching stopper 34, a return stopper 35, a launching ball confirmation switch 36, an upper launching device hinge 37 and a launching port. 38. These members are attached to the base plate 39 (metal plate in this embodiment) as a substrate. The firing port 38 is formed so as to face the tip of the firing hammer 30, and the rail member 33 is attached to this portion. The rail member 33 is a member that holds, by the rail portion 332, one game ball sent to the firing position (hit position) by the ball sending member 32. The game ball shot by the launching hammer 30 is launched from the launch port 38 to the game area 8.

  The launch ball confirmation switch 36 is arranged with respect to the rail portion 332 of the rail member 33 to detect the presence or absence of a game ball driven by the launch hammer 30, and the detection of the game ball by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is not detected. By switching, it is detected that one game ball has been launched by the launch hammer 30.

  In order to make the upper launcher 12 movable, the base plate 39 is attached to the body frame 2 so as to be openable and closable by a vertical upper launcher hinge 37 arranged on the left side of the front surface of the base plate 39. The base plate 39 can be opened to the front by using the hinge 37 for the upper launching device as an axis (FIGS. 9 and 12).

  In addition, the arrangement position of the upper launching device hinge 37 is set when the game board 5 is attached to or detached from the main body frame 2 with respect to the hinge 7 that rotatably connects the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3. The upper launching device 12 is in a position where the game board 5 can be opened to an angle that does not interfere with the insertion (for example, 120 degrees).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the circulation route of the game sphere includes the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20, the sphere collecting portion 21, the sphere lifting device 22, the sphere supply route member 24, the upper launch device 12, and the game area 8. It is through. The game balls launched from the upper launching device 12 to the launch area 40 (FIG. 7) of the game area 8 flow down from the upper part to the lower part of the game area, and the irregular shaped ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 passes through the winning opening 41 or the out opening 42. Return to.

[Game board]
The game board 5 is attached to the fitting frame 15 of the main body frame 2. In this embodiment, the game board 5 has a structure in which the transparent panel plate 44 is attached to the panel holder 43, and the front component member 45 is attached to the front surface thereof to fix the transparent panel plate 44 (FIG. 12). There is no equivalent to the conventional inner rail in this game board 5, and the upper part of the inner peripheral surface of the front component member 45 is used as the game ball running surface 46 (FIG. 7).

  The game board 5 is electrically connected to the main body frame 2 by a drawer connector. Drawer connectors are provided on the game board 5 and the main body frame 2, respectively. By inserting the game board 5 into the main body frame 2, the drawer connector on the game board side is inserted into the drawer connector on the main body frame side, and the electric Can be connected to each other. Thereby, it becomes possible to perform electrical communication between the game board 5 and the main body frame 2.

  A notch 47 (FIG. 12) is formed in the upper left corner of the game board 5 in accordance with the form of the upper launching device 12. The notch 47 reaches from the front component member 45 to a part of the transparent panel plate 44 in the game area 8. The opening 38 of the upper launching device 12 faces the cutout portion of the transparent panel plate 44, and as shown in FIG. 7, the vicinity of the opening 38 along the game ball running surface 46 above from the opening 38. The game area 8 is the launch area 40. Therefore, the game ball shot by the launch hammer 30 of the upper launcher 12 is guided to the game ball running surface 46 of the front component 45 in the launch area 40.

  In the cutout 47, the cutout of the panel holder 43 is smaller than the cutout of the front component member, and a part of the panel holder 43 is an extruded portion 48 that is pushed out to the inside of the cutout 47 when viewed from the front. (FIGS. 12 and 15). A fixture 49 is attached to the base plate 39 of the upper launching device 12 so as to penetrate therethrough in the front-rear direction, and the tip of the fixture 49 is the projecting wall 18 of the main body frame 2 when the upper launching device 12 is closed. It is removably mounted on the screw receiving member 50 (FIGS. 13, 14, and 15). The fixture 49 has a screw at the tip and a relatively large head, so that the fixture 49 can be attached and detached without using a tool (using a simple member such as a coin. Is also good). The screw receiving member 50 has, for example, a structure in which a nut is welded to a metal flat plate, and is fixed to the overhanging wall 18 with a screw or the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15, when the fixture 49 is attached to the screw receiving member 50 through the upper launching device 12, the game board is fixed to the main body frame 2 by the base plate 39. At this time, the contact portion 39a (FIG. 13) of the base plate 39 contacts the protruding portion 48 protruding from the notch 47 of the game board 5, and presses the protruding portion 48 toward the main body frame 2 side to fix it. To do.

  As a result, the positional relationship between the launch opening 38 of the upper launching device 12 and the game area 8 is fixed without any rattling, and a step or the like that becomes an obstacle when the game ball runs between the launch opening 38 and the game area 8 is created. Does not happen. Further, by removing the fixture 49 from the screw receiving member 50, the base plate 39 can be opened to the front around the upper launching device hinge 37, and when the game board 5 is fitted into the fitting frame 15 of the main body frame 2. Does not get in the way. Further, maintenance work such as ball gamming in the ball feeding device 28 and the hitting ball launching device 29 can be easily performed.

As a method of fixing the upper launching device, a cushion may be arranged on the back side of the door frame, and the game board and the upper launching device may be pressed and fixed when the door frame is closed. This will be described below.
A cushion 51 is provided at a position on the back surface side of the door frame 3 where the cushion 51 contacts the upper launching device 12, and the door frame 3 is closed to push the cushion receiving plate 52 arranged on the upper launching device 12 with the cushion 51 to press the main body frame. Fix on the 2 side. At this time, the plate 39 comes into contact with the protruding portion 48 (see FIG. 12) protruding from the notch 47 of the game board 5 to press and fix the protruding portion 48 toward the main body frame 2 side. As a result, the positional relationship between the launch port 38 of the upper launching device 12 and the game area 8 is fixed and fixed. Further, even if vibration occurs due to the launching operation of the launching hammer 30, the positional relationship between the launching opening 38 and the game area 8 is fixed and fixed by pressing the cushion 51 against each other.

  As described above, the game board 5 can be easily attached to the main body frame 2 by adopting the fixing method using the cushion instead of the screwing type. The details will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 96, the back surface of the door frame 3 and the upper launching device 12 are connected by a follow-up member 500 (a spring in this embodiment). When the game board is replaced by installing a new stand, when the door frame 3 is opened, the upper launching device 12 connected to the follower member 500 is pulled by the follower member 500 and rotated so as to follow the door frame 3. To do. As a result, the upper launching device 12 moves from the same surface of the game board 5, so that a large space can be secured when the game board 5 is fitted into the main body frame 2, and the game board is easily fitted. be able to. Further, it is possible to reduce the possibility of damaging the game board 5 and the launching device by colliding with each other.

  Further, even if the upper launching device 12 moves following the opening of the door frame 3 by the follow-up member 500, if the cushion 51 is arranged on the back surface of the door frame 3, the door frame 3 moves with the momentum of the follow-up movement. Since it does not collide with, it is possible to prevent damage to the door frame 3 and the follower member 500.

  In the present embodiment, the follow-up member 500 is a spring, but the follow-up member 500 is not limited to this, and may be any one that moves the upper launching device 12 following the door frame 3. For example, various methods such as elastic rubber (e.g., rubber band), a string-shaped member, and an engaging pulling member can be selected.

  In the game area 8 of the present embodiment, a large number of obstacle nails (not shown) and various winning holes such as winning holes are provided, and a predetermined number of prize balls are given according to winning in the various winning holes. It is like this. Since this embodiment is an enclosed ball type gaming machine, "1" is subtracted from the data of the number of balls held in response to the hitting of one game ball, while the number of prize balls corresponding to the prizes at the various winning openings. Is added to the ball count data, and the ball count corresponding to this is displayed on the touch panel unit 14.

  Also, since it is an enclosed ball type pachinko game machine, prize balls are not paid out, and the number of balls discharged, the number of balls entered, the number of differential balls, the number of balls held, etc. are not the actual number of game balls, but the numbers on the data. .. That is, the number of actually used game balls is only a limited number (for example, 50 or 75) that is circulated, and the number of possessed balls is, for example, the number of game balls that are shot in the game area 8. From the number of shot balls counted, the number of collected balls that are detected by counting the game balls that have been launched and collected in the game area 8, the number of prize balls when winning, the number of balls lent from the hall, etc. The number of incoming balls, the number of outgoing balls, the number of differential balls, and the number of possessed balls can be obtained.

  That is, as long as there is no trouble such as opening the door frame 3 and the game balls going out, the number of shot balls=the number of collected balls. Then, the number of balls entered = the number of balls collected = the number of balls launched, the number of balls released = the number of prize balls (integrated value) = the number of balls entered-the number of balls lent (the number of replay balls) + the number of balls held, and the number of balls held = loan Number of balls (or number of replayed balls) + number of balls-number of balls-out, number of balls-number of balls-number of balls lost = number of balls held = number of balls lent (or number of balls replayed) + number of balls left Becomes In this way, the game by the pachinko gaming machine 1 is completely performed as the numerical value on the data, and there is no error caused by spilling the game ball or leaving the game ball on the lower plate or the upper plate. , It will be possible to reliably manage in integer units. It should be noted that the structure of the upper launching device 12, which will be described later, basically causes no foul ball.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the front component member 45, the panel holder and the transparent panel plate 44 are formed as separate members, but they are integrated by, for example, bonding, or integrally formed to form one member. You can also In this way, when the front component member 45, the panel holder 43, etc. are integrally formed on the transparent panel plate 44, the front component member 45 and the panel holder 43 have the notch 47 in the game board 5 so as to have the front component member 45 and the panel holder 43. It is possible to prevent structural weakening of these members due to cutting of the frame structure (the four sides are connected).

  16 is a perspective view showing the upper launching device as viewed from the front right side, FIG. 17 is a front view showing the upper launching device (launch hammer standby position), and FIG. 18 is a right side view showing the upper launching device. Is.

[Striking ball launcher 29]
The hit ball launching device 29 is capable of driving the game ball supplied from the ball feeding device 28 into the game area 8 of the game board 5 with the strength corresponding to the rotation operation of the hit ball handle 10. The hitting ball launching device 29 includes a launching solenoid 13 mounted on a rear surface of an upper portion of a base plate 39 so that a rotary drive shaft 60 projects forward, and a launching hammer 30 fixed to the rotary drive shaft 60 of the launching solenoid 13 so as to be integrally rotatable. A mallet 61 fixed to the tip of the hammer 30 for firing, a rail member 33 attached to the front surface of the base plate 39 with a predetermined position on the moving path of the mallet 61 as a firing position, and a firing position by the rail member 33. A launching stopper 34 that restricts the hammer 61 from rotating counterclockwise from a hitting position at which a stopped game ball can be hit, and a waiting position (initial position) in the turning operation of the shooting hammer 30. A return stopper 35 that regulates to, a launch ball confirmation switch 36 for detecting the presence or absence of a game ball staying at the launch position, a hinge 37 for the upper launching device, and a launch opening facing the game area 8. And a mouth 38 (see FIGS. 8, 9, 16, and 18).

  Although not shown in detail, the firing solenoid 13 of the hitting ball launching device 29 is configured such that the rotary drive shaft 60 reciprocally rotates at a strength (speed) corresponding to a rotational operation angle of the ball hitting handle 10. The firing hammer 30 of the hitting ball launching device 29 has a fixed portion 301 fixed to the rotary drive shaft 60 of the firing solenoid 13 and a gentle arc extending from the fixed portion 301, and the tip thereof is on the axis of the rotary drive shaft 60. On the other hand, a rod portion 302 facing the normal direction and having a mallet tip 61 fixed at its tip, and a stopper which extends to the opposite side of the rod portion 302 with the fixed portion 301 interposed therebetween and which can contact the stopper 34 during firing. And a contact portion 303. The stopper abutment portion 303 of the firing hammer 30 abuts the stopper 34 at the time of firing, so that rotation in the counterclockwise direction in front view is restricted (see FIG. 8 ).

  Further, a ball supply port 63 formed in a ball feeding unit base (which will be described later) of the ball feeding device 28 is arranged immediately above the rail member 33 of the hitting ball launching device 29. The rail member 33 retains one gaming ball sent from the ball supply port 63 by the ball feeding operation of the ball feeding member 32 of the ball feeding device 28 described later at the launch position.

  The rail member 33 is formed by bending a metal plate, and includes a mounting plate portion 331 that is mounted and fixed to the base plate 39, and a rail portion 332 that is bent forward from the mounting plate portion 331. And (see FIG. 8). The rail portion 332 for setting the firing position has a substantially L-shape that is inclined to the left by 45 degrees in a front view, and has a left rail plate 333 forming the left side of the rail portion 332 and a right side of the rail portion 332. And a right rail plate 334 that forms a frame (see FIG. 8). The left rail plate 333 is formed with a through hole 335 through which the mallet tip 61 passes when the ball is hit by the firing hammer 30 (see FIGS. 9 and 21).

  As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, when viewed from the front direction, a portion extending from the center in the vertical direction to the lower end of the right side portion of the hitting ball launching device 29 of the upper launching device 12 is exposed and arranged facing the game area 8. ing. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 16, a launch port decoration member 64 is disposed on the right side of the front surface of the base plate 39, and the launch port decoration member 64 is attached to the base plate 39 and a ball feeding unit base 67 described later. ing.

  As shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 16, the launch port decoration member 64 is arranged so that the right side surface portion and the lower side surface portion are exposed to face the game area 8, and therefore the right side of the launch port decoration member 64. The surface portion and the lower side surface portion are formed on a ball entry prevention wall 51 that prevents a game ball hit in the game area 8 from entering the inside of the hit ball launching device 29. The launch port 38 is formed in a ball entry prevention wall 51 on the right side surface of the launch port decoration member 64. The ball entry prevention wall 51 surrounds the launch port 38 and is substantially flush with the rear end surface of the game area 8. It is shaped like an arch that stands up toward the front.

  As will be understood with reference to FIGS. 8 and 16, the firing port 38 is located diagonally to the upper right with respect to the rail portion 332. As understood from FIGS. 8 and 17, the distance between the rail portion 332 (launching position) and the launching port 38 is short (about twice the diameter of the game ball P), and therefore the launch distance is short. It is possible to drive the fired game ball into the game area 8 without generating a foul ball.

  The launch ball confirmation switch 36 detects the presence or absence of the game ball staying in the launch position, and the detection of the game ball is not detected by the launch of the game ball in the launch position by the hammer 30 for launching. By switching to, it is configured to detect that one gaming ball has been launched by the launch hammer 30.

  The launch ball confirmation switch 36 is composed of a transmissive photosensor, and a light projecting unit and a light receiving unit are arranged so as to straddle the rail portion 332 that sets the launch position in the front-rear direction. The shooting ball confirmation switch 36 is supported by the photo bracket 361 to be arranged with respect to the shooting position, and the photo bracket 361 is attached and fixed to the lower part of the front surface of the base plate 39.

  The hitting ball launching device 29 is provided with a stopper cover 62 that covers the front surface of the launching stopper 34 that can regulate the pivotal end of the launching hammer 30 toward the ball hitting position, and a position apart from the hitting ball position of the launching hammer 30. A return-time stopper 35 for restricting the turning end (the turning end in the clockwise direction when viewed from the front) is provided. The surfaces of the stoppers 34 and 35 are covered with rubber, so that the impact when the firing hammer 30 comes into contact can be absorbed and the generation of noise due to the contact can be suppressed. ..

  Further, in the hit ball launching device 29, the launch solenoid 13 is driven by a ball information control unit, which will be described later, with a driving strength according to the rotating operation of the hit ball handle 10, and the ball feeding device 28 feeds the ball. With respect to the drive timing of the solenoid 31, it is driven so as to perform a ball hitting operation at a drive timing described later (see FIG. 24). Specifically, in the ball feeding device 28 that supplies the game ball to the hitting ball launching device 29, when the ball sending solenoid 31 is driven (ON), the game ball received by the ball sending member 32 is sent to the hitting ball launching device 29, and the state is maintained. When the drive of the ball feed solenoid 31 is released (OFF), the ball feed member 32 receives the game ball.

  In the hitting ball launching device 29, when the hitting ball handle 10 is launched, the launching solenoid 13 is repeatedly energized and disconnected with a voltage according to the manipulated variable. As a result of this excitation/non-excitation of the firing solenoid 13, the firing hammer 30 is rotated from the initial position (FIG. 17) in the firing direction (counterclockwise) to the firing position, as shown in FIGS. After the stopped game ball is hit with the mallet 61 (FIG. 8), the shooting operation is repeated by rotating clockwise and returning to the initial position.

[Ball feeder 28]
Next, the ball feeding device 28 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the ball feeding device 28 is mainly configured as a unit, and has a lifting communication including a ball inlet 66 connected to the front end of the ball feeding trough 23 of the ball feeding path member 24 shown in FIG. A gutter 65 and a ball feeding port 63 which is connected to the lifting communication gutter 65 and has a ball supply port 63 for supplying a game ball that has entered from the lifting communication gutter 65 to the hitting ball launching device 29, and the rear is open. A unit base 67, a ball feed unit cover 68 that closes the rear end of the ball feed unit base 67 and is open to the front, a ball feed solenoid 31 disposed below the ball feed unit base 67, and a ball feed solenoid 31. And a ball feeding member 32 that simultaneously realizes a ball feeding operation and a return ball blocking operation described later.

  The lifting communication gutter 65 is gently inclined downward from the rear end where the ball inlet 66 is formed toward the front end. The ball feeding unit base 67 is attached to the left side of the rear surface of the base plate 39, the front end of the lifting communication gutter 65 is connected to the upper right side thereof, and is connected to the front end of the lifting communication gutter 65 in rear view. From the right side of the upper part to the center in the up-down direction, a gentle downward slope is applied to the left in the left-right direction, and the ball-feeding guide trough 69 is bent and formed downward in the middle, and the lower end of the ball-feeding guide trough 69. And a ball supply port 63 penetrating in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 11).

  Further, on the rear surface of the ball feed unit cover 68 facing the upper side of the ball supply port 63 below the bent portion of the ball feed guide trough 69, the game ball waiting in the ball feed guide trough 69 is provided. A launch standby ball detection switch 70 for detecting the presence or absence is provided (see FIG. 10). The launch standby ball detection switch 70 is composed of a flat type proximity switch that detects a game ball as a metal body by changing the impedance of the detection coil of the high frequency oscillation circuit.

  The ball feeding solenoid 31 of the present embodiment is composed of an electromagnet, and is arranged below the ball feeding unit base 67 in a posture in which a suction portion that exhibits a suction function by excitation is directed downward. The ball feeding member 32 is arranged below the ball feeding unit base 67 adjacent to the left side of the ball feeding solenoid 31. The ball feeding member 32 in the present embodiment is allowed/excited by the ball feeding solenoid 31 to allow the ball to pass therethrough without interfering with the ball hit from the launch position by the ball hitting operation of the ball hitting device 29. And a return ball blocking portion that is movable between a return ball blocking position that blocks the entry of a return ball that returns from the game area 8 to the launch port 38.

[Ball feed member 32]
The ball feeding member 32 will be described below. 18 is a right side view showing the upper launching device 12 (the sphere feed solenoid 31 is not excited, the sphere feed member 32 assumes the holding position and the return sphere blocking position), and FIG. FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the upper launching device 12 shown broken along line B (the ball feeding solenoid 31 is de-energized, and the ball feeding member 32 assumes the holding position and the return ball blocking position), and FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the ball feeding member 32, the ball feeding shaft, and the ball feeding sheet metal in FIG.

  21 is a right side view showing the upper firing device 12 (the ball feeding solenoid 31 is excited, and the ball feeding member takes the supply position and the allowable position), and FIG. 22 is a view taken along the line BB of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the upper launching device cut along a line (the sphere feed solenoid 31 is excited, and the sphere feed member 32 is in a supply position and an allowable position).

  As shown in FIG. 20, a shaft hole 75 is formed in the horizontal direction in the middle of the ball feeding member 32 in the vertical direction. Ball feed shafts 76 are inserted into the axial holes 75 with both ends protruding, and both ends of the ball feed shaft 76 in the left-right direction are supported by the ball feed unit base 67. As a result, the ball feeding member 32 is supported rotatably in the front-rear direction with the ball feeding shaft 76 as the center of rotation.

  Further, an arm portion 77 is formed so as to extend rearward in the middle of the ball feeding member 32, and an operation extending downward of the ball feeding solenoid 31 is formed at a lower end of the arm portion 77 as shown in FIG. A rod portion 72 is formed, a sheet metal housing portion 73 is formed in the operating rod portion 72, and a ball feed sheet metal 71 made of a metal material attracted by a magnet is housed in the sheet metal housing portion 73.

  Immediately below the sheet metal accommodating portion 73, there is formed a sheet metal locking claw 78 that protrudes rearward to prevent the ball feeding sheet metal 71 from falling off, and thereby unexpectedly occurs when the ball feeding member 32 operates. The ball feed sheet metal 71 is prevented from falling off the sheet metal housing portion 73.

  As shown in FIG. 20, a latching projection 79 is formed on the end of the operating rod 72, and one end of the tension spring 52 shown in FIG. 19 is latched to the latching projection 79. Further, the other end of the tension spring 52 is hooked to a spring locking portion 53 formed on the lower bottom surface of the ball feeding unit base 67, as shown in FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 20, a roof-shaped sphere feed portion 74 is formed above the shaft hole 75 of the sphere feed member 32 toward the lower edge of the sphere supply port 63 integrally with the sphere feed member 32. There is. The ball feeding portion 74 is formed in a mountain shape in which the center of the upper surface is raised upward, and extends from the center to the front, that is, of the ball feeding port 63 formed at the lower end of the ball feeding guide trough 69 in FIG. A ball feed guide surface 80 inclined toward the lower edge and an arc convex toward the rear from the center, that is, toward the ball feed unit cover 68 that closes the rear end of the ball feed guide trough 69 in FIG. And a sphere holding surface 81 that is inclined downwardly. Further, at the rear end of the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feeding portion 74, a hanging piece 82 hanging downward is formed.

  The upper part of the ball feeding member 32 in the up-down direction penetrates the ball feeding unit base 67 toward the front, and as shown in FIGS. 18, 20, and 21, the rail portion 332 (launching position) in a side view. A rectangular frame-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 extending toward the ball hitting path from is formed, and a rectangular hit ball passage opening 85 is formed in the center of the return ball blocking portion 83.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 to 17, the frame-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 formed integrally with the ball feeding member 32 is disposed adjacent to the firing port 38 in the firing position direction. In addition, a ball stopper portion 84 is formed on the front side of the frame of the return ball blocking portion 83 on the firing position direction side, the bottom portion of which is horizontal and protrudes in a triangular shape toward the rail portion 332. The ball stopping portion 84 is arranged in front of the ball feeding portion 74 and facing the ball feeding portion 74 with a space above the firing position.

  Further, on the ball feeding unit cover 68, a ball guide protrusion 54 having a V-shaped vertical cross section is formed toward the front at a position facing the ball supply port 63 behind the ball supply port 63. A front guiding surface 55 facing the sphere supply port 63 and having an arcuate concave shape is formed on an upper portion of the sphere guide protrusion 54 facing forward. The lower portion of the ball guide protrusion 54 is formed to be convexly curved rearward, and in the space below the lower portion of the ball guide protrusion 54, the front and rear direction of the ball feed member 32 with the ball feed shaft 76 as the rotation center. In the pivoting operation, the ball feeding portion 74 can be retracted. Further, a stopper piece 56 is formed on the lower end of the ball guide protrusion 54 so as to protrude forward.

[Ball feeding operation and return ball blocking operation of the ball feeding member 32]
A ball feeding operation and a return ball blocking operation by the ball feeding member 32 of the ball feeding device 28 configured as described above will be described. When the ball feeding solenoid 31 is in the non-excited state, it is hooked on the hooking protrusion 79 at the end of the operating rod 72 of the ball feeding member 32 and the spring locking portion 53 formed on the lower bottom surface of the ball feeding unit base 67. Due to the tensile force of the tension spring 52 that is stopped, the lower end portion of the ball feeding member 32 is in a posture of being pulled toward the ball feeding unit base 67.

  As shown in FIG. 18, in a normal state (when the ball feeding solenoid 31 is in a non-excited state), the ball feeding member 32 has a rectangular frame-shaped return ball in a rotation posture with the ball feeding shaft 76 as a rotation center. The blocking portion 83 takes a posture inclining rearward, and in the side view seen from the game area 8, that is, in the hitting path from the launching position of the hitting ball launching device 29 to the launching opening 38, the launching opening 38 is immediately launched. At the position on the position direction side, the portion of the return ball blocking portion 83 located in front of the frame is in a posture intersecting with the launch port 38, and the hit ball passage port 85 with respect to the launch port 38 in the ball hitting path. Is a position displaced rearward, and it is impossible for the ball to pass through the hit ball passage opening 85 in the hit ball path. That is, the return ball blocking portion 83 takes the return ball blocking position that blocks the entry of the return ball returning from the game area 8 to the launch port 38 in this posture.

  After the hit ball is fired, the return ball blocking unit 83 takes the return ball blocking position, and thus the return ball blocking unit 83 blocks the game ball launched into the game area 8 from entering the launch port 38 as a return ball. Since the return ball can be blocked, it is possible to prevent the return ball from deteriorating the interest in the game.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 19, in the normal state (when the ball feeding solenoid 31 is in the non-excited state), the ball feeding member 32 has the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feeding portion 74 and the ball guiding protrusion of the ball feeding unit cover 68. In the rotation posture in which the ball feeding portion 74 is retracted, the hanging piece 82 formed at the lower end of the ball feeding portion 74 contacts the stopper piece 56, and the ball feeding shaft 76 of the ball feeding member 32 is the center of rotation. , The holding position in the ball feeding operation is restricted.

  In the holding position, the ball feed guide surface 80 of the ball feed portion 74 is located in front of the lower end of the front guide surface 55 of the ball guide protrusion 54, and on the extension line in the tangential direction of the front guide surface 55. In addition, the ball stopper 84 approaches the ball supply port 63, the game ball P1 is fitted in the gap between the lower end of the ball supply port 63 and the ball stopper 84, and the game ball P1 remains. Becomes

[Excitation of ball feed solenoid 31]
When excited by energizing the ball feed solenoid 31, the ball feed sheet metal 71 is attracted upward due to the electromagnet function, and the operating rod 72 of the ball feed member 32 moves upward against the tensile force of the tension spring 52. The ball feed member 32 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 19 with the ball feed shaft 76 as the center of rotation, and as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, the ball feed member 32 causes the ball feed member 32 to pass the supply position and the hit ball in the ball feed operation. Move to an allowable position that allows.

  As a result, the ball stopper 84 moves forward from the position close to the ball supply port 63, and at the same time, the ball feeder 74 moves forward and sends out the game ball P1 that has remained in the holding position to the launch position (FIG. 22). reference).

  As shown in FIG. 21, when the ball feed solenoid 31 is in the excited state, the return frame blocking portion 83 having a rectangular frame shape takes an upright posture in a rotating posture with the ball feed shaft 76 as the center of rotation, and the game area. 8 in the side view, that is, at the position on the side of the launch path immediately from the launch opening 38 in the launch path from the launch position of the ball launching device 29 to the launch opening 38, with respect to the launch opening 38 in the strike path. The hit ball passing ports 85 are located at the same position, and are positions where the balls can pass through the hit ball passing ports 85 on the hit ball path. That is, in this posture, the return ball blocking unit 83 takes a permissible position that allows the ball to pass therethrough without interfering with the ball hit from the launch position.

  As shown in FIG. 22, when the ball feeding solenoid 31 is in the excited state, the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feeding portion 74 is located in front of the ball guide protrusion 54 of the ball feeding unit cover 68 at the supply position in the ball feeding operation. Then, the subsequent game ball P2 is fitted into the gap between the upper end of the ball supply port 63 and the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feed portion 74, and the subsequent game ball P2 is in a state of remaining. By the ball-sending operation described above, the ball-sending member 32 sends the game balls, which are aligned and stored in the ball-sending guide trough 69, to the launch position of the ball-striking launcher 29 one by one.

  Further, FIG. 24 is a time chart showing the drive timings of the ball feeding solenoid 31 and the firing solenoid 13. The firing solenoid 13 is turned on when a period A has passed from the time when the ball feed solenoid 31 was turned on, and the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off when a period B has passed from the time when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on and a ball feed is performed. The firing solenoid 13 is turned off when a period C has elapsed since the solenoid 31 was turned off.

  In this embodiment, the period A is 300 ms, the period B is 30 ms, and the period C is 50 ms. When the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball feeding member 32 brings the launching ball into the firing position (rail portion 332). That is, the launch ball confirmation switch 36 detects the launch ball. In the present embodiment, it is determined that there is a launch ball when the launch ball confirmation switch 36 detects a game ball that is parked at the launch position over a predetermined time period (30 ms as the period D). To do.

  In this way, if the game ball that is stopped at the launch position by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is detected for a predetermined time, if it is determined that there is a launch ball, noise is generated. Erroneous ball count of the launch ball can be eliminated, and the certainty in detecting the launch ball can be increased.

  The operation control is performed by the sphere information control MPU 111 of the sphere information control unit 118, which will be described later, in accordance with the drive timings of the sphere feed solenoid 31 and the firing solenoid 13 shown in FIG. That is, when the return ball blocking portion 83 of the ball feeding member 32 is in the allowable position, the ball-striking launcher 29 is operated to perform the ball-striking operation by the hammer 30 for firing, and the ball-striking device 29 is preliminarily determined from the time of operation. After the stipulated time has elapsed (after 30 ms has elapsed), the excitation of the ball feeding solenoid 31 is released and the return ball blocking unit 83 is moved to the return ball blocking position so that the return ball is blocked by the return ball blocking unit 83. Control.

  According to this, when the return ball blocking unit 83 takes the allowance position, since the passing of the hit ball is allowed without interfering with the hit ball fired from the launch position, the hit ball does not interfere, so the game is played. It is possible to prevent the player from feeling distrustful of hitting the ball at the target position, and to prevent the interest in the game from decreasing.

  After the hit ball is fired, the return ball blocking unit 83 takes the return ball blocking position, and thus the return ball blocking unit 83 blocks the game ball launched into the game area 8 from entering the launch port 38 as a return ball. Since the return ball can be blocked, it is possible to prevent the return ball from deteriorating the interest in the game.

  In the present embodiment, if the return ball blocking portion 83 is formed integrally with the ball feeding member 32, the ball is moved to the firing position by exciting/de-exciting one electric drive source (ball feeding solenoid 31). It is possible to realize both sending and preventing returning balls. That is, when the ball feed member 32 takes the supply position, the hit ball passage port 85 is located on the hit ball path through which the game ball shot from the launch position passes, while when the holding position is taken, the ball feed member 32 deviates from the hit ball path. It has a frame-like return ball blocking portion 83 formed so that the hit ball passing port 85 is located at the retracted position.

  When the ball feeding member 32 takes the supply position, the return ball blocking unit 83 takes the allowable position and does not interfere with the hit ball fired from the firing position. Therefore, for hitting the game ball at the aimed position. It is possible to prevent distrust and prevent a decrease in interest in the game.

  Further, when the ball feeding member 32 moves to the holding position, the return ball blocking portion 83 moves to the return ball blocking position at the same time, so that the game ball shot in the game area 8 becomes a return ball and enters the launch port 38. Since it can be blocked by blocking the return ball, it is possible to prevent the return ball from deteriorating the interest in the game.

  Further, the gaming machine described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 has a structure in which the return ball prevention valve that closes the launch port is forcibly opened by the launch ball and launched or pushed out to the game area. For this reason, an electric drive source for performing a ball hitting action needs to have a size and power commensurate with it, and it is necessary to supply a large current in order to obtain a ball hitting force, which consumes a large amount of power. is there.

  On the other hand, in the upper launching device 12 of the present example, when the launching hammer 30 performs a ball hitting operation, the return ball blocking portion 83 of the ball feeding member 32 allows the launch ball to pass (the hit ball passing port 85 and Since it does not interfere with the launch ball in the state where both the launch port 38 and the launch path match each other, it suffices to provide a hitting force enough to launch the hit ball in the game area 8, and thus the power is small. Adopting an electric drive source is sufficient. Therefore, the electric drive source can be made smaller and thinner, and the power consumption required for the drive can be suppressed low.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 24, the firing solenoid 13 is excited for a period C from the time when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, and the mallet 61 protrudes through the through hole 335 of the rail portion 332 (FIG. 9). If so, it is possible to prevent the game ball from staying on the rail portion 332, prevent the return ball, and make the error count of the launch ball more reliable.

  The return ball blocking portion 83 of the present embodiment is shown to have a rectangular frame shape and is provided with a hitting ball passage opening 85 in the center, but the shape of the return ball blocking portion 83 is not limited to this, and for example, It may be in the shape of a strip, a rod, or may not be provided with the hitting ball passage opening 85. That is, on the hitting ball path from the launching position to the launching hole 38, an admissible position is provided adjacent to the launching position direction of the launching hole 38 to allow the passing of the hitting ball without interfering with the hitting ball launched from the launching position. And a return ball blocking position that blocks the entry of a return ball returning from the game area 8 to the launch port 38.

  In the enclosed ball-type gaming machine according to the present embodiment described above, the ball lifting device 22 has the rear surface of the main body frame 2 behind the upper launching device 12 arranged at the front part and one side part of the upper part of the main body frame 2. The upper end of the ball lifting device 22 is arranged above the ball feeding device 28, and the ball lifting device 22 is provided between the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 and the upper part of the upper launching device 12. It is configured to have a ball supply path member 24 extending in the front-rear direction for sending the game balls that have been pumped up from above to the ball feeder 28.

  With the above-mentioned configuration, the sphere supply path member 24 is mounted on the rear portion of the game board 5 to be various members (movable body, power transmission mechanism for driving the movable body (eg, gear train), In the rear part of the gaming machine, there is no obstacle to the slide rails for guiding in the left-right direction, the drive motor as the drive source, the position detection sensor for detecting the position of the movable body, the LED board, the relay board, etc. It is possible to smoothly send the game balls that have been lifted to the upper portion of the main body frame 2 by the ball lifting device 22 to the upper launch device 12.

  Further, since the ball supply path member does not interfere with various members attached to the rear part of the game board, the space formed behind the upper launcher 12 can be secured to the rear part of the game board 5. It can be applied to the arrangement space of each member.

  Further, the upper launching device 12 shown in FIG. 23 employs an electric drive source that is smaller and thinner than the conventional one for the reason described above. As shown in FIG. 23, since the electric drive source (launching solenoid 13) of the hitting ball launching device can be downsized and thinned, the electric drive source does not project behind the upper launching device 12. Therefore, the arrangement space 57 for each member attached to the rear portion of the game board 5 can be widely ensured accordingly.

  Further, the upper launching device 12 of the present embodiment can be rotated by the upper launching device hinge 37 and can be opened and closed with respect to the main body frame 2 (FIG. 12), so that the left end of the game board when the game board is attached. Since the upper firing unit can be pivotally arranged at a position deviating from the movement path when inserting the parts, the operation of attaching the game board to the main body frame is easy.

  In this case, when the upper launching device 12 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2, even if the game balls remain in the ball sending gutter 23, the ball sending gutter 23 is prevented from spilling out. It is advisable to provide a spilled ball preventing means for blocking the ball outlet 58.

  Hereinafter, one embodiment of the spill ball preventing means (ball outlet opening/closing unit) will be described. 25 is a front perspective view of the ball outlet opening/closing unit, and FIG. 26 is a rear perspective view of the ball outlet opening/closing unit. FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the upper firing unit and the ball outlet opening/closing unit.

  As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 23, the ball supply path member 24 is formed at the upper end of the ball lifting device 22, and a ball sending trough 23 for sending the pumped game balls forward from above, and an upper launch unit. 12 is formed on the upper rear part of the ball 12 and is composed of a lifting communication gutter 65 connected to the ball delivery gutter 23. When the upper firing unit 12 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, the front end of the ball delivery gutter 23 is By opening the ball outlet 58, the ball outlet 58 and the ball inlet 66 at the rear end of the lifting communication gutter 65 are communicated with each other, and the ball can be supplied from the ball outlet 58 to the ball inlet 66.

  The ball feeding device of the upper launching device 12 includes an opening/closing operation piece 426 for operating the opening/closing shutter 412 of the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 on the right side of the ball feeding unit cover (FIG. 27). The opening/closing operation piece 426 abuts the spherical contact portion 424 of the opening/closing crank 413 in the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 when the upper launching device 12 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, thereby rotating the opening/closing crank 413. The open/close shutter 412 can be opened.

[Ball exit opening/closing unit]
The ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 in the main body frame 2 of the present embodiment is attached to the attachment member 407 attached to the lower surface of the ball delivery gutter 23 of the ball lifting and lowering device 22, and the upper firing is performed on the main body frame 2. When the device 12 is opened, the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery gutter 23 in the ball lifting device 22 is closed to allow the flow of the game balls from the ball lifting device 22 to the ball feeding device 28 of the upper launching device 12. It can be blocked.

  The ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 includes a shutter base 411 mounted on a hanging wall 408 of the mounting member 407 facing in the vertical direction, a plate-shaped opening/closing shutter 412 held by the shutter base 411 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, An opening/closing crank 413 that slides the shutter 412 in the vertical direction and an opening/closing spring 414 that urges the opening/closing shutter 412 to rise via the opening/closing crank 413 are provided.

  The shutter base 411 of the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 includes a pair of vertically extending slide grooves 415 for holding the opening/closing shutter 412 slidably in the vertical direction so as to project above the upper end of the shutter base 411. A rectangular opening 416 penetrating in the front-rear direction between the pair of slide grooves 415, and a crank arranged on the front surface of the left end in front view to support the opening/closing crank 413 rotatably around an axis extending in the front-rear direction. It includes a support portion 417 and a spring locking portion 418 that locks one end (upper end) of the opening/closing spring 414. The crank support portion 417 of the shutter base 411 is arranged on the left side of the opening 416 in the front view, and the spring locking portion 418 is arranged near the upper portion on the left side from the center in the left-right direction in the front view.

  Further, the opening/closing shutter 412 of the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 includes a flat plate-shaped shutter main body 419 and a pair of sliding projections (not shown) that protrude from the front surface of the shutter main body 419 and slide in the slide groove 415 of the shutter base 411. ) And a drive hole 420 having a horizontally long rectangular shape that is disposed between the pair of sliding protrusions and faces the opening 416 of the shutter base 411 and penetrates in the front-rear direction.

  The opening/closing crank 413 of the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 includes a shaft portion 421 supported by a crank support portion 417 of the shutter base 411 so as to be rotatable around an axis extending in the front-rear direction, and a right outer periphery of the shaft portion 421 from the right outer periphery in a front view. A drive rod 422 that extends outward and has its tip extended to the vicinity of the center of the opening 416 in the left-right direction, and projects rearward from the tip of the drive rod 422 and is slidably inserted into the drive hole 412b of the opening/closing shutter 412. Drive pin 423, a contact portion 424 that extends downward from the outer periphery of the shaft portion 421 on the lower side in front view, and has a spherical tip at the tip, and the other end of the opening/closing spring 414 formed on the intermediate upper surface of the drive rod 422. And a spring locking portion 425 that locks the (lower end).

  In the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410, the opening/closing crank 413 is rotated about an axis extending in the front-rear direction, whereby the drive pin 423 of the opening/closing crank 413 is vertically rotated in an arc shape, and at the same time, the drive pin 423 is inserted. The opening/closing shutter 412 slides in the vertical direction via the driving hole 420.

  In the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410, the contact portion 424 of the opening/closing crank 413 abuts the opening/closing operation piece 426 of the upper launching device 12 in a state where the upper launching device 12 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, and thus the abutting portion. 424 is rotated clockwise in a front view against the biasing force of the opening/closing spring 414, and the drive pin 423 is rotated clockwise in a front view together with the contact portion 424. The opening/closing shutter 412 is lowered so that the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery gutter 23 can be opened. That is, the ball outlet 58 and the ball inlet 66 at the rear end of the lifting communication gutter 65 are communicated with each other, and the game ball can be supplied from the ball outlet 58 to the ball inlet 66.

  When the upper launching device 12 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2 from this state, the contact between the contact portion 424 of the opening/closing crank 413 and the opening/closing operating piece 426 of the upper launching device 12 is released, and the opening/closing crank 413 opens and closes. The urging force of 414 rotates counterclockwise in a front view, and at the same time, the opening/closing shutter 412 rises to close the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball sending trough 23 (FIG. 27). ).

  In this way, the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 can automatically open/close the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery trough 23 in the ball lifting/lowering device 22 according to the opening/closing of the upper launching device 12 with respect to the main body frame 2. Even if the upper launch device 12 is opened with the game ball remaining in the ball delivery gutter 23, it is possible to prevent the game ball from spilling from the ball outlet 58.

[Distorted sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit]
FIG. 28 is a diagram for explaining the irregular-shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit. FIG. 29 is a diagram for explaining the magnetic sphere discharging portion cover in FIG. FIG. 30 is a plan view of the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit. FIG. 31 is a rear view of the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit. FIG. 32 is a view for explaining the base plate of the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit. FIG. 33 is a view for explaining the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit by separating the deformed sphere discharging unit and the magnetic sphere discharging unit. FIG. 34 is a diagram for explaining a path through which the irregularly shaped spheres and the magnetic spheres are ejected in the irregularly shaped sphere/magnetic sphere ejection unit. FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating a situation in which the magnetic balls are separated from the circulation path and discharged. FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the magnetic sphere has reached the magnetic sphere discharge inclined surface.

  As shown in FIG. 28, the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit 20 has a deformed sphere discharging function and a magnetic sphere discharging function. The deformed sphere is a spherical object such as a bearing having a smaller diameter than the regular game sphere. The deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit 20 is a transparent resin molded product, and is disposed in the lower portion of the gaming machine body (irregular sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit housing portion 19), and the front side is a front plate (not shown) and the rear side is It has a structure in which the side is covered with a rear face plate (ball gutter base 201). As an out ball that has flowed down without winning any of the various winning openings (special variation winning equipment, general winning entry, or ordinary variation winning equipment) and as a safe ball that has flown through various winning openings and has flown down the safe ball discharge path. A collecting port 202 for collecting the game balls is provided. The out ball flows into the recovery port 202 through the out port 42 (see FIGS. 2, 3, and 5). The safe ball flows into the recovery port 202 via the winning port 41 (see FIG. 5).

  The circulation path in the irregular-shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit 20 communicating with the recovery port 202 is formed by meandering left and right in the irregular-shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit 20, and is folded up and down. A detection switch 203, a deformed sphere ejection unit 204, a magnetic sphere ejection unit 205, a sphere route full tank detection switch 206, and an appropriate sphere amount detection switch 207 are provided. The game balls that have flowed into the recovery port 202 move in a line along the circulation path in the irregular-shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit 20, and reach the sphere collecting portion 21 connected to the irregular-shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit 20. However, the deformed sphere and the magnetic sphere are separated from the regular game ball circulation path in the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 so as not to move to the sphere collecting portion 21 and discharged to the outside of the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20. It

  Next, the movement of the game balls collected in the collecting port 202 in the irregular shaped ball/magnetic ball discharging unit 20 will be described in order. The number of game balls collected in the collection port 202 is counted by the collected ball detection switch 203 one by one. The game sphere that has passed through the collected sphere detection switch 203 reaches the irregular sphere discharge unit 204. When the difference between the number of game balls detected by the collected ball detection switch 203 and the launch ball detection means increases, it can be detected that an abnormality has occurred in the gaming machine.

  The deformed sphere discharging section 204 is fixed to a deformed sphere discharging section base mounting section 212 provided on the sphere receiving trough base 201, and to the deformed sphere discharging section base 208 and two deformed sphere discharging section bases 208. It is composed of deformed spherical separation shafts 209 and 210.

  As shown in FIGS. 31 and 32, the irregular-shaped sphere discharging portion base mounting portion 212 is a rectangular opening provided in the sphere receiving trough base 201. As shown in FIG. 28, the irregularly shaped sphere discharge portion base mounting portion 212 is provided so as to be inclined to the sphere receiving base 201 so that the side on the side of the recovery port 202 becomes higher. As a result, the irregular shaped ball separating shafts 209 and 210 are arranged so as to be inclined, so that the game ball can move from the upstream side 213 (see FIG. 30) toward the downstream side 214.

  FIG. 33 is a view for explaining the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit by separating it into a deformed sphere discharging unit and a magnetic sphere discharging unit. FIG. 33(a) shows the deformed sphere discharging portion 204. FIG. 33B shows the magnetic sphere discharging portion 205.

  The irregular shaped ball discharging section 204 uses the difference in diameter between the regular game ball and the illegal ball to eliminate an illegal ball having a smaller diameter than the regular game ball from the circulation path in the irregular shaped ball/magnetic ball discharging unit 20. .. As shown in FIG. 30, the irregular sphere discharge portion 204 includes two irregular sphere separation shafts 209 and 210 having a circular cross section, which are arranged in parallel from the upstream side 213 to the downstream side 214 of the circulation path. In order to exclude the irregular sphere, that is, the inactive sphere having a smaller diameter than the regular game ball from the circulation path in which the regular game sphere circulates, the gap distance between the two irregular sphere separation shafts 209 and 210 is The diameter of the regular game ball is narrower and the diameter of the downstream side 214 is wider than the diameter of the regular game ball, that is, the distance between the two variant ball separation shafts 209 and 210 is gradually increased. 209 and 210 are fixed to the deformed sphere discharging portion base 208.

  The game balls that flow down one by one to the irregular shaped ball discharge section 204 via the recovery port 202 and the recovered spherical shape detection switch 203 flow down while rolling over the two irregular shaped ball separation shafts 209 and 210. To do. On the upstream side, the gap distance between the two irregular shaped ball separation shafts 209 and 210 is narrower than the diameter of the regular game balls, so the regular game balls do not fall from between the irregular shaped ball separation shafts 209 and 210.

  On the other hand, an irregular sphere having a smaller diameter than the regular gaming sphere falls from between the two irregular sphere separation shafts 209 and 210. As shown in FIG. 33( a ), the falling irregular shaped sphere is discharged to the outside of the irregular shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit 20 through the irregular shaped sphere discharge path 215 and the shaped irregular sphere discharge port 216. The deformed sphere discharging path 215 is formed by a deformed sphere discharging path forming member 217 attached to the front side of the ball receiving trough base 201 and below the deformed sphere discharging portion base 208. In addition, the deformed sphere discharge path forming member 217 is also integrally provided with a communication path 218 for guiding a sphere having the same diameter as a regular game sphere to the magnetic sphere discharge portion 205.

  A game ball of a regular size that rolls down and flows down the two modified sphere separation shafts 209 and 210 falls from between the two modified sphere separation shafts 209 and 210 on the downstream side 214, and the communication path 218 is formed. After that, it reaches the circulation path 219 formed in the magnetic sphere discharge part 205.

  The magnetic sphere discharging portion 205 is fixed to the sphere receiving trough base 201 as shown in FIG. FIG. 33 shows a state in which the magnetic ball discharging portion 205 is removed from the ball receiving gutter base 201. An inclined surface 220 connected to the communication path 218 is formed in the magnetic sphere discharging portion 205, and a falling surface 221 that steeply descends is connected to the downstream side of the inclined surface 220, and a portion where the inclined surface 220 is extended is connected to the falling surface 221. A magnetic ball discharging inclined surface 222 is formed. The gap of the discontinuous portion 223 is provided so that the inclined surface 220 and the magnetic sphere discharging inclined surface 222 are not continuous. In the magnetic sphere discharging unit 205, a magnet is attached to at least one of the side wall 224 and the ceiling wall 225 on the front surface, the back surface, or the inside.

  FIG. 35 shows an example in which a magnet 229 is mounted in the magnet housing space 230 on the back surface of the ceiling wall 225. The magnet housing space 230 is formed as a space having a rectangular cross section arranged along the back surface side of the ceiling wall 225. The magnet 229 is a flat magnet and is a permanent magnet having one side having an N pole or an S pole and the other side having an S pole or an N pole. The magnetic force of the magnet is not so strong that the game ball (magnetic ball 232) made of a magnetic material is adsorbed and the rolling is hindered, and it flows down the area of the inclined surface 220 and falls from the discontinuous portion 223. Instead, it is only necessary to reach the magnetic sphere discharging inclined surface 222. The attached magnet may be a permanent magnet or an electromagnet.

  The regular game ball 233 flowing from the connecting path 218 rolls down the inclined surface 220 and descends, and flows down while rolling on the falling surface 221 from the inclined surface 220. The non-magnetic regular game ball 233 falls through the discontinuous portion 223, passes through the circulation path 219, and reaches the ball collecting portion 21 connected to the irregular-shaped ball/magnetic ball discharging unit 20.

  On the other hand, the illegal sphere (magnetic sphere 232) made of a magnetic material is attached to the inner wall surface of the ceiling wall 225 by the attractive force of the magnet 229 housed in the magnet housing space 230, and the circulation path 219 is located upstream of the inclined surface 220. From the side to the downstream side while rolling due to the action of gravity. Then, as shown in FIG. 35, the magnetic sphere 232 does not fall from the discontinuous portion 223 and reaches the region of the magnetic sphere discharge inclined surface 222 (see FIG. 28) as shown in FIG. 36. The illegal sphere made of a magnetic material that has reached the region of the magnetic sphere discharging inclined surface 222 is discharged from the irregular sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit 20 through the magnetic sphere discharging path 226 to the outside of the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit 20 (see FIG. 34). ).

  A portion of the ceiling wall 225 on the upper side of the magnetic sphere discharging inclined surface 222 is configured as a magnetic force adjusting portion 231. The magnetic force adjustment unit 231 is formed such that the gap between the magnet housing space 230 and the magnetic sphere discharge path 226 becomes larger as it goes downstream of the magnetic sphere discharge path 226. In FIG. 35, the magnetic sphere discharge path 226 has a curved portion, and this curved portion functions as the magnetic force adjusting unit 231. As a result, the distance between the magnetic sphere 232 and the magnet 229 becomes longer toward the downstream side of the magnetic sphere discharge path 226. Then, the magnetic force (attractive force) of the magnet 229 acting on the magnetic ball 232 gradually decreases. Therefore, the magnetic sphere 232 that has been stuck to the wall surface of the ceiling wall 225 and moved in the downstream direction is separated from the wall surface of the ceiling wall 225 and falls onto the magnetic sphere discharge inclined surface 222. Then, it is discharged from the magnetic ball discharge port 227 via the magnetic ball discharge path 226.

  The irregular sphere and the irregular magnetic sphere are discharged to the outside of the irregular sphere/magnetic sphere ejection unit 20 through the irregular sphere outlet 216 and the magnetic sphere outlet 227, respectively (FIG. 34). The deformed spheres or magnetic spheres discharged from the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 are collected in the discharged sphere receiving box 234 (see FIGS. 2, 3 and 5). In this way, the irregular sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 can be used to eliminate an illegal sphere composed of the irregular sphere and the magnetic body from the regular game ball circulation path 219. In the present embodiment, the configuration can be simplified by using gravity to discharge the irregularly shaped spheres and the magnetic spheres to the outside of the irregularly shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20. The deformed sphere discharging path 215 is arranged along the side surface of the magnetic sphere discharging portion 205, so that the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit 20 can be configured compactly.

  The deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit 20 can eliminate the irregular sphere or the illegal sphere made of a magnetic material from the circulation path 219 of the regular game sphere without stopping the game, thereby reducing the interest of the player. On the other hand, it is possible to reduce the chance that the employee of the gaming hall is called by each gaming machine to handle the illegal ball and deals with the malfunction of the gaming machine. The deformed sphere ejecting section 204 and the magnetic sphere ejecting section 205 may be configured separately. That is, when discharging the irregularly shaped sphere by another component inside the game machine, the magnetic sphere discharging unit 205 may be configured independently.

  And one embodiment of the enclosed ball type gaming machine of the present invention, a gaming board in which a gaming area is defined and formed, a main body frame in which the gaming board is fitted and accommodated, and arranged on an upper part of the main body frame, A hitting ball launching device for launching a game ball toward the game area, and a game ball launched by the hitting ball launching device is collected as an enclosed ball on the back side of the game board to eliminate an illegal ball and the hitting ball launching device again. In order to supply the enclosed spheres which are arranged and stored in the circulation path including the irregular shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharging means and the arrangement passage formed in a part of the circulation path based on the driving of the electric drive source, The ball feeding device for feeding the ball to the launch position of the hitting ball launching device one by one, the main control board for performing the game control processing related to the pachinko game, and the main control board are connected so as to be capable of bidirectional data communication, and the game control processing is performed. In the award ball command transmitted from the main control board, and the control of the number of balls to be held based on the number information of the number of balls launched by the ball launching device, and the control of launching a game ball by the ball launching device. And a ball information control board for performing feeding control of the game ball to the firing position by the ball feeding device, and for circulating a predetermined number of game balls in a closed manner without paying out the game balls. The hitting ball launching device performs a hitting ball operation based on the drive of an electric drive source and a launching rail for stopping the game ball at the launching position, and the launching position. The launching member for launching the game ball stopped at, and the launch ball confirmation means for detecting the game ball staying at the launch position, the ball information control board, at a predetermined prescribed time. Over, when the game ball stopped at the launch position is detected by the launch ball confirmation means, the launch ball detection determination means that determines that there is a launch ball, and the launch ball detection determination means that the launch ball exists If the game ball is not detected by the launch ball confirmation means on the condition that the determination is made, it is determined that the game ball stopped at the launch position has been launched, and the number of held balls subtracted by subtracting 1 from the number of owned balls. And means.

  According to the above embodiment, when the game ball stopped at the launch position is detected by the launch ball confirmation means over a predetermined time, the launch ball detection determination means determines that there is a launch ball. If the game ball is not detected by the launch ball confirming means, it is determined that the game ball stopped at the launch position has been launched, and the number of balls held is determined, provided that the launch ball detection determining means determines that there is a launch ball. Therefore, if noise enters the launch ball confirmation means, the wrong ball count of the launch ball due to noise can be eliminated, and the certainty in the detection of the launch ball can be increased. It is possible to exclude the magnetic sphere from the circulation path through which the regular game sphere circulates.

[Sphere collecting section 21]
FIG. 37 is a front left perspective view of the ball collecting unit and the ball lifting device, FIG. 38 is a front view of the ball collecting unit and the ball lifting device, and FIG. 39 is a state in which the ball polishing cartridge in the ball collecting unit is removed. FIG. FIG. 40 is a rear perspective view showing a state where the case of the ball collecting portion and the cover of the ball lifting device are removed, and FIG. 41 is an enlarged rear perspective view of the ball collecting portion in FIG. 41 is a further enlarged view of FIG. 41, and FIG. 43 is a plan view with the case of the ball collecting portion removed.

  The ball collecting portion 21 (FIG. 41) has a ball feeding passage 275, a ball polishing cartridge 251, a ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 273 (FIG. 39), and an elevating inlet/outlet switch 156. The ball feeding passage 275 is a groove structure having walls on both sides, which is arranged in the lower part of the entire ball collecting portion 21, and has a ball receiving port 275a connected to a ball outlet (not shown) of the deformed sphere/magnetic ball discharging unit 20, It has a ball feed port 275b which opens to a ball feed rotating body 350 (described later) (FIGS. 41, 42 and 43).

  The ball-polishing cartridge mounting portion 273 is an opening provided in the ball collecting portion 21 for attaching and detaching the ball-polishing cartridge 251 described later (FIG. 39). The ball-polishing cartridge 251 is detachable from the front side of the gaming machine to the ball-polishing cartridge mounting portion 273, and the ball-polishing cloth 263 is provided at the portion of the ball-polishing cartridge 251 facing the ball lifting device 22 described later. It is located (Fig. 41). The lift inlet/outlet switch 156 is provided outside one of the walls forming the ball feed passage 275 and detects the presence or absence of a game ball passing through the ball feed passage 275 (FIG. 41).

[Ball lifting device 22]
FIG. 44 is a rear perspective view showing a state in which the upper gearbox and the lower gearbox are removed. FIG. 45 is a right side view showing a state where the cover of the ball lifting device is removed, and FIG. 46 is an enlarged view of part (A) in FIG. 45. 47 is a diagram showing a state in which the screw is disassembled, FIG. 48 is a perspective view showing an upper portion of the ball lifting device, and FIG. 49 is a state in which the screw and the fitting member are fitted/unfitted. FIG.

  The ball lifting device 22 includes a screw 25 (FIG. 40), a ball lifting motor 150 (FIGS. 38, 48), a lifting guide rail 282 (FIGS. 40, 44), and an upper gear box 356 (FIG. 37). 40), the lower gear box 357 (FIGS. 37 and 40), the ball feed rotating body 350 (FIG. 40), the ball feed inclined portion 351 (FIGS. 40 and 41), and the lifting portion cover 353 ( 37), a spiral base cover 352 (FIG. 37), a lifting ramp member 354 (FIG. 46), and a ball delivery trough 23 (FIGS. 44, 46, 48).

The spiral base cover 352 and the lifting unit cover 353 are cover members 368 arranged so as to surround the screw 25 and are made of a transparent resin (acrylic resin). In the spiral base cover 352, an opening 281 is obliquely provided in a portion of the ball collecting portion 21 that faces the ball polishing cartridge 251 (FIG. 39).
Further, the upper surface of the cover member 368 is formed with a projection for installing the lower surface of the upper gear box 356 described later (FIG. 69).

  The screw 25 is vertically arranged inside the cover member 368 having a rectangular tube shape from the base of the ball lifting device 22 to the upper end. The cover member 368 is arranged so as to surround the screw 25 by assembling the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting portion cover 353. The screw 25 is composed of a screw shaft 25a, two small-pitch ridge members 25b located vertically, and four large-pitch ridge members 25c located at the center (FIG. 45). .. These are fitted in the screw shaft 25a.

  The small-pitch ridge member 25b is composed of a cylindrical portion 25e and a spiral ridge 25d (FIG. 45). As shown in FIG. 47, the small-pitch ridge member 25b is constructed by assembling a half-split body 25bR and a half-split body 25bL, which are bisected on a vertical plane including the screw shaft 25a, with the screw shaft 25a interposed therebetween. It is one. A pair of a concave portion 25g and a convex portion 25h for assembling the half-divided bodies 25bR and 25bL on both sides is vertically formed on the half cut surface of the cylindrical portion 25e, and these can be integrated with each other. it can.

  An upper edge recess 25j opening upward is formed at an upper edge 25i of each of the halves 25bR and 25bL, and a lower edge protrusion 25m protruding downward is formed at a lower edge 25k. The upper edge concave portion 25j and the lower edge convex portion 25m are for connecting the small-pitch projecting ridge member 25b and the large-pitch projecting ridge member 25c in the vertical direction and transmitting the rotations to each other.

  The same applies to the large-pitch ridge member 25c, the same reference numerals are given, and a detailed description thereof is omitted, but the pitch of the spiral ridge 25d is larger than that of the small-pitch ridge member 25b. The pitch of the portion where the spiral ridge 25d of the small-pitch ridge member 25b and the spiral ridge 25d of the large-pitch ridge member 25c are continuous varies smoothly, but is continuous. The large pitch ridge member 25c is composed of a half body 25cR and a half body 25cL.

  The pitch is the distance between the spiral protrusions 25d along the straight line. The pitch of the spiral ridges 25d of the small pitch ridge member 25b is smaller than the pitch of the spiral ridges 25d of the large pitch ridge member 25c. For example, the pitch of the small pitch ridge members 25b is 25 mm, and the pitch of the large pitch ridge members 25c is 43.2 mm.

  The screw shaft 25a shown in FIG. 47 is the rotation shaft of the screw 25. As shown in FIG. 44, the upper lifting gear 360 (spur gear) is fixed to the upper end and the lower lifting gear 362 (lower gear) to the lower end. Spur gear) is fixed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 49, in the small-pitch ridge member 25b on the lower portion of the screw 25, the lower edge convex portion 25m and the fitting concave portion 366a of the fitting member 366 integrally formed with the lower lifting gear 362 are formed. It is fitted using concave and convex fitting, and is driven and rotated integrally with the screw shaft 25a and the lower lifting gear 362.

  The ball lifting motor 150 is a motor that drives the screw 25, and is attached to the lower surface of the upper gear box 356 in the ball lifting device 22 (FIGS. 38 and 48 ).

  The upper gear box 356 is arranged at the upper end of the ball lifting device 22, and accommodates and supports the ball lifting motor gear 358, the idle gear 359, and the upper lifting gear 360 (FIGS. 40 and 44). .. The ball lifting motor gear 358 is fixed to the drive shaft of the ball lifting motor 150 and meshes with the idle gear 359. The idle gear 359 is a two-stage gear in which an upper gear having a large number of teeth and a lower gear having a small number of teeth on the lower surface thereof are integrally formed, and the ball lifting motor gear 358 and the upper gear mesh with each other. It meshes with the upper lifting gear 360. These gears are spur gears and the vertical dimension of the upper gearbox is low. The upper lifting gear 360 is fixed to the upper end of the screw shaft 25a. With these gear configurations, the screw 25 is driven and rotated by the ball lifting motor 150.

  The lower gear box 357 is arranged from the lower end of the ball lifting device 22 to the lower end of the ball collecting portion 21, and accommodates and pivotally supports the lower lifting gear 362 and the ball feeding rotary body gear 363 (Fig. 44). The lower lifting gear 362 is fixed to the lower end of the screw shaft 25a and meshes with the ball feeding rotary body gear 363. The gear ratio of the ball feeding rotary body gear 363 and the lower lifting gear 362 is 2:1.

  The ball feed rotator 350 is fixed to the gear shaft 363a of the ball feed rotator gear 363, and the ball feed rotator gear 363 drives and rotates the ball feed rotator 350. The ball feed rotating body 350 is a low columnar member which is arranged corresponding to the ball feed port 275b of the ball feed passage 275 in the ball collecting portion 21, and is a peripheral member at a 180 degree interval in this embodiment. A ball engaging recess 350a for accommodating a ball is provided. The ball engaging recess 350a has a depth that accommodates approximately half of the game ball (FIG. 43).

  The ball feeding inclined portion 351 (FIG. 42) is a member that is formed around the ball feeding rotating body 350 and has an inclined surface for lifting a game ball. The range in which the ball feeding inclined portion 351 exists is that the ball feeding rotating body 350 screws the game ball from the position of the ball feeding opening 275b which is the ball feeding rotating body side outlet of the ball feeding passage 275 with respect to the rotation direction of the ball feeding rotating body 350. It is the range up to the transfer position to 25.

  As described above, the ball feeding inclined portion 351 has an arc shape along the outer circumference of the ball feeding rotating body 350 from the ball feeding port 275b to the delivery position, and is 7 mm (about 5 to 8 mm) upward from the position of the ball feeding port 275b. ) It has an inclined surface 351a that rises to a high transfer position, and an apex inclined portion 351b that protrudes from the apex in the direction of the screw 25 and inclines downward. The width of the inclined surface 351a is 4 mm (about 3 to 5 mm), and the apex inclined surface 351b is formed in a range larger than the diameter of the game ball before and after the transfer position with respect to the rotation direction of the ball feeding rotor 350.

  The positional relationship between the ball feed rotating body 350 and the screw 25 in a plan view is a positional relationship in which the game ball dropped from the apex inclined surface 351b can be received between the pitches of the spiral protrusions 25d. A cover member 368 (not shown) is arranged along the outer periphery of the ball feeding inclined portion 351 up to the vicinity of the transfer position to prevent the game ball from falling from the inclined surface 351a.

  A guide block 365 (FIGS. 42 and 43) is arranged on the upper surface of the lower gear box 357 in proximity to the lower front surface side of the screw 25. The guide block 365 has an arc-shaped sphere guide surface 365a adjacent to the spiral protrusion 25d of the screw 25, 365a, and a stopper surface 365b following the spherical guide surface 365a. The ball guide surface 365a is formed from the vicinity of the top inclined surface 351b to the opening 281 provided in the spiral base cover 352, and the tip thereof is a stopper surface 365b (FIG. 43).

The lifting guide rail 282 is arranged in parallel with the screw 25, and two adjacent rails are arranged. The lifting guide rail 282 has a role of a guide for linearly guiding the game balls lifted by the screw 25 upward, and has a diameter of about 5 mm. Is a round bar-shaped guide member. The lifting guide rail 282 is located on the side substantially opposite to the ball feeding rotary body 350 in the rotating direction of the screw 25, and from the position corresponding to the upper end of the opening 281 (FIG. 39) obliquely provided in the spiral base cover 352. It is arranged vertically upward and the upper end is fixed to the lower surface of the upper gear box 356. The space between the two adjacent lifting guide rails 282 is a width (5 to 8 mm at the inner distance between the lifting guide rails 282) through which the game ball (diameter 11 mm) cannot pass.
Further, when the game ball is lifted, it is lifted while being in contact with the guide rail 282, so the lift guide rail 282 has a low friction coefficient and is guided from the game ball generated by the rotation of the screw 25. It is assumed that the rail 282 has such rigidity that it is not deformed by the pressing force applied to the rail 282. It is preferable to use stainless steel as the material.

The support member 367 is a cushion member that prevents deformation of the lifting guide rail 282 and absorbs vibrations transmitted between the game ball and the lifting guide rail 282, and to the upper launch device 12, and the lifting guide rail. 282 is provided with a portion for maintaining the original position, and has a thickness such that it can be inserted between the cover member 368 including the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting portion cover 353 and the lifting guide rail 282. The plate-shaped block member has a flat surface on the side in contact with the cover member 368, and has a recess on the side supporting the lifting guide rail 282.
The lifting guide rail 282 has rigidity such that it is not deformed by the pressing force from the game ball to the guide rail 282 generated by the rotation of the screw 25, but the pressing force from the game ball is applied over a long period of time. Then, the lifting guide rail 282 is gradually deformed in the pressing direction, and there is a risk that the game ball will be deviated from the guidance by the lifting guide rail 282. Therefore, the deformation is restricted.

Further, since the clearance is mainly designed in the portion where the game balls pass, such as the screw 25 and the lifting guide rail 282, the vibration generated by the driving of the ball lifting motor 150 is, for example, the screw. 25 and the lifting guide rail 282, and noise may occur between the lifting guide rail 282 and the game ball. Further, the lifting device 22 uses the cover member 368 for the screw 25 and the lifting guide rail 282. Since the noise is enclosed, when abnormal noise occurs in the pumping device 22, the sound resonates and the sound becomes loud. However, by disposing the support member 367, it is possible to absorb the vibration generated in the gaming machine and suppress the generation of abnormal noise.
In addition, the support members 367 are arranged between the cover member 368 and the lifting guide rail 282 in such a number that the deformation of the guide rail 282 can be restricted and no abnormal noise due to vibration is generated.

  The lifting slope member 354 shown in FIG. 46 is a block member having a slope formed on the lower surface of the upper gear box 356 facing the upper end of the screw 25, and the slope intersects the path along which the game balls are sent up. Is arranged and is guided vertically to the ball delivery trough 23 by turning the moving direction of the game ball vertically lifted by the screw 25 into the horizontal direction.

  The ball delivery trough 23 is a passage provided at the upper end of the spiral base cover 352 and having an inclination for feeding the game ball guided from the lifting ramp member 354 to the upper launcher 12. Further, on the side surface of the ball delivery gutter 23, there is provided a ball removing member 355 that discharges the game balls inside the game machine to the outside of the game machine (FIGS. 44 and 48). The ball removing member 355 is a removable lid member, and a lower knob can be operated to remove the ball removing member 355 from the side wall of the ball delivery trough 23 to open an opening provided in the side wall. The ball delivery gutter 23 is provided with a slant portion, and a ball removal member 355 is arranged on the wall on the front end side of the slant portion (FIG. 44).

  Further, a launch ball standby ball detection switch 26 for detecting the presence or absence of a game ball is arranged on the outer surface of the ball delivery gutter 23 (FIG. 45). When the launch standby ball detection switch 26 does not detect a game ball, the screw 25 is driven and a new game ball is supplied from the ball lifting device 22 to the upper launch device 12 one by one.

[Operation of the ball collecting unit 21 and the ball lifting device 22]
The game spheres sent from the irregular-shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit 20 forming a part of the circulation path are sent to the sphere feed rotating body 350 in the sphere lifting device 22 through the sphere feed passage 275 of the sphere collecting portion 21. Be done. On the other hand, the screw 25 is rotated by the driving of the ball lifting motor 150 via the gear trains 358, 359, 360, and the ball feeding rotary body 350 is rotated by the screw shaft 25a and the lower gear trains 362, 363. Since the gear ratio of the lower lifting gear 362 and the ball feeding rotary body gear 363 is 2:1, the ball feeding rotary body 350 makes one rotation by two rotations of the screw 25. The ball feeding rotator 350 receives the game balls one by one from the ball feeding passage 275 into the ball engaging recess 350a and rotates counterclockwise (FIG. 43).

After that, the game ball is rotated by the rotation of the ball feeding rotary member 350, is engaged with the ball engaging recess 350a and moves, and the remaining outer half moves along the inclined surface 351a of the ball feeding inclined portion 351, and the top inclined surface. Reach 351b. If the top inclined surface 351b is inclined downward, the game ball is fed from that position into the spiral protrusion 25d of the small pitch protrusion member 25b. At this time, the game ball fed from the slightly inclined top sloped surface 351b has a large interval with the following game ball and is reliably separated one by one.
In order to carry out stable feeding of the game ball, it is conceivable that the terminal end portion of the top inclined surface 351b and the delivery position of the game ball of the small pitch projection member 25b are set to substantially the same height.
Further, when the game ball is sent from the top inclined surface 351b to the small pitch projecting member 25d, it is not limited to using the downward tilt, and for example, a configuration may be used in which the game ball is guided to the small pitch projecting member 25d using a rail. ..
Also, when the step between the end of the inclined surface 351a and the small pitch projecting member 25d at the lower portion of the screw 25 that receives the game ball is small, the gaming ball may be dropped directly from the inclined surface 351a to the small pitch projecting member 25d. It is possible.

Next, the game ball moves along the ball guide surface 365a of the guide block 365 along with the rotation of the small pitch projection member 25b and collides with the stopper surface 365b. During this time, the game ball rises with the rotation of the screw 25 and reaches the lower end of the opening 281 provided in the spiral base cover 352. In this case, the sphere feed rotating body 350 is provided with the sphere engaging recesses 350a at every 180 degrees as described above, and rotates at a speed of ½ with respect to the screw 25. The game ball will be supplied to the screw 25. Since one half rotation of the ball feed rotary body corresponds to one pitch of the small pitch projection member 25b, the game ball fed from the ball feed rotary member 350 is always one pitch between the pitches of the small pitch projection member 25b. It is sent one by one and continuously. (FIG. 41).
That is, it is possible to prevent the game balls from being connected in a string within the ball lifting device 22.

  The ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is brought into contact with the ball polishing cloth 263 through the opening 281. That is, the game ball is rubbed against the ball polishing cloth 263 through the opening 281 as the game ball is lifted by the screw 25 of the ball lifting device 22, and the game ball is cleaned and polished (FIG. 39). The area of the ball polishing cloth 263 can be effectively utilized by being guided obliquely upward.

After passing through the opening 281, the game balls are hoisted to the upper end of the ball hoisting device 22 with the rotation of the screw 25. At that time, the game balls are guided to the hoisting guide rails 282 arranged in parallel. It is guided and moves in a straight line. The guide rail 282 allows the game ball to be lifted by the screw 25 to move in the vertical direction and regulates the movement in the horizontal direction. During this time, the game balls are lifted up so that the pitch is small at the lower small-pitch ridge member 25a, so that the movement of the game balls is relatively slow, and there is no hindrance in receiving the balls from the ball-sending rotator 350. There is. In addition, the small pitch projecting member 25b at the upper portion also has a small pitch, thereby relatively slowing the movement of the game ball so that there is no problem in sending the ball to the upper launcher 12.
On the other hand, in the middle portion of the screw 25, there is no particular problem even if the speed of pumping the game balls is increased, so a large pitch ridge member with a large pitch is used. The number of game balls circulated in the ball lifting device 22 can be reduced. Furthermore, this can reduce the load due to the weight of the game ball hanging on the screw 25 (FIG. 45).
In addition, the lifting in the present embodiment is used to mean that the game balls are continuously carried from the lower part to the upper part of the gaming machine.

The game ball that has reached the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 contacts the slope of the lifting slope member 354 from below, so that the moving direction of the game ball that is lifted by the screw 25 changes from the vertical direction to the substantially horizontal direction. The game ball is turned and is smoothly sent from the ball lifting device 22 to the ball sending gutter 23. Then, the game ball sent to the ball sending gutter 23 rolls on the gentle slope of the ball sending gutter 23 and is sent to the upper launcher 12 (FIG. 46).
In this case, when the pumped game ball comes into contact with the slope portion of the lift slope member 354, it is removed from the guide of the lift guide rail 282 and naturally flows down to the floor surface of the ball discharge trough 23. It is possible to smoothly feed the lifting guide rail 282 and the screw 25 without applying a ball pressure.

  When it is necessary to take out the circulating game ball from the game machine for maintenance or the like, the ball removing member 355 provided on the outer surface of the ball delivery gutter 23 can be operated to easily discharge the game ball out of the game machine ( 37, 48).

  In this embodiment, the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting portion cover 353 are made of a transparent resin (acrylic resin). By using such a transparent resin, the state inside the ball lifting device 22 can be improved. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting section cover 353 may be made of an opaque resin, metal, or the like.

  Further, although the small-pitch ridge member 25b and the large-pitch ridge member 25c are configured to be joined in half, they may be integrally formed from the beginning to have a cylindrical shape. Further, by making full use of the synthetic resin molding technique, the entire screw 25 except the screw shaft 25a can be integrally molded.

  In addition, the screw 25 and the lifting guide rail 282 are made of a material that has good slipperiness and is rigid enough not to be deformed by the pressing force applied to the lifting guide rail 282 from the game ball generated by the rotation of the screw 25. Preferably, a metal such as aluminum or a synthetic resin may be used. In addition, it is conceivable that the spiral ridge 25d uses a hardened silicon material or the like at least in the portion that receives the game ball from the ball feed rotating body 350. As a result, it is possible to absorb the shock generated when the game ball falls on the spiral projection 25d.

  Further, the lifting guide rail 282 in the present embodiment guides the game ball in the vertical direction by the two rails, but it is not limited to the two rails, and for example, the lifting guide rail 282 is one and the other is One of the guides may be configured to extend the inner wall of the cover member 368 so as to be adjacent to and parallel to the lifting guide rail 282 to guide the game ball.

  Further, although the support member 367 is arranged between the cover member 368 including the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting portion cover 353 and the lifting guide rail 282, the cover member 368 is not limited as long as it absorbs vibration. Not limited to the member 368, the support members 367 may be arranged so as to cover both ends of the lifting guide rail 282 as shown in FIG. 70, for example. As a result, a player operates the touch panel portion 14 arranged on the door frame 3 and the vibration generated by the operation of an electric drive source such as a movable accessory (not shown) or a motor arranged on the game board. Various vibrations generated in the game machine, such as vibrations caused by shocks that occur when the game ball is absorbed, cause the game ball to fall out of the guide rails and cannot be lifted, or the game ball is launched due to vibration. Instability can be suppressed.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, the game balls are continuously fed and pitched at a pitch of the spiral projection 25d over the entire length of the screw 25 one by one, but the game balls are lifted at all the pitches of the screw 25. The present invention is not limited to this as long as the game balls are continuously pumped up without being sent.

  The lifting slope member 354 may be any structure as long as it can smoothly feed the game ball vertically lifted by the screw 25 and the lifting guide rail 282 to the ball sending trough 23, and is integrally formed with the upper gear box 356. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 67 and FIG. 68, the upper surface of the ball delivery path 23 may be extended to above the hoisting path of the game ball, and a slope may be formed on the lower surface of the extended portion.

  Further, the ball lifting device 22 of the present invention is configured to lift the game ball by using the screw 25, but if the game ball is vertically guided and lifted, the screw is used. Not limited to this, various methods such as a belt conveyor that can continuously carry the game balls can be selected.

[Ball polisher]
Next, a ball polishing device for cleaning and polishing the game balls enclosed in the game machine will be described. FIG. 38 described above is a front view showing a state in which a ball polishing cartridge is attached to the ball polishing device, and FIG. 39 described above is a front view showing that the ball polishing cartridge is removed from the ball polishing device. It is a front view which shows the state.

  50 is a left side view showing a state in which the ball polishing cartridge is mounted, and FIG. 51 is a perspective view illustrating a mechanism for fixing the ball polishing cartridge. FIG. 52 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ball polishing cartridge is being mounted.

  53 and 54 are views showing a state in which the game balls and the ball-polishing cloth of the ball-polishing cartridge are pressed against each other, and FIG. 53 is a state in which the game ball and the ball-polishing cloth of the ball-polishing cartridge are pressed against each other. 54 is a left side view showing the state in which the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge is pressed against the game ball, and FIG. 55 is the removal of the left side cover of the ball polishing cartridge in FIG. 54. It is a left side view showing the state where it did. Further, FIG. 56 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge in FIG. 55.

  Next, FIG. 57 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ball polishing cartridge is mounted, and FIG. 58 is a perspective view showing a state in which the right outer side cover is removed for explaining the inside of the right side cover in FIG. FIG. 59 and FIG. 59 are top perspective views showing a state in which the right side cover is opened in FIG. FIG. 60 is a perspective view of the ball-polishing cartridge, FIG. 61 is the same front view, FIG. 62 is the same side view, and FIG. 63 is a side view showing a state in which the left side cover is removed in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 38 and FIG. 50, a ball collecting section 21 is provided in the lower part of the ball hoisting device 22, and a ball polishing cartridge 251 is provided in a part of the ball collecting section 21, the ball polishing cartridge mounting section 270. Can be installed. Here, the outside of the ball lifting device 22 is formed of a transparent plastic member, and even if a game ball is clogged in the ball lifting device 22, the location of the clog can be easily visually recognized. It is like this. As shown in FIG. 51, the ball-polishing cartridge 251 mounted on the ball-polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 is provided at the ball-polishing cartridge mounting portion 270, one end of which is supported on the shaft and the other end of which is rotated. The other end of the ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 271 made possible is hooked on the ball polishing cartridge fixing stopper 272, which is also provided on the ball collecting portion 21, to press the ball polishing cartridge 251 in the depth direction and the left direction. It has a structure. Note that, in FIG. 51, both the open state and the closed state of the ball-polishing cartridge fixing lever 271 are shown together in order to facilitate understanding of the movement mode of the ball-polishing cartridge fixing lever 271.

  FIG. 39 is a front view showing a state in which the ball polishing cartridge 251 is removed. As shown in FIG. 39, the ball-polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 has a ball-polishing cartridge mounting port 273 formed of a hollow portion so that the ball-polishing cartridge 251 can be mounted. Note that, in FIG. 39, the mounting sensor 291 and the drive shaft 290, which are provided inside the ball-polishing cartridge fixing lever 271 and the ball-polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 and are visible from the ball-polishing cartridge mounting port 273, are shown for easy viewing. The description is omitted.

  FIG. 66 is an enlarged view in which the vicinity of the ball-polishing cartridge mounting port 273 of FIG. 39 is enlarged. Inside the ball-polishing cartridge mounting portion 270, below the surface on the right side in the back of the ball-polishing cartridge mounting port 273, coaxial with the second drive gear 257 shown in FIG. The first gear shaft 261 is provided with a drive shaft 290 that fits in, and a mounting sensor 291 having a pushable button 292 is provided above the right side surface. When the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is pressed by a series of mounting operations of the ball polishing cartridge 251, the mounting of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is detected. A specific mode of the mounting operation will be described later.

  In addition, in the portion of the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 facing the ball lifting device 22 at the innermost portion, the ball lifting device 22 has a long side, and the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 advances. An opening 281 having an angle different from the direction is provided. As a result, a deviation occurs between the lifting direction of the game balls and the traveling direction of the ball-polishing cloth 263. Therefore, it is not necessary to use only a part of the ball-polishing cloth 263 having a predetermined width in the width direction. It is possible to effectively utilize the width of 263 to perform cleaning and polishing of the game balls.

  Further, the width between the long sides of the opening 281 is such that at least a part of the peripheral edge of the game ball lifted by the ball lifting device 22 can project to the outside of the ball lifting device 22 at the opening position. It is configured to have a width and smaller than the diameter of the game ball. In this embodiment, the width of the long sides of the openings 281 is set to 8.4 mm with respect to the diameter of the game ball of 11 mm. As a result, a game ball of about 1.5 mm projects from the opening 281 toward the ball polishing cloth 263.

  As a result, during the game period, the game balls to be lifted in the ball lifting device 22 have a part of the peripheral edge at the position of the opening 281 protruding to the outside of the ball lifting device 22 and polishing the ball. The ball polishing cloth 263 of the cartridge 251 and the game ball can come into contact with each other. In particular, when the ball polishing cartridge 251 has an elastic member and the ball polishing cloth 263 is pressed against the game ball, the ball polishing cloth 263 can be more surely brought into contact with the game ball, and Sure ball polishing is possible.

  Further, even when the ball polishing cartridge 251 is removed while the game ball remains in the ball lifting device 22 during the time period other than the game period, the width of the opening 281 is smaller than the diameter of the game ball. With this configuration, the game balls remaining in the ball lifting device 22 do not spill onto the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 273 side of the ball polishing cartridge 251.

  FIG. 52 is a perspective view showing a state in the middle of mounting the ball polishing cartridge 251 from the state of FIG. As can be seen from FIGS. 39 and 52, in this embodiment, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is configured to be inserted and mounted from the front of the main body frame 2.

  FIG. 60 is a perspective view of the ball-polishing cartridge 251, FIG. 61 is the same front view, FIG. 62 is the same side view, and FIG. 63 is a side view showing a state in which the left side cover is removed in FIG. Here, 259 is a take-up roller, 260 is a driven roller, 261 is a first gear shaft, 262 is a second gear shaft, and the first gear shaft 261 is the take-up roller 259 and a second gear shaft to be described later. The drive gear 257 is coaxial with the second gear shaft 262, and the driven roller 260 is coaxial with the driven roller 260. Further, reference numeral 268 is a game ball contact mark, and as shown in FIG. 39, the direction in which the game ball is lifted by the ball lifting device 22 and the winding direction of the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 are Since the angle is different from the vertical direction, the game ball contact mark 268 is formed with an inclination with respect to the long side direction of the ball polishing cloth 263.

  53 and 54 are views showing a state in which the game balls and the ball-polishing cloth of the ball-polishing cartridge are pressed against each other, and FIG. 53 is a state in which the game ball and the ball-polishing cloth of the ball-polishing cartridge are pressed against each other. 54 is a left side view showing a state in which the game ball and the ball-polishing cloth of the ball-polishing cartridge are pressed against each other.

  As shown in FIG. 53 and FIG. 54, the game balls are hoisted by the screw 25 provided in the ball hoisting device 22, and the ball hoisting device 22 and the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 are At the opposite position, the game ball comes into contact with the ball-polishing cloth 263 of the ball-polishing cartridge 251 through the opening 281 of the ball-lifting device 22, and the game ball is lifted by the screw 25 of the ball-lifting device 22. Thus, it is rubbed against the ball-polishing cloth 263, and the game balls are cleaned and polished.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 53 and 54, the shape of the screw 25 in the ball lifting device 22 is different between the upper portion and the lower portion and the intermediate portion. In the upper part and the lower part, the inclination angle of the spiral of the screw 25 (spiral protrusion 25d in FIG. 47) is made smaller and the pitch is made narrower, while in the middle part, the inclination angle of the screw spiral is made larger and the pitch is made smaller. Is also wide. In the middle part, it is not necessary to take the time to lift, so by increasing the inclination angle of the spiral to increase the speed of the lift, it is possible to lift the game ball in a short time, and the middle part It is possible to reduce the number of game balls included in, and it is possible to reduce the number of game balls enclosed in the game machine.

  Further, by narrowing the pitch interval in the lower portion, the game ball and the ball-polishing cloth 263 are reduced by lowering the speed at which the game ball is lifted at the portion where the game ball faces the ball-polishing cloth 263 of the ball-polishing cartridge 251. By increasing the contact time with, it is possible to surely clean and polish the game ball. Furthermore, by narrowing the pitch interval in the upper part, the hoisting speed of the game balls at the hoisting end portion of the ball hoisting device 22 can be reduced, and the ball is sent from the ball hoisting device 22 to the ball sending trough 23. It is possible to smoothly send the game ball to the ball delivery gutter 23 without the occurrence of troubles such as ball biting at the time of delivery.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 54, the ball lifting device 22 is provided with two guide rails 282 for guiding the lifting of the game balls. The distance between both guide rails is set to be approximately the same as the diameter of the game ball, but some adjustment is also made to stabilize it by making it somewhat narrower at the places where the behavior of the game ball being pumped may become severe. be able to. In this way, the game balls are hoisted in the ball hoisting device 22 so that both sides are supported by both guide rails.

  FIG. 55 is a left side view showing a state in which the left side cover of the ball-polishing cartridge is removed from FIG. 54. Further, FIG. 56 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge in FIG. 55. Here, 259 is a take-up roller and 260 is a driven roller, to which a driving force from a ball-polishing ribbon feed motor 155, which will be described later, is transmitted. The winding roller 259 is rotated by the rotation of the second drive gear 257 that is configured to be coaxial with the winding roller 259, and the friction force between the winding roller 259 and the driven roller 260 causes the ball-polishing cloth. 263 is wound up.

  Further, a ball-polishing cloth 263 is arranged in a portion of the ball-polishing cartridge 251 facing the ball-lifting device 22, and a tensioner 267 having a function of pressing the ball-polishing cloth 263 is provided behind the ball-polishing cloth 263. Behind the tensioner 267, two coil-shaped ball-polishing cloth pressing springs 264 having a function of pressing the tensioner 267 and the ball-polishing cloth 263 against the game ball are provided. Further, behind the ball-polishing cloth pressing spring 264, a spring retainer 266 that supports the ball-polishing cloth retaining spring 264 is provided. Further, a leaf spring 265 is provided on the upper portion of the ball-polishing cartridge, and the leaf-spring 265 lightly presses the ball-polishing cloth 263 to align the ball-polishing cloth 263 with a portion facing the ball-lifting device 22. It plays a role of aligning before sending.

  The ball-polishing cloth 263 wound up by the take-up roller 259 and the driven roller 260 is housed in the ball-polishing cartridge 251. However, in FIGS. 55 and 56, the ball-polishing cloth 263 is removed by the take-up roller 259 and the driven roller 260. The description of the ball-polishing cloth 263 inside the ball-polishing cartridge after being wound up is omitted.

  FIG. 57 is a perspective view showing a state where the ball-polishing cartridge is mounted, and 253 is a right side cover, which is composed of a right outer side cover 253a and a right inner side cover 253b and is integrated. A second drive gear case 258 covers a second drive gear 257 described later. 58 is a perspective view showing a state in which only the right outer side cover 253a is removed from the right side cover 253 in FIG. 57 for explanation, 253b is a right inner side cover, and 155 is a ball polishing ribbon. It is a feed motor and serves as a drive source for winding the ball polishing cloth 263 in the ball polishing cartridge 251. Further, a hinge 255 that engages with the hinge receiving portion 254 is provided at the rear end of the right side cover 253, and the right side cover 253 is rotatable about the hinge 255 as a fulcrum. In the present embodiment, the ball-polishing ribbon feed motor 155 is a stepping motor. A specific driving mode of the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 will be described later.

  FIG. 59 is an upper perspective view showing a state in which the right side cover 253 is opened in FIG. 58, and the right side cover 253 is rotatable about a hinge 255 that engages with the hinge receiving portion 254 as a fulcrum. .. Between the right outer side cover 253a and the right inner side cover 253b of the right side cover 253, a first rotary shaft (not shown) that is coaxial with the rotation axis of the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 and is driven by the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 is driven. A drive gear is provided, and a gear having 16 teeth is used in this embodiment. A second drive gear that is coaxial with the drive shaft 290 and meshes with the first drive gear is also provided between the right outer side cover 253a and the right inner side cover 253b. In the present embodiment, the number of teeth is 32. Using gears.

  Next, the mounting operation and mounting detection of the ball polishing cartridge 251 will be described. 64 is a perspective view of the ball-polishing cartridge mounting portion 270, and FIG. 65 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the ball-polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 and the ball-polishing cartridge mounting portion 270. The ball-polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 is configured so that the ball-polishing cartridge mounting port 273 expands with the hinge portion as a fulcrum (direction A in FIG. 64) by rotating the right side cover 253 with the hinge 255 as a fulcrum. There is.

  In that state, as shown in FIG. 65, the ball-polishing cartridge 251 is inserted into the ball-polishing cartridge mounting opening 273 from the front side. At the time of insertion, the rotation of the right side cover 253 expands the ball-polishing cartridge mounting port 273, so that the drive shaft 290 and the mounting sensor 291 do not interfere with the insertion. After inserting the ball-polishing cartridge 251, the ball-polishing cartridge 251 is rotated in the opposite direction to A in FIG. 64 to return the ball-polishing cartridge mounting opening 273 to the original width, and then the ball-polishing cartridge fixing lever. By engaging 271 with the ball polish cartridge fixing stop 272, the drive shaft 290 meshes with the first gear shaft 261 of the ball polish cartridge 251, and the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is pushed in, so that the ball polish cartridge 251 is released. It is detected that it is attached.

  When the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is pressed while the power of the gaming machine is turned on, it is detected that the ball-polishing cartridge 251 is normally mounted and no notification is given, but it is when the power is turned on. Nevertheless, when the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is not pushed in, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is informed that it is not mounted normally. As a mode of the notification, in a display device (not shown) that is normally provided in the gaming machine and performs an effect display according to the mode of the game, it can be notified by displaying that the ball-polishing cartridge 251 is not mounted. . Further, as another notification mode, it is possible to perform notification by lighting or blinking a decorative lamp for performance or a dedicated lamp indicating the mounting state of the ball-polishing cartridge 251 in a predetermined mode.

  In addition, in the enclosed ball type gaming machine as in the present embodiment, since the gaming ball enclosed in the gaming machine is circulated to play the game, the game is continued for too long without cleaning the gaming ball. Then, the game ball may become dirty and the rolling of the game ball may worsen. Therefore, it is preferable to clean the game ball with a ball polishing device at any point along the circulation path of the game ball. However, because it does not mean that the game cannot be played without the ball polishing device, even if it is detected that the ball polishing cartridge is not installed, only the notification is given by the display device or the lamp, and the game can be continued. it can.

  Further, the game time by the player is accumulated and measured by a measuring means (not shown) by the detection by the touch switch 87 provided on the handle. In this embodiment, the ball-polishing ribbon feed motor 155 is fed by one step every one minute of the cumulative measurement time by the measuring means. In this embodiment, since the winding roller 259 has a diameter of 25 mm, the circumferential length is about 78.5 mm (=25×3.14), and the first drive gear 256 and the second drive gear 257 are the same. Considering that the gear ratio is 1/2, the feed amount of the ball polishing cloth 263 per step is 0.11 mm (=78.5/360/2).

In the present embodiment, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is pressed and fixed by hanging the lever on the stopper, but the fixing method is not limited to this method, and other fixing methods can be used. Methods can also be used.
Further, in the present embodiment, the coil-shaped ball-polishing cloth pressing spring 264 is used as a means for pressing the ball-polishing cloth 263 against the game ball, but the pressing means is not limited to this, and other means. It is also possible to use shaped springs or other elastic members.

  In this embodiment, the ball-polishing cartridge 251 is arranged at the bottom of the game machine, but the arrangement position of the ball-polishing cartridge 251 is not limited to this position, but may be in the middle or upper part of the game machine. It can also be arranged. In that case, the opening provided in the portion of the ball lifting and lowering device 22 facing the ball polishing cartridge 251 may be changed to a position corresponding to the arrangement position of the ball polishing cartridge 251.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, as a method of changing the direction of lifting the game balls by the ball lifting device 22 and the winding direction of the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251, the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251. Is conveyed in the vertical direction, and the direction in which the game balls of the ball-lifting device 22 facing the ball-polishing cloth 263 are conveyed in a direction tilted from the vertical direction. It is not limited to this, the transportation direction of the game balls of the ball lifting device 22 is the vertical direction, and the transportation direction of the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is inclined from the vertical direction, or both are inclined. Various methods such as the direction can be selected.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, as the mounting sensor 291 of the ball-polishing cartridge 251, a pushable button 292 is provided, and the button 292 is pushed by the mounting operation of the ball-polishing cartridge 251, so that the ball-polishing cartridge 251 can be mounted. Although detected, the mounting sensor 291 is not limited to these sensors, and other forms of sensor such as an optical sensor or a magnetic sensor may be used.

  Further, in the present embodiment, even if the mounting sensor 291 detects that the ball-polishing cartridge 251 is not mounted correctly, it is possible to continue the game only by giving a notification. When it is detected that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is not correctly mounted, it is possible to prevent the game from being played.

[Game ball enclosing operation]
Next, description will be made regarding the enclosing operation of enclosing a predetermined number of game balls in the enclosed ball type gaming machine when a new enclosed ball type gaming machine is newly installed or when a dirty game ball is taken out and cleaned. To do. The enclosing operation is performed in a state where the enclosed ball type gaming machine is not powered on. Therefore, the ball lifting device 22 and various sensors in the enclosed ball type gaming machine are not operating.

In the enclosed ball type gaming machine, the game balls are launched into the game area by the launching device, and after rolling in the game area, the game balls are won by the winning device or collected from the outlet 42, and the collected game balls are The game is conveyed to the launch device again, and is launched into the game area again in the launch device to play a game. That is, the circulation route of the game ball is formed as a whole.
The introduction of the game ball in the enclosing operation may be performed by inserting the game ball into this circulation path, and in the present embodiment, the game ball is introduced from the outlet 42. With this, it is not necessary to separately provide an enclosing port for enclosing the game ball in the enclosed ball type gaming machine, and the configuration of the enclosed ball type gaming machine can be simplified. Further, instead of the outlet 42, a game ball may be introduced from the winning opening 41 of the winning device. The game ball that has entered the winning opening 41 of the winning device also merges with the game ball that has entered the out opening 42 and is then transported to the launching device. Therefore, the gaming ball from the winning opening 41 of the winning device. Even if the game ball is introduced, the game ball can be put into the circulation path as in the case where the game ball is introduced into the outlet 42. In any case, when introducing the game ball, it is necessary to take care so that the game ball, hand, etc. do not hit the nail. When a game ball is introduced into the outlet 42, a game ball introducing member 427, which will be described later, is provided so that the game ball can be prevented from hitting a nail at the time of insertion. The outlet 42 and the winning opening 41 correspond to the game ball collection opening.

  FIG. 71 is a schematic diagram showing a state where the number of game balls is less than a predetermined number when the game balls are enclosed in the enclosed ball type gaming machine. As described above, at the time of the game ball enclosing operation, the enclosed ball type game machine is not powered on yet, so the ball lifting device 22 is not driven. Therefore, the game balls thrown in through the outlet 42 and the winning port 41 enter through the collection port 202, pass through the irregular shaped ball/magnetic ball discharging unit 20, and are aligned with the front of the ball lifting device 22 as the head.

  FIG. 72 shows a state in which game balls are further inserted from the state of FIG. 71 and a predetermined number of game balls has been reached. As shown in FIG. 72, when a predetermined number of game balls are enclosed, the last inserted game ball 233 is a discontinuous portion 223 where the magnetic ball discharge path 226 and the path of the regular game ball branch. And is configured to block the discontinuous portion 223.

  FIG. 73 shows a state in which the game balls are further thrown in from the state of FIG. 72 and more than a predetermined number of game balls have been thrown. As described above, when a predetermined number of game balls are enclosed, the game ball 233 inserted last is configured to block the discontinuous portion 223, so that the game balls further inserted are the predetermined number. It becomes a game ball 235 that exceeds the limit and cannot enter the path of the regular game ball 233 from the discontinuous portion 223, and is guided from the magnetic ball discharge path 226 to the magnetic ball discharge chest 227 and collected.

  In this embodiment, in the magnetic ball discharging portion, the discontinuous portion 223 to which the regular game ball 233 is guided when the predetermined number of game balls are enclosed is blocked, and the predetermined number or more of the game balls are magnetic balls. Although it is configured to collect in the discharge section, similarly in the irregular shaped ball discharge path, the path through which the regular game ball 233 is guided when a predetermined number of game balls are enclosed is blocked and collected in the irregular shaped ball discharge section. You can also do so.

  In addition, in order to improve the efficiency when throwing the game ball into the outlet 42, the rail portion of the front component member 45 located at the lower edge of the outlet 42 is provided with a game ball introducing member 427 (FIG. 74, FIG. 74). 75). When the game ball is placed on the upper surface of the game ball introducing member 427, the game ball is poured into the outlet 42, so that the game ball can be efficiently enclosed. In addition, it is possible to throw the game ball without hitting the nail in the vicinity.

  FIG. 74 is a perspective view showing a state in which the game ball introducing member 427 is projected. The game ball introducing member 427 can be projected by opening the door frame 3 and sliding it toward the front.

  FIG. 75 is a perspective view showing a state in which the game ball introducing member 427 is stored. From the state of FIG. 74, the game ball introduction member 427 can be stored by pushing it inward, so that it does not hinder the game.

  In addition, in this embodiment, the game ball introducing member 427 has a structure that can be moved forward and backward by sliding manually, but the present invention is not limited to the above method, and a biasing member such as a spring spring is used to open the door frame. Various methods can be selected, such as automatically opening and closing by opening and closing 3.

  Next, an outline of control of the pachinko gaming machine 1 and the settlement machine 4 as an external device arranged adjacent to one side thereof will be described. FIG. 76 is a block diagram showing a main part in an embodiment of a main control board provided in an enclosed ball type pachinko game machine and provided with an RTC. The control of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is roughly divided into a main board group and a peripheral board group. Of these, the main board group controls the game operation, and the peripheral board group produces a performance operation (liquid crystal display panel, Lamp, body frame lamp, door frame lamp, sound). The main board group is composed of a main control board 100 and a sphere information control board 110, and the peripheral board group is composed of a peripheral control board 130.

[Main control board 100]
The main control board 100 controls a pachinko game. The main control board 100 and a sphere information control board 110, which will be described later, are connected so that bidirectional data communication is possible. The main control board 100 for controlling the progress of the game is, as shown in FIG. 76, a main control MPU 101 which is a microprocessor having a built-in ROM for storing various processing programs and various commands, a RAM for temporarily storing data, and the like. , A main control I/O port 102 as an input/output device (I/O device), a main control input circuit 103 to which detection signals from various detection switches are input, and a main control solenoid for driving various solenoids A drive circuit 104 and a RAM clear switch 105 for completely erasing information stored in a RAM (hereinafter referred to as “main control built-in RAM”) built in the main control MPU 101 are provided.

  The main control MPU 101 has a built-in ROM (hereinafter referred to as “main control built-in ROM”) and a main control built-in RAM, as well as a watchdog timer for monitoring its operation (system) and for preventing fraud. The functions of are also built in. Further, the main control MPU 101 has a built-in non-volatile RAM, and this non-volatile RAM has a unique code (only one code exists in the world) for identifying an individual by the manufacturer of the main control MPU 101. ) Is added to the unique ID code stored in advance. The once-added ID code is stored in the non-volatile RAM and cannot be rewritten even if an external device is used. The main control MPU 101 can retrieve the ID code from the non-volatile RAM and refer to it.

[RTC controller]
Further, the main control MPU 101 of the embodiment includes an external real-time clock (hereinafter, referred to as “RTC”) 107 capable of acquiring time information as time information acquisition means. Although not shown, the RTC 107 includes a register circuit, a clock input circuit, a clock output circuit, an interrupt output circuit, a data input/output circuit, and a control circuit.

  The RTC 107 has a clock/calendar function. The clock/calendar function is a function that counts years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. Moreover, you may use what counts to the day of the week as needed. The RTC control unit 106 is provided with an RTC 107 and a battery 108 for driving the RTC 107. By providing the battery 108, the RTC 107 does not interrupt the timekeeping and the calendar function even when the power supply of the power supply board (not shown) is cut off.

  The battery 108 may be a primary battery (for example, a button battery), or a rechargeable secondary battery, which avoids complicating the configuration of the main control board 100 without the need for a backup power supply. You can The battery 108 is also used as a backup power source for the RAM 109.

  The main control MPU 101 has the function of specifying the year/month/day/hour/minute/second (calendar information and time information) by including the RTC 107. The main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 acquires time information (hour/minute/second) from the RTC 107 when the power of the gaming machine is turned on.

  An upper start opening detection switch 90 for detecting a game ball won in an upper start opening (not shown) arranged in the game area 8 of the game board 5, a game ball won in a lower start opening (not shown) is detected. The detection signal from the lower start opening detection switch 91 and the general winning opening detection switch 93 for detecting a game ball that has won a general winning opening (not shown) is first input to the main control input circuit 103, and the main control I/ It is input to the main control MPU 101 via the O port 102.

  Further, a gate switch 92 for detecting a game ball that has passed through a gate portion (not shown), a general winning opening detection switch 94 for detecting a game ball winning a general winning opening (not shown), and a large winning opening (not shown). The detection signal from the count switch 98 that detects the game ball that has won a prize) is first input to the main control input circuit 103 via the panel relay terminal board 140 attached to the game board 5, and the main control I/O port It is input to the main control MPU 101 via 102.

  Based on these detection signals, the main control MPU 101 outputs a control signal from the main control I/O port 102 to the main control solenoid drive circuit 104, so that the starting opening solenoid 96 and the large-sized solenoid are connected via the panel relay terminal board 140. A drive signal is output to the winning opening solenoid 97, or the main control I/O port 102 is connected to the panel relay terminal board 140, and the function display board 141. The upper special symbol display 142, the lower special symbol display 143, and the upper special symbol display. It outputs a drive signal to the symbol storage display 144, the lower special symbol storage display 145, the normal symbol display 146, the normal symbol storage display 147, the game state display 148, and the round display 149.

  Further, the main control MPU 101 serially transmits various kinds of information (game information) about a game, various commands related to a prize ball according to winning, etc. to the ball information control board 110, and a pachinko game from the ball information control board 110. Various commands related to the status of the machine 1 are received in a serial manner. The main control MPU 101 also sends various commands related to control of game effects and various commands related to the state of the pachinko gaming machine 1 to the peripheral control board 130.

[Sphere information control board 110]
FIG. 77 is a block diagram mainly showing a main part of the ball information control board 110 provided in the enclosed ball-type pachinko gaming machine. The ball information control board 110 is provided with a ball information control unit 118 that manages balls and performs various controls relating to the ball lifting device 22, the firing solenoid 13, the ball feeding solenoid 31, the ball polishing ribbon feeding motor 155, and the like. Further, the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 are connected so that bidirectional data communication is possible.

[Sphere information control unit 118]
As shown in FIG. 77, the sphere information control unit 118 includes a sphere information control MPU 111, which is a microprocessor including a ROM that stores various processing programs and various commands, a RAM that temporarily stores data, and an I/O A ball information control I/O port 112 as an O device, and an external watchdog timer 116 (hereinafter, referred to as “external WDT 116”) for monitoring whether or not the ball information control MPU 111 is operating normally. , A ball-lifting motor drive circuit 114 for outputting a drive signal to the ball-lifting motor 150 of the ball-lifting device 22 for performing ball-lifting, and a ball information control input circuit to which detection signals from various detection switches are input. 113, a CR unit input/output circuit 115 for exchanging various signals with the settlement machine 4, and a ball polishing ribbon feed motor drive circuit 119 for outputting a drive signal to the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155. There is. In addition to its built-in ROM (hereinafter, referred to as “sphere information control built-in ROM”) and RAM (hereinafter, referred to as “sphere information control built-in RAM”), the sphere information control MPU 111 is tampered with. Functions are built in to prevent this.

  The ball information control MPU 111 receives various kinds of information (game information) about a game from the main control board 100 and various commands about prize balls in a serial manner via the ball information control I/O port 112, or from the main control board 100. The operation signal (detection signal) of the RAM clear switch 105 is input via the ball information control I/O port 112.

  The detection signals from the door frame opening switch 131 that detects the opening of the door frame 3 with respect to the body frame 2 and the body frame opening switch 132 that detects the opening of the body frame 2 with respect to the outer frame are first input to the ball information control input circuit 113. And is input to the sphere information control MPU 111 via the sphere information control I/O port 112. Furthermore, a touch detection signal (ON signal) from the touch switch 87 that detects whether the palm or the finger is touching the hit ball handle 10 is input to the ball information control board 110 via the handle relay terminal plate 123 and further touched. The detection signal is input to the sphere information control MPU 111 via the sphere information control I/O port 112.

  Further, the ball information control MPU 111 is connected to the firing solenoid 13 through the firing solenoid drive circuit 120 and is connected to the ball feed solenoid 31 through the ball feed solenoid drive circuit 122, and the firing solenoid 13 is connected according to the control output from the ball information control MPU 111. The ball feeding solenoid 31 is driven. Also, the presence or absence of game balls to be supplied to the launch standby ball detection switches 26, 70, the launch ball confirmation switch 36, the collected ball detection switch 203, the ball path full tank detection switch 206, the ball proper amount detection switch 207, and the ball lifting device 22. The lifting/lowering inlet switch 156 for detecting the rotation, the lifting/lowering motor sensor (photo sensor) 157 for detecting the number of rotations of the ball lifting/lowering motor 150, and the ball polishing cartridge accommodating the ball polishing cloth ribbon are mounted. The detection signal from the cassette detection switch 158 for detecting the sphere is input to the sphere information control input circuit 113 via the sensor relay board 124 and to the sphere information control MPU 111 via the sphere information control I/O port 112. There is. The ball information control MPU 111 outputs drive signals for driving the ball lifting motor 150, the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155, the firing solenoid 13 and the ball feed solenoid 31 via the ball information control I/O port 112 to each drive element. Output to.

  Further, the touch panel unit 14 is connected to the sphere information control MPU 111 so as to be displayed by a control output from the sphere information control I/O port 112. In addition to relaying the electrical connection between the main control board 100 and the external terminal board 133, the ball information control board 110 also includes a door frame opening switch 131, a main body frame opening switch 132, and an external terminal board 133. It relays the electrical connection between. The external terminal board 133 is electrically connected to a hall computer installed in a game hall (hall).

  A detection signal from a touch switch 87 that detects whether or not a palm or a finger is touching the hitting ball handle 10, and a firing stop switch 86 that detects whether or not the launching of a game ball is forcibly stopped by the player's intention. Is first input to the ball information control input circuit 113 via the handle relay terminal plate 123. Further, when the settlement machine 4 and the sphere information control board 110 are electrically connected, they are inputted to the CR unit input/output circuit 115 as a CR connection signal.

  DC power sources +24V, +12V, and +5.2V are supplied to the ball information control board 110 from a power supply board (not shown). Further, the DC power supplies +24V, +12V, and +5.2V are supplied to the main control board 100 via the ball information control board 110.

  The power failure monitoring circuit 117 compares and monitors the voltage V1 based on +24V and the reference voltage, and the voltage V2 based on +12V and the reference voltage, respectively, and detects a sign of power failure or momentary power failure, that is, the voltage V1 or V2 is the reference voltage. When the voltage becomes lower than the voltage, a power failure warning signal is output as a power failure warning. The power failure notice signal output from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 is supplied to the sphere information control MPU 111 of the sphere information control board 110 as well as to the main control MPU 101. Although not shown, the power failure notice signal is also input to the peripheral control board 130.

[Payment machine 4]
FIG. 78 is a block diagram mainly showing each element connected to the settlement machine 4. The settlement machine 4 and the ball information control board 110 are connected so as to be capable of bidirectional data communication. Although not shown, the control unit of the settlement machine 4 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an input/output interface, a communication interface, and the like.

  Each operation input signal of a ball lending button and a payment button provided on the touch panel portion 14 of the enclosed ball-type gaming machine 1 is connected to the payment machine 4 so as to be inputtable through, for example, an interface. In addition, a remaining number display unit and an operable notification lamp provided on the touch panel unit 14 of the enclosed ball type pachinko gaming machine 1 are connected to be displayable by a control output from the settlement machine 4. Further, the settlement machine 4 is provided with a card processing machine 402 at the back of the card insertion slot of FIG.

[Card 403]
The card 403 used in the embodiment is composed of, for example, a magnetic card or an IC card, and when a player pays a predetermined amount of money, it is issued by a card issuing machine (not shown) and provided to the player. FIG. 78 shows the data structure stored in the card 403.

  The card 403 stores an ID number (hereinafter simply referred to as “ID”) as identification information individually assigned to the card 403, which corresponds to the amount paid when the card 403 is purchased. The remaining number storage unit 405 in which the remaining number as the valuable value information is stored, and the number-of-balls storage unit 406 in which the number of balls held by the player (the number of balls held by the gaming machine) is stored as the result of playing the game. Is set. Note that when the card 403 is issued, the ID is stored in the ID storage unit 404, and the remaining count corresponding to the amount paid when the card 403 is purchased in the remaining count storage unit 405 (for example, the paid amount is 5000 yen). In that case, "5000") is stored as the remaining number, but "0" is stored as the initial value of the number of held balls in the number of held balls storage unit 406.

  The card processor 402 is well known in the art, and includes a card sensor that detects the card 403, a card reader/writer that reads data stored in the card 403 and writes data to the card 403, and data reading of the card 403. It is provided with a card transport means for feeding the card 403 to the writing position and discharging the card 403 to the card insertion slot. When the card 403 is inserted into the card insertion slot, the card processor 402 sends the card 403 to a predetermined data reading/writing position, and the card reader/writer stores the stored data, that is, the ID, the remaining number and The number of balls is read and output to the settlement machine 4. Further, in response to a write command from the settlement machine 4, the ID, the number of remaining balls, and the number of balls held are written (stored) in each of the storage units described above.

  The settlement machine 4 stores the ID, the remaining number and the number of balls held, which are read from the card 403 through the card processor 402, in the RAM.

[Ball lending by card 403]
When the settlement machine 4 reads the data of the card 403, it displays the remaining number stored in the RAM on the remaining number display section. When the card 403 can be used, the settlement machine 4 lends a ball according to the operation of the ball lending button. In this ball lending, for example, a ball lending number of 125 (the unit price of the ball is 4 yen) is to be lended for each operation of the ball lending button. In the ball lending, when the number of balls held is less than 125 and the number of balls held is less than 125, the total number of balls held is loaned to the player. The settlement machine 4 transmits the number of lent balls to the sphere information control board 110. Further, the settlement machine 4 obtains the consideration for the ball lending by multiplying the set ball unit price by the number of lent balls, and subtracts the obtained consideration (the consideration corresponding to the ball lending is the remaining number) from the current remaining number. In addition, when there is a number of balls to be held and the number of balls to be lent is used, the number of balls to be lent is subtracted from the current number of balls to be lent. The settlement machine 4 displays this result on the remaining frequency display section. In addition, the residual frequency is written in the residual frequency storage unit 405 of the card 403.

[Game start]
When the sphere information control MPU 111 of the sphere information control board 110 receives the number of lent balls transmitted from the settlement machine 4, the sphere information control MPU 111 adds the number to the game machine possessed balls and displays the addition result on the touch panel unit 14. The upper launching device 12 can be launched and the game is ready.

[Playing]
When the player operates the hit ball handle 10, the hit ball launch device 29 is actuated, and when the game ball at the ball launch position is launched by the launch hammer 30 into the game area 8, this is detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36. Based on this, the driving into the game area 8 for each one of the game balls is detected. Then, the sphere information control MPU 111 of the sphere information control board 110 sequentially outputs "1" from the gaming machine possession ball number data stored in the gaming machine possession ball number storage area in response to such a detection of hitting one gaming ball at a time. Is subtracted and the number of balls held is displayed on the touch panel unit 14.

  On the other hand, the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 has a gate switch 92 arranged at a gate (not shown) on the surface of the game board 5 through which a game ball can enter and a normal winning opening (not shown). General winning opening detection switches 93, 94 arranged for the above, a count switch 98 arranged for a large winning opening (not shown), and a starting opening (not shown) serving as an upper starting opening. On the basis of the detection signals from the upper and lower starting opening detection switches 90 and 91, processing related to the game is performed, and the command or signal as the processing result is the sphere information control board 110, the peripheral control board 130, the upper and lower special symbols. It outputs to the display devices 142 and 143, the upper and lower special symbol memory indicators 144 and 145, the ordinary symbol indicator 146, the ordinary symbol memory indicator 147, the starting opening solenoid 96, the special winning opening solenoid 97 and the like.

  When the game ball launched by the upper launching device 12 wins various winning openings (starting winning opening, big winning opening, etc.) in the game area 8, the gaming ball is a winning detection switch provided for each winning opening. (Upper start opening detection switch 90, lower start opening detection switch 91, general winning opening detection switch 93, general winning opening detection switch 94, count switch 98).

  The main control MPU 101 responds to a detection signal of a detection switch (general winning port detection switches 93 and 94, a count switch 98, and upper and lower starting port detection switches 90 and 91) provided for each winning port. , A prize ball command for instructing the number of prize balls set according to the winning opening in which the game ball has won is output to the ball information control board 110 as necessary.

  Further, the main control MPU 101 periodically outputs a game state signal (status) indicating the type of the current game state to the peripheral control board 130. With the gaming state, for example, a lottery for missed hits due to winning at the starting mouth and the starting mouth is performed, and symbols are variably displayed based on the lottery result to stop the symbols, and the lottery result is hit. In the case of a first-class pachinko gaming machine that shifts to a special game state (big hit game state) in the case of normal game state (probability of winning by lottery is normal probability, and time of variable display of normal symbol is normal), time saving Game state (normal variable time of variable display is shorter than usual, time output information output signal), big hit game state (15 round big hit information output signal, or 2 round big hit information output signal), high probability game State (state that the probability of winning by lottery is higher than normal, probability output information output signal during fluctuation), special symbol fluctuation (special symbol display information output signal), state with hold based on the winning opening prize (start Oral winning information output signal) etc.

  The peripheral control board 130 may include a liquid crystal display panel (not shown), a accessory decoration board (not shown), a board decoration board (not shown), and a frame decoration based on a command output from the main control board 100. By outputting a control signal to a substrate (not shown), the lighting display of various decorative LEDs is controlled, and the sound (voice, sound, sound effect, etc.) output from a speaker (not shown) is also controlled. , Controls the symbols displayed on the liquid crystal display panel (not shown).

  The ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 displays the number of balls held by the firing solenoid 13, the ball feed solenoid 31, the ball lifting motor 150, the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155, and the touch panel unit 14 based on various input signals. And outputs a signal to the settlement machine 4.

  The game state signal and the prize ball command output from the main control board 100 are input to the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110.

  In response to receiving such a prize ball command, the ball information control MPU 111 sets the value of the number of prize balls preset for each of the various winning openings in the game machine ball count data stored in the game machine ball count storage area. Is added and displayed on the touch panel unit 14.

[End of game, settlement]
After that, when the player operates the settlement button to end the game, the settlement machine 4 sends a game end command to the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110.

  In response to the operation of the settlement button, the settlement machine 4 transmits a game end command to the ball information control MPU 111, so that the ball information control MPU 111 receives the game termination command sent from the settlement machine 4, and the ball information control The MPU 111 transmits “end permitted” to the settlement machine 4. Next, the ball information control MPU 111 stops the firing solenoid 13 and the ball feed solenoid 31 to stop the game. The current number of game machine balls held in the game machine ball number storage area is transmitted to the settlement machine 4.

  Then, when the processing of the settlement machine 4 corresponding to the number of balls held by the gaming machine transmitted from the ball information control MPU 111 is completed, the settlement machine 4 transmits a processing end, so the ball information control MPU 111 receives the processing end. Then, the game machine possession ball storage area of the RAM is cleared to 0, and the processing ends.

  On the other hand, since the settlement machine 4 receives “endable” as the answer regarding the end state to the game end command, the ball information control MPU 111 transmits the number of balls held by the game machine to the settlement machine 4, so that the settlement machine 4 plays the game. When the number of balls in possession is received, the number of balls in possession of the gaming machine received is added to the number of balls in possession of the game machine stored in the RAM when the card is inserted, and the addition result is stored as the number of balls in possession of the adjustment machine. As a result, all the number of balls held as a result of the game played by the player is stored as the number of balls held by the settlement machine. Then, the end of processing is transmitted to the ball information control MPU 111, the number of balls held by the settlement machine is written in the number of balls held storage section 406 of the card 403, the card 403 is ejected from the card insertion slot, and the processing is ended. As a result, the card 403 that has been rewritten by adding the number of balls held by the game machine as the result of the game is returned to the player.

[Various control processing of main control board]
First, various control processes performed by the main control board 100 shown in FIG. 76 according to the progress of the game of the pachinko gaming machine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 79 to 81. 79 is a flow chart showing the main control side power-on process executed by the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100, and FIG. 80 is a flow chart showing the main control side power-on process of FIG. 79, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing main control timer interrupt processing executed by the main control MPU 101.

[Processing at power-on of main control side]
When the pachinko gaming machine 1 is powered on, the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 (hereinafter, simply referred to as main control MPU) performs main control side power-on processing as shown in FIGS. 79 and 80. .. When the main control side power-on process is started, the main control MPU sets the stack pointer (step S10). The stack pointer indicates, for example, the address stacked on the stack to temporarily store the contents of the storage element (register) in use, or the return address of this routine when exiting the subroutine and returning to this routine. It also indicates the address stacked on the stack for storage, and the stack pointer advances each time the stack is stacked. In step S10, an initial address is set in the stack pointer, and the contents of the register, the return address, etc. are stacked on the stack from the initial address.
Then, the stack pointer returns to the initial address by sequentially reading from the stack stacked last to the stack stacked first.

  After step S10, wait timer processing 1 is performed (step S12), and it is determined whether or not a power failure advance notice signal is input (step S14). The voltage does not rise immediately after the power is turned on until the voltage reaches the predetermined voltage. On the other hand, when there is a power failure or an instantaneous power failure (a phenomenon in which the supply of power is temporarily stopped), the voltage drops, and when it becomes lower than the power failure notification voltage, the power failure monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110 notifies the power failure as a power failure notification. A signal is output and input to the main control MPU. Similarly, when the voltage becomes lower than the power failure warning voltage from the time the power is turned on to the predetermined voltage, the power failure warning signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110.

  Therefore, the wait timer process 1 of step S12 is a process for waiting until the voltage becomes larger than the power failure warning voltage and becomes stable after the power is turned on. In the present embodiment, 200 ms is set as the wait time (wait timer). ing. The determination in step S14 is performed based on the power failure notice signal from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110. After the power is turned on, when the voltage becomes higher than the power failure notification voltage and becomes stable, the power failure monitoring circuit 117 outputs no power failure notification signal, and the main control MPU proceeds to step S16.

  In step S16, the main control MPU determines whether or not the RAM clear switch 105 (FIG. 76) is operated (step S16). This determination is made depending on whether or not the RAM clear switch 105 of the main control board 100 is operated and the operation signal (detection signal) is input to the main control MPU. When the detection signal is input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated, while when the detection signal is not input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is not operated.

  When it is determined in step S16 that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated, the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is set to the value 1 (step S18), and the process proceeds to step S30, while the RAM clear switch 105 is operated in step S16. When it is determined that the RAM has not been operated, the value 0 is set to the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG (step S19), and the process proceeds to step S30.

  This RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is a game relating to games such as probability fluctuations, unpaid prize balls, etc. stored in a RAM built in the main control MPU 101 (hereinafter referred to as “main control built-in RAM”). It is a flag indicating whether or not to erase the information, and is set to a value 1 when the game information is erased and a value 0 when the game information is not erased. The value of the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG set in steps S18 and S19 is stored in the general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register) of the main control MPU.

  When the main control MPU proceeds to step S30, it performs wait timer processing 2 (step S30). In this wait timer process 2, the system waits until the system for controlling the drawing of the liquid crystal display device (not shown) by the liquid crystal control unit of the peripheral control board 130 is activated (booted). In this embodiment, 2 seconds (s) is set as the time until booting (boot timer).

  Subsequent to step S30, it is determined whether or not the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG has a value of 0 (step S32). As described above, the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is set to a value of 1 when the game information is erased and a value of 0 when the game information is not erased. When it is determined in step S32 that the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is 0, that is, when the game information is not erased, the checksum is calculated (step S34). This checksum regards the game information stored in the main control built-in RAM as a numerical value and calculates the total thereof.

  Following step S34, whether the calculated checksum value (sum value) matches the checksum value (sum value) stored in the main control-side power-off processing (power-off) described later. It is determined (step S36). When they match, it is determined whether the backup flag BK-FLG has a value of 1 (step S38). This backup flag BK-FLG stores and holds game information, a checksum value (sum value) and backup information such as the value of the backup flag BK-FLG in the main control built-in RAM in the main power supply-side power-off processing to be described later. It is a flag indicating whether or not the main control side power-off process is normally completed, and is set to a value 0 when the main control side power-off process is not normally completed.

  When the backup flag BK-FLG has a value of 1 in step S38, that is, when the main-control-side power-off process is normally completed, the work area of the main-control-internal RAM is set as the power recovery (step S40). In this setting, the backup flag BK-FLG is set to a value of 0, and the power recovery information is read from the ROM incorporated in the main control MPU (hereinafter, referred to as "main control built-in ROM"), and this power recovery is performed. The time information is set in the work area of the main control built-in RAM. The term "power recovery" means that the power is turned off, the power is turned on, the power is restored from a power failure or an instantaneous power failure, and the high frequency is detected and reset. It also includes the state of returning after that.

  Subsequent to step S40, power-on command generation processing is performed (step S42). In the power-on command creation processing, the game information is read from the backup information and various commands corresponding to the game information are stored in a predetermined storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is not 0 (value 1) in step S32, that is, when the game information is erased, or the checksum value (sum value) matches in step S36. If the backup flag BK-FLG is not 1 (value 0) in step S38, that is, if the main-control-side power-off process has not been normally completed, the main-control-internal RAM All areas are cleared (step S44). Specifically, the value 0 is written in the main control built-in RAM (note that a predetermined value may be read from the main control built-in ROM as an initial value and set). Further, the random number for determining the initial value of the jackpot determination random number for use in determining the initial value of the jackpot determination random number, when the RAM clear switch 105 is operated to erase the game information, when the thumb values do not match, or When the power-off process on the main control side is not normally completed, the unique ID code stored in advance in the non-volatile RAM of the main control MPU is retrieved, and the jackpot determination random number is updated based on the retrieved ID code. The initial value derivation process for always deriving the same fixed value from the fixed numerical value range of the counter is performed, and this fixed value is set as the initial value.

  Following step S44, the work area of the main control built-in RAM is set as an initial setting (step S46). In this setting, the initial information is read from the ROM with built-in main control, and this initial information is set in the work area of the RAM with built-in main control.

  Following step S46, RAM clear notification and test command creation processing is performed (step S48). In this RAM clear notification and test command creation processing, a power-on command classified into power-on for notifying that the main control built-in RAM has been cleared and initialization has been performed is created, and various types of peripheral control board 130 are also created. Test commands that are divided into test-related items for the inspection are created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area of the main control RAM.

  Following step S42 or step S48, interrupt initialization is performed (step S50). This setting sets the interrupt cycle when the main control side timer interrupt process described later is performed. In this embodiment, it is set to 4 ms.

  Following step S50, interrupt permission setting is performed. (Step S52). With this setting, the main control side timer interrupt process is repeated every 4 ms, ie, the interrupt period set in step S50. The process of steps S10 to S52 is referred to as "main control side power-on process".

  Following step S52, the value A is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S54). The watchdog timer is cleared by setting the value A, the value B, and the value C in this watchdog timer clear register WCL in order.

  Subsequent to step S54, it is determined whether or not the power failure notice signal is input (step S56). As described above, when the power of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is cut off, or when the power is interrupted or a momentary power failure occurs, when the voltage becomes equal to or lower than the power failure warning voltage, the power failure warning signal is a power failure monitoring circuit of the ball information control board 110 as a power failure warning. It is input from 117. The determination in step S56 is made based on this power failure notice signal.

  When the power failure notice signal is not input in step S56, the non-winning random number updating process is performed (step S58). In this non-win/win random number update process, for example, a reach determination random number, a variable display pattern random number, a big hit symbol initial value determination random number, a small hit symbol initial value determination random number, and the like are updated. In this way, in the non-winning random number updating process, the random numbers that are not involved in the winning/judging determination (big hit determination) are updated. The random number for normal symbol hit determination, the random number for initial value determination for normal symbol hit determination, the random number for normal symbol variation display pattern, etc. are also updated by this non-win/win random number updating process.

  After step S58, the process returns to step S54 again, the value A is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, and it is determined in step S56 whether or not the power failure warning signal is input, and the power failure warning signal must be input. For example, the non-winning random number updating process is performed in step S58, and steps S54 to S58 are repeated. The processing of steps S54 to S58 is referred to as "main control side main loop processing".

  On the other hand, when the power failure notice signal is input in step S56, the interrupt prohibition setting is performed (step S60). With this setting, the main control side timer interrupt process described later is not performed, writing to the main control internal RAM is prevented, and rewriting of game information is protected.

  Subsequent to step S60, the starting opening solenoid 96, the special winning opening solenoid 97, the upper special symbol display 142, the lower special symbol display 143, the upper special symbol memory display 144, the lower special symbol memory display shown in FIG. The drive signal output to the device 145, the normal symbol display device 146, the normal symbol storage display device 147, the game state display device 148, the round display device 149, etc. is stopped (step S62).

  Following step S62, a checksum is calculated and the calculated value is stored (step S64). This checksum regards the game information in the work area of the main control internal RAM as a numerical value, excluding the storage area of the above-mentioned checksum value (sum value) and the value of the backup flag BK-FLG, and calculates the total thereof.

  Following step S64, the backup flag BK-FLG is set to the value 1 (step S66). This completes the storage of backup information.

  Following step S66, clear setting of the watchdog timer is performed (step S68). As described above, the clear setting is performed by sequentially setting the value A, the value B, and the value C in the watchdog timer clear register WCL.

  Following step S68, a loop process of repeating a state in which nothing is executed is entered. The processing of steps S60 to S68 and the loop processing are referred to as "main control side power-off processing". In this loop processing, the value A, the value B, and the value C are not sequentially set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, so that the watchdog timer is not cleared. For this reason, the watchdog timer times out and outputs a time-out signal, the main control MPU is reset by the time-out signal, and then the main control MPU performs this main control side power-on process again from the beginning.

  The pachinko gaming machine 1 (main control MPU 101) is reset when a power failure or momentary power failure occurs, and the main control side power-on process is performed by subsequent power restoration.

  In step S36, it is checked whether or not the backup information stored in the main control built-in RAM is normal, and then in step S38, it is checked whether or not the main control side power-off process is normally ended. Inspecting. In this way, by double checking the backup information stored in the main control built-in RAM, it is inspected whether the backup information is stored due to an illegal act.

[Main control timer interrupt processing]
Next, the main control side timer interrupt process will be described. This main control side timer interrupt process is repeated every interrupt period (4 ms in this embodiment) set in the main control side power-on process shown in FIGS. 79 and 80.

  When the main control side timer interrupt process is started, the main control MPU of the main control board 100 sets the value B in the watchdog timer clear register WCL as shown in FIG. 81 (step S70). At this time, a value B is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL following the value A set in step S54 of the main control side main loop processing.

  Following step S70, the interrupt flag is cleared (step S72). The interrupt cycle is initialized by clearing this interrupt flag, and the next interrupt cycle is timed from its initial value.

  Subsequent to step S72, switch input processing is performed (step S74). In this switch input processing, various signals input to the input terminal of the main control I/O port 102 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the main control internal RAM.

  Subsequent to step S74, timer subtraction processing is performed (step S76). In this timer subtraction process, for example, the time when the upper special symbol display device 142 and the lower special symbol display device 143 are turned on according to the variable display pattern determined by the special symbol and special electric auditors product control process which will be described later, and the ordinary symbol which will be described later and In addition to the time that the normal symbol display 146 lights up according to the normal symbol variation display pattern determined by the normal electric accessory control process, the ball information control substrate 110 transmits various commands transmitted by the main control substrate 100 (main control MPU). When it is determined whether or not the sphere information main ACK signal indicating that the ball has been normally received is input, time management such as the ACK signal input determination time set as the determination condition is performed. Specifically, when the variation display pattern or the normal symbol variation display pattern has a variation time of 5 seconds, and the timer interrupt period is set to 4 ms, the variation time is increased by 4 ms each time the timer subtraction process is performed. Subtraction is performed, and the subtraction result becomes a value of 0, so that the variation time of the variation display pattern or the normal symbol variation display pattern is accurately measured.

  In this embodiment, the ACK signal input determination time is set to 100 ms. Every time this timer subtraction process is performed, the ACK signal input determination time is subtracted by 4 ms, and the subtraction result becomes the value 0, whereby the ACK signal input determination time is accurately measured. The various times and the ACK signal input determination time are stored as time management information in the time management information storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

  Following step S76, a random number updating process is performed (step S78). In this winning random number update process, the above-described big hit determination random number, big hit symbol random number, and small hit symbol random number are updated. In addition to these random numbers, the random number for determining the initial value for the big hit symbol, which is updated in the non-winning random number updating process of step S58 in the main control side power-on process (main control side main process) shown in FIG. 80, And the random number for determining the initial value for the small hit symbol is also updated. The random numbers for determining the initial value for the big hit symbol and the random numbers for determining the initial value for the small hit symbol are respectively updated in the main control side main process and the main control side timer interrupt process to further enhance the randomness. . On the other hand, the big hit determination random number, the big hit symbol random number, and the small hit symbol random number are random numbers related to the winning determination (big hit determination), so each time the winning random number update process is performed, each counter Will count up. For example, the counter that updates the big hit determination random number is an initial value update type counter, as described above, and has a predetermined fixed numerical value range from the minimum value to the maximum value (in the present embodiment, the value is set as the minimum value. It is updated within the value 32767) as 0 to the maximum value, and the range from the minimum value to the maximum value is incremented by incrementing the value by one each time the main control side timer interrupt processing is performed. The random number for initial value determination for jackpot determination is counted up toward the maximum value (value 32767), and then the random number for initial value determination for jackpot determination is counted up from the minimum value (value 0). When the counter for updating the big hit judging random number finishes counting up the range from the minimum value to the maximum value of the big hit judging random number, the big hit judging initial value determining random number is updated by the hit random number updating process. At this time, the updated value is always the same from the fixed numerical value range of the counter that fetches the ID code from the nonvolatile RAM incorporated in the main control MPU and updates the big hit determination random number based on the fetched ID code. The initial value derivation process for deriving the fixed value of is executed, and the derived fixed value is set as the initial value. In other words, the random number for determining the initial value for jackpot determination is always overwritten and updated with the same fixed value derived based on the ID code by executing the initial value derivation process. In addition, the random number for normal symbol hit determination and the random number for initial value determination for normal symbol hit determination described above are also updated by this winning random number update process. Ordinary symbol hitting determination random numbers and the like are the same as the above-described large hitting determination random number updating method, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  Following step S78, prize ball control processing is performed (step S80). In this award ball control processing, the award ball command for reading the input information from the above-mentioned input information storage area and transmitting it to the sphere information control board 110 based on this input information, or the main control board 100 and the sphere information is transmitted. A self-check command for confirming the connection state between the control board 110 and the board is created. Then, the created prize ball command and self-check command are transmitted to the ball information control board 110 as main ball information serial data. For example, when one game ball enters the special winning opening, a prize ball command representing 15 balls as the number of prize balls is created and transmitted to the ball information control board 110, or this prize ball command is sent to the ball information control board. When the ball information main ACK signal indicating that the 110 has normally received is not input within a predetermined time, a self-check command for confirming the connection state between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 is created. It is transmitted to the ball information control board 110.

  Following step S80, frame command reception processing is performed (step S82). The sphere information control board 110 transmits various 1-byte (8-bit) commands classified into status indications. In the frame command reception process of step S82, when these various commands are normally received as the sphere information main serial data, the information to that effect is transmitted to the sphere information control board 110 as output information in the output information storage area of the main control internal RAM. Remember. In addition, the command normally received as the sphere information main serial data is shaped into a 2-byte (16-bit) command and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

  Subsequent to step S82, fraudulent activity detection processing is performed (step S84). In this fraudulent activity detection processing, an abnormal state regarding the prize ball is confirmed. For example, when the input information is read from the above-mentioned input information storage area, and the detection signal from the count switch 98 is input when the jackpot is not in the gaming state (when the game ball enters the special winning opening), A winning anomaly display command that is classified into an annunciation display as an abnormal state is created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

  Following step S84, special symbol and special electric auditors product control processing is performed (step S86). In this special symbol and special electric auditors product control processing, it is determined whether or not the value of the counter for updating the above-mentioned random number for jackpot determination is extracted and coincides with the jackpot determination value previously stored in the ROM with built-in main control (big hit). Whether or not to generate a game state is determined (referred to as "special lottery")), and the value of the counter that updates the random number for the big hit symbol is taken out and the probability variation hit determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM. It is determined whether or not they match (determination as to whether or not a probability change occurs). Here, the “probability change” means that the probability of a big hit changes to a high probability (probability change time) set higher than in a normal time (low probability). In the present embodiment, as the range of the above-mentioned big hit judgment value (big hit judgment range), the values 32668 to 32767 are set in the low probability, and the values are read from the normal time judgment table, whereas the value 32438 is set in the high probability. ~ Value 32767 is set and is read from the probability change time determination table. As described above, in the special symbol and special electric auditors product control processing of step S86, whether or not the value of the counter for updating the random number for jackpot determination and the jackpot determination value prestored in the main control built-in ROM match each other. When determining whether or not, the value of the counter for updating the big hit determination random number is included in the big hit determination range.

  When these determination results are based on the upper starting opening detection switch 90, various commands related to special figure 1 tuning effect are created, and when the lottery result is based on the lower starting opening detection switch 91, it is special. Fig. 2 Create various commands related to tuning effect, store them in the transmission information storage area as transmission information, and turn on the upper special symbol display 142 or the lower special symbol display 143 according to the determined variable display pattern of the special symbol. As described above, the output of the lighting signal to the upper special symbol display 142 or the lower special symbol display 143 is set, and is stored in the above-described output information storage area as output information.

  In addition, depending on the game state to be generated, for example, when a big hit game state is reached, various commands classified as big hit related items are created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area or the opening/closing member is opened/closed. When the output of the drive signal to the winning opening solenoid 97 is set and stored as output information in the output information storage area, or when the number of times (round) the special winning opening is changed from the closed state to the open state is two times, the round display is performed. Output of the lighting signal to the two-round display lamp is set so as to light the two-round display lamp of the container 149, and is stored in the output information storage area as output information, or when the round is 15 times, Set the output of the lighting signal to the 15-round display lamp to turn on the 15-round display lamp, store it in the output information storage area as output information, and turn on or off the occurrence of probability variation in a predetermined color The output of the lighting signal to the display unit 148 is set and stored as output information in the output information storage area.

  Subsequent to step S86, normal symbol and normal electric auditors product control processing is performed (step S88). In this normal symbol and normal electric auditors product control process, the input information is read from the above-mentioned input information storage area, and the gate winning process is performed based on this input information. In the gate winning process, it is determined from the input information whether the detection signal from the gate switch 92 has been input to the input terminal. Based on this judgment result, when the detection signal is input to the input terminal, the value of the counter for updating the above-mentioned random number for normal symbol judgment is extracted and the gate information is stored in the gate information storage area of the main control RAM. Remember.

  Subsequent to step S88, port output processing is performed (step S90). In this port output processing, output information is read from the output information storage area described above from the output terminal of the main control I/O port 102, and various signals are output based on this output information. For example, when various commands from the ball information control board 110 are normally received from the output terminal of the main control I/O port 102 based on the output information, the main ball information ACK signal is output to the ball information control board 110. In the jackpot gaming state, a drive signal is output to the special winning opening solenoid 97 that opens and closes the opening and closing member of the special winning opening, and a drive signal is output to the starting opening solenoid 96 that opens and closes the movable piece. In addition, 15 round big hit information output signal, 2 round big hit information output signal, probability fluctuation information output signal, special symbol display information output signal, normal symbol display information output signal, time saving medium information output information, starting mouth winning information output signal It outputs various information (game information) signals related to games such as to the ball information control board 110.

  Subsequent to step S90, peripheral control board command transmission processing is performed (step S92). In this peripheral control board command transmission processing, the transmission information is read from the above-mentioned transmission information storage area, and this transmission information is transmitted to the peripheral control board 130 as main circumference serial data. This transmission information is classified into various commands classified into special figure 1 tuning effect related, various commands classified into special figure 2 tuning effect related, and jackpot related, which are created in the main control side timer interrupt processing which is this routine. Various commands to be displayed, various commands to be turned on, various commands to be related to public figure synchronization performance, various commands to be related to normal electric figure performance, various commands to be displayed to alert display, and status display Various commands that are classified, various commands that are related to the test, and various other commands that are classified are stored. One packet of the main circumference serial data is composed of 3 bytes.

  Specifically, the main serial data is a status indicating a type of command having a storage capacity of 1 byte (8 bits), a mode indicating a variation of an effect having a storage capacity of 1 byte (8 bits), and a status. And a sum value obtained by calculating the sum of the modes as numerical values, and the sum value is created at the time of transmission. The processing of steps S74 to S92 will be referred to as "game control processing".

  Following step S92, the value C is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S94). By setting the value C in the watchdog timer clear register WCL in step S94, the value C is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL following the value B set in step S70. As a result, the value A, the value B, and the value C are sequentially set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, and the watchdog timer is set to be cleared.

  Following step S94, the register is switched (restored) (step S96), and this routine ends. Here, when the main control timer interrupt processing, which is this routine, is started, the main control MPU loads the contents of the general-purpose registers onto the stack by hardware and saves them. This prevents the contents of the general-purpose registers used in the main processing on the main control side from being destroyed. In step S96, the contents saved in the stack are read out and written in the original register. The main control MPU sets the interrupt permission after the return in step S96.

[Various control processing of sphere information control board]
Next, various control processes performed by the sphere information control board 110 shown in FIG. 77 will be described with reference to FIGS. 81 to 86. 82 is a flowchart showing a power-on process on the ball information control side executed by the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110, and FIG. 83 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the power-on process on the ball information control side in FIG. FIG. 84 is a flow chart showing the continuation of the power-on process on the sphere information control side following FIG. 83, and FIG. 85 shows the sphere information control power-off process executed by the sphere information control MPU 111 of the sphere information control board 110. Fig. 86 is a flowchart showing the process, and Fig. 86 is a flowchart showing an example of the sphere information control side timer interrupt process.

[Ball information control side power-on processing]
When the pachinko gaming machine 1 is powered on, the sphere information control MPU 111 (hereinafter, simply referred to as sphere information control MPU) of the sphere information control unit 118 in the sphere information control board 110, as shown in FIGS. 82 to 83, Performs processing when power is turned on for the ball information control side. When the power-on process on the ball information control side is started, the ball information control MPU sets the interrupt mode (step S500). In this interrupt mode, the priority of interrupts of the sphere information control MPU is set. In the present embodiment, the sphere information control unit timer interrupt process, which will be described later, is set as the highest priority, and when the interrupt of the sphere information control unit timer interrupt process occurs, the process is preferentially performed.

  Subsequent to step S500, input/output setting (I/O input/output setting) is performed (step S502). In this I/O input/output setting, I/O port input/output setting of the sphere information control MPU is performed.

  Following step S502, output of a power failure clear signal to the power failure monitoring circuit 117 shown in FIG. 77 is started (step S504). The power failure monitoring circuit 117 is composed of a voltage comparison circuit and a D type flip-flop IC. The voltage comparison circuit outputs the comparison result by comparing the voltage between +24V and the reference voltage or by comparing the voltage between +12V and the reference voltage. This comparison result indicates that the logic becomes HI and is input to the PR terminal which is the preset terminal of the D-type flip-flop when the power failure or the momentary power failure does not occur, while the logic becomes HI when the power failure or the momentary power failure occurs. The logic becomes LOW and is input to the PR terminal which is the preset terminal of the D type flip-flop. In step S504, the output of the power failure clear signal is started to the CLR terminal which is the clear terminal of this D type flip-flop. This power failure clear signal is input to the clear terminal via the ball information control I/O port 112 of the ball information control unit 118, with its logic being LOW. As a result, the ball information control MPU can release the latched state of the D type flip-flop, and inverts the logic input to the PR terminal which is the preset terminal of the D type flip-flop until the latched state is set. Then, the output from the 1Q terminal, which is the output terminal, can be performed, and the signal from the 1Q terminal can be monitored.

  After step S504, wait timer processing 1 is performed (step S506), and it is determined whether a power failure advance notice signal is input (step S508). The voltage does not increase immediately after the power is turned on until the voltage reaches the predetermined voltage. On the other hand, when there is a power failure or an instantaneous power failure (a phenomenon in which the supply of power is temporarily stopped), the voltage drops, and when it becomes lower than the power failure notification voltage, the power failure monitoring circuit 117 inputs a power failure notification signal as a power failure notification. Similarly, when the voltage becomes lower than the power failure warning voltage from the time when the power is turned on to the predetermined voltage, the power failure monitoring circuit 117 inputs the power failure warning signal. Therefore, the wait timer process 1 of step S506 is a process for waiting until the voltage becomes larger than the power failure warning voltage and stabilizes after the power is turned on. In the present embodiment, 200 ms is set as the wait time (wait timer). ing. It is determined in step S508 whether or not the power failure notice signal is input. This determination is performed based on the signal output from the 1Q terminal, which is the output terminal of the D-type flip-flop, as the power failure notice signal.

  Following step S508, the output of the power failure clear signal to the CLR terminal, which is the clear terminal of the D-type flip-flop, is stopped (step S510). By stopping the output of this power failure clear signal, the logic becomes HI via the ball information control I/O port 112 and the signal is input to the CLR terminal which is a clear terminal. As a result, the sphere information control MPU can set the D type flip-flop in the latched state. The D type flip-flop outputs a power failure notice signal from the 1Q terminal, which is an output terminal, when the state in which the logic is LOW is input to the PR terminal, which is a preset terminal, is latched.

  Following step S510, it is determined whether the RAM clear switch 105 has been operated (step S512). This determination is made based on whether or not the RAM clear switch 105 of the main control board 100 is operated and the operation signal (detection signal) is input to the ball information control MPU. When the detection signal is input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated, while when the detection signal is not input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is not operated.

  When it is determined in step S512 that the RAM clear switch 105 has been operated, the value 1 is set in the sphere information RAM clear flag (step S514), and while the process proceeds to step S518, the RAM clear switch 105 is operated in step S512. If it is determined that the ball information RAM is not cleared, the value 0 is set in the ball information RAM clear (step S516), and the process proceeds to step S518.

  The sphere information RAM clear flag is stored in a RAM (hereinafter referred to as “sphere information control built-in RAM”) built in the sphere information control MPU, for example, stored in various flags and various information storage areas. It is a flag indicating whether or not to erase the various sphere information, and is set to a value 1 when sphere information is erased and a value 0 when sphere information is not erased. The sphere information RAM clear flag set in steps S514 and S516 is stored in the general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register) of the sphere information control MPU.

  Subsequent to step S514 or step S516, the setting for permitting access to the RAM for storing sphere information control is performed (step S518). By this setting, the RAM with built-in sphere information control can be accessed, and for example, sphere information can be written (stored) or read.

  Following step S518, the stack pointer is set (step S520). The stack pointer indicates, for example, the address stacked on the stack to temporarily store the contents of the storage element (register) being used, or the return address of this routine when exiting the subroutine and returning to this routine. It also indicates the address stacked on the stack for storage, and the stack pointer advances each time the stack is stacked. In step S520, the stack pointer is set to the initial address, and the contents of the register, the return address, and the like are stacked on the stack from the initial address. Then, the stack pointer returns to the initial address by sequentially reading from the stack stacked last to the stack stacked first.

  Following step S520, the sphere information control MPU proceeds to step S527. In step S527, it is determined whether or not the sphere information RAM clear flag has a value of 0 (step S527). As described above, the sphere information RAM clear flag is set to a value of 1 when sphere information is erased and a value of 0 when sphere information is not erased.

  If the sphere information RAM clear flag has a value of 0 in step S527, that is, if the sphere information is not erased, a checksum is calculated (step S528). This checksum regards the sphere information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM as a numerical value and calculates the total thereof.

  Subsequent to step S528, it is determined whether the calculated checksum value matches the checksum value stored in the sphere information control unit power-off process (power-off) to be described later (step S530). ). If they match, it is determined whether or not the sphere information backup flag has a value of 1 (step S532). The sphere information backup flag is a flag indicating whether or not sphere information backup information such as sphere information and a checksum value is stored and retained in the sphere information control built-in RAM in the sphere information control unit power-off process described later. The value is set to 1 when the power supply to the sphere information control unit is normally terminated, and to 0 when the power supply to the sphere information control unit is not normally terminated.

  If the sphere information backup flag has a value of 1 in step S532, that is, if the sphere information control unit power-off processing is normally completed, the work area of the sphere information control built-in RAM is set for power recovery (step S534). In this setting, in addition to setting the value 0 to the sphere information backup flag, the power recovery information is read from the ROM built in the sphere information control MPU (hereinafter referred to as "sphere information control built-in ROM"). Information upon power recovery is set in the work area of the RAM with built-in ball information control. As a result, information used for various processes is set based on various flags, various information stored in the various information storage areas, which are the above-mentioned sphere information backup information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM. . The term "power recovery" includes not only the state in which the power is turned off and the state in which the power is turned on, but also the state in which the power is restored after a power failure or an instantaneous power failure.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S527 that the sphere information RAM clear flag is not 0 (value 1), or if the checksum values do not match in step S530, or the sphere information backup flag is set in step S532. If it is determined that it is not 1 (value 0), that is, if the processing for shutting down the power supply of the ball information control unit is not normally terminated, the entire area of the RAM for built-in ball information control is cleared (step S536). As a result, the sphere information backup information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM is cleared.

  Following step S536, the work area of the RAM with built-in sphere information control is set as an initial setting (step S538). In this setting, the initial information is read from the ROM with built-in ball information control and this initial information is set in the work area of the RAM with built-in ball information control.

  Following step S534 or step S538, interrupt initialization is performed (step S540). This setting sets the interrupt cycle when the sphere information control unit timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, is performed. In this embodiment, it is set to 2 ms.

  Following step S540, interrupt permission setting is performed (step S542). With this setting, the sphere information control unit timer interrupt process is repeatedly performed at the interrupt cycle set at step S540, that is, every 2 ms.

  Subsequent to step S542, it is determined whether or not a power failure advance notice signal is input (step S544). As described above, when the power of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is shut off, or a power failure or momentary power failure occurs, when the voltage becomes equal to or lower than the power failure notification voltage, a power failure notification signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 as a power failure notification. The determination in step S540 is made based on this power failure notice signal.

  When no power failure notice signal is input in step S544, it is determined whether the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is 1 (step S546). The 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is a flag for measuring 2 ms in the sphere information control unit timer interrupt processing that is processed every 2 ms, which will be described later, and has a value 1 when 2 ms has elapsed and a value 0 when 2 ms has not elapsed. Each is set.

  If it is determined in step S546 that the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is 0, that is, if 2 ms has not elapsed, the process returns to step S544 and it is determined whether or not the power failure advance notice signal is input.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S546 that the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG has the value 1, that is, when 2 ms has elapsed, the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is set to 0 (step S547), and the process proceeds to step S550. The external WDT clear signal is output to the external watchdog timer (external WDT) 116 (ON, step S550). The external WDT 116 monitors the operation (system) of the ball information control MPU, and when the external WDT clear signal is not stopped during the clear signal release time, a reset signal is sent to the ball information control MPU and the ball information control I/O port 112. Is output and reset is performed (the system of the ball information control MPU is regularly diagnosed whether it is running out of control).

  Following step S550, port output processing is performed (step S552). In this port output processing, various kinds of information are read from the output information storage area of the sphere information control built-in RAM, and various signals are output from the output terminal of the sphere information control I/O port 112 based on the various kinds of information.

  In the output information storage area, for example, ball information main ACK information indicating that various commands (prize ball command or self-check command) related to prize balls from the main control board 100 have been normally received, and the ball hoisting device 22 is sent. Various information such as drive information for performing drive control is stored, and when the prize ball command from the main control board 100 is normally received from the output terminal of the ball information control I/O port 112 based on this output information. It outputs a ball information main ACK signal to the main control board 100 and outputs a drive signal to the firing solenoid 13.

  Subsequent to step S552, port input processing is performed (step S554). In this port input process, various signals input to the input terminal of the ball information control I/O port 112 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the ball information control built-in RAM. For example, the door frame opening switch 131, the main frame opening switch 132, the launch standby ball detection switches 26, 70, the launch ball confirmation switch 36, the collected ball detection switch 203, the ball path full tank detection switch 206, the ball proper amount detection switch 207, Lifting inlet switch 156, lifting motor sensor (photo sensor) 157, cassette detection switch 158, firing stop switch 86, touch switch 87, BRQ signal from the settlement machine 4, BRDY signal and CR connection signal, command transmission processing described later. The main sphere information ACK signal and the like from the main control board 100, which informs that the main control board 100 has normally received the various commands transmitted in step 1, are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area.

  Following step S554, timer update processing is performed (step S556). The various determination times are stored as time management information in the time management information storage area of the sphere information control built-in RAM. In the timer updating process, it is determined whether or not the timer value of each timer is set, and when the timer value is set, 1 is subtracted from the timer value. For example, if "1000" is set as the value corresponding to 2 seconds (2000 ms) in the timer and the timer interrupt period is set to 2 ms, the timer value is set to 1 every time the timer subtraction process is performed in the 2 ms period. Each time is subtracted, and the result of the subtraction becomes a value of 0, the time is up and the time is accurately measured.

  Subsequent to step S556, a settlement machine communication process is performed (step S558). In the settlement machine communication process, whether or not various signals (BRQ signal, BRDY signal and CR connection signal) from the settlement machine 4 are input based on the input information read from the above-mentioned input information storage area. To judge. The sphere information control MPU exchanges various signals with the settlement machine 4 based on various signals from the settlement machine 4. For example, when the sphere information control MPU receives the number of lent balls transmitted from the settlement machine 4, the sphere information control MPU adds the lent number of balls to the gaming machine possessed ball number data.

  Following step S558, command reception processing is performed (step S560). In this command reception process, various commands (prize ball command and self-check command) relating to prize balls are received from the main control board 100. When these various commands are normally received, the sphere information main ACK information to that effect is stored in the above-mentioned output information storage area. On the other hand, when various commands are not normally received, a connection for notifying that the connection between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 is abnormal (various command signals are abnormal) The abnormality information is stored in the above-mentioned state information storage area.

  Following step S560, command analysis processing is performed (step S562). In this command analysis processing, the command received in step S562 is analyzed, and the analyzed command is stored as received command information in the received command information storage area of the ball information control built-in RAM.

  Following step S562, main operation setting processing is performed (step S564). In this main operation setting process, the ball information control MPU sets the operation of the firing solenoid 13, the ball feed solenoid 31, the ball lifting device 22 (ball lifting motor 150), the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155, and the like. In addition, the ball information control MPU sequentially detects "1" from the gaming machine possessed ball number data stored in the gaming machine possessed ball number storage area in response to the detection of each one of the gaming balls that is driven based on the ball detection of the launch ball confirmation switch 36. Is subtracted. Further, when the prize ball command is stored in the received command information storage area, the number of prize balls corresponding to the prize ball command is added to the gaming machine possession ball number data stored in the gaming machine possession ball number data.

  Following step S564, LED display data creation processing is performed (step S566). In this LED display data creation processing, for example, the gaming machine possession ball number data stored in the above-mentioned gaming machine possession ball number storage area is read out, and display data for displaying the number of possession balls on the touch panel unit 14 is prepared to generate an LED. The display information is stored in the output information storage area described above.

  Following step S566, command transmission processing is performed (step S568). In this command transmission process, various information is read from the above-mentioned state information storage area, various commands classified into the state display are created based on this various information, and the various commands are transmitted to the main control board 100.

  Following step S568, the output of the external WDT clear signal to the external watchdog timer (external WDT) 116 is stopped (OFF, step S570). This clears the external WDT 116 so that the sphere information control MPU and the sphere information control I/O port 112 are not reset. When the output of the external WDT clear signal is stopped, the external WDT 116 starts measuring the clear signal release time.

  After step S570, the process returns to step S544 again, and it is determined whether or not the power failure notification signal is input. If the power failure notification signal is not input, the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG has the value 1 in step S546. When the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG has a value of 1, that is, when 2 ms has elapsed, the value of the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is set to 0 in step S547, and the external WDT 4120c is externally connected in step S550. A WDT clear signal is output (ON), port output processing is performed in step S552, port input processing is performed in step S554, timer update processing is performed in step S556, settlement machine communication processing is performed in step S558, and step S560 is performed. Command reception processing is performed, command analysis processing is performed in step S562, main operation setting processing is performed in step S564, LED display data creation processing is performed in step S566, command transmission processing is performed in step S568, and external WDT 116 is performed in step S570. Then, the output of the external WDT clear signal is stopped (OFF), and steps S544 to S570 are repeated. The processing of steps S544 to S570 is referred to as "sphere information control main processing".

  On the other hand, when the power failure notice signal is input in step S544, the interrupt prohibition setting is performed (step S572). By this setting, the sphere information control unit timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, is not performed, writing to the RAM for incorporating sphere information control is prevented, and rewriting of the sphere information described above is protected.

  Following step S572, the power failure clear signal is output to the CLR terminal which is the clear terminal of the D type flip-flop of the power failure monitoring circuit 117 via the ball information control I/O port 112 (step S574). As a result, the D-type flip-flop can release the latched state by outputting the power failure clear signal.

  Following step S574, the output of the drive signal to the firing solenoid 13 is stopped (step S576). Thereby, the launch of the game ball is stopped. Following step S576, the output of the drive signal to the ball feeding solenoid 31 is stopped (step S578). As a result, the feeding of the game ball to the hitting ball launching device 29 side is stopped.

  Following step S578, the external WDT clear signal is output to the external WDT 116 and the output is stopped (ON/OFF, step S580). This clears the external WDT 116. Following step S580, a checksum is calculated and the calculated value is stored (step S582). For this checksum, the sphere information in the work area of the sphere information control built-in RAM, excluding the storage area for the checksum value and the sphere information backup flag HBK-FLG value calculated in step S528, is calculated as a numerical value, and the total is calculated. To do. Following step S582, a value 1 is set in the sphere information backup flag (step S584). This completes the storage of the ball information backup information. Subsequent to step S584, the prohibition setting for access to the ball information control built-in RAM is performed (step S586). By this setting, access to the RAM with built-in sphere information control is prohibited, writing and reading are disabled, and the sphere information backup information stored in the RAM with sphere information control is protected.

  Following step S586, a loop process of repeating a state in which nothing is performed is entered. In this loop processing, the clear signal is not turned ON/OFF to the external WDT 116. Therefore, the external WDT 116 outputs a reset signal to the sphere information control MPU and the sphere information control I/O port 112 for resetting. After that, the sphere information control MPU performs the sphere information control side power-on process again from the beginning. The processing and loop processing of steps S572 to S586 are referred to as "ball information control power-off processing".

  The pachinko gaming machine 1 (ball information control MPU) is reset when a power failure or momentary power failure occurs, and the ball information control side power-on process is performed by the subsequent power restoration.

  In step S530, it is checked whether or not the sphere information backup information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM is normal, and in step S532, the sphere information control unit power-off process is normally terminated. Inspecting whether or not Thus, by double checking the ball information backup information stored in the ball information control built-in RAM, it is inspected whether or not the ball information backup information is stored by fraud.

[Sphere information control timer interrupt processing]
Next, the sphere information control side timer interrupt process will be described. This sphere information control side timer interrupt process is repeatedly performed at every interrupt cycle (2 ms in this embodiment) set in step S540 of the sphere information control side power-on process shown in FIG.

  When the sphere information control side timer interrupt process is started, the sphere information control MPU of the sphere information control unit 118 in the sphere information control board 110 sets the timer interrupt to disabled and switches the register (as shown in FIG. 86). (Evacuation) is performed (step S590). Here, the general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register) used in the sphere information control unit main processing described above is switched to the auxiliary register. By using this auxiliary register in timer interrupt processing on the sphere information control side, the value of the general-purpose register will not be overwritten. This prevents the contents of the general-purpose register used in the main processing on the sphere information control side from being destroyed.

  Following step S590, the value 1 is set to the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG (step S592). The 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is a flag for measuring 2 ms every time the sphere information control unit timer interrupt process is performed, that is, every 2 ms, and has a value of 1 when 2 ms has elapsed and a value of 0 when 2 ms has not elapsed. Are set respectively. Following step S592, register switching (return) is performed (step S594). This return switches from the auxiliary register used in the sphere information control side timer interrupt process to the general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register). By using this general-purpose register in the main processing on the sphere information control side, the value of the auxiliary register will not be overwritten. This prevents the destruction of the contents of the auxiliary register used in the ball information controller timer interrupt process. Following step S594, interrupt permission is set (step S596), and this routine ends.

[Each process executed in the sphere information control main process]
Next, each process executed by the sphere information control MPU of the sphere information control board 110 every 2 ms in the sphere information control main process of FIG. 84 will be described. First, the ball lending process will be described, and subsequently the hitting possibility determination process, the number of held balls counting process, the ball feed/launch drive process, the shot ball detection process, and the number of held balls subtraction process will be described. It should be noted that the hitting possibility determination process, the number of held balls counting process, the ball feeding/launching drive process, the shot ball detecting process, the number of held balls subtracting process, and the lifting drive process are one of the main operation setting processes of step S564. The ball hit possibility determination process, the number of held balls count process, the ball feed/launch drive process, the shot ball detection process, the number of held balls subtraction process, and the lifting drive process are executed in this order.

  When the player inserts the card 403 into the card insertion slot, the payment machine 4 detects the insertion of the card 403, and the data stored in the card 403 is read through the card processor 402. That is, the ID stored in the ID storage unit 404 of the card 403 of FIG. 78, the remaining number stored in the remaining number storage unit 405, and the number of held balls stored in the number of held balls storage unit 406 are read and RAM is read. In a predetermined storage area (ID storage area, remaining number storage area, ball possession storage area).

  Next, the settlement machine 4 determines whether the inserted card 403 is usable or unusable. In this embodiment, when the read remaining number is 0 and the read number of holding balls is 0, it is determined that the card 403 is unusable, and the card 403 is ejected from the card insertion slot. Therefore, when it is determined that the card 403 is unusable, each of the ball holding count processing, the ball feeding/launching driving processing, and the ball holding subtraction processing described below is not executed.

  On the other hand, when the read remaining count is not 0, or when the read remaining count is 0 but the read number of holding balls is not 0, the settlement machine 4 determines that the card is usable, and the ball information The card availability information is transmitted to the control board 110.

  When the player presses the ball lending button to play a game, the operation signal of the ball lending button is input to the settlement machine 4. According to the operation signal of the ball lending button, the settlement machine 4 performs a ball lending process, for example, transmits a prescribed number of lent balls to the sphere information control MPU of the sphere information control board 110, and then from the sphere information control MPU. Wait until you receive the end of the ball lending that has been sent.

[Ball rental processing]
Here, the ball rental process executed by the ball information control MPU will be described. FIG. 87 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a ball rental process performed by the ball information control MPU. The ball lending process is executed as one process of the settlement machine communication process of step S558 executed every 2 ms in the sphere information control main process.

  When the ball lending process is started, the ball information control MPU determines whether or not the card availability information transmitted from the settlement machine 4 is received (step S600). When the card availability information transmitted from the settlement machine 4 is received in step S600, the process proceeds to step S601, and the number-of-balls-holding-counter (game machine holding) which is a part of the storage area set in the built-in RAM. The number of balls storage area) is cleared to 0 (step S601), and the process proceeds to step S602. On the other hand, if the card availability information transmitted from the settlement machine 4 is not received in step S600, the process directly proceeds to step S602. Note that the initial value of the number-of-balls-counter is set to "0" by the setting at the time of power recovery of the RAM work area in step S534.

  When the sphere information control MPU proceeds to step S602, the sphere information control MPU determines whether or not the number of lent balls transmitted from the settlement machine 4 is received (step S602). When the number of lent balls transmitted from the settlement machine 4 is received in step S602, the process proceeds to step S603, and the received number of lent balls is added to the value of the sphere number counter (step S603). The end of lending is transmitted to the settlement machine 4 (step S604), and the subroutine of the ball lending process is exited.

  On the other hand, in step S602, if the number of lent balls transmitted from the settlement machine 4 is not received, the process does not move to step S603 and step S604, and the subroutine of the lent ball processing is directly exited.

  In this way, the card availability information is transmitted to the ball information control board 110 only when the newly usable card 403 is inserted into the settlement machine 4. Further, the number of lent balls is transmitted to the sphere information control MPU only when the operation signal of the ball lending button is input to the settlement machine 4 after the card availability information is received. Then, when the number of lent balls is received, the number of lent balls is added to and stored in the value of the number-of-balls-holding counter for the first time.

[Striking possibility judgment processing]
Next, the hitting possibility determination processing executed by the ball information control MPU will be described. FIG. 88 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the hitting possibility determination processing performed by the ball information control MPU. The ball hit possibility determination process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes of step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

  The ball information control MPU, when starting the hitting possibility determination processing, determines whether or not the number of held balls is 0, that is, whether or not the value of the number of held balls counter is 0 (step S710). When it is determined in step S710 that the value of the number-of-balls-holding counter is not 0, that is, when step S710 is determined to be NO, the process proceeds to step S711, and the launch standby ball detection switch 70 (see FIG. 10). ) Is on, that is, whether there is a standby ball in the ball feeding device 28 (step S711).

  When it is determined in step S711 that the launch standby ball detection switch 70 (see FIG. 10) is on, the launch flag is set to 1 (can be launched) (step S712), and the ball hit possibility determination process is performed. Exit the subroutine. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S710 that the value of the ball holding counter is 0, and when it is determined in step S711 that the firing standby ball detection switch 70 is not on (off), the firing is performed. The possibility flag is set to 0 (cannot be fired) (step S713), and the process of the hitting possibility determination processing is exited.

  In this way, when the value of the ball holding counter is not 0 and the ball feeding device 28 has a standby ball, the firing solenoid 13 and the ball feeding solenoid 31 can be driven, and the game area 8 of the game ball is substantially. It is in a game-ready state where it can be driven into. Further, when the value of the ball holding counter is 0, or when the ball feeding device 28 has no standby ball, the firing solenoid 13 cannot be driven, and the game ball is substantially driven into the game area 8. You cannot play games. At the same time, the ball feeding solenoid 31 cannot be driven.

[Ball count processing]
Next, description will be given of the number-of-balls-holding process corresponding to ball information processing during the game, assuming that the game is substantially enabled. FIG. 89 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of the number-of-balls-holding counting process performed by the ball information control MPU. The number-of-balls counting process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes of step S564 executed every 2 ms in the main sphere information control process.

  When the ball information control MPU starts the number-of-balls counting process, it determines whether or not there is a prize ball command analyzed in the command analysis process of step S562 (step S720). That is, it is determined whether or not there is a prize ball command stored in the received command information storage area. If the prize ball command is stored, it is determined that step S720 is present, and the number of prize balls corresponding to the prize ball command stored in the received command information storage area is added and stored to the value of the ball number counter (step S722). ), exit the subroutine for counting the number of balls. On the other hand, if the prize ball command is not stored, it is determined that step S720 is not performed, and the subroutine for the ball count processing is exited.

  For example, when a winning occurs in the winning opening set to the number of prize balls “4”, the number of prize balls “4” is added to the value of the number-of-balls counter and is stored. For example, the number of prize balls “15”. When a winning occurs in the winning opening set in (maximum winning opening), the number of winning balls “15” is added and stored in the value of the number-of-balls counter.

[Ball feed/launch drive processing]
Next, the ball feeding/launching drive process will be described. 90 to 91 are flowcharts showing an example of a subroutine of the ball feeding/launching drive process performed by the ball information control MPU. The ball feed/launch drive process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes of step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

  Further, FIG. 24 is a time chart showing the drive timings of the ball feeding solenoid 31 and the firing solenoid 13. The firing solenoid 13 is turned on when a period A has passed from the time when the ball feed solenoid 31 was turned on, and the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off when a period B has passed from the time when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on and a ball feed is performed. The firing solenoid 13 is turned off when a period C has elapsed since the solenoid 31 was turned off.

  In this embodiment, the period A is 300 ms, the period B is 30 ms, and the period C is 50 ms. When the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball feeding member 32 brings the launching ball into the firing position (rail portion 332). That is, the launch ball confirmation switch 36 detects the launch ball. In the present embodiment, it is determined that there is a launch ball when the launch ball confirmation switch 36 detects a game ball that is parked at the launch position over a predetermined time period (30 ms as the period D). To do.

  In this way, if the game ball that is stopped at the launch position by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is detected for a predetermined time, if it is determined that there is a launch ball, noise is generated. Erroneous ball count of the launch ball can be eliminated, and the certainty in detecting the launch ball can be increased.

  Then, when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, the game ball retained at the firing position by the firing hammer 30 is launched into the game area 8, and the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. As a result, the number of balls held is decreased by -1.

  When the sphere feed/launch drive process is started, the sphere information control MPU first determines whether or not the launch possible flag is 1 (can be launched) (step S730). When it is determined in the hit ball availability determination processing that the launch is possible, the launch possible flag is set to 1 (fireable). When it is determined in step S730 that the firing possible flag is not 1 (can fire), that is, when the firing flag is 0 (cannot fire), the subroutine for ball feed/fire drive processing is exited. In this case, substantial ball feeding/launching drive processing is not executed.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S730 that the firing flag is 1 (can fire), the process proceeds to step S731, and it is determined whether the processing flag is 0 (step S731).

  Here, the processing flag is a flag for identifying which of the processes the sphere information control MPU branches to in the sphere feed/launch drive processing described later, in other words, the control in the sphere feed/launch drive. It is a flag for identifying the state, "0" means initial setting, and "1" defines the period from turning on the ball feeding solenoid 31 to turning on the firing solenoid 13. Yes, it defines the period until the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned off after the firing solenoid 13 is turned on in "2", and the firing solenoid 13 is turned off after the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned off in "3". It defines the period until.

  The value of the processing flag is 0 when the ball feeding/launching driving processing is started. Therefore, it is determined YES in step S731, the process proceeds to step S732, the timer value corresponding to the period A (see FIG. 24, 300 ms) is set in the timer (step S732), and the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on (step S733). , The processing flag is set to 1 (step S734), and the ball feeding/firing drive processing subroutine is exited. The timer value set in the timer is decremented by 1 in a 2 ms cycle in the timer updating process of step S556 in FIG.

  The next processing cycle of the ball feeding/launching drive processing is 2 ms later. As a result of the process flag being set to 1, in the ball feeding/launching drive process of the next cycle, it is determined as YES in step S730, NO is determined in step S731, and the process proceeds to step S735. In step S735, it is determined whether the value of the processing flag is 1 (step S735). In this case, since the process flag is set to 1, step S735 is determined to be YES, the process proceeds to step S736, and it is determined whether or not the timer has timed out (step S736). If the timer has not timed out, step S736 is determined to be NO, and the subroutine for ball feed/launch drive processing is exited.

  Hereinafter, until the timer that sets the period A expires, step S730 is determined to be YES, step S731 is determined to be NO, step S735 is determined to be YES, and step S735 is determined based on the value 1 of the processing flag. The processing routine for determining NO in S736 is repeated.

  Then, when the timer times out, it is determined as YES in step S736, it is determined that the period A has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S737, and the timer value corresponding to the period B (see FIG. 26, 30 ms) is set. (Step S737), the firing solenoid 13 is turned on (step S738), the process flag is set to 2 (step S739), and the ball feeding/firing drive processing subroutine is exited.

  As a result of the process flag being set to 2, in the ball feeding/launching drive process of the next cycle, step S730 is determined to be YES, step S731 is determined to be NO, step S735 is determined to be NO, and the process proceeds to step S740. . In step S740, it is determined whether the value of the processing flag is 2 (step S740). In this case, since the process flag is set to 2, step S740 is determined to be YES, the process proceeds to step S741, and it is determined whether or not the timer has timed out (step S741). If the timer has not timed out, step S741 is determined to be NO and control exits the subroutine for ball feed/launch drive processing.

  Hereinafter, based on the value 2 of the processing flag until the timer that sets the period B expires, step S730 is determined to be YES, step S731 is determined to be NO, step S735 is determined to be NO, and step S735 is determined to be NO. The processing routine of determining YES in step S740 and determining NO in step S741 is repeated.

  Then, when the timer times out, it is determined that step S741 is YES, it is determined that the period B has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S742, and the timer value corresponding to the period C (see FIG. 24, 50 ms) is set. (Step S742), the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off (step S743), the process flag is set to 3 (step S744), and the ball feed/launch drive process subroutine is exited.

  As a result of setting the process flag to 3, in the ball feeding/launching drive process of the next cycle, step S730 is determined to be YES, step S731 is determined to be NO, step S735 is determined to be NO, and step S740 is determined to be NO. The determination is made, and the process proceeds to step S745. In step S745, it is determined whether or not the timer has timed out (step S745). If the timer has not timed out, step S745 is determined to be NO, and the ball feeding/launching drive processing subroutine is exited.

  Hereinafter, based on the value 3 of the processing flag until the timer that sets the period C expires, step S730 is determined to be YES, step S731 is determined to be NO, step S735 is determined to be NO, and step S735 is determined to be NO. The processing routine of determining NO in step S740 and determining NO in step S745 is repeated.

  Then, when the timer times out, it is determined to be YES in step S745, it is determined that the period C has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S746, the firing solenoid 13 is turned off (step S746), and the process flag is set to 0. It returns to the initial value (step S747), and exits the subroutine of ball feed/launch drive processing.

[Launch ball detection process]
Next, the launch ball detection process will be described. FIG. 92 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a shot ball detection process performed by the ball information control MPU. The shot ball detection process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes of step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

  When the launch ball detection process is started, the ball information control MPU first determines whether or not the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is on (step S750). As described above, when the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball feeding member 32 brings the launching ball into the firing position (rail portion 332). That is, the launch ball confirmation switch 36 detects the launch ball.

  When it is determined that the firing ball confirmation switch 36 is on, the value of the time counting counter, which is a counter for counting the time in the on state, is incremented by 1 (step S751), and the process proceeds to step S753.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is not on, that is, when the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is off, 0 is set to the time counter (step S752) and the process proceeds to step S753.

  When the process proceeds to step S753, it is determined whether the value of the clock counter has reached a predetermined specified time D (30 ms in this example) (step S753). If the value of the clock counter has not reached the predetermined time D, which is determined in advance, step S753 is determined to be NO, and the firing ball detection processing subroutine is exited.

  Since the shot ball detection process is executed every 2 ms, if the game ball stopped at the launch position by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 continues to be detected for a predetermined time D that is set in advance, the timer counter will be displayed every 2 ms. The value increases by 1 and the value of the clock counter reaches the predetermined time D (30 ms, count value 15 in this example) set in advance. In this case, YES is determined in step S753, it is considered that a launch ball has been detected, the launch ball detection flag is set to 1 (detected) (step S754), and the subroutine of the launch ball detection process is exited.

  On the other hand, when noise enters the launch ball confirmation switch 36, the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is momentarily turned on, but thereafter the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. Therefore, since the value of the time counting counter is set to 0 in response to the turning off of the launch ball confirmation switch 36, the value of the time counting counter is set to a predetermined prescribed time D (30 ms in this example, a count value of 15). Never reach.

  In this way, if the game ball that is stopped at the launch position by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is detected for a predetermined time, if it is determined that there is a launch ball, noise is generated. Erroneous ball count of the launch ball can be eliminated, and the certainty in detecting the launch ball can be increased.

[Ball subtraction process]
Next, the number-of-balls subtraction process will be described. FIG. 93 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the number-of-balls-holding subtraction process performed by the ball information control MPU. The number-of-balls subtraction process is executed as one process of the main action setting process of step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

  When the sphere information control MPU starts the number-of-balls subtraction process, first, the sphere information control MPU determines whether or not the launch ball detection flag is 1 (detected) (step S760). When it is determined that the shot ball detection flag is not 1 (detection is present), that is, when step S760 is NO, the subroutine for the number-of-balls-holding subtraction process is exited. In this case, the number of balls held is not subtracted.

  If it is determined in step S760 that the launch ball detection flag is 1 (detected), that is, if step S760 is YES, the process proceeds to step S761 and the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is off. It is determined whether or not (step S761). When it is determined in step S761 that the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is not off, that is, when NO is determined in step S761, the subroutine for the number-of-balls-holding subtraction process is exited.

  As described above, when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, the game ball retained at the launch position by the launch hammer 30 is launched into the game area 8 and the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. As a result, the number of balls held is decreased by -1. When it is determined in step S761 that the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is off, that is, when step S761 is determined to be YES, the value of the ball holding counter is decremented by 1 (step S762), and the launch ball detection flag is set. 0 (no detection) is set (step S763), and the subroutine for the number-of-balls subtraction process is exited.

  In this way, when the game ball that is stopped at the launch position is detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 over the predetermined time, it is determined that there is a launch ball, and that there is a launch ball. Under the condition, when the game ball is not detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36, it is determined that the game ball stopped at the launch position has been launched, and the number of possessed balls is reduced by 1, so the launch ball confirmation switch When noise is introduced into 36, it is possible to eliminate the false sphere count of the launch ball due to noise, and it is possible to increase the certainty in the detection of the launch ball.

[Ball lifting drive processing]
Next, the lifting drive processing will be described. FIG. 94 is a flow chart showing a sub-routine of the pumping drive processing performed by the sphere information control MPU. The lifting drive process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes of step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

  When starting the lifting drive process, the ball information control MPU first determines whether or not the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is on (step S770). If it is determined in step S770 that the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is off, that is, if step S770 is NO, the process proceeds to step S771 and it is determined whether or not the lift inlet/outlet switch 156 is on. (Step S771). When it is determined in step S771 that the lifting inlet switch 156 is on, that is, when step S771 is determined to be YES, the ball lifting motor 150 is driven (step S772), and the lifting driving processing subroutine is executed. Exit through.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S770 that the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is on, that is, if step S770 is YES, the ball lifting motor 150 is stopped (step S773), and the lifting driving process Exit the subroutine.
Also, if it is determined in step S771 that the lifting/inletting switch 156 is off, that is, if step S771 is determined to be NO, the ball lifting/lowering motor 150 is stopped (step S773) and the lifting/driving driving process is performed. Exit the subroutine.

  In this way, when the game ball is not detected by the launch standby ball detection switch 26, it is determined that the number of game balls required in the ball supply path member 24 is not satisfied, and the ball feed passage is set by the lift-in entrance switch 156. When a game ball waiting for alignment in 275 is detected, the ball hoisting motor is driven on condition that it is determined that there is a game ball, and the shooting standby ball detection switch 26 enters the ball supply path member 24. On condition that the game ball waiting for alignment is detected, the ball hoisting device 22 is stopped, and the hoisting of the game ball is stopped. Therefore, the game ball is excessively hoisted in the ball supply path member 24. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of ball clogging. As a result, since the game balls are pumped, the game balls can be sent to the ball supply path member 24 without excess or deficiency.

Further, compared to the cycle of the game balls of the hitting ball launcher 29 in the upper launch unit 12 and the cycle of the ball delivery of the game balls of the ball feeder 28, the game to the ball supply path member 24 by the ball lifting device 22. The sending cycle of the sphere is set to be short. In the present embodiment, the firing cycle of the game ball of the hitting ball launching device 29 and the ball feeding cycle of the game ball of the ball feeding device 28 are 600 ms (100 shots per minute), and the ball feeding path member by the ball lifting device 22. The sending cycle of the game balls to 24 is 384 ms.
As a result, during the game, the upper launch unit 12 is operated to launch the game ball into the game area by the ball launch device 29 and to send the game ball to the launch position by the ball feeder 28. In addition, since the cycle of sending the game balls to the ball supply path member 24 by the ball lifting device 22 is shorter than the cycle of sending the game balls to the launch position, the game ball stands by before being lifted by the lifting entrance switch 156. In the case where the state in which the game ball is being filled is held, the game ball in the ball supply path member 24 is not detected by the launch standby ball detection switch 26 while the game ball is being driven. Then, the ball hoisting device 22 is driven to start hoisting the game balls, and the game balls are sent out to the ball supply path member 24 at a pace faster than the driving pace of the game balls, and the ball waiting to be launched in the meantime. When the detection switch 26 detects a game ball waiting for alignment in the ball supply path member 24, the ball lifting device 22 stops driving, and the lifting of the game ball is stopped. In other words, during the game, the ball lifting operation of the ball lifting device 22 is performed intermittently, and it is possible to prevent the ball clogging from occurring and to efficiently and stably lift the game ball to thereby play the game. The balls can be efficiently supplied to the upper launch unit with a stable number of game balls.

  In the present embodiment, the firing cycle of the game ball of the hitting ball launching device 29 and the ball feeding cycle of the game ball of the ball feeding device 28 are 600 ms (100 shots per minute), and the ball feeding device 22 supplies the ball. Although the sending cycle of the game ball to the path member 24 is 384 ms, the method is not limited to this, and the shooting cycle and the ball sending cycle of the game ball, and the sending cycle of the game ball to the ball supply path member 24. Can be selected to be 600 ms with each other.

[Clogging notification processing]
Next, the ball clogging notification process will be described. FIG. 95 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a ball clogging notification process performed by the ball information control MPU. The ball clogging notification process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes of step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process. Further, the ball clogging notification process is performed subsequent to the hitting possibility determination process shown in FIG. 88. The launch standby ball detection switch 26 corresponds to the first launch standby ball detection means, and the launch standby ball detection switch 70 corresponds to the second launch standby ball detection means.

  When the ball clogging notification process is started, the ball information control MPU 111 first determines whether or not the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is on (step S780). When it is determined in step S780 that the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is on, that is, when step S780 is determined to be YES, the ball lifting motor 150 is stopped (step S782) and the process proceeds to step S786 to wait for launch. It is determined whether the ball detection switch is on (step S786). When it is determined in step S786 that the launch standby ball detection switch 70 is off, that is, when step S786 is NO, the abnormality detection flag is set to 1 (step S788), and the notification means is turned on. (Step S789) exits the subroutine of the ball clogging notification process.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S786 that the launch standby ball detection switch 70 is on, that is, if the determination in step S786 is YES, the process proceeds to step S787 to determine whether the abnormality detection flag is 1 ( Step S787). If the abnormality detection flag is determined to be 1 in step S787, that is, if the determination in step S787 is YES, the abnormality detection flag is cleared to 0 (step S790), the abnormality notifying means is turned off (step S792), and the recovery notifying means. Is turned on (step S794), and the routine for ball clogging notification processing is exited.

  When it is determined in step S780 that the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is off, that is, when step S780 is NO, the ball lifting motor 150 is driven (step S784) and the abnormality detection flag is set. It is determined whether it is 1 (step S787). If the abnormality detection flag is determined to be 0 in step S787, that is, if the determination in step S787 is NO, the routine for ball clogging notification processing is exited.

  In this way, the ball supply route member 24 and the ball feeding device 28 are provided with sensors for detecting the game balls, the game balls in the ball feeding route member 24 are detected, and the game balls in the ball feeding device 28 are detected. On the condition that the ball is not clogged, it is determined that the ball is in an abnormal state due to the occurrence of the ball clogging, and the abnormality is notified by an abnormality notifying unit (not shown, for example, the touch panel unit 14 indicates that the ball is clogged). Thereby, for example, it is possible to surely notify the staff of the game hall that the ball is clogged.

  Further, since the upper launching device 12 of the present embodiment can be rotated by the upper launching device hinge 37 and can be opened and closed with respect to the main body frame 2 (FIG. 12 ), the staff member notified by the ball clogging After opening the door frame 3, the state of the upper launching device 12 can be immediately grasped, and the ball clogging can be easily eliminated. When the ball clogging is cleared, the abnormality detection flag is cleared to 0 and the abnormality notification means is stopped. After that, by the recovery notifying means (for example, the touch panel unit 14 is displayed to the extent that a clerk in the game hall can recognize that the ball has been recovered from the blocked state (for example, 5 seconds to 10 seconds)), and the notification is made surely. It is possible to recognize that the ball clogging has been resolved.

The position of the launch standby ball detection switch 70 is attached so as to detect a game ball in the vicinity of the launch position in the path of the ball feeding device 28, but it detects a game ball passing through the path of the ball feeding device 28. Various arrangement positions can be selected as long as they can be arranged.
[Example 2]

In the pachinko gaming machine 1 according to the first embodiment, the upper launching device 12 follows the opening and closing of the door frame 3 in order to avoid the collision between the gaming board 5 and the upper launching device 12 when the game board 5 is attached to and detached from the main body frame 2. Although the structure for opening and closing is adopted, unlike the second embodiment, the upper launching device 12 is attached to the game board 5, and is attached and detached with the game board 5 while being attached and detached. Avoid collisions with device 12.
The upper launching device 12 is a game ball launching device disposed on the upper left side of the game board 5, and launches a game ball in the game area of the game board 5.

[Game board 5]
The upper launching device 12 is fixed to the upper left portion of the game board 5 as viewed from the front of the game machine 1 (FIG. 98). A square notch 47 is formed in the upper left corner of the game board 5 when viewed from the front, and the upper launching device 12 is attached to the square notch 47. The mounting may be fixed or detachable, but it is securely mounted on the game board 5 so that it does not rattle.
The structure itself of the upper launching device 12 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and is provided with a ball feeding device 28 and a hitting ball launching device 29 (FIG. 6) to launch a game ball into the game area of the game board 5. In addition, the ball feeding device 28 includes the lifting communication gutter 65 that receives the game balls from the ball lifting device 22 as in the case of the first embodiment. The lifting communication gutter 65 is a part of the ball supply path member 24 together with the ball sending gutter 23.

  An outer shell of the upper launcher 12, that is, a state in which the game board 5 is mounted on the main body frame 2, has a launcher guard member 12a attached to the surface of the upper launcher 12 that faces the inner surface of the main body frame ( 98, 99). In this embodiment, since the left side surface 12b and the upper surface 12c are provided, the launcher guard member 12a constitutes a part of the game board outline (shown by a chain line) in the front view of the game board 5 as shown in FIG. The launcher guard member 12a securely fixes the lower end of the left side surface 12b and the right end of the upper surface 12c to the panel holder 43 of the game board 5 by screwing or the like, and the corner portion connecting the left side surface 12b and the upper surface 12c is inside and the upper launching apparatus is launched. It is supported by stays 12d connected to twelve base plates 39. Further, in this embodiment, a cushion member 12e is further attached to the outer surface of the left side surface 12b of the launcher guard member 12a so that the impact can be further mitigated even if there is a collision. This protects the firing mechanism located inside the firing device guard member 12a from impact.

[Main body frame 2]
The main body frame 2 (FIG. 97) is a box shape having a frame-shaped fitting frame 15 and a peripheral wall portion 16 so as to fit exactly inside the rectangular frame-shaped outer frame 1a (FIG. 99). The main body frame 2 has been described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, but FIGS. 97 and 99 are used again to make the main points of the second embodiment easier to understand.
The fitting frame 15 has a rectangular accommodation opening 17 for fitting and accommodating the game board 5 on the front side thereof. The portion of the lower side of the front surface of the accommodation opening 17 that has a constant width in the front-rear direction is the lower front edge 600b of the main body frame 2, and the portion of the upper side that faces this is the main frame that has a constant width in the front-rear direction. 12 of the upper front edge 600a.

  A lower guide member 601b is attached to the lower front edge 600b, and a slider A and a slider B are attached to the lower guide member 601b so as to be movable in the left-right direction. The slider A is arranged on the left side of the slider B. An upper guide member 601a is attached to the upper front edge 600a, and a slider C is attached to the upper guide member 601a so as to be movable in the left-right direction (indicated by a broken line in FIG. 97).

In this embodiment, the upper and lower guide members 601a and 601b are sturdy members (FIG. 100A) in which the cross section formed by forming the steel plate is basically a C-shaped channel, and these are both the bottom portion 602 and the front portion. It is composed of rear rising portions 603a and 603b and front and rear ribs 604a and 604b which are portions folded back from the upper ends of these rising portions 603a and 603b in opposite directions (Fig. 100B, Fig. 101).
The lower guide member 601b has substantially the same length as the lower front edge 600b of the accommodation opening 17 of the main body frame 2, and the upper guide member 601a has substantially the same dimension as the upper front edge 600a (FIG. 97). Further, stoppers 605a and 605b are attached to the upper and lower guide members 601a and 601b at positions slightly leftward from a distance d1 corresponding to the horizontal dimension of the upper launcher 12 from the left end. The stoppers 605a and 605b are fixed to the front ribs 604a of the upper and lower guide members 601a and 601b, and at this position, as shown in FIG. It is arranged so that the tip of the game board 5 cannot pass toward the left peripheral wall unless it is rotated in the direction parallel to the front surface of the main body frame 2 (rightward in the drawing).

  As shown in FIG. 100, each of the sliders A, B, and C is a piece member, and is fitted between the front rising walls 603a and 603b in front of the guide members 601a and 601b. The sliders A, B, C are prevented from falling off from the guide members 601a, 601b by front and rear ribs 604a, 604b (Fig. 101B) having a width d2, and the guide members 601a, 601b can be slid to the left and right. Be attached to. The width d2 is dimensioned to prevent the slider A from slipping out of the guide member 601b due to the weight of the game board 5, for example, when a large force acts in a direction in which the slider A slides out. As shown in FIGS. 101A and 101B, each of the sliders A, B, and C is provided with a slide leg 606 for lightening the sliding, and the slider 606 and the bottom portion 602 of the guide members 601a and 601b. A space 607 is provided between them. In order to make the sliding light, the material of the sliders A, B, C is made of synthetic resin that slides well on the steel surface, or the sliders A, B, C are brought into contact with the bottom portions 602 of the guide members 601a, 601b. Install roller bearings.

  A receiving hole 609 (Fig. 100B) for receiving a pivot shaft 608 (Figs. 98 and 99) provided in the front portion of the lower surface of the game board 5 is provided in the central portion of the slider A. The depth of the receiving hole 609 from the surface of the slider A is d3 (FIG. 101A). Engaging protrusions 610b and 610a are formed on the upper surface of the slider B and the lower surface of the slider C in the upper guide member 601a, respectively. As shown in FIG. 101(B), the engagement protrusions 610b and 610a are made in a bolt-like shape and have a head portion 610c projecting rearward. These heads 610c are housed on the upper and lower surfaces of the game board 5, and escape recesses are formed so as not to hinder the rotation of the game board 5.

The pivot shaft 608 is fixed to the front surface of the bottom surface of the game board 5 (Fig. 103B), and one end of the lower lever 611b is horizontally rotatably mounted on the shaft 612b at a position away from this by a dimension d4 (about 100 mm). (Fig. 103B). The length of the pivot shaft 608 is shorter than the depth d3 (FIG. 100) of the receiving hole 609. Further, a washer 608a having a thickness slightly larger than the thickness dimension d5 of the upper and lower levers 611a and 611b is fixed to the base of the pivot shaft 608. This is to make a gap of dimension d5 between the upper surface of the lower guide member 601b and the lower surface of the game board. The lower lever 611b has a hook recess 613b which is opened to the side at the other end, and the dimension between the shaft 612b and the center of the hook recess 613b is substantially equal to the dimension d4.
A shaft 612a is mounted on the upper surface of the game board 5 at a position corresponding to the shaft 612b on the lower surface, and one end of the upper lever 611a is mounted horizontally rotatable by the shaft 612a. The upper lever 611a has a hook recess 613a that is opened laterally at the other end, and the dimension between the shaft 612a and the center of the hook recess 613a is substantially equal to the dimension d4.

  A ball lifting device 22 is arranged on the left side on the back side of the main body frame 2 (FIGS. 97, 99 and 5), and sends game balls from the lower ball collecting portion 21 to the upper ball supply path member 24. It is like this. As described above, the ball supply path member 24 (FIG. 6) includes the lifting communication gutter 65 on the upper launching device 12 side and the ball sending gutter 23 on the ball lifting device side, and the game board 5 is attached to the main frame 2. In the state, the ball outlet 23a of the ball sending gutter 23 and the ball receiving inlet 65a of the lifting communication gutter 65 are joined, and the balls pass through the inside of these gutters from the ball lifting device 22 side to the upper launching device 12 side. It is possible to move the ball.

  At this time, the ball outlet 23a of the ball sending gutter 23 is provided with a receiving portion 23b on the outer side in the left-right direction (FIG. 104), and a slide shutter 23c is disposed on the outer side so that the slide shutter 23c can slide in the left-right direction. The slide shutter 23c has a guide piece 23d on the lower surface side, which is fitted in a guide slit 23e provided in the receiving portion 23b and guided in the left-right direction. A spring 23f is attached to the guide piece 23d by biasing the guide piece 23d in the right direction between the spring 23f and the receiving portion 23. When the guide piece 23d moves to the right end of the guide slit 23e, the slide shutter 23c shields the ball outlet 23a of the ball delivery gutter 23. When moving to the left end, the ball outlet 23a is opened.

In the state where the game board 5 is removed from the main body frame 2, as shown in the state immediately after the operation in FIG. 105, since the lifting communication gutter 65 is separated from the ball sending gutter 23 in the right direction, the slide shutter 23c is a spring. 23f slides on the receiving portion 23b to the right end to block the ball outlet 23a. The slide shutter 23c corresponds to the opening/closing shutter 412 in the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 (FIG. 27) of the first embodiment.
The lower side of the ball receiving port 65a of the lifting communication gutter 65 on the upper launching device 12 side is at substantially the same height as the upper surface of the receiving portion 23b on the ball lifting device 23 side.
In the work of mounting the game board 5 on the main body frame 2, when the game board 5 is moved to the left immediately before the end, as shown in FIG. 106, the ball receiving port 65a is on the receiving portion 23b. While pushing the slide shutter 23c, it moves from right to left to open the ball outlet 23a of the ball sending trough 23, and at the same time, the ball sending trough 23 and the ball receiving opening 65a communicate with each other.

  At this time, both the floor surface 65b of the lifting device communication gutter 65 and the floor surface 23g of the ball delivery gutter 23 are inclined toward the launch device 28 side (FIG. 6), and as shown in FIG. 107, The floor surface 65b is lower than the floor surface 23g, and the floor surface 23g of the ball delivery trough 23 is formed in an inclined or arcuate shape in a cross section toward the floor surface 65b at the end portion which becomes the ball delivery port 23b. Therefore, when the slide shutter 23c is opened and the ball delivery port 23b and the ball receiving port 65a communicate with each other, the game ball of the ball delivery gutter 23 is lifted as shown in FIGS. 106A, 106B, and 106C. It smoothly moves to the feeder communication gutter 65.

  Further, the ball receiving port 65a of the lifting device communication gutter 65 is formed to be larger than the ball sending port 23b of the ball sending gutter 23, and when the game board 5 is attached to the main body frame 2, the ball sending port is opened. Even if the ball receiving port 65a is slightly displaced from the 23b in the horizontal direction or in the vertical direction, the game ball can be reliably delivered. The extent to which the ball receiving port 65a is formed to be larger than the ball sending port 23b is a range in which the clearance generated when these ball receiving port 65a and the ball sending port 23b communicate with each other is narrower than the diameter of the game ball.

[Accommodation of game board]
The door frame 3 is opened to expose the front surface of the main body frame 2.
The rectangular accommodation opening 17 is visible on the front surface of the body frame 2, and the lower guide member 601b is attached to the lower front edge 600b and the upper guide member 601a is attached to the upper front edge 600a. The game board 5 is lifted up, the board surface is kept vertical, and the game board 5 is rotated vertically clockwise so that the left end of the game board 5 is rearward, and the posture is a-1 in FIG. Then, first, the pivot shaft 608 on the left portion is inserted into the receiving hole 609 of the slider A, and the load on the left portion of the game board is supported by the main body frame 2 through the slider A. The length of the pivot shaft 608 is shorter than the depth d3 of the receiving hole 609, and the lower end does not reach the bottom portion 602 of the guide member. The slider A is previously moved to the right side of the lower guide member 601b.

  The game board 5 is rotated slightly to the left around the pivot shaft 608, and the right end of the game board 5 is brought closer to the main body frame 2 to be in the a-2 posture of FIG. Then, the lower lever 611b on the lower surface of the game board 5 is rotated to engage the hook recess 613b at the tip with the engagement protrusion 610b of the slider B. Similarly, the upper lever 611a on the upper surface of the game board 5 is rotated to engage the hook recess 613a at the tip with the engaging projection 610a of the slider C on the upper guide member 601a.

By this, most of the load of the game board 5 is supported by the main body frame 2, so that the operator supports the right end portion of the game board 5 while the left end of the game board 5 approaches the upper launching device 12 and the pivot shaft 608. The slider A is moved to the left inside of the main body frame 2 with.
At this time, if the heads 610c and 610c (FIG. 100B) of the engaging protrusions 610b and 610a are projected rearward as described above, the front end sides of the lower lever 611b and the upper lever 611a that engage with these are games. Even if the lower lever 611b and the hook concave portion 613b and the hook concave portion 613a of the lower lever 611b and the upper lever 611a are flipped upward by the weight of the board 5, the hook concave portion 613b and the hook concave portion 613a may be pushed up. Is hard to come off from the heads 610c and 610c, and the game board 5 can be stably moved.
Returning to the above, the slider A is moved to the left inner side of the main body frame 2 by the pivot shaft 608 so that the left end of the game board 5 approaches the left inner side of the main body frame 2, and at the same time, the right end of the game board 5 is moved to the main body frame 2 side. Try to push it in. The degree of pushing is such that when the game board 5 rotates to the left around the pivot shaft 608, the control board box or the like mounted so as to project to the back side of the game board 5 is the edge of the accommodation opening 17 of the main frame 2. In order not to collide with, the left movement along the lower guide member 601b of the pivot shaft 608 is combined with the rotation. When moving along the upper and lower guide members 601a and 601b of the game board 5, the sliders A, B and C move the guide members 601a and 601b in the same direction, and when the game board 5 is rotated to the left, the sliders. The distance between A and B increases. That is, with the shaft 612b of the lower lever 611b as the point D, the triangle ABD changes so as to be flat.

In addition, when the game board 5 is moved to the left, it can be moved (for example, a-1) in a posture in which the right end is the front until the game board 5 contacts the stoppers 605a and 605b. However, after the game board 5 contacts the stoppers 605a and 605b, the game board 5 cannot be moved in that posture, and the game board 5 is contacted with the stoppers 605a and 605b while moving to the left. It is necessary to move by combining movement and rotation to the left.
Then, finally, as shown in a-3 of FIG. 102, the front surface of the game board 5 is placed in a posture parallel to the front surface of the main body frame 2 and is pushed leftward. The lower lever 611b fits in the gap between the game board 5 and the lower guide member 601b, and the upper lever 611a fits in the gap between the game board 5 and the upper guide member 601a.
The game board 5 pushed to the left is connected to the connector on the body frame 2 side by a drawer type connector. The accommodated gaming board 5 is maintained in the accommodated state by a fixture 614 attached to the main body frame 2 side.

Thus, when the game board 5 is housed in the main body frame 2, the lower part of the game board 5 on the upper launching device 12 side is supported by the lower front edge of the main body frame 2 so as to be movable in the left-right direction and horizontally rotatable. Most of the weight of the game board 5 is supported by the main body frame 2, and the operator can lightly move the game board 5 with respect to the main body frame 2 by using the slider and the pivot. It can be done carefully and under control.
Further, since the stoppers 605a and 605b are provided, even if the game board 5 moves in a state where the game board 5 is not parallel to the front surface of the main body frame 2, the stoppers 605a and 605b are contacted to prevent the movement, and the game board 5 is Since the positions of these stoppers 605a and 605b cannot be passed unless the posture is rotated in a direction parallel to the front surface of the main body frame 2, the game board 5 is necessarily accommodated in the correct arrangement.
Then, when the game board 5 is moved to the left just before the end of the work of mounting the game board 5 on the main body frame 2, as shown in FIG. 106, the ball receiving port 65a moves above the receiving portion 23b. While pressing the slide shutter 23c, it moves from the right to the left to open the ball outlet 23a of the ball sending trough 23 and at the same time to connect the ball sending trough 23 and the ball receiving opening 65a.
Even if the upper launching device 12 fixed to the game board 5 may collide with the main body frame 2 during the work of mounting the game board 5 on the main body frame 2, the left side surface 12b of the upper launching device 12 and If the upper surface 12c is protected by the launcher guard member 12a and the cushion member 12e, the launcher mechanism will not be damaged.

[Removing the game board]
The door frame 3 is opened to expose the front surface of the main body frame 2. The fixture 614 is operated to release the game board 5 from being fixed to the main body frame 2. The game board 5 is initially pulled out to the right, and then the right side of the game board 5 is pulled out to the front so as to be rotated rightward about the pivot shaft 608, and the game board 5 is pulled out from the main frame 2. In that state, the hook recesses 613a and 613b at the tips of the upper and lower levers 611a and 611b are removed from the engaging protrusions 610a and 610b. Then, the lower end of the game board 5 is moved to the right along the guide member 601b, and then the game board 5 is lifted and the pivot shaft 608 is pulled out from the slider A. Thereby, the game board 5 can be taken out separately from the main body frame 2 together with the upper launching device 12.

By sliding the game board 5 in the accommodated state to the right once and pulling it out, the lifting communication gutter 65 on the upper launching device 12 side is separated from the ball sending gutter 23 on the ball lifting device 22 side, and then the game board 5 is pulled out. It is taken out while rotating to the right around the pivot shaft 608. Since the slide shutter 23c is closed by the spring 23f when the lifting communication gutter 65 is separated from the ball sending gutter 23, even if there is a game ball in the ball sending gutter 23, the ball supply path (ball supply path member 24) Does not fall outside.
Since the upper launching device 12 is taken out integrally with the game board 5, a collision does not occur in the upper launching device 12.

As described above, the second embodiment has been described by taking the gaming machine provided with the upper launch device 12 as an example, but in the present invention, the position of the launch device is not limited to the upper portion, and one of the left and right sides of the front surface of the main frame can be positioned. It can be applied if it is arranged.
Since the other configurations of the second embodiment are not different from those of the first embodiment, the description of the first embodiment is cited.

[Demo game]
The demo game performed in the pachinko gaming machine 1 (hereinafter also referred to as gaming machine) which is the enclosed ball type gaming machine will be described. The demonstration game starts when a preset start condition is satisfied, and ends when a preset end condition is satisfied.

  The process of the demonstration game is performed before the hitting possibility determination process shown in FIG. 88 in the main operation setting process S564 of FIG.

  FIG. 108 is a state transition diagram for explaining the concept of the demonstration game executed by the sphere information control MPU 111 (FIG. 77) of the sphere information control board 110. When the power of the gaming machine is turned on, the normal game state S800 (waiting for a customer or before the start of the game) is entered after the power-on processing. When the conditions (1) and (2) described later are satisfied in this state, the game state shifts to the non-gaming state S802. Each gaming machine is provided with a demo setting switch (not shown) for selecting whether or not to carry out a demo game.

  This demo setting switch is an effective demonstration game while saving power by selecting one out of multiple units, considering the time and date selection and the installation position of the game machine when performing the demonstration game. It is provided so that the hall clerk can set each gaming machine so that all the gaming machines in the non-gaming state do not perform the demo game.

The conditions for shifting to the non-gaming state S802 are:
(1) That the demo setting switch is set to ON,
(2) In the communication processing with the settlement machine 4, the result of the determination that the card is available for reception is “none”, that is, the card 403 is not inserted in the card processor 402 (see FIG. 78). Both conditions are.

  The non-gaming state S802 is a state in which the player is not playing a game, and is waiting for the demo game start condition to be satisfied. As the demonstration game start condition, for example, when the value of the non-gaming timer (subtraction type), which means that the non-gaming state has continued for a predetermined time, becomes zero, or the RTC 107 provided on the main control board 100. When the calendar information/time information (hereinafter also referred to as RTC information) from (refer to FIG. 76) reaches a pre-designated date and time, and 2:RTC information=start time, or a demonstration game starts. When the start instruction is given by the operation of a switch (not shown, hereinafter also referred to as a demonstration game start/end switch) that can be operated only by a clerk in the hall to give an end instruction, the game state shifts to the demo game state S804.

  On the other hand, in the non-gaming state S802, when the card 403 is inserted into the card processor 402, the communication processing with the settlement machine 4 is performed, and the result of the card available reception existence determination is “present”, It is determined that the player starts the game, the process proceeds to the end process state S806, and after the end process, returns to the normal game state S800. Further, when the stop instruction is given by the operation of the demonstration game start/end switch, the processing similarly shifts to the end processing state S806, and after the end processing, returns to the normal game state S800.

  When the game state shifts to the demonstration game state S804, the demonstration game is started and continued until a predetermined ending condition is satisfied. The condition for shifting from the demo game state S804 to the end processing state S806 is, for example, when the value of the demo game timer (subtraction type), which means that the demo game is executed for a predetermined time, becomes zero, or 2 : 3: RTC when the number of balls held becomes zero, or the calendar information and time information (see FIG. 76) from the RTC 107 provided on the main control board 100 reaches a predetermined date and time. When the information=end time, the process moves to the end processing state S806 and after the end processing, returns to the normal game state S800.

  On the other hand, in the demonstration game state S804, when the card 403 is inserted into the card processing machine 402, the communication processing with the settlement machine 4 is performed, and the result of the card available reception existence determination is “present”, It is determined that the player starts the game, the process proceeds to the end process state S806, and after the end process, returns to the normal game state S800. Further, when the stop instruction is given by the operation of the demonstration game start/end switch, the process similarly goes to the end processing state S806, and after the end processing, returns to the normal game state S800.

  In the end processing state S806, the counter value and each flag set to execute the demonstration game are reset, and then the process returns to the normal game state S800.

[Demo game condition determination processing]
FIG. 109 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a demo game condition determination process for managing each process of the demo game. The non-gaming state detection processing subroutine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 110 and the flags set by the subroutine of the demonstration game processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 111 are judged, and the subroutines for performing the corresponding processing are executed. Each step of FIG. 109 will be described below. The initial value of each flag is zero.

  First, in step S810, the setting of the demo setting switch provided in the gaming machine for allowing selection of whether or not to carry out the demonstration game is determined, and if it is set to ON, the process proceeds to the next step S812. move on. On the other hand, if the demo setting switch is set to OFF, the process of the demonstration game is not performed and the subroutine is exited as it is.

  In step S812, the result of the card available reception judgment is judged, and if “no”, it is judged that the card 403 is not inserted in the card processor 402, and the flow proceeds to the next step S814. On the other hand, if “present”, it is determined that the card 403 has been inserted into the card processor 402, the process proceeds to the ending process S824, the subroutine of the ending process is executed, and the subroutine of the demonstration game condition determining process is exited.

  In step S814, the condition for shifting from the demo game in progress state S804 illustrated in FIG. 108, that is, one of the conditions of 1: demo game timer=0 or 2: ball count=0 or 3: RTC information=end time If the end flag that is set to 1 is satisfied and the end flag is not set to 1, the process proceeds to the next step S816. On the other hand, if the end flag is set to 1, the process proceeds to the end process of step S824, the end process subroutine is executed, and the demo game condition determination process subroutine is exited.

  In step S816, the process proceeds to the demo game state S804 shown in FIG. 108, the demo game flag that is set to 1 is determined, and if the demo game flag is not set to 1, the process proceeds to the next step S818. move on. On the other hand, if the demo game flag is set to 1, the process proceeds to step S822, the subroutine of the demo game process is executed, and the subroutine of the demo game condition determination process is exited.

  In step S818, the condition of transition from non-gaming state S802 illustrated in FIG. 108, that is, one of non-gaming state timer=0 or 2:RTC information=start time or 3:start instruction, is satisfied. If the demo game flag which is set to 1 is determined and the demo game flag is not set to 1, the process proceeds to the next step S820. If the demonstration game flag is set to 1, the process proceeds to step S822, the demo game process subroutine is executed, and the demo game condition determination process subroutine is exited.

  In step S820, the non-gaming state detection process subroutine shown in FIG. 108 for determining the condition for shifting from the non-gaming state S802 to another state is executed, and the subroutine of the demo game condition determination process is exited.

[Non-gaming state detection processing]
In the present embodiment, among the conditions for shifting from the non-gaming state S802 shown in FIG. 108 to the demo gaming state S804, in the case of 1: non-gaming state timer=0, the non-gaming state detection processing S820 shown in FIG. 110 is performed. It will be described with a flowchart showing a subroutine.

  First, in step S830, it is determined whether or not the non-gaming state flag is set to 1. This flag means that the non-gaming state is being detected. At the time of shifting from the normal gaming state S800 to the non-gaming state S802, the non-gaming state flag has not yet been set to 1, so the process directly proceeds to step S832, the non-gaming state flag is set to 1, and the non-gaming state flag is set to not at step S834. The game state timer (subtraction type) is set to a variable W indicating a value corresponding to the detection time, for example, 10 minutes, and the subroutine of the non-game state detection process is exited.

  After this, after the card available reception determination is made in the timer updating process (timer subtraction) of step S556 of the sphere information control main process of FIG. 84 executed in the next cycle, and the settlement machine communication process of step S558. The subroutine of the non-gaming state detection process S820 is executed after the determinations of steps S810 to S818 of the flowchart showing the subroutine of the demonstration game condition determination process. In the non-gaming state detection processing subroutine, it is always determined in step S830 whether or not the non-gaming state flag is set to 1, and the non-gaming state flag is set to 1 in the previous execution of the non-gaming state detection processing subroutine. If so, the process advances to step S836 to determine whether the non-gaming state timer is zero. Immediately after 10 minutes has been set in the non-gaming state timer in the previous execution of the non-gaming state detection processing subroutine, and if it has not become zero, the non-gaming state detection processing subroutine is exited. After the timer updating process of step S556, the determination of step S830 and step S836 is repeated for 10 minutes in the non-gaming state detection process subroutine of step S820.

  When 10 minutes have elapsed after detecting the non-gaming state, the non-gaming state timer becomes zero, and the process proceeds to step S838 by the determination in step S836. In step S838, the demonstration game start flag is set to 1 and the non-gaming state detection processing subroutine is exited.

  When the demo game start flag is set to 1, the game proceeds from the non-gaming state S802 of FIG. 108 to the demo game S804, and as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 109, step S818 is determined to be YES and the demo game condition determination process Execute a subroutine.

[Demo game processing]
In the present embodiment, among the conditions for shifting from the demo game state S804 shown in FIG. 108 to the end processing state S806, in the case of 1: demo game timer=0, the subroutine of the demo game process S822 shown in FIG. 111 is shown. A flow chart will be described.

  In step S840, it is determined whether the demo game flag is set to 1. This flag means that a demo game is in progress. At the time of shifting from the non-gaming state S802 to the demo gaming state S804, the demo gaming flag is still set to 1, so the process proceeds to the next step S842 as it is, and the settings required for the following demo games are performed.

  In step S842, the demonstration game flag is set to 1. Next, in step S844, the demo game timer (subtraction type) is set to, for example, 5 minutes in the variable D indicating the time corresponding to the duration of the demo game. Next, in step S846, the number of balls held is set to a variable P corresponding to the number of balls held at the start of the game, for example, 500 shots. The set voltage of the firing solenoid drive circuit 120 (see FIG. 77) is set to a predetermined value for demonstration games (not shown). In step S848, the ball information control board 110 of FIG. 76 notifies the main control board 100 of the start of the demonstration game, and the main control board 100 sends a command to start the demonstration game to the peripheral control board 130. This completes the setting of the demo game, and turns on the demo game signal of the external terminal board 133 in step S850 to exit from the subroutine of the demo game process.

  Then, as a result of the ball count counter value (500) being set in the ball hit enable/disable process (see FIG. 88) executed in the latter stage of the demonstration game condition determination process, YES is determined in step S710, and step S713 is performed. Then, the process proceeds to step 1 and the firing possible flag is set to 1 (can be fired), and the ball hit/impossible process is exited. Then, as a result of setting 1 (firing possible) to the firing possible flag, the subsequent ball feeding/firing drive processing (FIGS. 90 to 91) is substantially executed, so that the hitting firing device in the upper firing device 12 is executed. The demonstration game is performed by driving the 29 and the ball feeding device 28 (see FIG. 23), and the game ball is shot in the game area 8.

  During the demonstration game, the number-of-balls counting process of FIG. 89, the number-of-balls counting process of FIG. 92, and the number-of-balls subtracting process of FIG. 93 are executed, and the value of the number-of-balls counter is increased or decreased. In addition, of course, the lifting drive processing of FIG. 94 and the ball clogging notification processing of FIG. 95 are also executed.

  When the demo game process subroutine is executed again in the next cycle of the ball information control main process, the demo game flag is set to 1 in step S840, and as a result, the process proceeds to step S852. After the demo game timer is set for 5 minutes, if the value subtracted by the timer updating process S556 is held, the process proceeds to the next step S854. In step S854, it is determined whether or not the number of balls possessed is zero, and if 500 shots have been set in the previous step S846, the subroutine of the demonstration game processing is directly exited.

  After it is determined that there is a card available reception in the timer update process (timer subtraction) of step S556 of the sphere information control main process of FIG. 84 and the settlement machine communication process of step S558, a demonstration game is performed in the main operation setting process of step S564. The condition determination subroutine is executed. In the subroutine of the demo game condition determination processing, it is determined in step S816 whether or not the demo game flag is set to 1, and as a result, the subroutine of the demo game processing S822 is executed.

  In the demo game processing subroutine of step S822, it is determined again in step S840 whether the demo game flag is set to 1. As a result of the demonstration game flag being set to 1 at the time of executing the previous subroutine of the demo game process, the process proceeds to step S852. Next, in step S852, it is determined whether the demo game timer is zero. If the demonstration game timer has not reached zero, it is determined in the next step S854 whether the number of balls held is zero. If the number of balls held is not zero, the demo game processing subroutine is exited.

  After that, the process returns to the subroutine of the main operation setting process S564 of the ball information control main process, and the game ball is shot in the same manner as the normal game through the processes such as the hitting possibility determination process, the number of held balls count process, and the ball feed/shooting drive process. The hammer 30 is used to hit the game area 8. The value of the possessed ball number counter is decremented by 1 by the possessed ball number subtracting process of FIG.

  The prize balls are controlled based on the balls actually won, and the value corresponding to the prize ball command transmitted from the main control board in response to winning the prize is added to the value of the ball holding counter. To be done. The value of the possessed ball number counter is displayed on the touch panel unit 14 (see FIG. 1) as the number of possessed balls of the gaming machine.

  Also, in step S848 (see FIG. 111), the ball information control board 110 of FIG. 76 notifies the main control board 100 of the start of the demonstration game, and the main control board 100 instructs the peripheral control board 130 to start the demonstration game. Will be sent.

  When the peripheral control board 130 receives a command to start the demonstration game, it randomly selects a variation effect, and in the liquid crystal display device (not shown), starts variation of the decorative pattern 701 shown in FIG. 114, for example. The effect is displayed, the explanation is displayed, and after the display for a predetermined time, the fluctuation is stopped.

  FIG. 114A shows a state in which the decorative pattern 701 starts changing from “669” and the ladybugs fly around. In this state, for example, when a game ball enters the upper starting opening, an upper starting opening winning command is sent from the main control board 100 to the peripheral control board 130, and the peripheral control board 130 is set as shown in FIG. 114(a). Hold display for one item.

  Note that the hold display may be performed independently by the peripheral control board 130 regardless of the ball entering the upper starting opening, and the hold display shown in FIGS. 114A and 114B is performed.

  During the demonstration game, the explanation in the text "Turning the handle to the right will launch the ball to the board" will be scrolled from the right side of the screen at the bottom of the screen of the display device so that even beginners can understand it. The method will be guided.

  When the variation effect is finished, the peripheral control board 130 randomly selects another variation effect, and again, in the liquid crystal display device (not shown), starts the variation of the decorative design and performs the effect display, The explanation is displayed, and when the hold display is displayed, the hold display is decremented by 1, and after the predetermined time is displayed, the fluctuation is stopped. In this way, during the demonstration game, this variation effect is randomly executed.

  As another form, the start of the variation effect is triggered by the entry of the game ball into the upper starting opening provided on the game board, and the upper starting opening switch 90 of FIG. 76 detects the upper starting opening winning. Accordingly, the main control board 100 may transmit the upper start opening winning command to the peripheral control board 130, and the peripheral control board 130 may receive the upper starting opening winning command and execute the variation effect.

  As the demo game progresses in the demo game in progress state S804 illustrated in FIG. 108, the demo game timer is decremented by the timer update process S556 of the ball information control main process. When the subroutine of the demo game process S822 is executed and the demo game timer becomes zero, the process proceeds from the determination of step S852 to step S856, and the end flag is set to 1. Alternatively, when the number of balls held becomes zero, the process proceeds from the determination of step S854 to step S856, the end flag is set to 1, and the subroutine of the demo game process is exited.

  If the end flag is set to 1 in the subroutine of the demo game condition determination process of FIG. 109, the process proceeds from step S814 to step S824, the subroutine of the end process S824 is executed, and the subroutine of the demo game condition determination process is exited. . The end flag is a flag for shifting from the demo game state S804 of FIG. 108 to the end processing state S806.

[End processing]
FIG. 112 is a flowchart showing the subroutine of the end processing S824. In the termination processing subroutine, the card 403 is inserted into the card processor 402 described above, and the result of the card available reception determination in step S812 of FIG. 109 is "present", and it is determined that the player starts the game. If, or if it is instructed to stop by operating the demonstration game start/end switch, or if the demonstration game timer becomes zero or the number of balls held becomes zero, and the end flag is set to 1, the end processing of S824 The subroutine is executed.

  In the subroutine of the end processing S824, zero is set in the ball-holding counter in step S860. Next, in steps S862 to S868, the end flag, the in-demo game flag, the demo game start flag, and the non-gaming state flag are cleared (set to zero).

  Next, in step S870, the sphere information control board 110 of FIG. 76 notifies the main control board 100 of the end of the demo game, and the main control board 100 transmits a command to end the demo game to the peripheral control board 130. The peripheral control board 130 returns to the display screen in the normal gaming state.

  In step S872, the demonstration game signal of the external terminal board 133 is turned off, and the subroutine is exited.

  During the demonstration game, game information including a demo game signal is output from the external terminal board 133 to a hall computer (not shown). Since the hall computer determines the ON state of the demo game signal, the game information during the demo game is not aggregated. Therefore, it does not affect the sales data of the hall. In addition, since the demonstration game is played in a waiting state for customers, it does not become an obstacle to the intention of the hall side to maintain the operating rate of the gaming machine.

[Non-gaming state detection process R]
In the present embodiment, a case where 2:RTC information=start time is described among the conditions for shifting from the non-gaming state S802 shown in FIG. 108 to the demo gaming state S804. In step S820 of the demonstration game condition determination process, the non-game state detection process (see FIG. 109) is executed under the condition of 1: non-game state timer=0, but in the present embodiment, the non-game state detection process of the demo game condition determination process is executed. In step S820, the non-gaming state detection process R subroutine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 113 is executed.

  In step S880, the sphere information control board of FIG. 76 requests the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 to provide the calendar information and time information (hereinafter also referred to as RTC information) from the RTC 107 of the main control board to provide the RTC information. Send a command.

  The RTC information is received in step S882, and the RTC information received in step S884 is stored in the variable C. The received RTC information is, for example, "YYYY.MM.DD.hh.mm.ss". Next, in step S886, in order to extract a field designated in advance from the RTC information, calculation is performed with the mask data, and, for example, only the hour field is stored as the processed RTC information. The mask data at this time is “0000.00.00.11.11.00”.

  Steps S888 to S894 are processing for comparing a plurality of demo game start times (not shown) stored in advance in the table with the processed RTC information to determine a match. If it is determined in step S890 that the processed RTC information matches one of the start times Tn stored in the table, the demo game start flag is set to 1 and the non-gaming state detection process R is exited.

  When the demonstration game start flag is set to 1, the state shifts from the non-game state S802 in FIG. 108 to the demo game in progress S804. The subsequent processing is the same as the demonstration game processing S822 and the end processing S824.

  It should be noted that the condition 3 for shifting from the non-gaming state S802 of FIG. 108 to the in-demo game S804: a start instruction (by operating the demonstration game start/end switch), and the condition 3: for shifting from the demo game state S804 to the end processing state S806: A description of RTC information=end time is omitted. Further, the conditions for shifting from the non-gaming state S802 to the demo gaming state S804 and the conditions for shifting from the demo gaming state S804 to the end processing state S806 in FIG. 108 can be set in combinations of 1 to 3 respectively.

1 Pachinko gaming machine 1a Outer frame 2 Main body frame 3 Door frame 4 Adjusting machine 5 Game board 6 Decorative cover 7 Hinge 8 Game area 9 Game window 10 Hitting ball handle 11 Transparent plate 12 Top launching device (top launching unit)
12a Launching device guide member 12b Left side surface 12c Upper surface 12d Stay 12e Cushion member 13 Launching solenoid 14 Touch panel part 15 Fitting frame 16 Peripheral wall part 17 Housing opening 18 Overhanging wall 19 Deformed sphere/magnetic ball discharge unit accommodating part 20 Deformed sphere/ Magnetic ball discharge unit 21 Ball collecting section 22 Ball hoisting device 23 Ball sending trough 23a Ball outlet 23b Receiving section 23c Slide shutter 23d Guide piece 23e Guide slit 23f Spring 23g Floor surface 24 Ball supply path member 25 Screw 25a Screw shaft 25b Small pitch Ridge member 25bL Half-divided body 25bR Half-divided body 25c Large-pitch ridge member 25cL Half-divided body 25cR Half-divided body 25d Spiral ridge 25e Cylindrical portion 25g Recess 25h Convex portion 25i Upper edge 25j Upper-edge concave portion 25k Lower edge 25m Lower edge Convex part 26 Launching standby ball detection switch 28 Ball feeding device 29 Hitting ball launching device 30 Launching hammer (launching member)
301 Fixed part 302 Rod part 303 Stopper contact part 31 Ball feed solenoid 32 Ball feed member 33 Rail member 331 Mounting plate part 332 Rail part 333 Left rail plate 334 Right rail plate 335 Through hole 34 Fire stopper 35 Return stopper 36 Fire Ball confirmation switch 361 Photo bracket 37 Hinge for upper launching device 38 Launch opening 39 Base plate 39a Abutting part 40 Launching area 41 Winning hole 42 Out opening 43 Panel holder 44 Transparent panel board 45 Front component member 46 Game ball running surface 47 Notch 48 Extending part 49 Fixing tool 50 Screw receiving member 51 Ball entry prevention wall 52 Tension spring 53 Spring locking part 54 Ball guide protrusion 55 Front guiding surface 56 Stopper piece 57 Arrangement space 58 Ball exit 60 Rotation drive shaft 61 Hammer tip 62 Stopper Cover 63 Ball supply port 64 Launch port decoration member 65 Lifting communication gutter 65a Ball receiving port 65b Floor surface 66 Ball inlet 67 Ball feeding unit base 68 Ball feeding unit cover 69 Ball feeding guide trough 70 Launch standby ball detection switch 71 Ball feeding sheet metal 72 Working Rod 73 Sheet Metal Housing 74 Ball Feeding Part 75 Shaft Hole 76 Ball Feeding Shaft 77 Arm Part 78 Sheet Metal Locking Claw 79 Hooking Protrusion 80 Ball Feeding Guide Surface 81 Ball Holding Surface 82 Hanging Piece 83 Return Ball Blocking Part 84 Ball Stop portion 85 Hitting ball passage opening 86 Launch stop switch 87 Touch switch 90 Upper starting opening detection switch 91 Lower starting opening detection switch 92 Gate switch 93 General winning a prize detection switch 94 General winning a prize detection switch 96 Starting opening solenoid 97 Large winning opening solenoid 98 Count switch 100 Main control board 101 Main control MPU
102 main control I/O port 103 main control input circuit 104 main control solenoid drive circuit 105 RAM clear switch 106 RTC control unit 107 RTC
108 battery 109 RAM
110 ball information control board 111 ball information control MPU
112 Ball Information Control I/O Port 113 Ball Information Control Input Circuit 114 Ball Lifting Motor Drive Circuit 115 CR Unit Input/Output Circuit 116 External WDT
117 Power Failure Monitoring Circuit 118 Ball Information Control Unit 119 Ball Polishing Ribbon Feed Motor Drive Circuit 120 Emitting Solenoid Drive Circuit 122 Ball Feed Solenoid Drive Circuit 123 Handle Relay Terminal Board 124 Sensor Relay Board 130 Peripheral Control Board 131 Door Frame Opening Switch 132 Body Frame Opening Switch 133 External terminal board 140 Panel relay terminal board 141 Function display board 142 Upper special symbol indicator 143 Lower special symbol indicator 144 Upper special symbol memory indicator 145 Lower special symbol memory indicator 146 Normal symbol indicator 147 Normal symbol memory indicator Vessel 148 Gaming status indicator 149 Round indicator 150 Ball lifting motor 155 Ball polishing ribbon feeding motor 156 Lifting inlet switch 157 Lifting motor sensor 158 Cassette detection switch 201 Ball gutter base 202 Collection port 203 Collection ball detection switch 204 Variant Sphere discharge part 205 Magnetic sphere discharge part 206 Sphere path full tank detection switch 207 Sphere proper amount detection switch 208 Deformed sphere discharge part base 209 Deformed sphere separation shaft 210 Deformed sphere separation shaft 212 Deformed sphere discharge part base mounting part 213 Upstream side 214 Downstream Side 215 Deformed sphere discharge path 216 Deformed sphere discharge port 217 Deformed sphere discharge path forming member 218 Connection path 219 Circulation path 220 Sloping surface 221 Falling surface 222 Magnetic sphere discharging slope 223 Discontinuous portion 224 Side wall 225 Ceiling wall 226 Magnetic sphere discharging path 227 Magnetic ball discharge port 228 Magnetic ball discharge part cover 229 Magnet 230 Magnet accommodation space 231 Magnetic force adjustment part 232 Magnetic ball 233 Regular game ball 234 Discharge ball receiving box 251 Ball polishing cartridge 252 Left side cover 253 Right side cover 253a Right outer side Cover 253b Right inner side cover 254 Hinge receiving portion 255 Hinge 258 Second drive gear case 259 Winding roller 260 Driven roller 261 First gear shaft 262 Second gear shaft 263 Ball polishing cloth 264 Ball polishing cloth pressing spring 265 Leaf spring 266 Spring holder 267 Tensioner 268 Gaming ball contact mark 270 Ball polishing cartridge mounting part 271 Ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 272 Ball polishing cartridge fixing stopper 273 Ball polishing cartridge mounting port 275 Ball feeding through Road 275a Ball receiving port 275b Ball feeding port 281 Opening 282 Lifting guide rail 290 Drive shaft 291 Mounting sensor 292 Button 350 Ball feeding rotating body 350a Ball engaging recess 351 Ball feeding inclined portion 351a Inclined surface 351b Top inclined surface 352 Spiral base Cover 353 Lifting unit cover 354 Lifting slope member 355 Ball removing member 356 Upper gear box 357 Lower gear box 358 Ball lifting motor gear 359 Idle gear 360 Upper lifting gear 362 Lower lifting gear 363 Ball feeding rotary body gear 363a Gear shaft 365 Guide block 365a Ball guide surface 365b Stopper surface 366 Fitting member 366a Fitting recess 367 Support member 368 Cover member 402 Card processing machine 403 Card 404 ID storage unit 405 Remaining number storage unit 406 Holding ball storage unit 407 Mounting member 408 Hanging wall 410 Ball outlet opening/closing unit 411 Shutter base 412 Opening/closing shutter 413 Opening/closing crank 414 Opening/closing spring 415 Slide groove 416 Opening part 417 Crank support part 418 Spring locking part 419 Shutter body 420 Drive hole 421 Shaft part 422 Drive shank 423 Drive pin 424 Abutment part 425 Spring locking part 426 Opening/closing actuating piece 427 Game ball introducing member 500 Following member 600a Upper front edge 600b Lower front edge 601a Upper guide member 601b Lower guide member 602 Bottom part 603a Front rising part 603b Rear rising part 604a Front rib 604b Rear rib 605a Stopper (top)
605b Stopper (bottom)
606 Sliding leg 607 Space 608 Pivot shaft 609 Receiving hole 610a Engagement protrusion (upper)
610b Engagement protrusion (bottom)
610c Head 611a Upper lever 611b Lower lever 612a Shaft (upper)
612b axis (bottom)
613a Hook recess (top)
613b Hook recess (bottom)
614 Fixing device 701 Decorative pattern

Claims (1)

A game board in which a game area where the game balls roll is formed,
A launching device that launches the game ball toward the game area in response to an operation on a ball hitting handle,
The game board includes a winning opening and a game ball collecting opening,
The game ball is launched into the game area by the launching device, and the launched game ball is collected from the winning port or the game ball collecting port after rolling in the game region and conveyed to the launching device. In the enclosed ball type gaming machine that allows the game to be played by circulating the game ball in a closed manner,
While performing game control, a main control board that outputs a prize ball command based on at least receipt of the game ball into the winning opening,
A ball information control board for controlling the number of balls held based on the prize ball command,
The sphere information control board,
Non-gaming state detection means for detecting a non-gaming state in which no game is being played,
On condition that the non-gaming state is detected, the launching device is automatically operated without operating the hit ball handle, thereby performing a demo game of launching the gaming ball in the game area. Means and
While playing the demo game, a demo game signal output means for outputting a demo game signal to the external terminal board, which indicates that the demo game is being performed,
Enclosed ball type gaming machine characterized by having.