JP2023090944A - game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

To detect whether a shooting device is set at a correct position with respect to a game board, in an enclosed ball type game machine with the shooting device movably disposed at the upper part of a body frame, and to determine whether the number of all the enclosed balls is proper or not, in other words, in an excess or in a deficiency.SOLUTION: A game machine includes: a position detection sensor 180 for detecting that a position of a ball shooting device 29 movably provided with respect to the upper part of a body frame 2 is at a regular position with respect to a game board 5; and a ball information control board 110 for controlling the operation of the ball shooting device 29. Under a condition that the ball shooting device 29 is detected via the position detection sensor 180 to be at the regular position with respect to the game board 5, a ball information control MPU 111 determines whether the number of all the enclosed game balls is proper or not, in other words, in an excess or in a deficiency. Under a condition that the number of all the enclosed game balls is determined as proper, the ball information control MPU 111 permits the operation of the ball shooting device 29.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 116

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an enclosed ball type game machine in which a game is played by circulating a predetermined number of game balls in a closed manner without paying out game balls.

A predetermined number of game balls enclosed in the main body of the gaming machine are shot by a launching device into a game area of a game board to play a game, and the game balls that have passed through the playing area are collected through a circulation route and led to the launching device to play the game. A so-called ball-enclosed game machine has been proposed in which balls are circulated (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

2. Description of the Related Art In a closed-ball game machine having a circulation path for circulating game balls used in a game, a game is played with a certain number of game balls enclosed in the inside of the game machine. Then, game balls can be shot in accordance with the number of game balls (data on the number of balls held) based on the data on the number of rental balls input from a storage medium such as a card via a payment 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 shot game balls.

In addition, when a game ball that is launched enters a winning hole in the game area and a prize ball (game ball) is generated, the actual game ball is not paid out, and the number of prize balls is recorded in the data of the number of possession balls is added. Also, when the data of the number of held balls becomes "0", the game ball cannot be shot. In this way, a game using the enclosed ball type gaming machine is completely performed as numerical data. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately detect and manage the number of game balls enclosed in the main body of the game machine.

In the game machine described in Patent Document 1, the enclosed ball exchange unit can be attached and detached from the front lower part of the main body frame and replaced from the front, the door frame is opened with respect to the main body frame, and the enclosed ball exchange unit is replaced with a new one. Since it is only necessary to replace the ball with a new one, the work of replacing all the enclosed balls that are cyclically used can be done easily and easily. can be performed relatively easily.

In addition, a pachinko game machine has been proposed in which a game ball shooting device is arranged on the upper part of the game machine for the purpose of enlarging the game board surface and preventing foul balls (for example, Patent Document 2). The bullet launching device for a pachinko machine described in Patent Document 2 is one in which the launching device is arranged in the upper part of the game machine so that game balls can be reliably shot one by one.

In enclosed ball type gaming machines in which a game is played by circulating a predetermined number of game balls in a closed manner, foul balls and return balls (launched game It is possible to prevent game balls from returning to the shooting position of the shooting device) and to make it possible to reliably shoot game balls one by one. Arranging it on the upper part of the main body frame of the machine is advantageous because it eliminates the need to consider foul balls and returned balls when managing game balls as numerical values in data.

JP 2013-081695 A JP 2002-346067 A

However, if the launching device is placed on the upper part of the main body frame of the game machine, the launching device will be placed in the place where the game board is fitted in the main body frame, so it is necessary to install a new machine (for example, use the main body frame as it is and play the game). Sometimes only the board is replaced), etc. When fitting the game board into the main body frame, it must be fitted while avoiding the launcher. However, since the launching device is arranged on the same surface where the game board is fitted, it is difficult to fit the game board, or the game board accidentally collides with the launching device when fitting the game board. There is a possibility that a problem such as breakage of the board may occur.

Therefore, if the shooting device is arranged to be movable (for example, manually movable) with respect to the main body frame, when the game board is fitted into the main body frame, the movement path when inserting the left side of the game board By moving the shooting device to the detached position, the shooting device does not get in the way when fitting the game board into the body frame, and the work of fitting the game board into the body frame can be easily performed, and the game board and the firing device can be easily connected. It is thought that the possibility of damage due to collision etc. can be reduced as much as possible. After the game board is fitted into the body frame, the shooting device is moved to its original position, thereby completing the work of fitting the game board into the body frame.

However, when the launcher is returned to its original position, if the positional relationship between the launcher and the game board is not in the correct position (referred to as a normal position), for example, a deviation occurs at the boundary between the launcher and the game board. If there is, there is a risk that the ball hit from the launching port of the shooting device may not travel properly, and the ball may not be hit properly at the intended location of the game area defined by the game board. In that case, the player loses interest in the game.

Apart from the above-mentioned problems, in the case of a type of enclosed-ball type gaming machine that does not have an enclosed-ball exchange unit that accommodates all the enclosed balls that are circulated, the number of all the game balls enclosed in the main body of the gaming machine is Accurate detection and management is not easy. The game balls enclosed in the game machine are queued and aligned in the ball feeding path on the upstream side of the shooting device arranged on the upper part of the main body frame, or passed through the out port and the prize winning port provided in the game area. The circulating path of the game balls, such as being in a waiting state until it is collected on the back side of the game board and sent to the lifting device, or existing inside the lifting device that lifts the game balls upward. is divided into several locations.

If the number of all game balls enclosed in the main body of the gaming machine is not appropriate (for example, 30 balls), for example, if the number of all enclosed game balls is greater than the appropriate amount (called excessive game balls), the circulation path It becomes easy to cause ball clogging somewhere in the Also, for example, if the number of all enclosed game balls is less than the appropriate amount (called a shortage of game balls), there is a concern that there will be a shortage of shot balls during play. In particular, if there is a shortage of shot balls during a jackpot game, the player cannot hit the balls into the game area, which may cause a serious problem.

In addition, if the number of all the game balls enclosed in the main body of the game machine is not appropriate, the number of game balls that can be used will be disproportionate when compared between the same models, which is given to the player. There is a problem that the principle that fairness is ensured collapses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its object is to provide a game machine in which a shooting device is movably arranged on the upper part of a main body frame, and a game is played by circulating a predetermined number of game balls in a closed manner. To detect whether or not a shooting device is set at a correct position with respect to a game board and to check whether or not the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate in such a ball-enclosed game machine. , for the purpose of judging excess or deficiency.

A closed-type game machine according to [Solution 1] has a game area divided and formed, a winning opening into which a game ball that rolls down the game area can enter, and a game ball that rolls down the game area, a game board provided with an out port for collecting game balls that have not entered the prize winning port; a body frame in which the game board is fitted and accommodated; A hitting ball launching device for shooting game balls into a game area, a ball recovery device having a recovery port for recovering the game balls entered in the winning port and the game balls recovered in the out port, and the ball recovery. a ball conveying device for conveying game balls collected by the device toward the ball shooting device, wherein the ball shooting device, the game area of the game board, and the ball recovery are performed without dispensing game balls. A closed-ball game machine in which a game is played by circulating a predetermined number of game balls in a closed manner in a circulation path of game balls by the device and the ball conveying device, wherein the ball shooting device is movable with respect to the body frame. provided with a position detection means for detecting that the position of the hitting ball launching device is in a normal position with respect to the game board, and a launch control means for controlling the operation of the hitting ball launching device, The control means detects whether the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate on the condition that the ball shooting device is in a normal position with respect to the game board via the position detection means. On the condition that the enclosed ball number determination control means for determining whether or not, and the enclosed ball number determination control means determines that the number of all the enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount, at least the hitting ball is fired. and an operation permitting means for permitting the operation of the device.

The enclosed ball type gaming machine according to [Solution 2] is the enclosed ball type gaming machine according to [Solution 1],
A shot ball confirmation means for detecting a game ball placed at the shooting position of the ball shooting device is provided, and the enclosed ball number determination control means
All enclosed game balls are shot into the game area by operating at least the ball shooting device;
The number of shot game balls is counted based on the detection signal of the shot ball confirmation means.

The enclosed ball type gaming machine according to [Solution 3] is the enclosed ball type gaming machine according to [Solution 1],
The game board is
A main control board that performs game control and outputs a prize ball command based on the acceptance of the game ball into the winning hole,
The body frame is
It is connected to the main control board for two-way data communication, and the number of held balls based on the prize ball command transmitted from the main control board and information on the number of game balls launched by the ball launching device. a ball information control board for performing data increase/decrease control, game ball launch control by the batted ball launcher, game ball transport control by the ball transport device, and ball feed control by the ball transport device;
The batted ball shooting device comprises shot ball confirmation means for detecting a game ball placed at the shooting position,
The ball recovery device is
a ball retaining portion capable of retaining the game balls collected through the collection port in the downflow path of the game balls;
a ball retention stopper member that is openable and closable so as to allow the game ball to flow down in the ball retention portion in the open state, and block the game ball from flowing down in the closed state to retain the game ball in the ball retention portion; ,
a ball retaining stopper driving means for opening and closing the ball retaining stopper member;
The sphere information control board,
including the firing control means;
By operating the ball retention stopper driving means to bring the ball retention stopper member into the closed state, the game balls collected in the collection port of the ball collection device via the winning port or the out port are removed. a ball retention control means for retaining the ball in the ball retention portion of the ball recovery device;
game ball launch control means for launching all enclosed game balls into the game area by operating the batted ball launching device and the ball conveying device after activating the ball retention control means;
game ball number counting means for counting the number of game balls shot based on the detection signal of the shot ball confirmation means when game balls are shot by the game ball shooting control means;
It is determined whether or not a predetermined end condition is satisfied, and if it is determined that the end condition is satisfied, the counting of the number of game balls by the game ball number counting means is terminated, and the game ball number counting means The counted number of game balls is taken as the number of all enclosed game balls, and the number of all game balls is compared with a predetermined appropriate amount to determine whether or not all the game balls are appropriate. Game ball number appropriate amount determination means for determination;
with
It is characterized by

[effect]
According to the enclosed ball type gaming machine according to [Solution 3], after blocking the flow of the game ball by the ball retention stopper member in the ball retention portion of the ball recovery device, the ball launching device is operated to play the game ball. When the game balls are shot to the area and the game balls are shot, the number of shot game balls is counted based on the detection signal of the shot ball confirmation means, so the game balls shot to the game area are The ball is recovered to the recovery port of the ball recovery device via the prize winning port or the out port, and is stopped in the ball retention part of the ball recovery device whose flow is blocked by the ball retention stopper member, so it is downstream from the ball retention part in the circulation path. do not flow into Therefore, it is possible to prevent a game ball that has been counted once from being covered again and counted. As a result, the number of all enclosed game balls can be accurately counted. As a result, while visually confirming the shot game balls, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the number of all the counted enclosed game balls is appropriate, or whether there is an excess or deficiency, and the reliability of the determination result. can enhance sexuality.

The enclosed ball type gaming machine according to [Solution 4] is the enclosed ball type gaming machine according to [Solution 3],
The sphere information control board,
When the power is turned on or when the door frame is opened and closed with respect to the main body frame,
executing the enclosed ball number determination control by the enclosed ball number determination control means;
It is characterized by

[effect]
By turning on the power to the game machine, the number of all enclosed game balls can be counted, and it can be determined whether the amount is appropriate or not. In addition, when the door frame is opened and closed with respect to the body frame, the number of all game balls enclosed can be counted, and it can be determined whether the amount is appropriate or not.

The enclosed ball type gaming machine according to [Solution 5] is the enclosed ball type gaming machine according to [Solution 4],
At least a notification means for notifying the propriety of the number of game balls,
The enclosed ball number determination control means is characterized by comprising an output means for outputting an excess or deficiency to the notification means when the game ball quantity appropriate amount determination means determines the excess or deficiency. It is.

[effect]
According to the enclosed ball type gaming machine according to [Solution 5], when it is determined that the number of all enclosed game balls is excessive or insufficient, the fact that the number is excessive or insufficient is output to the notification means. It can be identified that the number of game balls that have been played is excessive or deficient.

The enclosed ball type gaming machine according to [Solution 6] is the enclosed ball type gaming machine according to [Solution 1],
A plurality of game ball detection sensors for detecting the presence or absence of game balls are arranged in the circulation path,
The plurality of game ball detection sensors include a first game ball detection sensor for detecting the first game ball among all the enclosed game balls, and an appropriate number of all the enclosed game balls. a second game ball detection sensor for detecting a game ball to be played, and a third game ball detection sensor for detecting a game ball positioned next to the appropriate number of game balls,
Based on the detection signals of the first, second and third game ball detection sensors, the enclosed ball number determination control means determines whether or not the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate. It is characterized by determining

According to the enclosed ball type gaming machine according to [Solving Means 6], it is possible to determine whether the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate or not.

Since the position detection means is provided for detecting that the ball shooting device is in a normal position with respect to the game board, the ball shooting device movably arranged on the upper part of the main body frame is fitted to the main body frame. It is possible to detect whether it is set in the correct position.

The shooting control means for controlling the operation of the ball shooting device determines the number of all enclosed game balls on the condition that the ball shooting device is in a normal position with respect to the game board via the position detection means. However, it determines whether the amount is appropriate or not, and if it is determined that the number of all the enclosed game balls is appropriate, at least the operation of the ball shooting device is permitted. When the positional relationship between the launching device and the game board is in the correct position (regular position), it is possible to determine whether or not the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate.

On the other hand, if the positional relationship between the ball shooting device and the game board is not in the correct position (regular position), for example, if the boundary between the ball shooting device and the game board is misaligned, or the game board Even if the ball launching device is in the correct position, if the number of all game balls enclosed is not appropriate and there is an excess or deficiency, the operation of the ball launching device is not permitted and the ball is not fired. , the game itself is not performed.

As a result, it is possible to prevent the player from losing interest in the game due to the fact that the ball is not properly hit to the place intended by the player in the game area partitioned by the game board.

Also, if the positional relationship between the ball shooting device and the game board is not in the correct position (regular position), for example, if there is a deviation at the boundary between the ball shooting device and the game board, or if the game board Even if the ball launching device is in the correct position, if the number of all game balls enclosed is not appropriate and there is an excess or deficiency, the operation of the ball launching device is not permitted and the ball is not fired. , the game itself is not performed.

As a result, it is possible to prevent the player from losing interest in the game due to the fact that the ball is not properly hit to the place intended by the player in the game area partitioned by the game board. In addition, it is possible to avoid situations such as ball jam due to excess game balls and trouble for players due to shortage of game balls. If it is determined, the operation of the hitting ball shooting device is not permitted and no hitting balls are fired, so in comparison between the same model, the number of game balls that can be used is disproportionate, which is given to the player. It is possible to avoid the problem that the principle of ensuring fairness collapses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a front view showing a pachinko machine that is an embodiment of the gaming machine according to the present invention and a fare adjustment machine attached to the pachinko machine; 1 is a front view of a pachinko machine with a door frame removed; FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing a body frame that constitutes a pachinko machine; FIG. It is a rear perspective view showing a body frame that constitutes the pachinko machine. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an upper firing device, a deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit, and a ball collecting portion; Fig. 10 is a right side view showing the upper launcher, ball feed path member and ball lifter; FIG. 4 is a perspective view looking up at the upper part of the game board from below the front of the game board showing the upper launching device and the launching area; Fig. 12 is a front view of the upper launcher (launching hammer striking position); It is a perspective view which looked at the top launcher from the front left. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the upper launcher viewed from the rear left; It is the perspective view which removes a ball feed unit cover, and shows an upper firing device looking from the back left. It is a figure which shows the open state of the top launching device in the pachinko machine which removes a door frame and shows. It is a right side view showing a longitudinal section of the pachinko machine with the door frame removed. Figure 3 schematically shows a portion of a cross-sectional perspective view along AA of Figure 2; FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state where the joint portion of the upper firing device with the base plate and the protruding portion of the panel holder of the game board are in contact with each other; It is a perspective view which looks at an upper firing device from the front right, and shows it. FIG. 11 is a front view of the upper firing device (launching hammer standby position); Fig. 10 is a right side view of the upper firing device (ball feed solenoid de-energized, ball feed member in holding position and return ball blocking position); FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the upper firing device cut along line BB of FIG. 10 (ball feed solenoid de-energized, ball feed member in holding position and return ball blocking position); It is a perspective view showing a ball feeding member, a ball feeding shaft, and a ball feeding sheet metal in the ball feeding device from diagonally behind. Fig. 10 is a right side view of the upper firing device (ball feed solenoid energized, ball feed member in supply and allow positions); FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the upper firing device cut along the line BB of FIG. 10 (ball feed solenoid energized, ball feed member in supply position and allow position); FIG. 4 is a longitudinally cutaway view of the body frame to show the upper firing device, the ball feed path member and the ball lifting device; It is a time chart which shows the drive timing of a ball feed solenoid and a discharge solenoid. It is a front perspective view of a ball outlet opening/closing unit. It is a back perspective view of a ball outlet opening-and-closing unit. It is a perspective view showing the relationship between the upper firing unit and the ball outlet opening and closing unit in the body frame. Fig. 10 is an external perspective view for explaining a deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit. 29. It is a figure which isolate|separates and turns over a magnetic ball discharge part cover in FIG. 28, and demonstrates it. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit. It is a rear view of the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit. It is a figure explaining the base plate of a deformed ball and magnetic ball discharge unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit separated into a deformed ball discharge unit and a magnetic ball discharge unit; FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining paths along which deformed balls and magnetic balls are discharged in the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit. It is a figure explaining the condition where a magnetic ball is isolate|separated from a circulation route and is discharged|emitted. It is a figure explaining the state which the magnetic ball reached|attained the magnetic ball discharge|emission inclined surface. It is a front left perspective view of a ball gathering part and a ball lifting device. FIG. 3 is a front view of a ball gathering part and a ball lifting device; It is a front view which shows the state which removed the ball polishing cartridge in the ball collection part. It is a back perspective view showing a state where the case of the ball collecting portion and the cover of the ball lifting device are removed. FIG. 41 is a rear perspective view showing an enlarged sphere converging portion in FIG. 40; FIG. 42 is a further enlarged view of FIG. 41; FIG. 4 is a plan view with the case of the sphere gathering portion removed; FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view showing a state in which an upper gearbox and a lower gearbox are removed; It is a right view which shows the state which removed the cover of the ball lifting device. FIG. 46 is an enlarged view of (A) in FIG. 45; It is a figure showing the state which disassembled the screw. It is a perspective view which shows 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 view which shows the state with which the ball polishing cartridge was mounted. It is a perspective view explaining the mechanism which fixes a ball polishing cartridge. It is a perspective view which shows the state at the time of mounting|wearing with a ball polishing cartridge. It is a perspective view showing a state in which the game ball and the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other. It 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. FIG. 55 is a left side view showing a state in which the left side cover of the ball polishing cartridge is removed in FIG. 54; FIG. 55 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge. It is a perspective view which shows the state with which the ball polishing cartridge was mounted. FIG. 58 is a perspective view showing a state in which only the right outer side cover is removed in FIG. 57 for explanation; FIG. 59 is a top perspective view showing a state in which the right side cover is opened in FIG. 58; 1 is a perspective view of a ball polishing cartridge; FIG. It is a front view of a ball polishing cartridge. Fig. 2 is a side view of the ball polishing cartridge; FIG. 63 is a side view showing a state in which the left side cover is removed in FIG. 62; It is a perspective view of a ball polishing cartridge mounting part. 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 enlarging the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge of FIG. 39; It is a side view which shows the 2nd Example in a lifting slope member. It is a perspective view which shows the 2nd Example in a lifting slope member. It is a top view which shows the state which removed the upper gearbox in a lifting device. It is a rear view which shows the state which removed the lifting part cover in the lifting apparatus. It is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the number of inserted game balls is less than a predetermined number when game balls are enclosed in the enclosed ball type gaming machine (pachinko machine). It is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a predetermined number of game balls are inserted when game balls are enclosed in the enclosed ball type gaming machine (pachinko machine). It is a schematic diagram showing the behavior of a game ball when the number of inserted game balls exceeds a predetermined number when the game balls are enclosed in the enclosed ball type gaming machine (pachinko machine). It is a perspective view showing a state in which the game ball introduction member in the game panel is projected. It is a perspective view showing a state in which the game ball introduction member is housed in the game panel. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the essential parts of an embodiment of a main control board provided in a closed-ball gaming machine (pachinko machine); It is a block diagram showing the main part of the ball information control board deployed in the enclosed ball type gaming machine (pachinko machine). It is a block diagram showing each element connected to the payment machine. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing main control side power-on processing executed by the main control MPU of the main control board; FIG. FIG. 80 is a flow chart showing a continuation of the main control side power-on processing of FIG. 79; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing main control side timer interrupt processing executed by the main control MPU; FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a ball information control side power-on process executed by a ball information control MPU of a ball information control board; FIG. FIG. 83 is a flow chart showing a continuation of the ball information control side power-on processing of FIG. 82; FIG. FIG. 84 is a flow chart showing the continuation of the power-on processing on the ball information payout control side following FIG. 83 . FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing ball information control power-off processing executed by the ball information control MPU of the ball information control board; FIG. It is a flow chart which shows an example of ball information control side timer interruption processing. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the ball rental process which ball information control MPU performs. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a hit ball possible/impossible determination process performed by the ball information control MPU; FIG. FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of count processing of the number of possession balls performed by the ball information control MPU; FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of ball feeding/shooting drive processing performed by the ball information control MPU; FIG. This is a continuation of the flow chart of FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of shot ball detection processing performed by the ball information control MPU; FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the number of possession balls subtraction process performed by the ball information control MPU; FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a lifting drive process performed by a ball information control MPU; FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the ball clogging alerting|reporting process which a ball information control MPU performs. It is the figure which showed the cushion and follower member which were provided in the back surface side of a door frame, and the cushion receiving plate which was provided in the top firing device. The perspective view which shows an outline of a main body frame from the front side (Example 2). The perspective view from the front side which decomposed|disassembled the main body frame, the game board, and the top launching device, and was shown roughly. (a) is a perspective view of the upper guide member as seen from below, (b) is a perspective view of the lower guide member as seen from above, and (c) is a perspective view of the slider. (a) is a cross-sectional view along the II line of FIG. 97, and (b) is a cross-sectional view along the II-II line. Fig. 4 is a plan view schematically shown to illustrate operation; (a) is a schematic plan view for explaining the mechanism, and (b) is an enlarged plan view of the main part. Cross-sectional views schematically showing the connecting portion of the game ball supply passage composed of two parts, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view. (a), (b), and (c) are cross-sectional views (side view) showing the state of communication between the ball delivery gutter and the lifting communication gutter. The perspective view which showed the game ball supply passage part of a ball lifting device and an upper launching device. The schematic diagram which showed the dust countermeasure mechanism. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a game board and a body frame connected using a drawer connector; FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the upper launcher in an open state with respect to the game board in an embodiment employing a position detection sensor; FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the upper launcher in a closed state with respect to the game board in an embodiment employing a position detection sensor; (A) shows a subroutine of the first hit ball possible/impossible determination process performed by the ball information control MPU in the embodiment employing a position detection sensor for detecting whether the upper firing device is set at a normal position with respect to the game board. It is a flow chart. (B) is an example of a display that is notified on the touch panel section when the upper firing device is not set to the normal position with respect to the game board. (C) is an example of the display that is notified on the touch panel when the upper launching device is set at the normal position with respect to the game board. 1 is a front view of a ball recovery device in this embodiment in which enclosed ball number determination control means is provided on a ball information control board; FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a first embodiment of a subroutine of enclosed ball number determination control processing performed by the ball information control MPU; FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a subroutine of ball feeding/shooting drive processing performed by the ball information control MPU; FIG. This is a continuation of the flowchart in FIG. FIG. 105(A) is a flow chart showing a subroutine of the ball detection processing performed by the ball information control MPU, and FIG. 105(B) is a flow chart showing a subroutine of the number of possession balls subtraction processing performed by the ball information control MPU. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of ball number appropriate amount determination processing performed by the ball information control MPU; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example of a ball number appropriate amount determination result notified on the touch panel unit; FIG. 83 is a continuation of the flowchart of FIG. 82 and is a part of the flowchart of the power-on process showing an example of the case where the ball information control MPU 111 executes the enclosed ball number determination control process when the power is turned on. 7 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of door frame open/close determination processing performed by the ball information control MPU; FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of a hitting ball permissible/impossible determination process performed by the ball information control MPU in the embodiment employing the enclosed ball number determination control means (performing the enclosed ball number determination control process); FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a second embodiment of a subroutine of enclosed ball count determination control processing performed by the ball information control MPU.

[Overview of gaming machines]
Examples 1 and 2 of the present invention will be described below by taking up an enclosed ball type pachinko machine. The present invention can also be applied to pachinko machines other than enclosed-ball pachinko machines.
[Example 1]
The pachinko machine 1 according to this embodiment can be installed in the current island equipment in a hall (pachinko game hall), and the game content is the same as that of a well-known pachinko machine. However, the game machine does not use the ball supply mechanism or ball discharge mechanism of the island facility. That is, in the enclosed ball type pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment, a predetermined number of game balls made of a non-magnetic material (for example, stainless steel) are accommodated in the game machine, and the predetermined number of game balls are released into the game area by the shooting device. A game is played using game balls preliminarily enclosed in the game machine such that the game balls are collected after the game is completed, guided to the shooting device, and the game balls are circulated and used. It's like Then, game balls can be shot in accordance with the number of game balls (data on the number of balls held) based on the data on the number of rental balls input from a storage medium such as a card via a payment 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 shot game balls.

In addition, when a game ball that is launched enters a winning hole in the game area and a prize ball (game ball) is generated, the actual game ball is not paid out, and the number of prize balls is recorded in the data of the number of possession balls is added. Also, when the data of the number of held balls becomes "0", the game ball cannot be shot. In this state, when a numerical value (number of rental balls) is added to the data of the number of held balls based on the data of the amount stored in the storage medium such as the card and the data of the stored balls, it is possible to shoot the game ball again. becomes. In addition, the game balls that have been shot are collected in the game machine, sent to the shooting position again, and circulated in the game machine. That is, the pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment is a closed-ball game machine that collects game balls shot into the game area and supplies them to the game again.

First, the body frame 2 (FIG. 3) and the door frame 3 (FIG. 1) constituting the pachinko machine 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. Incidentally, the pachinko machine 1 of FIG. 1 is provided with a fare adjustment machine 4 as an external device.

The pachinko machine 1 comprises an outer frame 1a (Fig. 12) which is constructed in the shape of a rectangular frame and installed on an island facility on the hall side, and a game board 5 (Fig. 2) which is pivotally supported by the outer frame 1a so as to be openable and closable. It is composed of a mountable body frame 2 and a door frame 3 pivotally supported on 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 below the body frame 2 and the door frame 3, and the front surface of the outer frame 1a is completely closed by the door frame 3 and the decorative cover 6. It has become. The outer frame 1a, the body frame 2, and the door frame 3 are arranged such that their upper ends are substantially aligned, and the body frame 2 is rotatable by means of a hinge 7 (Fig. 3) provided on the left side of the outer frame 1a. The body frame 2 is pivotally supported, and the body frame 2 is opened by moving the right side of the body frame 2 forward with respect to the outer frame 1a. The door frame 3 is rotatably attached to the body frame 2 with a pin, and is opened by moving the right side of the door frame 3 forward.

[Door frame 3]
The door frame 3 includes a game window 9 through which a player can visually recognize a game area 8 into which game balls are hit on the game board 5, and a game window 9 which is arranged below the game window 9 and which opens into the game area 8 based on the player's operation. It has a ball hitting handle 10 for hitting a game ball. A transparent plate 11 is attached to the game window 9 to cover the front surface (game area 8) of the game board 5 mounted on the side of the main body frame 2 in a state where the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2 so as to be visible. It is The ball-hitting handle 10 drives a firing solenoid 13 (see FIG. 5) of a ball-hitting device (referred to as an upper firing device 12) attached to the upper left of the main body frame 2 based on the turning operation of the player. A game ball is hit into the game area 8. - 特許庁The ball-striking handle 10 includes a microswitch (not shown) that is turned on when rotated, and a firing stop switch that is turned off by pressing the microswitch while the microswitch is on, and the ball-striking handle 10. A touch switch is provided to detect the player's contact with the hitting handle 10 via conductive plating applied to the outer peripheral surface of the handle. Top launcher 12 will be described later.

The door frame 3 and the body frame 2 can be opened from the body frame 2 by inserting a key into a key device arranged at the lower right corner of the door frame 3 and rotating the door frame 3 to one side. is now possible.

[Touch panel unit 14]
The door frame 3 is provided with a horizontally long touch panel portion 14 below the game window 9 (a portion corresponding to the top plate of a known pachinko machine that is a non-enclosed ball type). The touch panel portion 14 displays the number of remaining points, the number of balls in the game machine, and the number of edge balls.

Here, the number of remaining points is a value corresponding to the amount of money stored in the card used in the payment machine 4, and the number of balls owned by the player is the number of balls lent to the player by lending the balls. It is the sum of the number of balls and the number of prize balls won by the player as a result of playing the game.

The touch panel portion 14 displays a ball lending button as a ball lending command input means operable by the player and a settlement button as settlement command input means operable by the player. The ball lending button is for instructing the lending of a ball for playing a game. Also, the settlement button is to end the pachinko game and instruct the settlement.

Further, on the touch panel section 14, a number-of-balls display button is displayed as a number-of-balls display command input means that can be operated by the player. Here, the number of short balls is the number of surplus balls when the number of balls held by the player is divided by the number of balls corresponding to one special prize at the time of prize exchange. The touch panel section 14 can also display a message such as, for example, "Do you want to hit only the edge ball?" A message in the form of an interactive question is displayed together with a number display button, and a YES button and a NO button are respectively displayed for the player to select and input a yes or no response.

[Body frame 2]
The body frame 2 is box-shaped and has a frame-shaped fitting frame 15 and a peripheral wall portion 16 so as to be fitted in the rectangular frame-shaped outer frame 1a (FIGS. 3 and 4). The fitting frame 15 has a rectangular housing opening 17 for fitting and housing the game board 5 on its front side. A protruding wall 18 protruding inward is integrally formed at the back of 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 body frame 2, the front surface (game area 8) of the game board 5 accommodated in the body frame 2 can be seen through the game window 9 of the door frame 3. - 特許庁

A deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit housing portion 19 is formed below the housing opening portion 17, and a deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 is disposed in the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit housing portion 19. . Then, as will be described later, the discharged ball receiving box 234 that houses deformed balls and magnetic balls having a smaller diameter than the regular game balls discharged from the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 is used for the gaming machine. It can be attached and detached from the front direction.

FIG. 23 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the body frame to show the upper firing device, the ball supply path member, and the ball lifting device. As seen 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. As shown in FIG. The ball collection part 21 receives game balls that have passed through the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge 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 shooting game balls toward the game area 8 is arranged on one side (left side) of the front and upper part of the body frame 2 (FIGS. 3 and 23). In addition, a ball feeding device 28 for feeding game balls arranged and stored in a guide passage (ball feeding guidance gutter 69 described later, see FIG. 11) to the firing position of the batted ball launching device 29 one by one. , so as to overlap in the front-rear direction (FIGS. 6 and 23). In this 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 have reached the base are rotated to increase the distance between the game balls. It is opened and lifted to the upper part of the body frame 2 from below. 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 of the ball lifting device 22 is arranged above the ball feeding device 28 (FIGS. 3 and 4). 4, Fig. 23).

Between the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 and the upper part of the upper launching device 12, there is provided a ball feeder extending in the longitudinal direction for sending game balls lifted by the ball lifting device 22 to the ball feeding device 28 from above. A path member 24 is provided (FIGS. 3, 4, 23). In addition, in this embodiment, the ball supply path member 24 is formed at the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 and is gently downwardly inclined toward the front so that the lifted game balls can be pushed forward from above. It is composed of a ball sending gutter 23 to be sent out and a lifting communication gutter 65 which is formed in the rear upper part of the upper firing device 12, is connected to the ball sending gutter 23, and has a gentle downward slope toward the front. The game ball lifted by the ball lifting device 22 is 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 game balls flowing down the ball delivery gutter 23 (see FIG. 6).

[Upper launcher]
FIG. 8 is a front view showing the upper launcher, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the upper launcher viewed from the front left. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the upper firing device viewed from the rear left, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the upper firing device viewed from the rear left with the ball feed unit cover removed.

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

The upper firing device 12 has a metal plate-like base plate 39 for fixing the upper firing device 12 to the body frame 2, and receives game balls arriving from the ball supply path member 24, and shoots the hitting ball firing device 29. A ball feeding device 28 that reliably feeds game balls one by one to a hitting ball shooting position of a hammer 30 (FIG. 8) by means of a ball feeding solenoid 31 (FIG. 11) and a ball feeding member 32, and shoots game balls toward a game area 8. and a hitting ball launcher 29 (see FIGS. 8 to 11).

The ball feeding device 28 receives a game ball arriving from the ball supply path member 24 (FIG. 6), and feeds one game ball to the firing position of the firing hammer 30 (FIG. 8) of the ball shooting device 29 by the ball feeding member 32. It is a device for reliably sending out one by one.

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

The shot ball confirmation switch 36 is arranged with respect to the rail portion 332 of the rail member 33, and detects the presence or absence of the game ball struck by the shot hammer 30, and the game ball detection by the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is not detected. By switching, it is detected that one game ball has been shot by the shooting hammer 30. - 特許庁

In order to move the upper firing device 12, the base plate 39 is attached to the body frame 2 so as to be openable and closable by a vertical upper firing device hinge 37 disposed on the front left side of the base plate 39. As shown in FIG. The base plate 39 can be opened forward with the upper firing device hinge 37 as an axis (FIGS. 9 and 12).

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

As shown in FIG. 5, the game ball circulation path includes the above-mentioned deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20, ball collecting section 21, ball lifting device 22, ball supply path member 24, upper launching device 12, and game area 8. It goes through. A game ball shot from the upper shooting device 12 to a shooting area 40 (FIG. 7) of the game area 8 flows downward through the game area, passes through a prize winning opening 41 or an out opening 42, and is discharged to the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20. back to

[game board]
A game board 5 is attached to the fitting frame 15 of the body frame 2 . In this embodiment, the game board 5 has a structure in which a transparent panel plate 44 is attached to a panel holder 43, and a front structural member 45 is attached to the front surface of the panel holder 43 to fix the transparent panel plate 44 (FIG. 12). The game board 5 does not have a conventional inner rail, and the upper part of the inner peripheral surface of the front component 45 is used as a game ball running surface 46 (FIG. 7).

The electrical connection of the game board 5 to the body frame 2 is made by a drawer connector. Drawer connectors are provided on the game board 5 and the main body frame 2, respectively, and by fitting 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 electricity is supplied. can be directly connected. This enables 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 shape of the upper firing device 12 . The notch 47 extends from the front structural member 45 to part of the transparent panel plate 44 in the game area 8 . The ejection opening 38 of the upper ejection device 12 faces the portion where the transparent panel plate 44 is cut out, and as shown in FIG. is the shooting area 40 . Therefore, a game ball hit by the firing hammer 30 of the upper firing device 12 is guided to the game ball running surface 46 of the front component 45 in the firing area 40 .

The notch 47 of the panel holder 43 is smaller than the notch of the front structural member, and a portion of the panel holder 43 protrudes into the notch 47 when viewed from the front. (Figs. 12 and 15). A fixture 49 is mounted through the base plate 39 of the upper firing device 12 in the front-rear direction. It is detachably attached to 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 flat metal plate, and is fixed to the projecting wall 18 with a screw or the like.

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

As a result, the positional relationship between the ejection port 38 of the upper ejection device 12 and the game area 8 is fixed without looseness, and there is no step between the ejection port 38 and the game area 8 that hinders the movement of game balls. does not occur. Further, when the fixing member 49 is removed from the screw receiving member 50, the base plate 39 can be opened forward around the hinge 37 for the upper firing device, and when the game board 5 is fitted into the fitting frame 15 of the main body frame 2, the base plate 39 can be opened. out of the way. Furthermore, maintenance work such as the ball catch in the ball feeding device 28 and the hitting ball launching device 29 can be easily performed.

As a method of fixing the upper launcher, a cushion may be arranged on the back side of the door frame, and the game board and the upper launcher may be pressed and fixed when the door frame is closed. Description will be made below with reference to FIG.

A cushion 501 is provided at a portion of the rear side of the door frame 3 that abuts on the upper firing device 12, and by closing the door frame 3, the cushion receiving plate 502 arranged on the upper firing device 12 is pressed against the cushion 501, and the body frame is closed. 2 side fixed. 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 and presses the protruding portion 48 toward the main body frame 2 to fix it. As a result, the positional relationship between the ejection port 38 of the upper ejection device 12 and the game area 8 is fixed without backlash. Furthermore, even if the shooting hammer 30 vibrates, the cushion 501 presses against it, so that the positional relationship between the shooting port 38 and the game area 8 is fixed without backlash.

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 screw fixing method. Details will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 96, the rear surface of the door frame 3 and the upper firing device 12 are connected by a follower member 500 (a spring in this embodiment). When the door frame 3 is opened when the game board is replaced by installing a new machine or the like, 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. do. As a result, since the upper launching device 12 moves from the same surface of the game board 5, a wide space can be secured when the game board 5 is fitted into the body frame 2, and the game board can be easily fitted. be able to. Also, the possibility of damage caused by collision between the game board 5 and the launching device can be reduced as much as possible.

Furthermore, even if the top firing device 12 follows the opening of the door frame 3 by the following member 500, the cushion 501 is arranged on the back surface of the door frame 3, so that the door frame 3 and the door frame 3 move with the force of the following movement. Since there is no collision, damage to the door frame 3 and the following member 500 can be suppressed.

Although the following member 500 is a spring in this embodiment, it is not limited to this, and any member that causes the upper firing device 12 to follow the door frame 3 may be used. For example, various methods such as elastic rubber (rubber band, etc.), string-like member, and engaging/pulling member can be selected.

The game area 8 of the present embodiment is provided with a large number of obstacle nails (not shown) and various winning openings such as winning openings, etc., and a predetermined number of prize balls are provided according to the winning of the various winning openings. It's like In addition, since this embodiment is a closed-ball game machine, "1" is subtracted from the data of the number of held balls in accordance with the hitting of one game ball, while the number of prize balls in accordance with the winning in various prize-winning ports. is added to the data of the number of held balls, and the number of held balls corresponding to this is displayed on the touch panel section 14 .

In addition, since this is a pachinko machine with enclosed balls, prize balls are not paid out, and the number of balls put out, the number of balls entered, the number of difference balls, the number of balls held, etc. are not the actual number of game balls, but numerical values in the data. That is, the game balls actually used are limited to a predetermined number (for example, 50 or 75) that are circulated. The number of balls fired and counted, the number of recovered balls counted by detecting the game balls fired and recovered in the game area 8, the number of prize balls in the case of winning, the number of rental balls borrowed from the hall side, etc. The number of incoming balls, the number of outgoing balls, the number of difference balls, and the number of held balls can be obtained.

That is, the number of shot balls equals the number of collected balls as long as there is no trouble such as the game balls coming out when the door frame 3 is opened. Number of incoming balls = number of collected balls = number of fired balls, number of discharged balls = number of awarded balls (accumulated value) = number of entered balls - number of rented balls (number of replayed balls) + number of owned balls, and number of owned balls = rented balls Number of balls (or number of balls replayed) + number of balls thrown - number of balls entered, number of balls thrown - number of balls entered = number of balls held, number of balls held = number of balls rented (or number of balls played again) + number of balls held becomes. In this way, the game by the pachinko machine 1 is completely performed as numerical data, and errors due to spilling game balls or leaving game balls on the lower tray or the upper tray do not occur. It becomes possible to reliably manage in integer units. It should be noted that the structure of the upper firing device 12, which will be described later, basically does not produce a foul ball.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the front component member 45, the panel holder, and the transparent panel plate 44 are configured as separate members, but they may be integrated by, for example, adhesion or integrally molded to form one member. can also When the front structural member 45 and the panel holder 43 are formed integrally with the transparent panel plate 44 in this manner, the front structural member 45 and the panel holder 43 have been provided with the notch 47 in the game board 5. Structural weakening of these members due to cutting of the frame structure (four sides are connected) can be suppressed.

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

[Blowing ball launcher 29]
The hitting ball launching device 29 can hit the game ball supplied from the ball feeding device 28 into the game area 8 of the game board 5 with a force corresponding to the rotating operation of the hitting handle 10 . The ball shooting device 29 includes a shooting solenoid 13 attached to the upper rear surface of a base plate 39 so that a rotary drive shaft 60 protrudes forward, and a shooting hammer 30 fixed to the rotary drive shaft 60 of the shooting solenoid 13 so as to be integrally rotatable. , a hammer tip 61 fixed to the tip of the firing hammer 30, a rail member 33 attached to the front surface of the base plate 39 with a predetermined position on the movement locus of the hammer tip 61 as the firing position, and the rail member 33 at the firing position. A launching stopper 34 for regulating counterclockwise rotation of the hammer tip 61 from the ball-hitting position where the stationary game ball can be hit, and a standby position (initial position) in the rotation operation of the launching hammer 30. A return time stopper 35 that regulates the ball, a shooting ball confirmation switch 36 for detecting the presence or absence of a game ball stopping at the shooting position, a hinge 37 for the upper shooting device, and a shooting opening facing the game area 8 and a mouth 38 (see FIGS. 8, 9, 16 and 18).

Although detailed illustration is omitted, the shooting solenoid 13 in the hitting ball shooting device 29 is such that the rotary drive shaft 60 reciprocates at a strength (speed) corresponding to the rotation operation angle of the hitting handle 10 . The shooting hammer 30 of the ball shooting device 29 has a fixed portion 301 fixed to the rotary drive shaft 60 of the shooting solenoid 13 , and extends in a gentle arc shape from the fixed portion 301 , the tip of which is aligned with the axis of the rotary drive shaft 60 . A rod portion 302 facing the normal direction and having the tip 61 fixed to the tip thereof, and a stopper extending to the opposite side of the rod portion 302 across the fixing portion 301 and capable of abutting against the stopper 34 at the time of firing. A contact portion 303 is provided. When the stopper contact portion 303 of the firing hammer 30 comes into contact with the firing stopper 34, the counterclockwise rotation in a front view is restricted (see FIG. 8).

A ball supply port 63 formed in a ball feeding unit base (described later) of the ball feeding device 28 is arranged directly above the rail member 33 of the hitting ball launching device 29 . The rail member 33 stops one game ball sent out from the ball supply port 63 by the ball sending operation of the ball sending member 32 of the ball sending device 28, which will be described later, at the shooting position.

The rail member 33 is formed by bending a metal plate, and includes a mounting plate portion 331 attached and fixed to the base plate 39 and a rail portion 332 formed by bending the mounting plate portion 331 forward. and (see FIG. 8). The rail portion 332 for setting the firing position has a substantially L shape inclined 45 degrees to the left when viewed from the front. (see FIG. 8). The left rail plate 333 is formed with a through hole 335 through which the tip 61 passes when the firing hammer 30 hits a ball (see FIGS. 9 and 21).

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when viewed from the front, the portion of the right side of the ball shooting device 29 of the upper shooting device 12 extending from the vertical center to the lower end is exposed to face the game area 8. ing. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 16, a launch port decoration member 64 is provided on the right front side of the base plate 39, and the launch port decoration member 64 is attached to the base plate 39 and a ball feed unit base 67, which will be described later. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 16, the launch port decoration member 64 is arranged so that the right side and the lower side face are exposed to face the play area 8, so that the right side of the launch port decoration member 64 is exposed. A ball entry prevention wall 51 is formed on the surface portion and the lower side portion to prevent the game ball hit into the game area 8 from entering the ball launching device 29 . The launch port 38 is formed in a ball entry prevention wall 51 on the right side of the launch port decoration member 64 . It has an arch shape that rises forward.

As will be understood with reference to FIGS. 8 and 16, the launch port 38 is positioned obliquely to the right and above the rail portion 332 in a front view. 8 and 17, the distance between the rail portion 332 (shooting position) and the launching port 38 is short (approximately twice the diameter of the game ball P). It is possible to reliably hit the shot game ball into the game area 8 without generating a foul ball.

A shooting ball confirmation switch 36 detects the presence or absence of a game ball stopped at the shooting position, and the game ball is not detected when the game ball at the shooting position is hit by the shooting hammer 30 and shot. By switching to , it is detected that one game ball has been shot by the shooting hammer 30 .

The shot ball confirmation switch 36 consists of a transmissive photosensor, and a light projecting part and a light receiving part are arranged so as to straddle the rail part 332 that sets the shooting position. The shooting ball confirmation switch 36 is arranged with respect to the shooting position by being supported by the photo bracket 361 , and the photo bracket 361 is attached and fixed to the lower front surface of the base plate 39 .

The ball shooting device 29 includes a stopper cover 62 covering the front surface of a shooting stopper 34 capable of regulating the rotation end of the shooting hammer 30 toward the ball-striking position, and a stopper cover 62 located away from the ball-striking position of the shooting hammer 30. A return stopper 35 is provided for restricting the end of rotation (the end of rotation in the clockwise direction when viewed from the front). The surfaces of the stoppers 34 and 35 are covered with rubber so that they can absorb the impact when the firing hammer 30 comes into contact with them, and also suppress the noise caused by the contact. .

In the hitting ball launching device 29, the shooting solenoid 13 is driven by a ball information control section, which will be described later, with driving strength corresponding to the rotation operation of the hitting handle 10. The solenoid 31 is driven to perform a ball-hitting operation according to the drive timing described later (see FIG. 24). Specifically, in the ball feeding device 28 that supplies the game ball to the ball shooting device 29, when the ball feeding solenoid 31 is driven (ON), the game ball received by the ball feeding member 32 is fed to the ball shooting device 29. When the driving of the ball feed solenoid 31 is released (OFF), the ball feed member 32 receives the game ball.

In the ball shooting device 29, when the ball shooting handle 10 is operated to shoot, the firing solenoid 13 is repeatedly energized and de-energized with a voltage corresponding to the amount of operation. 8 and 17, the firing hammer 30 rotates in the firing direction (counterclockwise) from the initial position (FIG. 17) to the firing position. After hitting the stationary game ball with the mallet tip 61 (FIG. 8), it rotates clockwise and repeats the shooting operation to return to the initial position.

[Ball feeding device 28]
Next, the ball feeding device 28 will be described. 10 and 11, the ball feeding device 28 is mainly constructed as a unit, and has a ball inlet 66 connected to the front end of the ball delivery trough 23 of the ball supply path member 24 shown in FIG. It has a gutter 65 and a ball supply port 63 connected to the pumping communication gutter 65 and for supplying the game ball entered from the pumping communication gutter 65 to the ball shooting device 29, and the rear side 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 has an open 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 by driving the ball.

The pumping communication gutter 65 is gently slanted downward from the rear end where the ball inlet 66 is formed to the front end. The ball feeding unit base 67 is attached to the rear left side of the base plate 39, the front end of the lifting communication gutter 65 is connected to the upper right side, and the front end of the lifting communication gutter 65 is connected to the rear view. From the right side of the upper part to the center in the vertical direction, a gentle downward slope is applied to the left in the horizontal direction, and the ball feed guide gutter 69 is bent downward in the middle, and the lower end of the ball feed guide gutter 69. It has a ball supply port 63 penetrating in the longitudinal direction (see FIG. 11).

In addition, on the rear surface of the ball feed unit cover 68 facing the portion above the ball supply port 63 below the bent portion of the ball feed guide gutter 69, there is a game ball waiting in the ball feed guide gutter 69. A launch standby ball detection switch 70 for detecting the presence or absence of a ball is provided (see FIG. 10). The waiting-to-be-fired ball detection switch 70 is composed of a flat-type proximity switch that detects a game ball as a metal object by means of a change in the impedance of a detection coil of a high-frequency oscillation circuit.

The ball feed solenoid 31 of the present embodiment is composed of an electromagnet, and is disposed below the ball feed unit base 67 with the attracting portion that exerts the attracting function by excitation directed downward. Also, the ball feed member 32 is arranged below the ball feed unit base 67 adjacent to the left side of the ball feed solenoid 31 . The ball-feeding member 32 in this embodiment is moved to an allowable position where the ball-feeding solenoid 31 is energized/de-energized to allow the ball to pass through without interfering with the ball fired from the ball-hitting position by the ball-hitting operation of the ball-hitting device 29. and a return ball blocking position for blocking entry of the return ball returning from the game area 8 to the launch port 38.

[Ball feeding member 32]
The ball feeding member 32 will be described below. 18 is a right side view showing the upper firing device 12 (the ball feed solenoid 31 is de-energized, the ball feed member 32 is in the holding position and the return ball blocking position), and FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the upper launcher 12 taken along line -B (ball feed solenoid 31 de-energized, ball feed member 32 in holding position and return ball blocking position); FIG. 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 feed solenoid 31 is energized, and the ball feed member assumes the supply position and the allowable position), and FIG. 22 is an arrow view BB in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the top launcher shown broken in line (ball feed solenoid 31 energized, ball feed member 32 in feed and allow positions);

As shown in FIG. 20, a shaft hole 75 extending in the left-right direction is formed in the middle of the ball feeding member 32 in the up-down direction. A ball feed shaft 76 is inserted through the shaft hole 75 with both ends protruding, and both left and right ends of the ball feed shaft 76 are supported by the ball feed unit base 67 . As a result, the ball feeding member 32 is supported so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction with the ball feeding shaft 76 as the center of rotation.

An arm portion 77 is formed to extend rearward in the middle of the ball feed member 32, and at the lower end of the arm portion 77, as shown in FIG. A lever portion 72 is formed, and a sheet metal accommodating portion 73 is formed in the operating lever portion 72, and a ball feeding sheet metal 71 made of a metal material attracted by a magnet is accommodated in the sheet metal accommodating 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 coming off. This prevents the ball feeding sheet metal 71 from dropping out of the sheet metal accommodating portion 73. - 特許庁

As shown in FIG. 20, a hooking projection 79 is formed at the end of the operating rod portion 72, and one end of the tension spring 52 shown in FIG. 19, the other end of the tension spring 52 is engaged with a spring engaging portion 53 formed on the bottom surface of the ball feeding unit base 67. As shown in FIG.

20, above the shaft hole 75 of the ball feeding member 32, a roof-shaped ball feeding portion 74 is formed integrally with the ball feeding member 32 toward the lower edge of the ball feeding port 63. there is The ball feeding portion 74 is formed in a mountain shape with the center of the upper surface rising upward, and the ball feeding port 63 formed at the lower end of the ball feeding guide gutter 69 in FIG. A ball feed guide surface 80 inclined downward toward the lower edge, and an arc convex rearward from the center, that is, toward the ball feed unit cover 68 closing the rear end of the ball feed guide gutter 69 in FIG. and a sphere retaining surface 81 which is sloped downward. A hanging piece 82 hanging downward is formed at the rear end of the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feeding portion 74 .

18, 20, and 21, the upper portion of the ball feeding member 32 in the vertical direction passes through the ball feeding unit base 67, and as shown in FIGS. A rectangular frame-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 is formed extending toward the hitting path from the center of the return ball blocking portion 83, and a rectangular shaped ball passage opening 85 is formed in the center of the return ball blocking portion 83.

As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the frame-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 integrally formed with the ball feeding member 32 is arranged adjacent to the ejection port 38 in the direction of the ejection position. In addition, on the firing position side of the portion located on the front side of the frame of the return ball blocking portion 83, a ball stopping portion 84 is formed whose base portion is horizontal and projects toward the rail portion 332 in a triangular shape. The ball stopper 84 is arranged in front of the ball feeder 74 and above the firing position so as to face the ball feeder 74 .

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

[Ball Feeding Operation and Return Ball Blocking Operation of Ball Feeding Member 32]
The ball feeding operation and return ball blocking operation by the ball feeding member 32 of the ball feeding device 28 constructed as above will be described. When the ball feed solenoid 31 is in a non-excited state, it is engaged with the locking projection 79 at the end of the operating rod portion 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 stopped tension spring 52 , the lower end of the ball feeding member 32 is drawn 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 is in a rotational posture with the ball-feeding shaft 76 as the center of rotation. The blocking part 83 takes a rearwardly inclined posture, and in a side view from the game area 8, i.e., on the ball-hitting path from the shooting position of the ball-hitting device 29 to the ejection port 38, the ejection port 38 is immediately shot. At the position on the position direction side, the portion of the return ball blocking portion 83 positioned in front of the frame is in a posture that intersects the launch port 38, and the hitting ball passing port 85 is positioned relative to the launch port 38 on the hitting path. is shifted rearward, making it impossible for the ball to pass through the hitting ball passage opening 85 on the hitting path. That is, the return ball blocking portion 83 takes a return ball blocking position to block entry of a return ball returning from the game area 8 to the launch port 38 in this posture.

After the hitting ball is shot, the return ball blocking part 83 takes the return ball blocking position so that the game ball shot to the game area 8 is blocked from entering the launch port 38 as a return ball. Since the returning ball can be blocked, it is possible to prevent the player from losing interest in the game due to the returning ball.

Also, 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 is such that the ball-holding surface 81 of the ball-feeding portion 74 protrudes from the ball-feeding unit cover 68 into the ball guide projection. In the space below the portion 54, the hanging piece 82 formed at the lower end of the ball feeding portion 74 abuts the stopper piece 56, and the ball feeding member 32 is in a rotating posture with the ball feeding shaft 76 as the center of rotation. , is restricted to the holding position in the ball feeding operation.

At the holding position, the ball feed guide surface 80 of the ball feed portion 74 is positioned in front of the lower end of the front guide surface 55 of the ball guide protrusion 54 and is positioned on the extension of the front guide surface 55 in the tangential direction. Also, the ball stop portion 84 approaches the ball supply port 63, the game ball P1 is caught in the gap between the lower end of the ball supply port 63 and the ball stop portion 84, and the game ball P1 stays there. becomes.

[Excitation of ball feed solenoid 31]
When the ball feed solenoid 31 is energized and excited, the ball feed sheet metal 71 is attracted upward by the electromagnet function, and the actuating rod portion 72 of the ball feed member 32 moves upward against the tensile force of the tension spring 52. The ball feeding member 32 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 19 around the ball feeding shaft 76, and as shown in FIGS. to an allowable position.

As a result, the ball stopping portion 84 moves forward from the position where it approaches the ball supply port 63, and at the same time, the ball feeding portion 74 moves forward to feed the game ball P1, which has remained at the holding position, to the shooting position (FIG. 22). reference).

As shown in FIG. 21, when the ball feed solenoid 31 is in an energized state, the rectangular frame-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 assumes an upright position in a rotational posture about the ball feed shaft 76, and the game area is 8, that is, at a position immediately on the firing position direction side of the firing port 38 in the ball-hitting path from the firing position of the batting ball launcher 29 to the firing port 38, with respect to the firing port 38 in the hitting path The hitting ball passage opening 85 is at a position that allows the ball to pass through the hitting ball passage opening 85 on the hitting path. That is, in this posture, the return ball blocking portion 83 assumes a permissive position that allows the passage of the hit ball without interfering with the hit ball that has been shot from the shooting position.

As shown in FIG. 22, when the ball feed solenoid 31 is in an energized state, the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feed portion 74 is positioned in front of the ball guide protrusion 54 of the ball feed unit cover 68 at the supply position in the ball feed operation. Then, the subsequent game ball P2 is stuck in the gap between the upper end of the ball supply port 63 and the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feeder 74, and the subsequent game ball P2 stays. By the ball feeding operation described above, the ball feeding member 32 feeds the game balls aligned and stored in the ball feeding guide gutter 69 one by one to the shooting position of the hitting ball launching device 29 .

24 is a time chart showing drive timings of the ball feeding solenoid 31 and the firing solenoid 13. As shown in FIG. The shooting solenoid 13 is turned on when a period A has passed since the ball feed solenoid 31 was turned on, and the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off when a period B has passed since the ball feeding solenoid 13 was turned on, and the ball is fed. The firing solenoid 13 is turned off when the period C has passed 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 feed solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball feed member 32 feeds the shot ball to the shooting position (rail portion 332). That is, the shot ball is detected by the shot ball confirmation switch 36 . In this embodiment, it is determined that there is a ball to be launched when a game ball stopped at the launch position is detected by the ball launch confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined time period (30 ms as the period D). do.

In this way, when a game ball stopped at the shooting position is detected by the shooting ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that there is a shooting ball. False counts of balls can be eliminated, increasing certainty in detecting launched balls.

Operation control is performed by the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control unit 118, which will be described later, according to the driving timing of the ball feed solenoid 31 and the shooting 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 shooting device 29 is actuated to cause the shooting hammer 30 to perform a ball hitting operation, and a predetermined amount of time is set from the operation of the ball shooting device 29. After the specified time has elapsed (after 30 ms has elapsed), the ball feed solenoid 31 is de-energized and the return ball blocking section 83 is moved to the return ball blocking position, so that the return ball is blocked by the return ball blocking section 83. to control.

According to this, when the return ball blocking part 83 takes the allowable position, the ball is allowed to pass through without interfering with the ball fired from the shooting position. It is possible to prevent the player from feeling distrustful of hitting the ball at the target position, and to suppress the decline in interest in the game.

After the hitting ball is shot, the return ball blocking part 83 takes the return ball blocking position so that the game ball shot to the game area 8 is blocked from entering the launch port 38 as a return ball. Since the returning ball can be blocked, it is possible to prevent the player from losing interest in the game due to the returning ball.

In this embodiment, the return ball blocker 83 is integrally formed with the ball feed member 32, so that the ball is fed to the shooting position by energizing/de-energizing one electric drive source (ball feed solenoid 31). and return ball prevention can be realized at the same time. That is, when the ball feeding member 32 is at the supply position, the ball passage opening 85 is positioned on the ball-hitting path through which the game ball shot from the shooting position passes, and when it is at the holding position, it is out of the ball-hitting path. A frame-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 is formed so that a hitting ball passage opening 85 is positioned at the retracted position.

When the ball feeding member 32 takes the supply position, the return ball blocking part 83 takes the allowable position and does not interfere with the hit ball shot from the shooting position, thus preventing the game ball from being hit at the target position. It is possible to prevent the player from having a sense of distrust, and to prevent the player from losing interest in the game.

Further, when the ball feeding member 32 moves to the holding position, the return ball blocking part 83 moves to the return ball blocking position at the same time, so that the game ball shot to the game area 8 becomes a return ball and enters the launch port 38. can be blocked and the return ball can be prevented, so that the return ball can prevent the decrease in interest in the game.

In addition, the game machine described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 has a structure in which a ball is forcibly pried open the return ball prevention valve that closes the launch port, and the ball is launched or pushed out into the game area. For this reason, an electric drive source with a size and power corresponding to the hitting operation is required, and a large amount of current must be supplied to obtain the hitting force, resulting in high power consumption. be.

On the other hand, in the upper launching device 12 of this example, when the launching hammer 30 performs a ball-striking operation, the return-ball blocking portion 83 of the ball-sending member 32 is in the permissible position (striking-ball passage opening 85 and Since the launch port 38 is aligned with the ball hitting path) and does not interfere with the ball, it is sufficient to provide the hitting force to hit the ball in the game area 8, so the power is small. Employing an electric drive source can sufficiently cope with this problem. For this reason, the electric drive source can be made smaller and thinner, and the power consumption required for its drive can be kept low.

Also, as shown in FIG. 24, the firing solenoid 13 is energized for a period C from the time when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, and the tip 61 protrudes through the through hole 335 of the rail portion 332 (FIG. 9). As a result, the game ball can be prevented from being stopped on the rail portion 332, and the return ball can be prevented and the erroneous count of the shot ball can be more reliably counted.

Although the return ball blocking portion 83 of the present embodiment has a rectangular frame shape and includes a hit ball passage opening 85 in the center, the shape of the return ball blocking portion 83 is not limited to this. , strip-shaped, or rod-shaped, and the ball passage opening 85 may not be provided. That is, on the ball-hitting path from the firing position to the launching port 38, the permissible position is provided adjacent to the launching position direction of the launching port 38 and allows the passage of the hit ball without interfering with the hitting ball fired from the launching position. , and a return ball blocking position that blocks entry of the return ball returning from the game area 8 to the launch port 38 .

In the enclosed ball type gaming machine of the present embodiment described above, the ball lifting device 22 is positioned behind the upper launching device 12 arranged on one side of the front and upper portion of the main body frame 2 . Mounted on the rear surface, the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 is positioned above the ball feeding device 28, and between the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 and the top of the upper launcher 12, the ball lifting device 22 A ball supply path member 24 extending in the front-rear direction is provided for feeding the game balls lifted by the above to the ball feeding device 28 from above.

Since it has the above-described structure, the ball supply path member 24 is attached to the rear part of the game board 5. Various members (movable body, power transmission mechanism (for example, gear train) for driving the movable body, left and right Slide rail for guiding direction, drive motor as drive source, position detection sensor for detecting position of movable body, LED board, relay board, etc.) The game ball lifted to the upper part of the body frame 2 by the lifting device 22 can be smoothly sent to the upper launching device 12.例文帳に追加

In addition, 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 launching device 12 can be provided in the rear part of the game board 5. It can be allocated to the arrangement space of each member.

Also, the upper firing device 12 shown in FIG. 23 employs an electric drive source that is smaller and thinner than the conventional device for the reason described above. As shown in FIG. 23, the electric drive source (shooting solenoid 13) of the batting ball launcher can be made smaller and thinner, so that the electric drive source does not protrude behind the upper launcher 12. , a wider arrangement space 57 for each member attached to the rear part of the game board 5 can be secured accordingly.

Further, the upper firing device 12 of this embodiment is supported by the main body frame 2 by the upper firing device hinge 37, and can be removed from the main body frame 2 by removing the fixture 49 and rotating it (FIG. 12). It is easy to attach/detach to/from the body frame.

In this case, when the upper launching device 12 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2, the ball delivery gutter 23 is provided so that the game balls do not spill out even if the game balls remain in the ball delivery gutter 23. A spilled ball preventing means for shielding the game ball supply passage by the pumping communication gutter 65 is provided.

An embodiment of the spilled ball prevention means (ball outlet opening/closing unit) will be described below. 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. Also, FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the upper firing unit and the ball outlet opening/closing unit.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 23, the ball supply path member 24 is formed at the upper end of the ball lifting device 22, and includes a ball sending gutter 23 for sending the lifted game balls forward from above, and an upper firing unit. 12 is formed in the upper part of the rear part, and is constituted by the pumping communication gutter 65 connected to the ball delivery gutter 23, and the inside serves as a game ball supply passage as described above. When the upper firing unit 12 is fixed to the main body frame 2, the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery gutter 23 is opened so that the ball outlet 58 and the ball inlet 66 at the rear end of the pumping communication gutter 65 are opened. Communicate with each other to supply game balls from the ball outlet 58 to the ball inlet 66.例文帳に追加

The ball feeding device of the upper firing device 12 has an opening/closing operation piece 426 for operating the opening/closing shutter 412 of the ball exit opening/closing unit 410 on the right side of the ball feeding unit cover (Fig. 27). When the upper firing device 12 is attached to the body frame 2 from the front for fixing, the opening/closing operation piece 426 contacts the spherical contact portion 424 of the opening/closing crank 413 of the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410. The opening/closing crank 413 is rotated to open the opening/closing shutter 412 to open the game ball supply passage.

[Ball exit opening/closing unit]
The ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 in the main body frame 2 of this embodiment is attached to the mounting member 407 attached to the lower surface of the ball delivery gutter 23 of the ball lifting device 22 . 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 shield the game ball supply passage, and the ball from the ball lifting device 22 to the upper launching device 12 is closed. It is capable of interrupting the flow of game balls to the feeding device 28 .

The sphere outlet opening/closing unit 410 includes a shutter base 411 attached to the vertical hanging wall 408 of the mounting member 407, a plate-like opening/closing shutter 412 held by the shutter base 411 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and an opening/closing unit. An opening/closing crank 413 for vertically sliding the shutter 412 and an opening/closing spring 414 for biasing the opening/closing shutter 412 upward 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 so as to be vertically slidable so as to protrude upward from 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 disposed on the front surface of the left end in a front view and supporting the opening/closing crank 413 so as to be rotatable about an axis extending in the front-rear direction. A support portion 417 and a spring locking portion 418 that locks one end (upper end) of the opening/closing spring 414 are provided. The crank support portion 417 of the shutter base 411 is arranged on the left side of the opening 416 in a front view, and the spring locking portion 418 is arranged in the vicinity of the upper left side of the left-right center in a front view.

The opening/closing shutter 412 of the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 includes a flat shutter body 419 and a pair of sliding protrusions (not shown) that protrude from the front surface of the shutter body 419 and slide in the slide grooves 415 of the shutter base 411. ), and a laterally long rectangular drive hole 420 that is arranged 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 about an axis extending in the front-rear direction, and a shaft portion 421 extending from the right side outer circumference of the shaft portion 421 in the front view to the right side. A driving rod 422 that extends outward and whose tip extends to the vicinity of the center in the left-right direction of the opening 416 , and a driving rod 422 that projects rearward from the tip of the driving rod 422 and is slidably inserted into the drive hole 412 b of the opening/closing shutter 412 . a driving pin 423 extending downward from the outer periphery of the lower side of the shaft portion 421 in front view, and a contact portion 424 having a spherical tip; and a spring locking portion 425 that locks the (lower end).

In the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410, the opening/closing crank 413 rotates about an axis extending in the front-rear direction, thereby rotating the driving pin 423 of the opening/closing crank 413 in an arc shape in the vertical direction, and simultaneously inserting the driving pin 423. The open/close shutter 412 slides vertically through the drive hole 420 .

In the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410, when the upper firing device 12 is closed with respect to the body frame 2, the contact portion 424 of the opening/closing crank 413 contacts the opening/closing operation piece 426 of the upper firing device 12, and the contact portion 424 rotates clockwise when viewed from the front against the biasing force of the opening/closing spring 414, and the contact portion 424 and the drive pin 423 rotate clockwise when viewed from the front. , the open/close shutter 412 is lowered to open the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery gutter 23 . In other words, the ball outlet 58 and the ball inlet 66 at the rear end of the pumping communication gutter 65 are communicated with each other, so that game balls can be supplied from the ball outlet 58 to the ball inlet 66 .

When the upper firing device 12 is opened with respect to the body frame 2 from this state, the abutment between the abutting portion 424 of the opening/closing crank 413 and the opening/closing operation piece 426 of the upper firing device 12 is released, and the opening/closing crank 413 acts as an opening/closing spring. At the same time as the opening/closing shutter 412 is rotated counterclockwise in front view by the urging force of 414, the opening/closing shutter 412 is raised to close the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery gutter 23 (Fig. 27). ).

In this manner, the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 can automatically open and close the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery gutter 23 in the ball lifting device 22 in accordance with the attachment and detachment of the upper firing device 12 with respect to the main body frame 2. Even if the upper launching device 12 is opened while the game balls remain in the ball sending gutter 23, the game balls can be prevented from spilling out from the ball outlet 58.例文帳に追加

Here, at the point where the ball outlet 58 of the ball delivery gutter 23 and the ball inlet 66 of the pumping communication gutter 65 are connected, as schematically shown in FIG. The width (d2) of the ball inlet 66 is made sufficiently large so that the ball inlet 66 swallows the ball outlet 58. It is preferable to dispose so that the gutter 23 side is high and the pumping communication gutter 65 side is low. The game ball sent up by the ball lifting device 22 passes through the ball sending gutter 23 and smoothly moves to the side of the lifting communication gutter 65. - 特許庁

Since the step at the boundary between the ball outlet 58 and the ball inlet 66 is lower on the side where the inclination of the game ball supply path is lower, the movement of the game ball is not hindered due to the step at this point. Although it has a simple structure, when the upper firing device 12 is reattached to the body frame 2 after inspection or the like, the connection between the ball sending gutter 23 and the pumping communication gutter 65 can be ensured.
The location where the ball outlet 58 of the ball delivery gutter 23 and the ball inlet 66 of the pumping communication gutter 65 are connected was taken as an example, but this structure is the connection between the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 and the ball collecting part 21. It can be applied to a wide range of connection points through which game balls pass, such as the connection points between the ball gathering part 21 and the ball lifting device 22, and the work at the time of assembling parts can be simplified.

At this time, the floor surface 65b of the communication gutter 65 and the floor surface 23g of the ball delivery gutter 23 are both inclined toward the launcher 28 (FIG. 6), and as shown in FIG. The surface 65b is lower than the floor surface 23g, and the floor surface 23g of the ball delivery trough 23 at the end serving as the ball outlet 58 is directed toward the floor surface 65b and formed in an inclined or arcuate cross section. Therefore, when the slide shutter 23c is opened and the ball outlet 58 and the ball inlet 66 are communicated with each other, the game balls in the ball delivery gutter 23 are pumped and connected as shown in FIGS. It moves smoothly to the gutter 65.

Further, the ball inlet 66 of the pumping communication gutter 65 is formed larger than the ball outlet 58 of the ball delivery gutter 23, and when the game board 5 is attached to the main body frame 2, the ball outlet 58 is Even if the ball inlet 66 is slightly displaced in the horizontal direction or in the vertical direction, the game ball can be reliably transferred. The extent to which the ball inlet 66 is formed to be larger than the ball outlet 58 is preferably such that the gap generated when the ball inlet 66 and the ball outlet 58 communicate is narrower than the diameter of the game ball.

[Irregular shaped ball/magnetic ball ejection unit]
FIG. 28 is a diagram for explaining the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit. FIG. 29 is a diagram for explaining the magnetic ball discharge part cover separated and turned over in FIG. 28 . FIG. 30 is a plan view of the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit. FIG. 31 is a rear view of the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit. FIG. 32 is a diagram for explaining the base plate of the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit. FIG. 33 is a diagram for explaining the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit separated into a deformed ball discharge unit and a magnetic ball discharge unit. FIG. 34 is a diagram for explaining the path along which the irregular-shaped balls and the magnetic balls are discharged in the irregular-shaped ball/magnetic ball discharging unit. FIG. 35 is a diagram for explaining how the magnetic spheres are separated from the circulation path and discharged. FIG. 36 is a diagram for explaining a state in which the magnetic sphere reaches the magnetic sphere ejection slope.

As shown in FIG. 28, the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharging unit 20 has a deformed ball discharging function and a magnetic ball discharging function. A deformed ball is a spherical object such as a bearing having a diameter smaller than that of a regular game ball. The deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 is a transparent resin molded product, and is arranged in the lower part of the gaming machine main body (deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit housing portion 19). It has a configuration in which the side is covered with a rear plate (ball receiving gutter base 201). At the top are various winning holes (special variable winning device, general winning port, normal variable winning device) as out balls that flowed down without winning and safe balls that entered various winning ports and flowed down the safe ball discharge route. A recovery port 202 is provided for recovering the game balls. Out balls flow into the recovery port 202 through the out port 42 (see FIGS. 2, 3, and 5). The safe balls flow into the recovery port 202 through the winning port 41 (see FIG. 5).

The circulation path in the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 communicating with the recovery port 202 is formed by meandering left and right in the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 and folding up and down. It has a detection switch 203 , a deformed ball discharging section 204 , a magnetic ball discharging section 205 , a full ball path detection switch 206 , and an appropriate ball amount detection switch 207 . The game balls flowed into the collection port 202 form a line and move along a circulation path in the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 to reach the ball gathering portion 21 connected to the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 . However, the deformed balls and magnetic balls are separated from the normal game ball circulation path in the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 and discharged outside the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 so as not to move to the ball gathering portion 21. be.

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

The deformed ball discharger 204 consists of a deformed ball discharger base 208 fixed to a deformed ball discharger base mounting portion 212 provided on the ball receiving gutter base 201 and two balls fixed to the deformed ball discharger base 208. Consists of deformed sphere separating shafts 209 and 210 .

As shown in FIGS. 31 and 32 , the deformed ball discharger base mounting portion 212 is a rectangular opening provided in the ball receiving gutter base 201 . As shown in FIG. 28, the irregular-shaped ball discharging part base mounting part 212 is provided at an angle to the ball receiving gutter base 201 so that the side on the recovery port 202 side is higher. As a result, the deformed ball separation shafts 209 and 210 are arranged at an angle, so that the game ball can move from the upstream side 213 (see FIG. 30) toward the downstream side 214 .

FIG. 33 is a diagram for explaining the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit separated into a deformed ball discharge unit and a magnetic ball discharge unit. FIG. 33( a ) shows the deformed ball discharging portion 204 . FIG. 33(b) shows the magnetic ball discharging portion 205. As shown in FIG.

The deformed ball discharge part 204 uses the difference in diameter between the legal game ball and the illegal ball to eliminate the illegal ball having a smaller diameter than the legal game ball from the circulation path in the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20. - 特許庁. As shown in FIG. 30, the deformed ball discharge section 204 includes two deformed ball separation shafts 209 and 210 having a circular cross section and arranged side by side from the upstream side 213 to the downstream side 214 of the circulation path. In order to exclude irregularly shaped balls, that is, irregular balls with a smaller diameter than regular gaming balls, from the circulation path in which regular gaming balls circulate, the gap distance between the two irregularly shaped ball separation shafts 209 and 210 is set to The deformed ball separation shaft is narrower than the diameter of the regular game ball and wider than the diameter of the regular game ball on the downstream side 214, that is, the distance between the two deformed ball separation shafts 209 and 210 gradually increases. 209 and 210 are fixed to the deformed ball discharger base 208 .

The game balls that flow down one by one to the irregular ball discharge part 204 via the recovery port 202 and the recovered ball detection switch 203 flow down while rolling across the two irregular ball separation shafts 209 and 210. do. Since the gap distance between the two deformed ball separation shafts 209 and 210 is narrower than the diameter of the normal game ball on the upstream side, the normal game ball does not drop from between the deformed ball separation shafts 209 and 210 .

On the other hand, an irregular ball, which is a deformed ball with a smaller diameter than the regular game ball, falls from between the two deformed ball separating shafts 209 and 210 . The dropped deformed balls are discharged from the deformed ball discharge port 216 to the outside of the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 through the deformed ball discharge path 215 as shown in FIG. 33(a). The deformed ball discharge path 215 is formed by a deformed ball discharge path forming member 217 attached to the front side of the ball receiving gutter base 201 and to the lower side of the deformed ball discharge portion base 208 . The deformed ball discharge path forming member 217 is also integrally provided with a communication path 218 that guides a ball having the same diameter as a regular game ball to the magnetic ball discharge portion 205 .

A regular-sized game ball that rolls down the two deformed ball separation shafts 209 and 210 falls from between the two deformed ball separation shafts 209 and 210 on the downstream side 214 and passes through the communication path 218. It reaches the circulation path 219 formed in the magnetic ball discharge part 205 via.

The magnetic ball ejector 205 is fixed to the ball receiving gutter 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. As shown in FIG. The magnetic ball discharge portion 205 is formed with an inclined surface 220 connected to the communication path 218. A steeply descending falling surface 221 is connected to the downstream side of the inclined surface 220, and the extension of the inclined surface 220 is , a magnetic ball discharging ramp 222 is formed. A gap of discontinuous portion 223 is provided so that inclined surface 220 and magnetic ball discharging inclined surface 222 are not continuous. In the magnetic ball discharge part 205, at least one of the side wall 224 and the ceiling wall 225 has a magnet attached to at least one of its front surface, its back surface, or inside.

FIG. 35 shows an example in which a magnet 229 is mounted in the magnet accommodation space 230 on the back surface of the ceiling wall 225. As shown in FIG. The magnet housing space 230 is formed as a space with a rectangular cross section arranged along the back side of the ceiling wall 225 . The magnet 229 is a flat plate-shaped magnet, and is a permanent magnet having an N pole or an S pole on one side and an S pole or an N pole on the other side. The magnetic force of the magnet is not so strong that the game ball (magnetic ball 232) made of a magnetic material is attracted and its rolling is impeded. It is sufficient that the magnetic ball ejection inclined surface 222 can be reached. The attached magnet may be a permanent magnet or an electromagnet.

A regular game ball 233 flowing from the communication path 218 rolls down the inclined surface 220 and flows down from the inclined surface 220 while rolling on the falling surface 221 . A regular non-magnetic game ball 233 falls through a discontinuous portion 223 and passes through a circulation path 219 to reach the ball gathering portion 21 connected to the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 .

On the other hand, the irregular sphere (magnetic sphere 232 ) made of a magnetic material adheres to the inner wall surface of the ceiling wall 225 due to the attractive force of the magnet 229 housed in the magnet housing space 230 , and moves along the circulation path 219 upstream of the inclined surface 220 . It rolls down from the side to the downstream side due to the action of gravity. Then, as shown in FIG. 35, the magnetic spheres 232 do not fall from the discontinuous portion 223 and reach the area of the magnetic sphere discharging slope 222 (see FIG. 28) as shown in FIG. Irregular balls made of a magnetic material that have reached the area of the magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 222 are discharged outside the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 through a magnetic ball discharge port 227 via a magnetic ball discharge path 226 (see FIG. 34). ).

A portion of the ceiling wall 225 above the magnetic ball ejection inclined surface 222 is configured as a magnetic force adjustment portion 231 . The magnetic force adjustment portion 231 is formed such that the distance between the magnet housing space 230 and the magnetic ball discharge path 226 increases toward the downstream side of the magnetic ball discharge path 226 . In FIG. 35 , the magnetic ball discharge path 226 has a curved portion, and this curved portion functions as the magnetic force adjustment section 231 . As a result, the distance between the magnetic ball 232 and the magnet 229 increases toward the downstream side of the magnetic ball discharge path 226 . Then, the magnetic force (attractive force) of the magnet 229 acting on the magnetic sphere 232 gradually decreases. As a result, the magnetic balls 232 sticking to the wall surface of the ceiling wall 225 and moving in the downstream direction are separated from the wall surface of the ceiling wall 225 and fall onto the magnetic ball discharging inclined surface 222 . Then, it is discharged from the magnetic ball discharge port 227 via the magnetic ball discharge path 226 .

The deformed balls and the irregular magnetic balls are discharged to the outside of the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 through the deformed ball outlet 216 and the magnetic ball outlet 227, respectively (FIG. 34). The deformed balls or magnetic balls discharged from the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 are collected in the discharged ball receiving box 234 (see FIGS. 2, 3, and 5). In this manner, the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 can be used to remove irregular balls made of a deformed ball and a magnetic material from the regular game ball circulation path 219 . In this embodiment, the configuration can be simplified by using gravity to discharge the deformed spheres and magnetic spheres to the outside of the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 . The deformed ball discharge path 215 is arranged along the side surface of the magnetic ball discharge part 205, so that the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 can be configured compactly.

The deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 can remove the deformed ball or the illegal ball made of a magnetic material from the normal game ball circulation path 219 without stopping the game, thereby reducing the interest of the player. On the other hand, it is possible to reduce the chances of employees of the gaming hall being called to each gaming machine to deal with the malfunction of the gaming machine to deal with illegal balls. It should be noted that the deformed ball discharging portion 204 and the magnetic ball discharging portion 205 may be configured independently. In other words, when the deformed balls are discharged by another component in the gaming machine, the magnetic ball discharging section 205 may be configured independently.

In one embodiment of the enclosed ball type game machine of the present invention, a game board having a defined game area, a body frame in which the game board is fitted and accommodated, and a body frame disposed above the body frame, A ball shooting device for shooting game balls toward the game area, and the game balls shot by the ball shooting device are collected on the back side of the game board as enclosed balls, illegal balls are eliminated, and the ball shooting device is re-used. In order to supply to the above, a circulation path including a means for discharging deformed spheres and magnetic spheres, and the enclosed balls arrayed and stored in an array passage formed in a part of the circulation path based on the drive of an electric drive source are 1 A ball feeding device that feeds balls one by one to the firing position of the hitting ball launching device, a main control board that performs game control processing related to a pachinko game, and a main control board that is connected to enable two-way data communication, and the game control processing control of increase/decrease in the number of held balls based on the prize ball command transmitted from the main control board and information on the number of balls fired by the ball shooting device, and control of shooting game balls by the ball shooting device and a ball information control board for controlling feeding of the game balls to the shooting position by the ball feeding device, and a predetermined number of game balls are closedly circulated without paying out the game balls. The hitting ball shooting device includes a shooting rail for stopping the game ball at the shooting position, and an electric driving source to perform a ball shooting operation, and the shooting position a shooting member for shooting a game ball parked at the shooting position; and a shooting ball confirmation means for detecting the game ball parked at the shooting position. a ball detection determination means for determining that there is a ball being fired when the game ball stopped at the firing position is detected by the ball confirmation means; On the condition that the game ball is not detected by the shot ball confirming means, it is determined that the game ball stopped at the shooting position has been shot, and the number of held balls is subtracted by one. and means.

According to the above-described embodiment, when a game ball stopped at the shooting position is detected by the shooting ball confirmation means for a predetermined specified time, the shooting ball detection determination means determines that there is a shooting ball. , on the condition that the shot ball detection determination means determines that there is a shot ball, if the game ball is not detected by the shot ball confirmation means, it is determined that the game ball stopped at the shooting position has been shot, and the number of balls held is reduced by 1, so that when noise enters the ball confirmation means, it is possible to eliminate erroneous ball counts due to noise, and to increase the certainty of ball detection. and magnetic balls can be excluded from the circulation path in which regular game balls circulate.

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

The ball gathering 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 a feed inlet switch 156. The ball feed passage 275 has a groove structure having walls on both sides disposed at the bottom of the entire ball collecting portion 21, and includes a ball receiving opening 275a connected to a ball outlet (not shown) of the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20, It has a ball feed port 275b that opens to a ball feed rotor 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 (FIG. 39). The ball polishing cartridge 251 is detachable from the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 273 from the front side of the game machine, and a ball polishing cloth 263 is provided in the portion of the ball polishing cartridge 251 facing the ball lifting device 22 described later. placed (Fig. 41). The lift entrance switch 156 is provided on the outside of one wall forming the ball feeding passage 275, and detects the presence or absence of a game ball passing through the ball feeding passage 275 (Fig. 41).

[Ball lifting device 22]
FIG. 44 is a rear perspective view with the upper and lower gearboxes removed. FIG. 45 is a right side view showing a state in which the cover of the ball lifting device is removed, and FIG. 46 is an enlarged view of part (A) in FIG. 47 is an exploded view of the screw, FIG. 48 is a perspective view of the upper part of the ball lifting device, and FIG. 49 shows the fitted and unfitted states of the screw and the fitting member. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing;

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

The spiral base cover 352 and the lifting section cover 353 are a cover member 368 arranged to surround the screw 25 and are made of transparent resin (acrylic resin). The spiral base cover 352 is provided with an oblique opening 281 in the portion facing the ball polishing cartridge 251 in the ball gathering portion 21 (FIG. 39).
Also, the upper surface of the cover member 368 is formed with a projection for installing the lower surface of the upper gear box 356 (FIG. 69).

The screw 25 is arranged vertically from the base to the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 inside the rectangular tubular cover member 368 . The cover member 368 is arranged so as to surround the screw 25 by assembling the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting section cover 353 . The screw 25 is composed of a screw shaft 25a, two small-pitch ridge members 25b located above and below, and four large-pitch ridge members 25c located in the center (Fig. 45). . These are fitted on 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 formed by assembling a half-split body 25bR and a half-split body 25bL, which are divided by a vertical plane including the screw shaft 25a, with the screw shaft 25a interposed therebetween. considered to be one. A pair of concave portions 25g and convex portions 25h for assembling the halves 25bR and 25bL on both sides are formed vertically on the halved cut surface of the cylindrical portion 25e. can.

The upper edges 25i of the halves 25bR and 25bL are formed with upper edge recesses 25j that open upward, and the lower edges 25k are formed with lower edge protrusions 25m that protrude downward. The upper edge concave portion 25j and the lower edge convex portion 25m connect the small pitch ridge member 25b and the large pitch ridge member 25c in the vertical direction and transmit rotation to each other.

The same applies to the large-pitch ridge member 25c, and although the same reference numerals are given and the detailed description is omitted, the pitch of the spiral ridge 25d is larger than that of the small-pitch ridge member 25b. The portions where the spiral ridges 25d of the small-pitch ridge member 25b and the helical ridges 25d of the large-pitch ridge member 25c continue are smoothly continued although the pitch varies. The large-pitch ridge member 25c is composed of a half-split body 25cR and a half-split body 25cL.

Note that the pitch is the interval between the spiral ridges 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 helical 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.

A screw shaft 25a shown in FIG. 47 is a rotating shaft of the screw 25, and as shown in FIG. spur gear) is fixed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 49, the small pitch projection member 25b at the bottom of the screw 25 has a lower edge projection 25m and a fitting recess 366a of a fitting member 366 integrally formed with the lower lifting gear 362. The screw shaft 25a and the lower lifting gear 362 are driven to rotate integrally with each other.

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 gearbox 356 is arranged at the upper end of the ball lifting device 22, and accommodates and pivotally supports a ball lifting motor gear 358, an idle gear 359, and an upper lifting gear 360 (Figs. 40 and 44). . A ball-lifting motor gear 358 is fixed to the drive shaft of the ball-lifting motor 150 and meshes with an idle gear 359 . The idle gear 359 is a two-stage gear that integrates an upper gear with a large number of teeth and a lower gear with a small number of teeth on the lower surface thereof. It meshes with the upper lifting gear 360 . These gears are spur gears that reduce the vertical dimension of the upper gearbox. The upper lifting gear 360 is fixed to the upper end of the screw shaft 25a. With these gear arrangements, the screw 25 is driven to rotate by the ball lift 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 a lower lifting gear 362 and a ball feeding rotating 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 rotating body gear 363. As shown in FIG. The gear ratio between the ball feeding rotor gear 363 and the lower lifting gear 362 is 2:1.

A ball-feeding rotor 350 is fixed to a gear shaft 363 a of a ball-feeding rotor gear 363 , and the ball-feeding rotor 363 drives and rotates the ball-feeding rotor 350 . The ball feeding rotor 350 is arranged corresponding to the ball feeding port 275b of the ball feeding passage 275 in the ball gathering portion 21, and is a low columnar member. A ball engaging recess 350a is provided for receiving a ball. The ball engaging recess 350a has a depth that accommodates approximately half a playing ball (Fig. 43).

The ball feeding inclined portion 351 (FIG. 42) is a member having a slope formed around the ball feeding rotating body 350 and used to lift the game ball. The range in which the ball feeding slanted portion 351 exists is from the position of the ball feeding port 275b, which is the exit of the ball feeding passage 275 on the side of the ball feeding rotator, with respect to the rotation direction of the ball feeding rotator 350. 25 to the transfer position.

As described above, the ball feeding inclined portion 351 is arc-shaped along the outer periphery of the ball feeding rotating body 350 from the ball feeding port 275b to the transfer 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 rising to a high delivery position and a top inclined portion 351b projecting from the top toward the screw 25 and inclined downward. The width of the inclined surface 351a is 4 mm (approximately 3 to 5 mm), and the top inclined surface 351b is formed in a range larger than the diameter of the game ball before and after the delivery position with respect to the rotation direction of the ball feeding rotor 350.

The positional relationship in plan view between the ball feeding rotating body 350 and the screw 25 is such that the game ball dropped from the top inclined surface 351b can be received between the pitches of the spiral ridges 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 gearbox 357 in close proximity to the lower front side of the screw 25. As shown in FIG. The guide block 365 has an arcuate spherical guide surface 365a adjacent to the spiral ridge 25d of the screw 25 and a stopper surface 365b following this. The spherical 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 serves as a stopper surface 365b (FIG. 43).

Two lifting guide rails 282 are arranged adjacent to each other in parallel with the screw 25, and each have a diameter of about 5 mm and serve as a guide for linearly guiding the game ball lifted by the screw 25 upward. is a round bar-shaped guide member. The lift guide rail 282 is located on the opposite side of the ball feed rotor 350 with respect to the direction of rotation of the screw 25, and is positioned from a position corresponding to the upper end of an opening 281 (FIG. 39) obliquely provided in the spiral base cover 352. It is arranged vertically upward and its upper end is fixed to the lower surface of the upper gearbox 356 . The interval between two adjacent lifting guide rails 282 is a width (5 to 8 mm as the inner interval of the lifting guide rails 282) that a game ball (11 mm in diameter) cannot pass through.
In addition, when the game ball is lifted, it is lifted while contacting the guide rail 282, so the lift guide rail 282 has a low coefficient of friction and is guided from the game ball generated by the rotation of the screw 25. It should be rigid enough not to be deformed by the pressing force 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 vibration transmitted between the game ball and the lifting guide rail 282 and to the upper launching device 12. 282 in its original position, and is thick enough to fit between a cover member 368 consisting of the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting section cover 353 and the lifting guide rail 282. It is a plate-shaped block member having a flat surface on the side that contacts the cover member 368 and a concave portion on the side that supports the lifting guide rail 282 .
The lifting guide rail 282 has such rigidity that it is not deformed by the pressing force from the game ball to the guide rail 282 caused 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 the game ball may be deviated from the guidance by the lifting guide rail 282, so the deformation is restricted.

In addition, since the screw 25 and the lift guide rail 282, etc., are designed to have a clearance in the part through which the game ball passes, for example, the vibration generated by driving the ball lift motor 150 is 25 and the lifting guide rail 282, there is a possibility that abnormal noise may occur between the lifting guide rail 282 and the game ball. is enclosed, if an abnormal noise occurs in the lifting device 22, it will resonate and become louder. However, by arranging the support member 367, it is possible to absorb the vibration generated in the game machine and suppress the generation of abnormal noise.
The support members 367 are arranged between the cover member 368 and the lifting guide rail 282 in such a number that deformation of the guide rail 282 can be restricted and abnormal noise due to vibration is not 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 with the path through which the game balls are raised. A game ball vertically lifted by a screw 25 is turned to a horizontal direction and guided to a ball delivery gutter 23. - 特許庁

The ball sending gutter 23 is provided at the upper end of the spiral base cover 352 and is a passage having an inclination for sending game balls guided from the lifting slope member 354 to the upper launching device 12 . Also, on the side surface of the ball delivery gutter 23, a ball removal member 355 for discharging game balls inside the game machine to the outside of the game machine is provided (Figs. 44 and 48). The ball removal member 355 is a removable cover member, and can be removed from the side wall of the ball delivery gutter 23 by operating a knob at the bottom to open the opening provided in the side wall. The ball delivery gutter 23 has an oblique portion, and a ball removing member 355 is arranged on the wall on the tip side of the oblique portion (FIG. 44).

Further, a shot 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 shooting standby ball detection switch 26 does not detect any game balls, the screw 25 is driven and new game balls are supplied from the ball lifting device 22 to the upper shooting device 12 one by one.

[Operation of Ball Gathering Part 21 and Ball Lifting Device 22]
The game balls sent from the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20, which constitutes a part of the circulation path, pass through the ball sending passage 275 of the ball gathering portion 21 and are sent to the ball sending rotating body 350 in the ball lifting device 22. be done. On the other hand, the screw 25 is rotated via the gear trains 358, 359 and 360 by driving the ball lifting motor 150, and the ball feeding rotor 350 is rotated via the screw shaft 25a and the lower gear trains 362 and 363. Since the gear ratio between the lower lifting gear 362 and the ball feeding rotor gear 363 is 2:1, two revolutions of the screw 25 cause one revolution of the ball feeding rotor 350 . The ball feeding rotor 350 receives game balls one by one from the ball feeding passage 275 to the ball engaging recess 350a and rotates counterclockwise (FIG. 43).

After that, due to the rotation of the ball feeding rotor 350, the game ball 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 351b is reached. Since the top inclined surface 351b is inclined downward, the game ball is sent from that position to the spiral ridge 25d of the small-pitch ridge member 25b. At this time, the game balls sent from the slightly elevated top inclined surface 351b are spaced apart from the following game balls, and are reliably separated one by one.
In addition, in order to carry out stable feeding of the game ball, it is conceivable to make the end portion of the top inclined surface 351b and the delivery position of the game ball of the small pitch ridge member 25b approximately the same height.
In addition, when the game ball is sent from the top inclined surface 351b to the small-pitch ridge member 25d, it is not limited to using the downward slope. For example, a rail may be used to guide the game ball to the small-pitch ridge member 25d. .
Also, when the step between the terminal end of the inclined surface 351a and the small pitch ridge member 25d at the bottom of the screw 25 that receives the game ball is small, the game ball can be dropped directly from the inclined surface 351a to the small pitch ridge member 25d. It is possible.

Next, the game ball moves along the ball guide surface 365a of the guide block 365 and collides with the stopper surface 365b as the small pitch ridge member 25b rotates. During this time, the game ball rises as the screw 25 rotates and reaches the lower end of the opening 281 provided in the spiral base cover 352 . In this case, the ball feed rotor 350 has the ball engaging recesses 350a at every 180 degrees as described above, and rotates at half the speed of the screw 25. A game ball is supplied to the screw 25 . Since one-half rotation of the ball-feeding rotor corresponds to one pitch of the small-pitch ridge member 25b, the game ball sent from the ball-feeding rotator 350 is always one ball between the pitches of the small-pitch ridge member 25b. delivered one by one and continuously. (Fig. 41).
That is, the game balls are prevented from being strung together in the ball lifting device 22.例文帳に追加

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

After passing through the opening 281, the game ball is lifted up to the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 as the screw 25 rotates. Guided and moved in a straight line. The guide rail 282 allows the game ball lifted by the screw 25 to move in the vertical direction and restricts the movement in the horizontal direction. During this time, the movement of the game ball is relatively slowed down due to the small pitch at the lower small-pitch ridge member 25a, so as not to interfere with receiving the ball from the ball-feeding rotor 350. there is In addition, since the pitch of the upper small-pitch ridge member 25b is also small, the movement of the game ball is made relatively slow, so that the ball can be delivered to the upper launcher 12 without any trouble.
On the other hand, in the intermediate portion of the screw 25, there is no particular problem even if the game ball is lifted at a high speed, so a large-pitch ridge member having 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 burden of the weight of the game ball on the screw 25 (FIG. 45).
Further, the term "lifting" in this embodiment is used to mean continuously carrying game balls from the bottom to the top of the gaming machine.

The game ball that has reached the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 abuts the slope of the lifting slope member 354 from below, so that the moving direction of the game ball lifted by the screw 25 changes from the vertical direction to the substantially horizontal direction. A game ball is smoothly sent from the ball lifting device 22 to the ball sending gutter 23. - 特許庁Then, the game ball fed into the ball delivery gutter 23 rolls on the gentle slope of the ball delivery gutter 23 and is delivered to the upper shooting device 12 (FIG. 46).
In this case, when the lifted game ball comes into contact with the slope portion of the lifting slope member 354, it is deviated from the guide of the lifting guide rail 282 and naturally flows down to the floor surface of the ball delivery gutter 23. , the ball pressure is not applied to the lifting guide rail 282 and the screw 25, and the ball can be fed smoothly.

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

In this embodiment, the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting section cover 353 are made of transparent resin (acrylic resin). can be easily visually confirmed without disassembly, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting section cover 353 may be made of opaque resin, metal, or the like.

Further, the small-pitch ridge member 25b and the large-pitch ridge member 25c are configured to be halves joined together, but they may be formed integrally in a cylindrical shape from the beginning. Furthermore, by making full use of synthetic resin molding technology, the entire screw 25, excluding the screw shaft 25a, can be integrally molded.

Further, the screw 25 and the lifting guide rail 282 are made of a material that has good sliding properties and is rigid enough not to be deformed by the pushing force from the game ball to the lifting guide rail 282 caused by the rotation of the screw 25. Preferably, it may be a metal such as aluminum or a synthetic resin. In addition, it is conceivable that the spiral ridge 25d uses a hard silicon material or the like at least in the portion that receives the game ball from the ball feeding rotating body 350. As shown in FIG. Thereby, it is possible to absorb the impact caused when the game ball falls on the spiral ridge 25d.

And, although the lifting guide rail 282 in this embodiment guides the game ball in the vertical direction with two rails, the number of rails is not limited to two. The guide on the other side may be configured such that the inner wall of the cover member 368 extends parallel to and adjacent to the lift guide rail 282 to guide the game ball.

Also, the support member 367 is arranged between the cover member 368 consisting of the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting section cover 353 and the lifting guide rail 282. Not limited to the member 368, for example, as shown in FIG. As a result, vibrations generated by the operation of movable accessories (not shown) arranged on the game board and electric drive sources such as motors, and the operation of the touch panel unit 14 arranged on the door frame 3 by the player. Since various vibrations that occur in the game machine, such as the vibration caused by the impact that occurs when shooting, are absorbed, situations may occur in which the game ball may come off the guide rail and be unable to be lifted, or the game ball may not be launched due to the vibration. Instability can be suppressed.

In addition, in this embodiment, the game balls are continuously sent out and lifted one by one for each pitch of the spiral ridge 25d over the entire length of the screw 25. It is not limited to this as long as it is a configuration in which the game balls are continuously lifted without being sent.

In addition, the lifting slope member 354 may be structured so that the game ball lifted vertically by the screw 25 and the lifting guide rail 282 can be smoothly sent to the ball sending gutter 23, and is integrally formed with the upper gear box 356. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 67 and 68, the upper surface of the ball delivery path 23 may be extended onto the game ball lifting path, 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 using the screw 25. However, if the game ball is lifted so as to be vertically guided and transported, the screw may be used. Various methods can be selected, such as a belt conveyor that can continuously carry game balls.

[Ball polishing device]
Next, a description will be given of a ball polishing device for cleaning and polishing game balls enclosed in a game machine. 38 described above is a front view of the ball polishing device with the ball polishing cartridge attached, and FIG. 39 described above is the ball polishing device with the ball polishing cartridge removed. FIG. 10 is a front view showing a state in which

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

53 and 54 are diagrams showing a state in which the game ball 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, and FIG. 55 is a left side cover of the ball polishing cartridge removed in FIG. Fig. 10 is a left side view showing a state in which it is folded; 56 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge in FIG.

Next, FIG. 57 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ball polishing cartridge is attached, and FIG. 58 is a perspective view showing a state in which the right outer side cover is removed in order to explain the inside of the right side cover in FIG. FIG. 59 is a top perspective view showing a state in which the right side cover is opened in FIG. 58. FIG. 60 is a perspective view of the ball polishing cartridge, FIG. 61 is a front view thereof, FIG. 62 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 63 is a side view of FIG. 62 with the left side cover removed.

As shown in FIGS. 38 and 50, the ball gathering portion 21 is provided in the lower portion of the ball lifting device 22, and a ball polishing cartridge 251 is attached to a ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 which is a part of the ball gathering portion 21. As shown in FIGS. can be worn. Here, the outer side of the ball lifting device 22 is formed of a transparent plastic member, so that even if game balls are clogged in the ball lifting device 22, the location of the clogging can be easily visually recognized. It's like As shown in FIG. 51, the ball polishing cartridge 251 mounted on the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 has one end supported on a shaft provided in the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 and the other end thereof is rotated. By hooking the other end of the ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 271 to the ball polishing cartridge fixing stopper 272 which is also provided in the ball collecting portion 21, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is pressed inward and leftward. It has a structure. In addition, in FIG. 51, both the open state and the closed state of the ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 271 are shown in order to facilitate the movement of the ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 271. As shown in FIG.

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 opening 273 formed of a cavity into which the ball polishing cartridge 251 can be mounted. In FIG. 39, for the sake of clarity, a ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 271 and a mounting sensor 291 provided inside the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 and visible from the ball polishing cartridge mounting opening 273, and a driving shaft 290 are shown. Description is omitted.

FIG. 66 is an enlarged view in which the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge mounting opening 273 in FIG. 39 is enlarged. Behind the ball polishing cartridge mounting opening 273 inside the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270, below the right side surface, is coaxial with the second drive gear 257 shown in FIG. There is a drive shaft 290 that fits into one gear shaft 261, and a mounting sensor 291 with a depressible button 292 is provided above the right side face. The mounting of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is detected by pushing the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 through a series of mounting operations of the ball polishing cartridge 251 . A specific aspect of the mounting operation will be described later.

In addition, in the innermost portion of the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 facing the ball lifting device 22, the long side of the ball polishing cartridge 251, which will be described later, advances in the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 described later. An opening 281 is provided with an angle different from the direction. As a result, the direction in which the game ball is lifted and the direction in which the ball polishing cloth 263 advances are deviated from each other. It is possible to effectively use the width of 263 to clean and polish game balls.

Furthermore, the width between the long sides of the opening 281 allows at least part of the peripheral edge of the game ball lifted by the ball lifting device 22 to protrude outside the ball lifting device 22 at the opening position. In this embodiment, the width between the long sides of the opening 281 is set to 8.4 mm for a game ball diameter of 11 mm. A game ball protrudes about 1.5 mm from the opening 281 toward the ball polishing cloth 263 .

As a result, during the game period, a part of the peripheral portion of the game ball lifted in the ball lifting device 22 protrudes outside the ball lifting device 22 at the position of the opening 281, and the ball is polished. It becomes possible for the ball polishing cloth 263 of the cartridge 251 and the game ball to come into contact with each other. In particular, when an elastic member is provided in the ball polishing cartridge 251 so as to press the ball polishing cloth 263 against the game ball, the ball polishing cloth 263 can be brought into contact with the game ball more reliably. Reliable ball polishing is possible.

Further, even if the ball polishing cartridge 251 is removed while the game ball remains in the ball lifting device 22 in a time period other than the game period, the width of the opening 281 is made smaller than the diameter of the game ball. With this configuration, the game balls remaining in the ball lifting device 22 do not spill down to the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 273 side of the ball polishing cartridge 251. - 特許庁

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

60 is a perspective view of the ball polishing cartridge 251, FIG. 61 is a front view thereof, FIG. 62 is a side view of the same, and FIG. 63 is a side view of FIG. 62 with the left side cover removed. Here, 259 is a winding roller, 260 is a driven roller, 261 is a first gear shaft, and 262 is a second gear shaft. The second gear shaft 262 is configured to be coaxial with the driven roller 260 . Further, 268 is a game ball contact trace, and as shown in FIG. Since the angles are different with respect to 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 diagrams showing a state in which the game ball 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. FIG. 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 FIGS. 53 and 54, the game ball is lifted by the screw 25 provided in the ball lifting device 22, and the ball lifting device 22 and the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 are separated. At the opposite location, the game ball contacts 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. By rubbing with the ball polishing cloth 263, cleaning and ball polishing of the game ball are performed.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 53 and 54, the screw 25 in the ball lifting device 22 has different shapes in the upper portion, the lower portion, and the intermediate portion. In the upper and lower portions, the inclination angle of the spiral of the screw 25 (spiral ridge 25d in FIG. 47) is decreased to narrow the pitch. is also wide. Since it is not necessary to take time to lift the ball in the intermediate portion, the game ball can be lifted in a short period of time by increasing the inclination angle of the spiral to increase the lifting speed. It is possible to reduce the number of game balls contained in the game machine, and to reduce the number of game balls to be enclosed inside the game machine.

In addition, by narrowing the pitch interval in the lower part, the game ball is lowered in the part facing the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251, and the game ball and the ball polishing cloth 263 are lowered. It is possible to surely clean and polish the game ball by lengthening the contact time with the ball. Furthermore, by narrowing the pitch interval at the top, the lifting speed of the game ball at the lifting end of the ball lifting device 22 can be reduced, and the ball is transferred from the ball lifting device 22 to the ball delivery gutter 23. A game ball can be sent smoothly to a ball delivery gutter 23 without causing a trouble 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 ball. The distance between the two guide rails is set to be about the same as the diameter of the game ball, but adjustments are also made to make it somewhat narrower and more stable where there is a possibility that the movement of the game ball being lifted will become violent. be able to. In this way, the game ball is lifted inside the ball lifting device 22 so that both sides are supported by both guide rails.

55 is a left side view showing a state in which 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. Here, 259 is a take-up roller, 260 is a driven roller, and 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 driving gear 257 which is configured to be coaxial with the winding roller 259, and the frictional force between the winding roller 259 and the driven roller 260 causes the ball polishing cloth to rotate. 263 is wound up.

A ball polishing cloth 263 is arranged in the 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 coiled ball polishing cloth holding springs 264 are provided which have a function of pressing the tensioner 267 and the ball polishing cloth 263 against the game ball. Further, behind the ball polishing cloth pressing spring 264, a spring retainer 266 for supporting the ball polishing cloth pressing spring 264 is provided. A plate spring 265 is provided on the upper portion of the ball polishing cartridge, and the plate spring 265 lightly presses the ball polishing cloth 263 to align the ball polishing cloth 263 to the portion facing the ball lifting device 22. It plays a role in aligning them before sending them in.

The ball polishing cloth 263 wound by the winding roller 259 and the driven roller 260 is stored in the ball polishing cartridge 251. In FIGS. 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 in which the ball polishing cartridge is mounted. Reference numeral 253 denotes a right side cover, which is composed of a right outer side cover 253a and a right inner side cover 253b integrated together. A second drive gear case 258 covers a second drive gear 257 which will be described later. FIG. 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. It is a feed motor and serves as a drive source for winding the ball polishing cloth 263 in the ball polishing cartridge 251 . In addition, a hinge 255 that engages with the hinge receiving portion 254 is provided at the far end of the right side cover 253, and the right side cover 253 is rotatable about the hinge 255 as a fulcrum. In this embodiment, ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 comprises a stepping motor. A specific driving mode of the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 will be described later.

59 is a top perspective view showing a state in which the right side cover 253 is opened in FIG. 58. The right side cover 253 is rotatable about a hinge 255 engaged with the hinge receiving portion 254 as a fulcrum. . Between the right outer side cover 253 a and the right inner side cover 253 b of the right side cover 253 , a first (not shown) is coaxial with the rotary shaft of the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 and rotated by the drive of the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 . A drive gear is provided, and in this embodiment a 16-tooth gear is used. Similarly, between the right outer side cover 253a and the right inner side cover 253b, there is also provided a second drive gear that is coaxial with the drive shaft 290 and meshes with the first drive gear, and has 32 teeth in this embodiment. gear is used.

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 251 and the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270. FIG. The ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 is configured such that the right side cover 253 is rotated about the hinge 255 so that the ball polishing cartridge mounting opening 273 spreads about the hinge portion (direction A in FIG. 64). there is

In this state, as shown in FIG. 65, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is inserted into the ball polishing cartridge mounting opening 273 from the front direction. During insertion, the right side cover 253 rotates to widen the ball polishing cartridge mounting opening 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, rotate the ball polishing cartridge 251 in the direction opposite to A in FIG. 271 is engaged with the ball polishing cartridge fixing stop 272, the drive shaft 290 is engaged with the first gear shaft 261 of the ball polishing cartridge 251, the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is pushed in, and the ball polishing cartridge 251 is locked. Attachment is detected.

When the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is pushed in while the game machine is powered on, it is detected that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is normally mounted and no notification is given, but the power is turned on. In spite of this, when the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is not pushed in, it is reported that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is not normally mounted. As a mode of notification, a display device (not shown), which is normally provided in the gaming machine and which displays an effect corresponding to the mode of the game, can notify by displaying that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is not installed. . In addition, as another mode of notification, a decorative lamp for presentation or a dedicated lamp indicating the mounting state of the ball polishing cartridge 251 can be lit or blinked in a predetermined manner to notify.

In addition, in the enclosed ball type gaming machine as in the present embodiment, since the game is played by circulating the game balls enclosed in the gaming machine, the game can be continued for a very long time without cleaning the game balls. Then, dirt accumulates on the game balls, and there is a possibility that the rolling of the game balls is deteriorated. Therefore, it is preferable to clean the game balls with a ball polishing device at some point in the circulation path of the game balls. However, since the game can not be played without the ball polishing device, even if it is detected that the ball polishing cartridge is not installed, the game can be continued with only a notification by the display device or lamp. can.

Also, the playing time of the player is accumulated and measured by a measuring means (not shown) based on the detection by the touch switch 87 provided on the handle. In this embodiment, the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 is advanced by one step each time the accumulated measurement time by the measuring means reaches one minute. In this embodiment, the take-up roller 259 has a diameter of 25 mm. is 1/2, the feed amount of the ball polishing cloth 263 per step is 0.11 mm (=78.5/360/2).

In this embodiment, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is pressed down and fixed by hooking the lever to the stopper. method can also be used.
Further, in this embodiment, the coiled ball polishing cloth pressing spring 264 is used as means for pressing the ball polishing cloth 263 against the game ball, but the pressing means is not limited to this, and other means may be used. Shaped springs or other elastic members can also be used.

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. can also be placed. In that case, the opening provided in the portion facing the ball polishing cartridge 251 in the ball lifting device 22 may also be changed to a location corresponding to the arrangement position of the ball polishing cartridge 251 .

Further, in this embodiment, the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is different from the direction of lifting the game ball by the ball lifting device 22 and the winding direction of the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251. is conveyed in the vertical direction, and the direction of lifting the game ball of the ball lifting device 22 in the portion facing the ball polishing cloth 263 is conveyed in a direction inclined from the vertical direction. Not limited to this, the direction in which the game balls are conveyed by the ball lifting device 22 may be set in the vertical direction, and the direction in which the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is conveyed may be inclined from the vertical direction, or both may be inclined. Various methods such as direction can be selected.

In this embodiment, a pushable button 292 is provided as the mounting sensor 291 of the ball polishing cartridge 251, and the mounting of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is detected by pushing the button 292 by the mounting operation of the ball polishing cartridge 251. However, the mounted sensor 291 is not limited to these sensors, and other types of sensors such as optical sensors and magnetic sensors can also be used.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, even if it is detected by the mounting sensor 291 that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is not correctly mounted, the game can be continued only by giving a notification. When it is detected that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is not correctly installed, it is possible to prevent the game from being played.

[Enclosing operation of game ball]
Next, a description will be given of the operation of enclosing a predetermined number of game balls in the enclosed-ball type gaming machine, such as when a new enclosed-ball type gaming machine is installed, or when a dirty game ball is removed and cleaned. do. The inclusion operation is performed in a state in which the enclosed ball type game machine is not powered on. Therefore, the ball lifting device 22 in the enclosed ball type game machine and various sensors are not operating.

In the enclosed ball type game machine, a game ball is shot into a game area by a shooting device, and after rolling in the game area, either wins a winning device or is recovered from an outlet 42, and the recovered game ball is The balls are transported to the launching device again, and the launching device launches them into the game area again to play the game. That is, a circulation path for game balls is formed as a whole.
The introduction of the game ball in the enclosing operation can be achieved by putting the game ball into this circulation path, and in this embodiment, the game ball is introduced from the out port 42 . As a result, there is no need to separately provide an inclusion port for enclosing game balls in the enclosed-ball type gaming machine, and the configuration of the enclosed-ball type gaming machine can be simplified. Further, instead of the out port 42, the game ball may be introduced from the prize winning port 41 of the prize winning device. Since the game balls entering the winning port 41 of the winning device are also combined with the game balls entering the out port 42 and then transported to the launching device, the game balls are released from the winning port 41 of the winning device. is introduced, the game ball can be put into the circulation path in the same way as when the game ball is introduced into the out port 42.例文帳に追加In either case, when introducing the game ball, care must be taken not to hit the nail with the game ball, hands, etc. When a game ball is introduced into the out port 42, a game ball introduction member 427, which will be described later, can be provided to prevent the game ball from hitting a nail at the time of insertion. Note that the out port 42 and the prize winning port 41 correspond to game ball collection ports.

FIG. 71 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the number of game balls is less than the predetermined number when game balls are enclosed in the enclosed ball type gaming machine. As described above, when the game ball is enclosed, the ball lifting device 22 is not driven because the enclosed ball type gaming machine is not yet powered on. Therefore, the game balls thrown in from the out port 42 or the prize winning port 41 enter from the collection port 202, pass through the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20, and then are aligned with the front side of the ball lifting device 22 as the head.

FIG. 72 shows a state in which more game balls are thrown in from the state of FIG. 71 and a predetermined number of game balls is reached. As shown in FIG. 72, when a predetermined number of game balls are inserted, the last inserted game ball 233 is placed in the discontinuous portion 223 where the magnetic ball discharge path 226 and the normal game ball path diverge. and is configured to block the discontinuity 223 .

FIG. 73 shows a state in which more game balls are thrown in from the state of FIG. 72 and game balls exceeding a predetermined number have been thrown. As described above, when a predetermined number of game balls are inserted, the last inserted game ball 233 blocks the discontinuous portion 223. 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 chestnut 227 and collected.

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

In addition, in order to improve the efficiency of throwing game balls into the out port 42, a game ball introduction member 427 is provided on the rail portion of the front structural member 45 located at the lower edge of the out port 42 (Fig. 74, Fig. 75). Because of the structure in which the game ball is poured toward the out port 42 when the game ball is placed on the upper surface of the game ball introduction member 427, the game ball can be efficiently enclosed. Also, the game ball can be thrown in without hitting a nearby nail.

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

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

In this embodiment, the game ball introduction member 427 is manually slidable to advance and retreat. Various methods can be selected, such as automatically moving back and forth by opening and closing 3.

FIG. 105 shows another example of the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410. In this example, the upper launching device 12 moves in the horizontal direction with respect to the ball lifting device 22, and is separated and connected. be.

A ball lifting device 22 is arranged on the left side of the back side of the main body frame 2 (FIGS. 97 and 5), and feeds the game balls from the lower ball gathering portion 21 to the upper ball supply path member 24. It's becoming As described above, the ball supply path member 24 (FIG. 6) is composed of the pumping communication gutter 65 on the side of the upper launching device 12 and the ball delivery gutter 23 on the side of the ball lifting device 22, and the game board 5 is attached to the main body frame 2. In this state, the ball outlet 58 (FIG. 27) of the ball delivery gutter 23 and the ball inlet 66 (FIG. 27) of the pumping communication gutter 65 are joined, and the balls pass through the gutter to the ball lifting device 22 side. It is possible to move the game ball from the top launcher 12 side.

At this time, the ball outlet 58 of the ball delivery gutter 23 is provided with a receiving portion 23b in the lateral direction on the outer side, and a slide shutter 23c is arranged on the receiving portion 23b so as to be slidable in the lateral direction. The slide shutter 23c has a guide piece 23d on the bottom side, which is fitted into a guide slit provided in the receiving portion 23b and is guided in the horizontal direction. A spring (not shown) is attached to the guide piece 23d so as to urge the guide piece 23d rightward between the receiving portion 23 and the guide piece 23d. When the guide piece 23d moves to the left end of the guide slit as the upper firing device 12 moves, the slide shutter 23c retracts to the left from the position of the ball outlet 58 of the ball delivery gutter 23 to open the ball outlet 58. do.

When the upper launching device 12 moves and the lift communication gutter 65 moves rightward away from the ball delivery gutter 23, the slide shutter 23c slides to the right end on the receiving portion 23b by the spring to block the ball outlet 58. 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 (bottom surface) of the ball inlet 66 of the lifting communication gutter 65 on the upper launching device 12 side is substantially at the same height as the upper surface of the receiving portion 23b on the ball lifting device 22 side.

[Dust countermeasures for pachinko machines]
As described above, the pachinko game machine 1 includes an outer frame 1a (FIG. 12) configured in the shape of a rectangular frame and installed on an island facility on the hall side; 5 (FIG. 2), and a door frame 3 pivotally supported on the body frame 2 so as to be openable and closable. The rear side of the main body frame 2 is conventionally covered with an openable and closable rear cover body, but it is not a closed structure, and the rear side of the main control board 100 and the peripheral control board 130 mounted on the rear side of the game board 5 is protected. The main purpose is to For this reason, outside air circulates inside the body frame 2 from the back side of the pachinko game machine 1, and dust in the hall enters.

The dust enters the front side of the game panel through the opening for showing the liquid crystal screen for presentation provided in the game panel (transparent panel plate 44) of the game board 5 attached to the main body frame 2, the winning opening 41, and the out opening 42. , even if the door frame 3 is closed, it adheres to the front surface of the game ball or the game panel. For this reason, a trajectory may appear in the path of the game ball, albeit slightly. In enclosed pachinko machines, the cleaning of game balls is not as good as in the case of island facilities, and since the enclosed game balls are not replaced for a certain period of time, contamination by dust is likely to be conspicuous. In addition, dust accumulates in the decorative member on the front of the panel and the storage box that houses the control board on the back. Since air is taken in and discharged from the storage box for heat dissipation, dust tends to accumulate.

FIG. 106 shows an example of an enclosed pachinko machine 1 with dust countermeasures.
This pachinko machine 1 comprises an outer frame 1a, a body frame 2, a door frame 3 and a game board 5, like the pachinko game machine 1 described above. The forms and structures of these are the same as those described above, but the body frame 2 is a container-shaped body with no through-holes including the back side, and the body frame base 2a (FIGS. 2 and 3) on the front side is Just open the door. A synthetic rubber tight material 2b (FIG. 101) is attached to the front side of the main body frame base 2a, that is, to the front side of the edge frame portion that is on the same plane and partitions the opening into a square. Therefore, when the door frame 3 is closed, the inside of the body frame 2 is maintained substantially airtight.

On the other hand, the lower part of the outer frame 1a is divided into an upper part in which the main body frame 2 is fitted and a lower space 800 covered with the decorative cover 6 (FIG. 2). The lower space 800 is provided for the operation of replacing the game board 5 with respect to the main body frame and the operation of opening and closing the door frame 3. there is
The intake device 801 is for taking in outside air into the pachinko game machine, and includes a fan 804 driven by a motor 803, a filter 805 downstream of the fan 804, and a simple accumulator 806 (pressure accumulator). The exhaust device 802 is composed of a lead-out passage 807 and an outward opening valve 808, and communicates the inside of the body frame 2 which is closed and the outside of the game machine.

The intake device 801 enters the main body frame 2 from the accumulator 806 through a thin resin main tube 809 and branches in various ways in the closed space of the main body frame 2 as shown in the drawing. , each member configured within the main body frame, for example, a member that configures the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20, a member that configures the ball gathering section 21, a member that configures the ball lifting device 22, and the upper launching device 12 is connected to the hollow portion of the member that constitutes the An opening 811 opened to the closed space of the body frame 2 is provided in each hollow portion. A large number of openings 811 are provided, and they are arranged near the ball exit 58 of the ball delivery gutter 23 and the connection gutter 65, like the ball supply path member 24 from the ball lifting device 22 to the upper launching device 12. The tip of the branch tube 810 is connected near the junction between members, the location where there is a step, or the location where the internal space has a bent portion, as in the vicinity of the ball inlet 66 , and the opening 811 to place. In other words, the air from the accumulator is supplied to the inside of a member having a space inside, such as the ball supply passage, to create an air flow around the inside so that the dust does not adhere.
The air blown out from the numerous openings 811 into the closed space of the main body frame 2 increases the pressure inside the main body frame 2, circulates inside the main body frame 2, and is discharged to the outside through the lead-out passage 807 of the exhaust device 802. be. An outwardly opening valve 808 of the lead-out passage 807 prevents the outside air from flowing back and entering the inside of the pachinko game machine.

With such a mechanism, the clean air taken in from the intake device 801 and filtered 805 is sent directly through the main tube 809 and the branch tube 810 to a location where dust tends to adhere, and then into the internal space of the main body frame 2. released. As a result, the internal air pressure of the body frame 2 is always higher than the outside, and external dust does not enter the inside of the pachinko game machine 1.例文帳に追加
It should be noted that the accumulated pressure inside the accumulator 806 may be higher than the external pressure at the tip of the branch tube 810, and does not need to be so high. It can also be achieved by wind pressure from the fan 104 .

Next, the outline of the control of the pachinko machine 1 and the fare adjustment 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 equipped with an enclosed ball pachinko machine and equipped with an RTC. The control of the pachinko machine 1 is roughly divided into a main board group and a peripheral board group. , body frame lamp, door frame lamp, sound). The main board group consists of a main control board 100 and a sphere information control board 110 , and the peripheral board group consists of a peripheral control board 130 .

[Main control board 100]
The main control board 100 controls pachinko games. The main control board 100 and a sphere information control board 110, which will be described later, are connected so as to be capable of two-way data communication. As shown in FIG. 76, the main control board 100, which controls the progress of the game, has a main control MPU 101, which is a microprocessor containing a 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. It has a drive circuit 104 and a RAM clear switch 105 for completely erasing information stored in a RAM built in the main control MPU 101 (hereinafter referred to as "main control built-in RAM").

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 a functions are also built in. In addition, the main control MPU 101 has a built-in non-volatile RAM, and this non-volatile RAM contains a unique code for identifying an individual by the manufacturer that manufactured the main control MPU 101 (a code that only exists in the world). ) is stored in advance. Since the ID code assigned once is stored in a non-volatile RAM, it cannot be rewritten using an external device. The main control MPU 101 can retrieve the ID code from the nonvolatile RAM and refer to it.

[RTC control unit]
Further, the main control MPU 101 of the embodiment has 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 register circuits, clock input circuits, clock output circuits, interrupt output circuits, data input/output circuits, and control circuits.

The RTC 107 has a clock/calendar function. The clock/calendar function is a function for keeping time by counting years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. Moreover, you may use what counts to a 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 clocking and calendar functions even when the power supply board (not shown) is turned off.

The battery 108 may be a primary battery (for example, a button battery) or a rechargeable secondary battery, thereby avoiding the need to arrange a backup power source and complicating the configuration of the main control board 100. can be done. Note that 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 providing 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 game machine is powered on.

An upper start hole detection switch 90 for detecting a game ball that has entered an upper start hole (not shown) arranged in the game area 8 of the game board 5, and a lower start hole (not shown) for detecting a game ball that has entered a prize. The detection signals from the lower starting hole detection switch 91 and the general winning hole detection switch 93 that detects a game ball that has won a general winning hole (not shown) are 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 .

In addition, a gate switch 92 that detects game balls that have passed through a gate (not shown), a general winning hole detection switch 94 that detects game balls that have won a general winning hole (not shown), a large winning hole (not shown) First, a detection signal from the count switch 98 for detecting a winning game ball is input to the main control input circuit 103 through the panel relay terminal board 140 attached to the game board 5, and is sent to the main control I/O port. 102 to the main control MPU 101 .

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, thereby causing the starting solenoid 96 and the main control solenoid 96 via the panel relay terminal board 140 to A drive signal is output to the winning opening solenoid 97, and from the main control I/O port 102, the panel relay terminal board 140, and the function display board 141, the upper special pattern display 142, the lower special pattern display 143, the upper special A driving signal is output to the symbol memory display 144, the lower special symbol memory display 145, the normal symbol display 146, the normal symbol memory display 147, the game state display 148, and the round display 149.

In addition, the main control MPU 101 serially transmits various information (game information) related to the game and various commands related to the prize balls according to the prize winning to the ball information control board 110. Various commands related to the state of the machine 1 are received in a serial manner. In addition, the main control MPU 101 transmits to the peripheral control board 130 various commands relating to the control of game effects and various commands relating to the state of the pachinko machine 1 . When the peripheral control board 130 receives the control command transmitted from the main control board 100, the peripheral control board 130 displays various effects according to the received control command (for example, a decorative pattern for notifying the result of the judgment on the display panel of the liquid crystal display device 1400). It performs control related to the variable display of the row, the production display accompanying this, the operation of the lamp, the sound, the movable decorative accessory for production, etc.).

[Sphere information control board 110]
FIG. 77 is a block diagram showing the main part of the ball information control board 110 mainly installed in the enclosed ball type pachinko machine. The ball information control board 110 includes a ball information control unit 118 that performs various controls related to the management of held balls, the ball lifting device 22, the launch solenoid 13, the ball feed solenoid 31, the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155, and the like. Further, the main control board 100 and the sphere information control board 110 are connected so as to enable two-way data communication.

[Ball information control unit 118]
As shown in FIG. 77, the ball information control unit 118 includes a ball information control MPU 111, which is a microprocessor containing a ROM for storing various processing programs and various commands, a RAM for temporarily storing data, etc.; a ball information control I/O port 112 as an O-device; an external watchdog timer 116 (hereinafter referred to as "external WDT 116") for monitoring whether the ball information control MPU 111 is operating normally; , a ball-lifting motor drive circuit 114 for outputting drive signals to the ball-lifting motor 150 of the ball-lifting device 22 for lifting the ball, 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 payment machine 4, a ball polishing ribbon feed motor drive circuit 119 for outputting drive signals to the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155, and a ball polishing ribbon feed motor drive circuit 119 for outputting drive signals to the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155. A ball retention stopper solenoid drive circuit 245 for outputting a drive signal to the retention stopper solenoid 244 is provided. The ball information control MPU 111 has built-in ROM (hereinafter referred to as "ball information control built-in ROM") and RAM (hereinafter referred to as "ball information control built-in RAM").

The ball information control MPU 111 receives various information (game information) about games and various commands about prize balls from the main control board 100 in a serial manner via the ball information control I/O port 112, and receives them 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 .

Detection signals from the door frame open switch 131 for detecting opening of the door frame 3 with respect to the main body frame 2 and the main body frame open switch 132 for detecting opening of the main body frame 2 with respect to the outer frame are first input to the ball information control input circuit 113. and input to the ball information control MPU 111 via the ball information control I/O port 112 . Furthermore, a touch detection signal (ON signal) from the touch switch 87 for detecting whether or not the palm or fingers are in contact with the ball hitting handle 10 is input to the ball information control board 110 via the handle relay terminal plate 123. The detection signal is input to the ball information control MPU 111 via the ball information control I/O port 112 .

In addition, the ball information control MPU 111 is connected to the firing solenoid 13 through the firing solenoid drive circuit 120, is connected to the ball feeding solenoid 31 through the ball feeding solenoid drive circuit 122, and is connected to the firing solenoid 13 according to the control output from the ball information control MPU 111. And the ball feed solenoid 31 is driven. In addition, launch standby ball detection switches 26, 70, launch ball confirmation switch 36, recovered ball detection switch 203, ball path full tank detection switch 206, ball appropriate amount detection switch 207, presence or absence of game balls supplied to ball lifting device 22 , a lifting motor sensor (photosensor) 157 for detecting the number of revolutions of the ball lifting motor 150, and a ball polishing cartridge containing a ball polishing cloth ribbon are installed. A detection signal from the cassette detection switch 158 for detecting is input to the ball information control input circuit 113 via the sensor relay board 124, and is input to the ball information control MPU 111 via the ball 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 ball retention stopper solenoid 244 (to be described later), the launch solenoid 13 and the ball feed solenoid 31 to the ball information control I/O. Output to each drive element via port 112 .

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

A detection signal from a touch switch 87 for detecting whether or not the palm or fingers are in contact with the ball hitting handle 10, and a shooting stop switch 86 for detecting whether or not the shooting of the game ball is forcibly stopped by the player's will. is input to the ball information control input circuit 113 via the handle relay terminal board 123 . Further, when the fare adjustment machine 4 and the ball information control board 110 are electrically connected, the signal is input to the CR unit input/output circuit 115 as a CR connection signal.

DC power supplies of +24 V, +12 V, and +5.2 V are supplied to the sphere information control board 110 from a power supply board (not shown). DC power supplies of +24 V, +12 V, and +5.2 V are supplied to the main control board 100 via the sphere 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. When it becomes lower than the voltage, a power failure warning signal is output as a power failure warning. The power failure warning signal output from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 is supplied to the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 and also to the main control MPU 101 . Although not shown, the power failure warning 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 payment machine 4. As shown in FIG. The fare adjustment machine 4 and the sphere information control board 110 are connected so as to be capable of bi-directional data communication. The control unit of the payment machine 4 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an input/output interface, a communication interface and the like (not shown).

Operation input signals of the ball lending button and the settlement button provided on the touch panel section 14 of the enclosed ball gaming machine 1 are connected to the settlement machine 4 so as to be input through an interface, for example. Further, the remaining number display section and the operable notification lamp provided on the touch panel section 14 of the enclosed ball type pachinko machine 1 are connected so as to be able to be displayed by the control output from the fare adjustment machine 4 . Further, the payment machine 4 is provided with a card processing machine 402 behind the card slot shown in FIG.

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

The card 403 has an ID storage unit 404 that stores an ID number (hereinafter simply referred to as an ID) as identification information individually given to the card 403, and an amount equivalent to the amount paid when purchasing the card 403. A remaining number storage unit 305 that stores the number of remaining points as valuable value information, and a number of held balls storage unit 406 that stores the number of held balls acquired by the player as a result of playing a game (the number of held balls in a game machine). is set. When the card 403 is issued, the ID is stored in the ID storage unit 404, and the remaining points corresponding to the amount paid when purchasing the card 403 is stored in the remaining points storage unit 405 (for example, the amount paid is 5000 yen). If so, "5000" is stored as the remaining score, but "0" is stored in the ball possession storage unit 406 as the initial value of the number of possession balls.

The card processor 402 is conventionally known, and includes a card sensor for detecting the card 403, a card reader/writer for reading data stored in the card 403 and writing data to the card 403, and a card reader/writer for reading data from the card 403. A card conveying means for feeding the card 403 to the writing position and ejecting the card 403 to the card insertion slot is provided. When the card 403 is inserted into the card slot, the card processing machine 402 sends the card 403 to a predetermined data reading/writing position, and the card reader/writer reads the stored data, that is, the ID, the number of remaining credits, and the number of cards held. The number of balls is read and output to the adjustment machine 4.例文帳に追加Also, in response to a write command from the payment machine 4, the ID, the number of remaining points, and the number of balls held are written (stored) in each of the aforementioned storage units.

The settlement machine 4 stores the ID, the number of remaining points, and the number of balls in the RAM read from the card 403 through the card processing machine 402 .

[Ball rental with card 403]
After reading the data on the card 403, the fare adjustment machine 4 displays the remaining points stored in the RAM on the remaining points display section. When the card 403 can be used, the payment machine 4 lends the ball according to the operation of the lending ball button. In this ball lending operation, for example, 125 balls (the unit price of a ball is 4 yen) are lent per operation of the ball lending button. In addition, when the number of balls held is less than 125, the total number of balls held is regarded as the number of balls lent. The payment machine 4 transmits the number of rental balls to the ball information control board 110 . In addition, the payment machine 4 multiplies the set unit price of balls by the number of rental balls to obtain the price for the ball rental, and subtracts the obtained price (the price corresponding to the ball rental is the remaining frequency) from the current residual frequency. In addition, when there is a number of balls in possession and the number of balls in possession is used to lend the balls, the number of rental balls is subtracted from the current number of balls in possession. The fare adjustment machine 4 displays this result on the remaining points display section. Also, the remaining points are written in the remaining points storage section 405 of the card 403 .

[Play start]
When the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 receives the number of rental balls transmitted from the payment machine 4 , it adds the number to the number of balls held in the game machine, and displays the addition result on the touch panel section 14 . The upper launching device 12 is enabled to shoot, and the game is ready for play.

[During play]
When the player operates the hitting handle 10, the hitting ball launching device 29 is activated, and when the game ball at the ball shooting position is hit into the game area 8 by the shooting hammer 30, this is detected by the shooting ball confirmation switch 36. Based on this, the hitting of each game ball into the game area 8 is detected. Then, the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 sequentially "1" from the game machine possession ball number data stored in the game machine possession ball number storage area according to the hitting detection of each game ball. is subtracted, and the number of held balls is displayed on the touch panel section 14 .

On the other hand, the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 includes a gate switch 92 arranged in a gate (not shown) that allows game balls to pass through on the 5th surface of the game board, and a normal winning opening (not shown). General winning opening detection switches 93 and 94 arranged for, a count switch 98 arranged for a large winning opening (not shown), and a starting opening (not shown) serving as an upper starting opening Based on the detection signals from the upper and lower starting port detection switches 90 and 91, processing related to the game is performed, and commands and signals as processing results are sent to the ball information control board 110, the peripheral control board 130, and the upper and lower special symbols. Output to the display devices 142, 143, the upper and lower special pattern storage display devices 144, 145, the normal pattern display device 146, the normal pattern storage display device 147, the starting solenoid 96, the big win solenoid 97, and the like.

When the game ball launched by the upper launching device 12 enters various winning openings (starting winning opening, large winning opening, etc.) in the game area 8, the game ball is detected by various winning detection switches provided for each winning opening. It is detected by (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 detection signals from detection switches (general winning opening detection switches 93, 94, count switch 98, upper and lower starting opening detection switches 90, 91) provided for each winning opening. , outputs a prize ball command for instructing the number of prize balls set according to the prize winning opening in which the game ball has won to the ball information control board 110 as necessary.

Furthermore, 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 . The game state is, for example, a lottery for winning or losing due to the winning of the starting opening and the starting opening, and performing a variable display of special symbols based on the lottery result to stop the symbols, and the lottery result is a hit. In the case of a type 1 pachinko machine that shifts to a special game state (jackpot game state) in the case of normal game state (the probability of winning by lottery is normal probability, and the time of variable display of normal symbols is normal), time saving Game state (normal pattern variable display time is shorter than usual, information output signal during time saving), jackpot game state (jackpot information output signal for 15 rounds or jackpot information output signal for 2 rounds), high probability game State (state where the probability of winning by lottery is higher than usual, information output signal during probability fluctuation), during special design fluctuation (special design display information output signal), state with hold based on start winning prize (start winning prize information output signal) and the like.

In addition, the peripheral control board 130 controls the liquid crystal display panel (not shown), accessory decoration board (not shown), board decoration board (not shown), and frame decoration based on commands 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 controlled. , controls the pattern displayed on the liquid crystal display panel (not shown).

The ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 displays the shooting solenoid 13, the ball feeding solenoid 31, the ball lifting motor 150, the ball polishing ribbon feeding motor 155, and the number of balls held on the touch panel 14 based on various input signals. and output a signal to the payment machine 4 .

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

In response to receiving such a prize ball command, the ball information control MPU 111 stores the game machine ball number data stored in the game machine ball number storage area with the value of the number of prize balls preset for each winning hole. is added and displayed on the touch panel section 14 .

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

When the settlement machine 4 transmits a game end command to the ball information control MPU 111 in response to the operation of the settlement button, the ball information control MPU 111 receives the game end command sent from the settlement machine 4, and the ball information control is performed. The MPU 111 transmits “end possible” to the payment machine 4 . Next, the ball information control MPU 111 stops the shooting solenoid 13 and the ball feeding solenoid 31 to stop the game. The current number of balls in the game machine stored in the storage area for the number of balls in the game machine is transmitted to the settlement machine 4.例文帳に追加

When the processing of the settlement machine 4 corresponding to the number of balls in the gaming machine transmitted from the ball information control MPU 111 is completed, the settlement machine 4 transmits the processing end, so the ball information control MPU 111 receives the processing end. Then, the area for storing the number of balls in the game machine in the RAM is cleared to 0, and the process ends.

On the other hand, after the settlement machine 4 receives a response of "finished" as a reply about the end state to the game end command, the ball information control MPU 111 transmits the number of balls in the game machine to the settlement machine 4, so that the settlement machine 4 starts playing the game. When the number of balls held in the machine is received, the received number of balls held in the game machine is added to the number of balls held in the payment machine stored in the RAM when the card is inserted, and the addition result is stored as the number of balls held in the payment 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 in the payout machine. Then, the processing end is transmitted to the ball information control MPU 111, the number of balls held in the payment machine is written in the number of balls held in the card 403, the card 403 is ejected from the card slot, and the processing ends. As a result, the card 403 rewritten by adding the number of balls possessed by the gaming machine as a game result is returned to the player.

[Various control processing of the 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 machine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 79 to 81. FIG. 79 is a flow chart showing the main control side power-on processing executed by the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100, FIG. 80 is a flow chart showing the continuation of the main control side power-on processing of FIG. 79, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing main control side timer interrupt processing executed by the main control MPU 101. FIG.

[Processing when main control side power is turned on]
When the pachinko 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. When this main-control-side power-on process is started, the main control MPU sets a stack pointer (step S10). The stack pointer indicates, for example, an address stacked on the stack to temporarily store the contents of a storage element (register) in use, or a temporary return address of this routine when returning to this routine after terminating a subroutine. It indicates the address stacked on the stack for storage, and the stack pointer advances each time the stack is stacked. In step S10, the initial address is set in the stack pointer, and from this initial address, the register contents, the return address, etc. are stacked on the stack. Then, the stack pointer returns to the initial address by sequentially reading from the last stacked stack to the first stacked stack.

After step S10, wait timer processing 1 is performed (step S12), and it is determined whether or not a power failure warning signal has been input (step S14). The voltage does not rise immediately after the power is turned on until it reaches the predetermined voltage. On the other hand, when there is a power failure or momentary power failure (a phenomenon in which the power supply is suddenly suspended), the voltage drops, and when it becomes lower than the power failure warning voltage, the power failure warning is sent from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110. A signal is output and input to the main control MPU. Similarly, when the voltage becomes smaller than the blackout warning voltage during the period from when the power is turned on until it rises to a predetermined voltage, a blackout warning signal is input from the blackout monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110 .

Therefore, the wait timer process 1 in step S12 is a process for waiting until the voltage becomes larger than the blackout warning voltage after the power is turned on and is stabilized. ms) is set. The decision in step S14 is made based on the power failure warning signal from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110. FIG. After the power is turned on, when the voltage becomes higher than the power failure warning voltage and becomes stable, the power failure warning signal from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 is no longer output, and the main control MPU proceeds to step S16.

After proceeding to 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 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 main control MPU. When the detection signal is input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated, and 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 has been operated, the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is set to 1 (step S18), and the process proceeds to step S30. When it is determined that the operation has not been performed, 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 stored in the RAM built in the main control MPU 101 (hereinafter referred to as "main control built-in RAM"), the game related to the game such as probability fluctuation, unpaid prize balls, etc. This is a flag indicating whether or not to erase information, and is set to a value of 1 when game information is to be erased and a value of 0 when game information is not to be 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.

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

After step S30, it is determined whether or not the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is 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 is set to a value of 0 when the game information is not erased. If it is determined in step S32 that the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is 0, that is, if the game information is not to be erased, a checksum is calculated (step S34). This checksum is calculated by regarding the game information stored in the main control built-in RAM as numerical values and calculating the total.

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

When the backup flag BK-FLG is 1 in step S38, that is, when the main control side power failure processing is normally completed, the work area of the main control built-in RAM is set as when the power is restored (step S40). In this setting, in addition to setting the value 0 to the backup flag BK-FLG, the power recovery information is read from the ROM built in the main control MPU (hereinafter referred to as "main control built-in ROM"), and this power recovery The hour information is set in the work area of the main control built-in RAM. In addition, "recovery of power" refers to the state in which the power is turned on after the power has been cut off, the state in which the power is restored after a power failure or momentary power failure, and the state in which the high frequency radiation is detected and reset. It also includes the state after which it has returned.

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

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S32 that the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is not 0 (is 1), that is, when game information is erased, or if the checksum value (sum value) matches in step S36 If not, or if it is determined in step S38 that the backup flag BK-FLG is not 1 (is 0), that is, if the main control side power failure processing has not been completed normally, the main control built-in RAM All areas are cleared (step S44). Specifically, the value 0 is written into the main control built-in RAM (a predetermined value may be read from the main control built-in ROM and set as the initial value). Also, the initial value determination random number for determining the initial value of the random number for determining the big hit is determined when the game information is erased by operating the RAM clear switch 105, when the sum values do not match, or when the RAM clear switch 105 is operated. When the main control side power failure processing is not normally completed, the unique ID code preliminarily stored in the nonvolatile RAM of the main control MPU is taken out, and the random number for judging the jackpot is updated based on the taken out ID code. An initial value derivation process is executed to always derive the same fixed value from the fixed numerical range of the counter, 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 initial setting (step S46). For this setting, the initial information is read from the main control built-in ROM and this initial information is set in the work area of the main control built-in RAM.

Following step S46, RAM clear notification and test command generation processing are performed (step S48). In this RAM clear notification and test command creation processing, a power-on command classified as power-on is created for notifying that the main control built-in RAM has been cleared and initial settings have been performed. Test commands classified into test-related items for performing inspection are created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

After step S42 or step S48, interrupt initialization is performed (step S50). This setting is to set the interrupt period when the main control side timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, is performed. In this embodiment, it is set to 4 ms.

After step S50, interrupt permission setting is performed. (Step S52). With this setting, the main control side timer interrupt processing is repeatedly performed at the interrupt period set at step S50, that is, every 4 ms. The processing of steps S10 to S52 is referred to as "main control side power-on processing".

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

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

If there is no input of the power failure warning signal in step S56, a non-hit-lose random number update process is performed (step S58). In this non-win/lose random number update process, for example, the reach determination random number, the variable display pattern random number, the big hit symbol initial value determination random number, and the small winning symbol initial value determination random number are updated. In this way, in the non-hit-lose random number update process, the random numbers that are not related to the hit-lose determination (big hit determination) are updated. In addition, the random number for determining the normal symbol hit, the random number for determining the initial value for determining the normal winning symbol, the random number for the normal symbol variation display pattern, etc. are also updated by this non-hit-lose random number update process.

Following step S58, the process returns to step S54 to set the value A in the watchdog timer clear register WCL. In step S56, it is determined whether or not a power failure warning signal has been input. For example, non-hit-lose random number update processing is performed in step S58, and steps S54 to S58 are repeatedly performed. The processing of steps S54 to S58 is called "main control side main loop processing".

On the other hand, when the power failure warning signal is input in step S56, interrupt prohibition is set (step S60). With this setting, the main control side timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, is not performed, preventing writing to the main control built-in RAM and protecting the game information from being rewritten.

Following step S60, the starting opening solenoid 96, the big winning opening solenoid 97, the upper special symbol display 142, the lower special symbol display 143, the upper special symbol storage display 144, and the lower special symbol storage display shown in FIG. 145, the normal symbol display 146, the normal symbol memory display 147, the game state display 148, the round display 149, etc. are stopped (step S62).

Following step S62, a checksum is calculated and the calculated value is stored (step S64). This checksum is calculated by considering the game information in the work area of the main control built-in RAM, excluding the storage area for the checksum value (sum value) and the value of the backup flag BK-FLG, as numerical values.

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

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

Following step S68, a loop process is entered in which a state in which nothing is executed is repeated. The processing of steps S60 to S68 and the loop processing are referred to as "main control side power failure processing". In this loop processing, since the value A, the value B, and the value C are not sequentially set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, the watchdog timer is not cleared. Therefore, the watchdog timer times out and outputs a time-out signal, and the time-out signal resets the main control MPU, after which the main control MPU performs the main control side power-on processing from the beginning again.

The pachinko machine 1 (main control MPU 101) is reset when there is a power failure or momentary power failure.

In step S36, it is checked whether or not the backup information stored in the main control built-in RAM is normal, and in step S38, it is checked whether or not the main control side power failure processing has been completed normally. inspecting. In this way, by double-checking the backup information stored in the main control built-in RAM, it is inspected whether or not the backup information has been stored illegally.

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

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

After step S70, the interrupt flag is cleared (step S72). The interrupt period is initialized by clearing the interrupt flag, and the next interrupt period is counted from the initial value.

After step S72, switch input processing is performed (step S74). In this switch input process, 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 built-in RAM.

Subsequent to step S74, timer subtraction processing is performed (step S76). In this timer subtraction process, for example, the time during which the upper special symbol indicator 142 and the lower special symbol indicator 143 are lit according to the variable display pattern determined by the special symbol and special electric auditors control process to be described later, the normal symbol to be described later and In addition to the time when the normal symbol display 146 is lit according to the normal symbol variation display pattern determined by the normal electric accessory control process, the ball information control board 110 transmits various commands sent by the main control board 100 (main control MPU). Time management such as ACK signal input judgment time set as a judgment condition when judging whether or not the ball information main ACK signal indicating that the reception has been normally received is input is performed. Specifically, when the variation time of the variation display pattern or the normal symbol variation display pattern is 5 seconds, the timer interrupt cycle is set to 4 ms, so each time this timer subtraction process is performed, the variation time is subtracted by 4 ms. When the subtraction result becomes 0, the fluctuation time of the fluctuation display pattern or the normal symbol fluctuation display pattern is accurately measured.

In this embodiment, the ACK signal input determination time is set to 100 ms. Each time this timer subtraction process is performed, the ACK signal input determination time is subtracted by 4 ms, and the subtraction result becomes 0, thereby accurately measuring the ACK signal input determination time. These 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, win-lose random number update processing is performed (step S78). In this win/lose random number update process, the above-described random number for judging a big win, random number for a big win design, and random number for a small win design are updated. In addition to these random numbers, the random number for determining the initial value for the jackpot symbol, which is updated in the non-hit-lose random number update process of step S58 in the main control side power-on process (main control side main process) shown in FIG. And the random number for determining the initial value for the small winning symbol is also updated. These big hit symbol initial value determination random numbers and small winning symbol initial value determination random numbers are updated in the main control side main processing and this main control side timer interrupt processing, respectively, thereby enhancing the randomness. . On the other hand, since the random number for judging a big hit, the random number for a big hit pattern, and the random number for a small hit pattern are random numbers related to the judgment of winning (big hit judgment), each counter is updated only each time this random number update process is performed. counts up. For example, the counter that updates the random number for judging a big hit is, as described above, an initial value update type counter that has a predetermined fixed numerical range ranging from the minimum value to the maximum value (in this embodiment, the minimum value is 32767) as a value from 0 to the maximum value, and the range from the minimum value to the maximum value is counted up by adding 1 each time this main control side timer interrupt processing is performed. The random number for determining the initial value for judging a big win is counted up to the maximum value (value 32767), and then the random number for determining the initial value for judging a big hit is counted up from the minimum value (value 0). When the counter for updating the random number for judging a big win finishes counting up the range from the minimum value to the maximum value of the random number for judging a big win, the random number for determining the initial value for judging a big win is updated by the random number updating process. At this time, the updated value is always the same from the fixed value range of the counter that the main control MPU retrieves the ID code from its built-in non-volatile RAM and updates the jackpot determination random number based on the retrieved ID code. An initial value derivation process for deriving a fixed value of is executed, and this derived fixed value is set as an initial value. That is, the initial value determination random number for judging a big hit is always overwritten with the same fixed value derived based on the ID code by executing the initial value deriving process as the initial value. Incidentally, the above-described normal symbol hit determination random number and normal symbol hit determination initial value determination random number are also updated by this win/lose random number update process. The normal symbol hit determination random number and the like are the same as the above-described method for updating the big hit determination random number, and the description thereof is omitted.

Following step S78, prize ball control processing is performed (step S80). In this prize ball control process, input information is read from the above-described input information storage area, and based on this input information, a prize ball command for transmission to the ball information control board 110 is created, and the main control board 100 and the ball information are generated. A self-check command for checking the connection state between the boards with the control board 110 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 big winning hole, 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 transmitted to the ball information control board. When the sphere information main ACK signal, which informs that the reception of the sphere information control substrate 110 has been completed normally, is not input within a predetermined time, a self-check command for checking the connection state between the main control board 100 and the sphere information control board 110 is created. It is transmitted to the sphere information control board 110 .

After step S80, frame command reception processing is performed (step S82). The sphere information control board 110 transmits various 1-byte (8-bit) commands divided into status indications. In the frame command reception process of step S82, when the various commands are normally received as the ball information main serial data, the information to notify the ball information control board 110 to that effect is stored as the output information in the output information storage area of the main control built-in RAM. Remember. Also, the command normally received as ball 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.

Following step S82, fraud detection processing is performed (step S84). In this fraudulent act detection process, an abnormal state regarding prize balls is checked. For example, when the input information is read out from the above-described input information storage area, and the detection signal from the count switch 98 is input in the non-jackpot game state (when the game ball enters the big winning hole), etc. A prize-winning abnormal display command classified as a notification display as an abnormal state is created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

Following step S84, a special symbol and special electric accessory control process is performed (step S86). In this special symbol and special electric role product control process, the value of the counter for updating the above-mentioned big hit determination random number is taken out and it is determined whether or not it matches the big hit determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM (big hit It is determined whether or not to generate a game state (referred to as "special lottery")), and the value of the counter for updating the random number for the big hit pattern is taken out and used as the probability variable hit determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM. It determines whether or not they match (determines whether or not to generate probability variation). Here, "probability change" means that the probability of winning a big hit changes to a high probability (probability variable time) set higher than the normal time (low probability). In this embodiment, as the range of the above-described jackpot determination value (jackpot determination range), a value of 32668 to a value of 32767 is set for a low probability. ~ value 32767 is set and read from the probability variation time determination table. Thus, in the special symbol and special electric accessory control process of step S86, whether or not the value of the counter for updating the big hit determination random number and the big hit determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM match. When judging whether or not, it is determined whether or not the value of the counter for updating the big-hit judging random number is included in the big-hit judging range.

When these determination results are from the upper starting port detection switch 90, various commands related to the special figure 1 tuning effect are created, and when the lottery results are from the lower starting port detection switch 91, special Various commands related to FIG. 2 tuning effect are created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area, and the upper special symbol display device 142 or the lower special symbol display device 143 is lit according to the determined special symbol fluctuation display pattern. The output of the lighting signal to the upper special symbol display device 142 or the lower special symbol display device 143 is set, and stored as the output information in the output information storage area described above.

In addition, depending on the game state to be generated, for example, when it becomes a big win game state, various commands classified as related to the big win are created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area, or the opening and closing member is opened and closed. Setting the output of the drive signal to the winning opening solenoid 97 and storing it as output information in the output information storage area, or when the number of times (round) that the big winning opening changes from the closed state to the open state is two times, the round is displayed. The output of the lighting signal to the 2nd round display lamp of the device 149 is set so as to light the 2nd round display lamp of the device 149, and is stored as output information in the output information storage area. The output of a lighting signal to the 15th round display lamp is set so as to light the 15th round display lamp, and the output information is stored in the output information storage area, or the presence or absence of probability variation is lit in a predetermined color. The output of the lighting signal to the indicator 148 is set and stored as output information in the output information storage area.

Following step S86, a normal symbol and normal electric accessory control process is performed (step S88). In this normal symbol and normal electric accessary product control process, the input information is read from the above-described input information storage area, and the gate winning process is performed based on this input information. In this gate winning process, it is determined from the input information whether or not the detection signal from the gate switch 92 has been input to the input terminal. Based on the result of this determination, when the detection signal is input to the input terminal, the value of the counter for updating the random number for determining per normal symbol is extracted as gate information, and the gate information storage area of the main control built-in RAM is extracted. memorize to

Following step S88, port output processing is performed (step S90). In this port output process, output information is read from the output information storage area 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 successfully 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. , When in the jackpot game state, it outputs a drive signal to the big winning opening solenoid 97 for opening and closing the opening and closing member of the big winning opening, and outputs a driving signal to the starting opening solenoid 96 for opening and closing the movable piece. In addition, 15 rounds jackpot information output signal, 2 rounds jackpot information output signal, probability fluctuation information output signal, special pattern display information output signal, normal pattern display information output signal, information output information during time saving, start winning prize information output signal Various information (game information) signals related to the game such as are outputted to the ball information control board 110 .

Following step S90, peripheral control board command transmission processing is performed (step S92). In this peripheral control board command transmission process, the transmission information is read from the transmission information storage area described above, and this transmission information is transmitted to the peripheral control board 130 as main peripheral serial data. This transmission information includes various commands that are classified into special figure 1 synchronization effect related, various commands that are classified into special figure 2 synchronization effect related, and are classified into big hit related Various commands that are classified as power on, various commands that are classified as being related to general map synchronization effects, various commands that are classified as being related to normal electric role effects, various commands that are classified as notification display, status display Various commands classified, various commands classified into test-related commands, and various commands classified into others are stored. One packet of the main circumferential serial data is composed of 3 bytes.

Specifically, the main peripheral serial data includes a status indicating a command type 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 calculated by considering the mode as a numerical value, and this sum value is created at the time of transmission. Incidentally, the processing of steps S74 to S92 will be referred to as "game control processing".

Following step S92, a 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 cleared.

After step S94, the register is switched (restored) (step S96), and this routine ends. Here, when the main control side timer interrupt processing, which is this routine, is started, the main control MPU stacks the contents of the general-purpose register on the stack and saves it. This prevents destruction of the contents of the general-purpose registers used in the main processing on the main control side. In step S96, the contents saved in the stack are read and written to the original register. It should be noted that the main control MPU sets interrupt permission after returning in step S96.

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

[Processing when ball information control side power is turned on]
When the pachinko gaming machine 1 is powered on, the ball information control MPU 111 (hereinafter simply referred to as the ball information control MPU) of the ball information control unit 118 in the ball information control board 110, as shown in FIGS. Execute processing when power is turned on on the ball information control side. When the ball information control side power-on process is started, the ball information control MPU sets the interrupt mode (step S500). This interrupt mode sets the priority of interrupts of the ball information control MPU. In the present embodiment, the ball information control unit timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, is set to have the highest priority.

Following step S500, input/output setting (input/output setting of I/O) is performed (step S502). In this I/O input/output setting, the input/output setting of the I/O port of the ball 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 compares +24V with the reference voltage or compares +12V with the reference voltage, and outputs the comparison results. The result of this comparison is input to the PR terminal, which is the preset terminal of the D-type flip-flop, with logic HI when no power failure or momentary power failure has occurred. 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, output of a power failure clear signal to the CLR terminal, which is the clear terminal of the D-type flip-flop, is started. 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 set to LOW. As a result, the sphere 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, it is possible to output from the 1Q terminal which is an output terminal, 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 or not a power failure warning signal has been input (step S508). The voltage does not rise immediately after the power is turned on until it reaches the predetermined voltage. On the other hand, when a power failure or momentary power failure occurs (a phenomenon in which the supply of power suddenly stops temporarily), the voltage drops, and when it becomes smaller than the power failure warning voltage, a power failure warning signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 as a power failure warning. Similarly, when the voltage becomes smaller than the power failure warning voltage after the power is turned on until it rises to a predetermined voltage, a power failure warning signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 . Therefore, the wait timer process 1 in step S506 is a process for waiting until the voltage becomes larger than the blackout warning voltage after the power is turned on and stabilized. ms) is set. It is determined in step S508 whether or not the power failure warning signal has been input. This determination is made based on the signal output from the 1Q terminal, which is the output terminal of the D-type flip-flop, as the power failure warning signal.

Following step S508, 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 the power failure clear signal, the logic becomes HI through the ball information control I/O port 112 and is input to the CLR terminal which is a clear terminal. This allows the sphere information control MPU to set the D-type flip-flop to the latch state. When the D-type flip-flop latches the state in which the logic LOW is input to the PR terminal, which is a preset terminal, it outputs a power failure warning signal from the 1Q terminal, which is an output terminal.

Following step S510, it is determined whether or not 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, and when the detection signal is not input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is not operated.

If it is determined in step S512 that the RAM clear switch 105 has been operated, the ball information RAM clear flag is set to 1 (step S514), and the process proceeds to step S518. 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.

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

Following step S514 or step S516, a setting is made to permit access to the ball information control built-in RAM (step S518). This setting enables access to the ball information control built-in RAM, and enables, for example, writing (storing) or reading of ball information.

Following step S518, a stack pointer is set (step S520). The stack pointer indicates, for example, an address stacked on the stack to temporarily store the contents of a storage element (register) in use, or a temporary return address of this routine when returning to this routine after terminating a subroutine. It indicates the address stacked on the stack for storage, and the stack pointer advances each time the stack is stacked. At step S520, the initial address is set in the stack pointer, and from this initial address, the register contents, the return address, etc. are stacked on the stack. Then, the stack pointer returns to the initial address by sequentially reading from the last stacked stack to the first stacked stack.

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

When the ball information RAM clear flag is 0 in step S527, that is, when the ball information is not erased, a checksum is calculated (step S528). This checksum is calculated by regarding the ball information stored in the ball information control built-in RAM as numerical values and calculating the total.

Following step S528, it is determined whether or not the calculated checksum value matches the checksum value stored in the ball information control unit power-off process (at power-off), which will be described later (step S530). ). If they match, it is determined whether or not the ball information backup flag is 1 (step S532). This ball information backup flag is a flag indicating whether or not ball information backup information such as ball information and a checksum value has been stored in the internal RAM for ball information control in the ball information control unit power-off processing described later. A value of 1 is set when the ball information control unit power failure processing is normally completed, and a value of 0 is set when the ball information control unit power failure processing is not normally completed.

When the ball information backup flag is 1 in step S532, that is, when the ball information control unit power-off processing is normally completed, the work area of the ball information control built-in RAM is set as when the power is restored (step S534). In addition to setting the ball information backup flag to a value of 0, this setting also reads power recovery information from the ROM built into the ball information control MPU (hereinafter referred to as "ball information control built-in ROM"). The power recovery information is set in the work area of the ball information control built-in RAM. As a result, information used for various processes is set based on various flags, various information stored in various information storage areas, etc., which are the aforementioned ball information backup information stored in the internal ball information control RAM. . Note that "recovery of power" includes not only the state in which the power is turned on after the power has been cut off, but also the state in which the power has been restored after a power failure or momentary power failure.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S527 that the ball information RAM clear flag is not 0 (is 1), or if the checksum values do not match in step S530, or if the ball information backup flag is set to a value of 1 in step S532. When it is determined that the value is not 1 (the value is 0), that is, when the power-off process of the ball information control unit has not been completed normally, the entire area of the ball information control built-in RAM is cleared (step S536). As a result, the ball information backup information stored in the internal ball information control RAM is cleared.

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

After step S534 or step S538, interrupt initialization is performed (step S540). This setting is for setting an interrupt period when the ball information control unit timer interrupt process, which will be described later, is performed. In this embodiment, it is set to 2 ms.

After step S540, interrupt permission setting is performed (step S542). With this setting, the ball information control unit timer interrupt processing is repeatedly performed at the interrupt period set at step S540, that is, every 2 ms.

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

If there is no power failure warning signal input in step S544, it is determined whether or not the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is 1 (step S546). This 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is a flag that counts 2 ms in the ball information control unit timer interrupt processing that is processed every 2 ms, which will be described later. set respectively.

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 to determine whether or not a power failure warning signal has been input.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S546 that the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG has a value of 1, that is, if 2 ms has elapsed, the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is set to a value of 0 (step S547), and the process proceeds to step S550. , outputs an external WDT clear signal to the external watchdog timer (external WDT) 116 (turns ON, step S550). The external WDT 116 monitors the operation (system) of the ball information control MPU. 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 to reset (regularly diagnose whether the ball information control MPU system is running out of control).

Following step S550, port output processing is performed (step S552). In this port output process, various kinds of information are read out from the output information storage area of the ball information control built-in RAM, and various signals are output from the output terminal of the ball 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 that tells that various commands related to prize balls from the main control board 100 (prize ball command and self-check command) have been normally received, and ball information to the ball lifting device 22 Various information such as drive information for performing drive control is stored, and based on this output information, when a 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 It outputs a ball information main ACK signal to the main control board 100 and outputs a drive signal to the firing solenoid 13 .

Following 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 internal ball information control RAM. For example, door frame open switch 131, body frame open switch 132, launch standby ball detection switches 26, 70, launch ball confirmation switch 36, recovered ball detection switch 203, ball path full tank detection switch 206, ball proper amount detection switch 207, Lifting entrance switch 156, lifting motor sensor (photosensor) 157, cassette detection switch 158, firing stop switch 86, touch switch 87, BRQ signal, BRDY signal and CR connection signal from payment machine 4, command transmission processing described later Main ball information ACK signal and the like from the main control board 100 that informs that the main control board 100 has received the various commands sent in , respectively, are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area.

After step S554, timer update processing is performed (step S556). Various determination times are stored as time management information in the time management information storage area of the ball information control built-in RAM. In the timer update process, it is determined whether or not the timer values of various timers have been set, and if the timer values have been set, the timer values are decremented by one. For example, if "1000" is set in the timer as a value corresponding to 2 seconds (2000ms), the timer interrupt cycle is set to 2ms, so the timer value is incremented by 1 each time the timer subtraction process is performed in a 2ms cycle. When the subtraction result becomes 0, the time is up and the time is accurately measured.

Subsequent to step S556, fare adjustment machine communication processing is performed (step S558). In the fare adjustment machine communication process, input information is read from the above-described input information storage area, and based on this input information, whether or not various signals (BRQ signal, BRDY signal, and CR connection signal) from the fare adjustment machine 4 are input. judge. Based on various signals from the payment machine 4, the ball information control MPU exchanges various signals with the payment machine 4. For example, when the ball information control MPU receives the number of rental balls transmitted from the payment machine 4, it adds the number of rental balls to the data of the number of owned balls in the game machine.

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

Following step S560, command analysis processing is performed (step S562). In this command analysis process, 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 internal ball information control 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 operations of the launch 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 "1" from the game machine possession ball number data stored in the game machine possession ball number storage area in response to the hitting detection of game balls one by one based on the ball detection of the launch ball confirmation switch 36. " is subtracted. Further, when a prize ball command is stored in the received command information storage area, the number of prize balls corresponding to this prize ball command is added to the game machine possession ball number data stored in the game machine possession ball number storage area.

Following step S564, LED display data creation processing is performed (step S566). In this LED display data creation process, for example, the game machine possessed ball number data stored in the game machine possessed ball number storage area described above is read out, display data for displaying the number of possessed balls on the touch panel unit 14 is created, and the LED is displayed. It is stored in the output information storage area described above as display information.

Following step S566, command transmission processing is performed (step S568). In this command transmission process, various kinds of information are read out from the above-described state information storage area, and based on the various kinds of information, various commands classified into state displays are created and 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 (turned OFF, step S570). This clears the external WDT 116 and prevents the ball information control MPU and the ball information control I/O port 112 from being reset. Further, when the output of the external WDT clear signal is stopped, the external WDT 116 starts counting the clear signal release time.

After step S570, the process returns to step S544 to determine whether or not the power failure warning signal has been input. When the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is 1, that is, when 2 ms has elapsed, the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is set to 0 in step S547, and the external WDT 4120c is sent to the external WDT 4120c 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, fare adjustment machine communication processing is performed in step S558, and fare adjustment machine communication processing is performed in step S560. 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 called "ball information control main processing".

On the other hand, when a power failure warning signal is input in step S544, interrupt prohibition is set (step S572). With this setting, the ball information control unit timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, is not performed, and writing to the ball information control built-in RAM is prevented, thereby protecting the rewriting of the ball information described above.

Following step S572, a 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). As a result, the launch of the game ball is stopped. After step S576, the drive signal output to the ball feed solenoid 31 is stopped (step S578). As a result, the feeding of game balls to the ball shooting device 29 side is stopped.

Following step S578, the external WDT clear signal is output to the external WDT 116 to stop the output (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). This checksum is calculated by considering the ball information in the work area of the ball information control built-in RAM, excluding the storage area for the checksum value calculated in step S528 and the value of the ball information backup flag HBK-FLG, as numerical values. do. Following step S582, the ball information backup flag is set to 1 (step S584). This completes the storage of the ball information backup information. Following step S584, prohibition of access to the ball information control built-in RAM is set (step S586). By this setting, access to the internal ball information control RAM is prohibited and writing and reading are disabled, and the ball information backup information stored in the internal ball information control RAM is protected.

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

The pachinko machine 1 (ball information control MPU) is reset when there is a power failure or momentary power failure.

In step S530, it is checked whether or not the ball information backup information stored in the ball information control built-in RAM is normal. Subsequently, in step S532, the ball information control unit power-off process is normally terminated. It is inspecting whether or not In this way, by double checking the ball information backup information stored in the internal ball information control RAM, it is checked whether or not the ball information backup information has been stored by fraud.

[Timer interrupt processing on ball information control side]
Next, the ball information control side timer interrupt processing will be described. This ball information control side timer interrupt processing is repeatedly performed for each interrupt period (2 ms in this embodiment) set in step S540 of the ball information control side power-on processing shown in FIG.

When the ball information control side timer interrupt processing is started, the ball information control MPU of the ball information control unit 118 in the ball information control board 110 disables the timer interrupt as shown in FIG. saving) is performed (step S590). Here, the general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register) used in the above-described ball information control unit main processing is switched to the auxiliary register. By using this auxiliary register in the ball information control side timer interrupt processing, the value of the general-purpose register is not overwritten. This prevents destruction of the contents of general-purpose registers used in the main processing on the ball information control side.

Following step S590, the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is set to 1 (step S592). This 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is a flag that counts 2 ms each time this ball information control unit timer interrupt processing is performed, that is, every 2 ms. are set respectively. After step S592, the register is switched (restored) (step S594). For this return, the auxiliary register used in the ball information control side timer interrupt processing is switched to a general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register). By using this general-purpose register in the ball information control side main processing, the value of the auxiliary register is not overwritten. This prevents the contents of the auxiliary register used in the ball information control unit timer interrupt processing from being destroyed. Following step S594, interrupt permission is set (step S596), and this routine ends.

[Each process executed in the ball information control main process]
Next, each process executed by the ball information control MPU of the ball information control board 110 every 2 ms in the ball information control main process of FIG. 84 will be described. First, the ball lending process will be described, followed by the ball hitting determination process, the number of possessed balls counting process, the ball feeding/shooting drive process, the launched ball detection process, and the number of possessed balls subtraction process. It should be noted that the hit ball possible/impossible determination process, the number-of-balls-counting process, the ball feeding/shooting drive process, the ball-fired detection process, the number-of-balls subtraction process, and the lifting drive process are one of the main operation setting processes in step S564. , and executed in the order of hit ball possible/impossible determination processing, possessed ball number count processing, ball feeding/shooting drive processing, shot ball detection processing, possessed ball count subtraction processing, and lifting drive processing.

When the player inserts the card 403 into the card 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 processing machine 402 . That is, the ID stored in the ID storage section 404 of the card 403 in FIG. are stored in predetermined storage areas (ID storage area, remaining score storage area, pitch count storage area).

Next, the payment machine 4 determines whether the inserted card 403 is usable or not. In this embodiment, when the read remaining number of points is 0 and the read number of balls held 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, the processes of the number of held balls counting process, the ball feeding/shooting driving process, and the number of held balls subtraction process described below are not executed.

On the other hand, if the number of remaining points read is not 0, or if the number of balls held is not 0 even if the number of remaining points is 0, the payment machine 4 determines that the card can be used, and the ball information The card usable information is transmitted to the control board 110 .

When the player presses the ball lending button to play a game, an operation signal of the ball lending button is input to the payment machine 4 . In response to the operation signal of the ball rental button, the fare adjustment machine 4 performs ball rental processing, for example, transmits a prescribed number of rental balls to the ball information control MPU of the ball information control board 110, and then from the ball information control MPU It waits until it receives the ball lending end sent.

[Ball rental processing]
Here, the ball lending process executed by the ball information control MPU will be described. FIG. 87 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of ball rental processing performed by the ball information control MPU. Note that the ball rental process is executed as one of the fare adjustment machine communication processes of step S558 which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

When starting the ball rental process, the ball information control MPU determines whether or not the card usable information transmitted from the payment machine 4 is received (step S600). In step S600, when the card usable information transmitted from the payment machine 4 is received, the process proceeds to step S601, and the number of held balls counter (gaming machine holding counter) which is a part of the storage area set in the built-in RAM is displayed. number of balls storage area) is cleared to 0 (step S601), and the process proceeds to step S602. On the other hand, in step S600, if the card usable information transmitted from the payment machine 4 is not received, the process proceeds directly to step S602. The initial value of the number-of-balls-counter is set to "0" by the power-recovery setting in the RAM work area in step S534.

When proceeding to step S602, the ball information control MPU determines whether or not the number of rental balls transmitted from the payment machine 4 is received (step S602). In step S602, when the number of rental balls transmitted from the payment machine 4 is received, the process proceeds to step S603, the received number of rental balls is added to the value of the counter for the number of balls held (step S603), The end of rental is transmitted to the adjustment machine 4 (step S604), and the ball rental processing subroutine is exited.

On the other hand, if the number of rental balls transmitted from the payment machine 4 is not received in step S602, the process does not proceed to steps S603 and S604, and the subroutine of the direct ball rental processing is exited.

In this way, the card availability information is transmitted to the sphere information control board 110 only when a new usable card 303 is inserted into the payment machine 4 . Further, the number of rented balls is transmitted to the ball information control MPU only when an operation signal of the ball rent button is input to the payment machine 4 after the card usable information is received. Then, when the number of rental balls is received, the number of rental balls is added and stored to the value of the number-of-balls counter for the first time.

[Possible/impossible judgment processing]
Next, a description will be given of the hit ball possible/impossible determination process executed by the ball information control MPU. FIG. 88 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of a hit ball possible/impossible determination process performed by the ball information control MPU. It should be noted that the hit ball possible/impossible determination process is executed as one process of the main operation setting process of step S564 which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

When the ball information control MPU starts the ball hitting determination process, it determines whether or not the number of held balls is 0, that is, whether or not the value of the number of carried balls counter is 0 (step S710). In step S710, if it is determined that the value of the counter for the number of balls held is not 0, that is, if it is determined as NO in step S710, the process proceeds to step S711. ) is on, that is, whether or not there is a waiting ball in the ball feeding device 28 (step S711).

In step S711, if it is determined that the ball detection switch 70 (see FIG. 10) is ON, the fireable flag is set to 1 (fireable) (step S712). exits the subroutine of On the other hand, if it is determined in step S710 that the value of the counter for the number of balls held is 0, and if it is determined in step S711 that the firing standby ball detection switch 70 is not ON (OFF), The possible flag is set to 0 (no shooting) (step S713), and the subroutine of the hitting ball possible/impossible determination process is exited.

In this way, when the value of the number-of-balls counter is not 0 and there is a waiting ball in the ball feeding device 28, the firing solenoid 13 and the ball feeding solenoid 31 can be driven, and substantially the game area 8 of the game balls It is in a playable state in which it is possible to drive into. Further, when the value of the counter of the number of held balls is 0, or when there is no standby ball in the ball feeding device 28, the firing solenoid 13 cannot be driven, and the game ball is substantially hit into the game area 8. is in a state where it is impossible to play. At the same time, the ball feed solenoid 31 cannot be driven.

[Number of possession balls count processing]
Next, assuming that the game is substantially enabled, the process of counting the number of possessed balls corresponding to the ball information processing during the game will be described. FIG. 89 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of count processing for the number of possession balls performed by the ball information control MPU. It should be noted that the number-of-balls-counting process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564, which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main 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 there is a prize ball command stored, step S720 is determined to be 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). ), exiting the subroutine for counting the number of balls in possession. On the other hand, if no winning ball command is stored, it is determined that step S720 is not executed, and the subroutine of the number-of-balls-counting process is exited.

For example, when a prize is won in a winning slot set to the number of prize balls set to "4", the number of prize balls "4" is added and stored to the value of the number counter of the number of prize balls, for example, the number of prize balls is "15". When a prize is won in the winning opening (large winning opening) set to , the number of winning balls "15" is added and stored to the value of the number-of-balls counter.

[Ball sending/shooting drive processing]
Next, the ball feeding/shooting driving process will be described. 90 and 91 are flow charts showing an example of a subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting driving process performed by the ball information control MPU. The ball feeding/shooting driving process is executed as one process of the main operation setting process of step S564 which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

24 is a time chart showing drive timings of the ball feeding solenoid 31 and the firing solenoid 13. As shown in FIG. The shooting solenoid 13 is turned on when a period A has passed since the ball feed solenoid 31 was turned on, and the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off when a period B has passed since the ball feeding solenoid 13 was turned on, and the ball is fed. The firing solenoid 13 is turned off when the period C has passed 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 feed solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball feed member 32 feeds the shot ball to the shooting position (rail portion 332). That is, the shot ball is detected by the shot ball confirmation switch 36 . In this embodiment, it is determined that there is a ball to be launched when a game ball stopped at the launch position is detected by the ball launch confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined time period (30 ms as the period D). do.

In this way, when a game ball stopped at the shooting position is detected by the shooting ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that there is a shooting ball. False counts of balls can be eliminated, increasing certainty in detecting launched balls.

When the shooting solenoid 13 is turned on, the game ball stopped at the shooting position is shot into the game area 8 by the shooting hammer 30, and the shooting ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. This reduces the number of balls held by -1.

When the ball feeding/shooting drive process is started, the ball information control MPU first determines whether or not the shootable flag is 1 (shootable) (step S730). When it is determined that the ball can be shot in the above-described process for determining whether the ball can be hit, the flag that can be shot is set to 1 (can be shot). If it is determined in step S730 that the shootable flag is not 1 (fireable), that is, if the shootable flag is 0 (fireable), the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting driving process is exited. In this case, no substantial ball feeding/shooting drive processing is executed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S730 that the firing flag is 1 (fireable), the process moves to step S731, and it is determined whether or not the processing flag is 0 (step S731).

Here, the processing flag is a flag for identifying whether the ball information control MPU branches to any of the processes in the ball feeding/shooting drive process described later. This is a flag for identifying the state, "0" means initial setting, and "1" defines the period from when the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on until when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on. It defines the period from when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on at "2" until the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off, and at "3" after the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off, the firing solenoid 13 is turned off. It stipulates the period until

The value of the processing flag is set to 0 at the time when the ball feeding/shooting drive processing is started. Therefore, YES is determined in step S731, and the process advances to step S732 to set a timer value corresponding to period A (see FIG. 24, 300 ms) in the timer (step S732), and turn on the ball feed solenoid 31 (step S733). , the process flag is set to 1 (step S734), and the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting drive process is exited. Note that the timer value set in the timer is decremented by 1 every 2 ms in the timer updating process of step S556 in FIG.

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

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

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

As a result of setting the processing flag to 2, in the ball feed/shooting drive processing of the next period, step S730 is determined as YES, step S731 is determined as NO, step S735 is determined as NO, and the process proceeds to step S740. . In step S740, it is determined whether or not the value of the processing flag is 2 (step S740). In this case, since 2 is set in the processing flag, YES is determined in step S740, and the process proceeds to step S741 to determine whether or not the timer has expired (step S741). If the timer has not timed out, NO is determined in step S741, and the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting driving process is exited.

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

When the timer times out, YES is determined in step S741, and assuming that period B has elapsed, the process advances to step S742 to set a timer value corresponding to period C (see FIG. 24, 50 ms) in the timer. (Step S742), the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off (step S743), the process flag is set to 3 (step S744), and the subroutine of the ball feed/shooting drive process is exited.

As a result of setting the processing flag to 3, in the ball feeding/shooting drive processing of the next cycle, step S730 is determined as YES, step S731 is determined as NO, step S735 is determined as NO, and step S740 is determined as NO. Then, the process proceeds to step S745. At step S745, it is determined whether or not the timer has expired (step S745). If the timer has not timed out, NO is determined in step S745, and the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting driving process is exited.

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

Then, when the timer times out, step S745 is determined to be YES, and assuming that the period C has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S746, turns off the firing solenoid 13 (step S746), and sets 0 to the processing flag. The initial value is restored (step S747), and the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting driving process is exited.

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

When starting the shot ball detection process, the ball information control MPU first determines whether or not the shot 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 feeds the ball to the firing position (rail portion 332). That is, the shot ball is detected by the shot ball confirmation switch 36 .

If it is determined that the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is ON, the value of the timer counter, which is a counter for measuring the ON state time, is incremented by 1 (step S751), and the process proceeds to step S753.

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

After proceeding to step S753, it is determined whether or not 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 timer counter has not reached the predetermined specified time D, NO is determined in step S753, and the subroutine of the shot ball detection processing is exited.

Since the shot ball detection process is executed every 2 ms, when the game ball stopped at the shot position by the shot ball confirmation switch 36 continues to be detected for a predetermined time D, the timing counter is reset every 2 ms. The value is incremented by one, and the value of the time counter reaches a predetermined specified time D (in this example, 30 ms, count value 15). In this case, YES is determined in step S753, it is assumed that the ball has been detected, the ball-ball detection flag is set to 1 (detected) (step S754), and the ball-ball detection processing subroutine is exited.

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

In this way, when a game ball stopped at the shooting position is detected by the shooting ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that there is a shooting ball. False counts of balls can be eliminated, increasing certainty in detecting launched balls.

[Possession number subtraction processing]
Next, the number-of-balls subtraction process will be described. FIG. 93 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of the number-of-held-balls subtraction process performed by the ball information control MPU. It should be noted that the possession ball number subtraction process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564 which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

When the ball information control MPU starts the number-of-balls subtraction process, first, it determines whether or not the ball-fired detection flag is 1 (detected) (step S760). If it is determined that the shot ball detection flag is not 1 (detected), that is, if NO is determined in step S760, the subroutine for the number of possession balls subtraction process is exited. In this case, the number of possession balls is not subtracted.

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

As described above, when the shooting solenoid 13 is turned on, the game ball stopped at the shooting position is shot into the game area 8 by the shooting hammer 30, and the shooting ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. This reduces the number of balls held by -1. In step S761, if it is determined that the fired ball confirmation switch 36 is off, that is, if it is determined as YES in step S761, the value of the number of held balls counter is decremented by 1 (step S762), and the fired ball detection flag is set. 0 (no detection) is set (step S763), and the subroutine for the number of possession balls subtraction processing is exited.

In this way, when a game ball stopped at the shooting position is detected by the shooting ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that there is a shooting ball. On the condition that the game ball is not detected by the shot ball confirmation switch 36, it is determined that the game ball stopped at the shooting position has been shot, and the number of held balls is reduced by one. 36, erroneous ball counts due to noise can be eliminated, and the certainty of ball detection can be increased.

[Ball lifting drive process]
Next, the lift drive process will be described. FIG. 94 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of the lifting drive process performed by the ball information control MPU. The lifting drive process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564 which is 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 ball detection switch 26 waiting to be fired is off, that is, if it is determined NO in step S770, the flow advances to step S771 to determine whether or not the entrance switch 156 is on. (Step S771). In step S771, if it is determined that the entrance switch 156 is ON, that is, if it is determined as YES in step S771, the ball lifting motor 150 is driven (step S772), and the subroutine of the lifting driving process is executed. go through.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S770 that the ball detection switch 26 on standby for firing is ON, that is, if it is determined YES in step S770, the ball lifting motor 150 is stopped (step S773), and the lifting driving process is started. Exit subroutine.
Further, when it is determined in step S771 that the entrance switch 156 is off, that is, when it is determined as NO in step S771, the ball lifting motor 150 is stopped (step S773), and the lifting driving process is started. Exit subroutine.

In this way, when no game ball is detected by the launch standby ball detection switch 26, it is determined that the necessary number of game balls in the ball supply path member 24 is not satisfied, and the ball feed entrance switch 156 is operated to When a game ball waiting in line is detected in the 275, on condition that it is determined that there is a game ball, the ball lifting motor is driven, and the ball supply path member 24 is detected by the ball detection switch 26 waiting for launch. On the condition that the game balls waiting in line are detected, the ball lifting device 22 is stopped to stop the lifting of the game balls. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of ball clogging. Thereby, since it is the structure which lifts a game ball, a game ball can be sent to the ball supply path member 24 just enough.

In addition, compared to the game ball shooting cycle of the ball shooting device 29 and the ball sending cycle of the ball feeding device 28 in the upper shooting unit 12, the ball lifting device 22 to the ball supply path member 24 The delivery cycle of the ball is set to be short. In this embodiment, the game ball shooting cycle of the hitting ball launching device 29 and the game ball feeding cycle of the ball feeding device 28 are 600 ms (100 shots are fired per minute), and the ball feeding path member by the ball lifting device 22 24 is 384 ms.
As a result, during the game, the upper shooting unit 12 is operated to launch the game ball into the game area by the ball shooting device 29 and feed the game ball to the shooting position by the ball feeding device 28. However, the game ball is launched. 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 shooting position, the game balls are on standby before being lifted by the transfer entrance switch 156. When the state in which the number of game balls in the ball supply path member 24 is sufficient is maintained, the game balls in the ball supply path member 24 are no longer detected by the ball detection switch 26 waiting to be fired while the game balls are being driven. Then, the ball lifting device 22 is driven to start lifting the game ball, and the game ball is sent to the ball supply path member 24 at a faster pace than the game ball hitting pace, and before long the ball is waiting to be fired. When the detection switch 26 detects the game balls waiting in line in the ball supply path member 24, the ball lifting device 22 stops driving and the game balls are stopped from being lifted. In other words, the ball lifting operation of the ball lifting device 22 is performed intermittently during the game, so that the occurrence of ball clogging can be suppressed, and the game ball can be lifted efficiently and stably. To efficiently supply a stable number of game balls to an upper launching unit.

In this embodiment, the game ball shooting period of the hitting ball launching device 29 and the game ball feeding period of the ball feeding device 28 are 600 ms (100 shots per minute), and the ball feeding device 22 Although the delivery cycle of the game balls to the path member 24 is set to 384 ms, the method is not limited to this, and the launch cycle of the game balls, the ball delivery cycle, and the delivery cycle of the game balls to the ball supply route member 24. are 600 ms from each other.

[Ball clogging notification process]
Next, ball clogging notification processing will be described. FIG. 95 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of ball clogging notification processing performed by the ball information control MPU. The ball clogging notification process is executed as one process of the main operation setting process of step S564 which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process. Also, the ball clogging notification process is performed after the hit ball possible/impossible determination process shown in FIG. 88 . It should be noted that the ball waiting to be fired detection switch 26 corresponds to the first ball waiting to be fired detection means, and the ball waiting to be fired detection switch 70 is equivalent to the ball waiting to be fired detection means.

When the ball jam notification process is started, the ball information control MPU 111 first determines whether or not the ball detection switch 26 waiting to be fired is turned on (step S780). If it is determined in step S780 that the ball detecting switch 26 waiting to be fired is ON, that is, if it is determined YES in step S780, the ball lifting motor 150 is stopped (step S782), and the process proceeds to step S786 to wait for firing. It is determined whether or not the ball detection switch is on (step S786). If it is determined in step S786 that the ball detection switch 70 waiting to be fired is off, i.e., if it is determined NO in step S786, the abnormality detection flag is set to 1 (step S788), and the notification means is turned on. (Step S789) The subroutine of the ball clogging notification process is exited.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S786 that the ball detection switch 70 is on, that is, if YES is determined in step S786, the process proceeds to step S787, in which it is determined whether or not 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 notification means is turned off (step S792), and the recovery notification means is turned on (step S794), and the subroutine of the ball clogging notification process is exited.

Further, if it is determined in step S780 that the ball detection switch 26 waiting to be fired is off, that is, if it is determined NO in step S780, the ball lifting motor 150 is driven (step S784), and the abnormality detection flag is set to It is determined whether or not it is 1 (step S787). If it is determined that the abnormality detection flag is 0 in step S787, that is, if it is determined as NO in step S787, the subroutine of the ball clogging notification process is exited.

In this way, the ball supply path member 24 and the ball feeding device 28 are provided with sensors for detecting game balls, the game balls in the ball supply path member 24 are detected, and the game balls in the ball feeding device 28 are detected. It is determined that an abnormal state is caused by clogged balls on the condition that clogging does not occur, and an abnormality notification means (not shown in particular, but for example, notifying the clogging of balls on the touch panel part 14) notifies. As a result, for example, it is possible to reliably notify the staff of the game hall that the ball clogging has occurred.

In addition, since the upper launcher 12 of this embodiment can be rotated by the upper launcher hinge 37 and can be opened and closed with respect to the main body frame 2 (FIG. 12), the clerk who receives the notification of the jammed ball can After the door frame 3 is opened, the state of the upper firing device 12 can be grasped immediately, and ball clogging can be easily eliminated. When the ball clogging is eliminated, the abnormality detection flag is cleared to 0, and the abnormality notification means is stopped. After that, by the recovery notification means (for example, the touch panel unit 14 displays to the extent that the staff of the game hall can recognize that the ball clogged state has been recovered (for example, 5 seconds to 10 seconds)). It can be recognized that ball clogging has been eliminated.

Also, the position of the launch standby ball detection switch 70 is set so as to detect a game ball near the launch position on the path of the ball feeder 28, but it detects a game ball passing through the path of the ball feeder 28. Various placement positions can be selected as long as the placement allows for

[Example 2]
In the pachinko machine 1 of the first embodiment, the upper launcher 12 is opened and closed following the opening and closing of the door frame 3 in order to avoid collision between the game board 5 and the upper launcher 12 when the game board 5 is attached to and detached from the body frame 2. However, in the second embodiment, unlike this, while the upper firing device 12 is fixed to the main body frame 2, the structure related to the attachment and detachment operation of the game board 5 is improved to improve the game board 5 and the upper firing device. A structure that avoids collision with 12 is adopted. The upper shooting device 12 is one of the game ball shooting devices arranged on either side of the front surface of the main frame in the left-right direction, and shoots game balls into the game area of the game board 5 .

In Example 2, the upper launching device 12 is fixed to the upper left part of the gaming machine 1 as viewed from the front of the gaming machine 1 with respect to the main body frame 2 (FIG. 97). Therefore, in this embodiment, the game board 5 has a rectangular notch 47 in the upper left corner when viewed from the front (FIG. 98). That is, when the game board 5 is housed in the body frame 2, the upper firing device 12 is fitted into the rectangular notch 47. As shown in FIG. Also, when removing the game board 5 from the body frame 2, the removal operation is started from this state.
In such a situation, the following configuration is adopted so that the game board 5 does not collide with the upper firing device 12 when the game board 5 is attached to or detached from the body frame 2 .
Since other configurations are not particularly different from those of the first embodiment, the description of the first embodiment is used.

[Body frame 2]
The body frame 2 is box-shaped and has a frame-shaped fitting frame 15 and a peripheral wall portion 16 so as to be fitted in the rectangular frame-shaped outer frame 1a (FIG. 97). The body frame 2 has already been described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, but FIGS. The fitting frame 15 has a rectangular housing opening 17 for fitting and housing the game board 5 on its front side. The lower front edge 600b of the body frame 2 has a constant width in the front-rear direction on the lower side of the housing opening 17, and the opposite upper edge 600b has a constant width in the front-rear direction. 12 upper leading edge 600a.

An upper firing device 12 is arranged on either side of the front surface of the body frame 2 in the left-right direction (upper left side in this embodiment). The upper shooting device 12 is a game ball shooting device for shooting game balls into the game area of the game board 5 .

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 horizontal 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 horizontal direction (indicated by broken lines in FIG. 97).

The upper and lower guide members 601a and 601b, in this embodiment, are strong members (FIG. 99a) formed from steel plate and essentially C-channel shaped in cross section. It consists of rear rising portions 603a, 603b and front and rear ribs 604a, 604b which are portions folded back from the upper ends of these rising portions 603a, 603b in opposite directions (Fig. 99B, Fig. 100).

The lower guide member 601b has substantially the same length as the lower front edge 600b of the housing opening 17 of the body frame 2, and the upper guide member 601a is located on the left side of the left peripheral wall portion of the body frame 2 rather than the upper front edge 600a. It is smaller from the inner surface by a slightly larger distance d1 than the right end of the upper launcher 12 (Fig. 97). Stoppers 605a and 605b are attached to both the upper and lower guide members 601a and 601b at positions a little to the right of the distance d1. The stoppers 605a, 605b are fixed to the front ribs 604a of the upper and lower guide members 601a, 601b. The arrangement is such that the front end of the game board 5 cannot be passed toward the left peripheral wall unless it is rotated in a direction parallel to the front surface of the main body frame 2 (rotated to the right in the figure).

As shown in FIG. 99, the sliders A, B, and C are piece members and are fitted between the front and rear rising walls 603a and 603b of the guide members 601a and 601b. The sliders A, B, and C are prevented from falling off from the guide members 601a and 601b by front and rear ribs 604a and 604b (FIG. 100B) having a width d2, so that the guide members 601a and 601b can slide left and right. is attached to the The width d2 is set to prevent the slider A from slipping out of the guide member 601b due to the weight of the game board 5, for example, even when a large force acts in the direction in which the slider A slips upward. All of the sliders A, B, and C, as shown in FIGS. 100(a) and 100(b), are provided with sliding legs 606 to lighten the sliding motion, and also have contact with the bottoms 602 of the guide members 601a and 601b. It has a space 607 in between. In order to lighten the sliding motion, the material of the sliders A, B, and C should be made of a synthetic resin that slides well on the steel surface, or the sliders A, B, and C should come into contact with the bottoms 602 of the guide members 601a, 601b. For example, install a roller bearing that

A receiving hole 609 (FIG. 99B) for receiving a pivot shaft 608 (FIG. 98) provided on the lower front portion 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. 100a). Engaging protrusions 610b and 610a are formed on the upper surface of the slider B and the lower surface of the slider C on the upper guide member 601a, respectively. As shown in FIG. 100(b), the engaging projections 610b and 610a are bolt-shaped and have a head portion 610c that protrudes rearward. The upper and lower surfaces of the game board 5 are formed with relief recesses in which the heads 610c are accommodated so as not to interfere with the rotation of the game board 5.例文帳に追加

The pivot shaft 608 is fixed to the front part of the bottom surface of the game board 5 (Fig. 98, Fig. 102a), and one end of the lower lever 611b is horizontally rotated by the shaft 612b at a distance d4 (about 100mm) from here. 102B). The length of the pivot shaft 608 is shorter than the depth d3 of the receiving hole 609 (FIG. 100). 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. As shown in FIG. This is to create a gap of dimension d5 between the upper surface of the lower guide member 601b and the lower surface of the game board. The other end of the lower lever 611b has a hook recess 613b that opens sideways, 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 attached to the upper surface of the game board 5 at a position corresponding to the shaft 612b on the lower surface. The upper lever 611a has a hook recess 613a that opens sideways 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.

[Accommodation of game boards]
A door frame 3 is opened to expose the front surface of the body frame 2. - 特許庁
A square receiving opening 17 can be seen in the front face of the body frame 2, and a lower guide member 601b is attached to its lower front edge 600b, and an upper guide member 601a is attached to its upper front edge 600a. The game board 5 is lifted up, the board surface is kept vertical, and the left end of the game board 5 is vertically rotated clockwise to take the a-1 posture in FIG. First, the left pivot shaft 608 is inserted into the receiving hole 609 of the slider A, and the load of the left part of the game board is supported by the body frame 2 through the slider A. The length of the pivot shaft 608 is shorter than the dimension d3 from the upper surface of the front and rear ribs 604a, 604b to the upper surface of the bottom portion 602 of the lower guide member 601b, and the lower end does not reach the bottom portion 602 of the guide member. The slider A is moved to the right side of the lower guide member 601b in advance.

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

As a result, 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 of the game board 5 and pushes the pivot shaft 608 so that the left end of the game board 5 approaches the upper launcher 12 . to move the slider A toward the upper firing device 12 side.

At this time, since the heads 610c, 610c (FIG. 100b) of the engaging projections 610b, 610a project backward as described above, the front end sides of the lower lever 611b and the upper lever 611a engaging with them are positioned on the game board. 5, and the hook recesses 613b and 613a of the lower lever 611b and the upper lever 611a are pushed upward. The game board 5 can be stably moved without being easily detached from the heads 610c, 610c.

Returning to the above, the slider A is moved toward the upper launcher 12 by the pivot shaft 608 so that the left end of the game board 5 approaches the upper launcher 12, and at the same time, the right end of the game board 5 is pushed toward the main body frame 2. do. When the game board 5 rotates to the left around the pivot shaft 608, the control board box or the like attached to the back side of the game board 5 is pushed in by the edge of the housing opening 17 of the body frame 2. The leftward movement and rotation of the pivot shaft 608 along the lower guide member 601b are combined so as not to collide with each other. When the game board 5 is moved along the upper and lower guide members 601a and 601b, 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 leftward, 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 to become flat.

In order to move the game board 5 to the left, the game board 5 can be moved with the right end forward (for example, a-1) until the game board 5 comes into contact with the stoppers 605a and 605b. . However, after the game board 5 comes into contact with the stoppers 605a and 605b, the game board 5 cannot be moved in that posture, and while the game board 5 is brought into contact with the stoppers 605a and 605b, it is moved to the left. It is necessary to move by combining movement and rotation to the left.

Finally, as shown in a-3 of FIG. 101, the front surface of the game board 5 is made parallel to the front surface of the main body frame 2 and 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 leftward is connected to a connector on the side of the body frame 2 by a drawer type connector provided on the left side. The accommodated game 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 side of the upper launching device 12 is supported by the lower front edge of the main body frame 2 so as to be horizontally movable and horizontally rotatable. Since most of the weight of the game board 5 is supported by the main body frame 2 and the operator can move the game board 5 with respect to the main body frame 2 lightly by using the slider and the pivot, the game board 5 can be accommodated. It can be done carefully under control with

Further, since the stoppers 605a and 605b are provided, even if the game board 5 moves in a state not parallel to the front surface of the main body frame 2, the movement is prevented by contacting the stoppers 605a and 605b. does not conflict with Furthermore, since the game board 5 cannot pass through the positions of the stoppers 605a and 605b unless its posture is rotated in a direction parallel to the front surface of the main body frame 2, the game board 5 is inevitably housed in a correct arrangement. be.

[Removing the game board]
A door frame 3 is opened to expose the front surface of the body frame 2. - 特許庁The game board 5 is released from the fixation with the body frame 2 by operating the fixture 614 . The game board 5 is first pulled out to the right to separate the drawer connector from the side of the main body frame 2, then the right side of the game board 5 is pulled out to the front and rotated rightward about the pivot shaft 608 to rotate the game board 5. from the body frame 2. In this state, the hook recesses 613a and 613b at the tips of the upper and lower levers 611a and 611b are removed from the engagement projections 610a and 610b. Then, after the lower end of the game board 5 is moved to the right along the guide member 601b, 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 separated from the body frame 2 and taken out.

In this case as well, the game board 5 in the housed state is slid once to the right and pulled out to separate the game board 5 from the upper firing device 12, and then the game board 5 is rotated right and left around the pivot shaft 608. Since it is taken out while moving, it can be pulled out without damaging the drawer connector between it and the body frame 2, and collision between the upper launching device 12 and the game board 5 can be avoided.

In the above, the second embodiment has been described as an example of a game machine having the upper launching device 12. However, in the present invention, the position of the launching device is not limited to the upper part, but can be located on either side of the front surface of the body frame in the left or right direction. Any placement is applicable.

[Electrical connection between game board 5 and main body frame 2]
The electrical connection of the game board 5 to the body frame 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 107 is a block diagram showing a game board and a body frame connected using a drawer connector. The mechanical and electrical connections between the game board 5 and the body frame 2 are made by a drawer connector. The game board 5 is provided with a game board side main drawer connector and a game board side sub drawer connector, and the main body frame 2 is provided with a main body frame side main drawer connector and a main body frame side sub drawer connector. there is By fitting the game board 5 into the main body frame 2, the game board side main drawer connector and the main body frame side main drawer connector, the game board side sub-drawer connector and the main body frame side sub-drawer connector are connected, and the game board 5 is connected. and the body frame 2 are mechanically connected and electrically connected at the same time. This enables electrical communication between the game board 5 and the main body frame 2 .

[Authentication of main control board 100 and sphere information control board 110]
When electrical communication can be performed between the game board 5 and the main body frame 2 as described above, mutual authentication between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 is performed when power is turned on. The authentication function of the main control board 100 and the sphere information control board 110 will be explained using FIG.

Although it has been described that the ID code is stored in advance in the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100, the ID code is also stored in the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 in advance. Hereinafter, the ID code pre-stored in the main control MPU 101 will be referred to as the first MPU identification number, and the ID code pre-stored in the ball information control MPU 111 will be referred to as the second MPU identification number.

An example of wording in this embodiment is presented. The main control board 100 corresponds to the first control board, the sphere information control board 110 corresponds to the second control board, the main control MPU 101 corresponds to the first MPU, and the sphere information control MPU 111 corresponds to the second MPU.

The main control board 100 and the sphere information control board 110 in this embodiment are capable of two-way data communication. It is configured to be able to determine whether or not there is. Details will be described below.

The main control board 100 includes at least a main control MPU 101. In the main control MPU 101, a first MPU identification number storage section 101a storing a pre-stored first MPU identification number and a second MPU identification number are appropriate. and a main encryption communication unit 160 that encrypts information sent to the ball information control MPU 111 and decrypts information sent from the ball information control MPU 111, Further, the first authentication unit 162 has a second MPU identification number storage unit 161 that stores the second MPU identification number.

The ball information control board 110 includes at least a ball information control MPU 111. The ball information control MPU 111 includes a second MPU identification number storage unit 111a storing a second MPU identification number stored in advance and a first MPU identification number. A second authentication unit 167 that performs authentication processing to see if it is proper, and a sphere information encryption communication unit 165 that encrypts information sent to the main control MPU 101 and decrypts information sent from the main control MPU 101. Further, the second authentication unit 167 has a first MPU identification number storage unit 166 that stores the first MPU identification number.

When the gaming machine is powered on, the first MPU identification number stored in the first MPU identification number storage section 101a is encrypted by the main encryption communication section 160 through two-way communication between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110. The second MPU identification number from the ball information control MPU 111 is encrypted by the ball information encryption communication unit 165 and then sent to the main encryption communication unit 160 .

Next, the main control MPU 101 uses the main encryption communication unit 160 to decrypt the second MPU identification number transmitted from the ball information control MPU 111 from the ball information encryption communication unit 165, and The sphere information control MPU 111 decrypts the first MPU identification number transmitted from the main control MPU 101 using the sphere information encryption communication unit 165 and then stores it in the second MPU identification number storage unit 161 . Stored in the 1MPU identification number storage unit 166 .

Next, the main control MPU 101 performs authentication processing in the first authentication section 162 based on the second MPU identification number stored in the second MPU identification number storage section 161, and determines whether the second MPU identification number is proper. do.

On the other hand, the ball information control MPU 111 performs authentication processing in the second authentication unit 167 based on the first MPU identification number stored in the first MPU identification number storage unit 166, and the first MPU identification number is correct. to judge whether

If it is determined that the main control MPU 101 and ball control MPU 111 are proper based on the results of authentication by the first authentication unit 162 and the second authentication unit 167, respectively, when the main control side power is turned on in FIG. Processing and ball information control side power-on processing in FIG. 82 are permitted to start, and the game can be started. The start of the control-side power-on processing is not permitted, and the game cannot be played.

With these configurations, mutual authentication processing is performed between the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111, and if the authentication processing is not properly performed, the game is not played. It is possible to effectively deter fraudulent acts such as replacing the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111 with counterfeit chips.

As described above, when it is determined that the mutual authentication result is proper in the authentication process performed mutually between the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111, the main control side power-on process and the diagram of FIG. 82 ball information control side power-on processing is permitted to start. In other words, the game board 5 is normally attached to the main body frame 2 on the condition that the result of mutual authentication in the authentication process performed mutually between the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111 is determined to be appropriate. It is guaranteed that the game board 5 exists in the main body frame 2.例文帳に追加

[Position of upper firing device 12 with respect to game board 5]
As described above, the upper firing device 12 of this embodiment has a vertical upper firing device disposed on the front left side of the base plate 39 with respect to the body frame 2 in order to make the upper firing device 12 movable. It is attached by a hinge 37 so that it can be opened and closed. The base plate 39 can be opened forward with the upper firing device hinge 37 as an axis (FIGS. 9, 12, and 96). After the game board 5 is fitted into the body frame 2, the work of fitting the game board 5 into the body frame 2 is completed by moving the upper firing device 12 to its original position.

However, when the upper launcher 12 is returned to its original position, if the positional relationship between the upper launcher 12 and the game board 5 is not in a correct position (referred to as a normal position), for example, the upper launcher 12 and the game board 5, the ball hit from the launching port 38 of the upper launching device 12 is hindered in traveling, and the player intends to enter the game area 8 defined by the game board 5. There is a risk that the ball may not be hit appropriately at the location where the ball is. In that case, the player loses interest in the game.

[Position detection sensor]
Therefore, in the present embodiment, in a game machine in which a launching device (upper launching device 12) is movably arranged on the upper part of the main body frame 2, the upper launching device 12 is positioned at the correct position (referred to as a regular position) with respect to the game board 5. A position detection sensor 180 is provided for detecting whether or not it is set. 108 is a perspective view showing the upper launcher 12 in an open state with respect to the game board 5, and FIG. 109 is a perspective view showing the upper launcher 12 in a closed state with respect to the game board 5. FIG.

In this embodiment, the position detection sensor 180 is composed of a light projecting element 181 and a light receiving element 182 . In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 108, a light projecting element 181 is arranged on the side surface of the projecting portion 48 of the panel holder 43 of the game board 5 . Also, when the upper firing device 12 is closed with respect to the body frame 2, the position corresponding to the light projecting element 181 arranged on the game board 5, that is, the position corresponding to the light projecting device 181 and the upper firing device 12 A light receiving element 182 is arranged on the open side.

Further, as shown in FIG. 107, the game board 5 and the main body frame 2 are mechanically connected and electrically connected, so that when power is supplied from the main body frame side to the game board side, A predetermined voltage generated by a power supply circuit (not shown) provided in the game board 5 is applied to the light projecting element 181, and the light projecting element 181 emits light (for example, Infrared) is projected.

Also, as shown in FIG. 107, the light receiving element 182 is electrically connected to the sphere information control board 110 . A detection signal from the light receiving element 182 is input to the ball information control MPU 111 through the ball information control I/O port 112 (see FIG. 77).

When the upper firing device 12 is in the open state with respect to the main body frame 2 (FIG. 108), or even when the upper firing device 12 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, it is in the normal position with respect to the game board 5 When not, the light projected from the light projecting element 181 arranged on the game board 5 side is not received by the light receiving element 182 arranged on the upper emitting device 12 side, and the light receiving element 182 is turned off.

On the other hand, when the upper firing device 12 is in a closed state with respect to the main body frame 2 and at a normal position with respect to the game board 5, light projected from the light projecting element 181 arranged on the game board 5 side is received by the light-receiving element 182 arranged on the side of the upper emitting device 12, and the light-receiving element 182 is turned on.

Further, in this embodiment, the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 detects, via the position detection sensor 180, that the upper firing device 12 is at a regular position with respect to the game board. Then, on the condition that the detection state of the light receiving element 182 of the position detection sensor 180 is ON, it is determined whether or not the number of all the enclosed game balls is appropriate and whether it is excessive or insufficient. ing. The determination as to whether or not the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate will be described later.

[Launcher set position determination process]
FIG. 110 is a subroutine of the firing device set position determination process performed by the ball information control MPU in the embodiment employing the position detection sensor 180 for detecting whether the upper firing device 12 is set at the normal position with respect to the game board 5. It is a flow chart showing.

In this embodiment, the firing device set position determination process is performed when the power is turned on and when there is a possibility that the upper firing device 12 has been moved from the normal position with respect to the game board 5, in other words, the body frame 2 is executed when the door frame 3 is opened or closed.

The reason for executing the firing device set position determination process when the door frame 3 is opened and closed with respect to the main body frame 2 is that, for example, the upper firing device 12 may be clogged with balls. This is because when a problem occurs in the firing device 12, the door frame 3 is first opened and closed by the store clerk in order to investigate and eliminate the cause of the problem (the door frame 3 is opened with respect to the body frame 2). This is because the structure is such that the upper firing device 12 cannot be touched without it).

When starting the firing device set position determination process, the ball information control MPU determines whether or not the position detection sensor is ON (step S700). That is, it is determined whether or not the upper firing device 12 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2 and is in a normal position with respect to the game board 5 .

If it is determined in step S700 that the position detection sensor is on, the upper firing device 12 is in a closed state with respect to the main body frame 2 and is in a normal position with respect to the game board 5. , YES is determined in step S700, and the process proceeds to step S701. That is, on the condition that the upper launching device 12 is detected to be in the normal position with respect to the game board 5 via the position detection sensor 180, it is determined whether or not the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate. allow the judgment of In this case, there is no step or the like between the launching port 38 of the upper launching device 12 and the game area 8 of the game board 5 to hinder the running of the game ball.

When proceeding to step S701, the sphere information control MPU displays on the touch panel section 14 (an example of notification means) that the upper firing device 12 is set to the normal position (step S701), and for example, for about 2 to 3 seconds. display, and exit the subroutine of the firing device set position determination processing.

FIG. 110(C) is a display example notified by the touch panel section 14 when the upper launching device 12 is set at the normal position with respect to the game board. FIG. 110(C) shows that the touch panel unit 14 is notified by text, for example, "The firing device has been set in the correct position." This allows the store clerk to confirm that the upper firing device 12 is set at the proper position.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S700 that the position detection sensor is not on (if the position detection sensor is off), even if the upper firing device 12 is closed with respect to the body frame 2, Since the position is shifted from the normal position with respect to the game board 5, NO is determined in step S700 and the process proceeds to step S702.

After proceeding to step S702, the sphere information control MPU displays on the touch panel section 14 (an example of notification means) that the upper firing device 12 is not set to the normal position (step S702), and returns to step S700. Therefore, the ball information control MPU determines NO in step S700 and repeats the processing loop of step S702 until the position detection sensor is turned on, in other words, until the upper firing device 12 is set at the normal position.

As a result, when the position detection sensor is off, that is, when the upper firing device 12 is not set at the normal position, the ball information control MPU does not exit the firing device set position determination processing subroutine.

That is, when it is not detected through the position detection sensor 180 that the upper firing device 12 is in the normal position with respect to the game board 5, in the firing device set position determination processing, the above processing loop enters a standby state, and the following steps are performed. It does not shift to processing, and stops without shifting to processing for judging whether the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate or not.

FIG. 110(B) is a display example notified by the touch panel section 14 when the top launching device is not set to the normal position with respect to the game board. FIG. 110(B) shows that the touch panel unit 14 is notified, for example, by characters such as "the firing device is not set in the correct position". As a result, the store clerk can understand that the upper firing device 12 is not set to the proper position, and performs the work for setting the upper firing device 12 to the proper position again.

Then, when the upper firing device 12 is set to the normal position by this work, the position detection sensor is turned on, and the ball information control MPU determines YES in step S700, and in step S701, the upper firing device 12 is set to the normal position (step S701), for example, for about 2 to 3 seconds, and exits the subroutine of the firing device set position determination processing.

As described above, according to the enclosed ball type game machine of the above-described embodiment, since the position detection sensor 180 for detecting that the position of the upper launching device 12 is in the normal position with respect to the game board 5 is provided, the main body It is possible to detect whether or not the upper launching device 12 movably arranged in the upper part of the frame 2 is set in the correct position with respect to the game board 5 fitted in the body frame 2.例文帳に追加

Also, the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 that controls the operation of the upper launcher 12 detects that the upper launcher 12 is at a normal position with respect to the game board 5 via the position detection sensor 180 (light receiving element 182). On the condition that this is detected, it is configured to determine whether the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate or not.

Therefore, when the positional relationship between the upper launching device 12 and the game board 5 is not in the correct position (regular position), for example, when the boundary portion between the upper launching device 12 and the game board 5 is deviated, is in a standby state due to the processing loop in the shooting device set position determination processing, it does not proceed to each processing required to shoot the game ball, and as a result, the ball is not shot, so the game itself is not performed. As a result, the player is prevented from losing interest in the game due to the fact that the ball is not properly hit to the intended location of the game area 8 partitioned by the game board 5.例文帳に追加can.

[Regarding all enclosed game balls]
By the way, the closed-ball game machine described in the above embodiment is of a type that does not have a storage unit for collectively storing all the closed-balls that are cyclically used. In such a type of closed-ball gaming machine, it is not easy to accurately detect and manage the number of all game balls enclosed in the gaming machine main body.

For example, a game ball enclosed in the game machine passes through a ball feeding path [for example, a ball feeding guide gutter 69 or a pumping communication gutter 65 (FIG. 11) on the upstream side of the ball shooting device 29 arranged on the upper part of the main body frame 2 . ], or collected on the back side of the game board 5 via the out port 42 and the winning port 41 provided in the game area 8 and sent to the ball lifting device 22. The circulation path of the game balls is in a standby state inside the magnetic ball discharge unit 20 or inside the ball gathering part 21, or exists inside the ball lifting device 22 that lifts the game balls upward. is divided into several locations.

If the number of all game balls enclosed in the main body of the gaming machine is not appropriate (for example, 30 balls), for example, if the number of all enclosed game balls is greater than the appropriate amount (called excessive game balls), the circulation path It becomes easy to cause ball clogging somewhere in the Also, for example, if the number of all enclosed game balls is less than the appropriate amount (called a shortage of game balls), there is a concern that there will be a shortage of shot balls during play. In particular, if there is a shortage of shot balls during a jackpot game, the player cannot hit the balls into the game area, which may cause a serious problem.

In addition, if the number of all the game balls enclosed in the main body of the game machine is not appropriate, the number of game balls that can be used will be disproportionate when compared between the same models, which is given to the player. There is a problem that the principle that fairness is ensured collapses.

In addition, a game ball hit into the game area 8 during a game is caught between a large number of obstructing nails forming a gauge in the game area 8, thereby preventing subsequent balls that subsequently flow down the game area 8 from flowing down. , a phenomenon in which a large number of game balls hit into the game area 8 overlap one after another to create a lump, a so-called grape phenomenon may occur.

In the event that such a phenomenon occurs, a call lamp or the like is used to call a store clerk in the hall. That is, when a store clerk inserts the key into the cylinder lock and rotates it to one side, the hook cover of the door frame 3 and the hook portion of the sliding rod for the door frame of the main body frame 2 are disengaged, and the door frame 3 is released. The door frame 3 can be opened with respect to the body frame 2 by pulling it toward the front side.

After the clerk removes all the game balls from the game area where the grapes are generated and throws them into the outlet 42, the door frame 3 is closed to the body frame 2, thereby completing the elimination work. However, while trying to remove the game ball from the place where the grapes are generated, the game ball may be accidentally spilled out of the machine and lost. In this way, even when the lost game balls cannot be returned into the game machine when opening and closing the door frame 3, the number of all the game balls enclosed in the game machine main body is not appropriate, resulting in a shortage of balls. state.

[Appropriate amount judgment of all enclosed game balls]
Therefore, in this embodiment, in an enclosed ball type gaming machine in which a game is played by circulating a predetermined number of game balls in a closed manner, it is determined whether or not the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate. Alternatively, the ball information control board 110 is provided with enclosed ball number determination control means for determining excess or deficiency (hereinafter also referred to as appropriate ball number determination).

[Ball collecting device]
As described above, the recovery port 202 opened in the upper part of the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 shown in FIG. (FIG. 5), and in this embodiment, the deformed ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 functions as a ball collecting device.

FIG. 111 is a front view of the ball collecting device 240 in this embodiment. A recovery port 202 that opens upward is formed in the upper part of the ball recovery device 240 . Out balls flow into the recovery port 202 through the out port 42 (see FIGS. 2, 3, and 5). The safe balls flow into the recovery port 202 through the winning port 41 (see FIG. 5).

A substantially hopper-shaped ball retaining portion 241 extending downward to one side is formed in communication with the edge portion of the ball receiving gutter base 201 forming the recovery port 202 . A ball discharge gutter 242 is bent at the bottom of the ball retention part 241 so that game balls in the ball retention part 241 can flow down toward the deformed ball discharge part 204, and a recovered ball detection switch is provided at the top of the ball discharge gutter 242. 203 are provided.

Above the collected ball detection switch 203, a ball retaining stopper member 243 for opening or blocking the lower portion of the ball retaining portion 241 is provided so as to be freely openable and closable in the front-rear direction. The ball retention stopper member 243 allows the game ball to flow down in the ball retention portion 241 in the open state in which it retreats rearward from the lower portion of the ball retention portion 241, and in the closed state in which it enters forward into the lower portion of the ball retention portion 241. A game ball can be stopped in a ball holding part 241 by blocking the downflow of the game ball.

On the rear surface of the ball receiving gutter base 201, a ball retaining stopper solenoid 244 is arranged as a ball retaining stopper driving means for opening and closing the ball retaining stopper member 243 shown in dashed lines. A plunger biased rearward by a spring or the like (not shown) is inserted into the ball retention stopper solenoid 244 so as to be able to move in and out. A ball retaining stopper member 243 is engaged with the operating rod.

As a result, when the ball retention stopper solenoid 244 is in a non-excited state, the plunger is extended by the force of the spring, and the operating rod is moved rearward and engaged with the operating rod. The ball retaining stopper member 243 is moved backward. That is, the ball retaining stopper member 243 takes an open state in which it retreats rearward from the lower portion of the ball retaining portion 241, and the game ball is allowed to flow down in the ball retaining portion 241.

On the other hand, when the ball retention stopper solenoid 244 is in an energized state, the plunger is attracted against the force of the spring, the operating rod moves forward, and the ball engaged with the operating rod moves forward. The stop stopper member 243 is moved forward. That is, the ball retention stopper member 243 assumes a closed state in which it enters the lower portion of the ball retention portion 241, and the downflow of the game ball in the ball retention portion 241 is blocked. Therefore, the game ball that has flowed into the recovery port 202 is held in the ball holding portion 241 .

[Enclosed ball number judgment control means for judging appropriate number of balls]
Next, the enclosed ball number determination control processing (enclosed ball number determination control means) executed by the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 will be described. In the present embodiment, the enclosed ball number determination control process is generally performed by activating the ball stationary stopper driving means (ball stationary stopper solenoid 244) to close the ball stationary stopper member 243, thereby closing the winning opening 41 or the out. A ball retention control process for retaining the game ball collected in the collection port 202 of the ball collection device 240 via the port 42 in the ball retention portion 241 of the ball collection device 240, a batted ball launcher 29 (shooting solenoid 13), a ball By operating the conveying device (the ball feeding rotor 350 and the ball lifting motor 150 that drives the ball lifting device 22) and the ball feeding device 28 (the ball feeding solenoid 31), all enclosed game balls are moved to the game area. 8, and when the game ball is being shot by executing the game ball shooting control process, it is shot based on the detection signal of the shooting ball confirmation means (shooting ball confirmation switch 36). A game ball counting process for counting the number of game balls, and determining whether or not a predetermined end condition is satisfied, and if it is determined that the end condition is satisfied, counting the number of game balls by the game ball counting process. After the end, the number of game balls counted by the number-of-game-balls counting process is taken as the number of all the enclosed game balls, and the number of all the game balls is compared with a predetermined appropriate number to determine the total number of game balls. is appropriate or not, and a game ball number appropriate amount determination process for determining excess or deficiency.

Further, in this embodiment, the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 executes the enclosed ball number determination control process when the power is turned on or when the door frame 3 is opened and closed with respect to the body frame 2. ing.

The enclosed ball type gaming machine of the embodiment includes at least an informing means for informing the adequacy of the number of game balls. In this example, for example, the touch panel unit 14 is used as the notification means. Further, when it is determined that there is an excess or deficiency in the appropriate number of game balls determination process, the fact that there is an excess or deficiency is output to the touch panel section 14 .

This embodiment has a door frame open switch 131 (see FIG. 77) for detecting the opening of the door frame 3 with respect to the body frame 2, and the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 detects the door frame open switch 131. Based on the signal, the door frame 3 is opened and closed, which means that the state in which the door frame 3 is open with respect to the main body frame 2 has shifted to the state in which the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2. Door frame opening/closing determination processing is executed to determine whether or not the door frame has been opened/closed, and if it is determined in the door frame opening/closing determination processing that the door frame 3 has been opened/closed, enclosed ball number determination control processing is executed.

[Enclosed ball count determination control process]
FIG. 112 is a flow chart showing a first embodiment of a subroutine of the enclosed ball count determination control process performed by the ball information control MPU 111 (hereinafter simply referred to as ball information control MPU). When starting the enclosed ball number determination control process, the ball information control MPU first sets an initial value of 0 to a ball number counter for counting all the game balls enclosed in the gaming machine (step S900). . Next, the ball retention stopper solenoid 244 is turned on in order to retain the game balls collected in the collection port 202 of the ball collection device 240 via the prize winning port 41 or the out port 42 in the ball retention portion 241 of the ball collection device 240. It is turned on (step S902).

By step S902, the ball retention stopper member 243 assumes the forwardly moved position, and the ball retention stopper member 243 enters the lower part of the ball retention portion 241 to take a closed state, thereby blocking the flow of the game ball in the ball retention portion 241. be done. Therefore, regarding the circulation path of the enclosed game balls, the game balls existing downstream from the ball retention stopper member 243 are moved by the ball feed rotor 350 and the ball lifting device 22 shown in FIG. By the ball conveying operation, the ball is conveyed toward the ball feeding device 28 arranged above.

Next, the ball information control MPU drives the ball lifting motor 150 (FIG. 44) in order to convey the game ball existing downstream from the ball retention stopper member 243 toward the ball feeding device 28 (step S904). Note that the processing of step S905 will be described later.

Then, the initial value 0 is set to the processing flag related to the ball feeding/shooting driving process in step S908 (step S906), and the process proceeds to the ball feeding/shooting drive process (step S908). Note that the processing flag will be described later.

The ball feeding/shooting drive process in step S908 is basically the same as the ball feeding/shooting drive process shown in FIGS. Since this process is executed in the ball information control main process (see FIG. 84) which is executed every 2 ms, time management for the process is performed by the timer update process in step S556.

On the other hand, the ball feeding/shooting driving process in step S908 is executed as a process before the interrupt permission setting (step S542) in the power-on process is performed, or the door frame 2 is opened/closed (including, of course, when the door frame 2 is opened/closed during the game), it is executed as a process after prohibiting the interruption. I can't. Therefore, the difference is that time management in processing is performed based on the timer value by reading the timer value of the external WDT 116 in FIG.

The ball feeding/shooting driving process of step S908 is a process of turning on/off the ball feeding solenoid 31 and the shooting solenoid 13 at the drive timing shown in the time chart of FIG. The ball feeding/shooting driving process in step S908 will be described later.

The ball information control MPU sequentially performs the ball feeding/shooting drive process of step S908, followed by the shot ball detection process (step S910) and the number of balls counting process (step S912). The shot ball detection process is a process of detecting a game ball on the rail portion 332 (shooting position), and the ball counting process counts the number of game balls shot from the shooting position by the shooting hammer 30 of the ball shooting device 29. is a process of counting. The shot ball detection process in step S910 and the ball count process in step S912 will be described later.

When the ball information control MPU exits the ball number counting process of step S912, it determines whether or not the counting end condition is satisfied (step S914). It should be noted that the determination of whether or not the end condition is satisfied, for example, the number of times the firing solenoid 13 is turned on exceeds the specified number of times Alternatively, for example, when the execution time from the start of the ball feeding/shooting drive process reaches a predetermined end condition, it is determined that the counting end condition is met.

As an example of the prescribed number of times, the following can be considered. The number of balls that can be shot in one minute by the ball shooting device 29 is 100 shots. In other words, when converted into time, the time required to hit one ball by the ball-hitting motion of the shooting hammer 30 is 0.6 seconds. For this reason, the number of times the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, which is sufficient for firing all the enclosed balls, that is, the specified number of times is set to 100 times.

Also, the end condition for the execution time from the start of the ball feeding/shooting drive process may be, for example, 1 minute.

Moreover, when all the enclosed balls are shot into the game area 8, the game balls cannot be provided to the shooting position. In this case, the whiff detection means for detecting a state in which the ball hitting operation of the firing hammer 30 is whiffed by turning on the firing solenoid 13, and the number of detections of the whiff state by the whiff detection means have reached a predetermined end count. In this case, it may be configured to include determination means for determining that the counting end condition is satisfied.

24. According to the time chart of FIG. 24, the whiff state is the period A in which the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on and the ball is fed, the shot ball detection flag is 0 (no ball shot), and period B begins. Then, by turning on the firing solenoid 13 while the firing ball detection flag is 0 (no firing ball), the hitting operation of the firing hammer 30 misses. Count the number of such missed swings. Then, in step S914, when the counted number of whiffs has reached a predetermined end number, it is determined that the counting end condition is satisfied. The processing for detecting the whiff state will be described later.

When the ball information control MPU determines that the counting end condition is not satisfied (NO in step S914), the process returns to the ball feeding/shooting driving process of step S908. Thereafter, the process of looping steps S908 to S914 is repeated until it is determined that the counting end condition is met.

When all the enclosed balls are hit into the game area 8, all the game balls go through the prize winning opening 41 or the out opening 42. - 特許庁On the other hand, the ball retention stopper member 243 enters the lower part of the ball retention portion 241 in a closed state, and the downflow of the game ball in the ball retention portion 241 is blocked. Game balls are parked in the portion 241, and when the ball holding portion 241 is filled with game balls, the game balls are discharged from the recovery port 202 of the ball recovery device 240 to the downspout (not shown) formed on the back surface of the game board 5. accumulate.

When it is determined in step S914 that the counting end condition is satisfied (YES in step S914), the ball stationary stopper solenoid 244 is turned off (step S916). By turning off the ball retention stopper solenoid 244, the ball retention stopper member 243 assumes a rearwardly moved position, and the ball retention stopper member 243 takes an open state in which it retreats rearward from the lower portion of the ball retention portion 241, thereby retaining the ball. A game ball is allowed to flow down in the portion 241 .

After step S916, the ball information control MPU executes the appropriate number of balls determination process (step S918), and upon completion of the appropriate number of balls determination process, ends the enclosed ball number determination control process.

[Ball sending/shooting drive processing]
Next, the ball feeding/shooting driving process will be described. 113 and 114 are flow charts showing an example of a subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting driving process performed by the ball information control MPU.

24 is a time chart showing drive timings of the ball feeding solenoid 31 and the firing solenoid 13. As shown in FIG. The shooting solenoid 13 is turned on when a period A has passed since the ball feed solenoid 31 was turned on, and the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off when a period B has passed since the ball feeding solenoid 13 was turned on, and the ball is fed. The firing solenoid 13 is turned off when the period C has passed 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 feed solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball feed member 32 feeds the shot ball to the shooting position (rail portion 332). That is, the shot ball is detected by the shot ball confirmation switch 36 .

Further, in the present embodiment, when a game ball stopped at the shooting position is detected by the shooting ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined specified time (period D is 30 ms), there is a shooting ball. I judge.

In this way, when a game ball stopped at the shooting position is detected by the shooting ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that there is a shooting ball. False counts of balls can be eliminated, increasing certainty in detecting launched balls.

When the shooting solenoid 13 is turned on, the game ball stopped at the shooting position is shot into the game area 8 by the shooting hammer 30, and the shooting ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off.

When the ball feeding/shooting drive process is started, the ball information control MPU first determines in step S930 whether or not the process flag is 0 (step S930). Here, the processing flag is a flag for identifying whether the ball information control MPU branches to any of the processes in the ball feeding/shooting drive process described later. This is a flag for identifying the state, "0" means initial setting, and "1" defines the period from when the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on until when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on. It defines the period from when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on at "2" until the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off, and at "3" after the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off, the firing solenoid 13 is turned off. It stipulates the period until

The value of the processing flag is set to 0 at the time when the ball feeding/shooting drive processing is started (by step S906). Therefore, step S930 is determined to be YES, the process proceeds to step S931, the timer value of the external WDT 116 is read and stored in the storage area X1 set in the RAM (step S931), and the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on (step S932). , the processing flag is set to 1 (step S933), and the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting drive processing is exited.

In the next processing cycle of the ball feeding/shooting drive processing, as a result of setting the processing flag to 1, NO is determined in step S930, and the process proceeds to step S934. In step S934, it is determined whether or not the value of the processing flag is 1 (step S934). In this case, YES is determined in step S934 as a result of the processing flag being set to 1, and the process advances to step S935 to read the timer value of the external WDT 116 and store it in storage area X2 set in the RAM (step S935). , the elapsed time is calculated by subtracting the timer value stored in the storage area X1 from the timer value stored in the storage area X2 (step S936), the process proceeds to step S937, and the calculated elapsed time is period A (see FIG. 24, 300 ms). is reached (step S937). If the calculated elapsed time has not reached the period A, NO is determined in step S937, and the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting driving process is exited.

Thereafter, until the elapsed time calculated in step S936 reaches period A, based on the value 1 of the processing flag, step S930 is determined to be NO, step S934 is determined to be YES, steps S935 to S936, The processing routine for determining NO in step S937 is repeated.

Then, when the elapsed time calculated in step S936 reaches period A, step S937 is determined to be YES. The processing of S953 and step S954 is performed. Further, if the whiff state of the shooting hammer 30 is not detected, the process proceeds to step S938.

When proceeding to step S938, the timer value of the external WDT 116 is read and stored in the storage area X1 set in the RAM (step S938), the firing solenoid 13 is turned on (step S939), and the processing flag is set to 2 (step S940), exiting the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting drive process.

By step S939, the batted ball shooting device 29 is operated and the game ball placed at the shooting position is shot toward the game area 8. FIG. In addition, the game ball is automatically shot at a preset shooting intensity (by applying a predetermined voltage to the shooting solenoid 13). Also, at the end of the enclosed ball number determination control process, the firing intensity is switched to the normal game state so that the voltage corresponding to the operation amount of the batted ball handle 10 is achieved.

As a result of setting the processing flag to 2, in the ball feed/shooting drive processing of the next cycle, step S930 is determined as NO, step S934 is determined as NO, and the process proceeds to step S941. In step S941, it is determined whether or not the value of the processing flag is 2 (step S941). In this case, as a result of the processing flag being set to 2, YES is determined in step S941, and the process advances to step S942 to read the timer value of the external WDT 116 and store it in storage area X2 set in the RAM (step S942). , the elapsed time is calculated by subtracting the timer value stored in the storage area X1 from the timer value stored in the storage area X2 (step S943), the process proceeds to step S934, and the calculated elapsed time is period B (see FIG. 24, 30 ms). is reached (step S944). If the calculated elapsed time has not reached the period B, NO is determined in step S944, and the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting driving process is exited.

Thereafter, until the elapsed time calculated in step S943 reaches period B, based on the value 2 of the processing flag, step S930 is determined to be NO, step S934 is determined to be NO, and step S941 is determined to be YES. Then, the processing routine for determining NO in steps S942 to S943 and step S944 is repeated.

When the elapsed time calculated in step S943 reaches period B, YES is determined in step S944, and the process proceeds to step S945 assuming that period B has elapsed. When proceeding to step S945, the timer value of the external WDT 116 is read and stored in the storage area X1 set in the RAM (step S945), the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off (step S946), and the processing flag is set to 3 ( Step S947), the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting driving process is exited.

As a result of setting the processing flag to 3, in the ball feed/shooting drive processing of the next cycle, step S930 is determined as NO, step S934 is determined as NO, step S941 is determined as NO, and the process proceeds to step S948. . In step S948, the timer value of the external WDT 116 is read and stored in the storage area X2 set in the RAM (step S948), and the elapsed time is calculated by subtracting the timer value stored in the storage area X1 from the timer value stored in the storage area X2. is calculated (step S949), the process proceeds to step S950, and it is determined whether or not the calculated elapsed time has reached the period C (see FIG. 24, 50 ms) (step S950). If the calculated elapsed time has not reached period C, NO is determined in step S950, and the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting driving process is exited.

Thereafter, until the elapsed time calculated in step S949 reaches period C, based on the value 3 of the processing flag, step S930 is determined to be NO, step S934 is determined to be NO, and step S941 is determined to be NO. Then, the processing routine for determining NO in steps S948 to S949 and step S950 is repeated.

Then, when the elapsed time calculated in step S949 reaches period C, YES is determined in step S950, and it is assumed that period C has passed, and the process proceeds to step S951. When the process proceeds to step S951, the firing solenoid 13 is turned off (step S951), the processing flag is set to 0 to return to the initial value (step S952), and the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting drive processing is exited.

[Projection ball detection process]
Next, the shot ball detection processing will be described. FIG. 115(A) is a flow chart showing a subroutine of ball detection processing performed by the ball information control MPU. When starting the shot ball detection process, the ball information control MPU first determines whether or not the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is on (step S955). As described above, when the ball-feeding solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball-feeding member 32 feeds the ball to the firing position (rail portion 332). That is, the shot ball is detected by the shot ball confirmation switch 36 .

If it is determined that the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is ON, the value of the timer counter, which is a counter for measuring the ON state time, is incremented by 1 (step S956), and the process proceeds to step S958.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the ball launch confirmation switch 36 is not on, that is, if the ball launch confirmation switch 36 is off, the clock counter is set to 0 (step S957), and the process proceeds to step S958.

After proceeding to step S958, it is determined whether or not the value of the clock counter has reached a predetermined specified time D (30 ms in this example) (step S958). If the value of the timer counter has not reached the predetermined specified time D, NO is determined in step S958, 0 (no detection) is set to the ball-fired detection flag (step S959), and a subroutine for ball-fired detection processing is executed. go through.

When the game ball stopped at the shooting position by the shot ball confirmation switch 36 continues to be detected for a predetermined specified time D, the value of the timing counter is incremented by one, and the value of the timing counter is set in advance. The defined time D (30 ms in this example) is reached. In this case, YES is determined in step S958, it is assumed that the ball has been detected, the ball-ball detection flag is set to 1 (detected) (step S960), and the ball-ball detection processing subroutine is exited.

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

In this way, when a game ball stopped at the shooting position is detected by the shooting ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that there is a shooting ball. False counts of balls can be eliminated, increasing certainty in detecting launched balls.

[Number of balls counting process]
Next, the ball count processing will be described. FIG. 115(B) is a flow chart showing a subroutine of the number-of-held-balls subtraction process performed by the ball information control MPU. When starting the ball counting process, the ball information control MPU first determines whether or not the ball launch detection flag is 1 (detected) (step S962). If it is determined that the shot ball detection flag is not 1 (detected), that is, if NO is determined in step S962, the subroutine of the ball number counting process is exited.

In step S962, if it is determined that the ball-fired detection flag is 1 (detected), that is, if it is determined YES in step S962, the process advances to step S963 to determine whether the ball-fired confirmation switch 36 is off. It is determined whether or not (step S963). If it is determined in step S963 that the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is not turned off, that is, if it is determined NO in step S963, the subroutine of the number-of-balls counting process is exited.

As described above, when the shooting solenoid 13 is turned on, the game ball stopped at the shooting position is shot into the game area 8 by the shooting hammer 30, and the shooting ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. If the ball information control MPU determines in step S963 that the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is off, that is, if it determines YES in step S963, the ball number counter value is incremented by 1 and the number of shot balls is counted. After counting (step S964), the shot ball detection flag is set to 0 (no detection) in accordance with the shooting of the game ball (step S965), and the ball count processing subroutine is exited.

In this way, when a game ball stopped at the shooting position is detected by the shooting ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that there is a shooting ball. On the condition that the game ball is not detected by the shot ball confirmation switch 36, it is determined that the game ball stopped at the shooting position has been shot, and the number of balls is incremented by one. 36, erroneous ball counts due to noise can be eliminated, and the certainty of ball detection can be increased.

[Appropriate number of balls determination process]
Next, the ball number appropriate amount determination processing will be described. FIG. 116 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of the appropriate number of balls determination process performed by the ball information control MPU. When the ball information control MPU starts the appropriate number of balls determination process, first, it determines whether or not the value of the number of balls counter is the appropriate number E (for example, 30 balls) (step S970).

If it is determined that the value of the ball number counter is equal to the appropriate amount E, that is, if it is determined as YES in step S970, the process proceeds to step S971, and the appropriate amount is displayed on the touch panel section 14 (an example of notification means) ( Step S971), the firing permission flag is set to "1 (operation permitted)" (step S972), and the subroutine for the appropriate number of balls determination processing is exited.

If it is determined in step S970 that the value of the ball number counter is not equal to the appropriate number E, that is, if it is determined as NO in step S970, the process proceeds to step S973, and the value of the ball number counter becomes the appropriate amount E (for example, 30 balls) is determined (step S973).

If it is determined that the value of the ball number counter is less than the appropriate amount E, that is, if it is determined as YES in step S973, the process proceeds to step S974, and the value of the ball number counter is subtracted from the appropriate amount E to determine the insufficient number. Calculation (step S974), the effect of ball shortage and the number of shortages are displayed on the touch panel unit 14 (step S975), the launch permission flag is set to "0 (operation not permitted)" (step S976), and the appropriate number of balls is determined. Exit the processing subroutine.

If it is determined in step S973 that the value of the number-of-balls counter satisfies the appropriate number E, that is, if it is determined NO in step S973, the process proceeds to step S977. In this case, the value of the number-of-balls counter is not equal to the appropriate number E, and the value of the number-of-balls counter satisfies the appropriate number E, and the number of balls is more than the appropriate number E, resulting in an excess of balls.

The ball information control MPU subtracts the appropriate number E from the value of the ball number counter to calculate the excess (step S977), displays the fact that there is an excess of balls and the excess on the touch panel unit 14 (step S978), and permits firing. The flag is set to "0 (operation not permitted)" (step S979), and the subroutine for determining the appropriate number of balls is exited.

FIG. 117 is a diagram showing a display example of the appropriate number of balls determination result notified by the touch panel unit 14. As shown in FIG. FIG. 117(a) shows that the number of all enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount (for example, 30 balls) as a determination result in the ball number appropriate amount determination process. In FIG. 117(b), as a determination result in the appropriate number of balls determination process, the number of all enclosed game balls is insufficient, and the number of insufficient balls is 3 balls. In FIG. 117(c), as the determination result of the appropriate number of balls determination process, the number of all enclosed game balls is excessive, and the number of balls exceeding the appropriate amount is two. ing.

[Timing to execute enclosed ball number determination control process]
In this embodiment, the ball information control MPU 111 executes the enclosed ball number determination control process when the power is turned on or when the door frame 3 is opened and closed with respect to the main body frame 2 .

<When power is turned on>
FIG. 118 is a part of a flowchart of power-on processing showing an example of a case where the ball information control MPU 111 executes the enclosed ball number determination control processing when the power is turned on. After setting the stack pointer in step S520 of FIG. 82, the sphere information control MPU proceeds to step S521 and executes the firing device set position determination process shown in FIG. 110(A) (step S521). As described above, in the firing device set position determination processing, if it is determined that the position detection sensor 180 is not ON, the processing loop waits, and if it is determined that the position detection sensor 180 is ON, the firing device After exiting the set position determination process, the process proceeds to step S522, and the enclosed ball number determination control process (step S522) is executed. After completing the enclosed ball number determination control process in step S522, the process proceeds to step S527.

<When the door frame 3 is opened and closed>
Here, the opening and closing of the door frame 3 means that the state in which the door frame 3 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2 changes to the state in which the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2 . In this embodiment, the ball information control MPU determines whether or not the door frame 3 has been opened or closed based on the detection signal of the door frame open switch 131 . When the door frame 3 is released from the body frame 2, the door frame open switch 131 is turned on. On the other hand, when the door frame 3 is closed by the body frame 2, the door frame open switch 131 is turned off.

[Door frame opening/closing determination process]
Next, the door frame opening/closing determination process will be described. FIG. 119 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of door frame opening/closing determination processing performed by the ball information control MPU. Considering that the door frame 3 is opened and closed under the condition that so-called grapes are generated in the game area 8 as described above, it is assumed that the door frame 3 is opened and closed at least during the game. For this reason, the door frame opening/closing determination process is executed as one process of the main operation setting process of step S564 which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process (see FIG. 84).

When starting the door frame open/close determination process, the sphere information control MPU first determines whether or not the door frame open switch 131 is on (step S990). In step S990, if it is determined that the door frame open switch 131 is not ON (NO in step S990), that is, if the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the body frame 2, the door Exit the subroutine for frame open/close judgment processing and return.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S990 that the door frame open switch 131 is ON (if determined as YES in step S990), it is detected that the door frame 3 is opened with respect to the body frame 2. If so, the process proceeds to step S991, wait timer processing is performed (step S991), and it is determined whether or not the door frame open switch 131 is off (step S992).

The wait timer process in step S991 is a process for waiting until the state in which the door frame 3 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2 changes to the state in which the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2. In this embodiment, for example, 2 seconds is set as the waiting time (wait timer). Whether or not the door frame opening switch 131 is turned off is determined in step S992.

If it is determined in step S992 that the door frame open switch 131 is not off (if NO is determined in step S992), that is, if the door frame 3 is still opened with respect to the body frame 2, , Steps S991 and S992 are repeated, and the process waits until the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the body frame 2 .

When the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the body frame 2, the ball information control MPU determines YES in step S992, and proceeds to step S993. In step S993, interrupt prohibition setting is performed (step S993). With this setting, the above-described ball information control section timer interrupt processing is not performed, preventing writing to the ball information control built-in RAM and protecting the above-described rewriting of the ball information.

Following step S993, the firing device set position determination process shown in FIG. 110A is executed (step S994). As described above, in the firing device set position determination processing, if it is determined that the position detection sensor 180 is not ON, the processing loop waits, and if it is determined that the position detection sensor 180 is ON, the firing device After exiting the set position determination process, the process proceeds to step S522 to execute the enclosed ball number determination control process (step S995). When the ball information control MPU ends the enclosed ball number determination control processing in step S995, it performs interrupt permission setting (step S996), exits the door frame open/close determination processing subroutine, and returns. With this setting, the game returns to the normal game state, and the ball information control unit timer interrupt processing is repeatedly performed at the interrupt period set at step S540, that is, every 2 ms.

[Detection of whiff state of launching hammer 30 of hitting ball launching device 29]
Processing for detecting a whiff state of the shooting hammer 30 of the ball shooting device 29 will be described below. When detecting the whiff state of the firing hammer 30, first, as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 112, the whiff counter is cleared to 0 (step S905).

After that, when the period A has elapsed in the ball feeding/shooting drive process, that is, when the shooting solenoid 13 is turned on to operate the shooting hammer 30, as illustrated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. It is determined whether or not the shot ball detection flag is "0 (not detected)" (step S953).

If it is determined in step S953 that the shot ball detection flag is "0 (not detected)", the value of the whiff count counter is incremented by 1 (step S954), the whiff motion of the firing hammer 30 is counted, and step Proceed to S938. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S953 that the ball-fired detection flag is not "0 (not detected)", that is, if the ball-fired detection flag is "1 (detected)", it means that it is not a whiff motion. , directly to step S938.

As described above, the number of idling motions of the shooting hammer 30 is counted. When all the enclosed balls are shot into the game area 8, the game balls cannot be provided to the shooting position, and the shooting operation of the shooting hammer 30 by turning on the shooting solenoid 13 continuously misses. .

Then, in the determination processing of step S914 in FIG. 112, it is determined whether or not the value of the whiff count counter has reached a predetermined end count (for example, 5 times). If so, it is assumed that the counting end condition has been met, and the flow advances to step S916 to proceed to step S918 for judging the appropriate number of balls.

[Possible/impossible judgment processing]
FIG. 120 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of the hitting ball possibility determination process performed by the ball information control MPU in the embodiment employing the enclosed ball number determination control means (executing the enclosed ball number determination control process). It should be noted that the hit ball possible/impossible determination process is executed as one process of the main action setting process (FIG. 84) of step S564 which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

The ball information control MPU, when starting the hit ball permission/impossibility determination process, first determines whether or not the aforementioned launch permission flag is "1 (operation permitted)" (step S700). That is, it is determined whether or not the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate.

When it is determined in step S700 that the launch permission flag is "1 (operation permitted)", the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate, and step S700 is determined as YES. Proceed to S710. In other words, the operation of the upper launching device 12 is permitted on the condition that it is confirmed that the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate.

Note that the processing after step S710 is the same as the above-described hitting ball possible/impossible determination processing (FIG. 88). 1 (fireable) is set in the fireable flag (step S712), and the subroutine of the hitting ball permission/impossibility determination processing is exited.

In this way, when the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate, the value of the counter for the number of balls held is not 0, and there are standby balls in the ball feeding device 28, the firing solenoid 13 and the ball feeding solenoid 31 are activated. is drivable, and is in a playable state in which it is possible to substantially hit the game ball into the game area 8.例文帳に追加

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S700 that the launch permission flag is not "1 (operation permitted)" (if the launch permission flag is 0), the number of all enclosed game balls is not appropriate. As a result, an imbalance occurs in the number of game balls that can be used, and the principle that the fairness given to the players is ensured collapses, so step S700 is determined as NO. Then, the process proceeds to step S713. In step S713, the fire enable flag is set to 0 (fire disabled) (step S713), and the subroutine of the hit ball permission/impossibility determination process is exited.

In other words, if the number of all the enclosed game balls is not appropriate, the operation of the upper launching device 12 is not permitted and is prohibited.

It should be noted that, as in the above-described hit ball possible/impossible determination process (FIG. 88), when it is determined at step S710 that the value of the number counter of the number of balls held is 0, at step S711, the firing standby ball detection switch is activated. 70 is not turned on (off), the fire enabled flag is set to 0 (disabled) (step S713), and the subroutine of the hit ball enabled/disabled decision processing is exited. That is, when the value of the counter of the number of held balls is 0, or when there is no standby ball in the ball feeding device 28, the firing solenoid 13 cannot be driven, and the game ball is substantially hit into the game area 8. is in a state where it is impossible to play. At the same time, the ball feed solenoid 31 cannot be driven.

[Second embodiment of enclosed ball number determination control process]
The above-described enclosed ball number determination control process of FIG. Whether the number is appropriate or not, or whether it is excessive or insufficient, the enclosed ball number determination control process does not rely on counting the enclosed game balls, but determines the number of enclosed game balls. It may be determined whether the number is appropriate or not.

For example, a plurality of game ball detection sensors for detecting the presence or absence of game balls are arranged in a circulation path in which all enclosed game balls circulate, and the plurality of game ball detection sensors detect the presence or absence of all enclosed game balls. A first game ball detection sensor for detecting a game ball positioned at the head, a second game ball detection sensor for detecting a game ball positioned in an appropriate number among all the enclosed game balls, and an appropriate number. and a third game ball detection sensor for detecting the next game ball, and the enclosed ball number determination control means, based on the detection signals of the first, second and third game ball detection sensors, Whether or not the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate is determined.

In the second embodiment, first, the game ball positioned at the top is the game ball placed at the shooting position of the batted ball launching device 29 . Then, the plurality of game ball detection sensors include the first game ball detection sensor for detecting the leading game ball among all the enclosed game balls, and the shot ball confirmation switch 36 arranged at the shooting position. (FIG. 8 or FIG. 17), and the game ball positioned at the appropriate number (in this example, the appropriate amount is 30 balls, and the appropriate amount is the 30th) among all the enclosed game balls is detected. The second game ball detection sensor is the appropriate ball amount detection switch 207 (Fig. 28), and the third game ball detection sensor that detects the game ball positioned next to the appropriate amount number (in this example, the 31st game ball) is used. It is assumed that the sphere path full tank detection switch 206 (FIG. 28) is used.

Then, based on the detection signals of the launch ball confirmation switch 36, the appropriate ball amount detection switch 207, and the ball path full state detection switch 206, whether or not the number of all the enclosed game balls is appropriate, excess or deficiency is detected. judge.

The enclosed ball count determination control process of the second embodiment will be described below. FIG. 121 is a flow chart showing a second embodiment of the subroutine of the enclosed ball count determination control process performed by the ball information control MPU. When starting the enclosed ball number determination control process, the ball information control MPU first clears the operation counter to 0 (step S1000). Here, the operation counter is a counter for counting the number of operations of the ball feed solenoid. After performing step S1000, the ball information control MPU proceeds to step S1002.

In step S1002, it is determined whether or not the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is on (step S1002). That is, it is determined whether or not a game ball exists at the shooting position on the rail portion 332 of the hitting ball shooting device 29 . If it is determined that the ball launch confirmation switch 36 is on, the process proceeds to step S1004.

In step S1004, it is determined whether or not the appropriate ball amount detection switch 207 is on (step S1004). In other words, the game ball present at the launch position is at the top, and the appropriate number waiting in line in the ball recovery device 240, ie, the 30th position, goes back in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the game balls on the circulation path. It is determined whether or not a game ball to be played is detected. If it is determined that the appropriate ball amount detection switch 207 is on, the process proceeds to step S1006.

In step S1006, it is determined whether or not the ball path full tank detection switch 206 is on (step S1006). That is, it is determined whether or not the 31st game ball positioned next to the appropriate number waiting to be aligned in the ball recovery device 240 is detected.

Next, in step S1002, when it is determined that the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is ON (when step S1002 is determined as YES), that is, when the game ball exists at the shooting position, the ball information Each process executed by the control MPU will be described.

[When the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate]
If the number of all enclosed game balls is the proper amount, the game balls are present at the position of the appropriate number set in the ball recovery device 240, and the appropriate number set in the ball recovery device 240. There is no game ball at the position next to the th.

In this case, it is determined in step S1004 that the proper ball amount detection switch 207 is on (YES in step S1004), and in step S1006 it is determined that the ball path full tank detection switch 206 is not on (step S1006 is determined as NO), the process proceeds to step S1008, the appropriate amount is displayed on the touch panel unit 14 (an example of the notification means) (for example, display by characters) (step S1008), and the firing permission flag is set to "1 (operation permitted) ' is set (step S1010), and the subroutine of the enclosed ball count determination control process is exited.

[When the number of enclosed game balls is not appropriate and there are too many balls]
When the number of all enclosed game balls is excessive, the game balls are present in the number-th position of the appropriate amount set in the ball recovery device 240, and the appropriate amount set in the ball recovery device 240. There is also a game ball at the position next to the number.

In this case, it is determined in step S1004 that the proper ball amount detection switch 207 is on (YES in step S1004), and in step S1006 it is determined that the ball path full tank detection switch 206 is on. (Step S1006 determines YES), the process proceeds to step S1008, the fact that there are too many balls is displayed on the touch panel unit 14 (for example, a character display) (step S1012), and the firing permission flag is set to "0 (operation not permitted)". is set (step S1014), and the subroutine of the enclosed ball count determination control process is exited.

[When the number of enclosed game balls is not appropriate and there is a shortage of balls]
When the number of all enclosed game balls is insufficient, there is no game ball at the appropriate number-th position set in the ball recovery device 240 .

In this case, it is determined in step S1004 that the appropriate ball amount detection switch 207 is not turned on (NO in step S1004), and the process proceeds to step S1016 to display a lack of balls on the touch panel unit 14 (for example, display by characters) (step S1016), the launch permission flag is set to "0 (operation not permitted)" (step S1014), and the subroutine of the enclosed ball count determination control processing is exited.

[Other processing]
Next, in step S1002, if it is determined that the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is not turned on, that is, if the game ball does not exist at the shooting position on the rail portion 332 of the shot ball shooting device 29 (NO in step S1002). ), each process executed by the ball information control MPU will be described.

If the ball information control MPU determines NO in step S1002, it proceeds to step S1018, turns on the ball feed solenoid 31 (step S1018), performs wait timer processing (step S1020), and turns off the ball feed solenoid 31. (Step S1022).

The wait timer process in step S1020 is a process for waiting until the turn-on time (period A+period B) of the ball feed solenoid 31 shown in the time chart of FIG. ) is set to 300 ms+30 ms=330 ms, for example.

After performing step S1022, the ball information control MPU increments the value of the action counter by 1 (step S1024), and proceeds to step S1026, where the value of the action counter reaches a predetermined end count (for example, 5 times). It is determined whether or not it has been done (step S1026). If it is determined in step S1026 that the value of the operation counter has not reached the predetermined end count (if NO is determined in step S1026), the process returns to step S1002, and the ball confirmation switch is pressed again. 36 is on (step S1002).

By executing the processing from step S1018 to step S1022, the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on and the ball feed member 32 performs the ball feed operation (see FIG. 22). sent to position.

If the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is kept off for some reason such as ball clogging, a processing routine that determines NO in step S1002, and determines NO in steps S1018 to S1024 and step S1026 is executed. It is repeated until the value of the counter and the end count match.

Then, when the value of the operation counter and the number of times of completion match, the ball information control MPU ends the enclosed ball number determination control process. In this case, a subroutine of ball clogging notification processing shown in FIG. 95 may be executed. Also, the sphere information control MPU 111 transmits an error command to the main control MPU 101, the main control MPU 101 transmits an error command to, for example, the peripheral control board 130, and the peripheral control board 130 controls, for example, the liquid crystal display panel of the liquid crystal display device 1400. may be configured to notify by displaying an error in the

[Effects of Enclosed Ball Game Machine of Embodiment]
According to the enclosed ball game machine of the embodiment related to the enclosed ball number determination control process executed by the ball information control MPU 111 described above, it is detected that the ball launching device 28 is at the normal position with respect to the game board. Since a position detection means is provided, it can be detected whether or not the hitting ball shooting device movably arranged in the upper part of the body frame is set at the correct position with respect to the game board fitted in the body frame.

The shooting control means for controlling the operation of the ball shooting device determines the number of all enclosed game balls on the condition that the ball shooting device is in a normal position with respect to the game board via the position detection means. However, it determines whether the amount is appropriate or not, and if it is determined that the number of all the enclosed game balls is appropriate, at least the operation of the ball shooting device is permitted. When the positional relationship between the launching device and the game board is in the correct position (regular position), it is possible to determine whether or not the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate.

On the other hand, if the positional relationship between the ball shooting device and the game board is not in the correct position (regular position), for example, if the boundary between the ball shooting device and the game board is misaligned, or the game board Even if the ball launching device is in the correct position, if the number of all game balls enclosed is not appropriate and there is an excess or deficiency, the operation of the ball launching device is not permitted and the ball is not fired. , the game itself is not performed.

As a result, it is possible to prevent the player from losing interest in the game due to the fact that the ball is not properly hit to the place intended by the player in the game area partitioned by the game board.

As a condition that the hitting ball launching device is detected to be in a regular position with respect to the game board, the operation of the hitting ball launching device is permitted, and the game ball is launched by operating the hitting ball launching device All enclosed Since the number of game balls is counted and it is determined whether the number is appropriate or not, it is possible to determine whether the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate or not.

As a result, it is possible to avoid situations such as ball jam due to an excess of game balls and trouble for players due to a shortage of game balls. When it is determined that there is, the fairness given to the players is ensured without imbalance in the number of game balls that can be used in the comparison between the same models.

As described above, the game balls to be shot can be hit at the appropriate intended positions with respect to the game area, and the fairness given to the players is ensured with respect to the number of all game balls enclosed. It is possible to prevent the player from losing interest in the game due to a problem caused by the ball shooting device and the number of game balls that can be used.

In addition, after blocking the flow of the game ball by the ball retention stopper member 243 in the ball retention portion 241 of the ball recovery device 240, the hit ball launcher 29, the ball feed rotor 350, the ball lifting device 22 and the ball feed device 28 are operated. All game balls enclosed by operation are shot into the game area 8, and when the game balls are being shot, the number of shot game balls is counted based on the detection signal of the shot ball confirmation switch 36. As a result, the game ball launched into the game area 8 is recovered to the recovery port 202 of the ball recovery device 240 via the winning port 41 or the out port 42, and is blocked from flowing down by the ball retention stopper member 243. Since the ball is retained in the ball retaining portion 241 of the collecting device 240, it does not flow downstream from the ball retaining portion 241 in the circulation path.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent a game ball that has been counted once from being covered again and counted. As a result, the number of all enclosed game balls can be accurately counted. As a result, while visually confirming the shot game balls, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the number of all the counted enclosed game balls is appropriate, or whether there is an excess or deficiency, and the reliability of the determination result. can enhance sexuality.

In addition, by turning on the power to the game machine, it is possible to count the number of all enclosed game balls and determine whether the amount is appropriate or not. On the other hand, when the door frame 3 is opened and closed with respect to the body frame 2, it is possible to count the number of all enclosed game balls and determine whether the amount is appropriate or whether there is excess or deficiency.

When it is determined that the number of all enclosed game balls is excessive or insufficient, the fact that the number is excessive or insufficient is output to the notification means (touch panel section 14), so that the number of enclosed game balls becomes excessive or insufficient. can be identified.

Furthermore, even when the door frame 3 is opened and closed with respect to the body frame 2, it is possible to count the number of all the enclosed game balls and determine whether or not the amount is appropriate. In addition, when the clerk clears the grapes, the game ball may be accidentally spilled outside the machine and lost, and the lost game ball may not be returned to the game machine. It can be determined that all the game balls enclosed in the game machine main body are not in an appropriate amount, and the fact that there is an excess or deficiency is output to the notification means, so that the number of enclosed game balls is excessive or insufficient. can be identified.

Also, the operation of the upper launcher 12 is permitted on the condition that it is confirmed that the number of all the enclosed game balls is appropriate. On the other hand, if the number of all the enclosed game balls is not appropriate, and the number is excessive or deficient, the operation of the upper launching device 12 is not permitted, and the ball is not shot, so the game itself is not played. As a result, it is possible to avoid the problem that the number of game balls that can be used is unbalanced, and the principle that the fairness given to the players is ensured is broken.

1 pachinko machine 1a outer frame 2 body frame 2a body frame base 2b tight material 3 door frame 4 payment machine 5 game board 6 decorative cover 7 hinge 8 game area 9 game window 10 ball hitting handle 11 transparent plate 12 upper launch device (upper launch unit )
13 Launch Solenoid 14 Touch Panel Part 15 Fitting Frame 16 Peripheral Wall Part 17 Accommodating Opening 18 Overhanging Wall 19 Irregular Ball/Magnetic Ball Discharge Unit Accommodating Part 20 Irregular Shape/Magnetic Ball Discharging Unit 21 Ball Collecting Part 22 Ball Lifting Device 23 Ball Delivery gutter 23b Receiving portion 23c Slide shutter 23d Guide piece 24 Ball supply path member 25 Screw 25a Screw shaft 25b Small pitch ridge member 25bL Split body 25bR Half split body 25c Large pitch ridge member 25cL Half split body 25cR Half split body 25d Spiral ridge 25e Cylindrical portion 25g Recessed portion 25h Protrusive portion 25i Upper edge 25j Upper edge recessed portion 25k Lower edge 25m Lower edge protruding portion 26 Ball detection switch waiting to be fired 28 Ball feeding device 29 Ball launching device 30 Launching hammer (shooting member)
301 fixed portion 302 rod portion 303 stopper contact portion 31 ball feed solenoid 32 ball feed member 33 rail member 331 mounting plate portion 332 rail portion 333 left rail plate 334 right rail plate 335 through hole 34 stopper during launch 35 stopper during return 36 launch Ball Confirmation Switch 361 Photo Bracket 37 Upper Launch Device Hinge 38 Launch Port 39 Base Plate 39a Contact Part 40 Launch Area 41 Winning Port 42 Out Port 43 Panel Holder 44 Transparent Panel Board 45 Front Component 46 Game Ball Running Surface 47 Notch 48 Protruding Part 49 Fixing Tool 50 Screw Receiving Member 51 Ball Entrance 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 66 Ball inlet 67 Ball feed unit base 68 Ball feed unit cover 69 Ball feed guide gutter 70 Launch standby ball detection switch 71 Ball feed sheet metal 72 Actuating lever 73 Sheet metal housing Part 74 Ball Feeding Part 75 Shaft Hole 76 Ball Feeding Shaft 77 Arm Part 78 Sheet Metal Locking Claw 79 Locking Protrusion 80 Ball Feeding Guiding Surface 81 Ball Holding Surface 82 Hanging Piece 83 Return Ball Blocking Part 84 Ball Stopper 85 Hit Ball Passing Hole 86 Firing stop switch 87 touch switch 90 upper starting opening detection switch 91 lower starting opening detection switch 92 gate switch 93 general winning opening detection switch 94 general winning opening detection switch 96 starting opening solenoid 97 big 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 firing 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 open switch 132 body frame open Switch 133 External terminal board 140 Panel relay terminal board 141 Function display board 142 Upper special symbol display 143 Lower special symbol display 144 Upper special symbol storage display 145 Lower special symbol storage display 146 Normal symbol display 147 Normal symbol storage display Device 148 Game state indicator 149 Round indicator 150 Ball lifting motor 155 Ball polishing ribbon feed motor 156 Lifting entrance switch 157 Lifting motor sensor 158 Cassette detection switch 160 Main encryption communication unit 161 Second MPU identification number storage unit 162 First Authentication unit 165 Ball information encryption communication unit 166 First MPU identification number storage unit 167 Second authentication unit 180 Position detection sensor 181 Light projecting element 182 Light receiving element 201 Ball receiving gutter base 202 Recovery port 203 Recovered ball detection switch 204 Irregular ball discharge unit 205 Magnetic ball discharge part 206 Ball path full detection switch 207 Ball proper amount detection switch 208 Irregular ball discharge part base 209 Irregular ball separation shaft 210 Irregular ball separation shaft 212 Irregular ball discharge part base mounting part 213 Upstream side 214 Downstream side 215 Irregular ball Discharge path 216 Irregular ball discharge port 217 Irregular ball discharge path forming member 218 Communication path 219 Circulation path 220 Inclined surface 221 Drop surface 222 Magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 223 Discontinuous portion 224 Side wall 225 Ceiling wall 226 Magnetic ball discharge path 227 Magnetic ball discharge Exit 228 Magnetic ball discharging part cover 229 Magnet 230 Magnet accommodation space 231 Magnetic force adjustment part 232 Magnetic ball 233 Regular game ball 234 Discharged ball receiving box 240 Ball collecting device 241 Ball retaining part 242 Ball discharging gutter 243 Ball retaining stopper member 244 Ball retaining Stopper solenoid 245 Ball retention stopper solenoid drive circuit 251 Ball polishing cartridge 252 Left side cover 253 Right side cover 253a Right outer side cover 253b Right inner side cover 254 Hinge receiver 255 Hinge 258 Second driving gear case 259 Winding roller 260 Driven roller 261 First gear shaft 262 Second gear shaft 263 Ball polishing cloth 264 Ball polishing cloth holding spring 265 Leaf spring 266 Spring holding member 267 Tensioner 268 Game 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 Passage 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 Rotator 350a Ball Engaging Recess 351 Ball Feed slope 351a Slope 351b Top slope 352 Spiral base cover 353 Lifting section cover 354 Lifting slope member 355 Ball removing member 356 Upper gearbox 357 Lower gearbox 358 Ball lifting motor gear 359 Idle gear 360 Upper lifting gear 362 Lower lifting gear 363 Ball feed rotor gear 363a Gear shaft 365 Guide block 365a Ball guide surface 365b Stopper surface 366 Fitting member 366a Fitting concave portion 367 Supporting member 368 Cover member 402 Card processing machine 403 Card 404 ID storage unit 405 Remaining credits Storage Part 406 Ball Number Storage Part 407 Mounting Member 408 Hanging Wall 410 Ball Exit Opening/Closing Unit 411 Shutter Base 412 Opening/Closing Shutter 413 Opening/Closing Crank 414 Opening/Closing Spring 415 Slide Groove 416 Opening 417 Crank Supporting Part 418 Spring Locking Part 419 Shutter Main Body 420 drive hole 421 shaft 422 drive rod 423 drive pin 424 abutment 425 spring locking part 426 opening/closing operation piece 427 game ball introduction member 500 follower member 600a upper front edge 600b lower front edge 601a upper guide member 601b lower guide member 602 Bottom 603a Front rising portion 603b Rear rising portion 604a Front rib 604b Rear rib 605a Stopper (upper)
605b Stopper (bottom)
606 Sliding leg 607 Space 608 Pivot shaft 609 Receiving hole 610a Engagement projection (upper)
610b engagement projection (lower)
610c head 611a upper lever 611b lower lever 612a shaft (upper)
612b axis (bottom)
613a hook recess (upper)
613b hook recess (bottom)
614 fixture 800 lower space 801 suction device 802 exhaust device 803 motor 804 fan 805 filter 806 accumulator 807 lead-out passage 808 outward opening valve 809 main tube 810 branch tube 811 opening 812 reinforcing bracket A slider B slider C slider

Claims (1)

a prize winning opening in which a game area is partitioned and a game ball rolling down the game area can be entered;
a game board comprising an out port for collecting game balls that roll down the game area and do not enter the winning port;
a body frame in which the game board is fitted and accommodated;
a hitting ball shooting device arranged on the upper part of the body frame for shooting a game ball into the game area;
a ball recovery device having a recovery port for recovering together the game balls that have entered the winning port and the game balls that have been recovered in the out port;
a ball conveying device for conveying game balls collected by the ball collecting device toward the batted ball launching device;
A predetermined number of game balls are closedly circulated in a game ball circulation path by the hitting ball launching device, the game area of the game board, the ball collecting device and the ball conveying device without paying out the game balls. In an enclosed ball type game machine that plays a game,
The hitting ball launching device is movably provided with respect to the body frame,
position detection means for detecting that the ball shooting device is at a normal position with respect to the game board;
a firing control means for controlling the operation of the hitting ball launcher;
The shooting control means detects, through the position detection means, that the hitting ball shooting device is in a normal position with respect to the game board, and the number of all enclosed game balls is controlled to an appropriate amount. Enclosed ball number determination control means for determining whether or not there is an excess or deficiency;
an operation permitting means for permitting at least the operation of the batted ball shooting device on condition that the number of all game balls enclosed is determined to be appropriate by the enclosed ball number determination control means. Enclosed ball game machine characterized by.

Images