JP2024009145A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine capable of appropriately enhancing a degree of attention to a game.

SOLUTION: A game board unit of a pachinko game machine is provided with a variable winning unit 700 that a game ball flowing down in a game area can enter. An opening/closing device 715 of the variable winning unit 700 includes an opening/closing body 716 formed with a first passage part 745 for guiding a game ball entering an inflow port 711 to a first guide passage 731 side and a second passage part 746 for guiding a game ball to a second guide passage 732 side which is more advantageous to a player than the first guide passage 731, and a drive part 717 for operating the opening/closing body 716. A main control device executes drive control of the opening/closing device 715 so that the opening/closing body 716 is switched between a state in which ball entry to the inflow port 711 is possible and a state in which ball entry to the inflow port 711 is more difficult than in the open state.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 39

COPYRIGHT: (C)2024,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a gaming machine.

2. Description of the Related Art Some gaming machines, such as pachinko gaming machines, are equipped with a gaming board in which a gaming area is formed into which game balls flow. A game ball is fired toward the game area based on the player's operation, and when the fired game ball enters the ball entry area provided in the game area, the player receives benefits such as payout of the game ball based on this. granted to.

In a game machine where the award of benefits depends on the movement of the game balls, game parts such as nails and windmills are placed in the game area to disperse the falling paths of the game balls and There are some games that increase the degree of attention to the movement of the game ball and, by extension, the degree of attention to the game by diversifying the movement of the game ball (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-071059

However, there is still room for improvement in the configuration in terms of increasing attention to the game through the movement of the game ball.

The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances exemplified above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine that can suitably increase attention to the game.

The present invention
A game in which a game board in which a game area is formed, and a game ball that flows down the game area and that passes through a predetermined passage area can flow down a first flow path and a second flow path. It is a machine,
A movable member in which a first ball receiving portion is formed, and the game ball that has reached the first ball receiving portion can be caused to flow down the first flow path or the second flow path;
a drive unit that operates the movable member;
By driving and controlling the drive unit, the movable member is allowed to pass the game ball to the predetermined passage area, and the first ball receiving part is placed in a position to receive the game ball that has reached the predetermined passage area. is placed in a first state, and a second ball receiving portion that is a part of the movable member and is different from the first ball receiving portion is in a position that makes it difficult for the game ball to pass through the predetermined passage area. means capable of performing switching control to switch to the arranged second state;
means capable of performing the predetermined switching control when a game ball flows down the first channel;
Equipped with
The game ball is characterized in that the game ball received by the second ball receiving part is configured to be able to reach the first ball receiving part.

According to the present invention, the degree of attention to the game can be suitably increased.

It is a front view showing a pachinko machine in a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the main configuration of a pachinko machine developed. It is a front view showing the composition of an inner frame. It is a front view showing the structure of a game board unit. FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the configuration of the inner frame. FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the configuration of a pachinko machine. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the configuration of the back pack unit. It is a schematic diagram showing a variable winning unit. (a) A plan view showing the downstream region of the housing, and (b) a perspective view of the accessory device. It is a partial sectional view showing an accessory device. It is a schematic diagram showing a switchgear. (a) A perspective view of the opening/closing body, and (b) to (c) sectional views of the opening/closing body. (a) A schematic diagram showing the opening/closing device in a closed state, and (b) a schematic diagram showing the opening/closing device in an open state. It is a schematic diagram showing the flow of switching between an open state and a closed state of the opening/closing device. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing how channels are switched. It is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the opening and closing body. It is a schematic diagram showing the opening and closing device in a 2nd embodiment. It is a perspective view showing the opening and closing device in a 3rd embodiment. (a) A front view of the opening/closing body, and (b) a sectional view of the opening/closing device. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing how channels are switched. It is a schematic diagram showing the opening and closing device in a 4th embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing how channels are switched. It is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the opening/closing device. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing how channels are switched. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing how channels are switched. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing how channels are switched. It is a schematic diagram showing the opening and closing device in a 5th embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing how channels are switched. It is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the opening/closing device. It is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the opening/closing device. It is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the opening/closing device. (a) A horizontal sectional view of the opening/closing device, and (b) a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the opening/closing body and the downstream passage forming section. It is a schematic diagram showing how the game ball is guided to the second passage section. It is a schematic diagram showing the opening and closing device in a 6th embodiment. It is a schematic diagram showing how the game ball is guided to the second passage section. It is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the opening/closing device. It is a schematic diagram showing how the game ball is guided to the second passage section. It is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the opening/closing device. (a) A schematic diagram showing an opening/closing device in a seventh embodiment, and (b) a perspective view showing an opening/closing body. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing how channels are switched.

<First embodiment>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a pachinko game machine (hereinafter referred to as "pachinko machine"), which is a type of gaming machine, will be described in detail based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachinko machine 10, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the main components of the pachinko machine 10. In addition, in FIG. 2, the configuration within the gaming area of the pachinko machine 10 is omitted for convenience.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pachinko machine 10 has an outer frame 11 forming an outer shell of the pachinko machine 10, and a gaming machine main part 12 attached to the outer frame 11.

The outer frame 11 is constructed by connecting plate materials on four sides, and has a rectangular frame shape. The pachinko machine 10 is installed in the island equipment of a game parlor by attaching and fixing the outer frame 11 to the island equipment. Note that the outer frame 11 is not an essential component of the pachinko machine 10, and the outer frame 11 may be provided in an island facility of a game parlor.

A main part 12 of the gaming machine is supported by this outer frame 11 in an openable and closable state. Specifically, an upper supporting metal fitting 17 is fixed to the connecting portion between the upper frame portion and the left frame portion of the outer frame 11, and a lower support fitting 17 is fixed to the connecting portion of the lower frame portion and the left frame portion of the outer frame 11. A side support fitting 18 is provided. These upper support metal fittings 17 and lower support metal fittings 18 constitute a support mechanism, and the support mechanism allows the main part 12 of the gaming machine to rotate on the left side when the pachinko machine 10 is viewed from the front with respect to the outer frame 11. , can be rotated forward of the pachinko machine 10 with the right side as the rotation tip side.

As shown in FIG. 2, the main part 12 of the gaming machine includes an inner frame 13 as a base body, a front door frame 14 disposed in front of the inner frame 13, and a back pack disposed behind the inner frame 13. It is equipped with a unit 15. It should be noted that an inner frame 13 of the main part 12 of the gaming machine is rotatably supported with respect to the outer frame 11.

The front door frame 14 is attached to the inner frame 13 so as to be rotatable forward with the left side being the base end of the rotation and the right side being the tip of the rotation when viewed from the front of the pachinko machine 10, and the back pack unit 15 is attached to the inner frame 13 so as to be rotatable rearward, with the left side serving as the rotation base end and the right side serving as the rotation tip end when the Pachinko machine 10 is viewed from the front.

The front door frame 14 is mainly composed of a frame body 20 made of synthetic resin and whose outer shape is substantially the same as that of the outer frame 11, and covers almost the entire front side of the inner frame 13. A generally elliptical window 21 is formed in the center of the frame 20 so that almost the entire area of the game area PE, which will be described later, can be viewed from the front. It is covered from the back side of the front door frame 14.

A glass unit installation part is formed in the frame 20 so as to surround the window part 21. The glass unit installation part is provided on the back side of the frame body 20 and is recessed toward the front of the pachinko machine 10, and the window part 21 is formed at the bottom of the glass unit installation part. The glass unit 30 is fitted into the glass unit installation portion, thereby restricting its displacement in the vertical and horizontal directions.

The glass unit 30 includes transparent glass panels 31 and 32 and a glass holder 33 that holds the glass panels 31 and 32. The glass holder 33 has an annular frame formed along the window 21, and the glass panels 31 and 32 are housed in the area surrounded by the frame. The area PE is configured to be covered twice from the front side of the pachinko machine 10.

Referring again to FIG. 1, light emitting means such as various lamps are provided around the window portion 21. For example, an annular illumination section 24 having a built-in light emitting means such as an LED is provided along the periphery of the window section 21 . The annular illumination section 24 lights up or blinks in response to changes in the gaming state, such as when a jackpot is won or when a predetermined reach is reached. Furthermore, an error display lamp section 25 is provided at the center of the annular illumination section 24 and at the top of the pachinko machine 10, which lights up in the event of a predetermined error, and on both left and right sides of the window section 21, which lights up while prize balls are being paid out. A prize ball lamp section 26 is provided. Further, a speaker section 27 is provided at a position close to the central error display lamp section 25, which outputs sound effects and the like according to the gaming state.

Below the window portion 21 in the front door frame 14, an upper bulge 28 and a lower bulge 29 that bulge toward the front are vertically arranged in parallel. An upper plate 28a that opens upward is provided inside the upper bulge 28, and a lower plate 29a that also opens upward is provided inside the lower bulge 29. The upper tray 28a has the function of temporarily storing game balls paid out from a payout device described later, and guiding them to the game ball firing mechanism side described later while arranging them in a line. Further, the lower tray 29a has a function of storing surplus game balls in the upper tray 28a.

A game ball firing handle 41 is provided at a position aligned with the lower bulge 29 so as to protrude toward the front side. By operating the game ball firing handle 41, a game ball is fired from a game ball firing mechanism which will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 2, a passage forming unit 50 is attached to the back side of the front door frame 14. The passage forming unit 50 is molded from synthetic resin, and is formed with a front door side upper plate passage communicating with the upper plate 28a and a front door side lower plate passage communicating with the lower plate 29a. In the passage forming unit 50, a socket part 53 that protrudes rearward and is open upward is formed at the upper corner thereof, and by partitioning the socket part 53 into left and right sides by a partition wall 54, a front door side upper tray is formed. The entrance part of the passage and the entrance part of the lower tray passage on the front door side are divided and formed. The upper tray passage on the front door side and the lower tray passage on the front door side are connected on the upstream side to a game ball distribution section which will be described later, and the game balls that have entered the upper tray passage on the front door side are guided to the upper tray 28a and are passed through the lower tray passage on the front door side. The game balls entering the tray passage are guided to the lower tray 29a.

Next, the inner frame 13 will be explained in detail based on FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 3 is a front view of the inner frame 13. Note that in FIG. 3 as well, the configuration within the gaming area of the pachinko machine 10 is omitted, similar to FIG. 2.

The inner frame 13 is mainly composed of a resin base 70 whose outer shape is substantially the same as that of the outer frame 11. Support fittings 71 and 72 are attached to the upper and lower ends of the front surface of the resin base 70 on the rotation base end side (left side in FIG. 3). Moreover, a protruding shaft is provided on the rotation base end side of the back surface of the front door frame 14 in correspondence with the supporting metal fittings 71 and 72. Although not shown, shaft holes are formed in the support fittings 71 and 72, and by inserting the protruding shafts of the front door frame 14 into these shaft holes, the front door frame 14 is aligned with respect to the inner frame 13. Rotatably supported. In other words, these support fittings 71 and 72 and the protruding shaft constitute an assembly mechanism for the inner frame 13.

A locking device 75 is provided on the front surface of the inner frame 13. The locking device 75 has a plurality of front door hook members 76 extending toward the front door frame 14. In correspondence with these front door hook members 76, a plurality of hook receiving members 63 extending toward the inner frame 13 are provided on the back surface of the front door frame 14 (see FIG. 2). When the front door hook member 76 is caught on the hook receiving member 63, the front door frame 14 is locked in a closed state. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the locking device 75 has an inner frame hook member 77 extending toward the rear of the inner frame 13. As shown in FIG. When these inner frame hook members 77 are caught on the hook receiving members 19 of the outer frame 11, the game machine main section 12 is locked in a closed state relative to the outer frame 11.

As shown in FIG. 3, a cylinder lock 78 for unlocking the locking device is installed at the lower right corner of the resin base 70. The cylinder lock 78 is integrated into the locking device, and its tip portion (keyhole portion) is exposed to the front of the Pachinko machine 10 through a hole provided in the front door frame 14. By turning the key inserted into the keyhole of the cylinder lock 78 to the right, the front door frame 14 is unlocked from the inner frame 13, and by turning the key to the left, the locking of the inner frame 13 from the outer frame 11 is released. .

A game board accommodating portion 73 for accommodating a game board unit 80 is formed approximately at the center of the front surface of the resin base 70. The game board accommodating portion 73 is recessed at the rear of the pachinko machine 10 and defines a storage space for accommodating the game board unit 80, and the game board unit 80 attached to the resin base 70 is fitted into the storage space. It becomes. In this embodiment, in particular, the game board unit 80 is detachably attached to the resin base 70, thereby facilitating maintenance work and the like.

The game board unit 80 includes a game board 80a made of synthetic resin and a back block 80b (see FIG. 5) provided behind the game board 80a. exposed on the front side. In this exposed portion, that is, on the front surface of the game board 80a, a game area PE is formed in which the game balls flow down. As already explained, the game area PE is covered by the glass panel 32. The glass panel 32 is arranged so that the gap between it and the front surface of the game board 80a is slightly larger than the diameter of the game balls, that is, the game balls flowing down the game area PE are not lined up one after the other at the same location in the game area PE. It is arranged like this. This suppresses ball clogging in the gaming area PE. Note that the game board 80a is not limited to being made of synthetic resin, but may also be made of wood.

Hereinafter, the game board unit 80 (particularly various configurations arranged in the game area PE) will be explained based on FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a front view of the game board unit 80. In addition, in FIG. 4, illustration of the game area division member 108 shown in FIG. 3 etc. is omitted.

A plurality of large and small openings are formed in the game board 80a, passing through the game board in its thickness direction (back and forth direction). A general prize opening 81, operating ball entry parts 84, 85, a through gate 86, a variable prize winning unit 300, etc. are arranged in each opening, respectively. When game balls enter the general prize opening 81, operating ball entry parts 84, 85, and variable prize winning unit 300, these game balls are detected by a detection sensor described later, and a predetermined number of prize balls are paid out based on the detection results. benefits are given to the player. In addition, an out port 89 is provided at the bottom of the game board 80a (gaming area PE), and game balls that do not enter various winning holes are discharged from the gaming area PE through the out port 89. In the following explanation, in order to clearly distinguish from the entry of a game ball into the out port 89, the entry of a game ball into the general winning opening 81, the operating ball entry parts 84, 85, the through gate 86, and the variable winning unit 300 will be described. is also expressed as ``winning''.

Further, a large number of nails 90 are installed on the game board 80a in order to appropriately disperse and adjust the falling path of the game balls, and various members (accessories) such as a windmill are also arranged. By various configurations such as the nails 90 and the windmill, the falling paths of the game balls are differentiated, and adjustments are made so that winnings to the above-mentioned general prize opening 81 etc. occur with a moderate probability.

The variable winning unit 300 is arranged in the center of the game board 80a, and the variable winning unit 300 allows the falling route of the game ball in the gaming area PE to be a left route that bypasses the variable winning unit 300 from the left side, and a left route that bypasses the variable winning unit 300 from the left side. The route is roughly divided into the right route, which detours from the right side.

The operating ball entering sections 84 and 85 (lottery trigger ball entering section) are arranged around the variable winning unit 300. The actuating ball entering parts 84 and 85 include left and right actuating ball entering parts 84 (hereinafter referred to as first actuating ball entering parts 84) arranged on the sides (left route and right route) of the variable winning unit 300, It is constituted by a lower actuating ball entering part 85 (hereinafter referred to as a second actuating ball entering part 85) disposed below the variable winning unit 300, specifically at the confluence point of the left and right routes.

The second operating ball entering section 85 is provided with an electric accessory 91 for the operating ball entering section as an opening/closing ball entry assisting device (ball entry assisting means) or an opening/closing member (opening/closing means). The electric accessory 91 has a pair of left and right movable pieces and a solenoid-type drive unit that drives the movable pieces, and is in an auxiliary state (open state) in which the ball enters the second operating ball entry portion 85 easily. ) and a non-assisted state (closed state) in which entering the ball is more difficult than in the open state. The through gate 86 is disposed above each of the first operating ball entrance portions 84 on the left route and the right route. If you win a lottery triggered by the passage of a game ball through the through gate 86, the electric accessory 91 attached to the second operation ball entry section 85 will be in an auxiliary state for a predetermined period of time, The entry of the ball into section 85 will be assisted.

At the bottom of the gaming area PE, a decorative object 92, which is the object of the general prize winning hole 81, is arranged. The decorative body 92 protrudes from the front of the game board 80a to the front of the pachinko machine 10, and the gap between it and the glass unit 30 (glass panel 32) is narrower than the width of one game ball. This prevents the game ball from falling in front of the decorative body 92. A main display unit D is embedded in a portion of the decorative body 92 that faces the glass unit 30, and visibility of the main display unit D through the glass unit 30 is ensured. Here, a supplementary explanation will be given regarding the main display unit D.

The main display unit D includes a first operating ball entering section display section 93 that displays lottery results based on winnings in the first operating ball entering section 84, and a first operating ball entering section display section 93 that displays lottery results based on winnings in the second operating ball entering section 85. It has a display section 94 for a second activated ball entry section that displays the lottery results obtained.

In the display section 93 for the first actuating ball entering section, a variable display of symbols is executed using the winning of the first actuating ball entering section 84 as a trigger, and as a result of the stop of the variable display, the display section 93 executes a variable display of the symbol. The results of an internal lottery (win/fail lottery) conducted based on winnings are clearly displayed. Similarly, in the display section 94 for the second actuating ball entering section, a variable display of symbols is executed using the winning of the second actuating ball entering section 85 as a trigger, and as a result of stopping the variable display, the second actuating ball entering section is displayed. The results of the internal lottery conducted based on the winnings in 85 are clearly displayed.

Although the details will be described later, the inlet 311 of the variable winning unit 300 has an opening/closing function that can be switched between an open state that allows balls to enter the inlet 311 and a closed state that prevents balls from entering the inlet 311. A device 315 is provided.

In the internal lottery based on winnings in the first operating ball entry section 84 and the second operating ball entry section 85, the opening period and the like for maintaining the opening/closing device 315 in the open state are determined. In this embodiment, the open period in which the switchgear 315 is opened is a relatively short period (for example, 1 sec) and a relatively long period (for example, 2 seconds). It is set. In an internal lottery based on winnings in the first operating ball entering section 84, the first period is likely to occur, and in an internal lottery based on winnings in the second operating ball entering section 85, the second period is likely to occur. In other words, when comparing the first operating ball entry section 84 and the second operating ball entrance section 85, the opening/closing device 315 is differentiated in the opening manner such that the latter is more advantageous to the player than the former. .

In this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the number of times the game ball passes through the first operating ball entry section 84 or the second operating ball entry section 85 is held up to a maximum of four times, and the main display unit D is provided with a pending number display section 95 that displays the pending number (number of pending items).

The main display unit D is also provided with a through-gate display section 96 that displays lottery results based on winnings in the through-gate 86. In the through-gate display section 96, a winning in the through gate 86 triggers a fluctuating display of symbols, and as a result of stopping the fluctuating display, the result of the internal lottery conducted based on the winning in the through gate 86 is displayed. be made explicit. If the result of the internal lottery based on the winning through gate 86 is a winning result corresponding to the transition to the electric role open state, a predetermined stop result is displayed on the through gate display section 96 and a variable display is performed. After this is stopped, the state shifts to the open state. In the electrically powered open state, the electrically powered accessory 91 attached to the second operating ball entrance portion 85 is released in a predetermined manner.

In the present embodiment, the support mode by the electric accessory 91 is a low-frequency support mode (low-frequency support state or A low frequency guide state) and a high frequency support mode (high frequency support state or high frequency guide state) are set.

Specifically, in the low-frequency support mode and the high-frequency support mode, the probability of winning the electric role opening state in the electric role-playing lottery is the same, but in the high-frequency support mode, the probability of winning the electric role opening state is the same as in the low-frequency support mode. , the minimum secured time is set short after one electric accessory opening lottery is held and the next electric accessory opening lottery is held.

As described above, in the high-frequency support mode, the probability of winning a prize in the second operating ball entry section 85 is higher than in the low-frequency support mode. In other words, in the low-frequency support mode, the probability of winning a prize is higher in the first actuation ball entry part 84 than in the second actuation ball entry part 85, but in the high frequency support mode, the probability of winning a prize is higher in the first action ball entry part 84. The probability of winning a prize in the second operating ball entry section 85 is higher than that in 84.

Note that the configuration for making the high-frequency support mode higher in frequency that the electric role is released per unit time than the low-frequency support mode is not limited to the above, and for example, in the electric role-playing lottery. It may be configured to increase the probability of winning the electric combination open state. Furthermore, the high-frequency support mode and the low-frequency support mode may be differentiated by differentiating any one condition or any combination of the number of times, opening time, and winning probability.

Incidentally, in this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the number of times a game ball passes through the through gate 86 is held up to a maximum of four times, but the main display unit D displays the number of held balls (number of held balls). A display section 97 for the number of reservations is provided.

To explain again using FIG. 3, below the game board housing section 73 (game board unit 80) in the resin base 70, there is a game where a game ball is fired into the game area PE based on the operation of the game ball firing handle 41. A ball firing mechanism 110 is provided. The game ball launch mechanism 110 includes a solenoid 111 that launches a game ball placed at a predetermined launch standby position, a launch rail 112 that defines the launch direction of the game ball launched by the solenoid 111, and a game ball launcher located at the launch standby position. The main components include a ball feeding device 113 that supplies balls and a base plate 114 on which various components 111 to 113 are attached, and when the base plate 114 is fixed to the resin base 70, it is attached to the inner frame 13. It is integrated against the

The launch rail 112 is fixed to the base plate 114 in an obliquely inclined state so as to be inclined upward toward the game board unit 80 side. A ball stopper is arranged near the downstream end (that is, the lower end) of the firing rail 112 to keep the game ball supplied from the ball feeding device 113 at the firing standby position described above. The solenoid 111 is arranged at a position further downstream than the ball stopper.

The solenoid 111 is electrically connected to a power source/launch control device that will be described later. The output shaft of the solenoid 111 reciprocates in the expansion and contraction direction based on the output of an electrical signal from the power supply/launch control device, so that the game ball placed in the firing standby position is moved to the game board unit 80 side. The ball is launched toward the guide rail 100 attached to the game board unit 80.

The guide rail 100, together with the game area dividing member 108, defines the game area PE so that the outer shape of the game area PE is approximately circular. Further, the guide rail 100 consists of an inner rail 101 and an outer rail 102 that are arranged to face each other with a gap slightly larger than the diameter of the game ball, and a single guide path 103 is defined by both rails 101 and 102. It is formed. The guide passage 103 has an entrance portion open to the tip side (diagonally downward) of the launch rail 112, and an exit portion located above the game area PE. The game ball fired based on the operation of the solenoid 111 is guided to the game area PE by moving in the order of the firing rail 112 → the guide rail 100 (entrance part → exit part). In addition, in the game board unit 80, a back-preventing member 106 is attached to the forward side of the exit portion, more specifically, near the tip of the inner rail 101, to prevent the game balls that have reached the game area PE from returning to the guide path 103. This prevents the game ball that has reached the game area PE first from interfering with the launch of the subsequent game ball.

Each of the rails 101 and 102 constituting the guide rail 100 is in the shape of an arc centered approximately at the center of the gaming area PE. Therefore, the game ball passing through the guide path 103 is likely to move (slide or roll) along the outer rail 102, that is, while in contact with the outer rail 102, due to the centrifugal force generated within the ball.

The guide rail 100 and the launch rail 112 are arranged such that the entrance portion of the guide rail 100 and the tip end portion of the launch rail 112 diagonally face each other across the lower edge of the game board unit 80. In other words, both of the rails 100 and 112 are arranged such that the entrance portion of the guide rail 100 and the tip portion of the launch rail 112 are shifted from side to side near the lower edge of the game board unit 80. As a result, both rails 100 and 112 are brought closer to the lower edge of the game board unit 80, and a gap at a predetermined interval is formed between the entrance portion of the guide rail 100 and the firing rail 112.

A foul ball passage 55 (see FIG. 2) is provided below the gap thus formed. The foul ball passage 55 is integrally formed with the passage forming unit 50 of the front door frame 14. If the game balls fired from the game ball launch mechanism 110 do not reach the game area PE and return inside the guide path 103 as foul balls, those foul balls will enter the foul ball path 55 through the gap. becomes. The foul ball passage 55 communicates with the lower tray passage 52 on the front door side, and the game balls that have entered the foul ball passage 55 are discharged to the lower tray 29a shown in FIG. 1. This suppresses interference between the foul ball and the next game ball to be fired.

On the left side of the ejection rail 112 in the resin base 70 (specifically, on the side supporting the front door frame 14), a passage forming member 131 is disposed in a through hole that penetrates the resin base 70 in the front-rear direction. The passage forming member 131 is screwed to the resin base 70 and has a main body side upper plate passage 132 and a main body side lower plate passage 133. The upstream sides of the main body side upper tray passage 132 and the main body side lower tray passage 133 communicate with a game ball distribution section to be described later. Further, a socket portion 53 of a passage forming unit 50 attached to the front door frame 14 is inserted below the passage forming member 131, and a front door side upper tray passage is arranged below the main body side upper tray passage 132. A front door side lower plate passage is arranged below the main body side lower plate passage 133 (see FIG. 2).

A shutter 134 is provided below the passage forming member 131 in the resin base 70 to restrict the outflow of game balls from the main body side upper plate passage 132 and the main body side lower plate passage 133. The shutter 134 is supported by the resin base 70 in a switchable state between a blocking position where the exit portions of both passages are narrowed to prevent the game balls from flowing out, and a permitting position where the game balls are allowed to flow out. Further, a biasing member that biases the shutter 134 toward the blocking position is attached to the resin base 70, and when the front door frame 14 is opened with respect to the inner frame 13, the shutter is closed by the biasing force of the biasing member. 134 remains in the blocking position. This avoids the inconvenience of the stored balls falling out when the front door frame 14 is opened with game balls stored in the main body side upper tray passage 132 or the main body side lower tray passage 133. . On the other hand, when the front door frame 14 is closed, the shutter 134 is pushed back to the permissible position by the socket 53 provided in the passage forming unit 50 of the front door frame 14 against the biasing force. In this state, the main body side upper tray passage 132 and the front door side upper tray passage are in communication with the main body side lower tray passage 133 and the front door side lower tray passage, respectively, and movement of the game ball is allowed.

Next, the rear structure of the inner frame 13 (resin base 70 and game board unit 80) will be explained based on FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a rear view of the inner frame 13.

A bearing fitting 136 is attached to the rotation base end side (right side in FIG. 5) on the back surface of the resin base 70. Bearing parts 137 are formed in the bearing fitting 136 at vertically spaced intervals, and the back pack unit 15 is rotatably attached to the inner frame 13 by these bearing parts 137.

A central opening 74 that penetrates the resin base 70 in the thickness direction and is open to the back side of the resin base 70 is formed at the bottom of the game board accommodating portion 73 in the resin base 70. The inner frame 13 is covered from the front side by a game board unit 80 housed in the board housing section 73. Various components such as a control device are mounted on the back block 80b of the game board unit 80, and these various components are exposed on the back side of the inner frame 13 through the central opening 74.

A base body 141 serving as a pedestal for mounting various components on the game board 80a is fixed to the back block 80b of the game board unit 80. The base body 141 has a substantially box shape open to the game board unit 80 side, and covers almost the entire back surface of the game board 80a. A part of the base body 141 protrudes to the back side of the resin base 70 through the central opening 74 of the resin base 70, and a notification/performance control device unit 142 is mounted on the protruding part. The notification/performance control device unit 142 is configured to include a notification/performance control device 143 and a mounting base, and the notification/performance control device 143 is mounted on the mounting base.

The notification/performance control device 143 includes a notification/performance control board that controls audio and lamp displays (control of lamp sections 24 to 26 and speaker section 27) according to instructions from the main control device, which will be described later. - A production control board is housed in a board box 145 made of a transparent resin material or the like.

A main control device unit 160 is provided below the notification/performance control device unit 142 so as to cover the base body 141 from the rear. The main control device unit 160 has a synthetic resin mounting base 161 fixed to the back surface of the game board unit 80, and a main control device 162 mounted on the mounting base 161. The main control device 162 is equipped with a main control board that has a function of controlling the main control of the game (main control circuit) and a function of monitoring the power supply (power outage monitoring circuit), and the main control board is made of a transparent resin material. It is configured to be housed in a board box 163 consisting of, etc.

The board box 163 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box base (front case body) and a box cover (back case body) that covers the opening of the box base. These box base and box cover are unopenably connected by a box sealing section serving as a sealing means, thereby sealing the board box 163. A plurality of box sealing parts are provided on the short sides of the substrate box 163, and at least one of them is used to perform the sealing process.

Any configuration can be applied to the box sealing part as long as it connects the box base and the box cover in an unopenable manner, but by inserting a locking pin into the locking hole that forms the box sealing part, the box base and box cover can be connected together. The box cover is connected to the box cover in an unopenable manner. The sealing process performed by the box sealing section prevents unauthorized opening of the box after it has been sealed, and even if unauthorized opening occurs, this situation can be detected early and easily. Even after doing so, it is possible to perform the sealing process again. That is, the sealing process is performed by inserting a locking pin into at least one locking hole among the plurality of box sealing portions. When the board box 163 is unsealed in the event of a malfunction of the housed main control board or when the main control board is inspected, the connecting portion between the box sealing part into which the locking pin is inserted and the main body of the board box 163 is removed. cut. As a result, the box base and box cover of the board box 163 are separated, and the main control board inside can be taken out. After that, if the sealing process is to be performed again, a locking pin is inserted into another locking hole. If a history indicating that the board box 163 has been opened is left in the board box 163, it can be easily discovered by looking at the board box 163 that the board box 163 has been opened in an unauthorized manner.

The board box 163 and the mount 161 are unopenably connected by a pedestal seal. Specifically, like the box sealing part, the pedestal sealing part has a locking hole and a locking pin, and when the locking pin is inserted into the locking hole, the board box 163 and the mounting base are connected. 161 are inseparably coupled. This makes it easier to identify the fact that the board box 163 has been removed illegally.

In the part of the base body 141 facing the back side of the game board 80a, there is one place on the downstream side corresponding to the general prize opening 81, the operation ball entry parts 84, 85, and the game board opening for the variable prize winning unit 300. A collection passageway is formed where the materials gather at the As a result, all the game balls that have won in the general prize opening 81 etc. are configured to gather below the game board unit 80 via the collection path. That is, the base body 141 is provided with a function of collecting game balls that have entered various winning holes.

A discharge passage, which will be described later, is arranged below the game board unit 80, and the game balls gathered below the game board unit 80 are led out into the discharge passage by the collection passage. The out port 89 also communicates with the discharge passage, and game balls that have not won in any of the winning ports are led out to the discharge passage through the out port 89.

In addition, in the collection path, there is a general winning hole detection sensor that detects a game ball that has entered the general winning hole 81 on the front side of the game board unit 80, and an operation sensor that detects a game ball that has entered the operating ball entry section 84, 85. A detection sensor for the ball entry portion is provided. These detection sensors constitute a winning detection mechanism together with the through gate detection sensors arranged on both the left and right sides of the variable winning unit 300. These various detection sensors are electrically connected to the main control device 162, and detection information (detection signals) from each detection sensor is input to the main control device 162.

Next, the back pack unit 15 will be explained based on FIGS. 6 and 7. 6 is a rear view of the pachinko machine 10, and FIG. 7 is a front view of the back pack unit 15.

As shown in FIG. 6, the inner frame 13 is covered from the rear by a back pack unit 15. The back pack unit 15 includes a back pack 201, to which a dispensing mechanism section 202, a discharge passage board, and a control device assembly unit 204 are attached.

The back pack 201 is molded from a transparent synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 7, it includes a base part 211 to which the payout mechanism part 202 and the like are attached, and a protective cover part 212 that protrudes toward the rear of the pachinko machine 10 and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. and has. The protective cover section 212 has a shape in which the left and right side surfaces and the upper surface are closed, and only the lower surface is open, and has a size sufficient to surround at least the back portion of the variable winning unit 300 (see FIG. 6).

The base portion 211 is provided with an external terminal board on the upper right side thereof. The external terminal board is provided with various output terminals, and various signals are outputted to the management control device on the gaming hall side through these output terminals. Furthermore, a pair of upper and lower latching pins 214 are provided on the right end of the base portion 211 when viewed from the rear of the pachinko machine 10. By inserting the latching pins 214 into the bearing portion 137 provided on the inner frame 13, , a back pack unit 15 is rotatably supported on the inner frame 13. The base portion 211 is formed with a plurality of insertion portions through which fixing levers provided on the inner frame 13 are inserted, and the fixing lever is inserted into the insertion portions and comes into contact with the base portion 211 from behind. The back pack unit 15 is fixed to the inner frame 13 by.

The dispensing mechanism section 202 is disposed on the base section 211 so as to bypass the protective cover section 212. The payout mechanism section 202 is provided with a tank 221 which is disposed at the top of the back pack 201 and opens upward, and the tank 221 is sequentially replenished with game balls supplied from the island equipment of the game hall. Ru. A tank rail 222 that slopes gently toward the downstream side is connected to the lower part of the tank 221, and a case rail 223 that extends in the vertical direction is connected to the downstream side of the tank rail 222. A dispensing device 224 is provided at the most downstream portion of the case rail 223 . The game balls put out by the payout device 224 are supplied to the game ball distribution section 225 fixed to the base portion 211 of the back pack 201 through a payout passage (not shown) provided downstream of the payout device 224. The game ball distribution section 225 has a function of distributing the game balls paid out from the payout device 224 to either the upper tray 28a or the lower tray 29a.

A discharge passage panel and control device assembly unit 204 is attached to the lower end of the base portion 211 so as to sandwich the lower end in the front and back directions. A discharge passage opened to the rear is formed on the surface of the discharge passage panel facing the control device assembly unit 204, and the open portion of the discharge passage is closed by the control device assembly unit 204. The discharge passage is formed to discharge game balls to the island equipment of the game hall, etc., and the game balls led to the discharge passage from the above-mentioned collection passage etc. are delivered to the outside of the pachinko machine 10 by passing through the discharge passage. It is discharged.

The control device assembly unit 204 has a mounting base 241 having a horizontally long shape, and a dispensing control device 242 and a power source/firing control device 243 are mounted on the mounting base 241. The payout control device 242 and the power supply/launch control device 243 are arranged one on top of the other so that the payout control device 242 is located at the rear of the pachinko machine 10.

In the payout control device 242, a payout control board for controlling the payout device 224 is housed in a board box 244, and a state return switch 245 provided on the payout control board protrudes outside the board box 244. For example, when the state recovery switch 245 is pressed when a dispensing error occurs, such as a ball jam in the dispensing device 224, the ball jam is cleared.

The power source/launch control device 243 has a power source/launch control board housed in a board box 246, and the board generates and outputs a predetermined power required by various control devices, and furthermore, the power source/launch control board is housed in a board box 246. The launch of the game ball is controlled by operating the launch handle 41.

The board boxes 244 and 246 are made of transparent synthetic resin so that each built-in board can be viewed from the outside of the board boxes 244 and 246. The payout control board and the power source/launch control board have one board surface serving as a mounting surface for various elements and the like, and the other board surface serving as a soldering surface. By arranging the mounting surface so that it faces the rear of the game machine (with the solder surface facing the inner frame 13 side (the front of the game machine)), abnormalities can be detected on each control board during maintenance, etc. The structure is such that it is easy to visually confirm whether or not a problem has occurred.

Further, the power source/launch control device 243 is provided with a power switch 247 for turning the power on and off. This pachinko machine 10 has a memory retention function for various data. For example, when the power is turned off in the normal procedure at the end of business at a game hall, the state before the power cut is memorized and retained. In addition, even in the event of a power outage, the state at the time of the power outage is maintained, and when the power outage returns, it is possible to return to the state at the time of the power outage.

Here, the main control device 162 is provided with a reset switch 166, and when the power is turned on while pressing the reset switch 166, the RAM data is initialized.

(Variable winning unit 300)
Here, the variable winning unit 300 arranged at the center of the game board unit 80 will be explained in detail based on FIG. FIG. 8 is a front view showing the internal structure of the variable winning unit 300, and for convenience of explanation, a part of the outer shell of the variable winning unit 300 (a part of the housing described later) is omitted from illustration.

The variable winning unit 300 includes a housing 301 in which a downstream area for game balls and an area for arranging accessory devices and the like are defined. The housing 301 has a first housing structure which is generally box-shaped and is open to the front and accommodates the accessory device, etc., and a second housing structure which covers the open part of the first housing structure from the front of the gaming machine. are combined to form the outer shell of the variable winning unit 300. The second housing structure is made of a transparent synthetic resin material, and the internal area of the variable prize winning unit 300 is passed through the second housing structure, specifically, the game balls and accessory devices that move in the internal area are moved through the second housing structure. etc. are visible from the front of the gaming machine.

The upper surface part 310 of the housing 301 is sloped downward on both the left and right sides with the center in the left-right direction being the top, and the ball passage 308 that forms part of the left route and a part of the right route are formed with the top as a border. A ball passage 308 is formed. An inlet 311 serving as an "inlet part" of the variable winning unit 300 is formed in the middle of each ball passage 308 on the upper surface part 310. The inflow port 311 is an opening that is open to the inside and outside (top and bottom) of the housing 301, and has a size that allows the game ball to pass through.

As described above, each inlet 311 is provided with an opening/closing device 315 that controls the inflow of game balls into the inlet 311. The opening/closing device 315 includes an opening/closing body 316 as a "movable body" or an "opening/closing body", a driving section 317 (more specifically, a stepping motor) as a "driving means" for driving the opening/closing body 316, and an opening/closing body 316 that controls the open position and It has a stopper (not shown) that defines the closed position and a position detection sensor (not shown) that detects the position of the opening/closing body 316. The drive section 317 is connected to the main control device 162, and the main control device 162 controls the drive section 317 based on the winning result etc. in the lottery for the operating ball entry sections 84 and 85.

Although not shown, the housing 301 is provided with a detection sensor that detects game balls that have flowed into the inflow port 311. This detection sensor is connected to the main control device 162, and the main control device 162 grasps whether or not a winning has occurred in the variable winning unit 300 based on the detection signal (detection information) from the detection sensor, and determines whether or not a winning has occurred. If this occurs, a predetermined number of game balls are paid out.

The internal area of the housing 301 is roughly divided into two areas: an upstream area/downstream area. A accessory device 303 constituting a lottery means for performing a jackpot lottery is disposed in the downstream region, and an accessory device 303 is provided in the upstream region to pass game balls that have flowed into the above-mentioned opening/closing device 315 and the variable winning unit 300 into the accessory device. A guide passage 302 serving as a supply means for supplying the liquid to the fuel cell 303 is provided. The guide passage 302 branches into a first guide passage 331 and a second guide passage 332 at the most upstream portion of the guide passage 302 (a position immediately downstream of the inlet 311).

Here, with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, supplementary explanation will be given regarding the accessory device 303. FIG. 9(a) is a plan view showing the midstream area of the housing, FIG. 9(b) is a perspective view of the accessory device 303, and FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view of the variable winning unit.

(accessory device 303)
As shown in FIG. 9(a), a winning accessory 350 constituting the accessory device 303 is disposed on the upper surface of the bottom portion 380 of the housing 301. The winning accessory 350 is fixed to the output shaft of a motor 360 (see FIG. 10), and is placed on the bottom 380 in a state where it is allowed to rotate around an axis extending in the vertical direction. The motor 360 is electrically connected to the main control device 162 and operates based on a drive signal from the main control device 162. This drive signal continues to be output from when the power of the game machine is turned on until it is turned off. Therefore, while the gaming machine is powered on, the winning accessory 350 always continues to rotate (periodically) at a constant speed in the same direction (more specifically, counterclockwise in plan view). Note that the rotational speed and rotational direction of the winning accessory 350 do not need to be constant, and may be changed depending on the gaming situation and the like.

The winning accessory 350 has a thick disk shape with a plurality of steps formed in the direction of its central axis. More specifically, the winning accessory 350 has three steps: an upper section 351, a middle section 352, and a lower section 353, and the outer diameter of the upper section 351 < the outer diameter of the middle section 352 < the lower section. 353, the entire surface is convex upward (see FIG. 9(b)).

As shown in FIG. 10, a circular recess 381 corresponding to the lower part 353 is formed in the bottom part 380, and the lower part 353 is fitted into this recess 381. The depth dimension of the recessed portion 381 is set smaller than the thickness dimension of the lower step portion 353, so that the lower step portion 353 protrudes upward from the recessed portion 381. A substantially annular inner wall portion 382 that stands up along the vertical wall of the lower step portion 353 is formed at the opening edge of the recessed portion 381, and an outer wall portion 383 facing the inner wall portion 382 is formed on the outside of the inner wall portion 382. is formed. The gap between the inner wall part 382 and the outer wall part 383 is slightly larger than the diameter of the game ball, and the passage formed by these two walls 382, 383 and the bottom part 380 is the downstream part of the first guide passage 331 ( (side passage). Note that the horizontal passage section is located on the front side of the winning accessory 350, ensuring visibility of the game ball moving through the horizontal passage section.

A portion of the upper surface of the bottom portion 380 sandwiched between the wall portions 382 and 383 (the rolling surface of the game ball) is gently inclined downward toward the center in the left-right direction. The game ball that has reached the bottom part 380 through the vertical passage part (upstream part) of the first guide passage 331 moves forward along the horizontal passage part (downstream part) along both wall parts 382 and 383.

A groove portion 384 that slopes downward toward the winning accessory 350 (that is, toward the rear) is formed in a specific portion (center portion) of the bottom portion 380 that is the lowest in the horizontal passage portion. A recess 385 that penetrates inside and outside is formed in a portion of the inner wall 382 located ahead of the groove 384, and the game ball can move to the winning accessory 350 through the recess 385. It has become. That is, the recessed portion 385 constitutes an exit of the first guide passage 331.

As shown in FIG. 9(b), the lower part 353 of the winning accessory 350 is provided with a plurality of (eight in this embodiment) ball entry parts 356 corresponding to the recessed part 385. . The ball entry parts 356 are arranged at regular intervals in the circumferential direction of the winning accessory 350, and are open upward and on the side facing the inner wall part 382 (hereinafter, the first ball entry part 356). The ball entrance portion 356 is roughly divided into a ball entry portion 356 (hereinafter referred to as a second ball entry portion 356B) that is open upward and downward and on the side facing the inner wall portion 382. That is, one of the plurality of ball entry sections 356 (second ball entry section 356B) is bottomless, and the other (first ball entry section 356A) is bottomed.

When the ball entry part 356 of the lower part 353 reaches a position where it is connected to the recessed part 385, the game ball that has moved through the first guide path 331 is allowed to move to the ball entry part 356. Become. As a result, the game ball passing through the first guide path 331 enters the bottomless second ball entry section 356B with a probability of 1/8, and enters the bottomed first ball entry section 356A with a 7/8 probability. becomes. The game ball that once entered the ball entering section 356 moves together with the ball entering section 356 as the winning accessory 350 rotates. As a result, the game ball is prevented from returning from the ball entry portion 356 to the first guide path 331 by the wall surface of the recessed portion 381 and the inner wall portion 382.

A V winning hole 386 is provided at the bottom of the recess 381 at a position that overlaps with the path through which the ball entering portion 356 passes. The V winning hole 386 has a hole shape that allows the game ball to pass through, and the game ball that enters the bottomless second ball entering section 356B is connected to the second ball entering section 356B and the V winning hole 386. When they are connected, the game moves to the same V winning slot 386. The game balls that have passed through the V prize opening 386 are discharged from the variable prize winning unit 300 (returned to the island equipment) through a predetermined discharge passage.

The bottom part 380 is provided with a V winning hole detection sensor 387 that detects a game ball that has entered the V winning hole 386. The V winning opening detection sensor 387 is connected to the main control device 162, and the main control device 162 grasps whether or not there is a winning in the V winning opening 386 based on the detection signal (detection information) from the V winning opening detection sensor 387. do. If a prize is won in the V winning slot 386 under a situation where there is no jackpot (opening/closing execution mode), the transition will be made to a jackpot (opening/closing execution mode), and under a situation where there is a jackpot (opening/closing execution mode). When a winning occurs in the V winning opening 386, the opening/closing execution mode is continued based on the winning.

Further, a discharge port 388 is formed in the inner wall portion 382 at a position opposite to the recessed portion 385 across the rotation center axis of the winning accessory 350. The discharge port 388 penetrates inside and outside of the variable winning unit 300 (housing 301). The game balls that have entered the bottomed first ball entry section 356A are discharged to the outside of the variable prize winning unit 300 through the exit port 388 when the discharge port 388 and the open portion of the first ball entry section 356A are connected. Thereafter, the game board 80a is returned to the island equipment of the game hall via a return path provided on the back side of the game board 80a.

A single groove 358 that is open upward is formed in the upper part 351 of the winning accessory 350. The groove portion 358 has one end open toward a bottomed first ball entry portion 356A and the other end open toward a bottomless second ball entry portion 356B. and communicates with the first ball entry section 356A and the second ball entry section 356B. Here, the exit portion 332b of the second guide passage 332 is located directly above the central portion of the groove portion 368, and the game ball falling from the exit portion 332b enters the groove portion 358. Then, the game ball that has entered the groove 358 moves along the groove 358 due to the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the winning accessory 350. As a result, the game ball will move to either the first ball entry section 356A or the second ball entry section 356B. Therefore, a game ball passing through the first guide path 341 enters the first ball entry section 356A with a probability of 1/2, and enters the second ball entry section 356B with a probability of 1/2. In other words, when the game ball that entered the variable winning unit 300 reaches the winning accessory 350 via the second guide path 332, there is a 1/2 probability that the game ball will enter the V winning hole 386 (for example, hit the jackpot) will occur.

During the opening/closing execution mode, a third period (30 sec), which is longer than the first and second periods, is set as the period during which the opening/closing device 315 is kept open. When the opening/closing device 315 is in the open state, either the third period has elapsed or a predetermined number (10) of game balls have flowed into the inflow port 311 before the third period elapses. The switch to the closed state is made as follows. Switching the opening/closing device 315 from the closed state to the open state to the closed state in this manner corresponds to one round, and this round game is repeated multiple times. Specifically, in the case of a jackpot in this embodiment, "4" is set as the number of rounds in the opening/closing execution mode with a probability of 1/2, and "8" is set as the number of rounds with a probability of 1/4. "16" is set as the number of rounds with a probability of 1/4.

After the opening/closing execution mode is finished, when all the game balls in the variable winning unit 300 are ejected from the variable winning unit 300, the support mode is activated a specified number of times (5 times: according to the operating ball entering parts 84 and 85). Shifts to high-frequency support mode with the upper limit of the number (greater than the maximum number of pending requests). During the high-frequency support mode, the electric accessory 91 attached to the second operating ball entry section 85 is likely to be in the assisting state, and the entry of the ball into the second operating ball entry section 85 is encouraged. As already explained, in the internal lottery based on the entry of balls into the second operating ball entry section 85, the second period is set as the auxiliary period, which tends to result in a long opening.

(Switching device 315)
This embodiment is characterized by the configuration related to the above-mentioned opening/closing device 315. Hereinafter, the opening/closing device 315 will be supplementally explained with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. 11 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 8 showing the opening/closing device 315 and its peripheral configuration, FIG. 12(a) is a perspective view of the opening/closing body 316, and FIGS. 12(b) to (c) are longitudinal sectional views of the opening/closing body 316. be. In addition, in FIG. 12, for convenience of explanation, the opening/closing body 316 is shown in the orientation when it is in the open state. Incidentally, although the opening/closing devices 315 are arranged as a left and right pair (see FIG. 8), the specific configuration of each of these opening/closing devices 315 is common. Therefore, the right opening/closing device 315 will be described below, and the description of the left opening/closing device 315 will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 11, the opening/closing body 316 and the driving part 317 that constitute the opening/closing device 315 are arranged side by side on the left and right so that the latter is located on the center side of the game board unit 80 with respect to the former. The opening/closing body 316 is formed with a mounting portion 322 to which the output shaft of the driving section 317 is attached, and the opening/closing body 316 is rotatably supported by the driving section 317 .

The output shaft of the drive unit 317 extends parallel to the front surface of the game board unit 80 and slopes downward from the center side of the game board unit 80 to the sides, and the opening/closing body defined by the output shaft The rotation center axis CL1 of the housing 316 is in the same direction as the passage direction of the ball passage 308 formed by the upper surface portion 310 of the housing 301. The opening/closing body 316 is switched between the open state and the closed state by rotating around the rotation center axis CL1 in clockwise and counterclockwise directions when looking from the downstream side to the center side of the ball passage 308. becomes.

A portion of the opening/closing body 316 opposite to the drive unit 317 with the mounting portion 322 interposed therebetween serves as a main body portion 321 of the opening/closing body 316 . A groove portion 323 extending in the same direction as the rotation center axis CL1 is formed in the main body portion 321, and the groove portion 323 as a whole has a gutter shape extending in the same direction as the rotation center axis CL1 (see FIG. 12).

The groove portion 323 is open in a direction intersecting the rotation center axis CL1 (hereinafter, this open portion will be referred to as the “first open portion 324”), and furthermore, the groove portion 323 is opened in a direction intersecting the rotation center axis CL1 (hereinafter, this open portion is referred to as “first open portion 324”), and furthermore, the groove portion 323 is formed by the upper surface portion 310. It is open to the downstream side in the passage direction of the ball passage (specifically, the part where the inlet 311 is formed) (hereinafter, this open part will be referred to as the "second opening part 325"). The first opening portion 324 and the second opening portion 325 are both formed so that game balls can pass through them.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the opening/closing body 316 is in the closed state, the first opening portion 324 faces downward, and the outer surface 329 of the opening/closing body 316 forms a part of the ball passage 308 (the part where the inlet 311 is formed). has been supplemented. That is, the upper surface portion 310 and outer surface portion 329 of the housing 301 form a rolling surface for game balls in the ball passage 308.

As shown in FIG. 13(b), in the open state, the first opening part 324 of the opening/closing body 316 faces upward, and the groove part 323 faces the inlet 311 from below with a gap larger than the diameter of the game ball. We will face each other. In the open state, the game ball that has passed through the inlet 311 → first opening portion 324 reaches the inside of the groove portion 323. The groove portion 323 (inner surface portion 328) has a cross section (vertical section) orthogonal to the rotation center axis CL1 having an arc shape centered on the rotation center axis CL1, and its direct dimension is smaller than the diameter dimension of the game ball. is also larger (see Figure 12). The game ball that has reached the groove portion 323 rolls along the bottom of the groove portion 323 toward the second open portion 325 side. The second opening part 325 of the groove part 323 faces the entrance part 331a of the first guide passage 331, and the game ball rolling along the groove part 323 moves to the first guide passage 331.

Here, with reference to FIG. 14, a supplementary description will be given of the operation mode of the opening/closing body 316 when the opening/closing device 315 switches between the open state and the closed state. FIG. 14 is a partial sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 11.

When the opening/closing device 315 switches from the closed state to the open state, the opening/closing body 316 rotates around the rotation center axis CL1 as shown in FIG. 14(a) → FIG. 14(b) → FIG. 14(c). 1 Rotate in a predetermined direction (clockwise when viewed from the left). As a result, the orientation of the first open portion 324 changes from downward to forward to upward. In the following description, in the closed state shown in FIG. 14(a), the rear end of the main body 321 (groove 323) will be referred to as the first end 321a, and the front end will be referred to as the second end 321b. It is called.

In the closed state shown in FIG. 14(a), the first end 321a is close to the portion of the first housing component 305 that forms the rear wall of the ball passage 308, and the second end 321b is It is adjacent to a portion of the second housing component 306 that forms the front wall of the ball passage 308 . Therefore, even if the game balls flowing down the ball passage 308 reach the inlet 311, they continue to flow down along the outer surface 329 of the opening/closing body 316 and are prevented from flowing into the inlet 311.

As shown in FIG. 14(a) → FIG. 14(b), when the opening/closing body 316 rotates in the first predetermined direction, the first end 321a moves forward and the second end 321b moves backward. Moving. In this case, while the gap between the opening and closing body 316 and the first housing component 305 does not change, the gap between the opening and closing body 316 and the second housing component 306 increases.

In the example shown in FIG. 14(b), the rotation angle is 90°, and in this state, both of the gaps are smaller than the diameter of the game ball. Therefore, the game balls are prevented from flowing into the inlet 311 and into the second guide passage 332.

When the rotation angle of the opening/closing body 316 exceeds 90°, the gap between the first end 321a and the second housing component 306 is larger than the gap between the second end 321b and the second housing component 306. growing. When the rotation angle reaches 100°, the gap between the second end 321b and the second housing component 306 becomes larger than the diameter of the game ball, allowing the ball to enter the inflow port 311. . However, in this state, the gap between the second housing component 306 and the first end 321a is smaller than the diameter of the game ball, so the game ball that has flowed into the inlet 311 is connected to the second housing component 306. This prevents the liquid from passing through the gap between the first end 321a and the second guide passage 332, and moves along the groove 323. In other words, a spherical passage following the first guide passage 331 is formed within the housing 301 (see FIG. 14(c)).

Thereafter, when the rotation angle of the opening/closing body 316 reaches 180°, the stopper section prevents further rotation of the opening/closing body 316. The state in which the opening/closing body 316 is upside down (open state) is maintained until either the number of balls entering the variable winning unit 300 reaches a predetermined number or a preset period is met. That will happen.

When either of these two conditions is satisfied, the opening/closing body 316 switches from the open state to the closed state (returns). In this case, as shown in FIG. 14(c)→FIG. 14(b)→FIG. 14(a), the opening/closing body 316 moves in a second predetermined direction opposite to the first predetermined direction about the rotation center axis CL1. Rotate to. As a result, the orientation of the first open portion 324 changes from upward to forward to downward.

Specifically, in the open state shown in FIG. The second end 321b is close to a portion of the first housing component 305 that forms the rear wall of the ball passage 308. For this reason, the game balls that have reached the groove portion 323 through the inlet port 311 → first opening portion 324 are prevented from flowing into the second guide path 332.

As shown in FIG. 14(c)→FIG. 14(b), when the opening/closing body 316 rotates in the second predetermined direction, the first end 321a moves backward and the second end 321b moves forward. Moving. In this case, while the gap between the opening/closing body 316 and the first housing component 305 does not change, the gap between the opening/closing body 316 and the second housing component 306 increases.

When the rotation angle in the second predetermined direction reaches 80 degrees, the gap between the second end 321b and the second housing component 306 becomes smaller than the diameter of the game ball. In this way, by switching the opening/closing body 316 from the open state to the closed state, it becomes impossible for game balls to flow into the inflow port 311. In this state, the gap between the first end 321a and the second housing component 306 remains smaller than the diameter of the game ball, so the game ball located in the groove 323 passes through the gap and enters the second guide path. 332 is avoided. However, the game ball that enters the gap in this state will be caught on the step of the entrance portion 331a of the first guide path 331, and will be prevented from moving to the entrance portion 331a.

When the rotation angle in the second predetermined direction reaches 110°, the gap between the first end 321a and the second housing component 306 becomes larger than the diameter of the game ball, and the game ball located in the groove 232 It is possible to flow into the second guide passage 332 through the gap. After that, when the rotation angle of the opening/closing body 316 reaches 180°, the stopper section prevents further rotation of the opening/closing body 316, and the return of the opening/closing body 316 to the closed state is completed. .

In addition, in the left opening and closing device 315, the rotation direction when switching from the closed state to the open state and the rotation direction when switching from the open state to the closed state are the same as the rotation direction of the right opening and closing device 315, respectively. It will be in the opposite direction. As a result, the opening/closing device 315 on the left side is also configured such that the first opening portion 324 of the opening/closing body 316 faces the front of the gaming machine during switching between the open state and the closed state.

One of the features of the opening/closing body 316 shown in this embodiment is that it functions as a distribution means for distributing game balls that have reached the opening/closing body 316 to the first guide path 331 and the second guide path 332. There is. Here, with reference to FIG. 15, supplementary explanation will be given regarding the flow of sorting game balls to the second guide path 332.

(Distribution to second guide passage 332)
As shown in FIG. 15(a), the game ball B1 that has reached the inlet 311 when the opening/closing device 315 is in the open state falls into the groove 323 of the opening/closing body 316 through the inlet 311. . Thereafter, by continuing to flow down along the groove portion 323, it flows into the first guide passage 331. In other words, the game ball B1 is distributed to the first guide path 331 in this state.

At the most upstream portion of the first guide passage 331, the above-mentioned detection sensor for detecting game balls is arranged. The game balls that have flowed into the first guide path 331 are detected by the detection sensor, and when the total number of game balls that have flowed into the guide path 302 reaches a predetermined number after switching to the open state, the opening/closing body 316 is in the open state. It is then switched to the closed state.

If the subsequent game ball B2 is located in the groove 323 at the timing when the switching condition to the closed state is satisfied, the destination of the game ball B2 is the second guide path 332. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15(b)→FIG. 15(c)→FIG. 15(d), as the opening/closing body 316 rotates, the first opening portion 324 of the groove portion 323 is moved from the upward position. It changes from a forward-looking state to a downward-looking state. As a result, the game ball B2 located in the groove 323 loses support from the opening/closing body 316 and falls downward. The entrance portion 332a of the second guide path 332 is located at this falling destination, and the game balls B2 are sorted into the second guide path 332. In other words, just before switching from the open state to the closed state, the game balls are distributed to the second guide path 332.

According to the first embodiment described in detail above, the following excellent effects are achieved.

As used in conventional gaming machines, in a configuration where there is a "predetermined ball entry port" and the balls are sorted at a location far away from the inflow port after the balls enter the inflow port, it is difficult for the player to There are a number of places worth noting here and there. In this case, if the player focuses on one of the ball entry point and the distribution point, it becomes difficult to see the movement of the game ball in the other, which tends to cause confusion for the player. In this regard, according to the configuration shown in this embodiment, the game balls that have flowed into the inlet 311 are sorted by the opening/closing body 316 into the entrance portion 331a of the first guide path 331 and the entrance portion 332a of the second guide path 332. That will happen. The entry of the ball into the inlet 311 is influenced by switching the opening/closing body 316 between the open state and the closed state. In other words, the opening/closing body 316 shown in this embodiment controls the entry of balls into the inlet 311, which is a "predetermined ball entrance", and the distribution of game balls that have flowed into the inlet 311, depending on the orientation of the opening/closing body 316. It has been given the ability to This is advantageous in suppressing the complexity of the configuration for changing the behavior of the game ball, promoting understanding among players, and increasing attention to the game (the behavior of the game ball). . In addition, by consolidating the noteworthy points in the opening/closing device 315, even if the movement of the game ball is diversified, it is possible to reduce the chance that the movement of the game ball will be overlooked.

It is assumed that even if an attempt is made to simply put the ball entry points and ball distribution points in one place, the movable member for restricting ball entry and the movable member for ball distribution will be separate, which will reduce the effectiveness of reducing player confusion. Ru. Furthermore, if a plurality of movable members are to coexist, the area occupied by these movable members increases. This is not preferable in terms of relaxing restrictions on the arrangement of these movable members. In this regard, according to the configuration shown in this embodiment, each function of ball entry restriction and distribution can be performed with a simple structure, and these problems can be suitably solved.

When the game ball reaches the inner surface 328 (corresponding to the "ball receiving part") of the groove 323 through the inlet 311, the game ball passes through the second opening part 325 (corresponding to the "first discharge part") when the opening/closing device 315 is in the open state. ) is discharged to the entrance portion 331a side of the first guide passage 331. On the other hand, when switching from the open state to the closed state, the game ball located on the inner surface part 328 passes through the first opening part 324 (corresponding to the "second discharge part") to the entrance part of the second guide passage 332. It is discharged to the side 332a. In this way, by providing the first opening part 324 and the second opening part 325 as discharge parts from which game balls are discharged from the opening/closing body 316, compared to the structure in which one opening part serves as the two discharge parts. By looking at the discharge position from the opening/closing body 316, etc., it is possible to easily specify the destination to which the game balls are distributed. As described above, since the configuration is such that the movement of the game balls in the vicinity of the inlet 311 is diverse, it is preferable to provide separate discharge sections in order to promote understanding among players.

By switching from the open state to the closed state, the game ball located on the inner surface part 328 will move to the first open part 324. The movement path of the game ball at this time is shorter than the movement path when the game ball moves to the second opening portion 325 in the open state. When switching from the open state to the closed state, by quickly discharging the game balls through the first opening portion 324 to the second guide path 332 side (advantageous side), the sorting of the game balls may be delayed unnecessarily. It is possible to avoid giving an impression to the player.

The first opening portion 324 through which the game ball passes toward the entrance portion 332a side of the second guide passage 332 functions as an entrance portion when the game ball moves from the inflow port 311 to the inner surface portion 328. In this way, by configuring the first opening portion 324 to serve as both the inlet and outlet portions of the opening and closing body 316, it is possible to contribute to simplifying the structure of the opening and closing body 316.

Regarding the opening/closing body 316 shown in this embodiment, there is a part (inner surface part 328) where the game balls that flow into the inlet 311 hit, and a part (inner surface part 328) where the game balls hit when the inflow into the inlet 311 is disabled. The outer surface portion 329) is separated from the outer surface portion 329). With such a configuration, the locations hit by the game balls can be dispersed, and it is possible to suitably suppress the durability of the opening/closing body 316 from decreasing due to the multiple functions described above. This is preferable in order to stably perform the function of distributing game balls to the first guide passage 331 and the second guide passage 332 described above.

In particular, by making the opening/closing body 316 rotatable and forming it so that the inner surface 328 as a "ball receiving part" faces the center of rotation and the outer surface 320 as a "predetermined part" faces outward. , it is possible to suitably suppress the complexity of the structure of the opening/closing body 316 while exerting the above-mentioned ball entry and distribution control functions.

The inner surface portion 328 functioning as a "ball receiving portion" has an arc shape centered on the rotation center axis CL2. According to this configuration, when the opening/closing body 316 rotates with the game ball positioned on the inner surface 328, the game ball is pushed or pulled by the inner surface 328 and the game ball is moved in the direction of rotation. Changes in position can be suppressed. This allows the game ball to fall directly below the opening/closing body 316 when switching to the closed state. As described above, the entrance portion 332a of the second guide passage 332 is located below the inner surface 328, and the thickness of the opening/closing device 315 and its related components (the size in the thickness direction of the game board 80a) can be reduced. can. This is preferable in order to improve the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the opening/closing device 315 and the like.

When the opening/closing body 316 switches from the open state to the closed state, the first opening portion 324 of the groove portion 323 faces the front side of the gaming machine. With such a configuration, it is possible to suitably suppress the fact that the game ball located in the groove 323 is hidden behind the opening/closing body 316 and the visibility of the game ball is reduced.

<Modification 1>
In the first embodiment, the rotation direction of the opening/closing body 316 when the opening/closing device 315 switches from the closed state to the open state is reversed. Although it is configured so that it becomes, it is not limited to this. The rotating direction of the opening/closing body 316 when switching from the closed state to the open state may be the same as the rotating direction of the opening/closing body 316 when switching from the open state to the closed state.

<Modification 2>
In the first embodiment, when the opening/closing device 315 is switched from the closed state to the open state, the groove portion 323 of the opening/closing body 316 faces the front of the gaming machine. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the groove portion 323 of the opening/closing body 316 faces the rear of the gaming machine when switching from the opening state to the open state. Furthermore, when the opening/closing device 315 switches from the open state to the closed state, the groove portion 323 of the opening/closing body 316 is configured to face the front of the gaming machine. However, when the opening/closing device 315 switches from the open state to the closed state, , it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the groove portion 323 of the opening/closing body 316 faces toward the rear of the gaming machine.

<Modification 3>
In the first embodiment described above, the opening/closing device 315 is switched from the closed state to the open state based on the opening condition (switching condition) being satisfied, and the opening/closing device 315 is Although the opening/closing device 315 is configured to switch from the open state to the closed state, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the opening/closing device 315 switches between the open state and the closed state at a predetermined cycle from a predetermined timing (for example, when the gaming machine is powered on). .

<Modification 4>
Regarding the specific shape of the opening/closing body constituting the opening/closing device 315, the opening/closing body has both the function of distributing game balls to the first guide passage 331 and the second guide passage 332, and the function of opening and closing the inlet 311. You can change it as you like if you want. For example, it is preferable that the opening/closing body has a cylindrical shape (for example, a cylindrical shape), and a through hole is formed in the outer peripheral portion of the opening/closing body to allow the game ball to pass through. When the opening/closing device is placed in the open state, the through-hole is directed upward, and when the switchgear is closed, the through-hole is directed downward, so that the above-mentioned opening/closing function and distribution function can be suitably performed. can. It should be noted that it is not necessarily necessary to share the through hole for letting the game ball flow into the opening/closing body and the through hole for dropping the game ball inside the opening/closing body into the second guide passage 332, and it is not necessary to use these through holes individually. It may be provided.

<Modification 5>
In the first embodiment, the first opening portion 324 of the opening/closing body 316 extends in the same direction as the rotation center axis CL1, but the invention is not limited to this. As shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 16(a), it is also possible to form the first opening portion 324A of the opening/closing body 316A so as to be inclined with respect to the rotation center axis CL1. With such a configuration, when the opening/closing body 316A is switched from the open state to the closed state, the game ball is placed between the part of the second housing structure 306 that forms the inlet 311 and the opening/closing body 316A. It is possible to prevent the opening/closing body 316 from being smoothly switched to the closed state due to getting caught or the like.

<Modification 6>
In the first embodiment described above, the upper surface portion 310 of the housing 301 is formed into a planar shape, but the step between the opening/closing body 316 (more specifically, the outer surface portion 329) in the closed state and the upper surface portion 310 of the housing 301 is In order to reduce the size, the upper surface portion 310 may also be formed into an arc shape like the opening/closing body 316. This makes it possible to reduce disturbances in behavior when the game ball moves from the outer surface 329 of the opening/closing body 316 to the upper surface 310 of the housing 301.

In addition, in order to suppress such disturbances in the behavior of the game ball, a part of the outer surface 329B of the opening/closing body 316B is formed to be flat in the rotation direction, as shown in FIG. 16(b). In the closed state, it is also possible to have a configuration in which the flat portion complements the rolling surface of the ball passage 308.

<Modification 7>
As shown in the first embodiment, when the opening/closing device 315 is switched from the open state to the closed state, the game balls located in the groove 323 are sorted to the second guide path 332. Here, if the moving speed of the game ball located in the groove 323 becomes high, there is a high possibility that the ball will flow into the first guide path 331 with that force, and it is expected that it will be distributed to the second guide path 332. This will be harsh for players who play this game. One of the features of this modified example is that it has been devised in consideration of such circumstances. The invention will be described below with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. 16(c).

In the groove portion 323C of the opening/closing body 316C, there are protrusions extending in a direction intersecting the rotation center axis CL1 on both sides of the part (center part) where the game ball rolls when the opening/closing device 315 is in the open state. A plurality of 328C are formed at predetermined intervals. The amount of protrusion of these protrusions 328C is such that contact with the game ball located at the central portion is avoided under the condition that the central portion is located at the lowest position.

In the process of switching the opening/closing device 315C from the open state to the closed state, the protrusion 328C goes through a state located at the bottom of the groove 323C. In this way, when the protrusions 328C cross the channel toward the first guide path 331, the game balls flowing down along the groove 323C are decelerated by hitting (overcoming) these protrusions 328C. That is, compared to the above-described state where the center portion is located at the lowest position, when the protrusion 328C is located at the lowest position, the moving speed of the game ball in the groove 323C decreases, and the first guide path 331 Movement will be delayed. Thereby, it is possible to suitably prevent game balls that should be distributed to the second guide path 332 from jumping into the first guide path 331 with force, which would cause a decrease in the player's desire to play.

Note that the protrusion 328C extends in the same direction as the flow path of the game ball toward the entrance portion 332a of the second guide passage 332 (crossing is avoided). This suppresses the protrusion 328C from interfering with the movement of the game ball from the groove 323C toward the entrance portion 332a.

<Modification 8>
The upstream portion of the first guide passage 331 and the upstream portion of the second guide passage 332 shown in the first embodiment can be oriented in the same direction and arranged side by side vertically or front and back.

<Modification 9>
In the first embodiment, the opening/closing bodies 316 are provided in the left and right channels (the left route and the right route), but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, it is also possible to arrange a plurality of opening/closing bodies 316 in one of the left and right channels (a specific channel) in parallel along the specific channel. That is, it is also possible to arrange the plurality of opening/closing bodies 316 not in parallel but in series.

<Modification 10>
In the first embodiment described above, an example has been given of a configuration in which the opening/closing body 316 is applied as a means for enabling a ball to enter the variable winning unit 300 based on the ball entering the operating ball entering sections 84 and 85. It is not limited to. For example, a structure corresponding to the opening/closing body 316 may be applied as a means for allowing the ball to enter the actuated ball entry section 85 based on the ball entering the through gate 86.

In addition, an opening/closing body 316 that operates based on the entry of a ball into the activated ball entry section 84 and an opening/closing body (corresponding to the opening/closing body 316) that operates based on the entry of a ball into the through gate 86 are provided in a specific flow path in the gaming area PE. It is also possible to provide a configuration in which:

<Modification 11>
In the first embodiment, the opening/closing body 316 is provided at the entrance of the large variable winning unit 300 provided in the center of the game board 80, but at least the opening/closing body 316 is provided with a plurality of passages having different advantages. It is sufficient that the structure is arranged at the entrance of the prize-winning device, and the size and location of the object to be arranged are arbitrary.

<Modification 12>
In the first embodiment described above, the V winning hole 386 and the discharge hole 388 are provided as guide destinations for the game balls that have flowed into the variable prize winning unit 300, and the transition to the jackpot (opening/closing execution mode) occurs when the game ball enters the V winning hole 386. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the lottery mode related to the operating ball entry parts 84 and 85 shifts from a relatively disadvantageous low probability mode to a relatively advantageous high probability mode based on a winning in the V winning opening 386. be.

Further, it is sufficient that the guide destination of the game balls flowing into the variable winning unit 300 has advantages and disadvantages, and for example, it is also possible to change the discharge port 388 to a configuration corresponding to the general winning port 81. be. Further, a difference may be provided so that when the game ball is guided to one of the two guide destinations, the number of jackpot rounds is greater than when the game ball is guided to the other.

Furthermore, when the opening/closing body 315 is configured to operate periodically as shown in the third modification, or when the opening/closing body 315 is configured to open when the ball enters the through gate 86, It is also possible to provide an operating ball entry portion as a guide destination for the game ball. In such a configuration, an activated ball entering section that is set so that the lottery is relatively disadvantageous to the player and an activated ball entering section that is set so that it is relatively advantageous to the player are used together, and the activation of these parts is combined. It is preferable to set the ball entry section as the guide destination for the game ball.

<Modification 13>
In the first embodiment described above, when a lottery is won based on a ball entering the operating ball entering sections 84 and 85, both the left and right opening/closing bodies 315 are switched to the open state. may be changed as follows. For example, when a first winning result is obtained in a lottery triggered by a ball entering the operating ball entering sections 84 and 85, one of the left and right opening/closing bodies 315 is switched to the open state, and a second winning result is obtained. In this case, both the left and right opening/closing bodies 315 may be switched to the open state. In addition, if the winning result A is determined by a lottery triggered by the entry of balls into the operating ball entering sections 84 and 85, the left opening/closing body 315 is switched to the open state, and if the winning result is B, the right opening/closing body 315 is switched to the open state. The opening/closing body 315 may be switched to the open state, and when the winning result is C, both the left and right opening/closing bodies 315 may be switched to the open state.

<Modification 14>
In the first embodiment, a lottery is held when a ball enters the operating ball entry sections 84 and 85, and if the lottery is won, the opening/closing body 315 is switched from the closed state to the open state. It is not limited to this. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the opening/closing body 315 is switched to the open state each time a ball enters the operating ball entry sections 84 and 85 (a structure in which a lottery is not performed).

<Second embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the opening/closing body 316 is shaped like a gutter, but in this embodiment, the shape of the opening/closing body 316 is different from that in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. 17, supplementary explanation will be given of the opening/closing body 316D and its related configuration in this embodiment, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. FIG. 17(a) is a schematic diagram showing the switching device 315D in the closed state, FIG. 17(b) is a schematic diagram showing the switching device 315D in the open state, and FIG. 17(c) is the open/closed state. It is a schematic diagram showing opening/closing device 315D in the middle of switching states. In addition, in FIG. 17, for convenience of explanation, the entrance portions 331aD, 332aD of the guide passages 331D, 332D are shown by two-dot chain lines, and among these entrance portions 331aD, 332aD, the one where the game ball enters is shown. Added dot hatching.

Similarly to the opening/closing device 315 shown in the first embodiment, the opening/closing device 315D according to the present embodiment includes a rotary opening/closing body 316D that can open and close the inlet 311, and a rotary opening/closing body 316D that can open and close the inlet 311. It has a drive unit (not shown) for rotating.

The main body portion 321D of the opening/closing body 316D has a flat plate shape with a constant wall thickness and extends in the direction of the rotation center axis CL1 from a mounting portion 322D to which the shaft portion of the drive portion is attached. The main body portion 321D is offset from the rotation center axis CL1, and includes a plate surface on the rotation center axis CL1 side (hereinafter referred to as an inner surface portion 328D) and a plate surface on the opposite side to the inner surface portion 328D (hereinafter referred to as an outer surface portion 329D). ) are formed so as to be parallel to the rotation center axis CL1.

As shown in FIG. 17(a), when the opening/closing device 315D is in the closed state, the outer surface portion 329D of the main body portion 321D and the upper surface portion 310 of the housing 301 are located on the same virtual plane, The upper surface 310 of the housing 301 and the outer surface 329D of the main body 321D form a ball passage 308D (more specifically, a rolling surface for game balls) that detours the housing 301 from side to side.

As shown in FIG. 17(b), when the opening/closing device 315D is in the open state, more specifically, when the opening/closing body 316D is arranged at the maximum rotation position, the main body 321D is located below the inlet 311. The inner surface 328D of the main body 321D faces the inlet 311 from below. The inner surface 328D is inclined downward to the side opposite to the mounting portion 322D (downstream side of the ball passage 308D), and the entrance portion 331aD of the first guide passage 331D is inclined downward in the inclination direction with respect to the main body 321D. It is located on the downstream side. The game balls that have passed through the inlet 311 and are placed on the inner surface 328D roll along the inner surface 328D and head toward the entrance portion 331aD of the first guide passage 331D. That is, when the opening/closing device 315D is in the open state, the main guide destination of the game ball is the first guide path 331D.

Note that the mounting portion 322D is provided with an inclined portion 322aD that is formed to slope downward toward the inner surface portion 328D when the mounting portion 322D is in the open state. The game balls passing through the inlet 311 are accelerated by moving along the slope 322aD, and after passing through the inlet 311, they quickly move to the entrance portion 331aD of the first guide path 331D.

In a situation where the opening/closing device 315D is in the open state, if a closing condition for the opening/closing device 315D is satisfied, the opening/closing device 315D is switched from the open state to the closed state. At this time, as shown in FIG. 17(b), if the game ball is located on the inner surface portion 328D, the guide destination of this game ball is the second guide path 332D. In this embodiment, the entrance portion 332aD of the second guide passage 332D extends from below the opening/closing body 316D toward the front of the gaming machine. Specifically, the inlet portion 332aD extends not only to the area facing the inlet 311 and the opening/closing body 316D but also to the area in front of the inlet 311 and the opening/closing body 316D. Although not shown, the portion of the second housing component that forms the front wall of the entrance portion 332aD is offset toward the front of the game machine, and in the open state, the front wall and the opening/closing body 316D, a gap large enough for the game ball to pass through is secured. However, in the open state, the inner surface 328D is slightly tilted backward, and the game balls on the inner surface 328D are prevented from flowing into the second guide passage 332 through the gap. .

As shown in FIG. 17(b)→FIG. 17(c), when the opening/closing device 315D switches from the open state to the closed state, the attitude of the opening/closing body 316D changes, so that the inner surface 328D moves toward the front of the gaming machine. It becomes a downward slope. As a result, the game ball located on the inner surface portion 328D changes its course and flows into the entrance portion 332aD of the second guide passage 332D. In other words, the second guide path 332 is where the game balls located on the inner surface 328D are distributed at the timing of switching from the open state to the closed state.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when switching from the open state to the closed state, the inner surface 328 of the opening/closing body 316D faces the front of the gaming machine, but this is different from the above first embodiment. Differently, in this state, both the inlet 311 and the inlet portion 332aD are open, and the inlet 311 and the inlet portion 332aD communicate with each other. The game balls that flowed into the inlet 311 at this timing enter the entrance portion 331aD of the second guide passage 332D as they are.

According to the second embodiment described in detail above, when the opening/closing device 315D switches from the open state to the closed state, the game ball located on the inner surface portion 328D is immediately moved to the entrance portion 332aD of the second guide passage 332D. will be moved to. In addition, since the inflow port 311 and the entrance portion 332aD are connected directly in the process of switching from the open state to the closed state, the game balls that flowed into the inflow port 311 at the timing of the switching can also be quickly moved to the entrance portion 332aD. Become.

<Modification 1>
In the second embodiment, in the open state (specifically, the state in which the opening/closing body 316D is placed at the maximum rotation position), the inner surface portion 328D is slightly moved toward the opposite side (rearward) from the second guide passage 332D side. Although the configuration is such that the movement of the game ball toward the second guide path 332D is suppressed by configuring it to be sloped downward, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, instead of or in addition to the above-mentioned inclination, it is also possible to provide another structure that suppresses the movement of the game ball toward the second guide path 332D. That is, as illustrated by the broken line in FIG. 17(b), a standing portion 328aZ that stands upward is provided at the end of the opening/closing body 316D that is located on the front side when the opening/closing body 316D is in the open state. It is also possible to provide a configuration in which the upright portion 328aZ prevents the game ball from moving toward the second guide path 332D. However, it is preferable that the amount of the upright portion be set to such an extent that the game ball located on the inner surface portion 328D can climb over the upright portion 328aZ when switching from the open state to the closed state.

<Modification 2>
The position and size of the entrance portion 332aD of the second guide passage 332D shown in the second embodiment are arbitrary; for example, the entrance portion 332a of the second guide passage 332 shown in the first embodiment It is also possible to have the same position and size as .

<Modification 3>
In the second embodiment, the inner surface portion 328D and the outer surface portion 329D are formed to be parallel to each other, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible for the inner surface 328D and the outer surface 329D to be non-parallel. In addition, it is not necessarily necessary that the inner surface portion 328D and the outer surface portion 329D have a planar shape, and there is no denying that at least one of them may have a curved surface shape.

<Third embodiment>
In the variable winning unit 400 shown in this embodiment, a ball passage 408 is formed in the upper part of the variable winning unit 400, and an inlet 411 provided in the middle of the ball passage 408 is opened and closed by an opening/closing device 415. Although the configuration is the same as that of the variable winning unit 300 shown in the first embodiment in that point, the opening/closing device and the configuration related thereto are different from the first embodiment. Specifically, in the first embodiment, the opening/closing device 315 is configured such that the rotation center axis CL1 of the opening/closing body 316 is parallel to the front surface of the game board unit 80, but in the present embodiment, This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the opening/closing device 415 is configured such that the rotation center axis CL2 of the opening/closing body 416 intersects (orthogonally) with the front surface of the game board unit 80. . Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19, the opening/closing device 415 and its related configuration in this embodiment will be described, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the opening/closing device 415 and its surrounding structure seen from the front of the game machine, FIG. 19(a) is a front view of the opening/closing body 416, and FIG. 19(b) is a longitudinal sectional view of the opening/closing device 415. Note that in this embodiment,
As shown in FIG. 18, the opening/closing device 415 includes an opening/closing body 416 and a drive section 417 for the opening/closing body 416 (see FIG. 19(b)), and the opening/closing device 415 has a drive unit 417 for the opening/closing body 416 (see FIG. 19(b)). An open state allows the ball to enter the inlet 411 formed in the upper surface part 410 (see FIG. 18(b)), and a closed state does not allow the ball to enter the inlet 411 (see FIG. 18(a)). It is possible to switch to

The opening/closing body 416 has a cylindrical shape centered on the rotation center axis CL2, and a part of its outer circumference is exposed through the inlet 411. A recess 423 recessed toward the rotation center axis CL2 is formed in the outer peripheral portion. This recess 423 has a size that can accommodate one game ball, and is open in the radial direction of the rotation center axis CL2. Hereinafter, this open portion will be referred to as a first open portion 424.

In the present embodiment, when the recess 423 is in the closed state, the first opening 424 of the recess 423 faces diagonally downward to the left. When shifting to the open state, the opening/closing body 416 is rotated 120 degrees clockwise from the closed state when viewed from the front of the gaming machine, so that the first opening 424 of the recess 423 is moved upward, that is, the inlet 411 Turn to the side. In the open state, the first opening portion 424 is in communication with the inflow port 411, so that the game ball that has passed through the inflow port 411 enters the recess 423. Further, when returning from the open state to the closed state, the opening/closing body 416 is rotated 120° counterclockwise when viewed from the front of the gaming machine. As a result, the first opening 424 of the recess 423 again faces diagonally downward to the left.

As shown in FIG. 19, the recess 423 is open to the rear of the game machine (hereinafter referred to as a second open part 425), and the first housing component 405 on the rear side that constitutes the housing 401 has an opening/closing device. An entrance portion 431a of the first guide passage 431 is formed so as to communicate with the second open portion 425 when the guide passage 415 is in an open state.

The bottom 428 of the recess 423 is slightly inclined downward toward the entrance portion 431a (backward), and the game ball resting on the bottom 428 will roll toward the entrance portion 431a. The thickness of the opening/closing body 416 is larger (specifically, about 1.5 times) than the diameter of the game ball, and the upper surface 410 has a slight downward slope toward the front of the game. It is formed to be sloped. Therefore, the game ball moving along the upper surface part 410 is biased to the front side, and when it enters the recess 423, it will land on the bottom part 428 at a position far from the entrance part 431a. Thereby, the game balls flowing into the inlet 411 are configured to take a certain amount of time to reach the entrance portion 431a.

When the opening/closing device 415 is in the closed state, a portion of the outer periphery of the opening/closing body 416 in which the recess 423 is not formed (hereinafter referred to as the outer surface portion 427) is located at the inlet 411, and the outer surface portion 427 is located at the inlet 411. The upper surface portion 410 of the housing 401 forms a rolling surface for game balls in the ball path 408.

Here, as shown in FIG. 18, the housing 401 is provided with a facing wall portion 412 that faces the outer peripheral portion of the opening/closing body 416. As the opening/closing body 416 rotates, the direction of the recess 423 changes, but at this time, the outflow of game balls from the recess 423 is prevented by the opposing wall 412. A recess 413 through which a game ball can pass is formed in the opposing wall 412. The recess 413 is provided in the lower part of the opposing wall 412, and faces the first opening 424 of the recess 423 when the opening/closing device 415 is in the closed state (see FIG. 18(a) )reference).

An entrance portion 432a of the second guide passage 432 is provided at a position (lower) on the opposite side of the opening/closing body 316 across the recessed portion 413. The game balls flowing out from the recess 423 of the opening/closing body 416 through the recess 413 flow into the second guide passage 432.

Hereinafter, with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. 20, the flow of sorting game balls to the second guide path 432 will be explained regarding the opening/closing device 415 shown in this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 20(a), when the opening/closing device 415 is in the open state, the game balls flowing down the ball passage 408 flow into the recess 423 of the opening/closing body 416 through the inlet 411. The game balls that have flowed into the recess 423 will head toward the entrance portion 431a of the first guide passage 431 due to the slope of the bottom 428 of the recess 423.

If the closing condition of the opening/closing device 415 is satisfied at the timing when the game ball is positioned on the bottom part 428, the opening/closing body 416 will close to the front of the gaming machine as shown in FIG. 20(a) → FIG. 20(b). Rotates counterclockwise when viewed. As a result, the game ball located on the bottom portion 428 rotates together with the opening/closing body 416, and communication between the second opening portion 425 of the recess 423 and the entrance portion 431a of the first guide passage 431 is released. As a result, the game ball is confined within the recess 423, specifically within the space surrounded by the opening/closing body 416, the first housing structure 405, and the second housing structure 406, and is prevented from flowing out from the recess 423. .

As shown in FIG. 20(b)→FIG. 20(c), as the opening/closing body 416 continues to rotate in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the front of the gaming machine, the first opening 424 of the recess 423 is opened against the opposite wall. It will be in a state where it communicates with the recessed part 413 of the part 412. As a result, the game ball located in the recess 423 leaves the opening/closing body 416 and flows into the entrance portion 432a of the second guide passage 432.

<Modification 1>
In the third embodiment, the size of the recess 423 is limited so that only one game ball can stay in the recess 423, but the invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to expand the recess 423 so that a plurality of game balls can stay in the recess 423 at the same time.

<Modification 2>
In the third embodiment, the rotation angle of the opening/closing body 416 when switching between the open state and the closed state is set to 120 degrees, but the present invention is not limited to this. Since the game balls can be distributed to the second guide passage 432 through at least the first opening part 424, that is, the game balls located in the recess 423 can be guided from the recess 423 to the entrance part 432a of the second guide passage 432. If so, the rotation angle of the opening/closing body 416 may be changed arbitrarily.

<Modification 3>
In the opening/closing device 415 shown in the third embodiment, the opening/closing body 416 is switched from the open state to the closed state by rotating counterclockwise when viewed from the front of the gaming machine, and is rotated clockwise. Although the configuration is such that the closed state is switched from the open state to the open state, it is also possible to reverse these rotation directions.

Moreover, it is also possible to make the rotation direction in the case of switching from the closed state to the open state and the rotation direction in the case of switching from the open state to the closed state to be the same direction.

<Modification 4>
In the third embodiment, when the game ball located in the recess 423 goes to the first guide path 431, it passes through the second opening 425, and the game ball located in the recess 423 goes to the second guide path 432. When heading toward the vehicle, the vehicle passes through the first opening 424. That is, the outlet for the game balls from the recess 423 is made separate. It is also possible to change this and share the outlet even when the game ball located in the recess 423 heads towards either the first guide passage 431 or the second guide passage 432. For example, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the game ball located in the recessed portion 423 goes through the first opening portion 424 regardless of whether it goes to the first guide path 431 or the second guide path 432. In this case, the entrance portion 432a of the second guide passage 432 may be configured to face the front of the gaming machine similarly to the entrance portion 431a of the first guide passage 431.

<Fourth embodiment>
Although the main configuration of the variable winning unit 400A shown in this embodiment is the same as that of the variable winning unit 400 shown in the third embodiment, the opening/closing device and its accompanying structure are the same as in the third embodiment. They are different. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 21, the opening/closing device 415A in this embodiment will be explained focusing on the differences from the opening/closing device 415 shown in the third embodiment. FIG. 21(a) is a perspective view of the opening/closing device 415A in the closed state seen from the front of the gaming machine, and FIG. 21(b) is a perspective view of the opening/closing device 415A in the open state seen from the front of the gaming machine. be.

As shown in FIG. 21, the opening/closing body 416A is similar to the third embodiment in that it has a cylindrical shape centered on the rotation center axis CL2, but instead of the recess 423, the opening/closing body 416A is A groove-shaped passage portion 423A that is open to the inside is formed. The passage portion 423A extends so as to connect two different locations in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral portion of the opening/closing body 416A, and is open to the outside at these two locations. In this embodiment, the game balls that have entered the passage section 423A are sorted into the first guide passage 431A and the second guide passage 432A. In the following description, the opening portion that functions as an entrance portion to the passage portion 423A is distinguished as a first opening portion 424A, and the opening portion that functions as an exit portion as a second opening portion 425A.

The passage portion 423A is bent at a midway position, and has a substantially V-shape as a whole. The first open part 424A and the second open part 425A are configured so that they do not overlap when viewed in either the direction of the passage upstream or the passage direction downstream of the bent part of the passage part 423A. An increase in the moving speed of the game ball passing through the portion 423A is suppressed.

In this embodiment, the first guide passage 431A and the second guide passage 432A are arranged below the opening/closing body 416A. Specifically, they are arranged side by side on the left and right so that the entrance portion 431a of the first guide passage 431A is on the left side, and the entrance portion 432a of the second guide passage 432A is on the right side.

The housing 401A of the variable winning unit 400A is formed with a facing wall 412A that faces the outer peripheral surface of the opening/closing body 416A, as in the third embodiment. A first recess 413A through which a game ball can pass is formed in a portion of this opposing wall portion 412A that faces the entrance portion 431a of the first guide passage 431A, and an entrance portion 432a of the second guide passage 432A. A second recess 414A through which a game ball can pass is formed in a portion facing the. When the second open part 425A of the passage part 423A communicates with the first recess part 413A, the game ball located in the passage part 423A is sorted to the first guide passage 431A, and the second opening part 425A of the passage part 423A When the open portion 425A is in communication with the second recess portion 414A, the game balls located in the passage portion 423A are distributed to the second guide passage 432A.

When the opening/closing device 415A is in the closed state as shown in FIG. 21(a), the portion of the outer circumferential portion of the opening/closing body 416A where the open portions 424A, 425A are not formed (hereinafter referred to as the outer surface portion 429A) is located at the inlet 411. In other words, the rolling surface of the game ball in the ball path 408A is complemented by the outer surface portion 429A of the opening/closing body 416A. This prevents the game balls flowing down along the ball path 408A from flowing into the inlet 411.

In the closed state, the first opening 424A faces the opposing wall 412A, and the second opening 425A communicates with the second recess 414A and the entrance portion 432a of the second guide passage 432A. Since the passage section 423A is oriented vertically, the game balls located in the passage section 423A flow down along the passage section 423A and flow into the second guide passage 432A.

Note that the passage width of the passage portion 423A is slightly larger than the diameter of the game ball, so that a plurality of game balls cannot pass through the same location at the same time. This suppresses the occurrence of ball clogging within the passage portion 423A.

As shown in FIG. 21(a)→FIG. 21(b), by rotating the opening/closing body 416A in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the front of the gaming machine from the closed state, the first opening section 424A and the second opening section are opened. 425A rises, and the rotation angle becomes 50°, so that the first opening portion 424A of the opening/closing body 416A communicates with the inlet 311. In this state (open state), the game ball flowing down the ball passage 408A flows into the inlet 311 and reaches the passage part 423A through the first open part 424A.

In the closed state, the second opening 425A communicates with the first recess 413A and the entrance portion 431a of the first guide passage 431A. Since the passage section 423A is oriented vertically, the game balls passing through the passage section 423A will flow into the first guide passage 431A.

Hereinafter, with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. 22, the flow of sorting game balls to the second guide passage 432A will be described with respect to the opening/closing device 415A shown in this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 22(a), when the opening/closing device 415A is in the open state, the game balls flowing down the ball passage 408A flow into the passage portion 423A of the opening/closing body 416A through the inlet 411. The game balls that have flowed into the passage section 423A flow down along the passage section 423A and head toward the entrance section 431aA of the first guide passage 431A.

If the closing condition of the opening/closing device 415A is satisfied at the timing when the game ball is located in the passage section 423A, the opening/closing body 416A closes the gaming machine as shown in FIG. 22(a) → FIG. 22(b). Rotates counterclockwise when viewed from the front. As a result, the game ball located in the passage section 423A rotates together with the opening/closing body 416A, and communication between the second opening section 425A of the passage section 423A and the entrance portion 431aA of the first guide passage 431A is released. In other words, the second open portion 425A is covered from the outside by the above-mentioned opposing wall portion 412A. As a result, the game ball is confined within the passage section 423A, specifically within the space surrounded by the opening/closing body 416A, the first housing structure 405A, and the second housing structure 406A, and is prevented from flowing out from the passage section 423A. be done.

In addition, regarding the passage part 423A shown in this embodiment, the passage length is set so that a plurality of game balls can be located in the passage part 423A at the same time. Although FIG. 22 illustrates the case where only one game ball is confined in the passage section 423A, the same applies even when a plurality of game balls are located in the passage section 423A.

As shown in FIG. 22(b)→FIG. 22(c), as the opening/closing body 416A continues to rotate in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the front of the gaming machine, the second opening portion 425A of the passage portion 423A faces It will be in a state where it is in communication with the second recess 414A of the wall 412A. As a result, the game ball located in the passage portion 423A leaves the opening/closing body 416A and flows into the entrance portion 432aA of the second guide passage 432A.

<Modification 1>
In the fourth embodiment, the first opening 424A functioning as an inlet of the passage 423A and the second opening 425A functioning as an outlet are arranged so that they do not overlap in the passage direction of the passage. Although the configuration is such that the portion 423A is bent at an intermediate position, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is also possible to form the passage portion in a straight line so that the first opening portion 424A and the second opening portion 425A overlap in the passage direction.

<Modification 2>
In the fourth embodiment described above, the stay period of the game ball is extended by bending the passage part 423A at an intermediate position to encourage the collision of the game ball passing through the passage part 423A with the passage wall surface. The specific structure for extending the stay period of the game ball is arbitrary; for example, a projection or the like is formed on the wall of the passageway, and the game ball hits the projection and decelerates, thereby extending the stay period. It is also possible.

<Modification 3>
In the fourth embodiment described above, when switching from the open state to the closed state, the height position of the second opening portion 425A is lowered as the opening/closing body 416A rotates, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is not something that will be done. When switching from the open state to the closed state, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the height position of the second opening portion 425A rises as the opening/closing body 416A rotates. As a result, it is possible to suppress an increase in the moving speed of the game ball in the downstream portion of the passage section 423A, so that at the timing of switching to the closed state, the second guide is also applied to the game ball located near the exit of the passage section 423A. The chances of the ball entering the passage 432A can be increased. For example, the passage portion 423A may be bent in the direction opposite to the direction shown in FIG. 22(a).

<Modification 4>
A configuration in which detection sensors for game balls arranged near the entrances of the first guide passage 431A and the second guide passage 432A are relocated to the opening/closing body 416A to detect game balls passing through the passage section 423A of the opening/closing body 416A. It is also possible to do this.

<Modification 5>
In the opening/closing device 415A shown in the fourth embodiment, the opening/closing body 416A is switched from the open state to the closed state by rotating counterclockwise when viewed from the front of the game machine, and is rotated clockwise. Although the configuration is such that the closed state is switched from the open state to the open state, it is also possible to reverse these rotation directions.

Moreover, it is also possible to make the rotation direction in the case of switching from the closed state to the open state and the rotation direction in the case of switching from the open state to the closed state to be the same direction.

<Modification 6>
It is also possible to configure the passage portion 423A of the opening/closing body 416A shown in the fifth embodiment to be branched at an intermediate position. A specific example will be described below with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. 23.

In the opening/closing device 415B shown in this modification, the passage section 423B formed in the opening/closing body 416B branches into two at an intermediate position, and the exit portion of the passage section 423B is a second opening section 425B and a third opening section. A section 426B is provided. In the closed state shown in FIG. 23(a), the first opening part 424B and the third opening part 426B, which function as inlet parts, face upward, and the first opening part 424B and the third opening part 426B are provided between The second open portion 425B faces downward. The opposing wall 412B surrounding the opening/closing body 416B is provided with three recesses 413aB, 414B, and 413bB corresponding to the three openings 424B, 425B, and 426B, respectively.

The first recess 413aB and the third recess 413bB communicate with the entrance portion 431aB of the first guide passage 431B, and the game balls that have passed through the first recess 413aB and the third recess 413bB , will flow into the first guide passage 431B. The second recess 414B communicates with the entrance portion 432aB of the second guide passage 432B, and the game balls that have passed through the second recess 414B will flow into the second guide passage 432B.

As shown in FIG. 23(a), in the closed state, the first opening portion 424B and the third opening portion 426B are covered by the opposing wall portion 412B, whereas the second opening portion 425B is covered with the second recess. It communicates with section 414B. Therefore, the game balls located in the passage section 423B head toward the second opening section 425B and are distributed to the second guide passage 432B through the second opening section 425B and the second recess section 414B.

As shown in FIG. 23(b), in the open state, the first opening portion 424B communicates with the inflow port 411, and the game balls flowing down the ball passage 408B flow into the passage portion 423B through the inflow port 411. The second opening part 425B and the third opening part 426B communicate with the first recess part 413aB and the third recess part 413bB, respectively, and the game balls that have flowed into the passage part 423B are transferred to the first guide passage 431B. It will be distributed to

Here, the flow of guiding the game ball to the second guide path 432B will be explained with reference to FIGS. 24 to 26.

As shown in FIG. 24(a), at the timing when the closing condition of the opening/closing device 415B is satisfied and the opening/closing body 416B starts rotating in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the front of the gaming machine, the branching at the passage portion 423B occurs. When the game ball is located at a position upstream from the position, as shown in FIG. 24(a) → FIG. 24(b), the opening/closing body 416B rotates to open the second opening part. 425B and the third open portion 426B are covered by the opposing wall portion 412B. Then, the game ball is guided toward the second opening portion 425B by being pushed by the passage wall. As shown in FIG. 24(c), when the switching of the opening/closing device 415B to the closed state is completed, the second opening portion 425B communicates with the second recessed portion 414B, and the second guide passage 432B is opened. Guidance routes are secured. Thereafter, the game balls flowing down along the passage section 423B are distributed to the second guide passage 432B through the second opening section 425B and the second recessed section 414B.

Next, referring to FIG. 25, at the timing when the closing condition of the opening/closing device 415B is satisfied and the opening/closing body 416B starts rotating in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the front of the gaming machine, the game ball moves to the second position. The case where it is located in the branch passage part on the side of the open part 425B will be explained. In this case, as shown in FIG. 25(a)→FIG. 25(b), as the opening/closing body 416B rotates, the portion forming the bottom of the branch passage section descends, and the game ball Lose support. As a result, the downward falling motion of the game ball becomes noticeable, and the direction of movement changes. As a result, movement to the first defect portion 413aB becomes difficult. As shown in FIG. 25(b), as the rotation of the opening/closing body 416B progresses, the second opening portion 425B becomes covered by the opposing wall portion 412B, and game balls flow out through the second opening portion 425B. will be prevented. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 25(c), when the rotation of the opening/closing body 416B is completed, the second opening part 425B and the second recessed part 414B communicate with each other, and the game ball is moved to the second opening part 425B. and flows into the second guide passage 432B through the second recess 414B.

Next, referring to FIG. 26, at the timing when the closing condition of the opening/closing device 415B is satisfied and the opening/closing body 416B starts rotating in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the front of the gaming machine, the game ball moves to the third position. The case where it is located in the branch passage part on the open part 426B side will be explained. In this case, as shown in FIG. 26(a)→FIG. 26(b), the portion forming the bottom surface of the branching passage section rises, thereby pushing the game ball back to the branching position. This prevents the game ball from moving toward the third opening portion 426B. Even if such a positive action is taken on the game ball, since it is far from the second opening portion 425B, it is possible to suppress the pushed game ball from heading directly toward the second opening portion 425B. As shown in FIG. 26(b)→FIG. 26(c), the rotation of the opening/closing body 416B progresses, and as the rotation of the opening/closing body 416B is completed, the second opening portion 425B and the second defective portion 414B are separated. communicate. In this state, the branch passage portion on the third open portion 426B side slopes downward toward the branch passage portion on the second open portion 425B side. Therefore, the game balls located in the branch passage section on the third opening part 426B side move to the branch passage part on the second opening part 425B side and pass through the second opening part 425B and the second recess 414B. 2 guide passage 432B.

In addition, in this modification, a case is illustrated in which the length of the branch passage section in which the second opening part 425B is formed is the same as the length of the branch passage part in which the third opening part 426B is formed. However, it is not limited to this. The lengths of the branch passages may be different. Thereby, it is possible to make a difference in the probability of distribution to the second guide path 432B depending on which branch path section the object passes through. Furthermore, in order to provide a difference in the time required for passage through the branch passage portions, it is not necessarily necessary to make the passage lengths different. In order to reduce the size of the opening/closing body 416B, it is possible to provide a deceleration means such as a protrusion in the branch passage to make a difference in the passing speed of the game ball, or to make a difference in the inclination of the branch passage in the closed state. By providing this, a difference may be provided in the passing speed of the game ball.

In addition, in this modification, the probability that a game ball that flows into the passage part 423B in the closed state and reaches the branching position will move to the branching passage part on the second opening part 425B side, and the branching passage on the third opening part 426B side. Although the configuration is such that the probabilities of moving to the same location are the same, the present invention is not limited to this. A difference may be provided so that the probability of moving to one branch passage is higher than the probability of moving to the other branch passage.

By combining each of the above variations, the probability that the game ball will move to the branch passage section that takes a longer time to pass through the branch passage section is greater than the probability that the game ball will move to the branch passage section that takes a shorter time to pass through the branch passage section. A practically preferable configuration can be realized by providing a difference so that the value is also lower.

<Modification 7>
It is also possible to apply the opening/closing body 416 shown in the third embodiment above in place of the opening/closing body 416A shown in the fourth embodiment. In this case, by rotating the opening/closing body 416 clockwise, the game ball located in the recess 423 is guided to one of the first guide passage 431A and the second guiding passage 432A, and the opening/closing body 416 is rotated counterclockwise. It is preferable that the game ball located in the recess 423 be guided to the other of the first guide passage 431A and the second guide passage 432A by rotating it.

<Modification 8>
Pass through the passage part 423B by chamfering the convex part (convex part or top part) on the inside of the passage at the bent part of the passage part 423A (forming a flat part or a curved part by trimming, etc.) It is possible to suppress disturbances in behavior when the game ball hits the convex portion.

In particular, in the passage portion 423B shown in the sixth modification, a convex portion is formed at a branch portion of the passage. If these convex parts are deformed, there is a concern that the distribution rate of game balls to the second open part 425B side and the third open part 426B side will deviate greatly from the design value. Therefore, it is preferable to suppress the occurrence of the above-mentioned inconvenience by chamfering (trimming) the convex portions of these branching portions to prevent deformation.

In addition, when a flat part or a curved part is formed on the convex part by chamfering the convex part, the formation range of the flat part or curved part is biased towards the second open part 425B side or the third open part 426B side. Good too. For example, as shown in FIG. 24(a), with the first open part 424B facing upward, the convex part located directly below the first open part 424B is obliquely chamfered, and the second open part 425B is By biasing one of the passage to the side and the passage to the third opening part 426B side so that it is longer than the other, the game ball that has passed through the first opening part 424B is transferred to the second opening part 425B side and the third opening part. It is possible to make it easier to move the portion 426B to the former side or to the latter side. In the example shown in FIG. 24(a), three convex portions are formed at the branching portion, and by chamfering each of these convex portions so that the guide destinations of the game ball are different from each other, the game ball can be guided. Further diversification of distribution modes can be suitably realized.

<Fifth embodiment>
In the variable winning unit 500 shown in this embodiment, a ball passage 308 is formed in the upper part of the variable winning unit 500, and an inlet 511 provided in the middle of the ball passage 308 is opened and closed by an opening/closing device 515. Although the configuration is the same as that of the variable winning unit 300 shown in the first embodiment in that point, the opening/closing device and the configuration related thereto are different from the first embodiment. Specifically, in the first embodiment, the opening/closing device 315 is configured such that the rotation center axis CL1 of the opening/closing body 316 is parallel to the front surface of the game board unit 80, but in the present embodiment, This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the opening/closing device is configured such that the central axis of rotation of the opening/closing body intersects (perpendicularly intersects) the front surface of the game board unit. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 27 and 28, the opening/closing device and its related configuration in this embodiment will be described, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram of the opening/closing device and its peripheral configuration as viewed from the front of the game machine. In addition, in FIG. 27, the guide passage provided in the variable winning unit is shown by a chain double-dashed line.

As shown in FIG. 27, the opening/closing device 515 includes an opening/closing body 516 and a drive part (not shown) for the opening/closing body 516, and is formed on the upper surface part 510 of the variable winning unit 500 (housing 501). It is possible to switch between an open state in which the ball is allowed to enter the inlet 511 and a closed state in which the ball is not allowed to enter the inlet 511.

The opening/closing body 516 has a long plate shape extending in the same direction as the passage direction of the ball passage 514 formed by the upper surface portion 510, and is arranged with one plate surface facing upward. When the opening/closing device 515 is in the closed state, the opening/closing body 516 is located at the inlet 511, and the plate surface of the opening/closing body 516 complements the rolling surface of the game ball in the ball path 514.

Specifically, regarding the opening/closing body 516, a step portion 517 is formed in the middle portion of the ball passage 514 in the path direction, and the upstream side in the inclination direction with respect to the step portion 517 is the upper step portion 516a, and the downstream side is the lower step portion. 516b. In the closed state, the inlet 511 is closed by the upper part 516a of the upper part 516a and the lower part 516b, and the rolling surface is complemented by the upper part 516a.

Here, a portion of the upper surface portion 510 located upstream with respect to the inlet 511 (hereinafter referred to as an upstream portion 510a) is offset upward from the downstream portion 510b. In the closed state, the upper part 516a of the opening/closing body 516 is located on the same plane as the downstream part 510b, and a step is created between the upstream part 510a and the opening/closing body 516. Note that the lower part 516b of the opening/closing body 516 overlaps the downstream part 510b from below, and interference with the game balls passing through the ball passage 514 is avoided.

The opening/closing body 516 is held in a state where it can slide in a direction parallel to the front surface of the game board 80a and intersecting the path direction of the ball passage 514 (the direction of the inlet 511 or the direction of inclination of the opening/closing body 516). has been done. When switching from the closed state to the open state, the opening/closing body 516 slides downward (specifically, toward the lower left), thereby opening the inlet 511. On the other hand, when switching from the open state to the closed state, the opening/closing body 516 slides upward (more specifically, toward the upper right), thereby blocking the inlet 511.

An inlet portion 531a of the first guide passage 531 is provided at a position directly below the inlet 511. This inlet portion 531a faces upward and faces the inlet 511 from below. An inlet portion 532a of the second guide passage 532 is disposed at a position on the downstream side (right side in FIG. 27) of the opening/closing body 516 in the inclination direction with respect to the inlet portion 531a. This inlet portion 532a faces upward and faces the downstream portion 510b of the upper surface portion 510 from below.

In this embodiment, depending on the type of hit that triggered the operation of the opening/closing device 315, the open state of the opening/closing device 515 is relatively difficult to be distributed to the second guide path 532, and the first open state is relatively difficult to distribute to the second guide path 532. The configuration is divided into a second open state in which the state is easily distributed to 432. Specifically, when the first winning result is obtained, the first open state is maintained for a predetermined period of time, and when the second winning result is obtained, the second open state is entered. The second open state is maintained for a predetermined period of time. Here, with reference to FIG. 28, the difference between the first open state and the second open state will be explained. FIG. 28(a) is a schematic diagram showing the opening/closing device 515 in the first open state, and FIG. 28(b) is a schematic diagram showing the opening/closing device 515 in the second open state.

As shown in FIG. 28(a), in the first open state, the opening/closing body 516 is retracted to a position out of the area sandwiched between the inlet 511 and the inlet portion 431a of the first guide passage 431. Therefore, the game balls that have flowed into the inlet 511 fall directly into the entrance portion 431a. Note that although a gap through which game balls can pass is secured between the upper end and the downstream portion 510b of the wall that partitions the first guide passage 531 and the second guide passage 532, the inlet Since the game balls that flowed into 511 fall due to their own weight, there is a low possibility that they will move to the second guide path 532 through the gap, and most game balls are distributed to the first guide path 531. Become.

In addition, when returning from the first guide state to the closed state, the second guide state is passed through, but there is no stopping or temporary stop in the second guide state. For this reason, although there is a possibility that game balls that land on the opening/closing body 516 at the right time in the second guiding state will be sorted to the second guiding passage 532, the probability of such an event occurring is not high. .

As shown in FIG. 28(b), in the second open state, the lower part 516b of the opening/closing body 516 is located between the inlet 511 and the inlet part 531a of the first guide passage 531, and the inlet part 531a is It is covered by an opening/closing body 516. Thereby, distribution to the first guide path 531 is avoided. The game balls that have flowed into the inlet 511 fall into the opening/closing body 516 and move along the lower part 516b, thereby passing over the entrance portion 531a of the first guide passage 531 and passing through the second guide passage 532. The data will be distributed to the entrance portion 532a of the.

In addition, when returning from the second open state to the closed state, there is a possibility that a game ball is placed on the lower part 516b. Such a game ball is pushed downstream in the inclined direction (toward the entrance portion 532a of the second guide passage 532) by the stepped portion 517 of the opening/closing body 516, and is urged to move toward the entrance portion 532a.

When the opening/closing device 515 is in the closed state, the ball cannot enter the inflow port 511 as the "predetermined ball entry port". When the opening/closing device 515 enters the first guide state, the game ball is allowed to flow into the inflow port 511 and the game ball that has flowed into the inflow port is guided to the first guide path 531. On the other hand, when the opening/closing device 515 enters the second guiding state, it is similar to the first open state in that it is allowed to flow into the inflow port 511, but the game balls that have flowed into the inflow port 511 are The user is guided to a guide passage 532. That is, although game balls flow into the inflow port 511 in the first open state and the second open state, the guide destination thereof is switched depending on each state. With such a configuration, it is possible to diversify the movement of the game ball and prevent the game from becoming monotonous. Therefore, it can contribute to improving the degree of attention to the game.

Here, even if the guide destination of the game ball is changed between the first open state and the second open state, the same member (opening/closing body 516) is used to guide the game ball, and the game ball While giving a difference to the behavior of the player, it is possible to prevent the difference from becoming excessive and becoming a factor that confuses the player.

The upper surface of the opening/closing body 516 (lower part 516b) forms the rolling surface of the game ball, and when switching from the first open state to the second open state under the situation where the game ball is placed on the upper surface, , the opening/closing body 516 moves against the weight of the game ball with the game ball placed thereon. In this way, by having to lift the game ball placed on the opening/closing body 516, it is possible to delay the switching from the first open state to the second open state. As a result, the chances of the game ball being guided to the second guide path 532 increase slightly. In this way, the chances of the game ball being guided to the second guide path 532 increase or decrease depending on whether or not the game ball is positioned on the opening/closing body 516 when switching from the first open state to the closed state. It is possible to suitably suppress the behavior from becoming monotonous.

When switching from the closed state to the first open state, the second open state is passed through, and when the game ball is not located on the opening/closing body 516 when switching from the closed state to the first open state, In comparison, when the game ball is located on the opening/closing body 516, the switching from the closed state to the first open state is faster.

When the game ball is placed on the opening/closing body 516 and the game ball is switched to the first open state, the game ball is guided to the second guide path 532. When the state is changed, the fact that game balls are guided to the second guide path 532 becomes a factor that reduces the rarity of the game balls. In this regard, in the configuration shown in this embodiment, when switching from the closed state to the first open state, the weight of the game ball etc. is used to quickly switch to the first open state. Become. Therefore, the chances of being guided to the second guide path 532 can be reduced, and the occurrence of the above-mentioned inconvenience can be suitably suppressed.

It is assumed that a player who expects an inflow to the inflow port 511 plays a game while expecting the first open state or the second open state. Therefore, the occurrence of switching (returning) to the closed state may become an opportunity to reduce the desire to play. Here, as shown in this embodiment, when returning to the closed state, the guidance destination of the game ball is switched from the first guide path 531 to the second guide path 532 by passing through the second open state. If this configuration is adopted, the player's advantage will temporarily increase immediately before switching to the closed state. As a result, it is possible to suppress the player's attention level from decreasing toward the end of the closed state, and to suppress the switching to the closed state from becoming a factor in reducing the desire to play.

An inlet portion 531a of the first guide passage 531 is provided at a position directly below the inlet 511, and an inlet portion 532a of the second guide passage 532 is provided at a position away from the position directly below. The opening/closing body 516 is retracted from a position between the inlet 511 and the inlet portion 531a in the first open state, and is located at a position between the inlet 511 and the inlet portion 531a in the second open state. According to such a configuration, the opportunity for the game ball falling from the inflow port 511 to collide with the opening/closing body 516 can be limited to the second open state. Therefore, the opening/closing body 561 can be protected and deformation such as distortion in the opening/closing body 516 can be suppressed. This is preferable in order to suppress deterioration of the game ball guiding function of the opening/closing body 516.

<Modification 1>
In the fifth embodiment, the opening/closing body 516 is retracted to the upstream side (to the left in FIG. 27) in the passage direction of the ball passage 514 when switching from the closed state to the open state, but the present invention is not limited to this. It's not a thing. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the opening/closing body 516 retreats to the downstream side (to the right in FIG. 27) in the passage direction of the ball passage 514 when switching from the closed state to the open state.

<Modification 2>
In the fifth embodiment described above, the step portion 517 is formed in the opening/closing body 516 to prevent the movement of the game ball from the lower step portion 516b side to the upper step portion 516a side. The specific configuration for preventing this is arbitrary. For example, a partition or a partition that projects upward may be provided in the central portion of the opening and closing body 516, and the partition or partition may be configured to prevent the game ball from moving to the side opposite to the direction of inclination of the opening and closing body 516.

<Modification 3>
In the fifth embodiment, when in the second guiding state, the opening/closing body 516 covers the entrance portion 531a of the first guiding passage 531, making it impossible to distribute game balls to the first guiding passage 531. However, it is not limited to this. It is sufficient that at least the opening/closing body 516 can make it difficult for the game ball to move to the entrance portion 531a of the first guide passage 531, and there is no need to make it impossible for the ball to enter the entrance portion 531a.

<Modification 4>
In the fifth embodiment, the opening/closing body 516 is configured to slide diagonally, but the moving direction of the opening/closing body 516 is not limited to this. For example, as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 29, when the entrance part 531aA of the first guide passage 531A and the entrance part 532aA of the second guide passage 532A are vertically arranged in parallel, the opening/closing body 516A can be moved up and down. It is also possible to switch between the closed state/first guide state/second guide state by holding the opening/closing body 516A in the same direction as the arrangement direction (vertical direction).

<Modification 5>
In the fifth embodiment, the opening/closing body 516 is slid to switch between the closed state/first guiding state/second guiding state; however, by rotating the opening/closing body, the closed state/first guiding state It is also possible to have a configuration in which the guide state/second guide state is switched. For example, as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 30, when the inlet portion 531aB of the first guide passage 531B and the inlet portion 532aB of the second guide passage 532B are vertically arranged in parallel, the opening/closing structure is plate-shaped. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the body 516B is switched between the closed state/first guide state/second guide state by rotating the body 516B around one end of the opening/closing body 516B.

<Modification 6>
In the fifth embodiment, the opening/closing body 516 is operated in a predetermined opening period depending on the type of hit, depending on the type of hit, in which case the closed state is switched to the first open state and in which the closed state is switched to the second open state. Although the configuration is such that the first open state or the second open state is maintained throughout, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the closed state is switched to the first open state in any winning type, and the opening/closing body 516 is maintained in the first open state over a predetermined open period. That is, it is also possible to have a configuration in which the device passes through the second open state in the process of switching from the closed state to the first open state or the process of switching from the first open state to the closed state, and stops or does not stop once in the second open state. be. In such a configuration, the destination of the game ball that moves from the opening/closing body 516 to the guide path 502 at the timing of entering the second open state is the second guiding path 532, and at other timings, the game ball moves from the opening/closing body 516 to the guide path 502. The destination of the game ball moving to the guide path 502 is the first guide path 531.

Here, the specific configuration for distributing the game balls located on the opening/closing body to the entrance portion of the second guide path when passing through the second open state is arbitrary. For example, the distribution destination may be changed by changing the downward direction of the game ball using the opening/closing body. Specific examples thereof will be described below with reference to the schematic diagrams of FIGS. 31 to 33. FIG. 31(a) is a schematic diagram showing the opening/closing device 515C in a closed state, FIG. 31(b) is a schematic diagram showing the opening/closing device 515C in an open state, and FIG. 32(a) is a schematic diagram showing the opening/closing device 515C in an open state. 32(b) is a horizontal cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the opening/closing body 516C and the downstream portion 510bC of the upper surface portion 510C.

The opening/closing body 516C shown in FIG. 31 has a flat plate shape similar to the opening/closing body 516 shown in the fifth embodiment, and has an upper step 516aC and a step 517C formed in the middle portion thereof. It is divided into a lower section 516bC. Further, like the opening/closing body 516, this opening/closing body 516C is held so as to be able to slide diagonally, and the opening/closing device 515C is configured to switch between the open state and the closed state by sliding the opening/closing body 516C. There is.

When the opening/closing device 515C is in the closed state, the inlet 511C is blocked by the upper section 516aC of the opening/closing body 516C, and the lower section 516bC of the opening/closing body 516C is connected to the downstream portion 510bC of the upper surface section 510C from below. are in contact. When the opening condition of the opening/closing device 515C is satisfied, the opening/closing body 516C descends diagonally downward (lower left in FIG. 31). As a result, the inlet 511C is opened, and the lower part 516bC of the opening/closing body 516C faces the inlet 511C from below (see FIG. 31(b)).

The game ball that has flowed into the inlet 511C in the open state flows down to the right along the opening/closing body 516C (specifically, the lower part 516bC). In this embodiment, although the upper surface of the lower part 516bC is slightly inclined downward to the rear of the gaming machine, the inclination to the right is larger than the above inclination, and furthermore, the upper surface of the lower part 516bC is inclined downwardly toward the rear of the gaming machine. Since it has a rightward movement component, it flows into the entrance portion 531aC of the first guide passage 531C provided on the right side while shifting its course backward.

Here, an inlet portion 532aC of the second guide passage 532C is formed in a portion of the housing that is upstream of the inlet portion 531aC of the first guide passage 531C and below the downstream portion 510bC of the upper surface portion 510C. ing. This entrance portion 532aC faces the front of the gaming machine, and when the opening/closing body 516C is directed to the closed position, game balls located at the lower part 516bC of the opening/closing body 516C flow into it. The configuration and the like for realizing such movement will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 32(b), the downstream part 510bC of the upper surface part 510C and the lower part 516bC of the opening/closing body 516C have a gap between the lower surface 512C of the downstream part 510bC and the upper surface 518C of the lower part 516b from the front to the rear. It is sloped so that it gradually becomes larger as you move towards it. As shown in FIG. 33(a)→FIG. 33(b), when the opening/closing body 516C slides to the closed position while maintaining the state in which the game ball is placed on the lower part 516bC, the sliding movement The gap between the lower surface 512C of the downstream portion 510bC and the upper surface 518C of the lower step portion 516bC becomes smaller, and the game ball is sandwiched between the lower surface 512C of the downstream portion 510bC and the upper surface 518C of the lower step portion 516bC. As shown in FIG. 33(b) → FIG. 33(c), the game ball sandwiched between the lower surface 512C of the downstream portion 510bC and the upper surface 518C of the lower part 516bC moves toward the rear of the gaming machine as the opening/closing body 516C continues to move. It is pushed and guided to the entrance portion 52bC of the second guide passage 532C.

In addition, in the longitudinal direction of the opening/closing body 516C, since the gap between the lower surface 512C of the downstream portion 510bC and the upper surface 518C of the lower part 516bC is uniform, the game ball is moved to the first position by moving the opening/closing body 516C to the closed position. This avoids being guided toward the entrance portion 531aC of the guide passage 531C.

<Sixth embodiment>
In the variable winning unit 600 shown in this embodiment, a ball passage 608 is formed in the upper part of the variable winning unit 600, and an inlet 611 provided in the middle of the ball passage 608 is opened and closed by an opening/closing device 615. Although the configuration is the same as that of the variable winning unit 300 shown in the first embodiment in that point, the opening/closing device and the configuration related thereto are different from the first embodiment. Specifically, in the first embodiment, when the opening/closing device 315 switches from the open state to the closed state, the game ball positioned on the opening/closing body 316 flows into the second guide path 332 by its own weight. However, in this embodiment, on the other hand, the opening/closing body 616 has a configuration in which the opening/closing body 616 actively acts on the game ball located on the opening/closing body 616 to cause the game ball to flow into the second guide path 632. The configuration is different from the first embodiment described above in that. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 34 and 35, the opening/closing device 615 and its related configuration in this embodiment will be described, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. 34(a) is a schematic diagram showing the switching device 615 in the closed state, FIG. 34(b) is a schematic diagram showing the switching device 615 in the open state, and FIG. 34(c) is a schematic diagram showing the switching device 615 in the open state. The vertical cross-sectional view in FIG. 35 is a schematic diagram showing how the game ball flows into the second guide passage 632.

The opening/closing body 616 of the opening/closing device 615 is attached to the housing so as to be slidable in the same direction as the passage direction of the ball passage 608 formed by the upper surface portion 610 of the housing. As shown in FIG. 34(a), the opening/closing body 616 has a portion on the upstream side (hereinafter referred to as upper section 641) of the ball passage 608 in the passage direction than a portion on the downstream side (hereinafter referred to as lower section 642). The upper part has a step shape, and the overall shape is a crank that cranks up and down with this step portion 643 as a boundary.

The opening/closing body 616 can be slid in the passage direction by engaging the front and rear ends of the upper part 641 with the respective grooves formed in the first housing component 605 and the second housing component 606. Although the opening/closing body 616 is held in this state by the housing, the holding structure of the opening/closing body 616 is arbitrary.

When the opening/closing device 615 is in the closed state, the upper stage part 641 of the opening/closing body 616 complements the rolling surface of the ball passage 608 (specifically, the part where the inlet 611 is formed), and the flow Game balls are prevented from flowing into the entrance 611. The upper part 641 slopes downward in the direction of the passage, whereas the upper surface 642a of the lower part 642 has a constant height in the direction of the passage and slopes downward towards the front of the gaming machine. That is, the direction of the downward slope is different between the upper stage part 641 and the lower stage part 642.

The opening/closing device 615 is switched from the closed state shown in FIG. 34(a) to the open state by sliding the opening/closing body 616 toward the upstream side of the ball passage 608. In the open state, the entire upper part 641 overlaps the part of the upper surface part 610 located upstream of the inlet 611 (hereinafter referred to as the upstream part 610a) from below, and the lower part 642 overlaps with the inlet 611. They are confronting each other from below.

The height difference between the upper part 641 and the lower part 642 is larger than the diameter of the game ball, and the game ball flowing into the inlet 611 falls to the lower part 642. That is, in this embodiment, the lower section 642 functions as a "ball receiving section." A part of the first housing structure 605 is located below the lower step part 642, and the housing structure 605 restricts downward bending deformation of the lower step part 642. This is a device to suppress excessive deformation when the lower part 642 is bent and deformed by receiving the game ball, and to disperse the load applied to the lower part 642 to the first housing component 605 side. .

A protrusion 644 that protrudes upward is formed at the end of the lower step portion 642 opposite to the side where the stepped portion 643 is formed, that is, at the end on the downstream side in the passage direction of the ball passage 608. Although the entrance part 632a of the second guide passage 632 is located at a position that is an extension of the lower part 642 in the direction of the passage, the game ball that has fallen into the lower part 642 is moved by the projection 644 to the entrance part 632a. Movement to the side is obstructed, and the inclination of the lower section 642 (upper surface 642a) causes the gaming machine to move forward.

As shown in FIG. 34(c), the entrance portion 631a of the first guide passage 631 is located on the downstream side of the lower section 642 in the direction of inclination of the lower section 642, and the game The game ball that has moved toward the front of the machine will flow into the entrance portion 631a of the first guide path 631.

Regarding the lower part 642 shown in this embodiment, the above-mentioned slope is gentle, and a certain period of time is required for the game ball located on the lower part 642 to move from the lower part 642 to the entrance part 631a. When the opening/closing device 615 switches from the open state to the closed state in a situation where the game ball is located on the lower part 642, the game ball is guided to the entrance portion 632a of the second guide passage 632. becomes. Here, the flow of sorting game balls to the second guide path 632 will be explained with reference to FIG. 35.

As shown in FIG. 35(a), when the opening/closing device 615 is in the open state, the main guide destination of the game ball is the first guide path 631. When the closing condition of the opening/closing device 615 is satisfied in a situation where the game ball is located on the lower part 642 of the opening/closing body 616, the opening/closing body 616 starts sliding toward the downstream side of the ball passage 608. In this sliding movement, the height position of the upper surface 642a of the lower stage portion 642 gradually lowers. In this way, by lowering the upper surface 642a, the game balls are prevented from being guided toward the entrance portion 632a of the second guide passage 632 by the upper surface 642a.

As shown in FIG. 35(a) → FIG. 35(b), as the sliding movement of the opening/closing body 616 progresses, the stepped portion 643 collides with the game ball on the upper surface 642a from the side opposite to the entrance portion 632a. . In addition, before the collision occurs, the game ball is suppressed from moving following the movement of the upper surface 642a, and the collision between the stepped portion 643 and the game ball is suppressed from occurring.

Here, the stepped portion 643 has a wall shape (specifically, vertical) facing downstream in the passage direction of the ball passage 608, and the amount of standing up from the upper surface 642a is larger than the radius dimension of the game ball. ing. Thereby, it is possible to suppress disturbances in the behavior of the game ball pushed toward the entrance portion 632a, and to smoothly guide the game ball to the entrance portion 632a.

As shown in FIG. 35(b)→FIG. 35(c), the game ball pushed by the stepped portion 643 passes over the protrusion 644 formed on the upper surface 642a and enters the second guide passage 632. It will flow into the portion 632a. In other words, the speed of sliding movement of the opening/closing body 616 is set so that the game ball located on the upper surface 642a can get over the protrusion 644.

As shown in FIG. 35(c)→FIG. 35(d), after switching of the opening/closing device 615 to the closed state is completed, sliding movement of the opening/closing body 616 toward the downstream side of the ball passage 608 is avoided. The entrance portion 631a of the first guide passage 631 described above is formed to be horizontally long, and if a game ball remains on the upper surface 642a of the lower part 642 in this state, the game ball will It rolls toward the front of the gaming machine along the slope of the upper surface 642a, and flows into the entrance portion 631a of the first guide passage 631.

As detailed above, the behavior of the game ball when the game ball moves to the second guide path 632 can be made to be significantly different from the behavior of the game ball when the game ball moves to the first guide path 631. . Thereby, the impact when switching the opening/closing device 615 to the closed state can be strengthened.

Since the inclination direction of the upper surface 642a of the lower part 642 is the front-rear direction, it is possible to visually identify how long the game ball located on the upper surface 642a will stay on the upper surface 642a. It becomes difficult. In other words, it becomes difficult to predict in advance whether the game ball will continue to stay on the upper surface 642a until the timing of switching to the closed state. Thereby, it is possible to suitably draw attention to the game ball located on the upper surface 642a.

<Modification 1>
In the sixth embodiment, the upper surface 642a of the lower part 642 of the opening/closing body 616 is tilted downward toward the front of the gaming machine, and the gaming balls resting on the upper surface 642a roll toward the front of the gaming machine. Although the configuration is such that the liquid flows into the entrance portion 631a of the guide passage 631, the present invention is not limited thereto. The upper surface 642a of the lower part 642 of the opening/closing body 616 is tilted downward toward the rear of the gaming machine, and the gaming balls placed on the upper surface 642a roll toward the rear of the gaming machine and flow into the entrance portion 631a of the first guide passage 631. It is also possible to have a configuration in which:

<Modification 2>
In the sixth embodiment, the direction of movement of the game ball toward the entrance portion 631a of the first guide path 631 and the direction of movement of the game ball toward the entrance portion 632a of the second guide path 632 are different ( Although the moving directions are configured so that the moving directions are the same (crossing directions), they may be configured so that the moving directions are the same. A specific example will be described below with reference to the schematic diagrams of FIGS. 36 and 37.

As shown in FIG. 36(a), although the basic structure of the opening/closing body 616A shown in this modification is the same as that of the sixth embodiment, the upper surface 642a of the lower part 642A is different from the gaming machine. It is formed so as to slope downward, not toward the front, but toward the forward side in the sliding movement direction of the opening/closing body 616A when the opening/closing device 615A switches from the open state to the closed state (downstream side in the path direction of the ball passage 608). Therefore, the game ball that has reached the upper surface 642a rolls toward the side of the game machine along the slope and heads toward the guide path 602A. Also in this embodiment, the guide passage 602A branches into a first guide passage 631A and a second guide passage 632A at its most upstream portion (the location where the opening/closing body 616A is disposed), and the entrance of the first guide passage 631A. The portion 631aA and the entrance portion 632aA of the second guide passage 632A are arranged so that the former is located on the near side in the rolling direction of the game ball, and the latter is located on the back side in the rolling direction of the game ball.

As shown in FIG. 36(b), when the opening/closing device 615A is in the open state, the game ball that has fallen into the lower part 642A through the inlet 611 rolls along the slope of the upper surface 642aA of the lower part 642A. and flows into the entrance portion 631aA of the first guide passage 631A. On the other hand, if a game ball is placed on the lower part 642A when switching from the open state to the closed state, the game ball may flow into the entrance portion 632aA of the second guide passage 632A. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 37(a), when the closing condition of the opening/closing device 615A is satisfied in a situation where a game ball is placed on the lower part 642A, the opening/closing body 616A is directed to the closed position. to start sliding. In this embodiment, this sliding direction and the inclination direction of the upper surface 642aA of the lower part 642A are the same direction, and due to the sliding movement, the game ball on the lower part 642A is moved downstream by the lower part 642A. It is suppressed from being pushed to the top.

As shown in FIG. 37(a)→FIG. 37(b), as the opening/closing body 616A approaches the closed position, the step portion 643A hits the game ball on the lower step portion 642A from the original side in the sliding direction. As shown in FIG. 37(b) → FIG. 37(c), the game ball pushed by the stepped portion 643A gains momentum and crosses over the entrance portion 631aA of the first guide path 631A to the second guide path 632A. It will flow into the inlet portion 632aA of.

Even if the game ball on the lower step part 642A is located at the farthest point from the step part 643A, as shown in FIG. By covering the entrance portion 631aA of the first guide passage 631A with the lower step portion 642A, the game balls are prevented from flowing into the entrance portion 631a. Therefore, even if the collision with the stepped portion 643A is avoided and the game ball is not accelerated properly, the game ball on the lower step portion 642A will flow into the entrance portion 632aA of the second guide passage 632A. .

<Modification 3>
In the sixth embodiment, the game ball can flow into the entrance portion 632a of the second guide passage 632 when the opening/closing device 615 is in the open state, but the invention is limited to this. It's not a thing. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the game balls are prevented from flowing into the entrance portion of the second guide passage when the opening/closing device is in the open state. A specific example will be described below with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. 38.

In the housing 601B shown in this modification, a portion forming the inlet portion 632a of the second guide passage 632 at the downstream portion 610bB of the upper surface portion 610B, specifically, a protrusion 614 of the opening/closing body 616 disposed in the closed position. A protrusion 613B that protrudes downward is formed in the opposing portion. When the opening/closing device 615 is in the open state, the gap L1 between the protrusion 614 and the protrusion 613B is smaller than the diameter dimension D of the game ball. Therefore, the game balls that have passed through the inlet 611B are prevented from flowing into the entrance portion 632a of the second guide passage 632 through this gap.

Due to the movement of the opening/closing body 616 toward the closed position, the size of the inlet 611B becomes smaller than the diameter dimension D of the game ball, so that the gap L2 between the projection 614 and the projection 613B becomes larger than the diameter dimension D of the game ball. Therefore, the shortest distance L3 between the protrusion 614 and the downstream portion 610bB is also larger than the diameter dimension D of the game ball. Thereby, the game balls that have passed through the inlet 611B can flow into the entrance portion 632a of the second guide passage 632 through this gap.

<Modification 4>
In the sixth embodiment, the opening/closing body 616 is configured to descend when the opening/closing body 616 is moved to the closed position, thereby reducing friction between the opening/closing body 616 and the game ball resting on the lower part 642. The structure was designed to reduce this. In order to suppress the game ball from moving toward the entrance portion 631a of the first guide passage 631 before being pushed by the step portion 643 as the opening/closing body 616 moves to the closed position, the position above the lower step portion 642 is useful. It is also possible to configure the game ball to be biased toward the stepped portion 643 side. For example, the game ball resting on the lower part 642 of the opening/closing body 616 may be biased toward the stepped part 643 by tilting the upper surface 642a of the lower part 642 in the direction opposite to the sliding direction toward the closed position. . Thereby, in suppressing the movement of the game ball mentioned above, it is possible to suppress the restrictions related to the sliding direction of the opening/closing body 616 from becoming stronger.

<Seventh embodiment>
In the variable winning unit 700 shown in this embodiment, a ball passage 708 is formed in the upper part of the variable winning unit 700, and an inlet 711 provided in the middle of the ball passage 708 is opened and closed by an opening/closing device 715. Although the configuration is the same as that of the variable winning unit 300 shown in the first embodiment in that point, the opening/closing device and the configuration related thereto are different from the first embodiment. Specifically, in the first embodiment, the closed state/closed state is changed by rotating the opening/closing body 316 around the rotation center axis CL1 extending in the lateral direction (the same direction as the passage direction of the ball passage 308). Although the configuration is configured to perform switching, in this embodiment, the opening/closing body 716 is rotated along the rotation center axis CL3 extending in the vertical direction (specifically, a direction parallel to the front surface of the game board 80a and a direction orthogonal to the passage direction of the ball passage 708). The structure is different from the first embodiment in that the opening state/closed state is switched by rotating the opening state about the opening. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 39, the opening/closing device 715 and its related configuration in this embodiment will be described, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. FIG. 39(a) is a plan view showing the opening/closing device 715 in a closed state, and FIG. 39(b) is a perspective view of the opening/closing body.

The opening/closing body 716 has a substantially disc-shaped main body portion 716a centered on the rotation center axis CL3. The rotation center axis CL3 of the opening/closing body 716 is offset to a position upstream of the ball passage 708 with respect to the inlet 711, and when the opening/closing device 715 is in the closed state, the main body 716a closes the ball passage 608. The rolling surface (the part where the inlet 711 is formed) is complemented.

A first guide passage 731 and a second guide passage 732 are provided below the opening/closing body 716 as two branch passages forming the guide passage 702 . The entrance portion 731a of the first guide passage 731 is located directly below the inlet 711, and the entrance portion 732a of the second guide passage 732 is located closer to the rotation center axis CL3 than the entrance portion 731a, specifically, the rotation It is arranged on the central axis line CL3 (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 39).

The main body part 716a of the opening/closing body 716 is provided with a passage forming part 716b that guides the game balls that have flowed into the inlet 711 to the entrance part 731a of the first guide passage 731 and the entrance part 732a of the second guide passage 732. . The passage forming part 716b extends to the lower surface side of the main body part 716a, and includes a vertically long first passage part 745 that guides to the entrance part 731a of the first guide passage 731, and a second guide for game balls that have flowed into the inflow port 711. It is roughly divided into a crank-shaped second passage part 746 that guides the passage 732 to the entrance part 732a.

An entrance 745a of the first passage part 745 and an entrance 746a of the second passage part 746 are formed in the main body part 716a. These inlets 745a, 746a penetrate through the main body portion 716a in the thickness direction, and are formed to be smaller than the inlet 711 and large enough to allow game balls to pass through.

The inlets 745a and 746a are arranged in the rotation direction (circumferential direction) about the rotation center axis CL3, and are configured so that the object communicated with the inlet 711 changes depending on the rotation position of the opening/closing body 716. There is. In the opening/closing device 715 shown in this embodiment, the state in which the inlet 745a communicates with the inflow port 711 is the first open state (see FIG. 40(1)), and the state in which the inlet 746a communicates with the inflow port 711 is in the second open state. The state (see FIG. 40(2)) is the closed state (see FIG. 39(a)) when neither the inlets 745a, 746a communicate with the inlet 711.

As shown in FIG. 40(1), in the first open state, the outlet 745b of the first passage part 745 faces the inlet part 731a of the first guide passage 731 from above, and the game balls flowing into the inlet 711 falls along the first passage portion 745 and heads toward the entrance portion 731a of the first guide passage 731 located directly below the inlet 711.

On the other hand, in the second open state, as shown in FIG. In the process of passing through the second passage portion 746, the game ball that has flowed into the opening and closing body 716 changes its direction toward the rotation center axis CL3 side and enters the entrance portion 732a of the second guide passage 732 located directly below the rotation center of the opening/closing body 716. Head to.

Here, the operating mode of the opening/closing device 715 will be described with reference to FIGS. 39(a) and 40.

If you win the lottery based on the ball entering the operating ball entering sections 84 and 85, the opening/closing body 716 rotates 180 degrees clockwise when viewed from above the gaming machine, thereby causing the opening/closing device 715 to change from the closed state. It switches to the first open state (see FIG. 39(a)→FIG. 40(2)→FIG. 40(1)).

In this switching process, the second open state shown in FIG. 40(2) is passed through. Since the opening/closing device 715 is not configured to temporarily stop in the second open state, the inlet 746a of the second passage section 746 crosses the inlet 711. Game balls that flow into the inflow port 711 at the timing when the inflow port 711 and the entrance 746a of the second passage section 746 communicate with each other are guided by the second passage section 746 to the entrance portion 732a of the second guide passage 732.

Specifically, the second passage section 746 has a longer passage length than the first passage section 745, and it takes a certain period of time for the game ball to pass through, and even during this period, the opening/closing body 716 does not rotate. As the rotation progresses, the position of the inlet 746a of the second passage section 746 changes to draw an arc around the rotation center axis CL3, while the exit 746b of the second passage section 746 changes. The game ball remains at a position where it can be guided to the entrance portion 732a of the second guide passage 732 (above the entrance portion 732a). Therefore, the guiding function of the second passage section 746 is maintained even when the opening/closing body 716 is switched to the closed state.

After switching to the first open state, the first open state is maintained, and when the opening end condition is met, the opening/closing body 716 rotates 180 degrees counterclockwise when viewed from above the gaming machine. The opening/closing device 715 switches from the first open state to the closed state (see FIG. 40(1)→FIG. 40(2)→FIG. 39(a)).

In this switching process, the second open state shown in FIG. 40(2) is passed through. Since the opening/closing device 715 is not configured to temporarily stop in the second open state, the inlet 746a of the second passage section 746 crosses the inlet 711. Game balls that flow into the inflow port 711 at the timing when the inflow port 711 and the entrance 746a of the second passage section 746 communicate with each other are guided by the second passage section 746 to the entrance portion 732a of the second guide passage 732.

Specifically, the second passage section 746 has a longer passage length than the first passage section 745, and it takes a certain period of time for the game ball to pass through, and even during this period, the opening/closing body 716 does not rotate. As the rotation progresses, the position of the inlet 746a of the second passage section 746 changes to draw an arc around the rotation center axis CL3, while the exit 746b of the second passage section 746 changes. The game ball remains at a position where it can be guided to the entrance portion 732a of the second guide passage 732 (above the entrance portion 732a). Therefore, the guiding function of the second passage section 746 is maintained even when the opening/closing body 716 is switched to the closed state.

As used in conventional gaming machines, players should pay attention to the configuration in which the game balls are sorted at a location far away from the predetermined ball entry port after the ball enters the predetermined ball entry port. The locations will be scattered. In this case, if the player focuses on one of the ball entry point and the distribution point, it becomes difficult to see the movement of the game ball in the other, which tends to cause confusion for the player. In this regard, according to the configuration shown in this feature, game balls that flow into the inflow port 711 as the "predetermined ball entry port" are placed on the disadvantageous side by the first passage section 745 and the second passage section 746 of the opening/closing body 716. It is distributed into a first guide passage 731 as a first flow path and a second guide passage 732 as an advantageous second flow path. The inflow into the inflow port 711 is influenced by switching the opening/closing body 716 between the open state and the closed state. That is, the opening/closing body 716 shown in this embodiment is provided with a function of restricting the entry of balls into the inflow port 711 and a function of distributing game balls that have flowed into the inflow port 711. By looking at the opening/closing body 716 attached to the inlet 711, it is possible to easily understand whether or not the ball has entered the ball and where the ball will be distributed. This can contribute to increasing the level of attention to the game.

It is assumed that even if an attempt is made to simply put the ball entry points and ball distribution points in one place, the movable member for restricting ball entry and the movable member for ball distribution will be separate, which will reduce the effectiveness of reducing player confusion. Ru. Furthermore, if a plurality of movable members are to coexist, the area occupied by these movable members increases. This is not preferable in terms of relaxing restrictions on the arrangement of these movable members. In this regard, if the position of the first passage section 745 and the second passage section 746 with respect to the inlet port 711 is changed with the operation of the opening/closing body 716 as shown in this embodiment, the input can be made with a simple structure. Each function of ball restriction and distribution can be exerted, and these problems can be solved suitably.

Furthermore, by separately providing the entrance 745a of the first passage section 745 and the entrance 746a of the second passage section 746, even when the player is watching the vicinity of the inlet 711, either entrance 745a or 746a can be used. It becomes easier to determine whether to go through . This is preferable in order to suitably exhibit the above-mentioned attention level improvement effect.

When the opening/closing device 715 is in the first open state, the game ball is guided to the relatively disadvantageous first guide path 731, and in the process of switching from the first open state to the closed state, the game ball is guided to the first guide path 731. becomes a relatively advantageous second guide passage 732. With such a configuration, when switching to the closed state where it is difficult or impossible for balls to enter, it can be expected that the game balls will be distributed to the second guide path 732 on the advantageous side, and switching to the closed state will be possible. It is possible to suitably prevent this from becoming a factor that reduces the player's desire to play.

The first passage section 745 and the second passage section 746 have different time periods required for the game ball to pass through them. Regarding the second passage section 746, which requires a relatively long period of time to pass through, the opening/closing device 715 is in the process of switching from the second guide state to the closed state, and also after switching to the closed state, to the second guide passage 732, which is the guide destination. The guidance function will be maintained. With such a configuration, it is possible to suitably prevent securing the required passage period from becoming a factor that hinders improvement in switching responsiveness from the first guide state to the closed state. In addition, it is no longer necessary to delay switching to the closed state until the second passage section 746 completes guiding the game ball to the second guide passage 732, and the responsiveness of switching from the first open state to the closed state can be improved. can be improved.

<Modification 1>
In the seventh embodiment, the entrance 745a of the first passage section 745 and the entrance 746a of the second passage section 746 are made the same size, but the invention is not limited to this. The size of the inlet 745a of the first passage part 745 and the size of the inlet 746a of the second passage part 746 may be different.

For example, when assuming a configuration in which the inlet 745a of the first passage section 745 stays at a position communicating with the inflow port 711, and the inlet 746a of the second passage section 746 does not stay at a position communicating with the inflow port 711, , the flow into the inlet 746a is more difficult than the flow into the inlet 745a. Taking this situation into consideration, it is also possible to make the entrance 746a of the second passage section 746 larger than the entrance 745a of the first passage section 745 to increase the frequency at which game balls are distributed to the second guide passage 732. It is. In particular, if the operating speed of the opening/closing body 716 is increased in order to improve the responsiveness of switching from the first open state to the closed state, the possibility that a ball will enter the ball when passing through the second open state will be reduced. . If it becomes substantially difficult to enter the ball in this way, there is a concern that this will hinder the ability to achieve the above-mentioned attention-grabbing effect. Therefore, as shown in this modification, by making one of the entrances through which the ball passes larger than the other, it gives the impression to the player that there is sufficient room for the ball to enter, and this causes the above-mentioned inconvenience. can be suppressed.

<Modification 2>
In the seventh embodiment, the entrance portion 732a of the second guide passage 732 is located on the rotation center axis CL3, but the position of the entrance portion 732a of the second guide passage 732 may be arbitrarily changed. You can. However, in order to ensure the function of guiding the game balls that have passed through the inlet 711 to the entrance portion 732a of the second guide passage 732, the arrangement should be made closer to the rotation center axis CL3 than the entrance portion 731a of the first guide passage 731. It is preferable to set

<Modification 3>
In the seventh embodiment, the passage length of the first passage section 745 is configured to be shorter than the passage length of the second passage section 746, but the present invention is not limited to this. The passage length of the first passage part 745 and the passage length of the second passage part 746 may be configured to be the same length, or the passage length of the second passage part 746 may be longer than the passage length of the first passage part 745. It may also be configured so that the length is also longer.

<Modification 4>
In the seventh embodiment, the opening/closing body 716 is constituted by the disc-shaped main body 716a and the passage forming part 716b extending downward from the main body 716a. , 732 are provided with a function of guiding game balls, it is also possible to omit the passage forming portion 716b, for example.

<Modification 5>
As shown in the seventh embodiment, when the opening/closing body is moved and the opening/closing body is configured to pass through the second open state in the process of switching from the first open state to the closed state, the opening/closing body may be a rotary type. It is not necessarily necessary to do so, and the opening/closing body may be of a sliding type.

<Modification 6>
In the seventh embodiment, the opening/closing device 715 is configured to go through the second open state both when switching from the closed state to the first open state and when switching from the first open state to the closed state. , but is not limited to this. The opening/closing device 715 may be configured to go through the second open state either when switching from the closed state to the first open state or when switching from the first open state to the closed state.

<Modification 7>
In the seventh embodiment, the rotation angles are smaller than 360° when switching the opening/closing device 715 from the first open state to the closed state and from the closed state to the first open state. It is also possible to make at least one of the rotation angles larger than 360° when switching from the first open state to the closed state and when switching from the closed state to the first open state.

<Modification 8>
In the seventh embodiment, the outlet 746b of the second passage section 746 is oriented in the horizontal direction, but in order to cause the game balls flowing out from the outlet 746b to flow into the entrance part 732a of the second guide passage 732, It is also possible to configure the outlet 746b to face downward so that the outlet 746b remains facing the entrance portion 732a of the second guide passage 732 from above regardless of the rotational position of the opening/closing body 716. It is.

<Modification 9>
In at least one of switching the opening/closing device 715 from the first open state to the second open state to the closed state, or from the closed state to the first open state via the second open state, temporarily The opening/closing body 716 may be temporarily stopped so that the opening/closing device 715 is maintained in the second open state.

<Modification 10>
When the lottery result based on balls entering the operating ball entering sections 84 and 85 is the first lottery result, the opening/closing device 715 is switched from the closed state to the first open state, and when it is the second lottery result, the opening/closing device 715 is switched from the closed state to the first open state. It is also possible to configure the switch 715 to be switched from the first open state to the closed state. In this configuration, the rotating direction of the opening/closing body 716 when switching from the closed state to the first open state is opposite to the rotating direction of the opening/closing body 716 when switching from the closed state to the second open state, and when switching It is also possible to adopt a configuration that does not go through the other open state.

<Other embodiments>
Note that the present invention is not limited to the contents described in each of the embodiments described above, and may be implemented as follows, for example. Incidentally, each of the following configurations may be applied individually to each of the above embodiments, or a part or all of them may be combined and applied to each of the above embodiments. Further, it is also possible to arbitrarily combine all or part of the various configurations shown in each of the above embodiments. In this case, it is preferable that the technical significance (effects exhibited) of each configuration to be combined is ensured. Each of the following configurations may be applied individually to a new configuration consisting of a combination of embodiments, or a part or all of them may be applied in combination.

(1) In each of the above embodiments, when the opening/closing device 315 is in the closed state, the inlet 311 is completely blocked by the opening/closing body 316, but the configuration is not limited to this. do not have. It is sufficient that the game ball cannot enter the inflow port 311 when the inflow port 311 is at least in the closed state, and a portion of the inflow port 311 etc. is opened to the extent that the game ball cannot pass through. This does not negate leaving it as it is.

Note that the opening/closing device 315 can be switched between a first state in which the ball can enter the inlet 311 and a second state in which it is more difficult to enter the ball than in the first state. This is sufficient, and it is not necessarily necessary to prohibit the ball from entering in the second state.

(2) In each of the above embodiments, when the game balls are guided to the relatively disadvantageous second guide path 342, the larger the number of game balls guided to the second guide path 342, the more the game balls are guided to the second guide path 342. , the advantage is high, but the invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to have a configuration in which the advantage does not depend on the number of guided game balls.

(3) In each of the above embodiments, the opening/closing device 315 is provided in both the right route and the left route, but the present invention is not limited to this. The number and position of the opening/closing devices 315 are arbitrary. For example, the opening/closing device may be disposed on either the right route or the left route, or the opening/closing device 315 may be disposed at a branch position to both routes.

(4) In each of the above embodiments, the operating speed of the opening/closing body 316 is configured to be constant, but the operating speed of the opening/closing body 316 is a first operating speed, and a second operation slower than the first operating speed. A speed may be provided.

(5) In each of the above embodiments, the game balls flowing into the inlet 311 are distributed to either the first guide passage 331 or the second guide passage 332 by the opening/closing device 315, but the invention is limited to this. It's not a thing. As for the opening/closing device, it is sufficient as long as it is capable of distributing game balls to any one of a plurality of guide passages, and the number of destinations to which the balls are distributed is arbitrary. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which game balls are distributed to any one of the first guide path to the third guide path.

Note that the destination for distributing the game balls does not have to be the passage, and may be, for example, the ball entrance or the exit.

(6) In each of the above embodiments, the opening/closing device 315 switches from the closed state to the open state when the predetermined opening condition is satisfied based on the entry of the ball into the operating ball entry section, and when the predetermined closing condition is satisfied. Although the opening/closing device 315 is configured to switch from the open state to the closed state at the same time, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the opening/closing device 315 switches between an open state and a closed state at a preset cycle.

(7) In each of the above embodiments, a difference in the degree of advantage was provided so that the second guide passage 332 was more advantageous to the player than the first guide passage 331, but this was changed and the second guide passage 332 A difference may be provided so that the first guide passage 331 is more advantageous to the player than the passage 332.

(8) In each of the above embodiments, the game balls distributed to either the first guide path 331 or the second guide path 332 are configured to be able to enter the V winning hole 386, but this has been changed and It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the game balls distributed to the second guide path 332 enter the V winning hole 386, and the game balls distributed to the first guide path 331 do not enter the V winning hole 386. Furthermore, it is sufficient if there is a difference in advantage between the distribution destinations; for example, when game balls flow into the first guide path 331 and the second guide path 332, a prize ball is awarded to the player. In the configuration, a difference in advantage may be provided by setting a difference in the number of prize balls.

(9) The above-mentioned opening/closing device 315 or the like may be used as the electric accessory 91 attached to the second operating ball entrance portion 85. In this case, for example, the game ball distributed to the first guide path passes through the detection position of the game ball in the second operating ball entry section 85, and the game ball distributed to the second guide path does not pass through the detection position. It is also possible to have a configuration.

(10) In each of the above embodiments, the first guide passage 341 as the "first passage part" and the second guide passage 342 as the "second passage part" are arranged side by side from side to side when viewed from the front of the gaming machine. However, the arrangement is arbitrary as long as it has a configuration corresponding to at least the "first passage part" and the "second passage part" in which a difference in advantage/disadvantage is set. For example, it is also possible to arrange the first guide passage and the second guide passage side by side in the front-rear direction.

(11) As shown in each of the above embodiments, when a plurality of switching devices 315 are used together, each switching device 315 may be provided with a driving section 317 individually, or the switching devices 315 may be used to drive the switching devices 315. The parts may be shared.

(12) Regarding the opening/closing body 316 etc. shown in each of the above embodiments, if the switching between the open state and the closed state is prevented due to a clogged ball or the like, the opening/closing body is reversed and then restarted. By having a configuration that performs switching, reliability of operation can be increased.

(13) Other types of pachinko machines different from the above embodiments, such as pachinko machines in which an electric accessory is released a predetermined number of times when a game ball enters a specific area of a special device, or a pachinko machine that opens a game ball in a specific area of a special device. The present invention can also be applied to gaming machines such as a pachinko machine in which a jackpot is generated when a ball enters the machine, a pachinko machine equipped with other accessories, an arranged ball machine, and a mahjong ball machine.

In addition, non-pinball type game machines, for example, are equipped with multiple reels with multiple types of symbols attached in the circumferential direction, and rotation of the reels is started by inserting a medal and operating a start lever, and a stop switch is operated. The present invention can also be applied to a slot machine that gives a player a benefit such as a payout of medals if a specific symbol or a combination of specific symbols is established on an active line that can be seen from a display window after the reels have stopped. can be applied.

Furthermore, the game machine main body supported by the outer frame in an openable and closable manner is provided with a storage section and a take-in device, and the start lever is operated after a predetermined number of game balls stored in the storage section are taken in by the take-in device. The present invention can also be applied to a gaming machine that is a combination of a pachinko machine and a slot machine, which starts the rotation of the reels by doing so.

<About the invention group extracted from each of the above embodiments>
Hereinafter, the features of the invention group extracted from each of the embodiments described above will be explained, showing effects etc. as necessary. In the following, for ease of understanding, configurations corresponding to the above embodiments are appropriately indicated in parentheses, etc., but the present invention is not limited to the specific configurations shown in parentheses.

<Characteristics Group A>
The following feature group A is as follows: ``Some gaming machines such as pachinko machines are equipped with a game board that has a gaming area where game balls flow down.Game balls are released based on the player's firing operation. When the fired game ball enters the ball entry section provided in the game area, the player is given benefits such as payout of the game ball. In gaming machines where the award of benefits depends on the movement of the game ball, by placing game parts such as nails and windmills in the game area, the falling path of the game ball can be dispersed and the movement of the game ball can be diversified. There is a technique that increases attention to the movement of the game ball and, in turn, to the game (for example, see Patent Document 1). There is still room for improvement in its configuration in order to attract more attention to the system.'' This invention was made with the problem to be solved.

Feature A1. A game board (game board unit 80) on which a game area (game area PE) is formed, and a game ball that flows down the game area and enters a predetermined ball entry port (inflow port 311), This gaming machine is equipped with a distributing means (opening/closing device 315 of the variable winning unit 300) that can distribute the distribution to the first flow path (first guide passage 331) and the second flow path (second guide passage 332). hand,
The sorting means is
A distribution member (opening/closing body 316) in which a ball receiving portion (inner surface portion 328) is formed and distributing game balls that have reached the ball receiving portion to the first flow path and the second flow path;
It has a drive unit (drive unit 317) that operates the distribution member,
By controlling the drive of the drive unit, the distribution member opens the predetermined ball entry port, and the ball receiver is placed in a position to receive the game balls that have flowed into the predetermined ball entry port. 1 state (open state), and a predetermined portion (outer surface portion 329) that is a part of the distribution member and is different from the ball receiving portion is arranged at a position that prevents the game ball from passing through the predetermined ball entry opening. A gaming machine characterized by comprising a drive control means (a function for executing drive control of the opening/closing device 315 by the main control device 162) for switching to the second state.

According to the configuration shown in feature A1, by operating the distribution member, it is possible to control the entry of balls into a predetermined ball entry port and the distribution of the game balls entered into the predetermined ball entry port, The behavior of the game ball that has reached the predetermined ball entrance can be varied in various ways. This is advantageous in suppressing the complexity of the configuration for changing the behavior of the game ball, promoting understanding among players, and increasing attention to the game (behavior of the game ball). . In addition, by concentrating noteworthy points in the distribution means, even if the movement of the game ball is diversified, it is possible to reduce the chance that the movement of the game ball will be overlooked. In addition, if the distribution member is configured to distribute the balls entering a predetermined ball entrance and the game balls that have entered the predetermined ball entrance, the area occupied by the configuration related to the distribution means will be increased. It can be suppressed. This is also preferable in terms of relaxing restrictions on the arrangement of the distribution means.

The configuration shown in this feature is defined as "a game board (game board unit 80) in which a game area (game area PE) is formed, a game ball flowing down the game area, and a predetermined ball inlet (inflow port 311). ) can be distributed into a first flow path (first guide path 331) and a second flow path (second guide path 332) that is more advantageous to the player than the first flow path. a distributing means (opening/closing device 315 of the variable prize winning unit 300), the distributing means is formed with a ball receiving part (inner surface part 328), and directs the game balls that have reached the ball receiving part to the first channel. and a distribution member (opening/closing body 316) that distributes the distribution to the second flow path, and a drive unit (drive unit 317) that operates the distribution member, and by controlling the drive unit, the distribution The member is placed in a first state (open state) in which the predetermined ball entry port is opened and the ball receiving portion is placed at a position to receive game balls that have flowed into the predetermined ball entry port; A drive control means (main control A game machine characterized by having a function of controlling the drive of the opening/closing device 315 in the device 162.''

Incidentally, the configuration shown in this feature is defined as "a game board (game board unit 80) on which a game area (game area PE) is formed, and a game ball that flows down the game area and enters a predetermined ball entrance. Sorting means ( an opening/closing device 315) of the variable winning unit 300, and the distributing means is formed with a ball receiving part (inner surface part 328), and the game balls that have reached the ball receiving part are routed through the first flow path and the second flow path. It has a distribution member (opening/closing body 316) that distributes to the flow path, and a drive unit (drive unit 317) that operates the distribution member, and when the distribution member operates, the first state and the first state are changed. The configuration is such that the distribution member switches to a second state in which it is more difficult for the ball to enter the predetermined ball entrance, and when the distribution member is in the second state, the ball receiving portion A game machine characterized in that the predetermined ball entry opening is closed by a different predetermined portion (outer surface portion 329).

In addition, the configuration shown in this feature is defined as "a game board (game board unit 80) on which a game area (game area PE) is formed, and a game ball flowing down the game area that enters a predetermined ball entrance. Sorting means ( an opening/closing device 315) of the variable winning unit 300, and the distributing means is formed with a staying part (inner surface part 328) in which game balls can stay, and the game balls that have reached the staying part are directed to the first flow path. and a distribution member (opening/closing body 316) that distributes the balls to the second flow path, and a drive unit (drive unit 317) that operates the distribution member, and the distribution member distributes the balls to the predetermined entrance port. A first state in which the game ball is opened and the staying part is arranged below the predetermined ball entrance, and a predetermined part (outer surface part 329) different from the staying part prevents the game ball from passing through the predetermined ball entrance. A gaming machine characterized in that it is configured to switch to a second state in which it is disposed in a position that blocks the player. Incidentally, the above-mentioned "staying section" may be a "rolling section" in which the game ball can roll.

Feature A2. The sorting member includes a first discharge part (second opening part 325) that can discharge the game balls that have reached the ball receiving part to the first channel side when in the first state; A second discharge part (first opening part 324) is formed that can discharge the game ball located in the ball receiving part to the second flow path side when the second state is reached. The gaming machine according to feature A1.

According to feature A2, the game balls that have reached the ball receiving part through the predetermined inflow port are discharged to the first flow path side through the first discharge part in the first state, and are discharged to the first flow path side through the first discharge part in the second state. is discharged to the second flow path side. In this way, by providing the first discharging section and the second discharging section as discharging sections from which game balls are discharged from the distribution member, one discharging section also serves as the first discharging section and the second discharging section. In comparison with the configuration, by looking at the discharge position from the distribution member, etc., it is possible to easily specify the destination to which the game balls are distributed. In particular, as shown in feature A1, since the configuration is such that the movement of the game balls in the vicinity of a predetermined inlet port is varied, it is preferable to provide separate discharge sections in order to promote understanding among players.

Feature A3. The sorting means guides game balls that have reached the ball receiving part to the first ejection part when the sorting member is in the first state, and the sorting member is in the first state. The gaming machine according to feature A2, characterized in that the gaming machine is configured to guide the game ball located on the ball receiving part to the second ejection part when switching from the state to the second state.

According to the configuration shown in feature A3, game balls are ejected from the second ejecting section even though it is in the first state, and game balls are ejected from the first ejecting section even though it is in the second state. can be suppressed from being discharged. In other words, it is possible to prevent the relationship between the state of the distribution member and the distribution destination from becoming difficult to understand.

Feature A4. The sorting member is provided with a movement path through which the game balls located on the ball receiving part move to the second ejection part when switching from the first state to the second state,
According to feature A2 or feature A3, the movement path is shorter than the movement path along which the game ball located on the ball receiving part moves to the first ejection part in the first state. gaming machines.

According to feature A4, by switching from the first state to the second state, the game ball located on the ball receiving part moves to the second discharge part. The movement path of the game ball at this time is shorter than the movement path when the game ball moves to the first discharge section in the first state. When switching from the first state to the second state, the game balls are quickly discharged to the second flow path side (advantageous side) through the second discharge section, giving the impression that the distribution of game balls is being unnecessarily delayed. It is possible to avoid giving this to the player.

Feature A5. The sorting member is configured such that, when in the first state, game balls that enter the predetermined ball entry port reach the ball receiving part through the second discharge part. The gaming machine according to any one of features A2 to A4.

According to feature A5, the second discharge section through which game balls heading toward the second flow path pass functions as an inlet section when the game balls move from the predetermined ball entry port to the ball receiving section. In this way, by using the second discharge portion as both the inlet and outlet portions of the distribution member, it is possible to contribute to simplifying the structure of the distribution member.

Feature A6. According to any one of features A1 to A5, the distribution member is formed such that a portion of the distribution member that is on the back side of the ball receiving portion is the predetermined portion. The game machine described.

In the distribution member shown in feature A6, there is a part (ball receiving part) where the game ball that enters the predetermined ball entry hole hits, and a part where the ball enters the predetermined ball entry port is not possible or difficult. The area where the game ball hits (predetermined area) is separated. With such a configuration, the locations hit by the game balls can be dispersed, and it is possible to suitably suppress the durability of the distribution member from decreasing due to the combination of the above-described multiple functions. This is preferable in order to stably exhibit the function of distributing game balls to the first flow path and the second flow path described above.

Feature A7. The distribution member is held so as to be rotatable around a predetermined rotation center axis (rotation center axis CL1), and is brought into the first state by rotating around the predetermined rotation center axis. and is configured to switch to the second state,
The ball receiving portion and the predetermined portion are separated from the predetermined rotational center axis, the ball receiving portion facing the rotational center axis, and the predetermined portion facing the opposite side from the ball receiving portion. The gaming machine according to any one of features A1 to A6, characterized in that the gaming machine is formed as follows.

As shown in this feature, by making the distribution member rotatable and forming the ball receiving part so that it faces the center and a predetermined part facing outside, the ball entering and distribution control function shown in feature A1 is achieved. It is possible to suitably suppress the complexity of the structure of the distribution member in order to achieve the desired effect.

Feature A8. The ball receiving portion has an arc shape centered on the rotation center axis,
The gaming machine according to feature A7, wherein the inlet portion (inlet portion 332a) of the second flow path is located below the ball receiving portion.

According to feature A8, when the distribution member rotates with a game ball positioned on the ball receiving part, the game ball is pushed or pulled by the ball receiving part and the game balls in the rotating direction are Changes in position can be suppressed. This makes it possible to drop the game ball directly below the distribution member when switching to the second state. Since the inlet portion of the second channel can be disposed below the ball receiver, the thickness of the distribution means and its related components (size in the thickness direction of the game board) can be reduced. . This is preferable in order to improve the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the distribution means and the like.

Feature A9. Any of features A1 to A8, characterized in that the distribution member is provided with at least a regulating portion (for example, a stepped portion 517) that regulates movement of game balls from the ball receiving portion to the predetermined portion. The gaming machine described in item 1.

As shown in this feature, by restricting the movement of the game ball on the ball receiving part to a predetermined part, the game ball moves to the predetermined part when switching from the first state to the second state, etc. It is possible to suppress the movement of the distribution member from being hindered by the game balls that have moved to the site.

Feature A10. The game ball located in the ball receiving part is visible from the front of the game machine,
The operating direction of the distribution member when switching from the first state to the second state is such that the ball receiver faces toward the front of the gaming machine during switching from the first state to the second state. The gaming machine according to any one of Features A1 to A9, characterized in that the gaming machine is defined to be a direction in which the game passes through the game.

When the distribution member switches from the first state to the second state, the ball receiver passes through a state in which it faces the front (front side) of the gaming machine. With such a configuration, it is possible to suitably suppress the visibility of the game ball from being reduced due to the game ball located on the ball receiving part being hidden behind the distribution member.

Feature A11. The sorting member includes a first discharge part (second opening part 325) that can discharge the game balls that have reached the ball receiving part to the first channel side when in the first state; A second discharge part (first opening part 324) is formed that can discharge the game ball located in the ball receiving part to the second flow path side when the second state is reached,
The gaming machine according to any one of features A1 to A10, wherein the second channel is configured to be more advantageous to the player than the first channel.

When switching from the first state to the second state, there is an opportunity for the game balls to be distributed to the second flow path that is relatively advantageous to the player, so as the game progresses toward the end of the first state, the game Therefore, it is possible to suitably suppress a decline in the player's desire to play.

Feature A12. A first direction and a second direction opposite to the first direction are set as operating directions of the distribution member when switching from the first state to the second state. The gaming machine according to any one of features A1 to A11.

According to feature A12, the destinations to which the game balls are distributed can be made different depending on whether the game ball is rotated in the first direction or the game ball is rotated in the second direction. Thereby, further diversification of the movement of the game ball can be realized.

<Characteristics Group B>
The following feature group B is defined as "Some gaming machines such as pachinko machines are equipped with a gaming board that has a gaming area where the gaming ball flows down. The gaming ball is released based on the player's firing operation. When the fired game ball enters the ball entry section provided in the game area, the player is given benefits such as payout of the game ball. In gaming machines where the award of benefits depends on the movement of the game ball, by placing game parts such as nails and windmills in the game area, the falling path of the game ball can be dispersed and the movement of the game ball can be diversified. There is a technique that increases attention to the movement of the game ball and, in turn, to the game (for example, see Patent Document 1). There is still room for improvement in its configuration in order to attract more attention to the system.'' This invention was made with the problem to be solved.

Feature B1. A game board (game board unit 80) on which a game area (game area PE) is formed;
A first guide portion (first A distribution member in which a second guide part (second passage part 746) that guides the player to a second passage (second guide passage 732) side that is more advantageous for the player than the first passage is formed. (opening/closing body 716),
A drive unit (drive unit 717) that operates the distribution member,
By driving and controlling the drive unit, the distribution member can be moved to a first state (open state) in which a ball can enter the predetermined ball entry port, and a state where the ball can enter the predetermined ball entry port from the first state. A gaming machine characterized by being equipped with a switching means (a function for controlling the drive of the opening/closing device 715 by the main control device 162) for switching to a second state (closed state) in which it is difficult for a ball to enter the game machine.

As used in conventional gaming machines, players should pay attention to the configuration in which the game balls are sorted at a location far away from the predetermined ball entry port after the ball enters the predetermined ball entry port. The locations will be scattered. In this case, if the player focuses on one of the ball entry point and the distribution point, it becomes difficult to see the movement of the game ball in the other, which tends to cause confusion for the player. In this regard, according to the configuration shown in this feature, for game balls that have entered a predetermined ball entry hole, the first flow path on the disadvantageous side and the first flow path on the advantageous side are controlled by the first guide part and the second guide part of the distribution member. It will be distributed to the second flow path. Then, by switching the distribution member between the first state and the second state, the entry of the ball into the predetermined ball entry opening is influenced. That is, the distribution member shown in this feature is provided with a function of restricting the entry of balls into a predetermined ball entry port and a function of distributing game balls that enter the predetermined ball entry port. By looking at the distribution member attached to a predetermined ball entry opening, it is possible to easily grasp whether or not the ball will enter the ball, and where the ball will be distributed. This can contribute to increasing the level of attention to the game.

Feature B2. The game according to feature B1, wherein the first guide part and the second guide part are configured so that their positions with respect to the predetermined ball entry opening change in accordance with the operation of the distribution member. Machine.

It is assumed that even if an attempt is made to simply put the ball entry points and ball distribution points in one place, the movable member for restricting ball entry and the movable member for ball distribution will be separate, which will reduce the effectiveness of reducing player confusion. Ru. Furthermore, if a plurality of movable members are to coexist, the area occupied by these movable members increases. This is not preferable in terms of relaxing restrictions on the arrangement of these movable members. In this regard, as shown in this feature, if the position of the first guide part and the second guide part with respect to the predetermined ball entry opening is changed according to the operation of the distribution member, the ball entry limit can be restricted by a simple structure. and distribution functions can be demonstrated, and these problems can be solved suitably.

Feature B3. The first guide section has an entrance portion (entrance 745a) that communicates with the predetermined ball entry port and allows game balls to flow into the first guide section,
Feature B2 characterized in that the second guide part has an entrance part (entrance 746a) that communicates with the predetermined ball entry opening and allows game balls to flow into the second guide part. The gaming machine described in .

According to feature B3, by separately providing the entrance portion for the first guide portion and the entrance portion for the second guide portion, even when the player is gazing near the predetermined ball entrance port, It becomes easier to determine which guide section to go through. This is preferable in order to suitably exhibit the above-mentioned attention level improvement effect.

Feature B4. In the first state, one of the entrance portion of the first guide portion and the entrance portion of the second guide portion of the distribution member remains at a specific position corresponding to the predetermined ball entry opening, and when the distribution member is in the first state, According to feature B3, the other of the inlet portion of the first guide portion and the inlet portion of the second guide portion passes through the specific position in the process of switching from the state to the second state. gaming machines.

According to feature B4, in the first state, the game ball that has reached the predetermined ball entry port flows into the entrance portion of one of the guide portions. When switching from the first state to the second state, game balls can flow into the other guide part in the process. With such a configuration, the distribution destination of the game ball changes before switching to the second state, and it is possible to suitably suppress monotony of the game.

The configuration shown in this feature is as follows: "In the first state, one of the first guide part and the second guide part of the distribution member stops at a specific position corresponding to the predetermined ball entry opening, and The gaming machine according to feature B2, wherein the other of the first guide part and the second guide part is configured to pass through the specific position in the process of switching from the first state to the second state. It is also possible to do this.

Feature B5. In the first state, the distribution member has an entrance portion of the first guide section located at a specific position corresponding to the predetermined ball entry opening, and switches from one of the first state and the second state to the other. The gaming machine according to feature B3, wherein the gaming machine is configured such that an entrance portion of the second guide section passes through the specific position during the process.

According to feature B5, in the first state, the game ball is guided to the relatively unfavorable first channel, and in the process of switching from the first state to the second state, the game ball is guided to the relatively advantageous first channel. There will be 2 channels. With such a configuration, when switching to the second state where it is difficult or impossible for balls to enter, it can be expected that the game balls will be distributed to the second channel on the advantageous side, and when switching to the second state. It is possible to suitably prevent this from becoming a factor that reduces the player's desire to play.

In addition, the configuration shown in this feature is as follows: "In the first state, the first guide portion is located at a specific position corresponding to the predetermined ball entrance port, and in the first state and the second state, The gaming machine according to feature B2, characterized in that the second guide section is configured to pass through the specific position in the process of switching from one side to the other.

Feature B6. Of the entrance portion of the first guide part and the entrance part of the second guide part, the entrance part that passes through the specific position in the process of switching from the first state to the second state is the entrance part of the first guide part. The gaming machine according to feature B4 or feature B5, wherein the entrance portion of the second guide portion is larger than the entrance portion that is not the object of passage.

As shown in feature B3, etc., in a configuration in which the entrance portion of one guide portion passes through a specific position corresponding to a predetermined ball entrance port in the process of switching from the first state to the second state, the passing process Since the game ball passes through the entrance part, it is more difficult to enter the entrance part than the other entrance part. In particular, if the operating speed of the distribution member is increased in order to improve the responsiveness of switching from the first state to the second state, the possibility that a ball will enter the ball during passing will be reduced. If it becomes substantially difficult to enter the ball in this way, there is a concern that this will hinder the ability to achieve the attention-grabbing effect shown in feature B1. Therefore, as shown in this feature, by making one of the entrances through which the ball passes larger than the other, it gives the impression to the player that there is sufficient room for the ball to enter, thereby causing the above-mentioned inconvenience. can be suppressed.

Note that the configuration shown in this feature is defined as "The one that passes through the specific position in the process of switching from the first state to the second state among the first guide section and the second guide section has an entrance portion that is connected to the second guide section. The gaming machine according to feature B4 or feature B5, characterized in that the entrance portion is larger than the entrance portion of the other of the first guide portion and the second guide portion.

Feature B7. The first guide part and the second guide part have different periods required for guiding the game ball,
Among these first guide parts and second guide parts, those with a relatively long required period maintain the guiding function to the flow path as the guide destination even after switching from the first state to the second state. The gaming machine according to any one of features B4 to B6, characterized in that the gaming machine has a configuration in which:

As shown in feature B7, if the period required for guidance is long, if the guidance function is maintained even after switching from the first state to the second state, the required period can be secured from the first state to the second state. This can be suppressed from becoming a factor that hinders improvement in state switching responsiveness.

Feature B8. The period required for the game ball to pass through the second guide section is longer than the period required for the game ball to pass through the first guide section,
The second guide section is configured such that the function of guiding the game balls flowing into the second guide section to the second flow path is maintained even when the game balls are in the second state. The gaming machine according to any one of features B4 to B6.

According to feature B8, there is no need to delay switching to the second state until the second guide section completes guiding the game ball to the second channel, and the responsiveness of switching from the first state to the second state is improved. can be suitably improved.

Feature B9. One of the inlet of the first channel and the inlet of the second channel is disposed at a position directly below the predetermined ball entry port, and the inlet of the first channel and the inlet of the second channel The other inlet of the channel is disposed at a position horizontally shifted from the predetermined ball inlet,
Of the first guide part and the second guide part, the part corresponding to the inflow port disposed at the shifted position has a passage shape, and the outlet part of the passage-shaped guide part in the horizontal direction The gaming machine according to feature B7 or feature B8, characterized in that the entrance portion is offset from the entrance portion.

As shown in this feature, with respect to the passage-shaped guide section provided for the inlet of the second flow path, by shifting the outlet part and the inlet part in the horizontal direction, the inlet of the first flow path is It is possible to suitably coexist with the inlet of the second flow path.

Feature B10. The distribution member is rotatably held,
The first guide part and the second guide part are arranged in parallel in the rotation direction,
The game according to feature B9, characterized in that the exit portion of the passage-like guide portion is formed to be closer to the center of rotation of the distribution member than the entrance portion of the passage-like guide portion. Machine.

According to feature B10, even if the position of the guide part changes due to the rotation of the distribution member, in order to suitably maintain the function of guiding the game ball to the inflow port which is the guide destination, the function of the inflow port is Enlargement can be suppressed, and the inlet and the surrounding structure can suitably coexist.

Feature B11. The gaming machine according to feature B10, wherein the entrance portion disposed at the offset position is located on the rotation center axis of the distribution member.

According to feature B11, the effect shown in feature B10 can be more suitably exhibited.

Note that each of the technical ideas shown in the feature group A may be applied to features B1 to B11.

<Feature C group>
The following characteristic group C is as follows: ``Some gaming machines such as pachinko machines are equipped with a game board that has a gaming area where game balls flow down.Game balls are released based on the player's firing operation. When the fired game ball enters the ball entry section provided in the game area, the player is given benefits such as payout of the game ball. In gaming machines where the award of benefits depends on the movement of the game ball, by placing game parts such as nails and windmills in the game area, the falling path of the game ball can be dispersed and the movement of the game ball can be diversified. There is a technique that increases attention to the movement of the game ball and, in turn, to the game (for example, see Patent Document 1). There is still room for improvement in its configuration in order to attract more attention to the system.'' This invention was made with the problem to be solved.

Feature C1. A game board (game board unit 80) on which a game area (game area PE) is formed;
A game ball that is flowing down the gaming area and has entered a predetermined ball entry port (inflow port 511) is passed through the first flow path (first guide passage 531) and the first flow path by the player. A second flow path (second guide passage 532) that is advantageous for
The sorting means is in a first state (first open state) in which the ball is allowed to enter the predetermined ball entry port and the game ball that has entered the predetermined ball entry port is guided to the first flow path. a second state (second open state) in which the ball is allowed to enter the predetermined ball entry port and the game ball that has entered the predetermined ball entry port is guided to the second flow path; A gaming machine characterized in that it is switchable to a third state (closed state) that makes it more difficult or impossible for a ball to enter the predetermined ball entrance than the first state and the second state.

According to feature C1, when the distribution means is in the third state, it becomes difficult or impossible for the ball to enter the predetermined ball entry opening. When the sorting means is switched to the first state, the ball is allowed to enter the predetermined ball entry port, and the game ball that has entered the predetermined ball entry port is guided to the first flow path. On the other hand, when the distribution means switches to the second state, it is similar to the first state in that the ball is allowed to enter the predetermined ball entry port, but the ball enters the predetermined ball entry port. The balls are guided to the second channel. That is, in the first state and the second state, although the game ball enters the predetermined ball entrance, the guidance destination is switched depending on each state. With such a configuration, it is possible to diversify the movement of the game ball and prevent the game from becoming monotonous. Therefore, it can contribute to improving the degree of attention to the game.

Feature C2. The sorting means forms a first guide path that guides the game ball to the inlet of the first flow path when the first state is in the first state, and forms a first guide path that guides the game ball to the inlet of the first flow path when the first state is the second state. The game machine according to feature C1, characterized in that it has a guide member (opening/closing body 516) that forms a second guide path that guides the game ball to the inlet of the two flow paths.

As shown in this feature, by configuring the guide path by the guide member to be switched between the first state and the second state, the technical idea shown in feature C1 can be suitably realized.

Feature C3. The guide member has a guide path forming part (a top surface portion of the opening/closing body 516) that forms the first guide path when the distribution means is in the first state, and the distribution means is in the first state. The gaming machine according to feature C2, wherein when the second state is established, the guide path forming portion forms the guide path to the inlet of the second flow path.

According to the configuration shown in this feature, even if the guide destination of the game ball is changed between the first state and the second state, the same guide path forming part is used for guiding the game ball, Although differences are imparted to the behavior of game balls, it is possible to prevent them from becoming excessive and becoming a factor that confuses players.

Feature C4. The guide path forming portion forms a rolling surface of the game ball,
The guide member is configured to switch to the first state and the second state against the weight of the game ball when the game ball is located on the guide path forming part. The gaming machine according to feature C3.

According to the configuration shown in this feature, the attitude, position, etc. of the guide member can be changed in a state where the game ball is located on the guide path forming part. Thereby, for example, the guide destination of a game ball being guided to one of the first channel and the second channel can be changed to the other midway. In other words, the guide destination of the game ball is not determined when the ball reaches the guide member. With such a configuration, the degree of attention to the behavior of the game ball can be suitably improved.

Feature C5. When switching from the first state to the third state, the second state is passed through,
Feature C3 or Feature C4, characterized in that the height position of the guide path forming part in the second state is configured to be higher than the height position of the guide path forming part in the first state. The gaming machine described in .

According to the configuration shown in this feature, when switching from the first state to the second state, it becomes necessary to lift the game ball placed on the guide path forming part, and the switching to the second state can be delayed. This increases the chances that the game ball will be guided to the second channel. In this way, the chances of the game ball being guided to the second channel increase or decrease depending on whether or not the game ball is located in the guide path forming part, so that it is possible to suitably suppress the behavior of the game ball from becoming monotonous. .

Feature C6. When switching from the first state to the third state, the second state is passed through,
When switching from the first state to the third state, the case where the game ball is located on the guide path forming part is better than the case where the game ball is not located on the guide path forming part. The gaming machine according to any one of features C3 to C5, characterized in that the gaming machine is configured such that switching from the first state to the second state is delayed.

According to the configuration shown in feature C6, when switching from the first state to the second state to the third state, when the game ball is placed on the guide path forming part in the first state, the state changes to the second state. The switching will be delayed. This increases the chances that the game ball will be guided to the second channel. In this way, the chances of the game ball being guided to the second channel increase or decrease depending on whether or not the game ball is located in the guide path forming part, so that it is possible to suitably suppress the behavior of the game ball from becoming monotonous. .

Feature C7. The configuration is such that when switching from the third state to the first state, the second state is passed through,
When switching from the third state to the first state, the case where the game ball is located on the guide path forming part is better than the case where the game ball is not located on the guide path forming part. The gaming machine according to feature C6, characterized in that the gaming machine is configured to quickly switch from the third state to the first state.

When switching to the first state is performed under the situation where the game ball is located on the guide path forming part, the game ball is guided to the second flow path from the first state to the third state. When the switching is performed, the game balls are guided to the second flow path, which is a factor that reduces the rarity of the game balls. Therefore, when switching from the third state to the first state, by quickly switching to the first state using the weight of the game ball, the chances of being guided to the second flow path can be increased. can be suitably suppressed.

Feature C8. The gaming machine according to any one of features C1 to C7, characterized in that the gaming machine is configured to go through the second state when switching from the first state to the third state.

It is assumed that a player who expects the ball to enter a predetermined ball entry hole plays the game while expecting the first state or the second state. Therefore, the occurrence of switching to the third state may become an opportunity to reduce the desire to play. Here, in the configuration shown in this feature, when changing from the first state to the third state, the guiding destination of the game ball is switched from the first flow path to the second flow path by passing through the second state. That will happen. In other words, when switching to the third state where it is difficult or impossible for the ball to enter the predetermined ball entrance, the player's advantage temporarily increases immediately before switching to the third state. . Thereby, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the player's attention level toward the end of the first state, and to suppress the switching to the third state from becoming a factor in reducing the desire to play.

Feature C9. The sorting means forms a first guide path that guides the game ball to the inlet of the first flow path when the first state is in the first state, and forms a first guide path that guides the game ball to the inlet of the first flow path when the first state is the second state. It has a guide member (opening/closing body 516) that forms a second guide path that guides the game ball to the inlet of the two channels,
The inlet of the first flow path is provided at a position directly below the predetermined ball entry port, and the inlet of the second flow path is provided at a position away from the position directly below,
The sorting means is configured such that in the first state, the guide member retreats from a position between the inflow port and the predetermined ball entry port, and in the second state, the guide member is located at a position between the inflow port and the predetermined ball entry port. The gaming machine according to any one of features C2 to C8, characterized in that the gaming machine is configured to.

According to the configuration shown in this feature, the game ball falling from the predetermined ball entrance does not collide with the guide member in both the first state and the second state, but the chance of the game ball colliding with the guide member is reduced to the second state. can be limited to. With such a configuration, the guide member can be protected and deformation such as distortion can be suppressed from occurring in the guide member. This is preferable in order to suppress deterioration of the guiding function of the game ball by the guiding member.

Feature C10. When a first condition is met, the sorting means is switched from the third state to the first state, and when a second condition different from the first condition is met, the sorting means is switched from the third state. The gaming machine according to any one of features C1 to C9, further comprising a switching means for switching to the first state.

According to feature C10, the distribution means switches from the third state to the first state or from the third state to the second state depending on the established condition. In this way, even if the behavior of the game balls is suppressed from becoming monotonous, it is possible to avoid the scattering of configurations that define whether or not balls can be entered and where they are distributed. Therefore, while improving the attention to the game, it is possible to suitably prevent this from becoming a factor that causes confusion for the players.

Feature C11. The first condition is more likely to be satisfied than the second condition,
The switching means is configured to switch from the third state to the first state and then switch from the first state to the second state and then to the third state when the first condition is satisfied. The gaming machine according to feature C10.

According to feature C11, if the first condition, which is relatively easy to satisfy, is satisfied, the second state is passed through when returning from the first state to the third state. By increasing the opportunities for flow into the second channel in this way, even when the distribution means is operated based on the establishment of the first condition, the degree of attention to the game can be suitably improved. .

Feature C12. The switching means is configured to switch from the third state to the second state and then switch from the second state to the third state without passing through the first state when the second condition is satisfied. The gaming machine according to feature C11, characterized in that:

According to feature C12, when the second condition is satisfied and the second state is returned to the third state, the first state is bypassed, and the first state is returned to the third state while exhibiting the effect shown in feature C11. It is possible to suppress the difference in advantageousness between when the condition is met and when the second condition is met from becoming excessively small.

Note that each of the technical ideas shown in feature A group to feature B group may be applied to feature C1 to feature C12.

<Characteristic group D>
The following characteristic group D is as follows: ``Some gaming machines such as pachinko gaming machines are equipped with a gaming board in which a gaming area is formed in which a gaming ball flows down. When the fired game ball enters the ball entry section provided in the game area, the player is given benefits such as payout of the game ball. In gaming machines where the award of benefits depends on the movement of the game ball, by placing game parts such as nails and windmills in the game area, the falling path of the game ball can be dispersed and the movement of the game ball can be diversified. There is a technique that increases attention to the movement of the game ball and, in turn, to the game (for example, see Patent Document 1). There is still room for improvement in its configuration in order to attract more attention to the system.'' This invention was made with the problem to be solved.

Feature D1. A game board (game board unit 80) on which a game area (game area PE) is formed;
It has an opening/closing body (opening/closing body 316) that is rotatably provided around a rotation center axis extending in a direction along the front surface of the game board, and when the opening/closing body rotates, the flow flows down the gaming area. a first state (open state) in which the game ball is allowed to enter a predetermined ball entry port (inflow port 311); and a second state (closed state).
The opening/closing body is configured to hold a game ball that is located on the back side of the predetermined ball entry port and enters the predetermined ball entry port under the first state, onto the front surface of the game board. A gaming machine characterized in that a ball path (groove portion 323) is formed to guide the ball along the direction.

According to feature D1, the variable ball entrance section switches from the second state to the first state by rotating the opening/closing body around the rotation center axis extending in the direction along the front surface of the game board. In the first state, the ball is allowed to enter the predetermined ball entrance, and a portion of the opening/closing body is located on the back side of the ball entrance. The game ball that has passed through the ball entrance will move in a direction along the front surface of the game board by the ball path formed in the opening/closing body. With such a configuration, while suppressing the complexity of the structure, it is possible to provide a relationship between the movement of the opening/closing body and the movement of the game ball, and suitably improve the attention to the game.

Feature D2. A groove extending in a direction along the front surface of the game board is formed in the opening/closing body, and the groove constitutes the ball passage, and in the first state, the open part of the groove (first open part 324 ) is configured to face the predetermined ball entry port from the back side of the predetermined ball entry port.

As shown in feature D1, when the opening/closing body functions as a passage located on the back side of a predetermined ball entrance, the opening/closing body can receive the game ball that has entered the ball entrance, or There will be a need for support. By forming a ball passage with the groove, the strength of the opening/closing body can be improved. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the deformation of the opening/closing body due to insufficient strength, and to prevent the original opening/closing function from being properly performed due to the addition of a function as a passage. Further, it is possible to suppress an increase in the weight of the opening/closing body while solving the problem of insufficient strength. This is preferable in order to suppress a decrease in responsiveness when switching between the first state and the second state.

Feature D3. The inside of the predetermined ball entry opening is visible from the front of the gaming machine,
Feature D2 is characterized in that when switching from the first state to the second state, the open portion of the groove portion (first open portion 324) is configured to face the front of the gaming machine. The game machine described.

According to feature D3, if there is a game ball passing through the ball path when switching from the first state to the second state, the movement of the passing game ball can be confirmed from the front of the gaming machine. Thereby, it is possible to suppress a sudden drop in visibility while paying attention to the movement of the game ball.

Feature D4. A game board (game board unit 80) on which a game area (game area PE) is formed;
It has an opening/closing body (opening/closing body 316) that is rotatably provided around a rotation center axis extending in a direction along the front surface of the game board, and when the opening/closing body rotates, the flow flows down the gaming area. a first state (open state) in which the game ball is allowed to enter a predetermined ball entry port (inflow port 311); and a second state (closed state).
The opening/closing body includes a passage portion (first opening portion 324) through which the game ball can pass, and a rolling surface (inner surface portion 328) through which the game ball that has passed through the passage portion is guided in the rotation center axis direction. The formed passage portion (groove portion 323) is arranged in parallel in the rotation direction of the opening/closing body,
The passage part and the passage part are such that when the variable ball entry part is in the first state, the passage part communicates with the predetermined ball entrance opening, and the rolling surface is provided below the passage part. A gaming machine characterized in that the gaming machine is configured such that the .

According to feature D4, the variable ball entry section is switched between the first state and the second state when the opening/closing body rotates about the rotation center axis. Here, a passage part and a passage part are formed in the opening and closing body, and in the first state, a game ball that has entered a predetermined ball entrance passes through the passage part and reaches the passage part. Thereafter, it moves along the rolling surface of the passage in the direction of the rotation center axis. With such a configuration, when switching between the first state and the second state, the opening/closing body rotates and the posture of the opening/closing body changes, thereby changing the state of the passage section. In other words, the behavior of the game ball passing through the passage can be changed. Thereby, the behavior of the game ball after entering the predetermined ball entry area can be suppressed from becoming monotonous, and it can contribute to improving the degree of attention to the game.

Feature D5. In the first state, the game ball that has passed through the passage section is configured to reach the passage section,
Feature D4, characterized in that when the variable ball entry section changes from the first state to the second state, the positions of the passage section and the passage section of the opening/closing body are reversed. The gaming machine described in .

According to feature D5, by reversing the positions of the passage part and the passage part, the game ball passing through the passage part flows out of the opening and closing body through the passage part. This makes it possible to further diversify the behavior of the game ball after it enters the predetermined ball entrance.

Feature D6. The opening/closing body is disposed on the back side of the predetermined ball entry opening,
When the variable ball entry portion is in the second state, a surface portion ( The gaming machine according to feature D4 or feature D5, wherein the predetermined ball entry port is covered from the back side of the predetermined ball entry port by the outer surface portion 329).

According to feature D6, when the opening/closing body rotates about the rotation center axis, the predetermined ball entrance port is covered by the surface portion of the opening/closing body.

Note that each of the technical ideas shown in feature A group to feature C group may be applied to feature D1 to feature D6.

<Characteristic group E>
The following characteristic group E is as follows: ``Some gaming machines such as pachinko machines are equipped with a gaming board in which a gaming area is formed in which a gaming ball flows down. When the fired game ball enters the ball entry section provided in the game area, the player is given benefits such as payout of the game ball. In gaming machines where the award of benefits depends on the movement of the game ball, by placing game parts such as nails and windmills in the game area, the falling path of the game ball can be dispersed and the movement of the game ball can be diversified. There is a technique that increases attention to the movement of the game ball and, in turn, to the game (for example, see Patent Document 1). There is still room for improvement in its configuration in order to attract more attention to the system.'' This invention was made with the problem to be solved.

Feature E1. A game board (game board unit 80) on which a game area (game area PE) is formed;
a passage forming body (opening/closing body 316) disposed on the game board and forming a passage part (groove part 323C) capable of guiding the game ball to a predetermined position (entrance part 331a of the first guide passage 331);
a switching means (driver 317 and main controller 162) for switching the passage forming body between a guiding state (open state) in which the guiding is performed and a non-guiding state (closed state) in which the guiding is not performed;
The guiding state of the passage forming body is a first guiding state (first open state), and the first guiding state is a second guiding state (second open state) in which the period required for the game ball to pass through the passage is long. A game machine characterized by comprising:

According to feature E1, game balls flowing down the game area that reach the passage forming body (passage portion) are guided to a predetermined position by the passage. Here, the guide state of the passage forming body is provided with a first guide state and a second guide state, and depending on which guide state it is in, there is a difference in the period required for passing through the passage (passage period). arise. In this way, if the passage time is different depending on the state of the passage forming body, it is possible to suppress the behavior of the game ball from becoming monotonous and contribute to improving the degree of attention to the game.

Feature E2. The gaming machine according to feature E1, wherein the switching means is configured to pass through the second guidance state when switching from the first guidance state to the non-guidance state.

According to feature E2, when switching from the first guidance state to the non-guidance state, the time required for the game ball to pass is temporarily extended by passing through the second guidance state. Thereby, the movement of the game ball toward a predetermined position can be diversified.

Feature E3. The predetermined position is a first predetermined position,
When the passage forming body enters the non-guiding state, the game ball located in the passage portion goes to a second predetermined position (entrance portion 332a of the second guide passage 332) different from the first predetermined position. The gaming machine according to feature E2, characterized in that the gaming machine is configured to be ejected.

In the guiding state, the game ball that has reached the passage section moves to the first predetermined position. When switching from the guiding state to the non-guiding state, the game ball located in the passage section will move to the second predetermined position. Here, when switching from the first guiding state to the non-guiding state via the second guiding state, the movement of the game ball is delayed by entering the second guiding state, and the game ball is is more likely to remain in the passage. Thereby, it is possible to encourage the attention of the player who expects the game ball to move to the second predetermined position to the game.

Feature E4. The switching means switches from the first guiding state to the non-guiding state by moving the passage forming body in a predetermined direction,
The passage section includes a first flow path (a portion of the groove portion 323C in which the protrusion 328C is not formed) and a second flow path in which the game ball passes through for a longer period of time than the first flow path. (a portion of the groove portion 323C in which the protrusion 328C is formed) are arranged side by side in a direction intersecting the predetermined direction, and by changing from the first guide state to the second guide state, the first flow path The gaming machine according to feature E2 or feature E3, characterized in that the game ball located in the second channel is configured to move to the second flow path.

According to feature E4, the flow path of the game ball in the passage portion is switched from the first flow path to the second flow path when the passage forming body moves in a predetermined direction. This increases the time required for the game ball to pass. With such a configuration, the technical idea shown in feature E2 and the like can be suitably realized.

Feature E5. The game machine according to feature E4, wherein the game ball can be moved from the first flow path to the second flow path in the entire area of the passage section.

When switching the passage forming body to the non-guiding state, the position in which the game ball is present in the passage section varies. Therefore, as shown in this feature, if it is possible to move the game ball from the first flow path to the second flow path in the entire area of the passage section, the function shown in feature E4 can be suitably exhibited. .

Feature E6. In the first guiding state, a portion of the passage portion forming the first flow path becomes the bottom of the passage portion, and in the second guiding state, the passage portion forms the second flow path. The gaming machine according to feature E4 or feature E5, characterized in that the portion of the passageway is configured to be the bottom of the passage.

According to feature E6, the channel is switched to the first channel/second channel while the game ball is placed at the bottom of the channel. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience that it becomes difficult to follow the game ball moving in the passage section with the eyes.

Feature E7. The passage forming body is held so as to be rotatable about a rotation center axis extending in the same direction as the passage direction of the passage part,
The switching means switches from the first guiding state to the non-guiding state by rotating the passage forming body,
The gaming machine according to feature E6, wherein a cross section of the passage portion intersecting the rotational center axis has an arc shape centered on the rotational center axis.

According to feature E7, the game ball located in the passage section passes through the bottom of the arcuate passage section. Here, when switching from the first guide state to the second guide state, the flow path located at the bottom will switch from the first flow path to the second flow path, causing the game ball itself to intersect with the rotation center axis. There is no need to move it in the direction you want. With such a configuration, it becomes possible to smoothly switch the flow paths described above.

Feature E8. The passage forming body is formed with a deceleration part (protrusion 328C) that decelerates the game ball moving in the passage direction of the passage part by coming into contact with the game ball passing through the second flow path. The gaming machine according to any one of features E4 to E7.

As shown in feature E1, in order to make the passage time required for the passage part different between the first flow path and the second flow path, a configuration may be adopted in which the game ball is decelerated by coming into contact with the game ball. As a result, it is possible to simplify the configuration related to the passage portion while ensuring a difference in the required passage time.

Feature E9. The predetermined position is a first predetermined position,
When the passage forming body enters the non-guiding state, the game ball located in the passage portion goes to a second predetermined position (entrance portion 332a of the second guide passage 332) different from the first predetermined position. It is configured to be discharged,
The gaming machine according to feature E8, wherein the speed reduction section extends in a direction intersecting the passage direction of the passage section.

According to feature E9, the movement of the game ball discharged from the passage section to the second predetermined position is suppressed from being hindered by the deceleration section, and the game ball can be smoothly discharged to the second predetermined position.

Note that each of the technical ideas shown in feature groups A to D may be applied to features E1 to E9.

<Characteristic group F>
The following feature group F is as follows: ``Some gaming machines such as pachinko machines are equipped with a game board that has a gaming area where game balls flow down.Game balls are released based on the player's firing operation. When the fired game ball enters the ball entry section provided in the game area, the player is given benefits such as payout of the game ball. In gaming machines where the award of benefits depends on the movement of the game ball, by placing game parts such as nails and windmills in the game area, the falling path of the game ball can be dispersed and the movement of the game ball can be diversified. There is a technique that increases attention to the movement of the game ball and, in turn, to the game (for example, see Patent Document 1). There is still room for improvement in its configuration in order to attract more attention to the system.'' This invention was made with the problem to be solved.

Feature F1. It is equipped with a game board (game board unit 80) in which a game area (game area PE) is formed, and is provided with a passage forming body (opening/closing body 616) that forms a passage through which game balls flowing down the game area pass. A gaming machine,
A rolling surface (upper surface 642a of the lower step 642 of the opening/closing member 616) is formed in the passage forming body and slopes downward toward a predetermined position (the entrance portion 631a of the first guide passage 631);
comprising a holding means (housing) that holds the passage forming body movably in a predetermined direction (for example, rightward) that intersects with the inclination direction (for example, forward) of the rolling surface;
A gaming machine characterized in that the passage forming body is formed with a wall portion (step portion 643) that stands up from an end portion of the rolling surface opposite to the predetermined direction.

According to feature F1, after reaching the rolling surface, the game ball flowing down the gaming area moves to a predetermined position along the slope of the rolling surface. Here, when the passage forming body moves in a predetermined direction under the condition that the game ball is located on the rolling surface, the game ball is pushed in the predetermined direction by being pushed by the wall that stands up from the end of the rolling surface. move in the direction. By changing the behavior of the game ball in this way, it is possible to prevent it from moving to a predetermined position, for example. With such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the behavior of the game ball that has reached the rolling surface from becoming monotonous, and it can contribute to improving the degree of attention to the game.

Feature F2. A protrusion (protrusion 644) that prevents movement of the game ball in the predetermined direction is provided at the end of the rolling surface on the forward side in the predetermined direction,
Feature F1, characterized in that the protrusion is formed so that the game ball pushed by the wall part as the passage forming body moves in the predetermined direction can overcome the protrusion. The gaming machine described in .

According to the protrusion shown in feature F2, the game ball that has reached the rolling surface is prevented from moving in a predetermined direction and leaving the rolling surface due to the momentum before reaching the rolling surface, and the special behavior of the game ball shown in feature F1 is suppressed. It is possible to suitably secure opportunities for this to occur. When the game ball located on the rolling surface is pushed as the passage forming body moves in a predetermined direction, the game ball will ride over the protrusion. Thereby, the above-mentioned special behavior accompanying movement of the passage forming body can be prevented from being disturbed.

Feature F3. The passage forming body is positioned above the protrusion in a state where it is waiting at a position before movement in the predetermined direction, and is formed such that a gap with the protrusion is smaller than a diameter dimension of the game ball. and includes a regulating part (protrusion 613B) that regulates movement of the game ball in the predetermined direction through the gap,
A feature characterized in that the restriction is released when the passage forming body moves in the predetermined direction and the gap between the protrusion and the restriction portion becomes larger than the diameter dimension. The gaming machine described in F2.

According to feature F3, while allowing the game ball to move in a predetermined direction when pushed by the wall, the game ball moves in the predetermined direction by itself and rolls before the passage forming body moves in the predetermined direction. It is possible to suitably avoid separation from the moving surface.

Feature F4. According to any one of features F1 to F3, the height position of the passage forming body is configured to be lowered by moving in the predetermined direction than before the movement. The game machine described.

If the passage forming body moves while the game ball is on the rolling surface, the friction generated between the game ball and the rolling surface may prompt the game ball to move in a predetermined direction. . If such movement becomes noticeable, there is a concern that it will be difficult to push the game ball with the wall and accelerate the game ball. This is not preferable in terms of increasing the reliability of movement of the game ball in a predetermined direction. In this regard, according to the configuration shown in this feature, when moving the passage forming body in a predetermined direction, a downward moving component can be included, and the above-mentioned concerns can be suitably eliminated.

Feature F5. Any one of features F1 to F4, characterized in that a blocking portion is provided below the passage forming body to prevent downward deformation of the portion where the rolling surface is formed. The gaming machine described in .

In the configuration shown in feature F1 etc., the behavior of the game ball on the rolling surface tends to deviate from the design assumption due to deformation such as distortion occurring on the rolling surface. In this regard, as shown in this feature, by providing a structure that prevents downward deformation of the rolling surface, the occurrence of such inconveniences can be suitably suppressed.

Feature F6. The passage forming body functions as an opening/closing means for opening and closing a predetermined ball entry port (inflow port 311), and is configured to receive a game ball that has entered the predetermined ball entry port on the rolling surface. and
Any one of features F1 to F5, characterized in that, by moving the passage forming body in the predetermined direction, entry of the ball into the predetermined ball entry opening is regulated by the passage forming body. The gaming machine described in .

According to feature F6, when the predetermined ball entry port is open, the game ball that enters the predetermined ball entry port moves to a predetermined position via the rolling surface. Here, by moving the passage forming body toward the closed position, entry of the ball into the predetermined ball entry hole is regulated, and the game ball located on the rolling surface is moved to a position different from the predetermined position. Will have to move. With such a configuration, the effect of increasing the attention level to the game can be more suitably exerted.

Feature F7. The predetermined ball entrance port is provided at a midway position of a predetermined flow path (ball passage 608) formed in the gaming area,
The gaming machine according to feature F6, wherein the predetermined direction is defined to be the same direction as the downward direction of the game ball in the predetermined channel.

According to feature F7, it is possible to reduce the chance that the game ball that enters the predetermined ball entry hole collides with the wall. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of inconveniences such as deformation of the wall portion, and to suitably suppress variations in the behavior of the game ball when the game ball is pushed by the wall portion.

Feature F8. The gaming machine according to any one of features F1 to F7, wherein the amount of uprightness of the wall portion is larger than the radius dimension of the game ball.

According to the configuration shown in this feature, it is possible to suppress lifting of the game ball pushed by the wall from the rolling surface.

Feature F9. The gaming machine according to any one of features F1 to F8, wherein the passage forming body is configured such that an angle between the wall portion and the rolling surface is a right angle.

According to the configuration shown in this feature, it is possible to suppress lifting of the game ball pushed by the wall from the rolling surface.

Feature F10. It is equipped with a game board (game board unit 80) in which a game area (game area PE) is formed, and is provided with a passage forming body (opening/closing body 616) that forms a passage through which game balls flowing down the game area pass. A gaming machine,
A rolling surface (the upper surface 642a of the lower part 642) on which the game ball rolls is formed in the passage forming body,
The first state (open state) in which the passage forming body moves the game ball located on the rolling surface to the first predetermined position (the entrance portion 631a of the first guide passage 631) is different from the first state. A switching means (a function for executing opening/closing control in the main controller 162) for switching between the second state (closed state) and the second state (closed state),
When the passage forming body switches from the first state to the second state, the passage forming body moves the game ball located on the rolling surface to a second predetermined position as the passage forming body switches from the first state to the second state. A gaming machine characterized by having means (stepped portion 643) for moving to a position (entrance portion 632a of second guide passage 632).

According to feature F10, when the passage forming body is in the first state, the game ball flowing down the game area reaches the rolling surface and then passes through the rolling surface to the first predetermined position. Move to. Here, when the passage forming body switches from the first state to the second state in a situation where the game ball is located on the rolling surface, the game ball located on the rolling surface will not be switched to the second state. Accordingly, it moves to the second predetermined position. With such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the behavior of the game ball that has reached the rolling surface from becoming monotonous, and it can contribute to improving the degree of attention to the game.

Note that each of the technical ideas shown in the features F1 to F9 may be applied to the feature F10.

Furthermore, each of the technical ideas shown in feature A group to feature E group may be applied to feature F1 to feature F10.

Any one of the technical ideas shown in each feature described above may be applied to other features, or the technical ideas shown in a plurality of features may be combined and applied to other features. It is also possible to extract a part of the configuration shown in each feature and apply it to other features.

The basic configuration of a gaming machine to which each of the above features can be applied is shown below.

Pachinko game machine: an operating means (game ball firing handle 41) operated by a player, a game ball firing means (game ball firing mechanism 110) that fires a game ball based on the operation of the operating means, and a It is equipped with a ball path (guiding rail 100) that guides the game ball to a predetermined game area, and each game part (nails, etc.) arranged in the game area, and has a predetermined passing part (general prize opening) of each game part. A gaming machine that gives a player a benefit when a game ball passes through a ball (such as 81).

Reel-type gaming machines such as slot machines: Equipped with a variable display means that displays a symbol row consisting of a plurality of symbols in a variable manner and then displays the symbol row at a final stop, and the symbols begin to fluctuate due to the operation of the starting operation means. A special game that is advantageous to the player, with the necessary condition that the fluctuation of the symbols is stopped due to the operation of the stopping operation means or after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, and that the final stopped symbol at the time of the stop is a specific symbol. A gaming machine that generates a state (bonus game, etc.).

Ball-using belt-type gaming machine: Equipped with a variable display means that displays a symbol row consisting of a plurality of symbols in a variable manner and then displays the symbol row as a final stop; A special gaming state (bonus game, etc.), and further includes a throwing device that is provided with a ball tray and performs a throwing process of taking in game balls from the ball tray, and a putting device that puts out game balls to the ball tray. A game machine configured such that the operation of the starting operation means becomes effective when a game ball is thrown into the game machine.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Pachinko machine as a gaming machine, 80... Game board unit, 80a... Game board, 84, 85... Operation ball entrance part, 162... Main control device, 300... Variable winning unit, 301... Housing, 302... Guide passage, 308...Ball passageway, 310...Upper surface part, 311...Inflow port, 315...Opening/closing device, 316...Opening/closing body, 317...Drive part, 321...Main body part, 323...Groove part, 324...First opening part, 331...First Guide passage, 332...Second guide passage, CL1...Rotation center axis, PE...Game area.

Claims (1)

A game in which a game board in which a game area is formed, and a game ball that flows down the game area and that passes through a predetermined passage area can flow down a first flow path and a second flow path. It is a machine,
A movable member in which a first ball receiving portion is formed, and the game ball that has reached the first ball receiving portion can be caused to flow down the first flow path or the second flow path;
a drive unit that operates the movable member;
By driving and controlling the drive unit, the movable member is allowed to pass the game ball to the predetermined passage area, and the first ball receiving part is placed in a position to receive the game ball that has reached the predetermined passage area. is placed in a first state, and a second ball receiving portion that is a part of the movable member and is different from the first ball receiving portion is in a position that makes it difficult for the game ball to pass through the predetermined passage area. means capable of performing switching control to switch to the arranged second state;
means capable of performing the predetermined switching control when a game ball flows down the first channel;
Equipped with
A gaming machine characterized in that the game ball received by the second ball receiving part is configured to be able to reach the first ball receiving part.

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