JP2611126B2 - Pachinko ball launcher - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pachinko ball launching apparatus which makes a pachinko ball circularly move along a wall in a container by the rotational force of a rotary driving means such as a motor or a rotary solenoid, and fires the pachinko ball at the momentum. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional pachinko ball launching apparatus employs a structure in which a punch is continuously reciprocated by a combination of a motor and a cam, and a ball is hit by a repulsive force of the punch. FIG. 22 shows the structure of this conventional spring-launched pachinko sphere launching apparatus. A punch 101 (made of urethane rubber or a coil spring) is attached to the tip of an arm 102, and the arm 102 can rotate around a rotation shaft 106. Further, the arm 102 is strongly pulled by the pulling arm 107. Tension arm 1
The tensile force of 07 is supplied from the torsion spring 108. The spring force of the torsion spring 108 is adjusted by the player's hand by the handle 110 through the wire 109. In the middle of the arm 102, the cam receiving roller 1
The roller 105 is in contact with a cam 104 that rotates about a rotation shaft 103 of a motor 113 with a reduction gear.

The operation of the above structure is as follows.
When the cam 104 rotates around the rotation shaft 103, the movement is transmitted to the arm 102 through the roller 105 and changes to a reciprocating movement. That is, the arm 102 is swung up until the cam 104 rotates by a certain angle, and when the roller 105 reaches a certain angle and comes off the cam 104, the arm 102 instantly moves to the arrow A.
The punch 101 moves in the direction and hits the pachinko ball supplied from the communication hole 112 (described later). The released pachinko ball moves along the guide rail 111, and the guide rail 111
As you go away, it falls while hitting a nail hit on a gauge board (game board) as is well known.

The flying distance of the pachinko ball is determined by the handle 110
Is adjusted by the player. That is, handle 1
Turning clockwise causes wire 109 to be pulled, and through this wire 109 the angle of rotation of torsion spring 108 to change, thereby pulling arm 107 to arm 1
02 pulling force changes. If the torsion spring 108 is strongly tightened, the force of the punch 101 hitting the pachinko ball increases, and if the torsion spring 108 is tightened weakly, the force of the punch 101 hitting the pachinko ball decreases, so that the flight distance is adjusted.

On the other hand, the pachinko sphere is supplied as follows. FIG. 23 is a structural diagram of an automatic ball feeder for pachinko balls. The ball automatic supply device includes a saucer 124 for storing a pachinko ball that has fallen for a ball lending purchase or a winning ball, and a saucer 124.
And a guide portion 126 for guiding the pachinko balls stored in the ball through the communication holes 125 one by one. Furthermore, the central axis 1
Pachinko ball supply arm 121 that rotates around 22
The supply arm 121 has a first claw 121a.
And the second claw 121b are integrally formed. The supply arm 121 is connected to the connecting rod 1 connected to the motor 113.
23, the connecting rod 123 reciprocates each time the motor 113 makes one rotation, and the supply arm 12
1 moves up and down. As the supply arm 121 moves up and down, the pachinko ball goes over the first claw 121a and enters between the first claw 121a and the second claw 121b, and the first claw 121a and the second claw 121b The pachinko ball that has entered between the first and second pawls passes over the second claw 121b and enters the communication hole 112. Then, the pachinko balls are supplied through the communication holes 112 to the above-mentioned pachinko ball launching device provided on the back side.

[0006]

The above-mentioned spring-fired pachinko ball firing device has a problem that a complicated mechanism is required and the size, particularly the depth, of the whole game machine is increased. For this reason, the number of units that can be installed in a limited island space is reduced, and miniaturization of the island width has been demanded among traders.

When assembling the gaming machine, first, the guide rail 111 is fixed to the launch pad, and then the communication hole 11 is fixed.
The pachinko sphere launching device was mounted and fixed so that the center of the punch 101 just hit the pachinko sphere dropped from 2, and the automatic pachinko sphere feeding device was positioned and attached to the communication hole 112. In this mounting and assembling operation, it is difficult to align the center of the pachinko ball with the punch 101 (see the punch 101 drawn by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 22), and there is a problem that a skilled worker is required. If alignment is not successful (this is referred to as "center misalignment"), the flying direction of the pachinko ball will vary, and the performance of the pachinko stand will be extremely reduced.

Further, in order to strike the pachinko ball with the punch 101, it is necessary to increase the force of the torsion spring 108, and the torque of the motor 113 for overcoming the force must be increased. Therefore, the size of the motor 113 becomes large. In addition, since an accurate rotation speed is required, an AC synchronous motor is required, and it is necessary to separately produce 50 Hz and 60 Hz. Further, the motor 113 requires a reduction gear.

Further, since the punch 101 is used to hit the pachinko ball vigorously, a striking sound is generated when the ball is hit and static electricity is generated. In particular, since many plastics are used for the pachinko stand, static electricity is accumulated in the plastic due to the impact and vibrations that strike, and this causes the electrical system such as the integrated circuit that controls the gaming machine to malfunction and malfunction. Cause.

Further, as the number of hits increases, the punch 1
Since the tip of 01 is deformed and worn by the impact, and the bearing of the rotating shaft 106 is loosened or worn, the above-mentioned misalignment or misalignment occurs. Therefore, maintenance work such as the necessity of replacing the punch 101 and the like is troublesome. Also,
In order to cope with the dimensional variation and wear of the pachinko ball launching device, the variation in the tension of the torsion spring 108 over time, or the variation or loosening of the length of the wire 109, adjust the tension and align the center of the torsion spring 108. And you have to constantly adjust the flight distance.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the inventor of the present application has disclosed that a rotating arm whose speed is controlled by an electric rotary driving means such as a motor and which is rotated only in a fixed direction, allows a pachinko ball in a container to be removed. A pachinko ball launching device of the electric arm launch type, which is designed to be launched while being guided on a substantially circular orbit of the inner peripheral wall of the container (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-83852).
issue). According to the pachinko ball launching device of the electric arm launch type, since the punching structure of the pachinko ball launching device can be eliminated, the pachinko ball can be accurately fired at a desired nail position on the gauge board surface, and the ball-out rate , And can be reduced in size, and need not be adjusted at the time of installation or maintenance. Further, the generation of static electricity can be suppressed, and the failure rate can be reduced and reliability can be improved.

By the way, in applying the above-mentioned electric arm type pachinko ball launching apparatus to an actual machine, it is required that it be easy to assemble and that the manufacturing cost be as low as possible. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a pachinko sphere launching device which has a high accuracy of the arrival position of a launch sphere, is easy to assemble, and has a low manufacturing cost.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, (1) The pachinko sphere launching device according to the first aspect has an outer peripheral side guide track formed on an inner peripheral wall, and an opening is formed on the inner peripheral wall. did,
A container having a pachinko ball supply hole and a pachinko ball ejection hole, and an arm body that is driven to rotate about a base end portion,
And a rotating roller rotatably supported at the distal end of the arm body, while the pachinko sphere supplied from the pachinko sphere supply hole is guided and revolved along the outer peripheral side guide track by the rotating roller. A pachinko ball firing arm to be thrown from the pachinko ball throw-out hole, and a rotation driving means for rotationally driving the pachinko ball firing arm, the rotation driving means being housed in the container ,
Detect the rotational position of the pachinko ball firing arm in the above container.
The rotation position detecting means is accommodated .

According to the above configuration, the pachinko ball is guided by the rotating roller that revolves while rotating smoothly, so that the pachinko ball can be fired to an accurate position. In addition, since the outer-side guide track is formed and the rotation driving means for rotating and driving the pachinko ball firing arm is housed in the container containing the pachinko ball firing arm, the alignment accuracy between the outer-side guide track and the rotary drive means is improved. Can be higher. In addition, since both are housed in the same container, they can be easily assembled and the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the case where these are housed in separate containers. In addition, the rotation position detection means is also included.
Because it is housed in a container, it is easier to assemble and the production cost
Can be made more inexpensive.

[0015] (2) The second aspect pachinko ball launching device according to the pachinko in pachinko ball launcher of the preceding claims 1 Symbol placement, to the container, to be supplied into the vessel by gravity through the pachinko ball supply hole A ball receiver is formed on the orbit of the rotating roller so as to hold the ball in a state capable of being delivered to the rotating roller.

According to the above construction, the pachinko sphere supplied from the pachinko sphere supply hole by its own weight is held on the orbit of the rotating roller by the ball receiver. The held pachinko ball is delivered to a rotating roller that revolves with the rotation of the pachinko ball firing arm. That is, the present pachinko ball launching apparatus can automatically supply a pachinko ball with a very simple structure. (3) The pachinko sphere launching device according to claim 3 is the pachinko sphere launching device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein a foul sphere discharge hole is formed in the container.

According to the above configuration, since the foul ball discharge hole is formed in the container, the structure can be simplified as compared with the case where the foul ball discharge hole is provided in a separate member. (4) The pachinko sphere launching device according to claim 4 is the pachinko sphere launching device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the container guides the inner peripheral side of the revolving pachinko sphere to be guided to the container. An inner peripheral guide track is formed.

According to the above configuration, since the inner peripheral guideway is formed in the container, compared with the case where this is provided separately,
The manufacturing cost can be reduced. (5) The pachinko sphere launching device according to claim 5 is the pachinko sphere launching device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the container is elastically fitted into the fitting concave portion of the launch table. Is characterized by being prevented from falling off.

According to the above configuration, the container can be attached with one touch by elastically fitting the container into the fitting concave portion of the launch pad. Therefore, it is easier to assemble and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. (6) The pachinko sphere launching device according to claim 6 is the pachinko sphere launching device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the radius of curvature of the outer peripheral side guide track is closer to the pachinko sphere ejection hole. Therefore, it is characterized in that it becomes larger.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to obtain a smooth acceleration by gradually increasing the orbital radius of the pachinko sphere. (7) The pachinko ball launching device according to claim 7 is the pachinko ball launching device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the pachinko ball launching arm receives a pachinko ball from a pachinko ball supply hole. Immediately thereafter, a ball receiving portion for holding the pachinko ball when the pachinko ball firing arm is stopped is formed at a position near the base end of the arm body of the pachinko ball firing arm. A guide path for guiding the movement of the pachinko ball between the ball receiving portion and the rotating roller is formed in the arm body, and the pachinko ball is provided in the container immediately before the firing arm stops. A guide projection is formed to guide the movement of the arm body toward the ball receiving portion between the arm body and the guide path.

According to the above configuration, just before the pachinko ball firing arm that has received the pachinko ball by the rotating roller stops, it moves to the ball receiving portion near the base end portion and is held by the ball receiving portion. Then, as the pachinko ball firing arm is started and accelerated, it moves toward the rotating roller again via the guide path due to centrifugal force. The pachinko ball is reliably guided to the ball receiving portion of the arm body by the guide projection.

[0022]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a pachinko ball launching apparatus according to a first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a pachinko ball launching arm, and FIG. 3 is a pachinko ball launching device including a pachinko ball launching arm. FIG. 4 shows a front view of the device, and FIG. 4 shows a front view of a pachinko stand including a pachinko ball launching device.

Referring to FIG. 4, front frame 72 is attached to main body frame 71.
Is mounted, and a gauge board 73 is disposed in a window hole formed in the front frame 72, and a spiral guide path 74 is formed in the gauge board 73. A guide rail GR is attached to the launch table 84. At the start end side of the guide rail GR, a pachinko sphere launching device 1 that launches the pachinko sphere supplied from the pachinko sphere supply hole 14 through the guide rail GR from the pachinko sphere discharge hole 15 is provided. This pachinko ball launching device 1 has a front frame 7
2 is mounted on a launch table 84 fixed to 2, and fires a pachinko ball at a firing speed in accordance with a rotation operation of a manual handle H to a desired rotation position.

The pachinko ball supply hole 14 has an upper plate 7
5, a supply ball feed hole 76, a supply ball receiving hole 77
The pachinko ball is guided through the. The guide path 7 although fired from the pachinko ball firing device 1
The so-called foul ball returning on the way 4
The foul ball discharge hole 78 which is open on the upper side 4 is collected through the collection hole 79 to the lower plate 80.
The foul ball that could not reach the foul ball discharge hole 78 or the foul ball that returned after passing through the foul ball discharge hole 78 drops from the guide rail GR and passes through the foul ball recovery groove 81 and the recovery hole 79 to the lower plate. The foul sphere that has been ejected to the pachinko sphere launching device 1 or that has not reached the pachinko sphere launching hole 15 of the pachinko sphere launching device 1 And, it is configured to be discharged to the lower plate 80 through the collecting hole 79. Furthermore, in the above-mentioned upper plate 75,
The prize ball is discharged from the prize ball receiving hole 82. Also, the upper plate 75
The pachinko ball can be discharged to the lower plate 80 through the prize ball feed hole 83 by a predetermined operation.

Referring to FIG. 3, the above-described pachinko sphere launching apparatus 1 includes a resin container 10 having a circumferential inner peripheral wall 11e formed with an outer guide path OR, and a pachinko sphere supply hole of the container 10. A ball automatic supply mechanism 20 for automatically supplying the pachinko balls P one by one into the container 10 through 14; and a pachinko ball discharge hole 1 accommodated in the container 10 and provided in the container 10.
5, a pachinko ball firing arm 30 for firing the pachinko ball P, a motor 40 serving as a rotation driving means for rotating the pachinko ball firing arm 30, and a predetermined rotation position (firing position) of the pachinko ball firing arm 30. A photo sensor 50 and a slit plate 51 (see FIGS. 1 and 8) are provided as a rotational position detecting means for detecting.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the pachinko ball firing arm 30 is adapted to transfer the pachinko ball P supplied from the pachinko ball supply hole 14 to the outer peripheral side guide track by a rotating roller 32 provided at the tip thereof. While being guided and revolved along the OR, it is thrown out from the pachinko ball ejection hole 15 opened in the inner peripheral wall 11e of the container 10. Then, referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 1 which is a longitudinal section of the container 10,
This embodiment is characterized in that the motor 40, the photosensor 50, and the slit plate 51 are housed in the container 10 that forms the outer-side guide path OR and houses the pachinko ball firing arm 30. In addition, the structure is simplified.
1. The foul ball discharge hole 16 (see FIG. 7) and the inner peripheral side guide trajectory IR are integrally formed to simplify the structure. Further, the outer periphery of the container body 11 of the container 10 is
The launch table 84 is fitted into the elastically expandable fitting concave portion 84a, and the fitting claw 11d as an elastic engaging means formed on the outer periphery of the container body 11 is fitted into the fitting groove 84b of the fitting concave portion 84a. , The container 10 unitized as described above can be attached to the launch pad 84 with one touch.

Referring to FIG. 3, the automatic ball feeding mechanism 20 is described.
Uses the own weight of the pachinko sphere P accumulated in the pachinko sphere supply hole 14 and passes through the guide plate 22 to the pachinko sphere P,
This is a mechanism for supplying the ball to the ball receiver 21 provided in the container 10.
The pachinko sphere P is held on the path of the 0 rotation roller 32. The pachinko ball P supplied to the ball receiver 21 by the automatic supply mechanism 20 is attached to the pachinko ball firing arm 3.
No. 0 is received by a ball receiving portion 33 described later, and is put on standby. This ball automatic supply mechanism 2
0 supplies the ball P to the ball receiver 21 one ball at a time when the motor 40 makes one rotation.

The type of the motor 40 is not limited as long as it can freely control the number of rotations, such as a DC motor (for example, a hall motor, a spindle motor, a brushless motor), a stepping motor, and the like. This motor 4
Since only the weights of the pachinko ball firing arm 30 and the pachinko ball P are applied to zero, the moment of inertia is reduced. Therefore, a small motor with low power consumption can be used.

The rotation speed of the motor 40 is controlled according to a speed change graph as shown in FIG. The trajectory of the pachinko ball firing arm 30 when controlled according to the graph of FIG. 5 is shown in FIG. The pachinko ball firing arm 30 is accelerated in a region (I) from the position S at which the rotating roller 32 starts to guide the pachinko ball P to the position U, and from the position U to the position T
Is rotated at a constant speed in the region (II) until the speed reaches. In the region (III) from the position T to the position E, the speed is reduced. The pachinko ball P is separated from the rotating roller 32 at a position slightly downstream of the position T. Then, the pachinko ball firing arm 30 is rotated at a constant low speed in the region (IV) from the position E to return to the original position S, and then stopped. In FIG. 5, a solid line indicates a case where the light is emitted at a high speed, and a broken line indicates a case where the light is emitted at a low speed.
A control signal to the motor 40 (a variable period pulse in the case of a pulse motor such as a stepping motor, a variable voltage signal or a variable current signal in the case of a DC motor) is sent to the motor 40 in accordance with the type of the motor. The rotation speed of the motor 40 is controlled. Further, the motor 40 is controlled so that the rotation speed becomes high or low as shown in FIG. 5 in accordance with the rotation angle of the handle H being adjusted by the player.

The guide rail GR is connected to the inner peripheral surface of the pachinko ball throwing hole 15 by providing a step D. The step D returns on the guide rail GR to the pachinko ball throwing hole 15 side. It is set so as to be a convex step with respect to the incoming foul sphere. Then, the pachinko ball returning to the pachinko ball throwing hole 15 as a foul ball collides with the step D, bounces back and falls into the foul ball collection groove 81, or the foul ball that does not fall dances when colliding. As a result, the foul ball discharge hole 16 provided in the container 10 is reliably collected. Note that the above-mentioned step D becomes a concave step with respect to the shooting ball, and the shooting ball can jump over this, so that no adverse effect occurs.

Referring to FIG. 1, a container 10 includes a two-stage cylindrical container body 11 containing a pachinko ball firing arm 30, a motor 40, a sensor 50 and a slit plate 51, and a front end face of the container body 11. It comprises a front lid 12 for closing and a back lid 13 for closing the rear end surface of the container body 11. The container main body 11 accommodates the pachinko ball firing arm 30 and defines a pachinko ball guide space between the front lid portion 12 and the front cylinder portion 11a having a rear end surface portion 11c, a motor 40, a sensor 50, and a slit plate. 51, and comprises a rear end portion 11c integrally formed with a rear end surface portion 11c of the front cylinder portion 11a. The pachinko sphere supply hole 14 for supplying a pachinko sphere into the container 10 is formed between the front cylinder portion 11a of the container main body 11 and the front lid 12, and the pachinko sphere launching arm 30
The above-mentioned pachinko ball throw-out hole 15 for throwing out from the container 10 is formed. Pachinko ball supply hole 14 extends in a direction substantially along the radial direction of container 10,
The pachinko ball ejection hole 15 extends in a direction substantially along the tangential direction of the container 10. Also, referring to FIGS. 6 and 7,
The notch 12b formed in the front lid 12 allows the container 10
The foul ball discharge hole 16 for discharging a foul ball from the inside is formed.

Referring to FIG. 1, front cylinder portion 1 of container body 11
As shown in FIG. 3, a band-shaped stainless steel band BA is adhered to the cylindrical inner peripheral wall 11e of FIG. 1a, and the surface of the band BA forms an outer-side guide track OR. In addition, annular projections 11f and 12a for guiding the inner peripheral side of the revolving pachinko sphere are integrally formed on the rear end face portion 11c of the front cylindrical portion 11a and the front lid 12, respectively. The inner peripheral side guide track IR as shown in FIG. 3 is constituted by the peripheral surface of 12a.
The outer peripheral side guide trajectory OR is provided on the entire circumference, while the inner peripheral side guide trajectory IR is provided on substantially half a circumference.
Referring to FIG. 3, the start end side of the inner peripheral side guide path IR is a guide portion IRG bent inward in the radial direction. The guide portion IRG is provided with a pachinko ball firing arm 30.
Is rotated at a relatively slow speed and the centrifugal force is insufficient,
This is for surely guiding the pachinko sphere to the outer peripheral side guide trajectory OR. Also, a rear end surface portion 11c of the front cylinder portion 11a,
And the front cover 12 has the automatic supply mechanism 2 described above.
A ball receiver 21 for receiving the pachinko sphere P supplied by 0 protrudes. The ball receiver 21 is curved so as to easily receive the pachinko ball P.

[0033] On the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 11b after the container main body 11, that has a stator 40a of the motor 40 is fixed. This
The stator 40a is stopped from moving in the axial direction by a snap ring SR fitted in the inner circumferential groove of the rear cylinder portion 11b. A main shaft 41 is fixed to the rotor 40b concentrically disposed at a predetermined interval on the inner periphery of the stator 40a so as to be integrally rotatable. The main shaft 41 is arranged so as to penetrate the front cylinder part 11a and the rear cylinder part 11b of the container body 11. The base end of the arm body 31 of the pachinko ball firing arm 30 is fixed to the distal end 41a of the main shaft 41 with a set screw B1, so that the pachinko ball firing arm 30 can rotate integrally with the main shaft 41. . The portion near the front end of the main shaft 41 is the rear end surface 1 of the front cylindrical portion 11a.
It is rotatably supported by a rolling bearing BR1 fixed to the inner peripheral portion of the boss 1c. The rear end 41b of the main shaft 41 is rotatably supported by a rolling bearing BR2 attached to the inner peripheral portion of the boss of the back cover 13.
The outer ring of the rolling bearing BR2 is attached to the inner peripheral portion of the boss so as to be movable in the axial direction, and is urged forward by a disc spring PS.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 8, which is a cross section taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 1, a slit 51a formed at a predetermined position in the circumferential direction is formed in a portion near the rear end of the main shaft 41. The plate 51 is fixed so as to be integrally rotatable via a mounting member 53 fixed to the main shaft 41 with a set screw B2. On the other hand, the photo sensor 50 is arranged so as to sandwich the slit plate 51. The photo sensor 50 is mounted on a printed circuit board 52 fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the rear cylindrical portion 11b of the container body 11. The container main body 11 and the back cover 13 are tightly adhered to each other without any gap, and constitute a dark space 19 in which light is prevented from entering the inside, so that the photosensor 50 does not malfunction. The photosensor 50 initializes the rotation start position of the motor 40, and performs an initial position return operation when the rotation position of the motor 40 does not return to the initial position due to, for example, a power failure. Note that a Hall sensor may be used instead of the photo sensor 50. In this case, the dark space 19 is not required, and a magnetic plate may be provided instead of the slit plate 51, and another sensor (for example, a mechanical switch including a microswitch) may be provided.

A fitting claw 11d for attaching the container 10 to the launch table 84 is formed on the rear end face 11c of the front cylindrical portion 11a of the container body 11 so as to project therefrom. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the pachinko ball firing arm 30 has an arm body 31 fixed to the main shaft 41 of the motor 40 so as to be integrally rotatable as described above, and is rotatably mounted on a distal end portion of the arm body 31. The rotating roller 32 is supported and revolves in a non-contact state along the outer-side guide path OR along the outer-side guide path OR. Referring to FIG. 9, the rotation shaft 32a of the rotation roller 32
Is rotatably supported via a bearing member MB such as a miniature bearing attached to a hole of the arm body 31, whereby the rotation of the rotating roller 32 is smoothed and the life of the arm body 31 is shortened. To ensure a long time. In addition, the rotation roller 32
Has a substantially drum-shaped shape, and receives and guides the pachinko sphere P by a depression on the peripheral surface thereof, whereby the pachinko sphere P
The rolling direction can be restricted reliably. In the present invention, the substantially hourglass shape of the rotating roller 32 is a concept including the following requirements (1) to (4). The rotating roller 32 is made of a rotationally symmetric body,
Includes a ball guide surface 32b in contact with the pachinko sphere P, and the cross-sectional contour of the ball guide surface 32b in the longitudinal section including the axis of the rotary roller 32 is the same as that of the rotary roller 3
2 is inclined so as to approach the axial side as it approaches the central portion in the axial direction.

On the other hand, in the first embodiment, the cross-sectional contour of the ball guide surface 32b has an arc shape along the peripheral surface of the pachinko sphere P as shown in FIG. Then, the inclination of the gaming machine during the game is such that the weight of the pachinko ball storage tray at the top of the gaming machine constantly changes in the pachinko ball prize ball state, so that the gaming machine of FIG. In addition, as a result of being restricted by the depression of the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 32, the pachinko ball P can be guided and reliably rolled without swaying the cylindrical surface of the outer peripheral side guide track OR.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the pachinko ball firing arm 30 is stopped immediately after receiving the pachinko ball P from the pachinko ball supply hole 14, and the arm body 31 A ball receiving portion 33 for holding the pachinko ball P when stopped is formed at a position near the main shaft 41. Since the pachinko ball P is held by the ball receiving portion 33 in the radial direction when the pachinko ball is stopped, the rotational moment of the pachinko ball P can be reduced in the initial stage of the start of the pachinko ball launching arm 30. The load can be reduced, and the pachinko ball firing arm 30 can be accelerated smoothly.

The ball receiving portion 33 of the arm body 31
A guide path 34 that guides the movement of the pachinko ball P is formed between the rotating roller 32 and the rotating roller 32. Further, the ball receiving portion 33 includes a portion 33 of the held pachinko sphere P that goes around the peripheral surface on the rotation direction side of the pachinko sphere launching arm 30.
a is included. This portion 33a is for suppressing the movement of the pachinko ball P when the pachinko ball firing arm 30 is started.

On the other hand, as described above, the outer-side guide track O
In R, the pachinko ball P guided by the rotating roller 32 immediately before the pachinko ball firing arm 30 is stopped.
To the ball receiving portion 33 side, the ball pressing guide surface O
R1 is formed. Also, the front cylinder 1 of the container body 11
1a and the front cover 12 each have a ball pushing guide surface OR.
A guide projection 23 is formed to guide the pachinko ball P from 1 to the ball receiving portion 33 smoothly. As shown in FIG. 10, the cross sections of the ball receiving portion 33 and the guideway 34 are as follows.
It has a concave shape along the peripheral surface of the pachinko sphere P.

Next, the operation of the pachinko ball firing device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. The pachinko sphere P supplied to the ball receiver 21 of the automatic supply mechanism 20 as shown in FIG. 11 is pushed by the rotating roller 32 of the pachinko sphere firing arm 30 rotated at a low speed, and as shown in FIG. It is guided along the guide path OR. When the pachinko ball P guided as shown in FIG. 13 reaches the position of the ball pushing guide surface OR1, the pachinko ball P is moved radially inward of the pachinko ball launch arm 30 by the ball pushing guide surface OR1. 1 through the guide path 34 of the arm body 31 by the guidance of the guide projection 23,
As shown in FIG. 4, while being held by the ball receiving portion 33 of the arm body 31, the pachinko ball firing arm 30 is stopped. In this state, a standby state for the next launch is established.

As the pachinko ball firing arm 30 is started and accelerated, as shown in FIG.
The pachinko ball P subjected to the centrifugal force moves from the ball receiving portion 33 of the arm body 31 to the guide path 34 side. During this move,
As a result, it is possible to prevent the pachinko ball P from dancing by the swirling portion 33a of the ball receiving portion 33. As a result, in a state without dancing, as shown in FIG.
Can be moved. In the initial stage of acceleration of the pachinko ball firing arm 30, the pachinko ball firing arm 3
Since the pachinko sphere P is located in the radially inward portion of 0, the rotational moment for revolving the pachinko sphere P can be reduced, so that the load on the motor 40 can be reduced.

The pachinko ball firing arm 30 is shown in FIG.
7 and begins to decelerate (see FIGS. 3 and 5).
Therefore, the pachinko ball P is fired toward the guide rail GR with the constant speed immediately before the deceleration as the throwing speed of the pachinko ball. In this firing position, as shown in FIG. 18, than the revolution trajectory F 1 of the sphere center Pa of pachinko ball P fired, towards the center of the shaft 32a revolves locus F 2 of the rotating roller 32, only in the radial direction It is preferable that the trajectories F1 and F2 are located on the inward side or the two revolution trajectories F1 and F2 overlap.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the pachinko ball P is guided by the rotating roller 32 which can revolve while smoothly rolling.
Since the guiding rotary roller 32 has a substantially drum shape,
Even if the body frame 71 is inclined, the rolling direction of the pachinko ball P
The movement can be regulated without deviation, and as a result, the fired pachinko ball P can be dropped to a desired position on the gauge board with very high accuracy. In particular, since the force that shakes the rolling direction does not act on the pachinko sphere P from the outer circumferential guide path OR having a flat surface with respect to the rolling direction of the pachinko sphere P, The fluctuation in the rolling direction can be reduced, and as a result, the pachinko ball P can be dropped to a desired position on the gauge board with higher accuracy.

Further, the motor 40, the photosensor 50, and the slit plate 51 are housed in the container 10 that forms the outer guideway OR and houses the pachinko ball firing arm 30, and the inner guideway IR (guide portion). By forming the ball receiver 21 and the foul ball discharge hole 16 integrally, the pachinko ball launching device 1 is unitized, and this is attached to the fitting concave portion 84a of the launch table 84 with one touch. Therefore, it is easy to assemble during mass production, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
In addition, the accuracy of centering the main shaft 41 of the motor 40, that is, the center axis of the pachinko ball firing arm 30, with the outer circumferential guide path OR can be increased.

FIGS. 19 and 20 show a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment mainly differs from the first embodiment in the following. (1) Referring to FIG. 19, the fitting concave portion 84a of the launch table 84 can be elastically expanded, and
The fitting protrusion 11g formed on the outer periphery of No. 1 was engaged. In this case, the fitting recess 84a serves as an elastic engagement means. Further, a slit plate 51 for the photo sensor 50 is attached to the rear end portion 41b of the main shaft 41 with a bolt B2 from the axial direction, and the main shaft 41 is mounted on the rolling bearing B at a position further forward than this.
Supported by R2. This rolling bearing BR
2 is a fitting claw 11h formed on the inner periphery of the end of the container body 11.
It is attached to a cylindrical container-shaped bearing holding cylinder 17 fitted to the. A bottomed cylindrical back cover member 18 is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the bearing holding cylinder 17.
Is a dark space 19. The slit plate 51 and the sensor 50 are accommodated in the dark space 19. In addition,
The assembling order is as follows.
Then, after attaching the sensor 50 and the slit plate 51 with the bolts B2, the back cover member 18 is fitted. (2) Referring to FIG. 20, a so-called D-cut surface 41c is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end of main shaft 41 of motor 40, and this D-cut surface 41c is By aligning with the surface 35, the relative rotation between the main shaft 41 and the pachinko ball firing arm 30 is restricted. The main shaft 41 fixes the arm main body 31 by screwing a bolt B3 into which the arm main body 31 is inserted from the axial direction into the screw hole 41d. The rotating roller 32 is assembled by being introduced from the split groove 36 of the arm body 31.

The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals are given to the drawings, and the description thereof is omitted.
Also in the second embodiment, in addition to the same operation and effect as the first embodiment, the positioning accuracy of the rotational position of the pachinko ball firing arm 30 can be increased by employing the D-cut surface. Further, by employing the above-mentioned split groove 36, assembly can be performed more easily.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the first and second embodiments, the cross-sectional contour of the ball guide surface 32b is arc-shaped, whereas in the third embodiment, the ball guide surface 32b is formed of a pair of conical surfaces. , Its cross-sectional contour is tapered. The angle θ between the cross-sectional contour lines of the two ball guide surfaces can be set to, for example, about 120. A circumferential groove 32 is provided between the two ball guide surfaces 32b.
c is formed.

In the third embodiment, the first and second
The same operation and effect as those of the embodiment can be obtained. In addition, the present invention
It is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, a rotary solenoid can be used instead of a motor. Rotary solenoids are solenoids in which the rotor rotates in one direction when energized, and returns to the original position by the force of a coil spring when the energization is released (for example, a rotary solenoid of Shindengen Kogyo Co., Ltd .;
Model name 2E, 3E or 4E). Also in this case, since the maximum speed at the throwing position T can be accurately adjusted by adjusting the voltage and the current, it is possible to contribute to setting the flying distance accurately.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, as a fitting structure between the fitting concave portion 84a of the launch table 84 and the container 10 of the pachinko sphere launching device 1, other known structures can be used. A fitting structure can be used. Also,
As for the shape of the rotating roller 32, the rotating roller 32 is formed of a rotationally symmetric body, and the peripheral surface of the rotating roller 32 includes a ball guide surface 32b in contact with the pachinko sphere P, and the rotating roller 32 has a longitudinal section including an axis. In the above, the ball guide surface 3
2b is inclined so as to approach the axial side as it approaches the axial center of the rotating roller 32.
Any other shape can be adopted as long as the shape is a substantially hourglass shape that satisfies the above-mentioned requirements. For example, ball guide surface 32b
Another curved line along the peripheral surface of the pachinko sphere P may be adopted as the cross-sectional contour line of.

In addition, various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

[0051]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the pachinko ball is guided by the rotating roller capable of revolving while rolling smoothly, the fired pachinko ball can be directed to a desired position on the game board. Can be dropped to a position with very high precision. In addition, since the outer side guide track is formed and the rotation driving means for rotating the pachinko ball firing arm is accommodated in the container containing the pachinko ball firing arm, the alignment accuracy between the outer side guide track and the rotation driving means is improved. Can be higher. In addition, since both are housed in the same container, they can be easily assembled and the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the case where these are housed in separate containers. Further
In addition, since the rotational position detecting means is also housed in the container,
It is easy to stand up, and the manufacturing cost can be further reduced.

[0052] According to the above SL invention according to claim 2, the pachinko balls from the pachinko ball supply holes supplied by its own weight,
Since the ball is held by the ball receiver and transferred to the revolving roller, the pachinko ball can be automatically supplied with a very simple structure.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the foul ball discharge hole is formed in the container, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the foul ball discharge hole is provided in a separate member. According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the inner peripheral guideway is formed in the container, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the inner guideway is provided separately.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the container is prevented from coming off while being elastically fitted into the fitting concave portion of the launch pad, so that the container can be mounted with one touch. Therefore, it is easier to assemble and the manufacturing cost can be further reduced. According to the sixth aspect of the invention, it is possible to obtain a smooth acceleration by gradually increasing the orbital radius of the pachinko sphere.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when the pachinko ball firing arm is stopped, it is held by the ball receiving portion near the base end portion, and is rotated again by centrifugal force with the acceleration of the pachinko ball firing arm. Since the roller is moved to the roller side, the load on the rotation driving means in the initial stage of acceleration can be reduced, and the pachinko ball firing arm can be smoothly accelerated. In addition, by guiding the movement of the pachinko ball to the ball receiving portion by the guide projection, the pachinko ball can be more reliably guided to the ball receiving portion of the arm body.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a pachinko ball launching apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a pachinko ball firing arm.

FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a pachinko ball launching device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of a pachinko stand including a pachinko ball firing device.

FIG. 5 is a time change graph of a rotational angular velocity showing a control content of a motor rotation control.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a front lid of the container.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the container.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part along an axis of a rotating roller.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a ball receiving portion of the arm body of the pachinko ball firing arm.

FIG. 11 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the pachinko sphere launching device, showing a state in which the rotating roller of the pachinko sphere launching arm rotated at a low speed receives the pachinko sphere held on the rotation trajectory of the pachinko sphere launching arm.

FIG. 12 is a vertical sectional view of the pachinko sphere launching device, showing a state where the received pachinko sphere is guided to the stop position side of the pachinko sphere launching arm.

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pachinko sphere launching device, showing a state where the pachinko sphere is pushed by the ball pushing guide surface when the pachinko sphere launching arm is stopped.

FIG. 14 is a vertical sectional view of the pachinko sphere launching device, showing a state where the pachinko sphere launching arm is stopped and the pachinko sphere is held by the ball receiving portion.

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pachinko sphere launching device, showing a state where the pachinko sphere launching arm is started and accelerated.

FIG. 16 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the pachinko sphere launching device, showing a state where the pachinko sphere has been moved to the outer peripheral side guide trajectory with the acceleration of the pachinko sphere launching arm.

FIG. 17 is a vertical sectional view of the pachinko sphere launching device, showing a state in which a pachinko sphere is launched by the pachinko sphere launching arm.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a positional relationship between a pachinko ball and a rotating roller at the time of firing.

FIG. 19 is a longitudinal sectional view of a pachinko ball launching apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is an exploded perspective view of a portion including the pachinko ball firing arm.

FIG. 21 is a vertical sectional view of a main part of a pachinko ball firing arm according to a third embodiment of the present invention, including an axis of a rotating roller.

FIG. 22 is a view showing a conventional pachinko ball launching device having a punching structure.

FIG. 23 is a view showing the structure of a conventional automatic ball supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Container 11e Inner peripheral wall 11d Fitting claw (elastic engagement means) 14 Pencil ball supply hole 15 Pencil ball ejection hole 21 Ball receiver 23 Guide projection 30 Pencil ball firing arm 31 Arm body 32 Rotary roller 33 Ball receiver 33a Wrap-around part Reference Signs List 40 Motor (rotation driving means) 41 Main shaft (center shaft) 84 Fitting recess (elastic engagement means) 0R Outer side guide track OR1 Ball pushing guide surface IR Inner side guide track IRG Guide section D Step

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A container having an outer peripheral side guide track formed in an inner peripheral wall and having a pachinko ball supply hole and a pachinko ball discharge hole formed in the inner peripheral wall, and an arm driven to rotate about a base end portion. A rotating roller rotatably supported at the distal end of the arm body, the pachinko ball supplied from the pachinko ball supply hole is guided by the rotating roller along the outer-side guide path to revolve. while, a pachinko ball firing arm dumping from the pachinko balls castout hole, and a rotation drive means for rotating the pachinko ball firing arm, said rotary drive means is housed in the container, the said container , Detect the rotation position of the pachinko ball firing arm
A pachinko ball launching device, wherein a rotating position detecting means is accommodated . 2. A pachinko ball launcher of the preceding claims 1 Symbol placement, in the container, the pachinko balls supplied into the vessel by gravity through the pachinko ball supply holes, on orbit of the rotating roller, the rotation A pachinko ball launching device having a ball receiver for holding the ball in a state capable of being delivered to a roller. 3. A pachinko ball launcher of the preceding claims 1 or 2 wherein, in the container, pachinko ball launching device, characterized in that foul ball discharge hole is formed. 4. The pachinko sphere launching device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the container is provided with an inner peripheral side guide track that guides an inner peripheral side of the revolving pachinko sphere to be guided. A pachinko ball launching device. 5. The pachinko ball launcher according to any one of the claims 1 to 4, the container, characterized in that it is retained in a state of being fitted elastically into the mating recess of the launch pad Pachinko ball launcher. In pachinko ball launcher according to any one of claims 6, wherein said claims 1 to 5, the radius of curvature of the outer peripheral side guide track is characterized by increases toward the pachinko ball castout hole pachinko Ball launcher. 7. The pachinko ball launcher according to any one of the claims 1 to 6, the pachinko ball firing arm is adapted to be stopped immediately after receipt of the pachinko balls from the pachinko ball supply hole A ball receiving portion for holding the pachinko ball when the pachinko ball firing arm is stopped is formed at a position near the base end of the arm body of the pachinko ball firing arm, and the arm body has the ball A guide path for guiding the movement of the pachinko ball between the receiving part and the rotating roller is formed, and the container is configured to move the pachinko ball to the ball receiving part side immediately before the stop of the firing arm. And a guide projection for guiding between the guide path of the arm body and the guide path.