JP2615387B2 - Ball game machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a game system in which a game ball hit into a game area wins a predetermined prize area.
The present invention relates to a technology effective for use in a ball game machine in which a prize ball is provided to a player, and in particular, a bullet in which the number of prize balls provided by a winning port provided in a game area is different. It relates to technology that is effective for ball game machines.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a pachinko game machine as a typical example of a ball-and-ball game machine, a so-called accessory (yakumono) is used to change the content of the game and to improve the service to the player. A variety of variable prize winning devices have been developed. For example, it is activated by winning of a game ball to a specific winning opening provided in the gaming section, and when the occurrence rate is relatively low but coincides with a specific display mode called so-called big hit, the winning opening of the variable winning device is greatly opened. There has been proposed a pachinko gaming machine provided with an auxiliary gaming device for forming a special gaming state in which a winning rate is rapidly improved.

[0003] A special prize area and a general prize area are provided inside, and are usually in a non-communication state with the game section by a pair of movable wing pieces. The movable wing piece is opened and closed once or twice by the winning of the game ball and communicates with the game section, and when the game ball jumps in at this time wins a special winning area of the two internal winning areas, the movable There is also an auxiliary game device in which the wing pieces are continuously opened and closed a predetermined number of times (for example, 18 times) to generate a special game state in which a winning rate is greatly increased.
Furthermore, a special game right is generated by, for example, winning a special winning opening set with a very low probability of winning (first condition), and a special winning opening is won during the right generation (second condition). There has been proposed a pachinko gaming machine in which a variable winning device is opened.

[0004]

However, in the first and second types of pachinko game machines provided with the above-mentioned auxiliary game machine, a special game state which is the final goal of the player is generated. First, there must be a prize of a game ball to a specific winning opening which is a condition for activating an auxiliary game device giving the chance. in this case,
Even if the auxiliary gaming machine is operated by winning a specific winning opening, occurrence of a special gaming state in which a winning rate is greatly improved is not always promised, and contingency is considerably high. Nevertheless, in order to get that chance, a specific winning opening must first be achieved. Therefore, in this kind of pachinko gaming machine, what the player most desires is that the frequency of winning the game ball to the specific winning opening is high.

However, in the conventional pachinko gaming machine, the same number of prize balls as the prize balls in the other prize areas are given to the prize balls in the specific prize port, which is a condition for starting the auxiliary gaming device. Was configured to give. Therefore, if the game store adjusts the obstacle nails or the like so that the game ball can easily win the specific winning opening in response to the request of the player, the prize ball paid out to the player inevitably increases accordingly. Therefore,
In addition, when a special game state occurs in which a large amount of prize balls are paid out, the number of prize balls becomes larger than the number of collected balls, and there is a problem that management of the game store becomes difficult.

Further, in the above-mentioned third type of gaming machine, the special right is abolished again by the special winning opening as the first condition, so that the special right disappears. If the winning rate of the game is low, the progress of special games will be slowed down, and the anxiety over the disappearance of rights will increase, reducing the interest of the game. There was a point.
Therefore, by reducing the number of prize balls for winning in a specific winning opening, which is a condition for activating the auxiliary gaming device, to be smaller than the number of prize balls for winning in another winning opening, the winning probability of game balls in the specific winning opening is reduced. The game can be managed even if it is adjusted to be higher, and the increased number of times the auxiliary gaming device operates increases the player's expectation of the occurrence of a special gaming state, making the game more interesting. Conceivable.

However, in the conventional pachinko gaming machine, there is provided a collecting gutter for collecting a plurality of winning balls in a plurality of winning ports at one place, and a winning ball processing device for separating and detecting one of the collected winning balls. Is provided so that the prize ball discharge device is operated by the detection signal from the prize ball processing device to discharge the prize ball, so that a plurality of types of prize holes having different numbers of prize balls from each other in the gaming section as described above. When the prize ball discharge device is provided, the problem arises that the prize ball discharge device cannot judge how many prize balls should be discharged for one prize detection signal only by the detection signal from the prize ball processing device. I understood. In addition, when the number of prize balls in a specific winning opening is set to be smaller than the number of prize balls in other general winning openings, if a large number of winning balls are generated, a time lag occurs in the prize ball discharging process, so that a There is a risk that a small number of prize balls ejected in response to a winning in a specific winning opening are ejected in response to winning in a winning opening. An object of the present invention is to provide a ball game machine having a plurality of types of prize holes in which the number of prize balls given to a prize ball is different from each other.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a prize ball discharge control technology which can discharge a predetermined number of prize balls with a relatively simple control and surely, and in which a player does not easily misunderstand the number of discharged balls.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a game board (100) having a game area and a number of prize balls provided on the game board and provided for winning a game ball. A first and second prize section (for example, specific prize ports 107 and 108, a variable prize apparatus 105, etc.) and the first prize section
First prize ball detecting means (specific prize detector 94) for detecting a game ball which has won a prize portion of the game, and a game which has won all the prize portions provided on the game board including the first prize portion. A prize ball processing device (40) having second prize ball detection means (prize ball detector 91) for collecting balls and detecting one of the collected game balls, and the action of an electric drive source In the ball game machine having a prize ball discharge device (20) for discharging a prize ball, and a control means (control device 200) for controlling the prize ball discharge device to discharge a required number of prize balls, A prize storage means (for example, a safe memory 2) for storing a detection signal from the prize ball detection means, and a discharge number setting means (for example, a discharge register R14, for setting the number of prize balls to be discharged from the prize ball discharge device). R15 etc.)
And if there is a value stored in the winning storage means based on the detection signal from the second winning ball detecting means,
A predetermined value of a prize ball given for a prize in the prize portion of the prize portion is preferentially set to the discharge number setting means, and the prize ball discharge device is operated to discharge a prize ball. If there is no memorized value, the predetermined value of the prize ball given to the prize in the second prize section is set in the discharge number setting means as it is, and the prize ball discharge device is operated to discharge the prize ball. Discharge execution means (for example,
The control device 200 including the discharge solenoid, the small discharge flags R12 and R17, and the discharge of the prize balls given for the prize in the first prize section. And a prize memory subtracting means (for example, subtraction of the R56 safe memory 2) for subtracting "1" from "1".

[0009]

According to the present invention, based on the detection signal from the second winning ball detecting means, the ejection is performed in accordance with the stored value stored in the winning storing means for storing the detecting signal from the first winning ball detecting means. The number setting means sets the number of prize balls, and the discharge execution means only needs to discharge the prize balls by the set number, so that even in a ball game machine having various kinds of prize parts with different prize balls,
The prize ball can be accurately and reliably discharged, and if there is a value stored in the prize storage means, a predetermined value of the prize ball given for the prize in the first prize section is set to the discharge number setting. Since the prize balls are ejected with priority given to the means, the player is less likely to make a mistake in the number of ejected balls.

[0010]

FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the front of a pachinko game machine as a ball game machine to which the present invention is applied. The front of a game board 100 is driven by a lower operation dial 101. A guide rail 10 for guiding a hit ball fired by the hit ball firing device 102 to an upper portion of the game board 100
The game area 3 is disposed in a space surrounded by the guide rail 103 and the glass plate on the front of the game board 1. In the center of the game area, a variable display device 104 as an auxiliary game device is formed. Below the variable display device 104, the variable display device 104 normally forms a part.
For example, there is provided a variable winning device 105 as a second winning portion, which is converted into a winning region by occurrence of a specific mode in.

On both sides of the variable display device 104, for example, a first specific prize port 107 as a first prize portion, and between the variable display device 104 and the variable prize device 105, respectively. A second specific winning opening 108 is provided. In this embodiment, the first specific winning opening 107 is formed of a so-called diving-type winning device having a recess penetrating the gaming board 100, and the first specific winning opening 107 has the recess.
07. The specific winning opening 107 located on the same plane as the opening of the through recess, that is, the game board surface,
It is formed so as to have a semi-cylindrical shape having a diameter of about twice the diameter of the sphere, and is provided with a lead-out hole (not shown) for a winning sphere at the back of the bottom. For example, the second specific prize port 108 as the first prize section is formed of a prize tool called a prize chucker that opens upward in the game area.

Above the variable display device 104, there is provided a prize winning device 106 having three prize ports of so-called "heaven", "heaven left", and "heaven right". Further, a tulip-type hit ball winning device 109 is disposed diagonally below and outside the first specific winning opening 107. In addition, game board 1
In the lower part of the game board, there is provided an out hole 110 for collecting a hit ball which cannot be won in each of the above-mentioned prize areas 106, 107, 108, 109 etc. while falling from above from the rear of the game board. Further, at appropriate positions on the surface of the game board 100, a number of obstacle nails 111 for randomly changing the direction of a hit ball falling from above and a rolling guide member 112 for controlling the falling speed and direction of the hit ball are provided. It is provided substantially symmetrically with respect to the vertical center line of the region.

On both sides of the center of the game board 100, there are provided display devices 121 which are turned on or off when a specific mode is caused by stopping the variable display operation of the variable display device 104. On the upper part of the game board 100, a prize ball lamp 122 and a predetermined number of prize balls, which are temporarily lit when a hit ball wins a prize hole such as the heavenly prize hole 106 or the tulip type ball prize winning device 109, are provided. A completion lamp 123 for notifying the end of the game when all the pieces are paid out and a prize ball number display 124 for displaying the number of prize balls to be discharged at one time by the prize ball discharge device are provided. The prize ball number display 124 is composed of a pair of segment type displays, one of which can display the two-digit prize ball number (11 to 15) at the time of normal discharge, for example, “13”, and the other is the other. For example, a small number of prize balls discharged for a specific winning ball such as "5" can be displayed.

Further, on the upper part of the holding frame 113 of the pachinko gaming machine holding the gaming board 1 having the above-mentioned structure, there is a pilot lamp 125 which is turned on when the operation dial 101 of the hit ball launching device is operated, and illegality by the player. There is provided a defect warning indicator 126 that is turned on when a failure is made in the prize ball discharging device. In addition, holding frame 1
A supply tray 115 for holding a hit ball supplied to the hit ball launching device is attached to an opening / closing panel 114 attached to a lower portion of the thirteen, and a receiving tray 116 for storing a prize ball overflowing from the feed tray is attached below the feed tray 115. Is provided. On a side portion (the left side in the figure) of the holding frame 113, there is provided a variable display stopping means 117 for stopping the variable display device 104 driven by winning a specific winning opening.

In the pachinko gaming machine configured as described above, when a hit ball hit into the game area by the hit ball launching device 102 wins the specific winning opening 107 or 108, the display means of the variable display device 104 is driven, The numbers displayed on the two display windows are respectively changed. Then, the variable display is stopped when the player presses the variable display stop means 117 provided on the holding frame 113 or when the time set by the timer elapses,
The specific mode is generated when the displayed numbers match the predetermined combination. When the specific mode occurs, the variable winning device 105 is converted to the open state, and the winning probability there is from zero to a very high state (special game state).
Will be migrated to. As a result, a large number of prize balls are generated within a relatively short time, and many prize balls are given to the player.

The variable winning device 105 has a general winning opening 105a on both sides, and has a general winning region and a special condition forming region in a receiving opening opened when a specific mode occurs. A special condition detector that detects a hit ball that has won the special condition configuration area is provided on the back of the variable winning device 105 together with a winning detector that detects a hit ball that has won the receiving opening. If the hit ball wins in the special condition configuration area while it is open, the socket is opened again, and by repeating this up to ten times, the special game state called a big hit is completed.
Once the opening is opened, the opening is continuously opened until a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) or a predetermined number of winning balls (10) is reached.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the structure of the back mechanism when the present invention is applied to a pachinko game machine having the structure shown in FIG. Above the back mechanism panel 1 is a storage tank 2 for spare balls.
A guide gutter 11 is connected to one end of the storage tank 2 for automatically aligning and guiding the internal reserve sphere. The guide gutter 11 has two passages, is gently inclined, and is provided with a pendulum type ball nose 3 and a pressing type ball nose 4 on the way. While flowing down, they are aligned in two rows.

At the lower end of the guide gutter 11, a prize ball discharging device 20 of a stopper type is provided. The hit balls that have won the winning opening provided in the game board in the front of the pachinko gaming machine are collected on the back surface, collected at one place by the collecting shelf 10, separated by the winning ball processing device 40 one by one, and Winning ball detector 9 as winning ball detecting means
1 to generate a discharge command signal. Then, the prize ball discharge device 20 is operated only once, and a predetermined number (for example, 13) of prize balls are discharged. The winning balls separated and detected by the winning ball processing device 40 are discharged to a collecting gutter (not shown) behind the gaming machine through the outlet gutter 12. When the discharge of the prize ball by the prize ball discharge device 20 is completed, the prize ball processing device 40 receives and separates the discharge completion signal, and separates and detects the next prize ball.

On the other hand, the prize ball discharged by the prize ball discharge device 20 passes through the prize ball outlet trough 13 and is supplied to the supply port 118.
It is further discharged to the supply tray 115 (see FIG. 2) on the front of the gaming machine. When the supply tray 115 is full, the prize ball is transferred to the diversion gutter 15.
Is discharged to the tray 116 below the front of the gaming machine.
When the tray 116 is full, the overflow is detected by an overflow detector 92 provided in the middle of the diversion gutter 15, for example, the driving of the hit ball firing device 102 is stopped, and the overflow state of the tray is detected by the overflow detector 92. In order to notify the player when is detected, an overflow indicator 127 is provided on the front of the gaming machine. Reference numeral 93 denotes a ball shortage detector for detecting when there is no spare ball in the storage tank 2.

A ball drain gutter 16 is provided below the prize ball discharge device 20 in parallel with the prize ball discharge gutter 13, and is provided at the entrance of the ball drain gutter 16, that is, at the junction with the prize ball discharge gutter 13. Is provided with a ball punching device 60 having a switching gate. In the ball punching device 60, the gate can be operated by inserting a tool such as a pin or a wire from an operation hole 119 formed in the front surface of the holding frame 113 of the gaming machine. When the switching gate is switched to the ball drain gutter 16 side, the ball drain switch 84 is turned on. In a conventional pachinko gaming machine using a ball-sheath case, a ball-extraction gate is provided on the upstream side of the prize-ball discharge device 20. ,
In this embodiment, since the ball removing device 60 is located downstream of the prize ball discharging device 20, all the balls can be removed, and the data of the pachinko parlors can be accurately collected.

The lower end of the ball drain gutter 16 joins the out ball lead-out gutter 17 for guiding the out ball collected from the out hole 110, and is connected to a collection gutter (not shown) provided below the island equipment of the pachinko parlor. The collecting sphere flows out toward it. Further, the back mechanism panel 1 includes the prize ball discharging device 2 described above.
A control device 200 for electrically controlling the entire pachinko gaming machine, such as stopping the launch of a hit ball by a detection signal from a zero or an overflow detector 92, driving various display devices, and various variable winning devices on the front of the game board and a variable display type. A game content control device 210 that controls the game operation based on a signal from a detector built in an auxiliary game device or the like is provided.

On the outer surface of the control device 200, a prize ball number setting device 8 composed of a dip switch or the like is provided in order to set the number of discharged balls in one discharging operation in the prize ball discharging device 20.
0, 81, and 82 are attached. The prize ball number setting devices 80 to 82 can set the number of prize balls in accordance with the type of the game board, and also can set the number of prize balls for a specific winning ball. The prize ball discharging device 2 is provided on the upper part of the back mechanism panel 1 in the event of hitting or failure.
A manual switch (hereinafter, referred to as a memory discharge switch) 83 is provided for discharging a winning ball on the collecting shelf 10 without activating 0. The memory ejection switch 83 is connected to an ejection sensor 2 in the prize ball ejection device 20 described later.
In place of 5, a pseudo discharge end signal is given.

Further, in this embodiment, the specific winning opening 10
7 and 108, the ball hits other general winning openings 10
A special winning ball collecting gutter 18 is provided in order to be able to distinguish and detect the hitting ball which has won in 6 or 109, etc. The hitting ball which has won the specific winning opening 107 on the left and right is specified winning by the guiding gutters 19a and 19b, respectively. It flows down onto the ball collecting gutter 18. The hit ball that has won the specific winning opening 108 flows directly onto the specific winning ball gathering gutter 18. A specific winning detector 94 as first winning ball detecting means is provided at the outflow portion 18a of the specific winning ball collecting gutter 18, and the lower end of the outflow portion 18a is opened above the collecting gutter 10. ing. That is, the prize balls collected by the specific prize ball collecting gutter 18 and detected by the specific prize detector 94 flow down onto the collective gutter 10 and are guided to the prize ball processing device 40 together with a hit ball that has won another general prize port. Then, they are separated one by one and detected by a winning ball detector 91 provided as a second winning ball detecting means provided inside. In this embodiment, the specific prize detector 94 as the first prize ball detecting means is disposed at the outflow portion 18a of the specific prize collecting tub 18. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A specific winning ball detector 94 as a first winning ball detecting means may be provided for each time.

FIG. 3 is a detailed diagram showing the relationship between the specific winning ball collecting gutter 18 and the collecting gutter 10 on the back mechanism panel. The collecting gutter 10 is attached so as to cover the back surface of the game board 100 with an interval of at least one ball. Side walls are provided at both left and right ends, and the lower part is gently inclined downward toward the center. A guide shelf 10a is formed. The winning ball processing device 40 (FIG. 1)
) Is arranged to be swingable, and separates winning balls guided by the guide shelf 10a one by one. In the figure, portions 1A to 1M indicated by oblique lines (hatching) are through holes formed so as to penetrate the game board 100. Of these, the through holes 1A to 1C are ball exits of winning balls provided corresponding to three winning holes in the heavenly winning tool 106 provided on the front of the game board 100, and the through holes 1D and 1E are provided. The first specific winning opening 107, the through hole 1F is a second specific winning opening 108, and the through holes 1G and 1H are ball outlets provided corresponding to the tulip winning device 109, respectively.

The through hole 1I is a ball outlet constituting the out hole 110, and the through holes 1J and 1K are
1 and a mounting hole for mounting the completion lamp 24. The through holes 1L and 1M having relatively large areas are mounting holes provided for mounting the variable display device 104 and the variable winning device 105, respectively. A pair of winning ball derivation gutters 19c and 19d for guiding the winning ball flowing out of the ball outlets 1A to 1C to the side of the collecting gutter 10 are provided on the back surface of the gaming board 100. Winning Ball Outgoing Gutter 19
The winning ball guided by c, 19b is the winning device 10
9 together with the prize balls flowing out of the through holes 1G and 1H and the game balls prize in the variable prize device 105, flow down onto the guide shelf 10a, and are guided to the prize ball processing device 40.

[0026] Also, corresponding to the pair of first specific winning openings 107, respectively, on the back of the gaming board 100, a winning ball deriving gutter 1
9a and 19b are provided. The winning ball guided by the winning ball derivation gutters 19a and 19b is the second specific winning port 10
The prize balls flowing out therefrom corresponding to the ball exit 1F of No. 8 are caused to flow down onto a specific prize ball collecting gutter 18 provided to guide the prize balls to one side. This specific winning ball gathering gutter 1
In the middle of the outflow portion 18a provided vertically on one side of
A specific winning detector 94 is attached, and ball exits 1D, 1E
And a specific winning ball that has flowed out of the first and second floors is detected. It is to be noted that reference numeral 95 denotes a prize detector for detecting all game balls which have won the reception of the variable prize winning device 105, and reference numeral 96 denotes a special condition configuration area in the reception. Is a special condition detector that detects a ball that has won the game. The specific prize ball collecting gutter 18 is attached to the back of the variable prize ball collecting device 105, and a drive source (solenoid) 105b of the variable prize device 105 is provided on one side of the specific prize ball collecting gutter 18 opposite to the outflow portion 18a. Has been fixed.

FIG. 4 shows a reserve ball storage tank 2 and a guide gutter 1.
1 and the structure of the prize ball discharging device 20 and the connection state thereof. The storage tank 2 is mounted so as to be placed in a storage recess formed in an upper part of the back mechanism panel 1. Although not shown, an opening is formed at one end (left end in the figure) of the bottom wall of the storage tank 2, and a guide gutter 11 is attached so as to face this opening. A tread plate is rotatably arranged on the bottom wall of the guide gutter 11, and when the reserve ball runs out in the storage tank 2, the tread plate rises. This is detected by the ball shortage detector 93 to form a ball supply request signal.

A dividing wall 11a is provided in the middle of the guide gutter 11 to separate and align the flowing sphere into two lines. The ball fly 3 is hung down by a pin 3a on a support portion 11b formed on the upper part of the guide gutter 11, and the balls that flow vertically over the guide gutter 11 are broken up and aligned. Ball narashi 4
Are rotatably supported by pins 4b on support pieces 4a fixed to both sides of the guide gutter 11 to prevent the balls flowing down on the guide gutter 11 from overlapping. Further, in the middle of the guide gutter 11, preferably just before the prize ball discharging device 20, the pin 4
A flow-down control member 7 rotatable about b is provided. The tip bent piece of the flow-down control member 7 is divided into two pieces, and when turned as shown by the broken line a in the figure, each bent piece 7c,
7d enters the long holes 11c and 11d formed in the upper wall of the guide gutter 11 corresponding to the two guide paths, thereby preventing the ball from flowing down in the guide gutter 11, and the prize ball discharge device. The supply to 20 can be manually interrupted.

As a result, the maintenance and inspection of the prize ball discharging device 20 and the replacement operation in the case of failure can be easily performed. An operation piece 7b is provided on one side of the flow-down control member 7 so as to project laterally, so that the flow-down control member 7 can be easily rotated manually. further,
A spring 9 is stretched between the operation piece 7b and the pin 8 provided on the side wall of the guide gutter 11, so that the state of the flow-down control member 7 can be stably maintained by the spring 9. At the lower end of the guide gutter 11, a prize ball discharge device 20 having a flow path 30 integrally therewith is provided. In this case, a locking piece 11e is provided on the side of the gutter at the lower end of the guide gutter 11, and the flow path 30 on the prize ball discharging device side is provided.
A guide piece 30a protruding forward is provided at the upper and lower ends of the starting end of the guide piece, and the guide piece 30a and the locking piece 11e
The guide gutter 11 and the downflow path 30 can be connected.

FIGS. 5 to 7 show the details of the prize ball discharging device 20. FIG. The prize ball discharge device 20 includes a flow-down path 30, a flow-down preventing member 22 that enters the flow-down path 30 and controls the flow of a ball, and a solenoid 21 that is a driving means thereof are integrally connected. The flow-down path 30 includes a slowly inclined alignment gutter 31, a flow adjustment gutter 33 extending substantially vertically downward from a lower end of the alignment gutter 31, and a connection portion between the alignment gutter 31 and the flow adjustment gutter 33. An adjusting part 32 for turning the flowing ball down by about 90 degrees, a guiding gutter 34 extending obliquely downward from the lower end of the regulating gutter 33 by about 45 degrees, and a terminal end of the guiding gutter 34 And a discharge gutter 35 extending substantially vertically downward. Induction gutter 34 and discharge gutter 35
A pair of support pieces 36 protrude from the outer wall of the flow-down path 30 in the vicinity of the boundary between the support pieces 36.
Is suspended.

The flow-down path 30 is formed in two lines corresponding to the guide gutter 11, and a pair of fan-shaped flow-down preventing members 22 are formed around the support shaft 24 in correspondence with the two flow-down paths 30. It is mounted rotatably. Downflow prevention member 22
, A pair of solenoids 21 is provided. The tip of the flow-down preventing member 22 is connected to the flow-down path 3
No. 0 enters through a slit provided in the inner wall portion and protrudes into the guide gutter 34. The rear end of the downflow prevention member 22 is connected to the solenoid 21 through a link member 23.
Is connected to the tip of the plunger 21a.
4, the tip part enters the guide gutter 34 or retreats. As a result, a predetermined number of discharges are performed while allowing or preventing the flow of the ball.

Further, the side wall of the guide gutter 34 bulges out to form an accommodating portion 37, into which the ejected ball detector 25 composed of a transmission type optical sensor is inserted.
In addition, above the solenoid 21, the lead wires drawn from the solenoid 21 and the discharge ball detector 25 are concentrated at one place, and wires for connecting to the control device 200 are collectively connected from the front. A connector 26 is provided to enable this. An engaging portion 13a formed at the start end of the prize ball lead-out gutter 13 is engaged with the lower end of the flow-down path 30 to perform connection.

Further, the alignment gutter 3 at the entrance of the downflow path 30
As shown in FIG. 6, a conductive sheet 38 such as a metal plate is adhered to the bottom surface of the first sheet 1 and one end of the conductive sheet 38 is grounded to a frame or the like. As a result, the static electricity charged in the falling ball can be released, and the discharge ball detector 25 can be prevented from being destroyed by electrostatic. In other words, a mechanical switch such as a microswitch may be used as the detector, but the microswitch has a slow return operation, so it may stay on if a ball continuously flows down. And chattering is likely to occur. In addition, contact failure tends to occur due to long-term use. Therefore, the microswitch is not suitable as a detector for detecting a continuous ball like a prize ball discharging device.

Therefore, in the above embodiment, the ejected ball detector 2
5, an optical sensor is used. However, since the optical sensor is formed of an IC, it is susceptible to static electricity, and furthermore, while the discharge ball flows down in the guide gutter 11, it is charged with static electricity due to friction with the gutter, and the static electricity tends to damage the sensor. There is an inconvenience. In the above embodiment, the inconvenience is avoided by discharging the conductive sheet 38 attached to the bottom surface of the alignment gutter 31. Further, by selecting the material of the conductive sheet 38, the frictional force between the ball and the gutter can be reduced, and the flow of the ball can be made smooth.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, slits 31a and 33a are formed on the upper wall of the flow control gutter 31 and the outer wall of the flow control gutter 33 which constitute the flow path of the prize ball discharging device 20, respectively.
a is provided. As a result, a foreign matter or the like enters the downflow path and causes clogging in the prize ball discharge device 20,
When smooth flow is impeded, this slit 3
Maintenance can be facilitated, for example, by inserting a tool such as a pin from 1a or 33a to remove foreign matter. A cover member 39 having a step portion 39a having substantially the same size as the slit is engaged with the slits 31a and 33a, and is fixed and closed with screws or the like.

Next, the downflow path 30 constructed as described above is used.
The operation of the prize ball discharging device 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The prize ball discharge device 20 is configured such that the pachinko balls B aligned in the flow-down path 30 are in a state in which the flow-down preventing member 22 enters the guide path 34 as shown by a solid line in FIG.
When the ball B1 at the forefront comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the flow-down preventing member 22, the ball B1 is stopped. At this time, two balls B1 and B2 are provided in the guiding gutter 34, and three balls B3 and B3 are provided in the flow control gutter 33.
The guiding gutter 34 and the regulating gutter 33 are stored so that B4 and B5 are stored.
Are determined. Moreover, the uppermost ball B5 in the flow control gutter 33 is pushed by the balls B6, B7,... In the alignment gutter 31, and is brought into contact with the tapered adjusting portion 32. When the ball B5 is pressed toward the adjusting portion 32, the ball B5 receives a repulsive force from the adjusting portion 32, and the repelling force is transmitted to the ball B5 and the balls B4, B3,. Act on. As a result, as shown by the broken line C in FIG.
When the ball is retracted from the inside, the balls B1 to B5 in the flow control gutter 33 and the guide gutter 34 immediately start flowing down due to the repulsive force from the adjustment unit 32 and the weight of the ball.

When the balls B1 to B5 flow down, the balls B6, B7... In the alignment gutter 31 start flowing down subsequently. Then, at the exit of the alignment gutter 31, it first collides with the adjustment unit 32 to reduce the flow speed, and the flow direction is changed from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction by approximately 90 °, and enters the flow control unit 33. In this case, acceleration is performed by its own weight, so that a ball interval is secured between the ball and a subsequent ball that is decelerated by the adjustment unit 32. Therefore, for example, when the solenoid 21 is demagnetized when the ball B7 is detected, even if there is a delay in the operation of the flow-down preventing member 22, the flow-down can be prevented before the ball B7 passes. By increasing the ball interval in this way, control of the flow-down preventing member becomes easy. However, B7
Is detected, and when the solenoid 21 is turned off, six prize balls are discharged.

Further, in the flow path 30, the center 05 of the ball B5 located at the uppermost position of the flow control gutter 32 in a state where the flow of the ball is prevented by the flow prevention member 22 is aligned with the alignment gutter 31.
..., the center of the spheres B6, B7 ... aligned within
・ Because it is located below the extension of the center line connecting
The dimensions of the guide gutter 34 and the flow control gutter 33 are determined.
Therefore, the pressure transmitted from the waiting balls B6, B7,... To B5 produces a component force that pushes down the ball B5. Thereby, when the downflow prevention member 22 retreats, the flow control gutter 3
3 The uppermost ball B5 is the following ball B6 and the outer wall 3 of the flow control gutter 33.
3a, the ball B1 to B4 is not obstructed from following the ball B1 to B4.

The ejected ball detector 25 provided in the middle of the guiding gutter 34 is arranged such that its detection optical axis F is located at a position slightly deviated from the center of the ball flowing down the gutter. When the detection optical axis F is positioned so as to pass through the center of the sphere, if a plurality of spheres flow continuously, the pulse interval of the detection signal may be narrowed and accurate counting may not be performed. . However, in this embodiment, accurate counting can be performed by shifting the detection optical axis F from the center of the sphere as described above. Further, the downflow prevention member 22 is mounted so that the rotation surface of the fan-shaped downflow prevention member 22 coincides with the downflow trajectory at the center of the downflowing sphere, so that the downflow prevention member 22 enters the gutter from above the guide gutter 34 downward. To stop the falling ball. Therefore, when the flowing ball stops, the impact force acting on the flowing-down preventing member 22 is
Since it can be received by a stopper portion (for example, a slit end portion of the guide gutter 34 into which the flow-down preventing member 22 enters) the rotation-preventing member 22 can be given strength enough to withstand an impact that is exerted at the time of stoppage. it can.

Further, since the lowermost ball B1 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the fan-shaped downflow preventing member 22 and is stopped, the lowermost ball B1 is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the downflow preventing member 22 and the wall surface of the guide gutter 34. Even if it is stopped in such a way as to bite in between, when the flow-down preventing member 22 is retracted, it moves away while rotating the ball B1 on its outer peripheral surface. Therefore, the downflow prevention member 22 can be retracted with a relatively small force, so that the ball does not get stuck between the downflow prevention member 22 and the wall surface of the guide gutter 34 so that it does not move. Further, a line connecting the rotation center of the flow-down preventing member 22 and the center 01 of the lowermost ball B1 in the guide gutter 34 is disposed horizontally. Therefore, as soon as the end of the flow-down preventing member 22 comes off the outer periphery of the ball B1, the ball B1 can flow down, and as the ball B1 slightly slips down with the rotation of the flow-down preventing member 22, the stopping force is released. You never have to start.

In the above embodiment, the angle α between the flow control gutter 33 and the guide gutter 34 may be in the range of 0 to 90 °. The speed of the accelerated falling ball is not greatly reduced, and the load applied to the flowing-down preventing member 22 when the ball is stopped can be reduced. Further, in the above-described embodiment, in the state where the ball is prevented from flowing down by the flow-down preventing member 22, the ball B1 at the lowermost end of the flow-down preventing member 22 and the guide gutter 34 is set.
The distance d between the vertical line G passing through a point separated from the point of contact by the diameter of the sphere and the wall surface 35a of the discharge gutter 35 is smaller than the radius r of the sphere and larger than r-rcosα (r
−rcosα <d <r) so that the end 34a of the guiding gutter 34
Has been determined. As a result, when the downflow prevention member 22 enters the guide gutter 34 to prevent the ball from flowing down, the ball discharged lastly has the end face 22 of the downflow prevention member 22.
a when the discharge is performed by being pushed by
When it reaches the terminal end 34 a of 4, it can flow down into the discharge gutter 35 and escape from the flow-down preventing member 22. Therefore, the final discharge ball remains in the guiding gutter 35 forever and does not hinder the entry of the flow-down preventing member 22, and the discharge can be stopped quickly.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the winning ball processing device 40 in detail. Collective shelf 1 provided on the back of back mechanism panel 1
0 is inclined downward toward the center, and the flow path conversion unit 1 is located at the center.
0C is provided. The flow path conversion unit 10C is provided with a vertical wall 10 that causes a step in the left and right collecting shelves 10A and 10B.
a and the right set shelf 10A fixed to the vertical wall 10a.
A guide piece 10b having a front end formed in an arc shape so as to change the winning ball that has flowed downward to the front, and a forward slope gently descending at the end of the collecting shelf 10A below the guide piece 10b. It is constituted by the formed tapered portion 10c.

An outlet 41a through which one ball can pass is formed in a holding frame 41 integrated with a panel mounted so as to cover the collecting shelf 10 in correspondence with the flow path converter 10C.
An L-shaped winning ball guide plate 42 is provided along one side and the lower side of the outlet 41a, and the flowing winning ball is turned by 90 degrees. A ball processing unit 43 is swingably mounted on a support shaft 44 so as to be located on the side of the winning ball guide plate 42. On the side of the ball processor 43 facing the upper entry prize ball guide plate 42, a concave ball receiving portion 43a is formed.
Is formed, and a weight 45 is attached to the opposite side, and the weight 45 is attached to the attachment side of the weight 45 in a normal state. Then, the lower side of the ball receiving portion 43a on the opposite side comes into contact with the lower surface of the winning ball guide plate 42, so that further rotation is prevented, and the balance is maintained. In this state, when the winning ball flows down from the winning ball guide plate 42 into the ball receiving portion 43a as shown in FIG. 9, the weight 45 is rotated by the weight of the ball so that the ball processor 43 rotates clockwise. The weight has been determined. The ball processing device 43 rotated by the weight of the flowing ball is stopped when the lower side abuts on the holding frame 41.

The ball processor 43 has a blocking piece 43b protruding at a position facing the winning ball guide plate 42 in this stopped state. As a result, when two or more winning balls are continuously generated, the second and subsequent winning balls are prevented from flowing down by the blocking pieces 43b as shown in FIG.
2 is made to stand by. The mounting position is not limited. For example, the detection piece 43c is provided above the ball processing device 43.
In addition, a safe sensor 91 such as an optical sensor having a pair of a light emitter and a light receiver disposed opposite to each other is attached to the holding frame 41 corresponding to the detection piece 43c.

Further, a solenoid 46 is provided on the side of the ball processing device 43, and a solenoid 46 is provided on the lower side of the ball receiving portion of the ball processing device 43 which is rotated by the inflow of the winning ball into the ball receiving portion 43a. A stopper 47 fixed to the tip of the plunger 46a of the solenoid 46 faces the opposed position. When the solenoid 46 is in the demagnetized state, the stopper 47 at the tip of the plunger is pulled down by the spring 48, and is brought into contact with a winning ball that is held by the ball receiving portion 43a and is flowing downward toward the winning ball deriving gutter 12 below. The flow is prevented (see FIG. 10). Then, when the solenoid 46 is excited, the plunger 46a contracts and the stopper 47 is raised, and the winning ball held in the ball receiving portion 43a flows down toward the outlet gutter 12. The stopper 47 is provided with an operation piece 47a protruding therefrom. When a ball is clogged or the solenoid is out of order, a pachinko parlor manually operates the stopper 4a.
7 can be moved to discharge the winning ball.

The solenoid 46 is, for example, a prize ball discharging device 2.
It is activated in response to a discharge end signal at 0. When the solenoid 46 is excited and the winning ball is caused to flow down, the ball processor 43 is rotated counterclockwise by the weight of the weight 45, and the blocking piece 43b is raised. Therefore, the next winning ball continuously generated and kept on standby on the winning ball guide plate 42 flows into the ball receiving portion 43a, and the ball processor 43 is rotated clockwise again. In this way,
By repeating the above operation, a large number of winning balls generated in a short time are promptly separated and detected and processed. As described above, when the stopper type that controls the discharge of the prize ball by using the solenoid to move the flow-down preventing member 22 into or from the flow-down path 30 as the prize ball discharge device 20 is used, the prize ball is simply obtained. By installing a safe sensor in the middle of the lead-out gutter to detect a winning ball and electrically storing it, it is possible to perform high-speed discharge control.

On the other hand, in the winning ball processing device 40 of the above-described embodiment, since the winning ball is separated and detected one by one by the ball processor 43, the detection interval between the previous winning ball and the next winning ball is determined. Is necessary and sufficient. Therefore, winning balls continuously generated can be detected more accurately. In a conventional gaming machine using a ball-sheath case-type prize ball discharge device, the prize ball is controlled to be discharged by separating the prize balls one by one, but in the conventional prize ball processing device, the separation is performed. Move the lever with the winning ball, remove the stopper of the ball sheath case with that movement, tilt it and discharge it, furthermore, physically transmit the tilt of this ball sheath case to the ball processor and allow the next winning ball to flow down Therefore, the response speed is lower than that of the winning ball processing apparatus of the above embodiment, and it is not suitable for processing a large amount of winning balls in a short time.

In the winning ball processing device 40 of the above embodiment, after confirming that the prize ball discharging device 20 has finished discharging, the solenoid 46 is actuated to discharge the previous winning ball and to detect the next winning ball. You can control it to move forward, so that a prize ball is not paid out even if a prize ball occurs,
It is possible to prevent troubles occurring between the player and the game store. In other words, if there is no ejection of the prize ball, the winning ball remains at the stopper, so that it can be seen immediately whether or not the player's claim is correct. In addition, there is a one-to-one relationship between the winning balls and the prize balls, and while the discharging is stopped, the processing of the winning balls is interrupted, and the undischarged winning balls are kept on standby. Becomes unnecessary.
In other words, if the winning balls are detected in advance and electrically stored in a memory or counter, it is necessary to take measures against power failure such as backup by a battery in order to prevent the number of stored data from being lost at the time of power failure, The use of the winning ball processing apparatus of the above embodiment eliminates the necessity.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the winning ball is detected by an indirect method of detecting the rotation of the ball processor 43, so that the malfunction of the safe sensor 91 due to the static electricity charged on the pachinko ball is prevented. Is prevented. In other words, in the case of the above embodiment, it is possible to directly detect the winning ball by placing the sensor 91 in the path of the winning ball, but in such a case, the sensor malfunctions due to static electricity charged on the winning ball. However, erroneous operation of the sensor can be prevented by indirect detection. In the above embodiment, corresponding to the configuration of the winning ball processing device as shown in FIG. 8, an angle of 6 to 8 ° is given to the right set shelf 10A as the inclination angle α, and the left set shelf 10B
Is given an angle of 14 to 16 [deg.] As the inclination angle [beta] to vary the speed of the winning ball flowing down the left and right collecting shelves 10A and 10B, and the height h of the vertical wall 10a is set to 12 mm or more. Thereby, even if a plurality of winning balls are generated and the winning balls flow down simultaneously from the left and right, the flow path conversion unit 10
Ball clogging at C can be prevented beforehand.

Next, based on the detection signals from the prize ball detector 91 and the specific prize ball detector 94, the prize ball discharge device 20 is controlled to discharge a predetermined number of prize balls and the hit ball launching device 1.
An example of the control device 200 that performs control such as 02 will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, control of the prize ball discharge device 20 and the like is performed using a CPU (microcomputer) 200 '. CPU
200 'includes a prize ball number setting device 80,
81, 82, memory ejection switch 83, ball removal switch 8
4. Detection signals from the winning ball detector 91 (hereinafter, referred to as safe sensor 1), the overflow detector 92, the ball shortage detector 93, and the specific winning detector 94 (hereinafter, referred to as safe sensor 2) are input. . Prize ball number setting devices 80, 81,
By providing the 82, it is possible to control a machine (pachinko machine) having a different number of prize balls, and to control the discharge of different numbers of prize balls for a prize to the specific prize port and the other prize ports as the object of the present invention. Becomes possible.

The CPU 200 'receives a discharged ball detection signal from a pair of discharged ball detectors (hereinafter referred to as "discharge sensors") 25 provided on the way down the flow path 30 of the prize ball discharging device 20. It has become. Furthermore, CP
A stop command signal is input to U200 'from a centralized control device of a pachinko parlor (not shown). CPU 200 '
Has a ROM 201 as a read-only memory and a RAM 202 as a memory which can be read and written at any time. The ROM 201 stores a program to be executed by the CPU 200 ′ for controlling the prize ball discharge device 20 and the like, and fixed data such as a drive time and a wait time (discharge interval) of the safe solenoid 46.

On the other hand, the RAM 202 stores the discharge sensor 25
A memory area for storing the cumulative number of balls ejected from each flow-down path 30 and the number of ejected balls in each flow-down path, a register area forming a soft timer, and a CPU 200 'Work area (work area) is provided. Further, a pair of solenoids (hereinafter, referred to as discharge solenoids) 21 in the prize ball discharge device 20 are provided to the CPU 200 ′ via a driver 220.
(Hereinafter referred to as “safe solenoid”) in the winning ball processing device 40, and display devices such as a prize ball lamp 122, a completion lamp 123, a prize ball number display 124, a pilot lamp 125, a failure warning display lamp 126, and the like ( 2 are connected to each other), a hit ball launching device 102, and the like. The CPU 200 ′ drives the prize ball discharge device 20, various display lamps, the hit ball firing device 102, and the like based on signals from the setting device, various detectors, and switches according to a program in the ROM 201.

The main processes of the CPU 200 'are an overflow process, a tank process, a ball removing process, a winning ball detecting process, and a prize ball discharging process. However, the procedure of the processing is not limited to the above order, and the processing may be started from any processing. The pachinko gaming machine is controlled by repeatedly executing the above processing by a timer interrupt or the like. Here, the overflow processing detects a detection signal from the overflow detector 92, and turns on or blinks the overflow lamp 127 for a predetermined time (10 to 20 seconds), for example, when the overflow state is not released. Means that the launching operation by the hit ball launching device 102 is stopped. As a result, it is possible to prevent the inside of the prize ball lead-out gutter 13 from being filled with the prize balls up to the vicinity of the prize ball discharge device 20 and adversely affecting the discharging operation.

In the tank processing, when it is detected that the storage tank 2 is empty and the ball shortage detector 93 is turned off, for example, a ball supply request is sent to the central control room and the completion lamp 112 is turned on. At the same time or thereafter, when the absence of the ball is detected based on the signal of the ejection sensor 25 in the prize ball ejection device 20, the hit ball firing device 102 is stopped. When a ball replenishment request signal is sent to the central control room, a replenishing device (not shown) above the tank is operated by a command from the central control room, and replenishment to the storage tank 2 is performed. The ball-pulling process is based on a signal from the ball-pulling switch 84 indicating that the switching gate of the ball-pulling device 60 has been switched to the direction of opening the entrance of the ball-pulling gutter 16 and closing the entrance of the prize ball outlet gutter 13. Upon detection, the solenoid 21 in the prize ball discharging device 20 is operated to continuously discharge the spare ball through the two flow-down paths 30 to empty the storage tank 2.

Since the prize ball detection processing and the prize ball discharge processing are mutually related and complicated, FIGS. 12 to 15 show detailed processing procedures, which will be described below. When the processing is started by turning on the power or generating an interrupt, before detecting a winning ball, first, the safe memories 1 and 2 for storing the number of winning balls corresponding to the safe sensors 1 and 2 and various registers and flags. After the initial setting of (Routine R
1), the on / off state of the prize ball number setting devices 1, 2, and 3 is read to determine the number of discharge balls (hereinafter referred to as "radix base") for each flow path in the prize ball discharge device 20 (hereinafter referred to as "radix base"). Routine R2). In the gaming machine of the above embodiment (see FIG. 1), prize ball number setting devices 80, 81 and 82 each comprising a dip switch for setting the number of ejected balls are provided.
Therefore, the CPU 200 'switches these switches 80, 8
For example, according to the combination of the ON ("1") and OFF ("0") states of 1, 82, the discharge radix 1 and 2 on the solenoids 1 and 2 for normal discharge are set as shown in the following table, for example. ,
A radix 3 which is the number of prize balls at the time of small discharge with respect to a specific winning ball is set. Here, as an example, the number of prize balls at the time of normal discharge is set to any one of 11, 13, and 15, and the number of prize balls at the time of small discharge is set to any of 3, 5, 6, or 7. The case of setting is shown.

[0056]

[Table 1] In Table 1 above, the discharge solenoid 1 side refers to a solenoid provided on a path closer to the mounting board among the two flow paths, and in Table 1 above, the number of discharge units on the discharge solenoid 1 side always discharges. It is determined to be larger than the solenoid 2 side. The reason for setting such a relationship is that, when the flow-down path is set to two, the flow of the ball flowing down from the storage tank 2 through the guide gutter 11 toward the prize ball discharge device 20 is closer to the substrate. This is because the downflow path is smoother, and the distant side tends to always have a shortage of balls. Therefore, by always increasing the number of discharge bases on the discharge solenoid 1 side as shown in Table 1, it becomes possible to balance the supply of spheres to the two flow paths.

When the set n prize balls are discharged by the prize ball discharge device 20 shown in FIG. 3, the flow-down preventing member 22 is provided downstream of the mounting position of the discharge sensor 25.
There is one ball blocked by the discharge sensor 25
Waits for the next ejection command in a state where is detected the previous ball. Therefore, in the actual control, it is necessary to change the control signal to the solenoid 21 that activates the flow-down preventing member 22 when the discharge sensor detects the (n-1) th ball that is “1” smaller than the set number n. is there. When the discharge radix setting process (routine R2) is completed, the flow waits for the elapse of an idle time of 2 seconds (routine R3), and proceeds to the next routine, where the safe sensor 1 (winning ball detector 91)
Is turned on for a predetermined time (routine R
4). Here, if it is determined to be no (no), it is determined in the next routine R5 whether or not the output of the safe sensor 1 has risen. If it is no, the process proceeds directly to the routine R7.

On the other hand, if YES in either of the routines R4 and R5, that is, if there is a winning ball, the routine proceeds to a routine R6, where the storage in the safe memory 1 in the CPU is increased by "1", and the routine proceeds to a routine R7. move on. In the routine R7, the safe sensor 2 (specific winning detector 94)
It is determined whether or not the output has risen. If NO, the process directly proceeds to the routine R9. If YES, the storage of the safe memory 2 as the winning storage means is increased by "1" in the routine R8, and then the process proceeds to the routine R9. In the routine R9, it is determined whether or not the number in the register in which the processing number is entered is "1". If yes, the routine jumps to the ejected ball detection processing indicated by the symbol A. Since the process number register has been reset to "0" by the initial setting in the routine R1, the determination in the first determination in the routine R9 is NO, and the process proceeds to the next routine R10. Here, it is determined whether or not the number in the processing number register is “2”, and if yes, the processing jumps to the post-processing indicated by the reference character B. And proceeds to routine R11.

In the routine R11, it is determined whether or not the storage in the safe memory 1 is "0". If NO, that is, if the winning storage is "0", the routine returns to the routine R5. Thus, if the routine proceeds to the routine R11 after the prize memory is incremented in the routine R6, it is determined to be YES, and the routine proceeds to the routine R12. In the routine R12, it is determined whether the storage in the safe memory 2 is not “0” and the winning storage is “0”.
In the case of, the routine shifts to a series of normal discharge processing including routines R13 to R16. That is, first of all, in the routine R13, the display unit L for displaying the normal discharge number of the prize ball number display units 124.
1 is driven to display the total number of the emission bases 1 and 2 set in the routine R2, and then the emission base 1 is set in the emission register 1 as the emission number setting means in the routine R14 (see Table 1).
Is loaded into the discharge register 2 as a discharge number setting means in the routine R15. Then, after the discharge solenoids 1 and 2 are turned on in the routine R16, "1" is set in the process number register in the routine R26, and the process returns to the routine R5.

On the other hand, if the determination in the above routine R12 is YES, that is, if there is a winning storage in the safe memory 2, the routine shifts to a small discharge process comprising routines R17 to R25. That is, first, the small discharge flag is set to "1" in the routine R17 to clearly indicate that the process has shifted to the small discharge process, and then the display L2 for displaying the small discharge number of the award ball number display 124 is driven. To display the number of prize balls for the specific winning ball set in the routine R2. Here, if the previous discharge is the normal discharge, the display L1 is turned off and then the display L2 is turned on. That is, one of the indicators L1 and L2 is turned on, and is not turned on at the same time. After the display L2 is turned on, the process proceeds to the routine R19 to determine whether or not the inversion flag is "0". If "0", the process proceeds to the routine R20, and the inversion flag is changed to "1".
At 21, the discharge base 1 is set in the discharge register 1. Then, after turning on the discharge solenoid 1 in the routine R22,
The process proceeds to the routine R26, changes the process number to 1, and returns to the routine R5.

When it is determined in the routine R19 that the inversion flag is not "0", the process proceeds to the routine R23, where the inversion flag is changed to "0", and then the discharge radix 3 is set in the discharge register 2 (routine R24). ), The discharge solenoid 2 is turned on (routine R25), and the routine R2
Proceed to 6. As described above, in the small discharge process, the discharge solenoids to be driven are changed although the number of discharges is the same, according to the state of the inversion flag (1 or 0). Moreover, every time the discharge solenoid is driven, the inversion flag is changed, that is, inverted. Therefore, the two discharge solenoids 1 and 2 corresponding to the two flow paths 30 in the prize ball discharge device 20 are alternately driven. As a result, the guide gutter 1
The supply of the prize ball from only one of the two passages in 1 can be avoided. That is, if only one of the passages in the guide gutter 11 frequently flows, the balls overlap in the shape of a stone wall near the entrance to cause ball clogging. However, according to the above flow, such ball clogging can be prevented. it can.

When the routine returns from the routine R26 to the routine R5, the above processing R5 to R8 is repeated again. However, since the processing number register is set to "1" this time,
Ejection ball detection processing A determined to be Yes in routine R9
(See FIG. 15). This ejected ball detection processing A
First, it is determined whether or not the output of the discharge sensor 1 has risen (routine R31). If NO, the process directly proceeds to the routine R35 to determine whether or not the output of the discharge sensor 2 has risen. When the rising of the sensor output is detected in the routine R31, the process proceeds to the routine R32, in which the content of the discharge register is subtracted by "1", and the value of the discharge register is set to "0" in the next routine R33. It is determined whether or not it has become. Here, if the determination is affirmative, the discharge solenoid is turned off (routine R34).
Proceed to.

In the routines R35 to R38, the processing relating to the discharge system 1 (routines R31 to R3) is performed for the discharge system 2.
After executing the same processing as in 4), the process proceeds to the routine R39. In the routine R39, it is determined whether or not the sum of the values of the discharge registers 1 and 2 is "0". If NO, that is, if the sum is not "0", the process returns to the routine R5 and the above procedure is again performed. Thus, if it is determined in the routine R39 that the answer is YES, that is, the prize ball discharging device finishes discharging the predetermined number of prize balls, the process proceeds to the routine R41, and the safe solenoid is first turned on. This enables the winning ball processing device to capture the next winning ball. After the safe solenoid is turned on, the timer (for example, 100 ms) for the safe solenoid is set in the routine R42, and the routine R
After setting the wait time timer (for example, 600 ms) at 43, the contents of the processing number register are changed to "2" at routine R44, and the routine returns to routine R5.

Then, the routine jumps from the routine R10 to the post-processing B, and it is first determined in a routine R51 whether or not the time of the safe timer has expired. If no, the safe solenoid is turned off.
From 52), the process proceeds to a routine R53. In the routine R53, it is determined whether or not the time of the wait timer has expired. If NO, the process returns to the routine R5 and the above processing is repeated again. If YES, the winning memory in the safe memory is decremented by "1" in the routine R54. Then, the routine R5
In step 5, it is determined whether or not the small discharge flag is "1". If "0", the routine directly proceeds to the routine R58.
At 56, the safe memory 2 is subtracted by "1" and the routine R
After resetting the small discharge flag to "0" at 57, the routine proceeds to the routine R58, resets the process number register to "0" and returns to the routine R5.

As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the winning prize ball that has won the specific winning opening 107 or 108, flows down onto the specific winning ball collecting gutter 18 and is detected by the specific winning detector 94, Then, it flows down onto the winning ball processing device 40 and is detected again by the winning ball detector 91 therein. Thus, before the specific prize ball detected by the specific prize detector 94 enters the prize ball processing device 40, if there is a general prize ball generated before that, the prize ball discharge device 20 is operated by the general prize ball. Priority is given to small discharge. If the small discharge is executed in preference to the normal discharge in this way, the player can convince that the number of prize balls is small because the player has won the specific winning opening 107 or 108.
Conversely, if the small discharge is not given priority over the normal discharge and the small discharge is executed after a considerable time has passed since the specific winning opening has been won, the small discharge and the specific winning opening Since it is difficult to understand the relationship with winning a prize, the player may misunderstand that the number of prize balls has decreased due to a failure, which may cause a trouble. However, in the above embodiment, such misunderstanding is reduced. Moreover, in the above embodiment, the display of the number of awarded balls is sequentially switched and displayed on the awarded ball number display 124 on the front of the game board, so that the occurrence of troubles due to erroneous recognition is further reduced.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 16 corresponds to FIG. 1 showing a configuration example of the back mechanism board in the gaming machine of the first embodiment, and differs from the embodiment of FIG. The lower end of the specific winning ball collecting gutter 18 to be gathered is not opened inside the collecting gutter 10 for gathering hit balls hitting the general winning opening 106 and the like, and is separated and detected one by one by the winning ball processing device 40. This is the point where the prize ball is joined to the prize ball derivation gutter 12 for letting the general prize ball flow down (see FIG. 17 showing a cross section along XX in FIG. 1). Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment (see FIGS. 4 to 11). Therefore, in the first embodiment, the specific winning ball detected by the detector 94 is again detected by the detector 91.
On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the specific winning ball is detected once and separately from the general winning ball, and is discharged out of the machine as it is in the second embodiment. However, also in this embodiment, the specific winning ball detector 9
The small discharge for the specific winning ball is preferentially processed based on the detection signal from the fourth winning ball.

FIGS. 18 to 21 show an example of the procedure of the safe ball processing and the prize ball discharging processing in the second embodiment. The flow of this embodiment is the same as the flow of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 12 for routines R1 to R10. That is, when the processing is started by turning on the power or generating an interrupt, before detecting a winning ball, first, the safe memories 1 and 2 for storing the number of winning balls corresponding to the safe sensors 1 and 2 and various registers and graphs are provided. (Routine R1), the on / off states of the prize ball number setting devices 1, 2, and 3 are read to set the discharge radix for each flow path in the prize ball discharge device 20 (routine R1).
2).

Then, after the elapse of an idle time of 2 seconds (routine R3), the routine proceeds to the next routine, where it is determined whether or not the safe sensor 1 has been turned on for a predetermined time (routine R4). Here, if the determination is NO (No), it is determined in the next routine R5 whether or not the output of the safe sensor 1 has risen.
Proceed to 7. On the other hand, if it is determined in any one of the routines R4 and R5 that there is a winning ball, the routine proceeds to the routine R6, where the storage in the safe memory 1 in the CPU is increased by "1", and then the routine proceeds to the routine R7. In the routine R7, it is determined whether or not the output of the safe sensor 2 has risen. If NO, the process directly proceeds to the routine R9. If YES, the storage of the safe memory 2 is increased by "1" in the routine R8, and then the process proceeds to the routine R9.

In the routine R9, it is determined whether or not the processing number is "1". If yes, the routine jumps to the discharge ball detection processing indicated by the symbol A. Since the process number register has been reset to "0" by the initial setting in the routine R1, the determination in the first determination in the routine R9 is NO, and the process proceeds to the next routine R10. Here, it is determined whether or not the number in the processing number register is “2”, and if yes, the processing jumps to the post-processing indicated by the reference character B. And proceeds to routine R11. In the routine R11, it is determined whether or not the storage of the safe memory 2 is "0", and if NO, that is, the winning storage is "0", the routine proceeds to the routine R12. Thus, if the routine proceeds to the routine R11 after the winning memory is incremented in the routine R8, the determination is YES, and the process shifts to a series of small discharge processes including the routines R17 to R25.

That is, first, in the routine R17, the small discharge flag is set to "1" to indicate that the process has shifted to the small discharge process, and then the display L2 of the prize ball number display 124 for displaying the small discharge number is displayed. To display the number of prize balls for the specific winning ball set in the routine R2. After the indicator L2 is turned on, the routine proceeds to the routine R19, and if the reversal flag is "0", proceeds to the routine R20, changes the reversal flag to "1", and sets the discharge radix 3 to the discharge register 1 in the routine R21. Thereafter, after the discharge solenoid 1 is turned on in the routine R22, the process shifts to the routine R26, changes the process number to 1, and returns to the routine R5. If the inversion flag is determined not to be "0" in the routine R19, the process proceeds to the routine R23, where the inversion flag is changed to "0", and then the discharge base 2 is set in the discharge register 2 (routine R2).
4) After that, the discharge solenoid 2 is turned on (routine R2).
5) Then, the process proceeds to a routine R26.

As described above, in the small discharge process, the number of discharges is the same but the discharge solenoid to be driven is changed according to the state of the reversal flag (1 or 0). Moreover, every time the discharge solenoid is driven, the inversion flag is changed, that is, inverted. Therefore, the two discharge solenoids 1 and 2 corresponding to the two flow paths 30 in the prize ball discharge device 20 are alternately driven. As a result, supply of a prize ball for small discharge from only one of the two passages in the guide gutter 11 can be avoided. On the other hand, if it is determined in the routine R11 that there is no memory, that is, there is no specific winning memory,
Move to 2. In the routine R12, it is determined whether or not the storage in the safe memory 1 is "0". If there is a winning storage, the routine shifts to a series of normal discharge processing including the routines R13 to R16.

That is, first, in the routine R13, the display L1 for displaying the normal discharge number of the prize ball number display 124 is driven, and the total number of the discharge bases 1 and 2 set in the routine R2 is displayed. The discharge radix 1 (see Table 1) is loaded into the discharge register 1 in R14, and the discharge radix 2 is loaded into the discharge register 2 in routine R15. Then, after the discharge solenoids 1 and 2 are turned on in the routine R16, "1" is set in the process number register in the routine R26, and the process returns to the routine R5. Routine R26
When the process returns to the routine R5, the above processes R5 to R8 are repeated again, but this time the process number register is set to "1".
Is set to "1", the determination is Yes in the routine R9, and the routine jumps to the discharged ball detection processing A (see FIG. 21).

In the discharge ball detection processing A, it is first determined whether or not the output of the discharge sensor 1 has risen (routine R).
31) If NO, the process directly proceeds to the routine R35, and it is determined whether or not the output of the discharge sensor 2 has risen. When the rising of the sensor output is detected in the routine R31, the process proceeds to the routine R32, in which the content of the discharge register 1 is subtracted by "1", and the value of the discharge register 1 is set to "0" in the next routine R33. Is determined.
Here, if the determination is yes, the discharge solenoid is turned off (routine R34).
It is determined to be no at 33, and the routine proceeds to routine R35. In the routines R35 to R38, processing similar to the processing relating to the discharge system 1 (routines R31 to R34) is performed for the discharge system 2, and then the routine proceeds to the routine R39.

In the routine R39, the discharge registers 1 and 2
Is determined to be "0" or not, that is, if the sum is not "0", the routine returns to the routine R5 and the above procedure is performed again. Thus, if it is determined in the routine R39 that the discharge of the predetermined number of prize balls has been completed in the prize ball discharging device 20, the process proceeds to the routine R41, and it is determined whether or not the small discharge flag is "1". , "1"
If so, the routine jumps to the routine R44, and if "0", the safe solenoid is turned on in the routine R42. This allows the prize ball processing device 40 to take in the next prize ball at the time of normal discharge, and does not operate the prize ball processing device 40 at the time of small discharge even if the discharge ends. After setting the timer for the safe solenoid in the routine R42 and the timer for the wait time in the routine R44, the contents of the process number register are changed to "2" in the routine R45, and the process returns to the routine R5.

Then, the routine jumps from the routine R10 to the post-processing B. First, it is determined in a routine R51 whether or not the time of the safe timer has expired.
From 52), the process proceeds to a routine R53. In the routine R53, it is determined whether or not the time of the wait timer has expired. If no, the process returns to the routine R5 and the above processing is repeated again. If yes, the routine R54 determines whether or not the small discharge flag is "1". If "0", the winning memory of the safe memory is subtracted by "1" in the routine R55. Also "1"
If it is, the safe memory 2 is subtracted by "1" in the routine R56, the small discharge flag is reset to "0" in the routine R57, and then the routine proceeds to the routine R58. The processing number register is reset to "0" and the routine proceeds to the routine R5. Return.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the hit ball which has won the specific winning opening 107 or 108 is detected by the specific winning detector 94, and the hit ball which has won the general winning opening is determined in the winning ball processing device 40. Each of the prize ball detectors 91 detects the prize ball separately. When a specific prize ball is detected, a general prize ball is generated before the prize ball is detected, and even if the prize ball is waiting at the entrance of the prize ball processing device 40. The small discharge for the specific winning ball is executed with priority. The prize ball processing device 40 is not operated even after the small discharge is completed, and if the normal prize ball has already been taken into the prize ball processing device 40, the normal prize ball processing device 40 is terminated. 40
, The next winning ball is taken in. Therefore,
The normal discharge and the small discharge progress quickly, and the misunderstanding of the number of prize balls by the player is prevented.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a pachinko game machine having a variable display type auxiliary game device, but the present invention is not limited to this.
A special game right is generated by winning a special winning opening set with a very low winning probability (first condition), and a special winning opening is awarded while the right is being generated (second condition).
Can be applied to pachinko machines that open the variable prize device, so that even if the prize winning rate in a specific winning port is increased, the profit of the game store is not impaired, and for the player, It is possible to reduce anxiety about the right disappearance due to the winning prize again. Further, in the above embodiment, a smaller number of prize balls than the other prize ports are given only for the prize port to the specific prize port, but more prizes for the prize to the specific prize port than the other prize ports. The present invention can also be applied to a pachinko gaming machine that provides a ball or has three or more winning ports with different prize balls in a gaming section. Further, for example, when the control means is constituted by a control device 200 for controlling a prize ball discharge device and the like and a game content control device 210 for controlling a variable prize device and the like as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. The number of prize balls to be discharged by the prize ball discharging device is transmitted from the safe content control device 210 to the control device 200 by inputting output signals from the safe sensor 1 and the safe sensor 2 to the game content control device 210. In this way, the number may be set in a discharge register as a discharge number holding unit. Further, in the present embodiment, the first winning section is designated as the specific winning opening 1
07, 108, and the second prize unit is a variable prize device 105.
As a matter of course, the first prize portion is, of course, the variable prize device 105 (in this case, the first prize ball detection means corresponds to the prize detector 95), and the second prize portion is the specific prize port 1.
07 and 108.

[0078]

As described above, the present invention relates to a game board having a game area and a first and a second prize balls provided on the game board, which are different from each other in the number of prize balls given for winning a game ball. A second prize section, first prize ball detecting means for detecting a game ball that has won the first prize section, and all prize sections provided on the game board including the first prize section. A prize ball processing device having second prize ball detecting means for collecting the prize game balls and detecting one of the collected game balls, and a prize ball for discharging the prize ball by the action of an electric drive source. In a ball game machine having an ejection device and control means for controlling the prize ball ejection device to eject a required number of prize balls, a prize storage means for storing a detection signal from the first prize ball detection means. And the number of prize balls to be discharged from the above prize ball discharge device A prize given to a prize in the first prize section based on a detection signal from the second prize ball detecting means and a detection value from the second prize ball detecting means if there is a value stored in the prize storage means. A predetermined numerical value of the ball is set preferentially to the number-of-discharges setting means, the prize-ball discharging device is operated to discharge the prize ball, and if there is no stored value in the prize storage means, the second prize is set. A predetermined value of a prize ball given to a prize in the portion is set as it is in the discharge number setting means, and the prize ball discharging device is operated to discharge the prize ball; and the first prize portion. In connection with the discharge of the prize ball given to the prize, the prize storage subtracting means for subtracting "1" from the prize storage value of the prize storage means is provided. Detection signal from winning ball detection means The number of prize balls is set in the number-of-discharges setting means in accordance with the value stored in the prize storage means for storing the detection signal from the first prize ball detection means, and the discharge execution means sets the number of prize balls by the set number. , It is possible to discharge the prize ball accurately and reliably even in a ball game machine having several kinds of prize parts with different prize balls, and when there is a stored value of the prize storage means. The player sets the predetermined value of the prize ball given to the winning in the first prize section to the discharge number setting means preferentially and discharges the prize ball. There is an effect that it becomes difficult to perform.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear view showing an embodiment of an entire back mechanism panel of a pachinko gaming machine according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a configuration example of the front of a pachinko gaming machine to which the present invention is applied;

FIG. 3 is a rear view showing a configuration example of a back surface of a game board on which a game unit is configured;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a reserve ball storage tank, a guide gutter, and a prize ball discharge device;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a prize ball discharging device;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a cross-sectional state of a flow-down path of the prize ball discharging device.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view showing the operation of the prize ball discharging device;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a winning ball processing device,

FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory view showing the operation of the winning ball processing device.

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view showing the operation of the winning ball processing device.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a pachinko gaming machine control system.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of a winning ball detection process and a prize ball discharging process by the CPU;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of a winning ball detection process and a prize ball discharging process by the CPU, and is a continuation of the reference D in the flowchart of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of a winning ball detection process and a prize ball discharging process by the CPU, and is a continuation of reference numeral B in the flowchart of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of a winning ball detection process and a prize ball discharging process by the CPU, and is a continuation of reference symbol A in the flowchart of FIG. 12;

FIG. 16 is a rear view showing a second embodiment of the back mechanism board of the pachinko gaming machine according to the present invention;

17 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of a winning ball detection process and a prize ball discharging process by the CPU according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of a winning ball detection process and a prize ball discharging process by the CPU according to the second embodiment, and is a continuation of reference numeral E in the flowchart of FIG. 18;

20 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of a winning ball detection process and a prize ball discharging process by the CPU according to the second embodiment, and is a continuation of the reference symbol B in the flowchart of FIG. 18;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of a winning ball detecting process and a prize ball discharging process by the CPU in the second embodiment, which is a continuation of the symbol A in the flowchart of FIG. 18;

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs 20 prize ball discharging device 40 prize ball processing device 91 prize ball detector (prize ball detecting means: safe sensor 1) 94 specific prize detector (prize ball detecting means: safe sensor 2) 100 game board 104 variable display device (electrical) Gaming device) 105 Variable winning device 107, 108 Specific winning opening 200 Control device (control means) 200 'CPU (winning storage means: safe memory 2)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A game board having a game area; first and second prize portions provided on the game board and provided with different numbers of prize balls for winning game balls; A first prize ball detecting means for detecting a game ball that has won the first prize section, and a game ball having won all the prize sections provided on the game board including the first prize section, A prize ball processing device having second prize ball detection means for detecting one of the collected game balls, a prize ball discharge device for discharging a prize ball by the action of an electric drive source, and the prize ball discharge device And a control means for discharging a required number of prize balls by controlling the prize ball discharge device. The prize ball discharge device stores the detection signal from the first prize ball detection means, and the prize ball discharge device. Discharge number setting means for setting the number of prize balls to be discharged; Based on the detection signal from the second winning ball detecting means,
If there is a value stored in the prize storage means, a predetermined numerical value of a prize ball given for a prize in the first prize section is preferentially set in the discharge number setting means, and the prize ball discharge device is set. When activated, the prize ball is discharged, and when there is no stored value in the prize storage means, a predetermined numerical value of the prize ball given for the prize in the second prize section is set in the discharge number setting means as it is. Discharging means for operating the prize ball discharging device to discharge a prize ball; and a prize in the prize storage means in relation to discharging a prize ball given for a prize in the first prize section. And a winning storage subtracting means for subtracting "1" from the stored value.