JP2767785B2 - Ball game machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention makes it possible to reliably discharge a ball by a discharge control circuit based on a discharge command signal, and to use the discharge control circuit as it is even when replacing with a new game board. The present invention relates to a ball and ball game machine that can be used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a ball-and-ball game machine such as a pachinko game machine, a ball ejecting device attached to the game machine itself is used.
Based on the ejection command signal, the required number of prize balls for the winning are ejected as necessary while being detected by the ball detector.

[0003] In this type of gaming machine, conventionally, when an ejection operation is performed by a ball ejection device and a detection signal from a ball detector is not confirmed, the illegal operation state in which the game operation is stopped is regarded as illegal. The control to shift to was performed.

[0004]

[0005]

In the above conventional ball and ball game machine, if the detection signal from the detector is not detected by only one discharging operation of the ball discharging device, illegal processing is executed. Was.

However, even when the detection signal from the detector is not confirmed, it is often the case that the ball is clogged or the like that can be immediately resolved by performing the discharging operation again.

[0007] Even in such a minor case, if the illegal processing is executed, the clerk of the game shop must visit the ball game machine in the illegal processing state each time to check. However, the resolution process on the game store side was very troublesome.

[0008] The player must also interrupt the game each time, hindering the progress of the game and losing interest in the game.

[0009]

[0010] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has the effect of causing the game store clerk to take a great deal of trouble by performing a discharging operation again so as to prevent illegal processing due to slight ball clogging or the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a ball game machine which does not interrupt a player's game as much as possible and which can use the discharge control circuit as it is when replacing with a new game board. .

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a ball game machine according to the present invention has a plurality of winning regions (for example, a first specific winning opening 107, a second specific winning opening 108).
...) And a game board (100) provided detachably and separably with respect to the gaming machine main body (for example, the holding frame 113), and a prize ball which has won the prize area. Winning ball detection means (for example,
Winning ball processing means (for example, a safe sensor 91)
A ball game machine (for example, a pachinko game machine) including a winning ball processing device 40) and a back mechanism board (1) provided with a ball discharge device (20) capable of discharging a required number of balls. ,
A game control circuit (for example, a game content control device 210) for controlling a game operation of an electric game device (for example, the variable display device 104) and the like disposed on the game board, and a discharge operation and the like of the ball discharge device. And a discharge control circuit (e.g., the control device 200) to be separately provided, and the discharge control circuit is disposed at a predetermined portion on the back mechanism panel side. , Solenoid 2
1) an operating member operable by the action of 1) (for example, a flow-down preventing member 22), and a detecting means (ejected ball detector 25) for detecting the ejection of a ball when the operating member is operated. The discharge control circuit is configured to drive the electric drive source based on a discharge command signal.
PU601, driver 220) and a reactivation command for causing the electric drive source to perform a required operation when a detection signal from the detection means is not confirmed despite the operation of the electric drive source. And a re-operation confirmation control means for outputting a signal (for example, the CPU 601 and the driver 220). The re-operation confirmation control means is configured to cause the electric drive source to perform a required operation a predetermined number of times.

According to the ball game machine of the present invention, despite the fact that the electric drive source is actuated by the drive control means based on the discharge command signal, the detection means receives a signal from the detection means due to clogging of the ball or the like. When the detection signal of the ejection of the ball is not confirmed, the reactivation confirmation control means outputs a reactivation command signal for causing the electric drive source to perform the required operation, and the required operation is performed a predetermined number of times. Ball clogging or the like is eliminated by the required operation again, and it is less likely that the game shop clerk takes a lot of trouble or interrupts the game of the player as compared with the related art.

Further, since the game control circuit and the discharge control circuit are separated from each other and the discharge control circuit is arranged at a predetermined position on the back mechanism panel side, the discharge control circuit can be replaced even when a new game panel is replaced. And it is economical to reuse the discharge control circuit, and the work related to the exchange of the game board at the amusement store is facilitated.

[0014]

[0015]

[0016]

[0017]

[0018]

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of the front of a pachinko gaming machine as an embodiment of a ball game machine according to the present invention. A guide rail 103 for guiding a hit ball fired by a hitting ball firing device 102 driven by 101 to an upper portion of the game board 100 is provided, and is provided in a space surrounded by the guide rail 103 on the front of the game board 100 and a glass plate. A game area is configured. In the center of the game area, a variable display device 104 as an auxiliary game device is provided.
In addition, a variable winning device 105 which normally forms a part of the game area below, and is converted into a winning area by the occurrence of a specific mode in the variable display device 104 is provided.

At the base of the guide rail 103, there is provided a collecting gutter 128 for collecting a foul ball missed by the hitting ball firing device 102, and a foul ball detecting sensor 129 is provided in the collecting gutter 128. .

On each side of the variable display device 104, a specific winning opening 107 as a winning area is provided.
A second specific winning opening 108 as a winning area is provided between the variable display device 104 and the variable winning device 105. Among them, the first specific winning opening 107 is a so-called dive-type winning device having a concave portion penetrating the gaming board 1 in the present embodiment, and the concave portion serves as the specific winning opening 107. The opening of the through recess, that is, the specific winning opening 107 which is on the same plane as the game board surface, is formed to have a semi-cylindrical shape having an engagement of about twice the diameter of the ball when viewed from the front, and has a bottom There is a hole (not shown) for a winning ball in the back of the box. The second specific prize port 108 is formed of a prize-winner called a prize-winner that opens upward in the game area.

Above the variable display device 104, there is provided a prize winning tool 106 having a prize opening as three prize areas of so-called "heaven", "heaven left" and "heaven right". Also,
A tulip-type prize device 109 as a prize area is disposed diagonally below and outside the first specific prize port 107, respectively.

In the lower part of the game board 1, the above-mentioned winning areas 106, 107, 10
There is provided an out hole 110 for collecting a hit ball which could not win a prize at 8, 109 or the like behind the game board. Further, at an appropriate position 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 are randomly arranged.
Guide member 1 for controlling the flow speed and direction of the ball and hit ball
12 are provided substantially symmetrically with respect to the vertical center line of the game area.

On both sides of the center of the game board 100, there are provided display devices 121 which blink or illuminate when a specific mode occurs due to the stoppage of 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 displays the two-digit prize ball number (11 to 15) at the time of normal discharge, for example, “13”, and the other displays the number. A small number (for example, "1") of prize balls discharged to specific prize balls (prize balls to the specific prize ports 107 and 108) can be displayed.

Further, a holding frame 113 constituting a gaming machine main body of a pachinko gaming machine which holds the gaming board 100 having the above configuration.
A pilot lamp 125 that is lit when the operation dial 101 of the hit ball launching device is operated, and an operation failure indicator 1 that is lit when a discharge operation failure occurs.
33, and a failure warning indicator 126 that is lit when a player performs an improper operation or when the prize ball discharging device 20 (FIG. 4) performs a failure operation. The opening and closing panel 114 attached to the lower part of the holding frame 113 includes:
A supply tray 115 for holding a hit ball supplied to the hit ball launching device 102 is attached, and a receiving tray 116 for storing prize balls overflowing from the supply tray 115 is provided below the supply tray 115. On the side (left side in the figure) of the holding frame 113, the variable display device 10 driven by winning a specific winning opening is provided.
4 is provided with a variable display stopping means 117 for stopping the display.

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 a specific mode occurs, the variable winning device 10
5 is converted to an open state, and the winning probability there is shifted from zero to a very high state (special game state). 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 prize winning device 105 has a general prize port 105a on both sides, and has a general prize area and a special condition configuration area in a reception port 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.

In this embodiment, the hitting ball firing device 102
The game ball (foul ball) that has failed to be fired by the ball is recovered from the foul ball recovery gutter 128, and at the time of recovery,
The same number of balls are detected by the detection sensor 129, and the same number of balls are returned into the supply tray 115 by a ball discharging device described later.

FIG. 2 is a view of the pachinko gaming machine shown in FIG. 1 in which the open / close panel 114 is opened so that the inside thereof can be seen.

In the figure, at the lower right position of the game board 100, a hitting ball firing lever 135 activated by the hitting ball firing device 102 (FIG. 1) and a hitting ball firing lever 13 are provided.
A guide member 136 for guiding the hit ball shot by the player 5 in the direction of the guide rail 103 is provided. The foul ball discharge gutter 128 is provided between the guide member 136 and the base of the guide rail 103,
The foul ball detection sensor 129 is provided in the discharge gutter 128.

The hit ball missed by the hit ball firing lever 135 (FIG. 1) operated by the hit ball firing device 102 (FIG. 1) falls into the foul ball discharge gutter 128 and is collected. The same number of balls are detected by the sensor 129 and returned to the supply tray 115 by a discharge device described later.

FIG. 3 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.

On the upper part of the back mechanism panel 1, a reserve tank 2 for reserve spheres is arranged, and one end of the reserve tank 2 is connected to a guide gutter 11 for automatically aligning and guiding the reserve spheres inside. ing. 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 stopper-type ball discharging device 20 is provided. Winning area 10 provided in the gaming board 1 on the front of the pachinko gaming machine
6, 107, 108, 109, etc., hit balls are collected on the back surface and collected at one place by the collecting shelf 10, and are separated one by one by the winning ball processing device 40 as a winning ball processing means, and the winning ball detecting means. Is detected by a safe sensor (winning ball detector) 91 as a result, and as a result, a discharge command signal is formed. Then, the 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 prize ball discharge by the ball discharge device 20 is completed, the prize ball processing device 40 receives the discharge completion signal and separates and detects the next prize ball.

On the other hand, the prize balls discharged by the ball discharge device 20 flow out of the supply port 118 (FIG. 1) to the supply plate 115 (FIG. 1) on the front of the gaming machine through the prize ball lead-out gutter 13. When the supply tray 115 is full, the prize ball is transferred to the diversion gutter 15.
And is discharged to a tray 116 (FIG. 1) 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, and for example, the driving of the hitting ball firing device 102 (FIG. 1) is stopped, and the overflow detector 9 is turned off.
When the overflow state of the saucer is detected by the overflow indicator 2, the overflow indicator 12 informs the player of the overflow state.
7 (FIG. 1) is provided on the front of the gaming machine.

Reference numeral 93 denotes a sphere shortage detector for detecting when the reserve sphere runs out in the storage tank 2.

A ball drain gutter 16 is provided below the ball discharge device 20 in parallel with the prize ball outlet gutter 13, and is provided at the entrance of the ball drain gutter 16, that is, at a branch point with the prize ball outlet gutter 13. A ball punching device 60 having a switching gate is provided. The ball removing device 60 is provided with a holding frame 113 of a gaming machine.
The gate can be operated by inserting a tool such as a pin or a wire from an operation hole 119 (FIG. 1) formed on the front surface of the gate. When the switching gate is switched to the ball drain gutter 16 side, the ball drain switch 84 is turned on.

The lower end of the ball drain gutter 16 is joined with the out ball lead-out gutter 17 for guiding the out ball collected from the out hole 110 and the collection gutter 128 (FIG. 1) for collecting the foul ball, and is connected to the island of the pachinko parlor. The collection sphere flows out toward a collection gutter (not shown) disposed below the equipment.

Further, the back mechanism panel 1 is used to electrically control the entire pachinko gaming machine, such as stopping the launch of a hit ball based on detection signals from the ball discharge device 20 and the overflow detector 92 and driving various display devices. A control device 200 as a discharge control circuit and a game control circuit for controlling their game operations based on signals from detectors incorporated in various variable prize devices and variable display type auxiliary game devices on the front of the game board. A game content control device 210 is provided.

On the outer surface of the control device 200, a ball discharging device 2 is provided.
In order to set the number of ejected balls in one ejection operation at 0, award ball number setting devices 80 and 8 including dip switches and the like.
1, 82 are attached. This prize ball number setting device 80
By setting to 82, the number of prize balls can be set in accordance with the type of the game board, and the number of prize balls for a specific winning ball and the return setting of a foul ball can also be set. In addition, a manual switch (hereinafter referred to as a memory discharge switch) 83 for discharging a winning ball on the collecting shelf 10 without operating the ball discharging device 20 at the time of hitting or failure, is provided on the upper part of the back mechanism board 1. Is provided. The storage / discharge switch 83 provides a pseudo discharge end signal instead of the discharge sensor 25 in the ball discharge device 20 described later.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a specific winning prize ball set is set so that a hit ball that has won a specific winning opening 107 or 108 can be detected separately from a hit ball that has won a general winning opening 106 or 109 or the like. A gutter 18 is provided, and hit balls that have won the specific winning prize openings 107 on the left and right are guided by the guiding gutters 19a and 19b, respectively.
Flowed down. 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 is provided at the outflow portion 18a of the specific winning ball collecting gutter 18, and a lower end of the outflow portion 18a is opened above the collecting gutter 10. That is, it is gathered by the specific winning ball gathering gutter 18,
The winning ball detected by the specific winning detector 94 is the collecting gutter 1
With the hit ball that has flown down to 0 and is won to another general winning opening, it is guided to the winning ball processing device 40 and separated one by one, and is detected by a winning ball detector 91 provided inside. .

FIGS. 4 to 6 show an example of the ball discharging device 20 which is integrally unitized with the control device 200 including the mutual wiring relationship.

The ball discharge device 20 includes a flow-down path 30, a flow-down preventing member 22 which enters the flow-down path 30 and controls the flow of a ball, and a solenoid 21 which is an electric drive source as a driving means thereof. And the control device 200 are integrally connected.

[0044] In the FIG. 3, an example in which the control apparatus 200 separately, ball discharging unit body 2 as shown in FIG. 4
When integrated into 0A and unitized, the ball discharge device 20 and the control device 200 do not have to be separately attached to or removed from the pachinko gaming machine.
Attachment / detachment work becomes extremely easy. Therefore, replacement or maintenance at the time of failure or the like becomes easy. Moreover, in this way, the wiring relationship be included, when <br/> to the configuration integrally connected, Ri Do a more wiring process of mutual is easy and effective.

The flow path 30 includes an alignment gutter 31 gently inclined, a flow gutter 33 extending substantially vertically downward from a lower end of the alignment gutter 31, an alignment gutter 31, and a flow gutter 33.
An adjusting part 32 (FIG. 6) for changing the direction of a flowing ball in a direction of about 90 degrees at a connection part with the guide gutter 34 extending obliquely downward by about 45 degrees from the lower end of the flow control gutter 33 (FIG. 6). 6) and a discharge gutter 35 extending substantially vertically downward from the end of the guide gutter 34.

In the vicinity of the boundary between the guide gutter 34 and the discharge gutter 35, a pair of support pieces 36 project from the outer wall of the flow-down path 30, and the support shaft 24 is suspended between the support pieces 36. .

The downflow path 30 is provided for the guide gutter 11 (FIG. 3).
And a pair of fan-shaped flow-down preventing members 22 corresponding to the two flow-down paths 30 are provided on the support shaft 2.
4 is attached so as to be rotatable around the center. A pair of solenoids 21 are provided corresponding to the flow-down preventing members 22. Then, the leading end of the flow-down preventing member 22 enters through a slit provided in the inner wall of the flow-down path 30,
It protrudes into the guiding gutter 34. The rear end of the falling-off preventing member 22 is connected to the leading end of the plunger 21a of the solenoid 21 via a link member 23.
2 is reciprocated about the support shaft 24, and the leading end is a guiding gutter 3.
4 to enter or retreat.
This allows or prevents the ball from flowing down,
A predetermined number of discharges are performed.

Further, the side wall of the guide gutter 34 bulges out to form an accommodating portion 37, into which the ejected ball detector 25 as detecting means composed of a transmission type optical sensor is inserted. I have.

It should be noted that above the solenoid 21, the lead wires drawn from the solenoid 21 and the discharge ball detector 25 are concentrated at one place, and are connected to a control device 200 which is integrally connected. A connector 26 is provided to enable wiring to be connected collectively from the front. Then, an engagement portion 13a formed at the start end of the prize ball lead-out gutter 13 (FIG. 3) 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. 5, a conductive sheet 38 such as a metal plate is adhered to the bottom surface of the device 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 ball discharging device. Therefore, in the above embodiment, an optical sensor is used as the ejected ball detector 25. 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-described 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, the upper wall of the flow control gutter 31 and the outer wall of the flow control gutter 33 constituting the flow path of the ball discharge device 20 are provided with:
Slits 31a (FIG. 4) and 33a (FIG. 5) are provided, respectively. Accordingly, when a foreign matter or the like enters the downflow path and causes clogging of the ball in the ball discharge device 20 or when smooth downflow is inhibited, a tool such as a pin is inserted through the slit 31a or 33a. Maintenance becomes easy, for example, foreign substances can be removed. A lid member (not shown) having a step portion having substantially the same size as the slit is engaged with the slits 31a and 33a, and is fixed to a screw or the like to close the slit.

Next, the flow path (3
0) and the operation of the solenoid 21 and the downflow prevention member 22 relating to the downflow control of the ball will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

The ball discharge device 20 includes a flow-down preventing member 22
In a state but which enter the guideway 34 as shown by the solid line in FIG. 6, which is aligned with the flow down path (30) in pachinko balls B are state-of-the-art ball B ₁ is the outer circumferential surface of the falling-preventing member 22 Stopped by contact. At this time, the guiding gutter 34 and the guiding gutter 34 are housed such that the two balls B ₁ and B ₂ are housed in the guiding gutter 34 and the _three balls B ₃ , B ₄ and B ₅ are housed in the regulating gutter 33. The dimensions of the flow control gutter 33 are determined. Moreover, the regulating gutter 3
Uppermost sphere B ₅ in 3, balls B ₆ in alignment trough 31, B ₇ ‥
‥ to come into contact with the tapered adjusting portion 32. The ball B ₅ receives the repulsive force from the adjusting portion 32 by being pressed toward the adjusting portion 32, and the repelling force is transmitted to the ball B ₅ and the balls B ₄ , B ₃ ‥‥ below the ball B ₅ ,
Acts to push them down. as a result,
As shown by the broken line C in FIG.
When retracted from within 4, by the repulsive force and the sphere of its own weight from the adjusting unit 32, ball B ₁ .about.B ₅ of control flow trough 33 and induction trough 34 will begin to flow down quickly.

When the balls B _{1 to} B ₅ flow down, the balls B ₆ , B ₇ # in the alignment gutter 31 start flowing down subsequently. And
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 adjusting 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 degaussing the solenoid 21 when detecting the ball B _7, before the ball B ₇ even if a delay in the operation of the falling-blocking member 22 passes, it is possible to'll prevent flow. By increasing the ball interval in this way, control of the flow-down preventing member becomes easy. However, to detect B ₇ prize balls to be discharged when the solenoid is switched to the OFF 21 is six.

Further, the center 0 ₅ of the ball B ₅ located at the uppermost position of the flow control gutter 32 is aligned with the alignment gutter 31 in a state where the flow of the ball is prevented by the flow prevention member 22.
The dimensions of the guide gutter 34 and the flow control gutter 33 are set so as to be located below the extension of the center line connecting the centers 0 ₆ , 0 ₇ } of the spheres B ₆ , B ₇整 列 aligned inside. Has been determined.

Therefore, the waiting balls B ₆ , B _{7 7
The} pressure transmitted to ₅ produces a component force that pushes down ball B5. Thereby, when the downflow prevention member 22 is retracted, the ball B _{5 at the} uppermost part of the flow control gutter 33 is connected to the following ball B ₆ and the flow control gutter 3.
3 is sandwiched between the outer wall 33a, it is not to be prevented from trying to flow down to follow the stream of ball B ₁ ~B _4.

The discharge ball detector 25 provided in the middle of the guide gutter 34 is disposed such that its detection optical axis F is located slightly off the center of a 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, as described above,
By shifting the detection optical axis F from the center of the sphere, accurate counting becomes possible.

The flow-down preventing member 22 is mounted so that the rotation surface of the fan-shaped flow-down preventing member 22 coincides with the flow-down trajectory at the center of the flowing ball. It is moved so as to enter, and stops the flowing ball. Therefore, the impact force acting on the flow-down preventing member 22 when the flowing-down ball stops is received by the stopper portion (for example, the slit end of the guide gutter 34 into which the flow-down prevention member 22 enters). Therefore, it is possible to easily provide a strength capable of withstanding an impact acting at the time of stopping.

Further, since the lowermost ball B ₁ comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the fan-shaped downflow preventing member 22 and is stopped, the lowermost ball B ₁ is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the downflow preventing member 22 and the wall surface of the guide gutter 34. It is stopped in such a way bites between, when the falling preventing member 22 is retracted moves away while allowing to rotate the ball B ₁ at 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.

[0060] Further, the line connecting the center 0 ₁ of the sphere B ₁ of the lowermost end of the induction trough 34 and the rotation center of the falling-preventing member 22 is disposed so as to be horizontal. Therefore, immediately ball B ₁ is enabled under a stream when the end of the falling-blocking member 22 is disengaged from the outer periphery of the ball B _1, the ball B along with the rotation of the flow-down preventing member 22
_The stopping force is removed after ₁ has slipped a little, and there is no case where it starts to flow down.

In the above embodiment, the flow control gutter 3
The angle α between the third gutter 3 and the guide gutter 34 may be in the range of 0 to 90 °.
The speed of the falling ball accelerated in the inside is not greatly reduced, and the load applied to the flowing-down preventing member 22 at the time of stopping 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 is moved from the contact point between the flow-down preventing member 22 and the ball B _{1 at} the lowermost end in the guide gutter 34. The distance d between the vertical line G passing through the point separated by the diameter 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-rc).
The position of the terminal end 34a of the guide gutter 34 is determined such that osα <d <r). Thereby, when the downflow prevention member 22 enters the guide gutter 34 to prevent the ball from flowing down, when the ball to be discharged last is pushed out by the end face 22a of the downflow prevention member 22 and discharged. When it reaches the end 34a of the guide gutter 34, 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.

In the ball discharging device 20 configured as described above, when the downflow preventing member 22 is retracted by the solenoid 21 and the game balls in the downflow path 30 are discharged, the discharge detector 25 determines the number of discharged balls. When it is detected and reaches a predetermined number, the solenoid 21 is stopped, whereby
Normal discharge (for example, 13) or small discharge (for example, 1)
Can be done freely. Operation of the solenoid 21 in that case,
The control of the stop is performed based on a command from the control device 200 as described later.

FIG. 7 shows the operation of the discharge solenoid 21 of the ball discharge device 20 and the discharge ball detector 2 when one ball is discharged.
5 shows a timing chart of the detection timing of No. 5.

At the time of discharging one piece, as shown in FIG.
The discharge solenoid 21 is operated for a certain period of time (for example, 35 msec).
Performed once.

When the game ball is actually discharged by the discharging operation, the discharged ball is detected by the discharged ball detector 25. The detection is performed by the fall of the detection pulse of the discharge ball detector 25.

In this case, if the discharge of the ball is performed normally, the required time from the start of the operation of the discharge solenoid 21 to the fall of the detection signal of the discharge ball detector 25 is substantially constant (for example, 42 to 52 msec).

Therefore, if the movement of the sphere of the ejected sphere detector 25 (falling of the detection signal) does not occur within a predetermined time (for example, 100 msec) in consideration of some marginal time in the required time, the actual sphere does not actually occur. Assuming that one piece has not been discharged, the solenoid 21 is operated again to perform another discharge operation.

The discharging operation is performed a predetermined number of times (for example, three times).
If the movement of the ball is not detected even after the repetition, an error process described later is performed.

During the error processing, the safe sensor 1
2. Operations other than the input processing of the foul sensor 129 and the ejected ball detector 25 are not performed.

When the movement of the sphere is detected by the discharged sphere detector 25, the error processing is terminated, and the sphere is discharged again.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the winning ball processing device 40 in detail.

The collective shelf 10 provided on the back of the back mechanism panel 1
Is inclined downward toward the center, and the flow path converter 10
C is provided. This flow path conversion unit 10C is provided with a vertical wall 10a that creates a step on the left and right collecting shelves 10A and 10B.
And a guide piece 10b having a front end formed in an arc shape so as to turn a winning ball fixed to the vertical wall 10a and flowing down from the right set shelf 10A forward, and a guide piece 1
The tapered portion 10c is formed so as to be gently downwardly sloped forward at the terminal end of the collecting shelf 10A below the lower portion 0b.

An inflow port 41a through which one ball can pass is formed in a holding frame 41 integrated with a panel attached so as to cover the collecting shelf 10 in correspondence with the flow path conversion section 10C.
An L-shaped winning ball guide plate 42 is provided along one side and the lower side of the inflow port 41a, and the flowing winning ball is turned by 90 degrees.

The ball processing device 43 is swingably mounted on a support shaft 44 so as to be located on the side of the winning ball guide plate 42. The prize ball guide plate 4 to be entered on the ball processor 43
A ball receiving portion 43a having a concave shape is formed on the side facing 2 and a weight 45 is mounted on the opposite side, so that the mounting side of the weight 45 is lowered by its weight in a normal state. . And the ball receiving portion 43 on the opposite side
The lower side of “a” abuts against the lower surface of the winning ball guide plate 42 to prevent further rotation, thereby maintaining the balance. In this state, when a winning ball flows down from the winning ball guide plate 42 to the ball receiving portion 43a as shown in FIG. 9A, the ball processor 43 rotates clockwise by the weight of the ball. The weight of the weight 45 is 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.

In the ball processor 43, a blocking piece 43b is protrudingly provided at a position facing the winning ball guide plate 42 in the 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. 9B, and wait on the winning ball guide plate 42. Let me do. Further, although the mounting position is not limited, for example, the detection piece 4
3c, and a safe sensor 91 such as an optical sensor having a pair of a light emitter and a light receiver arranged opposite to each other is attached to the holding frame 41 corresponding to the detection piece 43c.

Further, a solenoid 46 is disposed on the side of the ball processing device 43, and a solenoid 46 is disposed 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 the winning ball which is held by the ball receiving portion 43a and is going to flow downward toward the winning ball lead-out gutter 12 below. The flow is prevented (see FIG. 9B). 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, so that a pachinko parlor can manually move the stopper 47 to discharge a winning ball when a ball is clogged or a solenoid fails.

The solenoid 46 is operated in response to, for example, a discharge completion signal from the ball discharge device 20.
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 amount of winning balls generated in a short time are promptly separated and detected and processed.

As described above, when the ball discharge device 20 is of a stopper type that controls the discharge of the prize balls by moving the flow-down preventing member into or out of the flow-down path by using a solenoid, the prize-ball is simply used. 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 prize ball processing device 40 of the above embodiment, since the prize balls are separated and detected one by one by the ball processor 43, the detection of the previous prize ball and the next prize ball is performed. Spacing 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 ball discharging device, the prize balls are controlled to be discharged by separating the winning balls one by one. However, in the conventional winning ball processing device, the separated winning balls are separated. Move the lever with the ball, remove the stopper of the ball-sheath case by that movement, tilt it and discharge it, and further physically transmit the tilt of this ball-sheath case to the ball processor to allow the next winning ball to flow down As a result, 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.

Further, the winning ball processing device 4 of the above embodiment
In the case of 0, since it is possible to control the operation of the solenoid 46 to discharge the previous winning ball after confirming the discharge completion in the ball discharging device 20 and to proceed to the detection of the next winning ball, the winning ball is generated. Such as prize balls not being paid out,
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 device of the above embodiment eliminates the necessity.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the winning ball is detected by an indirect method of detecting the rotation of the ball processing device 43, so that the safe sensor 91 is damaged by static electricity charged on the pachinko ball. Is prevented. That is,
In the case of the above embodiment, the sensor 91
It is also possible to directly detect the winning ball by facing the player, but in such a case, the sensor may be damaged by the static electricity charged on the winning ball, but by detecting the sensor indirectly, Damage can be prevented.

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 The shelf 10B is given an angle of 14 to 16 ° as the inclination angle β to vary the speed of the winning ball flowing down the left and right set shelves 10A and 10B, and to set the height h of the vertical wall 10a to 1
It is set to 2mm or more. Thus, even if a plurality of winning balls are generated and the winning balls flow down simultaneously from the left and right, it is possible to prevent the clogging of the balls in the flow path conversion unit 10C.

Next, based on the detection signals from the winning ball detector 91 and the specific winning ball detector 94, the ball discharging device 20
To discharge a predetermined number of prize balls and the ball launching device 102
An embodiment of a control device 200 that performs such control will be described with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, control of the ball discharging device 20 and the like is performed by using the computer system 600.

The computer system 600 includes a prize ball number setting device 80, 81, 82, a foul sensor 129, a prize ball detector 91 (hereinafter, referred to as a safe sensor 1), a specific prize detector 94 ( Hereinafter, the safe sensor 2), an overflow detector 92, a ball shortage detector 93, a memory discharge switch 83, and a ball removal switch 8
4 is input. Prize ball number setting devices 80, 8
By providing 1, 82, it is possible to control a model (pachinko machine) having a different number of prize balls, and it is possible to perform a discharge control with a different number of prize balls for winning in a specific winning opening and other winning openings. .

The computer system 600 includes:
A discharge ball detection signal from a pair of discharge ball detectors (hereinafter, referred to as discharge sensors) 25 provided on the way of the flow-down path 30 of the ball discharge device 20 is input.

Further, the computer system 600 receives a stop command signal from a central control device of a pachinko parlor (not shown).

The computer system 600 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 601 and a ROM 60 as a read-only memory.
2 and RAM 6 as a memory which can be read and written at any time
03. The ROM 602 stores a program to be executed by the CPU 601 for controlling the ball discharging device and the like, and fixed data such as a drive time and a wait time (discharge interval) of the safe solenoid 46.

In this embodiment, the ROM 602
In particular, as a fixed data program, in particular, timed drive means for canceling the downflow prevention state by the downflow prevention member 22 of the discharge ball detector 25 for a time during which one pachinko ball can flow down, and the discharge sensor 25 for one time within a predetermined time. A discharge execution determining means for checking whether or not one pachinko ball has been discharged, and one pachinko ball can flow down the flow-down preventing state by the flow-down preventing member 22 when the discharge cannot be confirmed by the discharge execution. The operation for releasing the time is performed a predetermined number of times (for example, 3
And a re-execution means for retrying within the range of (times).

On the other hand, the RAM 603 stores the discharge sensor 25
Memory area for storing the cumulative number of balls ejected from each flow-down path 30, the number of ejected balls in each flow-down path, a register area constituting a soft timer, and a CPU 601 based on the discharged ball detection signal from the CPU. Work area (work area).

Further, the computer system 600 receives a pair of solenoids (hereinafter, referred to as “discharge solenoid”) 21 in the ball discharge device 20 and a solenoid (hereinafter, referred to as “safe solenoid”) in the winning ball processing device 40 via the driver 220. 46, the prize ball lamp 122, the completion lamp 123, the prize ball number display 124, the pilot lamp 1
25, a display device for the failure warning display lamp 126 and the like and an operation failure display lamp 133 (both shown in FIG. 2), the hit ball launching device 102 and the like are connected. CPU 601 is R
According to the program in the OM 602, the ball discharge device 2 is set based on signals from the setter, various detectors and switches.
0, various display lamps, a hit ball launching device 102, and the like.

The main processes of the CPU 601 include an overflow process, a tank process, a ball removal process, a winning ball detection process,
The prize ball discharging process and the foul ball returning process. However, the procedure of the processing is not limited to the above-described order, and the processing may be executed from any processing. The pachinko gaming machine is controlled by repeatedly executing the above processing by a timer interrupt or the like. Further, the CPU 601 has a drive control unit for operating the solenoid 21 as an electric drive source via the driver 220 based on the discharge command signal, and despite the fact that the solenoid 21 is operating,
When the detection signal from the ejected ball detector 25 as the detection means is not confirmed, a reactivation confirmation control means for outputting a reactivation command signal for causing the solenoid 21 to perform a required operation via the driver 220 is provided. I have.

Here, in the overflow processing, the detection signal from the overflow detector 92 is detected, and for example,
The overflow lamp 127 is operated for a predetermined time (10 to 20).
Seconds) Light or blink, and if the overflow state is not yet released, stop the firing operation of the hit ball firing device 102. 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 ball discharge device 20 and adversely affecting the discharge 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 123 is turned on. At the same time or thereafter, when the ball absence state is detected based on the signal of the discharge sensor 25 in the ball discharge device 20, the hitting ball firing device 102 is stopped. When a ball replenishment request signal is sent to the central control room, a replenishing device above the tank (not shown) is issued by a command from the central control room.
Is operated, and the supply to the storage tank 2 is performed.

In the ball-pulling process, a signal from the ball-pulling switch 84 indicates that the switching gate of the ball-pulling device 60 has been switched to open the entrance of the ball-pulling gutter 16 and close the entrance of the prize ball lead-out gutter 13. When the ball discharge device 20 is detected based on the
By operating the solenoid 21 in the inside, the two downflow paths 30
Through which the reserve sphere is continuously discharged and the storage tank 2 is emptied.

The safe ball detecting process, the prize ball discharging process, and the foul ball returning process are related to each other and become complicated.
FIG. 11 shows a detailed processing procedure, which will be described below.

When the processing is started by turning on the power or generating an interrupt, before detecting a winning ball, the safe memories 1 and 2 for storing the number of winning balls corresponding to the safe sensors 1 and 2 and various registers are provided. , Flags, a check counter, a check memory, and the like (step R2), and reads the ON / OFF state of the prize ball number setting devices 1, 2, and 3 for each flow path in the ball discharge device 20. The number of ejected balls (hereinafter referred to as the ejected radix) is determined at one time (step R4).

In the gaming machine of the above-described embodiment (see FIG. 1), the number-of-discharge-balls setting devices 80, 81, 82, which are formed by dip switches, are provided for setting the number of discharge balls.
Therefore, the CPU 601 sets these switches 80, 81,
According to the combination of the ON ("1") and OFF ("0") states of 82, for example, as shown in the following table, the discharge radix 1 and 2 on the solenoids 1 and 2 during normal discharge are set and specified. A radix 3 which is the number of prize balls at the time of small discharge with respect to the winning ball and the number of return balls of foul balls is set. Here, as an example, there are cases where the number of prize balls at the time of normal discharge is set to 11, 13, or 15, and the number of prize balls and the number of returned foul balls at the time of small discharge are set to 1. It is shown.

[0100]

[Table 1]

In Table 1 above, the term “discharge solenoid 1 side” refers to a solenoid provided on the path closer to the mounting board among the two flow paths, and in the table, the number of discharge units on the discharge solenoid 1 side is smaller. It is determined to be always larger than the discharge solenoid 2 side. The reason why such a relationship is set is that, when the flow path is set to two lines, the flow of the sphere flowing down from the storage tank 2 through the guide gutter 11 toward the sphere discharge device 20 is caused to flow down the side close to the substrate. This is because the route is smoother, and the distant side is likely 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 ball discharge device 20 shown in FIG. 4, the balls blocked by the flow-down preventing member 22 are located downstream of the detection position of the discharge sensor 25. When the first ball is ejected, a movement of one ball occurs on the upstream sphere, and one or two balls are ejected from the third ball, and so on. It is detected by the sensor 25. Therefore, in actual control,
It is necessary to change the control signal for the solenoid 21 that activates the flow-down preventing member 22 when the discharge sensor 25 detects the (n-1) -th ball that is "1" less than the set number n.

After the discharge radix setting process (step R4), it is determined in step R6 whether or not "radix 3" has become "1". If it is determined that "radix 3" has not become "1", the process proceeds to step R6. Move to R10, "1"
When it is determined that the one-ball flag is set in step R8, the one-ball flag is set to "1" in step R8, and then in step R10.
Move to Then, after waiting for an elapse of 2 seconds of idle time in step R10, the process proceeds to step R12.

In step R12, it is determined whether or not the "safe sensor 1" has been "on (ON)" for a predetermined period of time. If it is determined that the "safe sensor 1" has not been "on (ON)", the process proceeds to step R14. Further, it is determined whether or not the “safe sensor 1” has started. As a result, if it is determined in step R12 that "safe sensor 1" has not been "ON" (ON) for a certain period of time, and if it is determined in step R14 that "safe sensor 1" has been activated, the process proceeds to step R14. Move to R18.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step R12 that the "safe sensor 1" has been "on (ON)" for a certain period of time, or if it is determined in step R14 that the "safe sensor 1" has risen, the process proceeds to step R16. After the “safe sensor 1” is counted up by “+1”, the process proceeds to step R18.

In step R18, it is determined whether or not the "safe sensor 2" has risen. If it is determined that the "safe sensor 2" has not risen, the process directly proceeds to step R22.
At step 20, the value of "safe sensor 2" is counted up by "+1", and the routine goes to step R22.

In step R22, it is determined whether or not the foul sensor has risen. If it is determined that the foul sensor has not risen, the process directly proceeds to step R26. If it is determined that it has risen, the process proceeds to step R2.
In step 4, the foul memory is counted up by "+1", and the process proceeds to step R26.

In step R26, the processing number (N
It is determined whether or not O) is “1”. If it is determined that the value is “1”, the process proceeds to the error processing of FIG. 12, and if it is not “1”, the process proceeds to step R28.

In step R28, the processing number (N
It is determined whether or not O) is "2". When it is determined that it is "2", the process proceeds to the one-ball discharge check process of FIG. 13, and when it is determined that it is not "2", the process proceeds to step R3.
Move to 0.

In step R30, the processing number (N
It is determined whether or not O) is “3”, and when it is determined to be “3”, the process proceeds to the one-ball discharging process of FIG.
If it is determined that the value is not "3", the flow shifts to step R32.

In step R32, the processing number (N
It is determined whether or not O) is "4". If it is determined that it is "4", the flow shifts to the discharge processing in FIG. 15, and if it is determined that it is not "4", the flow shifts to step R34.

In step R34, the processing number (N
It is determined whether or not O) is "5". When it is determined that it is "5", the flow shifts to the discharging process in FIG. 16, and when it is determined that it is not "5", the flow shifts to step R36.

In step R36, it is determined whether or not the foul memory is in a "memory present" state.
When it is determined that the state is "memory available", the process proceeds to the foul discharge process of FIG. 17, and when it is determined that the state is "memoryless", the process proceeds to step R38.

In step R38, it is determined whether or not the "safe memory 2" is in the "memory available" state. If it is determined that the "safe memory 2" is in the "memory available" state, the small discharge start processing shown in FIG. To "no memory"
When it is determined that the state is
Move to

At step R40, it is determined whether or not "safe memory 1" is in the "memory available" state. If it is determined that the "safe memory 1" is in the "memory available" state, the discharge start processing shown in FIG. The process proceeds to the step R14 in FIG. 11 when it is determined that the state is "no memory".

FIG. 12 shows the computer system 60 described above.
1 shows an example of a control procedure of error processing performed by 0.

As the error processing, first, at step R5
At 0, it is determined whether or not the inversion flag is “0”. When it is determined that it is not “0”, the process proceeds to step R52, and when it is determined that it is “0”, the process proceeds to step R54. I do.

In step R52, it is determined whether or not the "discharge sensor 2" has risen. If it is determined that the discharge sensor 2 has not risen, the flow proceeds to step R56. If it is determined that the discharge sensor 2 has risen, the flow proceeds to step R60.

When the flow shifts from step R50 to step R54, it is determined in step R54 whether or not the "discharge sensor 1" has risen. When it is determined that the discharge sensor 1 has not risen, the flow shifts to step R56. Move to

In step R52, it is determined that the "discharge sensor 2" has not risen, or
When it is determined in 54 that the “discharge sensor 1” has not risen, it means that there is an error in the discharge process. At this time, the process proceeds to step R56 as described above. As error processing, the hit ball firing motor is stopped in step R56, and the operation failure display lamp 133 is turned on (ON), and then the process returns to step R14 in FIG.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step R52 that the “discharge sensor 2” has risen, or if it is determined in step R54 that the “discharge sensor 1” has risen, the discharge process is reset to the normal state. It is when it has been maintained or has returned to a normal state. At this time, the process proceeds to step R60 as described above, and in steps R60 to R64, the stop release of the hit ball firing motor is performed.
After performing processing such as setting the OFF (OFF) of the malfunction indication lamp and the processing number (NO) to “0”, the process returns to step R14 in FIG.

FIG. 13 shows the computer system 60 described above.
0 shows an example of a one-ball discharge processing control procedure performed by 0.

In the one-ball discharge check process, first, it is determined in step R100 whether or not the inversion flag is “0”. If it is determined that the inversion flag is not “0”, the process proceeds to step R102, and the process proceeds to step R102. , The process proceeds to step R104.

In step R102, it is determined whether or not the "discharge sensor 2" has risen. If it is determined that there has been no rise, the process proceeds to step R108. If it is determined that there has been a rise, the inversion flag is set to "0" in step R106. , And then proceeds to step R112.

On the other hand, when the process proceeds from step R100 to step R104, it is determined in step R104 whether or not "discharge sensor 1" has fallen.
08, when it is determined that a fall has occurred, the inversion flag is set to "1" in step R110, and then the process proceeds to step R112.

When the process proceeds from step R102 or R104 to step R108, the process proceeds to step R10.
In 8 it is determined whether the check timer has expired,
When it is determined that the check timer has not expired, the process returns to step R14 in FIG. 11 as it is, and when it is determined that the check timer has expired, the process proceeds to step R120.

In step R120, it is determined whether or not the check counter is "3". If it is determined that "3" is not set, the processing number (NO) is set to "0" in step R122, and Step R of 11
Returning to 14, when it is determined that the value is "3", the check counter is set to "0" in steps R124 and R126.
And the processing number (NO) is set to "1".
It returns to step R14 of FIG.

On the other hand, from step R100, as described above, steps R102 and R106 or step R10
4, when the process proceeds to step R112 via R110, the check counter is set to “0” in steps R112 to R148, a wait timer is set, and
The processing number (NO) is set to "5", and the "prize ball number display 2" is turned off (OFF), and the process returns to step R14 in FIG.

FIG. 14 shows the computer system 60.
0 shows an example of a control procedure of the one-ball discharging process performed by the control unit 0.

In the one-ball discharging process, first, it is determined in step R150 whether or not the one-ball discharging timer has expired. If it is determined that the one-ball discharging timer has not ended, the process directly returns to step R14 in FIG. 11 and ends. When it is determined that there is not, the process proceeds to Step R152.

In step R152, it is determined whether or not the inversion flag is "0". When it is determined that the inversion flag is not "0", "discharge solenoid 2 (SOL2)" is turned off (OFF) in step R154. Then, the process proceeds to step R158, and when it is determined that the value is "0", the "discharge solenoid 1 (S
OL1) ”is turned off (OFF), and then Step R15
Move to 8.

Then, in step R158, the processing number (NO) is set to "2", and thereafter, the flow returns to step R14 in FIG.

FIG. 15 shows the computer system 60.
0 shows an example of a control procedure of a discharging process performed by the control unit 0.

In the discharging process, first, in step R20
At 0, it is determined whether or not the “discharge sensor 1” has risen. If it is determined that the discharge sensor 1 has not risen, the process directly proceeds to step R208. If it is determined that the “discharge sensor 1” has risen, the “discharge register 1” is counted down by “1” at step R202. Move to step R204.

In step R204, it is determined whether or not "discharge register 1" is "0". If it is determined that "discharge register 1" is not "0", step R2 is performed.
08, when it is determined that it is "0", the discharge solenoid 1 (SOL1) is turned off (OFF), and then the process proceeds to step R228.

In step R208, it is determined whether or not the "discharge sensor 2" has risen. If not, the process directly proceeds to step R216. If it is determined that the "discharge sensor 2" has risen, the "discharge register 2" is set to "R" in step R210. Step R after counting down 1 ”
Move to 212.

In step R212, it is determined whether or not "discharge register 2" is "0". If it is determined that "discharge register 2" is not "0", the process proceeds to step R2.
Then, when it is determined that the value is "0", the discharge solenoid 2 (SOL2) is turned off, and then the process proceeds to step R216.

In step R216, it is determined whether or not "discharge registers 1 and 2" are "0".
When it is determined that the value is “0”, the state shown in FIG.
Returning to step R14, if it is determined that the value is not "0", the flow shifts to step R218.

In step R218, it is determined whether or not the small discharge flag is "1". If it is determined that the small discharge flag is not "1", steps R220, R22
2. Turn off the "Award ball number display 1" with R224,
Turn on the safe solenoid (SOL). After performing each process of setting the safe solenoid (SOL) timer, step R
If it is determined that the value is “1”, the “prize ball number display 2” is turned off (OF) in step R226.
Then, the process proceeds to step R228.

Then, a wait timer is set in step R228, and the processing number (NO) is set to "5" in the next step R230.
Return to 14.

FIG. 16 shows the computer system 60 described above.
0 shows an example of a control procedure of a discharge end process performed by 0.

As the discharge end processing, first, in step R
At 250, it is determined whether or not the safe solenoid (SOL) timer has expired. If it is determined that the safe solenoid (SOL) timer has not expired, the process directly proceeds to step R254. OFF) and then step R25
Move to 4.

In step R254, it is determined whether or not the wait timer has expired. If it is determined that the wait timer has not expired, the flow directly returns to step R14 in FIG. 11, and if it is determined that the wait timer has expired, the flow proceeds to step R256.

At step R256, it is determined whether or not the foul flag is "1". When it is determined that the foul flag is not "1", the flow shifts to step R258 to determine that the flag is "1". Sometimes step R2
At 62, the foul memory is counted down by "1", and at the next step R264, the foul flag is set to "0", and the routine goes to step R270.

In step R258, it is determined whether or not the small discharge flag is "1". If it is determined that the small discharge flag is not "1", "safe memory 1" is counted down to "1" in step R260. From step R270, when it is determined that the value is "1", "safe memory 2" is counted down to "1" in step R266, and the small discharge flag is set to "0" in the next step R268. The process moves to step R270.

Then, in step R270, the processing number (NO) is set to "0", and
Return to 14.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a control procedure for foul discharge processing and small discharge start processing.

In the foul discharging process, first, the foul flag is set to "1" in step R300, and then the flow shifts to step R302.

In step R302, it is determined whether or not the inversion flag is "0". If it is determined that the inversion flag is not "0", the flow shifts to step R304.
If it is determined that the value is "0", the process proceeds to step R30.
Move to 8.

As a result, when the flow shifts to step R304, the "discharge sensor 2"
Is determined to be on, and when it is determined that the discharge solenoid is turned on, the "discharge solenoid (SO
L) 2 "is turned on (ON), and the process shifts to step R312. If it is determined that the switch is not turned on, the process directly returns to step R14 in FIG.

On the other hand, when the process proceeds to step R308, it is determined in step R308 whether or not the "discharge sensor 1" has been turned on (ON). When it is determined that the "discharge sensor 1" has been turned on, in step R310 the "discharge solenoid (SOL) ) 1 ”is turned on (ON), and then step R3
Then, if it is determined that the switch has not been turned on, the process returns to step R14 in FIG.

When the process proceeds to step R312, the one-ball discharge timer (for example, 35 ms) is set in step R312, and the check timer (for example, 100 ms) is set in step R314. Thereafter, in step R316, the check counter is incremented by "1", and in the next step R318, the processing number (NO) is set to "3", and the process returns to step R14 in FIG.

In the small discharge start process, first, the small discharge flag is set to “1” in step R320, and the “prize ball number display 2” is turned on (O) in the next step R322.
After setting N), the flow shifts to step R324.

In step R324, it is determined whether or not the one-ball flag is "1". If it is determined that the one-ball flag is not "1", the flow shifts to step R326 to determine that it is "1". Sometimes step R
Then, the process proceeds to step R302 of the fouling process.
After performing the following processing, the process returns to step R14 in FIG.

In step R326, it is determined whether or not the inversion flag is "0". If it is determined that it is not "0", the flow shifts to step R328.
If it is determined that the value is "0", the process proceeds to step R33.
Move to 6.

As a result, when the process proceeds to step R328, the inversion flag is set to “0” in step R328, and
In the next step R330, "discharge base 3" is set in "discharge register 2". Thereafter, in step R332, the “discharge register 2” is counted down by “1”, and further in step R334, the discharge solenoid (SOL) is discharged.
After turning on 2 (ON), the routine goes to Step R344.

On the other hand, when the process proceeds from step R326 to step R336, the inversion flag is set to "1" in step R336, and "discharge base 1" is set in "discharge register 1" in the next step R338. Thereafter, in step R340, the “ejection register 1” is counted down by “1”.
At 42, the discharge solenoid (SOL) 1 is turned on (ON), and the routine goes to Step R344.

Thus, steps R326 to R328 to R334 or steps R336 to R34 are performed.
When the process proceeds to step R344 via step 2, the process number (NO) is set to "4" in step R344, and thereafter, the process returns to step R14 in FIG.

FIG. 18 shows the computer system 60 described above.
0 shows an example of a control procedure of a discharge start process performed by the control unit 0.

As the discharge start processing, first, in step R
In 350, the "prize ball number display 1" is turned on (ON), and in the next step R352, "discharge base 1" is set in the "discharge register 1", and further in the next step R354.
Then, "discharge base 2" is set in "discharge register 2".
Thereafter, in steps R356 and R358, the "ejection register 1" and "ejection register 2" are counted down by "1". Then, after that, steps R360, R36
2 to “discharge solenoid 1” and “discharge solenoid 2”
Is turned on (ON), and the process number (NO) is set to "4" in the next step R364, and thereafter, the process returns to step R14 in FIG.

As described above, the prize ball discharge processing (normal discharge and small discharge) and the foul ball return processing are performed in accordance with the control procedures of the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

The ball discharge device according to this embodiment comprises a timed drive means for releasing the flow-down preventing state by the flow-down preventing member 22 for a time during which one pachinko ball can flow down, and a discharge sensor 25 for a predetermined time. The pachinko ball determines whether or not one pachinko ball has been discharged, and the pachinko ball determines whether or not one pachinko ball has been discharged by the discharge execution determining means. And a re-executing means for retrying the operation of releasing the time during which the individual can flow down within a predetermined number of times, so that one pachinko ball can be reliably discharged,
It is possible to reliably discharge any number of pachinko balls while checking them.
Therefore, if this ball discharging device 20 is applied to a pachinko game machine, it is possible to discharge one prize ball at a time, and to discharge a certain number of prize balls without fail. The ball can be returned into the supply tray 115 for the convenience of the player.

[0162]

According to the ball game machine of the present invention, despite the fact that the electric drive source is operated by the drive control means on the basis of the discharge command signal, the ball may be clogged due to ball clogging or the like.
When the detection signal of the dispensing of the ball from the detection means is not confirmed, the reactivation confirmation control means outputs a reactivation command signal for causing the electric drive source to perform a required operation, and the required operation is performed a predetermined number of times. Therefore, a slight clogging of the ball or the like can be eliminated by the required operation again, and it is less likely that the game shop staff takes a lot of trouble and interrupts the game of the player as compared with the related art.

Further, since the game control circuit and the discharge control circuit are separated from each other, and the discharge control circuit is arranged at a predetermined portion on the back mechanism panel side, the discharge control circuit can be replaced even when a new game panel is replaced. And it is economical to reuse the discharge control circuit, and the work related to the exchange of the game board at the amusement store is facilitated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachinko game machine to which a ball discharging device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the pachinko gaming machine showing a state in which the opening and closing panel is opened.

FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the embodiment of the back mechanism board of the pachinko gaming machine.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a ball discharging device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a cross-sectional state of a downflow path of the ball discharge device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the principle of a ball discharging device.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing the operation of the discharge solenoid of the ball discharge device and the timing of detection by the discharge sensor.

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

FIGS. 9A and 9B are operation explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the winning ball processing device.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a control system of the pachinko gaming machine.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of winning ball detection processing and branch processing by the computer system.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of error processing by the computer system.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a one-ball discharge check process by the computer system.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a one-ball discharging process by the computer system.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a discharging process by the computer system.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a discharge end process by the computer system.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a small discharge start process and a foul discharge process by the computer system.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a discharge start process by the computer system.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 20 ball discharging device 21 solenoid (electric drive source) 22 flow-down preventing member (operating member) 25 discharged ball detector (detecting means) 40 winning ball processing device (winning ball processing means) 91 safe sensor (winning ball detecting means) 100 Gaming board 104 Variable display device (electric gaming device) 107 First specific winning opening (winning area) 108 Second specific winning opening (winning area) 113 Holding frame (main body of gaming machine) 200 Control device (discharge control circuit) 210 Game control device (game control circuit) 220 Driver (drive control means, re-operation confirmation control means) 601 CPU (drive control means, re-operation confirmation control means)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A game board having a game area having a plurality of prize areas formed thereon and provided detachably with respect to a gaming machine main body, and a prize ball having won the prize area collected and detected one by one. Winning ball processing means having a special winning ball detecting means, and
A back mechanism board provided with a ball ejection device capable of ejecting a required number of balls, in a ball game machine comprising: a game control for controlling a game operation of an electric game machine or the like provided on the game board A circuit and a discharge control circuit for controlling the discharge operation and the like of the ball discharge device are separately configured,
The discharge control circuit is disposed at a predetermined position on the back mechanism panel side, the ball discharge device includes an operating member operable by an action of an electric drive source, and a ball when the operating member is operated. Detecting means for detecting the dispensing of, the discharge control circuit includes: a drive control means for operating the electric drive source based on a discharge command signal; and a drive control means for operating the electric drive source. Regardless, when the detection signal from the detection unit is not confirmed, the reactivation confirmation control unit outputs a reactivation command signal for causing the electric drive source to perform a required operation. A means for causing the electric drive source to perform a required operation a predetermined number of times.