JP2976298B2 - Launch control device for pachinko machines - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a launch control device for a pachinko machine used for launching a game ball onto the game board.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A pachinko game is played by operating a launch control device of a pachinko machine provided in the pachinko machine to launch game balls on a game board. In the pachinko game, it is desired to always provide a stable hitting force because of the nature of the game. Next, a conventional example of a launch control device for a pachinko machine will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 19 shows a conventional pachinko machine, and FIG. 20 shows a card. When the card 1 is mounted on the pachinko machine 2 of FIG. 19, a pachinko game becomes possible. The pachinko machine 2 is communicably connected to the management device 3 as shown in FIG. The card 1 has a writing section 4 made of, for example, a magnetic stripe. The writing section 4 stores the number of pachinko balls (hereinafter referred to as “game balls”) for games lent out according to the amount of money. And an ID code (ID-Indentification) for preventing fraud by confirming the authenticity of the card 1.
) Are written. The above-described data written in the writing unit 4 has been written in advance by the card issuing machine 5 shown in FIG. The card issuing machine 5 is equivalent to a game ball lending device. The card issuing machine 5 is communicably connected to the management device 3.
Reference numeral 6 denotes a mounting unit. The mounting unit 6 is provided below the front of the pachinko machine 2 and is for mounting the card 1.
For details of the card-type pachinko machine, refer to Japanese Patent Application No. Hei.
See the specification filed at No. 7.

The launch control device of the pachinko machine is a hitting device 7,
It comprises a control circuit 8, an induction band 9, a supply device 10, and a locking member 11. The hitting device 7 is composed of a rectilinear solenoid, and is excited or demagnetized at a constant period (for example, 0.6 seconds) based on a pulse signal input from the control circuit 8. Thus, the ball hitting device 7 can cause the game ball to collide with the tip portion by sucking the plunger (described later, see FIG. 22) and fire the game ball to the game board 12 in the above-described cycle. The control circuit 8 mainly includes a CPU and a memory, and can sequentially control each unit of the pachinko machine by sequentially executing programs stored in the memory in advance. The memory is provided with an area for use in calculations at the time of execution of the program.

[0005] The guide band 9 has a lower end disposed on the side of the hitting device 7 and an upper end disposed on the game board 12 side. Induction band 9
A firing band 13 is provided between the lower end of the ball and the hitting device 7, and the firing band 13 forms a part of the guide band 9. The firing band 13 is inclined such that the lower end located on the side of the hitting device 7 is lower than the upper end located on the lower end side of the guide band 9.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a foul ball escape portion. The foul ball escape portion 14 has a foul ball passage 15 connected thereto. Provided. As shown in FIG. 19, the height of the upper end of the firing band 13 is set to be substantially the same as the height of the lower end of the guide band 9 so that the tangent at the lower end of the guide band 9 is substantially parallel to the extension of the firing band 13. Is provided.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a standby gutter, reference numeral 17 denotes a hit ball circulation passage, and the standby gutter 16 and the hit ball circulation passage 17 correspond to a safe ball passage 18,
The circulation guiding device is configured together with the out ball passage 19 and the foul ball passage 15 (see FIG. 23). The outlets of the safe ball passage 18, the out ball passage 19, and the foul ball passage 15 are all connected to the hit ball circulation passage 17. The communication hole 20 of the hit ball circulation passage 17 communicates with the outlet 22 of the communication passage 21, the lower end of the hit ball circulation passage 17 serves as an outlet for these game balls, and the lower end is connected to the upper end of the standby gutter 16. (See FIG. 27).

A safe ball case 23 and an out ball case 24 are provided on the back side of the game board 12, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 19, the exits of all the safe holes 25 provided on the game board 12 face the inside of the safe ball case 23, and all the safe balls are led out to the safe ball passage 18. The exit of the out hole 26 is the out ball case 24.
, And all the out spheres are guided to the out sphere passage 19. As a result, all the game balls of the safe ball, the out ball and the foul ball gather in the waiting gutter 16, and the safe ball, the out ball and the foul ball all flow down to the lower end of the waiting gutter 16. The standby gutter 16 has a firing band 1 at the lower end.
3 is near the lower end, and faces one end of the ball feed rod 27. For this reason, the circulation guidance devices 15, 16, 17,
The balls 18 and 19 can guide game balls (hereinafter, referred to as shot balls) hit by the ball hitting device 7 from the game board 12 to the ball hitting device 7 and stand by at a position where the ball hitting device 7 can hit the ball.

The supply device 10 supplies game balls one by one in synchronism with the operation of the hitting device 7, and includes a ball feed rod 27, a rotation support shaft 28, and a ball feed portion 29, as shown in FIG. ,
It comprises a lever 30 and an interlocking rod 31. The ball feed rod 27 is supported on the pachinko machine 2 side so as to be rotatable around a rotation support shaft 28, and is provided alongside the standby gutter 16. One end of the ball feed rod 27 has a ball feed portion 29 formed in a U-shaped cross section.
Is provided so that only one game ball can be held in the U-shaped recess. The ball feeder 29 is the firing band 13
Is located on the standby gutter 16 side immediately above the bottom, and the bottom of the ball feed portion 29 is formed into a slope (not shown) in which one side end is lower than the other side end. The game ball flows down from the other end to the one end, passes through the communication hole 40, and falls onto the firing band 13. Then, the game balls supplied from the supply device 10 to the firing band 13 flow down from the guide band 9 side to the ball hitting device 7 side due to the above-described inclination.

The other end of the ball feed rod 27 is connected to one end of a lever 30 via a pin 32, and the other end of the lever 30 is
3 and the interlocking rod 31 through the long hole 34 of the base plate 85.
Connected to. The interlocking rod 31 is rotatably supported at the center by the rotation support shaft 35 with respect to the pachinko machine 2 similarly to the ball feed rod 27, and the interlocking rod 31 has one end facing the head of the ball hitting device 7. The other end is rotatably connected to the lever 30 by a pin 33. Reference numeral 36 denotes a tension spring. The tension spring 36 connects one end of the interlocking rod 31 to the head of the hitting device 7 by connecting the other end of the interlocking rod 31 and the rotation support shaft 35 to the pachinko machine 2 side. It is provided freely. A return spring 38 is interposed in the plunger 37 of the ball hitting device 7, and the elastic force of the return spring 38 is set to be larger than the elastic force of the tension spring 36. Reference numeral 39 denotes a hitting hammer attached to the plunger 37, and reference numeral 40 denotes a communication hole for communicating the standby gutter 16 with the firing band 13.

When the ball hitting device 7 is demagnetized, the plunger 37 rotates the interlocking rod 31 counterclockwise in FIG. 22 against the elastic force of the tension spring 36 by the return spring 38. At this time, the lever 30 is moved by the interlocking rod 31 as shown in FIG.
During rotation, the ball feeder 29 is rotated counterclockwise, and the bottom of the ball feeder 29 is located away from the lower end of the standby gutter 16. At this time, the game ball (hereinafter, referred to as a standby ball) waiting in the standby gutter 16 is held in contact with the upper side of the ball feeder 29 as shown in FIG. There is no.

On the other hand, when the ball hitting device 7 is excited,
The plunger 37 is sucked against the elastic force of the return spring 38, and rotates the lever 30 and the interlocking rod 31 clockwise in FIG. At this time, the ball feeder 29 is at the bottom (FIG. 22).
The standby ball is guided to the ball feeder 29 in order to bring the broken line (see the broken line) closer to the lower end of the standby gutter 16. At substantially the same time as the above-described excitation, the ball-hitting hammer 39 moves the plunger 3 during the excitation.
By the suction force of 7, the game balls on the firing band 13 are launched into the game board 12 via the guide band 9. When such an excited state is released, similarly to the above-described demagnetized state, the lever 30 and the interlocking rod 31 are rotated in the counterclockwise direction, and the game ball guided to the ball feeder 29 passes through the communication hole 40. After that, it falls on the firing band 13. Thereby, the supply device 10 causes the ball feed rod 27 to move the standby ball one ball at a time based on the excitation and demagnetization of the ball hitting device 7, that is, the firing band 13, that is, the guiding band 9.
Can be sequentially fed to the lower end portion of the.

The locking member 11 is for locking the game ball together with the guide band 9 and is provided at the lower end of the firing band 13. The firing band 13 has a V-shaped cross section, and has a rail shape formed in a linear shape. Thereby, the game balls supplied from the supply device 10 to the firing band 13 flow down to the hitting device 7 side. At this time, the game ball is supported at two points by the firing band 13 and is supported at one point by the locking member 11, so that the game ball faces the lower end portion of the firing band 13, that is, the ball hitting device 7. Can be stopped. Hereinafter, the game ball supported by the locking member 11 is referred to as a locking ball.

Note that 41, 4 shown in FIGS.
1 is a foul ball sensor provided in the foul ball passage 15, and 42, 42 are safe ball sensors provided in the safe ball passage 18. The firing band 9 is provided with firing position detection sensors 43 and 43. 44, 44 are standby gutters 16
Are a pair of standby sphere sensors provided in the above. Each sensor 41-4
Reference numeral 4 includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element.

Further, in the pachinko machine 2, the front frame 46 is rotatably supported by the hinge 47 on the outer frame 45 shown in FIGS. 25 and 26, and the glass frame 48 is supported by the front frame 46 so as to be openable and closable (not shown). ) Has been. The storage frame 49 is provided with an opening 50 (see FIG. 27), and includes a mounting table 51 on which the game board 12 is mounted and a lock piece 52 for locking the game board 12. The mounting table 51 has a boss 54 for mounting the alignment device 53, the firing band 13, the hitting device 7, and a through hole 56 for inserting the communication passage 21 of the collecting frame 55.
Are attached to the front frame 46 by screws passing through the attachment holes 57. The collecting frame 55 is attached to the back surface of the storage frame 49 by screws passing through the attaching holes 58.

When using the launch control device of the conventional pachinko machine constructed as described above, when the hitting device 7 is first activated, the launch ball is emitted from the upper end of the launch band 13. At this time, in order to provide the foul ball escape portion 14, the lower end of the guide band 9 and the upper end of the firing band 13 are provided separately, but the height of the upper end of the firing band 13 and the lower end of the guide band 8 are substantially equal. Guidance band 9
The tangent line at the lower end of the cable is substantially parallel to the extension of the firing band 13, and the extension of the firing band 13 is
Are located higher than the tangent at the lower end of the. In other words, the tangent at the lower end of the guide band 9 and the extension of the firing band 13 are not provided on the same straight line. For this reason, after the launch ball hits the lower end of the guide band 9, it is guided along the guide band 9 and is launched on the game board 12 via the upper end.

On the other hand, the starting operation of the ball hitting device 7 is not properly performed, and the shot ball is released from the game board 1 due to insufficient hitting force.
If the launch sphere cannot be launched, the launch sphere is caused to flow down along the guide band 9 by gravity. Then, the shooting sphere that has flowed down is fired from the lower end of the guiding band 9 to the firing band 13.
The shot ball hits the periphery of the opening of the foul ball escape portion 14, is guided as a foul ball to the foul ball passage 15, and is collected by the standby gutter 16. The relative positions of the two bands 9 and 13 are determined so that the tangent at the lower end of the guide band 9 is lower than and substantially parallel to the extension of the firing band 13 in order to reliably collect the foul sphere.

[0018]

As a result, the firing ball collides with the lower end of the guide band 9, and the firing ball receives frictional force from the guide band 9, so that the hitting force of the firing ball is attenuated. The guide band 9 is deformed little by little by the impact at the time of the collision, and causes the plating process applied to the surface to be damaged by the frictional force. As a result, the contact with the guide band 9 is slightly changed, and the frictional force received from the guide band 9 is made unstable, so that there has been a problem that a stable hitting force cannot be obtained.

Further, the deformation and damage as described above can be remarkably improved by forming the guide band 9 and the firing band 13 in a series (continuous) and avoiding collision with the firing sphere. However, in the case where the launch ball is fouled without being hit on the game board 12, the foul ball cannot be collected because the foul ball escape portion 14 is not provided, and the foul ball cannot be collected on the guide band 9 or the launch band 13. Stay. On the other hand, since the ball hitting device 7 periodically fires a shot ball, the next shot ball hits the staying foul ball, so that not only cannot the desired hitting force be obtained, but also Playing becomes impossible by the ball increasing periodically.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a launch control device of a pachinko machine for smoothing a hit state of a launch ball.

[0021]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A hitting device for launching a game ball thrown into a pachinko machine to a game board is provided, and a guide band for guiding a game ball fired from the hitting device to the game board is provided. A timer signal generating means for generating a game ball and a launching ball detecting means for detecting a game ball fired by the hitting device are arranged along a guiding direction of the game ball, and a timer signal is generated by the timer signal generating means. Starts the time measurement, if the time measured by the timer exceeds a reference time set in advance without the launching ball detection means detecting a game ball, or the launched game ball is returned to the guiding band again. When the shooting ball detecting means returns, the hitting device is not operated once. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the guide band is provided continuously.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the game ball is fired, the timer signal generating means generates a timer signal, the timer starts time measurement, and the fired ball detection means before the measured time reaches the reference time. When the game ball is detected, it can be considered that the launch ball has been normally guided to the game board, and it is possible to operate the hitting device to launch a new game ball, while the launch ball detection means detects the game ball. If the measured time of the timer does not exceed the reference time, or if the launched game ball returns to the guidance band and is detected by the launching ball detection means, the launched game ball is a foul ball. In such a case, the hitting device is not operated once. According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the guide band is provided in a continuous manner, the guide band is separated for installation of a foul ball escape portion (foul ball passage) or the like (for example, FIG. 19 to FIG. In the prior art shown in FIG. 27, the guide band is composed of the guide band 9 and the firing band 13.) In contrast to the case where a plurality of members are required as the guide band, a single member can be achieved as the guide band. .

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 19 through FIG.
The same members as those shown in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a launch control device for a pachinko machine according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 59 denotes a control circuit, and the control circuit 59 is configured around a CPU. The launch control device of the pachinko machine comprises a control circuit 59, a hitting device 7, a guide band 9, a supply device 10, and a locking member 11. The control circuit 59 is mainly configured by a CPU. Reference numeral 60 denotes a memory. The memory 60 includes a non-volatile portion for storing data and a program for controlling the pachinko machine 2, and a volatile portion for use in calculations when the program is executed. The control circuit 59 controls each part of the card-type pachinko machine 2 by sequentially executing the above programs,
Further, communication of various data between the management device 3 and the control circuit 59 is enabled.

The components of the pachinko machine 2 and the control circuit 59 are connected to a bus line (not shown) via an interface, and this bus line is connected to the management device 3 via the interface. The control circuit 59 includes a launch position detection sensor 61, a pair of launch ball detection sensors (fire ball detection means) 62 and 63, a passing ball detection sensor (timer signal generation means) 64, a locking ball timer 65, and a return ball timer 6.
6. The illegal ball sensor 68, the trouble detection timer 84, and the foul ball detection timer 87 are connected to each other.
Each sensor consists of a light emitting element and a light receiving element,
A game ball is detected based on shielding light between both elements.

Each sensor is not limited to a light emitting element and a light receiving element.
Each sensor may be configured by a micro switch or the like. Card-type pachinko machine 2 according to the present embodiment.
, 11 game balls are enclosed. Further, the guide band 9 is formed by forming a portion shown by a broken line in FIG. 2, that is, a vicinity of a lower end portion (a firing band) of the guide band 9 into a V-shaped cross-section and gradually flattening toward the upper end, so that the The connection portion with the guide band 9 is provided so as to be located on the same plane.

The firing position detecting sensor 61 is provided at the lower end of the guide band 9 as shown in FIG. 2 and detects that a locking ball, that is, a game ball is locked by the locking member 11. A pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 are provided at the upper end of the guide band 9 along the firing direction of the shooting ball, and the shooting ball detection sensor 63 is located closer to the game board 12 than the shooting ball detection sensor 62. The upper end of the guide band 9 has a mirror-finished surface on the side facing the path of the shooting sphere so that the light emitted from the light emitting elements constituting the sensors 62 and 63 is reflected on the light receiving element.

For this reason, when the shooting ball is fired on the ball hitting device 7, the light emitting element and the light receiving element of each of the sensors 62 and 63 are sequentially shielded from light. Here, when the shooting ball blocks the shooting ball detection sensor 63 next to the shooting ball detection sensor 62, the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63
Detects the launch sphere that has been launched.

On the other hand, when the shooting ball blocks the shooting ball detection sensor 62 next to the shooting ball detection sensor 63, the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 causes the shooting ball hit on the game board 12 to be directed to the guiding band 9. Detects return. Thus, the control circuit 59 can detect a shooting ball or a foul ball based on the light blocking order of the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63.

The passing ball detecting sensor 64 includes a firing position detecting sensor 61 of the guiding band 9 and firing ball detecting sensors 62 and 6.
3 are provided. The passing ball detection sensor 64 is for detecting that the locking ball has been hit by the hitting ball device 7, that is, for detecting a shooting ball.

The locking ball timer 65 includes a supply device (to be described later) 10
When the launch position detection sensor 61 detects a game ball supplied to the guide band 9 from, the locking time is measured. When the launch position detecting sensor 61 detects a game ball, the control circuit 59 outputs a signal indicating the detection to the locking ball timer 65.
To enter. Thereby, the locking ball timer 65 can start measuring the locking time. On the other hand, the locking ball timer 65
Inputs a signal indicating that to the control circuit 59 when the measurement of the locking time is completed.

The locking time is controlled by the feeding device 10 and the guide band 9.
For a sufficient time for the supplied game balls to be locked by the locking member 11, in other words, the game balls that have fallen from the supply device 10 to the guide band 9 calm down and are locked by the locking member 11 to be ready for firing. The time required to enter the state is set.

The return ball timer 66 is used for the launch ball detection sensor 6.
2, 63 detects the foul ball returned from the game board 12,
When the launch ball detection sensor 64 detects the foul ball, the return time is measured. The control circuit 59 returns a signal indicating the foul ball returned from the game board 12 by the launching ball detection sensors 62 and 63 and returns a signal indicating the fact when the passing ball detection sensor 64 detects the foul ball. To enter. As a result, the return ball timer 66 can start measuring the return time. On the other hand,
When the return ball timer 66 finishes measuring the return time,
A signal indicating this is input to the control circuit 59.

When the shot ball detection sensors 62 and 63 detect a foul ball returned from the game board 12, a signal indicating the fact is input to the return ball timer 66 by the control circuit 59, and the return time is measured. May be started. The foul ball may return from the game board 12 as described above, or may be due to insufficient hitting force. Then, when either the foul ball returned from the game board 12 is detected by the launch ball detection sensors 62 and 63, or the passing ball detection sensor 64 detects a foul ball due to insufficient hitting force, measurement of the return time is started. Accordingly, two types of return ball timers 66 having different measurement times may be provided. Furthermore, when the firing position detecting sensor 61 detects a foul ball, the return ball timer 66 may start measuring the return time.

The return time is a time sufficient for the foul ball to be locked by the locking member 11, in other words, the foul ball flowing down in the direction of the ball hitting device 7 along the guide band 9 calms down to the locking member 11. It is locked and sets the time required to enter the firing standby state. The distance between the shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 and the locking member 11
The kinetic energy of the shooting sphere generated at the time of the locking is larger in the foul sphere than in the shooting sphere supplied from the supply device 10. Thus, the return time is set longer than the locking time.

The shooting ball timer 67 (timer) measures the passing time when the passing ball detection sensor 64 detects a shooting ball. The passing time is a time required for the shooting ball to pass through the passing ball detection sensor 64 and the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63. When the passing ball detection sensor 64 detects a game ball, the control circuit 59 inputs a signal indicating that to the shooting ball timer 67. Thus, the shooting ball timer 67 can start measuring the passage time. On the other hand, when the shooting ball timer 67 finishes measuring the passage time, it inputs a signal to that effect to the control circuit 59. The shooting ball timer 67 is reset when the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 detect a shooting ball during measurement of the passage time.

The control circuit 59 stops the operation of the hitting device 7 when the locking ball timer 65 and the return ball timer 66 operate. Further, when one of the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 has not detected a shooting ball and the shooting ball timer 67 has finished measuring the passing time, or When neither of them has detected a shooting ball and the shooting ball timer 67 has finished measuring the passing time, the control circuit 59 sets the ball hitting device 7 and the supply device 1
0 operation is stopped.

As shown in FIG. 3, the illegal ball sensors 68, 68 extend from the bottom of the waiting gutter 16 to the diameter of the game ball (for example, 10 mm).
mm <d <11 mm). Note that the distance d between the bottom of the standby gutter 16 and the illegal ball sensors 68, 68 does not exceed the diameter of the game ball. Thus, each time a game ball is fed into the guide band 9 one by one with the operation of the supply device 10, the outer peripheral portion of the game ball shields the space between the pair of illegal ball sensors 68, 68. Then, an illegal ball having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the game ball is detected by the illegal ball sensor 6 of the standby gutter 16.
When passing through the portion provided with 8, 68, there is no light shielding between the irregular ball sensors 68, 68.

In the present embodiment, the standby ball sensor 44 is provided so as to detect a standby ball corresponding to the tenth ball from the standby ball located at the lower end of the standby gutter 16.

The trouble detection timer 84 is for measuring the passing time of the shooting ball when the ball feeding solenoid 69 is turned on. During this passing time, the standby ball is detected by the shooting position detection sensor 61. The time required until is set. When the measurement of the passing time of the shooting sphere is completed, the trouble detection timer 84 inputs a signal indicating that to the control circuit 59. When the ball feed solenoid 69 is turned on, the control circuit 59 inputs a signal indicating that to the trouble detection timer 84, so that the trouble detection timer 84 can start measuring the passage time.

The trouble detection timer 84 is reset when the shooting position detection sensor 61 detects the waiting ball during the measurement of the passage time. On the other hand, when the trouble detection timer 84 times out, the standby ball is not supplied in a good state, and it is considered that a trouble has occurred in the supply device, and a signal indicating the trouble is generated. As a result, the control circuit 59 notifies the error by voice and light, and performs a predetermined error process.

The foul ball detection timer 87 is connected to the induction band 9
This is for detecting a foul ball which has not reached the game board 12 but stays at the end of the guide band 9 on the game board 12 side, among the launch balls reaching the end of the game board 12 on the side of the game board 12. . A foul time is set in the foul ball detection timer 87, and measurement of the foul time is started immediately after the shooting ball detected by the shooting ball detection sensor 62 is detected by the shooting ball detection sensor 63.

The foul time is set at the game board 1 of the induction band 9.
The time to determine whether or not the shot ball that has reached the end on the second side is hit on the game board 12, in other words, it is necessary for the shot ball detected by the shot ball detection sensor 63 to flow down the guide band 9 by gravity. The hitting force of the hitting device 7 and the launching ball detection sensor 6 are set based on the longest time.
It depends on the arrangement of 2,63. When the foul ball detection timer 87 completes the measurement of the foul time, it inputs a signal indicating that fact to the control circuit 59. The foul sphere detection timer 87 is for detecting a foul sphere that has reached the end of the guide band 9 on the game board 12 side and is not hit by the game board 12 but stays in the guide band 9. .

2 is a ball feed solenoid 69 shown in FIG.
The ball feeding solenoid 69 and the ball feeding rod 27 constitute the supply device 10. The ball feed solenoid 69 is controlled by a control circuit 59. The control circuit 59 and the ball feed solenoid 69 are connected via a solenoid driver (not shown) for inputting a pulse signal to the ball hitting device 7. The solenoid driver starts the ball hitting device 7 by inputting a pulse signal to the ball hitting device 7.

4 to 7, reference numeral 70 denotes a plunger of the ball feed solenoid 69, and reference numeral 71 denotes an interlocking lever.
The interlocking lever 71 is formed in a V-shape. One end of the interlocking lever 71 is supported by the rotation support shaft 72 so that the other end of the interlock lever 71 is rotatable about the rotation support shaft 72.

The ball feed rod 27 is rotatably supported at the center on the upper side by a rotation support shaft 28, and one end of the ball feed rod 27 and a spring hook boss 86 provided on an alignment device (see FIG. 5) 85. And a tension spring 36 is stretched between them. Further, the ball feed rod 27 has a protruding portion having a U-shape and the ball feed solenoid 6.
9 is arranged so that the tip of the plunger 70 at the time of demagnetization abuts. Thereby, the ball feed solenoid 6
9, the ball feed rod 27 is urged clockwise in FIG. 4 around the pivot 28 by the elastic force of the tension spring 36. On the other hand, when the ball hitting device 7 is excited, the plunger 70 applies a force against the elastic force of the tension spring 36 to the ball feed rod 27.
4, the ball feed rod 27 is urged in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.
Therefore, the supply device 10 can supply the game balls waiting in the standby gutter 16 from the standby gutter 16 to the guiding band 9 one by one through the communication holes 40.

In this embodiment, a case has been described in which the standby ball is supplied by driving the ball feed rod 27 via the interlocking lever 72. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the plunger 70 and the ball feed rod 27 may be directly connected, and the ball feed rod 27 may be moved up and down to supply the standby ball. In this way, the number of parts can be reduced by omitting the interlocking lever 72 and the tension spring 36.

Further, reference numeral 73 shown in FIG. 2 denotes an operation handle for activating the hitting device 7, 74 a display for displaying game information and the like, 75 an ashtray, 76 a hit lamp, 7
Reference numeral 7 denotes an interruption lamp, and reference numeral 78 denotes a prize ball lamp. 79 is an interruption switch, 80 is an end switch, and the interruption switch 79 is for interrupting the pachinko game for a predetermined time, and for terminating the pachinko game. Based on the operation of the interruption switch 79 or the end switch 80, the control circuit 59 drives the mounting unit 6 to write various data including game information into the writing unit 4 of the card 1.

Next, the operation of the firing control device for a pachinko machine constructed as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS. When the card 1 issued by the card issuing machine 5 is mounted on the mounting section 6 of the pachinko machine 2 (s1), the card 1 is taken into the mounting section 6 and transported to a readable / writable position (s2). . Next, the control circuit 59 reads the unique data written in the writing unit 4 by a read / write unit (not shown) (s3), and the read data is input to the control circuit 59. At this time, the control circuit 59 checks the authenticity of the card 1 based on the ID code (s4).

Then, the control circuit 59 compares the unique data written in the card 1 with the unique data of the card 1 stored in the management device 3 (s5). On the other hand, if the two match, the control circuit 59 holds the card 1 at a predetermined position (s8).

In s6, the control circuit 59 sets the above-described s
At 4 or s5, the fact that the card 1 is unauthorized is notified and displayed by an alarm, a lamp, or the like. Such notification may be displayed by the display unit 74 and voice or light such as language and dial tone. Thereafter, the control circuit 59
Inputs a signal indicating that the card 1 is invalid to the management device 3, and when the alarm state is released by an operation of the game arcade or the like, the mounting unit 6 is driven by the control circuit 59, and Card 1 is returned to the player (s
7).

Next, in s9, it is determined whether or not the game information of the card 1 is zero, and if the game information is zero, a step relating to the return of the current card 1 is executed (s10). If the game information is not zero, the control circuit 59 in s11.
Determines whether any of "0 mode", "interruption mode", "end mode" and "stop mode" is set. "0 mode" means that the game information is zero,
The "pause mode" is to interrupt the current pachinko game for a predetermined time based on the player's will, the "end mode" is to end the current pachinko game based on the player's will, and the "stop mode" is during the game. , The current pachinko game is terminated from the amusement arcade when the number of prize balls paid out reaches a predetermined number.

If any one of the modes is set in s11, the process jumps to s14. On the other hand, if none of the modes is set, in s12, the control circuit 59 determines whether or not the operation handle 73 is operated based on a touch circuit (not shown). When the operation handle 73 is not operated, the control circuit 59 stops the operation of the ball hitting device 7 in s13. Then, in s14, it is determined whether or not a firing position detection flag described later is set. If the firing position detection flag is set, the process jumps to s25; otherwise, the process jumps to s19.

On the other hand, when the operation handle 73 is operated in s12, the control circuit 59 operates the ball hitting device 7 by inputting an operation signal to the game circuit 8,
A signal indicating that the game operation has been started is input to the management device 3, and the hitting device 7 is set to a hitting possible state (s15). Thereby, the game operation of the pachinko machine 2 becomes possible.

The above-mentioned touch circuit is activated based on the displacement of the capacitance which fluctuates when the operation handle 73 is gripped. When the touch circuit is activated, a contact of a touch switch (not shown) is closed, and a signal indicating a grip state of the operation handle 73 is input to the control circuit 59. Thus, the control circuit 59 controls the operation handle 7
3 can be detected as being operated. By operating the operation handle 73, a desired hitting force can be obtained by adjusting a variable resistor (not shown).

Thereafter, the control circuit 59 determines whether or not the firing position detection flag has been set in s16. If the firing position detection flag has been set, the control circuit 59 proceeds to s16.
The control circuit 59 jumps to step 25, and otherwise turns on the ball feed solenoid 69 (s17). As a result, only one ball is supplied from the standby gutter 16 to the firing band 13 through the communication hole 40, and the supplied standby ball is caused to flow down by the inclination of the firing band 13. On the other hand, the trouble detection timer 84 starts measuring the passage time based on the turning on of the ball feed solenoid 69 (s18).

In s19, the control circuit 59 determines whether or not the firing position detection sensor 61 has detected a shooting sphere that has flown down the guide band 13 in the direction of the locking member 11. When the control circuit 59 determines that the firing position detection sensor 61 has detected a firing sphere, the control circuit 59 sets the firing position detection flag almost simultaneously (s22).
After clearing the trouble detection timer 84 (s23),
A signal indicating this is input to the locking ball timer 65. On the other hand, in s19, the shooting ball is
If it is determined that the trouble has not been detected, it is determined whether the trouble detection timer 84 has finished measuring the passage time in s20. In s20, if the trouble detection timer 84 has finished measuring the passage time, s21 is executed; otherwise, the process jumps to s25.

In s21, the control circuit 59 sets the standby gutter 16
It is considered that some inconvenience has occurred in the supply device 10 due to ball clogging in the inside and failure of the ball feed solenoid 69, and error processing is performed. At this time, the error is notified by voice, light, or the like. At substantially the same time, the control circuit 59 inputs a signal related to the error to the management device 3. Note that the above-described firing position detection flag (flag) indicates that the shooting ball is at a position where the shooting ball 7 can be fired, that is, whether or not the shooting ball is detected by the shooting position detection sensor 61.

Next, the locking ball timer 65 starts measuring the locking time almost simultaneously with setting the locking time in s24. Then, in s25, it is determined whether or not the shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 have detected the shooting ball. If the shooting ball has not been detected, the locking ball timer 65 is determined in s26.
It is determined whether the measurement of the locking time has ended. On the other hand
If the shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 detect a shooting ball at 25, the process jumps to s42. When the locking ball timer 65 finishes measuring the locking time in s26, the control circuit 59 stops the operation of the supply device 10 by demagnetizing the ball feed solenoid 70 in s28, and otherwise, Jump to s30.

Next, in s28, the presence or absence of operation of the operation handle 73 is determined based on the opening / closing of the contact of the touch switch. When the operation handle 73 is operated, the control circuit 59 activates the ball hitting device 7 in s29, Otherwise, jump to s30.

Next, in s30, the control circuit 59 determines whether or not the passing sphere detection sensor 64 has detected a shooting sphere. If it is determined that a shooting sphere has been detected, s31 is executed. Otherwise, s32 is executed. Jump to In s31, the control circuit 59 inputs a signal indicating the fact to the shooting ball timer 67 based on the detection of the shooting ball by the passing ball detection sensor 64. As a result, the shooting ball timer 67 sets the passing ball detection sensor 6
The measurement of the transit time is started based on the detection of the shooting sphere 4 (s30).

The passing time set in the shooting ball timer 67 is determined by the shooting ball sensor 7
4 is set based on the minimum hitting force required to reach the shooting ball detection sensor 63. In other words, the longest time for the shot ball to reach the shot ball detection sensor 63 from the passing ball detection sensor 64 by the hitting ball device 7 is set in the shot ball timer 67 as the passage time. In s31, the shooting ball timer 67 starts measuring the passing time based on the detection of the shooting ball by the passing ball detection sensor 64, but is not limited to this. Based on the activation of the ball hitting device 7 in s29. The measurement of the passage time may be started.

Next, the control circuit 59 determines whether or not the shooting sphere detection sensor 62 has detected a shooting sphere at s32. If a shooting sphere is detected, the control circuit 59 executes s33. If not, jumps to s49. I do. Next, the control circuit 59 sets s3
At 3, it is determined whether or not the shooting ball detection sensor 63 has detected a shooting ball. If it is determined that the shooting ball has not been detected, the process jumps to s49. On the other hand, if it is determined in s33 that a shooting ball has been detected, it is determined whether or not the foul ball detection timer 87 has been started (set) in s33a, and it has been determined that the setting has been completed. In this case, the process jumps to s33c; otherwise, the foul ball detection timer 87 is started in s33b.

In this foul ball detection timer 87, the shooting ball reaches the shooting ball detection sensor 63, in other words, it is ON.
After that, the game board 12 is driven toward the game board 12 side or the game board 12
A sufficient time is set to determine whether or not to return to the ball hitting device 7 from the fired ball detection sensor 63 without being hit to the side. Next, in s33c, based on whether the shot ball has detected the shot ball detection sensor 63 and whether the foul ball detection timer 87 has timed out, whether the shot ball once hit returns to the ball hitting device 7 side again or not. Is determined. If it is determined in s33c that the shot ball once hit has returned to the hitting device 7 again, the process proceeds to s4c.
While jumping to 2, otherwise, s33d is executed.

In s33d, the shooting ball detection sensor 63 is turned on.
It is determined whether or not the state has changed from the OFF state to the OFF state.
If the state has changed to the F state, s34 is executed.
Otherwise, jump to s41. Also, s3
If it is determined in step S2 or s33 that at least one of the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 has not detected a shooting ball, in step s49, the control circuit 59 determines that the shooting ball timer 67 started in step s31 has timed out. It is determined whether or not it has been performed. Then, in s49, when the control circuit 59 determines that the firing ball timer 67 has timed out, s45 is executed. Otherwise, the process jumps to s41.

At the above steps s32, s33 and s49, it is determined whether or not a shooting ball has been launched from the guiding band 9 to the game board 12. That is, if the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 do not detect both shooting balls before the shooting ball timer 67 started in s31 times up, in other words, the shooting ball timer 67 times out and the pair of shooting balls If at least one of the ball detection sensors 62 and 63 does not detect, it is considered that a foul ball has occurred due to insufficient hitting force or the like. The generation of the foul ball is detected by the control circuit 59 almost simultaneously with the type-up of the firing ball timer 67 (described later).

On the other hand, when the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 detect the shooting balls sequentially while the shooting ball timer 67 is operating (see s31), that is, while measuring the passing time, the control circuit 59 determines that the shooting ball is a game board. 12 is detected. Then, in s34, it is determined whether there is game information (game ball number data) for "1" in the firing position detection flag set,
If there is game information for "1", "2" is subtracted from the current game information. Otherwise, the process jumps to s36. The above step s34 is a step assuming a case where the fired ball once hit on the game board 12 returns to the guide band 9 again when the fired ball is detected by the fired position detection sensor 61.

When two launch balls are detected at the launch position as in s34 and s35, the operation handle 73
By manually operating the ball, a larger than normal force is generated to launch two launch balls toward the game board 12. Instead, the supply current to the ball hitting device (solenoid) 7 is temporarily reduced. By increasing the number of balls to be automatically launched onto the game board 12 by increasing the number of balls, it is not necessary to increase the hitting force by operating the operation handle 73 as described above or to return the hitting force to the original hitting force. Become.

At s36, "1" is subtracted from the game information, and at s37, the reduced game information is input to a management device (not shown). At about the same time, the firing ball timer 67 and the foul ball detection timer 87 at s38. Is reset. Subsequently, in s39, after the firing position detection flag is cleared, the control circuit 59 starts an unillustrated illegal ball detection timer in s40 (described later). When it is determined in s25 that the pair of shooting ball sensors 62 and 63 have detected a shooting ball, the control circuit 59 causes the game ball hit from the guiding band 9 by the hitting device 7 in s29 to once launch the pair of shooting balls. After being detected by the ball detection sensors 62 and 63, it has returned to the guide band 9 again, that is, the fired ball has become a foul ball. And s2
In S5, when one of the sensors 62 and 63 detects a foul ball, s42 is executed.

There are the following four cases of foul spheres. . The shooting ball is detected by the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63, reaches the game board 12 via the upper end of the guide band 9, is bounced back by a not shown nail or the like, and the ball hitting device 7 When returning to the direction of. When the shooting ball is detected by the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 and returns to the direction of the ball hitting device 7 on the guide band 9 without reaching the game board 12. The launch sphere is detected by one launch sphere detection sensor 62,
When returning to the direction of the hitting device 7 on the guide band 9 without being detected by the other shot ball detection sensor 63. When the shooting ball returns to the direction of the ball hitting device 7 on the guide band 9 without being detected by any of the shooting ball detection sensors 62

The above and s32, s33 and s
This can occur in the step at 49.

In the above case, the shot sphere detection sensor 64, the shot sphere detection sensor 62 and the shot sphere detection sensor 6
When the detection is performed in the order of 3, the control circuit 59 detects that the shooting ball has reached the game board 12. After that, in s25, when the control circuit 59 detects the shooting ball in the reverse order to the above, that is, in the order of the shooting ball detection sensor 63 and the shooting ball detection sensor 62, the shooting ball reaches the game board 12 and is The return to the direction of the hitting device 7 can be detected. Next, in the above case, when the shooting ball is detected by the shooting ball detection sensor 63, the foul ball detection timer 87 is started in s33b, and the shooting ball is detected by the shooting ball detection sensor 63.
When the detection is continuously performed by the shooting sphere detection sensor 63 while staying at the position of the shooting sphere detection sensor 63,
Is not turned off, the control circuit 59 can detect that the shot ball has returned to the hitting device 7 without reaching the game board 12.

When the shooting ball is detected by the passing ball detection sensor 64, the shooting ball timer 67 is started. Then, in s49, the firing ball timer 6
7 is determined and the firing ball timer 6 is determined.
When the time is up, the control circuit 59 can detect that the shooting ball has reached between the pair of shooting ball sensors 62 and 63. Similarly, the control circuit 59 can detect that the shot ball has reached between the shot ball detection sensor 62 and the passing ball detection sensor 64. Then, in s42, the ball feeding solenoid 69 is turned off, and the ball feeding operation by the supply device 10 is stopped. As a result, only the return ball can be fired. At s43, the control circuit 59 clears the locking timer 65 set at s24,
foul ball detection timer 8 set in s32a
Clear 7

At s44, "1" is added to the current game information as the foul ball for the purpose of correcting the game information resulting from the generation of the foul ball. Then in s45,
The control circuit 59 includes a ball hitting device 7 and a ball feed solenoid 69
To stop. Next, when the passing ball detection sensor 64 detects a foul ball in s46, the control circuit 59 inputs a signal indicating that to the return ball timer 66, and the return ball timer 66 starts measuring the return time (s4).
7). During the measurement of the return time, the control circuit 59 stops the operation of the ball hitting device 7 and the supply device 10 to wait for the foul ball to be locked by the locking member 11.

The measurement of the return time in s47 is for a foul sphere corresponding to all of the above cases. Eventually, when the return ball timer 66 finishes measuring the return time (s48), when the operation handle 73 is operated by jumping to s28, the control circuit 59 activates the ball hitting device 7 (s29).
Hit the locked foul ball. At this time, the control circuit 5
Since the stop operation of the supply device 9 is continued, the supply of the game balls is stopped. Thus, the ball hitting device 7 can fire the ball on the gaming board 12 again without collecting all the foul balls according to the above. Also, a plurality of game balls do not stay on the guide band 9. In the step of determining the time-up of the shooting ball timer 67 in s49, if the time is up, the process jumps to s45, executes s46 to s48, and then jumps to s28. In s41, it is determined whether or not the “0 mode” is set, and the “0 mode” is determined.
Is set, jump to s59, otherwise jump to s50.

Thereafter, the control circuit 59 determines whether or not the game information is zero at s50. If the game information is zero, the ball feed solenoid 69 is turned off by turning off the ball feed solenoid 69, thereby controlling the ball by the supply device 10. The feeding operation is stopped (s51). Then, in s52, the control circuit 59 sets the “0 mode”, and then in s53, determines whether or not all the shooting balls are on standby on the standby gutter 16 by the standby sphere sensor 4.
4 and 44. When all the shooting balls are on standby on the waiting gutter 16, the game information is regarded as not fluctuating, and the control circuit 59 disables the shooting by stopping the operation of the ball hitting device 7 in s 54, and then the predetermined value. Is written to the writing unit 4 of the card 1 (s
55). On the other hand, if it is determined in s53 that all the launch balls are not on standby on the waiting gutter 16, the launch ball with the game information returned to zero is on the game board 12 and has a possibility of winning, and therefore s25. To perform processing related to the shooting sphere.

When the game information is written in the writing section 4 of the card 1 in s55, the written content is checked in S56. If there is no inconvenience in the written contents, S5
7, the same data is transmitted to the management device (not shown) of the pachinko machine 2, and then the card 1 is returned (s5).
8). On the other hand, if there is any inconvenience in the written content in s56, the process returns to s55 and the game information is written in the writing unit 4 again.

If the control circuit 59 determines that the game information is not zero in s50, the control circuit 59 determines in s59 that the illegal ball sensor 6
8 determines whether or not a game ball is detected, and when the illegal ball sensor 68 does not detect a game ball, the control circuit 59 in s60 determines that the illegal ball detection timer started in s40 described above has timed out. It is determined whether or not.

If the timer for detecting an illegal ball has expired, it is determined that an illegal ball has entered the game ball, and the control circuit 59 stops the operation of the ball hitting device 7 in s61. Thereafter, the control circuit 59 informs and displays the fact that the illegal ball has entered the game ball by using an alarm, a lamp, or the like (s62). On the other hand, when the illegal ball sensor 68 detects a game ball in s59, the illegal ball detection timer is cleared in s63, and then s64 is executed. Also s60
In step s64, if the illegal ball detection timer has not timed out, s64 is executed.

By the way, the game ball is sent to the firing band 13.
The cycle in which the ball is thrown depends on the operation of the ball hitting device 7.
Magnetization and demagnetization are one cycle, and a smooth hit is made
In this case, the time required for one cycle is constant.
In the present embodiment, one cycle of the ball hitting device 7 is required.
Time T₁ Is set to about 0.6 seconds (T₁ = 100
(cycle / min = 0.6 s). That is, the game ball
The light transmitted and received between the two illegal sphere sensors 68, 68 is set to 0.
While the light is blocked every 6 seconds, the illegal ball is
Light is not shielded between the spherical sensors 68. For this reason, small diameter
If an illegal ball is mixed in a game ball,
The time per cycle related to the shading between 68 and 68
T₁ Is greater than 0.6 seconds T_Two (T₁ = 0.
6s <T _Two ). Thereby, the control circuit 59 detects the illegal ball.
And perform predetermined processing such as generating a notification signal.
it can.

The times T ₁ , T relating to such illegal ball detection
What performs the measurement of ₂ is the above-mentioned illegal ball detection timer. The fraud ball detection timer which operates in synchronism with the returned ball timer 66, in the time normally set time T ₁ i.e. 0.6 seconds per cycle according to the light shielding of the game ball. If the light between the two illegal ball sensors 68 is not blocked between the start and time-up of the illegal ball detection timer, it is determined that a small-diameter ball has entered.

When a foul ball is detected, the illegal ball detection timer measures a time T ₁ from the time when the return ball timer 66 times out. The illegal ball sensors 68, 68
The illegal ball detection timer can detect not only small-diameter balls but also ball clogging in the circulation path of game balls, for example, the state in which game balls are locked in the form of grapes between nails. it can.

Further, the suction force of the hitting device 7 is set in advance so that the shooting ball passes at least the passing ball detection sensor 64. By setting the firing force in this way, it is possible to provide the player with a playability relating to the technical intervention of adjusting the hitting force by operating the operation handle 73.

At s64, it is determined whether a safe ball has been detected. If a safe ball has been detected, s6 is determined.
In step 5, "+ N" (for example, 13 balls) is added to the current game information as the number of prize balls. Then, the calculation result is written into the memory 60 as new game information, and the new game information is input to the management device 3 almost simultaneously (s66). On the other hand, if it is determined in s64 that the safe ball has not been detected, the process jumps to s70.

Then, in s67, the control circuit 59 sets "0"
It is determined whether or not the "mode" is set. If the "0 mode" is set, the control circuit 59 clears the "0 mode" in s68, and then enables the ball feeding operation by the ball feeding solenoid 69 in s69. To “0 mode” indicates that the game information is zero.

When it is determined in step s67 that the “0 mode” is not set, the control circuit 59 determines whether the “0 mode” has been set.
If it is determined that the “0 mode” has not been set in step, the control circuit 59 determines in step s71 that the current pachinko machine 2
Is determined to be a stop. When it is determined that the ball is hit, the control circuit 59 turns off the ball feeding solenoid 69 in s72 to stop the ball feeding operation by the supply device 10, and sets the "hitting mode" in s73. On the other hand, when it is determined that the current pachinko machine 2 is not hit in s71, the process jumps to s74. "Stop mode"
Is to indicate that the prize balls have been paid out to the scheduled number.

After setting the "hitting mode" in s73, the control circuit 59 sets the standby ball sensor 4 in s74.
It is determined whether or not 4, 44 is shielded. When it is determined that the standby ball sensors 44, 44 are shielded, it is determined that all the game balls are waiting in the standby gutter 16. Then, in s75, the control circuit 59 stops the operation of the ball hitting device 7 to make it impossible to fire. Next, at s76, the trouble detection timer 84 at s20 started at s18 is cleared. On the other hand, in s74,
When it is determined that the standby ball sensors 44, 44 are not shielded from light, all the ball type determinations, such as being caught by an obstacle nail, are not yet completed, and the process jumps to s11. Therefore, no hitting process is performed.

Thereafter, in s77, the control circuit 59 writes various data (game information) and an ID code relating to the pachinko game currently stored in the memory 60 to the writing section 4. Then, the control circuit 59 determines whether or not all the data written in the writing unit 4 in s77 and the data in the memory 60 match (s78). Here, if both data match, it is determined that there is no inconvenience and s7
The various data and the ID code written in the writing unit 4 in step 7 are input to the management device 3 (s79). On the other hand, s7
If the two data do not match at step 9, s77 is executed again. Thereafter, in s80, after the control circuit 59 performs a hitting process, the mounting section 6 is driven by the control circuit 59, and the card 1 is returned to the player (s81). At this time, the data of the card 1 may be printed out by the printer 28. Next, in s98, it is determined whether or not “0 mode” is set. If “0 mode” is set, the process jumps to s53. Is set. If "interruption mode" is set, the process jumps to s90; otherwise, s90
At 83, it is determined whether the “end mode” is set. If the "end mode" is set, the process jumps to s90. If not, the end switch 80 is set in s84.
Is determined. When the end switch 80 is operated (ON), the control circuit 59 stops the ball feeding operation by the supply device 10 by turning off the ball feeding solenoid 69 in s85. Thereafter, the control circuit 59 sets "end mode" and executes s90.

On the other hand, if the end switch 80 has not been operated in s84, it is determined in s87 whether or not the interruption switch 79 has been operated. If it is determined in step s87 that the interruption switch 79 has not been operated, the process jumps to step s11. If not, the control circuit 59 turns off the ball feed solenoid 69 in step s88. Stop the feed operation. Next, the control circuit 59 sets the “interruption mode” (s
89), in s90, it is determined whether or not all the game balls are waiting on the waiting gutter 16. Note that the following processes from s90 to s97 are the same as the above-described steps from s74 to s81.

In the above embodiment, during the measurement of the locking time or the return time, the control circuit 59 directly stops the operation of the ball feed solenoid 69 as a driving source and the operation of the ball hitting device 7. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Not something. When the ball hitting device 7 is constituted by a straight-moving solenoid and the supply device 10 is linked with the ball hitting device 7 (see FIG. 22 in the related art), a supply stopping means for stopping the operation of the supply device 10 is provided as shown in FIG. Is also good.

The supply stopping means shown in FIG. 18 is constituted by a stopping solenoid 81 and a convex piece 82. The stop solenoid 81 is formed by a rectilinear solenoid controlled by the control circuit 59, and the plunger 83 is activated along an axis parallel to the lever 30. The protruding piece 82 is provided on the upper side of the lever 30, and does not come into contact with the plunger 83 when the stop solenoid 81 is demagnetized.
0 is held in the state shown by the solid line. As a result, the supply device 10 becomes inoperable, so that the supply of game balls from the standby gutter 16 to the guide band 9 can be prohibited.

Also, by interlocking with the ball feeding and hitting device 7 for the game balls waiting in the waiting gutter 16, s1 in FIG.
7, ON-OF of ball feed solenoid 69 in s27
Although the step related to F is omitted (see FIG. 14), the step related to the determination of the operation state of the stop solenoid 81 shown in sA of FIG. 14 and the stop solenoid 81 shown in sB in FIG. A step related to the stop operation is added. Furthermore, in the presence or absence of a return ball, the return of game information, the interruption of the game, the end of the game, and the stop, see FIGS.
FIG. 12 s42, s45, s51, s72, s85, s8
Instead of the step of turning off the ball feed solenoid 69 shown in FIG. 8, the stop solenoid 81 is turned on (FIGS. 15 to 17 s42, s45, s51, s72, s85, s88).
reference). When all the game balls are aligned with the standby gutter 16, a process of turning off the stop solenoid 81 is performed (see FIGS. 16 and 17 sC, sD, and sE).

Here, although partially overlapping the above description, the configuration and operation of this embodiment will be briefly described below. That is, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a firing position detection sensor 61 that detects a locking ball that is located at the lower end of the guide band 9 and locked by the locking member 11, The launch band and the launch band 9 which are arranged at the upper end of the guide band 9 along the launch direction of the launch ball and are hit by the hitting device 7 onto the game board 12 and the game board 12.
A pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 for detecting a foul ball returned to the vehicle, and a passage for detecting a shooting ball disposed between the shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 and the shooting position detection sensor 61 of the guide band 9. A return ball timer 66 that measures the return time when the ball detection sensor 64 and the launch ball detection sensors 62 and 63 detect a foul ball returned from the game board 12 (that is, when the hit game ball returns to the guiding band). The detection by the shooting sphere detection sensors 62 and 63 corresponds to the measurement of the return time of the return sphere timer 66.) and the shooting sphere when the passing sphere detection sensor 64 detects the shooting sphere. The passage time (reference time) required for the vehicle to pass between the passing ball detection sensor 64 and the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 is measured, and the pair of shooting ball detection is performed during the measurement of the passing time. A launch ball timer 67 that is reset when the sensors 62 and 63 detect a launch ball, and the control circuit 59 controls at least when the return ball timer 66 is operating (that is, the “played game ball” of the present invention). Is returned to the guide band again and the launching ball detection means detects), or at least one of the pair of launching ball detection sensors 62 and 63 has not detected the launching ball and the launching ball timer 67 has When the measurement of the passing time is completed (that is, when the measurement time of the timer exceeds a predetermined reference time without the launching ball detecting means detecting the game ball) of the present invention, this corresponds to the present invention. A structure for stopping the operation of the hitting device 7 is provided.

Since the present embodiment is configured as described above, the shooting sphere is a pair of shooting sphere detection sensors 62 and 6.
The control circuit 59 detects that the game board 12 has been reached from the guide band 9 by being sequentially detected by 3. Next, when the pair of fired ball detection sensors 62 and 63 detect the fired balls in the reverse order to the above-described order, the fired balls have returned from the game board 12 to the guide band 9, that is, the foul ball is controlled by the control circuit 59. Can be detected. When the foul ball is detected by the passing ball detection sensor 64, the return ball timer 66 measures the return time. During the measurement of the return time, the control circuit 59 waits until the foul ball is locked by the locking member 11 by stopping the operations of the ball hitting device 7 and the supply device 10. When the return ball timer 66 finishes measuring the return time, the control circuit 59 activates the ball hitting device 7 to hit the foul ball locked. At this time, the control circuit 59 stops the supply of the game balls by continuing the stop operation of the supply device 10. As a result, the ball hitting device 7 can once again hit the foul ball, that is, the game board 12, and then fire the game ball returned to the guide band 9 again.

Further, the shooting sphere is a pair of shooting sphere detection sensors 6
2, 63, and then detected by the passing ball detection sensor 64, or before the shooting ball is detected by one of the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62, 63, the passing ball detection is performed again. When detected by the sensor 64, the shot ball is regarded as a foul ball, and the return ball timer 66 measures the return time. During the measurement of the return time, the control circuit 59 controls the ball hitting device 7 and the supply device 10
Is stopped and the game ball is locked by the locking member 11. When the return ball timer 66 finishes measuring the return time, the control circuit 59 starts the hitting device 7 to hit the foul ball locked.
At this time, the control circuit 59 stops the supply of the game balls by continuing the stop operation of the supply device 10. As a result, the ball-hitting device 7 can once again hit the foul ball, that is, the guiding band 9, and again fire the game ball that has returned to the firing band 13 before reaching the game board 12.

The shooting ball timer 67 measures the passing time based on the detection of the shooting ball by the passing ball detection sensor 64.
When one of the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 does not detect a shooting ball and the shooting ball timer 67 finishes measuring the passing time, or when the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 Both have not detected the launch sphere,
And when the shooting ball timer 67 finishes measuring the passing time, the control circuit 59 detects that the shooting ball has not reached the game board 12, that is, detects a foul ball, almost simultaneously with finishing the measurement of the passing time. be able to. Further, during the measurement of the passing time by the shooting ball timer 67, when the pair of shooting ball detection sensors 62 and 63 detect the shooting ball, the control circuit 59 detects that the shooting ball has reached the game board 12, Almost at the same time, the firing ball timer 67 is reset. The present invention may be configured to be provided in the pachinko machine 2 having a foul ball gutter for collecting a foul ball. In such a configuration, the operation of the ball hitting device 7 and the supply device 10 is stopped based on the detection of the foul ball, so that the collision between the shot ball supplied next to the foul ball and the foul ball is prevented. can do. This does not interrupt the flow of pachinko games.

[0096]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the fired ball detecting means that can regard the fired game ball as a foul ball does not detect the game ball, and the time measured by the timer is equal to the reference time. If the ball exceeds the threshold, or if the launched game ball returns to the guide band and is detected by the launching ball detection means, the ball hitting device is not operated once, so that the supply of a new thrown ball is stopped and the ball hitting device thereafter is stopped. The game balls returned by the operation can be properly fired again. For this reason, it is possible to avoid a problem in which the returned game ball and the inserted game ball are both retained in the hitting device side portion of the guide band, and the hitting state of the shot ball can be smoothed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the guide band is provided continuously, the guide band can be formed as a single member, and the guide band can be used for installing a foul ball escape portion (foul ball passage). The configuration can be simplified as compared with the related art in a separated state. In addition, by forming the guide band with a single member, the launched game ball (launched ball) is smoothly guided along the guide band, and contact of the launched ball with the lower end of the guide band is suppressed. Thus, damage or deformation of the guide band can be prevented, and the hitting state of the shooting ball is stable and smooth, so that the hitting accuracy is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a pachinko machine provided with the device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the illegal ball sensor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the supply device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the pachinko machine of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing attachment of the supply device of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the supply device shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a part of a program stored in the memory of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a part of the program following FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a part of the program following FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a part of the program following FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a part of a program following FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a part of a program different from the programs of FIGS. 8 to 12;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a part of the program following FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a part of the program following FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a part of the program following FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a part of the program following FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a front view showing a configuration different from the supply device of FIG. 4;

FIG. 19 is a front view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 20 is a plan view of a card used in the pachinko machine of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing the connection between the pachinko machine and the management device in FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 is a front view showing the supply device of FIG. 19;

FIG. 23 is a front view showing attachment of the supply device of FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a plan view of the supply device shown in FIG.

FIG. 25 is a side view of the pachinko machine shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 26 is a rear view of the pachinko machine shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing the structure of the pachinko machine of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 7 hitting device 9 guide band 10 supply device 12 game board 59 control circuit 61 firing position sensor 62, 63 fired ball detection sensor (fired ball detection means) 64 passing ball detection sensor 66 return ball timer 67 fired ball timer (timer)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A hitting device for launching a game ball thrown into a pachinko machine to a game board, and a guide band for guiding the game ball fired from the hitting device to the game board is provided. Timer signal generating means for generating a timer signal for each shot and fired ball detecting means for detecting a game ball fired by the hitting device are arranged along the guiding direction of the game ball, and the timer signal generating means generates When the timer signal starts, the timer starts measuring time, and when the time measured by the timer exceeds the reference time set in advance without the launching ball detecting means detecting the game ball, or when the launched game ball is The launch control device for a pachinko machine wherein the hitting device is not operated once when the launch ball detecting means detects the return to the guide band again. 2. The launch control device for a pachinko machine according to claim 1, wherein said guide band is provided continuously.