JP3033111U - Ball game machine winning device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Problem] At the time when the game ball is mounted on the rotating member,
It is not certain which of multiple exits will be assigned,
Moreover, to provide a winning device for a ball-and-ball game machine, which is capable of distributing the game balls to each passageway with an appropriate probability. SOLUTION: A first rotating member 4 is an annular body capable of mounting a game ball on through holes 30 formed at 12 locations at equal intervals, and is rotationally driven at a constant speed by a stepping motor 22. The movable contact member 32 is driven into and out of the through hole 30 by being driven by the solenoid 38, and causes the game ball mounted on the through hole 30 to fall into the first through hole 50. Even if the game ball is mounted on the first rotating member 4, it is not certain whether or not the game ball will enter the first passage outlet 50 until it passes above the movable contact member 32. In addition, depending on the number of operations of the movable contact member 32,
The probability of entering the first passageway 50 can be made appropriate.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

 The present invention relates to a winning device for a ball-and-ball game machine that further distributes a game ball that has entered the device to any of a plurality of passageways.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Conventionally, as a winning device for a pachinko machine, a rotating member that is rotationally driven by a motor is arranged in a winning room in which a plurality of passages are formed, and a game ball mounted on the upper surface side of the rotating member is rotated. It is known that the members are circulated along with the rotation of the member, and are distributed to each passage.

In this type of winning device, when the game ball moves around, the game ball passes in front of a plurality of passage openings and falls to any of the passage openings, so It takes some time before the game balls are distributed to the exits, and at that time, the gaming machine users can enjoy the process of deciding the distribution destination of the game balls while following the circular movement of the game balls. It was

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

 By the way, in this type of winning device, a game ball is judged to be a special safe ball by entering a predetermined specific exit, and a more advantageous operation for a player (so-called jackpot operation). However, the standard for pachinko machines stipulates that the probability of being judged as a special safe ball should not be excessively high.

Therefore, in the case of the above-mentioned winning device, the structure of the specific game ball mounting position on the rotating member, the height position of the specific passage, etc., are different from the others, and the game ball mounted at the specific position. Only the special passages are distributed to specific passages, while the game balls mounted at other positions are distributed to other passages than the specific passages so that the probability of the occurrence of special safe balls does not increase excessively. It was there.

However, if the rotary member is structured as described above, whether or not the game ball is distributed to the specific passage will be determined at the time when the game ball is mounted on the rotary member. There was a problem that the user lost the sense of expectation that the game ball would accidentally fall into the specified passage when passing in front of the specified passage, and lacked the fun of ball game.

The present invention was made in order to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to which of a plurality of passageways is distributed when a game ball is mounted on a rotating member. It is to provide a winning device for a ball game machine in which the game balls can be distributed to the respective exits with a proper probability.

[0008]

[Means for solving the problems and effects of the invention]

 In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is, as described in claim 1, in a prize winning device of a ball game machine in which a plurality of passage openings are formed in a prize winning chamber into which a game ball can enter. A rotatably arranged game ball can be mounted on the upper surface side, and a rotary member that rotates the mounted game ball as it is rotated by a motor, and a game ball mounted on the rotary member. And a movable contact member that is provided so as to be retractable at a position where the game ball is contacted with the game ball and that causes the game ball to fall from the rotating member to the first passage port when contacting the game ball. To do.

In the winning device of the ball game machine of the present invention, the rotating member revolves around the game ball mounted on the upper surface side as the rotating member is rotationally driven by the motor, as in the prior art winning device. Although it is something to move, of the plurality of passages that the winning device has, whether to distribute the game ball to the first passage or not depends on the movable contact member and the game ball depending on the operating position of the movable contact member. It is determined by whether and abutting. Therefore, unlike the above-described conventional prize winning device, it is not necessary to make the structure of the rotating member such that the distribution outlet is determined for each mounting position of the game ball.

According to such a winning device, even if the mounting position of the game ball on the rotating member is changed, there is a possibility that the game ball is always distributed to the first passage, for example, the first If you set it so that it will be judged as a special safe ball when entering the passageway, the expectation for a big hit will increase and the fun of ball game will increase. Also, by adjusting the time for the movable contact member to move to a position where it can contact the game ball, the probability of entering the first passageway can be changed, so when entering the first passageway, The probability of being judged as a special safe sphere can be easily optimized if the setting is such that it is judged as a special safe sphere. Furthermore, the probability of entering the first passageway can be changed during the game depending on some condition, so a probability-changing type winning device can be easily configured, and the game state can be varied. can do.

In the winning device of the present invention, the first passageway may be set to a specific passageway that determines the game ball as a special safe ball at the same time as the entering ball. It is possible to have a structure in which the ball is not judged to be a special safe ball immediately after entering the passageway, and the distribution mechanism on the downstream side determines whether or not it becomes a special safe ball. Depending on the probability of entering the passage, it is possible to determine a game ball that has not entered the first passage as a special safe ball, so the winning device of the present invention is not necessarily the first passage itself. Is not limited to the one set as a specific passage.

By the way, a game ball that cannot be distributed to the first passage is required to be distributed to a passage other than the first passage, but how many passages other than the first passage are provided. Is optional. Further, the means for rolling the game ball from the rotating member to a passage other than the first passage is not particularly limited. More specifically, for example, in addition to the first passage, a large number of passages such as second, third, ... Are provided, and these passages have the same movable contact member as the first passage. It is also possible to provide a game ball and distribute it to each passage.

However, even if the game ball mounted on the rotating member cannot be distributed to the first passage, it is necessary to finally fall to another passage. As described above, at the position where it abuts on the game ball mounted on the rotating member, the movable contact member is fixed to the downstream side in the circling direction with respect to the retracted position, and when the game ball is contacted, the game ball is moved forward. It is preferable to provide a fixed contact member that causes the rotary member to fall down to the second passage port.

According to this structure, even if the game ball does not contact the movable contact member, the game ball always contacts the fixed contact member while the rotating member makes one rotation, and as a result, The game ball is distributed to the second passage. Therefore, the game ball does not move around for a number of rounds while being mounted on the rotating member, and the chance of contact between the game ball and the movable contact member is limited to only once, so that the first passageway The probability of falling to can be maintained more appropriately.

In the winning device of the present invention, the probability of the game ball being distributed to the first passageway changes depending on the number of contact opportunities between the game ball and the movable contact member. Even if the movable contact member operates at a position where the ball cannot be mounted and the retracting operation ends, it is meaningless, and in order to control the probability more properly, the rotational position of the rotating member and the operation timing of the movable contact member It is important to accurately link and. According to claim 3, the rotating member is driven by a stepping motor so as to rotate to a predetermined rotating position at a predetermined timing, and when the rotating member rotates to a predetermined rotating position, It is preferable that the movable contact member has a structure in which the movable contact member is driven by a solenoid to move in and out.

With such a structure, the rotational position of the rotating member can be grasped based on the number of drive signals (pulse signals) given to the stepping motor, so that the drive signal can be sent to the solenoid at an appropriate timing. By giving, the movable contact member can be moved in and out toward the mountable position of the game ball. Therefore, depending on how many times such an effective retracting / retracting operation is performed during the rotation of the rotating member by the predetermined number of rotations, the probability that the game balls are distributed to the first passageway can be kept within an appropriate range. it can.

Further, in order to grasp the rotational position of the rotary member by the drive signal given to the stepping motor as described above, it is necessary to accurately grasp the initial rotational position of the rotary member. As described in claim 4, it is convenient to include a position detection sensor capable of detecting the rotational position of the rotating member.

In this way, the specific position detected by the position detection sensor is determined as, for example, the initial rotational position, and thereafter, the drive signal given to the stepping motor is counted to manage the rotational position of the rotating member. You can The initial rotation position may be determined by the position detection sensor only once when the prize winning device starts operating, but in the case of a stepping motor, an error may occur in the relationship between the given pulse number and the rotation angle. Therefore, it is desirable to periodically reset the initial rotation position by the position rotation sensor, because it is possible to always correct even if an error occurs. It should be noted that such a position detection sensor can be configured by any of known optical sensors, magnetic sensors, contact switches, etc., but considering durability etc., it can be used as a non-contact type sensor such as an optical sensor. Is preferable.

Incidentally, in addition to the device according to the fourth aspect, as a method of initializing the rotational position of the rotating member, the rotating member is contacted when it reaches the initial rotating position to forcibly rotate the rotating member. There is also a method in which a stepping motor is provided with a stop member so that the stepping motor can be rotated sufficiently until it goes out of step.However, as mentioned above, it is possible to periodically reset the initial rotation position while the prize winning device is operating. Considering this, the one according to claim 4 is preferable.

Although the basic configuration of the winning device of the present invention has been described above, various detailed detailed structures can be considered. Specifically, for example, as described in claim 5, the rotating member is an annular body in which a game ball can be mounted in each of a plurality of regions equally divided at an equal angle around the center of rotation. A through hole penetrating from the upper surface side to the lower surface side is provided at the game ball mounting position, and the movable contact member is arranged so as to be vertically movable at a position where it can go in and out from the lower surface side of the through hole, Further, the first passage is formed in a region surrounded by the annular rotating member, and when the rotating member rotates and the through hole comes above the movable abutting member, An example is a device in which the movable contact member is driven by a solenoid and pushes up the game ball mounted on the rotating member to make it fall to the first passage port.

According to the winning device configured as described above, since the movable contact member is disposed below the rotating member, the movable structure related to the movable contact member is provided on the upper surface side of the rotating member. It is not necessary to provide any object, and the game ball on the rotating member can be easily seen by the user of the gaming machine without being blocked by the movable contact member or the like. Further, since the game ball has a structure in which it falls to the first passageway in the area surrounded by the rotating member, the first passageway does not have to be provided outside the outer periphery of the rotating member. The outer diameter can be easily increased, and the number of game ball mounting areas of the rotating member can be increased. Furthermore, since the rotation position of the rotary member is accurately grasped and rotated by using the stepping motor, it is easy to accurately control the movable contact member to move in and out of the through hole.

[0022]

[Embodiment of the invention]

 Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The winning device for a ball game machine described below is merely an example of the embodiment of the present invention, and is not limited to a specific device or the like exemplifying the constituent means of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the prize winning device 1 has a prize winning chamber 2 into which a game ball can enter, and in the prize winning chamber 2, a first rotation that rotates about an axis extending vertically in the vertical direction. A member 4 is arranged, and below the first rotating member 4, a second rotating member 6 which rotates about an axis extending horizontally in the front-rear direction is arranged. Then, the game balls that enter the winning room 2 are first distributed to one of two routes by the first rotating member 4, and the game balls that are distributed to one of the routes are The structure is such that the two rotation members 6 can distribute the two routes. The first rotating member 4 corresponds to the rotating member of the present invention.

Next, a more detailed internal structure will be described along the guide path of the game ball. 2 to 5 used in the following description, some of the detailed structures not directly related to the present invention are omitted for clarity in order to clarify the structure of the main part. The part indicated by the dotted line is a fixed structure integrally molded as a part of the device body made of resin, and the part shown by the solid line in the figure is an inoperable or operably attached part. It is a body part.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the winning device 1 includes a first guideway 10 provided with a left-down slope on the front side of the device, and a first guideway rolling on the first guideway 10. A known passage sensor 12 that detects that a game ball that has fallen from the end of the road 10 has entered the device, and a second guide path that guides the game ball from below the passage sensor 12 to the interior of the winning room 2. 14 and a contact piece that is provided near the end of the second guide path 14 and contacts the game ball guided to the end of the second guide path 14 and causes the game ball to fall on the lower first rotating member 4. 16 and 16. On the first guide path 10, a game ball that has passed between predetermined nails of a pachinko machine (not shown) falls, and the game ball is guided into the winning device 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first rotating member 4 is an annular body on which a game ball can be mounted at 12 locations that are evenly divided by 30 degrees around the center of rotation. It is rotatably supported by the structure. Gear teeth 20 are formed on the lower end of the outer periphery of the first rotating member 4 as shown in FIG. 2, while a stepping motor 22 is attached to the rear side of the device as shown in FIG. The fixed small-diameter gear 23 meshes with the gear tooth 20. In such a structure, when a predetermined drive signal is given to the stepping motor 22, the first rotating member 4 is rotationally driven clockwise at a constant speed in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, a projecting piece 24 is provided on the lower end side of the first rotating member 4, and a photo interrupter 26 is arranged at a position where the optical path is blocked by the projecting piece 24. This makes it possible to detect that the first rotating member 4 has rotated once each time the projecting piece 24 passes through the position where the photo interrupter 26 is disposed. In FIG. 2, only a part of the gear tooth 20 is shown by a solid line, and the two-dot chain line is simplified after that. However, the tooth profile in the same range as shown by the solid line is the whole of the first rotating member 4. It is formed over the circumference.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first rotating member 4 is formed with through holes 30 penetrating from the upper surface side to the lower surface side at 12 places where game balls can be mounted. The through hole 30 is shaped and dimensioned so that the game ball cannot pass through it, and the game ball can be mounted on the upper surface side of the through hole 30. A movable contact member 32 is provided on the lower surface side of the first rotating member 4 as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.

The movable contact member 32 is rotatably supported by a supporting structure (not shown) on the apparatus body side as shown by a solid line and a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3, and is slidable by a rail 34 on the apparatus body side. It is connected to a plunger 40 of a solenoid 38 via a supported slide member 36. In such a structure, since the drive signal is not normally applied to the solenoid 38, the plunger 40 is pulled back to the back side by the coil spring 42, and the movable contact member 32 is moved to the position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. However, when a drive signal is applied to the solenoid 38, the plunger 40 is pushed out to the front side, and the movable contact member 32 is rotated to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. Then, when the movable contact member 32 is rotated to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 3, the distal end portion 32 a moves upward and enters the through hole 30 of the first rotating member 4. At this time, if the game ball is mounted on the upper surface side of the through hole 30, the tip portion 32a of the movable contact member 32 contacts the game ball and pushes the game ball upward. As a result, the game ball falls into the area surrounded by the first rotating member 4.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a dish-shaped member 54 having a first passage port 50 and a second passage port 52 is disposed in a region surrounded by the first rotation member 4. There is. Along the outer periphery of the dish-shaped member 54, a partition wall 56 and a partition wall 57 that extend in an arc shape are erected. At positions where the partition walls 56 and 57 are present, the game balls from the first rotating member 4 onto the dish-shaped member 54 Fall is prevented. Further, a partition wall 58 that extends in the centrifugal direction at a predetermined angle from the center of the dish-shaped member 54 is erected on the upper surface of the dish-shaped member 54, and is distributed to each of the first passage outlet 50 and the second passage outlet 52. It should prevent game balls from entering the opposite doorways.

Here, as described above, when the game ball is pushed up by the movable contact member 32, the game ball is determined by the relationship between the position of the movable contact member 32 and the positions of the partitions 56 to 58. It falls to the first exit 50. On the other hand, when the game ball is not pushed up by the movable contact member 32, the game ball exceeds the contact position with the movable contact member 32 together with the first rotating member which rotates clockwise in FIG. To move around. A pedestal 59 and a fixed contact member 60 are provided on the downstream side in the circumferential direction as a structure of the apparatus main body. The game ball rides on the pedestal 59 as it orbits, and subsequently contacts the fixed contact member 60 in a somewhat unstable state, and as a result, falls to the second outlet 52. The game ball that has fallen into the second outlet 52 is guided through a passage (not shown) and discharged to the outside of the device.

Now, below the dish-shaped member 54, as shown in FIG. 5, the second rotating member 6 is arranged, and the game ball that has fallen to the first passage port 50 is delivered. The second rotating member 6 is directly connected to the rotating shaft 62a of the stepping motor 62 attached to the back side of the device, and is rotationally driven clockwise when viewed from the front side. A light shielding plate 64 having a slit 64a is attached to the rotary shaft 62a of the stepping motor 62, and a photo interrupter 66 is disposed at a position where the light path is blocked by the light shielding plate 64. With this, each time the slit 64a of the light shielding plate 64 passes through the position where the photo interrupter 66 is disposed, it is possible to detect that the second rotating member 6 has rotated once.

Then, the second rotating member 6 receives the game ball along with the rotation in either the first concave portion 70 having the partition wall 70a on the rear surface side or the second concave portion 72 having the convex portion 72a on the front surface side. . When the game ball is received in the second recess 72, the game ball is discharged from the opening 74 before being conveyed to the lowest position. On the other hand, when the game ball is received in the first recess 70, the partition 70a transfers the game ball to the lowest position without discharging it from the opening 74 and causes the game ball to fall on the slope 76, thereby causing the game machine to drop. The game ball is discharged to the lower side of the front side of the winning device 1 which can be seen from the user side. By the way, on a pachinko machine, some other winning device is usually arranged below the main winning device 1, and a setting is made such that a ball hitting the other winning device will be a big hit.

According to the winning device 1 configured as described above, whether or not to distribute the game ball to the first outlet 50 is determined by whether or not the movable contact member 32 pushes up the game ball. Therefore, with respect to the first rotating member 4, the structure of the 12 game ball mounting positions can be set to the same structure. Therefore, no matter where the game balls are placed in the 12 game ball mounting positions, there is a possibility that the game balls will always enter the first passageway outlet 50. If the number is one, the expectation for the occurrence will increase and the fun of ball game will increase.

Further, since the first rotating member 4 is driven by the stepping motor 22 and the rotating position is detected by the projecting piece 24 and the photo interrupter 26, the rotating position (rotating angle) of the first rotating member 4 is accurately determined. Then, the movable contact member 32 can be operated. Therefore, by adjusting the number of operations of the movable contact member 32 during the rotation of the first rotating member 4 by the predetermined number of rotations, the probability of entering the first through hole 50 can be easily adjusted and further, the movable contact member 32 can be moved. If the number of times of operation of the contact member 32 is changed during a game according to some condition, a probability variation type winning device can be easily configured, and a game state can be varied. Further, since the operation of the movable contact member 32 can be controlled by accurately grasping the rotational position of the first rotating member 4, it is possible to accurately move the movable contact member 32 into and out of the through hole 30 of the first rotating member 4. You can

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various constituent means of the present invention are conceivable in addition to the above embodiments. For example, in the above-described embodiment, it is assumed that the first and second rotating members 4 and 6 are continuously rotated at a constant speed. However, if the overall speed is constant, the first and second rotating members 4 and 6 are intermittently rotated. The two types of speed may be repeated.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the movable contact member 32 is arranged so as to push up the game ball from below the first rotating member 4, but the game ball on the rotating member is set to the first passage port. If the movable contact member can be made to fall down, the arrangement position and the operation direction of the movable contact member can be arbitrarily changed. However, if the movable contact member is arranged as in the above embodiment, the cluttered movable contact member and its operating mechanism are covered by the rotating member, and the structure of the prize-winning room that the gaming machine user looks at is extremely simple. Since it is realized, there is an advantage that it becomes easier to follow the circular movement of the game ball with eyes.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a winning device as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing only a main part of the winning device.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing only a main part of the winning device as viewed from the right side surface side.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing only a main part of the winning device.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing only another main part of the winning device as seen from the right side surface side.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Winning device, 2 ... Winning chamber, 4 ... 1st rotating member, 6 ... 2nd rotating member, 10 ... 1st taxiway,
12 ... passage sensor, 14 ... second taxiway, 16 ...
..Abutting pieces, 20 ... Gear teeth, 22, 62 ... Stepping motors, 22a, 62a ... Rotating shafts, 23.
..Small-diameter gears, 24 ... Projections, 26, 66 ... Photointerrupters, 30 ... Through holes, 32 ... Movable contact members, 32a ... Tip portions, 34 ... Rails, 36
... Slide members, 38 ... Solenoids, 40 ...
・ Plunger, 42 ... Coil spring, 50 ... First
Passage outlet, 52 ... Second passage outlet, 54 ... Plate-shaped member,
56 to 58 ... Partition wall, 59 ... Pedestal, 60 ... Fixed contact member, 64 ... Light-shielding plate, 64a ... Slit, 70 ... First recess, 72 ... Second Recess, 74
..Openings, 76 ... slopes.

Claims (5)

[Utility model registration claims] 1. A winning device for a ball game machine, wherein a plurality of passages are formed in a prize chamber into which a game ball can enter. In the prize device of a ball game machine, the game ball is rotatably arranged in the prize chamber and has a game ball on an upper surface side. A rotating member that can be mounted and that is rotated by a motor and that rotates the mounted game ball, and a game ball that is provided so as to be retractable at a position where it abuts the game ball mounted on the rotating member. A winning device for a ball game machine, comprising: a movable contact member that, when abutting, causes the game ball to fall from the rotating member to the first passage port. 2. The winning device for a ball game machine according to claim 1, wherein the movable contact member is fixed at a position downstream of the retractable position of the movable contact member at a position where the movable contact member comes into contact with the game ball mounted on the rotary member. A prize winning device for a ball game machine, comprising a fixed contact member for dropping the game ball from the rotating member to the second passage when the game ball contacts the game ball. 3. The winning device of the ball game machine according to claim 1, wherein the rotating member is driven by a stepping motor so as to rotate to a predetermined rotation position at predetermined timing, A winning device for a ball game machine, characterized in that the movable contact member is structured to be driven by a solenoid to move in and out when the rotating member is rotated to a predetermined rotating position. 4. The winning device for a ball game machine according to claim 3, further comprising a position detection sensor capable of detecting a rotational position of the rotating member. 5. The winning device for a ball game machine according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the rotating member is provided with a game ball in each of a plurality of regions equally divided at equal angles around a rotation center. A possible annular body, a through hole penetrating from the upper surface side to the lower surface side is provided at the game ball mounting position in each area, and the movable contact member can move in and out of the through hole from the lower surface side of the through hole. And the first passage is formed in a region surrounded by the annular rotating member, the rotating member rotates, and the through hole has the movable contact member. The movable contact member is driven by a solenoid to push up the game ball mounted on the rotating member and to fall to the first passageway when the ball comes above. A prize winning device for gaming machines.