JP3084560B2 - Measuring device and measuring method of nail spacing for gaming 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 apparatus and a method for measuring an interval of a nail for a game machine for measuring an interval between obstacle nails implanted in a game machine such as a pachinko machine. The present invention relates to a measuring device and a measuring method of a nail interval for a gaming machine capable of outputting effectively.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a nail interval measuring device capable of measuring the interval between obstacle nails implanted on a game board of a game machine such as a pachinko machine, there is one described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 33302/1991. Are known.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus for measuring the distance between nails, it is left to the skill of the measurer to determine whether or not the gauge section to be brought into contact with the nail has reached the optimum position. The data value to be read is that the measurer must visually read the pointer rotating on the circumferential scale plate, it will take a while for the pointer to settle, the reading error will be inevitable, the read data value However, there are still problems to be solved, such as the necessity of manually inputting data again when trying to organize or process the data by a computer or the like. The present invention has been made in order to solve these problems, and a measuring device and a measuring method of a nail spacing for a game machine, in which measurement is reliable, measurement data is output, and post-processing of the data is easy. The purpose is to provide.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an apparatus for measuring a nail interval for a game machine according to the present invention comprises: an obstacle nail measuring means for measuring an inner distance between a pair of obstacle nails; Operation control means for controlling the execution or stop of the measuring operation of the obstacle nail measuring means; and when the operation control signal to execute the measurement is issued from the operation control means, the obstacle nail measuring means is used as an inner distance of the obstacle nail. And a data calculation output means for calculating and outputting the data, calculating and outputting the data, and transferring the data to a computer or the like.

Further, according to the measuring method of the present invention, an obstruction nail measuring means for measuring an inner interval of an obstruction nail, an operation control means for controlling execution or stop of a measuring operation of the obstruction nail measuring means, and an operation control means When the operation control signal to execute the measurement is issued from the above, the obstacle nail measuring means has at least a data calculation output means for measuring the inner interval of the obstacle nail to obtain data and calculating and outputting the data. After measuring the inner clearance of a pair of obstacle nails by a nail spacing measuring device for a gaming machine, the measured value is output as data and transferred to a computer or the like, the data is temporarily stored, and thereafter And that the data is transferred to a computer, etc., that data for each gaming machine is output and transferred to a computer, etc., and that all data for each island of the gaming machine is recorded. And, it has to transfer data to all data collected after collectively output to a computer or the like, in which like including.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 6 show the configuration of a nail gauge machine 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the nail gauge machine 1 has contact gauge portions 2R and 2L provided with nail locking projections 3R and 3L,
Rods 4R, 4L connected to R, 2L;
Measures the distance between nails with obstacles by 4L movement and displays data.
And a measurement control unit 5 that performs data output and the like. The measurement control unit 5 has a measurement operation ON (operation execution),
A switch 6 for turning off (stopping operation), a data display window 9 for numerically displaying the measured nail interval data as digital values,
Operation key 28, power switch 23, all data erase key 3
0 is provided (FIGS. 1 and 2).

Here, a more detailed configuration of the contact gauge portions 2R, 2L and nail locking projections 3R, 3L in the nail gauge machine 1 and the relationship between the nails and obstacles of the game machine will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows the contact gauge section 2 in FIG.
It is the figure which looked at R, 2L and nail locking projections 3R, 3L from the tip side. As shown in the figure, the contact gauge portions 2R, 2R
L is a steel ball (for example, having a diameter of 10.99 to 11.04 mm) having substantially the same shape as a game ball used for a game machine such as a pachinko machine.
Steel ball) is divided into two separate ball sections,
When viewed from behind, an equal maximum thickness B (eg, length
5.495 to 5.52 mm). And two spheres 2
R and 2L are disposed so as to face each other with a predetermined facing gap G therebetween.

The thickest points P1 and P2, which are the points at which the thickness of the two spheres 2R and 2L is maximum (that is, the thickness B).
In FIG. 2, these two spheres 2R and 2L are obstacle nails 40,
The nails 3R and 3L are brought into contact with the points P5 and P6 of the heads of the obstacles 40 and 40, respectively, when they come into contact with the interior points P3 and P4, respectively, which are points of the interior distance of 40. Locking projections 3R and 3L are provided. If the diameter of the obstacle nail 40 is A (for example, 1.85 mm), the inner distance D and the center distance L of the obstacle nails 40 and 40 are respectively expressed by the following equations: D = 2 × B + G (1) L = 2 × B + G + A (2)

In this case, in the example of FIG.
Although the center angle between the points P3 and P5 at 0 and 40 and the center angle between the points P4 and P6 have both been described as being 90 degrees, this is not necessarily required to be 90 degrees. Degrees, 120 degrees or the like. In short, the measurer using the nail gauge machine 1 attaches the nail locking projections 3R, 3R to the pair of obstacle nails 40, 40 to be measured.
When the L is locked (placed), the two thickest points of the two spheres 2R and 2L of the contact gauge part are automatically set to P1 and P2, and The ball segments 2R, 2L and the nail locking projections 3R, 3R are brought into contact with the normal points P3 and P4.
What is necessary is that L is formed.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the measuring mechanism 7, which is a mechanical part of the nail gauge machine 1, the rods 4R, 4L are rotatably supported by rod rotating shafts 12R, 12L, respectively. A spring 8 is provided between the rods 4R and 4L, and the rods 4R and 4L are urged to open outward. Therefore, the two spheres 2R, 2
L follows freely according to the interval between a pair of obstacle nails to be measured. A part of the gear train is formed at the tail of the rods 4R and 4L, and the gear train is formed by a gear 13 such as a spur gear.
Is in mesh with the teeth.

As shown in FIG. 4, the gear 13
The gear 13 is attached to a gear rotation shaft 14, and the gear 13 is rotatably provided. A disk 16 is provided on the gear rotation shaft 14, and a rotary encoder 17 is arranged so as to sandwich the front and back surfaces thereof. The rotary encoder 17 outputs the rotational displacement of the disk 16 as a two-phase pulse signal (digital signal).

Also, ON or OFF from the switch 6
Is transmitted to the measuring mechanism 7 via the release 21. If it is ON, a digital signal indicating the nail interval is sent to the CPU board 24 as described above,
The digital measurement data calculated and output from the board 24 is
It is sent to the liquid crystal display 15 via a lead wire (not shown),
The data is displayed to the measurer through the data display window 9. further,
The digital measurement data calculated and output from the CPU board 24 is processed by the RS232C driver 26,
The data is transferred and output to the outside by the communication connector 29 of the 232C format (FIG. 4).

In the above description, the mechanism for transmitting the ON or OFF operation from the switch 6 is not limited to the release, but may be another mechanism, for example, a mechanical transmission mechanism, an electric switch and an actuator, or the like. Also, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a range switching mechanism 10 is provided, and when the nail interval is normal (for example, the nail interval is about 12 mm),
The urging force of the spring 8 and the above-described facing gap G may be changed depending on the case where the nail interval is wide (for example, the nail interval is about 14 mm).

In the above configuration, the contact gauge section 2
R and 2L correspond to nail contact gauge means, spring 8 corresponds to gauge gap adjusting means, switch 6 corresponds to operation control means, respectively, and disk 16 and rotary encoder 17 constitute gauge gap reading means. And nail contact gauge means,
The gauge gap adjusting means and the gauge interval reading means constitute obstacle measuring means.

Next, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of each of the above-mentioned substrates. As shown in FIG. 6, the nail gauge machine 1 includes a bus for transmitting and receiving data signals and control signals, and external operation keys 28 connected to the bus.
CPU 31 (CeC) that controls the entire information processing and control in accordance with a command from
ROM (Read Only Memory) 34 connected to an ntral Processing Unit (central processing unit) by a bus and storing operation program data and the like of CPU 31
A random access memory (RAM) 33 which is connected to a bus and temporarily stores data being processed by the CPU 31, and an A-phase which is a read digital data signal transmitted from the rotary encoder 17. , B counter for counting the number of clock pulses in the two-phase pulse signal of B phase. CPU
Numeral 31 calculates, from the count signal from the counter 35, the inner distance D and the center L of the nail to be measured as digital values to be measured. The calculated nail interval data is sent to the 8-digit, 2-line liquid crystal display 15 and displayed as a numerical value.

The RS232C driver 26 converts the digital data signals representing the digital values of the above-mentioned inner spacing D and nail center spacing L into serial data as a nail inner spacing data signal and a nail center spacing data signal, respectively. The serial data is output to the outside via the communication connector 29.

Further, an operating power is supplied to each of the above-mentioned boards and the like from a power supply 39 via a power supply connector 18 (FIG. 4). The operation power supply is not limited to the external power supply, and may be a built-in power supply such as a battery or a battery.

Further, in the above, a delay circuit or the like is provided in the substrate, and the contact gauge portions 2R, 2L are once contracted when inserted between the nails, and then contracted once by the elastic restoring force of the spring 8. , 2L follow the inner surface of the nail (for example, 0.5 seconds after the contact of the gauge) without temporarily taking in the data, and the contact gauge units 2R, 2L
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the data is fetched after sufficiently following the inner surface of the nail.

Here, the arithmetic processing in the data processing board 24 will be described. The inner distance D and the center distance L of the nails 40 and 40 are given by the above equations (1) and (2). The values A and B are known values, but the facing gap G changes depending on the distance between the nails. Therefore, by detecting this value G, it is possible to calculate the inner distance D and the center distance L between the obstacle nails 40, 40.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7, the thickest points P1 and P2 of the contact gauge portions 2R and 2L in the case of a certain reference.
7A, there is a linear proportional relationship between the digital reading S of the counter output and the distance D as shown in FIG. In this case, when the value of the read digital data signal is S, the inner spacing D of the game nail is, for example, the following formula: D = Do × S / So (3) or the slope of this straight line Can be calculated by the following equation: D = Do + (S−So) × tan θ (4) The values of So and tan θ in the above equations (3) and (4) may be measured in advance when manufacturing the nail gauge machine 1 and may be written in the ROM 34 or the like, Before measurement, calibration such as setting the reading of the counter to 2B when the sphere sections 2R and 2L are brought into close contact (that is, when G = 0) is performed.
The information may be stored in the RAM 33 or the like for use.

Also, when the relation between the digital reading S of the counter output and the distance D is D = f (S)... (5) as shown in FIG. , The value of D can be calculated by calibration. As described above, the inner distance D of the obstacle nail
Is calculated, the nail center distance L between the obstacle nails can be obtained by the following equation: L = D + A (6)

FIG. 8 shows an example of connection when the nail gauge machine 1 is actually used. As shown in the figure, this nail gauge machine 1 has a power source 3 such as a battery.
If the operation power is obtained from 9 and the measurement operation by the control means is in an execution state, the nail interval is measured by a digital value,
It is connected so as to output the measured digital data and transfer the output to the host computer 50.

As shown in FIG. 2, the nail gauge machine 1 is provided with operation keys 28 for giving a control command to the CPU 31 from outside. The operation of the operation key 28 is converted into an electric signal by the key switch board 22 shown in FIG.

Next, an example of operation of the operation keys 28 and data display on the liquid crystal display 15 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the liquid crystal display 15 is a liquid crystal display capable of displaying eight digits and two lines.

First, the function of the operation key 28 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. Pressing the "next platform" key increments the platform number by one for each key input. The "measurement input" key is a key for inputting a nail interval. This key is used for inputting nail interval data when the nail is not adjusted. After data entry for a certain nail, the next nail number is displayed. By using the arrow keys such as “↓ previous” and “↑ next”, it is possible to input nail interval data of an arbitrary nail number. The “adjustment input” key is a key for inputting data after the nail interval adjustment. Also in this case, after inputting data of a certain nail, the next nail number is displayed. Also, by using arrow keys such as “↓ previous” and “↑ next”, it is possible to input nail interval data of an arbitrary nail number. The "execute" key is an execution key for setting, and is used, for example, for setting a reference gauge, setting new data erasure, and the like.
The arrow keys “←”, “→”, “↓ previous”, “↑ next” are used to select digits and numbers.

Next, FIG. 9A shows the standard display contents of the liquid crystal display 15. In FIG. 9 (A), “serial number”
The pachinko machine number is shown, and “nail number” is the nail number to be measured. A star mark displayed in the adjustment column indicates that nail adjustment has been performed. The "previous data" is the data at the time of the previous measurement, and the previous data is updated to the value of the new data measured this time when the previous data is input using the measurement input key or the adjustment input key. Data figures are 1/10 the value based on 12.00 mm
It is displayed in units of 0 mm, and “000” is displayed when the nail interval is 12.00 mm. The data is displayed in three digits,
At the fourth digit from the right end (blank in the figure), "+" is displayed when the nail interval is wider than 12.00 mm, and "-" is displayed when it is narrow. "New data" is the data measured this time, and this new data is stored in the main unit when the next measurement data is input with the measurement input key or the adjustment input key, or until the new data is deleted. Is done.
Therefore, FIG. 9A shows the data of the nail of the nail number A of the pachinko machine No. 1, the previous nail interval data is 12.55 mm, the nail interval is adjusted thereafter, and the present nail interval is adjusted. The interval data indicates that it is 12.77 mm.

Next, the operation procedure will be described. FIG. 9 (B)
Shows an initial setting mode (setting 1) using the reference gauge when the power is turned on. In this embodiment, it is not possible to shift to the next operation unless this initial setting is performed. In this case, first, a reference gauge (a gauge of 12.00 mm or the like) is set in the above-mentioned contact gauge section, and the initial setting is performed by an execution key.

Next, when the execute key is operated, the process proceeds to setting 2. A display example of setting 2 is shown in FIG. Here, use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the "YES" star or "NO".
By moving it over any of the stars
After selecting "ES" or "NO", press the execution key. "Y
Pressing "ES" deletes the previous "New data" field,
It will be blank. When the selection of “YES” or “NO” is performed, the display shifts to the standard display described above.

When the display shifts to the standard display after erasing the new data, the cursor is displayed at the position of the first digit of the machine number as shown in FIG. 10B. As shown in the figure, the previously input nail data (“077” in FIG. 9A) is displayed as the previous data, and the currently measured data “099” is displayed as the new data this time. . The change of the unit number can be performed by using the arrow keys of “←”, “→”, “↓ previous”, and “↑ next”. In other words, the cursor is moved to each digit position of the machine number using the “←” and “→” keys,
The numbers are changed using the "↓ previous" and "↑ next" keys.

Next, after the setting of the table number is completed, the nail number is similarly set using the arrow keys. Once the nail number is set,
The previously input data of the nail number (“077” in FIG. 10B) is displayed in the previous data column.

After setting the nail number, the data input is performed by using the adjustment input key if the nail has been adjusted after the nail adjustment, or the measurement input if only the measurement has been performed, depending on whether the nail interval has been adjusted between the previous time and the current time. Enter data using the keys. The nail number is incremented by one each time data is input, but the nail number may be changed to an arbitrary nail number using the arrow keys and data input may be performed.

When the measurement on one platform is completed, pressing the "next platform" key increases the platform number by one. Otherwise, to change the machine number, use the arrow keys. After the setting of the table number change, data measurement is repeatedly performed in the order of setting the nail number and inputting the data in the same manner as described above.

If initial setting is required during standard display,
By pressing the "execute" key, the display is changed to "setting 1" and initial setting can be performed. After the initial setting, the display changes to "Setting 2" and "New data deletion YES?" Is displayed. If "NO" is selected by an arrow key and the "Execute" key is pressed, the display returns to the standard display state.

Communication with a management device or the like in the amusement store is performed by RS2.
Communication is performed using a 32C cable in response to a communication request from the management device. In addition, all data is erased by selecting “R
This can be done by pressing the "ST" key 30.

If the display of FIG. 11A is displayed, it indicates that the battery voltage is insufficient.
Indicates the time to replace with a new battery. The display in FIG. 11B indicates that the voltage of the memory battery is insufficient. In this case, since the previous data and the new data may be erased, it is necessary to immediately transfer the data to the management device or the like and temporarily stop using the data.

The nail interval data measured as described above may be sequentially transmitted to a computer or the like, or may be data of one gaming machine or island of one gaming machine in a gaming shop. All the data for each
By storing the data in M33 or the like, the data can be transferred to a computer or the like after collecting all the data.

Next, FIG. 12 shows a configuration of a nail gauge machine 1A according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, this nail gauge machine 1A has a contact gauge portion 2A provided with a nail locking projection 3A, a rod 4A connected to the contact gauge portion 2A, and a nail gap of an obstacle nail due to the movement of the rod 4A. Measurement control unit 5A that measures data and performs data display, data output, etc.
And is provided. The measurement control unit 5A includes a switch 6A for turning ON (executing operation) and OFF (stopping operation) a measurement operation, a data display window 9A for numerically displaying measured nail interval data in digital values, an operation key 28A, and a power switch 23A. , An all data erase key 30A and a numeric keypad 36. The nail engaging projection 3A, the contact gauge portion 2A, and the rod 4A are divided into two parts, left and right, as in the nail gauge machine 1 of FIG. The internal configuration and the like are the same as those of the nail gauge machine 1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the nail spacing measuring device according to the present invention may have a form like a desktop computer.

Although the present invention has been described based on the embodiments shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The above embodiment is an exemplification, and any embodiment having substantially the same configuration as the technical idea described in the claims of the present invention and exerting the same function and effect will be described. Within the technical scope of

For example, in the above embodiment, an example has been described in which a rotary encoder and a pulse counter are used as the gauge interval reading means, but any type of means capable of detecting a distance may be used. Any type, such as electrical, magnetic, optical, and mechanical, can be used. Also, the data output means may be not only a serial data transfer method but also a method of performing data transfer in parallel, and may take any form as long as data is transferred to a computer or the like.

[0040]

As described above, according to the apparatus and method for measuring a nail interval for a gaming machine according to the present invention having the above-described configuration, an obstacle nail measuring means for measuring an inner clearance interval of a pair of obstacle nails. The operation control means for controlling the execution or the stop of the measuring operation of the obstacle nail measuring means makes it possible to reliably and accurately measure necessary data when necessary. Then, when the operation control signal to execute the measurement is issued from the operation control means by the data calculation output means, the obstacle nail measuring means measures the inner interval of the obstacle nail to obtain digital data, and converts the data into digital data. Computed data is output and transferred to a computer, etc., so that compared to conventional analog-type nail spacing measurement devices, measurement data, including the time until the pointers settle down, can be automatically displayed as digital values. In addition, there is an effect that no reading error occurs.
Further, since the read data is directly transferred to a computer or the like, there is no need to manually input the data again to the computer or the like using a numeric keypad, and no error due to manual input occurs, and it is extremely practical at an accurate pachinko game store immediately. It will be of high value.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an entire configuration of a nail gauge machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the configuration of the back of the nail gauge machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view showing a relationship between a configuration of a contact gauge portion and a nail locking projection in the nail gauge machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing an internal configuration of a measurement control unit in the nail gauge machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a detailed configuration of a measuring mechanism in the nail gauge machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a more detailed configuration in each substrate in the nail gauge machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a numerical calculation process in the data processing board shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a connection configuration when using the nail gauge machine of the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram (1) illustrating an example of data display when the nail gauge machine according to the present embodiment is used.

FIG. 10 is a diagram (2) illustrating an example of data display when the nail gauge machine according to the present embodiment is used.

FIG. 11 is a diagram (3) illustrating an example of data display when the nail gauge machine according to the present embodiment is used.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a nail gauge machine according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,1A Nail gauge machine 2R, 2L, 2A Contact gauge part 3R, 3L, 3A Nail locking projection 4R, 4L, 4A Rod 5,5A Measurement control part 6,6A switch 7 Measurement mechanism 8 Spring 9,9A Data display window Reference Signs List 10 Range switching mechanism 12R, 12L Rod rotation shaft 13 Gear 14 Gear rotation shaft 15 Liquid crystal display 16 Disk 17 Rotary encoder 18 Power supply connector 20 Secondary coil 21 Release 22 Key switch board 23, 23A Power switch 24 CPU board 25 I / O board 26 RS232C driver 27 Reset button 28, 28A Operation key 29 Communication connector 30, 30A All data erase key 31 CPU 33 RAM 34 ROM 35 Counter 36 Numeric keypad 39 Power supply 40 Fault nail 50 Host computer

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-4-95704 (JP, A) JP-A-3-141966 (JP, A) JP-A-4-71575 (JP, A) JP-A-53-1979 91834 (JP, A) Hira 3-33302 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A63F 7/02

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An obstacle nail measuring means for measuring an inner distance between a pair of obstacle nails, an operation control means for controlling execution or stop of a measuring operation of the obstacle nail measuring means, and a measurement from the operation control means. A data calculating and outputting means for measuring the inner interval of the obstacle nail to obtain data, calculating and outputting the data, and transferring the data to a computer or the like when the operation control signal to be executed is issued; And a nail spacing measuring device for a game machine, comprising: 2. An obstacle nail measuring means for measuring an inner distance of an obstacle nail, an operation control means for controlling execution or stop of a measuring operation of the obstacle nail measuring means, and an operation control to execute a measurement from the operation control means. When the signal is issued, the obstacle nail measuring means measures the inner distance of the obstacle nail to obtain data, and calculates and outputs the data. A method of measuring a nail spacing for a game machine, wherein, when the inner spacing of a pair of obstacle nails is measured, the measured value is output as data and transferred to a computer or the like. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the data is temporarily stored and then output and transferred to a computer or the like. 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein data for each of the gaming machines is output and transferred to a computer or the like. 5. A nail for a gaming machine according to claim 2, wherein all data for each island of the gaming machine are stored, collectively output after collecting all the data, and transferred to a computer or the like. How to measure the interval.