JP3228999B2 - Gaming ball discharge device 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 a game ball discharging device of a game machine for playing a game using a ball.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a game ball discharge device provided in a game machine using a ball, for example, a pachinko game machine, a member (flow down) for preventing a ball to be discharged from flowing into a discharge passage filled with the ball to be discharged. Blocking member) is provided, the falling-down blocking member is pulled up from the discharge passage to discharge the balls, and the number of balls actually discharged (discharged balls) is converted into a detection signal from a count sensor downstream of the falling-down blocking member. When the number of discharge balls reaches a predetermined value, the flow-down preventing member is again projected into the discharge passage to discharge a predetermined number of balls.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional game ball discharging device, the discharged balls continuously flow down. Therefore, the discharge must be stopped after a predetermined number of flowing downs is actually confirmed. Therefore, control such as timing adjustment is complicated. Further, in order to perform the predetermined number of discharges temporarily and intermittently, the predetermined number of balls to be discharged next are replenished at one time into the empty game ball discharge device which is empty after the current discharge. Therefore, during the replenishment operation, it may collide with the downflow prevention member in the apparatus, and the apparatus may be damaged. Therefore, by using a sprocket or a rotating body in the form of a spiral gear (worm), the rotating body is rotated to receive one ball in the ball receiving groove of the rotating body and flow down (send out) to the downstream side. There has been proposed a game ball discharging device for discharging a predetermined number of balls. Due to its structure, a game ball discharging device using such a rotating body has a structure in which, when a ball is replenished in the gaming machine after the ball is removed from the gaming machine, the most upstream side of the rotating body in the game ball discharging device. The movement (flowing down) of the ball supplied to the gaming machine stops at (the side that receives the ball into the rotating body). In other words, there is a problem that the sphere is not supplied to the most downstream side (the side that separates the sphere from the rotator) of the rotator performing the operation of discharging (falling) the sphere. That is, the discharge of the prize balls by the game ball discharge device immediately after replenishing the balls to the gaming machine after the ball is removed is longer than the discharge time of the prize balls in a normal state (a state in which the balls are arranged on the most downstream side of the rotating body). There was a problem that it would. Also, by rotating the rotating body, the balls are sequentially received from the discharge passage into the ball receiving groove of the rotating body, sent to the delivery side of the rotating body, and from the ball receiving groove at the end of the rotating body at the delivery side, Since the held balls are discharged, if the balls cannot be received in the ball receiving groove, when the discharge of a predetermined number of balls is completed, there is no ball in the ball receiving groove at the end on the sending side of the rotating body. There are cases. Also in this case, there is a problem that the prize ball discharge time becomes longer than usual. When such a problem occurs, the player may feel uncomfortable. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a game ball discharging device of a gaming machine which enables a rotating body to constantly discharge a ball from a constant normal state and discharges a stable ball. .

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, a projection (for example, a screw thread) for sending and discharging a ball in a ball discharge passage (for example, a ball flow path 259a) is provided. 51B), detecting means (for example, 263A, 263B) for detecting the discharge of the sphere by the rotator, and the sphere supplied from the discharge passage to the rotator. A rotating means (for example, a step motor 253) for inflowing and sending the rotating body to the rotating side of the rotating body; and a discharging control means (for example, a stepping motor 253) for driving the rotating means to control the rotating body to discharge a predetermined number of balls. A ball discharge control device 600), wherein the discharge control means causes the rotating body to perform initial rotation in a predetermined initial state related to the inflow state of the ball of the rotating body, A determination is made as to whether or not a transition state has been reached in which the ball can be ejected by the rotating body based on the detection of the output means, and when it is determined that the transition state has been reached, the initial rotation of the rotating body is determined. Is initially stopped, and a dischargeable initial state setting means for setting a dischargeable initial state of the ball by the rotating body is provided. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the gaming ball discharging apparatus for a gaming machine according to the first aspect, the discharge control means includes a notifying means for notifying that the dischargeable initial state setting means is active. It is characterized by: According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the game ball discharging device for a gaming machine according to the first or second aspect, the rotating body having the protrusion is a spiral gear having a spiral ball receiving groove formed on an outer peripheral surface. The spiral gear is characterized in that a ball is engaged with the ball receiving groove (for example, groove 251A) and is sent out.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game ball discharging apparatus for a gaming machine, wherein a predetermined initial condition relating to an inflow state of a ball of a rotating body having a projection for discharging and discharging a ball in a ball discharging passage is provided. In the state, the rotator is initially rotated, and based on the detection of the detection means, it is determined whether or not a transition state has been reached in which the sphere can be discharged by the rotator. Then, as a result of the determination, when it is determined that the transition state has been reached, the dischargeable initial state setting means of the discharge control means causes the initial rotation of the rotating body to be initially stopped, and the dischargeable initial state of the ball is set. Set the state. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the notification means provided in the discharge control means notifies that the dischargeable initial state setting means is active. According to the third aspect of the invention, the rotating body having the protrusion is a spiral gear having a spiral ball receiving groove formed on the outer peripheral surface, and the ball is engaged with the ball receiving groove of the spiral gear. Will be sent out.

[0006]

Embodiment (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a card-type gaming machine 1 to which a game ball discharging device for a gaming machine according to the present invention is applied. In this embodiment, a pachinko gaming machine 10 exemplified as a gaming machine that discharges award balls and a ball rental machine 20 are configured to form a pair,
The ball rental machine 20 has a built-in card reader (not shown). The front panel 21 of the ball lending machine 20 has a card slot 22 corresponding to the card reader, an inserted balance indicator 23 for displaying the balance of the inserted card, and a display that the ball lending machine 20 is in operation. A valid display lamp 24 is provided.

On the other hand, the front panel 1 of the pachinko gaming machine 10
1 is provided on the upper surface of the supply tray 12 attached to the
Are formed. On the operation unit 13, a balance display 13a for displaying the balance of the card inserted into the card insertion / ejection slot 22, a conversion button 13b for giving a command to convert to a loaned ball, and a card ejection (return) are provided. A return button 13c for commanding and a ball lending possible display lamp 13d for displaying that the conversion button 13b is active are provided.

At the right end of the front surface of the panel 11, an overflow lamp 14 for notifying that a prize ball discharged by a prize ball discharge device described later is in an overflow state.
And a ballless lamp 15 for notifying that there is no more prize balls to be discharged. The front panel 11 is formed with an insertion hole (both not shown) into which a ball-pulling operation rod is inserted when clerks at the game store perform ball-pulling processing, and are inserted into the hole. The operation rod is detected by a ball removal sensor (not shown) provided therein.

A metal frame detection switch 104 for detecting the open / closed state of the metal frame 103 is provided inside the front panel 11 corresponding to the free end side of the metal frame 103 provided to be openable and closable with the left end as an axis. Is installed.

On the upper front side of the front panel 11, a prize ball discharge indicator lamp 16a illuminated when a prize ball is discharged, a lending ball discharge indicator lamp 16c illuminated when a lending ball is discharged, and lit when a hit state occurs. A completion lamp 16b is provided.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 17 denotes a receiving tray for storing prize balls overflowing inside when the supply tray 12 is full, and 18 denotes a transparent glass window for each ball supplied from the supply tray 12. It is an operation dial of a hit ball launching device that launches into a game area 19 in the inside. The configuration of the game area is the same as that of the conventional game area, and can have any configuration.

The card-type pachinko gaming system 1 according to this embodiment is configured generally as described above.
When the ball wins a winning section (not shown) of the game area 19,
A prize ball (ball) is discharged by a ball discharge device (described later). In addition, when certain game conditions are established, a special game state (big hit game state) that can give the player a lot of chances of winning prize balls is generated.

On the other hand, when the conversion button 13b is pressed after the card is inserted into the card slot 22 of the ball lending machine 20, a predetermined amount (for example, 300) is set within the range of the amount of money of the card. A command to convert the circle into a lending ball is sent to a ball discharge control device (described later), and the lending ball is discharged to the supply plate 12 by the ball discharging device (described later). The remaining amount of the converted card is, for example, the balance display 13a in a unit of 100 yen.
Is displayed.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the back mechanism of the pachinko gaming machine 10 provided with a ball discharging portion. In FIG. 2, 2
00 is a ball discharge device (ball discharge device) for discharging prize balls and loaned balls, 600 is a ball discharge control device exemplified as a discharge control device, and the game ball discharge device of this embodiment is a ball discharge device 200 and a ball discharge device. It is configured to include the discharge control device 600. The ball discharge control device 600 includes a worm 251
In a predetermined initial state related to the inflow state of the ball (described later) (for example, an initial state in which a discharge ball is refilled into a ball flow path 259a (described later) after the ball is removed), the worm 251 (described later) rotates in the initial motion ( (For example, the first rotation after replenishing the ball) and the ball detecting means 26 exemplified as a detecting means.
A transition state in which the worm 251 (discussed below) can discharge a ball based on the detection of 3A, 263B (discussed below) (a position where the worm 251 can be discharged immediately, for example,
It is determined whether or not the ball is in a standby state at the most downstream position), and when it is determined that the transition state has been reached, the initial rotation of the worm 251 (described later) is stopped,
A dischargeable initial state setting means for setting a dischargeable initial state by the worm 251 (described later), a notifying means for notifying that the dischargeable initial state setting means is active, and the like are provided. The ball discharge control device 600 controls the ball discharge device 200 based on a signal indicating a winning from the accessory control device 700 to discharge a predetermined number of prize balls or lending balls. Reference numeral 811 denotes a storage tank for storing a spare ball before being discharged, and 812, a second ball immediately above the ball discharge device 200 by aligning balls flowing down from the storage tank 811.
Is a first guiding gutter for guiding up to the guiding gutter 840. Although not particularly limited, the first guide gutter 812 is formed with two discharge passages for discharging balls so that a large amount of balls can be supplied in a short time. A ball breaking device (described later) is installed on the upstream side, and a ball jam sensor (described later) is installed on the downstream side.

Below the ball discharge device 200, a discharge gutter 813 having an internal passage for guiding the discharged balls to the outlet 12a of the supply tray 12 on the front of the gaming machine,
An overflow gutter 814 for guiding a ball overflowing from the bottom to the receiving tray 17 is provided continuously. An overflow switch 818 is provided upstream of the overflow gutter 814. Further, a ball drain gutter 815 having an internal passage branched from the middle of the ball drain gutter 813 is provided in parallel with the overflow gutter 814, and a passage switch is provided at a branch portion between the ball drain gutter 815 and the discharge gutter 813. As a device, a ball-pulling solenoid 820
A flow path switching valve 821 operated by the controller is provided. Reference numeral 825 denotes a collecting gutter for winning a prize portion (not shown) provided in the game area 19 on the front of the pachinko gaming machine 10 and gathering winning balls reaching the back side of the pachinko gaming machine 10 at one place. A winning ball separation device for separating the winning balls gathered in the collecting path 828 below the winning balls by 825 and detecting them by a detector (safe sensor) 831;
Reference numeral 700 denotes an accessory control device to which a detection signal or the like from a prize detector (not shown) for detecting a prize ball won in the prize portion of the game area 19 is input. The accessory and various display lamps are actuated based on the received signal.

The accessory control device 700 and the ball discharge control device 600 are connected to each other by a cord composed of three signal lines. Although not particularly limited, in this embodiment, one end of each of the cords 711 and 611 drawn from the accessory control device 700 and the ball discharge control device 600 is connected to the relay board 68.
0, and the accessory control device 7 via the relay board 680.
00 and the ball discharge control device 600 are communicably connected to each other.

The back mechanism is configured as described above, and the discharge of a ball such as a prize ball or a loaned ball is performed by the ball discharge device 200 in accordance with a command from the ball discharge control device 600.
7 is performed.

3 to 9 show one embodiment of the ball discharging device 200. FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view of the ball discharging device 200, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view thereof, and FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway sectional view of the ball discharging device 200 as viewed from a side. As shown in FIG. 4, the ball discharging device 200 includes a main body frame 210, an upper lid case 220, a lower lid case 230, and a flow path forming floor plate 240.
And a discharge control unit 250 for controlling the flow of the ball. Then, the main body frame 210, the upper lid case 22
0, the lower cover case 230 is provided inside the discharge control unit 25.
0, in a state where the flow path forming floor plate 240 is stored, they are fixed to each other by screws (FIG. 3).

As described in detail later, the discharge control unit 250 accommodates one ball in the groove 251A (FIG. 5), and discharges one ball with the rotation of the worm (rotating body). , A spiral gear) 251 and the worm 25
A step motor (rotating means) 253 for rotating 1;
A mounting board 255 on which the motor is installed;
55 is provided with a ball-busting solenoid 280 (FIG. 4).

As shown in FIG. 4, the main body frame 210 has a central recess 210A for accommodating the mounting board 255 on which the control section 250 is installed, and a pair of left and right spherical channel forming recesses 210B and 210C. Is formed. The flow path forming portions 240B and 240C of the flow path forming floor plate 240 attached so as to close the main frame 210 from below.
And the flow channel forming recesses 210B and 210C,
A pair of spherical flow paths (sphere discharge paths) 259a and 259b are formed (see FIG. 7).

The main body frame 210 is provided with a worm mounting opening 216 and a solenoid mounting opening 217 in a central concave portion thereof. 246, a solenoid mounting opening 247 is provided. At the time of assembling the ball discharging device 200, the respective mounting openings 216, 24
6 are superimposed, the mounting openings 217, 247 are superimposed, and the bridge portions 215, 245 formed at the center thereof are superimposed.
The mounting board 255 on which the step motor and the like are installed
The main body mounting projection 255C is fixed with screws or the like.

On the other hand, the worm 251 integrally mounted on the mounting board 255 with the step motor 253 has its rotating shaft 251a rotatably supported by the bearing portion 214 of the main frame and is provided on the upper lid case 220. The retaining projection 221 prevents the bearing 214 from coming off the bearing 214 (FIG. 8). Note that the step motor 253
Since the step motor 2532 is provided below the output shaft side, the ball discharge device 200 can be made compact, and the ball pressure applied to the worm 251 is not applied to the output shaft.

When the mounting board 255 is screwed to the main body frame 210 and the flow path forming floor plate 240, the threads (protrusions) 251B of the worm 251 are formed in the mounting openings 216 of the main body frame. Parts 216a, 216a
(Only one of them is shown in FIG. 4) so as to project (FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 6, a space (groove 251A) as a ball receiving groove between the threads 251B of the worm 251 and the flow passage forming recess 210
B, the outer wall surfaces 213B, 213C of the 210C form a ball storage section in which one ball is stored.

On the other hand, the crushing solenoid 28 housed in the mounting openings 217, 247 which are superimposed during the assembling operation.
0 is the operating rod 281a, 2 as shown in FIG.
81b is the channel forming recesses 210B and 21 of the main body frame 210.
Positioning is performed so as to vibrate the inner wall surfaces 214B and 214C constituting the OC (FIG. 6). In other words, the solenoid 280 is normally (when demagnetized), one of the operating rods (281) is operated by the action of the return spring 282.
a) is in contact with one wall surface (214C), and when the solenoid 280 is excited (ON) in this state, the other operating rod (281b) is moved to the other wall surface (21C).
4B) until it collides. When the solenoid 280 is demagnetized again from this state, the return spring 2
By the action of 82, the operating rod (281a) on the opposite side collides with the other wall surface (214C). Therefore, when the solenoid is repeatedly turned ON / OFF, the wall surface is vibrated by the number of times of ON / OFF, and when the ball is clogged in the two ball channels 259a and 259b of the ball discharging device 200, The clogging of the ball is eliminated.

As shown in FIG. 4, the flow path forming portions 240B and 240C at the left and right ends of the flow path forming floor plate 240 (forming the floor portions of the spherical flow paths 259a and 259b) Sensor mounting openings 241a and 241b and count sensor mounting openings 242a and 242b are formed, and a ball sensor mounting board 243 on which a pair of left and right ball sensors 262A and 262B is installed is attached to the sensor part 262 thereof.
The flow path forming floor plate 240 is further screwed to the main body frame 210 via the flow path forming floor plate 240 so that a and 262b protrude from the openings 241a and 241b, respectively. On the other hand, the count sensor mounting board 244 on which the count sensors (first sphere detecting means) 263A and 263B are installed is attached to the sensor section 26 thereof.
The screws 3a and 263b are screwed to the channel forming floor plate 240 so as to protrude from the openings 242a and 242b, respectively.

The lower lid case 230 is attached to the main body frame 210 from the lower side, and the flow path forming floor plate 24 is provided between the lower lid case 230 and the main body frame 210.
0 is stored. Ball stopper releasing projections 231 and 232 are formed on the upper end and the lower end of the lower lid case 230 to release the ball stop by the member when the opening and closing member (FIGS. 10 and 11) described later is fitted. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the discharge control unit 250 housed in the main body frame 210 includes
Worm 2 protruding into spherical flow paths 259a and 259b (only spherical flow path 259a is shown in FIG. 5)
51 are formed in the spherical flow paths 259a and 259b.
Separate the balls that have flowed into the worm into the worm groove 2
It is designed to be stored in 51A. Then, every time the worm 251 rotates 360 degrees, a total of two balls are discharged from one flow path. In this case, FIG.
Of the thread projecting into the left spherical channel 259a and the thread projecting into the right spherical channel 259b are 180 degrees out of phase with each other.
Each time the ball is rotated by 180 degrees, one ball located at the most downstream point (tip portion 200D) of the flow path is discharged from either the left or right ball flow path (FIG. 6 In the figure, a state is shown in which a sphere exists at the distal end portion 200D of the sphere flow path 259a on the left side).

Further, the count sensor 263A or 26
3B, the lowermost end portion 252 of the thread of the worm 251 (FIGS. 5 and 6) in the spherical flow path is the lowermost end of the sphere stored in the spherical discharge device 200 (the distal end portion 200D of the spherical discharge device). 5 (shown as B1 in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6) is installed at a position where the ball (B1) can be detected and a high-level signal can be output in a state where the flow is prevented. I have.
When the lowermost ball is ejected, the count sensor outputs a low-level signal indicating that the ball does not exist temporarily. When the ball (B1) located at the lowermost position is ejected with the rotation of the worm 251, a ball (B3) instead of the ball (B1) is newly stored in an area (storage portion) partitioned by the worm 251. Three balls are always stored in one storage unit.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the entire discharge control unit 250 showing the side shape of the mounting board on which the heat radiation mechanism is formed, and FIG. 9 is a front view showing the front shape of the mounting board. This mounting board 255 is a concave and convex thin plate formed with a motor mounting concave portion 255A, a solenoid mounting concave portion 255B, and a main body mounting convex portion 255C. The motor mounting concave portion 255A has a motor mounting base 255D as shown in FIG. In the center thereof, a bearing notch 255d of the rotary shaft of the step motor is provided.
And a square flat plate having This base 255D
Is a heat sink (heat radiating portion) 2 which is folded perpendicular to the base.
56A and 256B are integrally formed (FIGS. 6 to 9).

The heat radiating plates 256A and 256B are shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a sphere (see FIG. 6) that is formed so as to face the inner wall surfaces 214B and 214C of the spherical flow paths 259a and 259b via the above-mentioned opening convex part 216a and flows down in the spherical flow paths 259a and 259b. B3, B4). The radiator plates 256A, 25 thus formed
6B, when the discharge operation of the ball is actually started and heat is generated from the motor by the rotation operation of the step motor 253, the heat is transmitted from the mounting base 255D of the mounting board 255 to the heat radiating plates 256A and 256B. The heat will be transmitted to the sphere that comes into contact with it. As described above, the mounting substrate 255 is also provided with a ball-break solenoid 280, and the heat generated from the solenoid during the ball-breaking operation is transmitted to the ball through the radiator plates 256A and 256B of the mounting substrate 255. (B3, B4 in FIG. 6).

As shown in FIG. 10 (the bottom view of the guiding gutter 840), the lower end of the guiding gutter 840 immediately above the ball discharging portion of the pachinko gaming machine 10 in which the ball discharging device 200 is installed is provided. The opening / closing member 842 for opening and closing the lower end openings of the ball downflow passages 841 and 841 is slid in the left and right direction in FIG. It is installed freely.
A fitting recess 844 for receiving the ball stop releasing projection 231 at the upper end of the ball discharging device 200 from the left side in the figure is formed at the center on the downstream side of the guide gutter 840.

On the other hand, at the upper end of the ball discharge gutter 813 just below the portion where the ball discharge device 200 is installed, although not shown, the same as that shown in FIG. The opening and closing member and return spring are installed,
A fitting concave portion similar to that shown in FIG.

The ball discharge device 200, the lower end of the guide gutter 840 and the upper end of the ball discharge gutter 813 are configured as described above, and the ball discharge device 200 serves as a ball discharge portion between the guide gutter 840 and the discharge gutter 813. Upper and lower mounting bases 211k, 211
By being screwed and installed via k (FIG. 3), it operates roughly as follows. That is, the ball discharging device 20 is moved from the ball discharging portion between the guiding gutter 840 and the discharging gutter 813.
0 is removed, the opening / closing member 842 at the lower end of the guide gutter 840 is moved by the return spring 843 to the spherical downflow passage 84.
1, 841 has been returned to the closed state (the state shown in FIG. 10) so that the ball does not spill from the guiding gutter 840. Further, at this time, the opening / closing member (not shown) at the upper end of the ball discharge gutter 813 is in a state where the ball flow-down passage (not shown) inside thereof is closed by the return spring (not shown). Of staff cannot throw a ball into it.

The guide gutter 840 and the discharge gutter 81
When the ball discharge device 200 is set from the left to the ball discharge portion between the ball discharge device 3 and the upper and lower ball stop releasing projections 231 and 232 of the ball discharge device 200, the guide gutter 84
0 is inserted into a fitting concave portion 844 at the lower end of the zero and a fitting concave portion (not shown) at the upper end of the ball discharge gutter 813, and the opening / closing member 842 and the like at the same portion are moved rightward against the force of the return spring 843 and the like. And the ball downflow passage 84 of the guiding gutters 840 and 813
1, 841, etc. are opened (FIG. 11).

In this state, the balls in the storage tank 811 are moved through the guiding gutter 812 and the guiding gutter 840 to the ball discharging device 20.
When the ball flows into the two ball passages 259a and 259b in 0, the ball is stopped by the worm 251 thread. In this stopped state, the step motor 253 is turned on (O) by an initial setting command from the ball discharge control device 600.
N), the worm 251 rotates in the forward direction (in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 7), and the lowermost end portion 252 of the thread shown in FIG. And the ball locked at the end 200D is discharged.

That is, when a ball discharge command is issued from the ball discharge control device 600, the step motor 253 is turned on (O
N), and for one rotation operation (180 degree rotation),
The worm rotates 180 degrees. At this time, the lowermost end portion 252 of the worm discharges the sphere located at the tip end portion 200D of the sphere discharge device (locked at one of the sphere flow paths 259a and 259b) from the sphere flow path.

As described above, the count sensor I (263
A), II (263B) are left and right spherical flow paths 259a, 25
Tip of 9b (tip 200D of ball channel of ball discharge device)
In addition, the worm is installed at a position where the sphere can be detected when the sphere is stored by the tip portion 252 of the worm. Therefore, when spheres are stored at the tip of any one of the sphere flow paths, the count sensors 263A, 263B
Is at a high level and the other is at a low level. The rotation of the worm 251 causes the tip 20
When the ball of 0D is ejected, the count sensor 263A, 26
In 3B, the detection signal of the sensor that has output the high-level signal up to that point changes to low level. At this time, in the other flow path, the rotation of the worm at this time (180-degree rotation)
As a result, the ball reaches the tip portion 200D, and the output signal of the other count sensor that has output the low-level signal up to that time changes to the high level.

In such a ball discharging device 200,
The rotation angle of the step motor is constantly monitored by the ball discharge control device 600, and it is determined that the discharge of the desired number of balls has been completed when the rotation of the angle obtained by multiplying the number of balls to be discharged by 180 degrees is performed. Thus, the rotation of the step motor is stopped.

As will be described later in detail, the clogging of the ball generated in the ball discharging device 200 is detected by ball presence sensors (second ball detecting means) 262A and 262B and a count sensor 263A,
A decision is made based on a detection signal from the ball discharge control device 263B, and when the decision is made, the ball collapse solenoid 280 is turned on (ON) / off (OF) by a command from the ball discharge control device 600.
F), the worm 251 is further controlled in the reverse rotation / forward rotation, etc., so that the ball clogging is eliminated.

FIG. 12 is a vertical sectional rear view of the storage tank 811 and the guide gutter 812. As shown in the figure, a ballless detector 410 is provided on the downstream end wall of the storage tank 811.
Is installed. The ballless detector 410 is provided, for example, with a pin 41 at the opening of the downstream end wall of the storage tank 811.
1 includes a detecting piece 412 suspended and swingable by the sensor 1 and a sensor 413 for detecting a detecting portion 412a of the detecting piece 412. The detecting piece 412 is urged by a return spring (not shown) in a direction in which the detecting portion 412a at the lower end thereof comes off the sensor 413.

The ballless detector 410 is configured as described above. When the ball is filled in the storage tank 811, the detection piece 412 is detected by the ball pressure, and the detection part 412 a at the lower end is detected by the sensor 413. The sensor 413 is turned off by being pushed in the direction of entering, whereby the ball presence state is detected. On the other hand, when the number of the balls in the storage tank 811 is reduced or decreased, the detection piece 412 is detected.
Is returned by the force of the return spring in a direction in which the sensor 413 is removed from the sensor 413, and the sensor 413 is turned on (ON), thereby detecting the absence of a ball. When this ball absence state is detected, a detection signal is sent to a management device (not shown) installed in a pachinko game arcade or the like, and balls are supplied to the storage tank 811 in accordance with a command from the management device.

A ball clogging detector 420 is provided at the bottom of the guiding gutter 812 on the downstream side, and a ball breaking device 430 is provided at the upstream end thereof. More specifically, the clogging detector 420 is, for example, the guiding gutter 8.
A detection piece 422 that is rotatably mounted by a pin 421 in an opening at the bottom on the downstream side of the sensor 12 and a sensor 423 that detects the detection piece 422. The detection piece 422 is provided with a rotation returning force in a direction in which its free end rises by a biasing spring (not shown).

On the other hand, the ball breaking device 430 is provided with the guiding gutter 81.
Worm 431 arranged so that a part thereof protrudes into
And a ball breaking motor 432 for rotating the worm 431
It is composed of

Ball clogging detector 420 and ball breaking device 43
0 is configured as described above, and when the guiding gutter 812 is filled with a sphere and there is a sphere on the detecting piece 422, the detecting piece 422 is weighted by the sphere and the detecting section 422 on the free end side is used.
When the button a is pressed in the direction of entering the sensor 423 and the sensor 423 is turned off (OFF), the ball presence state is detected. On the other hand, when there is no ball on the detection piece 422 due to clogging of the ball at the upstream portion of the guide gutter 812, the detection piece 422
Is returned by the urging force of the urging spring (not shown) in the direction in which its free end rises, and the detecting portion 422a on its free end is detached from the sensor 423 and the sensor 423 is released.
Is turned on (ON), a ballless state is detected. The detection signal is transmitted to the ball discharge control device 60.
0, the motor 432 is operated by the command from the ball discharge control device 600, and the worm 431 rotates. Due to the rotation of the worm 431, the ball on the upstream side of the guide gutter 812 is broken and the ball clogging is released, and when the ball reaches the detecting piece 422, the weight of the ball causes the sensor 42 of the ball clogging detector 420 to detect the ball.
When 3 is turned off (OFF), the ball presence state is detected again. This detection signal is sent to the ball discharge control device 600, and the motor 432 returns to a stopped state in response to a command from the ball discharge control device 600.

FIG. 13 shows a first modification of the ball breaking device described with reference to FIG. The ball breaking device 440 of the first modified example includes a rotating bottom plate 441 installed at the bottom opening of the guide gutter 812, and a driving device 442 for applying a rotating power to the rotating bottom plate 441. I have. More specifically, the rotating bottom plate 441 is installed so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis 441a in a direction in which a free end moves up and down.

On the other hand, the driving device 442 includes a motor 442
a, and a cam 442c attached to a drive shaft 442b of the motor 442a.

The ball clogging detector 420 (FIG. 1)
When the absence of a ball is detected in 2), the motor 442a is operated by a command from the ball discharge control device 600 to rotate the cam 442c clockwise in FIG. 13, and the cam 442c causes the rotation bottom plate 441 to rotate. Is rotated so that a ball collapse on the upstream side of the guide gutter 812 is performed.

FIG. 14 shows a second modification of the ball breaking device. The ball breaking device according to the second modification includes a solenoid 450 installed at an upstream end of a guide gutter 812, and one end of an operating rod 451 of the solenoid 450 faces the guide path 812. When the ball clogging detector 420 (FIG. 12) detects the absence of a ball, the solenoid 450 is turned on (ON) / off (OFF) by a command from the ball discharge control device 600, and its operating rod 451 is operated. By the reciprocating motion of, ball collapse on the upstream side of the guide gutter 812 is performed.

FIG. 15 shows a third modification of the ball breaking device. The ball breaking device 460 according to the third modified example has a guiding gutter 81.
2 is constituted by a spiral body 462 which is driven to rotate by a motor 461 installed on the lower side of the upstream side. Then, when the ball clogging detector 420 (FIG. 12) detects the absence of a ball, the spiral body 462 is rotated in the reverse screw direction so that the ball collapse on the upstream side of the guide gutter 812 is performed.

FIG. 16 shows a fourth modification of the ball breaking device. The ball breaking device of the fourth modified example is a belt conveyor device 48 installed facing the upstream bottom of the guide gutter 812.
0. This belt conveyor device 4
Reference numeral 80 denotes a motor 481 and a running belt 482 that runs by the driving force of the motor 481. The running belt 482 is connected to the motor 48.
A drive pulley 483 attached to one of the drive shafts, a driven pulley 484 spaced apart from the pulley 483 by a predetermined distance, and a guide pulley 48 disposed therebetween.
5,486,487.

The belt conveyor device 480 is configured as described above and includes the ball jam detector 420 (FIG. 1).
At the time of detecting the absence of the ball by 2), the running belt 482 is driven by the motor 481 in the direction of arrow D by the command from the ball discharge control device 600, and the ball collapse on the upstream side of the guide gutter 812 is performed. It has become.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the ball discharge control device 600. This ball discharge control device 600
Comprises a microcomputer 1000, which operates based on a reference time generated by an oscillator 1010. On the input side of the microcomputer 1000, a count sensor I (263A), a count sensor II (263B), and a ball presence sensor I (262) are provided via an input filter 1020.
A), a ball presence sensor II (262B), a ball removal sensor (not shown) for detecting a ball removal operation from the outside, an overflow switch 818, a safe sensor 831, and an accessory from the accessory control device 700. Data signal (for example, a signal indicating a prescribed emission number (described later), etc.), ball rental machine 2
A purchase payout signal from 0 is input from each output unit.

On the other hand, this microcomputer 1000
On the output side, a step motor 253, a ball-pulling solenoid 820, a safe solenoid 833 as a driving source of the winning ball separating device 830, a ball-smashing solenoid 280, a prize-ball discharge display lamp 16a, and an overflow lamp 14 are provided via a driver 1030. Is connected, and the emission number signal processing unit, ball clogging signal processing unit, initial setting signal processing unit, and illegal signal processing of other control units of the gaming machine (such as an accessory control device, a ball rental control device, and a management device). Units are connected to these processing units,
A discharge number signal, a ball clogging signal, an initial setting signal, and a fraudulent signal are output, respectively. While receiving these signals, the number-of-emissions signal processing unit, the clogging signal processing unit, the initial setting signal processing unit, and the illegal signal processing unit turn on various lamps and generate sound effects from speakers (not shown). It is made to let. The microcomputer 1000, the input filter 1020, and the driver 1030 are supplied with a drive voltage from a power supply unit 1040.

This microcomputer 1000 is based on a winning ball signal from the accessory control device 700, a signal indicating a prize mode (winning data), a ball lending signal from the ball lending machine 20, or the like, according to a control program described later. The number of balls to be ejected is calculated, and the step motor 253 is rotated by an angle corresponding to the calculated value. Further, the microcomputer is equipped with a count sensor I, II (263A, 263B)
Based on the detection signals from the ball sensors I and II (262A, 262B) and the state of the balls stored in the ball discharge device 200 (whether or not clogging occurs in the ball discharge device, replenishment of the balls) Is completed), and it is determined whether or not to start discharging the ball based on the result, and then the ball is discharged.

When the rotation of the stepping motor 253 is controlled based on the purchase payout signal and the data signal including the prize from the accessory control device 700 and the ball is discharged, the number of discharged balls becomes , The step motor 25
3 is detected by monitoring the rotation angle, the desired number of balls according to the detected rotation angle of the step motor is:
The count sensor I, II (26
3A, 263B), the microcomputer 1000 makes the determination.

Further, the ball presence sensors I and II (262A, 26)
If both the count sensors I and II detect the absence of a ball when the presence of a ball is detected according to 2B), it is determined that the clogging of the ball before the start of the ball discharge operation has occurred in the ball discharge device 200. Then, the ball collapse solenoid 280 is turned on (O
N). The ball is broken in the ball channels 259a and 259b of the ball discharging device 200 by being operated off (OFF). Further, at this time, the reverse rotation / forward rotation operation of the step motor is repeatedly performed. And then count sensors I and II
When the ball presence state is detected by one of (263A, 263B), these ball breaking controls are completed.

Further, the microcomputer 1000 includes:
When a ball discharging operation is started by a prize ball discharging process (FIG. 22) described later or the like, the ball discharging device 2 is set prior to this.
00 is detected based on the input signals from the ball sensors I and II and the count sensors I and II, and the ball is not immediately discharged (the upstream side of the ball discharge device and its tip 200D). No sphere in the first; first state)
When, the worm is preliminarily rotated by a predetermined angle (180 degrees) prior to the ball discharging operation (the discharging operation by the rotation of the worm). The preliminary rotation at the predetermined angle is performed until the ball can be discharged (a state in which the ball is present at the tip end portion 200D of the ball discharge device; a second state).

When there is an overflow signal from the overflow switch 818, the overflow lamp 14 is turned on. When activated, the ball breaking operation in the guide gutter 812 is performed.

FIG. 18 shows the microcomputer 1
000 shows the procedure of the main control process of the ball discharge performed by 000. When the main control process is started, first, in step S2, it is determined whether or not the current loop is a loop immediately after power-on, and the first loop immediately after power-on (in this case, the result of the determination in step S2 is Only for “Yes”), in step S4, initialization (for example, processing for setting task 1) is performed, the present loop ends, and the flow proceeds to the next loop.
On the other hand, otherwise, the process proceeds to step S6, where a task control process for determining which of the tasks 1 to 7 is to be executed in the current loop is performed. That is, in the task control process, the communication process (task 1) in step S10 is performed depending on which of “task 1 to task 7” set by each control program described later is set.
Is set), the prize ball discharging process in step S12 (when task 2 is set), and step S12.
14, safe ball processing (when task 3 is set), ball clogging processing in step S16 (when task 4 is set), ball emptying processing in step S18 (when task 5 is set), Step motor positioning processing in step S20 (when task 6 is set), and purchase payout processing in step S22 (task 7)
(When is set)). Based on this processing result, after step S6, one of the task processes of steps S10 to S22 is actually performed, and when these processes are completed, the process proceeds to the next loop and the process is performed again from step S2. It has become.

FIG. 19 shows the microcomputer 1
000 shows the control processing procedure of the interrupt processing performed by the 000. This interrupt processing is performed based on the interrupt signal during the main processing (FIG. 18). When this processing is started, steps S30, S32, S34, S3
6, ie, the input process to the input filter 1020 (FIG. 17), the input process from the driver 1030, the timer process, and the monitoring process are performed. In the above input processing, when the input signal from the ball-pulling sensor, which is input during execution of the ball-pulling operation, becomes high level, the microcomputer 1
000 sets task 5 in the above-described task control processing (step S6 in FIG. 18) based on the high-level signal from the ball removal sensor.

FIG. 20 shows the procedure of the monitoring process (subroutine process) performed in step S36 of the interrupt process (FIG. 19). This monitoring process is a process for detecting the storage state of the spheres in the sphere channels 259a and 259b of the sphere discharge device 200 and the discharge control unit 250, and storing that fact. When the balls are stored at the lowermost end 252 (FIG. 5) of the worm of the ball discharge device 200 and the balls are supplied to the upstream side of the control unit 250 (in a normal state), the balls are completely contained in the ball discharge device 200. There is no ball, a ball is present at the tip 200D of the ball discharge device 200, but no ball is supplied upstream of the control unit 250. Although there is a supplied ball upstream of the discharge control unit 250, And a state in which no ball is present at the tip 200D of the ball discharge device. This monitoring processing is performed by the ball discharging device 200.
Is a process for determining which of the above conditions is present. When this process is started, first, in step S
At 40, it is determined whether or not both of the ball presence sensors I (262A) and II (262B) have detected a ball presence state, that is, whether or not a ball is being supplied upstream of the control unit 250 of the ball discharge device 200. Is done.

If the result of this determination is "Yes", it is further determined in step S42 whether one of the count sensors I and II has detected a ball, while if "No", the flow proceeds to step S44. Similarly, it is determined whether one of the count sensors I and II detects a sphere. When the determination results of the steps S40 and S42 are both "Yes", the ball discharging device 200
Is determined to be in the above state (in a normal state), the process proceeds to step S46, the flag A is set, the other flags B and C are cleared, and the present routine ends. When the flag A is set as described above, a substantial prize ball discharging operation (the operation after step S84 in FIG. 22) is immediately started when the prize ball discharging process (task 2) on the main routine described later is executed. Become like

On the other hand, step S40 and step S40
If both of the determination results of No. 44 are “No”, it is determined that the ball discharging device 200 is in the above state, and step S48 is performed.
It is determined whether communication processing has been performed on the main routine immediately before the start of the interrupt processing (whether or not the task 1 has been set). The result of this determination is “Yes”
In this case (when the main routine is in the process of the task 1 (communication processing)), the flag C is set, the other flags A and B are cleared (step S50), and this routine ends. By setting the flag C in this manner, the later-described initial positioning process (task 6) is preferentially executed on the main routine side (performed in the later-described communication process). That is, the ball discharging device 200
If there is no sphere in the sphere (both the sphere presence sensors I and II and the count sensors I and II have not detected a sphere) and the communication process described below has not yet started, the flag C is set. Thus, when the communication processing is started, the task 6 is set and the initial positioning processing is executed. In this initial positioning process, as will be described in detail later, the worm is repeatedly rotated by 180 degrees repeatedly until one of the count sensors I and II detects a ball.
Assuming that the positioning is completed when the count sensor detects the ball, a ball discharging operation such as a prize ball discharging process described later is permitted. If the result of the determination in step S48 is negative "No", this routine ends without changing the flag values (flag A, flag B, and flag C) set at that time.

The result of the determination in step S40 is "No"
When the result of the determination in step S44 is "Yes", it is determined that the state of the stored ball in the ball discharging device 200 is as described above, and the process proceeds to step S52, where all the flags (flag A, flag B, The flag C) is cleared, and this routine ends. That is, the state of (1) is a case where all the balls in the ball discharging device 200 have been discharged as a result of the normal discharging operation by the ball discharging device. Therefore, in this state, replenishment is simply not performed. No abnormality such as clogging has occurred, and no special flag is set. still,
Since the flag A is cleared, the ball discharge operation in the prize ball discharge device (FIG. 22) described later is temporarily performed (the supply of the prize ball to the ball discharge device is completed and the input from the ball presence sensors I and II is performed). (Until the signal goes high).

On the other hand, when the result of the determination in step S40 is "Yes" and the result of the determination in step S42 is "No", that is, a ball exists at the mounting position of the ball presence sensors I and II (supply is being performed). However, if there is no ball at the tip 200D of the ball discharging device 200 (state), the flag B
Is set, the other flags (flag B, flag C) are cleared (step S54), and the routine ends. When the flag B is set in this manner, when the prize ball discharge control processing (task 2) is being executed on the main routine side, the processing on the main routine side temporarily changes from the prize ball discharge control processing to the ball collapse processing (task 2). Moving to task 4), the clogged ball condition is eliminated.

Next, the communication processing (task 1) performed in step S10 of the main routine (FIG. 18) will be described with reference to FIG.
1 will be described. This communication process is based on the data signal of the prescribed number of discharges (for example, 7 discharges and 15 discharges) and the prize mode (for example, "big hit game state" and "normal game state") from the accessory control device 700 and the ball rental machine 20. Another)
This is a process of reading a data signal or the like indicating the above.

The communication process includes a loop following the initialization of the main routine (step S4 in FIG. 18), a step motor positioning process (task 6), a ball removal process (task 5), and a safe ball process (task 5). This is executed in the next loop in which task 3) has been completed (task 1 is set at this time), and specifically, an accessory data signal (indicating prize mode data) sent from the accessory controller 700. ), And the number of purchase / payout data sent from the ball lending machine 20. The discharge is indicated by the accessory data signal (prize ball signal, prize mode signal) from the accessory controller. The number of balls to be converted is converted into the rotation angle of the step motor, and the data is stored. When the prize balls are not discharged, the purchase discharge processing (task 7) is executed in the next and subsequent loops on condition that the purchase payout signal is received.

When the present routine is started, first, in step S60, "7 discharge processing" from the accessory control device 700.
Alternatively, it is determined whether or not a data signal indicating “15 ejection processing” or the like (the number of balls to be ejected is determined based on these signals) is sent from the accessory control device 700 side.
When the determination result of step S60 is "No", that is, when new prize ball discharge data is not sent from the accessory control device 700, the process proceeds to step S62, and the 180-degree rotation of the step motor is set to one unit. It is determined whether the number N of times of rotation is a value other than “0”.

By the way, the prize ball discharge control (task 2) in this embodiment is, as described later, once the control is started, until all the balls to be discharged are discharged unless an abnormality occurs. It is to be continued. Therefore, during the normal operation (normal operation) of the ball discharging device 200, the number of rotations N is "0" at the start of the communication process. When the ball is clogged, the ejection process is temporarily interrupted, and the value becomes other than “0” only when the present communication process (task 1) is executed. Therefore, the determination result of step S62 is "Ye
In the case of s ", the process proceeds to step S78 so that task 2 is set, task 1 is cleared, and the present routine is ended so that the ball discharge process once interrupted in the next loop is restarted.

On the other hand, if the decision result in the step S62 is "No", that is, if there is no prize ball to be ejected at this time (N = 0), the process proceeds to a step S64, and is the flag C set? It is determined whether or not it is. When this determination result is “Yes”, that is, as a result of executing the above-described monitoring processing, no sphere is stored on the upstream side of the sphere discharging device 200 and the tip end portion 200, and at that time, If the communication processing (task 1) has been started, task 6 is set in step S79 (task 1 is cleared), and this routine ends. Thus, in the next loop, the initial positioning process (FIG. 26) of the step motor for converting the ball discharge device 200 to a state in which the ball can be discharged (for example, the state shown in FIG. 6) is started.

If the result of the determination in step S64 is "N
o ", that is, when the ball discharge device 200 is not in the above-described state, the process proceeds to step S66, and it is determined whether or not a purchase payout signal is input from the ball rental machine 20. The result of this determination is" Yes " Sometimes, the task 7 is executed in step S68 so that the purchase payout process (step S22 in FIG. 18) based on the purchase payout signal is performed in the next loop.
Is set, task 1 is cleared, and this routine ends. On the other hand, if the purchase payout signal has not been input, step S68 is skipped, and the routine ends.

On the other hand, at the start of the communication process, the prize ball data signal (the signal is “seven discharges”,
When “15 ejection”, “big hit game state”, or “normal game state” is input (the determination result of step S60 is “Yes”), the microcomputer 1000 outputs the signal. The represented value is read a plurality of times (n times) as prize ball data (step S70). Next, it is determined whether or not all the data values read a plurality of times (n times) match (step S72). If the determination result is “No”, it is determined that the award ball data has not been correctly read. Then, the award ball data is read again in step S70. On the other hand, when the determination result of step S72 is "Yes", the read winning ball data is converted into the number N of rotations of the step motor, and the value is stored (step S74). By the way, step motor 2
In this embodiment, 53 is 1 for every 180 degree rotation as described above.
Since each ball is ejected, the motor is rotated by 180 degrees for each piece of prize ball data, and the number of rotations N is determined as one unit.

When the number of rotations N is calculated and stored in step S74 based on the award ball data, it is further determined in step S76 whether or not the flag C is set.
When the determination result is “Yes”, that is, when the ball discharging device 2
When 00 is in the above-mentioned state (the state where there is no ball at the tip end portion 200D of the ball discharge device and there is no ball upstream thereof), the step motor initial positioning process (FIG. 26) is performed at the next execution of the main routine. Then, the process proceeds to step S79 described above. On the other hand, when the determination result is “No” (when the status is “,”), the process proceeds to step S78, where task 2 is set (task 1 is cleared), this routine ends, and the ball discharging process is performed in the next loop. (FIG. 22)
Is done.

Next, the ball discharging process executed when the task 2 is set will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. This ball discharge processing is performed when a ball is clogged during the ball discharge processing when it is determined that there is prize ball data by the communication processing (task 1), or after a predetermined number of ball collapses (balls to be described later). This is a process started when the breaking process (see FIG. 24) is performed (task 2 is set at this time). In this process, when a predetermined number of prize balls are discharged, the prize ball discharged first and the prize ball discharged last in the process are discharged at a low speed. The reason why the first one is discharged at a low speed in this way is to prevent the step-out of the motor, to prevent the stepping motor from rotating rapidly at a high speed, and to surely discharge the first one. In addition, the reason why the last one of the ejected prize balls is ejected at a low speed is that when the step motor that has been rotating at a high speed is suddenly stopped, the stop position is changed to a desired position (the next position). (A position where the ball is locked at the distal end portion 200D). In this ball discharge processing, the discharge speed of the first one prize ball is further increased in two steps according to whether or not the discharge of the prize ball is the first prize ball discharge after the ball clogging processing. To discharge it. As for the prize ball discharge other than the first and last prize balls to be discharged, a two-step discharge speed is further selected depending on whether or not the "big hit game state".

When this routine is started, first, it is determined in a step S80 whether or not the flag A is set. The determination result is “No”, that is, the ball discharging device 200
However, when the above state (1) is not satisfied (other than the normal state), the process further proceeds to step S82, and it is determined whether or not the flag B is set. When the result of this determination is "Yes", it is determined that the ball discharge device 200 is in the state (ball clogged state), and the process skips to step S148, sets a re-discharge flag described later, and stops the step motor. ,
In the next step S150, task 4 is set to execute the ball breaking process in the next loop, task 2 is cleared, and this routine ends.

On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S82 is "No", the ball discharging device 200 determines that the above state or the state described above has been reached, and returns to step S80 again, where one of steps S80 and S82 is performed. Steps S80 and S82 are repeatedly executed until the result of the determination turns to "Yes". During this time, when the balls are replenished into the ball discharging device 200, the balls presence sensors I and II detect this, and the flag B is set at the time of executing the above-described interrupt processing. The determination result in S82 changes to "Yes", and the flow advances to step S148. As described above, when the ball discharge device 200 is in the state at the start of the present routine, first, the ball breaking process (FIG. 24)
Is performed, and then the present process is executed.

The state of the ball discharge device 200 (normal state)
And the determination result in step S80 is “Yes”
In step S84, it is determined based on the data signal from the accessory control device 700 whether or not the discharge of the ball is for discharging the prize ball in the big hit game state. When the determination result is “Yes”, high-speed data (motor speed) is used as normal discharge speed control data of the step motor in order to increase the discharge speed (normal discharge speed) of prize balls other than the first prize ball and the last prize ball. Data 1) is set (step S86). On the other hand, when the determination result is "No", that is, when the discharging control of the prize ball in the normal game state other than the "big hit" is performed, the low speed data (motor Speed data 2) is set (step S8)
8), proceed to the next step S90. In this way, by increasing the discharge speed of the prize balls in the jackpot game state where many prize balls are discharged and discharging the prize balls at a low speed in the normal game state, the interest of the game is enhanced. In particular, after a predetermined number of prize balls have been discharged for one safe ball (winning ball),
In a gaming machine of a type in which the safe ball is released from the back mechanism panel, the processing speed of the prize ball discharge in the jackpot game state in which a large number of safe balls (prize balls) are generated is increased. Many will not remain in the mechanism panel.

In the next step S90, the prize ball lamp is turned on (ON) in order to notify the players that the prize ball discharge processing is being executed, and then in step S92, the prize ball is re-discharged. It is determined whether the flag is set. The re-discharge flag is set in the above-described step S148 performed when the ball discharge device is in the state of 〜, and when the first prize ball is discharged after the ball clogging process is completed (described later). In step S99). Therefore, when the determination result is “Yes”, the current loop determines that the prize ball is to be discharged immediately after the ball clogging process described later is completed due to the occurrence of the ball clogging or the ball shortage, and in step S94. The low speed ejection speed of the stepping motor for ejecting the first one is further reduced (motor delay speed data 1 is set) to ensure that the first prize ball is ejected. On the other hand, if the result of the determination is "No", "motor delay data 2", which is a relatively high low speed ejection speed, is set, the step motor is rotated, and the first prize ball is ejected.

In the next step S98, the count sensor
It is determined whether one of the input signals I or II has fallen. As described above, the count sensors I and II
Outputs a high-level signal when a sphere is present in the detection unit (tip portion 200D of the sphere discharge device). Therefore, when the input signal from the count sensor I or II falls in this loop, the ball discharging device 2
From 00, it is determined that one ball has been discharged, and if the re-discharge flag is set at this time, it is cleared (step S99). It is determined whether or not the rotation has been completed (whether the rotation has been performed by 180 degrees), and the determination result turns to “Yes”.

On the other hand, if the decision result in the step S98 is "No", that is, the above-mentioned step S94 or step S9
If the ball has not yet been ejected even by the rotation of the step motor in step 6, it is determined in step S102 whether or not one rotation (180 degree rotation) of the step motor has been completed. When the result is “No”, the 180 degree rotation of the step motor has not yet been completed, so in the next step S104, the step motor is set to “motor It is determined based on which of the "delay speed data 1" and the "motor delay speed data 2". When the determination result is “No”, that is, when the step motor has been rotated based on “motor delay speed data 2”, the process proceeds to step S96, and the rotation proceeds with the “motor delay speed data 2”. Is continued and “Ye
In the case of s ", the process proceeds to step S94, and the step motor is continuously rotated at" motor delay speed data 1 ".

Thereafter, during normal operation until the 180-degree rotation is completed, the prize ball is ejected and step S
Since the determination result of step 98 turns to “Yes”, step S
The processing after 99 is performed. On the other hand, step S10
When the determination result of No. 2 is “Yes”, that is, when the ball is not discharged despite the completion of the rotation of 180 degrees, it is determined that the ball discharging device 200 is in the above-described state, and the ball discharging device 200 is in the above state. Proceeding to step S148, the re-discharge flag is set (and the motor is stopped), and task 4 is set (task 2 is cleared) in step S150. Thereby, control (ball clogging processing) according to the state is started in the next loop.

As described above, one prize ball is discharged after the start of this routine by a series of processing from the start of this routine until the determination result of step S100 becomes "Yes". , Performed in accordance with either of the two low-speed ejection speeds, ie, “motor delay speed data 1” or “motor delay speed data 2”.

In the processing after step S106 which is performed when the discharge of the first piece is completed, first, in step S1
In step 06 and step S108, whether or not the number of prize balls to be ejected (corresponding to the number N of rotations of the step motor in the current loop) stored at the start of the routine is "1" and "2". Is determined respectively. When the number of balls to be ejected at the start of the current loop is “1” (for example, when the number of ejected prize balls is one), (Step S10
6 is "Yes") Since one discharge has already been completed at this time by the execution of steps S80 to S100 in the current loop, the process proceeds to step S142.
The step motor is stopped, and the prize ball lamp turned on in step S90 is turned off (OFF).
Proceeding to 144, task 3 is set (task 2 is cleared) in the next loop so that safe ball processing (task 3) for releasing the safe ball corresponding to the current prize ball discharge is executed, and End the routine.

On the other hand, when the result of the determination in step S108 is "Yes" (when the number of prize balls to be discharged at the start of this routine is "2"), another prize ball (finally, Step S to discharge the prize ball to be discharged).
The processing after 132 is executed. As described above, in the present routine, the stepping motor is reliably positioned when the ejection is completed by setting the ejection speed of the last prize ball ejected in the routine to be slower than the ejection speed of the other prize balls. Like that. Therefore, when the number of prize balls to be discharged at the start of this routine (corresponding to the number of rotations N stored at the start of this routine) is "2", the discharge of the second prize ball is performed at a low speed by the following steps. It is performed at the speed (rotation of the motor based on “motor delay speed data 2”).

First, in step S132, whether or not a ball to be ejected is present at the tip 200D of the ball ejection device 200 is determined according to whether or not the count sensor I or II detects the ball. When the result of this determination is “No”, that is, when there is no ball at the tip 200D,
The number of rotations N is increased by "1" (step S11).
2) After that, the step motor is idled (rotated 180 degrees) for the increased amount (step S114), and the process proceeds to step S122.

The result of the determination in step S132 is "Ye
s "(when a ball is present at the distal end portion 200D and is in a dischargeable state), the process proceeds to step S134.
The step motor is rotated based on the “motor delay speed data 2” described above. In the next step S136, it is determined whether or not a prize ball has been ejected by this rotation (count sensor I
Or if the input signal from II has fallen), and if the signal has been discharged ("Yes"), step S1
At 38, it is determined whether or not the step motor has rotated 180 degrees. After the determination turns to "Yes", steps S142 and S144 are executed, and the routine ends. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S136 is "N
If o "(discharge has not been performed yet), it is further determined in step S140 whether or not the step motor has rotated 180 degrees. If not, the process returns to steps S134 and S136 again. If the process is continued and the discharge is not performed despite the rotation of 180 degrees (when “Yes” in step S140), it is determined that the ball is clogged, and the process proceeds to step S146.
To update the data of the number of rotations N (calculate and store the number of balls to be discharged at this time based on the rotation angle of the already rotated motor, etc.), and re-discharge in step S148 A flag is set (the flag is a flag for storing that the routine was interrupted before the discharge of the number of balls to be discharged is still completed), and the rotation of the step motor is stopped. Then, task 4 is set (task 2 is cleared), the ball breaking process (task 4) is executed in the next loop, and this routine ends.

If the determination results in steps S106 and S108 are both "No", that is, if the number of winning balls to be ejected at the start of the current loop (number of rotations N) is a value larger than "2", Proceeding to S110, it is determined whether or not a ball is present at the tip 200D of the ball discharging device 200 and the ball is in a dischargeable state (whether or not the input signal from the count sensor I or II is at a high level). ). When the result of this determination is “No”, the aforementioned step S11
In step S2, the number of rotations is increased by "1", and in step S114, the step motor is idled by the increased amount (180 degree rotation), and then the process proceeds to step S122 and subsequent steps. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S110 is "Yes", the step motor is rotated at a speed corresponding to the game state (the speed set in any of the above-described steps S86 and S88) in order to discharge the prize ball. (Step S11
6).

Next, in step S118, it is determined whether or not a prize ball has been actually ejected (count sensor
Whether the input signals from I and II have fallen), and if the determination result is “Yes”, the step motor
After the rotation is completed (after the determination result of step S120 changes to "Yes"), the process proceeds to step S122. On the other hand, the determination result of step S118 is “No”
In this case, the processes of steps S116 and S118 are repeatedly executed until the step motor rotates 180 degrees (until step S128 turns to "Yes").
If the ball has not been ejected despite being rotated by degrees (when the determination in step S118 is “No” and the determination in step S128 is “Yes”), the processing proceeds to the above-described processing in step S146 and subsequent steps. The control according to the occurrence of clogging is executed.

The award ball is discharged by executing step S116, and the result of the determination in step S120 is "Y".
es ", the process proceeds to step S122,
Whether the number of rotations (corresponding to the discharge of prize balls at the normal discharge speed) by executing the processing in steps S100 and S116 to S1126 is a value smaller by "2" than the set value (number of rotations N) at the start of the routine. No, that is, it is determined whether or not the number of balls to be ejected is one remaining in the routine. While the determination result is “No”, the process proceeds to step S124, where it is determined whether or not the overflow switch is on. If not, the overflow lamp is kept off (step S126). Returning to step S110 to perform the next discharging operation, steps S110 and S110 are repeated until the determination result of step S122 changes to “Yes”.
Steps S116 to S126 are repeatedly executed (the prize ball discharge performed at this time is performed at one of two normal discharge speeds (a speed based on “motor speed data 1” or “motor speed data 2”)). .

If an overflow occurs during this discharge operation and the result of the determination in step S124 becomes "Yes", the overflow lamp is turned on (ON) in step S130, and step S1 is performed again.
A determination at 24 is made. That is, while the overflow state is continued, only steps S124 and S130 are repeated, and the overflow state is achieved by, for example, transferring the ejected prize balls from the saucer 17 (FIG. 1) to the "ball box". When it is released, the result of the determination in step S124 is again "N
Then, the discharge of the prize ball is restarted.

The discharge control (discharge at the normal discharge speed) of the prize balls other than the first one and the last one is completed.
When the number of balls to be ejected becomes one, the determination result of step S122 changes to "Yes" and step S1 is performed.
The process after 32 is started. In step S132,
As described above, whether or not the ball discharge device 200 is capable of discharging a ball (whether or not there is a ball at the tip 200D) is determined by:
The determination is made based on the input signals from the count sensors I and II. If the determination result is "No", the idling control in steps S112 and S114 is executed, and the processing is performed again from step S122.

On the other hand, if the decision result in the step S132 is "Yes", the process proceeds to the step S134, in which the step motor is rotated according to the "motor delay speed data 2", and the last one is actually discharged. It is determined whether or not the sheet has been ejected (step S136). If the sheet has been ejected, the process waits until the 180-degree rotation of the step motor is completed (step S138 returns “Y”).
es "), steps S142 and S14
Execute Step 4. That is, it is determined that the discharge of the number N of prize balls stored at the start of the prize ball discharge processing is all completed, and the task 3 is set so that the safe ball processing (task 3) is started in the next loop. I do.

If the step motor has been rotated by 180 degrees before the last prize ball to be discharged is discharged ("Yes" in step S140), it is determined that the ball is clogged. The processing after step S146 described above is performed so that the ball breaking process (task 4) described later is executed in the next loop. (At this time, "1" is stored as the number-of-rotations data in step S146.)

If the ball is clogged during the prize ball discharging process and the routine is interrupted and the ball breaking process is performed, as described above, the rotation of the step motor at that time is performed. Based on the angle, the number of prize balls to be discharged in the next prize ball discharge process (discharge process when restarted) (the number of rotations N) is calculated and stored. As will be described in detail later, the ball breaking process At the end, the award ball discharge processing (task 2) is restarted based on the stored data.

Next, the safe ball processing (task 3) performed in step S14 of the main routine (FIG. 18) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This safe ball processing is performed when task 3 is set, that is,
This is performed when the discharge of a predetermined number (7 or 15) of prize balls corresponding to one safe ball (winning ball) is completed (when step S144 of task 2 is executed). When this routine is started, first, the safe sensor 83
It is determined whether or not 1 (FIG. 2) detects a safe ball, that is, whether or not the input signal from the safe sensor is at a high level (step S160). In the present embodiment, the corresponding safe balls are collected only after the predetermined number of prize balls have been discharged, so if no safe balls exist at the start of this routine (the determination result is “ No "), it is determined that some kind of fraud has occurred, and the process proceeds to step S162, where the discharge device 600 sends a fraud signal to a fraud signal processing unit (not shown) on the management device side.
The occurrence of fraud is reported.

On the other hand, if the decision result in the step S160 is "Yes", the safe solenoid 833 is excited (ON) in a step S164, and then it is determined whether or not the safe sensor detects a safe ball. (Step S166). If the result of this determination is "No", that is, if the safe ball has not been recovered yet despite the safe solenoid being excited, it is determined in step S168 whether a predetermined time (for example, 200 msec) has elapsed after the solenoid was excited. Is done. Until the predetermined time elapses (the determination result is “No”), steps S164 to S164 are performed.
If S168 is repeatedly executed and the safe ball is collected during that time (when the determination result of step S166 turns to "No"), the process proceeds to step S170, and the above-described communication processing (FIG. 21) is performed in the next loop. ) Is performed (task 3 is cleared), and then a discharge number signal indicating that the discharge of a predetermined number of prize balls to one safe ball and the collection of the safe balls is completed is transmitted to the management device. Then (step S172), this routine ends. on the other hand,
When the determination result of step S168 is "Yes",
That is, after the safe solenoid is excited, a predetermined time (2
If the safe ball has not been collected even after the elapse of 00 msec), it is determined that some kind of fraud has been performed, and the process proceeds to the above-described step S162 to transmit a fraudulent signal to the management device to perform fraudulent processing. Has become.

Next, the ball clogging process (task 4) performed in step S16 of the main routine (FIG. 18) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This ball clogging process is performed when task 4 is set, that is, when ball clogging occurs during execution of the prize ball discharging process (FIG. 22) (set in step S150), or a ball removing process to be described later. (FIG. 25) When ball clogging occurs during execution (FIG. 25)
Is set in step S230), and is performed in a loop immediately after that.

When this routine is started, first, in step S180, the ball-busting solenoid 280 (FIG. 6) provided in the ball discharging device 200 is excited (ON) / demagnetized at regular intervals over a predetermined time. (OFF) is repeated, whereby the ball channels 259a, 259 of the ball discharging device 200 are turned off.
b is vibrated. After the ON / OFF control, in the next step S182, the step motor is rotated a predetermined number of times in a direction opposite to the rotation at the time of discharging, and then in step S184, the step motor is rotated forward by the same rotation speed. A series of such operations (vibration of the spherical flow path / motor reverse rotation / forward rotation) (ball clogging release operation) are continued a predetermined number of times (n times). That is, in the next step S186, it is determined whether or not the above-described series of operations has been performed a predetermined number of times (n times). If the determination result is “No”, it indicates that the clogging release operation has not been completed yet. The ball clogging signal is transmitted to a ball clogging signal processing unit (not shown) of the management device (step S188), and the operation is performed at the predetermined times (n).
Steps S180 to S188 are repeatedly executed until the number of times has reached. The management device that has received the signal indicating that the ball is clogging indicates that the ball is being clogged, a warning lamp (not shown) is turned on while the signal is received, or a warning sound is generated by a speaker (not shown). It is supposed to do.

When a series of the ball clogging release operation is performed a predetermined number of times as described above and the result of the determination in step S186 turns to "Yes", the flow advances to step S190 to determine whether or not the flag D is set. This flag D indicates whether the ball clogging has occurred during the above-described prize ball discharging process (task 2) or during the ball removing process (task 5) described later, in other words, the start of this routine. This is to determine which of the prize ball discharging process and the ball removing process has been performed in the immediately preceding loop. The flag D is set in step S230 of the ball removal process (task 5) described later.

Therefore, when the result of the determination in step S190 is "No", task 2 is executed in step S192 so that when the above-described series of ball clogging processing is completed, the prize ball discharging processing is performed again in the next loop. Is set (task 4 is cleared), and in step S196, the transmission of the ball clogging signal to the management device is stopped to indicate that the ball clogging process has been completed, and this routine ends. On the other hand, if the determination result in the step S190 is "Yes", the task 5 is set (the task 4 is cleared) and the flag D is cleared so that the ball removing process (FIG. 25) described later is restarted in the next loop. (Step S194), Step S1
After performing step 96, the routine ends. Even if the processes of steps S180 to S188 are performed a predetermined number of times (n times), even if the clogging of the ball is not actually solved, the routine is temporarily terminated and the process proceeds to the prize ball discharging process or the ball removing process. However, in this case, the clogging is detected again during these controls, and the routine returns to this routine to restart the clogging process from the beginning.

Next, the ball removing process (task 5) performed in step S18 of the main routine (FIG. 18) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When a ball-pulling operation rod is inserted into an insertion hole (both not shown) provided in the front panel 11 of the gaming machine and a ball-pulling sensor (not shown) detects that, a signal from the sensor is output. The rise is detected in the input process (step S30) of the interrupt process (FIG. 19). Then, when the rising of this signal is detected, the task control process executes task 5 on the condition that no other process is executed.
Is set, and this routine is started. When this routine is started, first, in step S200, the step motor is rotated according to the aforementioned “motor delay speed data 2”, the discharge of the ball by the ball discharge device 200 is started, and the ball removal solenoid 820 is excited. (ON), the flow path of the ball is switched to the ball drain gutter 815 side by the action of the flow path switching valve 821 shown in FIG.

In the next step S202, a count sensor
It is determined whether the input signal from I or II has fallen. When the result of this determination is "Yes", that is, when it is detected that the ball has been ejected from the tip portion 200D of the ball ejection device, the process waits for the step motor to rotate 180 degrees (step S204), and then the process from step S208 onward. Perform On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S202 is "N
If o ", that is, if the ball has not yet been ejected even when the stepping motor starts rotating, step S206
, The step motor is rotated by 180 degrees, and during that time, steps S200, S202, S206
Is repeated, and if there is any discharge during that time (at this time, steps S202 and S204 become “Yes”), the processing after step S208 is executed. Meanwhile, 1
If the ball has not been ejected even after turning by 80 degrees (the determination result in step S206 is "Yes"), it is determined that there is no ball in the ball ejection device, and the processing from step S220 described below is executed. In the processing after step S220,
As will be described later in detail, once the ball-pulling process is automatically stopped (steps S220 to S224), and when the ball clogging is not resolved by the rotation of the worm in the automatic stop process (the count sensors I and II are set to the ball sensors). Is detected), and after executing steps S210 to S214 to be described later (in this case, step S214 is “No” and step S214 becomes “Yes” after rotating 180 degrees),
In step S230, a flag D is set to store that the ball has been clogged during the ball removing process, and a task 4 is set in the next loop so that the above-described ball clogging process (FIG. 24) is performed. Then, the process proceeds to step S232 described below,
Task 5 is cleared and this routine ends. As a result, when ball clogging occurs during the ball-pulling process, the ball-pulling process is temporarily interrupted, and in ball-pulling process (task 4), on / off control of a ball-busting solenoid, predetermined number of reverse rotations of the step motor are performed. A series of crushing operations of the same number of forward rotations are continuously performed a predetermined number of times (n times), and after the crushing process is completed, the ball removing process is performed again.

On the other hand, in the processing after step S208 which is performed after the ejection of the ball by the ball removing operation is detected, first, it is determined whether the next ejected ball is located at the tip end portion 200D of the ball ejection device 200. No (Count sensor I
Or whether the input signal from II is at a high level) (step S208). When the result of this determination is "Yes", the stepping motor is rotated in accordance with the "motor speed data 2" to discharge the second and subsequent balls at a high speed (step S210), and the next step is performed. S2
At 12, it is determined whether or not the ball has been ejected (whether or not the input signal from the count sensor I or II has fallen). If the result of this determination is “No”, then step S
At 214, it is determined whether or not the step motor has rotated 180 degrees, and as long as the determination result is "No", steps S210 to S214 are repeatedly executed. And 18
If the discharge has not been performed yet after the rotation by 0 degrees (step S214 turns to "Yes"), it is determined that the ball has been clogged, and the process proceeds to step S230. Task 4 to execute
Is set, and a flag D is set in order to store that the ball clogging is in the process of removing the ball. In step S232, task 5 is cleared, and the routine ends.

The ball is ejected before the step motor rotates 180 degrees (the control result of step S212 is "Ye
s ") and when the 180-degree rotation has been completed (when the determination result in step S216 has turned to" Yes "), whether or not the signal from the ball removal sensor has risen again during the 180-degree rotation If the result of the determination is "No", that is, if the switch has not been pressed again after the initial ball release switch pressing operation, it is determined whether or not the ball has been pressed again (step S218). The process returns to step S208 to continue the punching process, and thereafter, repeats steps S208 to S218.If the ball release switch is pressed again by the staff during the ball punching process (the determination result in step S218 becomes " Yes "), the processing after step S228 described later is executed to stop the ball-pulling processing. The determination of whether or not there has been signal rise (reenter the high-level signal), the worm 25
1 is rotated by 180 degrees (Step S216 is “Ye
s "), the warm 25
The stop of the ball-pulling process is permitted only when the ball 1 is actually rotated by 180 degrees. Therefore, the rotation position of the worm at the end of the ball-pulling process is always constant (the tip portion 200D).
(FIG. 6).

When all the balls in the ball discharging device 200 are discharged by the ball removing process in steps S208 to S218, the determination result in step S208 becomes "N".
Then, the process proceeds to step S220, and the processes after step S220 are performed.
That is, in step S220, the step motor is rotated a predetermined number of times (n times) −1 times (for example, n = 3).
0) Then, the step motor is rotated based on the “motor delay speed data 2” (step S222), and the step motor is stopped (step S224). As a result, after it is determined that the ball has run out by executing the ball removing process ("No" in step S208), the step motor is further rotated a predetermined number of times, and then the ball removing process is automatically stopped. In this way, by automatically rotating the stepping motor a predetermined number of times after the detection of the absence of the ball and then automatically stopping the removal of the ball, if the ball is not continuously stored in the groove of the worm (input from the sensor). The signal is set to a low level), so that even if it is erroneously determined that the ball removal is completed, the ball removal process is not immediately terminated. When the sphere stored on the upstream side reaches the sensor position due to the rotation of the worm during the automatic stop operation, the fact is detected by executing step S226 (whether there is a count sensor ball) and the ball removal processing is performed again. (Process from step S210) is executed. or,
The reason why the rotation of the step motor immediately before the automatic stop is delayed as described above is to accurately control the stop position of the step motor that has been rotating at a high speed until then.

When the stepping motor is automatically stopped in step S224, it is determined in step S226 whether a ball is present at the tip 200D of the ball discharging device (input signals from the count sensors I and II are high). Level or not). This determination result is “No”, that is,
If there is no ball at the tip portion 200D when the motor is stopped, it is determined that ball removal has been completed, and the process proceeds to step S228. The ball-pulling solenoid, which has been excited up to this point, is demagnetized (OFF), the task 5 is cleared in step S232, and this routine ends. (If the balls remain in the ball discharge device 200 after the motor is stopped as described above, the above-described step S2
Returning to 10, the ball emptying is started again. )

Next, the step motor positioning process (task 6) performed in step S20 of the main routine (FIG. 18) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This routine is started when it is determined that the ball discharge device 200 is not yet in the initial state, and the task 6 is set in step S79 of the above-described communication processing (task 1).

That is, in the present routine, when the ball discharging operation is started by the above-described prize ball discharging process (FIG. 22) or the like, the stored state of the ball in the ball discharging device 200 is determined to be “ball present” before this operation. Detected based on input signals from sensors I and II and count sensors I and II, and the ball is not immediately discharged (the state where no ball exists on the upstream side of ball discharging device and its tip 200D; state ), The worm is preliminarily rotated by a predetermined angle (180 degrees) prior to the ball discharging operation (the discharging operation by the rotation of the worm). The preliminary rotation of the predetermined angle is performed until the ball can be discharged (a state in which the ball is present at the tip 200D of the ball discharge device; a state in which one of the count sensors I and II detects the ball). It is supposed to do.

When this routine is started, first, in step S240, the step motor is rotated once (180 degrees) according to "motor delay speed data 2". In the next step S242, it is determined whether or not there is a ball at the tip 200D of the ball discharging device (whether the input from the count sensor I or II is at a high level). If the result of this determination is "No", it is determined that no ball has been replenished to the tip portion 200D of the ball discharging device even by the operation of the one-turn step motor, and the motor is stopped once (step S24).
4) After waiting for a predetermined time (for example, 500 msec) to elapse (step S246), a signal indicating that initialization is being performed is transmitted to an initialization signal processing unit (not shown) of the management device (step S248). ), Again at step S240
Return to Such a process is performed until one of the count sensors I and II detects a ball (this process is performed at the tip 200D).
) Until the ball is positioned).
On the other hand, when the ball reaches the mounting position of the count sensors I and II by one or more times of the execution of the step S240 and the determination result of the step S242 is “Yes”, the ball is discharged to the distal end portion 200D. Since a ball to be present exists (the initial positioning of the step motor has been performed), the rotation of the step motor is stopped at that time (step S250), and in the next step S252,
Task 1 is set so that the communication processing is executed in the next loop (task 6 is cleared), and the transmission of the signal (initial setting signal) indicating that the initial setting is being performed to the management device is stopped (step S254). This routine ends. The management device that has received the signal indicating that the initial setting is being performed turns on a notification lamp (not shown) as notification means while the signal is being received, generates a sound effect from a speaker (not shown), and the like. It is supposed to do.

As described in detail above, according to the ball discharge device 200 of the first embodiment, before the start of the prize ball discharge operation, the ball discharge device 200 can actually discharge the ball (the tip portion). Whether or not the ball is located at 200D) is determined by the signals from the ball presence sensors I and II and the count sensors I and II, and it is determined that the ball cannot be ejected (first state). When the task 6 is executed, a predetermined worm angle (180 °) is set until the task 6 is in a dischargeable state (until one of the count sensors I and II detects a ball).
Since the preliminary rotation of (degree) is continuously repeated, before starting the prize ball discharging operation, the ball to be discharged must be located at the tip end portion 200D of the ball discharging device and the discharging operation can be performed. Achieved.

When the task 7 has been set in the above-described task control process (step S6 in FIG. 18), a game ball purchase / payout process (task 7) is performed by the ball discharging device 200 having the above-described configuration. This purchase payout processing is performed when the ball discharge control device 600 receives a purchase payout signal from the ball rental machine 20 (this input is determined in the above-described input processing (step S30 in FIG. 19)). Based on the result, when task 7 is set in step S68 of the above-described communication processing (FIG. 21), the processing is started. That is, when there is a purchase payout signal from the ball lending machine 20 side, the number of game balls to be lent to the player is calculated based on the content of the signal, and the stepping motor of the step motor is calculated based on the calculated value. The number of rotations N is determined, and the step motor is actually rotated by that number of times.

Since the worm of the ball discharge device 200 of the above embodiment has one groove and is formed in a spiral shape, each time the worm is rotated by 360 degrees, the left and right sphere flow paths 259 are formed.
a, one ball is discharged from 259b, a total of two balls are discharged (one ball is discharged every 180 degree rotation), but two or more grooves are spirally provided. A worm may be used instead. If a worm in which two grooves are spirally used is used, two spheres will be discharged from the right and left flow paths every 180 ° rotation, and a total of two spheres will be discharged using this relationship. What is necessary is just to perform discharge control. Further, in the ball discharge device 200 of the above embodiment, two ball channels are provided, but the number of ball channels is not limited to this, and may be one or three or more. Even when the number of ball channels is changed in this manner, the rotation angle of the step motor and the number of balls to be discharged can be kept in a fixed relationship, and a desired ball discharge control may be performed based on the relationship. . In the ball discharge device of the present embodiment, the rotation axis of the step motor and the rotation axis of the worm are coaxial so that they rotate at a ratio of 1: 1. For example, the gear ratio may be changed.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the ball discharging device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The ball discharge device 1200 of the second embodiment controls the discharge angle of a predetermined number of balls by controlling the rotation angle of the step motor (one ball is discharged every predetermined rotation of the step motor). In this respect, the control method is the same as that of the ball discharge device 200 of the above-described first embodiment, but in the above-described first embodiment, the groove of the worm 251 having a rotation axis coaxial with the rotation axis of the step motor is used. The ball storage portion is formed as it is, and the ball is discharged by the rotation of the worm 251. In the second embodiment, the worm 125 is coaxial with the step motor 1254.
3 is fitted with a worm gear 1252, while a pair of sprockets 1251A,
A ball storage section is formed at 1251B, and the sprocket is indirectly rotated by a step motor to discharge the ball, which is different from the above-described first embodiment.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the ball discharging device 1200 according to the second embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 27 is an exploded perspective view of the ball discharging device 1200, and FIG. As shown in FIG. 27, the ball discharging device 1200
10, an upper cover case 1220, a lower cover case 1230, a flow path forming floor plate 1240, and a discharge control unit 1250 for controlling the flow of the sphere.

The main body frame 1210 is formed with a central concave portion 1210A in which the discharge control section 1250 is installed, and a pair of left and right spherical channel forming concave portions 1210B and 1210C in which the spheres flow down. Then, the upper surface of the flow path forming floor plate 1240 (flow path forming portion 124
0B, 1240C) and the flow path forming portions 1210B, 1
210C, a pair of left and right spherical flow paths 1259a, 1259
59b is formed (see FIG. 32).

As described in detail later, the discharge control unit 1250 includes a sprocket unit 1250A (a pair of sprockets 1251A and 1251B and a sprocket 1251B for discharging one ball in the ball discharge device with its rotation). A worm gear 1252 formed on the rotating shaft of the sprocket)
And a rotating portion 1250B (a worm 1253 and a worm 123) for transmitting a rotational force to the sprocket portion 1250A.
53) and a stepping motor 1254 with the rotating shaft formed integrally therewith) and an L-shaped mounting board 1255 on which the rotating portion 1250B is installed.
And a ball-break solenoid 1280 attached to the attachment substrate 1255.

The bottom plate 1255A of the mounting substrate 1255 is fixed to the central recess 1210A of the main frame 1210 by screws or the like. The rotating part 12
The worm 1253 forming the worm 50B has a rotating shaft 1253a on the opposite side to the motor rotatably supported by a bearing 1214 of the main body frame, and a retaining projection 1221 provided on an upper lid case 1220 for the bearing 1213a. The axis is not deviated from 1214. The rotating shaft 12
The other end of 53a is a rotation shaft of a step motor 1254, and the step motor 1254
255 is fixed to the front plate portion 255 of FIG.
3). Also, the two sprockets 1251A, 1251
The sprocket portion 1250A (FIGS. 29 and 30) in which the worm gear 1252 and the worm gear 1252 are integrally formed has rotatable shafts formed at both ends thereof rotatably supported by bearing portions 1215 and 1215 formed in the main body frame 1210. And the stopper projection 12 provided on the upper lid case 1220.
22 and 1222 prevent the shaft from coming off the bearings 1215 and 1215 (FIGS. 27 and 3).
2).

In the state where the sprocket portion 1250A is installed on the main body frame 1210 in this way, as shown in FIG.
253, and according to the rotation of the worm, that is, in a fixed relation to the rotation angle of the worm,
Worm gear 1252 and further sprocket 1251
A, 1251B rotates.

The sprockets 1251A, 1251
51B gear ridges 1251a (1251a1 to a6), 12
The positioning of the 51b (1251b1 to b6) is performed so as to protrude into the opening protrusions 1216a and 1216b (only 1216b is shown in FIG. 27) of the mounting opening 1216 of the main body frame 1210. The six gear ridges 1251a1 to 1251a6, 1251b1 to 125 formed on the sprockets 1251A and 1251B, respectively.
1b6 (grooves 1251c1-125
1c6, 1251d1 to 1251d6) constitute a ball storage section (FIGS. 29 and 30), and one ball is stored in the storage section. In this case, the phase of the gear ridge of the sprocket 1251A and the phase of the gear ridge of the sprocket 1251B are 3
The sprocket 1 is formed on its rotation axis at a shift of 0 degrees, so that each time the rotation axis rotates by 30 degrees, two sprockets 1 are formed.
One ball is discharged from either one of 251A and 1251B.

The two sprockets 1251A, 1251
The gear ratio of the rotation shaft on which B is installed is determined such that the worm gear 1252 formed at the center thereof rotates by 30 degrees when the worm 1253 rotates by a predetermined angle (for example, 180 degrees). ing. Therefore, the rotation angle of the worm 1253, that is, the step motor 12
By controlling the rotation angle of 54, the rotation angle of sprockets 1251A and 1251B can be determined, and the ejection timing of the sphere can be controlled. In this manner, one ball is discharged from one of the two sprockets 1251A and 1251B every time the worm 1253 is rotated by 180 degrees, so that the ball is discharged by the ball discharge device 1200 of the second embodiment. Even when the discharge control is performed, the ball discharge control program (FIGS. 18 to 26) executed by the above-described ball discharge control device 600 (FIG. 17) can be applied as it is.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
The two operating rods 1281a and 1281b are
Inner wall surfaces 1214B, 12 forming ten flow path forming recesses
14C is positioned so as to vibrate. When the solenoid 1280 is normal (when demagnetized), the operation of the return spring 1282 causes one of the operating rods (1281a) to move to the one inner wall surface (1214C).
And the solenoid 1280 in this state.
Is excited (ON), the other operating rod (12
81b) is displaced until it collides with the other inner wall surface (1214B). And from this state, the solenoid 12
When 80 is demagnetized, the operation rod (1281a) on the opposite side collides with the other inner wall surface (1214C) by the action of the return spring 1282. Therefore, when the solenoid is repeatedly turned ON / OFF, the wall surface is vibrated by that number of times, and if the ball is clogged in the ball discharge device 1200, the ball is clogged.

As shown in FIG. 27 and FIG. 28, at the predetermined positions of the flow path forming portions (floor surface forming portions) 1240B and 1240C of the flow path forming floor plate 1240, the sphere sensor mounting openings 1241a and 1241b and Count sensor mounting opening 1
242a and 1242b are formed. Then, the two ball-attached sensor mounting boards 1243a and 1243b on which the ball-attached sensors 1262A and 1262B are installed are fixed to the flow path forming floor plate 1240 with screws or the like so that the sensor portions protrude from the openings 1241a and 1241b, respectively. And two count sensor mounting boards 1244a, 1244 on which the count sensors 1263A, 1263B are mounted.
244b, the sensor part is the opening 1242a,
42b so as to protrude from the channel forming floor plate 1240, respectively.
Are fixed with screws or the like.

Among them, the count sensor mounting opening 1242
a, 1242b are the count sensors 1263A, 1
The formation position is determined so that 263B can detect the lowermost ball (indicated by B1 'in FIG. 28) at which the flow is prevented at the gear ridge of sprocket 1251. Therefore, in the actual ball ejection operation, the sprockets are out of phase with each other.
When the ball is detected by one of the count sensors, the input signal from the counter sensor on the opposite side becomes low level.

The lower lid case 1230 is attached to the main frame 1210 with screws or the like, and the flow path forming floor plate 1240 is stored between the lower lid case 1230 and the main frame 1210. This lower lid case 1230
Ball stopper release projections 1231 and 1232 are formed on the upper end and the lower end to release the ball stop by the member when fitted to the opening / closing member having the shape shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 described above. I have.

FIG. 33 is a side view of the mounting board 1255 showing the side surface shape of the mounting board 1255 on which the heat radiation mechanism is formed and the driving section 1250B installed on the mounting board 1255. FIG. It is a front view. The mounting board 1255 has an L-shaped cross section as described above, and the bottom plate 1255A is screwed to the central recess 1210A of the main body frame 1210. This bottom plate portion 125
The ball-breaking solenoid 1280 described above is installed at a predetermined position near the rear end of the No. 5 (left side in FIG. 33). on the other hand,
A bearing notch 1255b is formed in the center of the front plate 1255B of the mounting board 1255,
Numeral 254 is fixed to the front plate portion 1255B in a state where its rotation shaft is rotatably inserted into the notch portion 1255b.

The front plate portion 1255B is integrally formed with heat radiating plates 1256A and 1256B which are folded perpendicularly thereto (FIGS. 33 and 34). This heat sink 1256
A, 1256B, as shown in FIG.
16a, inner wall surfaces 12 of spherical flow paths 1259a, 1259b
14B, 1214C, and the spherical flow path 1
259a and 1259b (for example, FIG. 31,
32 (B2 'to B4' in FIG. 32).

The radiator plate 1256A thus formed,
1256B, when the discharge operation of the ball is actually started and heat is generated by the rotation operation of the step motor 1254,
The heat is dissipated from the body of the mounting board 1255 to the heat sink 1256A,
1256B and the ball (B
2 'to B4'). Note that, as described above, the mounting substrate 1255 has a ball-break solenoid 1280.
The heat generated during the ball-smashing operation is transmitted to the flowing ball via the heat sinks 1256A and 1256B of the mounting board 1255.

The ball discharging device 120 according to the second embodiment having the above-described configuration.
0, before the prize ball discharging operation starts, the ball discharging device 12
The ball presence sensors I and II and the count sensor determine whether or not 00 is in a state in which the ball can be actually ejected (a state in which the ball located at the lowermost position of the sprocket gear mountain is mooring the ball). When it is determined by the signals from I and II that it is in a state where discharge is not possible (first state), the task 6 is executed until the state where discharge is possible (either the count sensor I or II). Preliminary rotation of the step motor at a predetermined angle (180 degrees) (at this time, the sprocket is rotated by one discharge (30 degrees)) until the ball is detected by a sphere, or one or more times Will be repeated
Before the start of the prize ball discharge operation, the ball to be discharged is always positioned at the tip of the ball discharge device, and a state in which the discharge operation is possible is achieved. When a predetermined number of balls have been discharged, the stepping motor is controlled when the prize ball discharge control device 600 detects that the predetermined number of balls have been discharged based on signals from the count sensors I and II. 1254 is stopped, and discharge of the ball is stopped.

Further, as described above, the relationship between the rotation angle of the step motor and the rotation angle of the sprocket is constant (the worm is rotated so that the sprocket rotates 30 degrees when the step motor rotates 180 degrees). And the gear ratio of the worm gear are determined), the rotation angle of the step motor is constantly monitored, and when the rotation angle reaches a value corresponding to the number of balls to be ejected, the rotation is stopped. The number of balls can be discharged with high accuracy. The ball discharge control by the operation of the step motor is similarly controlled in accordance with the control flow of the first embodiment (FIGS. 18 to 26).

In this control, since the rotation speed of the step motor 1254 is adjusted according to the game mode, the discharge mode is changed in various ways to enhance the interest. Also, in the ball discharge control by the ball discharge device of the second embodiment, the clogging of the balls is determined based on the detection signals from the ball presence sensors 1262A and 1262B and the count sensors I and II, and when the determination is made, The ball breaking solenoid 1280 is turned on (ON) / off (OF) by a command from the ball discharge control device.
F) Activate and further rotate the step motor in reverse rotation /
Control such as forward rotation is performed, and the clogging of the ball is released.

The ball discharging device 1200 of the second embodiment is described.
Although an example using a sprocket having six gear ridges has been described above, the number of sprockets is not limited to this and may be other than six. In that case, the gear ratio between the worm and the worm gear may be determined so that one ball is discharged every 180 degree rotation of the step motor, or the rotation of the step motor required for discharging one ball is performed. The angle may be calculated, and the ball ejection control may be performed based on the calculated value.

[0132]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game ball discharging device for a game machine, wherein a predetermined number of balls related to an inflow state of a ball of a rotating body having a protrusion for discharging and discharging a ball in a ball discharging passage. In the initial state, the rotator is initially rotated, and a determination is made as to whether or not a transition state in which the rotator can discharge a ball based on the detection of the detection unit is performed. When it is determined that the transition state has been reached, the dischargeable initial state setting means of the discharge control means stops the initial rotation of the rotating body and sets the dischargeable initial state of the ball, Even if the game balls are ejected immediately after refilling the gaming machine after the ball is removed, the ejection of the game balls can be quickly and reliably performed from the beginning immediately after the replenishment. Discharge delays causing player discomfort Rukoto is not. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the notification means provided in the discharge control means,
Since it is notified that the dischargeable initial state setting means is active, it can be understood from the notification that the game ball can be discharged. According to the third aspect of the invention, the rotating body having the protrusion is a spiral gear having a spiral ball receiving groove formed on the outer peripheral surface, and the ball is engaged with the ball receiving groove of the spiral gear. Since the game balls are sent out, the game balls are sent out smoothly and reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a first embodiment of a card-type gaming machine provided with a game ball discharging device for a gaming machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a back view showing a back mechanism of the pachinko gaming machine.

FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view of a ball discharging device.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the ball discharging device.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing the inside of the ball discharge device with a part cut away.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a ball flow path and a control unit of the ball discharging device.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of ball discharge by a control unit of the ball discharge device.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the entire discharge control unit 250 showing a side surface shape of a mounting board on which a heat radiation mechanism is formed.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a front shape of the mounting board.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a closed state of an opening / closing member provided at a lower end portion of a guide gutter provided with a ball discharge device.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing an open state of an opening / closing member provided at a lower end portion of a guide gutter provided with a ball discharge device.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional rear view showing a storage tank and a guide gutter.

FIG. 13 is a rear view of a storage tank and a guide gutter showing a first modification of the ball breaking device.

FIG. 14 is a rear view of a storage tank and a guide gutter showing a second modification of the ball breaking device.

FIG. 15 is a rear view of a storage tank and a guide gutter showing a third modification of the ball breaking device.

FIG. 16 is a rear view of a storage tank and a guide gutter showing a fourth modification of the ball breaking device.

FIG. 17 is a control block diagram of a ball discharge system performed by a microcomputer constituting the ball discharge control device.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a main control process of ball ejection performed by the microcomputer.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a control processing procedure of interrupt processing performed by the microcomputer.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a monitoring process executed in the interrupt process.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a communication process (task 1).

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a prize ball discharging process (task 2).

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a safe process (task 3).

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the procedure of ball clogging processing (task 4).

FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a ball removing process (task 5).

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a step motor positioning process (task 6).

FIG. 27 is an exploded perspective view of a ball discharging device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a side view showing the inside of the ball discharge device with a part cut away.

FIG. 29 is a front view showing a shape of a sprocket part constituting a control unit of the ball discharging device.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing a shape of a sprocket portion constituting a control portion of the ball discharging device.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a ball flow path and a control unit of the ball discharging device.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram showing a fitted state of a sprocket unit and a rotating unit that constitute a control unit of the ball discharging device.

FIG. 33 is a side view of the entire discharge control unit 250 showing a side surface shape of a mounting board on which a heat radiation mechanism is formed.

FIG. 34 is a front view showing the front shape of the mounting board.

[Explanation of symbols]

51B Thread (projection) 251 Worm (rotary body, spiral gear) 251A Groove (ball receiving groove) 253 Step motor (rotation means) 259a Spherical flow path (sphere discharge passage) 263A, 263B Count sensor 1, 2 (detection means) ) 600 ball discharge control device (discharge control means, dischargeable initial state setting means, notification means)

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A63F 7/02

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A rotator having a projection for sending and discharging a sphere in a sphere discharge passage; detecting means for detecting discharge of the sphere by the rotator; and a sphere supplied from the discharge passage. Rotating means for flowing into the rotating body and sending it out to the rotating side of the rotating body; and discharging control means for driving the rotating means to perform discharging control of a predetermined number of balls by the rotating body. In a predetermined initial state related to the inflow state of the ball of the rotating body, the control means rotates the rotating body in the initial motion, and based on the detection of the detecting means, a transition state in which the rotating body can discharge the ball. Is determined whether or not the transition state has been reached, and when it is determined that the transition state has been reached, the initial rotation of the rotating body is initially stopped, and a discharge state in which the ball can be discharged by the rotating body is set to an initial state. Game ball discharge device for a game machine, characterized in that it comprises a potential initial state setting means. 2. The discharge control unit according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies that the dischargeable initial state setting unit is active.
A game ball discharging device for a gaming machine according to the above. 3. The rotating body having the protruding portion is a spiral gear having a spiral ball receiving groove formed on an outer peripheral surface, and the spiral gear engages a ball with the ball receiving groove to feed the ball. 3. The game ball discharging device for a gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein