JP3470078B2 - Pachinko machine launching equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to control of a firing handle which is provided at a lower part of a front surface of a game machine and projects a game ball on a game board surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A pachinko game machine is provided with a launching device for launching a game ball onto a game board surface. In this launching device, a launching lever is pivotally supported by a launching handle, which is provided on the lower part of the front of the gaming machine, so as to be manually rotatable. This launch lever adjusts the strength of the hit ball by a turning operation, and the player adjusts the turn of the launch lever so that the player can hit the game ball at an optimum position on the board surface. The firing lever is held by hand at an expected position and the ball striking operation is continued. Also, when you release your hand from the launch lever in the middle of the game, the launch lever is urged by the urging force of the launch coil spring to return to the original position, and when the game is restarted, the above operation is repeated. Become.

As described above, in the conventional pachinko gaming machine, it is necessary to hold the firing handle with the hand and continue to fix the position of the firing lever for a long time against the biasing force of the firing coil spring while the ball striking operation continues. , Imposes a heavy fatigue burden on the player. Further, due to hand fatigue and the like, the hand sways to the left and right and the firing lever slightly rotates in the left and right directions, causing variations in the launching position, and a stable firing operation cannot be performed. Furthermore, during the continuation of the game, in order to recover from fatigue, or in the case of the first-class pachinko machine, in order to digest the reserved ball stored in the special starting memory device by winning the prize at the starting mouth, the hand is released from the firing handle. When released, the firing lever returns to the origin by urging, restarts the firing operation again, and several game balls are often wasted until the optimum position is obtained.

Many players deal with these problems by fitting a game ball on the back surface of the firing lever or by sandwiching and fixing a coin or the like. For this reason, it may cause damage to the firing handle, and many players end the game in the same state, so that the next player will be forced to start the game in an undesired state, You will have very unpleasant emotions.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-42459 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-1.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 14154, there has been proposed a launching device having a structure in which a launching lever is held at a predetermined rotational position by an electromagnetic brake. This Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-114154
In the configuration of No. 1, a touch sensor for turning on / off the firing motor is provided, and when the firing handle is gripped by a hand, the firing motor is activated by the ON operation of the touch sensor, and when the operation switch is pressed, the electromagnetic brake is activated. Is driven, the firing lever is held at the position, the touch sensor is turned off by further releasing the hand, and at the same time, the firing lever is released.

By the way, such a structure is troublesome because it requires a pressing operation of the operation switch, and is not used by a player who does not understand the meaning of the operation switch. As a result, the firing lever holding mechanism is used. Will not be fully utilized. Further, it is necessary to press the operation switch with the other hand while holding the firing lever with one hand, and the hand moves during the operation to change the holding position, which requires re-operation. There are also problems such as.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a structure in which a firing lever can be easily held and a beginner who does not understand the holding function can effectively use the holding function.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a firing handle projecting from the lower part of the front surface of a gaming machine is provided with a firing lever for adjusting the launching position on the gaming board surface according to the rotational position thereof, which can be manually rotated. In the launching device, which is pivotally supported on the firing lever and further includes a lever holding means for holding the firing lever at an arbitrary rotational position, the lever holding means detects a stillness of the firing lever for a predetermined time, and A holding device for holding the firing lever is provided based on whether or not the stationary detection means determines the stationary state.

Here, as the stationary state detecting means of the lever holding means, a large number of slot holes are intermittently provided along the rotation direction of the firing lever, and the slot holes are arranged in opposition to the slot hole row to detect the presence or absence of the slot holes. A detection sensor for detecting may be provided, and control means for determining that the firing lever is stationary when there is no on / off conversion of the detection sensor within a predetermined time may be provided.

As a holding device for the lever holding means, a metallic connecting disc is provided on either one of the firing lever and the handle main body for rotatably holding the firing lever, and the connecting disc is sucked and held on the other. An electromagnetic brake may be provided, and the electromagnetic brake is driven to adsorb the connecting disc by the stationary detection of the firing lever by the stationary detection means to hold the firing lever. In the case of holding by the electromagnetic brake in this way, the firing lever can be rotated against the attraction force, and thus the holding can be released easily.

With such a structure, the player positions the firing lever so that the game ball is launched at the optimum position on the game board surface, and when the player holds the stationary state for a predetermined time at that position, the position is automatically changed. Fixed. For this reason, no additional manual operation is required, which is not troublesome. Therefore, it becomes unnecessary to hold the firing lever with one hand and press the operation switch with the other hand, and the hand moves during the operation to change the holding position, which requires re-operation. There is no such thing, and the player can hold the firing lever at the most possible position. Moreover, such a stationary holding of the firing lever for a relatively short time is normally performed by the player, so that even a beginner who does not understand the holding function will naturally hold the firing lever and benefit from it. You can take a bath.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2, a front frame 2 is attached to the outer frame of the gaming machine 1 so as to be openable, and a game nail, a prize hole, a decorative member, a pattern display portion, etc. are formed in the upper rear portion of the front frame 2. An upper tray 4 is attached to the lower side of the game board 3, and a lower tray 5 is attached to the lowermost part of the front surface of the front frame 2 which is below the lower tray 5, and a firing handle 40 is projected to the right side of the lower tray 5. It is provided.

The game board 3 is provided with a variable display device 6 including a liquid crystal display device, a dot matrix, a CRT, etc. When a ball enters the special operation area 7, the variable display device 6 changes. When the balls pass through the special operation area 7 continuously, the winning memory can be stored up to a predetermined number, and the fluctuation of the variable winning device also occurs when the winning memory is exhausted. Then, when the predetermined symbol combination is achieved, the special winning opening 8 is opened, and a big hit operation is generated. The firing handle 40 constitutes a part of the firing apparatus of the present invention, and its configuration will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

By the upper tray 4 for storing the game balls, etc., the game balls are sequentially rectified by the rectifier 27 provided on the back surface of the upper tray plate.
(See FIG. 3) and is guided to the launch position, and is intermittently delivered onto the game board surface by operating the launch handle 40 of the launch device. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the firing handle 40 has a firing handle body composed of a handle base 41 covering the base side and a handle head 42 covering the front side. Between the parts 42, as shown in FIG.
4, the touch sensor _{S t} is interposed. The firing lever 44 is supported by the firing handle 40 by a connecting shaft 46 fitted in the center thereof so as to be reversibly rotatable in the circumferential direction,
It is connected to a firing coil spring 21 described later and is constantly urged to a standby position. Further, the handle head 42 is made of a transparent or translucent material, and a light emitting means including a light emitting diode, a light bulb, etc. is built therein.

On the back surface side of the front frame 2 corresponding to the mounting position of the firing handle 40, a support substrate 48 having a firing motor 20, a firing motor control board 50, a firing hammer 51 and the like is arranged. As shown in FIG. 3, the launching hammer 51 is pivotally supported in the front-rear direction and is biased forward by the launching coil spring 21. The moving position is regulated. Then, this forward turning position is set as a pressing position for pressing the game ball with the launching hammer 51. Launch hammer 51
A cam follower 24 is attached to a support arm 23 projecting rearward from the shaft support, and the launch motor 20
The rotation of the rotary shaft 25 of the cam follower 2
A wing cam 26 that can be engaged with the vehicle 4 is attached.

[0016] When the player touch the firing lever 44 (not shown) emitted motor switch from firing the motor control board 50 through the ON operation of the touch sensor S _t
When the firing lever 44 is turned to the right from the standby position against the biasing force in this state, the firing motor switch is turned on.
It operates and the firing motor 20 is started. That is, on actuation of the touch sensor S _t is a driving condition of the firing motor 20. When the wing cam 26 is rotated by the driving of the firing motor 20, the wing cam 26 engages with the cam follower 24, and as shown in FIG.
Is rotated backwards against the bias of the firing coil spring 21,
When the wing cam 26 further rotates and is disengaged from the cam follower 24, the firing hammer 51 is momentarily pulled back to the pressing position by the urging force of the firing coil spring 21. By repeating this operation, the firing hammer 51 continuously produces a hammering operation at regular intervals. This allows
By the turning operation of the firing handle 40 by the turning of the firing lever 44, the game ball is struck by the launching hammer 51, and the launching device launches the game ball to the game board surface from the launching position described later through the guiding action of the launch rail 28. Is configured.

Since the firing lever 44 is connected to the firing coil spring 21, the tension of the firing coil spring 21 changes depending on the rotational position of the firing lever 44. That is, the more the firing lever 44 is rotated to the right,
Firing hammer 51 caused by disengagement from the wing cam 26
The strength of the restoring reaction force of becomes stronger, and the striking force increases,
The game ball is strongly hit and launched to the right of the game board surface. Thus, the launch position of the game ball on the game board surface is adjusted by the pivotal position of the firing lever 44.

On the other hand, as described above, as shown in FIG. 3, the rectifier 27 is mounted on the back side of the upper tray panel, and when the firing motor 20 is driven, the ball feeding member (FIG. The firing rail 2 by the operation of (not shown)
Spheres 8 are supplied to the rectifier 27 from the communication holes 30 of the rectifier 27 one by one. Then, the launching hammer 51 is activated and a game ball is launched. Further, following this, the ball is again supplied to the firing position from the communication hole 30. In this way, by rotating the firing handle 40, the game balls are intermittently fed to the firing position while sequentially leaving an interval of about 0.6 seconds.

Next, the main part of the present invention will be described. As described above, the firing handle 40 provided on the lower part of the front of the gaming machine
Is provided with a firing lever 44 that adjusts the launch position on the game board surface depending on its rotational position. The firing lever 44 is used to release the game ball to the optimum position on the game board surface as described above. However, the firing lever 44 is always given a biasing force to the original position by the firing coil spring 21, the position is likely to change by loosening the hand, and a heavy load is applied to the player. Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, the present invention includes a lever holding means for temporarily fixing the firing lever 44.

The above-mentioned lever holding means will be described. On the back surface of the firing lever 44, there is a metal connecting disc 60.
The handle base 41 is provided with an electromagnetic brake 61 formed of an electromagnet at a position facing the connecting disc 60. When the electromagnetic brake 61 is energized, the connecting disc 60 is attracted and the firing lever 44 is held against the biasing force of the firing coil spring 21. Here, the magnetic force of the electromagnetic brake 61 is set to be equal to or greater than the biasing force of the firing coil spring 21. This allows
Even if the firing lever 44 is not gripped, the firing lever 44 is held at the position set by the player. Since the firing lever 44 is only attracted and held by the magnetic force of the electromagnetic brake 61, it is possible to rotate the firing lever 44 against the attraction force.
A proximity sensor S _{1 which} will be described later is turned on / off to release the holding state.

In the present invention, this electromagnetic brake 61
As a lever holding means for driving, the electromagnetic brake 61 is automatically driven when the firing lever 44 is stopped and held at a fixed position for a predetermined time.

As the stillness detecting means, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 6, groove holes 65 are intermittently provided around the connecting disk 60, and the groove holes 65 are formed in the groove hole array 64. Proximity sensor S ₁ that detects presence / absence and performs on / off conversion
When the proximity sensor S ₁ is not turned on / off within the set time t ₁ of the timer T ₁ , the firing lever 4
A configuration is proposed in which it is determined that No. 4 is in a stopped state and the electromagnetic brake 61 is operated to maintain the position.

This operation will be described with reference to the time chart of FIG. The proximity sensor S ₁ is turned on in a portion of the groove hole array 64 where the groove hole 65 is not provided, and is turned off in a portion where the groove hole 65 is provided. Then, the pulse signal p is generated every time the proximity sensor S ₁ is turned on / off. On the other hand, the timer T ₁ is reset each time such a pulse signal is generated, and the time-up signal p _t is generated as the set time t ₁ is exhausted. Then, the electromagnetic brake 61 holds the firing lever 44 is driven in accordance with the occurrence of the time-up signal p _t. Further, due to the generation of the pulse signal p, when the driving state is reached, the operation is stopped and returned. Then, the firing lever 4 automatically
A stationary determination of 4 may be made and held. This control is easily controlled using the central control unit CPU.

In such a structure, the player positions the firing lever 44 so that the game ball is launched at the optimum position on the game board surface, and when the player holds the stationary state for a predetermined time at that position, the player automatically sets the position. The position is fixed. For this reason, there is no need to press the operation switch, so there is no trouble. Therefore, it becomes unnecessary to hold the firing lever with one hand and press the operation switch with the other hand, and the hand moves during the operation to change the holding position, which requires re-operation. There is no such thing, and the player can hold the firing lever at the most possible position. Moreover, such a stationary holding of the firing lever for a relatively short time is normally performed by the player, so that even a player who does not understand the holding function can automatically hold the firing lever 44. , You can take advantage of it.

On the other hand, since the firing lever 44 is automatically held by the lever holding means, even if the firing lever 44 is held, it is possible to play the game while grasping the firing lever 44 without knowing it. Can also be considered. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the holding operation display lamp L may be provided at a place where the player can easily confirm. In place of the lamp L, a light emitting means including a light emitting diode, a light bulb, etc. built into the handle head 42 may be used to change the light emitting state to emit light in the holding state. For example, normally, white light was emitted,
It is proposed to emit red light in the holding state, or to emit light in the holding state, which is normally not lit.
In addition to this, various display means have been proposed, and for example, the screen of the variable display device 6 may be used to display "while lever is being held" or the like.

Further, depending on the game strategy, some players may not like the holding function of the firing lever 44. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the cancel switch S is provided on the handle base 41 or the like. ₂ is provided and the holding function can be stopped by turning it on, and even if the firing lever 44 is stopped and held for a predetermined time, the electromagnetic brake 61
Can be deactivated. This suspension of the holding function is invalidated by turning on the cancel switch S ₂ again by the player, and the holding function becomes valid. In addition, as will be described later, the player plays a predetermined time t ₂
As described above, when the hand is released from the firing handle 40 (when the game is finished), the electromagnetic brake 61 is turned off, the holding operation is released, and the cancel switch S ₂ is also released. The player will start the game while the holding function is valid.

In the lever holding means of the firing lever 44,
To fix it, release the firing handle 40 and touch
Sensor S_t Is turned off, the timer T_Two When setting
Limit t _Two Is released after being digested. This launch lever
The holding control means of the
The holding control mode will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
It

When the player holds the firing handle 40, the touch sensor _St is turned on,
The firing motor 20 is driven like a step,
A flag F is set at a predetermined address of the storage device connected to the central control unit to set F = 1. Then, in this state, if the proximity sensor S ₁ does not perform on / off conversion and the firing lever 44 is in a stopped state, the electromagnetic brake 61 starts or continues to be driven, and the firing lever 44 is held at that position. . The release of the position of the firing lever 44 is forcibly released by rotating the firing lever 44 against the attraction force of the electromagnetic brake 61.

When the player removes his / her hand from the firing handle 40 and the touch sensor _St is in the off state, it is determined whether or not the timer T ₂ is in operation, and when it is in the inactive state (step). Examine the condition of F, F =
In the case of 0, there is no player. Also, F =
If it is 1, it means that the firing handle 40 has been gripped until immediately before in the above-described step. Therefore, the current timer consumption time t is set to “0”, and then the timer T ₂ is turned on.

Further, when the timer T ₂ is in the ON state, the timer exhaustion time t is set to the timer T _{2 in step.}
Preset to determine whether the time t less than _2, less than in the case progression control routine directly (if the holding operation of the firing lever 44 is made, this is done continuously maintained) to. If the timer exhaustion time t is equal to or longer than the time t ₂ preset in the timer T ₂ , the electromagnetic brake 61 is immediately de-energized to release the holding operation of the firing lever 44 and return to the original position. . Then, the timer T ₂ is stopped and F =
Set to 0.

Thus, the player releases the firing handle 40, and when t ₂ seconds elapse, the holding of the firing lever 44 is released. If the firing handle 40 is grasped within this time, the firing lever 44 is held. The game can be restarted while the is maintained. Here, the set time t ₂ is appropriately selected, and it can be considered that, for example, about 30 seconds to 3 minutes is suitable. In addition, this time is from the time when you can operate the cigarette,
It is decided as appropriate within the expected change time for the next customer.

As a result, a so-called first-class pachinko machine is produced.
In the state where the ball that entered the starting opening is remembered and stored
Yes, I stopped hitting in order to consume the number of memories,
Fluctuating the prize winning device and waiting for the symbol to be confirmed
Depending on the short shot stop, the firing lever 44
Therefore, the position holding of will not be canceled. Also, cigarette ash
When it is necessary to release the firing handle 40 by dropping it
However, the temporary holding of the firing lever 44 cannot be canceled.
Yes. In addition, in the state where this hand is released, the touch sensor S_t
 The firing motor 20 is turned off by the off operation of
Also, no hit ball is produced. Because of this, the firing hand again
The game is restarted only by holding the le 40, and the game ball is
Strike at a predetermined position on the game board surface that the player has selected in advance.
Will be issued. Also, when the player has finished playing the game
Is the predetermined time t_Two Firing lever 44
Returns to the original position, which may cause inconvenience to the next player.
Not at all. Incidentally, in the present invention, the firing handle 40
Release the hand from touch sensor S _t Is turned off at the same time
Alternatively, the holding may be released.

The above-mentioned lever holding means and holding control means are constructed by the control of the central control unit CPU, but they can also be constructed by a control circuit.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, the player sets the launch lever for adjusting the launch position on the game board surface by the rotation position at the optimum position, and the player simply stops the launch lever for a predetermined time. It is designed to be held automatically, which eliminates the need for additional operation to hold the firing lever, so that one hand can hold the firing lever while the other hand depresses the operating switch. There is no need to perform any operation such as operation, the hand moves during that operation, the holding position does not change, there is no need to re-operate, and the player releases the firing lever to the most possible position. Can be held. Moreover, such a stationary holding of the firing lever for a relatively short period of time is normally performed by the player, so that even a player who does not understand the holding function can benefit from it. Thus, there is an excellent effect that is optimal as a structure having a firing lever holding function.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachinko gaming machine 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a lower portion of the pachinko gaming machine 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the launching device.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a launching device.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a launching device.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a connecting disc 60 showing another configuration of the lever holding means.

FIG. 7 is a time chart showing a holding operation.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for controlling the big hit operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Pachinko gaming machine 20 Firing motor 40 Firing handle 44 Firing lever 60 Connecting disc 61 Electromagnetic brake 64 Groove hole array S _t Touch sensor S ₁ Proximity sensor S ₂ Cancel switch

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A launching handle projecting from the lower part of the front of the gaming machine has a launching lever for adjusting the launching position on the gaming board surface by its rotational position, the pivoting lever being manually rotatably supported. In a launching device comprising a lever holding means for holding the firing lever at an arbitrary rotational position, the lever holding means detects a stillness of the firing lever for a predetermined time, and a stillness detection means for determining the stillness of the firing lever. A launching device for a pachinko gaming machine, comprising a holding device for holding. 2. A stationary detection means of the lever holding means intermittently surrounds a large number of slots along the rotation direction of the firing lever,
A detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the slot is provided opposite to the slot row, and a control means for determining that the firing lever is stationary when there is no on / off conversion of the detection sensor within a predetermined time is provided. The launching device for a pachinko gaming machine according to claim 1, which is a thing. 3. A holding device of a lever holding means is provided with a metal connecting disc on one of a firing lever and a handle main body for rotatably holding the firing lever, and holds the connecting disc by suction on the other. It is equipped with an electromagnetic brake, and the stationary detection means detects the stationary state of the firing lever,
2. An electromagnetic brake is driven to adsorb the connecting disc to hold the firing lever.
A device for launching a pachinko game machine as described.