JP3879070B2 - Ball tray for pachinko machines - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball tray for a pachinko gaming machine, and more particularly to an improvement of a ball removal mechanism that discharges game balls accommodated in the ball tray.

  Conventionally, in a lower ball tray for a pachinko gaming machine, when a ball is removed, the operation lever provided at the front lower end of the ball tray is manually operated and moved laterally to cover the ball discharge hole provided on the bottom surface. The shielding plate was moved to open the ball discharge hole, and the stored game balls were dropped into a ball receiving box provided below.

  However, since the conventional lower ball tray has a single ball discharge hole and is fixed, the game balls dropped from the ball discharge hole are piled up in a mountain shape at the dropped position. If this piled state is left unattended, game balls overflow from the ball receiving box, and the player has to perform ball leveling, which is very complicated. In addition, when performing such a ball leveling, there is a problem that touching the game ball may cause static electricity, which may cause discomfort to the player.

  The present invention is intended to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a ball tray for a pachinko gaming machine that allows game balls to be dispersed and dropped from a ball discharge hole of the ball tray in a wide range. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the structural feature of the invention according to claim 1 is a top open container that is provided on the lower front side of the main body and stores a game ball. The ball discharge hole provided on the bottom surface is variable in the ball tray for the pachinko gaming machine that discharges the stored game ball downward by opening the ball discharge hole. And a variable mechanism control device for starting the operation of the ball discharge position variable mechanism according to the opening operation of the shielding member and stopping the operation according to the closing operation of the shielding member. .

  By configuring the invention according to claim 1 as described above, the position of the ball discharge hole provided on the bottom surface is variable, so that the game ball released from the ball tray is a ball disposed below the ball tray. It is dispersed and discharged over a wide area in the receiving box, and is not stacked in one place, but is evenly accommodated in the box. As a result, it is not necessary to level the game balls discharged into the ball receiving box, which is very convenient. Thereby, when the ball is removed from the ball receiving tray, the player does not have to worry about the ball receiving tray, and can concentrate on the game. In addition, there is no discomfort due to static electricity received when leveling the game balls. Furthermore, since it is only necessary to operate the ball discharge position variable mechanism only when the shielding member is opened, the operating cost of the ball discharge position variable mechanism can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a main body 10 of a pachinko gaming machine to which the first embodiment is applied. The main body 10 supports the game board 11 on the upper frame portion 10a on the front, and the front side of the game board 11 is closed by a glass door 12 supported on the left inner side of the frame portion 10a so as to be opened and closed. An upper dish substrate 20 is provided below the glass door 12.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the upper tray substrate 20 is provided with an upper ball tray 21 on the front surface, and the upper ball tray 21 has a prize ball supply port 21d open at the left end of the substrate 20a. A prize ball supplied from a prize ball tank provided on the back surface is supplied through a prize ball supply port 21d. An upper dish ball removal button 22 is provided on the flat portion on the right end side of the upper ball tray 21. A lower dish substrate 30 is attached to the lower side of the upper dish substrate 20. The lower tray substrate 30 is provided with a lower ball tray 33 at the center, and a firing handle 31 is provided at the right end position and an ashtray 32 is provided at the left end position.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lower ball receiving tray 33 is provided with a bottom surface portion 33a and an enclosure 33b around the bottom surface portion 33a excluding the front surface of the base 30a. The base 30a on the back side of the lower ball receiving tray 33 is provided with a game ball inflow port 30b, and a game ball inflow tube 30c protruding rearward from the game ball inflow port 30b is attached. A circular opening 33c is provided at substantially the center of the bottom surface portion 33a of the lower ball tray 33 so as to penetrate the bottom surface portion 33a. The bottom surface 33a is provided with a gap 33d formed horizontally from the front surface of the lower ball tray 33 to the rear, and an opening / closing member 34 for opening and closing the opening 33c is movable in the gap 33d in the lateral direction. It is provided as such. The gap 33d has a short lateral length on the front surface of the lower ball receiving tray 33 in order to define a lateral movement range of a ball release lever 34b, which will be described later. Is formed.

  The opening / closing member 34 includes a rectangular opening / closing plate 34a covering the opening 33c, and a ball removal lever 34b attached to the front end of the opening / closing plate 34a and protruding from the front end of the gap 33d. The open / close plate 34a has the other end of a coil spring 34c, one end of which is fixed in the left ashtray 32 of the lower ball tray 33, fixed to the left side edge. Usually, the right end position shown in FIG. Is held in. The opening / closing member 34 manually moves the ball release lever 34b to the left to contract the coil spring 34c and moves it to the left end position shown in FIG. 3, whereby the opening / closing member 34 opens the opening 33c. It is supposed to be. By releasing the hand from the ball release lever 34b, the opening / closing plate 34a is urged to the right by the extension force of the coil spring 34c, and returned to the right end position where the opening 33c is closed. An opening / closing plate detection switch 35 for detecting the movement of the opening / closing plate 34a is provided at the left end position of the gap 33d. The open / close plate detection switch 35 is a proximity switch such as a magnetic sensor, for example, which outputs a detection signal to a control device (not shown) and is used for drive control of an electric motor 38 described later.

  A circular space 33e is provided at the position of the opening 33c below the gap 33d, and a rotating plate 36 having a diameter slightly larger than the opening 33c is rotatably disposed in the space 33e. As shown in FIG. 4, the rotary plate 36 has a single ball discharge hole 36a on the plate surface, and has a gear shape in which teeth 36b are formed on the outer periphery. However, two or more ball discharge holes 36a may be used. A ball discharge tube 36c is attached to the position of the ball discharge hole 36a on the back surface side of the rotating plate 36 in an obliquely outward direction. A small-diameter gear 37 is meshed with the rotating plate 36. The gear 37 is provided through the base 30a and is rotatably attached to the base 30a. The gear 37 is further meshed with a small-diameter gear 38a attached to the rotating shaft of the electric motor 38 provided on the back side of the base 30a. The electric motor 38 is connected to the output side of a control device (not shown). The control device receives the detection signal from the opening / closing plate detection switch 35 and controls the electric motor 38 to start rotating.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment configured as described above will be described. In a state where game balls are stored in the lower ball receiving tray 33, a ball receiving box (not shown) is provided below the lower ball receiving tray 33, and then the ball release lever 34b is moved leftward so that the opening / closing plate 34a is shown in FIG. Move to the left end position shown in. Thereby, the opening 33c is opened, the rotating plate 36 is exposed to the opening 33c, and the game ball is discharged from the ball discharge hole 36a provided in the rotating plate 36 into the ball receiving box through the ball discharge tube 36c. At the same time, the movement of the opening / closing plate 34a to the left end position is detected by the opening / closing plate detection switch 35, and the electric motor 38 starts rotating under the control of the control device according to the detection result, and rotates in conjunction with this. The plate 36 rotates.

  Since the position of the ball discharge cylinder 36c inclined toward the outer side provided on the bottom surface changes due to the rotation of the rotating plate 36, the game balls continuously discharged from the ball discharge cylinder 36c are It is released to a wide area in the receiving box, and game balls are not stacked in one place. Therefore, the player does not need to level the game balls discharged into the ball receiving box, which is very convenient. Further, since the player does not need to pay attention to the lower ball receiving tray 33 when removing the ball from the lower ball receiving tray 33, the player can concentrate on the game. Furthermore, a comfortable game can be performed without experiencing the discomfort due to static electricity received when leveling the game balls.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, instead of using the circular rotating plate shown in the first embodiment as means for changing the ball discharge port, the ball discharge position is changed using a moving plate as shown in FIG. It is what I did. The lower ball tray 33 is the same as that shown in the first embodiment. However, for the opening provided penetrating through the bottom surface 33a of the lower ball tray 33, a fan-shaped opening 41 having a central angle smaller than a right angle is used as shown in FIG. The bottom surface portion 33a is provided with a gap 33d similar to that shown in the first embodiment, and an opening / closing member 42 similar to the opening / closing member 34 that opens and closes the opening 41 is laterally disposed in the gap 33d. It is provided so that it can move.

  The opening / closing member 42 includes a rectangular opening / closing plate 42a covering the opening 41, and a ball removal lever 42b attached to the front end of the opening / closing plate 42a and protruding from the front end of the gap 33d. The open / close plate 42a has the other end of a coil spring 42c fixed at the left side edge in the ashtray 32 on the left side of the lower sphere tray 33, and is normally positioned at the right end position shown in FIG. Is held in. The opening / closing member 42 manually moves the ball release lever 42b to the left, thereby contracting the coil spring 42c and moving it to the left end position shown in FIG. 6, whereby the opening / closing member 42 opens the opening 41. It is supposed to be. By releasing the hand from the ball release lever 42b, the opening / closing plate 42a is urged to the right by the extension force of the coil spring 42c, and returned to the right end position where the opening 41 is closed. In the ashtray 32, an open / close plate detection switch 43 for detecting the movement of the open / close plate 42a is provided. The detection signal of the opening / closing plate detection switch 43 is input to a control device (not shown) and used for driving control of the electric motor 54 described later.

  A fan-shaped space 33f extending from the opening 41 to the back surface of the base 30a is provided at the position of the opening 41 below the gap, and a fan-shaped moving plate 51 is disposed in the space 33f. As shown in FIG. 7, the moving plate 51 has a central angle approximately twice that of the opening 41 and is provided with a single ball discharge hole 51 a on the central plate surface. Further, a long-plate-shaped drive plate 52 extending in the radial direction is integrally attached to the inner peripheral portion of the movable plate 51, and the drive plate 52 is secured by a stopper 53 in an attachment hole 52c at an intermediate position. It is rotatably attached to the base 30a, and a part of the base 30a protrudes rearward. The protruding portion 52a of the drive plate 52 is provided with a slit-like long hole 52b.

  An electric motor 54 is provided on the rear side of the base 30a with the rotating shaft facing upward, and a disc 55 is attached to the rotating shaft of the electric motor 54 at a right angle to the shaft. One engagement protrusion 55 a is provided at the outer peripheral position of the circular plate 55, and the engagement protrusion 55 a is engaged with the long hole 52 b of the drive plate 52. Then, the rotation of the electric motor 54 causes the rotation of the disk 55 to be transmitted to the drive plate 52 via the engagement protrusion 55a, and the drive plate 52 reciprocates at a predetermined angle around the stopper 53.

  Next, the operation of the second embodiment configured as described above will be described. In a state in which the game balls are stored in the lower ball receiving tray 33, a ball receiving box is provided below the lower ball receiving tray 33, and then the opening and closing plate 42a is shown in FIG. Move to the left end position. Accordingly, the opening 41 is opened, the moving plate 51 is exposed to the opening 41, and the game ball is discharged from the ball discharge hole 51a provided in the moving plate 51 into the ball receiving box. At the same time, the movement of the opening / closing plate 42a to the left end position is detected by the opening / closing plate detection switch 43, and the electric motor 54 starts to rotate under the control of the control device according to this detection result. In conjunction with this, the movable plate 51 reciprocally rotates in the left-right direction around the center of the opening 41.

  Since the position of the ball discharge hole 51a is reciprocally rotated by the reciprocating rotation of the moving plate 51, the game balls continuously discharged from the ball discharge hole 51a are stored in the ball receiving box. It is released continuously over a wide area and is not stacked in one place. Therefore, also in the second embodiment, an effect similar to the effect shown in the first embodiment can be obtained.

  Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, as a means for changing the ball discharge port, the ball discharge position is changed using a rectangular moving plate as shown in FIG. The lower ball tray 33 is the same as that shown in the first embodiment. However, as shown in FIG. 8, a rectangular opening 45 is used for the opening provided in the bottom surface portion 33 a of the lower ball tray 33. The bottom surface 33a is provided with a gap 33d similar to that shown in the first embodiment, and the opening / closing member 42 for opening and closing the opening 45 is provided in the gap 33d so as to be movable in the lateral direction. It has been.

  A rectangular space 33g extending left and right around the opening 45 is provided at the position of the opening 45 below the gap 33d, and a rectangular moving plate 61 is disposed in the space 33g so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. Has been. The moving plate 61 is slightly wider than the opening 45 and has a single ball discharge hole 61a at the center position. A long drive piece 62 extending rearward is integrally attached to the center of the rear end of the movable plate 61. A transmission piece 63 is rotatably attached to the tip of the drive piece 62.

  In addition, an electric motor 64 is provided behind the base 30a with the rotating shaft facing forward, and a rotating plate 65 is attached to the rotating shaft of the electric motor 64 at a right angle to the shaft. An engagement protrusion 65a is provided at the outer peripheral position of the rotating plate 65, and a transmission piece 63 is rotatably attached to the engagement protrusion 65a. Then, the rotation of the rotating plate 65 is converted into the reciprocating motion in the lateral direction of the driving piece 62 through the transmission piece 63 by the rotation of the electric motor 64, and the moving plate 61 also performs the reciprocating motion in the lateral direction together with the driving piece 62.

  In the third embodiment configured as described above, similarly to the second embodiment, the moving plate 61 performs a reciprocating motion in the horizontal direction with the opening 45 opened, thereby moving the moving plate. Since the position of the ball discharge hole 61a provided in 61 reciprocates in a straight line, the game balls released from the ball discharge hole 61a are continuously discharged to a wide range in the ball receiving box. Will not be stacked. As a result, also in the third embodiment, an effect similar to the effect shown in the first embodiment can be obtained.

  Next, a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, instead of providing a hole in the moving plate and continuously dispersing and discharging the game balls from the hole that moves in accordance with the movement of the moving plate as means for changing the ball discharge port, the lower ball A plurality of small openings are provided in the bottom surface 33a of the tray 33, a moving plate having a ball discharge hole is provided on the bottom surface, and a game ball is drawn from the small opening having overlapping ball discharge holes according to the movement of the moving plate. By intermittently discharging, game balls are distributed and discharged.

  A case where a circular plate is used as the moving plate will be described. The lower ball tray 33 is the same as that shown in FIG. 2 in the first embodiment. As shown by a broken line in FIG. 10A, three small openings 71 are provided at equal intervals on the bottom surface 33a of the lower ball tray 33. A circular rotating plate 39 is rotatably arranged on the upper surface of the bottom surface portion 33a provided with the small opening 71. By rotating the rotating plate 39, the game balls stored in the upper ball receiving tray are sequentially discharged at a position where the ball discharge hole 39 a provided in the rotating plate 39 overlaps the three small openings 71. Therefore, the game balls are distributed to three substantially different places and discharged intermittently, so that they are discharged to a wide area in the ball receiving box and the game balls are not stacked in one place. As a result, also in the fourth embodiment, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the effects shown in the first to third embodiments.

  Further, as a first modification of the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10B, four small openings 72 are provided at equal intervals on the bottom surface portion 33 a of the lower ball tray 33. A rotating plate 39 provided with two ball discharge holes 39b at diagonal positions is rotatably arranged on the upper surface of the bottom surface portion 33a provided with the small openings 72. By rotating the rotating plate 39, the game balls stored in the upper ball receiving tray are sequentially discharged at the position where the two ball discharge holes 39b provided in the rotating plate 39 overlap the four small openings 72. . Therefore, the game balls are distributed to four different places and discharged intermittently, so that they are discharged to a wide area in the ball receiving box and the game balls are not stacked in one place. As a result, the same effect as the effect shown in the fourth embodiment can be obtained also in the first modification. In the first modification, the number of the ball discharge holes 39b and the small openings 72 may be a combination other than the above.

  Next, as a second modification of the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11A, the lower ball receiving tray 33 shown in the third embodiment is used, and two small openings are formed in the bottom surface portion 33a. The parts 73 are provided in a horizontal row with a predetermined interval. A moving plate 61 provided with a single ball discharge hole 61a is arranged on the upper surface of the bottom surface portion 33a provided with the small opening 73 so as to be reciprocally movable in the lateral direction. By reciprocating the moving plate 61, the game balls stored in the upper ball receiving tray are sequentially discharged at a position where one ball discharge hole 61a provided in the moving plate 61 overlaps the two small openings 73. Is done. Therefore, the game balls are distributed to two different places and discharged intermittently, so that the game balls are not discharged to a wide area in the ball receiving box and stacked in one place. As a result, also in Modification 2, the same effect as that shown in the fourth embodiment can be obtained.

  Further, as a third modification, as shown in FIG. 11 (b), three small openings 74 are provided on the bottom surface 33 a of the lower ball tray 33 so as to be equally spaced in a horizontal row. A moving plate 61 provided with two ball discharge holes 61b is disposed on the upper surface of the bottom surface portion 33a provided with the small openings 74 so as to be capable of reciprocating in the lateral direction. In the third modification configured as described above, the same effect as in the second modification can be obtained. In the third modification, combinations other than the above are possible for the number of the ball discharge holes 61b and the small openings 74.

  Next, as a fourth modification, when the movement of the moving plates 39 and 61 is stopped, the stop positions of the moving plates 39 and 61 are changed to the ball discharge holes of the moving plates 39 and 61 and the small openings provided in the bottom surface portion 33a. I tried to make it so that it doesn't overlap. For example, by using a position detector and a control device, they can be prevented from overlapping each other. Thereby, when the movement of the moving plates 39 and 61 is stopped, the game ball is not discharged from the ball discharge hole. As a result, it is not necessary to provide the opening / closing plates 34a and 42a for preventing the discharge of the game ball, and the mechanism of the lower ball tray can be simplified.

  Next, a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, propeller-shaped rotating blades having a plurality of blades are used as means for changing the ball discharge port, as shown in FIG. The lower ball tray 33 is the same as that shown in the third embodiment. A semicircular opening 46 is provided on the rear side of the bottom surface portion 33a of the lower ball tray 33, and a gap 33d formed horizontally from the front surface of the lower ball tray 33 to the rear is provided on the bottom surface portion 33a. In the gap 33d, an opening / closing member similar to the opening / closing member 42 for opening / closing the opening 46 is provided so as to be movable in the lateral direction.

  A semicircular space 33h is provided at the position of the opening 46 below the gap 33d, and half of the rotary blade member 81 having four blades 81a is disposed in the space 33h. The rotary blade member 81 has a rotary shaft 81b attached to the base 30a position, and half of the blade 81a protrudes backward. The rotary blade member 81 is connected to an electric motor by a transmission mechanism (not shown) and is rotated by driving of the electric motor.

  In the fifth embodiment configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 13, when the opening / closing plate 42a moves and the opening 46 is opened, the rotating blade member 81 starts to rotate, and the space between the blades 81a. The gap 81c also rotates. Along with this, the game balls stored in the lower ball receiving tray 33 from the gaps 81c of the respective blades 81a are discharged in a circular shape, so that they are intermittently discharged to a wide area in the ball receiving box. It will not be stacked. Therefore, also in 4th Embodiment, the effect similar to the effect shown in said each embodiment can be acquired.

  In each of the above-described embodiments and modified examples, the rotation plate and the moving plate are driven by the opening / closing plate detection switch detecting that the opening is opened by the movement of the opening / closing plate, and controlled by the control device according to the detection result. The driving cost is reduced by starting. However, it is possible to always drive the rotating plate and the moving plate as required. Thereby, the configuration of the drive system such as the rotating plate can be simplified.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the driving electric motor is used independently, but instead of this, the electric motor of the game ball launching device can also be used. Thereby, the number of electric motors can be reduced and the ball discharge mechanism can be made inexpensive.

1 is a front view schematically showing a pachinko gaming machine to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is the top view and front view which show the state by which the opening part of the lower ball saucer part which is 1st Embodiment was closed. It is the top view and front view which show the state by which the opening part of the lower sphere saucer part was open | released. It is a perspective view which shows the rotation board in detail. It is the top view and front view which show the state by which the opening part of the lower ball saucer part which is 2nd Embodiment was closed. It is the top view and front view which show the state by which the opening part of the lower sphere saucer part was open | released. It is a top view which shows the same rotating board in detail. It is the top view and front view which show the state by which the opening part of the lower ball saucer part which is 3rd Embodiment was closed. It is the top view and front view which show the state by which the opening part of the lower sphere saucer part was open | released. It is explanatory drawing explaining the ball | bowl discharge | emission mechanism of the lower ball | bowl tray which concerns on 4th Embodiment and the modification 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the ball | bowl discharge | emission mechanism of the lower sphere saucer of the modification 2 and the modification 3. It is the top view and front view which show the state by which the opening part of the lower ball saucer part which is 5th Embodiment was closed. It is the top view and front view which show the state by which the opening part of the lower sphere saucer part was open | released.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Main body, 20 ... Upper plate board, 30 ... Lower plate board, 30a ... Base, 33 ... Lower ball tray, 33a ... Bottom part, 33b ... Enclosure, 33c ... Opening part, 33d ... Gap, 34 ... Opening / closing member, 34a Open / close plate, 34b ... Ball release lever, 34c ... Coil spring, 35 ... Open / close plate detection switch, 36 ... Rotating plate, 36a ... Ball discharge hole, 36b ... Teeth, 36c ... Ball discharge cylinder, 37 ... Gear, 38 ... Electric motor 38a ... gear, 39 ... rotation plate, 39a, 39b ... ball discharge hole, 41 ... opening, 42 ... opening / closing member, 42a ... opening / closing plate, 42b ... ball release lever, 42c ... coil spring, 43 ... opening / closing plate detection switch, 45 ... opening, 46 ... opening, 51 ... moving plate, 51a ... ball discharge hole, 52 ... drive plate, 52a ... projecting portion, 52b ... long hole, 52c ... mounting hole, 53 ... stop, 54 ... electric motor 55 ... Rotating plate 55 ... engaging protrusion, 61 ... moving plate, 61a, 61b ... ball discharge hole, 62 ... driving piece, 63 ... transmission piece, 64 ... electric motor, 65 ... rotating plate, 65a ... engaging protrusion, 71 ... small opening, 72: small opening, 73: small opening, 74: small opening, 81: rotating blade member, 81a: blade, 81b: rotating shaft, 81c: gap.

Claims (1)

An open top container for storing game balls provided on the lower front side of the main body, comprising a ball discharge hole on the bottom surface and a shielding member for opening and closing the ball discharge hole, and opening the ball discharge hole In the ball tray for pachinko gaming machine that discharges the stored game balls downward,
A ball discharge position variable mechanism that makes the position of the ball discharge hole provided in the bottom surface variable;
A pachinko gaming machine comprising a variable mechanism control device for starting the operation of the ball discharge position variable mechanism according to the opening operation of the shielding member and stopping the operation according to the closing operation of the shielding member. A ball tray.

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