JP4094541B2 - Ball bowl of ball game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball tray of a ball game machine that has a storage guide tray that can store a large number of game balls and that aligns the game balls stored in the storage guide tray and flows down to a ball feeder.

  Pachinko machines are widely known as a representative example of a ball game machine equipped with the above-described ball tray. In the pachinko machine, a game ball launching device is attached to an intermediate region of the front frame located on the lower side of the game board, and a ball tray for supplying the game ball to the game ball launching device is provided in front of the game ball launching device. The ball tray is provided with a storage guide tray that can store a large number of game balls and projects forward. A ball feeding device provided on the back side of the ball tray allows the game balls stored in the storage guide tray to be 1 The balls are sent to the game ball launching device one by one, and are hit by a hammer of the game ball launching device to be launched onto the game board.

The storage guide tray is surrounded by a surrounding wall so that the player can throw in the game balls borrowed from the ball lending machine, and when the stored game balls decrease, the player can replenish them from the ball box, etc. It has a dish shape with an open top surface. The storage surface of the storage guide plate, that is, the support surface that supports the game ball, is used to feed the downstream ball so that the stored game ball can roll smoothly under its own weight and be guided by the surrounding wall and aligned in a row. The inclined posture is inclined downward toward the mechanism, and is a flat inclined support surface having a constant inclination angle (normally an inclination angle of about 3.5 to 4.5 degrees) from the upstream side to the downstream side (for example, Patent Document 1). See).
Japanese Patent No. 2551888 (3rd page, FIGS. 6 and 7)

  Note that pachinko machines currently used in games include pachinko machines with a single ball tray and pachinko machines with two upper and lower ball trays. In the case of the dish configuration, the upper ball tray in the upper stage is normally configured as a storage guide tray that has both the storage function of game balls and the flow-down guide function of flowing down in alignment with the ball feeder. In any of the above-described pachinko machines, for example, a ball removal mechanism for discharging the game balls stored in the storage guide tray at the end of the game is provided. The ball removal mechanism is provided at the end portion of the guide passage to discharge all the game balls stopped in the guide passage leading from the storage guide tray to the ball feeding device. The game ball is caused to flow down into the ball passage by opening and closing the part.

  However, in the conventional ball tray as described above, since the support surface of the storage guide tray is an inclined surface having a constant inclination angle, the downstream side depends on the set inclination angle and the number of game balls stored in the storage guide tray. The pressure acting on the game ball greatly changed, and as a result, there was a large difference in the flow-down state (ball flow) of the game ball.

  That is, when the inclination angle of the support surface is set to a small value, the pressure change of the downstream game ball due to the change in the number of game balls stored in the storage guide tray (hereinafter referred to as “storage balls”) decreases, but the storage guide tray The game ball placed on the board may not flow smoothly, or the rolling game ball may stop halfway with a slight resistance, and the player must push it down one by one. If it does not endure complexity. On the other hand, if the inclination angle of the support surface is set to be large, the game ball can flow down reliably even if there is some resistance, but the pressure change of the downstream game ball with the change in the number of stored balls increases. When the number of stored balls is large, the pressure acting on the downstream game ball becomes excessive, causing ball clogging at the bent part of the ball passage or increasing the load acting on the ball feeding device, resulting in malfunction There is a high risk that

  For this reason, the setting of the inclination angle of the storage guide tray is considered to be an extremely delicate design matter.Many engineers who have long experience in the material properties of the materials themselves, the surface properties after processing, the usage environment in amusement facilities, etc. There is a fact that it must be determined by repeating the experiment, and while maintaining a stable ball flow with a small number of stored balls, the pressure on the game ball on the downstream side is excessive when the number of stored balls increases There was a need for new design techniques that would not be possible.

  Further, since the ball removing mechanism conventionally provided in the ball tray is provided at the end portion of the guide passage for guiding the game ball stored in the storage guide tray to the ball feeding device, the ball discharge and ball removal are performed. For example, when a big hit occurs during a game and it is desired to remove the game ball from the ball tray, it is difficult to remove the ball while stably launching the game.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and includes stable ball flow in a state where the number of stored balls is small, and suppression of pressure on a downstream game ball in a state where the number of stored balls is increased. An object of the present invention is to provide a ball tray that can be removed without disturbing the flow of the ball to the ball feeding device.

  In order to achieve the above object, the ball tray of the ball game machine according to the present invention has a storage guide tray capable of storing a large number of game balls, and the game balls stored in the storage guide tray are aligned to feed the ball. In a ball tray of a ball game machine that flows down to the apparatus, the support surface of the game ball in the storage guide tray is lowered from the first inclined support surface on the downstream side and the second inclined support surface on the upstream side, both lowering toward the downstream side. In addition, the inclination angle of the second inclined support surface is made smaller than the inclination angle of the first inclined support surface, and a part of the passage wall that guides the game ball to the ball feeder is opened and closed on the downstream side of the first inclined support surface. A first ball removal mechanism is provided that can be operated to remove the game balls stored in the storage guide plate, and opens and closes an opening / closing valve member that forms a part of the second inclined support surface, thereby upstream of the storage guide plate. An opening / closing valve member in a second ball removal mechanism capable of removing the game balls stored on the side; And a closure member for holding a portion of the inclined support surfaces always closed, are selectively mountable configured.

  Such a ball tray is composed of a first inclined support surface on the downstream side and a second inclined support surface on the upstream side in which both the support surfaces of the game balls in the storage guide tray are lowered toward the downstream. The inclination angle of the second inclined support surface on the support surface is formed smaller than the inclination angle of the first inclined support surface. For this reason, in a state where the number of game balls stored in the storage guide tray is small, the stored balls are disposed on the first inclined support surface on the downstream side where the inclination angle is relatively steep. Rolling down reliably toward the downstream side (ball feeder side). On the other hand, when the number of game balls stored in the storage guide plate increases, the newly stored storage balls are stored on the second inclined support surface on the upstream side with a relatively gentle inclination angle, so that they act on the downstream game balls. The pressure to be suppressed is suppressed according to the decrease in the tilt angle. Therefore, according to the present configuration, a ball tray is provided that achieves both stable ball flow with a small number of stored balls and suppression of pressure on the downstream game ball with a large number of stored balls. be able to.

Further, a step is provided at the connecting portion between the first inclined support surface and the second inclined support surface, and the upstream second inclined support surface is the downstream first inclined support before and after the step (front and rear in the upstream and downstream directions). It arrange | positions so that it may become higher than a surface. In the ball tray having such a configuration, in a state where the game balls are stored on the first and second inclined support surfaces sandwiching the step, the game balls stored on the second inclined support surface side are inclined downward by the step. Spherical contact is made with the game balls on the side of the first inclined support surface located in a diagonally up and down positional relationship. On the other hand, the pressure of the game ball stored on the second inclined support surface (vector P in the flow direction) acts in a direction along the second inclined support surface. For this reason, the force acting on the game ball on the first inclined support surface side from the game ball on the second inclined support surface side makes contact with the vector P in the flow direction along the second inclined support surface and connects the ball centers to each other. It becomes the vector component P _{1 in the} contact direction when the vector component P ₁ in the direction and the vector component P _{2 in the} direction orthogonal to the direction are decomposed, and is higher than the pressure P in the case of direct contact without providing a step. Obviously it can be made smaller. Therefore, by providing such a step between the first inclined support surface on the downstream side and the second inclined support surface on the upstream side, the game on the downstream side when the number of game balls stored in the storage guide tray increases. It is possible to provide a ball tray that further suppresses the pressure acting on the sphere and achieves both a stable sphere flow and the suppression of the pressure on the downstream game ball.

  Further, the on-off valve member formed so as to be able to open and close a part of the second inclined support surface is configured to be replaceable with a closing member that always closes a part of the second inclined support surface. For this reason, only the 1st ball removal mechanism which is a conventional ball removal mechanism can be used as needed only by exchanging a closing member and an on-off valve member, without changing a basic composition of a ball tray. One of the prepared ball dishes and a ball dish that can use the second ball removal mechanism having the above effect in addition to the first ball removal mechanism can be obtained.

  Further, on the downstream side of the first inclined support surface, a first ball removal mechanism that opens and closes a part of the passage wall that guides the game ball to the ball feeder unit and flows the game ball down to the ball removal passage, that is, similar to the conventional one. A ball removal mechanism is provided, and a part of the second inclined support surface is opened and closed at a downstream portion of the second inclined support surface to join the game ball stored on the upstream side of the storage guide plate to the ball extraction passage. A second ball removing mechanism is also provided for the purpose of flowing down. Therefore, it is possible to remove the game ball using the second ball removal mechanism without interfering with the ball flow of the game ball flowing down from the first inclined support surface side to the ball feeder, thereby stabilizing the game ball. The ball can be removed while firing. On the other hand, at the end of the game, by using both the first ball removal mechanism and the second ball removal mechanism to perform ball removal, the ball removal operation, which would have taken time for the first ball removal mechanism alone, is quickly completed. Can be made. In addition, due to the effect of the step provided between the first inclined support surface and the second inclined support surface described above, even if the pressure of the game ball stored on the second inclined support surface side changes due to the ball removal operation, The influence can be mitigated, and a stable change of the ball flow can be secured by suppressing the pressure change to the game ball on the downstream side. Furthermore, the configuration in which the second ball removing mechanism is joined to the ball removing passage of the first ball removing mechanism allows the above-mentioned various types of game machines to be replaced by simply replacing the ball tray without changing the game machine body side. It is possible to obtain a ball game machine having the following effects.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As a representative example of a ball game machine equipped with a ball tray according to the present invention, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are a front view and a rear view of a pachinko machine, and FIG. 3 is a plan view as viewed in the direction of arrows III in FIG. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of FIG. 4 as viewed in the direction of arrows IV-IV in FIG. 1. First, an overall outline of the pachinko machine PM will be described with reference to these drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2, in order to show the back and front of the entire upper ball tray, each figure is shown with the glass door and the upper ball tray on the front side of the machine body opened in a pseudo manner by 180 degrees.

  In the pachinko machine PM, the front frame 2 for opening and closing mounted on the front surface of the outer frame 1 that is configured to have a rectangular frame size and forms a vertically fixed holding frame is arranged on the front surface of the opening and closing mounted to each other. A hinge mechanism disposed on the upper left and lower sides of the front side is attached to the front so that it can be opened / closed and attached / detached, and is always in a closed state engaged and connected to the outer frame 1 using a locking device provided on the right side of the front. Retained.

  A glass door 3 is attached to the front side (front side) upper part of the front frame 2 so that it can be opened / closed / removed sideways and covers the front side of the front frame 2 using a locking device provided on the right side of the front. It is kept closed. An upper part of the front frame located behind the glass door 3 is provided with an accommodation frame for detachably accommodating the game board 10, and the game board 10 latched and held in an upright posture on the accommodation frame is provided with the glass door. 3 is visible. The game board 10 uses a decorative board 11 in which cells are attached to the surface of a laminated plywood having a predetermined thickness as a substrate, and is surrounded by a semicircular arc outer rail 12 and an inner rail 13, and is a substantially circular game area PA. Is formed. In the game area PA, there are a large number of game nails and windmills as well as various prize-winning devices 14, an image display device 15 for displaying symbols according to the game development status, and game components such as side lamps. A mouth 18 is provided and configured.

  An auxiliary mechanism portion called a game auxiliary board is provided in the front side intermediate portion of the front frame 2. The game auxiliary board 20 includes a launch rail 22 that guides the game ball hit by the hammer of the game ball launcher 21 and launches it toward the outer rail 12 of the game board, and an upper bowl tray outlet 55 described below. The upper outlet 25 formed in the shape of an inclined passage connecting the upper set-off passage 45 to the back set board, a speaker for generating sound effects according to the game development status, and a foul ball collection passage are formed. A speaker cover 31 and the like are provided.

  The upper ball tray 5 is attached to the front of the game assisting board 20 by the hinge mechanism 4 so as to be opened / closed and detachable sideways, and always covers the front of the game assisting board using the ball dish locking device provided on the right side of the front. It is kept closed. The upper ball tray 5 is provided with a storage guide tray 56 for storing game balls on the front side, and the upper outlet 25 on the side of the game auxiliary board with the upper ball tray 5 closed in the upper left part on the back side. A communicating duct-shaped outlet 55 is formed to protrude rearward, so that the game ball flowing in from the upper outlet 25 flows down to the storage guide tray 56. Further, a ball feeding device 59 is provided on the right side of the back of the upper ball tray 5 at a position aligned with the firing rail 22 in a state where the upper ball tray 5 is closed, and one game ball stored in the storage guide tray 56 is received. It is comprised so that it may send out to the firing rail 22 one by one.

  A lower ball tray 7 with an open top surface is attached to the front lower portion of the front frame 2 so as to protrude forward, and a box-shaped lower ball tray connecting bucket 37 having openings on the upper surface and the front surface is mounted on the lower side of the front frame 2. The lower ball tray 7 and the lower ball tray communication bucket 37 are connected to each other through a lower outlet 27 that penetrates the front frame 2 back and forth. On the right side of the front of the lower ball tray 7, a firing handle 8 for performing a game ball firing operation is attached.

  On the back side (rear side) of the front frame 2, a back set board 40 is attached to the rear side of the front frame 2 so as to be laterally openable and detachable. The back set board 40 has a ball storage tank 41 for storing game balls for payout, a tank rail 42 for aligning and flowing down the game balls stored in the ball storage tank 41, and game balls guided from the tank rail 42. A ball payout device 43 that pays out in accordance with the winning state, an upper payout passage 45 that is provided directly below the ball payout device 43 and guides the game balls paid out from the ball payout device 43 to the upper ball tray 5, and an upper payout passage 45, which is provided adjacent to the upper payout passage 47, which is formed adjacent to the upper payout passage 45 and leads to the lower ball tray 7, and above the partition wall 44 which partitions the upper payout passage 45 and the lower payout passage 47. An overflow ball passage 46 that communicates the passage, a safe ball that has fallen into the winning device 14 and led to the back side of the decorative plate 11 and an out ball that has been led to the back side of the decorative plate 11 through the out port 18 are gathered. Let's lead to the collection device on the amusement island It is provided such technique already ball discharge passage 48. Various circuit boards such as a power supply board, a main control board, and a payout control board are attached to the back of the back set board 40, and each electrical component is connected by a connector cable to constitute a pachinko machine PM.

  The pachinko machine PM is used in a game in which the upper ball tray 5 and the glass door 3 are closed and locked, and the game ball is stored in the upper ball tray 5 and the operation lever of the launch handle 8 is rotated. Is started. When the operation lever is turned, the game balls stored in the upper ball tray 5 are sent one by one to the launch rail 22 by the ball feeding device 59, and are launched by the hammer of the game ball launching device 21 to play the game area PA. Led to.

  The game ball that has reached the game area PA rolls and falls in the game area PA while being played by a large number of game nails and windmills in the game area. It is guided without being dropped into the winning device 14 and falls through the out port 18 and is led to the back side of the decorative board 11, and both play through the game ball discharge passage 48 of the back set board 40. It is discharged to the island collection device. Each winning tool is provided with a winning ball detector for detecting a winning game ball, and the detection signal is output to the main control board. The main control board outputs a payout signal based on the winning detection signal to the payout control board. The ball payout device 43 pays out a predetermined number of game balls according to the payout signal.

  The game balls paid out from the ball payout device 43 are normally guided to the upper payout passage 45 by a partition wall 44 formed in the payout passage, and the upper outlet 25 and the upper ball tray 5 penetrating the front frame 2. Is guided to the storage guide tray 56 through the outlet 55 formed in Then, in the process of flowing down the storage guide tray 56, they are aligned and waited, and are sequentially sent out to the launch rail 22 by the ball feeding device 59 and launched into the game area PA. In addition, when the game balls are paid out in a state where the storage guide tray 56 is full and the upper payout passage 45 is filled up to the upper end of the partition wall 44, the paid-out game balls pass over the partition wall 44. It overflows to the payout passage 47 side or flows into the lower payout passage 47 via the overflow ball passage 46 and is guided from the lower payout passage 47 to the lower ball tray 7 through the lower ball tray connecting bucket 37 and the lower outlet 27. .

  On the other hand, behind the speaker cover 31 attached to the game assisting board 20, a foul ball collection port 32 is formed which is spaced apart from the firing rail 22 and the outer rail 12 and opens upward. A foul ball collection passage 33 is formed through which the foul ball dropped into the ball collection port 32 flows down. Further, a ball receiving port 35 is formed below the upper outlet 25 so that the cover portion extends forward and opens upward, and a spilled ball collection passage 36 that allows the spilled ball that has fallen into the ball receiving port 35 to flow downward. Is formed.

  The foul ball collecting passage 33 joins the spilling ball passage 36 at the substantially right and left central portions of the game assisting board, and is connected to the lower ball tray connecting bucket 37 through the collective collecting port 26 formed through the front frame 2 vertically. It is connected. As a result, the foul ball that has fallen into the foul ball collection port 32 without reaching the game area PA, and the spilled ball that has flowed into the ball receiving port 35 when the upper ball tray is opened, respectively, are the foul ball passage 33 and the spilled ball collection passage 36. Then, it flows down from the collection / recovery port 26 to the lower ball tray connecting bucket 37 and is guided to the lower ball tray 7 through the lower outlet 27. Further, a part of the speaker cover 31 is cut out immediately above the collective opening 26 to form a ball receiving port 38, and the game balls flowing into the ball receiving port 38 are connected to the collective collecting port 26 to the lower ball tray. It is guided to the lower ball tray 7 through the bucket 37 to the lower outlet 27.

  Now, in the pachinko machine PM schematically configured as described above, the ball tray configuration according to the present invention is applied to the upper ball tray 5, and hereinafter, the drawings of FIGS. However, the upper ball tray 5 will be described in detail. 5 to 10 will be briefly described in advance. FIG. 5 is a rear view of the upper ball tray 5 mainly showing the first ball removing mechanism 60 with the ball feeding device 59 removed, and FIG. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the second ball removal mechanism 70 shown with the upper ball tray 5 disassembled, and FIG. 8 is a view of the second ball removal mechanism 70. FIG. 9 is a plan sectional view mainly showing a spherical passage in the vicinity of the second ball removal mechanism, and FIG. 10 is a step formed in the storage guide tray 56 and an inclination angle of a support surface sandwiching the step. It is explanatory drawing (rear view) which shows a relationship.

  The upper ball tray 5 includes a lateral rectangular shaped matching plate 51 that matches the width of the front frame 2, a bowl-shaped exterior body 52 that is attached to the front side of the facing plate 51 and protrudes forward, and a facing plate 51. The dish main body 53 sandwiched between the outer body 52 and the outer body 52 is configured as a main structure, and the dish body 53 assembled with the first ball removing mechanism 60 and the second ball removing mechanism 70 is attached to the outer body 52. Is formed on the front surface side of the contact plate 51 and is fixed by screws from the rear surface side of the contact plate 51.

  The plate body 53 is roughly composed of a storage guide plate 56 for storing game balls and a passage forming part formed below the storage guide plate. For example, using a resin material such as ABS resin, It is integrally formed by molding means such as injection molding. As shown in FIG. 3, the storage guide tray 56 has a flat plate shape inclined rightward, and a semicircular sphere storage portion 56 b is formed from the center to the left upstream portion in plan view, and from the center to the right downstream portion. A tapered flow-down guide portion 56a is formed, and is connected to a launch ball alignment passage 57 for waiting for the game balls in an aligned state.

  The support surface (the upper surface of the dish) that supports the game ball in the storage guide tray 56 is configured by an inclined surface that becomes lower toward the downstream in both the upstream ball storage section 56b and the downstream flow guide section 56a. In addition, a step 56d is formed at the connecting portion between the inclined support surface of the sphere storage portion 56b and the inclined support surface of the flow down guide portion 56a, and is formed to be one step lower from the sphere storage portion 56b toward the flow down guide portion 56a. ing.

  Here, regarding the relationship of the inclination angle between the inclined support surface of the downflow guide portion 56a located on the downstream side and the inclined support surface of the ball storage portion 56b located on the upstream side, both inclined supports sandwiching the step 56d in FIG. As shown schematically in the rear view, the angle relationship between the surfaces is represented by β <α, where α is the inclination angle of the inclined support surface of the flow guide portion 56a and β is the inclination angle of the inclined support surface of the ball storage portion 56b. In other words, in other words, the inclined support surface (hereinafter referred to as “storage support surface”) of the upstream sphere storage portion 56b is more than the inclined support surface (hereinafter referred to as “flow support surface”) of the downstream flow guide portion 56a. It is formed with a gentle slope.

  Specific values of the inclination angle α of the flow support surface and the inclination angle β of the storage support surface can be appropriately set depending on the type of resin material used for the dish body 53, the surface properties, etc. In the upper ball tray 5 illustrated in the present embodiment, the flow support surface is set as the inclination angle α of the flow support surface, which is the same as that of the conventional ball plate (α = about 3.5 to 4.5 degrees), and the storage support surface is set as the inclination angle β. Is set to an inclination angle (about β = 2 to 3 degrees) smaller than about 1.5 degrees.

  For this reason, in a state where the number of game balls stored in the storage guide tray 56 is small, the stored balls are disposed in the flow guide portion 56a having a relatively steep inclination having the same inclination angle as the conventional one, so Rolling down toward the firing ball alignment passage 57. On the other hand, when the number of game balls stored in the storage guide tray 56 increases, the newly stored game balls are stored in the ball storage section 56b having a relatively lower inclination angle than the conventional one, so that the downstream side When the weight of one game ball is W, the pressure P acting on the game ball becomes P = Wsinβ per one upper and lower row, and can be suppressed according to the decrease in the tilt angle. For example, if the inclination angle α = 4 degrees and β = 2 degrees described above, (Wsinα−Wsinβ) /Wsinα≈0.5 as compared with the conventional case where the constant inclination angle α = 4 degrees is set. The pressure can be reduced by about half.

  Further, a step 56d is provided at the connecting portion between the flow-down support surface and the storage support surface, and the upstream storage support surface has a height h higher than the downstream flow-down support surface before and after the step (front and rear in the upstream and downstream directions). It is formed to be higher. For this reason, in a state where the game balls are stored in both the ball storage portion 56b and the flow-down guide portion 56a that sandwich the step, the game balls stored on the side of the ball storage portion 56b are flowed down the guide portion 56a that is positioned obliquely downward due to the step. A spherical contact is made with the game ball on the side in an oblique vertical relationship (see FIG. 11). On the other hand, the pressure of the game ball stored in the ball storage unit 56b (the vector P = Wsin β in the flow direction) acts in the direction along the storage support surface 56b.

For this reason, the force F acting on the game ball on the flow down guide unit 56a side from the game ball on the ball storage unit 56b side connects the sphere centers with a vector P (P = Wsin β) in the flow direction along the storage support surface. The vector component P ₁ in the contact direction when decomposed into the vector component P ₁ in the contact direction and the vector component P ₂ in the upward direction orthogonal thereto is obtained (F = P ₁ ), and the step 56d is not provided. It can be made smaller than the case of direct contact (F = P = P ₁ + P ₂ ). For example, if the inclination angle of the storage support surface is β = 2 ° and the height h of the step 56d is h = 0.5D with respect to the diameter D of the game ball, the inclination angle of the contact direction connecting the spheres is about 30 degrees, pressure F = P ₁ = Pcos (30−β) = 0.88P, and h = 0.7D, the inclination angle of the contact direction connecting the spheres is about 45 degrees, and pressure F = P ₁ = Pcos (45−β) = 0.73P, and the force acting on the game ball on the flow down guide portion 56a side from the game ball on the ball storage portion 56b side can be further reduced according to the height h of the step 56d. .

  Therefore, by forming the inclination angle of the storage support surface smaller than the inclination angle of the falling support surface as described above, a stable sphere flow with a small number of stored spheres and a state in which the number of stored spheres has increased. It is possible to achieve both suppression of the pressure on the game ball on the downstream side. For example, while securing a stable ball flow to the ball feeding device 59, a ball clogging or the like is prevented at the end changing portion of the launch ball alignment passage 57 in front of it. A configuration that does not occur can be easily realized. Further, by providing a step 56d between the ball storage portion 56b and the downstream guide portion 56, the pressure acting on the downstream game ball is further suppressed, and both stable ball flow and pressure suppression on the game ball are achieved. Can be provided. In addition, although it is arbitrary about the inclination of each support surface in the front-back direction, it is also a preferable configuration form to set a slight inclination angle that inclines downward (toward the facing plate 51).

  And the 1st ball removal mechanism 60 is provided in the downstream of such an upper ball tray 5, and the 2nd ball removal mechanism 70 is provided in the upstream. The downstream side of the projecting ball alignment passage 57 connected to the flow guide part 56 a is folded back into a “<” shape at an alignment position facing the base end part of the launch rail 22 in the front-rear direction. A first ball extraction passage 67 that is inclined downward is continuously provided. At the downstream end portion of the first ball removal passage 67, a ball discharge port 68 penetrating the contact plate 51 in the front-rear direction is formed, and the ball insertion hole 38 on the game auxiliary board side that is aligned in the closed posture of the upper ball tray 5 is formed. Have been contacted. The firing ball alignment passage 57 and the first ball removal passage 67 are always partitioned by the valve member 63 of the first ball removal mechanism 60 provided in the turn-up portion, and the end plate of the firing ball alignment passage 57 is applied to the end plate. It is connected to a ball feeding device 59 through a ball feeding port 58 formed through 51.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the first ball removal mechanism 60 includes a ball removal lever 61 that is exposed on the upper surface of the upper ball tray 5 and is swingable up and down, a firing ball alignment passage 57, and a first ball removal mechanism. A valve member 63 having a shutter portion 63 s that can be opened and closed between the passage 67 and arranged to be slidable to the left and right, and a ball removal lever 61 and the valve member 63 are connected to be swingable. A link arm 62 provided to transmit the pressing force to the ball release lever 61 to the valve member 63, a coil spring 64 that constantly biases the valve member 63 in the closing direction, and the like. Is urged and arranged at the left end position, and the shutter portion 63s is in a closed state in which the firing ball alignment passage 57 and the first ball removal passage 67 are partitioned.

  For this reason, in a normal gaming state, the gaming balls that are waiting to be aligned in the firing ball alignment passage 57 are guided from the ball feeding port 58 to the ball feeding device 59, and are controlled to swing in synchronization with the operation of the gaming ball launching device 21. The balls are fed one by one to the firing rail 22 by the ball feeding cam 59c of the ball feeding device, and are launched toward the game board by the game ball launching device 21.

  When the ball release lever 61 is pressed, the link arm 62 is swung counterclockwise in FIG. 5, and the link pin at the lower end presses the valve member 63 to slide and displace the valve member 63 to the right. The shutter portion 63 s that partitions the alignment passage 57 and the first ball extraction passage 67 is retracted, and the shot ball alignment passage 57 and the first ball extraction passage 67 are changed to an open state. For this reason, the game balls that have been waiting to be aligned in the launch ball alignment passage 57 flow into the first ball discharge passage 67 and flow down through the ball discharge passage 68, pass through the ball discharge port 68, and the extraction ball receiving port on the game auxiliary board side. 38. And it is led to the lower ball tray 7 from the collective recovery port 26 through the lower ball tray communication bucket 37 to the lower outlet 27.

  On the other hand, a second ball removal mechanism 70 is provided in the storage portion 56b of the storage guide tray. The second ball removal mechanism 70 is applied to a ball outlet 71 that is opened in a horizontal rectangular shape in the downstream portion of the storage support surface, and a front wall surface 72 that is formed to extend vertically according to the opening front edge of the ball outlet 71. An integral second ball-extracting passage 77 formed by a passage wall erected toward the plate 51, a swingable on-off valve member 73 pivotally supported by a support boss 51a formed integrally with the counter plate 51, A tension spring 74, which is fastened to a fixed boss 51d formed integrally with the plate 51 and urges the on-off valve member 73 counterclockwise in a front view, and is attached to the upper portion of the counter plate so as to be swingable, and a tension spring of the on-off valve member It is comprised from the lock member 75 etc. which hold | maintain the urging | biasing state by.

  The ball outlet 71 is formed on the rear end side of the dish body 53 adjacent to the step 56d, and the opening width in the front-rear direction is somewhat larger than the diameter D of the game ball, about 1.1 to 1.5D. The opening length in the left-right direction is set to several times the ball diameter D (about 2-4D) so that a plurality of game balls can flow down simultaneously. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the opening width in the front-rear direction is the first And the example which set the opening length of the left-right direction to about 3D according to the channel | path width | variety of a 2nd ball extraction channel | path is about 3D.

  Below the ball outlet 71, passage walls 77a and 77b extending from the front wall surface 72 toward the center plate 51 are provided in the middle of the left and right, and are opened rearward by the front wall surface 72 and the passage walls 77a and 77b. A groove-shaped spherical passage is formed, and a second spherical passage 77 surrounded by a wall surface is formed by screwing the contact plate 51 from behind. On the upstream side of the ball passage 77, the passage wall 77a is bent upward to form a receiving seat for receiving the lower surface of the step engaging portion described below.

  The passage wall 77a extends to the left in the rear view with an inclined posture similar to that of the flow-down support surface, and is bent downward at a substantially central portion on the left and right sides to be connected to the passage wall of the first ball removal passage 67. The passage 77 and the first ball removal passage 67 join to communicate with the ball discharge port 68. In this way, the configuration in which the second ball extraction passage 77 is joined to the first ball extraction passage 67 and discharged from the common ball discharge port 68 can simplify the passage configuration on the side of the ball tray, and after the ball extraction port 38 The second ball removal mechanism can be constructed using the existing flow path as it is. For example, by replacing only the upper ball tray 5 with the existing model, a pachinko machine having the second ball removal mechanism 70 can be obtained. It is also possible to change to a machine.

  The on-off valve member 73 has a cylindrical portion having an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the support boss 51a, and a strip extending smoothly in a tangential direction with the outer peripheral surface of the bearing portion 73a. -Shaped valve plate portion 73b, lever portion 73c extending obliquely upward perpendicular to the axis from the rear end portion (end portion on the side of the receiving plate 51a) of the bearing portion 73a, and spring arm extending obliquely downward perpendicular to the axis from the intermediate portion of the bearing portion 73a 73d and an operation knob 73f projecting forward from the lever 73c. For example, a resin material such as ABS resin, polyacetal resin (POM) or polyphenylene oxide (PPO) reinforced by adding glass fiber or carbon fiber is used. The above-mentioned part is integrally formed by molding means such as injection molding.

  The valve plate portion 73 b is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape in which a plate portion that is smoothly connected to the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the bearing portion 73 a and extends in the tangential direction matches the opening surface area of the ball outlet 71. Further, the front end side is bent so as to match the shape and size of the lower surface side of the step 56d in a state where the plate body 53 is attached to the plate 51, and a step engaging portion is formed, and the bearing portion 73a is supported by the support boss. When the on-off valve member 73 is pivotally supported by 51a and swung counterclockwise in a front view, the step engaging portion at the tip is smoothly engaged with and supported by the lower surface of the step 56d, and the plate portion is removed from the ball. It is configured to close the mouth 71 and be positioned on the same plane as the surrounding storage support surface (to form an integral storage support surface).

  The lever portion 73c extends obliquely upward perpendicular to the axis from the rear end side of the bearing portion 73a, and is bent into a crank shape that is offset forward at a predetermined height position. The lever portion 73c is formed at the tip of the lever portion 73c. An operation knob 73f is formed so as to protrude from the front.

  In addition, a lever accommodating portion 51 c is formed on the contact plate 51 in accordance with the swing locus of the lever portion 73 c of the on-off valve member 73. The lever accommodating portion 51c is formed in a fan shape in accordance with the swinging locus of the base end side (that is, the portion located rearward) among the lever portions 73c formed to be bent in the front-rear crank shape, and the depth in the front-rear direction thereof Is formed somewhat larger than the thickness of the base end portion of the lever portion 73c. On the other hand, the forward offset amount of the distal end portion of the lever portion 73c is formed slightly larger than the depth of the lever accommodating portion 51c, and the distal end portion of the lever portion 73c is placed on the front surface of the upper plate of the lever accommodating portion 51c. It comes to be located along.

  The spring arm portion 73d is formed to extend obliquely downward perpendicular to the axis from the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the bearing portion 73a, and a concave hook receiver that can hook a hook at one end of the tension spring 74 is cut out at the tip portion. Yes.

  The on-off valve member 73 is provided so as to project from the plate 51 forward by applying a hook on one end side of the tension spring 74 to the support boss 51a provided by projecting forward from the contact plate 51 and pivoting. The spring is fixed to the spring fixing boss 51d, and the hook on the other end of the tension spring 74 is hooked on the hook receiver of the spring arm 73d. Is urged counterclockwise in front view.

  In addition, a bearing hole is formed in the contact plate 51 above the lever accommodating portion 51c, and a lock member 75 is fitted into the bearing hole. The lock member 75 includes a fitting shaft 75p formed in a cylindrical shape having an outer shape slightly smaller than the diameter of the bearing hole, and a rib-shaped operation knob 75f that is formed to project outward from the cylindrical outer surface along the shaft. And a substantially triangular locking plate portion 75c formed in parallel to the cylindrical end surface behind the operation knob 75f, and similar to the on-off valve member 73, such as injection molding using a resin material. The above-mentioned part is integrally formed by means. The fitting shaft 75p is formed with a screw receiving hole for receiving a screw from the rear end surface side.

  The fitting shaft 75p is fitted into the bearing hole, and a screw is screwed into the screw receiving hole of the fitting shaft 75p from the back surface of the fitting plate via a washer, so that the fitting shaft 75p is swingably attached to the front surface of the coating plate 51. , The removal from the front side of the contact plate is prevented.

  In this way, the lock member 75 attached to the bearing hole at the upper part of the contact plate is attached to the opening / closing valve member 73 to the contact plate 51 and is biased by the tension spring 74 described above, and the operation knob portion 75f is applied to the contact plate 51. By swinging so as to extend downward in the direction perpendicular to the axis on the front surface, the lever portion 73c of the on-off valve member is sandwiched in the front-rear direction between the back surface of the locking plate portion 75c of the lock member and the front surface of the cover plate 51, and The left oblique side of the stop plate portion 75c in front view and the operation knob 73f of the opening / closing valve member are engaged with each other, and the opening / closing valve member 73 can be maintained in a state of being biased by the spring force of the tension spring 74.

  Then, the above-described storage guide tray 56 is provided, the first ball removal mechanism 60 is assembled, the plate body 53 in which the passage wall of the second ball removal passage 77 is integrally formed is attached to the exterior body 52, and these are attached. The opening / closing valve member 73, the tension spring 74, and the lock member 75 are fitted and aligned with the front side of the address plate 51, and the exterior body 52 and the plate body 53 are fixed with screws from the back side of the address plate 51. By doing so, the upper ball tray 5 is integrally formed.

  Thereby, the on-off valve member 73 is disposed so as to be swingable in an angular range between a closed position where the valve plate portion 73b closes the ball outlet 71 and an open position where the ball outlet 71 is opened, and is always pulled. The upper surface of the step engaging portion in the valve plate portion 73b is engaged with the lower surface of the step 56d by the spring force of the spring 74, and is held at the closed position where the ball outlet 71 is closed. The lock knob 75f of the lock member is picked and the lock member 75 is swung counterclockwise to release the holding state of the on-off valve member 73 between the cover plate 51 and the lock member 75, and a finger is put on the operation knob 73f. When the lever portion 73c is swung against the spring force of the tension spring 74, the lever portion 73c swings along the fan-shaped curve of the lever accommodating portion 51c and the lower surface of the step engaging portion in the valve plate portion 73b. Is swung to the open position where it engages with the receiving seat of the passage wall 77a.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 12 and the like, the operation knob 73f of the opening / closing valve member is configured such that the lever tip protrudes forward from the front end surface of the glass door 3, so that the opening / closing operation can be easily performed. It has become.

  Now, the assembled upper ball tray 5 is assembled to the front frame 2 through the hinge mechanism 4 so as to be opened and closed, and is used in the game in a closed state in which the front of the game auxiliary board 20 is closed. In performing the game, for example, an appropriate amount (for example, about 50 to 100 balls) of game balls borrowed from the ball lending machine by the player is put into the storage guide tray 56 of the upper ball tray 5, and the launch handle 8 is turned. It is started by moving operation.

  Here, as described above, the support surface of the storage guide tray 56 is directed so that the storage support surface of the ball storage portion 56b positioned on the upstream side and the flow support surface of the flow guide portion 56a positioned on the downstream side are directed downstream. The inclination angle of the storage support surface is smaller than the inclination angle of the falling support surface. Further, a step 56d is formed at the connection portion between the storage support surface and the flow down support surface, and is formed so as to be lowered by one step from the ball storage portion 56b toward the flow down guide portion 56a.

  For this reason, when a relatively small amount of game balls are thrown into the storage guide tray 56 as described above, the thrown game balls are mainly stored in the downstream flow guide portion 56a having a relatively steep inclination angle. Thus, it is guided by the steeply descending support surface and the tapered side wall, and reliably rolls down to the downstream launch ball alignment passage 57 under a stable sphere flow. The game balls transferred into the firing ball alignment passage 57 are guided to the ball feeding device 59 from the ball feeding port 58 by the valve member 63 of the first ball pulling mechanism 60 which is always in a closed state. The delivery is regulated by the ball feeding cam 59c, and is held on standby in a state of being aligned in one row in the firing ball alignment passage 57. When a launch operation is performed at the launch handle 8, the game balls that have been aligned and awaited by the ball feed cam 59 c of the ball feed device that is controlled to swing in synchronization with the operation of the game ball launch device 21 are launched one by one. The game ball launching device 21 is struck by a hammer and fired toward the game board 10.

  A game ball that is launched toward the game board 10 and reaches the game area PA rolls and falls in the game area PA while being hit by a game nail or a windmill in the game area, and falls into the winning device 14 in the fall process. Then, it is led to the back side of the decorative board 11 or falls without falling into the prize-winning tool 14 and is guided to the back side of the decorative board 11 through the out port 18, both of which have been played on the back set board 40. It is discharged through the discharge passage 48 to the amusement island collection device. The game balls dropped into the winning tool 14 are detected by a winning ball detector provided in each winning tool, and a number of game balls corresponding to the detection signal are paid out from the ball payout device 43.

  The game balls paid out from the ball payout device 43 are placed in the upper payout passage 45 in a state where there are few game balls stored in the storage guide tray 56 (the game balls are not filled up to the upper portion of the upper payout passage 45). It is guided to the storage guide tray 56 through the upper outlet 25 penetrating the front frame 2 and the outlet bowl 55 formed in the upper ball tray 5. When the game balls stored in the storage guide tray 56 increase with the progress of the game, the newly paid game balls are stored in the upstream ball storage unit 56b according to the increase. In addition, it is stored retroactively from the outlet basin 55 to the upper outlet 25 to the upper payout passage 45.

  Here, the inclination angle of the storage support surface is formed smaller than the inclination angle of the flow down support surface, and a step 56d is formed at the connecting portion between the storage support surface and the flow down support surface. For this reason, as described above, the pressure acting on the game ball on the downstream side as compared with the support surface formed flat with a constant inclination angle, for example, the flow direction of the game ball aligned in the launch standby passage 57 , A pressure deflected in front of the ball feed port 58 and acting on the ball feed device 59, and the like can be suppressed, and stable ball flow and reliable ball feed can be realized.

  Further, as shown in a plan sectional view of the peripheral portion of the second ball removing mechanism 70 in FIG. 12, the base end side portion of the lever portion 73c is accommodated in the lever accommodating portion 51c, and is forward of the front surface of the cover plate 51. It is configured not to protrude, and the game ball flowing down from the upstream side toward the downstream side of the lever portion 73c flows smoothly without being caught by the side edge of the lever portion 73c and stopped there. Due to the upper structure formed in a crank shape, the game balls piled up and down in multiple stages and flowing down are crushed and rectified into one stage.

  Now, in a state where the game balls are stored in the ball storage guide tray 56 in this way, either one or both of the first ball removal mechanism 60 and the second ball removal mechanism 70 is operated to remove the game balls. It can be performed.

  For example, when the number of game balls stored in the storage guide tray 56 is small, it is preferable to perform the ball removal work using only the first ball removal mechanism 60. The ball removal operation by the first ball removal mechanism 60 is performed by pressing the ball removal lever 61 downward. When the ball release lever 61 is pressed, the link arm 62 is swung counterclockwise in the rear view, and the link pin at the lower end presses the valve member 63 to slide and displace the valve member 63 to the right. The shutter 63s that has partitioned between the alignment passage 57 and the first ball extraction passage 67 is retracted to the right in the rear view, and changes to an open state in which the firing ball alignment passage 57 and the first ball extraction passage 67 communicate with each other. Is done.

  For this reason, the game balls that have been waiting to be aligned in the launch ball alignment passage 57 and the game balls that have been stored in the game ball storage guide tray 56 flow into the first ball removal passage 67 from the launch ball alignment passage 57 and this ball. It flows down the passage and passes through the ball discharge port 68 and flows into the ball receiving port 38 on the game assisting board side. Then, it flows down from the collective recovery port 26 to the lower ball tray communication bucket 37 and is guided to the lower ball tray 7 through the lower outlet 27. As a result, all the game balls stored in the storage guide tray 56 can be made to flow down to the lower ball tray 7 to perform the ball removal operation.

  For example, a so-called big hit occurs in a gaming situation in which game balls are stored up to the upstream portion of the ball storage guide tray 56, and the game balls stored in the storage guide tray 56 are maintained while the game ball is being released. When it is desired to flow down to the pan 7, it is preferable to perform the ball removing operation using only the second ball removing mechanism 70. The ball removing operation by the second ball removing mechanism 70 is performed by operating the operation knob 75f and swinging the lock member 75 counterclockwise, thereby operating the lever portion 73c of the on-off valve member and the locking plate portion 75c of the lock member. This is done by releasing the engaged state, placing the finger on the operation knob 73f, and swinging the lever portion 73c clockwise in front view against the spring force of the tension spring 74. When the lever portion 73c is swung, the valve plate portion 73b is tilted clockwise as the lever portion 73c is swung to open the ball outlet 71, and the valve outlet 71 is opened inside the ball outlet 71. The plate portion 73b is disposed in an inclined posture, and an inclined passage that is connected to the ball outlet 71 to the second ball outlet passage 77 is formed.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, the valve plate portion 73b and the storage ball in the closed position are indicated by a solid line, and the flow of the valve plate portion 73b and the game ball in the open position is indicated by a two-dot chain line. The game balls stored in the ball storage section 56b on the side roll on the upper surface of the valve plate 73b in an inclined posture from the ball extraction port 71 and flow into the second ball extraction passage 77, and the second ball extraction passage 77 , And flows through the ball discharge port 68 at the lower end of the passage into the ball receiving port 38 on the game assisting board side. Then, it flows down from the collection port 26 to the lower ball tray connecting bucket 37 and is guided to the lower ball tray 7 through the lower outlet 27.

  At this time, the game ball located in the downstream guide portion 56a on the downstream side of the step is not affected by the ball removing operation by the second ball removing mechanism 70. For this reason, even during ball removal by the second ball removal mechanism 70, the game balls stored in the flow guide 56a are aligned with the launch ball alignment passage 57 and guided to the ball feeder with a stable ball flow, The balls are fed one by one to the firing rail 22 by the ball feeding cam 59c, and a stable firing state can be maintained. As a result, the player can appropriately keep the ball on the lower ball tray 7 while watching the payout state of the winning ball due to the jackpot, the increase / decrease state of the stored ball in the storage guide tray 56, etc., while stably maintaining the game ball firing state. The punching operation can be easily performed.

  When the ball removal is finished, the pressing force to the operation knob 73f that has been pressed and held in the open position may be released. Then, the opening / closing valve member 73 is swung counterclockwise in a front view by the spring force stored in the tension spring 74, and the valve plate portion 73b returns to the closed position where the ball outlet 71 is closed. Next, the operation member 75f of the lock member that is swung upward is picked and the lock member is swung clockwise, so that the opening / closing valve member is moved between the back surface of the locking plate portion 75c and the front surface of the cover plate 51. The lever part 73c is clamped and the on-off valve member 73 is held in the closed position. Further, the tension spring 74 is given an initial tension so as to maintain a constant tension force in the closed position, and is stopped at the upper part of the valve plate portion 73b when the storage guide tray 56 is filled with game balls. The opening / closing valve member 73 is prevented from swinging in the opening direction by the weight of the game ball.

  On the other hand, when the game is ended in a state where a large number of game balls are stored up to the upstream portion of the storage guide tray 56 in the same manner as described above, and when all the stored game balls are extracted, the first ball extraction described above is performed. It is preferable to perform the ball removing operation using both the mechanism 60 and the second ball removing mechanism 70. That is, when both the first ball removal mechanism 60 and the second ball removal mechanism 70 are in the open state, the game ball is placed from the downstream side of the storage guide tray 56 via the firing ball passage 57 and the first ball removal passage 67. And the game balls flow down from the upstream side of the storage guide tray 56 to the lower ball tray 7 through the second ball removal passage 77. As a result, the ball can be removed more quickly than using either the first or second ball removing mechanism, and the ball removing operation can be completed early.

  Therefore, according to the configuration as described above, a ball that achieves both a stable sphere flow in a state where the number of stored spheres is small and a suppression of pressure on the downstream game ball in a state where the number of stored spheres is increased. In addition to providing a dish, it is possible to provide a ball tray that can perform ball removal without hindering the flow of the ball to the ball feeding device and can also perform a quick ball removal operation.

  Further, the upper ball tray 5 according to the present invention can be equipped with a closing member 83 that always keeps the ball outlet 71 closed in place of the above-described second ball removing mechanism. The upper ball tray 5 to which the closing member 83 is assembled will be described with reference to FIGS. 7, 13 and 14 described above. Here, FIG. 13 is a front view (partial cross-sectional view) of the second ball removing mechanism to which the closing member 83 is attached, and FIG. 14 is a plan cross-sectional view mainly showing the sphere flow in the vicinity of the closing member 83.

  The closing member 83 has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer shape of the support boss 51a and is formed into a cylindrical shape, and is smoothly connected to the outer peripheral surface of the insertion insertion fixing portion 83a and extends in the tangential direction. A band-plate-like closing plate portion 83b and a screw-fixing portion 83h formed in a cylindrical shape on the lower surface of the closing plate portion 83b and having a screw receiving hole are formed, and a resin material is injection-molded in the same manner as the on-off valve member 73. The above-mentioned part is integrally formed by molding means such as.

  The closing member fitting insertion fixing portion 83a is formed in the same shape as the opening / closing valve member bearing portion 73a, and the closing plate portion 83b is formed in the same shape as the opening / closing valve member valve plate portion 73b. A plate portion is formed extending smoothly in the tangential direction of 83a, and the front end side of this plate portion is bent so as to match the shape and size of the lower surface side of the step 56d with the plate body 53 attached to the plate 51. Thus, a step engaging portion is formed. The screw fixing portion 83h is formed in a cylindrical shape on the back side of the step engaging portion of the closing plate portion 83b, and a fixing screw receiving hole is provided through the cylinder.

  On the other hand, the fitting plate 51 is aligned with the screw receiving hole of the screwing fixing portion 83h in the state where the fitting insertion fixing portion 83a is pivotally supported by the support boss 51a and engaged with the step engaging portion and the lower surface of the step 56d. A screw fixing hole 51h is provided through the position.

  The closing member 83 is inserted into the support boss 51a provided so as to protrude forward from the contact plate, and is fitted into the screw receiving hole of the screw fixing portion 83h from the back side of the plate 51 through the screw fixing hole 51h. It is fixedly attached to the front surface of the cover plate 51 by being screwed and fastened with screws.

  And when fixed in this way, the inclination angle in front view of the plate portion of the closing plate portion 83b and the inclination angle of the storage support surface of the ball storage portion 56b are the same.

  A blind pin 85 is attached to the bearing hole instead of the lock member 75. The blind pin 85 has a flange portion 85f having the same diameter as the diameter of the bearing hole and a pin portion 85p having a pin height set to the same degree as the depth of the bearing hole. Further, the pin portion 85p of the blind pin is provided with a screw hole at the rear end portion in the same manner as the fitting shaft 75p of the lock member.

  The blind pin 85 has a pin portion 85p fitted into the bearing hole from the front of the contact plate 51, and a screw is screwed into the screw receiving hole of the pin portion 85p from the back surface of the contact plate 51 via a washer, thereby causing the contact plate 51 to It is attached to the bearing hole so that it cannot be removed from the front side.

  Then, in the same manner as when the on-off valve member 73 is attached, the dish body 53 to which the constituent members of the first ball removal mechanism 60 are assembled is attached to the exterior body 52, and these are assembled with the closing member 83 and the blind pin 85. The upper ball tray 5 is integrally formed by positioning and fitting to the front surface side of the applied contact plate 51 and screwing the respective parts of the exterior body 52 and the ball tray 53 from the rear surface side of the contact plate 51.

  Accordingly, the closing plate portion 83b of the closing member is formed in the same shape as the valve plate portion 73b and is fixed to the address plate 51 with the same inclination as the inclination angle of the storage support surface. Similarly to the member 73, it is positioned so as to close the ball outlet 71 and forms the same plane as the storage support surface of the ball storage portion 56 b.

  For this reason, in the game state, the game ball dropped into the storage guide tray 56 from the doorway 55 flows down from the storage support surface to the flow-down support surface. Here, since the ball outlet 71 provided on the storage support surface is always closed by the closing member 83 to form the same plane as the storage support surface, the game ball is stored as shown in FIG. It is possible to smoothly flow down to the firing ball alignment channel 57 without stopping in the guide plate.

  Further, when the game ball is extracted from the ball storage guide tray 56 in which the ball outlet 71 is always closed by the closing member 83 in this manner, the first ball extraction mechanism 60 is operated. By performing the ball removal operation by the first ball removal mechanism 60 described above, the game balls stored in the storage guide tray 56 can be guided to the first ball removal passage 67 and allowed to flow down to the lower ball tray 7.

  Further, since the blind pin 85 that cannot be removed from the front is covered with the bearing hole, it is possible to prevent an illegal act such as pushing a piano wire or the like into the game board 10 in the above-described game process. .

  Note that the closing plate portion 83b is not necessarily formed in the same shape as the valve plate portion 73b of the on-off valve member. For example, since the closing member 83 is screwed and fastened to the contact plate 51 with a screw so as to always maintain the closed position, the valve plate portion 73b is moved when the on-off valve member 73 swings from the open position to the closed position. It is possible to form the closing plate portion 83b without providing a step engaging portion for holding the at a closed position.

  In this way, the upper ball tray 5 according to the present invention has a screw fixing for fixing the supporting boss 51a for inserting the bearing portion 73a of the on-off valve member or the fitting insertion fixing portion 83a of the closing member, and the tension spring 74. The boss 51b, a bearing hole (not shown) for fitting the lock member 75, a screw fixing hole 51h for screwing the screw into the screwing fixing portion 83d of the closing member, and the like are integrally formed in advance. In addition, the exterior body 52 and the plate body 53 in which the passage wall of the second bulb passage 77 is integrally formed in advance have a common basic configuration, and the on-off valve member 73 and the like are attached to the assembly member integrally formed on the cover plate 51. And the closing member 83 and the like can be selectively assembled. Thereby, in a pachinko machine (for example, a “first type” pachinko machine) in which a large number of prize balls can be obtained with one big hit, the opening / closing valve member 73 and the like are assembled and the first ball removal mechanism 60 and the first In a pachinko machine (for example, a “second-class” pachinko machine) in which the upper ball tray 5 that can use both of the two-ball removal mechanisms 70 is used and the number of winning balls per hit is small, the closing member 83 is used. Etc. can be used to select and manufacture the upper ball tray 5 according to the characteristics of the model only by exchanging a part of the member, such as using the upper ball tray 5 that can use only the first ball removing mechanism 60.

  Next, FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 show another configuration example of the upper ball tray 5 in which the on-off valve member 73 is selectively mounted to enable the ball removing operation by the second ball removing mechanism. The second ball removal mechanism 170 will be briefly described with reference to the drawings. Here, FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the second ball removal mechanism 170 as viewed obliquely from the front, and FIG. 16 is a plan sectional view mainly showing a ball passage around the second ball removal mechanism 170 corresponding to FIG. In summary, the second ball removal mechanism of the present configuration is a form in which the same on-off valve member as described above is attached to the contact plate 51 side and the second ball removal passage is connected to the spilling ball passage 36. The configurations of the guide tray 56, the ball outlet 71, the passage wall 77a, and the like are the same as those of the second ball removal mechanism 70 described above. Therefore, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and redundant description is omitted, and different parts will be mainly described.

  The on-off valve member 173 in the second ball removal mechanism 170 has a cylindrical portion having a slightly larger inner diameter than the outer diameter of the support boss 51a, and a smooth outer surface of the bearing portion 73a. A belt-like valve plate portion 73b that extends in a tangential direction, a lever portion 73c that extends obliquely upward perpendicular to the axis from the rear end portion of the bearing portion 73a and is bent and offset forward, and an intermediate portion of the bearing portion 73a The guide arm portion 173d extends obliquely downward from the axis perpendicular to the axis, and the other portions except the guide arm portion 173d are configured in the same manner as the on-off valve member 73 described above.

  The guide arm portion 173d in the on-off valve member 173 has the function of the spring arm 73d described above, and protrudes backward at the tip of the guide arm portion 173d to form a guide shaft 173g. A screw is attached to the rear end portion of the guide shaft 173g. A receiving screw receiving hole is formed. On the other hand, the guide plate 51 is formed with a guide groove 51g according to the swing locus and swing angle range of the guide shaft 173g in a state where the on-off valve member 173 is pivotally supported by the support boss 51a. A spring fixing boss (not shown) for fixing the hook of the tension spring 74 with a screw is formed on the back side of the support plate 51.

  The on-off valve member 173 has the bearing 73a fitted into the support boss 51a, and the guide shaft 173g is loosely inserted into the guide groove 51g to be engaged with the groove. The hook on the side is fixed with a screw, and the hook on the other end of the tension spring 74 is fixed to the screw receiving hole at the rear end of the guide shaft 173g so as to be swingably attached to the plate 51. Then, the dish body 53 with the first ball removal mechanism 60 assembled thereto is attached to the exterior body 52, and this is aligned and fitted to the front surface side of the contact plate 51, and the exterior body 52 and The upper ball tray 5 is integrally formed by fixing each part of the dish body 53 with screws.

  Thereby, the on-off valve member 173 is disposed so as to be swingable in an angular range between a closed position where the valve plate portion 73b closes the ball outlet 71 and an open position where the ball outlet 71 is opened, and is always pulled. The spring force of the spring 74 holds the valve plate portion 73b in a closed position where the bulb outlet 71 is closed. When a finger is placed on the operation knob 73f and the lever portion 73c is swung against the spring force of the tension spring 74, the guide shaft 173g moves in the guide groove 51g, and the valve plate portion 73b tilts to remove the ball outlet. It is swung to an open position where 71 is opened. At this time, the swing angle range of the on-off valve member 173 is restricted from moving beyond the above angle range by the swing angle restriction based on the engagement between the guide shaft 173g and the guide groove 51g, and the valve plate portion 73b is forced. It is protected from excessive force.

  Further, as the lock member 175 of the second ball removal mechanism 170 of this configuration, a magnet 175m is fixed to the lever portion 73c on the back side of the operation knob 73f and disposed on the front surface of the cover plate 51. Further, on the back surface of the contact plate 51, a plate (not shown) made of an iron-based metal at a position aligned with the magnet 175m when the valve plate 73b of the on-off valve member 173 is in a closed position where the ball outlet 71 is closed. Is attached.

  Thereby, when the valve plate 73b of the on-off valve member 173 is in the closed position that closes the ball outlet, the magnetism is exerted on the magnet 175m and the plate, and the on-off valve member 173 is held at this position.

  On the other hand, the second sphere discharge port 79 that is located in front of the step 56d and passes through the front and rear plates 51 is formed in the address plate 51 that forms the rear wall surface of the second ball removal passage 77, and the second sphere is formed. The dish main body 52 forming the front wall surface and the flow lower surface of the extraction passage has a passage wall 177b for guiding the game ball to the second ball discharge port 79 opened in a direction perpendicular to the flow down direction from the passage wall 77a of the flow lower surface. It stands up (see also FIG. 13). Furthermore, the speaker cover 31 on the side of the game assisting board is provided with a second ball receiving port 39 that communicates with the second discharge port 79 at a position aligned with the second ball discharge port 79 when the ball tray 5 is closed. Yes. Therefore, the game ball that has flowed into the second ball removal passage 77 by the ball removal operation using the second ball removal mechanism 170 is guided to the second ball removal outlet 79 side by the passage wall 177b, and the second ball discharge outlet. 79 flows into the spilled ball passage 36 through the second extraction ball receiving port 39 and rolls down the spilled ball passage 36, and descends from the collection port 26 through the lower ball tray connecting bucket 37 and the lower outlet 27. It flows down to the ball tray 7.

  Therefore, even in a pachinko machine equipped with the second ball removal mechanism 170 of this configuration, one or both of the first ball removal mechanism 60 and the second ball removal mechanism 70 are operated in the same manner as the pachinko machine PM described above. The stored game balls can be removed and the same effect can be obtained. Further, the first and second ball removal mechanisms are configured such that the game ball flowing into the second ball removal passage 77 is not guided to the first discharge port but flows down from the second discharge port 79 to the spilled ball passage 36. It is possible to increase the amount of flow per unit time to the lower ball tray 7 when the balls 60 and 170 are simultaneously ball-extracted, so that the ball can be extracted more quickly than when a single ball discharge port 68 is provided. Work can be done.

  Further, the opening / closing valve member 173 of the second ball removing mechanism 170 of this configuration is fixed by using the support boss 51a similar to that in the above-described embodiment, and the ball opening 71 formed in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment can be freely opened and closed. Therefore, the upper ball tray 5 in which the ball outlet 73 is always closed can be provided by replacing the closing member 83 with the opening / closing valve member 173.

  Further, the lock member 175 of the second ball removal mechanism 170 of this configuration uses a magnetic adhesion force exerted by the magnet 175m fixed to the on-off valve member 173 and the plate attached to the back surface of the address plate 51. Thus, unlike the lock member 75 described above, it is not necessary to provide a bearing hole in the contact plate 51. For this reason, the upper ball tray 5 to which the closing member 83 is attached can be provided without using the blind pin 85 for closing the bearing hole.

  In this configuration, a guide groove 51g for restricting an excessive swinging operation of the on-off valve member 173 is provided in advance on the plate 51, and this is the basic configuration of the upper ball tray 5. It is drilled below the support boss 51a, and the guide groove 51g is located below the inclined support surface of the storage guide plate 56 when the exterior body 52 and the plate body 53 are assembled to the contact plate 51, and outward. It is provided so as not to appear. For this reason, the upper ball tray 5 to which the closing member 83 is assembled can be provided without requiring a new member for blinding the guide groove 51g.

  In the above description, as a transition form of the on-off valve members 73 and 173 that open and close the ball outlet 71, a form in which the support boss (swinging shaft) extending in the front-rear direction is swung clockwise or counterclockwise is illustrated. However, the change form of the on-off valve member may be other forms as long as it can open and close the ball outlet 71. For example, the valve plate portion is swung up and down around an axis extending in the left-right direction, or The ball outlet 71 may be opened and closed by sliding the valve plate part back and forth or left and right.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment, the case where the configuration of the ball tray according to the present invention is applied to a pachinko machine having two upper and lower ball trays (upper ball tray 5 and lower ball tray 7) is exemplified. A pachinko machine having a dish, an arcade game machine, a smart ball machine, and the like can be similarly applied to a ball game machine having a ball tray for storing game balls, and the same effect can be obtained.

It is a front view of the pachinko machine shown as an example of the game machine provided with the ball tray concerning the present invention. It is a rear view of the pachinko machine. It is the plane sectional view seen in the III-arrow direction in FIG. It is the sectional side view seen in the IV-IV arrow direction in FIG. It is a rear view of a ball pan mainly showing the 1st ball removal mechanism in the state where a ball feeder was removed. It is a rear view of the ball tray which mainly shows the 2nd ball removal mechanism. It is a disassembled perspective view of the 2nd ball removal mechanism and closure member shown in the state which decomposed | disassembled the ball tray. It is a front view (partial sectional view) of the second ball removal mechanism. It is a plane sectional view mainly showing a ball passage near the 2nd ball removal mechanism. It is explanatory drawing (rear view) which shows the relationship between the level | step difference formed in the storage guide plate, and the inclination-angle of the support surface which pinches | interposes this level | step difference. It is explanatory drawing (back view) which shows the effect | action of a 2nd ball removal mechanism. It is a plane sectional view showing the sphere flow of the peripheral part of the 2nd ball extraction mechanism. It is a front view (partial sectional view) of a closing member. It is a plane sectional view which shows the spherical flow of the peripheral part of a closure member. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the other structural example of a 2nd ball removal mechanism. It is a plane sectional view which mainly shows the ball passage around the 2nd ball extraction mechanism in the above-mentioned other composition examples.

Explanation of symbols

PM Pachinko machine PA Game area α Inclination angle of the support surface of the flow guide section β Inclination angle of the support surface of the ball storage section h Step size 1 Outer frame 2 Front frame 3 Glass door 4 Hinge mechanism 5 Upper ball dish 7 Lower ball Plate 8 Launch handle 10 Game board 11 Dressing board 12 Outer rail 13 Inner rail 14 Prize-winning device 15 Image display device 18 Out port 20 Game auxiliary board 21 Game ball launch device 22 Launch rail 25 Upper exit 26 Collecting recovery port 27 Lower exit 31 Speaker cover 32 Foul ball collection port 33 Foul ball collection passage 35 Ball reception port 36 Spilled ball collection passage 37 Lower ball tray connection bucket 38 Bump ball reception port 39 Second ball reception port 40 Back set board 41 Ball storage tank 42 Tank rail 43 Ball Dispensing Device 44 Partition Wall 45 Upper Discharge Passage 46 Overflow Ball Passage 47 Lower Discharge Passage 48 Played Ball Discharge Passage 51 Counter Plate (51a Support boss, 51c lever housing, 51d spring fixing boss, 51g guide groove, 51h screw fixing hole)
52 Outer body 53 Dish body 55 Outlet 56 Storage guide tray (56a Downflow guide section, 56b Sphere storage section, 56d step)
57 Launch ball alignment passage 58 Ball feed port 59 Ball feed device (59c ball feed cam)
60 first ball removal mechanism 61 ball removal lever 62 link arm 63 valve member (63s shutter part)
64 Coil spring 67 First ball removal passage 68 Ball discharge port 70 Second ball removal mechanism 71 Ball removal port 72 Front wall surface 73 Opening and closing valve member (73a bearing portion, 73b valve plate portion, 73c lever portion, 73d spring arm portion, 73f operation knob )
74 Tension spring 75 Lock member (75c engagement plate part, 75f operation knob part, 75p fitting shaft)
77 Second ball passage (77a, 77b passage wall)
79 2nd ball discharge port 83 Closing member (83a fitting insertion fixing part, 83b closing plate part, 83h screwing fixing part)
85 Blind pin (85f flange, 85p pin)
170 Second ball removal mechanism 173 Open / close valve member (173d guide arm portion, 173g guide shaft)
175 Lock member (175m magnet)
177b passage wall

Claims (1)

In a ball tray of a ball game machine that has a storage guide tray that can store a large number of game balls, aligns the game balls stored in the storage guide tray and flows down to a ball feeder,
The support surface of the game ball in the storage guide plate is composed of a first inclined support surface on the downstream side and a second inclined support surface on the upstream side that both become lower toward the downstream, and the inclination angle of the second inclined support surface is It is formed smaller than the inclination angle of the first inclined support surface,
On the downstream side of the first inclined support surface, a first sphere capable of removing a game ball stored in the storage guide tray by opening and closing a part of a passage wall for guiding the game ball to the ball feeding device. A punching mechanism is provided,
The on-off valve member in the second ball removal mechanism capable of removing the game ball stored on the upstream side of the storage guide plate by opening / closing a on-off valve member forming a part of the second inclined support surface; A ball tray of a ball game machine, wherein the closing member that always holds a part of the second inclined support surface in a closed state is configured to be selectively mountable.

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